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    Canonfire :: View topic - GH "Power Groups"
    Canonfire Forum Index -> World of Greyhawk Discussion
    GH "Power Groups"
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    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
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    From: brazil

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    Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:30 pm  
    GH "Power Groups"

    i took this name from wizards.

    what would you think are the main power groups (PG) in GH?

    im trying to list some to my players:

    Order of Hart (and the 3 branches)
    Iron League
    Circle of the Eight
    Knigts of Shield (they are the same as the Holy Shielding?)
    Knights of the Watch (im trying to translate "watch". do you thing its better like "vigilance", or "guard/sentile" meaning?)

    any more?

    a barbarian group, humanoid group maybe?
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:34 pm  

    I have been using the Horned Society.
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    Julian<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
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    Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:39 pm  

    Silent Ones
    Seekers
    Scarlet Brotherhood
    Slavers
    ... just to get started on the 'S's.

    Ring of Five
    Adept Greytalker

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    Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:18 pm  

    IronGolem wrote:
    Silent Ones
    Seekers
    Scarlet Brotherhood
    Slavers
    ... just to get started on the 'S's.

    Ring of Five


    well, yeah...tehres a lot.
    maybe a top 10?
    Forum Moderator

    Joined: Feb 26, 2004
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    Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:58 am  

    Top 10, hmmm. The trouble is how to arrange them, like the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Iron League are made of soverign governments unlike the Circle of Eight let's say and the Circle of Eight aren't even technically as well backed as a knighthood either but they are more powerful magically than most nations can put together. So does personal power outrank national power? I Dunno after consultation I think it should be the ability to project power beyond one's immediate area. I'll go with a mix of man-power, magic power and financial power as requirements otherwise. I'm sure I'll forget someone but here we go:

    1. Boneheart of Iuz
    2. Tripartite factions of the Scarlet Brotherhood
    3. Circle of Eight and Tenser
    4. Orders of the Knights of Hart
    5. Hierarchs of the Horned Society
    6. Knights of the Watch/Dispatch
    7. Silent Ones
    8. Mouqollad Consortium
    9. Old Faith Druids (Hierophants)
    10. The Slavelords
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:05 pm  

    I'd rule out the groups that are direct representatives nations, like the Scarlet Brotherhood. Nations are not power groups, though groups that have much power within a nation are, like orders of knights, the Silent Ones, etc. Best keep it to groups that operate with complete autonomy, or nearly so. As the Hierarchs are no longer ruling a nation, I'd include them, as they are now a fully clandestine group.

    The church or cult of any divine or lower planar power could be considered to be a power group too.
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    Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:53 pm  

    Cebrion wrote:
    I'd rule out the groups that are direct representatives nations, like the Scarlet Brotherhood. Nations are not power groups, though groups that have much power within a nation are, like orders of knights, the Silent Ones, etc. Best keep it to groups that operate with complete autonomy, or nearly so. As the Hierarchs are no longer ruling a nation, I'd include them, as they are now a fully clandestine group.

    The church or cult of any divine or lower planar power could be considered to be a power group too.

    I did consider these things. The Boneheart and the Tripartite factions of the Scarlet Brotherhood are representative of the nation but also have agendas and ability to project power/influence FAR from those borders without the backing of any military or diplomatic might. In the Boneheat's case they include probably the most aggressive cult power group as well as a number of wizards to rival the Circle of Eight. For the SB I figured that this would be the hardest to justify but taken as just the NPCs themselves not the country, their spy network and assassin cells have to operate indpendantly for long periods of time and strike fear in nations. Not even Greyhawk City's Guilds can project that kind of power. The one i'm not happy with is the Slavelords. I guess they do have a power base akin to a nation and a cult behind them too, but I wish I had a better #10.
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Sun Feb 01, 2009 12:41 pm  

    The only thing I'd add is how the players perceive the group(s). Frequently a group's level of power pales in comparison to their reputation. Since your players don't know much about the group, you have a lot of room to play with them.

    The inverse are the group who want to remain secret, like the Temple of Elemental Evil and it's factions. And its easy to create a rogue faction within one of the existing groups.

    ciao
    Adept Greytalker

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    Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:35 am  
    Re: GH "Power Groups"

    thanks, guys!

    and how about those 2 questions?

    rossik wrote:

    Knigts of Shield (they are the same as the Holy Shielding?)
    Knights of the Watch (im trying to translate "watch". do you thing its better like "vigilance", or "guard/sentile" meaning?)


    oh, oh!
    one more!

    -when (year)Hugo of Geoff was named the Grand Commander of the Knights of the Watch?

    -why the knights of hart dont like the knights of shield, if some part of furyondy's knights was given to the Knights of teh Shield ?(as per the WoG folio, page 15)
    Master Greytalker

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    Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:59 pm  

    Questions:
    1) Knigts of Shield (they are the same as the Holy Shielding?)

    Answer: Yes

    2) Knights of the Watch (im trying to translate "watch". do you thing its better like "vigilance", or "guard/sentile" meaning?)

    Answer: I don't see why a translation is needed but vigilance seems more in the spirit of the order

    3) When (year)Hugo of Geoff was named the Grand Commander of the Knights of the Watch?

    Answer: Unsure; no date I could find but it seems to be shortly before the war

    4) Why the knights of hart dont like the knights of shield, if some part of furyondy's knights was given to the Knights of the Shield?

    Answer: The Knights of the Hart are dedicated to the preservation of the ideal of a powerful west; granted union is not possible now and the branches seek stability and warm relations but some knights dream of a reunified kingdom of Ferrond. This belief raises suspicions among indepedent such as the Shield Lands and Dyvers. The Knights of the Hart view this as spiteful paranoia that ultimately endangers the security of the West.

    Hope that Helps Smile
    Black Hand of Oblivion

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    Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:30 am  

    The term "watch" in Knights of the Watch literally refers to a period of guard duty. The connotation of "watch" in this instance refers to the period of night when any sort of malfeasance is likley to take place, which therefor requires a guard to keep an eye on things. In the case of the this knightly order, the period of watch is constant(not just at night). As the order was founded to guard against incursions from the Westerlings, their name comes from their overt reason for being. As the term is used in this instance, it does not properly translate to "vigilance", "guard", or "sentinel", though translating it to one of those meanings might be as close as you are going to get. Of the three, I'd go with "Knights of Vigilance", as "Knights of the Guard Duty" sounds like utter rubbish. Laughing I can't recall if the 83' boxed set was translated into Spanish, but it probably was, so that would be a good place to see how this was handled as the Knights of the Watch are in there.

    Also, are you translating to Spanish or Portugese?
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    Adept Greytalker

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    Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:52 am  

    thanks Crag and Cebrion!

    i was translating to portuguese
    Master Greytalker

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    Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:02 pm  

    In listing the power groups, I would think the Knight Protectors would be higher on the list, and honestly it would seem that the KoW would fall off. They have a limited geographic focus, and fairly limited numbers. not only are their numbers limited but very tied down with Geoff/Bissell.

    I think they would rank in the Sheldomar, but hardly in the Flaness. The other groups seem to have a broader reach, and more of a diversity of resources.

    Just my 2 cents.
    Adept Greytalker

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    Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:31 pm  

    dont know if matter that much, but we are playing in 578
    Black Hand of Oblivion

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    Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:15 am  

    Anced_Math wrote:
    In listing the power groups, I would think the Knight Protectors would be higher on the list, and honestly it would seem that the KoW would fall off. They have a limited geographic focus, and fairly limited numbers. not only are their numbers limited but very tied down with Geoff/Bissell.

    I think they would rank in the Sheldomar, but hardly in the Flaness. The other groups seem to have a broader reach, and more of a diversity of resources.

    Just my 2 cents.


    The Knights of the Watch/Dispatch have over 2,000 members, operate with almost complete autonomy, and overtly influence politics in the Sheldomar and surrounding lands to a great extent. The Knight Protectors however only have a few dozen members and exert minimal influence in and around the former Great Kingdom lands. The level of influence is simply not comparable. Lots of opportunities surely exist to broaden the influence of the Knight Protectors, and using a group of secretive good guy knights in your campaign can be loads of fun for any DM. Just remember to use a lot of subterfuge and misdirection, as there's a reason why the Knight Protectors weren’t successfully wiped out by the Ivids and the Death Knights. Wink
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    Adept Greytalker

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    Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:09 am  

    Hi again!

    still writing my stuff, and wondered about "oh, and this is a religious order and such..".


    i suppose theres a lot of knights who pray for heironeous, but is there a "official guide" to orders and religion?
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