Felltower & Fire in the Lake

So, I'm going to mix Felltower and GMT Games's Fire in the Lake!

Okay, no I'm not.

But in all seriousness, there are some conceptual overlaps.

If you're not familiar with the COIN games, they are generally for four players. You have four factions - and in the case of Fire in the Lake, at least, two factions on each side are allied. But their goals aren't identical.

In FITL, you have the NVA and the VC. One is the army of North Vietnam . . . the other the home-grown communist insurgency in South Vietnam. You'd think from far enough away that they're on the same side, but the NVA would like the war to end with a united Vietnam under their control. The VC would like a communist south where they have influence and control. The ARVN and US both want a non-communist Vietnam, but not the same one. They don't even always have the same means in mind.

You can project this over to any of the so-called factions in Felltower. The orcs would like to find something in Felltower. The PCs have offered to find it for them . . . but the orcs refused, because they want to be the ones that find it. The PCs finding it doesn't solve their problem (have the thing found) in the way that they'd prefer (they find it.) Same as the PCs with, say, anyone else they briefly ally to before killing them (see: Orcs, Hobgoblins, Crazies, most NPCs in town who come with . . .)

It's worth keeping in mind with any faction - their goals and your goals might be the same, but the path of accomplishment might be different. Or you might have similar mid-point goals but not the same final goal. You can sometimes bank on assistance but you can't always bank on complete assistance. You can't always trust that you have the same outcome in mind just because you share an identical path. Or that you share a path even if you share the means.

Back in Paranoia, we used to quote the motto - Trust no one, keep your laser handy. Felltower isn't quite so cut-throat, although the PCs generally act as if. Even so, you can't assume like goals or like means automatically means both goals and means are alike. Keep in mind your own goals, and see if you can't figure out those of your allies and enemies, before you trust or betray.