The Four Blanks Method of Faction Generation

[FACTION] want(s) [MOTIVATION], but [OBSTACLE]. Therefore, [PLAN OR METHOD OF SURMOUNTING OBSTACLE].

1. A faction. Easy to generate, just roll on the random monster table. If you roll the same faction twice, it could indicate that the same members within that faction might have multiple wants, or it could mean that there is strife within the faction!
2. A motivation. Treasure, security, food, revenge. Sharing the same motivation across multiple factions means vying for the same cause! Rivalry, or shaky alliances?
3. An obstacle. Factions can also share obstacles, a fertile field for PCs to sow their machinations.
4. The faction's plan to get around their obstacle. PCs can help or exploit this as they see fit.

Here's the balancing act: if you, the referee, don't flesh out your dungeon factions at least somewhat (how many you have depends on the size of your dungeon floors, but in my opinion at least three is a good start for a "normal" sized dungeon), then your players don't have the option to interact with them in meaningful ways outside of combat. However, there's no guarantee that your players will happen across a certain faction, or that they will engage in "faction play" (parlay) rather than simply attack whoever they come across. Therefore, over-preparation of factions will end up wasting your time.

With this method, you have what is absolutely essential to begin meaningful faction play, composed in a method conducive to rolling on random tables. Indeed, the first three blanks can be filled quite easily by generating a random filler, while the fourth can be filled in with a little creativity and minimal effort on the part of the referee. Once you have your tables set up to your liking, generating factions on the fly can take under a minute per faction!

Important to note: this method can also be applied to creating factions within cities. Rather than using monsters from a random table for factions, do some light brainstorming on what can be found within the city. I like to use broad terms to spark my imagination: "religious" "guild" "criminal", and then another table within those terms to further flesh them out. "Religious" might be "orthodox" and thus signal the local sanctuary, or it might be "heretic" or "cult" - maybe an eremetic clan of druids on the fringes of the city? "Guild" could be as mundane as gong-farmers or as fantastical as breeders who farm water-striders on the river large enough to ferry up and down the coast. "Criminal" could be a band of thieves or grave-robbers... you get the idea. Remember that factions can also have internecine conflicts. If I roll "goblins" twice, maybe half the goblins want a golden chalice hidden within the tombs, but the other half want a magic hammer that was lost in the flooded catacombs! Or perhaps there is a broad "treachery" conflict on your Obstacles table. This gives PCs ample opportunity to play factions against themselves.

Motivations are usually very simple, falling into a few broad categories I've already mentioned. As motivations get less "concrete," I find it becomes harder to tie them into the fundamental game engine of old-school style play. A group of orcs searching for a chest of platinum coins is easier for the rules (and myself) to handle than a group of monks seeking enlightenment. However, you can easily see how flavorful and imaginative these can become, and if you feel confident running them, go for it!

Obstacles can be monsters, environments, other factions, or even the same faction. As noted earlier, two factions who share an obstacle are primed for alliances that the PCs can leverage to their own advantage. I like to use vague terms in my tables to keep their application broad. Things like "terrible beast," "intelligent monster," "treachery," that serve as a jumping off point for my own creativity.

The faction's plans, which I refer to as "methods," are important because they can tie the faction to the dungeon in a naturalistic way. Let's say we have a group of Kobolds who want to survive, but have run out of rations. With this alone, the PCs might tend toward offering rations of their own, but by fleshing out their method and saying that the kobolds are farming mushrooms to stave off their hunger, now the PCs have a few more toys to play with. What if the farm is threatened by another faction? What if the PCs decide to poison the mushrooms or raze the farm? Where is the mushroom farm in the dungeon map? PCs can aid or hinder these methods as they see fit. Methods could conceivably be written into a table, but as I  see it, they're dependent on the three previous factors, and it takes me very little time and brain-power to come up with a solution (indeed, it's about what players are tasked to do every session: interact with the game world as if it was their own), so I come up with whatever piques my interest.

If a faction is sufficiently present in a dungeon, some other details you can consider may be (presented in what in my opinion is a descending order of importance):

• Relations to other factions *
• Important figures within the faction (leaders, enforcers, traitors, spies)
• Area controlled by the faction

*I actually find this extremely important, but have found that by interconnecting my motivations and obstacles, arises organically. Nonetheless, it's important to note, especially if factions share physical space.

I also like to occasionally come up with "faction twists" that give a unique flavor to my factions and really force my imagination to start working. A d100 table is superior for this purpose. Maybe those within the faction are all dying? (Of what? How quickly?) Maybe they all have tattoos? Or they're all carrying wooden idols? These vague characteristics add an air of mystery and help the hundredth goblin band the players encounter stand out from the ninety-ninth.

Exercise 1: Dungeon Factions

Let's come up with three dungeon factions, two of whom share a motivation. Let's stay pretty vanilla and say they're Orcs, Kobolds, and Goblins. We're already 1/4 of the way done! For goals, let's say the orcs are hunting a great shaggy beast with white fur and poison fangs for its gallbladder, which is said to, when eaten, confer a state of frenzy upon its consumer. As an obstacle, the beast has killed a dozen of their own already, so the orcs are trying to trap it with a series of net traps outside its lair. Both the kobolds and goblins are seeking a fabulous gem, which in the interest of tying everything together, let's say belongs to the orcs. However, the kobolds' obstacle is the goblins, and the goblins' obstacle, the kobolds. The kobolds are waylaying straggling goblins and robbing and killing them, while the goblins are raiding the storerooms of the kobolds. In this way, their methods become the other's obstacle. So, let's type this all out:

• The Orcs want the gallbladder of the Great White Beast, but it has killed a dozen of their best hunters, so they have set up traps outside its lair.
• The Kobolds want the Onyx pendant of the orcs, but goblins have been raiding their food stores and weakening them, so they are killing off stray goblins, one-by-one.
• The Goblins also want the Onyx pendant of the orcs, but kobolds have been killing their scouts, so they are raiding the store-rooms of the goblins to starve them.

Already we have a web of intrigue ripe for the PCs to exploit. Do they let the Kobolds and Goblins fight each other and come in and sweep up the remains? Do they convince the Kobolds and Goblins to ally against the orcs? Do they convince the orcs to offer up their gem as payment and take a host of Kobolds and Goblins to storm the lair of the beast?

Exercise 2: City Factions

Again, three factions. This time, let's have two of them share obstacles and two share motivations. I like to have religious, criminal, and magical for my factions. Let's say a cult, an illegal underground fighting ring, and an apothecary shop. Let's have the cult and the fighting ring share a motivation, and the fighting ring and the apothecary shop share an obstacle. Both the cult and the fighting ring want an amulet of healing that was lost in the ruins a day's march north. The cultists cannot enter the ruins because of an ancient dweomer that turns them away from its entrance. The hired fighters can enter the ruins, but it is patrolled by a basilisk, which has also ambushed apprentices of the apothecary as they are gathering the herbs nearby, let's say they're searching for an extremely valuable lotus. Typed out:

• The cult wants an amulet of healing, but cannot enter the ruins it's been lost in; therefore, they are researching a way to dispel the dweomer on the ruins.
• The fighting ring also wants an amulet of healing, but are turned back by the basilisk patrolling its entrance; therefore, they are gathering a band of brave men to run it off.
• The apothecary shop wants a valuable lotus near the ruins, but the apprentices are being turned to stone, therefore they are offering a gold reward for its head.

In these exercises, I've explained them more in-depth before typing them out simply, but in practice it would be the other way around. Generate vague obstacles and motivations, then refine them to something that suits your game.