Factions

There are many factions, both inside and outside the tower. These groups all have similar goals and many members. I will only talk about essential members, but most generic members are made up on the fly.

Faction Index

Tower Dragons

The current tower dragons are two Blue dragons, both about 250 years old. They came from a clutch of 6, but dragons often fight each other, especially when an Aviary of this size can hold one fully grown dragon. Thankfully, the two current occupants have a little more growing to do.

The dragons spend most of their time sleeping and hunting in the local area. They will attack anything that threatens the tower as they consider it theirs, but can be compelled to help if needed. Flattery and gifts are a great way to make them turn away for a moment and allow you entry to the tower.

There is no interaction between Alistair Mortayne and the dragons; there is just a poem said by the constructs as they raised the young dragons:

Dragon Poem

"Hear now, Stormborn, this covenant true
Guard the Spire, and skies stay blue.
Hunt the trespassers, scorch the foe,
And Mortayne's shadow shall never grow.

Wings may falter, claws may fade,
But tower's shelter shan't degrade
Stray beyond, take foreign throne?
Your bones join those beneath the stone.

Eggs await in frozen sleep,
Should reptile faith prove cheap.
Keep our pact, both strong, both wise,
Dragons rule here... till all time dies."

Members

2 Blue Dragons

Lair

Floor 29 - Dragon Aviary

History

Alistair Mortayne created the Dragon Aviary as a powerful defence for the tower, capable of managing the outside. He had legendary egg thief Grimelda Moorsnob collect a clutch of eggs from most chromatic variants of dragons and store them in cold storage in a hidden part of the 29th floor. The eggs are hatched when needed and looked after by constructs until they are old enough to boss their kobold staff about.

The first clutch was Green dragons; one quickly took the top spot and wiped out the others. This ancient dragon lived through many cycles of cataclysm, eventually controlling more and more land around the tower. At some point, the dragon was far away from the tower when it saw the cataclysm spell activate and failed to make it back in time. It crashed dead on the outer wall, creating the Forrest Gate.

The following clutch was the blue dragons, the current residents. Out of the six eggs, only four dragons remain. These dragons inherited the horde of the green dragon before it, but the Aviary was made to fit the environment their species is more used to.

The Dragons had two other members, but they are now flying solo after a fight over leadership. Kurax the Crushed Worm and Zephyrax, the Storm Herald, are now direct enemies of the Tower Dragons.

Important Members

Syrindrax, The Azure Fury - Current Leader

Syrindrax is the fiercest of all the dragons around the tower. She has always been a brute and relies on this physical strength to get her way. She does however, have a few ticks if things get serious.

Syindrax has deep-blue scales and long horns that swoop down around her brow like a crown. She also possesses a powerful magical item, the Crown of the Mountain Queen, which she wears on her finger as a ring. Other magical items are available in her horde but will be used when needed.

Spells: Level 1 - Magic Missile, Level 2 - Web

Azoth, no current title - Contender

Azoth is the only other dragon in the tower because he was willing to submit to another dragon. This unlikely act should tell you all you need to know about Azoth. He is lazy, spending most of his time sleeping. He is not supposed to own a horde, but manages to bury his, and has not thought of a title for himself, as he does not really need one.

Azoth can fight if needed and is still a powerful force of nature, but rarely leaves the tower unless hungry.

Other

There are two other dragons in the nearby area, but they are no longer members of this faction:

Goals

Relationships

Big Wall Gang - Neutral (Sees them as another line of defense for the tower, knows they cant get in. Also a useful food source)

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Big Wall Gang

This roaming band of Ogres found grimrest a few months ago and have been trying to gain a foothold. They have taken control of the Old temple due to it being surrounded by trees providing nice visual cover from the Tower Dragons, it also has a tomb underneath for additional protection in an attack.

They have been gathering the large gravestones from around the church to use as armour, strapping them to their arms and chests. The Big Wall Gang named themselves after the large wall surrounding Grimrest that they planned to take over, the dragons had different plans.

Members

40 Ogres - All warriors

Due to their armour, they are slightly harder to hit but are also a bit slower:
+2 AC and -10' to movement speed

Lair

Old Temple

History

This band of ogres has a very similar story to many; their community got too big, so they left to find a new land. They ended up finding the tower and the nearby forests.

Important Members

Grashnak, the indiscructable - Leader

This slightly smaller ogre with large bottom fangs does not cover himself in armour; he lets his rotund belly stick out and looks like not much of a threat compared to his companions.

Grashnak's trick however is his equipment. He was one of the first scouts that found the Old Temple upon going into the tomb he found a couple of magical items that he now uses, Wedding Ring of Protection and Greatsword +2, Venger. Once returning to his group the leader demanded the loot and a fight broke out, Grashnak won and has taken the leadership role. He is now famous for letting any of his group challenge him saying they can have his spot if they can knock him down in one hit.

Goals

Relationships

None - Hate Everyone

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The Children of the Tower

This community is not working for the lich or even known to him. They are rats that live in the walls, taking what they can but trying not to be discovered. They act as if the tower is theirs and will defend it with their lives against outsiders.

They know nearly everything about the tower and will regularly travel all the way up to the 7th floor. They do not like to be seen and spend most of their time maintaining the tower and keeping things working so that no one from further up the tower needs to come down and find them.

They now stand as hidden protectors of the tower and will fight to the death to stop people from opening up the gate on the 7th floor. They rarely accept new members as they live in cramped conditions.

Members

1100 - Including non-combatants

Lair

4th Floor

Shift Sleeping and cramped conditions approach the limits of human tolerability, but that's better than dying outside of the tower.

History

Days after the tower was finished and sealed off into the state it is now, people have turned up looking for secrets and sanctuary inside the tower. Most of these adventurers die or find wealth and never come back, some however discover the secrets of the tower and reailse that the only safe place on this contiant is inside the tower.

A small group discovered the 4th floor and the space created for the inhabitants of grimrest, they were easily able to fortify and be safe. As more discovered the tower and its secrets the community grew, families formed and generations past.

Important Members

Unending Sage - 4-16 - Oldest member of the faction, now very crazy.

Goals

Relationships

None

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The Union

This is a faction of Kobolds who all follow a Union King. They are very protective of their land and will fight to defend it; they are, however, always in need of allies and trade. They are crafty, not intelligent; they can devise brutal traps and use them often.

An example: if they are being attacked from rooms 1-2, they might put up a wooden wall just on the other side of the illusory door, covered in knives and other sharp things, knowing people will just walk through the illusion once they know it's there. This does not stop other members of the Union from falling for the trap they were told about.

Members

150

Lair

Floor 1 - Rooms 1-11 to 1-18

History

Kobolds were initially brought in to look after the dragons on Floor 29. They were provided with rooms and expected to work, as there was nowhere else to go. During the reign of the green dragons, before that of the current blue dragons, there was much mistreatment of the Kobolds. Eventually, they stood up and asked for better food at treatment. The ancient dragon responded with “If you want better treatment, form a union”, so they did.

Not knowing what a Union is was their first issue, but that did not stop them; they elected a Union King whose first decree was to climb down the tower. So they did, most of them died, but enough made it that they could take over a couple of rooms and thrive for hundreds of years.

After the death of the most recent Union King, there was a tight race between two kobolds, Tum and Ruck. Tum won the vote by a small margin, so the Ruck supporters formed their own faction known as The Better Union. These two factions have been fighting since.

Important Members

King Tum is the current Union King. They are brilliant and well-spoken Kobolds, thanks to their natural intelligence and enchanted necklace that grants +2 Int. They are a muddy red colour with a fur cape and a crown made from cold-hammered copper coins.

King Tum is very polite to guests and understands the power of an adventuring party, will always take a bribe and will sell out any one of his members for a win.

Goals

Relationships

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The Better Union

This is an offshoot faction from The Union; they are only a couple of years old, but have managed to claim some territory. They are, however, struggling to find enough food; they send small parties outside the dungeon, but The Union keeps a close eye on the main entrance.

Members

50

Lair

Floor 1 - Rooms 1-20 to 1-25

History

See The Union's History

Important Members

King Ruck. This patchy green kobold lost a popularity contest and is out of his depth running his small group.

Goals

Relationships

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The Mountain Men

The mountain men are a faction of Gnomes originally from the mountains to the north east. Their people moved underground centuries ago after the great cataclysms; the depth protected them.

Despite the corruption of the Heart, this faction thrives, with them having solid control over their territory and their only real adversary being the Unions. They are unaware of the scale of the dungeon they are in. They assume it only goes underground like most structures.

One of their most outstanding achievements is the creation of miniature versions of the Heart of the Tower. These Green Magic Reservoirs store the souls of those who die nearby (Or charged from the main heart) to be used instead of the caster's spell slots.

Members

75 - Can be resupplied from their community in the mountains.

Lair

Basement 1 - B1-20 to B1-24

History

They had a web of mines reaching throughout the land, and one ended up breaking through into Basement 1. They soon discovered the Heart of the Tower and have since started experimenting on it. They now draw tiny amounts of power from it to power their own machinery and forge magical items. This comes at a heavy price though, as most suffer from heavy corruption, rotting skin, madness and many other horrible symptoms.

Important Members

None Currently

Goals

Relationships

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The Fungles

These strange mushroom creatures live in a large community on the 2nd Floor in peace; they only resort to violence when threatened. All of the community are mushroom men that speak through spores. These spores do work on other species, but unfortunately, they also have adverse effects. Anyone breathing in the spores must make a Save Vs Death on a failure; they can understand the mushroom man, but they also have the effect of Confusion.

Their main room 2-27 is rammed full of mushroom men; they like proximity to their own, but this can cause issues due to their inherent flammability.

Members

100s

Lair

Floor 2 - Rooms 2-26 to 2-30

History

Initially spawning on the 5th floor, these creatures were farmed for food and also used to compost waste in 5-17. They did manage to escape and used the darkness on floor 2 to hide. They eventually found the rooms they live in now.

Important Members

No real leaders, just elders whose say has more weight.

Goals

Relationships

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The Reforged

A collective of monstrosities, some of which were old experiments from the lich. These creatures now own the entirety of the 5th floor, only coming down to hunt anything they eat or use for spare parts.

Their hierarchy is based purely on strength, except for the surgeon who is seen as a divine figure and is not disturbed.

Members

100s use Mutoid Stat Block.

Members often have replaced limbs that don't match the rest of them, such as snake arms or monster parts.

Lair

Floor 5

History

After the lich retreated to the higher levels of the tower, many experiments were just abandoned; many died, but some escaped and went on to release more. A community formed and united against the rest of the tower.

One of the researchers who stayed behind, hiding away from his employer, was The Surgeon, a young elf at the time who continued his work helping to fix injured monstrosities and eventually creating new members to fill unique roles.

Important Members

The Surgeon - A mad old elf who spends his time fixing up injured members of the community. He will help outsiders if they ever find their way to him.

The General - A Minotaur creature who has claimed the leadership title through strength. He spends most of his time beating his own people into following his orders, not a big picture guy.

Goals

Relationships

Hunt everyone

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