In SYNDICATE, each game starts by players drawing a unique syndicate. How you play depends on the unique strengths and weaknesses of your syndicate. Will you be a builder? A destroyer? An explorer?

Read more about the syndicates below.

Altair Group was once a team of lawful scientists and engineers, but when they perfected the technology for making synthetic humans (androids indistinguishable from humans in body and mind) the Sovereign shut down their labs out of fear of the technology. To save their work and their lives, the team fled to the Exo. Now on asteroids and ice planets on the outskirts of the settled system, the Altair Group illegally engineers “AltSynths” for a wide range of purposes. Many people will pay big money for an AltSynth, which will do anything it is asked. Some conspiracy theorists even speculate high profile politicians have been replaced with AltSynths controlled by Altair.

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Phnx is a secretive group of hackers and tech junkies that raid ships and cities in the Exo to accumulate the most advanced technology in the system. They are feared by Sovereign since Phnx’s technological capabilities often surpasses that of the Sovereign, and Phnx has a history of hacking into highly classified Sovereign databases. Members of Phnx practice cybernetic-synthesis, in which they attempt to become more and more indistinguishable from machine by replacing body parts with enhancement robotic appendages, and installing cerebral implants that improve intelligence and connectivity to everything and anything that is digital or cybernetic.

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The informally named “Fixers” are a group of former politicians and other well-connected individuals that operate in the seedy underbelly of politics in Arcturus. For the right price the Fixers can get almost anything passed by the Sovereign Senate or pull the strings of any local viceroy in the system. As the dictatorship of the Sovereign grows, so does the demand for the Fixer’s services. It has dawned on this merry band of corruptors that, with their unique talents applied in the right places, there is clear path to total political control of the star system. The plan is no longer to pull the strings from the fringes; it is time to assume full control of the Arcturus.

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A “legitimate” mining business run by Clark Fidge – a sharp-elbowed businessman who inherited a small niche mining operation with 10 employees and 2 hydraulic excavators and turned it into small empire in less than a decade. Fidge & Co’s success has made Clark a minor celebrity, and he is even considered a hero to the Arcturian working class as a citizen who raised from near rags to great riches. However, beneath the surface lies the truth to Fidge & Co.’s meteoric rise: corruption, extortion and murder. Early growth of the company was funded from money laundering proceeds. After a few years, competition in the mining of the gas giant Koss dried up as competing CEOs turned up dead. Rumor has it that environmental groups went quiet after Clark came across some compromising photos of the groups’ leaders. Now, Fidge & Co’s ambitions go beyond Koss, and Clark sees an opportunity to increase his reach across Arcturus.

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Terrans are a syndicate made up of the few – but battle hardened – survivors of the Terra Rebellion. The rebellion began six years ago after the Sovereign formed a blockade over Goshen (home of rival political faction, the Terra Coalition), which resulted in millions of Goshen citizens starving to death followed by war. After five years of intense fighting, only a few Terrans managed to escape the Sovereign’s final assault. The few survivors watched as the entire planet of Goshen and its billions of residents were obliterated by the Sovereign as warning to other dissenters. In the shadow of a once thriving Goshen is now just an asteroid belt. After billions perished the few surviving Terrans fled into the Exo with whatever equipment, weapons and family they could gather. Now, the exiled Terrans stalk the Exo with merciless vengeance, plundering trade vessels and raiding cities for sustenance.

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Lead by the extremely charismatic Idmon, the Brothers & Sisters of the Ascension of the Second Sun (aka “Ascenders”) is a fringe religious movement that’s rapidly growing in outskirts of Arcturus, especially amongst the poor and downtrodden. Ascenders believe the Arcturus system is on a collision course with a (hitherto scientifically-unconfirmed) large pocket of anti-matter, known as the Nyx, with which Idmon claims to have psychic connection. When Arcturus and Nyx collide, Ascenders believe so much energy will be released that all life in the system will be pulled into a parallel universe, Hypnos. In exchange for pledging body, soul and all material wealth to Idmon, followers are promised eternal wealth and power by Idmon’s side in Hypnos. Ascenders are known for having Prxi-fueled ritualistic group prayers during which followers enter a trance-like state and don’t eat, drink or sleep for days at a time. The Sovereign has long had a policy of ignoring fringe groups like the Ascenders, but now the Ascenders have started accumulating weapons and ships. As their power an influence spreads the Ascenders are increasingly becoming a headache for the Sovereign.

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After completing his service in the Sovereign military, Zaid Black used his family’s wealth to create a private military firm called Constellation Corps. He hired most of his former unit and leveraged his parents’ strong ties to the upper echelons of the Sovereign Senate to win several large contracts for outsourced security services. The Sovereign was thrilled to work with a private army that could operate in political grey areas and keep the Sovereign’s hands clean (publicly). The Sovereign continued to back Constellation for years and even equipped the firm with high tech weapons and ships. Constellation was a critical resource for the Sovereign during the blockade on Goshen and played a key role in the destruction of the planet. The Terra Rebellion made Zaid rich and influential amongst the Sovereign, but in the years that followed the Terra Rebellion, Zaid’s greed continued to grow while the inflow of contracts from the Sovereign slowed. To keep up the lifestyle he and his partners were accustomed to, Constellation started taking on work from anyone that would pay, and recently, several raids on Sovereign outputs were linked back to Constellation. The Sovereign has officially cut ties to Constellation and now considers Zaid an enemy of the state.

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The Ngata family is an infamous crime organization with vast network of ships and safe houses throughout Arcturus that it has built over four centuries. The family can smuggle anything anywhere in the system without detection from the Sovereign. It is no secret that Ngata Family touches all black-market trades in the system. If they are not in the loop, they are very quick to close it and snuff out those who breached protocol. It is said that the day Arcturus was founded was the day the Ngata Family opened for business.

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Orion is a ruthlessly violent drug ring that controls all manufacturing and distribution of Proxima (aka Prxi), a highly addictive and mildly hallucinogenic drug that causes feelings of extreme serenity for users for hours at a time. The Sovereign has largely turned a blind eye to Orion, especially in the Exo, as it sees the Prxi epidemic as an easy way to keep the lower classes pacified and distracted. Under this non-enforcement cover, Orion has managed to spread its drug trade and influence further than the Sovereign is aware of. Orion’s new leader, highly-augmented criminal mastermind, Delphi, has plans that will bring all of Arcturus under her heel.

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The Messier Trust is a family-run criminal banking syndicate led by matriarch, Eve Messier. The Trust has long done well for itself by staying in the shadows and making a small fortune financing crime and corruption, as well as keeping the ill-gotten assets of the Sovereign elites out of the public eye. Business has never been better for Eve. The increase in authoritarian control has lead to an increase in business both from fearful elite looking to hide their assets and the rise in crime and black market trading that has erupted across the Aurcturus System. Even some influential Sovereign Senators, not to be named, are loyal customers of The Trust. Eve Messier has fixed her eyes on bigger prizes and is thinking it is now time to step up the game.

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