Factions & Settlements

Settlements

Each Settlement has a fixed layout and a set of NPCs that offer various services. Among the types of settlement are cities, towns, as well as small homesteads.

NPCs

• Provide lore and rumors about the game world.
• NPCs cannot be attacked without consequences (see Crime)
• Some NPCs stay the same between playthroughs (inn and shop keepers, village elders, etc.) while some are randomly generated each new game (peasants, guardsmen, etc.).
• Some NPCs will walk around their town on a fixed path, commonly from their homes to work in a shop or in the fields.
• If an NPC happens to block your path in a town, you can right-click him and select Swap position. This option is only available with town NPCs, you cannot swap positions with enemies or animals.

Activities in Settlements

• You can move freely around a settlement without the risk of being ambushed. Enemies can still follow you into certain locations.
• You can buy and sell items - Weapons, Armor, Jewelry, Consumables and Loot.
• You can obtain Contracts from a Village Elder or Town Official.
• You can save your progress and store your items in a permanent chest at the Inn.
• You cannot freely open Containers present in a settlement, as that is considered stealing and you will be punished. Same goes for wandering into buildings you are not welcome into, and picking up loose items.
• Settlements are one of the few reliable locations where you can refill your Waterskin, always having some type of well or water source present.
• Once you obtain your first caravan following Verren's quest, you can travel between Osbrook and Mannshire by speaking to Verren. This is not a permanent option.
• After travelling to Brynn with Verren, he no longer offers to take you between towns. Instead, Ol' Tott offers transport between certain settlements for a fee.

Reputation

Each settlement belongs to a faction. Depending on your actions, different towns can offer different items for purchase at the town's shops and pay different prices for your items. See Reputation for more info.

More towns are going to be added in future updates - check out the Development roadmap.

Factions

Factions are political and military groups spread across Aldor that strive for control. After the death of the last king of Aldor, Etbert, the Grand Magistrate took control as the first governing body, in open rebellion to the regent Queen, but their rule is disputed by many. Each Faction controls several settlements and the nearby area falls under their influence as well.

Parts of the lore depicted below comes from before the Early Access release and might be subject to changes.

Council

The Council is a group of the most influential Aldorian feudal leaders, united around the regent Queen and her young son Verne – allegedly the legal heir.

Inora, King Etbert's last wife, married him several months before his untimely death. This marriage was a complete surprise for the entire court - even the nosiest gossipers were surprised by the news. The sudden death of the monarch which soon followed became the basis for the rumor that Inora had killed her husband – and her son Verne, born after the Etbert’s death, doesn’t have even a single drop of royal blood in his veins.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of people who believed the Queen. Thanks to her natural cunning and diplomacy, she managed to find many influential allies among nobles – who later formed the Council.

The backbone of the Council consists of two seemingly opposing groups. The first is the Etbert’s old guard – the loyalists who held important posts during his reign. They see Verne as the legitimate successor of the dynasty, which they faithfully served all their lives. The second group consists of those who fell into disgrace during the King Etbert’s rule. For them supporting Inora is a reliable way to regain lost influence and reintegrate into the court life.

However, all of them pursue the common goal: to put down the insurrection and destroy the rebels; restore the crown’s power throughout Aldor; and raise Queen to the throne.

Settlements controlled by the Council

• Aldwynn
• Denbrie
• Skonfert
• Kord

Grand Magistrate

The Grand Magistrate is a union of city councils, rebellious aristocrats, as well as artisan and merchant guilds – all fighting for their independence from the royal court.

The roots of the Great Magistrate lie in the long-standing conflict of King Etbert and the city of Brynn. Having come to power, Etbert deprived Brynn of its free city status. This autocratic move earned him enemies among Brynn’s influential families. And all these years they waited for the right moment to restore trampled justice.

After the king died and Inora laid claims to the throne, Brynn’s city council unanimously voted to quit Aldor, if it would be ruled by an impostor. Surely, the burghers were somewhat deceitful – they weren’t going to tolerate any more power over themselves, and Verne’s unclear origin was just a good excuse. Many neighboring settlements, tired of feudal oppression, followed their example. This union was called the Grand Magistrate – since any decisions are discussed by representatives of all the member settlements.

Thanks to the rich treasury and the wide use of mercenaries, the Magistrate fought with the Council on an equal footing, not yielding even an inch of its land. The obtained status quo was finally consolidated after the outbreak of the Crimson Plague – frightened by the unprecedented illness, the parties declared a truce to curb the epidemic.

Taking advantage of the resulting respite, the Magistrate only grew in power, rebuilding everything destroyed by war and sending ambassadors abroad. This gave the Council another significant reason to call the Magistrate traitors – as they say, the Magistrate’s ties with Jacinth elves are much closer than is required just for commerce.

(Old logo of the faction, with its previous name : "Great Magistrate")

Settlements within the Grand Magistrate

• Brynn
• Osbrook
• Mannshire
• Ralph & Sons Inn
• Distant Homestead
• Oaken Barrel Brewery

Gray Army

The Gray Army is a folk uprising that has recently taken on an enormous scale. The composition of the Gray Army is quite dissimilar – the majority are peasants and various artisans, but there are other groups as well; former brigands, clerics-in-doubt, broke feudal lords, as well as Magistrate and Council deserters.

For several years, the common people meekly endured all the war; they fought under the banners of the Council and the Magistrate, paid wartime taxes, watched lawlessness and violence, suffered from hunger and disease, and died – by thousands. However, the longer the war went on, the louder the grumbling became.

These moods were skillfully used by Nir – a man of unknown origin, and therefore even more mysterious and frightening. A former monk; runaway slave; criminal on the run; feudal lord, who lost his mind after losing his title – there are so many rumors regarding his possible past, the safest bet is not to believe any of them.

The philosophy of the movement is quite confusing and controversial – mainly because only Nir himself grasps it fully. The rest only has to interpret the scattered fragments of his statements – the so-called Words. The Gray Army considers immoderation and incontinence in all its manifestations to be the most important cause of all evil. Nir believes that the ability to find and keep a fine line is paramount, and only in this way people can protect themselves from corruption.

Due to the multiplicity and desperate courage, the Gray Army managed to occupy numerous territories, having won several settlements from the Council and the Magistrate. Now the Army is looking forward to the end of the truce – to finally finish off all those who deny their dogmas.

Settlements under control of the Gray Army

• Maen
• Eeders
• Yostwayne
• Ratten

Unaligned Settlements & Factions

There are various smaller, independent locations and factions not beholdent to, or mostly separate from, any of the major faction. These include:

• The Rotten Willow Tavern

Page last edited during patch: 0.8.1.8