I found a faction SMP that is mostly scripted and it is built around server lore and planned story moments.
There are two main factions. One is Eternal Regime and they are the rich and powerful group. The other is Obdolbos and they stay hidden in caves with a small but strong team.
The story is about Elias who leads Eternal Regime and wants control over the whole server and everyone on it. They are looking for more people to join Eternal Regime. If you are good at pvp you can try for Obdolbos.
This is a very early alpha server with a late medieval vibe where factions fight for power and players still have other ways to play.
You can go all in on PvP warfare or you can grind RPG style progression. You can also stay more independent and focus on trading gathering crafting or doing contractor work for other players.
There is a main market hub called Osthaven where you spawn and trade. Out in the wilderness you can set up temporary camps that are protected so travel and hunting feels safer.
The server has custom crops custom furniture and custom weapons with special effects. Mobs are tougher than vanilla and there are boss mobs that push you to team up. Trading is meant to be safer too since it uses a secure MMO style trade window and a mixed currency economy.
Since it is early alpha they want testers who will look for bugs test mechanics check balance and give honest feedback to help shape the server.