lofgren- As a matter of fact, I am testing on a save game. I didn't know that would make a difference. So if I stared a new game with the mod on, you think the NPCs would be in the new faction? I'll test that! KaelVirum- That is good to know, but it doesn't really apply to what I'm working on, I'm afraid. In a nutshell, what I'm working on is a mod that uses a system of perks to alter merchants' buying prices based on how much base gold the merchant has. So a merchant who has 1000 gold will pay you more for an item than one that has 750. That's simple enough, but I'd also like the buying prices to change when you invest in a particular merchant. I can make that work by making the perk dependent on the Global that changes when you invest in a particular merchant, but that's going to involve making a separate perk (or perk entry) for every investable merchant in the game. Which is doable, I suppose, but it seems cumbersome. What I'd like to do is put all of the investable merchants with, for example, 1000 gold in a new faction, and have the dialogue to invest in each of them increase their rank in that faction. Then I can have the modified sell prices be dependant on their rank in the faction with GetFactionRank. But of course, the game has to recognize them as being in the faction for it to work! But if they'll be in the new faction for a new game, as lofgren seems to be indicating, and not the old save game I've been testing on, then problem solved!