Fated

"They call us the Takers. But we do not take, we earn."

--Factol Rowan Darkwood of the Fated

Also known as:

Takers, the Heartless, Coldbloods

Factol: Duke Rowan Darkwood

Home Field: Ysgard

Sigil HQ: Hall of Records (Clerk’s Ward)

Allies: Free League, Mercykillers (loosely)

Enemies: Harmonium

Philosophy

Lofty philosophy has no place in The Multiverse, so say the Fated. The rules of the game are plain and simple: The Multiverse belongs to those who can hold it. It takes hard work and dedication and there is no one to blame for failure but yourself. Everyone starts out the same here, with the same potential for greatness. What separates the weak from the strong is their willingness to succeed. Nothing is gained for free in The Multiverse.

Everyone has to work to hold on to what they have or to earn something else. Look at the petitioners, they must serve their power to earn their great reward of oneness with the plane. Look at even the powers, they must work to keep their worshippers happy else they end up bobbing through the astral. Some people accuse us of having no compassion, but that's just a whiner's excuse for being too lazy to meet our expectations. We have compassion, but only for those who have earned it.

Despite what people may think, there is more to the Fated than money and power. There are a great many things that can't be bought or gained through the point of a sword. Respect for one. Happiness for another. The first you must earn from the people, the second you must make for yourself. And those trials are as hard as any other in The Multiverse. Something, somewhere, blessed you with life. The Fated only demand that you do something with your time here.

Influence

Many residents of the plane of Ysgard subscribe to the Fated's philosophy on life. In Ysgard, one must work hard for life's bountiful rewards, and the Fated point to that plane as proof that while their attitude is tough, it is not cruel or evil. In Sigil, the Fated headquarters is the massive Hall of Records, where every event and every transaction is recorded. Nevermind that all this information gives the Fated enormous leverage throughout the city. They earned it, after all.

Politics

The Free League, with their staunch views of personal liberty and responsibility, often find themselves in agreement with the Takers. The two factions have been known to be strong allies on occasions, except when Fated tax collectors take a bit too much of their hard-earned cash. The Mercykillers also find themselves in agreement with the Fated's attitudes on compassion and mercy, but are angered by examples of Fated stepping over the lines of the law as long as they feel they are powerful enough to do so. The Harmonium views the Fated as grasping and dangerous, a threat to peace and stability. Therefore, the two factions may often be considered enemies.

Eligibility

This faction is generally open to any class or race, but those of a lawful good alignment find themselves unable to accept the Fated's lack of charity. For this reason, those of such a charitable attitude often steer clear of the Takers.

Alignment

Sods of lawful good alignment can’t join the Fated, but those of chaotic or neutral tendencies might find the group particularly attractive. The very nature of the Heartless leans toward a selfish, mercenary outlook, but it’s not without focus or purpose. Alignment often outlines just how ruthless a Taker’ll be to get what he wants. A few chaotic evil berks might run around hashing and bobbing other folks, but most’re sharp enough to realize it’s safer to simply take advantage of their prey. Chaotics of other bents would twist the laws to their favour as long as such action wouldn’t result in evil – and might even contribute to the greater good, as in the case of a Taker who forecloses on a tavern known for its murderous clientele. Even those who tend toward goodness still push their way through The Multiverse, but they take pains to avoid bringing harm to others.

Class

Paladins, being lawful good, are naturally excluded from the Fated. Likewise, priests whose powers advocate the disposal of all worldly possessions can’t join unless they surrender their faith. Rogues, of course, are naturals. This isn’t to say that other classes don’t fit in; indeed, any cutter with a love of jink or the desire to control others usually finds the faction tempting. It all depends what a body wants out of The Multiverse. A brutish warrior whose only goal is to rack up piles of treasure and magical items might find himself in league with a genius level wizard looking to earn respect as the greatest spellcaster of his plane. Both know what they want and both go after it.

Race

Any and all races are accepted as long as all other prerequisites are met.

Benefits/Penalties

The Fated are extremely resourceful and self-reliant. They stress the importance of all skills and a broad base of knowledge and talent. As such, all skills may be considered class skills to a member of the Fated, except those skills which are exclusive to a class. Members of the Fated never have to pay a cross-class price for a skill rank. (Note this is NOT currently implemented in SPL.)

However, the price of this attitude is that a Fated may never do anything out of charity. Everything they do has a price, and everything they receive must be earned in some capacity. A Fated factioneer will never accept reward or payment until the task he has been requested to do is completed to satisfaction. Needless to say, this makes rogues rare among the Fated, though some Fated rogues work as spies or thieves-for-hire, since a clear duty is being requested of them for reward. In addition, the Fated never rely on luck of any sort. According to their philosophy, there is no luck, only skill. Fated factioneers refuse to rely on magic items or effects that would allow them to reroll or redo actions due to some manifestation of luck. The only second chances are those earned.

Sigil - Planar Legends:
Members of the Fated can cast Identify 1/day.

The Fated Membership

Many folks in Sigil think the Fated's just a bunch of cross-trading berks looking to cheat a sod out of his last copper piece. But the Fated‘s actually an ideal faction for primes new to the Cage, many of whom have spent their lives on the Prime Material Plane amassing jink and power. It’s also a good choice for experienced cutters, those who’ve had a chance to explore a hit of The Multiverse and develop a sense of how they’d like to shape their destinies.

All beings – save those who’re lawful good – are allowed to join the Fated. Initiation takes place weekly at the Rowan Academy of Training; potential recruits are culled from the faction’s exhaustive records of past applicants and brought in for interviews and testing. The first set of tests resemble university entrance exams, designed to measure a berk’s intelligence. If the recruit passes he goes on to the physical tests – after all, a Taker’s got to have the muscle to go out and grab his due.

If the recruit passes both the mental and physical exams, the faction arranges a final test to see if the basher’s really Taker material. At some point in the near future, the recruit stumbles into a situation where he has a chance to make off with a special prize: a bag of jink, a magical item etc. However, the trap’s set up such the recruit realizes that he doesn’t have to do a thing to claim the prize – it’s just there for the asking. If the recruit takes the bait, he’s denied entrance into the faction. Members of fated claim only what they’ve rightfully earned; they don’t give or take anything for free.