Monster Descriptions

There are a lot of things I want to improve on as a Facilitator. Most I will improve by doing them over and over again. I've only been running games for about 5 years, so I have a lot of improving to do. One of the things on my to-improve list is describing things. I have aphantasia, which complicates my ability to describe how things appear. This gets compounded because I know the names of all the things my players encounter, and so the temptation to refer to things solely by their name is strong. 

Fortunately, practice makes permanent. My bestiary stands at around 150 creatures, and I aim to write a short description of one monster a day until I run out of monsters. Since my players read this, I'll leave the names off, and it might be fun if readers left a suggestion or a guess.

Black ink drools from the top of the frog's head into the marsh. The toddler-sized frog hides in the reeds at the marsh's edge, waiting for its toxin to wend through the water.

Joining a Faction

Institutional support can be invaluable for new (and impoverished) adventurers. For example, in Alexis' Juvenis campaign, it is because we are acting as representatives of Stavanger that our current cave exploration has gone as smoothly as it has.

Players new to games that require a lot of logistical considerations (food tracking, encumbrance, etc.) often are overwhelmed with the responsibility of handling all of this on top of the more "normal" player responsibilities. In-game institutions can provide scaffolding for these players, providing support that diminishes as players become better at playing the game.

In Prodigy, I call these types of institutions "factions" since there are always several in an area, each vying for power. As part of character creation, players can choose a faction appropriate to their trade (class), joining that faction and gaining additional proficiency in a faction-specific skill.

Faction	Trades Offered	Skill	Goal
Abigail's Steadfast	Provisioner; Soldier	Thaumaturge (Azintheen)	Protect the vulnerable
Adept's College	Researcher	Any Mental	Study everything
Areinian Constabulary	Provisioner; Soldier	Orator	Keep the peace and their money
Avondown Associates	Soldier; Thief	Leader	Destroy the Tarluskani regime
Brass Orchids	Artist; Bard; Thief	Combatant (Dextrous)	Assassinate the Tarluskani leadership
Catacombs Machimoi	Ognemuo, Soldier	Athlete	Defend the Catacombs
Facetakers	Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief	Wildcrafter	Become a wild animal
Hunting Brigade	Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier	Pathfinder	Hunt the best prey
Jungle Explorers' Guild	Bard; Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier;	Orator	Bring back the best story
Knights of St. Valorie	Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier	Thaumaturge (Azintheen)	Restore the Church of the Azintheen
Minstrels' Guild	Artist; Bard	Artist (any)	Advance the state of Art
Night Consortium	Provisioner; Soldier; Thief	Grokist	Find money
Nithya Jongleurs	Bard; Thief	Pickpocket	Stun the crowd. Leave town
Nithya Sanraksaka	Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief	Combatant (Dextrous)	Protect the Nithya and  Saharjin
Order of St. Lussier	Provisioner; Researcher	Chemist	Heal the sick and wounded
Pirate Sovereigns of Korg	Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief	Sailor	Sail the seas and get plunder
Revelers of Kwerris the Fool	Bard; Soldier; Thief	Thaumaturge (Fiaja)	Get mystically drunk, then break things
Sojourners	Hinterlander	Scholar	Travel the world
Tarluskani Military	Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier	Leader	Conquer the world
University of Reyjadin	Researcher	Thaumaturge (Fiaja)	Advance military science
Yanera Custodes	Thief	Grokist	Manipulate as ordered
Yanera Guerreros	Hinterlander; Soldier	Athlete	Protect the Ten Tribes

Faction membership is only limited by geography (most factions exist only in specific areas of the world), culture (some factions only admit members from their associated culture) and trade.


To spell out the obvious, factions provide a number of built-in services for characters: they offer employment, training, lodging and food, and (perhaps most importantly) a default goal. As I've run games, I've noticed that my players are often hesitant to define their own goals, to set their own agenda. I've found that offering some vague direction, like the goals listed above, helps players develop their agency. Having multiple characters from the same faction provides an initial consensus that helps players get moving.

The above is not new or revolutionary information. Moving forward on this, I want to further develop how players can join factions after character creation as well as better outline how a faction's presence in an area manifests - how many personnel, distributed how, pursuing what goals.