Factions
Faydark's Champions
The Wood Elf ranger-druid order of Kelethin. Tunare-aligned defenders of the Faydark canopy.
Faydark's Champions is the good-aligned Wood Elf order based in the treetop city of Kelethin. They are the ranger-druid corps charged with defending the Greater Faydark, the Lesser Faydark, and the long border with Crushbone Keep. Their patron is Tunare, the Mother of All, and their oldest enemies are the Crushbone Orcs, the Indigo Brotherhood bandits of Lesser Faydark, and the vampires of Mistmoore Castle.
The Champions do not formally outrank the Felwithe Paladins or the Steamfont Gnomish Mechanists, but they are the de facto military command for any Faydwer-wide response to orc, vampire, or undead incursion.
Lore
The Wood Elves built Kelethin as a city in the canopy precisely so the forest itself would shield them from orc, gnoll, and goblin assault. Faydark's Champions formalized that defense — every Wood Elf ranger and druid trains under the Champion banner, and every adventurer who passes through Kelethin is judged first on their willingness to take The Last Camp bounty.
The Champions' standing kill list is long and well-publicized. Crushbone Orc legionnaires, oracles, and centurions all carry belts that turn in for faction. Mistmoore vampires and bats turn in for faction. The wandering bandits of the Lesser Faydark turn in for faction. The result is that Faydark's Champions standing is the easiest good-aligned faction in the early game — the entire newbie experience for Wood Elves, Half-Elves, and many Humans is built on top of it.
The order's leadership is structured around the elder rangers and druids who hold seats on the Kelethin council. They coordinate with the Felwithe Paladins on undead and Mistmoore matters, with Clan Stormhammer on orc matters, and with the Steamfont gnomes on bandit and minotaur matters. The three-way Faydwer alliance — Kelethin, Felwithe, Kaladim — is informal but well-rehearsed.
Why grind it
Faydark's Champions standing gates Kelethin vendor access, druid and ranger trainer interactions, the Wood Elf cultural quest series, and several mid-tier armor and spell turn-ins. For Druids and Rangers of any race it is one of the easier early-game faction grinds, and Crushbone belt turn-ins remain profitable through the early teens.
Crushbone belt turn-ins are the canonical early grind on Faydwer regardless of starting city or class. Each belt grants Faydark's Champions, Clan Stormhammer, Felwithe Paladin, and Soldiers of Tunare faction simultaneously — a four-faction stack that opens almost every door on the continent. A Wood Elf can hit Ally with the Champions before reaching level 10 by farming Crushbone Keep alone.
Notable NPCs
- Kelethin guard captains posted at the lifts and platform edges
- Wood Elf ranger and druid guildmasters in the Kelethin treetop districts
- Elder Faydark patrol commanders who issue orc and vampire bounty quests
- The cultural questgivers who handle Wood Elf armor and weapon turn-ins
Faction path
+faction
- Killing Crushbone Orcs — especially belted orcs (turn belts in to Kelethin guards)
- Crushbone belt turn-ins — pawn, legionnaire, oracle robe lines (the canonical four-faction Faydwer grind)
- Killing Mistmoore vampires and bats in Mistmoore Castle
- Killing Lesser Faydark bandits and undead
- Wood Elf ranger and druid class quests
- Kelethin cultural armor turn-ins
-faction
- Attacking Kelethin guards or platform sentries
- Killing Felwithe Paladins — allied faction backlash
- Aiding Crushbone Orcs or Indigo Brotherhood questlines
- Killing wisps in the Greater Faydark (small hits, but they accumulate)
- Killing Clan Stormhammer Mountaineers
The Last Camp any-race-class adjustments
Faydark's Champions starts hostile to Trolls, Ogres, Iksar, and Dark Elves — Kelethin guards will attack on sight regardless of class. The recovery path is unusual: the city is in the treetops, so an off-canon character cannot safely "approach" it on the ground. The standard route is to camp the Crushbone Keep zone line in Greater Faydark, kill orcs from the safe edge of the zone, then attempt entrance from above using levitation or careful pathing. Plan for hundreds of Crushbone belt turn-ins handed in to neutral intermediaries before any Champion NPC will speak to you. Wood Elf and Half-Elf characters of any class start positive.