There are many factions in the Monster Hunter Universe. Some of them make up the foundation of society, while others seek to destroy it. Many of these factions are voluntary associations led by guildmasters, but that’s the extent of their resemblance to the craft and merchant guilds found in most Dungeons & Dragons worlds. They include many different kinds of organizations:
A central governing body, The Hunter's Guild and its specialized branch, The Research Commission (Rewrite!)
A corporation led by His Immenseness, The Elder Dragon Observation Team (Rewrite!)
Two research institutions; The Royal Paleontology Scriveners (Rewrite!), and its offshoot, The Wycademy (Rewrite!)
A poachers ring, the Talon Society
A cult of fanatics, the Cult of Fatalis
Faction Membership
The denizens of the Old World aren't born into factions. An individual can choose to belong to any, or be tricked into some faction or more commonly belong to no faction at all. Some Factions actively recruit new members, while others simply accept those who seek membership. People within a family might join different factions, which can lead to strong connections between the factions in question or to painful animosity in families whose members follow different paths.
You establish your character's membership in a faction by choosing one of their faction backgrounds. This guide assumes that you have chosen a faction and that you maintain your association with it throughout your life. As a result, your choice of faction can play a more significant role than most backgrounds do in shaping what your character does now, not just what you accomplished in the past.
The backgrounds associated with factions in this setting work like those in the Player's Handbook, giving you proficiencies, languages, equipment, and suggested characteristics (personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws). Each faction entry also provides personal contacts; suggestions for your alignment, race, and class; and a list of spells that you can add to your spell list if you're a member of a spellcasting class.
Faction Spells
The spellcasters of the Old World's factions have magic specific to their faction. A faction's description includes a list of those faction spells.
If you play a character who has the Spellcasting or the Pact Magic class feature, your guild spells are added to the spell list for your class, thereby expanding the spell options available to you.
Additional Rules
The factions in the Monster Hunter Universe use the same rules for renown and contacts as found in The Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica starting on page 29. The essentials are summed up below
Contacts
People can be bonds if they inspire you, motivate you, or make you act against your best interests. (They can represent flaws if their existence amounts to a weakness for you.) Contacts, in comparison, are simply people you know.
They might be a rival, a mentor, a friend, just another member of the faction or possibly a member of a different faction entirely, but their relationship with you is rarely as strong as with a bond.
These contacts should be created with your DM and may provide additional depth for your character. When you create a character you have a number of contacts equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
Renown
Renown is your status in a faction. The higher your renown is, typically the more known and respected you are within the faction. It's also possible to gain renown in other factions, though this renown won't allow you to gain any ranks within the other factions.
To gain renown you must advance the faction’s agenda in some way. Each faction's description includes a discussion of its goals and your role in pursuing those goals, which would merit an increase in your renown.
When you join a faction as a starting character, your renown score with that faction is 1. It is up to the DM when you gain renown, not the player.
At your DM's discretion, you might also have a renown score in a faction you don't belong to. You can't ever formally advance in rank within another faction, but a high renown score can earn you additional contacts, favors, and other benefits.
Benefits of Renown
There are many benefits when you gain renown in a faction, most often it is tied to an increase in rank within the faction you are in, but not all are faction specific such as the two below:
Renown 3 or Higher. You have established yourself as a respected member of the faction and as such, the faction members are friendly to you by default (though some members might have a reason to dislike you). Your own faction will provide you with lodging and food in dire circumstances and pay for your funeral if needed. If you are accused of a crime, your faction offers legal support, as long as a good case can be made for your innocence or the crime was justifiable.
Renown 5 or Higher. You gain another contact. This might be a member of the associated faction, or perhaps someone else you met on your adventures.
Some factions have positions of honor that characters can apply for if their renown score is high enough. Not every member aspires to do so, but any character who meets the prerequisites can apply for the position. Ultimately, the DM decides whether a character qualifies for such a role, with a certain renown score as a minimum requirement.
Losing Renown
If you go against your faction, or commit a crime against society or nature, you might lose renown. It is up to the DM to determine how much based on the offense. You cannot drop below 0 renown with a faction, but if your renown drops below the required amount for your rank, then you lose the rank and any benefits it gave you. It also may be much harder to obtain that rank again.
Changing Factions
If for some reason you chose to change factions, be it due to the narrative of the story, or some other reason, you then lose all renown with your previous faction and start with 0 renown with the new faction. The only exception with this is if you already gained renown with the new faction prior to joining them. Then instead you start with the renown you already had with them, though it may still take time for you to rise in the ranks.
Your DM decides what requirements you must meet to join a new faction. Some factions welcome new recruits and make the process as simple as possible, while others require a demonstration of loyalty.