Revision 5

Overview

The Beggars' Alliance is a faction made up of vagrants in Hernand. These are not career criminals but troubled citizens who were driven to the streets by regional chaos and hardship. The alliance is a fragile community of desperate individuals who survive by helping one another, pooling meager resources and sharing what little they have. The constant threat, though, is the temptation toward crime; when you have nothing, the line between survival and criminality gets thin.

As a faction in the game's open world, the Beggars' Alliance holds territory, can be blockaded by hostile forces, and provides quests to players who engage with them. Their storylines likely explore themes of poverty, desperation, and the moral gray areas that come with surviving on the margins of society.

Details

History and Lore

The Beggars' Alliance formed out of necessity rather than ideology. Hernand's political instability, noble house conflicts, and the general turmoil affecting Pywel have displaced many ordinary people. Farmers who lost their land, merchants who were ruined by guild politics, and refugees from border conflicts all ended up on the streets of Hernand's settlements. With nowhere else to turn, they banded together.

The alliance is not a formal organization with a charter or hierarchy. It is a survival network. Members share information about where to find food, which areas are safe to sleep in, and how to avoid the attention of hostile factions or city guards. Some members have specific skills, including former soldiers, out-of-work craftsmen, and people who know the city's hidden passages and back alleys.

The biggest internal tension is moral. Many alliance members want to stay honest, but desperation pushes some toward theft, smuggling, or worse. Whether the alliance holds together as a mutual aid network or slides into organized crime may depend on how events unfold and what choices the player makes.

Occupied Locations

The Beggars' Alliance controls several locations on the margins of Hernand's settlements.

Notable Members and Connections

The Beggars' Alliance does not have well-documented named leadership. The community is loosely organized, with influence determined by seniority, practical skills, and the trust of fellow members rather than formal titles.

The Scrapfold has a connection to the Greymanes through their investigator Marius, who appears at the camp during the quest "Return of the Comrade." This suggests that the Greymanes maintain contact with the Beggars' Alliance, possibly using the community's street-level knowledge for intelligence gathering.

Related Quests

Quests tied to the Beggars' Alliance center on survival, community defense, and the moral choices that come with poverty.

Additional quest themes are likely to include:

• Defending alliance territory from hostile factions or criminal groups

• Helping residents acquire food, supplies, or safe shelter

• Decisions about whether to support honest survival or criminal activity within the alliance

• Assisting the swordsman at Hovels Swordhall with training or protecting his students

Hovels Swordhall

One of the more unusual locations within the Beggars' Alliance territory is the Hovels Swordhall, a training hall run by a strict swordsman who chose to set up in the slums. Rather than training wealthy nobles or aspiring knights, this master teaches blade work to the poor. He cares for the local residents and sees swordsmanship as a path toward self-sufficiency and dignity. His disciples either leave the slums as full-fledged swordsmen, carrying their skills into the world, or remain at the Swordhall to train the next generation and uphold their master's legacy.

Tips

• The Beggars' Alliance may offer morally complex quests with choices that affect the faction's direction. Pay attention to dialogue options.

• Hovels Swordhall might offer combat training or skill improvements tied to melee weapons.

• The alliance's street-level connections could provide useful intelligence about other factions, hidden passages, or black market opportunities.

• If alliance territory is blockaded, liberating it should restore NPC services and open up faction quests.