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Parent Pages: Factions : Monsters For Hire
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Monsters For Hire
Monsters For Hire, commonly referred to as the M.F.H., is an adventuring company that's a rival to the League of Adventurers.
They differ from the League in a few important ways.
First, they do not take Humans or Demihumans (Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes and Halflings) as members, with the exceptions of ostracized (like Drow Elves and Were-Creatures), sylvan (like Forest Gnomes, Swanmays and Wood Elves) and Faerie (Brownies, Pixies, Sprites, etc.) races.
Second, they aren't at all picky about the races of their clients. The League can be a little racist, refusing decent jobs, just because they come from a member of a “Monster” race. For example, M.F.H. often gets jobs to remove unintelligent/ravening monsters that have encroached on the turf of an intelligent monster. The League usually refuses such jobs without a second thought (more accurately, the monster comes into the office and is driven out by the guards and/or office staff, all before getting a chance to say what they want).
Third, the M.F.H. has a huge chip on it's shoulder about Monster Rights. They believe in equal rights for all sentient beings. The M.F.H. are currently running a propaganda campaign against the League over this, accusing the League of being thoroughly racist in every way. This is, of course, a bit of an exaggeration.
Fourth, the M.F.H. has lower prices, by as much as 50%, depending on the job.
Membership
Membership in the M.F.H. is roughly the same as that of the League, but there are few famous groups. Most of the members are also Mercenaries.
Groups
Leadership
The M.F.H. was started by a Faerie Elf named Ellindriel. She saw an inequality in the treatment of “Monsters” and saw an opportunity to make a profit the League was simply stepping over out of arrogance.
She has a number of Lieutenants that oversee the day-to-day operations, while she focuses on the big picture.
Jobs
Most jobs the M.F.H. gets come from traditional “Monster” races. Kobolds are among the most frequent clients, due to their small size and a desire to keep others off their turf.
Oddly enough, dragons are also frequent clients, mostly due to laziness and a similar desire to keep others off their turf. In one case, the dragon had a noise complaint about a group of Gnomes using explosives to clear a forest (trying to eat them had failed, due to automatic weaponry).
What's Really Happening?
Ellindriel is a Spirit Sprite that long ago discovered the true nature of the Archipelago, mostly because she's existed longer than it has. When the Black Crown drew portions of the Prime Material Plane into the demi-plane, she resisted the spell he used to wipe the memory of the event from the minds of those within, by transforming into a stone for the duration of the spell. She naturally began seeking answers and found them. She knows what the Black Crown is up to and realizes that the League has played right into his hand.
She seeks to overturn the League's dominance over Adventuring, taking a tool for producing powerful heroic souls out of the Black Crown's hands. Her current plan is to highlight every single racist slight the League makes, no matter how small, pointing out the accepting nature of the M.F.H.
Any group within the M.F.H. that attains a power level sufficient to peak the Black Crown's interest is encouraged and even sometimes handsomely paid to retire. In one extreme case, she had the group assassinated, because they refused to retire.
So far, she's managed to form a company capable of rivaling the League, but has yet to achieve the necessary fame to usurp it's position. To that end, she's starting to send her best groups on missions with wide-reaching political ramifications, for the sake of fame alone. Doing “impossible” missions has netted the League quite a lot of fame. She wants a piece of that pie and if possible the whole pie.
She's also considering lifting the ban on Human and Demihuman members, because the ban has been making the M.F.H. look just a racist as the League. This would require changing the name of the company, but she hasn't yet found an alternative as catchy as Monster For Hire.
