As Chagrinspire gets more civilised greedy visitors you get new camps, outpost occupants or settlements. My party hit 4th Lv (using a slow advance system) so rival gangs of adventurers might have rival outposts or you might need to trade with them.
My party fought the cult of the Hungering Worm and the Cult of Orcus. They have beef with slavers but not met them yet. They had a fight with kobolds and then made terms. I think its time to set up more camps and strongholds and possible personal rivals to egg them onto the Gatehouse. I will be generating some no-mans land and dugouts for crossing the wasteland.
d20 Quick Factions
1 Flatspur Guild - a band of rival scavengers using Flatspur as a base. They also have secret camps in the wasteland ruins for their weirder members. Some of these bandage-covered scrappers hide mutations. They dislike newcomers getting attention from their guild. Some follow the thief god some have taken up the religion of Flatspur farming folk from the west who worship the light. Competitive but not into starting fights outside a pub. Not into conquest or idealism mostly survival
2 Shankheim Guild - a thieves guild took over an adventurer's camp and set up this guild. They have yet to generate enough food to survive and keep up with growth. Gangs from here are aggressive and abusive and claim land wherever it suits them to justify violence. Might be tempted to rob anyone with less numbers. Also can be bribed and negotiated with if they feel they have an advantage in any contract. Even though they fued with Flatspur they prefer them to the other weirdoes out here. A party from Shankheim wants to establish own base in another hex and gather scavenger clans to it. Taking over a small community of locals would work too and they often ally themselves with slavers.
3 Alchemists Guild - an international expedition funded by Alchemists guilds of coastal cities. They want alchemy supplies of the wastes, ancient formulas and secret lore. They distance themselves from evil alchemists of the Apocalypse war but do deal with slavers and questionable magic. The outpost Quicksilver Heights is the main base and new expeditions from the kingdoms cand form anytime to compete with adventurers. Their interactions with the party in public will influence what they do in the wilderness. Adventurers from here will be rivals but will aid those they can and charge them for it
4 Mercenaries Guild - an international mercenary company is looking to expand operations into the area offering soldiers for hire. The most advanced and brutal professional killers on the continent are only rivalled by other companies. May ask fighting types to join them offering work, medicine, training, gladiator fights, accommodation and crafters. Want a base like an outpost or fort, competitive but friendly unless paid to fight and will repay debts if aided. d4 1=Black Dragon Company (Seige Specialists) 2=Wolf Brotherhood (marines) 3=Iron Gauntlet Company (Heavy infantry and cavalry) 4=Velvet Panthers (land knights with guns)
5 Slavers Guild - uses the wasteland here for secret intercontinental slave trade. Slaves are relocated vast distances for sale for exotic appeal and it becomes harder to dream of freedom. They are a harsh and mean organisation that have bands transporting slaves in the wasteland in chains. Some will have horses or camels or have two archers on one camel. Truly nomads they have several secret outposts, some islands and even ship people to other lands over the sea. The slaver's leaders are high-level adventurers and they will send minions or hire evil adventurers to hunt the party. They can call in help from the assassins guild. These are
easiest to show as bad guys really even without meeting them.
6 Mutant Gangs - live like scavengers but the more obvious mutants live in the worst places on land other people don't want. Some live in nomans land and are hostile to strangers. A bold party of mutants might get competitive for looting opportunities and claim to own various sites. They tease soft scavengers in the new villages. Mutants can be good or evil but often desperate enough to be flexible. The chaotic mutant warbands who worship demons are more dangerous and vindictive and will assemble their own weird heroes to hunt adventurers
7 Barbarian Bands - here to kill spell users and destroy books. Wage war on the Black Sphere and they include any literate and civilised peoples. They save the most brutal torments for wizards who they blame on the last two apocalypses and all the various dark lords who ever took the title. Some mellow out and assimilate with civilised people or scavengers. Most just die and are replaced from the greater wastelands. They crave to compete with famous warriors for glory
8 Orcs Bands - Orcs come in several subtypes. An orc war band leader will have various sub-bosses, bodyguards and pets they might send after adventurers. d4 1=Barbarians from the wastes much like humans but bigger edge lords with more spikes and severed heads of wizards on their giant wolf mounts 2=Troops of the Black Sphere deserters made by magic in vats now violently rebelling against wizards and have muskets and uniforms 3=Hell orcs here to fight from hell against the Black Sphere with devils heroes and ok with magicians 4=New Dark Lord orcs made by magic, all male and force matured to be violent maniacs with a strict hierarchy. Often led by an orc champion, a wizard or a priest. May march with undead made from the fallen and enemies
9 Bandits - criminals driven from the coast and into the wasteland find the borders of Chagrinspire a good place for robbery and no crown armies to stop them. All are fleeing rewards, bounty hunters and wanted posters. More likely to want to rob adventurers than show off. d4 1=awful nasty bandits including a few cannibals and famous maniacs 2=former rebels against a crown led by noble freedom fighters prefer to rob wicked or rich 3=desperate refugees or army deserters turned to crime for food and desperation enough to accept better jobs 4=Robber Knight a failed knight or bastard with a band of scoundrels made into a fighting force who live in a cave or ruined fort and have pretensions of nobility
6 Mutant Gangs - live like scavengers but the more obvious mutants live in the worst places on land other people don't want. Some live in nomans land and are hostile to strangers. A bold party of mutants might get competitive for looting opportunities and claim to own various sites. They tease soft scavengers in the new villages. Mutants can be good or evil but often desperate enough to be flexible. The chaotic mutant warbands who worship demons are more dangerous and vindictive and will assemble their own weird heroes to hunt adventurers
7 Barbarian Bands - here to kill spell users and destroy books. Wage war on the Black Sphere and they include any literate and civilised peoples. They save the most brutal torments for wizards who they blame on the last two apocalypses and all the various dark lords who ever took the title. Some mellow out and assimilate with civilised people or scavengers. Most just die and are replaced from the greater wastelands. They crave to compete with famous warriors for glory
8 Orcs Bands - Orcs come in several subtypes. An orc war band leader will have various sub-bosses, bodyguards and pets they might send after adventurers. d4 1=Barbarians from the wastes much like humans but bigger edge lords with more spikes and severed heads of wizards on their giant wolf mounts 2=Troops of the Black Sphere deserters made by magic in vats now violently rebelling against wizards and have muskets and uniforms 3=Hell orcs here to fight from hell against the Black Sphere with devils heroes and ok with magicians 4=New Dark Lord orcs made by magic, all male and force matured to be violent maniacs with a strict hierarchy. Often led by an orc champion, a wizard or a priest. May march with undead made from the fallen and enemies
9 Bandits - criminals driven from the coast and into the wasteland find the borders of Chagrinspire a good place for robbery and no crown armies to stop them. All are fleeing rewards, bounty hunters and wanted posters. More likely to want to rob adventurers than show off. d4 1=awful nasty bandits including a few cannibals and famous maniacs 2=former rebels against a crown led by noble freedom fighters prefer to rob wicked or rich 3=desperate refugees or army deserters turned to crime for food and desperation enough to accept better jobs 4=Robber Knight a failed knight or bastard with a band of scoundrels made into a fighting force who live in a cave or ruined fort and have pretensions of nobility
10 Murder Hobos - deranged old adventurers, mad with grog and untreated trauma. Boss anyone around and anyone with treasure in a lawless land might be worth robbing or demanding a toll fee to be left alone. Will establish a camp that in weeks will be full of tents, a sly grogshop, ditches of filty water, drunks, vermin and disease. Will abuse and bully modern adventurers especially idealistic ones for their stuff or try to recruit adventurers as "followers" (meatshields caugh caugh). If wiped out some might turn up later as drunks in other settlements. Some are especially insane and driven mad by evil even tainted by lycanthropes or undead. Maybe you meet them and they get worse over time
11 Druid Cult - here to cure the land and restore life. Some are here for blood or to inflict death on the Black Sphere. Aid plants and animals and common folk trying to live in the wastes. May seem sinister in their robes chanting around monoliths in storm. A druidic party will also include warriors and usually some bards too. They will look for an underground preferably natural cave to work on starting some forest. May build a settlement of a hill fort with trees. They dislike automatons and war machines of the ancient and oppose the adoption of ancient technology like guns
12 Cults - many demonic cults are here for loot and power but are also keen to attack the Black Sphere who want to stop the fun of demons forever. Some cults are secretive and hide within villages and operate a secret temple. Others are brazen and explicit in their servitude to dark powers and live in robes with cult banners, masks and evil pets. Its easy for them to conflict with adventurers and they will send a cult hero with assassins and fanatics against adventurers who cross them
13 Church - various orders and groups from the church come to proselytise and watch the wastemalnd for evidence the Black Sphere is awakening. They claim to be good and are often more lawful and various factions are competitive. These can come from a few sources and could be allies or friends or competitors or might even need help. Many seek to set up a camp or shrine and might just compete for trade or land d4 1=Crusaders of Lamnutainia sent by the Mad Immortal Emperor 2=Bright Templars from the South agents of the Church lands of Dormund 3=Child crusaders hungry and disappointed by the visions that brought them here from all over the continent, they already hate slavers 4=monks from a secretive order searching for lost knowledge 5=heretical peasant flagellant sect 6=farming refugees escaping despotism with a hermit or friar priest
11 Druid Cult - here to cure the land and restore life. Some are here for blood or to inflict death on the Black Sphere. Aid plants and animals and common folk trying to live in the wastes. May seem sinister in their robes chanting around monoliths in storm. A druidic party will also include warriors and usually some bards too. They will look for an underground preferably natural cave to work on starting some forest. May build a settlement of a hill fort with trees. They dislike automatons and war machines of the ancient and oppose the adoption of ancient technology like guns
12 Cults - many demonic cults are here for loot and power but are also keen to attack the Black Sphere who want to stop the fun of demons forever. Some cults are secretive and hide within villages and operate a secret temple. Others are brazen and explicit in their servitude to dark powers and live in robes with cult banners, masks and evil pets. Its easy for them to conflict with adventurers and they will send a cult hero with assassins and fanatics against adventurers who cross them
13 Church - various orders and groups from the church come to proselytise and watch the wastemalnd for evidence the Black Sphere is awakening. They claim to be good and are often more lawful and various factions are competitive. These can come from a few sources and could be allies or friends or competitors or might even need help. Many seek to set up a camp or shrine and might just compete for trade or land d4 1=Crusaders of Lamnutainia sent by the Mad Immortal Emperor 2=Bright Templars from the South agents of the Church lands of Dormund 3=Child crusaders hungry and disappointed by the visions that brought them here from all over the continent, they already hate slavers 4=monks from a secretive order searching for lost knowledge 5=heretical peasant flagellant sect 6=farming refugees escaping despotism with a hermit or friar priest
14 Demihumans - various demihumans come here for secret projects or spy missions to see the state of Chagrinspire and its minions. These could all be allies or friendly rivals and possible enemies. Some misunderstandings might cause offence, some are of the more evil kind. Some might be outcastes or refugees. May have a secret outpost and is often led by a hero with personal guards, magicians and pets. d4 1=Dwarves from the great mountains or Underland 2=elves from Auldwood or some of the rarer weirder kinds 3=haflings here to loot and scrounge treasure and act like a guild 4=gnomes some helping the elves and druids others from underland might be confused with the Black Sphere gnomes but they have other weird tyrannies in the deep that know nothing about the surface world
15 Abhumans - Many types of beast folk have a steak in Chagrinspire some are here to fight it with the barbarians others were made as soldiers long ago by the ancients for the war. They prise individual heroism and valour and many seek worthy enemies or rivals. d12 1=reptilian lizard folk from hidden kingdoms to the north scouting for their nations 2=snake folk wizards and necromancers trying to revive ancient dead to resurrect their fallen species and to enslave others 3=rat folk made as sappers thrive in the wastes 4=mole folk mad as sappers live under the waste on worms and salvage 4=dog folk soldiers 5=bat folk who dwell in darkness and serve a vampire goddess 6=ape folk soldiers 7=lamprey or leech folk want blood 8=frog folk commandos 9=wolf folk soldiers 10=cat folk commissars with guns and whips 11=fish folk marines 12=raven folk monks up to something
16 Goblinoids - Goblins are common all over the wastes. From the west many coming from the vast faerie forest realm of Auldwood (plant herders). Others from the Underland (mushroom herders). They are notorious for their domestic animals and crops. Goblins change and adapt and interbreed with beastlings and so come in a variety of goblin tribes. Some are peaceful or nuetral. Some are thralls to other powers like demons or faeries. There are many goblin hero leaders with various guard and magicians and pets that may be rival or enemy parties.
17 Kobolds - Kobolds were brought in by the black spare as builders with bricks, miners and crafters. They became servants working on train lines, carrying baggage and delivering parcels and were taken for granted. Now is the age of the Kobold and they are the inheritors of Chagrinspire - "it belongs to us!" the chant by night. There are many kobold tribes but since the seven sons and daughters of their god have been incarnated among the kobolds they are increasingly getting bold. One of these chosen might become a rival or enemy and will lead a band of exotic kobold wattiors from many tribes. They have allied communities everywhere but famously the gatehouse of Chagrinspire
18 Dragon Templars - Long ago dragons gathered human subjects and build might cities and even aided humans in the war against Necromancers (who keep trying to make undead dragons). Dragon riders may be seen in the sky and might even drop some templars or draconian troops for some purpose. Will protect and help dragons and even speak crude version of draconic humans can speak that dragons find funny and annoying. Dragon Templars may set up a base somewhere high and well protected for dragons to land and bring supplies. They are secretive and not interested in rivalries just in finding dragon relics and finding draconic beings. Modern dragons are more hidden and many of their remaining kingdoms are to the north and south and east and west. There are many loner dragons on the continent but few would be interested in the treasures of Chagrinspire but they did help burn Black Sphere towns to ash long ago. The templars, warriors and wizards get their orders from these overseas dragon nations who have own rivalries
19 Necromancers - here for all the dead bodies, arcane secrets plus they dislike the Black Sphere. Willing to use undead troops with other factions who will tolerate them against common enemies. Wary of good priests objections to undead they end up mixing with priests of night and death and templars of the void. Many parties led by necromancers explore the wastes and highly likley to not get along with adventurers but might work vs common enemies if you can tolerate the smell of corpses and vermin
20 Black Sphere. A specific squad or unit comes to hate the adventurers and will continue to monitor them and cause trouble if adventurers do anything interesting d4 1=gnome sapper assassins in a mole machine 2=automaton soldiers 3=clone human or orc soldiers 4=Deathguard flesh golem assassin. Will operate from rail lines and secret bunkers. Once a target and have a Black Sphere secret police agent surveiling them, agents will trick other factions into conflict rather than resort to force
