TEXT: Corps and Criminals
  By
  Jacob Wood
  
  Crime Pays for Some
  What’s the difference between a megacorporation and a mafia? 
  One of them isn’t being watched by the government.
  They say absolute power corrupts absolutely, but some would ar-
  gue that corruption comes first. Getting to the top requires cun-
  ning, guile, and influence. Staying there requires wealth, prestige, 
  and firepower. Great leaders possess all of these qualities, whether 
  they run the corporations which control our lives or the criminal 
  empires which keep the corps in check.
  Corps and Criminals introduces you to several different types of 
  organizations to use in your next game of Psi-punk. From street 
  gangs who are working their way up to the brightest beacons of 
  capitalism, you’ll find plenty of organizations to align with—or 
  against.
  This book includes:
  • 8 Megacorps, each with a unique corporate culture, advice for 
  GMs on how they fit into your game and tips for players on 
  how to include them in your background.
  • 12 Cartels of 3 varieties: ghost cartels, arms cartels, and traf-
  ficking cartels. GM advice on how each of these organizations 
  fit into your world and how to interact with them.
  • 14 gangs with their own motives and methods, with sample 
  NPCs for their leaders and goons.
  • 7 Mafias from around the world, including sample NPCs for 
  their bosses and henchmen.
  • Plenty of inspiration for Game Masters and players.
  Accessible
  ames
  
  1
  Acknowledgements
  Psi-punk copyright 2013 Accessible Games
  www.accessiblegames.biz
  Credits
  Writing, Layout: Jacob Wood
  Editing: ARose
  Interior Art: Enmanuel Martinez
  Cover Art: Melissa Gay
  Graphic Design: Ruben Smith-Zempel
  Special Thanks: Jon Schneier, David Lacerte, 
   Christopher Helton
  Contest Entries
  The following people contributed content via the 
  first Psi-punk Design Contest, held in July 2013 in 
  conjunction with the Dorkland! Blog (http://dorkland.
  blogspot.com). 
  RJ Stewart  
  Nuevo Horizonte Médico  
   
   
   
  (page 16)
  Andrew Y.  
  The Cabal (page 23)
  Gwen Gray  
  Fantasma Biotécnica   
   
   
   
  (page 25)
  Merry Wilson 
  Espessura (page 30)
  Maire Gray  
  Muertos Carmesí (page 33)
  Follow Along
  Website: 
  Accessible Games Blog
  Twitter:  
  @AccessibleGames
  Google+:  
  +AccessibleGamesBiz
   
   
  +JacobWood
  RPGGeek 
  Accessible Games, Psi-punk
  Facebook: 
  Accessible Games Page
  Permission to Print
  You bought the book, so feel free to print a copy for 
  your own personal use. You may also duplicate sections 
  of this book to share with other players in your group. 
  Practice your best judgment when deciding what “your 
  group” means to you.
  About Fudge
  Fudge is a roleplaying game written by Steffan 
  O’Sullivan, with extensive input from the Usenet com-
  munity of rec.games.design and other online forums. 
  The core rules of Fudge are available free on the In-
  ternet at http://www.fudgerpg.com and other sites. 
  Fudge was designed to be customized, and may be used 
  with any gaming genre. Fudge gamemasters and game 
  designers are encouraged to modify Fudge to suit their 
  needs, and to share their modifications and additions 
  with the Fudge community. The Fudge game system is 
  copyrighted ©2000, 2005 by Grey Ghost Press, Inc., and 
  is available for use under the Open Game License. See 
  the fudgerpg.com website for more information.
  The Fudge System logo is a trademark of Grey 
  Ghost Press, Inc., and is used under license. Logo de-
  sign by Daniel M. Davis, www.agyris.net.
  
  2
  Table of Contents
  |Root
  |__Megacorps........................................... 3
  |  |_Die Oberbank...................................... 5
  |  |_Kojicorp.......................................... 6
  |  |_Macroware......................................... 8
  |  |_Magicorp.......................................... 10
  |  |_MarkeTech......................................... 11
  |  |_Medical Services International.................... 13
  |  |_NFC Global........................................ 14
  |  |_Nuevo Horizonte Médico............................ 16
  |__Cartels............................................. 18
  | |_Ghost Cartels...................................... 19
  |  |_GhostSec.......................................... 20
  |  |_Legion of Death................................... 20
  |  |_Neurotech......................................... 20
  | |_Arms Cartels....................................... 21
  |  |_Acquiring Gear.................................... 21
  |  |_Balken Motor Company.............................. 22
  |  |_The Cabal ........................................ 23
  |  |_Game Hunters, Inc................................. 23
  |  |_Sihir Teknik...................................... 24
  |  |_Voortreflik Freight................................ 24
  | |_Trafficking Cartels.................................. 24
  |  |_Fantasma Biotécnica............................... 25
  |  |_Lunatica Casino Group............................. 25
  |  |_Seoul Survivors................................... 26
  |  |_Spiritual Successors.............................. 26
  |__Gangs............................................... 27
  |  |_Clean Sweep....................................... 28
  |  |_Cyberwave......................................... 29
  |  |_Daughters of Liberty.............................. 29
  |  |_Espessura......................................... 30
  |  |_Evolution Next.................................... 31
  |  |_Fire and Ice...................................... 31
  |  |_Halflings.......................................... 32
  |  |_Muertos Carmesí .................................. 33
  |  |_Nihilismus........................................ 34
  |  |_Phantoms.......................................... 34
  |  |_Prima Machina..................................... 35
  |  |_Rhino Skin........................................ 36
  |  |_Running Wild...................................... 36
  |  |_The Arrogant Pigs................................. 37
  |__Mafias............................................... 38
  |  |_Marco Family...................................... 39
  |  |_Acerbi Family..................................... 40
  |  |_Rakhimov Gang..................................... 41
  |  |_Psibreed.......................................... 42
  |  |_Viuda Negra....................................... 42
  |  |_Rothstein and Sons................................ 43
  |  |_Three Harmonies Society........................... 44
  |  |_Saharan Mafia...................................... 46
  
  3
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Megacorps
  No entity in the world holds as much wealth and 
  power as a mega-corporation. Even governments bend 
  to the will and beg for the influence of these powerful 
  organizations which run nearly every facet of our daily 
  lives. From manufacturing and selling the clothes we 
  wear and nano-food we eat to establishing armed mili-
  taries and peacekeeping forces, mega-corporations truly 
  run the show.
  Mega-corporations, also known as megacorps or 
  corps, vary wildly in the types of services they offer, goods 
  they manufacture, and people they employ. They do all 
  hold one thing in common though: they operate world-
  wide. Every mega-corp has offices in multiple countries 
  and across multiple continents. The largest of them even 
  have bases of operations on the moon, although that ter-
  ritory is still primarily an international safe-haven.
  Megacorps have adopted their own corporate cul-
  tures. Employees often dress the same, behave the same, 
  and in some cases even speak their own corporate lan-
  guage regardless of which country the employee is from. 
  Though slight regional differences do exist, it’s easy to 
  tell one Macroware employee apart from a Magicorp 
  employee no matter which continent they’re on. Most 
  employees even identify as corporate citizens first and 
  national citizens second.
  
  4
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Megacorps in Your Game
  Megacorps play a prominent role in nearly 
  every game of Psi-punk; after all, it’s hard to ig-
  nore their power and influence. Whether used 
  in character backgrounds or as a plot device, 
  megacorps make a great backdrop for many 
  stories and adventures.
  These companies make great villains for epic plots. 
  They represent everything that is wrong with the world 
  today—their unsustainable farming practices caused the 
  Great Famine (see the Psi-punk core book) and left ev-
  eryone dependent on nano-food, their push for corpo-
  rate governance caused the NAU to develop policies that 
  favor the rich and powerful and weaken the lower classes, 
  and their private militaries and police forces often do lit-
  tle to protect the people most in need of protection. It’s 
  easy to come up with entire campaign arcs which revolve 
  around the shortcomings of these massive powers.
  They don’t always need to be painted as big bad guys, 
  though. Most employees of mega-corporations are just 
  normal people trying to make a living. Player characters 
  may come from corporate backgrounds, and they may 
  even be proud to be part of a corporation that develops a 
  lot of helpful new technologies for the world.
  Megacorps and Player 
  Characters
  It’s likely that at least one of the characters in any 
  campaign is a corporate citizen of some sort. They may 
  be drones who constantly tow the corporate line and be-
  lieve their employer is infallible, but more likely they’re 
  just a person trying to make a living. They may be cor-
  porate employees by day, street runners by night, or they 
  may be involved with a corporation’s military arm and 
  join a team as a hired mercenary or corporate spy.
  Citizens who are also street runners have to be care-
  ful not to let their secret life become known. They’re 
  somewhat like masked superheroes, only they’re just as 
  likely to shoot someone as to save them, provided the pay 
  is right.
  Like masked vigilantes from the comic books of old, 
  street runners tend to cross the boundaries between what 
  is legal and what is a grey area. Few corporations toler-
  ate the illegal activities almost always embarked upon by 
  runners, even if many of them do secretly hire these mer-
  cenaries to do their own bidding. As they say, “it’s only 
  wrong if you get caught.” So don’t get caught.
  Being one of The Man’s drones may come with perks, 
  especially if you hold Rank within the corporation, but 
  these come with the cost of having to live a double life. 
  GMs may allow player characters to take a Fault such as 
  “secret life” when the player decides to be a corporate 
  citizen, but the character will need to take great care not 
  to get caught doing something seedy.
  Corporate Citizens and 
  Rank
  Recall from page 36 of the Psi-punk core book that 
  Rank is a skill, usually linked to Status, that says a lot 
  about a character’s standing within the corporate hierar-
  chy. Rank is required to purchase and carry what would 
  otherwise be illegal firearms and other gear, and it also 
  lets a character use his influence within an organization 
  to gain some sort of benefit.
  Not all corporate citizens have Rank within their cor-
  poration. The baseline, low-level employee has a Rank of 
  Poor (-2), which is the same as an untrained skill. These 
  characters may be employees and are entitled to wear the 
  uniform and speak the language, but they answer to ev-
  eryone and delegate to no one.
  Characters with Mediocre (-1) Rank aren’t much bet-
  ter off. They’re floor supervisors in call centers or manu-
  facturing plants, or they’re some other form of low-level 
  management. They can tell entry-level workers what to 
  do, but they’re just another cog in the system as far as the 
  broader organization is concerned. Fair (+0) Rank is only 
  slightly better; these characters are managers to supervi-
  sors and may oversee an entire team of employees, but 
  they still have a lot of upper management to answer to.
  Corporate citizens with Good (+1) Rank are those 
  who’ve truly sold some part of their soul to the Man. 
  They may oversee an entire call center or production de-
  partment, or they may be the lead accountant for a single 
  branch of a franchise.
  Great (+2) Rank employees are regional managers. 
  They oversee an entire geographical region and occa-
  sionally receive travel perks. They may receive bonuses 
  for good performance in their region, but they are also 
  subject to severe scrutiny and penalties for underper-
  forming branches. Still, they get to call a lot of the shots.
  Superb (+3) Rank is the highest that most player 
  characters can reasonably expect to attain. They are re-
  gional Vice Presidents, ranking officials in the corporate 
  military or highly trusted spies with high levels of clear-
  ance. They have a lot of pull with the organization, but 
  
  5
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  the company demands a lot of their time and constantly 
  watches over their shoulder. It can be difficult to be part 
  of a street running team without risking everything, but 
  they may be able to join a campaign based on some other 
  premise (such as joining a team that infiltrates a rival 
  corp or government).
  Wonderful (+4) and Phenomenal (+5) Rank charac-
  ters are exceptionally rare, especially where player char-
  acters are concerned. These may be Vice Presidents or 
  Presidents of regional or even national branches of a cor-
  poration. Simply too much of their time is in demand for 
  the character to lead any sort of secret life, and characters 
  with such Rank are never sent to do field ops.
  Specific Megacorps
  There are many corporations in the world today and 
  it’s important to know who they are. Even if you’re not 
  one of their drones, chances are the actions of these enti-
  ties will have some effect on your daily life.
  Die Oberbank
  Helen sat at her desk, staring at the clock. It currently 
  read 17:58:29, 30, 31… another minute and a half and her 
  weekend would begin. She tapped idly at a few prompts 
  on her workstation, closed out of an open account she’d 
  been working on, and got ready to clock out.
  18:00:00. Click. She was free for the weekend.
  She grabbed her belongings and headed for the 
  building’s exit. Helen walked through the exit scanner 
  and placed her hands in the yellow circles. A quick scan, 
  a green light, and a cheerful beep were enough to tell the 
  security guard she wasn’t trying to make off with any of 
  the company’s equipment.
  “Have a nice weekend, Stan,” said Helen as she 
  stepped out of the scanner.
  Stan tipped his hat and opened the door for her. He 
  never said anything, but a hat tip was enough for Helen 
  to know she was still on his good side.
  As she walked out the door, Helen loosened the tie 
  around her neck. Working for the largest bank in the 
  world had its perks, but the dress code was killer. She 
  couldn’t wait to slip into her weekend clothes: a loose 
  shirt, comfortable pants, Kevlar vest, and a pair of pistols. 
  Now that’s comfort.
  Just a few hours later she was sitting in Radcliff’s Pub, 
  one of the quieter dives on this side of Die Oberbank’s 
  district. She liked Radcliff’s because the music was never 
  turned up too loud—none of that psychopop or tech-
  metal those kids listened to these days—and the fluores-
  cent lights seemed dimmer here than at most bars.
  Helen ordered a nano-beer before glancing around 
  the room at the clientele. She spotted the man she was 
  looking for and casually headed over to him. He was 
  plain looking, but the heavily-wired bodyguard sitting 
  next to him was enough to tell any astute observer that 
  he was a Dealer.
  “Helen,” said the man as she approached his table. 
  “Just the woman I was hoping to see. You interested in 
  a job?”
  Die Oberbank is the world’s largest financial institu-
  tion. Formed from a series of Swiss and German bank 
  mergers, DOB is known for its superior security and 
  don’t-ask-don’t-tell policies. Though the bank is head-
  quartered in Bern, it has branches in nearly every major 
  city in the world.
  During the World Financial Colapse of 2052, most 
  major financial institutions crumbled. Much of the world 
  was impacted by a sudden decrease in investments, off-
  shore account closures, and property foreclosures. The 
  demise of the world’s leading firms left a hole to be filled, 
  and Die Oberbank—one of the few stabile institutions—
  was in the prime position to fill it.
  The company promised and delivered sweeping 
  changes to global banking practices. They successfully 
  lobbied to end the Federal Reserve bank in the NAU, 
  which they pointed to as the reason for the collapse. 
  Meanwhile, Die Oberbank began the switch to a world 
  currency, usable by any participating business or person 
  and backed by DOB. Before long the Neumark was the 
  de-facto standard for currency, and today nearly every 
  government has adopted it.
  Corporate Culture
  As a leading financial institution, die Oberbank likes 
  its employees to keep a high class appearance. Every em-
  ployee wears a suit and tie to work, regardless of gender 
  or regional location. They value professionalism and do 
  not tolerate laziness or insubordination. It’s a demand-
  ing, high-stress atmosphere, but those who can stand it 
  are financially rewarded.
  
  6
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Not every DOB citizen is wealthy, but their average 
  wages are higher than other corporations. This makes 
  even entry-level jobs desirable, but fewer than five per-
  cent of all job applicants make it to the interview process. 
  Those who are lucky enough to work for DOB are the 
  envy of their friends.
  Die Oberbank keeps a close watch on its employees 
  to prevent theft and embezzlement. They frown upon 
  their employees having cybernetics because Brain Banks 
  and Cyber Eyes can make it especially easy to scan and 
  memorize sensitive account details. Only the company’s 
  private security teams are allowed to have any sort of cy-
  bernetic enhancements. The same holds true for magic 
  devices and psionic powers, which means nearly every 
  DOB employee is a normal, unmodded human.
  Die Oberbank in Your 
  Game
  Die Oberbank is an enticing target for many crimi-
  nals, but only the most experienced cartels or street run-
  ners would consider trying to pull a job on them. Their 
  private security teams are second-to-none, and their 
  anti-ghost software has never been surpassed. If a team 
  of runners were to somehow bypass their physical, cyber, 
  and Astral defenses, they would certainly be able to make 
  off with an impressive haul. Of course, they’d probably be 
  dead within the week.
  DOB employs private security to monitor all aspects 
  of their business, but they aren’t above hiring outside help. 
  Though DOB isn’t a loan shark, they do occasionally need to 
  hire muscle to collect especially large debts. They legally hire 
  mercenaries under the Bounty Hunter Act, which allows a 
  corporation to seek justice for slights against them.
  Though a campaign could include adventures de-
  signed to infiltrate DOB, it may be just as interesting for 
  players to be a team of collections agents for the compa-
  ny. Collectors have the authority to do whatever it takes 
  to get the job done.
  Die Oberbank 
  Characters
  Though not necessarily as straight-laced as MSI em-
  ployees (see page 13), DOB characters tend to follow 
  the rules more than most. They are wealthier than other 
  characters, but don’t possess any cybernetics unless they 
  happen to be part of a DOB security team.
  Street runners aren’t necessarily sanctioned by DOB, 
  but the company does often hire bounty hunters to do 
  their bidding. Characters may be part-time or freelance 
  workers for Die Oberbank, in which case they may be 
  allowed to possess magic, psionic powers, or cyberware. 
  Bounty hunters are never given access to the com-
  pany’s own data or account information—any character 
  wishing to obtain that information must be on the com-
  pany’s full-time payroll, and that means being a vanilla 
  human.
  Ranking employees of DOB enjoy plenty of perks, 
  but they’re constantly under scrutiny by their employer. 
  Kojicorp
  The chemical mixture Akamu was working on was 
  just about right, and he knew he was getting close to a 
  breakthrough. Just a few more drops of the red stuff and 
  the new sonar-enhancement drug would be ready for 
  testing.
  “There,” he said aloud to no one in particular. “Time 
  to test this out.”
  Akamu wandered over to the cage where they 
  kept the rats. Kojicorp was using them to test new psi-
  enhancing drugs, but that meant having to breed special 
  psychic rodents. For some reason though, Akamu didn’t 
  think it was strange to have sonarkinetic rats making ultra 
  high-frequency squeaks. In fact, he found it comforting 
  because his own sonarkinesis powers were just strong 
  enough to let him hear them.
  The scientist was just about to administer a dose of 
  the new drug to his favorite rat, Khanyou, when the ro-
  dent’s ears perked up. It quickly scurried into the back of 
  its cage and began shaking.
  “What’s wrong?” Akamu perked up his own ears and 
  focused his power to enhance his auditory senses.
  Bam. Scream. Bam. “Get down!” Tata-tat-tat. 
  That didn’t sound good. In fact, it was downright 
  frightening. The sounds of gunfire were drawing nearer 
  his lab, and Akamu made a split-second decision. He 
  opened his mouth, threw back his head, and downed the 
  experimental concoction he was about to feed to his rats.
  BAM-BAM-BAM. The sound grew exponentially loud-
  er as Akamu’s sonarkinesis power jettisoned to new levels. It 
  was painfully loud, and he had to focus all of his thoughts 
  on controlling the ability. With effort, the explosions grew 
  fainter but he could tell they were drawing nearer.
  
  7
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Ducking behind a table, Akamu held his breath and 
  waited. He could hear voices shouting to one another as 
  they searched nearby rooms for something. What it was, 
  he couldn’t tell. What he could tell was that they were 
  almost to his location.
  The door to his lab burst open, and Akamu heard 
  three distinct voices shouting at one another. He concen-
  trated his thoughts on creating a distraction in the oppo-
  site corner of the room and hoped the assailants fell for it.
  “Over there!” he heard one man shout.
  Bingo. Akamu poked his head up from behind the 
  desk and watched the three men as they turned their at-
  tention toward the opposite corner of the room. They 
  were obviously hired guns, because they weren’t wearing 
  uniforms or other identifying marks. He couldn’t be sure 
  why they were there, but he wasn’t in the mood to start 
  asking questions.
  Akamu conjured a rattling noise in the corner, and 
  sure enough one of the mercenaries took the bait. Just as 
  he fired his weapon, Akamu caused the sound of the gun-
  shot to amplify at least tenfold. The resulting blast was 
  enough to shatter a nearby beaker, but more importantly 
  it shattered the man’s eardrums. He fell to the ground, red 
  liquid seeping from his ears, screaming in agony.
  The other two instinctively clapped their hands over 
  their ears. They weren’t close enough to the blast to have 
  been severely injured by it, but it wasn’t comfortable for 
  anyone in the room. Akamu noticed the rats weren’t ter-
  ribly fond of it either, because they were emitting ultra-
  sonic squeaks of terror. 
  One of the men turned toward the rats and pointed 
  his gun. He squeezed the trigger and the rodents went 
  silent, their tiny bodies turning to a fine red mist.
  “NO!” Akamu shouted as he glanced over and saw 
  what remained of Khanyou’s body splattered against the 
  floor. He gave away his own position, but he was done 
  playing defense.
  The two remaining mercenaries whirled toward Aka-
  mu, their guns instinctively pointed in his direction. It 
  was too late for them though. Akamu had already begun 
  channeling ultrasonic energy into a deadly blast of sonic 
  force that shattered the bodies of the intruders along with 
  everything else in their half of the lab. 
  The devastation was massive, but the threat was 
  eliminated. And it appeared as though the new mixture 
  worked just fine.
  A technology and paranormal research company 
  from the Asia-Pacific Union, Kojicorp formed in 2070 
  shortly after Magicorp opened its doors. Though it took 
  them years before they got their hands on Magicorp’s 
  technology to reverse-engineer it, they immediately be-
  gan researching ways to enhance the abilities of mentals 
  in an effort to counter their rival company’s efforts.
  The company has one of the most knowledgeable 
  Psionics and Magic divisions on the planet, and they 
  recruit many of the world’s top psychic minds. Most of 
  their research focuses on how to enhance the potential 
  of gifted mentals, which puts them directly at odds with 
  Magicorp. Despite this, many of their consultants and re-
  searchers are non-mentals who possess several magic de-
  vices which they reverse-engineer and enhance—much 
  to Magicorp’s chagrin.
  Because Kojicorp is headquartered in the APU, they 
  don’t consider themselves subject to many of the patents 
  held by companies from other countries. This doesn’t win 
  them many friends, but their attitude toward patent law 
  does afford them the ability to do what they please with 
  the technology of others.
  Unfortunately for Kojicorp, this means they must 
  defend themselves not just in court, but from corporate 
  espionage and sabotage. They are constantly involved in 
  shadow wars with other corporations, which is costly in 
  both wealth and manpower. Still, they have developed 
  some new technologies with extreme potential and are 
  not afraid to defend themselves against rivals in an effort 
  to produce and market their new toys for others.
  Among these technologies are psi-enhancing drugs 
  which improve a subject’s innate abilities, prototype 
  magic devices which emulate complex combinations 
  of powers (such as a device which combines both pho-
  tokinesis and sonarkinesis into a single cloaking ability), 
  and so forth. The company is rumored to be researching 
  methods to create new magic devices which do not fail 
  when used by innately psychic beings, which could have 
  the potential to dramatically alter the state of magic and 
  once more place mentals squarely in the lead.
  Corporate Culture
  Kojicorp is a research-oriented company. Most of 
  their ranking staff are scientists, engineers, and practical 
  philosophers. The abundance of highly skilled, incred-
  ibly intelligent workers has a dramatic impact on overall 
  company culture; namely, competition amongst research 
  teams is fierce and new discoveries are lavishly rewarded.
  
  8
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Lower-tier employees consist of standard security 
  agents, customer service workers, and janitorial staff. 
  Kojicorp outsources very little of this work to other com-
  panies even though they could potentially save money in 
  doing so; they consider their trade secrets to be too sen-
  sitive to risk falling into the wrong hands (ironic, given 
  how their company is built on the trade secrets of others).
  Though the company offers ample paid vacation 
  time, very little of it is ever actually used. Perhaps no 
  other company breeds as many workaholics as Kojicorp, 
  and the company does little to promote the use of these 
  employment benefits to existing workers.
  The company is unable to sell many of their magic de-
  vices within the NAU due to patent violations, but they still 
  wind up on the black market and are circulated by means 
  of criminal organizations such as The Cabal. Some of their 
  other, more notable innovations are not inviolate of pat-
  ents and are therefore legally distributable, such as their 
  psi-enhancing drugs. Though technically legitimate, many 
  powerful companies oppose their adoption due to the risks 
  involved with granting even more power to psychics.
  Kojicorp in Your Game
  Kojicorp has the potential to be a powerful asset or 
  a terrible hindrance to your players. Those who sympa-
  thize with their psi-enhancements are likely to find them 
  a great asset while players with Magicorp backgrounds 
  may not be as pleased by what the company is doing.
  The company offers a lot of potential plot devices for 
  your campaign. Players may be asked to steal trade se-
  crets from other organizations and deliver them to Koji-
  corp, or they may be asked to defend against their espio-
  nage practices. GMs can use the company to introduce 
  new experimental magic devices into the game or devise 
  potent psychic enemies with powers far beyond what the 
  players may have encountered so far.
  The shadow wars alluded to by the company’s intro-
  duction are perfect staging grounds for many missions; 
  after all, street runners are at the very heart of many such 
  conflicts. Companies don’t like to use the people on their 
  payroll to initiate attacks on rivals, so they often hire dis-
  posable street runners to do their bidding.
  Kojicorp Characters
  For PCs, Kojicorp is a powerful organization to be 
  affiliated with. Ranking officials often have powerful 
  contacts within the organization and are given access to 
  potent new magic devices. Psychics who are employed 
  by Kojicorp are likely to have undergone some experi-
  mental test treatment to enhance their powers (possibly 
  with a few unwelcome side-effects). Whatever the case 
  may be, if a player comes from Kojicorp he’s bound to 
  have a powerful ally.
  On the other hand, Kojicorp also inherently has its 
  drawbacks. Players who are Kojicorp employees (or even 
  ex-employees) probably do not get along well with Magi-
  corp employees, and the former company is far more ec-
  onomically powerful. Players with Kojicorp backgrounds 
  may also have issues understanding foreign customs, and 
  they’re also likely to be highly competitive by nature.
  Macroware
  For a corporate drone, Kathy Ohms was pretty street-
  savvy. She may be one of Macroware’s low-ranking head-
  set jockies at the local call center, but she’s not an un-
  skilled worker. In fact, she turned down an offer to join 
  the company’s Ghost Security division just so she could 
  have more time to freelance outside of work.
  Now she was regretting that decision. Being on the 
  team may have eaten up more of her free time, but it would 
  have given her valuable insight into the company’s spectral 
  firewalls and anti-ghost measures. That knowledge would 
  be really handy right about now, given that she was about to 
  launch an attack on one of the company’s systems.
  Kathy steeled her mind and focused. She may not 
  have that insight, but she’s no novice ghost. She con-
  centrated on the electromagnetic field surrounding her, 
  the one that let her merge with the ‘Net. If she could just 
  mask her body’s own signal to make it look like a normal 
  application attempting to access the server, she’d be able 
  to bypass that firewall in no time. Bingo.
  “I’m in, boys,” Kathy sent a text message out to her 
  companions who were standing guard over her. She 
  could have brought them along for the ride, but the dis-
  traction may have made it more difficult to do her job. 
  She was good, but not that good.
  Even though the system regarded her as a native ap-
  plication, Kathy knew she wasn’t in the clear. If one of 
  those ghost busters happened to wander by while she 
  was poking around, she’d have to avoid them at all costs-
  -even if that meant abandoning the mission. 
  As she searched the database for the client’s records, 
  she wondered if she should reconsider the job offer.
  “Found it, boys!” she messaged to her crew as she lo-
  cated a record marked Belmont, Geoffery.
  
  9
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  “Drop it, thief!” Kathy didn’t so much hear the com-
  mand as interpret the binary string being flung at her. 
  With little choice, she abandoned the file and severed 
  her connection to the ‘Net before she could be tethered 
  by security. She then made a mental note to inquire about 
  that position on Monday.
  Macroware is the result of over 50 years of technol-
  ogy company acquisitions and mergers. What started as 
  two major computer hardware and software companies 
  joining forces eventually became the world’s leading 
  computer company, a one-stop monopoly shop for all of 
  the world’s computer needs. Though their industry dom-
  inance is profound, Macroware keeps their prices low to 
  ensure that the public, governments, and other corpora-
  tions don’t try to form any start-ups that might challenge 
  their position of power.
  This is the company responsible for the tablet com-
  puters that nearly everyone in the world carries, in ad-
  dition to the global network that links them all together. 
  Macro-ware also writes the software for nearly every 
  functional piece of technology from automobiles to com-
  plex security algorithms. It’s no wonder that this is the 
  world’s wealthiest and largest company, employing more 
  citizens worldwide than any other corporation on Earth.
  Though enormously influential, Macroware sees lit-
  tle benefit in attempting to take any sort of governmental 
  power. It is more prudent for a company which supplies 
  security software and hardware to every country on earth 
  to remain neutral; taking some political stance would 
  certainly cause them to fall out of favor with many of the 
  countries in which they operate.
  Many rogues have attempted to infiltrate Macroware 
  for a variety of reasons but few of them ever succeed. In 
  most circumstances the infiltrators are after valuable in-
  formation that Macroware might have on a rival compa-
  ny, person, or nation; indeed, the world’s largest software 
  giant may know a little something about everyone, but 
  that information is almost impossible to steal thanks to 
  the company’s high-tech security. 
  Macroware employs a large number of highly skilled 
  Ghosts to secure their computer systems, meaning that 
  anyone who steps into the ‘Net and attempts to infiltrate 
  their network is sure to meet with fierce, and sometimes 
  deadly, competition. It is also rumored that a number of 
  their top security experts are Wraiths who patrol the As-
  tral Plane and watch for invaders from all angles.
  Corporate Culture
  Macroware employees the world over enjoy a high-
  tech lifestyle; not surprising considering who they work 
  for. They enjoy small discounts on the company’s tech, 
  from personal computing devices to high-end vehicle 
  gadgets, and for many it’s a point of prestige to show off 
  their new toys before everyone else can get them.
  Nearly every citizen, from entry-level workers to top 
  executives, is decked out in streetware and the company 
  even hosts an annual “Mod Your Bod” contest to show-
  case the most unusual or extreme chromejobs. Last year’s 
  winner was an accountant who programmed her case 
  lights to flash green every time her department earned 
  some amount of revenue; it was a simple mod, but the 
  judges loved watching their company make money.
  Macroware employees are encouraged to work 
  closely together to improve products across all lines. 
  The result is a culture of openness, and they pride 
  themselves in being one of the most widely ac-
  cepting corporations. That’s not to say there isn’t 
  occasional in-fighting and rivalry, but as big business is 
  concerned Macroware is perhaps the friendliest place to 
  work.
  Macroware in Your 
  Game
  As one of the only computer manufacturers in the 
  world, Macroware is sure to touch the lives of every char-
  acter. It would be rare to find anyone not living with the 
  Amazonia Luddites who didn’t own at least a few Macro-
  ware devices.
  The company is dominant in the tech industry, 
  but they aren’t completely ruthless—at least not out-
  wardly. They keep their prices low to keep people 
  complacent; nobody likes a monopoly which uses 
  its power to suck people dry, but a monopoly which 
  seems to act fairly and in the best interest of the peo-
  ple is more tolerable.
  Behind the scenes, Macroware likes to pull the 
  strings. They supply tech to every country in the world, 
  but that means they can cut off anyone who doesn’t play 
  by their rules. It’s a quiet game of dominance, but one 
  that doesn’t go wholly unnoticed. Many other corpora-
  tions and nations hire street runners to infiltrate Macro-
  ware and uncover secrets that may be used to put an end 
  to their power.
  
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  Chapter 1: Megacorps
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  Macroware Characters
  Characters with backgrounds as Macroware employ-
  ees are probably technology-minded individuals. They 
  may be hackers, psi-jackers, or even ghosts. Characters 
  with a Rank of Good or better enjoy access to some of the 
  company’s unique hardware and software, but the com-
  pany’s biggest secrets and most tightly-secured systems 
  are still off limits to them.
  Not every Macroware employee is a tech-head, 
  though. The company still needs accountants, customer 
  service reps, marketers, security guards, and so forth. 
  While even these employees enjoy some amount of tech-
  nical knowledge, it isn’t necessarily their focus.
  Magicorp
  Salamander’s team was getting close. In another min-
  ute or two, they’d be inside Magicorp’s Factory 21, the 
  place where they manufacture about half of their antipsi 
  tech. If they can shut down operations, even for a short 
  while, it would mean a huge blow to the organization.
  “Phreak, you still with me?” asked Salamander 
  through their Brainwave.
  “Still here, Sal. I’m working on bringing down the 
  building’s security cameras, but they’re guarded by an-
  tipsi. Naturally,” Phreak responded.
  Phreak was one of the best psi-jackers Sal knew. He 
  hadn’t expected Factory 21’s cyber security to pose such a 
  challenge, even though he knew their defenses were sure 
  to be tough.
  “What about you, Slade?” Sal didn’t like that Slade 
  had been silent for several minutes, but he knew the thief 
  worked best when he wasn’t distracted by conversation.
  “Just waiting for those cameras to go down so I can 
  hack this lock,” Slade responded. “What’s taking so long, 
  Phreak?”
  “Like I said, it’s antipsi. And something else, I think. 
  Something I’ve never seen before. But I think I’ve got it… 
  there! Now you should be free to do your part.”
  Slade quietly crept up toward the factory’s side door 
  and started running diagnostics on the lock when an un-
  familiar voice yelled at him to stop.
  “Not today, scum!” was the last thing Sal heard com-
  ing through Slade’s communicator before shots rang out 
  in the night.
  Magicorp is one of the world’s largest and most 
  prominent corporations. Founded in 2069 by former 
  members of the Anti-Psi League, Magicorp’s mission is 
  to put psi-like technology into the hands of every normal 
  citizen, thus evening the playing field between normals 
  and mentals. This technology, which they have dubbed 
  “magic”, emulates psionic abilities in nearly every way 
  but doesn’t always come cheap.
  Demand for Magicorp’s technology is on the rise, and 
  nearly every normal citizen with a moderate income has 
  at least some piece of magic equipment in their home. 
  Most of the magic is reserved for higher-paying clients 
  though, such as wealthy citizens, governments, and even 
  other corporations. 
  Magicorp also uses its psi-like equipment to dabble 
  in healthcare (providing equipment to nearly every hos-
  pital on the globe) and security (providing magic secu-
  rity systems to consumers, governments, and other cor-
  porations). They have also begun to experiment in the 
  fields of bio-tech, cybernetics, and robotics, attempting 
  to find new ways to embed magic directly within the hu-
  man body and to employ it in autonomous robots.
  Magicorp holds the patents for literally every piece of 
  magic equipment on the planet. Though the vast majority 
  of their tech comes from their own research, other compa-
  nies have tried to get on board, only to either be promptly 
  bought out or curiously shut down within months of their 
  initial launch. The patents from these companies are either 
  folded into Magicorp’s own or rendered obsolete when the 
  company that applies for them suddenly shuts its doors.
  The company’s relatively brief history has been tu-
  multuous. It first met stiff opposition from the NAU gov-
  ernment when the mentals in office felt threatened by the 
  rise of psi-like technology that sought to challenge their 
  power. In the end, though, the public’s demand for a free 
  and fair job market and economy defeated every attempt 
  the government made at shutting the company down, 
  and to this day it stands as a testament to the power that 
  the non-mental majority still has in this world.
  There have been many attempts by rogue psychics to 
  infiltrate the corporation, either to undermine its power 
  or attempt to strike a blow from within. These sorts of at-
  tacks continue to this day, but so far the company’s high 
  level of security has put down every one of them, earning 
  it a reputation as a force to be reckoned with.
  Though headquartered within the NAU, Magicrop 
  operates globally and funds its own private military. Few 
  nations have the capacity to stand up to it, and those which 
  try often swiftly back down. Conspiracy theorists rumor 
  
  11
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  that Magicorp is poised to try to overthrow the NAU – or 
  at least part of it – and create its own corporate nation, 
  which would be the first of its kind. Though the company 
  vehemently denies these accusations publically, they may 
  not be far from the truth – indeed, the company already 
  owns several cities within the North American Union, in-
  cluding the Bay Area Arcology where it makes its home.
  Corporate Culture
  Having been founded by members of the Anti-Psi 
  League, it’s no wonder that Magicorp doesn’t employ 
  mentals. Their culture encourages mistrust and mistreat-
  ment of people with innate mental powers, and the com-
  pany fosters an “anything you can do, I can do better” 
  mentality. It’s worked well for them so far.
  Every Magicorp employee is trained in the use of the 
  company’s magic devices. Their use in everyday life is en-
  couraged, in an effort by the company to showcase just 
  how useful their devices are to everyday citizens. To that 
  end, every employee is also a marketer of Magicorp tech, 
  whether they’re truly aware of that fact or not.
  It is common for Magicorp employees to get into 
  arguments and fights with mentals. Though the com-
  pany doesn’t outwardly condone such behavior, they 
  often employ their top-notch legal team to go to bat for 
  employees who are accused of hate crimes against psi-
  freaks, even if the employee in question is just a low-
  level worker.
  Not every Magicorp employee is rude and ill-man-
  nered, but the company’s culture certainly rewards such 
  behavior. Top executives are some of the most outwardly 
  vocal people around.
  Magicorp in Your Game
  As one of the largest and richest companies in the 
  world, Magicorp has the potential to be a major player in 
  your game. They are constantly developing new experi-
  mental technologies, and sometimes these experiments 
  go horribly wrong. The company doesn’t like to admit 
  guilt, so they often employ disposable street runners to 
  clean up their messes.
  Nearly every magic device in the world was, at some 
  point, designed and manufactured by Magicorp. That 
  means characters will constantly face Magicorp’s tech-
  nologies as threats; they may encounter antipsi technol-
  ogy, magical locks, and other defensive devices, or they 
  may find themselves staring down the business end of a 
  pyro gun. Even if the characters don’t interact with Magi-
  corp directly, their presence will still certainly be felt.
  Many smaller companies often employ street run-
  ners to infiltrate Magicorp for one reason or another, as 
  do governments and other organizations seeking the se-
  crets to their power. The company makes a highly chal-
  lenging threat to contend with, but the rewards for taking 
  on Magicorp and coming out alive are sure to be great.
  Magicorp Characters
  Employees of Magicorp likely own several magic 
  devices. Because the company refuses to employ anyone 
  with innate psychic powers (it’s not a prejudice against 
  them, it’s because magic equipment fails when used by 
  mentals – honest!), such characters may not possess 
  psionic powers of their own.
  Ranking employees of Magicorp have access to de-
  vices with PR3 and higher Power Ratings and may be al-
  lowed to purchase advanced psi-like weapons and armor.
  Though Magicorp employees are not prohibited from 
  interacting with mentals, their corporate culture gen-
  erally discourages it. This could cause tension between 
  characters employed by Magicorp and characters who 
  possess innate psychic gifts. It could be fun to encourage 
  this sort of rivalry amongst multiple player characters, 
  but remember such interactions are not always violent.
  MarkeTech
  “1… 2…” a fuzzy, disembodied voice began counting.
  Carlos looked up at Ryudo through blurry eyes. His 
  entire body felt like it’d been crushed by a truck, and it 
  had all happened in an instant.
  He wasn’t quite sure what hit him. Carlos had been 
  certain he would beat Ryudo in today’s match for cyber-
  weight division champion. How could he, from Sports 
  and Rec, lose to someone from Marketing?
  “3… 4…” the voice continued.
  Carlos willed his new arms to move. They were only a 
  week old, and he clocked a punch with them at 45 MPH. 
  Somehow that hadn’t been fast enough today.
  It must have been that kick to the head. Ryudo’s legs 
  were powerful, probably made from titanium. Even with 
  his carbon headgear, Carlos went down like a sack of po-
  tatoes.
  “5… 6…” the voice continued to count, this time it 
  sounded just a little more clear.
  
  12
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  Once more Carlos willed his limbs to move. He 
  slowly managed to roll over, then push himself into an 
  almost-kneeling position.
  “7… 8…”
  With the last of his willpower, Carlos forced himself 
  to his feet. A bell sounded in the back of his mind. He 
  barely had time to get his bearings when the bell rung 
  again.
  From nowhere, Ryudo launched himself at his op-
  ponent. Carlos only had time for one final thought before 
  completely losing consciousness:
  “I guess Marketing is going to the Olympics this 
  year.”
  The formation of MarkeTech was inevitable. For 
  years, media companies merged, acquired, took over, and 
  vertically integrated with one another to form megacor-
  porations that controlled nearly all of the world’s news, 
  information, and entertainment. There were but a scant 
  few major players at the top, each of which owned hun-
  dreds of brands that operated under their own name but 
  whose bottom lines were directly associated with that of 
  the parent company.
  Eventually, with competition fierce and corporate 
  acquisitions deregulated, only two such companies re-
  mained. Each controlled an overwhelming stake in the 
  information, entertainment, and marketing sectors. A 
  fierce corporate battle for dominance of the industry en-
  sued and MarkeTech, with its cut-throat business prac-
  tices, crack shot legal team, and bottomless coffers won 
  the war and emerged as the sole proprietor of the world’s 
  multimedia operations.
  Despite its monopoly, MarkeTech has a hierarchy 
  and corporate culture that encourages competition and 
  innovation. Each major sector in which the company 
  operates – games, marketing, movies, music, news, pub-
  lishing, and sports – functions independent from one an-
  other. These segments compete for consumer attention 
  and, though they all add to the bottom line of MarkeTech 
  as a whole, compete fiercely for the dollars that are spent 
  on their own products and services.
  Competition between its divisions is so fierce that 
  each arm of the company employs corporate espionage 
  tactics against one another. Street runners have been 
  known to find employment handed down from one of 
  MarkeTech’s officers, even if that work isn’t officially 
  sanctioned or recognized by the company as a whole.
  Corporate Culture
  MarkeTech employs some of the most ambitious, 
  goal-oriented, and competitive people in the world. Their 
  environment can be highly stressful, but good work is 
  handsomely rewarded with monetary bonuses, extra va-
  cation time, and other such perks.
  Because each division of MarkeTech operates sepa-
  rately, the company has several different sub-cultures. 
  Uniformed employees wear outfits with their division’s 
  logo large and easily recognizable, with the MarkeTech 
  logo slightly smaller and less pronounced. Two employees 
  of MarkeTech who each come from a different division are 
  as likely to snub one another as they are to shake hands.
  Each year, the company hosts a major sporting event 
  to both rally everyone together (a reminder they do, in 
  fact, work for the same company) and bolster competi-
  tive behavior. The winning team is selected to represent 
  the company at the Olympics, making the top spot highly 
  coveted.
  MarkeTech in Your 
  Game
  As the world’s dominant media conglomerate, signs 
  of MarkeTech’s existence are everywhere. Characters are 
  inundated with advertising messages, but more impor-
  tantly they may be affected by the company’s constant 
  back-stabbing.
  Many street runners are approached by some divi-
  sion of MarkeTech to infiltrate another and come back 
  with trade secrets. This may create plenty of black market 
  jobs for runners, and it may serve as an “in” for getting 
  MarkeTech PCs into your campaign. 
  MarkeTech isn’t above invasive advertising. They of-
  ten work with cyberware manufacturers to embed ads 
  into their products; citizens might get pop-ups in their 
  cybervision HUDs when walking past a store, or they 
  may hear the occasional ad through their in-ear radios. 
  It’s the price some pay for subsidized gear. Game Masters 
  may come up with creative ways to make this a problem 
  or plot device for their players.
  MarkeTech Characters
  Employees of MarkeTech come from all walks of life 
  and may be from any one of their half-dozen or so dif-
  ferent operating units. MarkeTech’s corporate culture en-
  courages fierce competition, and player characters with 
  backgrounds as employees of this corporation are likely 
  to be highly competitive individuals.
  
  13
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  As a marketing company, MarkeTech’s higher-rank-
  ing officials are often expert sales-people. That means 
  they are skilled in social interaction, manipulation, math, 
  and economics. The company offers financial bonuses as 
  incentives for jobs well done and may assign two employ-
  ees to the same task to compete for bonuses.
  Because of the company’s culture of competition, 
  characters may indeed be spies for one of MarkeTech’s 
  operating arms. They may be asked to infiltrate another 
  division within the company even as they are likely to be 
  asked to infiltrate another corporation.
  MarkeTech employees may receive Wealth bonuses 
  equal to their Rank for performing a job sanctioned by 
  the company, but they don’t receive any of the company’s 
  resources as aids before their mission begins. They don’t 
  have early access to any flashy new equipment, but if they 
  can do their job then they’re handsomly rewarded.
  Medical Services 
  International
  “He’s losing blood fast!” shouted a young medical 
  technician to the other. “Get him on the table!”
  “Multiple gunshot wounds. A stab wound. Burn 
  wounds. Get me the stem kit!” shouted another tech with 
  peppered hair.
  “Scan his I.D.” a woman’s cool, collected voice some-
  how projected over the din of the emergency room.
  “What? But this guy’s toast if we don’t operate now!” 
  argued the younger technician.
  “Scan. His. I.D.” repeated the woman. “Or it’s your job.”
  Sighing, the technician relented. “Richard, grab the 
  scanner.”
  The pepper-haired technician grabbed a scanning 
  unit from a nearby collection of gadgets and handed it to 
  his younger colleague. “Here you go, Tom.”
  Tom slid his thumb over the fingerprint scanner on 
  the device to unlock it, then pointed it at the man on the 
  operating table.
  Bzzt. Either it didn’t find an I.D. or the device couldn’t 
  read it through all the blood.
  “Try again,” remarked Richard. “Here, it’s usually be-
  hind the left ear.” He tilted the man’s head to assist and 
  nearly dropped it at the sight of yet another injury. The 
  man’s hair was burnt and his skin was blackened.
  Bzzt.
  “This one’s a criminal,” stated the woman matter-of-
  factly. “Take him to the morgue.”
  “What? But he’s not even dead yet, we can still save 
  him!” protested Tom. 
  “We don’t save criminals,” repeated the woman, her 
  voice as cold as a corpse. She picked up her tablet and 
  began filing the necessary records.
  “But..!” Tom huffed in frustration. “Whatever hap-
  pened to the Hippocratic Oath?”
  The woman slammed her palm on a counter and 
  shot Tom a sharp glare. “Hippocrates and his oath are 
  dead.” Going back to her tablet, she added a dismissive 
  waive, “And so is this man.”
  When a street runner needs to be patched up after 
  a job, the last place he wants to wind up is at a hospital 
  operated by MSI. Known for their strict adherence to the 
  law, MSI runs extensive background checks on every in-
  dividual before treating them for illness or injury.
  The law-abiding nature of MSI is due to their crack 
  shot legal team, the same infamous group of lawyers that 
  found the loopholes required to put MSI into the Gover-
  nor’s chair in over 20 states at once. This sweeping vic-
  tory – for both the company and megacorporations in 
  general, lead to the eventual secession of what are now 
  known as the Separatist States of America.
  MSI is the leading, though not the only, legitimate resell-
  er of cybernetics in the world. Their hospitals are equipped 
  to handle everything from simple ocular augmentation sur-
  geries to full-body cybernetic replacements in addition to 
  the typical medical services one might expect.
  MSI operates a franchise of cyberware installment 
  clinics known as Chip Stop. These clinics are usually found 
  in strip malls and promise to have customers in and out 
  in an hour “…or the next one’s half-off!” Chip Stop clinics 
  specialize in minor implants and are not equipped to han-
  dle full limb or skeletal replacements, but they are clean 
  and offer legitimate hardware at a fair price.
  As a medical institution, MSI was built to help im-
  prove the lives of others. Like any other hospital, their fo-
  cus was on treating the sick and injured, and like any med-
  ical institution they discovered there is a lucrative business 
  model in treating symptoms rather than causes. Much of 
  their research into cyberware was founded on this prem-
  ise—replace the parts of a person’s body that break down 
  over time, and you won’t need to find a cure for aging.
  
  14
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
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  MSI treats its patients like clients, and they like to 
  create repeat customers. Their Chip Stop cyberware is 
  sufficient for most regular people, but it does need to be 
  serviced regularly and isn’t built to last. Their disregard 
  for the general well-being of others leads many people 
  to seek out street docs for their medical needs, but most 
  people find that the clean and sterile rooms at MSI hos-
  pitals are preferable to the questionable back alley offices 
  of unsanctioned surgeons.
  Corporate Culture
  MSI runs an extensive background check on every pa-
  tient that enters one of their hospitals—now imagine how 
  they treat their employees. Corporate citizens of MSI are 
  some of the most straight-laced, law-abiding citizens you’ll 
  ever meet. Step out of line, and your job is forfeit.
  MSI doesn’t openly encourage its employees to tattle 
  on each other, but they do reward people for it. This leads 
  to people constantly looking over their shoulders, or 
  constantly looking over the shoulders of others. On the 
  positive side, most employees really do follow the rules 
  and try to keep their noses clean.
  Because MSI is a leader in cyberware development 
  and manufacturing, their employees often sport the most 
  bleeding edge wares. Their mid-to-high grade implants 
  don’t come with the drawbacks of being supplemented 
  by MarkeTech advertisements and they need less main-
  tenance than the average Chip Stop implant.
  MSI in Your Game
  As the leader in both cyberware and medical tech-
  nology, MSI is hard to overlook in any campaign. If the 
  players are street runners they may not have the benefit 
  of being taken to an MSI hospital for treatment, lest their 
  identities and shady practices be discovered, so they may 
  have to settle with visiting a grungy street doc instead.
  Though MSI prides itself in being a law-abiding cor-
  poration, they’re often the ones who make the laws. MSI’s 
  lobbying budget is larger than the gross domestic prod-
  uct of some small nations, so it’s no surprise that most 
  new laws favor their business practices.
  Not surprisingly, MSI’s corporate police division is 
  one of the most well-funded police forces in the world. 
  Their mission is to serve and protect the company’s best 
  interests and to uphold the laws which, by and large, MSI 
  was responsible for passing in the first place.
  In addition to their top-notch police force, MSI em-
  ploys an inordinately large number of bounty hunters. 
  Because street running is illegal, MSI is one of the few 
  corporations that doesn’t employ runners. They do, how-
  ever, have a completely legal team of private mercenaries 
  who may perform similar jobs, provided they file the ap-
  propriate paperwork and acquire the appropriate search 
  warrants or bounty hunter licenses, of course.
  MSI Characters
  MSI employees have access to state-of-the-art cyber-
  ware not available through the local Chip Stop. Charac-
  ters with Rank Fair (+0) or better within the company 
  may be allowed to receive special discounts on their im-
  plants. For each Rank of Fair or above, subtract 2 from 
  the Wealth Value of any cyberware purchased using 
  Wealth. Check with your GM before applying this dis-
  count; it may come with its own costs.
  It may be tempting to simply choose MSI as your em-
  ployer and pick a level of Rank for your character, but 
  consider the drawbacks carefully. Ranking members of 
  MSI are highly scrutinized, so it may be difficult to lead 
  a secret life. MSI doesn’t give corporate discounts to con-
  tracted bounty hunters, so characters must be employed 
  by the company to receive the benefit.
  It can be difficult to justify playing a character who is 
  an employee of MSI if the campaign focuses on street run-
  ning. Such a practice is not only highly frowned upon by 
  the company, but those who are caught are both fired and 
  prosecuted as criminals. Player characters may be former 
  MSI citizens, in which case they likely acquired superior 
  cyberware and medical tools before leaving the job.
  An entire campaign could be built around charac-
  ters being a team of MSI mercenaries, in which case the 
  characters may have access to state-of-the-art medical 
  treatment and cybernetics. Since MSI is accepting of 
  both mentals and non-mentals, the team could easily be 
  comprised of all types of characters.
  NFC Global
  Abasi held his breath and forced every muscle in his 
  body to stop moving. If he was caught with a pack full of 
  food, he’d be in serious trouble. His only hope now was 
  to remain as still as possible and hope the guard didn’t 
  notice him.
  Several long moments passed before he felt comfort-
  able letting out his breath. The guard wandered past him 
  and didn’t seem to spot him. Whether it was skill or luck, 
  he couldn’t tell. What he did know is that he needed to 
  make a break for it. Now.
  
  15
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  As quickly and quietly as he could manage, Abasi 
  made his way for the exit. He kept a close eye on the 
  roving security drones and made sure not to cross their 
  paths.
  Abasi heard his heart pounding in his head. He was 
  so close now, maybe if he just made a run for it he could 
  escape detection. No, that would be the move of a fool-
  hardy man. He’d stay calm and move with precision, not 
  indecision.
  He reached the outer door and pressed his ear against 
  it, listening for sounds of movement beyond. He could 
  easily see his current surroundings, but had no idea what 
  was on the other side. He didn’t have x-ray vision like some 
  of the great thieves he’d heard of before. Heck, he wasn’t a 
  great thief. He was just trying to make a few quick bucks so 
  he could send his kid to college. Would he risk something 
  like this again? Probably not. It’s too tense.
  Convinced nothing else was on the other side of the 
  door, Abasi slowly turned the handle and peeked outside. 
  It was dark and eerily quiet. He slipped through the door, 
  took care to close it behind him, and hurriedly made his 
  way to the edge of the greenhouse property. He wouldn’t 
  feel safe until he’d fenced this food, but for now it ap-
  peared he was home free.
  NFC Global controls the world’s food supply in the 
  same manner that Macroware controls the world’s tech-
  nology; almost no one can compare to their influence 
  in the market, and those who try are immediately either 
  bought up or put down. 
  Short for Nano-Food Corporation, NFC Global was 
  formed from a research facility which developed the first 
  nano-food production units during the Great Famine. 
  They have jealously safeguarded the patents to this tech 
  ever since and now hold the world’s nutritional needs in 
  their hands.
  Though most consider it dangerous to allow a single 
  company to control the world’s food sources – after all, 
  that’s what led to the Great Famine in the first place – few 
  people have the resources to challenge their dominance 
  in the industry. 
  Small farms and co-ops still exist, but only in re-
  mote regions of the world that serve a limited number 
  of people and they never export their goods. This is, 
  in part, because they can only produce enough food 
  for those who thrive off of them, but also because 
  NFC applies pressure against nations which attempt to 
  import food.
  Other small farms exist within the confines of highly se-
  cure, fiercely-guarded corporate compounds, but the prod-
  uct of this food is reserved solely for rich corporate citizens. 
  These farms are most commonly owned by NFC Global and 
  are simply licensed to the corporations for business use.
  The mere existence of these farms has created a new 
  type of criminal: the food smuggler. With natural food so 
  rare and expensive, it’s no wonder that many have turned 
  to the lucrative business of stealing real food and deliver-
  ing it to the highest bidder (after taking a cut of the crop 
  for themselves, of course).
  Governments cave to NFC’s demands for fear of hav-
  ing their food supplies terminated overnight, thus leav-
  ing millions – if not billions – of their citizens to starve. 
  Some say that NFC is the worst of all evils, while others 
  praise them for bringing an end to the Great Famine and 
  allowing the population of the planet to thrive.
  Corporate Culture
  NFC Global’s culture is a strange mix. The company 
  outwardly tries to put on its best show for the public to 
  let people know that they care. Most of the company’s 
  employees are led to truly believe this, and they are quick 
  to refute any accusations to the contrary.
  Behind closed doors, top executives at NFC Global 
  aren’t quite as nice. They relish the power they have over 
  the world, and while they know the secrets to growing 
  actual food crops they’ve found that their continued pro-
  duction of nano-food improves their bottom line (and 
  does, to their credit, allow impoverished peoples to eat). 
  NFC executives are content to allow only the wealthy to 
  eat real food; let the rest of the masses eat nano-cake.
  The company gives little back to its own corporate 
  citizens. Most of them believe what the company stands 
  for is wholesome and good. They’re inundated with com-
  pany propaganda that makes them feel like they’re work-
  ing for the betterment of mankind, and that’s worth more 
  than any monetary bonus or extra vacation time.
  NFC Global in Your 
  Game
  NFC Global has a huge reach and much of the world 
  is dependent upon what they offer, so it is very likely you 
  can find some use for them in your campaign. Players 
  may be hired to stop a saboteur from crippling the com-
  pany (and the world’s food supply) or they may be food 
  smugglers attempting to break into one of NFC’s green-
  houses and make off with a lucrative haul.
  
  16
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  The company isn’t truly as altruistic as they make 
  themselves out to be, so a campaign could be built 
  around unveiling the secrets behind the company’s op-
  erations. Perhaps a rival corporation is trying to gain 
  some inside information to launch a competing start-
  up, or perhaps a government has secretly hired a team 
  of street runners to deliver the company a message they 
  won’t forget.
  Regardless of the case, any action brought against 
  NFC Global is met with stiff resistance. For starters, the 
  company’s basic employees are, for the most part, genu-
  inely good-hearted people and the public won’t approve 
  of an assault against NFC without some sort of scandal 
  being brought to light. Perhaps the players are simply 
  hired to gather the intel needed to launch such a smear 
  campaign.
  NFC Global Characters
  Players who are employees of NFC Global are likely 
  to come from one of two camps: the good-hearted indi-
  vidual naïve to the company’s wrongdoings, or the two-
  faced, greedy jerk who just wants to improve his own 
  bottom line. His attitude may in fact be a factor of his 
  Rank. 
  Characters with Good (+1) Rank or lower aren’t 
  important enough to the company to know its real se-
  crets and are subjected to loads of company propagan-
  da. Characters with Great (+2) or higher Rank probably 
  know a bit more about the company’s goals and inner 
  workings and, if they didn’t immediately quit the com-
  pany in disgust, are probably comfortable with what 
  they know.
  There is a third, less common camp: the food smug-
  gling insider. Though most food smugglers are thieves 
  not associated with the company, a few lower-tier NFC 
  employees have learned they can make some part-time 
  income by using their connections to participate in the 
  smuggling trade. 
  Nuevo Horizonte Médico 
  (New Horizons Medical)
  “Where did you get that pineal gland?” asked Cesar 
  as he made an incision in his patient.
  “Does it matter? Just swap them out.” Replied Lola 
  as she handed Cesar the tiny cone-shaped piece of brain 
  matter.
  “I just wanted to make sure it didn’t come from a mon-
  key or something, you know?” If Cesar did have any com-
  punctions about where the brain matter came from, he cer-
  tainly wasn’t letting them get in the way of the operation.
  “Not a monkey. A telepathic baboon,” said Lola mat-
  ter-of-factly.
  “A what?” Cesar’s hand slipped and his scalpel made 
  a tiny cut on the patient’s frontal lobe. “Uh-oh.”
  “Good job, you just gave that guy a personality disor-
  der to go with his new telepathic powers.”
  “I’ve created a monster!” Cesar said in his best mad 
  scientist voice. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea.
  “Quit fooling around and just finish this guy up. The 
  boss needs him to be functional in a week,” Lola snapped.
  Cesar continued his work. “Fine, I’m on it.”
  After a few minutes, Cesar had finished the pineal 
  transplant. He grabbed a psychometabolism device and 
  used it to close up the man’s head, removing any signs of 
  cuts or scarring. In a few days he’d be awake and better 
  than new. Well, almost better. 
  A week later, a man with newly violent tendencies 
  and the power to read other peoples’ minds left the NHM 
  building on a mission to extract top secret intel from MSI 
  employees.
  “Affordable medical care for everyday people.”
  Nuevo Horizonte Médico provides medical services 
  primarily in the South and Central America markets and 
  the Caribbean Nations, though they also have contracts 
  in some cities in the regions of Southern California, Flor-
  ida, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The company oper-
  ates street-level medical facilities in most of the markets 
  they serve. They operate a few major hospitals as well, but 
  they have found it much more lucrative to target lower 
  end medical facilities instead of larger and more costly to 
  maintain markets.
  To say many find them shady would be an under-
  statement, but because they’ve cornered the market in 
  areas for low cost health care for the common person 
  they are seen as a necessary evil. They only have about 10 
  major metropolitan hospitals to their name but operate 
  hundreds of smaller clinics. 
  A few fellow megacorps have allowed Nuevo Hori-
  zonte Médico to open up clinics and ambulatory care 
  facilities even in their own buildings and arcologies due 
  to their specialties. Of course, the smarter partnerships 
  keep them on a tight leash when in such an arrangement.
  
  17
  Chapter 1: Megacorps
  1
  World History: 
  Sarbanes-Oxly
  After immense pressure from corpora-
  tions such as Macroware, MarkeTech, and 
  the now-defunct Food Corp., the North 
  American Union repealed the Sarbanes-
  Oxley Act in 2034. The law was originally 
  designed as a way to improve financial 
  reporting, separate auditors from consul-
  tants, and hold chief officers accountable 
  for the corporations they run.
  Several corporations lobbied to end the 
  SOX Act due to the “unfair burden” they 
  say it caused them; the cost to comply with 
  the law was simply too high.
  Several years after the law was re-
  pealed, a series of financial scandals 
  wracked the corporate sector.
  To many they fly under the radar, seeming like noth-
  ing but a ‘cheap alternative competitor’ to Medical Ser-
  vices International. However, they generate a great deal 
  of revenue from a very large, variable test bed for new 
  technologies. They pay handsomely to volunteers who 
  test anything that needs testing (regardless of govern-
  ment standards). Some of the company’s subsidiaries 
  design and patent new methods of gene therapy, genetic 
  engineering, pharmaceuticals, transplant methods and 
  technology. 
  They are known for being aggressive against com-
  petitors in their home regions. It has not been proven, 
  but they are said to use shadow operations to facilitate 
  corporate takeovers and espionage, and they’re rumored 
  to even support ‘wetwork’ jobs against executives of ri-
  vals that refuse their influence.
  Corporate Culture
  As a culture, NHM employees seem to be very aloof 
  and overbearing. It’s safe to assume that any normal 
  worker fears for their family and job if they are in the 
  know on anything that goes on behind the scenes. They 
  pay their people well, and the medical benefits are some 
  of the best outside of MSI’s, but some former employees 
  have gone on record as saying that they fear their families 
  and friends would end up in some test laboratory as a 
  new guinea pig for a genetic therapy—or worse.
  The normal visage though is that of doctors and 
  medical clinic technicians who are happy, paid well, and 
  not at the whim of MSI’s over-watch culture. They openly 
  recruit at universities in impoverished countries, most-
  ly at schools that have medical training facilities they 
  helped fund and support. On the other side are research 
  personnel who are often hidden from public eyes. Word 
  has it, it’s this side of the coin that is paid the best and 
  kept under the most control as well.
  NHM in Your Game
  It’s mostly rumor, but some have suggested that Nue-
  vo Horizonte Médico are linked to several cartels in the 
  countries in which they operate, many of them specializ-
  ing in finding lab test subjects for use in new procedures 
  and products. Or worse, cartels that would find them 
  body parts for some of their transplants they’ve been 
  working on.
  Some have speculated that they have a very secret 
  wing that is working on how to transplant the parts of 
  the human brain responsible for psionic powers. While 
  some corporations have worked on how to mimic psion-
  ics with cybernetic enhancements, some out there see 
  this as being 2nd rate to having the powers yourself.
  NHM may be a street-level medical facility for your 
  team—one that doesn’t ask questions about identity, but 
  one that may also stitch you up and let you walk away 
  with a few of your spare parts missing. GMs may use 
  NHM as a corporation bent on creating new psychic 
  freaks or as a company who needs to be taught not to 
  take the players’ kidneys during a routine patch job.
  NHM characters
  Characters who are NHM employees may be com-
  mon staff at one of the company’s hundreds of street clin-
  ics, a doctor with more than a little blood on his hands, 
  or a researcher in charge of finding “new recruits” for 
  medical testing. The higher the character’s Rank in the 
  organization, the more likely they are to be both well-
  paid and highly scrutinized.
  Alternatively, characters may be former test subjects 
  of NHM and possess any manner of strange abilities. 
  They may have psionic powers that don’t seem to func-
  tion properly or function differently than expected, cy-
  bernetic implants with strange technologies built in, or 
  even a few odd biotech implants that dramatically alter 
  their metabolism. If you want to play a character with bi-
  zarre superhuman abilities, consider a background with 
  NHM.
  
  18
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  Cartels
  Strictly speaking a cartel is not a criminal organiza-
  tion. The term refers to any formal agreement between 
  competitors to control a market in such a way as to ben-
  efit all of the members. These agreements usually include 
  such activities as price fixing, bid rigging, and rigorously 
  controlling the supply of goods in the market.
  Any cartel that is not government sanctioned is il-
  legal, as are the practices they employ to control a given 
  market. The fundamentally secretive nature of cartels, 
  coupled with the greed of members who seek to cheat 
  on the agreement and improve matters for themselves, 
  makes them highly unstable and prone to in-fighting. 
  In common use, the term refers to any number of 
  alliances that controls one specific area of crime. Drug 
  cartels, ghost cartels, arms cartels, and human trafficking 
  cartels are some of the most prominent criminal organi-
  zations in public awareness, and for good reason. These 
  organizations control much of the world’s illicit activities 
  and much of what appears on the news can be attributed 
  to one of these groups.
  In this chapter we’ll discuss cartels that may have 
  a big impact on your game. Cartels are responsible for 
  supporting gang activity, resisting corporations, toppling 
  governments, and employing street runners to handle 
  some of their heavy lifting.
  
  19
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  Ghost Cartels
  Information is power, and there is no better place to 
  gather information than on the ‘Net. With literally every 
  piece of technology connected in some way, having the 
  ability to enter the ‘Net and snoop around where most 
  people can’t go is a significant boon. Ghost cartels are 
  comprised of people who wish to exploit that ability. 
  As highly skilled computer hackers, ghosts are ca-
  pable of projecting their consciousness into the ‘Net 
  and becoming one with the wireless spectrum. They are 
  skilled at pinpointing the location of specific computers, 
  subverting security programs, and making off with loads 
  of information they aren’t supposed to have—informa-
  tion wealthy people and corporations will pay hand-
  somely to get their hands on.
  Not everyone with the power to join with the ‘Net is 
  a member of one of these criminal organizations. It takes 
  a lot of determination and criminal intent to steal data 
  for a living, and that means the people who do join ghost 
  cartels are both highly skilled and morally grey.
  There are only a handful of major ghost cartels, but 
  they are some of the most powerful criminal organiza-
  tions on the planet. It’s no wonder businesses, govern-
  ments, mega-corporations, and paranoid individuals 
  spend so much time and money protecting their systems 
  from infiltration by one of these organizations. Everyone 
  has something to hide, and these folks make it tough to 
  keep secrets.
  Though ghost cartels are considered criminal orga-
  nizations, few governments and corporations are above 
  hiring them to spy on their enemies. The temptation to 
  use these cartels for profit is simply too strong for many 
  to ignore. The fact that they can easily be disavowed if 
  anything goes wrong makes the arrangement that much 
  more appealing.
  Ghost Cartels in Your 
  Game
  Ghost cartels serve as excellent villains and can 
  plague player characters with constant data interrup-
  tions, or they can be used to spy on players and report 
  back to their enemies. Conversely, ghost cartels may hire 
  characters with specific skill sets to do jobs for them, and 
  they may even be willing to hire the rest of a team to play 
  bodyguard.
  Many governments, corporations, gangs, businesses, 
  and important people would prefer not to have their own 
  secrets sold to the highest bidder, and they may be will-
  ing to hire a team of runners to stop a cartel from mak-
  ing their lives miserable. It isn’t easy to go up against an 
  organization built on the ability to go places unnoticed 
  or take control of the tech in your body, though. Ghost 
  cartels make difficult challenges for even the most expe-
  rienced teams.
  When employing a ghost cartel as a major player 
  in one of your campaigns, consider a few of the follow-
  ing points:
  As an enemy, ghost cartels make high-level threats; 
  they’re not easily defeated by new characters. They 
  make excellent enemies after your players have earned 
  some BP and acquired some new skills, especially skills 
  relating to computer hacking.
  As an employer, ghost cartels prefer to hire experi-
  enced characters. The types of organizations they infil-
  trate and the data they steal are well-protected.
  Just because ghost cartels are recommended for 
  experienced characters doesn’t mean you can’t begin 
  introducing them early. New characters may be given 
  a job by a friend of the cartel, an individual member 
  of the cartel, etc. Characters may also find themselves 
  playing patsy in a bigger scheme that was devised by 
  the cartel, only to slowly uncover the truth behind 
  what is happening to them.
  Ghost Cartels and 
  Player Characters
  Ghost cartels tend to employ highly-capable hack-
  ers, psi-jackers, and ghosts to do their dirty work. As a 
  player character, joining a ghost cartel may be one of 
  your lofty goals for when you’ve reached a certain level 
  of power and prestige in your game.
  You don’t need to wait to be a Wonderful hacker to 
  get started, though. Even characters using the suggest-
  ed number of starting Build Points can include these 
  organizations in their backgrounds. You may have 
  performed a low-paying job for LOD (see page 20) or 
  begun talking with a member of Neurotech (see page 
  20) about how to join. 
  
  20
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  On the other hand, you may be on the bad side of 
  a cartel’s wrath. One great character Fault would be 
  “Caught hacking a GhostSec-protected system.” Your 
  character might be on the run and in need of a place 
  to lay low; perhaps that’s even how you got caught up 
  with your current team.
  If you do manage to get on the good side of a 
  ghost cartel, you’ve earned yourself a powerful ally 
  (and probably several more powerful enemies). Ghost 
  cartels are known for having access to the best com-
  puter equipment and hacking-related magic devices. 
  They’re no slouches when it comes to cyberware either 
  and may be able to get you a special deal on the cost of 
  those new cyber eyes you’ve, well, had your eye on.
  Remember to exercise caution when dealing with 
  a ghost cartel. Chances are they won’t have any prob-
  lems uncovering your identity, your criminal history, 
  and other character flaws. They’re not above exploit-
  ing them to serve their own purposes, and you can bet 
  on them using that information against you if you ever 
  cross them. But hey, that’s the price for ultimte power, 
  right?
  Specific Ghost Cartels
  There are only a handful of major ghost cartels in the 
  world. Though there have been many upstarts throughout 
  the years, most smaller cartels are either scooped up by 
  larger ones or swiftly eliminated, depending on how large 
  a threat the others view them. Since ghost cartels come and 
  go, we’ll only focus on those which have come and stayed.
  GhostSec
  GhostSec poses as a ghost security firm. They hold 
  legitimate security contracts with many of the world’s 
  smaller corporations and governments, primarily those 
  without the wealth necessary to fund their own private 
  security teams.
  Unfortunately for those who subscribe to their servic-
  es, GhostSec doesn’t use their power for good. They build 
  backdoors into corporate systems and siphon important 
  data from the very networks they are hired to protect.
  Fortunately for these companies, they are great at 
  protecting networks from other outside influences. There 
  aren’t many successful attempts by other ghost cartels to 
  infiltrate these systems, which means the data they pro-
  tect is gathered and sold by only one entity. 
  As a rule, GhostSec only employs older, more experi-
  enced hackers and ghosts. They don’t like to take risks on 
  young adults with hotshot attitudes. Indeed, any member 
  of the organization who displays the first sign of being a 
  maverick is likely to have his membership in the organi-
  zation terminated with extreme prejudice.
  It is no wonder that the cartel doesn’t hire mercenary 
  hackers. They aren’t quick to let anyone into their circle 
  and there is only one way to exit; once you’re a member 
  of GhostSec, you’re in for life… however long or short 
  that may be.
  Legion of Death Legion of Death is an old cartel 
  comprised of several traditionally-trained hackers and 
  new-school ghosts. Their name is modeled after one of 
  the original hacking groups from the late 1900s, the time 
  the first computer hackers were born. The name is more 
  than just a tribue to the past though. It symbolizes the 
  group’s culture in many ways. They are comprised of his-
  tory buffs, analog hackers, and modern-era ghosts, and 
  they aren’t afraid to take down opponents who cross 
  them.
  Like other ghost cartels, LOD has no centralized lo-
  cation. Most of the time they don’t even know the real 
  names of other members, preferring to communicate 
  with each other by their handles, or pseudonyms. Names 
  such as Jesterboy, Smartbomb, and Tokyo [G]rift are 
  common among the group’s members.
  When dealing with the outside world, LOD prefers 
  to communicate solely via masked com devices. They 
  hire help, purchase information, and disseminate data 
  in a completely secretive manner. Their decentralized 
  nature makes it difficult to raid or capture more than a 
  single individual at any given time, and when news of 
  such an occurrence spreads the rest of the group is quick 
  to go into hiding until things blow over.
  LOD isn’t necessarily comprised of full-time ghosts. 
  Many of the groups members have innocuous day jobs. 
  They may be teachers, entertainers, service workers, or 
  even corporate citizens with a need for a little bit of ex-
  citement in their otherwise droll lives.
  Neurotech
  Neurotech is a hive mind. Every member of the or-
  ganization is outfitted with a Brainwave Communicator, 
  a cybernetic implant which allows them to communicate 
  with one another over vast distances with a mere thought. 
  With every member connected to every other member at 
  all times, it is possible for the cartel to keep constant tabs 
  on what is happening within the organization.
  
  21
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  It takes several weeks of rigorous mental conditioning 
  for members to be able to operate effectively within the hive 
  mind. Each learns how to tune out the exceptional amount 
  of noise caused by the constant barrage of mental pings. 
  Nobody from outside the organization is quite sure how 
  they’ve managed the ability to have collective thought and 
  individual intelligence simultaneously, but some believe it 
  has to do with the Brain Bank each member also possesses.
  In addition to being able to instantly communicate 
  with every member of the organization, Neurotech mem-
  bers are also capable of superior crowdsourced comput-
  ing and ghosting techniques the likes of which the world 
  has never encountered. Members literally lend their own 
  brains to the collective to form a supercomputer with all 
  the computational power of thousands of human minds. 
  This computing power allows the organization to launch 
  successful brute force attacks against some of the most 
  secure systems in the world.
  Nobody is sure who pulls the strings at Neurotech. It’s 
  assumed there is a “queen bee” of sorts who delivers orders 
  to her drones, but this theory has never been proven. Others 
  suggest that Neurotech’s hive mentality allows all members 
  to be equal stakeholders in the cartel, meaning everyone has 
  a say in what happens within the organization. 
  Arms Cartels
  Arms cartels deal in firearms, destructive magic, and 
  military-grade equipment. They buy, sell, trade, and illic-
  itly acquire just about anything the police wouldn’t want 
  you to get your hands on, from pyrokinesis magic to per-
  sonal mini-tanks. 
  Some such cartels, like The Cabal, deal exclusively 
  with one type of technology while others deal in a wide 
  assortment of goods. These cartels are the most likely to 
  be sought by street runners and other shady characters 
  who wish to get their hands on high-powered weapons 
  and armor without going through the standard channels.
  Most arms cartels have networks of Dealers who in-
  teract directly with clients on the cartel’s behalf. Some-
  times these Dealers are self-employed middlemen who 
  have proven themselves trustworthy but aren’t directly 
  tied to any organization (meaning they can easily be cut 
  loose if necessary). Others are highly trusted cartel mem-
  bers whose job is to weed out potential problem custom-
  ers before granting access to the cartel’s stockpiles.
  When a Dealer is a third-party agent, it may take time 
  to acquire goods for a client. They need to receive the or-
  der, check availability, haggle a price, purchase, and finally 
  deliver the goods. It’s a multi-step process that ensures the 
  cartel’s identity isn’t given away. Most of the larger cartels 
  deal with the public through middlemen exclusively, be-
  cause being uncovered is usually bad for business.
  Upstart cartels may not have the presence to use 
  third-party Dealers and have to handle trades directly. 
  They can offer reduced prices and faster turnarounds—
  something most clients appreciate—but at the cost of 
  risked exposure. These cartels also tend to lack the re-
  sources necessary to acquire the really big guns and may 
  only deal in second-hand parts.
  Arms Cartels in Your 
  Game
  Arms cartels do more than just buy and sell illegal fire-
  arms. In order to get their hands on that gear, they need 
  people to go out and get it. Sometimes that means infiltrat-
  ing the ranks of legitimate organizations and smuggling as-
  sault rifles out the door or off the back of a truck, other times 
  it means breaking into military storehouses and driving off 
  with their mini-tanks. That last one’s pretty tricky.
  Arms cartels may be fronts for legitimate corpora-
  tions or they may be a group of criminal upstarts. Either 
  way, they make weapons and armor their business, and 
  that means they have a lot of firepower at their disposal. 
  Going against an arms cartel is suicide.
  When players need new gear, they’re likely to need 
  to deal with one of these groups. If they’re lucky they 
  may find a Dealer to act as middleman. The prices will 
  be higher, but there’s a layer of safety—middlemen don’t 
  just protect the cartel’s identity from their clients, they 
  protect the clients’ identity from the cartel, too.
  If a team needs to interact with one of these cartels 
  directly (usually when purchasing from a smaller car-
  tel, but occasionally the story may call for them meeting 
  some of the big players) they need to step carefully. Any-
  one with as many connections and as much firepower 
  as an arms cartel is sure to be a dangerous contact. Cer-
  tainly the team wouldn’t want to accidentally offend the 
  wrong person, would they?
  Contacting Arms Cartels to 
  Acquire Gear
  Arms cartels provide weapons, armor, grenades, 
  magic devices, vehicles, and cybernetics that aren’t avail-
  able on the open market. In game terms, this is where 
  characters need to go if they don’t possess the appropri-
  ate Rank skill to legitimately own and carry an item.
  
  22
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  When a character wishes to buy a piece of Gear they 
  don’t have the Rank for, GMs may ask them to contact 
  their connections to get it. Ask the player to make an 
  Urban check with a Difficulty equal to the item’s Rank. 
  Success means the character is capable of finding some-
  place to acquire the gear they’re looking for. Using one’s 
  connections to acquire new gear takes 24 hours, minus 3 
  hours for every degree of success by which the check is 
  made. If the GM decides the cartel being contacted isn’t 
  using a middleman, the time is instead 12 hours minus 3 
  hours per degree of success.
  For example: Roy has no Rank skill but wishes to 
  purchase a Superb (+3) Rank sniper rifle. He rolls his 
  Great (+2) Urban and asks the GM if he can use his Shady 
  Contacts Specialization on this roll. Since he’s contacting 
  underground agents to get the equipment, the GM agrees 
  to allow this.
  Roy rolls +, -, 0, 0, +2, for a result of Great—
  not quite enough. Because he has a lot of connections 
  with shady characters he re-rolls his - dice and gets a 
  +. His total result is now Wonderful (+4). Not only does 
  Roy find a place to buy the sniper rifle, he does so in 21 
  hours instead of 24.
  The GM may decide the size of the cartel the players 
  are dealing with. If the cartel is Small, they can acquire 
  the gear at its normal Cost. If the cartel is Medium or 
  Large, they must additionally spend Wealth equal to the 
  gear’s Rank trait to represent its increased purchase price.
  To randomly determine the size of the cartel, roll 
  1dF. On a roll of - the cartel is Small size, on a roll of 0 
  it is Medium, and on a roll of + it is Large.
  If you prefer to choose the cartel’s size yourself, ask 
  yourself how much influence the cartel has within the 
  world. Are they new to the criminal underworld? If so, 
  they’re probably still a Small cartel. Do they operate in a 
  single city (Small again), a single country (Medium) or the 
  entire world (Large)? 
  As a good rule of thumb, Small cartels can grant access 
  to illicit goods with a Rank requirement of Good (+1) or 
  lower. Medium cartels may be able to secure items with a 
  Rank requirement of Superb (+3). Large cartels have all of 
  the power and influence necessary to access the best toys 
  and may grant access to gear with a Rank requirement of 
  Wonderful (+4) or better.
  Smaller cartels are easier to topple than larger ones. 
  The leader of a Small cartel is likely a Wonderful NPC, 
  while Medium cartel leaders are typically Phenomenal. 
  Large cartel heads may be Extraordinary and, rarely, As-
  tonishing NPCs. 
  Arms Cartels and 
  Player Characters
  Player characters often find themselves involved with 
  arms cartels for one reason or another. Either they took 
  a job to steal some high-tech equipment for a Dealer or 
  they’re looking to purchase something illegal and the 
  arms cartels are the best place to find it.
  When everything goes according to plan, life is good. 
  Everyone gets what they want and noone’s feelings get 
  hurt or reputations get burned. Of course, when does 
  anything ever go according to plan?
  Players may have a history with one or more arms 
  cartels. Maybe they were hired guns for the organization 
  or maybe they were Dealers themselves. Some players 
  may still be members of an arms cartel who take odd jobs 
  on the side, but others may have severed their ties for 
  some reason.
  Cartels are paranoid by nature, so having former 
  members loose in the wild makes them nervous. These 
  characters could be privy to sensitive information which 
  could be used to out the cartel, and that’s a risk most just 
  aren’t willing to take.
  Chances are good that if a character is a former 
  member of a cartel, there’s a price on their head. No mat-
  ter how loyal they were to the organization while they 
  were part of it, the character is just too much of a liability 
  to leave alive. The character probably left on uncertain or 
  unhappy terms (since almost no one ever leaves a cartel 
  under any other circumstance) and so they may need to 
  constantly watch their back.
  Specific Arms Cartels
  Below are a few specific arms cartels you may wish 
  to use in your game. Some specialize in the type of arms 
  they deal with while others offer a broad range of goods. 
  Small cartels don’t have middlemen to deal with clients 
  while Medium and Large cartels do.
  Balken Motor Company
  Size: Large
  Though the majority of the European countries be-
  long to the Greater European Union, many of the Balkan 
  States have either refused to join or have left the GEU al-
  together. Collectively they have formed their own union, 
  known as the New Balkan League (NBL).
  
  23
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  The NBL is known worldwide for its superior auto-
  mobile manufacturing. The League has overtaken Japan 
  in terms of auto exports, and that is due in no small part 
  to the fact that the entire region specializes in auto manu-
  facturing and is housed under one umbrella: the Balkan 
  Motor Company.
  Though nearly half the world’s consumer automo-
  biles originate in the Balkans, such vehicles aren’t the 
  company’s only exports. They also design, manufacture, 
  and export custom military and paramilitary vehicles 
  such as personal tanks, military transport vehicles, co-
  vert helicopters, and bomber drones. These products are 
  sold to anyone willing to pay for them, regardless of their 
  intended use.
  Balkan Motor Company denies any guilt over the il-
  legal or harmful use of their machines. They don’t screen 
  buyers and don’t ask questions, nor do they accept any 
  criticism that their controls aren’t stringent enough. The 
  company continues to sell to governments and mega-
  corporations as well as militant rebel groups in nearly 
  every country in the world.
  Because most illicit sales are channeled through 
  middlemen, they can’t be directly linked to the rebel 
  forces which eventually purchase BMC’s equipment. 
  Few governments or organizations launch investigations 
  into these go-between Dealers because it wouldn’t pay 
  to apprehend an individual broker. Instead, the UN and 
  its member nations prefer to combat these rebel groups 
  directly—a fact which BMC banks on to continue its lu-
  crative operations.
  The Cabal 
  Size: Medium
  The Cabal is a criminal cartel which traffics in black 
  market magic. For the most part, the Cabal simply sells 
  stolen magic at prices just under the standard retail (it’s 
  100% profit to them, after all). The Cabal controls hun-
  dreds of small-time, back-alley vendors, dozens of retail 
  franchises, and even has stakes in other cartels (especially 
  ghost cartels). 
   Selling stolen magic is only part of the Cabal’s busi-
  ness. They also employ (or kidnap) psi-researchers and 
  imagineers to study the psi-tech they sell and make dan-
  gerous modifications. This so-called “black magic” is 
  highly effective (often rivaling even the abilities of pow-
  erful psychics) but it is also extremely dangerous. 
  The use of black magic is often addicting and can 
  drive even the most sane user to fits of rage and halluci-
  nation after extended use. The Cabal keeps close tabs on 
  all pieces of black magic that they sell, and they employ 
  their own rotating force of black-magic-using ghosts and 
  assassins dubbed “warlocks”.
  The leader of the Cabal, referred to only as Arch even 
  by the highest ranking members, is very thoroughly veiled 
  by magic and black magic, but in the criminal underworld, 
  rumors fly thick and fast. The latest round of whispers 
  claims that Arch has found a new and powerful backer or 
  partner and that the Cabal is preparing for something big. 
  These rumors can never be trusted, but even the lowest 
  rung street runners have noticed the recent influx of high-
  level magic and black magic from the Cabal.
  Game Hunters, Inc.
  Size: Large
  Posing as a legitimate hunting club, Game Hunters, Inc. 
  (GHI) are not above selling their wares to people without an 
  appropriate license. They are a legitimate source of standard 
  hunting equipment such as rifles and shotguns, but beneath 
  the surface they also peddle assault rifles, sniper rifles, and 
  military-grade combat armor.
  When a typical customer walks into one of GHI’s 
  worldwide sporting goods stores, they’re treated to an 
  array of outdoor sports equipment. Though they special-
  ize in camping equipment, camouflage, scopes, firearms, 
  and other survival gear, they also sell off-road vehicles, 
  fishing supplies (never mind that you can only catch fish 
  in one of their pre-stocked, man-made lakes), barbecue 
  grills, and other such gear.
  GHI owns large patches of land dedicated to the al-
  most-lost sport of hunting. After The Great Famine their 
  core business practically dried up. Nearly every government 
  of the world outlawed hunting wild animals due to their in-
  creased rarity, and poaching became a serious offense.
  To combat their dwindling livelihood, GHI snatched 
  up large patches of land at many of their most popular 
  locations. They stock the land with cloned bears, deer, 
  and other common game and they sell hunting tags to 
  customers at steep rates. Still, those who thrill in hunting 
  game now have a place to go to enjoy their hobby.
  Despite this new business model, GHI’s margins on 
  their legitimate practices are slim. They make up for this 
  by selling illegal wares to anyone shady enough to come 
  looking for them. They demand high prices from their 
  third-party Dealers, but one can find just about anything 
  available short of magic devices or high-end cybernetics 
  when they contact GHI.
  
  24
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  Sihir Teknik Size: Medium
  Located in the Cheras district of Kuala Lampur, 
  Sihir Teknik—or Magic Technical Institute—is a pres-
  tigious university where thousands of students go to 
  learn how to engineer and build magic devices. The goal 
  of many students is to be recognized and hired by Koji-
  corp upon graduation, but a few go on to accept general 
  engineering jobs with other firms who legitimately li-
  cense Magicorp tech.
  Though it seems an unlikely place for a cartel, Sihir 
  Teknik makes the perfect cover for magic traffickers. The 
  college receives deeply discounted hardware for its stu-
  dents and it often sells surplus goods on the black mar-
  ket—through third-party Dealers—at a healthy mark-up. 
  With so many staff and faculty it’s hard to pin the blame 
  on any one person, which makes it all the more difficult 
  to bust the cartel for their activities.
  Though they both deal in black market magic, Sihir 
  Teknik and The Cabal are not necessarily at odds. It is ru-
  mored that many of the college’s alumni enjoy positions 
  of great prestige among the ranks of The Cabal, and the 
  two entities almost certainly have mutual connections. 
  Some believe Sihir Teknik is behind The Cabal’s recent 
  influx in power, but nobody knows who exactly may be 
  supplying the organization with new magic.
  If Kojicorp knows about the school’s underground 
  trade, they don’t let on. The corporation continues to 
  hire top-ranking students and supplies the college with a 
  great deal of equipment. 
  Every new student is given a Kojicorp-issued teleki-
  nesis device of Great power upon arrival during their first 
  day of classes, but the device has been tweaked to not be 
  able to function out of the box. It’s a challenge of sorts to 
  the student: fix the equipment yourself and you can hold 
  vast power in the palm of your hand. Or, of course, you 
  can sell it as scrap for a quick buck.
  Voortreflik Freight
  Size: Small
  Voortreflik Freight is a small shipping company 
  headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, a Sub-Sa-
  hara member state. The company takes advantage of its 
  geographical position to ship goods worldwide and is a 
  hub for international trade. Even though most shipments 
  take place via air rather than by sea, its position on the 
  southern cape of South Africa means it has fast access to 
  many of the world’s major ports.
  The company’s name stands for excellence, and it does 
  a great job handling large shipments of goods. Like so 
  many companies though, not all of its practices are strictly 
  legal. Most of its revenue comes from undocumented sales 
  of weapons, armor, magic devices, and explosives.
  Voortreflik Freight is adept at smuggling illegal arms 
  alongside legitimate weapons shipments or hiding them 
  amongst clothing and other mundane items. They’re not 
  above paying off the occasional port authorities to turn a 
  blind eye to their practices either.
  Because the company is relatively small, they don’t 
  have an intricate network of middlemen helping to pro-
  tect their identity. Prospective clients contact the compa-
  ny directly and ask for special services that go “under and 
  beyond” the normal flow of business. If the client plays 
  her cards right, the company will attempt to acquire and 
  deliver anything under the Sun.
  Trafficking 
  Cartels
  Some people are insidious and vile enough to buy 
  and sell other people. To them, the almighty Neumark 
  is more important than any human life. These people are 
  human traffickers, and they partake in a practice that is 
  immoral, illegal, unethical, and just plain mean.
  Despite its cruel nature, trafficking is highly lucrative 
  to the people and the cartels calling the shots. Slavery is 
  alive and well, but it isn’t condoned by any nation. Some-
  times people are kidnapped and auctioned off to the high-
  est bidder while others are forced to work off their debts as 
  indentured servants. Regardless of how a person winds up 
  in the slave trade, it’s almost impossible to get out.
  Not all trafficking cartels buy and sell human slaves. 
  Sometimes a person’s parts are worth more than their 
  body as a whole. Many trafficking cartels kidnap victims 
  and remove organs, borrow limbs, and even steal memo-
  ries for sale or trade.
  Regardless of the specifics, trafficking cartels are 
  some of the most vile entities known to man. Those who 
  run the show have little compassion and care not for the 
  rights of others. Unfortunately, these rich and powerful 
  organizations are hard to oppose. Corporate police forces 
  do occasionally raid the hideouts of traffickers, but that 
  usually only happens when the cartel encroaches on the 
  corp’s territory and reduces their workforce.
  
  25
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  Trafficking Cartels in 
  Your Game
  Trafficking cartels make great villains because their 
  practices are almost universally seen as vile and wretch-
  ed. They are wealthy, powerful, and have tons of sinister 
  connections. They’re easy to hate, but hard to oppose—
  these cartels make great high-level threats.
  GMs may wish to use one of these cartels as a long-
  term threat to their players. One mission may start sim-
  ply enough—investigate the disappearance of a friend, 
  for example—but eventually snowball into a much larger 
  conflict as the team discovers their friend was abducted 
  by traffickers and sold into slavery to repay debts both 
  real and imagined.
  After the players have uncovered the wider scheme, 
  they may attempt to rescue their friend and find out her 
  memories have been wiped clean by a soul jacker. Do the 
  players give up, or do they take revenge for the heinous 
  actions brought against their pal? Do they stop at the per-
  sons directly responsible for what happened, or do they 
  shoot their way through the ranks of the entire organiza-
  tion until it’s brought to its knees?
  Traffickers and Player 
  Characters
  Though these organizations are evil, that doesn’t 
  mean a player character can’t be part of one. Players may 
  wish to explore the darkest side of life and become a 
  member of one of these groups. We suggest using caution 
  when choosing to join a trafficking cartel voluntarily, but 
  perhaps your character didn’t volunteer. Were they sold 
  into servitude, only to one day become part of the very 
  system that took their life away?
  Players may also be former members of a traffick-
  ing cartel. As usual with any major criminal organiza-
  tion, leaving the ranks usually means escaping and being 
  hunted for life. Trafficking cartels in particular are not 
  fond of having their secrets let loose upon the world, so 
  they don’t take kindly to having members abandon them.
  Perhaps your character wasn’t an employee, but a 
  victim. Though few people ever make it out of the slave 
  trade alive, it is possible that your character was a rare 
  exception. Of course you may not have made it out with 
  all your memories intact, but that’s a small price to pay 
  for your freedom isn’t it?
  Specific Trafficking 
  Cartels
  The following list of trafficking cartels is made up 
  of some of the vilest people on Earth in 2096. Human-
  ity has evolved a great deal over the last century, and so 
  has humanity’s penchant for committing heinous crimes 
  against one another.
  Fantasma Biotécnica
  Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Fantasma Biotécni-
  ca deals in illegally-modified cybernetic implants, limbs 
  and subsystems. They purchase everything from stolen 
  brain matter to machinery and refine these things into 
  concrete, usable merchandise. 
  Fantasma Biotécnica actively funds small-time mer-
  cenary gangs and grey slavers, turning their raw materi-
  als into illicit goods. They play the role of middleman, 
  but occasionally provide direct implant services for their 
  own members.
  The cartel also takes legal cybernetics and modifies 
  them: stripping materials for reinforcement, overclock-
  ing internal CPU’s, and even crafting brain matter im-
  plants, most notably psionic implants that function the 
  way they had for their less-than-fortunate first owners. 
  The latter in particular brings them infamy in the region, 
  as it’s reasonably well-known that these neural implants 
  are the result of grey slavery (not that anyone has been 
  able to prove this). 
  While the cartel’s operations are generally white col-
  lar work, they outsource their security to gangs—often 
  the same ones who bring them their raw materials. This 
  gives them a distinctly threatening presence, as they can 
  quite capably organize street level violence.
  Lunatica Casino Group
  Lunatica Casino Group owns and operates several 
  high-end casinos on the moon where only the rich and 
  famous go to play. These high-stakes gambling parlors 
  offer the very finest entertainment and gambling servic-
  es, and these services come at a high price—sometimes a 
  much higher price than one might think.
  When a gambler spends or loses too much money 
  and can’t pay his debts, LCG is quick to offer financial 
  assistance. All one needs to do is sign away the rights to 
  his kidneys, eyes, and other spare parts and the casino 
  will gladly forgive any debt the patron owes. They’re then 
  transferred to a medical wing where the company can 
  collect its payment.
  
  26
  Chapter 2: Cartels
  2
  The casino’s practice of extorting debtors is not well-
  documented. Despite the contracts signed by every per-
  son who is involved in the transaction, the paper trail 
  is small and hard to follow. Perhaps the company locks 
  away its information in an impossibly secure safe, or per-
  haps the donor program’s participants are relieved of the 
  knowledge that they ever signed a dotted line. Either way, 
  no one has ever challenged the casino in court or talked 
  about it in the media.
  Occasionally an indebted gambler refuses to sign 
  away his body to Lunatica. Though the casino does make 
  a compelling case as to why they should do so, some peo-
  ple just aren’t comfortable paying their debts in such a 
  way. Those people seem to disappear without a trace and 
  with no record they were ever on the moon.
  Seoul Survivors
  After the Second Korean War ended in 2077, the 
  freshly-formed New Korea was a place of devastation 
  and loss. Both sides suffered millions of casualties and 
  millions more injuries, and the lives of every Korean citi-
  zen were affected in some way.
  Nearly every survivor suffered some amount of post-
  traumatic stress, and a philanthropic organization known 
  as Seoul Survivors formed to help counsel citizens and 
  reintegrate former North Koreans into the dominant 
  South Korean society.
  Seoul Survivors is comprised of talented telepaths 
  capable of reaching into someone’s mind and resurfacing 
  suppressed memories so they can be dealt with. Though 
  such counseling methods were at the time highly contro-
  versial (nobody really wanted someone prying around in 
  their mind and peering into their secrets) the process was 
  voluntary and highly effective. The organization treated 
  hundreds of thousands of survivors in the first five years 
  and they continue to treat people to this day.
  With the organization providing such a great service 
  to the people of New Korea, it’s hard to imagine there 
  being any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Seoul Survivors is 
  now a very large organization and such groups are often 
  infiltrated by people looking to abuse their power for per-
  sonal gain. Many of the volunteer psychiatrists use their 
  powers of mind reading, mind control, and alter memories 
  for unwholesome purposes.
  Nowadays, many of the patients who come to Seoul Sur-
  vivors looking for help are soul jacked by their psychiatrist. It’s 
  especially easy to take control of the target’s mind when they 
  willingly let you in, and the patients have little to no hope of 
  resisting once their shrink has gotten inside their head.
  Victims often wind up having crucial memories 
  wiped clear and are then forced to sign themselves over 
  to the hands of slavers. What happens next is anyone’s 
  guess; some victims are sold into various trades and 
  shipped across the world, others are found later with 
  some of their internal organs missing. Even after the 
  mental dominance wears off, their memories are often 
  altered such that they aren’t even aware they had a previ-
  ous life.
  If the heads of the organization know what’s going 
  on, they certainly don’t acknowledge it. They may be 
  afraid of retaliation from the victims’ families or the me-
  dia, or they may be in cahoots with the psychiatrists who 
  are directly involved with the slave trade. Either way, they 
  refuse to admit that any such illegal activity is happening 
  on their watch.
  Spiritual Successors
  Posing as a faith-based organization, Spiritual Suc-
  cessors specialize in the fine art of exorcism. They expel 
  unwanted demons from afflicted persons whose souls are 
  overwhelmed by evil spirits.
  In truth, the group is comprised of dozens of wraith 
  butchers—individuals who travel to the Astral plane and 
  destroy the souls of others. What makes Spiritual Succes-
  sors unique is that they actually replace the souls of their 
  victims with the souls of people who have been on a long 
  waitlist for a full-body replacement.
  When someone comes to the Spiritual Successors 
  looking for help, an exorcist leads their soul to the As-
  tral plane and either destroys or imprisons it. Ordinarily 
  their body would be left in a comatose state, but a wait-
  listed client fills the vessel and uses it for their own. Upon 
  entering the new host body, the client is free to live again.
  Spiritual Successors target two types of people: 
  wealthy individuals who aren’t ready to give up on life 
  (their primary clients) and destitute, friendless castaways 
  who are led to believe that demons are to blame for their 
  plight (their victims). Clients pay an inordinate sum of 
  money to the group with the promise they will receive a 
  new body shortly after their old one gives up on life.
  Most people view the Spiritual Successors as a group 
  of radical religious nuts, and it would be hard to prove 
  otherwise. The group’s victims are generally unwanted by 
  anyone in society, and their clients certainly aren’t willing 
  to discuss the deal they made with the organization. It 
  would be hard to prove any wrongdoing even if some-
  one did care—after all, how does one prove their soul has 
  gone missing?
  
  27
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Gangs
  Gangs battle it out in the slums and ghettos of the 
  world’s cities and constantly war over turf, resources, and 
  whatever scraps of respect they can attain. Police often 
  ignore the petty crimes that gangs commit as long as 
  they’re carried out against each other, but when a gang 
  oversteps its boundaries and starts mugging citizens or 
  robbing local convenience stores the police are forced to 
  intervene. Occasionally the police send squads of gang-
  busters into the sprawl to take down particularly power-
  ful groups of ruffians, but for the most part their stance 
  has been to let them kill each other… for the good of 
  mankind.
  Street Runners often get caught up in gang activity 
  for a variety of reasons. Most commonly Runners will 
  wind up having it out with gangers who get in the way of 
  their current mission, but occasionally a crime boss will 
  hire a group to secretly carry out a hit without starting a 
  feud. Runners may even be hired to guard a company’s 
  client when their gang protection has lapsed.
  Gang Turf
  Most gangs are street-level criminals who don’t make 
  it out of the little league. It takes truly organized crimi-
  nals to go pro and break into the national circuit. Gangs 
  usually have a territory ranging from a few city blocks to 
  a few neighborhoods in width, but a truly powerful gang 
  may even rule over most of a city or small county.
  
  28
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  When a gang oversteps its boundaries and wanders 
  onto another’s turf, bad things happen. The best case sce-
  nario is that the gang in charge of that area runs the other 
  off its land by showing its strength and authority – usu-
  ally with violence. If both gangs are equally matched a 
  gang war may ensue and bloody battles are waged in the 
  streets for days or even weeks on end. When this hap-
  pens, it’s usually up to the police and their gangbusting 
  squads to come in and put an end to the in-fighting be-
  fore too many innocent lives are lost in the cross-fire.
  In a bid for dominance, some gangs may intentionally 
  challenge others. Many of the more organized gang leaders 
  have aspirations of one day making it big and taking over 
  the town, and they’ll do whatever they can to prove them-
  selves worthy of fear and respect. In most cases this behav-
  ior results in a lot of dead gang leaders, but in a few instances 
  groups will consolidate and become a stronger force.
  Gangs in Your Game
  Gangs make great antagonists. Since they’re often up 
  to no-good, it’s easy to pin them as the villain in your story 
  and even the most noble of players has a hard time feeling 
  bad for busting a ganger. They can be used as an easy out 
  for when you just need a reason to get your story off the 
  ground, but they don’t have to be so one-dimensional.
  The gangs outlined later in this chapter have a lot 
  of different goals and methods. Think of each one as a 
  potential plot device to add some conflict to your game. 
  One gang may be a simple group of neighborhood thugs 
  and ruffians while another may have dreams of taking on 
  the cartels and hitting it big.
  While local street-level activity may not affect the dai-
  ly lives of most characters, a gang leader with an inferiority 
  complex might drag a lot of other people into his twisted 
  world. One of the player’s loved ones may be injured dur-
  ing a routine convenience store robbery, or perhaps the 
  Wheel Jockey’s favorite ride got smashed up during a turf 
  war. Consider the different ways you can bring your play-
  ers into the fray by making things personal.
  Gangs and Player 
  Characters
  Some characters may choose to be from a gang or 
  they may be a former gang member turned straight. In 
  either case, take advantage of a good backstory and bring 
  it into the present. 
  Perhaps the character left the gang on uneasy terms 
  and now the boss has a bounty on his head. Conversely, 
  the character may have left on good terms (hey, it could 
  happen) and now one of his old buddies is in trouble and 
  needs some help.
  If a character is still a ganger, ask the character to 
  which gang he belongs. The character may be given con-
  tacts within the gang and might be able to ask for a favor 
  if he’s ever in a bind. Most gangs have some kind of policy 
  (written or otherwise, but usually otherwise) about how 
  many favors a member can call in before needing to pay 
  them back. GMs should try to keep track of these and 
  cash them in when it’s least convenient.
  Specific Gangs
  If your game takes place primarily in one city, it’s 
  easy to mix and match the following gangs as necessary. 
  If your game spans multiple major cities you may wish 
  to keep track of which gangs you’ve put where since they 
  rarely cross between locations.
  Clean Sweep
  Turf: City-wide
  Leader: Unknown
  Some violent gangs hide behind an altruistic pur-
  pose. Even though their methods may be harsh, they 
  claim to fight for the greater good. Not that anyone could 
  define what “good” means these days.
  Clean Sweep gangers are self-styled vigilantes who 
  seek out illegal street docs and put an end to their busi-
  ness. Ask any of the gang’s members and they’ll tell you 
  just how bad these back-alley operating rooms are for so-
  ciety; not only do they patch up street runners and other 
  criminals, they deal in black market body parts and cy-
  berware. Someone’ needs to stop these menaces to soci-
  ety, and that someone sure as hell hasn’t been the police.
  Unlike your typical street gang, Clean Sweep doesn’t 
  gather in any one specific location and they don’t flash 
  gang symbols or dress identically. Their only unifying fac-
  tor is that they all enjoy the thrill of trouncing a dirty street 
  doc and putting an end to their operations—permanently.
  Estimates put the gang’s numbers between 50 and 70 
  members, but the fact that they never gather in groups of 
  more than 5 or 6 and they don’t dress alike makes it dif-
  ficult to pin down that number. The only thing that’s for 
  sure is that they’ve only just recently begun their clean-
  up efforts and that they’ve closed a lot of underground 
  clinics in their relatively short time.
  
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  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Rumor has it that Medical Services International is ac-
  tually pulling the strings and that Clean Sweep is nothing 
  more than a front for waging warfare against MSI’s biggest 
  competitors. The fact that nobody yet knows who is lead-
  ing the gang makes it difficult to track down the truth.
  Common Clean Sweep Member
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Combat (Ranged): Great;  
  Specialization: Shotguns
  Weapons: “Room Broom” double-barrel shotgun 
  (Range: Great; RoF: S or 2 in one round; Re-
  load: 2; Gifts: Increased Ammo Capacity; Cost: 
  48). Note: ODFs when using shotgun increase 
  by +1 at Fair range and +2 at Mediocre range.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Cyberwave
  Turf: Neighborhood
  Leader: D.J. Flash
  Cyberwave is a group of older teenagers and 
  20-somethings who gather in abandoned warehouses to 
  have fun, party, and rave to their heart’s content. They 
  follow a musician known as D.J. Flash who plays a special 
  blend of ultra-modern techno and post-industrial rock at 
  all their club parties.
  The trend in the group is to don ever bigger, brighter, 
  and flashier streetware to really make a scene. Initiates 
  usually show up sporting case lights (flashing lights af-
  fixed to one’s skull) while long-term members have gone 
  so far as to mod their entire torsos with colored tattoos 
  that shift in time with the music’s beat.
  Cyberwave seems to be mostly harmless at first glance, 
  but the amount of drugs pumping through their systems 
  has a tendency to cause a lot of bad trips and violent out-
  bursts. D.J. Flash insists it’s not his place to tell people how 
  to act at a party and refuses to take responsibility, but some 
  claim he puts subliminal, psychological, and possibly psy-
  chicly-charged hidden messages in his music that causes 
  listeners to become unnecessarily agitated.
  Parties usually occur at night in abandoned ware-
  houses where breaking and entering is common but 
  largely unpunished. During the day, the group is encour-
  aged to spread word of their gatherings and recruit even 
  more members. Their numbers have been steadily in-
  creasing and Cyberwave regularly moves to larger ware-
  houses. It isn’t certain, but hushed whispers speak of how 
  D.J. Flash must be gathering recruits for some larger and 
  more sinister purpose.
  Common Cyberwave Member
  ODFs: +1; DDFs: +1 (normally +1/+1, but they 
  use Aggressive posture when drugged up and 
  agitated)
  Weapons: Knives, clubs, or Sm. Handguns (Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  D.J. Flash
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Bluff
  Artistic: Great;  
  Specialization: Music
  Social (Informal): Great
  Gifts: Telepathy (Great); mind control (Great)
  Faults: Hidden motives could be discovered
  Weapons: Sm. Handgun (Damage: Fair; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Daughters of Liberty
  Turf: State-wide
  Leader: Lady Liberty
  Though the NAU’s famous Statue of Liberty was de-
  stroyed in 2033 during a home-grown terrorist attack, 
  the Daughters of Liberty have taken up her mantle and 
  see it as their place to restore the country to its right-
  ful order—with liberty and justice for everyone but the 
  Corps.
  Upon initiation into the group, DOL members un-
  dergo an intense transformation that leaves them look-
  ing like the Statue of Liberty of old. They color their skin 
  green and install streetware that gives them large spikes 
  on the tops of their heads. When they gather in groups, 
  they wear robes reminiscent of those worn by the vener-
  able statue, but they don’t dress in that fashion individu-
  ally or when in small gatherings.
  Though not technically a gang, they are an extremist 
  political group who aren’t afraid to impose their beliefs on 
  others. DOL’s violence against corporate citizens, especial-
  ly lower-management, has been well-documented. Many 
  criticize them as cowards for not going after the higher-
  
  30
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  ups of any given company directly, but any Daughter of 
  Liberty would tell you it would be a fool’s errand; getting 
  close to upper-management of a megacorp would require 
  far more resources and firepower than even their growing 
  numbers could muster.
  The group’s leader, who calls herself Lady Liberty, is 
  a brilliant and charismatic woman with a strong back-
  ground in politics. Critics believe her to be a psychic with 
  mind control powers, but she maintains that all of her 
  followers join the Daughters of Liberty of their own free 
  will—just as the nation’s founders had intended.
  Common DOL Member
  ODFs: +0; DDFs: +2 (normally +1/+1, but they use 
  Cautious posture when confronted)
  Knowledge: Good;  
  Specialization: Politics
  Weapons: Sm. Handgun (Range: Good; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Lady Liberty
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Politics
  Manipulation: Great;  
  Specialization: Bluff
  Social (Formal): Great
  Gifts: Mind control (Great)
  Faults: Fanatic patriot
  Weapons: Sm. Handgun (Range: Good; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Espessura (a.k.a Thick)
  Turf: City of Rio de Janeiro
  Leader: Alma Escura (Dark Soul)
  Alma Escura (Dark Soul) is a well-organized leader, 
  especially for a gang leader. He rose to the position after 
  confronting and taking down his predecessor, Bicho Feio, 
  during a rival gang raid that lasted three weeks. Many 
  members were lost in the first two weeks due to the poor 
  leadership skills of Bicho Feio, so Alma Escura killed him, 
  claimed his role as leader, then organized the remaining 
  members and regained control of their territory. 
  Alma demands respect from his members and is 
  quick to remind any that get out of line who is in control. 
  His ability to organize his members to keep the gang out 
  of trouble with local and government authorities eventu-
  ally caught the eye of a local cartel known as Fantasma 
  Biotécnica. He has positioned himself and his gang to 
  work with the cartel in hopes of being promoted into the 
  big leagues.
  Superficially, it appears the gang’s turf covers only a 
  few neighborhoods. In reality, Escura has seized leader-
  ship of several once-rival gangs and has brought them 
  all together as a united group. His territory now covers 
  two-thirds of the city of Rio.
  Alma organized the gang into six units, each main-
  taining their original turf and unique symbolism. Each 
  are well aware of their brother gangs and do not cross 
  the other unless directed to do so, but sometimes it is 
  necessary to keep up a façade of rivalries between them 
  to confound authorities. 
  Though each unit maintains its original identifying 
  symbols and colors, all members are marked with a tattoo 
  of three thick lines across the back of their neck with a small 
  knick on either side of the center stripe. Each unit has a 
  color combination of blue/black, red/black, green/black, or-
  ange/black, etc., which are shown in the colors in their hats 
  or on a ribbon worn around their left bicep.
  As a whole, the gang is focused on controlling their 
  turf and protecting the streets near the operations of Fan-
  tasma Biotécnica. They assist the cartel by regularly sup-
  plying them with fresh test subjects.
  Each unit is responsible for certain tasks and within 
  each unit members are organized by level of ability. Some 
  members are used as petty thugs who steal valuables, 
  vandalize, or get in fights with rival gangs, while other 
  members collect test subjects for the cartel’s operations. 
  Those at the bottom or new recruits that do not show 
  any promise in Alma’s eyes are quickly set-up and used 
  as scapegoats with the authorities and rival gangs, or they 
  become test subjects themselves.
  Fantasma Biotécnica, in return, helps fund Espessura 
  by buying test subjects as well as any other useful mate-
  rial the gang collects. Some successful test subjects are 
  returned to the gang as more useful members and sta-
  tioned as such by Escura.
  Common Espessura Thug
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +2
  Combat (Ranged): Good;  
  Specialization: Lg. Handguns
  
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  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Weapons: Lg. Handgun (Range: Great; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Dark Soul
  ODFs: +5; DDFs: +4
  Combat (Ranged): Superb;  
  Specialization: Lg. Handguns (note this stacks 
  with his weapon’s Ocular Integration Gift to 
  give a +2dF reroll)
  Combat (Non-physical): Great;  
  Specialization: Tactics
  Urban: Great
  Manipulation; Merchant: Good
  Social (Informal): Good
  Gifts: Cyber eyes (HUD, Thermal Vision)
  Faults: Ambitious
  Weapons: Lg. Handgun (Range: Great; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3; Gifts: Ocular Integration; Cost: 32) 
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Evolution Next
  Turf: Regional
  Leader: Darwin
  Mentals have long faced discrimination and have 
  fought hard over the past several decades to earn the 
  right to live side-by-side with normals. Some psychics 
  aren’t happy just being equals, though; some see them-
  selves as the next step in human evolution and believe 
  their time to rule the world is at hand.
  Evolution Next is one such group of radical psychic 
  supremacists. Led by a man who is both precognizant 
  and pyrokinetic, the group is strong both tactically and 
  offensively. Though it isn’t prudent for them to attack ev-
  ery normal they meet, they do scheme to pull off grand 
  scale anti-human attacks and were responsible for the 
  deaths of hundreds at a recent local sporting event.
  Evolution Next have been operating for only a few 
  short years, but their numbers have swelled thanks to re-
  cent media exposure. Magicorp points at them and their 
  kind as being the whole reason use of psionics should be 
  banned, and groups like the Anti-Psi League of old have 
  begun to re-emerge as a direct response.
  Some believe Evolution Next is secretly sponsored 
  by Kojicorp, but the corporation’s direct involvement is 
  unproven. Though the gang likely does use some of Koji-
  corp’s psi-enhancing drugs to bolster their own abilities, 
  it’s unclear where they may be obtaining these drugs. It 
  also isn’t reasonable to assume a megacorporation would 
  sponsor such a relatively small-time gang of racist thugs; 
  after all, the gang hasn’t even gone national yet, let alone 
  global.
  Common Evolution Next Member
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +2
  Gifts: One psionic power at a level of Fair
  Weapons: Md. Handgun (Range: Good; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Darwin
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Psionics
  Reputation; Urban: Great
  Gifts: Precognition (Great); pyrokinesis (Great)
  Faults: Megalomaniac
  Weapons: Usually uses pyrokinesis as a projectile 
  attack
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Fire and Ice
  Turf: City-wide
  Leader: Antipode
  Some gangs deal in firearms, Fire and Ice deals in de-
  structive magic. The gang’s leader, known as Antipode, 
  possesses prototype pyro- and cryokinesis devices which 
  were stolen from Magicrop in the early days of magic – 
  before all of the devices were chipped with recovery sys-
  tems.
  Many dealers have a contact or two within this gang, 
  giving them the connections they need to acquire illicit 
  magic devices. Though Fire and Ice usually deal with 
  magic of a destructive nature, they have been known to 
  occasionally sell other forms of magic such as ESP and 
  telepathy magic.
  Antipode is a merchant first and a fighter second, 
  which is good news for anyone who crosses him; he’s 
  more likely to strike a bargain than to strike a match. 
  Some of his underlings aren’t happy with his perceived 
  lack of power and there are whispers in the underworld 
  that he may soon be usurped.
  
  32
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Some believe Fire and Ice is an arm of The Cabal, a 
  criminal cartel known for their influence over black mar-
  ket magic. Though Fire and Ice do occasionally strike 
  special deals and bargains with the cartel, the gang isn’t 
  officially sanctioned by the Arch or any of his hands.
  Common Fire and Ice Member
  ODFs: +1; DDFs: +1
  Combat (Ranged): Great
  Weapons: One magic device capable of making a 
  projectile attack (pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, sonar-
  kinesis, etc.) at PR: Good
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Antipode
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Merchant: Superb;  
  Specialization: Haggle
  Manipulation; Urban: Great
  Combat (Ranged): Good
  Gifts: Could sell ice to an Inuit
  Faults: His men may mutiny
  Weapons: Pyrokinesis device at PR: Great; cryoki-
  nesis device at PR: Great
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Halflings
  Turf: Neighborhood or city-wide
  Leader: Known as the Chief, usually the oldest or 
  most experienced member
  This gang of young hooligans is more of a local nui-
  sance than a serious threat. Still, they’ve made a name 
  for themselves by staying persistent and maintaining a 
  constant presence throughout their neighborhood.
  The gang is unique in that it is comprised entirely 
  of children, all of them with the ability to change their 
  form at will. By using the psychometablism power they 
  alter themselves to appear like goblins, kobolds, gnomes, 
  brownies, and a variety of other diminutive fantasy crea-
  tures.
  They’re not just a gang of ren faire rejects, though. 
  These children, most of them orphans, runaways, or 
  cast-offs, use their abilities and numbers to sew chaos 
  throughout the neighborhood. Popular activities include 
  bashing windows, stealing the latest popular electronics, 
  and torturing small animals. It’s uncertain how a group 
  of such small children have grown to be so delinquent 
  and malicious, but it’s clear they have criminal intent.
  Behind the scenes, the gang is run by whoever is the 
  oldest or most experienced of the bunch. Referred to as 
  the Chief, this position fluctuates frequently as it is both 
  possible and common for a Chief to age out of the gang 
  entirely; once a member turns 18, he’s given a special 
  birthday celebration and then sent on his way to make a 
  name for himself in another gang.
  Ties to the gang rarely remain strong after a member 
  leaves. The chaotic nature of the group ensures that their 
  “home base” never remains in one place for long, so it’s 
  difficult to get in touch with former buddies even if one 
  wanted to.
  In 2085, the gang made national news when the 
  Chief and several of his closest followers raided an ani-
  mal shelter and shapechanged most of its dogs into fe-
  rocious-looking dire wolves and set them loose on the 
  city. Thankfully for the surrounding neighborhood, the 
  dogs were no more ill-tempered or feral than normal 
  even in their new form, but those few dogs who were al-
  ready rabid or vicious became a severe menace to society. 
  The Chief was captured and sentenced to 10 years by a 
  Kojicorp-sponsored police force, but he was recently re-
  leased and rumor has it he is now employed by the same 
  company which captured him.
  Common Halfling Member
  ODFs: +1; DDFs: +1
  Covert: Great
  Gifts: Psychometabolism (Fair)
  Weapons: Clubs, brass knuckles, chains, etc.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  The Chief
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Covert: Superb;  
  Specialization: Stealth
  Athletics; Manipulation; Urban: Great
  Gifts: Psychometabolism (Great)
  Weapons: Club, brass knuckles, knife, etc.
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  
  33
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Muertos Carmesí 
  (the Crimson Dead)
  Turf: state of Bolívar, Venezuela
  Leader: El Hueso Blanco (the White Bone)
  Muertos Carmesí is a platform for ‘gray slavery.’ As 
  the name implies, the practice originated with stealing 
  the brains of the psychically gifted, but the process grad-
  ually became more refined—now only parts of brains are 
  needed, though no great care is taken to make sure that 
  the owners survive the extraction process. 
  No better example can be given than that of Kylee 
  Pace, visitor to neighboring Colombia for the 14th World 
  Psi-Games. A talented spirit-talker, Kylee was favored to 
  take top honors. Just before the preliminary round be-
  gan, the entire arena was deafened and blinded by an im-
  pressive display of concussive grenades, all exploding at 
  once. Many blamed the sheer amount of psionic power in 
  attendance for the phenomenon. 
  The nature of the attack and Kylee’s disappearance 
  were not discovered until the next day. Seventeen days 
  later, she was found wandering the favelas of Rio de Ja-
  neiro, identifiable only by the serial number of the eye 
  implant she clutched in her hand. Kylee had been ex-
  pertly lobotomized, her memory erased by purposeful, 
  careful trauma to the brain tissue. She would require care 
  for the rest of her life, and she could no more identify her 
  own parents than her attackers. Muertos Carmesí were 
  never apprehended for the crime.
  Running the show is the sociopath known as El Hue-
  so Blanco (the White Bone). The thin veneer of sanity he 
  wears is calm, collected, and magnetic. You don’t have to 
  understand to want to follow—you don’t even have to see 
  his face. And you won’t—it’s hidden under a dual-port 
  gas mask backlit with bloodred LED’s. 
  A large scar runs down the midline of his right eye-
  brow, all the way over his eyelid and down his cheek. In 
  whispers, they say that El Hueso Blanco plucked out his 
  own eye to replace it with his red psionic implant. 
  The symbol of his power is always strapped openly 
  to his left thigh: a long knife made of razor-sharp bone, 
  carved with grotesquerie befitting of the gang’s gruesome 
  purpose. It is no silent blade; El Hueso Blanco rarely skips 
  out on joining the fray. He commands through fear, and 
  his followers are fanatic. Rumors abound that El Hueso 
  Blanco possesses dark, barely comprehensible psionic 
  powers of influence.
  Many choose to mimic their founder in wearing only 
  black. Some gang members also wear a red optical implant 
  this is not symbolic of gang membership, but is a punish-
  ment; when a gang member commits an act contrary to 
  the gang’s code of secrecy, he is forced to wear this implant 
  simply because it makes him more noticeable. The real 
  marker of membership is a self-chosen pattern of scarifica-
  tion on the left shoulderblade—these vary, but imagery of 
  death and its trappings are common. Active cell members 
  on missions always wear respirator-style gas masks to con-
  ceal their identity. High-ranking members carry a bone 
  knife personally carved by El Hueso Blanco.
  The entire state of Bolívar, Venezuela falls under the 
  purview of Muertos. Ciudad Bolívar is a convenient urban 
  base, but the gang is not limited by territories. They move 
  into the surrounding wilderness with ease and are rumored 
  to store caches of contraband in the thick jungle surrounding 
  Angel Falls, a place even Venezuelan natives call dangerous. 
  Their numbers are difficult to gauge—some guess 
  hundreds- because they often move in small, organized 
  cells. Muertos Carmesí know their territory; if a plan 
  goes awry, they fade into the night like ghosts, into ru-
  mored under—town bunkers in the Ciudad itself, or into 
  the lawless wildlands.
  Every kidnapping perpetrated by Los Muertos is sur-
  rounded by utter chaos, such that the kidnapping seems 
  like the least noticeable issue—but it is in fact the focal 
  point. They are well aware of the talents of potential vic-
  tims before they strike, and kill anyone who attempts 
  to keep them from reaching their mark because of the 
  money interest of the cartels who pay them for parts. 
  Their primary partner is Fantasma Biotécnica (page 25) 
  in Brazil, which pays excellent money for harvested parts 
  and sometimes even puts in special orders.
  Common Muertos Carmesí Thug
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +3
  Combat (Ranged): Good;  
  Specialization: Lg. Handguns
  Weapons: Lg. Handgun (Range: Great; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3); 2 Tear Gas Grenades (Damage: 
  Mediocre; Range: Good; Blast Area: Fair; Gifts: 
  Tear Gas—all creatures in the area who are not 
  immune to gas attacks must make an opposed 
  Body check or suffer -3 to all actions while in 
  the gas and for 10 rounds thereafter.)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  
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  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  El Hueso Blanco
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +5
  Combat (Melee): Superb;  
  Specialization: Large Knives
  Manipulation; Urban: Great
  Merchant; Social (Informal): Good
  Gifts: Cyber eyes (Thermal Vision); Gas Mask (im-
  mune to gas and scent-based attacks; mask has 
  built-in HUD); mind control (Superb)
  Faults: Cold-blooded killer
  Weapons: Bone knife (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Poor; Gift: Meat Carver—+1 ODFs vs. organic 
  material; Cost: 9)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Nihilismus
  Turf: Neighborhood
  Leader: Fleischbrenner
  Some people just want to watch the world burn. In 
  the case of Nihilismus, that saying is true in the most lit-
  eral sense. Each gang member is a Brenner, a master of 
  pyrokinesis, and each member is interested in little more 
  than setting things ablaze and watching the ensuing de-
  struction.
  As a young child, Fleischbrenner lost a pet cat to an 
  apartment fire. He was devastated by the loss, but his father 
  told him “Suck it up son; everything dies eventually.” Later 
  the family discovered the apartment fire was his fault, the 
  result of uncontrolled manifestation of his pyrokinetic pow-
  ers. He never grew attached to any living thing again. Now 
  in his early twenties he feels that if the only thing certain in 
  life is death, he might as well help everyone else along.
  Originally gang membership was very exclusive—
  members were required to be inherently pyrokinetic—
  but because the gang was losing members faster than 
  it was adding them Fleischbrenner decided to open its 
  ranks to anyone with a pyrokinesis device. The gang is 
  now slowly expanding, and new initiates are often giv-
  en a hand-me-down magic device from older members 
  who’ve since moved on to bigger and more powerful tech.
  Fleischbrenner remains the most prominent mem-
  ber of the group, leading by example and setting fire to 
  just about anything that catches his fancy. Because the 
  gang is so destructive they are on several police watch 
  lists, which is unusual considering most police units just 
  let gang violence sort itself out. It seems even the police 
  know that if the gang grows much more powerful and 
  expands beyond its home neighborhood, it could spell 
  trouble for the city at large.
  Common Nihilismus Ganger
  ODFs: +1; DDFs: +1 
  Combat (Melee): Good
  Gifts: Pyrokinesis (Fair) or pyrokinesis magic device 
  (PR: Fair)
  Weapons: Knives, clubs, chains, brass knuckles, etc.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Notes: Gangers usually use their pyrokinesis powers 
  as projectile attacks and engage in melee only 
  when pressed.
  Fleischbrenner
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Knowledge: Great; Specialization: Philosophy
  Combat (Ranged): Great
  Urban: Good
  Reputation: Fair
  Gifts: Pyrokinesis (Great)
  Faults: Doesn’t worry about his own  
  safety, watched by the cops
  Weapons: Md. Handgun (Range: Good; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Notes: Fleischbrenner prefers to use his pyrokinesis 
  powers instead of his handgun, but will fire his 
  weapon in a pinch.
  Phantoms
  Turf: City-wide, nomadic
  Leader: Grey Ghost
  This gang is hard to pin down because the Phantoms 
  are masters of invisibility. Some of the gang’s most promi-
  nent members, including Grey Ghost, have innate photoki-
  nesis and sonarkinesis abilities which, when combined, can 
  make them imperceptible to the most prominent human 
  senses of sight and sound. Other members use magic de-
  vices to obtain the same effect.
  Though a fully cloaked individual is still susceptible to 
  being spotted by infrared sensors, such items aren’t com-
  mon in everyday surveillance systems. This means the 
  Phantoms are free to go most places undetected.
  
  35
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  The Phantoms don’t use their powers just to sneak into 
  movie theaters or steal merchandise from the local Stuff 
  Shack, though. They’re often hired out as hit-men and are 
  known to make deals with any organization, be it a corpo-
  ration or even another gang as long as the pay is good.
  To stay off the radar, the Phantoms have no central-
  ized base of operations. Grey Ghost doesn’t keep the gang 
  in any one place for more than a week at a time, but this no-
  madic lifestyle has led to several turf wars as they inevitably 
  cross paths with other gangs. In 2089 a rival gang, known 
  as the Black Spades, was completely wiped out when they 
  attempted to oust the Phantoms from their neighborhood.
  Grey Ghost is a strong and determined leader who 
  rules his gang with a stiff hand. He is distinguishable by the 
  grey mantle he wears and the strange way in which light 
  seems to pass through him while wearing it. Rumor has it 
  that the mantle has been passed down to several different 
  leaders over the years, but nobody is sure how many people 
  have held the title of Grey Ghost.
  Common Phantom
  ODFs: +1; DDFs: +1
  Covert: Great;  
  Specialization: Stealth
  Weapon: Sm. Handgun (Range: Good; RoF: S; Reload: 
  3; Gifts: Sound Suppressor—Notice checks made to 
  hear this weapon fire are made at -2; Cost: 8)
  Magic: Invisibility Belt (PR: Superb; see page 57 of 
  the Psi-punk core book)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ (Inca-
  pacitated)
  Grey Ghost
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Covert: Superb;  
  Specialization: Stealth
  Manipulation; Urban: Great
  Combat (Ranged); Social (Informal): Good
  Gifts: Photokinesis (Great); sonarkinesis (Great); Grey 
  Ghost’s Mantle (+2 bonus on Covert checks made 
  while attempting to hide or blend in)
  Faults: Never leave a man behind
  Weapon: Sniper Rifle (Range: Wonderful; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 3)
  Notes: Grey Ghost prefers to use his psionic pow-
  ers to form projectile weapons such as lasers and 
  sound bursts, but will lead with a sniper rifle shot 
  if he gets the time and advantage.
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Prima Machina
  Turf: Neighborhood
  Leader: Prima Donna
  Originally from Milan, Italy in the Greater European 
  Union, Prima Machina is a glammer gang sporting the lat-
  est in cyber fashion. They’re mostly viewed by others as a 
  group of rich 20-somethings with too much credit to their 
  names, but they’re more than just young fashionistas.
  Playing up to the bored rich kid stereotype, Prima 
  Machina often get themselves into trouble just because 
  they have little else to do. They ride the streets on ex-
  pensive motorcycles, break into businesses for the thrill 
  of it, and pick fights with other local gangs who aren’t as 
  heavily augmented as they are. They may not be trained 
  criminals, but what they lack in skill they make up for in 
  augmentations—and a skill chip reader goes a long way.
  Every member of Prima Machina is decked out in 
  streetware and cybernetics. They sport the latest tech 
  from fashionable MSI subsidiaries such as Bella Machina 
  and Lorenzo Alberti. The group doesn’t accept anyone 
  with off-brand or generic body parts, and they are as dis-
  criminating as they are discerning. Would-be initiates 
  who fail to measure up to Prima Donna’s standards are 
  thoroughly humiliated before being beaten and left on 
  the street.
  Prima Donna leads the gang as if all the other mem-
  bers were her personal assistants and yes-men. Her 
  diamond-studded hands mark her as a person of great 
  wealth, but they also make a potent weapon when she 
  back-hands someone for standing up to her. She also 
  possesses a voice synthesizer which always ensures her 
  singing voice is in top shape, but it has been modified 
  with sonarkinesis magic to allow her to launch stunning 
  vocal assaults against unsuspecting opponents.
  Overall the gang isn’t taken very seriously by major 
  corporations, law enforcement, or other organizations. 
  They’re stuck-up and spoiled rich kids with a habit of 
  getting into trouble, but they’re not harmful enough to 
  warrant much care. What everyone overlooks though is 
  their ties to wealthy families—after all, that money had 
  to come from somewhere. Most of the members of Prima 
  Machina are the children of wealthy executives, inves-
  tors, and cartel leaders, so they may be of more impor-
  tance than one might think.
  
  36
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Common Prima Machina Member
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +2 
  Pick One Skill: Great (granted by a skill chip)
  Artistic; Urban: Good
  Gifts: Brain Bank; Skill Chip Reader
  Weapons: Cybernetically-enhanced fists or legs 
  (titanium knuckles, cyber legs, etc.)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Prima Donna
  ODFs: +5; DDFs: +5
  Artistic: Superb;  
  Specialization: Singing
  Manipulation; Social (Formal): Great
  Pick One Skill: Great (from a skill chip)
  Urban: Good
  Reputation: Fair
  Gifts: Filthy Rich 
  Faults: Spoiled brat, must have the last word
  Weapons: Diamond knuckles (as Titanium Knuck-
  les on page 62 of the Psi-punk core book); 
  sonarkinesis device (PR: 3)
  Gear: Brain bank, skill chip reader, two Great skill 
  chips, voice synthesizer with sonarkinesis (PR: 3)
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Rhino Skin
  Turf: Neighborhood
  Leader: Tusk
  Rhino Skin is a gang of simple street thugs who all 
  have one thing in common: a really tough hide. New 
  members undergo a serious beating during initiation to 
  show them just how weak the human body naturally is. 
  They are then treated to a rhino skin bioware upgrade, 
  which toughens their natural hide.
  Higher-up members of the gang—including Tusk, 
  the gang’s leader—are allowed to add a horn-shaped 
  spike to their forehead that resembles a rhino horn. The 
  longer the horn, the more powerful and influential that 
  particular gang member is.
  Aside from their unique appearance, the gang seems 
  to be little more than a bunch of ruffians. They destroy 
  property, get in fights with other gangs, terrorize locals, 
  and generally act as a menace to society. Tusk has goals of 
  one day ruling the criminal element in town, but he lacks 
  the leadership skills and tactical foresight to truly pose 
  much of a threat.
  When not directly in conflict with rival gangs or law 
  enforcement, Rhino Skin hang out at small clubs and 
  arcades where most of the members waste their stolen 
  money on nano-beer and the latest fighting simulation, 
  Street Bruisers XI.
  Common Rhino Skin Ganger
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +0 (normally +1/+1, but uses As-
  sertive posture)
  Combat (Melee): Good
  Gifts: Rhino Skin (+1 DDFs vs. piercing and tear-
  ing weapons, +1 to resist fire and cold attacks)
  Weapons: Knives, clubs, chains, brass knuckles, etc.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Tusk
  ODFs: +3 ranged, +4 melee; DDFs: +4
  Combat (Melee): Superb;  
  Specialization: Gore (horn attack)
  Combat (Ranged); Urban: Great
  Reputation: Good
  Gifts: Rhino Skin (+1 DDFs vs. piercing and tear-
  ing weapons, +1 to resist fire and cold attacks)
  Faults: Delusions of Grandeur
  Weapons: Horn, club, or Md. Handgun (Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Running Wild
  Turf: Mediterranean Sea
  Leader: Black Brigand 
  Named after an old pirate-themed heavy metal band 
  from the late 1900s, Running Wild are modern-day pirates. 
  They terrorize Mediterranean coast towns, fishing vessels, 
  and cargo ships and steal valuable goods, food, and slaves.
  Though not ethnically Greek, the group has settled on 
  the former Greek island of Milos, which was abandoned 
  in 2059 when a long-dormant volcano erupted and deci-
  mated the island region. Trade has since resumed in the 
  area but Milos was all but destroyed, leaving it unsuitable 
  for its former inhabitants to return and making it ripe for 
  a band of vulturous pirates to commandeer.
  Most of the slaves the group acquires are shipped off 
  to Turkey or Syria where they are purchased by regional 
  trafficking cartels. The pirates take what food and goods 
  they want for themselves and fence the rest in Sicily.
  
  37
  Chapter 3: Gangs
  3
  Running Wild use a combination of automatic 
  weapons and high-power magic devices to threaten and 
  slaughter opponents. Their tactics are straightforward: 
  approach a ship, demand their cargo, and destroy them 
  if they refuse. So far, the tactic has worked well for them 
  and they are enjoying rapid expansion, but not everyone 
  believes the technique is sustainable and there are rum-
  blings of a mutiny.
  Until such a time as his crew revolts, Black Brigand 
  runs his ship with similar displays of force. His crew re-
  spect and fear him for both his sheer physical strength 
  and his willingness to kill anyone who gets in his way. 
  To keep up appearances, he wears a patch over his left 
  cybernetic eye, but the eye’s x-ray capabilities allow him 
  to see perfectly regardless. His cybernetic arms are lined 
  with immensely sharp hooks, and he’s been known to use 
  them against his enemies in close combat.
  Common Pirate
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +2
  Combat (Ranged); Vehicles: Good
  Weapons: Large submachine Gun (Range: Great; 
  RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Black Brigand
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +4
  Combat (Ranged): Superb;  
  Specialization: Large submachine guns
  Merchant; Reputation; Vehicles: Great
  Gifts: Cyber eyes (x-ray vision); cybernetic arms; 
  arm hooks
  Faults: Cruel and unusual, unhappy crew
  Weapons: Large submachine Gun (Range: Great; 
  RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  The Arrogant Pigs
  Turf: Neighborhood
  Leader: Fat Cat
  The Arrogant Pigs is a group of politically charged 
  activists who seek to demean and undermine the capital-
  ist way of life that has become so prevalent in the world. 
  Through use of street art such as graffiti, billboard hack-
  ing, and statue shaping, they push their anti-consumer 
  agenda. Most of the time people view their vandalism as 
  harmless pranks, but occasionally their bold statements 
  push the buttons of the wrong people.
  In recent memory, Fat Cat used a control inanimate 
  device to shape a statue of Jesus at a local church to ap-
  pear more like Macroware’s CEO. On a nearby plaque he 
  wrote “Why pray when you can buy your way into Heav-
  en?” The resulting uproar was loud and divisive; some 
  feigned outrage at the sacrilegious nature of the deface-
  ment while others began to question why we spend so 
  much money on objects you can’t take with you.
  The church paid a prominent shaper to change the 
  statue back to its original form, but the damage had al-
  ready been done. They teamed up with Macroware to 
  find out who Fat Cat is and to bring him to justice for 
  what he’s done. Rumor has it that Fat Cat is hiding out 
  in a former parishioner’s basement until the heat is off or 
  until they nab someone in his stead.
  The Arrogant Pigs do most of their defacing under 
  cover of night, when they sneak into public places and 
  convert existing art to make a statement. They’re not a vi-
  olent gang, but they’re a huge nuisance to businesses and 
  they’re on the watch list of many a corporate police force.
  Common Arrogant Pigs Member
  ODFs: +0; DDFs: +2 (normally +1/+1, but they 
  often use the Cautious stance)
  Artistic; Covert; Urban: Good
  Weapon: Pepper spray (Damage: None; Range: 
  Poor; RoF: S; Reload: 1; Gift: Pepper spray—
  target must make a Great Body check or take a 
  -2 penalty to all actions for 10 rounds; Cost: 1)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Fat Cat
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +6 (normally +4/+4, but Fat Cat 
  usually takes the Defensive stance)
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Politics
  Artistic: Superb
  Covert: Great
  Manipulation; Urban: Good
  Reputation: Fair
  Gifts: Friends in low places
  Faults: Wanted by the corps; political zealot
  Weapons: Pepper Spray (see above); control inani-
  mate device (PR: 2)
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  
  38
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Mafias
  Organized crime is as old as time, but it’s the Ital-
  ians who made it fashionable. Featured prominently in 
  20th century cinema, the Mafia, or “Mob,” has become not 
  only infamous, but legendary. There are perhaps more 
  mythological figures from early Mob history than there 
  are in Homer’s Odyssey.
  The term Mafia no longer applies exclusively to the 
  Sicilian Mob, though. It was never the Mob’s official 
  moniker (in fact, they never had one to begin with), but 
  it’s now used simply to describe organized crime syndi-
  cates, especially those with strong ethnic ties. The Italian 
  Mafia, Russian Mafia, Jewish Mafia, Mexican Mafia, and 
  Psychic Mafia are just a few of the major mob units now 
  recognized by most police watch lists.
  Mafias combine the business-savvy of a mega-cor-
  poration with the ruthless tactics of gangs and cartels to 
  create crime syndicates that are truly to be feared. While 
  pissing off a cartel is likely to get you killed, pissing off a 
  mob is dangerous to you, your immediate family, your 
  Aunty Jenny, and her little dog too. In fact, most crime 
  lords will attack your family and friends before attacking 
  you—they prefer to break your spirits, crush your soul, 
  and ultimately force you to grovel at their feet before they 
  put two in your chest.
  
  39
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Mafias in Your Game
  Mafias are some of the largest and most feared crimi-
  nal organizations on Earth. Some of them may rival 
  smaller megacorps in terms of power and wealth, and 
  certainly they rival them in terms of firepower. They have 
  their hands in every possible criminal activity and even 
  some legitimate business ventures.
  A campaign centered around a mafia may involve 
  several different facets of its business. Players may be a 
  special police or government task force assigned to bring 
  down a specific crime family, or they may be pawns in 
  the Sicilian Mafia’s schemes.
  Unless the campaign is designed to stretch several 
  dozens of sessions with PCs increasing greatly in power 
  over time, the likelihood of the players ever taking down 
  an entire mafia, or even an entire branch of one family, 
  are pretty slim. The fact is, mafias are networks of orga-
  nized crime families and syndicates, and even discover-
  ing who’s involved in a single mob activity may be enough 
  work to keep the players occupied for several sessions.
  The top dogs in any given mafia are probably Phe-
  nomenal or even Extraordinary NPCs (see page 160 in 
  the Psi-punk core book for more about Powerful NPCs). 
  They have dozens of lower-ranking cohorts and hun-
  dreds or even thousands of goons at their disposal, so it 
  can be a challenge for a group of street runners to work 
  their way up through the ranks.
  Players don’t necessarily need to be opposed to a 
  mafia. They may be members of a powerful crime family 
  or they may be Made Men (trusted associates of a crime 
  family). Such players may receive their jobs from the 
  leaders of their family, or they may still be working hard 
  to get on the mob’s good side. PCs may even be tasked 
  with carrying out hits or other contracts, or they may ac-
  tively opposed members of another mafia.
  Warring Mafias
  Like gangs, mafias have their own turf and they don’t 
  like others to impede upon it. The difference is that turf 
  to a mafia isn’t usually physical; more likely, one mafia 
  claims control of an arms smuggling ring, an under-
  ground gambling group, a protection racket, and so forth.
  When another organization, especially another ma-
  fia, oversteps their boundaries and tries to get involved 
  in the same criminal activities where the mafia has al-
  ready established influence, bloody mob wars tend to en-
  sue. These wars have the potential to devastate the local 
  area and leave a lot of civilian casualties in their wake, so 
  when law enforcement catches wind of them they crack 
  down pretty hard.
  A mob war can be a perfect backdrop for a cam-
  paign. Players may belong to one mafia and be tasked 
  with eliminating the competition, or they may be street 
  runners who are simply caught in the crossfire. 
  Imagine a team taking a job from their normal 
  Dealer, and that job just so happens to have been handed 
  down by the Russian Mafia who want to avoid getting 
  their hands dirty by using disposable help. Unfortunate-
  ly the job puts them at odds with the Three Harmonies 
  Society, who somehow manage to find out that the Rus-
  sian Mafia was involved. The two mafias begin a war for 
  dominance, and the team of players are the first group of 
  pawns who need to be put in their place.
  Mafias and Player 
  Characters
  If you wish to include organized crime in your char-
  acter’s background, you have a lot of options. There are 
  several different mafias to choose from, and each has the 
  potential to earn you access to powerful equipment and 
  magic.
  Most members of an organized crime syndicate are 
  low-ranking thugs, but PCs may wish to strive for bigger 
  and better things. Make sure you check with your GM 
  before starting play with Rank above Fair (+0) in any 
  given mafia, because being a ranking member may have 
  a lot of implications in your campaign.
  Specific Mafias
  Marco Family
  Leader: Don Marco
  The Marco Family embodies everything one would 
  expect from an organized crime family, as if they had in-
  tentionally tried to emulate every movie ever made about 
  the Sicilian Mob. Don Marco himself is pure-blooded 
  Italian, despite having been born and raised in Brooklyn, 
  NAU. He wears nice suits, drives classic cars, and hates 
  getting his victims’ blood on his clothing.
  Marco and his men run every racket and scheme 
  imaginable: underground gambling dens, drug smug-
  gling, shipping fraud, embezzlement, protection rackets, 
  and any other scam or scheme they can think of. They 
  have ties to several cartels, notably Voortriflik Freight 
  (page 24) and Lunatica Casino Group (page 25).
  
  40
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Don Marco has been priming his son to take over the 
  family when the inevitable occurs. His kid goes by the 
  street name of “Badger,” because he’s particularly fond of 
  using his implanted claws as weapons when he needs to 
  fight. Usually though, he prefers to hack peoples’ minds 
  and force them to cow to his every whim. Marco couldn’t 
  be more proud.
  Don Marco
  ODFs: +6; DDFs: +6 
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Exhort
  Urban: Superb;  
  Specialization: Gang Tactics
  Reputation: Superb
  Combat (Ranged); Combat (Non-Physical); Mer-
  chant; Knowledge: Great
  Artistic; Covert; Social (Informal, Formal): Good
  Gifts: Friends in low places; Always keeps his cool; 
  Many people owe him favors; Never forgets a 
  face
  Faults: Old-fashioned; easily offended
  Weapons: Marco’s Tommy Gun (Damage: Great; 
  Range: Great; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2; 
  Gift: Sound Suppressor; Cost: 36), Cryo Canon 
  (puts his enemies “on ice;” cryokinesis device 
  with no limitations; PR: 4)
  Armor: Nanoweeve Pin-striped Suit (Impen-
  etrable Armor; Protection: Phenomenal; Gift: 
  Nanoweeve, negates penalties of impenetrable 
  armor; Cost: 80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  wound
  Marco Family Made Man
  ODFs: +3 ranged, +2 melee; DDFs: +3 
  Combat (Ranged): Good;  
  Specialization: Large Submachine Guns (Tom-
  my Gun)
  Combat (Melee); Covert; Urban: Good
  Weapon: Tommy Gun (Damage: Great; Range: 
  Great; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2), and melee 
  weapons such as clubs, knives, brass knuckles, 
  etc.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Acerbi Family
  Leader: Don Acerbi
  The Acerbi Family is often directly at odds with the 
  Marcos. Though both crime families are of Italian de-
  scent, they’ve been feuding for decades and don’t get 
  along with one another. Whenever the Marco Family 
  makes a power play, the Acerbi Family is there to try to 
  stop them.
  Most members of the family, including Don Acerbi 
  himself, don’t really remember why the two have been 
  fighting for so long. It could have been something as sim-
  ple as one boss insulting another, or it could have started 
  when each family went after the same mark and stepped 
  on each others’ toes. Regardless of what happened in the 
  past, the fact is they’re still fighting in the present.
  Like any good mob boss, Don Acerbi is heartless. In 
  his case though, that’s literally true—he was one of the 
  first people to have a fully operational cybernetic heart 
  installed in his chest. He still has a nasty scar from the 
  surgery, which he wears with pride.
  The Acerbi Family isn’t afraid to deal in any criminal 
  matter, but they specialize in arms smuggling and human 
  trafficking. Unlike many other crime rings though, they 
  don’t simply pull the strings of other cartels; they pre-
  fer to do all of the dirty work themselves. That means 
  putting themselves on the front line, directly opposite 
  law enforcement and several cartels, but the family isn’t 
  afraid of making enemies.
  Rumor has it that Don Acerbi’s underboss is a soul 
  jacker, which may explain why many of the family’s en-
  emies act with less enmity than one would expect. Any 
  time the family has a problem with another organization, 
  they send Vincenzo in to personally deal with it. 
  Don Acerbi
  ODFs: +6; DDFs: +6 
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Intimidate
  Reputation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Infamy
  Combat (Ranged): Superb;  
  Specialization: Md. Handguns (note that this 
  stacks with the Ocular Integration on his weap-
  ons, so he may reroll 2dF on every attack made 
  with his Pair of Aces)
  Combat (Non-Physical); Merchant; Knowledge; 
  Urban: Great
  Athletic; Covert; Social (Informal, Formal): Good
  
  41
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Gifts: Cybernetic Heart (doesn’t tire easily, gains 
  +2 to any check requiring endurance), Guns 
  Akimbo (can fire two guns in a round with no 
  penalty), Cyber Eyes (infravision, x-ray vision)
  Faults: Heartless (lacks the ability to sympathize/
  empathize), Brazen
  Weapons: Pair of Aces (two Md. Handguns, each 
  with Damage: Good; Range: Good; RoF: S; 
  Reload: 4; Gifts: Ocular Integration, Increased 
  Ammo Capacity; Cost: 40) 
  Armor: Nanoweeve Business Suit (Impenetra-
  ble Armor; Protection: Phenomenal; Gift: 
  Nanoweeve, negates penalties of impenetrable 
  armor; Cost: 80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  wound
  Vincenzo
  ODFs: +5; DDFs: +5
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Lying
  Social (Informal, Formal); Knowledge: Great
  Medical; Urban: Good
  Gifts: Mind control (Great)
  Faults: Callous, Must obey orders
  Weapons: Md. Handgun (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Track: Normal wound track
  Acerbi Family Made Man
  ODFs: +3 ranged, +2 melee; DDFs: +3 
  Combat (Ranged): Good;  
  Specialization: Large Submachine Guns
  Combat (Melee), Covert, Urban: Good
  Weapon: Large Machine Gun (Damage: Great; 
  Range: Great; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2), 
  and melee weapons such as clubs, knives, brass 
  knuckles, etc.
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Rakhimov Gang
  Leader: Maxim Rakhimov
  What was once a simple gang of misfits is now one of 
  the largest Russian mafias in the world. The group origi-
  nated in Stalingrad in the 2060s, but now has members in 
  most major cities across the globe. Each city has its own 
  faction and regional hierarchy, but Maxim Rakhimov 
  himself still earns a cut of every transaction made by any 
  member, regardless of location.
  The Rakhimov Gang have a nihilistic approach to 
  everything they do. As they see it, nothing in life is per-
  manent, and they’ll teach that lesson to others by taking 
  away everything anyone holds dear. They’re deeply en-
  trenched in the weapons trade, but they take part in their 
  share of human trafficking and data theft as well.
  Though classified by several police watch lists as a 
  Russian mafia, the Rakhimov Gang are not exclusively 
  Russian—they just happen to have originated in a Rus-
  sian city. Their culture is as diverse as the regions in which 
  they operate, and they’re willing to take in just about any 
  member who holds their own philosophy to be true. It’s 
  that openness to new members which is responsible for 
  the mob’s continued growth.
  Maxim doesn’t have a successor lined up in case he 
  meets an untimely demise. As he sees it, even his own 
  legacy isn’t permanent. If he’s killed and the mob falls 
  apart, that’s just the way life is. Despite this, there are 
  many prominent faction leaders throughout the world 
  who wouldn’t mind a shot at his position if they ever get 
  the chance.
  Maxim Rakhimov
  ODFs: +6; DDFs: +6
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Torture
  Medical: Superb;  
  Specialization: Anatomy
  Combat (Melee): Superb
  Athletics; Combat (Ranged); Reputation; Ve-
  hicles: Great
  Professional; Social (Formal, Informal); Urban: 
  Good
  Gifts: Cyber Arms
  Faults: Cold-hearted, Nihilist
  Weapons: Fire Knuckles (Brass Knuckles; Damage: 
  Superb; Range: Abysmal; Gifts: Pyrokinesis, 
  PR 3; Cost: 32)
  Armor: Reinforced Vest (Sturdy Armor; Protec-
  tion: Great; Fault: Bulky, checks made to No-
  tice are at +2; Cost: 6)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  Wound
  
  42
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Common Rakhimov Thug
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Combat (Melee, Ranged): Great
  Urban; Vehicles: Good
  Weapons: Small SMG (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2); Grenades 
  x5 (Damage: Good; Range: Good; Blast Area: 
  Fair)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Psibreed
  Leader: Sabina Classen
  Formed during the psionic prohibition era of 
  the NAU, Psibreed is a new form of mafia. Though 
  they do participate in typical underworld endeav-
  ors, they also actively oppose corporations like Magi-
  corp which aim to undermine the role of psychics in  
  society.
  The only qualification to become a member of Psi-
  breed is that one must be a born psychic. A willingness 
  to participate in illegal activities, especially assault and 
  murder, are a plus. Psibreed isn’t necessarily opposed to 
  normals, but they actively oppose magic technologies 
  and anyone willing to wield them.
  Psibreed’s daily activities revolve around smuggling, 
  embezzling, and drug trafficking. They aren’t involved 
  in human trafficking rings, but nobody has expressly 
  forbidden it either. Most of these activities are simply a 
  means to an end, though—they earn the mafia money 
  which they use to fund their war on Magicorp.
  Not surprisingly, Magicorp police forces are the most 
  eager to crack down on Psibreed. Other law enforcement 
  agencies are content to let Magicorp spend their own re-
  sources combatting Psibreed, and if the mafia happens 
  to land a significant blow against a top competitor, they 
  don’t show much sympathy.
  Sabina Classen is a cunning leader who has overseen 
  Psibreed since its inception (which also makes her quite 
  old). Somehow, she always seems to know the best time to 
  lay low and the best time to strike, which leads many peo-
  ple to speculate she is a seer as well as a powerful telepath. 
  Sabina Classen
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +8 (normally +6/+6, but she usu-
  ally takes the Defensive posture)
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Psionics
  Spiritual: Superb;  
  Specialization: Astral Projection
  Manipulation: Superb
  Combat (Ranged); Covert; Medical;  
  Technical: Great
  Craft; Reputation; Social (Formal);  
  Urban: Good
  Gifts: Precognition (Wonderful); mental communi-
  cation with telecommunicate (Wonderful)
  Faults: Old, Vendetta against Magicorp, Powerful 
  enemies
  Weapons: Large Laser Pistol (Lg. Handgun; Dam-
  age: Superb; Range: Great; RoF: S; Reload: 3; 
  Gifs: Energy Weapon; Cost: 32)
  Armor: Force Armor (Impenetrable armor; Pro-
  tection: Phenomenal; Gifts: Flexible, Cloaking 
  Device; Cost: 128)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 additional 
  Mental Hurt Wound
  Common Psibreed Member
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Manipulation; Social (Formal): Great
  Combat (Ranged); Technical: Good
  Gifts: Pick one psionic power (Good)
  Weapons: Md. Handgun (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Viuda Negra
  Leader: Javier “Asesino” Hernandez
  Viuda Negra (Black Widow) is best known for two 
  things: drug trafficking and murder. They operate pri-
  marily in South America and the NAU, but have recently 
  begun branching out beyond the American continents.
  The mafia got their start smuggling narcotics to pris-
  oners, and like most drug running operations it quickly 
  turned violent. Run-ins with law enforcement, rival gangs, 
  and vigilantes were regular occurrences, yet somehow Vi-
  uda Negra managed to come out on top every time.
  The mafia controls a vast network of criminals inside and 
  outside the prison system. They’re some of the most hardened 
  criminals around and have very little regard for human life, 
  which is why their leader earned the nickname “Asesino.” He 
  rules with an iron fist and is not shy about executing anyone 
  who stands against him—no matter who it might be.
  
  43
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  In 2090, MSI-sponsored police forces struck out against 
  Viuda Negra for crimes against their prisoners. The mafia 
  was caught smuggling a new drug called Morph into the 
  prison system. Morph is a psychometabolic drug which 
  causes users’ bodies to literally melt away and then recreate 
  itself, and somehow the prisoners were using it to slip their 
  melted bodies between bars and escape their cells.
   MSI task forces successfully rounded up over two 
  dozen Viuda Negra soldiers and placed them into maxi-
  mum security cells. One week later, Asesino personally 
  led a charge into the prison to rescue his men. Damage 
  dealt to the facility was irreparable, and MSI was stuck 
  paying insurance to the families of nearly 40 security 
  guards who never saw their loved ones alive again.
  Javier “Asesino” Hernandez
  ODFs: +7; DDFs: +5 (normally +6/+6, but he usu-
  ally takes the Assertive posture)
  Combat (Ranged): Wonderful;  
  Specialization: Sm. Submachineguns (note this 
  stacks with the Ocular Integration Gift of his 
  weapon, giving him +2dF reroll when firing his 
  SMG)
  Combat (Non-Physical): Superb;  
  Specialization: Tactics
  Combat (Melee); Covert; Urban;  
  Reputation: Great
  Athletic; Social (Informal); Technical; Vehicles: 
  Good
  Gifts: Cyber Eyes (HUD, Thermal Vision, X-ray 
  Vision), Cyber Legs
  Faults: Easily enraged, Wanted by more than just 
  the police
  Weapons: Silent Killer (Sm. SMG; Damage: Good; 
  Range: Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 4, 3; 
  Gifs: Increased Ammo Capacity, Ocular Inte-
  gration, Sound Suppressor; Cost: 68)
  Armor: Reinforced Duster (Durable Armor; Pro-
  tection: Superb; Cost: 32)
  Magic: Invisibility Belt (see page 57 of the Psi-
  punk core book)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  Wound
  Common Viuda Negra Member
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +2 (usually +3/+3, but they often 
  take the Assertive posture)
  Combat (Melee, Ranged): Great
  Urban; Vehicles: Good
  Weapons: Sm. SMG (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2); Grenades 
  x5 (Damage: Good; Range: Good; Blast Area: 
  Fair)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Rothstein and Sons
  Leader: Abraham Rothstein
  It may sound like any other father and son business, 
  but Rothstein and Sons is actually a multinational crimi-
  nal empire run by Abraham Rothstein, a highly intelli-
  gent and equally devious individual. The mafia dabbles 
  in most criminal activities, but they excel at running 
  financial scams, rackets, gambling rings, loan sharking, 
  and bet fixing. If it has to do with large sums of money 
  changing hands, Rothstein and Sons are there.
  What most don’t know is that Abraham Rothstein 
  doesn’t actually have any sons. He’s a religious zealot and 
  treats all of his underlings as his “sons” (and daughters) 
  in the biblical sense. Outwardly, he gives the appearance 
  of being an upstanding family man, and as long as you 
  don’t owe him money he’s as neighborly as can be.
   Rothstein is infamous for one of the largest sport-
  ing event schemes the world has ever seen. His men 
  loaned money to thousands of individuals who each had 
  received incredible (and bogus) tips about which teams 
  would win and lose at the 2086 Olympics. His group also 
  paid hundreds of athletes to fix their respective sporting 
  events, then bet against them in a black market betting 
  ring and made a fortune.
  Not only did Rothstein and Sons win big on the fixed 
  bets, they also collected a tidy sum from the losers they 
  loaned money to. More astonishingly is that Rothstein 
  somehow successfully pinned the blame on a rival mob 
  boss who was convicted and jailed for the entire event. 
  He earned billions of Neuemarks and took down another 
  crime lord simultaneously.
  That’s just one example of the way Rothstein thinks. 
  Every plan he implements has at least two, if not three or 
  four, winning schemes tied into it. He never does any-
  thing small, and he always stays a step or two ahead of 
  the competition (and the law).
  
  44
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Abraham Rothsstein
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +8 (normally +6/+6, but he usu-
  ally takes the Defensive posture)
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Politics
  Manipulation: Superb;  
  Specialization: Bluff
  Social (Formal): Superb;  
  Specialization: Diplomacy
  Merchant: Superb
  Reputation; Social (Informal); Urban; Technical: 
  Great
  Artistic; Combat (Ranged, Non-Physical): Good
  Gifts: ESP (Wonderful); Beautiful speaking voice; 
  Shady contacts in police force
  Faults: Old, Only fights in self-defense
  Weapons: Sm. Handgun (Damage: Fair; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 4)
  Armor: Nanoweeve Three Piece Suit (Impen-
  etrable Armor; Protection: Phenomenal; Gift: 
  Nanoweeve, negates penalties of impenetrable 
  armor; Cost: 80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Rothstein’s Sons / Daughters
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Covert: Great; Specialization: Forgery
  Manipulation: Great
  Combat (Ranged): Good
  Pick one other skill: Good
  Weapons: Lg. Submachine Gun (Damage: Great; 
  Range: Great; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Three Harmonies Society
  Leaders: Cong Min (the Head), Kinjo Yui (the 
  Hands), Jeon Du-hwan (the Feet)
  Formed by the leaders of several Asian criminal or-
  ganizations, Three Harmonies Society (often referred to 
  as 3HS) is unique in its organizational structure. There 
  are three branches to the Society: the Head, the Hands, 
  and the Feet. Each has a specific role within the organiza-
  tion, and the separation of roles helps protect the society 
  as a whole if any single branch is crippled.
  Cong Min is a former Chinese Triad leader who 
  worked closely with Kinjo Yui of the Japanese Yakuza for 
  many years. The two eventually decided to go into busi-
  ness together, and they recruited Jeon Du-hwan who was 
  at the forefront of a criminal empire rising out of New 
  Korea. Altogether, they formed the largest and most in-
  tricate underworld organization in the world.
  The Head is the organizational branch of 3HS. Cong 
  Min is a master strategist and he oversees all of the activi-
  ties within the society. He chooses when, where, and how 
  the other branches operate, and his precognizant pow-
  ers give him insight into the outcome of the choices he 
  makes. In addition to organizing the society, the Head is 
  responsible for providing relief to disaster victims, which 
  makes the poor and needy masses view 3HS in a positive 
  light.
  If the Head is benevolent, the Hands are malevolent. 
  The Hands are the active branch of 3HS. Kinjo Yui takes 
  great care to not allow her association with the rest of 
  the society become public knowledge, so this branch op-
  erates as anonymously as possible. The Hands carry out 
  assassination orders, armed robbery, and other violent 
  crimes.
  The Feet are the movers of the society. Also operating 
  anonymously, the Feet are responsible for drug and arms 
  smuggling, human trafficking, racketeering, embezzle-
  ment, and other primarily non-violent crimes. Jeon Du-
  hwang likes to keep his operations as low-key as possible 
  to avoid attention, and most of his soldiers carry stealth 
  devices to improve performance.
  Though relatively new as a unified criminal organiza-
  tion, 3HS is one of the largest in the world. It has roughly 
  300,000 members and operates on every continent and 
  the moon. 3HS is on the top of most law enforcement 
  watch lists, but it also has plenty of members within the 
  law enforcement sector who work to keep them out of 
  the spotlight. 
  Cong Min
  ODFs: +6; DDFs: +6
  Combat (Non-Physical): Wonderful;  
  Specialization: Tactics
  Knowledge: Superb;  
  Specialization: Politics
  Manipulation Superb
  Artistic; Merchant; Professional;  
  Reputation; Technical: Great
  Combat (Ranged); Social (Informal,  
  Formal): Fair
  
  45
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Language (Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean): 
  Fair
  Gifts: Precognition (Wonderful); Brain Bank;  
  Master Strategist
  Faults: Overconfident, Stubborn
  Weapons: Sm. Submachine Gun (Damage: Great; 
  Range: Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2; 
  Gifts: Energy Weapon; Cost: 32) 
  Armor: Nanoweeve Three Piece Suit  
  (Impenetrable Armor; Protection: Phenom-
  enal; Gift: Nanoweeve, negates penalties of 
  impenetrable armor; Cost: 80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  Wound
  Kinjo Yui
  ODFs: +8 ranged, +7 melee; DDFs: +5 
   (normally +7 ranged/+6 melee, +6 DDFs, but 
  she often takes the Assertive posture)
  Combat (Ranged): Superb;  
  Specialization: Sniper Rifle (note this stacks 
  with her weapon’s Ocular Integration Gift to 
  give a +2dF reroll)
  Athletic: Superb;  
  Specialization: Free Running
  Combat (Melee): Superb
  Covert; Survival; Technical: Great
  Social (Formal): Good
  Language (Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean): 
  Fair
  Gifts: Cyber Eyes (HUD, Thermal Vision, X-ray 
  Vision); Brain Bank
  Faults: Doesn’t ask questions, Easily  
  provoked
  Weapons: Widowmaker (Sniper Rifle; Damage: 
  Wonderful; Range: Wonderful; RoF: S; Reload: 
  4; Gifts: Increased Ammo Capacity, Energy 
  Weapon, Ocular Integration, Stabilizer; Cost: 
  88); Katana (Two-handed Sword; Damage: 
  Superb; Range: Mediocre; Gifts: Morphing; 
  Cost: 32)
  Armor: Powered Body Armor (Durable Armor; 
  Protection: Superb)
  Magic: Flight Boots, Invisibility Belt (see page 57 of 
  the Psi-punk core book)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  Wound
  Jeon Du-hwang
  ODFs: +6; DDFs: +6
  Athletic: Superb;  
  Specialization: Climbing
  Covert: Superb;  
  Specialization: Stealth
  Merchant: Superb
  Combat (Ranged); Survival; Technical; Urban; 
  Vehicles: Great
  Medical; Social (Formal): Good
  Language (Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean): 
  Fair
  Gifts: Sonarkinesis (Wonderful); Brain Bank; Cyber 
  Eyes (X-ray Vision)
  Faults: Intolerant Vain
  Weapons: Laser Assault Rifle (Damage: Superb; 
  Range; Great; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 4, 3; 
  Gifts: Energy Weapon, Increased Ammo Ca-
  pacity; Cost: 64); Shadow Grenades x5
  Armor: Nanoweeve Catsuit (Impenetrable Armor; 
  Protection: Phenomenal; Gifts: Nanoweeve, 
  negates penalties of impenetrable armor; Cost: 
  80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track, +1 Hurt 
  Wound
  Common Head Member
  ODFs: +2; DDFs: +2
  Knowledge; Manipulation; Merchant: Great
  Combat (Non-Physical, Ranged): Good
  Weapons: Md. Handgun (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Common Hands Member
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +2 (normally +3/+3, but they 
  usually take the Assertive posture)
  Combat (Melee, Ranged): Great
  Athletic; Covert: Good
  Weapons: Rifle (Damage: Good; Range: Superb; 
  RoF: S, B; Reload: 3, 2)
  Armor: Reinforced Vest (Sturdy Armor; Protec-
  tion: Great)
  
  46
  Chapter 4: Mafias
  4
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Common Feet Member
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Athletic; Covert; Merchant: Great
  Combat (Ranged); Survival; Technical; Vehicles: 
  Good
  Weapons: Sm. Submachine Gun (Damage: Good; 
  Range: Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2)
  Magic: Stealth belt (sonarkinesis and photokinesis, 
  PR1, self-only, decrease light and sound only)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  Saharan Mafia
  Leader: Muslih Qamari
  Muslih Qamari was once a political activist who 
  helped changed the face of Saharan society. In his youth, 
  he played a key role in over-throwing the Moroccan and 
  Tunesian governments. Though he never held a seat in 
  the new Saharan parliament he did ensure several of his 
  hand-picked allies became leaders.
  That was sixty years ago. Now an old man, Muslih 
  has grown jaded with the new government. Despite the 
  dramatic changes he helped bring about, corruption still 
  reigns. He now uses his knowledge of the political sys-
  tems to his own ends.
  Muslih’s Saharan Mafia is one of the few great powers 
  in Northern Africa. Though the Arab Nation rules the 
  people of the region, the mafia rules the Arab Nation. 
  Muslih maintains powerful allies within parliament, 
  including Prime Minister Haziem Benjelloun. He’s the 
  shadowy underwriter of most of the nation’s laws, and his 
  men are entrenched in every aspect of the legal system, 
  including security and criminal justice.
  This mafia uses its power to smuggle weapons, mag-
  ic, drugs, people, and all manner of other illicit goods 
  throughout the region. Moreover, the mafia uses its pow-
  er to maintain a lucrative food smuggling ring the likes of 
  which are seen nowhere else in Africa.
  In the dry wastes of Northern Africa, real food is 
  even more expensive to produce than other areas of the 
  world. NFC Global has just as tight a foothold in the re-
  gion as anywhere else, but Muslih works with them be-
  hind-the-scenes to ensure food smuggling laws are both 
  strict and severely enforced—of course, when the mafia 
  controls the enforcers, it’s easy to look the other way. 
  That means real food commands incredible prices on the 
  black market, and Muslih benefits both from its sale and 
  its prohibition.
  Muslih Qamari
  ODFs: +4; DDFs: +7
  Social (Formal): Wonderful;  
  Specialization: Public Speaking
  Manipulation: Wonderful;  
  Specialization: Blackmail
  Knowledge: Superb 
  Specialization: Politics
  Language (Arabic): Good
  Combat (Ranged); Language (English): Fair
  Gifts: Friends in high places; friends in low places; 
  stress analyzer (detect stress levels in others)
  Faults: Old; Jaded
  Weapon: Sm. Handgun (Damage: Fair; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S; Reload: 3; Cost: 4)
  Armor: Nanoweeve Suit (Impenetrable Armor; 
  Protection: Phenomenal; Gifts: Nanoweeve, 
  negates penalties of impenetrable armor; Cost: 
  80)
  Luck Points: 1
  Wound Levels: Normal wound track
  Common Saharan Mafia Henchman
  ODFs: +3; DDFs: +3
  Combat (Ranged): Great
  Athletic; Covert:; Manipulation; Vehicles: 
  Good
  Weapons: Sm. SMG (Damage: Good; Range: 
  Good; RoF: S, B, FA; Reload: 4, 3, 2)
  Armor: Reinforced Vest (Sturdy Armor; Protec-
  tion: Great)
  Wound Levels: 1-2 (Scratched), 3-4 (Hurt), 5+ 
  (Incapacitated)
  
  47
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the 
  Coast, Inc.
  Fudge System Reference Document Copyright 2005, Grey 
  Ghost Press, Inc.; Authors Steffan O’Sullivan and Ann Dupuis, 
  with additional material by Peter Bonney, Deird’Re Brooks, Re-
  imer Behrends, Shawn Garbett, Steven Hammond, Ed Heil, Ber-
  nard Hsiung, Sedge Lewis, Gordon McCormick, Kent Matthewson, 
  Peter Mikelsons, Anthony Roberson, Andy Skinner, Stephan Sza-
  bo, John Ughrin., Dmitri Zagidulin.
  Psi-punk Copyright 2012, Accessible Games; Author Jacob 
  Wood
  Psi-punk: Corps and Criminals copyright 2014, Accessible 
  Games. Author: Jacob Wood
  In accordance with the Open Game License Section 8 “Identi-
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  character statistics for each, are considered Product Identity.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Harp/HARP SF/Corps And Criminals.pdf