The members of Fortune's Favor are apart of the mercantile ruler class of the cities of the Qarth Trade Federation. If there is coin to be made, then you can guarantee that Fortune's Favor has a part in it. Likewise, anything and everything is sold by the faction and nothing is considered illegal or taboo as long as you have enough coin to spend. Many join in the hopes of obtaining a piece of the lavish wealth that is coveted by its members. However, there wouldn't be hoards of treasure to be jealous of if everyone had it, and so only a select few ever actually obtain any significant level of wealth while being apart of the faction. Those who do join are brought together by a similar belief that morals are a waste of time and the only thing that matters is how much coin you have in your pocket. It's all about the survival of the fittest and those who get taken advantage of or ripped off deserved it for not being smart or savvy enough to hold onto their money. Those who make it to the highest ranks of the faction take these beliefs to the extreme and will do anything for even the smallest amount of profit.

While the existence of this faction is known publicly, as they are the rulers of the region after all, the identities of those who lead the faction remain a closely guarded secret even amongst the members of the faction. Known only by their codenames, the six ruling merchants of the faction, known collectively as The Authority, have strict control over any and all business that occurs under their jurisdiction. As no one knows their true identity, the region is filled with the whispers of outlandish rumors pertaining to how each merchant leader has lived hundreds of years and amassed great amounts of wealth and power to the point that they have become transcended beings with the power of a Lesser God. In actuality, the leaders are deliberately kept anonymous from the public in order to mask the frequent changes in power that commonly occur within a group that fosters the development of selfish, ruthless, and conniving individuals.

Amongst the members of The Authority, there are strict rules, called the Edicts, on behavior regarding the interactions between individual members. No single member is to take any negative action towards another or their business dealings without the express consent of the other members. The consequences for interfering without consent is dire and usually involves replacing the merchant who is at fault. Besides misplaced greed, occasionally a merchant leader may be assassinated and replaced by one of their underlings. This, however, poses no problems amongst the other merchants for if the previous member was careless enough to have their identity discovered then they clearly weren't shrewd or conniving enough to hold the position to begin with.

Goals

The goal of Fortune's Favor is quite simple, to amass as much wealth as possible through any means necessary. To achieve this goal, the members of Fortune's Favor often find themselves on both sides of the same conflict. In fact, this is often the preferred outcome as it allows for them to ensure that they always come out on the winning side, while making double the profits of course.

Besides wealth, Fortune's Favor also strives to be the most extensive network of markets and merchants in all of Gaia. Anything and everything is bought or sold in the region and if there is anything that cannot be found in their markets, then The Authority will relentlessly pursue the item until it is available to them and their customers.

Lastly, the members of The Authority want to keep their identities hidden. The anonymity not only allows for the spread of the monolithic rumors about them, but also serves as a shield to protect themselves from any customers who might not have had as great of a deal as they were led to believe. It is hard to stab someone in the back when you do not know who they are.

Relationship

Fortune's Favor has a working relationship with both Turia and Ostanza and trades often with both empires. Through the clever dealings of members of The Authority, this relationship is quite delicate and could unravel any moment.

Outside of Caldron, Fortune's Favor has an extensive network of merchants and traders that they deal with on every continent of Gaia. Some continents have more extensive networks than others, but they are constantly trying to expand and extend their reach further. Most of their troubles internationally come from their biggest rivals, the groups called the Clasp and the Myriad, who are also in the similar business of providing goods and services to those who can pay and, as such, do not appreciate the added competition.

Figures of Interest

The Accountant

The Accountant is in charge of the books of the Authority, and keeps a constant eye on the incoming and outgoing flows of money. They are responsible for setting the tax rate, ensuring that no one skimps out on their payments, and lining the pockets of the other Authority members. Controlling the funds of the Federation means controlling an immense amount of power, and so the Account is an ever-sought after position that is constantly being threatened and changed. Regardless, of how you feel about the Authority, if you need to get something done, the Accountant is your only bet.

The Procurer

The Procurer has one job and one job only: to retrieve things for those that query for them. If they agree to find and item for a client, they will stop at nothing to complete their contract. The procurer also abides to the strict letter of the contracts and will neither over nor under deliver. Making deals with the Procurer to find a specific item is a sure thing as they must carry a 100% success rate with their contracts. However, if the client does not deliver on their side of the bargain, then they ruthlessly seek revenge until they feel satisfied that their debt has been paid. Sometimes that involves death, but not always.

The Bookkeeper

The Bookkeeper works very closely with the Accountant and is the master of gambling in the Federation. Any form of gambling, no matter how small, must go through the proper channels, all of which lead to them. If you are even suspected of cheating this system, you are as good as dead. Being that gambling is a very large part of the Qarthian economy, the Bookkeeper controls a large chunk of the flow of the money into and out of the Federation. If there is money on the line, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Bookkeeper is involved.

The Pharmacist

The Pharmacist is in charge of the incantation and potion trade in Qarth. They are responsible for commissioning and controlling the many medical and magical experiments that happen throughout the Federation, and are intimately bound to the results they generate. While not necessarily caring too much about items per say, the Pharmacist spends most of their effort and energy pooling great talent together and funding these experiments on behalf of the Authority.

The Madame

The Madame is the master of flesh both literally and figuratively. They are responsible for organizing the buying and selling of slaves as well as maintaining and running the brothels and pleasure palaces scattered throughout the region. Their main place of business is the slave market of Qarth as the slave industry is a little more tumultuous than the sex industry and thus requires a tighter grip to run smoothly. There are many rumors on who the Madame really is; some say they are a short, fat, old man while others claim that they are a tall and beautiful young woman. In actuality, they are all correct, but also couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is that not even The Madame remembers their true identity as they have been wearing so many others for so long. If you need someone trafficked, or a promiscuous partner for the evening, the Madame and her regime have you covered.

Dulgar Boldergut a.k.a. The Junker

(Chaotic Evil, Male Dwarf)

Dulgar is a survivor. Growing up incredibly poor and destitute, Dulgar had to use his "creative thinking" to build a life for himself out of nothing. He would scavenge through trash heaps and scrap for anything that he could hobble together and transform into something useful. Soon, Dulgar was able to build and collect most of his necessities from bits and pieces that other people had just simply discarded. However, life in Rizzozan is not quite that simple or forgiving. Dulgar also had to deal with the Ravagers - an extremely mutated and violent group of humanoids that raid the nearby area and then return to their homes in the mostly uninhabitable mountains to the west - who would tare through the hovels that people like Dulgar called their homes and take anything of value. For years Dulgar and the other citizens of Rizzozan had to deal with the constant threat of raids from The Ravagers until one day Dulgar had an idea, one that might just be crazy enough to work.

Dulgar noticed that The Ravagers weren't the brightest group; when they raided they only took things that looked nice (usually the trinkets the people created to sell at the local markets for money) and left things of actual value behind (like food or water) which led to increased frequency in their raids. He felt that the only way to reach an understanding with these types of people was through actions and not diplomatic means. So after the next raid conducted by the Ravagers, Dulgar followed them until they made camp at night. He planned to do to them what they had been doing to him for so long. When everyone was asleep, he ran in screaming with a maul and started to raid their tents one at a time and bludgeon anyone within. Of course, he only got about 2 tents in before he was quickly overwhelmed and surrounded, but instead of killing him on the spot, they laughed. Laughed at the sheer madness of his actions to be one man and to try to raid a camp full of dozens of them - and they loved him for it. For the rest of the evening he ate and drank with The Ravagers and learned that they weren't so different after all. They too were just trying to survive the best they could given the scraps they could find. During that meeting, the first of many Dulgar and The Ravagers would soon be having, both parties made an agreement. The Ravagers would stop raiding Rizzozan and instead start working only with Dulgar. Any scrap The Ravagers found would be brought to Rizzozan where Dulgar and his people would recycle it into raw materials to be sold for profit. In return, The Ravagers would be given the supplies their people needed. Where The Ravagers got their scrap from was no concern to Dulgar as long as it wasn't from Rizzozan he was fine with it. Upon returning to Rizzozan with The Ravagers, Dulgar quickly became the leader of the scavengers he has lived beside for so long.

Soon the amount of raw material Dulgar was producing with the help of The Ravagers caught the eye of the members of The Authority. Dealing with junk was a dirty business, but they also couldn't deny the economic impact Dulgar was having by himself and could only image the amount of gold he could achieve if he had access to their full network. And so, Dulgar was brought into the fold. He joined The Authority as The Junker (the first new merchant position to be added to The Authority in over 100 years) in order to continue to grow his scrap empire as he has become intoxicated with a standard of living he could never dream of previously. However, since he is the only person that The Ravagers will deal with, he is also the only known public face of The Authority. A weakness that the other members are eager to fix as soon as they find someone else The Ravagers can tolerate.