The factions summarised below are all active in contemporary Chak Hruun. Each exerts influence over an aspect of life or some of the people in the country, though some are more powerful than others.
Listed with each is at least one example of an NPC that players are likely to encounter when dealing with the faction.
The Asharch
The Asharch is one person: the religious and civic leader of Chak Hruun and the gnoll people. Their power and influence are also such that they embody the dominant political faction in the country and, indeed, the continent. The vast majority of other Ash Lords and Ashwalkers are loyal to the Asharch (openly, at least). Their power is protected by a special branch of the gnoll army known as the Ash Hounds, who act as personal guards of the Ashwalkers and as guards of the gnoll temples and civic buildings.
Ashwalker: Resistance 10; Difficulty 1; Ceremonial Dagger D4; Ash Bolt D6, Spread D4, Ranged
Ash Hound: Resistance 8; Armour 2, Assault; Glaive D6, Parrying.
Taur's Horns
Taurs Horns are members of a network of political cells spread throughout Chak Hruun and other major cities on the continent. Depending on the nature of the local cell, their activities range from political activism the championing the area's downtrodden, to violent action against those bringing harm to underrepresented races. They are particularly concerned with fighting for the rights of the non-gnoll Togi races of Chak Hruun, who they argue have been forced to assimilate to the gnoll way of life, despite all the races sharing an equal claim on their ancestral land.
Taur's Horn Agent: Resistance 6; Armour 1; Difficulty 1; Dagger D4; Silent Pistol D6, Ranged, Reload.
The Draconic Army
The Draconic Army is a highly trained, militant group sworn to bringing draconic rule to Hrashchar. They follow the mysterious figure, Nightshade, whose precise race and history are unknown as all of his public appearances see him hooded and masked. He is almost certainly a human or one of the Orkrell or Dwerrin races, but beyond that nothing is known. His lieutenant is the equally mysterious Silver Mask, who appears to be on the ground coordinating the group's recent attacks. Prior to their very recent proclamation of the Dragons' rule - and their violent actions to back it up - the group was seen as fringe radicals with small followings in Hruunchash, Vrast Peak and Glim Merrene.
Draconic militia: Resistance 10; Armour 1; Difficulty 1; Fire Sword D8, Brutal, Piercing; Dragon Fangs x8 D4, Ranged, Concealable
The Glim Merrene Delegation (GMD)
The Glim Merrene Delegation (GMD) is a multi-guild group representing the commercial interests of Glim Merrene (and, by extension, the Dwerring peoples) in Chak Hruun. The GMD is comprised of one delegate from each Guild, specially selected by the Guildmaster. Their roll is to work with Chak Hruun's political machinery to secure trade deals and rights to resources in Chak Hruun, which is a much larger, resource-rich land than the steppes of their homeland. The delegates are based in an embassy in Hruunchash, but minor associates of the GMD travel Chak Hruun, protected by the elite Dwerguard.
Some in Hrashchar, including some members of the Asharch's government, believe that the Asharch has given the GMD too much power over Hrashchar's resources.
GMD Associate: Resistance 6; Difficulty 2; Handaxe/Decorative Sword D6; Ornate Handgun D4, Ranged
Dwerguard: Resistance 8; Armour 2, Implacable; Difficulty 1; Arm Cannon D10, One-shot, Devastating; Arc Sabre, D8, Piercing
Embassy of Koshtonir & Gorokir (EKG)
The Embassy of Koshtonir & Gorokir is a sign of goodwill between the orcs of the west and the Asharch's government. They represent the interest of orcs and other citizens of Orkrellir who travel, work and live in Chak Hruun. From their embassy building in Hruunchash, the Koshton Ambassador and Gorok Ambassador meet with Hrashchar officials and the people that they represent.
There have been rumours circulating for some time that members of the embassy are heavily involved in black market trading of powerful Orkrell artefacts, arming mercenaries and criminal groups with ancient weaponry and valuables that cannot be acquired by legal means.
Orc Official: Resistance 6; Difficulty 1; Pulse Ring D4, Concealable, Point-blank
Black Market Dealer: Resistance 6; Armour 1; Unstable Energy Weapon D10, Ranged, Dangerous
The Urdan Family
The Urdans are Loxodons who moved to Hruunchash several generations ago and founded Urdan Harr, a shipping company which quickly grew to become the largest in Hruunchash thanks to the Urdan matriarch Yamaya Urdan's commitment to buliding ties with orcish merchants at the Harr Estuary and stone merchants from the Ashrakks. The Urdan's ambitious mission to connect east Chak Hruun with the Chavash Blue along the Harr earned them wealth and international trust and gave them a platform to expand into air and rail trade. They now run Southdock, the largest Harr River dock in Hruunchash, and can be relied upon to know anything and everything about goods passing through the city.
Urdan Security Guard: Resistance 8; Armour 2; Heavy Truncheon D8, Stunning; Orcish Arc Crossbow D6, Ranged, Stunning.
The Togi Conclave
Elders from non-gnoll Togi races formed the Togi Conclave to ensure that their peoples were represented fairly in the running of Chak Hruun. The Conclave is based in the Temple District to allow its members to oversee their religious duties alongside their civic responsibilities. Each beast race - loxodons, tabaxi, tritons, aarakocra and minotaurs - is represented by the high priest of their god's temple. Humans are also represented, but by the Hrashchar High Mage, which is a largely ceremonial position with limited influence outside of Hruunchash's human community. Rather than having their own security force like many other political groups, the Conclave took the decision to entrust their protection to the Hruunchash City Guard. In doing so, they created a space for non-gnoll officers to advance in a gnoll-dominated force. With the support of nearly all of Hruunchash's Togi people save the gnolls, many suspect that the Conclave is the only faction truly capable of disrupting the Asharch's rule should they seek to resist it, rather than cooperate.
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