Expanding Iomandra: Factions

One of the great things about Iomandra is that there are a lot of threads to pull from for a great campaign. One of these is the amount of factions in the world, be it merchants, arcane, or imperial.

The Shan Qabal, for example, was one of the main ones in Chris Perkins’s game, as they are in mine. Right now they are the main antagonists for the PCs, as one of them was part of a Shan Qabal experiment as a child (a thread from the Perkins campaign). But I want the world to feel big and alive, and that means expanding all the other factions I want to introduce in my game, but more importantly, seeing how they fit together with my original overarching backstory about the Emperor claiming to be a son of Io.

I’ve gone ahead and expanded a bunch of other factions found in the fan-made document. Here they are:

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Shan Qabal

The Shan Qabal is the Dragovar Empire’s elite arcane order — a powerful and secretive cabal of wizards, researchers, and magical engineers who operate within the Empire’s Arcane caste. The Shan Qabal is officially tasked with advancing the Empire’s mastery over all forms of magic, though its loyalties and priorities are often split between imperial service, internal ambition, and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge. The sect’s current leader is a venerable dragonborn arch-wizard named Lenkhor Krige. He reports to Grand Vizier Turazad, one of the Emperor’s key advisors in Io’calioth, and has powerful allies within the divine and arcane castes.

In recent years, the Shan Qabal has focused substantial resources on the Harnessing Project — a state-backed initiative to weaponize raw elemental energy from the Inner Planes. Though the Emperor’s ambitions are often spoken of in terms of national security or expansion, many within the Qabal view the elemental research as a dangerous gamble with uncertain consequences.

The elemental program is overseen by Hahrzan, a high-ranking and enigmatic dragonborn magister who coordinates key operations across the archipelago — including the secret foundry on Zonjar, managed by the industrious and divisive Iojad.

This is the first time the Shan Qabal has attempted mass production of magically powered vehicles and weapons, and internal tensions are high. Some see it as the dawning of a new age of arcane innovation. Others whisper that the Foundry has already claimed lives, and that the elemental cores being created are inherently unstable — or even sentient.

The Shan Qabal maintains a cautious and watchful neutrality toward Emperor Azunkhan IX’s recent divine claims. While publicly loyal to the crown, the Qabal is notoriously slow to adopt theological shifts — especially those that could grant sweeping new authority to the Emperor outside of the traditional priesthood.

Some magisters quietly debate the authenticity of his “lineage from Io”, considering it a possible political maneuver or even a magical delusion. Others believe the claim could destabilize the Council of Viziers, upset the balance between Tiamat and Bahamut temples, or lead to reckless theological experiments akin to divine apotheosis.

In private, high-ranking Shan Qabal agents are believed to be monitoring the Emperor closely, including any rituals or relics that might substantiate his claim. If evidence emerges that Azunkhan IX truly possesses divine heritage—or if he seeks to enact policies rooted in his claim—the Qabal may be forced to act: either in quiet support, subtle sabotage, or outright exodus.

The Shan Qabal’s current loyalty to the Dragovar throne is functional, not fanatical. They serve the Empire so long as it serves magic, stability, and the arcane ascendancy. Should the Emperor’s divine ambitions threaten any of those, the Qabal may withdraw its support — or worse.

Winterleaf Coster

 The Winterleaf Coster benefits enormously from the current imperial structure and has no desire to see instability disrupt its shipbuilding monopolies. Torel Winterleaf is cautious; although he has deep ties to the Dragovar throne, he is wary of the emperor’s increasingly divine rhetoric. Behind closed doors, Winterleaf agents are quietly searching for the Tear themselves—not to give it to the emperor, but to keep it from him if necessary.

The Shan Qabal’s rumored forays into building a fleet of warships powered and armed with elemental magic are also concerning to Winterleaf. The Coster built its fortune on a dwindling commodity—timber—and their lucrative contracts rely on the continued need for traditional hulls and sails. Winterleaf, has taken personal interest in the rumors and installed a trusted elven mage among the Qabal’s junior apprentices. Through her, he hopes to stay ahead of the research, if not co-opt it outright. The Coster has quietly begun subsidizing “guest” researchers and offering generous bounties for any notes or designs leaked from the project. If the future of ships is fire and air, then Winterleaf intends to shape that future before it burns their legacy to ash.

“A god-emperor has no need for contracts.” —Torel Winterleaf, to his inner circle.

Ironstar Cartel
The Ironstar Cartel views the Emperor’s claim as a political gambit and potential smokescreen. The Dwarven shipbuilders from Gar Morra have little reverence for dragonkind and scoff at stories of divine bloodlines. If the Emperor fails to prove his claim, it weakens the Dragovar’s hold—something the Ironstars can exploit. They’re subtly funding dissent and positioning their ironclads as the future of the fleet, ready to swoop in when the old order falters.

The Cartel views the Shar Qabal’s rumored elemental project as both a threat and a challenge. From the volcanic forges of Gar Morra, the Ironstars have pushed iron-hulled prototypes for decades, hoping to prove dwarven industry superior to elven elegance. Now, with whispers of airships and storm-sailed war frigates, they see a chance to leapfrog ahead—if they can understand the Qabal’s methods. Ironstar spies pose as dockworkers and scribes in Io’calioth, gathering every scrap of technical jargon and magical residue they can find. Rumor holds they’ve already bound a fire elemental into a prototype vessel called Ashwake, though its stability is suspect. The Cartel’s engineers believe they can replicate the Qabal’s results not through arcana alone, but through the precise fury of dwarven artifice.

“While they pray to their ancestors, we build the future.” —Jarnak Ironstar, Cartel shipwright.

Nerathi Consortium

The Nerathi Consortium sees the Emperor’s divine claim as dangerous and delusional. With Myrthon sympathies quietly running through its leadership, the Consortium is likely funneling gold, magic, and intelligence to factions hoping to destabilize the Dragovar Empire. Vincent van Hyden plays the role of a loyal merchant in public, but privately he believes that if the Tear is real, it must never be found—or it must be destroyed.

Van Hyden has heard the same rumors of an elemental fleet, and wants the entire endeavor buried, fearing what a fleet of elemental dreadnaughts would mean for imperial expansion. Van Hyden has chosen to not go to his leadership with this information, choosing to keep it close to the vest instead. He has trusted agents working not to steal the Qabal’s secrets, but to disrupt them—fomenting unrest, leaking rumors, and in some cases, quietly eliminating researchers whose brilliance threatens to tip the balance. 

“The worst tyrant is one who believes the gods themselves crowned him.” —Vincent van Hyden, in a letter to Myrthon agents.

Deeplanter Guild Though known more for salvaging wrecks and plundering the silent halls of drowned cities, the Deeplantern Guild has recently turned its gaze to matters far more mythic. Whispers of Io’s Tear—a relic of divine origin lost to time and tide—have begun to circulate among the Guild’s upper ranks, not as idle legend, but as a legitimate lead. For a guild accustomed to unearthing relics beneath leagues of saltwater and stone, a divine gem sealed in an imperial vault is just another job… albeit one of unprecedented risk and reward.

Some say the Emperor himself has quietly reached out to the Deeplanterns, commissioning their best navigators and deep-seekers to search for ancient sea charts, crumbled ruins, or half-forgotten routes that might lead to the Tear’s resting place. Others claim the Guild has been independently pursuing the artifact for years, having uncovered scraps of information about a “Vault of Tears” in the sunken archives of a fallen Dragovar city. Either way, they are uniquely suited to the task: their magics allow long-term underwater expeditions, and their freedom from political oversight gives them room to maneuver where imperial agents cannot.

Guild crews have already begun combing sections of the Dragon Sea’s southern trench, following rumors of a forgotten citadel swallowed by the sea after the fall of Arkhosia. Deep-crew divers speak of strange glyphs and sealed vault doors carved with draconic weeping eyes, untouched for centuries. Others have gone north, chasing tales of a hidden island that surfaces only under certain lunar alignments, where a shrine to Io may yet remain.

The Deeplanterns are not idealists—they keep what they find, and they protect their secrets well. But their oath to “deal honestly and maintain an adventurous spirit” has made them allies to many and enemies to some. If the Tear exists, the Guild wants to find it—not just for coin, but for the legend itself. To be the crew that brought Io’s Tear back from the depths would seal their place in history.

Of course, not every member of the Guild agrees on what should be done with such a relic. Some might hand it to the Emperor. Others might sell it to the highest bidder. And a rare few might want to see it destroyed, believing some things should stay buried beneath the waves.

The guild is led by a dwarf named Arkyn Tavor. He’s a former Dragovar naval officer turned deep-sea salvager, who founded the Deeplantern Guild after recovering a sunken skyship thought lost for a century. Arkyn is stern but fair, with a sharp sense for leadership and legacy. Where others see sunken ruins and forgotten empires, he sees maps, vaults, and purpose.

The dwarf has made it his mission to recover the knowledge and relics swallowed by the Dragon Sea—not just for profit, but to piece together a true history of the world before the Empire buried it in propaganda.

Though he keeps his cards close, Arkyn has quietly directed resources toward locating the Imperial Vault rumored to contain Io’s Tear. He’s not interested in validating the emperor’s divine claims—he wants the truth. And if the relic proves dangerous, he’ll see it sealed forever beneath the waves where it belongs. But if it’s real, and can be controlled, it might be the most powerful leverage in Iomandra.

Arkyn’s navigator is the charming, clever, and impulsively brave half-elf, Orson Jaro.  He is Arkyn’s opposite in every way—and that’s why they work. Once a chart-runner for a long forgotten sea king, Orson turned his talents to exploration and quickly rose through the Deeplantern ranks. He’s beloved among the crews for his humor and uncanny ability to “feel” lost places, as if the sea speaks to him. 

The dwarf shared rumors of Io’s Tear with Orson, and together, they’re steering the Deeplantern Guild toward one of the greatest discoveries in history… or its doom. Whether they retrieve Io’s Tear for the Empire, keep it from their grasp, or awaken something that should have remained lost, they’ll dive deeper than anyone else dares.

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