How Factions Work

In Embers of the Imperium, Factions are the powers and players at the Galactic Council's table. They are massive, unwieldy things left to narrative devices and GM fiat. We didn't like that, so we changed it.

Factions in this world and at our table have distinct rules. Almost every faction is available to play - with obvious exceptions for obvious reasons, if you don't like it then don't play with us - and each has a system of ascendancy and tiers of authority. Every character chooses one Faction to maintain nominal membership in during character creation and that is the Faction to which their Agenda applies. Rules for that in another article.

One gains entry to the group via the One of Us! Talent originally found in Secrets of the Crucible and reproduced here for reference. At that point a character gains a second Talent Pyramid to track Faction XP and Faction Talents. You can purchase any Talent off the Faction list using Faction XP. That represents you training with your Faction to gain their tips and tricks of the trade. You can gain the One of Us! talent for any Faction that you could narratively join. Then you work toward that Faction's goals, earning 5 Faction XP for every goal your character helped a group of the Faction achieve. I limit the XP gain in any given Saturday Session to 25 normal and 15 Faction XP, but you do what you want if you steal this idea to run your own games.

There is a homebrew Talent named Title that gives faction specific benefits that are detailed in each faction alongside the appropriate Titles. It's a ranked Faction talent that can be bought with Faction XP when narratively appropriate and represents you climbing the social hierarchy of the Faction. Buying the Talent does not qualify as a Benchmark for any Agenda, but the awards ceremony that usually follows does.