The Syndicate

The Syndicate is a criminal organization in Briarhelm, the capital city of Fortide.

They are a threefold group comprised of the the Hand, the Hammer, and the House. Each wing has responsibility for controlling one sector of Briarhelm's population:

The House

The House controls the aristocrats and the court. It bribed and wheedled its way into the halls of power, influencing the way the laws are made and enforced.

The Hammer

The Hammer, the most lucrative arm of the Syndicate, controls the craftsmen. It tells them what to make, how much to make, and takes a large percentage of the revenue. Much of the city’s wealth ended up in their hands that way. The Hammer often works in tandem with the House. If the city wants public works completed, it would have to meet the House’s demands in order to have access to the Hammer’s skilled craftsmen.

The Hand

The Hand is the street arm of the Syndicate. They are the brutes forcing people into paying protection money, beating all of those who stand up to them into the ground. When most people see a group of Hand, they cross to the other side of the street and hope the thugs don’t notice.

There are rumors that there is something else controlling the Syndicate. Some foreign spies, perhaps. Some of the more superstitious tale-bearers claim it involves dark, powerful magic-users or inter-dimensional beings - but no one really knows for sure.