Suggested Faction: The Order of Knights Errant

Here's the rest of the write up. Should I revise this, add on a some meta-game material (how to use them as Villians, for example) or let it fall into the dust bin?

The Regulator's Guild:

Used to be, this was just a single person, the Guildmaster, usually found in the Minder's Guild, who offered slightly cheaper services for those in true need. The Sodkillers tolerated this competition because the Wanderers generally worked jobs that were considered fool's errands or too risky for the money offered, they never operated in Sigil, and (when somebody tried to object on philosophy grounds) because the Regulators only took jobs that veered towards justice of one sort or another.

The Guildmaster was in regular contact with members of the Order through various means, and recruited members for the purposes of the missions he, she, or it had arranged. The Guildmaster was usually a slightly risky job (although as much as you might think, because he was in theory a member of the Minder's Guild, and thus under the protection of the Sodkillers), and thus there was a regular turnover of Guildmasters throughout the history of the Wanderers.

This arrangement came to an end eighty years ago, with the invention of the Badges. The Guild was considered unnecessary for the purposes of the Order. The Regulator's Guild was due to be diminished in importance, until a minor Wanderer of unknown origins, Lawrence Michaels, asked for the Guildmaster's position. Michaels broke with the Minders Guild, and expanded into investigative services.

The Guild, today, is a true, if minor, political player: they offer protection services that are surprisingly low-priced; they operate in the Hive, helping police the worst of the worst; they act as investigators for hire; they still offer mercenary services, but of a different (and usually cheaper) sort than the Sodkillers. They also have a lot of information about various... interesting things, and have been hired by the oddest of organizations.

Goals:

If you are dealing with a Wanderer, you're either dealing with a Ronin (whose modus operandi are to wander around, doing good deeds as needed), or a member of the Regulator's Guild. Ronin usually don't care about politics, and have no discernible goals besides fighting the good fight, and maintaining the good name of the Order (and giving people interested in joining up directions to find Old Jenny's kip in Arborea, where there are people who will be more then happy to help you in your quest).

Members of the Regulator's Guild are slightly different. They tend to be much more politically aware, if only because they usually operate out of Sigil for hire, and thus are more likely to come into contact with political arguments of one sort or another. Their goals are usually fairly simple: Make sure the righteous are protected from evil; make sure no innocents are needlessly killed; make sure the job you were hired to do gets done; make sure that the wicked are punished, and the truly evil are killed, in roughly that order.

Politics:

The Ronin are not involved in planar politics all that much, except as a thorn in the side of various fiends (especially the Yugoloths).

The Regulator's Guild, on the other hand, have some complicated relations with the Factions and groups in Sigil.

The Corporations from the Upper Planes frequently subcontract out to the Guild when they need extra muscle or security. Most other kinds of Corporations (even some who hail from the Lower Planes) occasionally hire the Guild when they need short term security or extra muscle for legitimate (if not always exactly legal) jobs. The Guild, for its part, tends to view most Corporate jobs as things to do when you don't have anything more important to do; the prevailing view is that Corporations are a tool, one that can also be made into a mask for dark deeds.

The Police Force tends to view the Regulator's with strong distaste (thanks to the influence of the Hardhead members and the 'loths), but is not actually persecuting them; they are, after all, almost always on the right side of the Law; and when they aren't, they're usually on the right side of Justice, and willing to take the punishment for their crimes (those who aren't... well, let's just say that they almost never have a rose on their Badges, and leave it at that). The Guild, due its frequent dealings with the police in various capacities, is likely to react to the individual policeman, not the badge; truly corrupt policemen are viewed as problems to be overcome, while honest policemen are treated with politeness and respect.

The rest of the City government generally doesn't care that much for the Guild (they've been involved in some pretty spectacular property damage over the years), but not to the point of actually dislike (after all, said property damage was usually incurred in the process of preventing the deaths of large numbers of citizens). The Guild members usually have varying dealings with the government according to the corruption level of the individual and branch of City government.

Movers and Shakers:

The Wanderers can be roughly broken up into three sub-orders, classified by leader:

Lawrence Michaels:

The Guildmaster of the Regulator's Guild, Michaels is a cunning, clever, and above all dangerous being of unknown origins. He looks like a fit human male (although, given that he's been around more than two hundred years without aging a day, has never been known to sleep, and isn't undead, the assumption that he isn't in any way truly human is fairly common), with black hair and dark brown eyes. His demeanor is unfailingly polite and courteous, even when the guns come out.

Bill:

The most notable of the Ronin subgroup, and by most accounts the closest thing the Ronin have to a leader, Bill is rather tall, and even more subject to the Chaond's racial tendency to shift in appearance than is normal; his facial features have been known to change from day to day. His personality, on the other hand, is less variable then is typical for a Chaond, or for that matter, anybody who has spent a large amount of time in Limbo. He earns a decent living as a gambler, and tends to wait a while longer before taking action than most of his peers.

Old Jenny:

The closest thing the Order has to a Factol or a Sectol, Old Jenny is the leader of the Supporters, who are mainly responsible for the training of new members, and what support services the Order maintains (usually just equipment). "Old Jenny" is actually a nickname; her original name and history are unknown, as she was found by some Wanderers sixty years ago after being forcibly administered water from the Styx by person or persons unknown, and, other then an occasional vague hint, no information has been forthcoming. Jenny is middle aged (for an elf), and is the inventor of the Badges.

A Minor Item of Interest:

The Wanderers are right at the boundary between Faction and Sect; depending on how you define "Faction" and "Sect", they can be called a Faction, Sect, both (if your definitions are too loose), neither (if your definitions are too restrictive), or just bloody nuisances (if your operations have been foiled by their members too frequently).