Allegiances

## Allegiances System

Allegiances is a system managed by the Neotropolis festival. Though attendees play the part of Allegiances, help determine their story outcome, and in some cases may have input, they are still the purview of the festival and managed by them. Attendees are encouraged to participate in Allegiance actives to earn small prizes or access to some areas of the festival, and they are good props to build stories around.
Information on Allegiances can be found on the Neotropolis website, and has been reproduced here for your ease of access.

### Official festival information from the website:

Well, the first thing to know is that it’s perfectly easy to just enjoy the event as a campout / party / festival. There is no requirement to be “in character” or to choose an allegiance, or go on any “missions” or “quests.” (Costumes for all attendees ARE required, of course, regardless of your other levels of participations).
For those that DO want to get more involved with the story and role-playing aspects of Neotropolis, a whole other level of the immersion at the event will open up to you.

Allegiances are an OPTIONAL starting point for your immersive experience. There are plenty of interactions and missions (some of them created by Factions) that ANYONE at the event can try out. But having an allegiance opens up a LOT more in terms of interactive activity. Most of the “official” missions that our staff create are specifically for those that have pledged to an Allegiance.

**HOW TO JOIN AN ALLEGIANCE:** Simple - When you arrive AT THE EVENT (it can’t be done before) you can report to one of three Allegiance headquarters inside Megablock One. These will be marked on the map, and event staff in the Command Center (right inside the MB1 entrance) can also direct you. The 3 headquarters modules are not staffed 24/7 but you should often find an allegiance leader there during regular hours who can sign you up.

# ALLEGIANCE FAQ

**YOU MAY ONLY PLEDGE TO ONE ALLEGIANCE.**

**YOUR ALLEGIANCE MAY NOT CHANGE DURING THE EVENT**.

If you decide you want to try out a different Allegiance, you can do that another year. Each Allegiance has a limited number of members that can sign up, and once that number is reached, you will need to sign up for one of the other Allegiances (this is to make sure the number of members doesn’t get really skewed, with one having more than another).

**CAN I PICK ANY ALLEGIANCE I WANT?**

(Assuming they still have room when I sign up?) - Yes. It doesn’t matter what Faction you are with, or what kind of character you are trying to represent, you can be in any of the Allegiances. For example, you’re a hacker? Guess what, the corporation, the para-military, and the resistance all have hackers working for them. Likewise, there’s nothing that says a corporate-type character couldn’t be on the side of the resistance.

**DO I NEED TO HAVE A COSTUME THAT FITS WITH MY ALLEGIANCE?**

No. It’s definitely cool if you decide you want to, though. Again, any type of character and theme-appropriate costume for the event can be part of any of the Allegiances. But it definitely could enhance the whole experience if many Allegiance members fit in thematically to what they’re representing (bounty hunter and paramilitary outfits for Endline Allegiance and sophisticated suit-wearers working for Helix etc.)

**WHAT ABOUT FACTIONS?**

Factions are groups of people who choose to enjoy the event together and create a camp / headquarters / interactive space. Many Factions are placed inside the fully-theme-required zone, but some are not. Being in a Faction and being part of an Allegiance are two separate things. An entire Faction’s membership could decide that they all want to be in the same Allegiance (and this is fine, depending how much space the Allegiance has for membership), but there’s nothing preventing individual Faction members from being in different opposing Allegiances (though this could get awkward at your next Faction Thanksgiving dinner…)

**MY FACTION WANTS TO CREATE/PARTICIPATE IN MISSIONS!**

That’s great! Factions in our themed zones can absolutely be part of some of the official stories and missions we are creating, and also create their own missions. We will be giving guidance to Faction leadership about this, so consult the head(s) of your faction if you have any questions.

**DOES IT MATTER WHICH ALLEGIANCE I CHOOSE**

Yes and no. It will change your storyline and your missions, and it may change certain other perks (like which Allegiance patch you get, for starters) but we are going to try and keep the experience comparable in terms of number of missions available, etc.. While some Faction locations (clubs, bars, etc.) may decide to do some small events or gatherings just for one Allegiance, we are going to ask them not to exclude any Allegiances during most of their usual open hours. The idea is for Allegiance memberships to always be a bonus, never a negative for your enjoyment of the event.

**OH YEAH, PATCHES**

Each Allegiance has a specific logo they use. And you get a free Allegiance-specific symbol patch when you’ve completed at least one critical mission for your Allegiance (critical missions are more important and will be assigned to you after you’ve completed one or more beginner missions for your Allegiance leader. Your Allegiance patch is more than just a souvenir, it’s a “key” of sorts, opening up more critical missions and even perks within the city. For just one example, there are certain bars that have special drinks that are ONLY available to patch holders, (and yes, there will be non-alcoholic versions).

**WHAT KIND OF MISSIONS WOULD THESE BE? I’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS**

There are a wide variety of tasks you might be asked to perform, either solo, or as a group. There could be some puzzles to solve (escape room-style), packages to deliver (like unstable power cores), deals to make where you are sent to find an undercover operative (exchanging passwords in a dark alley type of thing), or even hacking a computer terminal to steal credits from another Faction.

**CAN I USE AN ALLEGIANCE LOGO AND PUT IT ON SOMETHING MYSELF?**

(Paint it on a jacket, your car, camp, etc.)

Yes, but with some restrictions. We ask that you NOT put your Allegiance logo on anything until your membership in that Allegiance is confirmed by the Allegiance leader (wouldn’t you feel dumb if you got a full-face Helix tattoo only to find out their membership was full?). Also, like our copyrighted Neotropolis logos, please do not use Allegiance logos or variations of them on items you are going to sell or give away to others. It really should just be for your own personal use in association with enjoying the event (painting it on a jacket, putting it on computer screens at your all-resistance member outpost, etc.).

**CAN I HIDE MY ALLEGIANCE?**

Once you have an Allegiance patch, we prefer you show it off in some way, and always make it clear at the start of a mission who you are working for. It’s kind of on the honor system, but it will really enhance the enjoyment of everyone at the event. Believe us, there will be plenty of clandestine and secret stuff going on (not to mention double-crossing) without anyone changing Allegiances or hiding who they are allied with. Allegiances will not change during the event, but that doesn’t mean the leaders of the Allegiance might not make some side deals with one of the other Allegiances (and then change up that alliance later). In fact, we are sure they will. So while your Allegiance will not change during the event, your working relationship with the other two Allegiances very likely WILL be changing from time to time…