Philosophy

All these factions, each one of them trying to tell a berk what to do, but none of them can prove that they are truly correct. Pike that, I'd rather figure out my own path and live my own life, instead playing by the tune of any faction line. Let's get one thing straight right away, sod. The Free League is not a faction, at least not in the typical sense. We're more a like-minded group of individualists who realize it occasionally benefits each one of us to act together.

We believe in keeping our options open. Until one of the factions can prove to me that they know the one and single Truth, then why would I put all my jink on one throw? It's not that we don't believe in anything, only a clueless is so stupid. We just all believe in our own thing and all keep our minds open; the one thing we do all agree on is that a body ought to be able to make his own choices and live his own life.

So nobody will tell us what to do, and we've formed a loose league to ensure our power in numbers. When you don't have a big and shiny faction to back you, you can feel like it's you against the world. But in the League, we watch each other's backs, so that no berk can steal our freedoms.

Influence

The Indeps have a great deal of influence on the Great Ring, especially towards the edges where the Gate Towns can be found. Here, an Indep can choose where to live and what kind of life he wants, and if he changes his mind, he can just move to another town. In Sigil, it's not surprising that the Free League has an unofficial headquarters in the Grand Bazaar. In the Bazaar, everyone looks out for themselves and just about anything goes, which matches the cosmopolitan and libertarian ideals of the Indepts just fine.

Politics

Most factions sneer at least a bit at the Free League, often seeing them as too cowardly to commit to a belief. However, most factions do take advantage of the Indeps' free-attitudes, hiring them on to do jobs where they don't want the faction to officially get its hands dirty. Only the Harmonium actively stands against the Free League, seeing their free-thinking and free-wheeling as a threat to harmony and peace.

Eligibility

Anyone who wants to be an Indep can be an Indep. Every attitude is welcome and one doesn't even need to meet anyone's approval to wear the badge of the Free League.

It’s hard to be an Indep. Truly independent Free Leaguers have no preconceptions, attitudes, or viewpoints that might cloud the truth of a matter. It’s not easy playing a character who has no biases, no prejudices, no leanings one way or another. An Indep might be suspicious, but not judgmental. He doesn’t believe that any one philosophy is the be-all and end-all of The Multiverse. To embrace one ideology denies independent thought, evaluation, and existence. Most Indeps, tolerant and open-minded, know how to get along with other factions. They make excellent party members, even though some other factions usually look on them with a skeptical eye, feeling that an indep’s pure neutrality makes him somewhat untrustworthy. But the Indeps’ simple attitude and forthright outlook can often act as buffers between less neutral faction members.

After all, a genuinely neutral party member shouldn’t take sides in any conflicts that arise between comrades, leaving him free to play the unbiased arbiter in disputes. Furthermore, he’s not likely to be swayed by the pleas or machinations of fellow PCs; the true Indep makes up his own mind on any given situation. Fact is, in parties made up of members from different factions, it‘s the Indep who often holds the group together. With members of the Fated, he’s quite cordial: Takers believe in looking out for themselves first and foremost, and Free Leaguers admire that independence. With all other factions save the Harmonium, an Indep’s absolutely neutral, the one who advocates a more standoffish approach in party disputes. ’Course, when a group contains both an Indep and a Hardhead, blows may result, but that makes for exciting role-playing.

Alignment

Most Indeps are neutral, though members of this faction can be of any. alignment. But what if a player opts for a Free Leaguer who isn’t neutral? Should a lawful good Indep help the world around him, while a chaotic evil Indep fosters the seeds of vile treachery everywhere? Not necessarily. Of all the factions, the Free League’s least swayed by the ideals of The Multiverse – or the alignment of its members. And those with strong tendencies toward good and evil tend to shun this faction, finding its unbiased premise disconcerting. Indeed, an Indep PC of any good or evil alignment won’t be as trusted by other Free Leaguers; he won’t have access to the faction’s underground network of information (see “Indep Membership,” below).

Race

The Free League’s open to any race, of course, but it’s worth noting that hybrid beings seem to prefer the League over other factions. Perhaps because of their dual nature, bariaur, satyrs, wemics, centaurs, and the like have a more neutrally balanced outlook on life, one that perfectly exemplifies the Indeps. The.“animal” in them seems more in tune with the natural rhythms of The Multiverse, more aware of the true balance of life.

Benefits/Penalties

Indeps are stubborn about their personal freedom and choice, and those trying to influence, control, or subvert the Indeps find it very difficult. Indeps receive a +2 to all Will savings throws as a result of their staunch independence. In addition, because the Grand Bazaar is dominated by Free League members, any Indep can buy goods at a 20% discount by working through sympathizers to the League.

Unfortunately, there is a price to pay in Sigil for thumbing one's nose at the factions. Without a factol, the Indeps have little voice in law-making during Hall of Speaker sessions. They also have no judges in the city courts and no representatives in most civil fields. Therefore, the Free League's members have few protected rights besides the ones they can fight for themselves.

Sigil - Planar Legends:
Members of the Free League can cast Protection from Alignment 1/day.

The Free League Membership

While the Free League’s a loosely based faction, it is a faction nonetheless. Indeps who choose to wear their badge proudly do so not to identify themselves, but to promote the ideas associated with the symbol – namely, acceptance, balance, and individuality. It’s also a signal to other Indeps that a potential ally’s nearby; Free Leaguers aren’t a close-knit group, but they do like to toss the chant around and look out for one another. The Free League’s likely to appeal to player characters of independent natures and those who are shy about espousing a particular philosophy.

Free Leaguers accept others for what they are, imposing no restrictions on members in terms of race, sex, alignment, or class. Anyone with an independent spirit and a questioning mind can join -just ask any Indep for admittance. He’ll throw out a few questions, lie: What do you believe in? (The answer’d better not be something concrete: if it is, the Free Leaguer steers the berk toward the appropriate faction.) What would you give up your independence for? (The answer’d better be a resounding ’Nothing!”) Then the candidate’s warned that, with no factol, the Free League has no representation – and few rights – in Sigil. If the berk‘s still willing to sign up, all that remains is buying a round of hot drinks for his new fellow Indeps.

Free League

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