The Order

The Order is a militant cult in Strife: Quest for the Sigil whose members heard the voice of a malignant god in their heads after being infected by a disease which, while killing millions, mutated and deranged many of the survivors. The disease spread from the impact of a comet which itself caused a global calamity, throwing the world into disarray. Driven by the voice of the One God to abandon natural procreation and turn to cybernetics and robotics, the members of the Order convert themselves and others into unfeeling machines while slaughtering all women and children they find. Those who are not converted immediately are enslaved and forced to do hard labor for the Order. They relentlessly seek the five pieces of the Sigil of the One God&mdash;a sentient weapon which they worship&mdash;and the promise of immortality and omnipotent power which the voice claims will come with their reunion. At the time that Strife begins, the Order threatens the entire known world with its power, controlling a technology far beyond that previously known to humankind.

The oppression and tyranny of the Order eventually lead to unrest and the formation of a rebel movement known as the Front, seeking against all odds to overthrow them.

Leaders
Power in the Order is uneasily divided between the known wielders of the pieces of the Sigil, most of whom are heavily enhanced with cybernetics:
 * The Programmer is the creator of the artificial intelligence programs which control the acolytes and possibly other adherents of the Order. He dwells in the castle on the outskirts of Tarnhill whose population lives in terror of him and his large force of acolytes and robots.
 * The Bishop is the Order's military commander and occupies a crimson and obsidian tower in the midst of a large fortress beyond the Borderlands.
 * The Loremaster is the highest ranking member and the original designer of the Order's robots and cybernetic soldiers. He rules an area east of the Borderlands and directly oversees the Order's massive factory, which was built over the impact site of the comet.

Adherents and machines
The Order's soldiers revolve around cyborgs and robots with names of religious ranks.

Human adherents

 * Acolytes, the lowest rank in the Order. Still mostly human, these are grunt enforcers with light armor and riot shields, equipped with assault rifles. They are assigned diverse roles as guards, overseers, and soldiers. Though most can be conversed with, they almost never have anything to say beyond gruff dismissal or religious propaganda.
 * Templars are high-ranking soldiers equipped with full-body powered suits into which they are fully integrated and depend upon for life support. Heavily armored and wielding the fearsome mauler, they are best left alone. They too will converse if not alerted to hostile intentions, and will attempt to proselytize for the Order and convince others to convert to their ranks.

Robotic minions

 * Stalkers are simple four-legged spider-like crawling robots which can cling to ceilings and drop down onto intruders. It is equipped with razor sharp appendages that can tear a man to pieces in mere seconds.
 * Sentinels are levitating egg-shaped robots which can open up to fire red lasers which, while not highly damaging, can disintegrate human flesh with prolonged exposure.
 * Reavers are slightly larger than a human and only roughly humanoid, equipped with a shotgun for long distance attacks and a knife for melee battle.
 * Crusaders are large tank-like bipedal mechs, considered one of the Order's worst threats. Up close they attack with a flamethrower, and at a distance they can unleash a barrage of three highly damaging explosive rockets with little to no warm-up or cool-down time.
 * Inquisitors, described as the Order's newest terror, are massive vaguely humanoid robots which tower over their surroundings. These robots can glide through the air and jump using rocket thrusters, covering large amounts of ground in little time. They can attack with a shotgun at close to medium range, but by far their worst threat are twin shoulder-mounted grenade launchers, which will be continually fired at any targets at a distance.

Splinter faction
The Oracle is said to be a former high priest of the Order who is sympathetic to the Front's cause. He controls a considerable force from his temple.

Known members and collaborators



 * Derwin is a black market human trafficker who sells children to the Order, either to be killed or for experimentation.
 * Harris is a local conman in Tarnhill. He is in league with the Governor.
 * The False Programmers are cybernetic converts assigned by the Programmer to participate in decoy missions.
 * Warden Montag controls Norwall Prison in Tarnhill, torturing, starving, and punishing people at his whims.
 * Governor Mourel is a puppet civilian leader placed over the population of Tarnhill by the Order. He seeks to move up in its esteem by plotting with Harris.
 * Judge Wolenick serves in Norwall Prison and determines the final fates of its prisoners according to the will of the Order and its dark god.

Slaves and servants

 * Arion is the secretary to Governor Mourel.
 * Dock workers are forced to do slave labor in the warehouse, under threat of torture or death.
 * Drones are mind controlled via wireless signals through neural implants and do heavy labor such as mining.
 * Ketrick is the manager of the power station and warehouse in Tarnhill.
 * Sammis is a power core technician.
 * Technicians and computer techs man many Order areas. These are normal humans and still live in fear of the Order's wrath despite the skilled jobs they carry out.