Financial Institutions

The companies of Golden Gateway Innovations, The Archives, and iWays Transport Solutions are companies in the traditional sense, and their resources, contacts, and infrastructure allows them to wield power across the Valley.

The other three groups–The Open Ocean Alliance, The People of the Land, and Sinn and Conn–are marked as financial institutions as a mechanical nod to their own resources, contacts, and the strength of their communities. They are comprised of various interconnected groups, where helping one of them helps them all.

Over time, different groups may join, leave, or transfer between “institutions” depending on actions taken and events occurring during games.

 
 
Art by Kai Norman

Art by Kai Norman

 

Golden Gateway Innovations (TM)

Golden Gateway Innovations™️ is a company of Elitariats that focuses on the invention, production, and sale of technological gadgetry.

  • The company has deep ties with House Musk, but it is generally company policy for employed Technicians to maintain a level of secrecy about all details of their work, including but not limited to: salary, invention processes, QA testing, ethical concerns, bathroom breaks, and material sourcing.

    Dr. ∆ÆVI, Ph.D, Techno-Savant, is the intimidating leader of GGI™️. They demand high quality and strictly scheduled productivity from their Technicians. 

    • House Musk

    • F&J Salvaging
      Flotsam & Jetsam Salvage is a company of Nomads who trawl local waters for useful scrap to sell. Internal quotas keep these salvagers pretty competitive amongst themselves for the biggest hauls. Rumor has it, they may or may not “salvage” recently abandoned objects and sell off the parts, but the company certainly does not condone such behavior. 

    • Low Mon Bay
      A oceanside settlement southwest of Etherium Pointe, Low Mon Bay is a trading port, and the home of the GGI main offices/laboratories.

 
Art by Yann Lee | yannlee.com | Instagram @yawnlee

Art by Yann Lee | yannlee.com | Instagram @yawnlee

The Archives

The Archives is a company that collects and preserves knowledge, which can be accessed for a price. Prints, maps, historical lore, your rival's weaknesses, recipes - it's all there. 

  • See, buying and selling private information is actually the most lucrative part of The Archives' business. Archivers have connections with all sorts of organizations who bid great deals of money for such "research", regardless of how the latter may intend to use it. Both the acquisition of this information and its dealing can be very risky in nature though, so the company keeps this part of their business very quiet.

    Their leader is Mx. Devyn Alexandria Zucc, a curious lover of knowledge and an observant opportunist. They are not well-known even to their own employed Archivers, as they primarily correspond with written communications and memos.

    • House Zucc

 

iWays Transport Solutions

iWays Transport Solutions expanded rapidly, crowding out or buying up almost every other land-based transport group and Nomad clan in the area to dominate the local land-transport market of both goods and people. They want to keep expanding, until their rides and workers can be found in every settlement and town throughout SCV, connecting all of them with efficiency and professionalism.

 
    • House Jobbes

 

Sinn and Conn

The town of Sinn and Conn was once a secret haven for merchants and wealthy families, but since troubles years ago fixed with the help of survivors who became known as the Sinners, the town has become less secretive and more community-oriented.

 
  • The town has prospered in the years since the war. Now, it’s a hub of trade and a bastion of safety in the rough wastes of Sinn and Conn Valley. They don’t hold trade meets here any more to ensure the safety of those who call the town home, but they pass on what extra resources they have to the people of the Valley in the hopes everyone survives and prospers.

    • The Sinclairs and Connors
      The leaders of Sinn and Conn, the Sinclair and Connor families are both rivals and friends. These merchant families fled Vegasia to found Sinn and Conn, and have since vowed to work together for everyone’s benefit. This doesn’t mean old rivalries don’t occasionally flare up between individuals, though.

    • The 311s
      A DJ clan of rough riders and fast drivers, the 311s skirt the heavily defended convoys and couriers of iWays to deliver supplies across the Valley–when they aren’t traveling the wastes around Sinn and Conn to wipe out threats before they reach the town. 

    • Etherium Pointe Civic Society (Player run sister institution)
      A grassroots consensus-building organization that coordinates activity around town issues, and builds intentional community.

    • Easter Egg: If you read this section, mention the Easter Egg to Morgan at game and receive 10 free CAPs! 10 Additional CAPs if you can tell a story from Sinn & Conn’s history.

People of the Land

The trading connections and camaraderie of the common folk of the Valley have strengthened in the wake of the corporations’ rapid expansion.

 
  • While there is no formal leadership structure connecting the groups, they trust each other more than they trust the people who would want to buy them out. Many have started referring to themselves and each other as both parts of their own groups and as People of the Land: folks who want to hold onto their homes, communities, and ways of life.

    • Dirt Free Farms
      A collective of farmhouses and plots across the valley who primarily husband the variously-sized slug livestock the valley is famous for.

    • Overwind
      A farming community also known as the Freesetters, the people of Overwind stick together and work with their neighbors to keep their people safe. 

    • Crimson Woods Cell
      The biggest and most influential Red Star cell in the Valley, dwelling in the extensive tree tops of the Irradiated Redwood Forest. They’re all about totally rad vibes and making sure that everyone has an equal chance in this world to truly figure out their purpose.

    • Sempers of the Tower in Shadow
      Formerly members of a psion-sacrificing cult, the few remaining sempers of the Tower have forsaken the tenants and ways of their former life. Led by Carte, they spend their time repairing their small group’s relationship with their neighbors in the valley and helping any other Sempers who happen to come out of the many pods remaining in their sunken home.

    • Amalgamates
      A cult of the Church of Darwin who believe that adapting via body modification, rather than radiation, is the key to evolution. Their trading connections with other groups in the Valley are mostly made of the medical and doctoring services their unnervingly patchwork-skinned and modified adherents can provide.

    • Sluggish Energy Solutions (Player run sister institution)
      Founded by Errol Musk in the earlier days of Etherium Point, Sluggish Energy Solutions buys Slug Poop from Dirt Free Farms and in turn uses it to fuel power plants all around Sinn & Conn Valley. Practically any institution with a fixed building and bytes has some of their demand for energy met by the leavings of little Slugs. Sluggish Energy Solutions: We really give a shit!

 

The Open Ocean Alliance

In the wake of the corporations pushing further and faster into any territory and market they can get their hands on, most of the organizations living in the bays, waterways, and oceans around the Valley banded together to protect their interests from the grabbing hands of the Houses.

 
  • The leaders or representatives of various groups made an agreement to help each other at the cost of the Houses’ profits. They still primarily trade with each other, instead of being a true collective, but they settle prices together and make sure to watch each others’ backs. After all, if you aren’t watching out for fellow ships on the open ocean, if you don’t have some amount of honor among sailors, what do you have?

    • The Flotilla
      A floating island of ships and ship parts with their own internal governance system and fleet, primarily made up of Saltwise and Rovers. A deeply superstitious lot, as many sailors are.

    • The Sargasso
      A caravan fleet of Rovers that primarily make their living through fishing and sometimes salvaging. Many Sargasso Rovers spent time with the Flotilla and due to resource shortages from the COA war several years ago, there are still many debts the Sargasso Rovers owe to the Flotilla. As a result, many Sargasso sailors ended up making a life on the Flotilla, and the Sargasso caravan is smaller than it once was.

    • The Raverunners
      A matriarchal party-hard group of Diesel Jocks who live fast and drive their boatercycles in circles around the ocean threats of the bays. Their proud and loyal poly triad of leaders–Maha (she/her), Yama (she/her) and Deepfake (they/them) Raverunner–make sure everyone keeps floating.

    • The Hive
      A large collection of Digitarians living on The Hornet, a still-floating pre-fall aircraft carrier. They are often more militaristic in nature, and have their own dialect and hierarchy; in the wake of the collapse of the Rayne Drop Initiative, their leaders saw the need to make better connections with those that share the waters with them, and have started making more trade deals and agreements. These often, though not always, come in the form of Hive Digitarians on loan to other places in the Alliance to train others in ways of fighting zed and raiders, or to ensure ships get where they need to go.

    • Maw Rock Cove
      A port on the southern end of the Valley, this is the home of the once bustling Broken Coast Trailwrekkers, who did much of the land cargo transit before iWays gobbled up the markets. They expanded their port and focused on ocean shipping instead, keeping themselves going by trading with or ferrying cargo for people who want nothing to do with the Houses and their power grabs. Rumors float around that some of their cargo is more illicit, though to anyone in the know one thing is very clear: no crystal candy travels through Maw Rock Cove. Ever.

    • Hive Combat Logistics Incorporated (HCLI) ( Player run sister institution)
      HCLI is a private security contractor and arms supply company headquartered in the Sinn and Conn Valley.

      HCLI’s armed security branch specializes in supplying highly trained combat personnel to provide security for key installations and convoys. They also provide training, support, and advisors to smaller military organizations throughout the valley.

      HCLI’s logistics branch buys and sells high-quality arms and war matériel from manufacturers across the wastes, and is prepared to deliver its products in times of peace and under fire. This branch of the company also takes contracts to provide humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

      HCLI’s operations and organizational structure are based on the experiences of its founder, 2Lt. H.Kay-Clementine, with the Hive Security forces.

      Organization head: H.Kay-Clementine, global administrator

 

Other Local Groups

  • Followers of Trains Without Tracks, these Lascarians scrounge through old tunnels for bits of technology or pieces of their Steel Gods. They keep some safe trade routes open between Sinn and Conn City, Etherium Pointe, and outlying areas with their well-defended underground tunnel network, though the tunnels have been used less as iWays has expanded.

  • The following information is entirely out-of-game knowledge. There are vague whispers of Murder Inc in some criminal circles as a group of expert assassins, saboteurs, and spies. Secrecy is the second highest priority. If someone doesn't know who the assassins are, they don't know to target. While some chapters of Murder Inc have focused on financial gains or political control, the cell in the Sinn and Conn Valley has one objective: the greater good. It is a place where all voices are heard and everyone's opinions are given equal weight as they find their way towards the best outcomes for the greatest number. As a group, targets are chosen, murder and sabotage are carried out, and from the shadows, the freedom and security of the Valley is maintained. To join Murder Incorporated your character must have some level of the Criminal Influence skill or be willing to learn a level of the skill. If you wish for a character of yours to join (or feel your character should be hunted for their actions), send an email with character information to our story team. More information can be found in this document by Most Improbable.

 
 

Guidelines For Creating Sister Organizations

Local characters who have attained the skill Master Financial Influence may use it to create their own Sister Organization, which is allied to a Financial Institution of their choice and may affect the Institution’s Standing through requested modules. Please use the form below to request your Sister Organization.

If you already have a Sister Organization and are looking to request a module through them, head on over to the PPRs & PFAs page.

  1. You may only request one M. Financial Influence module per month.

  2. There is a local limit of 1 Sister Organization at a time per player

  3. If in the future you want to replace your Sister Organization, you may do so with an Action Request establishing the new one. The old one will be dissolved. You must wait at least 3 months before you replace your Sister Organization with a new one.

  4. Ex: Presley has founded Conmen Unlimited™  and uses it to ally with Flotsam & Jetsam. After a few months, he decides he no longer supports Flotsam & Jetsam's company goals. He decides to dissolve Conmen Unlimited™ and instead he creates Absolutely Not Thieves Inc., a Sister of The Archives.

  5. Dissolving your Organization multiple times is allowed, but could have narrative consequences.

  6. You as the M. Finance creator have roleplay control over your Sister Organization for as long as you are running them. You may not use them to create mechanics or normal (non-plot) items.

    You do not have control over the Main Financial Institution (F&J, GGI, SCMC, etc)  which your Sister Organization has allied with - rather, you only have the ability to increase their Standing by using your Sister Organization to assist them via requested modules.

For more details on the skill itself, please refer to the skill description in the Core Rulebook.