;#; **Factions** ;#; **The Zone is home to several large organised groups known as Factions. The majority of them are permanent fixtures in the Zone and have been for a number of years, indeed most of their members are now permanent residents as well.**\\ \\ **Joining a faction is not possible at the start of play. Instead you will need to negotiate with NPCs from the various factions until you are considered worth inviting. Almost all factions have a form of initiation or buy-in. Joining the Truthers usually requires you to hand over valuable data they don't have, joining the High Rollers often requires some kind of monetary donation or better yet, a workable scheme to earn money, and so on. The game team will track your interactions with the NPCs and it is also possible to devote downtime to building up a reputation with a faction by doing odd jobs. You will then get an invite, along with a task or shopping list for your buy-in.**\\ \\ The current known factions are; **Churchgoers** A quasi-religious cult that seems to worship the Zone as an entity in itself. Currently believed to have been wiped out, although a very large bounty is still unclaimed on their leader, known as the Archbishop. **High Rollers** They believe that everyone needs to get out from under the yoke of the smuggling gangs that run the economy and seize control of it for themselves. Despite the rhetoric they still pay freelancers in credits via the gangs. They tend to spend more time, effort and resources into living well than other groups. **Truthers** Everyone has a right to the secrets of the Zone, nothing should be kept secret or solely in the hands of the untrustworthy, like the Government or the corporations. Even those trusted to hold onto information should only do so briefly while they compile a complete set of data before publishing. **The Hidden** The Zone is inherently evil and must be destroyed as soon as the means to do so presents itself. Responsible for many of the assassinations of corporate scientists in the Zone. **The Awakened** More a loose amalgamation of disparate conspiracy theorists than an actual faction, the Awakened banded together for mutual survival and assistance. Frequently riven with internal conflict as certain theories rise and fall in prominence. **The Long Gamers** It is a demonstrable fact that the Zone is expanding. The Long Gamers believe that the Zone will eventually cover the entire planet and by learning how the Zone operates now they will put themselves in a position of supremacy when that happens.