Cliques in the party: how do you feel?

Context:

In our current Mage (nwod) chronicle, the proto-cabal (PCs have not ritually cemented their connection to each other yet) is split into two distinct sub-groups, roughly equal in size to each other. With approx 9-11 players a session sat around the table, the two cliques are decent-sized. The first clique comprise an enterprising, cunning and mercurial set of mages who are in the process of cultivating a sleeper cult to provide them greater financial means and city influence. The second clique comprise scholary, introspective and knowledge-hoarding mages who have started to build a library and lab and have created some cool imbued items, found tomes with powerful shielding rotes in them and have made spirit connects. The two cliques are very much at odds and the PCs have fought several times, twice the confrotations have turned violent and both sides suffered serious Lethal damage as a result. No-one has outright died yet. The split started because of disagreements in medium-long term focus as you might be able to tell from the descriptions above. The individual members differ in EXP levels though both cliques are roughly equal in mechanical power. This chronicle has run for several months now so the most experienced PCs really have put their blood, sweat and tears into their progression and lead/guide their cliques with this in-mind. All of this is, of course, seperate individual differences such as order affiliations, paths, arcana choices and so on. Having witnessed the growth and change of the PCs and their respective cliques, it's fascinsting how political the game has become, both IC and to an extent OOC too. This is all on their own too -- I tend to let the players do as they will in my settings and loosely couple elements together via just plain consequences and provide structure through archplots than get nitty gritty with everything they do. The approach been very well received.

So yeah, what do you think of cliques in your games? Done anything similar? On purpose or did it just happened organically as at my club.

Quote from: PrometheanVigil;859416All of this is, of course, seperate individual differences such as order affiliations, paths, arcana choices and so on.

Which orders are the players and how does that play out? Are both cliques made out of two orders? Or do the cliques overrule the orders?

I honestly always have problems with the factions in nwod. Multiple faction parties are always difficult for me to wrap my head around, because they all bring different (and often conflicting) views to the table. I rather have no factions, or only one faction or multiple factions as long as they are all non-ideological.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;859419Which orders are the players and how does that play out? Are both cliques made out of two orders? Or do the cliques overrule the orders?

I honestly always have problems with the factions in nwod. Multiple faction parties are always difficult for me to wrap my head around, because they all bring different (and often conflicting) views to the table. I rather have no factions, or only one faction or multiple factions as long as they are all non-ideological.

As the setting's main city (Los Angeles) is heavily Unaligned (that is, politically independent from the Orders), it's at the moment a roughly 60/40 split, Unaligned versus Order, group makeup. We have PC members of the Adamantium Arrow (mysto-warrior monks), The Silver Ladder (self-styled magi aristocracy) and The Mysterium (zealous knowledge seekers and keepers). The first clique contains SL, AA and UNG PCs, the second just MS and UNG. Rather awesomely, most of the PCs actively put their Order or the Consilium (which is totally Unaligned) ahead of their companions and the rest kinda sit on the fence. Their loyalties haven't *really* been tested yet (life, status and property haven't been on the line so far) but events are starting to conspire the change that now.

Yes ot makes sense to do it like that. The Silver Ladder are the powermongers of mage and the Ad. Arrow usually back them up. The Mysterium is all about collecting tomes and artefacts.

I don't know. There is not a lot of love to the WoD on this forum. When someone brings it up, people usually start complaining about the metaplot (which is totally oWoD and people seem to hate it here) and not a lot of people played the nWoD (I think no one really cares about it on this forum).

I still feel a little conflicted on the nWoD. For exactly this reason. I love factions in rpg's, but I somehow don't care much for the nWoD factions. I feel they always behave in a very predictable way. Whatever the subject you can guess what they are going to say. For example political change: SiLa (No way, we do it for centuries this way and it works fine), Mys ( Don't care, as long as we can collect stuff and study it), AdAr (We just do what we are told. Defense needs hierarchy), FrCo (We need to be progressive. Change is a must) and GuaVei (Whatever works best for our agency to keep things out of sight).

I never really liked this, because it feels very stereotypical to me.

And without the rich and detailed background of the older settings to focus on, the new settings feel like they are entirely focused on these kinds of politics.