Powers That Shape the Dream
The Living Political Landscape
Grimmloch's factions did not arise from careful treaty or conscious design. They emerged over millennia as dreamers from different cultural traditions recognized kindred spirits in the shamanic realm—finding others who shared their values, their approaches to the world, their understanding of what matters. The Aelfyn Sith were born from the primal dreams of nature itself. The Ka Agorate coalesced from MesogeiosMediterranean adventurers who followed horizons. The Dunraven Folk formed from storytellers who preserved ancestral wisdom. The Aurelia Raed gathered around ideals of justice and martial honor.
These are not nations with borders or species with biological constraints. They are communities of shared values that welcome anyone whose spirit resonates with their approach to existence. A human baker from Valdara might dream themselves as Fair Folk among the Aelfyn Sith because they yearn for otherworldly grace. A Wendish warrior might find their home among Ka Agorate sailors because adventure calls louder than tradition. Membership is about what you believe matters most—and those beliefs can evolve through lived experience.
The Four Player Factions
The Aelfyn Sith: Children of the First Dream
The Aelfyn Sith are the eldest inhabitants of Grimmloch, born when the dreamworld was young and raw—manifestations of sacred groves, whispering winds, and the eternal cycles that predate mortal civilization. Their Courts of Horn and Ivory divide not between good and evil, but between the harsh clarity of truth and the seductive beauty of illusion, echoing the classical Gates through which dreams pass into the waking world.
Drawing from authentic fey traditions, they encompass extraordinary diversity: the courtly Gentry who play at intrigue, the brutal Horde who value raw strength, the morbid Unhallowed who walk with death, the domestic Folkling who dwell at hearthsides, and the ecstatic Wilderkin who embody nature's wild joy. Five subgroups whose allegiances shift between courts like light through leaves, creating alliances as unpredictable as the fey themselves.
To join the Aelfyn Sith is to finally become what you always sensed you were—something beyond the mundane world, whether that manifests as terrifying or sublime. You might navigate the poisonous elegance of Gentry politics, revel with Wilderkin in moonlit celebrations, or walk the Unhallowed's lonely paths between life and death. Power flows through this faction, but so does the understanding that all things are cyclical—every gift demands reciprocity, every action ripples outward, every story returns to its beginning.
Will you walk the path of honest dreams or beautiful lies, and can you tell the difference when it matters most?
The Ka Agorate: Seekers Beyond the Horizon
The Ka Agorate are the inheritors of MesogeiosGreater Mediterranean Region traditions who understand that the horizon is not a boundary but a promise. Born from dreamers who sailed from Achaea, Aegypti, Arzawa, and the Sahilian coast, they are united not by homeland but by the conviction that truth is found through direct experience—that wisdom comes from touching the world with your own hands, not from books that describe it.
Five distinct orders pursue this conviction through different paths: the Corsari sea-captains who blur the line between merchant and raider, the Asāsiyyūn mystics who seek spiritual truth through ecstatic practice, the Hippeus wave-riders who partner with sentient sea creatures in maritime combat, the Consortium merchant-princes who transform chaos into systematic prosperity, and the House of Wisdom scholar-adventurers who excavate lost knowledge from forgotten ruins. Each operates independently, gathering at the Scriptorium of Iskandar to share discoveries before launching the next expedition.
What binds them is Ma'atthe Aegyptian principle of cosmic order, truth, and right action. A Corsari captain who honors the proper division of spoils serves Ma'at. An Asāsiyyūn who corrects violation of cosmic balance serves Ma'at. A House of Wisdom expedition that preserves rather than plunders serves Ma'at. They are not lawless adventurers but those who understand that right action sometimes requires sailing beyond conventional society's sight.
What wonders lie beyond the horizon, and what will you become in the pursuit of them?
The Dunraven Folk: Keepers of the Old Ways
The Dunraven Folk are the living embodiment of ancestral memory, born from dreamers who carried oral traditions into Grimmloch—skaldsNorse poets who recited sagas in firelit halls, bards who preserved heroic deeds in song, warriors whose courage became legend. They understand that stories are not entertainment but the fundamental substance that binds communities across time, connecting the living to the dead and the present to all that came before.
Five clans represent different cultural expressions of this truth: the Boar Clan (Gaelic) with their druidic mysteries and FiannaIrish warrior bands, the Wolf Clan (Norse) who accept wyrdfate's harsh threads, the Bear Clan (Slavic) with their volkhvispirit-speakers and forest wisdom, the Raven Clan who practice the cunning arts between worlds, and the Serpent Clan—seafarers from all cultures who seek glory on the waves. Each maintains distinct traditions while recognizing their shared commitment to preserving what matters most: the tales that define who they are.
To join the Dunraven Folk is to choose heritage over progress, community over individualism, and the weight of ancestral wisdom over the seduction of novelty. You might stand in the shield wall with Wolf Clan úlfheðnarwolf-warriors, debate at a Bear Clan vecheSlavic assembly, practice divinatory arts with the Raven Clan, navigate Boar Clan druidic politics, or sail with Serpent Clan raiders. Personal glory matters—but only when it serves clan honor and becomes a story worth telling.
Will you honor the old ways or forge new ones, and what stories will they tell of you when you're gone?
The Aurelia Raed: Champions of the Eternal Oath
The Aurelia Raed are the last faction to form, born from dreams of justice when warriors swore sacred oaths to defend the innocent and uphold what is right. They are the spiritual descendants of chivalric traditions across Oikoumene—not naive idealists but warriors who understand that maintaining order in a chaotic world requires both martial skill and unwavering conviction.
Five knightly orders represent different martial traditions: the Silver Stag of Bretonia (Arthurian fellowship), the Tyrian Talon of Gallia (Frankish courtly chivalry), the Rubin Ross of Neustria (Germanic monastic knights), the Hassel Hring of Wendland (Varangian oath-sworn warriors), and the Verdant Shield of Sahil (Islamic futuwwachivalric tradition). Each serves through distinct cultural expressions—from Bretonian Round Table equality to Sahilian sacred generosity—but all answer to the same call: expansion of order, protection of the vulnerable, and dedication to ideals that transcend personal gain.
Their gathering place, Kerre Karadel, stands as both fortress and symbol—a keep where knights train, scholars debate points of honor, and five orders coordinate their efforts. They await King Arthur's return from Avalon, working to make the world worthy of that return through deeds that prove chivalric ideals can thrive even in his absence.
Will you uphold justice when it costs you everything, or discover that righteousness can become its own form of tyranny?
The Four NPC Factions: Powers in the Shadows
These factions accept members, but their darker natures create complications that most dreamers wisely avoid. They are best understood as forces that shape Grimmloch's conflicts rather than homes for player characters—though those drawn to their particular visions may find both power and peril in their ranks.
The Kraken's Bounty united disparate sea-raiders under Captain-General El Cid, transforming scattered opportunists into a maritime power controlling trade routes through both commerce and calculated violence. They thrive in spaces of negotiation—black markets, toll points, anywhere deals define power.
The Golden Court serves the Brocade Queen's obsessive pursuit of perfection, where artists flourish in silk-draped chambers until their work displeases her and they fade to shadows. Beauty here is both magnificent and monstrous, demanding ever-narrower definitions of what deserves to exist.
Black Briar Abbey houses Father Ignatius Marel's Red Dawn—militant purifiers wielding fire and iron against anything their visions deem corrupt. They operate from profane boundaries where faith turned to ash, making them both protectors and persecutors depending on who defines righteousness.
The Nightmare Court manifests humanity's deepest fears under the Patchwork King, who rules decaying ruins where human ambition collapsed into Gothic horror. Destruction becomes creation in his vision, offering power to those willing to be remade through transformation that breaks before it rebuilds.
Each creates opportunities for adventure—as patrons, adversaries, or sources of profitable chaos. But their membership comes with costs that most dreamers recognize as too high.
Finding Your Path
Factions are invitations, not prisons. You begin somewhere that resonates with your spirit, but characters evolve through experience. A Dunraven warrior might tire of clan politics and join Ka Agorate expeditions seeking personal glory. An Aurelia Raed knight might lose faith in chivalric ideals and return to Aelfyn Sith's older truths. A Ka Agorate merchant might yearn for community and find it among Dunraven storytellers.
The most compelling stories emerge not from factional loyalty but from the tensions between different approaches to what matters: power versus right action, ancestral wisdom versus horizon-chasing, justice versus freedom, truth versus beauty. Where you begin shapes your perspective. Where you go defines your character.
The world is larger than any faction's vision. What will you become within it?