Consortium
Table of Contents
Who We Are
Most members of the Consortium operate relatively independently, paying their dues to the faction in return for the support and funding to get themselves started. Their members tend to be merchants or tradespeople - though the vast majority of those who work their manufactories are not, in fact, members of the Consortium; merely sorry berks who needed a job.
Goods and services aren't all that the Consortium provide - they're beginning to muscle in on the entertainment scene too. With their airships, they are able to take groups of sods on 'sightseeing' trips around the planes, providing all the necessary food and sleeping arrangements whilst sailing the wider multiverse.
A word from your Factol...
Every day the Cage swells. Clueless Primes join the Children of the Planes in calling Sigil their home. For some, this is but a temporary decision - a holdover till they can find the correct portal to carry them forward. For others, this is their life now.
All these berks have one thing in common: they have needs. Be it food, entertainment or a place to stay; they need tending to. New settlers need furniture and supplies to set up their homes - not to mention the home itself.
Whilst a sod is here, they’re going to need diversions; they don’t call this the Cage for nothing. Increased numbers means increased demand. Increased demand means increased profits. That’s where we come in. No longer can even the most experienced of craftsmen keep up with the demand needed. Bespoke furniture has its place among collectors and the wealthiest of nobles, otherwise it is simply too inefficient to be tenable.
We Consortium are the solution. With our Manufactories and Airdocks, we can produce massive quantities of goods and materials in a fraction of the time. Cheap and efficient, we are helping to solve the Cage’s logistical struggles. Be it our Factory Cakes feeding the masses, our flat-boxed furniture kitting out new homes or Big Vat Beer giving folks a buzz after a hard day’s work.
We are the Answer to the Cage’s problems. Why not help us to help the Cage? You could be a Hero too, and make good coin whilst you’re at it.
A Trader's Journey (Money Speaks Loudest)
Joining the Consortium (their members known as the ‘Traders’) is easy enough to do, and requires only the signing of a surprisingly lax contract and handing over of a single gold piece to seal the deal. Pay your tax to the faction, and you’ll benefit from their hospitality and discounts, not least of which includes access to some pretty good (albeit pricey) legal advisers.
Each rank within the Consortium grants you access to a protected title. Anyone caught using a protected title who isn’t in the faction and of the appropriate rank is subject to a ‘visit’ from some enforcers. The Consortium are very protective of their titles.
Progression within the Consortium is done by buying your rank. It’s a rather straightforward affair, with a few added caveats.
Broker (Namer)
A single gold piece is all that is required to join the Traders proper, plus the promise to pay the requisite tax on any earnings. Namers within the Faction may use the title of Broker, though most instead merely refer to themselves as “Traders” [‘Broker’ is often just seen as pointless posturing -M].
Provisioner (Factotum)
Factotum may use the protected title of Provisioner. In order to reach this rank, one must first make a one-off payment of 250 gold pieces; and a further minimum payment of 5 gold pieces per month to maintain your rank (yes, demotion is very much a thing… they consider it an incentive to keep up payments).
Generally, you must have been a respected member of the Consortium for at least one month before being trusted with this rank, though additional bribes can waive this clause.
Bursar (Factor)
Factors may use the protected title of Bursar. Reaching this rank requires the payment of 5000 gold pieces (at least half of which must be paid in precious gemstones), and a minimum payment of 40 gold pieces per month to maintain your rank.
Generally, you must have been a well-respected member of the Consortium for at least one year before being trusted with this rank (again, further bribes can bypass this necessity)
Factol
To advance to Factol is easy enough in theory: one has to buy out the current Factol. That is, to offer them enough money (and/or incentive) to make them want to step down and cede the role to you.
Faction Mechanics & Character Options
Traders are raised to obey a number of principles in life, chief among them that 'actions speak, but coin speaks louder'. They are taught the art of negotiation and haggling, alongside a fair few skills of their own to complement their role within whatever business their parents run. Relying on none other than yourself is a guiding principle among certain families - that one must take and trade their own way in life without help from others.
If you are creating a character who has been a member of the Consortium for a while, you may pick one of the following three backgrounds at character creation. A list of suggested bonds within the faction and philosophical ideals is also presented below.
Backgrounds
Enforcers know how to get what they want through sheer strength or force of connections. Of the Traders, they are the most likely ones to break your legs should you renege on a deal. Most of these sods have been hanging around since the Fated days, biding their time till a better offer comes along.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set
- Languages: Any one
- Equipment: A set of fancy dice or deck of cards, a set of fine clothes, a bloodstained memento, a crowbar and a pouch containing 5 gp
Feature: Muscles Do the Talking
You may use Strength in place of Charisma when rolling an Intimidation check to extort information, goods or money from a target.
Of the Traders, Slides tend to be the most nimble and charismatic. They are excellent manipulators and barterers, knowing how best to convince a berk that they have what they need. Many act as pickpockets and thieves to supplement their income; after all nothing in their ethos says they can’t steal, so long as they pay the requisite tax on their “miscellaneous acquisitions”.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Deception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand or Stealth
- Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit, Thieves Tools
- Equipment: A tiny sketch of your next mark, a loaded coin, a set of fine clothes, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 5 gp
Feature: Captivating Spiel
You may use Charisma in place of Dexterity when rolling a Sleight of Hand check to lift an object from a living target that you are talking to. You may replace a taken object with something of similar size and shape at no extra difficulty.
Suits are the Traders who are in it purely for the jink - overseeing reams of berks who work under them for whatever pittance is thrown their way. They are smart and captivating, able to scheme for long-term coin and use their natural personality to pull it off. They have more of an eye for optimisation than their fellow Traders.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Deception, Investigation, Persuasion or History
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set
- Languages: Any one
- Equipment: A set of fancy dice or deck of cards, a set of fine clothes, a small magnifying glass, and a pouch containing 15 gp
Feature: Sound Logic
You're experienced at gaining access to people and places to get the information you need. Through a combination of fast-talking, determination, and official-looking documentation, you can usually gain access to a place or an individual related to a business deal you are persuing.
d4 | Faction Draw (Ideal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greed, needing money is just a fact of life. The more you have, the more prepared you are |
| 2 | Rags to Riches, I know what it’s like to go poor. Joining the Consortium helped me stand up on my own two feet |
| 3 | Simplicity, I’m here to be pointed at the people to beat up, then get paid. Consortium pays best |
| 4 | Inheritance, my family runs a business that got taken in by the Consortium. I’d never think of leaving it behind |
d4 | Faction Contact (Bonds) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Edbert, a dragonborn looking to repay a colossal debt |
| 2 | Jarl Swashbuckle, a dashing rogue who runs three enterprises (all of them are crime fronts) |
| 3 | Emmaline Smith, a merchant building her business to massive heights |
| 4 | Garruk, a simple tailor running a simple business with no suspicious side activities whatsoever... honest |
Faction Restriction
Members of the Consortium are bound to honour the coin.
Any deal made involving an exchange of coin is considered binding, and breaking such a deal can easily lead to expulsion.
Roleplaying a Trader
Style and Flair
In terms of Style and Flair, members of the Consortium tend to adopt their own logos and colour schemes to help identify their “brand” among the sea of competition.
Official faction colours are green and gold, which are often worked in to their designs and used as accent colours. The Faction symbol is a hand plucking a coin from an neat pile.
A "Good" Trader...
- Respects any deal sealed with coin.
- Does not break their word or a deal they have sealed with coin.
- Pays their taxes.
Faction Powers
As a member of the Consortium, you are entitled to take out the following items: Trader's Stone, Trader's Satchel and a Trader's Card Deck for free. There is a 20gp fee each for anything that needs replacing, or should you leave the faction however.
Operating these items requires the use of a Command Word, which you choose when you join the Traders (think of it like a passphrase). Good command word hygiene is strongly enforced within the Consortium - a minimum of three words and one number is suggested.
Members of Sigil know not to doubt a Provisioner when they offer a deal, especially where money is concerned. Rarely will anyone who lives in the Cage doubt your word when a promise of goods or coin is involved. Of course, this works two ways - break this implicit trust and you will almost certainly be reported and written up by your faction.
Once per long rest, or by using Inspiration, you may requisition data from the Consortium Archives. Immediately after making an Investigation or Survival roll to gather information on a person or place, or on making a History check, you may choose to ignore the result and reroll with advantage.
As a Bursar, you are eligible to trade in your Trader's Card Deck, Satchel and Stone for a Bursar's Card Deck, Satchel and Stone at no extra cost (replacements for each item if lost cost 200gp however).
Faction Armoury
Consortium Requisitions
The Consortium make a number of mass-produced magical items available to their members. Any registered member is entitled to take these out, provided they have the necessary Requisition power. Doing so is a relatively painless process, that requires the setting up of a command word and registering of your identity.
There is a 20gp penalty (not to mention reputational loss) if you need to replace one of your Trader's Items. A Bursar's item costs 500gp to replace, and often results in a temporary demotion or increased taxation.
| Name | Rarity | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Namer Requisitions | ||
| Trader's Card Deck | Common | Wondrous Item |
| Trader's Satchel | Common | Wondrous Item |
| Trader's Stone | Common | Wondrous Item |
| Factor Requisitions | ||
| Bursar's Card Deck | Uncommon | wondrous item |
| Bursar's Satchel | Uncommon | Wondrous Item |
| Bursar's Stone | Uncommon | Wondrous Item |
Trader's Card Deck
Wondrous Item, Common
This deck of cards is filled with simple business cards of your design. Once per long rest, you may speak your command word and draw a card. This card can be used only by the person you nominate when you draw it, and is used to cast a Sending spell with you as the target once, after which the card crumbles to dust.
You are considered familiar with any person in possession of one of your Trader’s cards for the purpose of spells and magical effects.
Only a member of the Consortium may use this item.
Trader's Satchel
Wondrous Item, Common
This satchel permits access to a shared extradimensional space, filled with all the supplies a burgeoning merchant could ever want. This extradimensional space can hold both Calligrapher’s Supplies and a Forgery Kit, and you may use an action to magically produce pre-written and signature-ready contracts at your request, covering common contractual needs. Nothing may be placed into the bag beyond Calligrapher’s Supplies and a Forgery Kit.
Failure to speak the command word as you open this satchel causes the bag to appear empty.
Should you lose your Satchel, or it be destroyed, you can recover your assets within from Lost and Found at Consortium Headquarters.
Only a member of the Consortium may use this item.
Trader's Stone
Wondrous Item, Common
This polished rock is shaped like an octahedron, and swirling patterns can be seen through its translucent shell. By speaking your command word you can then send a message of up to 25 words to any other member of the Traders that you are familiar with and who has their own Trader’s Stone or Bursar’s Stone available. The stone must then wait one hour before being used again.
Only a member of the Consortium may use this item.
Bursar's Card Deck
wondrous item, Uncommon
This deck of cards is filled with extravagant business cards of your design. By spending an action, you may speak your command word and draw a card. This card can be used by anybody to cast a Sending spell with you as the target once, after which the card crumbles to dust.
You are considered familiar with any person in possession of one of your Bursar’s cards for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Furthermore, anyone in possession of one of your Bursar’s Cards has disadvantage on saving throws against scrying spells and similar divinations cast by you.
Only a Factor (Bursar) of the Consortium may use this item.
Bursar's Satchel
Wondrous Item, Uncommon
This satchel permits access to a shared extradimensional space, filled with all the supplies a burgeoning merchant could ever want. This extradimensional space can hold both Calligrapher’s Supplies and a Forgery Kit, and you may use an action to magically produce pre-written and signature-ready contracts at your request, covering common contractual needs. You may store up to 10 scrolls and 10,000 gold pieces worth of currency and nonmagical gems in this bag.
Failure to speak the command word as you open this satchel causes the bag to appear empty.
Should you lose your Bursar’s Satchel, or it be destroyed, you can recover your assets within from Lost and Found at Consortium Headquarters.
Only a Factor (Bursar) of the Consortium may use this item.
Bursar's Stone
Wondrous Item, Uncommon
This polished rock is shaped like a dodecahedron, and dazzling patterns can be seen through its translucent shell. By speaking your command word you can establish a two-way telepathic communication with any other member of the Traders that you are familiar with and who has their own Trader’s Stone or Bursar’s Stone available. The stone must then wait one hour before being used again. Using the stone a second time within this time-frame causes it to irreparably break immediately after sending the message.
You may instead use the Stone to send a message of up to 25 words to any other member of the Traders that you are familiar with and who has their own Trader’s Stone or Bursar’s Stone available. There is no limit to how often you may do this.
Only a Factor (Bursar) of the Consortium may use this item.
The Chant
History
The Consortium are one of the older factions in the Cage, though have had a considerable rebrand in that time. To see how they came to be where they are now, one must first understand the two factions from which they trace their roots: the Godsmen and the Fated.
These two factions could not have been more opposed in their day: the Fated stood for money and power. Might was a measure of power and a berk’s worth - if you could take it, you deserved it. “The Multiverse belongs to those who seize it”, as they’d say.
The Godsmen, on the other hand, believed that all of existence was a series of trials - that the multiverse was a forge that shaped the lives of those who lived, each trial and tribulation another blow from the blacksmith’s hammer.
The point that drove these two unlikely factions together came with the collapse of both factions for entirely unrelated reasons.
History of the Fated - Blood Money
The Fated were a faction that went back a long time, and in the lead up to the Second Upheaval were enjoying a great period of advancement and rising power. Duke Rowan, the then Factol, managed to double the city’s tax intake overnight when he first assumed his position - despite not actually raising them at all. He had great command over his fellow members, and instilled in them a greater sense of warped honour and belief in the coin during his reign.
That reign, however, did not last long. Little more than a year after assuming his position, he met an untimely demise in what is now an oft-brushed-over part of Sigil's history. A team of adventurers needed access to his vault for the lich’s phylactery he was hoarding in it. He refused them, so those berks orchestrated a heist to take it anyway.
It was not a smooth operation. Duke Rowan died in the process (to his own traps no less), and a new Factol stepped in to fill his shoes.
On an unrelated matter, the Second Upheaval followed shortly after. The Fated were in a pretty good position to weather the storm, and used their untold wealth to shield themselves from the carnage. They were mostly unaffected by the events, save losing their headquarters to a colossal riot. Instead they steered events from the shadows, throwing their enemies against each other in place of themselves.
History of the Godsmen - Coin Forges
The Godsmen were a somewhat newer faction than the Fated, and boasted a much more spiritual ethos that built upon a strong sense of community. They were born from a society of bashers who liked to sit around and ponder the meaning of the multiverse. Pretentious toffs to some; eminent philosophers to others. Their driving philosophy was one of reincarnation and that the multiverse was but one great big forge: hammering a basher into shape till they reached godhood. They were huge into the notion of past lives, philosophy, and hard labour.
Quite fittingly for a faction obsessed with reincarnation, the Believers of the Source underwent a good number of fads and vogues along their way. Hoarding knowledge was a fad for their early days, then resonance theory took over for a bit. However, it was the biggest (and final) movement within them that interests us and their role within the Consortium - craftsmanship.
See, the Believers of the Source were privy to the Great Foundry within Sigil. They were responsible for churning out just about every manner of crafted good one could need, from building materials, to crockery, to fine apparatus. They believed that hard toil was but one of the many challenges to be met along their way, and that work and craft went a long way to honing a berks mind, body and soul.
With time, technology advanced and the ability to make products began to get cheaper and easier, and thus more accessible. Not everyone liked this tradeoff, and a growing divide emerged - mass production versus bespoke craftsmanship. The heads of the Godsmen themselves were pretty quick to stamp out those looking to use the latest means of mass production to make a profit… but it was too late. Enough sods had gotten the idea into their heads and staged a coup - killing the Factol and replacing them with a new one.
A Joining of Minds
The actual extinction of the Godsmen happened that very night, at the height of the faction's internal struggles. The new Factol revealed themselves to be an Anarchist all along, claiming the faction for the criminals and immediately rebranding it.
Members of the faction began to split, the more philosophically minded gravitating towards other factions that aligned with their beliefs - the Athar were a popular one, as were the Ciphers and the Sensates.
But working the forges for so long had changed the very notions of faith in the heads of most members. Too many were left wondering who would bring crafted goods to Sigil; after all, someone had to bring tools to the masses. A large amount of ex-Godsmen gathered, determined to rescue the scraps of their faction by rebranding and focusing on their role as providers and enablers for the wider community. They ended up being taken in by the Fated.
A Rebrand
Ever since the Second Upheaval, public opinion has been massively against the Fated. Their hoarding and manoeuvring during the time of despair had made them public enemy number one.
The arrival of this crowd of remnants from the Godsmen brought a brutal merchant called Brum Stonewarder. In no time at all, he led a small cabal of nobles to publicly execute the then-Factol and rebrand the faction from the ground up. By promising to work more with the communities and public of Sigil, this merchant managed to salvage what was left of the Fated as something new: the Consortium.
Airships
Since the old headquarters of the Fated had been all but razed and rendered uninhabitable in the Second Upheaval, the Consortium were without an official place to call their own for quite some time. They used Brum's sizeable house for a time, but even *he* had to admit they needed somewhere bigger.
Fortunately, had was in luck, having just come into possession of a new tract of land and an abandoned nautiloid, a brilliant idea came into his mind:
Airships.
The actual construction of the Airdocks took years of hard labour (overseen by the Consortium, executed by someone else). With their completion however, the Consortium had a new headquarters. From here, they could import huge amounts of merchandise into the Cage; helping to feed and clothe the booming populace to as much as the poor sods could afford.
The Faction boomed in popularity, wealth and influence as a result. Soon enough, they were back to their usual internal struggles and assassinations; with the role of Factol changing hands, and business settling into to a much more profitable normal.
References & Inspiration
- Mimir's Fated - General inspiration