How about we all come to an agreement about the following:
1) I've stated my opinions on the matter of splitter fractions being permitted under the Accords in the default setting (the DV).
2) Some people disagree with my opinions.
3) We've gone back and forth several times, but we aren't shifting positions.
4) further discussions on splinter groups in the default setting aren't likely to produce different results.
And call it a day on the default setting.
Absolutely... I don't necessarily agree with everything you're getting at, but I understand where you're coming from.
And apologies for any snarking earlier... I get ornery sometimes.
For starters - if "the accords = protection" are to have any meaning there has to be someone enforcing them. Perhaps Mab sends trolls out when people break them, perhaps all parties contribute to the Accords Police or the Accords Peacekeepers, maybe there's a "we are neutral because you're all below us" faction, but if the accords have no teeth (other than the threat of War when they break down) then they only offer protection against random predation. I.E. no vampire is going to accidentally attack a wizard.
Now, as far as the default setting is concerned -- and just so I've got this straight -- I've gotten the impression so far that each faction is supposed to police their own with regards to the accords. For example, Harry burns down a house full Red Court Vampires during a shindig he was invited to. That's a blatant breach of the Accords. The WC was supposed to either deal with him accordingly, or hand him over to the RCVs. In the end, they did neither, which then gave the RCVs a good reason to declare war on them.
Like you say, that doesn't seem to have a whole lot of teeth... The only real threat to keep the order amongst your own is the threat of war against one (or more) of the signatories. Summer and Winter, for example, would both want to keep their people in line, because of the whole mutually assured destruction thing. If one gets too distracted by a war with someone else, the other pounces.
If you are powerful enough, though, you can pick on a weaker faction, or goad them into war just to gobble them up, and every one else pretty much stays out of your way... And that's pretty much what the RCVs planned for the WC.
A sort of Foreign Legion-like supernatural Interpol might not be a good idea for an alternate setting. Although, who would be in charge of them?
Then there should be a good reason for the White Council to allow this other group to exist.
Consider this... At the point I'm at in the books, the war is not going well for the WC. They need help. Outlaw Warlocks aren't exactly a part of the WC proper, even though the WC has jurisdiction over them. Moreover, the Warlocks are effectively negative man power, since every Warden or Wizard required to hunt down a Warlock is a Warden or Wizard not fighting the RCVs.
So, perhaps it's as simple as the WC making a deal with the devil, so to speak, and signing a treaty of sorts with the Warlocks... In exchange for an alliance against the vampires, the White Council grants this faction of Warlocks amnesty for their past crimes (or perhaps all their death sentences are commuted to the Doom of Damocles). It'd be a win-win for both sides. The Warlocks get a second chance to clean up their acts. The White Council gets manpower for the front lines.
Likewise, the exchange could be instigated by the Warlocks as something more of an ultimatum... Help us become a freehold and we'll help you fight your war. Prevent us from becoming a Freehold and we'll help the vampires fight their war.
