John Compton Developer |
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The faction system is primarily an extension of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign, and by extension it is primarily a tool for the PCs. A safe operating assumption is that NPC venture-captains do not belong to any of the factions or effectively belong to the Grand Lodge faction (i.e. the "Pathfinders first and Pathfinders second" faction).
Urath DM |
There is the "Faction Guide" which extends the concept of factions to home play. In that, the Pathfinders are just one single Faction, while other groups (Aspis Consortium, Whispering Way, various churches, etc.) are others.
They use the same mechanics as PFS, but are not part of organized play.
There are also various Faction-lite organizations in Inner Sea Magic (Guilds, Schools), Inner Sea Combat (Gladiator Arenas, Martial Academies), and Occult Mysteries (Secret Societies) that use a modified version of the same mechanics.
I find the Faction Guide and related materials useful for letting the PCs participate in factional politics in my home games without worrying about the PFS factions.