Factions and Societies - Explorer's Guide to Wildemount

Factions and Societies. Inspired by the light of the Luxon, the Bright Queen and her court chart the destiny of a continent Queens, kings, emperors, nobles... beneath the rhetoric, it's all the same. They say they fight to protect your families. They say they fight to enforce your beliefs, your honor. Fight for a better tomorrow. Fight for virtue, for prosperity. Bottom line, it's all about fighting, and it's you that dies fighting for their cause. From the ashes of a land devastated by the Calamity grew the civilizations of a new age. The survivors claimed land across the continent, forged alliances, and made enemies as they fought for power and influence. Wildemount is shaped by the ideals and interests of its factions, from powerful governments to covert societies. This war-torn continent is a fertile landscape for adventurers on a quest for greatness. Dwendalian Empire The Dwendalian Empire has reigned over Western Wynandir for over twelve generations. Imperial rule is maintained through its powerful military, its policy of religious restriction, and the support of the secretive Cerberus Assembly. Though these institutions nominally exist to ensure the safety of the populace from foreign threats, terrible dangers that wander the wilds, and lingering evils that seep from the scars of the Calamity, they also allow the empire to maintain strict social order within its territories. King Bertrand Dwendal is now two months past his sixty-eighth birthday, and his iron will has not wavered with age. A tall, powerful man, King Dwendal rewards loyalty and swiftly punishes insolence and failure. His family has developed a totalitarian rule that reaps heavy taxes and looms over society with a military presence that only grows stronger with proximity to the capital city of Rexxentrum. While civic unrest does rise beyond mere mutterings from time to time, reminders of the dangerous creatures that live beyond the guarded borders of each city and the protections offered with...