Factol Leaders

[Flession]

• Factol Terrance
• Factol Ambar Vergrove
• Factol Lhar
• Factol Pentar
• Factol Skall
• Factol Rowan Darkwood
• Factol Hashkar
• Bria Tomay
• Factol Sarin
• Factol Alishon Nilesia
• Factol Darius
• Factol Erin Montgomery
• Factol Rhys
• Factol Karan

[Flession]

Name: Terrance
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Cleric
Age: Early 60's
Alignment: Lawful Good
Height: 5'8"

Terrance seems much less bitter than many of the Athar. He feels a bust in the multiverse at large and in simple existence. He’d lie to teach his viewpoint to all the Defiers and to the denizens of the Great Ring, but this desire is a muted one. See, Terrance is no fire-eater. As he guides the Athar through the maze of intrigue enmeshing Sigil, he can enlighten a few deceived sods along the way. That’s good enough.

The factol realized the fraud of godhood more gently than most. The second son of a rich man, he was well educated and destined for the religious life. His father’s garnish to a temple of Mishakal on Elysium ensured a warm reception for the new novice. ’Course Terrance used his natural leadership and organizational skills to capitalize on this promising beginning. Inside of 10 years he’d become patriarch of the community of healers.

Nothing terrible happened to him there. Sure, he had troubles - any hasher does. But all in all, Terrance had a rewarding and comfortable life. No complaints. Then one day he awoke to the hidden dark: His own intellect and intuition had given him the solutions to every problem he’d faced in life. No power ever gave him divine guidance or strength. ‘Course, as patriarch, he’d enjoyed a few moments of communion with his deity, Mishakal. But he’d sensed no halo of the divine in those exchanges - really, just simple conversations, with a frill or two the power threw in to excite his mortal capacity for awe.

With a dry chuckle, Terrance acknowledged the new dark within himself: He no longer revered Mishakal as divine. Sure, he still respected the power’s sphere of interest (healing) and the extent of her influence, but felt no “proper” religious fervor. The patriarch’s faith had turned a corner, and, as a man of integrity, he resigned his post. Why guide a bunch of berks to Mishakal when be himself had departed from the goddess’s teachings?

Terrance came to Sigil, joined the Athar, and became quite popular with other Defiers. Most of the Lost embrace bitterness to themselves like a lover. Terrance, an island of quiet serenity and moderation, came as a welcome relief. His skills made him popular as well. Once Terrance proved he could gain spells trough meditation and fervent belief in the Great Unknown - which Athar claim is the source of all priestly power - he quickly rose in the ranks.

[Flession]

Name: Ambar Vergrove
Gender: Male
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Ranger/Bard
Age: 100s
Alignment: Neutral Good
Height: 5'6"

Ambar was a Half-elf from a very secluded, conservative part of the Outlands called Fayrill. The elven side of his family, the Quybier, exiled his mother for her disruptive behavior. Amber grew up alone with his mother until he met Caye, a Quybier elf maiden. He secretly wooed her, despite the Quybiers' disapproval. When elven troops arrived to bring her home, both Caye and Ambar's mother were killed.

Eventually he fell in with the Believers of the Source and discovered that, although no place could feel like home again, a group of people could. His courtesy and kindness - he still likes everyone to call him by his first name - earned him many friends among the godsmen and in time he became factol. He is beloved of all his namers, factotums, and factors - half of whom believe him well on the way to becoming a power. Most of them would lay down their lives at his beckoning. To his credit, Amhar rarely requires such sacrifice.

His goal as factol? He wants both the faction and its members to flourish. Unlike many of his followers, Ambar values individuals more than the philosophies they espouse.

He still has everyone call him by his first name and is still well liked and respected by many of its members. Outside of the faction, however, he's considered a bit of a bore. The only exception, however, is Factol Terrance, whom considers him a good man due to the half-elf’s compassion and lack of the self-centeredness that he believes plagues most Believers.

[Flession]

Name: Lhar
Gender: Male
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter
Age: 50s
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Height: 6'1"

Lhar, the first son of a blind father and an orc mother, was abandoned as a child on the steps of the Gatehouse, and raised in the Orphanage and Insane Asylum wing of the Bleaker's headquarters, under the eye then-factor Tollysalmon and her staff. The Gatehouse wasn't exactly a loving environment, and most of the orphans put there ended up running away when they were old enough to tie their shoes, but not Lhar. Oh, sure, he left once when he went to try and find his parents, but when he found his old home occupied by a new family, he simply returned to the orphanage. He never gave up on finding them - he's still obsessed with the idea - but without any leads he's devoted himself to other pursuits.

See, growing up in the Gatehouse's Orphanage and Insane Asylum wing, Lhar saw the barmies and downtrodden of Sigil every day, and developed a deep empathy for them. Even as a child, he helped the adults deal with the barmies as often as he could, and as he got older he continued to pitch. When he got old enough to join the faction, he signed up immediately, and continued his work with little change. By the time Tollysalmon became Factol, he was ready to take over her old duties, and when the githyanki had her mental breakdown six months later, he stepped in as the new Factol.

That was three years ago, and Lhar is still the Bleak Cabal's factol. That's nearly a record by their standards - only one other factol has lasted longer, and everyone has heard the stories of what happened to her. See, like most factions, only Bleakers that truly embrace their philosophy, and (in the Cabal's case) really understand that there is no point to the multiverse can hope to lead the faction. But by the same token, those that admit in their deepest heart that their is no rhyme or reason to existence aren't the sanest of individuals. Add to that the burden of commanding an entire faction, and total mental breakdown generally ensues shortly thereafter.

And Lhar is beginning to crack as well. He's been one of the faction's most active leaders ever, opening scores of new soup kitchens, extending the Cabal's already sizable community service projects, and increasing the faction's numbers. But all of this is taking a toll on him. Lhar himself recognizes this, and has already prepared a quartet of successors that will help guide the faction when he succumbs to the Grim Retreat (as the faction calls it) and hopefully see him through the Retreat and out the other side. See, Lhar hopes to be the first Cabal factol to ever return to the job. Every other factol that's fallen to the Retreat has either died or is still in the Criminally and Irretrievably Insane wing of the Gatehouse.

[Flession]

Name: Pentar
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Class: Ranger/Fighter
Age: Early 30s
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Height: 5'7"

A human in her early thirties, Factol Pentar is a charismatic leader that pushes her faction at every opportunity. She doesn’t give one whit about politics and compromise, instead leading by example and bringing chaos and destruction to the world whenever she can. Physically, she’s darkly beautiful, and lets her long raven hair hang loose, even in the most impractical situations. Her looks serve her well, as it’s through this combination of physical beauty and force of personality that she leads her faction.

Of course, not all Sinkers like Pentar. The Doomguard can generally be divided up into three internal orders, the Destroyers who want to destroy the multiverse as soon as possible, the Guardians, who believe the multiverse should be allowed to be destroyed in the natural course of things, and the Regulators, who believe that the multiverse is falling apart too fast, and want to slow it down.

Pentar seems to be the living embodiment of the Destroyers, and has their undying support. There is nothing – nothing – that Pentar more enjoys than simple destruction, and has personally been the cause of plenty of riots, acts of vandalism, and at least three fires that swept through the Hive. As one might guess, she’s not too well liked by the Guardians or the Regulators, but they’re in the minority of their faction (there are more than twice as many Destroyers as there are Guardians and Regulators put together). Still, most Doomguard factols from the Destroyer order have at least made small concessions to the other groups, but Pentar doesn’t seem to care at all and completely ignores their points of view. That’s made more than a few of them mad, and the truth is that seeds of rebellion are beginning to take root.

See, the Guardians and Regulators have always been marginalized groups in the Doomguard, and there hasn’t been a factol from their ranks in years. Pentar’s crazed rampages of destruction are only another straw on an already laden camel’s back. It may be that there’ll soon be an assassination attempt on Pentar – it’s even probable. But it’s also possible that a full fledged civil war is brewing in the faction. Pentar knows that, and she secretly delights in the prospect. After all, it’s about time the Doomguard started showing some entropy of it’s own.

[Flession]

Name: Skall
Gender: Likely Male
Race: Human(?)
Class: Wizard
Age: Unknown
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Height: Varies by form

Perhaps the most mysterious and dangerous of all the Factols, Skall is rarely heard from or seen outside the mortuary, and when he is it's behind so many illusions no one is sure what he really looks like. Some claim he projects himself into Sigil, and that he has enough magic to wipe out Sigil if given a reason to.

When Skall astral projects or travels in person, he cloaks himself in illusion - usually several illusions, topped with disguises generated by spells like Alter self or Polymorph to fool those who can see through illusions. Skall usually wears the guise of a human male, leading a body to believe that’s what he used to be. For Factol meetings, he likes to appear as a simple black robe with the Dustmen’s symbol floating above. (Only a few high-ups have seen him undisguised.) All his forms speak in a dry, echoing monotone.

It's not a surprise Skall can keep his true nature relatively quiet. See, the Dead don’t talk about him much. They just take for granted that he’s advanced along the road to True Death. And if folks do find out, so what? It’s not like Skall wants to hurt anyone. Sure, he’s evil, but only in the eyes of people who equate “goodness” with a respect for life. Though determined to have his own way, Skall’s in no hurry to accomplish his goals, so he seldom behaves in an evil fashion.

Most Dustmen know Skall’s walking the road to becoming one of the True Dead, but that he stays around out of a sense of duty. He feels compelled to enlighten as many berks as possible about the way of death, so they eventually might reach True Death. Meanwhile, he keeps striving to know everything but feel nothing. Those who harm or offend the Factol tend to disappear sometimes right away, sometimes a year or more after the fact. Did Skall arrange their advancement to the next stage of death, or was it simply their time? For who can predict what’ll offend a being without emotion?

[Flession]

Name: Rowan Darkwood
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Ranger/Paladin
Age: Late 50s
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Height: 6'2"

Along with Erin Montgomery, Duke Rowan Darkwood is counted one of the two most powerful people in Sigil. A man in his late fifties, Darkwood has kept himself in excellent shape, and his tall frame and craggy features put one in mind of a mountain. He's been eroded by time and pain, his numerous scars attest to that, but it's only served to expose the bedrock that is the Duke's personality.

Darkwood grew up on the prime world of Oerth, the third son of a trivial noble in a country called Furyondy. His family was blessed with a grove of Darkwood trees - trees whose wood is as light as oak but as strong as steel. Through careful management and cutting, they'd been a steady source of income for generations, and the family proudly bore the tree's name.

But young Rowan stood to inherit little, and so took to a life of adventuring throughout his home world. He traveled far and wide, even venturing onto the planes on a few occasions, most notably when he fought in the Demonweb Pits of Lloth. And as his accomplishments grew, he earned the respect of his peers, so that he was granted a fief in his own in his homeland of Furyondy. And in the fullness of time, he settled down, marrying his life-long love and fellow adventurer Merilyn. It seemed the Duke had everything, until the day that a wandering minstrel appeared.

Why the minstrel appeared then and there is a question that may never be answered. Perhaps Darkwood had slighted the Baatezu in some way, and they sought revenge. Perhaps they felt that Darkwood would be useful if bent to their purposes - after all, he was a supremely skilled warrior and by that time held no little political power. Or perhaps the Duke was simply unlucky. Regardless, when the minstrel sought shelter at his abode during a particularly violent storm, Darkwood took him in. The next day when the minstrel departed, he left a battered deck of playing cards that his children began playing with.

The deck was magical, and summoned a Baatezu named Armaggel, who laid claim to the children's souls. The Duke offered Armaggel a deal - they would play one game of cards, and if the Duke won, his children would go free. If he lost, he would offer himself to Armaggel as well. The fiend accepted, and they played their game. It was a close match, and the Duke won. But Armaggel had another trick up his sleeve. See, Armaggel could lay claim to the soul of whoever played the deck, and deal or no, the Duke had done just that. True to his word, Armaggel spared his children, but took Darkwood with him back to the Nine Hells.

There, Rowan was imprisoned and was submitted to every torture that the Baatezu knew. And they knew many, many methods of torture. After ten years, the Duke had still not broken, and the Baatezu had exhausted every technique in their voluminous manual. Desperate, Armaggel even invented a few new tortures, but when the Duke's will still held, he came to a decision. Over the last decade, Armaggel had come to respect the Duke - the man he could not break. And so, he freed Rowan, and sent him on his way.

Battered and physically broken, the Duke made his way back to Oerth. The clerics healed what they could, but due to the nature of the fiend's torture, it wasn't much. Most of his tortures had long since healed naturally, leaving scars that would never vanish, and he would never see from his right eye again.

Upon his return to Furyondy, he found the life he'd hoped to return to in ruins. In his absence, the Greyhawk Wars had taken place, and Iuz's armies had swept south, laying waste to both his personal fiefdom and his ancient family estate. His wife Merilyn had survived, but thinking the Duke dead she had remarried. His sons had grown, and barely remembered him. With no life left for him on Oerth, the Duke returned to the planes, where he fell in with the priesthood of Heimdall, quickly becoming one of the god's most powerful champions.

Just over a year ago, the Duke came once again to Sigil, and joined the ranks of the Fated, whose self-reliance appealed to him greatly. If there was one thing the Duke had learned in all of his long years, it was that he could only count on himself. Among the Taker, the Duke shot up through the ranks. In less than a year he ran the whole faction, a feat that most agree couldn't have possibly occurred without some cross-trading. Still, the Fated believe that power belongs to whoever can seize it, by hook or by crook, and so most don't begrudge the Duke his meteoric rise.

The Duke's a driven man, both to his credit and his harm. He believes in good and he cares for people, but he's also obsessed with success. He can't accept obstacles, rules, or limits, so he's always trying to push further than anyone else. In a way, the Duke reminds many of the Harmonium's factol, Sarin. Like Sarin, the Duke is forthright, brusque, and doesn't beat around the bush. But unlike Sarin, who uses these traits to earn others' trust and respect, the Duke simply plows through debates, dismissing other's opinions out of hand and grating on almost everyone's nerves. Still, the Duke has all the inevitability of a glacier, and seems to get what he wants most of the time.

And right now, the chant says the Duke wants nothing less than complete rule of the Cage. Of course, no one else would even consider the possibility. After all, the Lady of Pain runs the city, and has for countless millennia. But the Duke didn't grow up on the planes hearing the stories of how the Lady has defeated every adversary that's ever challenged her. He only heard of her a few years ago, and considering all the challenges he's faced in his own life, he figures this is just one more. After all, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[Flession]

Name: Hashkar
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Class: Artificer
Age: 200s
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Height: 4'6"

The factol seems nice enough and inoffensive, so long as a body doesn't try to talk to him. He'll go out of his way to give a cutter more details than he can stand. Though a few other Guvners have Factol ambitions, none would usurp the post - it's against the Rules, see? For a factol, Hashkar doesn't appear too impressive. He's short and dumpy, with a big red nose and a long white mustache. His eyes constantly look bloodshot from reading, and he always carries one or more books or scrolls. When not reading, he's usually lecturing. Faction members get used to seeing him shuffling down the halls of the City Court (his faction's headquarters in Sigil) mumbling to himself, barely aware of his surroundings

Hasbkar, Factol of the Guvners for 127 years, had an impressive rise through the ranks of the Fraternity. Though the blood learned all he knows from books, personal lessons, or the tales of others, he understands much that normally only adventurers can learn. Fortunately for Hashkar, in the Fraternity of Order, knowledge is power. The dwarf's vast ability to learn impressed his one-time superiors so much that Hashkar practically flew into the Factol position. He governs with a firm hand, delegating authority through his factors.

A basher finds it extremely difficult to carry on a conversation with the boring old Guvner. Any berk fool enough to ask him a question had better brace himself for The Answer. Hashkar lectures at the drop of a hat-or the drop of 'most anything launching into a discourse to answer the basher's question, including: (1) The history of the answer; (2) A comparison of that answer with what the answer would've been under previous versions of the Rules; and (3) An analysis of the answer, the question, the reasons for asking the question, and why the answer is vitally important.

Should the questioner try to leave before Hashkar has finished answering, the Factol will follow along, oblivious to any hint that the unlucky berk has anything better to do than to listen. This pattern applies to all sorts of questions, too, from "What's the meaning of existence?" to "which way's the door?" See, there's no such thing as a simple answer to someone who understands everything.

[Bria Tomay]

Name: Bria Tomay
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Class: Bard/Fighter
Age: Mid 30s
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Height: 5'6"

The Free League doesn't have a factol, and in fact doesn't have leaders at all - they're much too independent to work within a structured chain of command. Bria Tomay is the most respected and influential of all the leaders they don't have.

A attractive human woman in her mid thirties. She wears her fine blonde hair short and neat. She wears very little in the way of makeup or jewelry. Her face is beginning to betray the stress of her current role within the Free League. Her clothes are those of a simple merchant. She carries a single curved dagger on her belt but no other weapons or apparent defensive items. On the opposite side of her belt she has 3 small woodwind instruments which she plays during her few moments of rest.

Fiercely independent she actively discourages any form of authority in the Great Market. In her normal day to day she is quiet, cautious, and thoughtful. When she speaks publicly or sings before the Indeps she reveals a spark of brilliance, the ability to unite the faction of individuals behind her. She herself seems unaware of the effect she has on the other Indeps, and is puzzled by their choosing to place her on the new leading council. Her two closest friends (her cohorts) are Lethea and Lesander, twin wemics that are virtually identical, save in gender. Lethea and Lesander are almost never found too far apart, and usually follow around Tomay as she wanders throughout the day.

When she isn't at the Red Lion Inn overseeing the Free Leagues response to the threats surrounding it she is roaming the streets of Sigil keeping in touch with Indeps who are unable, or unwilling, to attend the planning meetings. Much of the time, though, Bria’s found at Warbling Blades, her father’s silver smithy, found on Redwind Road in the Great Bazaar.

Her main goal is to get the Indeps the respect they deserve, and put an end to the unjust incarceration of her faction mates.

[Flession]

Name: Sarin
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Age: Mid 40s
Alignment: Lawful Good
Height: 6'4"

If there's any factol without guile, it's Sarin.

Sarin is the leader of the Harmonium, the faction that promotes peace and harmony, and does so with a iron fist. Besides being a Primer (born on Oerth) and a charismatic and popular leader, Sarin sticks out among most Factols for another reason: He’s married and has a family. His wife, Faith, is a priestess of St. Cuthbert and one of the faction’s spiritual leaders. Sarin and Faith have nine children, all of whom they raise in a loving, but disciplined fashion. Their oldest, a girl of 14 named Marinda, already plans to join the Harmonium.

Sarin has quite the imposing stature; he's quite tall and has the muscle to back it up. Many believe if it wasn't for his body complimenting his voice not as many cutters would be Hardheads. The chant saw Factol Sarin comes from the Harmonium world of Ortho, where he moved through the ranks to become a high-up. Deserving of promotion, Sarin chose to go to Sigil rather than take the easier route through the Harmonium prime worlds . He knew Sigil would be a rough posting compared to one on Ortho and that he’d arrive a near Clueless. And he still wanted the Cage. Sann has headed the faction for a little more than five years so far, and he’s looking forward to leading it for a long time to come. The even-tempered blood's not given to rash decisions that might get him booted, so he likely will hang around for a good, long time.

Sarin’s tough - not even a barmy or a Clueless ever would suggest otherwise. He believes unshakably in the Harmonium’s cause and will do anything honorable, lawful, and good to promote peace and harmony. Not surprisingly, this attitude makes it very difficult for a lot of folks to deal with him.

Sarin has a smooth, deep voice that can really boom a lecture hall or on the streets of the Cage. He can act charming, almost friendly - when he wants. But even when he’s harping on the Hardhead chant or drumming the law into some poor cross-trader’s brain-box, his magnetic personality commands respect. Without a doubt, Sarin numbers among the finest leaders in Sigil. He even has the respect of other factols, including those who hate him or disagree with him. Factol Erin Montgomery of the Sensates (a faction traditionally opposed to the Harmonium) can be counted as a close political ally of Sarin's, and there are even some whispers that they're intimate, though only a barmy'd believe them. Sarin is both happily married and a paladin, after all. The Hardhead even occasionally sways other Factols to work with him - though that works partly because of the threat his faction presents to those who don’t behave. Make no mistake, though, Sarin deserves respect, and he gets it; he never has to lead through intimation.

Overall, Sarin wants the whole multiverse to become part of the Harmounium, and while he is quite the kind individual, his comrades harsh and brash attitudes make it quite difficult. The only thing that keeps him going, despite this, is to help protect his wife and children.