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Factions
March 20, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Initial version with all confirmed factions from the game
The continent of Pywel is home to over 110 distinct factions recorded in the in-game Knowledge Library. These factions range from powerful noble houses and military organizations to mercenary bands, outlaw groups, merchant guilds, academic institutions, and religious orders. Each faction controls territory, offers quests, and reacts to the player's actions across the open world.
Pearl Abyss has described the faction system as comparable to the side content in The Witcher 3: factions serve as significant actors in the world and provide substantial quest content for players to engage with. While factions shape which areas are accessible, which NPCs are friendly, and what services are available, they do not alter the main story or its ending. The developer stated: "They're not like the factions seen in, say, Fallout. Whether as allies or potential enemies, neither will affect the main story or ending."
Factions are spread across the five main regions of Pywel: Hernand, Pailune, Demeniss, Delesyia, and the Crimson Desert. The player interacts with factions through quests, the Contribution system, and the liberation mechanic that allows occupied settlements to be freed from hostile control.
Two rival mercenary bands drive the central conflict of Crimson Desert's narrative. Their struggle for survival and dominance across Pywel forms the backbone of the main storyline.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Mercenary band | Warriors who safeguard Pailune. People of diverse backgrounds and abilities have gathered as if by fate, taking on dangerous tasks others dare not accept. The Greymanes are the player's faction, led by Kliff. After being ambushed and scattered by the Black Bears, the Greymanes regroup in the Hernand region and establish a camp that expands over the course of the game. Key members include Oongka, Yann, Naira, and numerous other comrades who can be reunited through faction quests. The Greymanes maintain a commission board where members like Carl, Ronnie, Ross, Tranan, Brice, Ronald, and Pierce post individual requests. | |
Hostile mercenary band | A hostile faction led by the formidable Myurdin. The Black Bears are the sworn enemies of the Greymanes and dealt Kliff a devastating defeat early in the game, forcing the Greymanes out of Pailune. The enmity between the two groups, and especially between Kliff and Myurdin, is one of the core conflict threads that runs throughout the story. |
The Duchy of Hernand is governed by a hierarchy of noble houses, each holding a distinct rank and fulfilling a specific role within the duchy's political structure. These houses oversee diplomacy, defense, commerce, and regional governance.
House | Rank | Description |
|---|---|---|
Ducal house | The ducal house that governs Hernand. Distant descendants of the wandering knight Canta, they bear the heavy responsibility of defending the duchy and protecting its people. House Celeste handles diplomacy while House Serkis manages internal affairs. They provide bounty notice quests targeting specific individuals such as Jeffrey, Simon de Montfort, Alessio, Blix, Bianca, Salvatore, Warren, and Billy. | |
House Serkis | Marquis house | The marquis' house of Hernand. Since the founding of Hernand, they have served as the right hand of House Celeste, managing internal affairs while Celeste focused on diplomacy. |
House Lanford | Marquis house | The marquis' house of Calphade. For generations, they have overseen the defense and governance of the Calphade region bordering Pailune on behalf of the Duchy of Hernand. |
House Grace | Count's house | The count's house of Hernand. A venerable family of southern Hernand, they are known for their keen interest in technology and their generous support of the Emberwind Workshop's hot-cloudcarts. |
Count's house | The count's house of Hernand. A long-established merchant family, they rank among the wealthiest in Hernand. House Roberts provides quests including "Estate in Dismay," "Continuing Concern," and "Boulder from the Sky." | |
House Felix | Count's house | The count's house of Hernand. Often overshadowed by House Roberts in wealth and scale, and by House Serkis in reputation, they are seen as lagging behind other noble families. |
House Alfonso | Noble house | Renowned as a prestigious lineage of spearmasters, they preserve a family manual said to compile techniques refined by successive heads of the house. |
Beyond the noble houses, Hernand and the wider continent host several independent organizations that wield significant influence through commerce, knowledge, and community.
Organization | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Merchant guild | The largest merchant guild in Hernand, run by goblins. Their influence stretches beyond Hernand across all of Pywel. The guild is led by Kailok the Hornsplitter, whose personal greed has created cascading impacts throughout the region. The Goldleaf Merchant Guild offers faction quests including "Extinguishing the Last Flames." | |
Academic institution | An academic institution founded by troll scholars. Dedicated to studying knowledge of all things in the world, it has recently intensified its research into the Abyss, focusing on uncovering and interpreting ancient lore. The character Alustin has ties to the institute, sending urgent pleas to investigate dark emanations sensed at the Scholastone. | |
Vellua Fishermen's Guild | Trade guild | Based in a seaside village in southern Hernand. Thanks to bountiful waters teeming with fish, fishermen have long flocked here, keeping the town vibrant and full of life. |
Village community | A village hidden deep within the forest, shielded from the outside world. The Pororin Forest Guardians manage forest-related quests including "Trembling Woods" and "Pororin Research Institute." | |
Kharonso Troll Alliance | Racial alliance | A troll village hidden behind the northwestern mountain range of Hernand. The trolls maintain their own society separate from human settlements. |
Beggars' Alliance | Vagrant community | A group of vagrants in Hernand. The many troubles afflicting Hernand have driven countless people into the streets, where wanderers and refugees have formed a fragile community. |
Emberwind Workshop | Engineering workshop | A workshop in southern Hernand responsible for building and maintaining the hot-cloudcarts, a form of transportation supported by House Grace's generous funding. |
Religion plays a notable role in the social fabric of Pywel. The dominant faith revolves around Solumen, the god of light, while a darker counter-religion operates in the shadows.
Order | Alignment | Description |
|---|---|---|
Church of Solumen | Benevolent | A religion of Pywel that worships Solumen, the god of light. It holds the strongest influence in southern Pywel. The phrase "May Solumen's blessing guide you" is a common greeting among the faithful. |
Hernandian Parish of Solumen | Benevolent | The Hernand parish of the Solumen Order. This local chapter administers the faith's activities within the Duchy of Hernand. |
Antumbra Order | Hostile | A dark religion that profanes light and life. Its followers believe in a wicked faith that worships darkness through human sacrifice. The Antumbra Order is involved in succession and sanctum-related conflicts within the story. |
Numerous hostile factions threaten the peace across Pywel. These groups occupy settlements, create blockades, and ambush travelers. Players can engage them through combat to liberate occupied areas, earn Contribution, and restore order to the regions they control.
Faction | Description |
|---|---|
Hornsplitter's Guards | The personal guard of Kailok the Hornsplitter, the leader of the Goldleaf Merchant Guild. They enforce Kailok's will and protect his interests across Hernand. |
Bleed Bandits | An armed faction that has plunged Hernand into fear. Their influence spread all across Hernand with alarming speed. They can be found infesting locations such as Cairn House north of Three Saints Falls. |
Wolf Trackers | A roaming band that scours Pywel in search of prey. The Wolf Trackers create blockades that restrict access to certain regions, indicated on the HUD as "Blockaded" markers. |
Southern Bandits | Bandits who threaten the southern reaches of Pywel. They mainly target merchants and travelers, ambushing and plundering them along trade routes. |
Reed Devil | A faction based in the reed fields. These bandits are known as the demons of the reed fields and control territory in marshy areas. |
Fundamentalist Goblins | A band of goblin scholars scarcely different from common thieves. Despite their academic pretensions, they resort to banditry and intimidation. |
St. Halssius's House of Healing | A House of Healing once dedicated to treating mental illness. Its original purpose has been corrupted, turning it into a hostile faction. |
Several additional groups play roles in specific questlines and regions across the game.
Group | Description |
|---|---|
Pailune Militia | A militia force operating in the Pailune region. They are involved in succession-related conflicts and defend the homeland alongside the Greymanes. |
Witches | A mysterious group associated with arcane knowledge. Players encounter them through "The Witch of Wisdom" quest, which leads to the discovery of a hidden witch's house. |
Each faction has a standing that reflects the player's relationship with it. Standing progresses from hostile (War) through Neutral and eventually to Alliance. Completing quests, assisting faction members, and performing positive actions for a group increases standing. Criminal behavior and hostile acts decrease it.
Reaching Alliance status with a faction unlocks several benefits. Allied faction troops may appear to assist the player during ambushes in the open world. New vendors become available, additional quests open up, and previously restricted resource nodes become accessible.
The Contribution system is directly tied to faction reputation. Each region tracks a Contribution metric (such as "Hernandian Contribution") that rises or falls based on the player's actions. Positive actions like completing quests, paying alms, and helping NPCs increase Contribution. Criminal activities reduce it, with penalties ranging from -5 for minor offenses to -30 for serious crimes.
Low Contribution in a region can restrict NPC interactions and limit access to certain towns or services. Accumulating criminal offenses triggers bounties that make guards hostile. Wanted status persists until the player is arrested or clears the bounty.
Throughout the open world, hostile factions occupy settlements, outposts, and strongholds. The player can liberate these locations by defeating the occupying forces and their leaders. Successfully liberating an area causes visible changes: residents return, structures are rebuilt, new vendors set up shop, and materials for rebuilding Pailune become available.
Hostile factions restrict access to certain parts of the map through blockades. The HUD shows indicators such as "Blockaded" alongside the name of the controlling faction. These blockades must be cleared through combat to gain access to the blocked region and its resources.
From the Greymane Camp, players can send comrades to blockaded locations to reduce enemy occupants while the player is in a different region. This system allows players to weaken hostile positions before engaging them directly.
Each faction provides its own set of side quests that appear throughout the game. Faction quests are non-missable and can be revisited across chapters. The table below summarizes the confirmed faction quest chains.
Faction | Quest Chain | Notable Quests |
|---|---|---|
Scattered Embers | Record of the Greymanes, The Greymanes' New Fangs, Strongbox with Wheels, Brightening the Spirits, Chance to Make a Fortune | |
Grounds of the Sunrise | Embers of Return, Reuniting with Comrades, For a Better Tomorrow | |
Bounty Notices | Bounties targeting Jeffrey, Simon de Montfort, Alessio, Blix, Bianca, Salvatore, Warren, and Billy | |
Estate Questline | Estate in Dismay, Continuing Concern, Boulder from the Sky | |
Guild Quests | Extinguishing the Last Flames | |
Forest Quests | Trembling Woods, Pororin Research Institute |
The factions of Pywel reflect the diversity of the continent's inhabitants. Multiple sentient species coexist across the world, and many factions are organized along racial lines.
Race | Associated Factions |
|---|---|
Humans | Noble houses (Celeste, Serkis, Lanford, Grace, Roberts, Felix, Alfonso), the Greymanes, the Black Bears, the Bleed Bandits, most hostile factions |
Goblins | Goldleaf Merchant Guild, Fundamentalist Goblins |
Trolls | Scholastone Institute, Kharonso Troll Alliance |
Check the Knowledge Library regularly to track which of the 110 factions you have discovered.
Focus on improving Contribution in the Hernand region early on, as many faction quest chains unlock based on your standing.
Liberating occupied settlements provides materials for rebuilding Pailune, which in turn opens new faction interactions.
Use the Dispatch system from the Greymane Camp to weaken hostile faction blockades before engaging them in person.
Faction quests are non-missable, so there is no pressure to complete them in a specific order. They remain available across all chapters.
