Faction
Factions define the game world allegiances and skills known by a given group of people.
A player cannot play an Action, or Installation that does not share a faction with their leader.
A player can only attach a tool to a character that shares a faction with it. This effect does not remove a tool that no longer shares a faction with the character it is attached to.
To play a character that does not share a faction with a player's leader they must pay 2 extra energy of the character's primary energy type. This energy is not needed to restore the character. In addition, if the player ever fails to pay the character's restore cost it is immediately and permanently removed from the game.
Each of a player's areas must share a faction with their leader. If any area does not, the deck is illegal.
Any card with no printed faction is considered to have allegiance to any faction. So, no faction checks are needed.