Mars Antagonists

Mars is a wild planet, owned by no one and each city claiming it's own set of laws. This has lead to a large number of different groups each vying for control and power.

Corporations

Corporations have the strongest pull on Mars, as most of the terraforming and city building were done by those with the biggest bank accounts. Most of the middle class, and all of the working poor, work for a corporation, live in corporate housing, and get paid in corporate credits. Most corporations will take their competitors credits, but at a reduced value, leading to modern day mining towns. Currently 3 corporations are the biggest, have the most pull, and the most resources on Mars while several others are working to expand their own reach.

All the named corporations below were created by kickstarter backers while all the corporations in [brackets] will be available to name and add details to in the Mars Kickstarter.

The Big Three

Sycamore Interplanetary: This corporation helped start the terraforming of Mars decades ago, and now are in charge of most interplanetary trade and immigration. If you want to travel or ship to Mars, you go through Sycamore.

[ Industrial Mecha ]: This corporation manufactures the majority of all industrial Mecha on Mars. If it needs to be able to lift a building and withstand a sandstorm, these are your guys. Parts not compatible with [Recreational Mecha].

[ Recreational Mecha ]: This corporation manufactions the majority of all recreational (and military) Mecha on Mars. If it needs to skim sand dunes at top speed or enter orbit, these are your guys. Parts not compatible with [ Industrial Mecha ].

The Competitors

The Capex Consortium: With the large number of android and cyborg immigrants on Mars Capex couldn't be far behind. They provided replacement parts and upgrades at a reduced cost to everyone working to terraform Mars, making them one of the most beloved corps on Mars. However, their altruism allowed the big three to push their way to power through more hostel actions.

Gleipnir Memory and Power: Power Cores fuel Mars and that fact alone should make Gleipnir one of the big three, but they decided to work more behind the scenes. All the big corporations need their product as much as Mar's citizens do, and they worry that pushing for more power will make them the next San Monto.

San Monto Incorporated: San Monto's bio-engineered seeds can grow in Martian soil, are drought resistant, and most can even stand up to a moderate dust storm. After the martian cities began to flourish San Monto decided to double their prices with the knowledge that most citizens wouldn't have another place to buy their food. This lead to the "Seed War", a six month period where private and corporate militarizes raided and destroyed San Monto facilities across Mars. Now each other corporation have their own private seed producers and San Monto is almost non-existent on Mars. 

[ Little guys A ] & [ Little guys B ]: These will be completely created by kickstarter backers. What do they do on Mars? How are they trying to gain more power and profits? I don't know! You decide!

The Old Favorites

G27 has a foothold on Mars, along with several large cells, but they have much less power on Mars then they do on Earth. Although there are still human purists, there are far more androids and cyborgs on Mars around leading to less general distrust. Also, several other human purist groups from around Earth have footholds on Mars as well. So while the more American "G27" and the more European "Golden Dawn" may have similar end goals their methods are different enough to make them more rivals than allies. 

Emet-Met are as strong as ever on Mars. They build outposts in the less terraformed parts of Mars, where the air is thin and water is several hundred miles away. Some say they are trying to build a utopia away from human civilization, with the only threat being the continued terraforming of Mars...

The First Mind has almost no presence on Mars. The Martian cyberspace is smaller, less sophisticated, and doesn't extend far beyond the civilized areas of Mars. That doesn't mean she has forgotten about it though. Several of her Chosen are working in specialized scientific fields to try and connect the Martian and Terran cyberspaces in order to "connect our two worlds for the betterment of humanity." 

Martin Duke

Some call him a savvy business man, others call him a 22nd century mafia don, neither is really wrong. Martin Duke controls the most privately owned land on Mars (next to Emet-Met) and his personal wealth has skyrocketed since he started operations on Mars. On Earth most know him as an eccentric billionaire, but on Mars most know that if you need a Mecha part converter, credits from a specific corporation, or access to some of the rare Martian Crystal deposits, that his people are who you talk to.

Martin Duke plays a large roll in the sample adventure in the Mars book.

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So lots of new antagonists for the Mars book. Next week will be another Mars update with info about new Upgrades and the new Designation available.

But I also want to show off one of the first stretch goals for Directive: Invasion!
They are a new playable alien: The Martian Born