The Syndicate is a collection of space pirates and other corporations entities seeking to disrupt and oppose any of Nanotrasen's growth. The Syndicate employs a wide variety of different kinds of agents, all with varying methods of their goal seeking and equipment.
Syndicate Agents/Traitors
Syndicate Agents are standard Nanotrasen employees that have been either bribed or intimidated into doing the Syndicate's dirty work. The methodology of a traitor can widely vary from silently breaking into to steal one of the High-Risk Items, assassinating a fellow crew member, or even going on a murderous rampage to try and hijack the escape shuttle.
Some of the most recognizable devices are:
- PDA Bombs (Be wary, nuclear operatives may also utilize these), which cause a specific person's PDA to explode, injuring them in the process
- Cryptographic sequencers, also known as emags, are used to disrupt the internal circuitry of different machinery. Usually used on airlocks and lockers to bypass their ID lock. An emagged airlock will have smoking panel if you examine it, while the light on a locker will be turned off however this can also happen if you apply enough brute force to a locker.
- Occasionally, a traitor will choose to spend all their TC and become a Contractor. This special subsection of the Syndicate focuses on kidnapping crew members and sending them to a Syndicate jail to be interrogated for Nanotrasen's secrets. Contractors have access to chameleon clothing and an Agent ID which can make them able to change their clothes and identity on the go, leading to a hard to track criminal.
- Most of the gear a Syndicate agent will have will originate from the uplink preinstalled on their PDA. This gear can beC-Class contraband which is enough to be brigged for, while S-Class contraband is enough to be permabrigged. Refer to the Contraband section of Space Law.
Guardians are nanomachine creations utilized by The Wizard Federation and the Syndicate, however the Syndicate variant is usually referred to as a holoparasite. These creatures must remain nearby their host and go invisible at will so always be wary of them. Holoparasites can be up to 9 different subtypes. Ranging from being able to heal their host, fling shards of crystals at enemies, and summon gases, holoparsites can be a hard to deal with threat. However, both them and their host are only mortal and lethals are recommended to be lethally dealt with.
Nuclear Operatives, also know as nukies, are Syndicate agents sent to steal the Nuclear Authentication Disk and detonate their own nuke on station. Nukies will arrive in two main ways. Declaring war, in which a loud announcement and siren will play along with the alert level being elevated to Gamma, or by stealthily infiltrating the station to steal the NAD. Nukies have unique MODsuits that can be easily recognizable, the blood red MODsuit and elite MODsuit. Brandishing energy swords, rocket launchers, shotguns, and even mechs, these agents are not to be taken lightly and with the guns that should be ordered from cargo, you can hopefully hold them off.
The Syndicate will occasionally sneak an AI with proprietary Syndicate code giving the AI a unique objective, Survive. Malf AIs will need to either hijack the shuttle or activate their Doomsday Device which is a special device that purges all organic life. If you notice any cyborgs acting strange, you may want to first check if they are synced with their master AI. If not, they could simply be emagged. An unlocked cover could be a dead give away however this could be a product of a forgetful Roboticist. Be on the look out for any permanently dark blue APCs. These APCs are the malfunctioning AI's method of gaining power to use their unique abilities such as giving their cyborgs combat upgrades, blowing up Rapid Construction Devices, and activating the Doomsday Device.
(possible pictures including armblade, armor, and changeling being cremated)
Changelings are alien organisms that can morph into any crew it may come in contact with. Changelings also take contracts from the Syndicate, however have none of the Syndicate's equipment and no access to an uplink. Due to their perfect imitation abilities, it can be difficult to pick one out of a crowd if they are not actively using an ability. Their grotesque arm blade, armor that covers their entire body, and ability to revive themselves from death are all dead giveaways you are dealing with a changeling. Changelings have the unique ability to revive themselves after taking their death so the only true way to defeat them is to cremate them in the chapel or gib them in the gibber, usually found in the kitchen. Alternatively, someone changelings can expand and explode, leaving a headslug in it's wake which needs to find a host to plant its eggs. Killing the headslug will also permanently kill the changeling.
(possible picture of a vamp blindfolded and being fed holy water)
Vampires are creatures that are able to drain blood from sapient beings in order to satiate their hunger and gain new abilities. Similar to changelings, it's difficult to just pick one out of a crowd. A vampire's most recognizable ability is their glare in which a vampire's eyes emit a red flash stunning nearby people. This glare silences anyone so they can not call for help. This makes it extremely important to not hunt vampires alone. Find a buddy and be ready to make call outs. If there are bloodless bodies without any noticeable injuries, this is usually a sign there is a vampire on station. After obtaining a certain amount of blood, vampires have four different paths they can take:
- Gargatua (referred to as a "garg"): This type of vampire has a specialization in melee combat. Able to reduce incoming damage and stun duration, stomp the ground which sends a shockwave that knocks people back, or charge towards people, it is incredibly important to keep your distance and remain diligent about the damage it dishes out.
- Haemomancer (referred to as a "hemo): A vampire using their obtained blood to form weapons and utilities can be hard to deal with. Some things to look for are claws made out of blood, tentacles and walls made of blood erupting from the ground, and exploding blood pools.
- Umbrae: Masters of darkness, umbrae vampires focus on mobility through darkness by utilizing speed boosts in the dark, ensnaring people in blinding shadow traps, and extinguishing nearby light sources.
- Dantalion: These vampires take a different approach to their vampiric ways. Dantalion vampires focus on gaining thralls, which are people who are bent to the vampire's control, and supporting them. These vampire are able to telepathically talk with their thralls, swap places with a nearby target, and removing incapacitating effects from their thralls. If you have captured one of the vampire's thralls, feed them 40u of holy water to unthrall them and send them in their merry way.
Once you have captured a vampire, it's important to blindfold them as soon as you can as they can still glare you even if handcuffed. Next, you'll need to get holy water from either the chaplain who has slapped a water tank with their Bible or Chemistry. Slowly feed the vampire holy water until they vomit up all their blood, usually to the point of normal vomit. Be careful, as too much holy water can quickly become lethal and set them on fire. However, once a vampire becomes fully powered, they are completely immune to holy water. Lethal force should ALWAYS be utilized against fully powered vampires as it is part of Space Law as they cannot be contained.
Mindflayers are IPCs who have fused with a swarm of nanomachines that are able to extract brain-energy from sapient beings in order to become more powerful. Similar to vampires, they seek out crew members to drain them of vital resources. Victims usually tend to have lots of brain damage without many physical injuries. With a built in stun prod that temporarily disables headsets, they can quickly pick off people one by one. Even in a mindflayer's later stages, lethal weaponry isn't always the best option due to their healing abilities. Stun weapons such as disablers and stun batons work well at getting a mindflayer subdued. Once you have cuffed a mindflayer, you will need to get a nanite pacifier from either Cargo or Robotics, assuming the research levels are high enough. You will need to implant the nanite pacifier in their chest to nullify their abilities. If you're unsure one of your IPC crew mates is a mindflayer, feed them some conductive lube, made at Chemistry. If they start to spark, they are a mindflayer.
Cultists are practitioners of the occult, hell bent on summoning their deity onto the station, killing anyone in its path. Focusing on converting crew members into the cult, any cult can quickly spiral out of control. While cultist have the ability to silence people as they kidnap them, you may find some resilient enough to shout out on the radio, which usually sounds like unintelligible slurring, sometimes related to a cult. This is a dead giveaway you have a cult on board. Other sighs are runes made of blood when examined, cultist items found on station, and crew members with unnatural red eyes which are gained when 10% of the crew has been converted. Once 30% of the crew has been converted, you will receive an announcement from Central Command about the extra-dimensional influence aboard. All cultists will soon gain a red pentagram above their head following this announcement. Lethals are HEAVILY recommended on cultists now and required on any constructs the cultists have made. If this is the first sign of a cult you've had, you better order guns and pray. The end goal of the cult is to sacrifice certain targets and then create a giant rune which will eventually summon their deity, calling the shuttle in the process. You will get an announcement about this and when you do Space Law is temporarily lifted and you must stop them AT ALL COSTS.
When you have captured a cultist, you will need to feed them 40u of holy water to deconvert them. They will begin to slur and speak about their deity uncontrollably before finally returning to their senses, with no memory of their cult behaviors.
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Biohazards
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Identifying Antagonists
Ghost Bar
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