World Factions: Executive Defense Directorate | Animal Pharm | The Board | New South Wales Botany Club | The Amaranthine Sodality | Envirocon Holdings | The Scions of Aquitania | The Justicar Sacrament | The Cartel Club | The Altis Foundation

About Factions

Factions are, at its core, common-interest associations. Players (or even sometimes NPCs) band together that share a common goal or ideal. Maybe it's a political ideal, religious dogma, trade association, or other interest that brings them together, but it's the bonds of the faction that keeps them together. Through faction activities and shared resources are ties that are woven together. Usually, when you mess with one member of a faction you're messing with them all.

When you start Government Sanctioned^SM , you are an espionage agent working for the super-secretive Executive Defense Directorate (EDD). It's this agency that will give you your first assignments and teach you the tradecraft of the spy business. Many agents continue to serve the agency ("the agency" is the slang for the EDD) for all of their careers while others find and join other factions as their allegiances become better fleshed out and developed. A few agents even create their own agency or faction and actively recruit players into it. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Much of this information is pulled directly from open game content of Spycraft The Agency © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc and Spycraft 2.0 © Crafty Games.

JIRA Issues

Joining a faction

Besides the EDD, every other faction in the game requires being invited to join. Some may require a debt of service beforehand while others charge guild fees and others still accept only certain political ideologies. There are several factions, due to their very nature, that are highly secretive and mysterious and a player may not even learn of their existence until he is offered membership or crosses paths with the faction during the course of his career.

Reputation (REP)

A player character gains reputation by completing faction quests, or assignments. This reputation can be accumulated and at any time can then be subsequently spent on the purchase of reputation-only or faction items. Each faction can offer its own faction-specific REP rewards for purchase by qualifying agents. Some of these reputation-only items are extremely powerful, rare, or desirous.

Conversely, REP can also be lost unavoidably through certain actions of the agent, in particular when failing assignment objectives that have exposure infraction requirements. For a more detailed coverage of available reputation-only rewards, visit the  Reputation Rewards page.

Consequences of joining a faction

Some factions come with strings attached. There are some long-brewing animosity between some factions and your membership in one of them may automatically make you an enemy of one or more other factions. For instance, joining a GangMember faction will automatically put you at odds with the Law, Government, and Agency factions. Some rivalries are even secret and you won't know until it's far too late...

Faction Properties

All factions share the same properties from "the agency" down to the newly formed faction. There are quite a few options set for factions so now might be a good time to grab a cup of coffee and sit back down to read. Some of these properties are required and present in all faction game entities while others are given as guidelines or brainstorming exercises to help players flesh out their own factions and agencies.

Concept

This is the high-level concept of the faction. It describes more about what the organization's mastermind is, but not necessarily what they do, how they do it, nor why they do it. Consider this the jumping off point when thinking about creating a new faction or agency. Here are a few organization concepts for you to mull over.

Corrupt Local/Municipal/Federal Government  An established government, possibly even one with whom the agent's home government has an alliance or pact. Cunning Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator  Controlled by a shadowy figure who seems to have power, influence, and control where ever the agents turn. Elusive Terrorist Organization Spreads terror to all or a select group(s) to further their political, religious, or social ideologies. End-Times Cult  Foments fear and doubt through the prediction and hope of an apocalyptic end-of-days event. Fanatical Eco-Terrorists  Combats the violence against nature with violence of its own. Financial Mogul  A mastermind – or a consortium of masterminds – willing to do anything to expand and protect their vast fortunes. Genetically Engineered Super Soldiers  Masterminded by an exotic, fringe leader whose beliefs may not map realistically to the real world but has the wherewithal and scientific ability to create a cadre of elite fighting forces. Could be robots, too. International Smuggling Cartel  Devoted to financial success through illegal trade of weapons, goods, people, or drugs. Large Scale Theiving Ring  A troupe of high ech thieves, along with the necessary supporting personnel. Mad Scientists  Develops, tests, and uses (or threatens use) of experimental weaponry and technology. Masterful Thinker Revels in testing its genius against the agents. The particular plots are almost irrelevant so long as the agents present a respectable challenge.

Mercenary Espionage Team Organized and formed as almost a mirror of the agency through the dark universe. Similarly outfitted and equipped, this threat has opposing missions to the agency. Modern Day Pirates Raiders seeking to dominate a region's transit and trade routes, make it rich by capturing and ransoming vehicles and goods, or both. One-Man Army This is a one-man operation, ran by a single mastermind who may or may not employ minions to do his bidding. Organized Crime Family A threat linked in some way to an established organized crime syndicate such as the Russian Mafia, Italian Mob, Japanese Yakuza, or the Chinese Triads. Playboy Billionaire A mastermind who has an extensive organization and capabilities due to his sheer individual wealth and net worth. Often engages in espionage just for the game and entertainment of it. Rising World Government A newly established government out to prove itself in the global political environment. Rival Agency Often the tool of a foreign power diametrically opposed to the agency. Alternatively, it could be a branch of the agent's own government. Rogue Military Organization An unsanctioned military force working toward the aims of its leaders. Ruthless Freelance Assassins Engages the agents in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, presenting mind boggling challenges to all who attempt to track them down. Well-Meaning Philanthropist Sometimes the most well-meaning intentions can have dangerous effects, especially if the leaders in the organization resort to dubious means.

Faction power and influence

A faction operates in a particular environment and over time becomes an expert in that field. The Sphere of Influence represents the environment in which the agency is most adept at operating. Each Sphere of Influence has its own favored contact type with its particular Strategic Engagements bonus.

Sphere of Influence	Favored Contact Type	Conflict Bonus
Business	Professional	Infiltration
Government	Government	Memory Conditioning
Intelligence	Intelligence	Provocation
Law	Police	Manhunt
Military	Military	Interrogation
Cultural	Street	Seduction
Underworld	Crime
Education	Academic	Hacking
Political	Political	Debate

 

Agency Forté

The agency over its inception and operational lifetime has developed and recruited certain specialties. All agencies have one of the following.

Forté	Forté Bonus
Unbreakable	+2 fort save
Unflappable	+2 will save
Uncanny	+2 reflex save
Master Students	+2 academics check
Master Charmers	+2 disposition/seduction check
Master Manipulators	+2 blackmail/coercion
Master Interrogators	+2 interrogation
Master Brainwashers	+2 brainwashing
Master Tormentors	+2 harassment
Master Hackers	+2 computers/electronics check
Master Trackers	+2 search/surveillance check
Master Motorists	+2 maneuver or mechanic check
Master Tricksters	+2 bluff/disguise check
Master Travelers	bonus language
Master Diplomats	+2 bureaucracy/diplomacy check
Master Cryptographers	+2 crypto/forgery check
Master Detectives	+2 info/surveillance check

Organizational Front

Similar to the Home Office and Public Intent covered below, the organizational front is the face that it presents to the public. Some organizations may be so secretive that they don't even have a public front, although most wise factions have some sort of "cover story" for their operation. The organizational front doesn't have to be a real entity in the game, although faction creators are welcome to do so if they are the motivated type. So, what would you have the public believe your organization to be?

 

Anonymous No public face as it strives to maintain an impenetrable veil of secrecy. Billionaire Playboy Gamblers Well-paid, well-off high-stakes rollers who enjoy fast, exciting lives while moving through power circles of high society. Charitable Organization Great cover for a variety of threat organizations, particularly those that need a fresh supply of warm bodies to experiment on. Can often call on the public good will toward the organization to sway opinion. Educational Organization A good cover for an agency that represents a small college or university. Beneficial for its wide range of resources available to it. Fanatic Terrorists This front could be the actual threat itself, or it could be a front to manipulate the public and even its members while the mastermind uses it to further his own agenda. Fashion Mogul Maintains a business front in the fashion world, allowing him to travel the world with impunity and make many contacts among the rich jet set. Fringe Religious Sect Conceals its secular motives behind religious robes, drawing in true believes to act as foot soldiers and shield the organization from government interference. Government Bureau A thoroughly penetrated government bureau, gaining the freedom to act with the authority of a government body. Grassroots Revolutionaries Plays upon the sympathies of the public though usually in a third world country. Impartial Mediator Excellent starting point for any mastermind seeking to foment war by playing two or more sides against the middle.

Import/Export Firm A front that allows the organization great latitude when moving personnel and gear across the globe. Independent Research Lab A good front for any mastermind on the bleeding edge of technology, accepting research contracts and grants, funneling the money to private projects. Island Resort Can finance a criminal empire, while simultaneously providing a remote location from which the mastermind can coordinate operations. News or Media Outlet The faction gains press access to global events and information, and an outlet for organizational propaganda and dogma. Pharmaceutical Company A great front for threats that purchase quantities of restricted chemicals and drugs for the production of their own illicit drug lines. Political Lobby A nice, sensible political lobby is a great way to draw sympathy and influence governments through non-violent means. Righteous Crusaders While some threats believe wholeheartedly in their cause, a threat hiding behind this front uses it as an excuse rather than a reason. Simple Thugs May be an actual group of normal thugs, or may be a front used by a more insidious organization using the thugs as their cannon fodder and to throw off investigations. Motorcycle gangs fall under this front. Telecommunications Magnate A financial empire provides a wonderful cover for a scheming mastermind, and it's even better when the nature of the business allows him to monitor global communications. Wall Street Financial Firm A front with the world's money market provides an excellent front for money laundering and gives the threat the potential to upset the world economy. Apparent The threat is exactly as it appears and doesn't use a front.

Home Office

All factions and agencies operate out of a headquarters of some sort, whether it is a centralized network or a decentralized terrorist cell, there is at least one base of operations. Maybe it's mobile or maybe it's a concrete fortified bunker. This operational unit is referred to as the "Home Office" and provides a location from which new agents may be trained, orders given, missions debriefed, training sponsored, and so on. The location and type of Home Office adds flavor to the organization further distinguishing it from other factions. Here is a list of available HO locations.

The player character may or may not have actual digs that match the HO,although it would go a long way toward cohesiveness and believability if the faction's mastermind did reside in a HO similar to one chosen below. It doesn't have to be present at inception but can be worked toward as an organizational goal.

ID	Description
1	A company or chain of front companies in the city
2	Pastoral campus in the suburbs
3	Official government building
4	Sprawling military base
5	Well-known dedicated compound
6	Shadow agency hidden within government entity
7	Enormous private estate (mansion, castle)
8	Decommissioned military facility or missile silo
9	Uncharted island
10	Rustic small town converted into covert HO
11	Run-down cold-war era bunker
12	Glittering downtown skyscraper
13	Decentralized offices spread throughout home region
14	Mobile base of operations (aircraft carrier, submarine)
15	Isolated training facility miles from civilization
16	Network of isolated cells run by independent controls
17	Heavily guarded public facility (US Mint, federal courthouse)
18	Underground top-secret facility at undisclosed location
19	Nondescript civilian facility in a residential neighborhood (youth center, drug rehab)
20

Thanks to The Agency © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc

History

The faction history should be written up by the faction creator in as much detail as she can muster. Include public components and secret components and use this history to help write missions and support the faction's agendas. This history is only viewable by the faction creator and the top-level rank in the faction but can be disseminated to its members or others as propaganda.

Agendas

Faction agendas describe the organizational intent of the faction and represents their goals. There are two types of agency agendas: public and private.

Public intent

Every faction puts on its public face when confronted by civilians and/or authorities, so it's good to have a good story. Just how its beneficial for every agent to have a solid cover story, it goes double for agencies. A faction's public intent is a publicly acknowledged mission statement about what the organization is about or is trying to accomplish. This, of course, will be far from the truth about what its really after, but its important to feed the public with good lies to keep up a good image.

It's a good preparatory practice to write up a brief, one-paragraph mission statement for the organization. This can be used in marketing campaigns and public sound/video bites, too. In-game, all factional public intents can be boiled down into a small set of useful categories. Once you have your vision/mission statement written, choose one of the following public intents as the publicly claimed role of your newly forming organization.

1. Advising (government, civilians, agencies)
2. Apprehension (suspects, criminals, traitors)
3. Control (of citizens, global events, geo-political regions)
4. Collection (of information, lost/stolen items)
5. Combat (terrorism, warlords, enemies of democracy)
6. Defense (of citizens, cultures, nations)
7. Freedom (for citizens or cultures from external factors)
8. Investigation (of individuals or events)
9. Justice (for citizens)
10. Observation (of government, civilians, criminals)
11. Peace (regional or global)
12. Profit (for organization, nation)
13. Protection (of citizens, natural or industrial resources, borders)
14. Research (technology, history, profiling)
15. Security (for citizens, culturs, nations, select few)
16. Science (advancement)
17. Stability (national or global)
18. Support (of the law, an organization, body of government)
19. Training (spies, soldiers, government, terrorists, activists)

Private intent/agenda

The public intent is a statement about what the agency/faction claims to promote and be about, but the faction's hidden agenda is the true aim of the organization. At agency creation, the faction owner must choose one hidden agenda (also called "goals"). Agendas not only flavor the faction with the type of actions it plans/will be taking place in, but as the faction gets closer to accomplishing it's hidden agenda, it gains bonuses particular to that agenda.

A complete list of hidden agendas are featured below for your reading entertainment.

Agenda Progress Rating

As one of the faction power ratings that can be set (ie increased or decreased) at creation time and when leveling up a faction, the agenda progress rating represents how close to its goals the faction is. Advancement of the faction's hidden agenda provides some other beneficial bonuses, as well, as listed below in the agenda tables. Initially, this rating starts off at one (1) and can only be increased through faction advancement actions. Nothing fancy or special happens when a faction reaches its goal (that is, top level power rating for an agenda) except that the faction gets to choose a new agenda while keeping all the accumulated bonuses from its previous agenda(s), if it wishes.

Hidden Agendas

Faction progress is made through the creation and completion of faction-themed quests called assignments. Assignments are identical to quests and missions except that they are only given through faction contacts and award faction points along with any monetary or item rewards for completion of the assignment. As each mission is completed, a percentage of that XP (as Faction XP or FXP) is gained by the faction so the more members it has and the more assignments it has, the more FXP it can potentially gain.

The table below lists the progress level for agendas along with its required FXP needed for the next level.

AGITATION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2 +1 to harassment campaigns 3   4   5   ASSASSINATION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2 5% extra XP on neutralize assignments 3   4   5   CONTROL AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   CREDIBILITY AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   ENLIGHTENMENT AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   EVOLUTION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   EXTINCTION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   GENOCIDE AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   GREED AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   MEDDLER AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   PEACE AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   POWER AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   PROPAGANDA AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   REDEMPTION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   REVENGE AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   TAKEOVER AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   TERRORIST AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   VISIONARY AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5

ANARCHIST AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5       CONQUEST AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   COUNTER AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   DESTRUCTION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   ENTERTAINMENT AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   EXPANSION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   GRAIL AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   LUDDITE AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   MEGALOMANIA AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   POLITICAL AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   PROLETARIAN AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5   RECONSTRUCTION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   REVELATION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   SECRECY AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   SUBVERSION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1   2   3   4   5   TRANSFORMATION AGENDA Progress Benefit 1 +1 to all minion levels 2   3   4   5

Agenda Progress Level	Faction XP
1	5,000
2	20,000
3	45,000
4	80,000
5	125,000

The mechanisms and rules for earning FXP are still being worked out and are subject to rapid change as the developers balance this part of the game. If you are interested in this, you should bookmark this page in your personal space and come back to it often or setup a notification for this page to automatically notify you when parts of it changes!

It is envisioned that a large part of the FXP a faction gains will be from the repeatable assignments that are available to its members. The more dedicated a committed a faction's members are who are willing to do repeatable quests over and over for the good of their faction will reap the benefits of a more powerful faction over time.

In release candidate 0.2, the developers are putting in a mechanism that will allow the tracking (in percentage) of the contribution an individual has made to the FXP of a faction. This could be a good basis for rewards and promotions inside the faction for members who are highly dedicated.

Public awareness

This statistic describes how much the general public knows about the faction. The level of awareness affects what is known involving five aspects of the faction: its goals, methods, leaders, individual members, and functional sites. There are also five levels of awareness, with newly created factions starting off in the middle between ultra-secretive and common knowledge.

 ^† The Power Rating (PR) bonus: the number before the slash is the bonus to the mastermind and officers; the number after the slash is the bonus to its rank-and-file members.

Players may spend faction creation points to move its public awareness in either direction when creating a new faction. Otherwise, it takes some special faction action (like a marketing campaign or book burning) to modify this value. 

Departments

All factions must have at least one department and up to seven, chosen from a list of available department types. The list represents department types or functions; the agency owner is free to name the departments whatever she likes. Departments confer certain bonuses on their members and allow for certain resource requests to be made. Each department costs are as follows and are not cumulative. That is, it costs 3 points for four departments not 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 7.

The following are the department functions and examples.

Rank structure

Factions, as with really all organizations, impose some sort of ranking structure to establish the pecking order. An agent's rank within the organization determines his rank title, pay grade (modulates % faction assignment rewards), clearance level, and availability of agency resources and equipment. The Agency uses the default rank structure based on government service levels. Note that there are two ways of referring to an agent's placement in the faction: GS level and actual rank. Even custom rank structures map to id levels for convenience. All rank structures have 10 levels and some associated values cannot be changed, such as when a clearance level is granted. Faction owners manage this type of detail by carefully considering what rank each member should be.

The Agency's default rank structure is listed below.

^†  The SES-# ranks are considered "officer" ranks for all privileges and rights thereunto.

New factions may accept the default rank structure or may opt to create their own. Details of rank structure creation is forthcoming, but is currently under development.

Agents, Handlers, Case Officers, and Controls

Agent tolerance

Agent tolerance describes the "indulgences" the agency gives the agent in performance of his duties. Sometimes, to accomplish a mission some laws have to be, shall we say, bent. The agent tolerance value sums up how the agency views such illegal actions. In NPC-ran factions, these rules are hard-and-fast; that is, they accurately describe how the agency will respond to illegal actions that are discovered. Player-ran factions, however, may or may not strictly follow this descriptor although for game play consistency it is encouraged.

Agent value

In the course of a mission some laws have to be overlooked. Heaven forbid the agent is actually caught breaking the law, but if he is, the agent value property describes how an agency will respond.

Resources

A threat's (a "threat" is the spy slang jargon for an organization hell-bent on causing problems) resources determine what special assets the organization can bring to bear in accomplishing its agenda or fighting player characters. A resource confers some particular benefit onto the faction as a whole, and in some cases, is extended to the organization's mastermind, henchmen, minions, or player characters.

All resources are based out of and require a site of operation. This site provides the stated benefit of the resource and if the site is taken over, destroyed, or the faction otherwise loses control of the site, the supported resource and its benefits is also removed from the organization. Often, agents will have to visit many such sites in their missions to uncover the true nature of an evil faction in a chain of events.

In the next sub-section, we list all of the incorporated sites from the game and the resource and benefit(s) conferred upon the owning organization.

Sites and infrastructure

This is the current, up-to-date list of agency sites with their stated resources. New sites and resources are added regularly by builders and game controls, so be sure to keep checking back for recent additions.

Training support

Every agency has the capability of offering some sort of training to its agents. Training temporarily (although some high-level, immersive training offer longer-lasting benefits) raises some of the agent's stats. This can be beneficial for an agent with a low rating in one skill or stat going on a mission that she knows will require the use of this stat, as the proper training course can boost the stat up to a usable value.

The greater the benefit and longer duration of a training session requires better and more immersive training, which is provided by better and more immersive training facilities. The level of agent training and the types of training courses available to the agency is directly influenced by the agency's level of training support.

For a list of available training courses see the training page.

Availability of weapons, gear, and other items

Not all weapons and equipment is available to characters at any given time. Access to and availability of weapons is described by a statistic called a tier. Every item in the game belongs to one of the ten availability tiers, numbered in roman numerals from I to X. An object's tier represents how difficult it is to lay your hands on or get access to a particular item. A Tier I item is commonly available while a Tier X item requires an act of god to get hold of (or maybe an act of congress). Examples include Emergency Medical Kit mk I in Tier I and a Tier VIII item might include a nuclear submarine or military-grade jet fighter. It's worth taking note, some items, no matter what your tool rating or access level is, will not be available except through reputation, resources, or favors.

Licensure

Besides the various tiers of gear being a barrier to item access there is also the issue of having proper licensing for any special equipment that requires it. This means that the agency must be licensed to purchase and own the equipment if it plans to make it available to its agents and it means each individual agent is required to be properly licensed before purchasing, owning, or using a restricted item. Most full-auto or burst weapons are restricted, as are sensitive spy equipment, like microtransmitting bugs or poisons. The levels of licensure are listed below. Choose the level that fits most of your needs when creating your agency.

Some agencies may place higher priorities on providing the most advanced electronics while supporting only a base-level weapons procurement system. Alternatively, a faction may opt to provide high levels of several item categories. This is where the tools rating comes in.

Tools rating

One of the more important aspects of a faction's properties, the tools rating specifies what tier of equipment, vehicles, and weapons are available to the agency. This doesn't mean that any given tier will be made available to the agent, just that the faction has access to purchase gear for its arsenal up to its tools rating in that gear's category. For a list of the gear categories and abbreviations see the gear and equipment page.

All factions start off with access to tier II gear and may increase the tier to which they have access by spending faction points either at creation or when the faction levels up. The cost associated with each tier is given by the table below. The cost is per gear category and is cumulative.

While all gear in a given tier is purchasable in scratch (given that the agency has the proper license for such gear), some gear in the upper tiers are only available to the agent through purchase with their reputation points. Gear at tiers IX and X are above the standard assignment levels for quests and are available only through special consideration and most always only purchasable with reputation points.

Faction-specific assignments

Newly formed factions have the responsibility of creating assignments for their agents/faction members. Good assignments that are equally balanced, interesting, topical, and challenging are difficult to create but we have created a guide to help in their creation which you can find in the developer section of this wiki. FXP, or faction XP, is gained by completing faction quests and a small cut of that FXP is given to the faction itself. This is how factions advance their agendas; by collecting FXP that their agents gain.

Faction wealth

Factions need enormous amounts of wealth to accomplish it's worldwide agendas. Factions gain scratch (the in-game term for money) in several ways:

• member donations
  Members may choose to bank some of their scratch in the faction's coffers, thereby increasing the agency's wealth. Funds may only be pulled out of the agency bank by the faction owner, although any member may donate.
• faction assignments
  Factions get a cut from all faction quests that their members complete. Normally, agency assignment pay rewards are deducted from the agency's coffers, but as the cut to the faction is greater than what is paid to the agent, the net result is that the agent is paid and a small percentage is banked in the organization's bank.
• agenda progress
  Some levels of progress gained from forwarding an organization's agenda offer monetary rewards. What agendas offer this and at what levels can be found in the section on agency agendas.
• member dues
  Some factions may choose to require their members to pay a fee at joining and optionally during a recurring period, usually yearly. Factions are required to disclose this fee at agent induction and joining the agency constitutes the agent's consent to have this amount automatically deducted from their bank account. Agents without the scratch to pay their dues may be disciplined at the discretion of the agency officers.
• faction shops (v1.3)
  The ability for factions to create and operate their own shops, banking all the profits is a new feature scheduled for release 1.3 of the game server software. Shops will be operated by a faction NPC. The faction can determine what kind of shop, what it sells, its profit margins, and so on.

Market value

The fair market value of a faction is easily and directly determined. It's the total of all their banked scratch, non-outstanding stock, plus its (total faction points * $50,000). An agency's market value is used as a prerequisite for some resources and can be useful if the organization ever changes ownership.

In future versions of the game server engine, it has been suggested that the market value become more complex according to their stock market analysis. This is currently under review and consideration. It will be announced well in advance of any implementation so be sure to check the wiki and forums for up-to-date information on this topic.

Specialist training and availability

During the course of a mission, agents may need extra support from their agency in the form of specialists. These specialists are able to perform skill checks using their skill level and bonuses. This is a great benefit to a team with no computer training when they need to hack into an enemy's network, for instance. Specialists will not enter combat and will only perform their required duty.

The availability of specialists is determined by the agency's specialist training property. The higher the skill of the specialist, the greater the skill bonus as well as coming at a greater cost to the agency. This setting may be increased later when the faction gains a level, but may never be decreased.

Advancing the faction

As mentioned above, the advancement of a faction or agency is done through advancing their agenda(s). The faction agenda is forwarded by gaining FXP through completed faction-based quests (ie assignments) that faction members complete. Therefore, it's important for the faction to have a good builder type that can develop interesting and challenging quest content related to their faction.

-> economy check
-> scratch
-> faction agenda progress

Faction stat blocks

Other stat blocks you may be interested in include the NPC stat block, the Feat stat block, Character stat block, Item stat block, and Weapons stat block. You're encouraged to check any or all of them out for how varying statistics for a multitude of game entities are stored and displayed.

<FACTION NAME> HQ <OFFICE> AWARENESS <VALUE> PUBAGENDA <AGENDA> [PRIVAGENDA <AGENDA>] INFLUENCE <AREA>
    AGENT INDULGENCE <VALUE> AGENT VALUE <VALUE> ORIGINS <ORIGIN> [LEADER <NAME>]
    TRAINING FACILITIES <VALUE> SPECIALISTS <VALUE> MEMBERS <#> HANDLERS <#> CONTROLS <#>
    [Departments: {...}]
    [Ranks: {...}]
    Goals: {...}
    History: {...}
    Image: GOALS <VALUE> METHODS <VALUE> LEADERS <VALUE> MEMBERS <VALUE> SITES <VALUE>
    Sites: {...}
    Tools: E-<RN> G-<RN> R-<RN> S-<RN> T-<RN> V-<RN> W-<RN>
    MKT VALUE <#>

A formatted Faction stat block

Here's a fictitious multi-national intelligence agency spec'd out in a faction stat block. This faction also isn't found in the game. It's just used here by way of example.

Starting your own faction

Subsidiary organizations

Faction alliances

Faction Standing

^†