This seemed an appropriate quick post for today: a sampling of prior Factions lore relating to the Harrowing, and other topics of general spookiness. Hextech Revolution Update 2: Opening Moves We meet the Lich Queen Nefara, because yordles can’t be…

Insert jokes, complaints, etc. here, because we are keeping with the fine Factions tradition of lateness. Though I had firmly intended to stick with the October 31 launch date plan, and put in about 20 hours of work this weekend…

Quests are subplots that are related to but separate from the main dispute of the arc. Factions pursue them in parallel with the arc’s main objective. They are meant to give meaning to week-by-week Balance of Power standings, and to…

Bandle City has won its first Factions victory in Arc IX: Divinity. A fuller arc completion post is forthcoming, after the rest of these posts are up. But I wanted to briefly note this to give Bandle City Summoners a…

Quests are subplots that are related to but separate from the main dispute of the arc. Factions pursue them in parallel with the arc’s main objective. They are meant to give meaning to week-by-week Balance of Power standings, and to…

Now that we’ve finished the Quest polls, it’s time to go back and do the card draws for each week of Quest checks for each faction. Quests are subplots that are related to but separate from the main dispute of…

Arc IX is set to begin next week. It will be a Harrowing-focused arc with a 1v1 format, designed to be as broadly accessible as we can make it. The victor of Divinity has not yet been announced, because, uh,…

Summoner PONCHOGRANDE has graciously taken the time to set up polls to decide which Quests your factions will pursue as we wrap up Divinity. The next step will be going back and rolling these Quest storylines using prior weeks’ Balance…

Parallel development is frequently an aid to efficiency. While I’m about to hop back to wrapping Divinity, I decided to take a few hours today to begin a discussion about Arc IX’s general contours. Forum thread: Arc IX First Pitch…

I’ve completed a draft of Arc VIII’s Quests for each faction. These will be the primary focus of the (rather rapid) arc wrap-up scheduled for this coming week. I’ve created a forum thread for discussion here. —CupcakeTrap

The tournament last weekend was the final scheduled event of Arc VIII: Divinity. However, match submissions will continue to be accepted until we formally close the arc. (And there are also several lore events to resolve; see below.) You’re welcome…

Factions Friday begins at 5:00 PM Pacific time today, September 2nd, in the year 26 CLE. Reddit Thread Boards Thread What’s Factions Friday? Factions Friday is a traditional event for welcoming new Factioners into their first matches, and generally facilitating…

This update covers the Week 12 Champion highlights, which were connected with the August 13-14 Featured Matches. Backstory A vision from the heart of the Maelstrom has shown Volibear, warrior-sage of the Ursine, that a conflict of mythical proportions will…

Factions Friday begins at 5:00 PM Pacific time today, August 19th, in the year 26 CLE. Reddit Thread Boards Thread Fwhat’s Faction’s Friday For? Factions Friday is a traditional event for welcoming new Factioners into their first matches, and generally…

Factions Friday begins at 5:00 PM Pacific time today, August 12th, in the year 26 CLE. Reddit Thread Boards Thread Fwhat’s Faction’s Friday For? Factions Friday is a traditional event for welcoming new Factioners into their first matches, and generally…

This week, each faction will have an opportunity to select a Champion for further story progression. This weekend’s Featured Matches (for which all are encouraged to sign up) will determine how that Champion’s story proceeds: for example, a 3-0 victory…

Stream: twitch.tv/LeagueFactions The tournament finals will conclude today, Sunday, 7 August of 26 CLE. Matches will be streamed on Twitch. This tournament will mark an important development in the story of the Divinity arc. The first match begins at 11:30…

I’ve taken a few hours to go through and update the arc page, mostly focusing on the “Lore” section. I’ve organized all the various lore entries from this arc in chronological order, and inserted short summaries of each. I hope…

Scandal at the Institute of War! High Councilor Vessaria Kolminye has confirmed that there has been “what appears to be an oversight, but will nonetheless be investigated fully”—something in the League’s Black Archives, dating back to the Rune Wars or…

Factions Friday begins at 5:00 PM Pacific time today, August 5th, in the year 26 CLE. Fwhat’s Faction’s Friday For? Factions Friday is a traditional event for welcoming new Factioners into their first matches, and generally facilitating pickup matches. It’s…

Lore written by CupcakeTrap (which is why it’s late) with extensive input from ShadowKnight1224 (which is why it’s not terrible) The following Champions were recruited in Week 8. The outcomes of their joining-stories will be written based on the Featured…

I’ve tallied the votes and rolled the dice, and the resolutions to the Week 7 Featured Match Lore Events have been added to the July 9-10 Featured Matches post. —CupcakeTrap

Why does Gragas, Esq. have mirrored sunglasses? Is this a pop culture reference I’m not missing? He’s wearing a three-piece. And he’s indoors. Anyway, setting that mystery aside, Gragas, Esq. has a rule clarification for us. Alliances Divinity is a…

Factions Friday is a weekly event aimed at getting Summoners who are new to Factions into their first matches. Secondarily, it’s intended to help facilitate match creation, by setting a day of the week when people can expect there to…

I’ve updated the July 9-10 FM post with lore event setups and votes. It’s a bit rough, because we’re still figuring out this World Systems thing and testing mechanics, but hopefully it’ll be an interesting interactive story event nonetheless. Voting…

I have tallied the votes, done the World Systems rolls, and completed the Week 6 Champion recruitment lore event. Enjoy! —CupcakeTrap

As we complete the World Systems rules that will give structure to the remainder of the arc, and translate match outcomes into story outcomes, I feel it’s an appropriate time to pause and review the themes that have emerged in…

“A general levy of all the clans? During peacetime?” Karma resisted the urge to smile. She did not particularly enjoy antagonizing Irelia, whom she counted a valuable asset. “During peacetime, yes. Or as I like to put it, before the…

I am pleased to announce that Summoner 1Girl3Balls, presumably an avid Syndra main, has taken on the role of regional administrator for Factions EUW for the Divinity arc. An initial Reddit recruitment thread has been posted. EUW Summoners are, of…

Last week, we provided lore snippets for each of the newly recruited Champions, summarizing their backstories and explaining their involvement in the present arc. Each Champion introduction ended with a pivotal event through which the Champions attempted to move forward…

I’ve updated the Champion recruitment lore for week 6the Champion recruitment lore for week 6. I’m sorry that it wasn’t posted earlier; I ended up becoming rather ill. I’m looking forward to seeing how these stories play out, which will…

Thanks to ShadowKnight1224 and AbiwonKenabi for drafting these lore events. They provide an interactive story for each faction, with a vote that will help decide how the stories play out. The options were determined in part by the outcomes of…

The following Champions were recruited to the four factions this past Thursday. Thanks to AbiwonKenabi, Jondor Horoku, and ShadowKnight1224 for help with these lore tidbits. Aatrox, the Darkin Blade, has declared for Icathia. Aatrox is an avatar of otherworldly power,…

Our indefatigable lore team has completed the resolution for Lore Event I. Many thanks to Summoners Abiwon Kenabi, Jondor Horoku, and ShadowKnight1224 for writing these up. And also thanks to everyone who participated in the matches and votes that directed…

This Sunday is Father’s Day in Freedomland, and so we will not be holding Featured Matches this weekend. Expect instead quite a lot of lore and lore event activity, the posting of the Balance of Power, and last but not…

by ChroniclerC   Hello Runeterra!  From minion to master, from tavern to Targon, welcome to This Week in the Institute!  Once again, I’m your host, Lien Keysmith, snoop extraordinaire!  Exciting things are afoot and afin in the Guardian’s Sea, so…

Every two weeks, factions are allowed to recruit a new Champion for their rosters. The fourth week votes have been posted to the forum threads linked below: Icathia Vote Bandle City Vote Bilgewater Vote Freljord Vote —CupcakeTrap

The current arc, Divinity, may have the most non-sockpuppet opening lore of any arc to date. I am pleased to publish Abiwon Kenabi’s truly delightful opener, along with an introduction I wrote to give some non-narrative background to the arc.…

The Council has unsealed the following account of the Battle of Stormhaven, which took place during the Nyroth dispute. Link: Dying Storm Many thanks to XalkXolc for writing this. Mr. Chompers 4evah. —CupcakeTrap

We’ve just finished the first round of special lore events for this arc, centering on the May 28–29 Featured Matches. Each faction’s performance in the matches has been taken into account, and we’ve come up with four lore events that…

The first round of Champion recruitment is complete! The rosters have been updated as of 3 June, 26 CLE. The following introductory snippets were written by AbiwonKenabi, CupcakeTrap, and ShadowKnight1224. Trundle, the Troll King, has declared for the Freljord. Before…

by ChroniclerC Hello Runeterra!  From Summoner to sideline, from Noxus to Nyroth, welcome to This Week in the Institute!  I’m your host, Lien Keysmith, snoop extraordinaire, and the Institute of War has asked me to bring you this weekly report.…

Runeterra’s a dangerous place. Too dangerous to go alone! It seems that the new client may not have a chat function at all. This got me thinking about what we’d do with a client with no chat in it. Making…

During even-numbered weeks, factions each recruit a new Champion for their rosters. This being the second week, the first round of votes is now underway. Summoner PONCHOGRANDE is overseeing the voting process. We’ve placed each vote link within a thread…

“I’ve always wondered why the cartographer put the Fyrone Flats in larger script than Demacia.” “Good question, Councilor. I couldn’t find the original illustration hexes, so—” “It’s fine. For now. It only needed a small update. Thank you, Summoner.” High…

What’s that? Terrible placeholder banner art? Why, it’s almost as if… No, but surely it couldn’t be… Another Factions arc? Yes, indeed! I am pleased to announce the launch of Arc VIII: Divinity. We said we’d launch on May 23,…

As Mike noted in his post, we’re starting the new arc next week. And the more help we can get, the better off we’ll be. I’m posting here to suggest one particular form of volunteer assistance that I think would…

The vote to select Bilgewater’s ally in Arc VIII is closing today. If you haven’t voted yet, now is the time! How to Vote to Select Bilgewater’s Ally for Arc VIII We’re testing out a highly secure new voting format…

As we approach the start of the eighth Factions arc, and vote to select that arc’s fourth faction, I’m pleased to share with you a story that’s both a bit of a Nyroth post-epilogue and a “sampler” presentation of each…