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Mònfoumi - AI-generated fantasy Faction

Mònfoumi

The Mònfoumi began as a protective arrangement among Dwarven smugglers and petty thieves who found themselves squeezed between Mercian law, local rivals, and the loss of Dwarven control over Durinn. Pierre Barnabet imposed a compact code: no member sells out another for a private profit, major earnings are divided by prior agreement, and no crime is worth drawing soldiers down on every river worker. Their early years were spent moving small loads, altering manifests, lifting purses, and making problems disappear before they became public. Their greatest early setback was a badly coordinated theft that led to arrests and the loss of a valuable cache. Pierre secured the crew's freedom at a heavy cost, which made him both indispensable and resented. Their later diversion of Mercian supplies to the Durinn rebellion proved that their modest operations could have regional consequences. It also drew a sharper line through the gang: some members believe helping the rebellion honors their people and weakens the occupation; others fear that political loyalty will turn a profitable criminal outfit into a target. Today, the Mònfoumi remain small, mobile, and underestimated. Their influence comes less from numbers than from knowing who moves what, by which route, and when a supposedly ordinary shipment is worth protecting.

Factions
Faction · Lawful Evil

Mònfoumi

To most locals, the Mònfoumi are petty crooks with more personality than discipline.
Type
Dwarven organized crime…
Size
Tiny
Reach
Regional
Base
A river settlement on a well-traveled route through Durinn; the gang changes its berth regularly.

Overview

The Mònfoumi began as a protective arrangement among Dwarven smugglers and petty thieves who found themselves squeezed between Mercian law, local rivals, and the loss of Dwarven control over Durinn. Pierre Barnabet imposed a compact code: no member sells out another for a private profit, major earnings are divided by prior agreement, and no crime is worth drawing soldiers down on every river worker. Their early years were spent moving small loads, altering manifests, lifting purses, and making problems disappear before they became public. Their greatest early setback was a badly coordinated theft that led to arrests and the loss of a valuable cache. Pierre secured the crew's freedom at a heavy cost, which made him both indispensable and resented. Their later diversion of Mercian supplies to the Durinn rebellion proved that their modest operations could have regional consequences. It also drew a sharper line through the gang: some members believe helping the rebellion honors their people and weakens the occupation; others fear that political loyalty will turn a profitable criminal outfit into a target. Today, the Mònfoumi remain small, mobile, and underestimated. Their influence comes less from numbers than from knowing who moves what, by which route, and when a supposedly ordinary shipment is worth protecting.

How it began

Pierre Barnabet tells a modest version: a handful of Dwarves with no steady work began moving goods by river and learned that small, reliable crimes paid better than grand, bloody ones. The less modest truth is that the first crew formed after an old smuggling route was broken up and its surviving workers needed protection from both debt collectors and Mercian patrols. Pierre offered shared rules, pooled earnings, and punishment for anyone who endangered the whole crew. The gang took the name Mònfoumi from a dead Dwarven toll-keeper whose name its oldest members claim to have heard in a childhood story. No one can now agree who that toll-keeper was, and Pierre encourages the disagreement. The gang grew from petty theft and cargo switching into a compact regional network, then suffered its defining setback when a clumsy job exposed several members to arrest. Pierre negotiated their release by trading away a valuable cache and accepting a period of close scrutiny. Since then, the Mònfoumi have preferred apparent foolishness and mundane commerce to swagger. Their watershed moment came when they diverted supplies from a Mercian storehouse and quietly passed them to the Durinn rebellion. The operation worked, but the rebels' success made the gang's private political sympathies impossible to ignore. They have since tried to balance criminal survival, Dwarven grievance, and the dangerous prospect of becoming useful to a cause larger than themselves.

How to know them

MottoSmall hands carry heavy things.
EmblemA black ant carrying a brass bead across three wavering lines of brown water. Outsiders often mistake it for a merchant's tally mark.
Colours

Soot black, River-mud brown, Dull brass

Signs
  • A black ant carrying a brass bead
  • Three short, wavering lines scratched beneath a cargo mark
DressThe Mònfoumi wear no uniform. Members favor practical river clothing, work coats, boots, and muted colors. A brass bead or a small ant mark may identify a trusted contact, but displaying either openly is unusual.

Standing

AlignmentLawful Evil
AgeEleven years as a recognizable outfit, though its members trace their family ties and criminal practices further back.
WealthModest but liquid. The gang can pay for small favors, maintain a barge, and acquire useful equipment, but does not possess the wealth to absorb a major seizure or prolonged campaign.

What they say they want

Make a living from river trade and related services.
Protect Dwarven workers from predatory merchants and corrupt officials.
Avoid needless bloodshed and keep ordinary commerce moving.

What they are doing now

Keep their river trade and petty-crime network operating without provoking a coordinated crackdown.
Recover a cache of seized goods before Mercian authorities discover its connection to them.
Decide whether to accept a larger request from the Durinn rebellion that could turn the gang into a recognized resistance supplier.
Prevent a personal dispute among the members from exposing their shared operations.

Where it leads

A Durinn where Dwarves can govern their own communities and the Mònfoumi can operate openly as a legitimate river concern. Pierre imagines a future in which the gang's knowledge and favors give it leverage without requiring it to become a political army. Other members imagine a more assertive Dwarven order, and some would gladly trade Pierre's quiet influence for a decisive role in expelling the occupiers.

How others see them

To most locals, the Mònfoumi are petty crooks with more personality than discipline. Mercian officials often see them as a minor nuisance, while some Dwarves regard them as useful rogues who occasionally remember the larger struggle. Traders may trust Pierre's manners without trusting his accounts.

People

3 ranks

The River Factor

Pierre Barnabet

Well-spoken, patient, and hard to provoke in public. His politeness is sincere but also a tool for making others reveal their assumptions.

  1. The River Factor1 member

    Pierre Barnabet sets policy, negotiates jobs, controls major payouts, and decides when political work is worth the risk. He consults the crew but retains final authority.

  2. The Hands2 members

    Vites and Poch coordinate movement, access, equipment, and escape plans. Their practical authority is strongest during an operation, though neither can overrule Pierre's decision to accept or reject a job.

    • Vites Fast courier and custom-trained martial artist
    • Poch Artificer, equipment keeper, and specialist in concealed cargo
  3. The Crew4 members

    San'sevo, Domi, Tris, and Iyen handle lookout work, infiltration, muscle, distraction, and whatever unexpected task a job demands. Their specialties overlap, and assignments are adjusted to avoid foreseeable clashes.

    • San'sevo Lookout, porter, and unreliable distraction
    • Domi Infiltrator, thief, and watcher
    • Tris Enforcer and close-quarters fighter
    • Iyen Bard, performer, and social diversion

How they are organised

How it is runSmall, kinship-influenced criminal crew organized around a leader, shared rules, and task-based authority
Who comes nextPierre has no public successor. If he is absent, the crew makes immediate operational decisions by agreement, with Vites and Poch coordinating urgent work. A lasting leader would have to win the members' trust and persuade them that the gang can survive under their direction. Tris could rally the crew around the rebellion, while Vites could impose speed and discipline; neither has Pierre's skill at negotiation.
How they recruitA candidate is introduced by a current member and given harmless work that tests discretion, patience, and willingness to follow a plan. Pierre interviews the candidate personally before any sensitive task. No one receives the full network at once, and a recruit may remain a paid associate for months before being trusted as crew.
To join
  • Be vouched for by a current member who accepts responsibility for the recruit's conduct.
  • Keep the gang's names, routes, and business out of public disputes.
  • Accept agreed shares and agreed limits on violence.
  • Do not bring a personal feud, political faction, or private employer into a gang operation without Pierre's consent.

Relations

5 factions
Independent river…CAUTIOUS BUSINESSDurinn rebellionCONDITIONAL ALLIESDurinn rebellionUNEASY POLITICAL RIVALSKingdom of BasingsHOSTILE PRESSUREPrincipality of…ADVERSARIES
Ally · Conditional allies
Durinn rebellion

The rebellion sometimes buys stolen weapons, forged travel papers, and safe passage through the wetlands from the Mònfoumi. The arrangement is transactional, uneasy, and never publicly acknowledged.

Operations

What they do

Petty theft and pickpocketing
Smuggling and cargo diversion
Fencing stolen goods
Forgery and information brokerage
Occasional material support for the Durinn rebellion

How they do it

Use ordinary river commerce as cover for moving contraband, messages, and stolen goods.
Prefer bribery, misdirection, false paperwork, and quiet intimidation to open violence.
Keep jobs small and deniable unless the whole crew agrees that a serious objective is worth the risk.
Exploit being underestimated by Mercian officials, who often mistake their friction for incompetence.
Use custom-built gear and concealed storage as campaign-specific tools; their precise effects should be agreed with the GM rather than assumed to be standard D&D 5E features.

Services for hire

  • Quiet PassageA modest fee, a favor, or a negotiated share of recovered goods
    Move small cargoes or messages through river routes while reducing the chance of routine inspection.
  • Find the Missing ThingA fee, useful information, or a promised service in return
    Locate stolen property, discreet buyers, or the likely source of a leak. Results depend on how far the target is from the gang's usual routes.
  • Covered CargoA negotiated price and proof the goods will not immediately endanger the crew
    Acquire or arrange custom concealment, forged papers, or smuggled equipment. Magical or extradimensional storage is subject to campaign rules and is not guaranteed.

What they can do

Can coordinate small, deniable operations across multiple settlements through river contacts.
Can shift between harmless merchant behavior and focused criminal teamwork.
Has a custom-trained monk, artificer, rogue, fighter, and bard among its members. These are character concepts, not a declaration of any unmodified 5E stat block.
Poch's multiple bags of holding are a custom campaign element. The GM should define their limits, risks, and interactions before play.

What they have

A mobile barge with concealed compartments and a plausible merchant's identity.
A small network of river contacts, temporary hiding places, and people willing to pass messages.
Poch's custom-built concealment equipment, including multiple bags of holding whose exact capabilities depend on the campaign's rules.
Knowledge of cargo movement, smuggling practices, and the habits of local patrols.
A reputation for being disorganized enough that outsiders rarely plan against them carefully.

Where they are weak

Only seven core members are available, so arrests, injuries, or internal feuds sharply limit their options.
Their small size makes prolonged conflict with a government or a larger criminal organization unsustainable.
Their cover relies on being dismissed as petty and disorganized; a serious investigation could expose the network.
The members' distinct temperaments make them vulnerable to arguments, misunderstandings, and poorly timed improvisation.
Their relationship with the Durinn rebellion is useful but could drag them into a conflict far beyond their means.

Territory

Headquarters

A river settlement on a well-traveled route through Durinn; the gang changes its berth regularly.
KindMobile river barge with rented rooms and temporary storehouses

A modest river barge and a handful of rented rooms near a busy landing serve as the gang's changing headquarters. Cargo, ledgers, and sleeping arrangements shift often. The barge looks like an ordinary merchant vessel, but its false-bottomed lockers and concealed compartments can hide contraband or people for a short journey.

Lands they hold

River routes through Durinn
Temporary moorings and trading landings across several settlements
Informal links to communities sympathetic to Dwarven self-rule

Outposts

  • The quiet berthsTemporary moorings near trading landingsAllow the barge to change location, transfer goods, and avoid building a fixed pattern for patrols to follow.
  • The borrowed doorsRented rooms and borrowed storerooms in several settlementsProvide short-term hiding places for people, messages, and goods; no site is treated as permanently safe.

Secrets

The big secret · GM only
What they really want · GM only
Hidden plans · GM only
Smaller secrets · GM only
What insiders say · GM only
Trouble inside · GM only
Crimes · GM only

Plot hooks

5 hooks
  • 1
    A Name in the Ledger
    Low to moderate, personal scaleReward: Coin, a favor from Pierre, or a contact along the river
    Pierre hires a character to carry an ordinary-looking cargo manifest to a river contact. The manifest is genuine, but one line has been altered to implicate a local Dwarven household in smuggling. The character can protect the household, expose the forgery, or keep the job simple and take the payment.
  • 2
    Cargo with Two Owners
    Moderate, local scaleReward: Supplies, faction goodwill, or evidence of Pierre's hidden choices
    The Mònfoumi ask the party to retrieve a seized shipment before Mercian authorities connect it to the gang. The goods include supplies meant for the Durinn rebellion, but also property stolen from local civilians. The party must decide what to return, conceal, or deliver.
  • 3
    The Missing Hand
    Moderate to high, party scaleReward: A lasting alliance with the gang or leverage over its members
    A member vanishes after a bungled operation, and the remaining crew members give conflicting accounts of what happened. The trail leads through a marsh route, a merchant's storehouse, and a group of officials who believe they have caught a larger rebel network.
  • 4
    The River Decides
    High, regional scaleReward: Rebel support, criminal resources, or the right to influence the gang's political direction
    The Durinn rebellion requests a major delivery that would meaningfully aid its campaign but almost certainly expose the Mònfoumi's routes. Pierre asks the party to assess the danger. Vites wants to take the job immediately, Tris argues that refusing betrays Durinn, and Pierre privately considers sabotaging the delivery if it threatens the crew.
  • 5
    The First Cache
    High, campaign scaleReward: A major shift in faction relationships and possible control over a valuable network
    The source of the gang's first rebellion shipment is discovered. A Dwarven community demands restitution, the rebellion demands that the Mònfoumi keep supplying it, and Pierre asks the party to find the informant whose protection motivated his decision. The characters can reconcile the claimants, choose a side, or reveal the entire story.

Work they offer

1Carry an unremarkable parcel through a monitored settlement without asking what is inside.
2Find out which official has begun asking questions about the gang's river contacts.
3Recover stolen equipment from a buyer before the goods are traced to a rebel supplier.
4Negotiate the return of property taken during a Mònfoumi job before Tris turns the dispute violent.

What gets in the way

Their petty thefts and petty feuds have made Mercian officials dismiss them as an irritating nuisance, which is useful until a serious operation requires surprise.
The gang's members frequently derail plans through clashing temperaments, but each is dangerous when given a clear task and room to work.
Their occasional aid to the rebellion risks exposing them to reprisals, while their ordinary criminal business depends on remaining beneath the attention of the occupying powers.
Pierre's habit of presenting the gang as a harmless merchant's circle protects them, but it also encourages some members to resent his careful, restrained leadership.

Rumours

1True: Pierre has supplied the Durinn rebellion with resources, but only for selected jobs.
2True: The gang's apparent disorganization hides a crew that can become frighteningly effective when given a clear objective.
3Partly true: Poch carries several bags of holding. Their number and reliability are not common knowledge, and their exact capabilities are custom to the campaign.
4False: San'sevo is secretly the gang's mastermind. His accidental observations have helped the crew, but he does not direct it.
5False: The Mònfoumi are paid agents of the Kingdom of Basings. Pierre trades with people under Mercian rule, but the gang has not sworn itself to the occupiers.
6Uncertain: Iyen can use laughter to send signals. The crew sometimes treats it as a signal, but he also laughs when nothing is going to plan.

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