Factions

Factions System

Introduction

The Faction System is a broad game system designed to promote organized player conflict within the society of Britannia. The fundamental goal of the conflict is to provide a foundation for player conflict based upon meaningful and contextual combat and conflict-related interactions. The system is designed to encourage the inclusion of a wide array of player types through the use of game mechanics that appeal to a broad set of play-styles.

The Factions

There are four factions:

Minax

Minax is one of the two "evil" aligned Factions. They follow the evil mage Minax, who is a great villain in the history of Sosaria. They are based in a mountain stronghold north of Destard.

Council of Mages

The Council of Mages is one of the two "hero" aligned Factions. They follow the teachings of Lord British. Their base is the Magincian Parliament Building, located in the City of Magincia.

True Britannians

The Council of Mages is one of the two "hero" aligned Factions. They follow the teachings of Lord British. Their base is Lord British's castle, in the city of Britain.

The Shadowlords

Minax is one of the two "evil" aligned Factions. This Faction worships the wraith-like, demonic entities known as Shadowlords. They are based in the crypts, east of Yew.

Joining a Faction

To join a faction, travel to the faction's base of operations and use the faction join stone, which is usually located at the faction base entrance. If you are a member of a guild, you may not join a faction yourself. Instead, the guild master must join that faction, causing all members of the guild to be enrolled in that faction.

The Faction Menu

To open the faction menu, say "[faction". Alternatively, you may double click the faction stone that is located somewhere inside the faction base.

The Town Menu

To open the town menu, say "[town". Alternatively, you may double click the town stone that is located somewhere inside the town.

Notoriety

As a faction member, you now highlight orange (default) to all members of the other three factions. You can be attacked, even while in town, and the guards will not protect you from the attacking enemy faction member.

Kill Points & Silver

Slaying enemy faction members will earn you kill points and some silver coins, while slaying enemy faction monsters will only garner some silver coins.

Faction Ethics

Upon joining a faction, you are automatically enrolled in the "Ethics" system. There are two Ethics factions: Hero and Evil. The True Britannians and The Council of Mages are Hero aligned. Minax and The Shadowlords are Evil aligned.

By defeating opposing ethics players you gain Life Force. You may also gain a small amount of Life Force by killing opposing faction creatures. You may use Life Force to cast special Hero/Evil abilities. Open the Ethics ability menu by saying "I invoke my good powers" (for heroes) or "I invoke my evil powers" (for evils).

The following abilities are available:

Hero and Evil Abilities:

Name	Hero/Evil	Mantra	Life Force	Description
Holy Item	Hero	Vidda K'balc	5	Makes one piece of equipment true white.
Detect Evil	Hero	Drewrok Velgo	1	Searches within a short range (proportional to your life force) for evil.
Summon Good Familiar	Hero	Trubechs Vingir	10	Summons a silver wolf pet.
Bless	Hero	Erstok Reyam	60	This will bless an item for 30 minutes.
Silver Steed	Hero	Trubechs Yeliab	30	Summons a silver steed.
Holy Shield	Hero	Erstok K'blac	40	Repels monsters for 1 hour.
Vile Item	Evil	Vidda K'balc	5	Makes one piece of equipment true black.
Detect Good	Evil	Drewrok Erstok	1	Searches within a short range (proportional to your life force) for good.
Summon Evil Familiar	Evil	Trubechs Vingir	10	Summons a dark wolf pet.
Bless	Evil	Velgo Reyam	60	This will bless an item for 30 minutes.
Dark Steed	Evil	Trubechs Teliab	30	Summons a dark steed.
Unholy Shield	Evil	Velgo K'balc	40	Repels monsters for 1 hour.

You may also cast the abilities by saying the mantra.

Some Useful Links

Original faction publish: https://uo.com/wiki/ultima-online-wiki/technical/previous-publishes/2000-2/2000-publish-08-5th-december/

Ethics overhaul publish: https://uo.com/wiki/ultima-online-wiki/technical/previous-publishes/2001-2/2001-publish-13-6-25th-october/