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<!--
title: The Fulcrum
description:
published: true
date: 2023-02-10T19:45:07.580Z
tags: game-master, factions, fulcrum, the fulcrum, marcandrian faction
editor: ckeditor
dateCreated: 2023-01-06T16:54:29.665Z
-->
<h2>Description</h2>
<p>The Fulcrum is a large confederation of wealthy merchants and business owners, who together seek to obtain unrivaled market dominance in — or even completely monopolize — Marcandrian markets. They have a reputation for being rather ruthless in this pursuit, being known to poach competitors' suppliers and manipulate markets as to force competitors to go bankrupt. The Fulcrum is mostly based in large settlements around Merchant's Bay, though their endeavors can be seen throughout Marcandria. Smaller settlements that discover a valuable resource may soon find themselves having attracted the attention of the Fulcrum — who'll move in to conduct mass extraction of said resource. There are many small settlements in Marcandria whose industry is dominated or solely made up of the Fulcrum's endeavors there.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Conglomerate of wealthy merchants and business-owners, who together seek to obtain unrivaled market dominance &nbsp;in - or even monopolize - Marcandrian markets.</li>
<li>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Trade conglomerate</li>
<li>“Federation of merchants” - Each company's internal affairs is up to them, but the organization decides how it as a whole operates towards the rest of the market, and the member merchants must comply to that.</li>
<li>Aka Merchant's Guild - guild has the power to enforce compliance among its members, but does not interfere with their internal affairs. “A merchant guild is a group of merchants who join together to protect their economic interests, set industry standards, and regulate trade practices. In the Fulcrum's case it's also to achieve monopoly."/market dominance<ul>
<li>Note: Meranzeum not entirely happy when they push talented and promising people out of the market. That's in part what their investments are to prevent - as the Fulcrum can't push out the Meranzeum.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Faction symbol/insignia:</strong> A spherical disc with a thick border, depicting perfectly balanced weighting scale. Commonly made in platinum or silver, depending on size.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Members</h2>
<p>The Fulcrum consists of wealthy merchants and business-owners (including artisans). Membership in the Fulcrum is rather exclusive, as only those deemed to have sufficient monetary income and a sufficient degree of influence on the markets are eligible to become members. It is also only those whose addition is seen as providing a net-benefit to the organization who are accepted. This means the influence a potential member provide in the market, the increased revenue other members gain through said influence, and the membership fee of that member, must outweigh the money and resources the Fulcrum needs to spend on them. The Fulcrum is rather fair in that they do not care about your background or where they come from, so long as they follow the Fulcrum's rules and do not pose a risk to the Fulcrum's endeavors. Risk in this case could mean causing tensions with existing members, trouble with authorities, or damage to the Fulcrum's integrity or reputation.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum will protect its members and provide assistance if a they fall on harsh times, though if said member is repeatedly unable to pull their business back together, then they'll risk being kicked out. The Fulcrum is not in the habit of dragging along dead weight, and thus will not keep a member around if they're deemed to be a lost cause. Doing so would only harm the Fulcrum in the long run, as it risks them having to put out considerable resources to keep their dead weight afloat. They are also not shy about kicking out members who do not follow the rules and regulations set forth by the Fulcrum.</p>
<p>Only the business-owners and merchants themselves are considered members of the Fulcrum. Workers and employees that are part of a member's businesses are not considered members of the Fulcrum, even though they're technically under the Fulcrum's umbrella. There's also a distinction between being a member of the Fulcrum and being employed by the Fulcrum.</p>
<p>It is possible for a business to have multiple members in the Fulcrum. This is for cases where a business is jointly run by multiple people, or for when it's a family business that involves multiple members of the family. For the family business scenario, any member of said family that's involved in the running of the business can be considered members of the Fulcrum. Each business will nonetheless have one single person that acts as the primary representative to the Fulcrum.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Family and close associates are often also treated as honorary members of the Fulcrum. This is a matter of respect, and in order to maintain good relations between the Fulcrum's members. They nonetheless don't have any say in Fulcrum business, unless acting as a proxy for an absent member.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Visual identifiers</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Typically dress to impress. Want to look like upper-class and similar to aristocracy.</li>
<li>Many wear pin with Fulcrum Symbol as a sign of pride and authority.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Status and appearances are important for the members of the Fulcrum. As such, all of its members wear luxurious clothing and live in luxurious houses. They often have expensive art pieces, and organize expensive parties for their peers in order to show off their wealth.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Many members also wear the faction's official sigil, a perfectly balanced weighting scale, in the form of a platinum pin.</p>
<h3>Members list</h3>
<ul>
<li>Board of Nine:<ul>
<li>Emido Vahr DiVeno</li>
<li>Endymion Benetti</li>
<li>Pelliccia</li>
<li>Gaelean de Cadro</li>
<li>Francesca Gambachini</li>
<li>Colina de la Mare</li>
<li>Zaccherio D'Ascia</li>
<li>Khiden Gaeldaire/Brightbrow, the Jewelsmith</li>
<li>Liona Ondarra</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Other:<ul>
<li>Jacobe Capelli (Luferi)</li>
<li>Ridol Acolti (Fillighera)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Beliefs</h2>
<p>There are no set religious beliefs that would act as a commonality among all of the Fulcrum's members. The Fulcrum generally does not care where you are from or what believes you have unless they could cause issues for the organization. Members of Marcandrian nationality do generally tend to be quite closely aligned with the Marcandrian goddess <a href="/HBW/Eirus/Marcandria/Religion">Meranzi</a> — as she represents commerce and trade as well as exceptionalism. The Fulcrum typically hold very meritocratic views, and hold favorable views on individuals who are successful and who have demonstrated exceptional skill — often respecting them as peers.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Fulcrum primarily exists to make its members more wealthy and influential, with members joining in the belief that the Fulcrum will aid them in acquiring this. Many are firm believers in the Marcandrian notion of reaching towards the pinnacle of society, and as merchants believe the best way to do this is through economic power. The Fulcrum's members may have varying personal goals, though most believe it is by the use of economic power that one is best positioned to serve one's interests and goals. Economic power thus trump all other form of power in terms of usability to get one's will.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum believe that the best way to secure their positions in the markets is through enforcing an undisputed market dominance, or even a monopoly that is controlled solely by them. Even if they have to run their businesses at a deficit for a while, if doing so would bankrupt their competitors and ensure them a solid market dominance, then they view it as worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum cares deeply about image — that others respect them, and that their competitors may even fear them. They also care for their public image. This doesn't mean they care about how everyone view them. They want to keep good relations with business partners, and at least maintain a good enough relation with customers that they do not avoid their goods. For those who loose their businesses because of the Fulcrum's aggressive pushing for market dominance — well they're never going to like the Fulcrum anyway, so the Fulcrum tends not to care much about them. Marcandrian society tends to look down on failures and failed ventures — which is lucky for the Fulcrum as that means those they push out of the market are often viewed as failures by society and thus find little public support.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Goals</h2>
<p>The Fulcrum's goals as an organization are rather straightforward. It seeks to increase the wealth of its members, and to to become the unrivaled economic power in Marcandria. They typically seek to create an undisputed market dominance, or even monopoly. They do this by pushing out competitors and hogging their suppliers, thus creating markets that are entirely controlled and dictated by them. The organization as a whole doesn't any notion itself regarding what to do with this economic power, with the Fulcrum's goals as an organization instead being seen as the means towards its members own goals. The organization thus seeks to promote the interest of its members and to increase their wealth, but hold no notion regarding what to do with said wealth besides using it to generate even more.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum's members are quite varied when it comes to why they seek to amass wealth and monopolize markets. The only real rules laid out by the Fulcrum regarding these is that they should not pose a risk to the Fulcrum's position or reputation, and one member's goals goals are not to cause problems for the organization or unnecessary friction between other members. This doesn't mean there are no rivalries or competing interests within the Fulcrum, or no cases where two members are competing for the same thing. It simply means two goals cannot be directly opposing one another — like two members each trying to create their own competing monopolies. Such situations are simply too counterproductive, and thus the Fulcrum does not allow them.</p>
<p>Members goals vary, though there are some commonalities. Some seek political power, trying to usurp a noble's title by far surpassing said noble's influence, and use Marcandria's meritocratic values to build a case for replacing them. Others seek to create a level of security and stability that ensures their descendants well-being for generations to come. Some may merely seek the prestige that comes with being viewed as the best within their field; or they may seek to to increase their wealth in order to push ever upwards seeking the ever elusive carefree, joyous, and fulfilling life that Marcandrians believe come by reaching the pinnacle of society. While members of the Fulcrum are driven, there are also those who are so driven and immersed in the love for their craft that they seek to expand merely for the love of it. There are also a few who have such a love for their craft that they simply cannot allow it to be defiled by half-hearted competitors, and thus they seek to entirely control it's practice themselves.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Organization</h2>
<p>The overall organizational structure of the Fulcrum can be boiled down to consisting of the <strong>Board of Nine</strong>, the <strong>seven committees</strong>, and the rest of the membership base. <strong>The Board of Nine</strong> consist of the nine wealthiest and most influential members within the Fulcrum. Of the nine, the whole of the Fulcrum will elect a Chairman of the Board and a Vice-Chairman of the Board, which are considered the most important and highest-ranking positions within the Fulcrum. They are responsible for overseeing the overall operation, management, and general administration of the Fulcrum. While it is the Board of Nine collectively who hold ultimate power (decided through voting), it is the Chairman of the Board and Vice-Chairman of the Board that control most of the day-to-day decisions when the Board is not in session. They also act as official representatives of the Fulcrum when dealing with outside organizations and governments.</p>
<p>The remaining seven members of the <strong>Board of Nine</strong> are each assigned as <strong>chairman</strong> of one of the Fulcrum's seven <strong>committees</strong> — with who's delegated as chair of what committee being determined through negotiations amongst the nine Board members. Their tasks include bringing matters from said committee up for a decision by the Board of Nine, overseeing the work of the members of the committee and ensure that tasks were delegated effectively, and coordinating with other committees to ensure that their work complemented one another. They are also responsible for the budget allocated to said committee. The Board of Nine also collectively decide on the main direction and strategy for the Fulcrum, as well as being able to overturn or alter decisions made by the different committees. Decrees and regulations made by the different committees are often reviewed by the Board of Nine before coming into effect.</p>
<p>Committee members are elected in the same manner as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board, though all members are eligible to become committee members. Members themselves choose what committees they want to potentially be part of, with them being able to pick if they have sufficient votes for multiple committees. The next in line for whichever committee they didn't pick will be pushed up to fill the missing spot. Committee members will each be assigned various responsibilities and tasks, and will typically have the assistance of personnel hired directly by the Fulcrum to help mete them out.</p>
<p>Elections for the committees as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board are held every 2 years, exactly 3 months before the previous term is over. The Fulcrum will at this moment have determined who'll serve as the Board of Nine for the next term, as well as having gathered which members wish to run for which committees. Members will then have just short of these 3 months to make sure their votes have been received by the administration that work directly for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Considerations for who'll be on the Board of Nine, whose possible to vote for for committees, and who gets to vote is considered locked barred any extraordinary events. This means surpassing a member set for the next Board of Nine within these 3 months does nothing, and members who join inside this 3 month period must wait for the next election cycle before they get to vote.</p>
<p>Board of Nine and the different committees meet every other month in an alternating fashion, and generally last for a couple of days. &nbsp;It is common for committee members to use a proxy for these meetings, as the great distances and slow means of transportation makes attending all of these in-person rather difficult. The first meeting after an election, and the meeting at the 1 year mark have mandatory in-person attendance (barring any extraordinary circumstances), and are where the larger strategies and decisions for the next year are made. These in-person meetings are generally held in Vessina or Revanna, due to these cities being the two busiest trade-ports in Marcandria.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum's 7 committees are the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Personnel Committee </strong>— responsible for the <strong>personnel</strong> and workers who work for the Fulcrum. Includes <strong>hiring</strong>, <strong>training</strong>, and <strong>compensation, </strong>and general well-being of employees. These are the personnel that work for the Fulcrum organization itself, not for the individual businesses of its members. Responsible for day-to-day operations through said personnel.</li>
<li><strong>Membership Committee</strong> — Responsible for <strong>managing </strong>the <strong>Fulcrum's membership</strong>, including <strong>accepting </strong>new <strong>members</strong>, ensuring members <strong>comply </strong>with the Fulcrum's own rules and regulations, and handling <strong>disputes</strong> between members.</li>
<li><strong>Finance Committee</strong> — Responsible for managing the Fulcrum's<strong> financial affairs</strong>, including overseeing the <strong>budget</strong>, managing <strong>investments</strong>, and ensuring the <strong>financial stability</strong> of the organization. Efforts include <strong>collecting dues</strong> and <strong>fees </strong>from members, <strong>investing </strong>in ventures, and p<strong>roviding loans</strong> and <strong>financial support</strong> to members.</li>
<li><strong>Relations Committee</strong> — Responsible for <strong>managing external relationships</strong>, including negotiating with <strong>governments</strong>, building partnerships with <strong>other organizations</strong>, and maintaining good relationships with customers and suppliers. Often cooperate with Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board to have them act as the representatives in particularly important meetings.</li>
<li><strong>Production Committee</strong> — Responsible for overseeing the Fulcrum's <strong>production activities</strong>, including managing<strong> supply chain</strong>, ensuring <strong>sufficient quality</strong>, and <strong>development</strong> of new products.</li>
<li><strong>Trade Committee</strong> — Responsible for managing the Fulcrum's <strong>trade activities</strong>, including <strong>negotiating trade agreements</strong>, <strong>coordinating with partners</strong>, and <strong>monitoring market conditions</strong>. Trade agreements include <strong>arranging transportation</strong> of goods, be that through agreements between Fulcrum members or with outside partners.</li>
<li><strong>Legal Committee</strong> — Responsible for ensuring the Fulcrum's <strong>compliance with laws and regulations</strong>, managing <strong>legal disputes</strong>, and representing the organization in legal proceedings.</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Operations and endeavors</h2>
<p>The Fulcrum is an organization that primarily cares about increasing the wealth and influence of itself and its members. Most of the Fulcrum's endeavors and operations thus serve to to support and further said goals. The Fulcrum's members will of course have their own business ventures, which may vary greatly from one member to another. These ventures typically fall under one or several of the categories below:</p>
<ul>
<li>Trading of goods such as spices, silk, cloth, wine, and other luxury items from other countries or regions.</li>
<li>Engaging in long-distance trade by shipping goods over sea or land routes</li>
<li>Engaging in local trade by selling goods in markets and fairs</li>
<li>Manufacturing and selling finished goods from raw materials. Produces goods include clothing, textiles, and metalwork.</li>
<li>Financing and investing in various ventures, such as shipping, mining, and agricultures.</li>
<li>Owning and operating inns, taverns, and other establishments along trade routes.</li>
<li>Owning and leasing property, such as warehouses, shops, and apartments.</li>
<li>Engaging in banking and moneylending activities.</li>
</ul>
<p>The Fulcrum's own ventures are meant to support and expand the ventures of its members. Typical examples of this would be by making trade agreements with new partners — thus adding suppliers and/or opening new markets for its members. They may similarly make agreements with partners to get premium prices on goods for its members or first-priority on purchasing goods. At the same time, the Fulcrum will engage in self-regulation by guaranteeing consistent quality and reliability when engaging in trade with members from the Fulcrum. The Fulcrum is always engaged in negotiations with both potential new and existing business partners and governmental figures in order to maintain good relations customers, suppliers, and regulatory bodies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The public relation, and relation with its partners can be a very complicated matter. The Fulcrum is very aggressive when it comes to expanding their reach and market share, and actively seek to push out competitors in order to reach an undisputed market dominance — or ideally a monopoly in said market. The Fulcrum is not foreign to tying up all of their competitors suppliers, thus pushing them out of the market. The Fulcrum is also not foreign to pushing down prices to the point of running in a deficit for a while — financially supporting the members it harms while doing so — in order to bankrupt its competitors. The Fulcrum is never going to be liked by the competitors whose businesses they quite frankly crush, and being disliked by them is neither one of the Fulcrum's concerns. What they do care about is not souring relations with local governing bodies in the area — who might have to deal with unhappy subjects, or other business partners that may be affected. The Fulcrum will balance this through negotiations and the offering of favors. If they go in to claim dominance in a market, and this process negatively affects a partner the Fulcrum wishes to maintain good relations with, then they may offer especially lucrative agreements so that said partner enjoys a net-gain, thus keeping them happy. The Fulcrum gains control of a new market, and the partner gains a lucrative agreement.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum is not shy about using its vast resources. A small hamlet finding finding (for instance) precious metals nearby can be both a blessing and a curse if it catches the attention of the Fulcrum. The Fulcrum may decide they want to control said supply, and thus go in with considerable funds to claim it. This can create a lot of industry and job opportunity for the people of said hamlet, but it also means the local industry will be entirely controlled by the Fulcrum and thus entirely reliant on them. A local noble house may similarly gain a great boost to their income, though their authority may come into question if they become too reliant on the Fulcrum's business.</p>
<p>The Fulcrum does not officially engage in illegal trade — viewing it as bad for business in the long term. They are on the other hand not afraid of trying to push what is considered to be legal. While they have a dedicated committee whose purpose is to make sure the Fulcrum's members comply with the laws and regulations in the areas they operate in, they also have people lobby with governing figures to push what the Fulcrum is allowed to do. The Fulcrum's legal committee also handles legal disputes which are bound to appear from time to time due to how aggressive the Fulcrum can be. They will cease any operation that has been deemed illegal, and will kick out members who are found to not comply with these.</p>
<p>The different committees within the Fulcrum also have their own tasks and responsibilities. The tasks and responsibilities for each of these can be found in the Operations chapter where they are listed. The committee members will usually have employed front-line workers that do a lot of the work for them — such as information gathering. An example when checking that a facility run by a member of the Fulcrum follows regulations and quality standards. A member of the committee will typically be at the site to converse with the leader there and take an inspection-round, but it'll be front-line workers that they bring along that will do most of the actual inspecting.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Locations</h2>
<p>The Fulcrum's members are mostly concentrated along the Merchant's Bay — from Vessina to Revanna — as well in other (particularly coastal) major Marcandrian settlements. Said in a different manner: they are mostly concentrated in the areas with the most commerce. This doesn't mean they don't have a presence further inland or in smaller settlements. Those whose businesses are concentrated more inland tend to set up shop in the largest commercial center of said region, and is typically where all their goods converge before being sent off to larger further-away markets. It's also common for the Fulcrum's members to have endeavors located in smaller settlements, even if they themselves are not based there. These serve as one of the many sites they operate, with some smaller hamlets having it as their only industry. Goods from these will typically be transported back to where the member has set up shop.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Guild-halls and their lavishness and aesthetics</li>
<li>Home estates of Fulcrum members</li>
<li>What their compounds look like (lumbering plant looks like a lumbering plant, this is mostly what the offices there look like. Typically depends on where they are. Compounds in large trade hubs and settlements are lavish to show off status. Thus in out-of-the-way hamlets tend to look fine, but not extravagently so. Not reason to have gold encrusted furniture just for a bunch of farmers. Some engravings are by far enough to impress them.)</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Fulcrum's members often live in lavish and luxurious estates, filled with expensive items, including art-pieces and collections of relics from distant pasts. The wealthier members often organize events, with some doing so almost constantly. This is both to increase their presence in the area, making them known, as well as to show off their success and wealth to their peers. These events include parties and masquerades, often private (need invitation to come), but also organizing and paying for public celebrations. This is rarely to be charitable, but rather to make their name well known, and to promote their public image.</p>
<p>Members typically position themselves in the largest trade-hub for their businesses. This means if&nbsp;</p>
<p>Members who are based further inland have typically positioned themselves in one of the larger hubs</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Use members locations a lot. Also has own massive guild-halls in Vessina and Alatri. Super elaborate.</li>
<li>Mostly concentrated along the Merchant's Bay, which covers much of the eastern coast of Marcandria.</li>
<li>Members will also have sites further in.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Can also be found along coastal settlements around Wayfarer's sea.</li>
<li>Mostly found in larger settlements in Marcandria, particularly coastal cities that are major trade-hubs. Generally wherever there are large markets to exploit.<ul>
<li>Not uncommon for a merchant to have extraction endeavors inland by a small village, with the village basically existing to provide labor, and then transport the goods to coastal settlement to sell. Same merchant will in these cases typically have two bases of operation: One where the resources are being extracted, and one in the coastal settlement they're sent for. Every village has a lower noble lording over it. If this village is the only thing the noble lords over, then the Fulcrum member will have a lot of sway of them - as threathening to move their business elsewhere would ruin noble, and could possibly get them replaced by someone more agreeable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Fulcrum often has business in smaller inland as well. If the area has valuable resources, then members of the Fulcrum may have business operations there, often being the main player in the areas industry. These goods are then transported to the larger trade hubs, either to be sold directly or made into other goods that are then sold.</li>
<li>Smaller inland communities may also be part of Fulcrum's network of suppliers. They may also be buyers of goods from Fulcrum merchants. In general, Fulcrum doesn't operate there themselves directly, but goods from there may go to members of the Fulcrum, or there may be local traders who buy their goods from the Fulcrum.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Members of the Fulcrum are often located larger settlements, especially the major trade-hubs. This is to stay in areas where they can make numerous and powerful connections and deals with other factions and individuals. The more influential a member is, and the larger their company, the more likely it is for them to live inn one of the major trade-hubs. This also means members found in distant villages and towns are usually among the smaller ones. Prominent members are often situated in the largest trade hub that is close to where their production is.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Members often live in lavish and luxurious estates, filled with expensive items, including art-pieces and collections of relics from distant pasts. The wealthier members often organize events, with some doing so almost constantly. This is both to increase their presence in the area, making them known, as well as to show off their success and wealth to their peers. These events include parties and masquerades, often private (need invitation to come), but also organizing and paying for public celebrations. This is rarely to be charitable, but rather to make their name well known, and to promote their public image.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Relations with other factions</h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Stance on Succession conflict</h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>