Solomon listened. "Madam Deslawn, Lord Sarith. Would you rather allow five groups of close-knit allies to compete against the group that represents your own interests? Hm? No, if our respective organizations are sure to send members that can be trusted to keep their eyes on the big prize and offer rivals a temporary truce, then mixed groups would be the best way to ensure that a single organization does not try to take the Scales for themselves."

He cleared his throat a bit. A young gnome quickly stepped forward with a glass of water. "Thank you. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we would naturally agree to keep certain groups seperate. I don't think any of us would except the churches of the Demon Princes and the Lords of the Nine respectively to work together for any length of time. The Blood War is a bit much to be set aside. Nor would we expect the bards of Darkhallow," gesturing to six very outlandish-looking men, "to cooperate with the orcs after that bit of unpleasentness last year." Several grumbles accepted this.

"As for skills, I'm sure we can work out something, but let's face it, if we draw, for example, the Long Fangs, the orcs, the Kolmier bandits, the church of Bel, the Thieves' Guilds, and the Ravagers, we would have drawn six organizations that deal with enemies by stabbing them until they stop moving. But any of them could find a mage or a priest among their ranks, thus giving the team some magical support. My point is that each of your organization has a number of skills you can contribute, and when we draw up groups, we are not necessarily drawing up the individuals. Who you send will be up to you."

"And I would appriciate if you did not insult the Thieves' Guild. Need I remind you that it took Setrin Trapspringer's personal involvment to remove the leadership of a single guild? And if memory serves, Jack the Red here is an enforcer, not a cutpurse. He slits throats for a living, and has quite the reputation as a quick thinker and a quick swordsman. Exactly the sort you would want on your team. The Thieves' Guilds have their own sense of honor, one that makes them good men to do business with."

Solomon listened intently as Herbert Derzahla spoke. "I find it a bit ironic that the representative of the Elder God cults shows more clarity of thought than many assembled here. Yes, he is entirely right. Divided groups pursue their goal in any manner that suits their own strong points, and the diversity of the group forces everyone to send competent individuals. No one wants to send a useless lackey to keep an eye on the best of their rival organizations. The groups will likely not last as long as the heroic bands do, but they only need to last long enough to get the job done."