Four Rival Adventuring Parties

I love rival adventuring parties. I half use them to express ideas I have for characters in games I'm GMing. "I wish I could play this." Here are four that might appear in the first supplement to His Majesty the Worm: the dungeon named The Castle Automatic. 

Rival Adventuring Parties

The Debtors

A team of debt-bound dwarves. They travel under the cover of a giant's brass helmet. They speak Cant exclusively. They warn about the presence of any traps in this room (less out of kindness and more out of fear that the players will set them off while they're still nearby). 

Quest: They are searching for the Coin of Pentacles to pay off their collective debt. They will pay 20g for solid advice about how to navigate the Palace of Pentacles. 

The guild consists of:

• Sam Miner the necropolis architect (dwarf, Path of Cups) - De facto leader. Fights with a mattock. Knows a lot about dungeon design due to his background in building trapped necropolii for other underfolk. Owns Zach, a sassy canary.
• Albus Sapper the sapper (dwarf, Path of Cups) - Fights with a flamberge. Pyromaniac. In possession of a homemade bomb and is looking for an excuse to use it. 
• Ethel Tinker the trapsmith (dwarf, Path of Pentacles) - Fights with a crossbow. Professional to a fault. Just there to do a job.
• Sue Hauler the dumb muscle (dwarf, Path of Swords) - Fights with a maul. Loves her mates. Loves her beer. Loves her work (bashing heads and hauling heavy shite). Simple as. 

Mr. and Mrs. Not

Gnomish husband and wife duo who are looking for rare and exotic flowers. They travel with orcish guards who are paid to protect them. 

Quest: Exotic flowers. They are willing to pay high prices for flowers from the Castle Automatic depending on how rare they are: white lotus from XX - Ossuary (500g), roses from XX - Bower (25g), Fidelis Rose from area XX (1000g), and black lotus from XX - Pleasure Dome (50g).

The guild consists of:

• Mr. Waste Not the cantankerous naturalist (gnome, Path of Wands) - Fights with a wand. Grumpy all the time. Traditional and conservative.
• Mrs. Want Not the garden witch (gnome, Path of Cups) - Prefers not to fight, but will wield her cast iron pan in a pinch. Kindly. A good cook. 
• Maer Finrydottir the mage killer (orc, Path of Pentacles) Fights with a pair of daggers. Always wears iron armor because she hates the feeling of magic being cast on her. Utterly in love with Peta. 
• Peta Ulysdottir the pathfinder (orc, Path of Swords) Fights with a razor boomerang. Half hyper competent, half lazy. 
• Oyster the dead one (orc, Path of Wands) Fights with a bone club. Came back from the dead once and came back weird. 

The Penitent

Templars, sponsored directly by the Cult. Believe themselves to be on a holy crusade. On one hand, they see themselves as agents of a temporal authority in the otherwise lawless space of the Underworld, which makes them come across as true dicks. On the other hand, they practice what they preach and will treat others fairly. They hate ogres, the undead, and vampires, and will always join in on battles against these opponents.

Quest: They are searching for the Chalice of Life, which they believe to be the sacred Grail of Mythrys. 

The guild consists of:

• Philo "The Confessor" Heartsbane the inquisitor (human, Path of Swords) - Fights with a warhammer. Cautious and disciplined. Holds his guild to high standards. Comes off as joyless. 
• Dyvin Minor "The Shield of Faith" Heartsbane the knight  (human, Path of Swords) - Fights with a mace. Lives in the shadow of his father. Overeager to prove himself.
• But-by-Every-Word-that-Procedeth "The Holy Demon" the convert squire (troll, Path of Swords) - Fights with an iron-studded war club. Struggles with their identity as a troll living among humans. A true convert. Rich, baritone singing voice. 
• Sister Miriam "The Water Bearer" Ormulon the war nun (human, Path of Cups) - Fights with a censer flail. Skilled healer, bad bedside manner. Has an incredibly grim view of sorcery. 

The Ones

A group of failsons who each believe they're the chosen one. 

Quest: They are searching for the Perfect Sword. Each member believes they are the true inheritors of its legacy. If they ever actually get within sight of the sword, things will get dark fast. 

The guild consists of:

• Kinwa Too Tall the dashing bravo (high elf, Path of Swords) - Fights with an archwood sword. In love with the nymph, Imaga, who lives in a different section of the Underworld (you wouldn't know her). 
• Franklin "The Wart" Noname the mage knight (human, Path of Wands) - Fights with a quarterstaff. Marked with a solar-burst like burn on his hand. Dismissive of dangers because he believes himself to be the child of prophecy. 
• Bingo Beekeeper the people's burglar (halfling, Path of Pentacles) - Carries a hive of trained bees on his back. Fights by directing the bees to attack his enemies using two signal wands. Comes from a noble background, but dedicates his life to helping the poor and unfortunate.