Corporations

Game hosts can leverage corporations to create complex and compelling story antagonists.

This guide will help you incorporate them effectively, highlighting their role in driving the plot and engaging players in corporate-driven narratives.

Mega Corporations

There are thousands of corporations spanning the colonies of Stala Monda. Some are small, focused and prefer to operate quietly without drawing attention, while others have risen to the top of their industry to become household names. Referred to as mega corporations, these companies are widely known, often operating near monopolies in certain industry sectors.

SOLARIS INTEGRATED SYSTEMS: Specializes in infrastructure development and energy, overseeing the construction of colonies, orbital stations, and power grids. They’re also involved in manufacturing smart materials and managing nuclear fusion plants. Their energy division competes heavily with other energy providers while their construction and material innovations challenge other industrial corporations. They span the Construction, Energy, and Science and Technology trade guilds.

ORION HOLDINGS: A multi-sector conglomerate with divisions in finance, real estate, and spaceport management. They control large-scale financial operations (inter-planetary banking, investment, and stock exchanges) while also owning major spaceports and urban developments. Orion Holdings has a strong influence in both the Financial and Space Administration sectors, facing stiff competition from other banking, security, and transportation corporations.

ASTRA NOVA INDUSTRIES: A heavyweight in aerospace, robotics, and mining. Astra Nova provides advanced robotics for exploration and colonization, constructs dropships, and operates asteroid and planetary mining operations. Their ventures in advanced robotics create competition with AI firms, while their mining operations face rivals in resource extraction. They are prominent in Aerospace, Robotics, and Mining sectors.

QUANTUM HELIX: Merges quantum computing, AI, and bioengineering to develop sophisticated AI systems for medical applications, genetic enhancement, and colony management. Quantum Helix spans the Health and Human Services, Science and Technology, and AI sectors, facing competition from companies focused on healthcare, computing, and bioengineering solutions.

TERRADYNE SOLUTIONS: An innovative leader in space logistics, agriculture, and water management. Teradyne handles interplanetary shipping, operates massive agricultural farms on colony planets, and develops advanced water purification and distribution systems. They straddle the Logistics, Agriculture, and Water Management sectors, competing against corporations that specialize in these industries individually.

HELIOS CONSORTIUM: A mega-corporation involved in energy production, communications, and virtual reality entertainment. Helios produces solar and fusion energy, controls key communication networks across colonies, and creates immersive VR experiences. Their wide-ranging business interests place them in direct competition with corporations in the Energy, Communications and Media, and Sports and Entertainment sectors.

AEGIS DYNAMICS: Originally focused on security, Aegis has expanded into energy systems, AI research, and virtual reality for defense simulations. They provide spacecraft security systems, EMP weaponry, and have ventured into creating AI-controlled defense platforms. Aegis spans Security, Energy, and AI, competing against corporations in military contracting, energy production, and AI development.

STELLAR INNOVATIONS: A pioneer in luxury goods, bio-enhancement, and entertainment. They design high-end consumer electronics, fashion, and personalized genetic enhancements, along with producing premium VR environments and galactic entertainment content. Their luxury division faces competition from both entertainment giants and biotech firms. They span the Science and Technology, Sports and Entertainment, and Bioengineering sectors.

NOVATECH VENTURES: A tech giant that operates in consumer electronics, medical devices, and aerospace. They provide personal AI systems, medical diagnostic equipment, and small civilian spacecraft, all of which drive competition across multiple industries. NovaTech works across Technology, Health and Human Services, and Aerospace, facing fierce rivals in each sector.

AXIS GLOBAL ENTERPRISES: A multi-sector conglomerate dealing in construction, logistics, and communications. Axis Global builds colonies and orbital structures, manages interplanetary shipping, and controls communication hubs that connect the colonies. They compete in the Construction, Logistics, and Communications and Media sectors, where their rivals challenge them for control over critical infrastructure.

Story Antagonists

Corporations are more than economic entities—they are powerful, competitive, and often ruthless forces that drive the story. Acting as pure investment firms and venture capitalists, they shape the economy, employ the best and brightest, and demand loyalty and discretion. Their influence extends across trade guilds, and they often operate like organized crime syndicates. This makes them ideal plot devices, providing opportunities for high-stakes contracts, moral dilemmas, and dangerous antagonists.

COMPETITIVE AND RUTHLESS: Employment with a corporation is typically lifelong, high-stakes commitment. Workers compete ruthlessly for promotions and rewards, fostering subterfuge and manipulation. Players may assist in corporate power plays or be caught in internal rivalries. For instance, Orion Holdings might hire the players to expose a disloyal employee, or NovaTech Ventures could pit them against rivals within their organization in a deadly corporate race.

GREED AND AMBITION: Corporate executives make perfect antagonists, driven by ambition and success with little regard for ethics. With vast resources and influence, they can manipulate governments and even control trade guilds. Aegis Dynamics might be using illegal weapon tests on a remote colony, with the players tasked to uncover the truth, or Axis Global Enterprises could be orchestrating a resource monopoly, threatening the stability of an entire planet.

MORAL AMBIGUITY: Corporations often blur the lines between right and wrong, leading to morally complex missions. Players might have to decide whether to follow orders or defy them at the risk of becoming targets. For example, Helios Consortium might offer a fortune to test experimental technology on a colony, but at the cost of the colonists' safety.

LONG REACH: Corporate involvement in a player's life can have lasting consequences. Disobedience or betrayal might lead to retaliation, ranging from legal actions to sabotage. A player who turns down a contract from Stellar Innovations might find themselves blacklisted, while Fusion Core Systems could send mercenaries after a former employee who tries to escape their lifelong contract.