Introduction

Established in early 1996, The Syndicate® is the most successful Virtual Community in the history of Online Gaming.
We specialize in Game & System Testing, Strategy Guide Writing, Consulting On Systems Design and Round Table Feedback. We are a very well organized, professional, mature organization that has been involved with MMO projects for many years. The quality of our work and our ability to deliver on time and maintain the secrecy of the projects we are currently working on is one of our hallmarks.

In addition to Game Development focus, we have a strong focus on growing our community, building friendships and in making the online gaming community better for all gamers. Some of our current projects include our alliance with industry leader Prima Games to help create the best Strategy Guide content possible; consulting relationships with Game Developers to help create better "next gen" gaming content; formalized testing agreements where we focus heavily on providing value added feedback to improve the final gaming product; and finally we have or are currently participating in nearly all MMOs.

By the time most MMORPGs launch, The Syndicate has been playing them for months (and in some cases for well over a year) as part of one of our engagements. We usually maintain an "outpost" within those games of current Syndicate members while the bulk of the guild moves onto our next major project. We do not add new members for games we only maintain an outpost in. We have actively played just about every game including, but not limited to: EQ & EQ2, Warhammer, Conan, LOTRO, DCUO, Rift, SWTOR, Aion, DDO, Wizard 101, Runescape, DAOC, Eve Online, Shadowbane, Tabula Rasa, Planetside and PoTBS to name a few. Syndicate outposts cover the landscape of MMORPGs. We only actively recruit new members for our presences in three major MMOs which are the worlds of Ultima Online, World of Warcraft and Star Wars The Old Republic. We have begun to downsize our WoW presence going from over 500 active members (with 2,000+ characters) to around 200 active members in 2011. Our UO presence is also around 200 active members. Our SWTOR presence is around 350 active members. There are around 500 active members participating in our consulting, testing and guide writing teams.

The Syndicate isn't a guild, we are the industry leaders in gaming excellence and the most successful virtual community in the history of online gaming.

There is far more to share about The Syndicate and what we stand for. Come in and explore our site. Read about our rich history, browse articles written about us, check out our Charter and FAQ to learn what makes us tick, read about the games we are a part of and much more. Step inside, for The Legend of The Syndicate awaits..

News

The Syndicate Forms SLARPD!

April 1st 2012

April 1st, 2012 -- The Syndicate® (www.LLTS.org) is pleased to announce today that we once again push the limits of what services we offer to our members. We have long maintained that we are not a gaming guild. Rather we are a virtual community that exists for our members and online gaming is a common mechanism we use to grow those friendships. Syndicate members spend a great deal of their gaming time focused on RPGs and FPS games. Within that space, we are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to build shared experiences and to grow the team dynamic. With the "R" in RPG standing for Role-playing one idea seemed to leap forward as the obvious choice.

So today we are now thrilled to offer a new, mandatory community building activity for our members. Effectively immediately, we will be forming the S.L.A.R.P.D. which stands for Syndicate Live Action Role Playing Division but its far more fun just to say you just got SLARP'D!

The SLARPD system works as follows:

* Every Syndicate member will be assigned a role within SLARPD that best suites their individual talents or stature (dorfs aren't tall yo!).

* It is mandatory to "have fun" and as such everyone must embrace their role with a smile on their face. Failure to "have fun" will result in a role-play trial and live action role-play prison sentences that must be served in character.

* As we adopted a micro-transaction model within the guild on April 1st, 2011, we will leverage that model by offering certain more prestigious SLARPD roles for a small fee. Certain classes like "peasant" and "fighter" and "merchant" are open for everyone to utilize but things such as Wizard and Necromancer and sexy Hutt Palace dancer are all offered via micro-transactions.

* If a member is unhappy with their choices we have solutions for that as well. Much like many gaming companies do, we will also offer "class changes" and "character renames" for a fee. We are even considering piloting vanity pets and special mounts, for a fee of course.

* Costumes are the responsibility of each member. Designs should be submitted to the SLARPD review committee for approval and each member will have 30 days to complete their costume design. The review committee considers originality; how well the costume suits the assigned class; and how much skin is showing. For some of you that means please don't show any skin!

* Once a costume is approved by the SLARPDRCFC (Syndicate Live Action Role Play Division Review Committee For Costumes) the costume must be worn during all gaming sessions with random video chat screenings occurring to ensure compliance. Failure to comply carries the same penalty as failing to have fun.

* At the annual SyndCon event, there will be SLARPD training for all attendees. Sessions will be scheduled for important topics such as: How to react when hit by a fake lightning bolt; How to talk like a dwarf; Why dark elves hate everyone and how to live with them; How to role-play being taller than you really are; Costume design and maintenance; and the all important: Which micro-transactions should I invest in to get the most out of my SLARPD experience? This year's SyndCon will also feature John Smedley's private session on "How to win at SLARPD pvp". A mouthpiece and a helmet are recommended for that session as there will be interactive labs.

Dragons, the chief DICtator for The Syndicate, expressed his thoughts about this new, cutting edge, Syndicate offering by saying, "The idea really came to me because of the world's shortest squad leader known as Monk. He role-plays a dwarf so convincingly and has found a way to stay in character 24x7 that one day it dawned on me we could implement this in the guild and make money from it! errr.. I mean have a great time doing it!"

The Syndicate continues to push the boundaries of what an entity, founded within the online gaming space, can achieve. With a lengthy track record of success; a motivated, mature and professional membership; and a strong vision for the future, The Syndicate now moves into an era where the lines between the virtual world and the real world blur. Before long everyone will be saying "I just got SLARP'D!"

The Syndicate Turns 16 Years Old!

February 2012

Since our establishment in 1996, over 58,000,000 other guilds have risen and fallen yet The Syndicate® remains. With a 99.8% retention rate (i.e. almost no one quits to join other groups); 1200+ members from all over the world; two books published about the guild; one movie that features us; a Guinness World Record; two Trademarks; numerous published strategy guides; a decade of successful annual conferences; tens of thousands of dollars raised for charity; over one hundred articles about us and highly valued consulting relationships with industry leading game developers, The Syndicate has achieved a level of success unheard of within the "gaming guild" space. So it is with great pride that we shout our battle cry within all the worlds that we inhabit: Long Live The Syndicate!