The Solstice Syndicate

Levi Aislin Power is the leader of a group of people who are looking to push back against the social mores within Camp Hope. They are a group of misfits and outcasts. They offer an alternative social life to the Church of Hope. They offer a place where you can take risks and be different. They run a casino and grow marijuna. Neither is illegal in the camp, but both are frowned upon by both The Doctors and the Church of Hope.
The Solstice is an organized crime syndicate with its fingers in businesses across the city. Wealth is power. Built on the crushed dreams and broken bodies of citizens deeply indebted to the Solstice. The hierarchy of the syndiccate exists for the single purpose of funneling wealth to the top. This hierarchy has corruption in it at every level, and at any time your superiors might be passing instructions down from on high or just using you to pursue their own agendas of greed and ambition.
The Solistice Syndicate is dedicated to the quest for power. It sees the value in an organized, structured, law-abiding community, because it is adept at exploiting laws and structures for its own gain. It sees itself, in a perfect world, as the arbiter and enforcer of a social order that keeps everyone in their place and the Solstice in the highest place. They believe that adherence to hierarchy is the key to success, and they find great comfort in the rigid structure of their faction.
To boost their declining profits in a vacillating economy, the Solstice has begun offering protection services, promising to shield their “customers” from both physical harm and fiscal disaster. These operations amount to racketeering, bringing with them the underlying threat that those who refuse to pay for protection become targets of the Solstice’s thugs and enforcers.
The Town Watch is the greatest threat to the Solstice’s operations. In times past, the Solstice danced along the edges of the law and presented an appearance of legality, but the combination of an ever-expanding legal code and the faction’s move into racketeering and other explicitly illegal activities has made it vulnerable to Town Watch enforcement. The Town Watch routinely shuts down Solstice protection rackets and takes enforcers into custody.
So far, the syndicate’s most effective tactic has been to increase the layers of separation between the day-to-day criminal operations of the faction and the leadership, ensuring that no matter how many street-level thugs and syndicate memebers are apprehended to fill the general prison, the faction’s leadership remains intact. Contact between the leadership and lower-ranking members of the faction is increasingly rare.

Diplomacy

How people view members of the Syndicate largely depends on which factions they are associated with. Those who are members of the Town Watch or the Church of Hope will generally not like or trust those that are within the Syndicate. Those that are Others or Awakened are often drawn into the Syndicate because they are considered equal within the Syndicate. Within the general population, they are usually seen with a mixed impression. Most people like that the drugs that they provide and the alternative options for entertainment within the camp. But most people also don't like that they promote individulaism and promote the idea that Others and Awkaned are also human.
While most groups are marked as neutral in their association with the Syndicate, it is important to note that this is largely a reflection of people believing that they provide both a postive and a negative infleunce into the camp. People generally recognize that they are invloved with illegal activities which is generally viewed as problematic. But most people also recognize that they are providing the camp important services in entertainment which is something that can be rather hard to come by. Lastly, they are known for being able to aquire things from other camps that are often more difficult to come by.

Solstice Syndicate Characters

• Alignment: Usually lawful, often evil
• Suggested Races: Human, The Others, The Awakened and Automaton.
• Suggested Classes: Face, Infiltrator, Gunslinger, Sniper
• Suggested Archetypes: Anti-hero, Brawler, Cleaner, Sauve
• Suggested Ladders: Born Leader, Performer

Consider joinin the Syndicate if the following sentences ring true:

• You want to move through the corrupt underbelly of society and make respectable people squirm in your presence.
• You enjoy playing fearsome or decadent characters.
• You want to strive for wealth, lavish beauty, or both.

Joining The Solstice Syndicate

Background: The Solstice Syndicate

If your character was born and raised in Camp Hope, you can choose this background instead of those listed in the Ultra Modern Redux rule book.
The prospect of immense wealth is the promise of membership in the Solstice Syndicate. All of the faction’s endeavors channel wealth from society into the ranks of the Solstice — and concentrates the spoils at the top of the hierarchy. As a functionary in that system, your best hope is to claim as much as possible of the money that passes through your hands on its way up, so that you can work your way into a more prominent position. Regardless of your past and the wealth of your family, your initial status with the guild is near the bottom, until you have proven your value.

• Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Persausion
• Languages: Two of your choice
• Equipment: An Solstice insignia, a foot-long chain made of ten gold coins, a set of fine clothes, and 100 credits.
• You gain 1 renown in the Solistice Syndicate and are Rank 1.

Feature: Leverage

You can exert leverage over one or more individuals below you in the faction’s hierarchy and demand their help as needs warrant. For example, you can have a message carried across a neighborhood, procure a short ride without paying, or have others clean up a bloody mess you left in an alley. The DM decides if your demands are reasonable and if there are subordinates available to fulfill them. As your status in the guild improves, you gain influence over more people, including ones in greater positions of power.

Suggested Characteristics

Members of the Solstice Syndicate range from the decadent nobility at the top of the oligarchy to the debt-ridden wretches at the bottom. You fall somewhere between those extremes, so you might behave with the arrogance of the very rich or the humility of the impoverished.

Contacts

The Solstice Syndicate operates according to a strict hierarchy built on a network of connections among old, wealthy families. Your family might provide important contacts, while your family’s activities in crime, banking, or debt collection could tie you to members of other guilds.
Roll twice on the Solstice Contacts table (for an ally and a rival) and once on the Non-Solstice Contacts table.

Offering a Kind of Freedom

General Biases 

These are the biases that members of this faction generally have.

Positive Biases

1. They favor people who are openly different and defying the religious culture of Camp Hope. This bias will be triggered if a character has voiced antireligious views in public or people who are not conforming to the gender ideals. 2. They generally trust The Others and The Awakened. 3. They favor the rich and powerful.

Negative Biases

1. They do not like nor trust anyone who is part of the Church of Hope. This bias will be triggered if a character is carrying any religious items, people who have voiced pro religious views in public, are seen in active worship or are seen spending time at the church. 2. They are generally distrusting of Humans. 3. They dislike the poor and weak.

Founding Date

108SE

Alternative Names

The Syndicate

Demonym

Member

Leader

Levi Aislin Power

Founders

• Levi Aislin Power

Location

Camp Hope

Controlled Territories

• The Solstice Casino

Manufactured Items

• Syndicate Charm

Notable Members

• Levi Aislin Power
• Lyndi Herb Garnet

Related Species

• Human
• The Others
• Tuner

Related Historical Events

• 108 SE
  Founding of the Solstice Syndicate

People always have choice in life. We just offer one of them.

-Levi Aislin Power

Do you think any of this matters? That you matter? How quaint. The universe owes you nothing and doesn't give a shit if you live or die. Whatever you get in this life is from making your own way and taking what you want. Money and power are all that matter in this life.

-Levi Aislin Power

Neutral

The Solstice Syndicate

0

Engineers

0

Neutral

The Solstice Syndicate

0

The Doctors

-10

The Doctors do not approve of the drug use that the Solstice Syndicate promotes as they consider this to be behavior that is unhealthy. That being said, they generally do not have a political position against the Syndicate or have an investment in their actions. The Doctors simply provide education against drug use.

Neutral

The Solstice Syndicate

0

The Farmers Guild

0

Neutral

The Solstice Syndicate

0

The Scribes

0

Enemies

Town Watch

-100

The Solstice Syndicate

-100

The Town Watch believes that the Solstice Syndicate has a negative influence on the camp and that they increase the likelihood of crime.

Enemies

The Solstice Syndicate

-100

Church of Hope

-100

These two organizatoins hold completely differing ideals. The Church of Hope believes that people should conform to strict behavioral codes. They do not value individualism, but rather the group which they believe should always be put first. The Solstice Syndicate believes that people should embrace and celebrate their unquiness. They value individualism and believe that an individual should put themselves before the group.

How Do I Fit In?

The structure of the Solstice Syndicate means that you are always doing the bidding of someone higher up the ladder than you are. Ultimately, your role in the faction is defined by whatever the people above you decide for you.

For most of your career, you can expect to engage in some aspect of the day-to-day criminal operations of the faction. That can mean throwing your weight around to enforce the will of the faction or using your authority to extort payments from the people. But it can also mean doing various errands for your superiors, from bearing messages to carrying out assassinations.

Rank and Renown

The Syndicate adhers to a very strict power structure. Positions open only at the bottom of the organization, and rising through the ranks requires utmost devotion. With increasing rank comes a greater degree of leverage over those who occupy the ranks below you.

Rank 1 Borrower

• Prerequisite: Renown 1 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate

At the beginning of your association with the syndicate, you are regarded as a borrower. Whether you are the wealthy hier of an oligarch family or a penniless citizen deep in debt to the faction, your status is functionally equivalent: you owe everything you have, even your life, to the Solstice. Your only hope of improving your status is through your service to the faction. As you acquire renown, you can rise above this debased position in the faction hierarchy.

Rank 2: Syndic

• Prerequisite: Renown 3 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate

Syndics are low-ranking functionaries. The bulk of your work for the faction involves doing favors for those above you. You can perform minor tasks in the Casino: collecting fees at the door, scheduling appointments for the higher ranked members, keeping ledgers, copy documents, research legal precedent, depose of witnesses, and otherwise assist more senior faction members. Sometimes you flex your muscle to collect minor debts that are of little importance to the faction as a whole.

• At this level of the hierarchy, you can expect deference from borrowers, who will perform small favors that require no significant risk, effort, or cost. Use this stat block for the Borrower: . Additionally, you can take out a loan of up to 500 credits to cover unexpected expenses. This comes with a 10% interest rate that you are required to pay back within a year. Your loan payments are due on the first of every month. you gain access to the Casino. Gain a contact from the contact table under the background section. You can choose if this contact is an ally or rival.

Rank 3: Knight

• Prerequisite: Rank 2 and renown 10 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate

Each knight carries a title that expresses a quality of character, such as Knight of Penance or Knight of Despair. As a knight, you have authority over syndics, and you are trusted — so far as anyone in the Solstice Syndicate trusts anyone else — to transport large sums of money. You also have access to sufficient funds to maintain a comfortable lifestyle between adventures. You represent clients in court, draw up contracts, and put your talents to use in a variety of ways. You are entrusted with collecting larger sums and interacting with powerful clients.

• At this rank, you gain a Syndicate Charm. In addition, you have the authority to demand service from borrowers and indentured servants. But that’s an authority you must use sparingly, since their service counts as credit to their debt, and it’s in the faction’s interest to keep borrowers in debt. Use this stat block for the Borrower: and this stat block for the indentured servants: . Additionally, you can take out a loan of up to 1,000 credits to cover unexpected expenses. This comes with a 10% interest rate that you are required to pay back within a year. Your loan payments are due on the first of every month. Gain a contact from the contact table under the background section. You can choose if this contact is an ally or rival.

Rank 4: Ministrant

• Prerequisite: Rank 3 and renown 25 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate

As a ministrant, you study finance, while managing the syndics and knights under your control. Between adventures, you can now maintain a wealthy lifestyle.

• You are given a that is yours to command. If it is killed, your pontiff gives you a new one at their discretion, possibly up to 1d4 weeks later. You also have a staff of 2d4 knights and 4d8 syndics under your command. You can order them only to carry out tasks that contribute to the work your pontiff assigns to you. The duty of protecting you from physical harm is always appropriate service for your knights, however. Use this stat block for the knights: and this stat block for the Syndics: . Additionally, you can take out a loan of up to 2,500 credits to cover unexpected expenses. This comes with a 10% interest rate that you are required to pay back within a year. Your loan payments are due on the first of every month. Gain a contact from the contact table under the background section. You can choose if this contact is an ally or rival.

Rank 5: Pontiff

• Prerequisite: Rank 4 and renown 50 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate.

As a pontiff, you are one of the executive managers in charge of enacting the will of the oligarchy.

• For that purpose, you have a staff of 2d6 ministrants, with their attendant knights and syndics as described for rank 4. Use this stat block for the ministrants: . You have access to 2d4 and at any given time, to carry messages and perform menial tasks for you. You also gain the occasional privilege of speaking with members of the oligarchy. Between adventures, you can maintain an aristocratic lifestyle. Additionally, you can take out a loan of up to 5,000 credits to cover unexpected expenses. This comes with a 10% interest rate that you are required to pay back within a year. Your loan payments are due on the first of every month. Gain a contact from the contact table under the background section. You can choose if this contact is an ally or rival.

Rank 6: Oligrachy

• Prerequisite: Rank 5, renown 75 or higher in the Solstice Syndicate.

You are one of the rich and the elite. You decide the actions of the Solstice Syndicate.

• For that purpose, you can call upon 1d6 Pontiffs, with their servants as described in rank 5. Use this stat block for the Pontiff: . You have access to 2d6 and at any given time, to carry messages and perform menial tasks for you. Between adventures, you can maintain an aristocratic lifestyle. Additionally, you can take out a loan of up to 10,000 credits to cover unexpected expenses. This comes with a 10% interest rate that you are required to pay back within a year. Your loan payments are due on the first of every month. Gain a contact from the contact table under the background section. You can choose if this contact is an ally or rival.