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House Cawdor
“House Cawdor is hereby granted dominion over the refuse and detritus, wherever it may fall within hive and waste.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 869.M39
“Blessed are the children of the Emperor, who heed his words and live according to his creed! Exalted are those who carry out his work, purging the sins of the unworthy through flame, gunfire and blade!”. Such are the beliefs of House Cawdor, the largest of all Necromunda’s Clan Houses, united by the singular power of their own unshakeable faith. Rag-pickers and midden-tunnellers all, the gangs of House Cawdor are little more than drudges - yet, in their countless millions, they come together with the unstoppable force of an ash storm. There is nothing the house wouldn’t give for their faith - including their very lives. No matter the foe Cawdor stands against, they will not break, as long as they have promethium in their flamers and the favour of the God-Emperor; together the scions of Cawdor will destroy all mutants, witches and heretics in order to make Necromunda worthy of his redemption.
The House of Faith
“Only the righteous can hope to stand against the might of House Cawdor and the gathered servants of the Redemption. And as the Word-Keepers teach, there are none on Necromunda more righteous than us!”
Brother Vym, Sermon of the Righteous, House Cawdor
Gangs of House Cawdor charge into battle with a zealous singlemindedness, steeled by piety and the strength of their cause. Haloed in fire, they unleash the cleansing inferno of their creed with flamers and fire pikes. Their piecemeal armour and robes, supplemented with flickering candles and self-inflicted lacerations of the flesh, demonstrate their devotion to the Emperor. Cawdor is indeed a pauper house, as whilst their masters have built enough fortune to enter the ranks of the Clan Houses, it has taken centuries of scavenging the depths of Necromunda’s waste pits and caustic run-offs to get there. Yet what they lack in credits is made up for in bodies: their faith unites them like no other, and their ranks are swollen with countless millions, if not billions, from every hive, hab and hole on Necromunda.
In theory, it is the Imperial Creed that grants Cawdor their tenacity; a belief in the distant Emperor of Mankind and a devotion to his tenets. Much like Necromunda’s Ministorum, they despise the unnatural - abhumans, mutants and those touched by the wyrd - and see them as abominations to be cleansed. Yet, over the millennia, these ideals have been deeply subverted by the extremist tendencies of the so-called House of Faith. They follow a heretical vision of the Imperial Creed known as the Redemption, so named for its fervent belief that humanity must be redeemed and free of sin before it can successfully conquer the stars or else the human race will perish under a deluge of filth and vice.
Cawdor did not rise to the status of Clan House on faith alone. It climbed to the top slowly and painfully by scrap picking and scavenging, often clashing with House Orlock when their activities became a little too close to mining for the House of Iron to tolerate. Cawdor remained weak for centuries, often passed over for contracts by nobility and barely holding onto its territories. Yet, at the start of the 39th Millennium, strange cults began to appear in Cawdor’s ranks, their praise and worship directed at one man who claimed to have been chosen by the Emperor to redeem humanity: Encorderius Brayne. Legend holds that he was a simple factoria worker who delivered sermons to his fellow workers, preaching that the people of the hives had lost sight of the Emperor. This continued until the day he fell into one of the factorum’s vast ore smelters, only to climb out completely unscathed, glowing with a white light. Other tales tell that he was instead a gang leader who survived a bullet to the head and set up as a false messiah. Yet cults dedicated to Brayne continued to surface for centuries afterwards, and one particularly savvy Cawdor leader eventually took notice.
Aornath Cawdor sought to turn around the house’s fortunes by capitalising on this spreading faith. To this end, he named himself Thane, rather than a mere ruler - a servant of the Emperor and follower of the Redemptionist faith. His plan worked better than he could have imagined: millions of Cawdor united in their cause and their fortunes began to swell.
Over the next millennium, House Cawdor would be afforded begrudging respect by their rival Clan Houses as the Redemptionist faith guided them to further heights of zealotry. It was this obsessive faith that eventually marked them as not only powerful, but a potential threat to House Helmawr itself.
In the midst of the 41st Millennium, the Imperial House threatened to petition the Ecclesiarchy, which would have declared any Redemptionist worshippers a blasphemous cult. Rather than watch his house be torn down, Thane Spriggan Cawdor declared the Pax Redemtos, promising that House Cawdor would only ever take up arms to protect their interests, and never in the name of religion. This declaration saved the house but created a divide between its main body and its more overzealous members that has never healed. In the current day, House Cawdor’s power has somewhat plateaued. Many of the Redemption’s most fervent followers have broken away, forming their own sect, becoming an outlaw cult and have found new living prophets to lead them.
Cawdor’s gangs are a common sight as they roam the underhive, digging deep into midden-mines and refuse pits in search of what little wealth is left. They also strike out into the wastes to search for ‘holy’ relics of the Emperor to bring back to Thane Mormaer Cawdor’s Palace of Bones. This is a thorn in the Ministorum’s side for sometimes, just sometimes, Cawdor’s scions will uncover a real relic of holy power - and Mormaer will always keep it for himself.
HIERARCHICAL WOES
The Thane of Cawdor has always been a dangerous position to hold upon Necromunda. Thanes consider themselves servants of the Emperor - and only the Emperor. All other rulers of Mankind are of equal importance to themselves, and all should be serving the Emperor’s will. Thanes have been assassinated for such treasonous statements by the Lords Helmawr of old.
Luckily for Thane Mormaer Cawdor, the current Lord Helmawr is a patient man. He recognised the Thane’s work after House Cawdor fought off Redemptionist attempts to put a new ruler on Helmawr’s throne. Lord Helmawr has since tolerated Mormaer’s airs of grandeur and has even installed him within the Ministorum as an advisor - though should Mormaer outlive his usefulness or fail to control the charged plasma coil that is his house’s population, Lord Helmawr has him close enough to arrange the Thane a quick death.
HOUSE CAWDOR
FIREBRAND WITH BRETHREN WITH AUTOGUN BONEPICKER WITH WORD-KEEPER WITH HAND
HEAVY CROSSBOW & INCENDIARY CHARGE STUB GUN AND AXE FLAMER & TWO-HANDED AXE
BOMB RATS BRETHREN WITH POLEARM/ BRETHREN WITH AUTOGUN BONEPICKER WITH
BLUNDERBUSS TWO STUB GUNS
DEACON WITH BRETHREN
TWO AUTOPISTOLS WITH FIRE PIKE
BRETHREN WITH AUTOGUN ZEALOT WITH EVISCERATOR BRETHREN WITH
& EXTERMINATOR SHOTGUN
House Delaque
“House Delaque is hereby granted the sum of 1,000,000 credits, to be paid on the first cycle of each season for services rendered during the Rothgul incident.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 719.M41
A whisper in the pipes, the flash of a blade in the dark: these are the only warnings received by enemies of the House of Shadow before their throats are opened. These shadowy assassins are unique amongst the Clan Houses for trading in secrets. As befitting of such a clandestine house, their gangs are seldom seen - except when they want to be, and by then it is often too late for their targets. The reluctance of the Delaque to speak with outsiders has shrouded their house in rumours and legends, with many claiming they are xenos, mutants or a race of wyrds. All of their members are emaciated and as pale as Necromunda’s moons, their eyes shaded even in dim light due to a strange photosensitivity. Whatever the truth of their origins, the Delaque fight in an eerie silence, and move with uncanny unity, as if they share the very same consciousness -
The House of Shadow
“A single lie is more powerful than a thousand truths, for while the truth can only ever be a truth, a good lie can be whatever it chooses.”
House Delaque Saying
Rarely do the Delaque fight in the open, rather they materialise from the shadows with supernatural stealth to turn the fight in their favour. They prefer blades and silenced weapons over flashy shows of strength, getting the results they want by any means necessary. Many of their number are also sensitive to the wyrd, able to surround themselves with invisible shields and hurl their foes from great heights. Each of the Delaque is connected by a gestalt shared consciousness known as the Psychoterica, allowing them to organise themselves without the need for verbal commands or signals. These are the agents in the dark, the masters of whispers - the House of Shadow.
When surveying Necromunda’s industries, each Clan House has a clearly defined role to play. Not so the Delaque, who can loosely be described as traders of information - and even that is not readily for sale. They have been present at every major event since their inception, almost 3,000 years ago, and have often manipulated their outcome in their favour. Contrary to popular belief, House Delaque also hold contracts, granting them ownership of factoria and holdings like every other house - yet their workers often do not realise that the Delaque are their true employers. Many rumours of the Delaque connect them closely with Lord Helmawr. The title ‘House of Shadow’ is a ceremonial one as much as it is an earned reputation, for it is bestowed upon the official Imperial spymasters. It is true enough that Lord Helmawr would not have remained in power for so long without the whispers of the Delaque in his ear.
House Delaque has been the subject of much speculation over the centuries. They are hairless and often opt for heavy, concealing clothing, marking them out amongst the other houses. Their pupils are so sensitive to light that they must implant optic filters over their eyes, even within the darkness of the underhive. Their house heads and gang fighters look similar enough to the uninitiated that targeting their leadership is impossible
- and were an enemy to succeed, the Delaque would simply replace them with another of their subjects wearing the same mantle.
Some believe that they have no leadership at all, though this is not true; they are led by a council body known as the Star Chamber that directs the will of the house. Those who preside over the Star Chamber are known as Masters of Shadow, chosen based on the strength of their connection to the Psychoterica. These clan masters can most accurately discern the will of those they call the Silent Ones, the dark masters the clan is beholden to; from here are cells of agents directed and dispatched to fulfil the Silent Ones’ desires.
To understand the Silent Ones, masters of the Delaque, one must first look at the history of the House of Shadow. It was formed abruptly some believe almost overnight - when the dark planet Somnus passed close to Necromunda 3,000 years ago. People in every hive from Primus to Mynerva wandered from their habs as if summoned by a mysterious force, making their way to a singular location in the dark, unheeding of the pleas of their friends and family. Gangs began emerging across the
planet, pale as death and moving as though by one will. Many bore an uncanny likeness to those who went missing in the night. One popular claim holds that xenos took these people and stole their skin to infiltrate society, whilst others believe that the dreamers were infected by parasites that now puppeteer them to their will. Stranger still is the theory that the Silent Ones who allegedly lead the Delaque are neither parasites nor aliens but ancient gods, unknowable and unfathomable in size. This legend tells of a Necromunda covered entirely by oceans, its rulers dwelling at the bottom of the endless seas. When these seas receded and the climate altered, these creatures were forced to retreat into deep underground bodies of water close to the planet’s core, until the day they might reclaim their home. Whatever the case may be, it is true enough that the Delaque are connected to a shared consciousness through which their orders are received and the closer the connection, the more respected the subject.
THE PSYCHOTERICA
The name given to the shared consciousness of the Delaque is known as the Psychoterica. It is this shared communication that grants the Delaque their uncanny ability to understand one another without the need for speech or signals. Even within the Clan House, where this ability originated from is a mystery; some believe its resonance summoned the first of the Delaque, whilst others theorise it to be the echo of a cataclysmic psychic event. Whatever the case, it conveys the will of the Silent Ones to the Delaque and establishes a hierarchy amongst the house based on the strength of their mental connection. For reasons unknown to the house, Delaque subjects are born with varying levels of sensitivity to the Psychoterica; those who rise to become Masters of Shadow often boast a stronger natural connection, though others nurture their weaker bond by closely adhering to the Silent Ones’ will, which seems to increase their aptitude for understanding it.
Despite their abrupt appearance upon Necromunda, House Delaque has accrued power at terrifying speed. Their apparent favour with Lord Helmawr makes their rivals reluctant to touch them, as does their inhuman nature and gaunt appearance. The Delaque do nothing to discourage the legends and accusations, revelling in the obfuscation born of such confusion - after all, the truth may be stranger still.
HOUSE DELAQUE
PSY-GHEIST WITH
PSYCHOTERIC WYRM
GHOST WITH LONG RIFLE NACHT-GHUL WITH GHOST WITH TWO PISCEAN SPEKTOR
SHIVVER SWORD AUTOPISTOLS
House Escher
“House Escher is hereby granted exclusive rights to supply the Imperial House with rejuvenation chems for 25 grand cycles.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 219.M40
Maiden, Mother and Matriarch: the Escher embody each aspect of life, from the lithe dexterity of youth to the power of leadership and the knowledge of elders. As the oldest surviving Clan House on Necromunda, they command fear and respect in equal measure. Each subject of the Escher hones their body to peak ability and favours a blindingly fast fighting style using envenomed knives, earning the Escher their title the ‘House of Blades’.
Many also cultivate a prolific knowledge of toxins and gene-smithing in order to turn their foes’ very bodies against them. This all-female house has built their empire upon their innovation and intelligence for millennia, surviving the wasting disease that plagued their menfolk and emerging all the stronger for it. With flashy styles and bright hair, they stalk the hives like venomous snakes, their bold colours a clear warning to stay away - or risk a swift but agonising death.
The House of Blades
‘A fight ain’t interesting if it’s fair. If you've got the advantage then you get to pick them apart and show them why they shouldn't have messed with you. And if they have the advantage - well, that just makes it more fun!”
‘Bloody’ Belle, Blood Orchids, House Escher
There are few who survive an Escher gang out for blood. Armed to the teeth with stiletto knives and chemthrowers, their fighting style is focused on precision over strength. Each hit inflicted by their foes is repaid with the sharp tip of a poisoned dagger. Thus have the fighters of House Escher built their empire over the centuries: by becoming faster, nimbler and more lethal than any of their rivals.
Whilst their gangs fight in the filthy depths of the underhive, House Escher is a family of immense wealth, born from their monopoly over the chem trade. As one of the oldest houses of Necromunda, their knowledge of alchemical methods reflects entire millennia of knowledge otherwise lost, passed down only through the generations of Escher Chymist Cults. Many other houses depend on Escher chems to survive. House Van Saar readily trades weapon components in return for high-grade rad purgatives to prevent their wasted bodies from collapsing, whilst House Goliath reluctantly coughs up payment for the chemicals needed to breed more of their lab-grown kind. Every attempt by other houses to recreate the chems of the Escher has so far been unsuccessful, for even the most advanced in chemical technology can do nothing without the formulae and methods behind their production.
The house can be categorised into three sects: the Maidens, the Mothers, and the Crones. Maidenhood epitomises the skill and dexterity of the house’s youth, as well as the strength of their gangs. Fresh prospects will often elect to leave
their hives entirely before joining a gang, running with other girls in groups referred to as Wyld Runners. The skills these prospects acquire surviving the ash wastes better equips them for a life of violence in the underhive. Mothers are those considered to nurture the clan’s wellbeing and guide their sisters, such as the Matriarch advisors, Oracles, and those women touched by the wyrd that are subsequently granted special powers, often nicknamed Shiwers. Finally, those who fall under the mantle of Crones boast exceptional knowledge and artisanal talents, passed down through many generations. The Chymist Cults, overseers of much of Clan Escher’s alchemical industry, are counted amongst these.
The women of the Escher are hardworking and dedicated to the mastery of their craft, occasionally to the point of undermining each other in their rivalry. The house judges a woman’s worth entirely on her merits and victories. Even the ruling title of Matriarch Primus is not off-limits to a simple fighter if they prove themselves worthy. The most brilliant of the Escher are elected to the Council of Crones, advisors to the Matriarch Primus, and these are drawn from all areas of the house’s subjects. As a result, the sects of the house often harbour hidden agendas to get ahead of the others, each seeking more representation on the council
- or the crown of the Matriarch Primus. Whoever rules the Escher is considered to embody Maiden, Mother and Crone in equal measure, and the crown bears three faces, one for each of the clan’s founding rulers.
Those who remember the legends of the women who would become the Escher are few and far between. The passage of time has caused much of Necromunda’s early history to pass into myth. The most common tale is of three heroes known as the Blades who swore themselves to Martek Hel’mayr, first ruler of Necromunda. The three women mixed their blood to create the progenitors of the Escher, and all members of the House of Blades can trace their lineage back to these first children. However, the history of the Escher has not always been so glorious.
Not content with strength and hale health, the Escher spent centuries modifying their bodies with chems and gene-smithing. Over long grand cycles the menfolk of the Escher began to grow visibly weaker until the day came when no male born to the house had the strength to stand, instead spending their short lives in an unresponsive state, protected in vats of preservative chems. Though the women of the Escher proved immune to this so-called Flesh Curse, the wasting disease persists within their bloodline to this day. Yet the Escher did not let this prove their downfall. The women of the house reforged it in blood, adopting the philosophy of the Blade’s Edge that prioritises intense focus and clearheadedness, and developed the quick-witted and sharp-edged fighting style they are known for today.
In the current era, House Escher use advanced stimms to boost their combat capabilities, but save the more biologically devastating chems for their foes. Bioengineered diseases, neurotoxins and deadly poisons are favoured by every part of the house, engineered day and night by the Chymist Cults. Exotic beasts led by the Wyld are also a common sight - phyrr cats and phelynx prowl after their Escher handlers to finish off any foe unlucky enough to get cornered in a fight.
WAR OF THE MATRIARCH
Whilst the Escher appear outwardly united, an internal divide has begun to splinter their numbers since the Aranthian Succession. During this crisis, an ancient ruler of Necromunda attempted to wrest the throne from Lord Helmawr in his time of weakness. The former Matriarch Primus, Adina Sabine, sided with the interloper - but not all of the Escher followed. Cyniss, the Mother of Poisons and leader of the Chymist Cults, conspired with the Delaque to keep Lord Helmawr on the throne. The much more inexperienced Queen Adina was revealed as a traitor by the Delaque in order to install Cyniss as Matriarch Primus in the aftermath.
A civil war brews in the shadows of House Escher. Many of the Wyld and the younger Gang Queens who looked to Adina Sabine as a role model still Support and guard her in exile, whilst the Chymist Cults fiercely protect the new Matriarch Primus and have vowed to hunt Adina to the ends of the wastes.
ESCHER CUTTER WITH SISTER WITH GANG QUEEN WITH SHOCK
PLASMA GUNS CHEM-THROWER WHIP & COMBI-WEAPON
WYLD RUNNER GANG MATRIARCH LITTLE SISTER WITH PLASMA
WITH WYLD BOW WITH AUTOGUN PISTOL & STILETTO KNIFE
House Goliath
“House Goliath’s claim to the Boilsump foundries in Hive Rothgul is hereby officially ratified, all agents of House Orlock are to withdraw immediately.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 747.M40
Might makes right. In strength lies power. Such are the mantras of House Goliath, the nascent but hugely influential house of giants. These towering men and women boast inhuman strength, genetically programmed from birth to be the perfect workers. Their simple and clear way of thinking has proven unstoppable for they have the incredible constitution to back it up. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the foundation of Necromunda’s industry depends on the scions of House Goliath. Yet their incredible strength comes at a price: very few of their number are capable of reproducing, and most are grown in vats, reliant on other Clan Houses in both material and method. No one can say if this will always be the case as natural-born Goliaths continue to emerge, though all clans fear the day House Goliath no longer has anything to keep its immense power in check.
The House of Chains
“The boss was the boss ’til he weren't. ‘Cause I killed him. Now I’m the boss.”
‘Spiker’ Krugrug, Forge Tyrant, The Fire Sons, House Goliath
As capable in combat as they are working the forges, the hardy subjects of House Goliath are almost incomparable in terms of raw strength. They fight with pure, blunt force using unwieldy weapons and tools taken straight from the furnaces and forges of their territories. It is nigh-impossible to talk down a Goliath on a rampage, for once they have set their mind on destruction, they enter a violent frenzy, often injecting themselves with combat stimms that propel their physical prowess to new heights whilst shutting down their higher brain functions.
House Goliath is a relative newcomer to the battlefield that is Necromunda’s industry. Their constitution allows the Goliaths to tread where regular humans cannot, such as into blazing-hot volcanic foundries or frigidly cold factoria. This has allowed them to carve out an empire that only their own can survive in. It is from here that House Goliath produces their metals and base materials that have proven vital to the other houses’ production lines for several centuries. Not everyone is happy with the Goliaths’ abrupt rise to power, but as of yet, none have been able to stop them - largely because they are simply bigger and stronger than almost every other human on the planet.
The secret to House Goliath’s strength lies at the moment of their creation: they were genetically manufactured centuries ago on the orders of Lord Alberoth Helmawr, who sought the perfect slave caste to carry out work unfit for even lowly factoria workers. It was Alberoth who paid the houses of Escher and Van Saar to conceive this caste, the former using their
knowledge of genetic engineering and the latter employing their vast technological resources. Lord Alberoth believed that commissioning two houses to do the job would prevent them from claiming these new genesmiths wholly as their own. Yet, the Van Saar Archeoteks and Escher Chymists were constantly at each other’s throats, and it was several generations before the Imperial House had its uberworkers.
The Goliaths were deliberately created to have short lifespans and limited intelligence. Most were infertile, making them reliant on the technology of their creator houses. This was by design to prevent the workers from uniting and rising up, keeping them subservient and limited in their understanding of the world. Yet, like all living beings, the Goliaths eventually evolved. They began scrawling in crude languages on the walls of their foundries for the next generation to find, learn from, and add to. No one could have anticipated the house’s quiet rise to power. Hiding their hopes of rebellion, they continued to meet their production quotas all the while. When the Goliaths finally rose up, they took over only the areas they already worked - factoria located within the most extreme environments - knowing the other houses would not be able to take them back without huge casualties. The uprising led to the Van Saar striking an alliance with their former creations, making rival clans reluctant to challenge the nascent house’s power. Alberoth’s daughter, who had ascended following her father’s death, recognised House Goliath and allowed them to take their place amongst the Clan Houses.
What the Goliaths lack in intelligence, they make up for with a hardy practicality. Their biggest weakness is the necessity of artificial creation for many of their number - in theory a well-placed strike on their gene-vats could cripple the house’s manpower thus the Goliaths station their best and strongest to guard these vats, relying on their raw strength to overcome all others. However, the Goliaths are yet to solve the problem of their reliance on other houses to reproduce. They reluctantly trade with the Escher for the chems to birth more of their kind, and still deal with the Van Saar in order to keep their gene-vats running. With House Goliath holding a monopoly on refining raw materials and processed metals, trading with them remains a lucrative prospect for now.
The Goliath dream of a day where they might become entirely self-sufficient. In every handful of Vatborn workers, some emerge with the ability to reproduce. Resulting ‘Natborn’ Goliath live much longer than their artificially crafted siblings and boast a more advanced intelligence. Should the Goliath ever manage to establish consistent familial lines of Natborn, the house might rise to even greater heights. Technology also exists that can transform regular Necromundans into Goliaths
- and the house is willing to accept anyone who wishes to prove themselves and join their numbers in search of personal might. It is rare to survive the process, though those who succeed are known as ‘Unborn’ and can even go on to lead Goliath gangs themselves. These outsiders bring valuable tactics and intelligence from beyond the house’s boundaries that further bolster their forces.
Many outside House Goliath consider their culture of brutality and violence to be barbaric. Yet, with strength alone deciding the rank of their subjects, Goliaths are free of the other houses’ political constraints and endless scheming. Even the Overtyrant, considered the strongest Goliath on Necromunda, is decided via combat - current Overtyrant Djangar ‘Gunfists’ has famously won the title twice.
FEAST OF THE FALLEN
The short lifespan of the Goliath forces them to remain closely connected to the knowledge of their ancestors in order to progress as a society, for a generation of Goliaths is much shorter than that of the average Necromundan subject. To this end, every hundred cycles the house holds a Feast of the Fallen, in which Goliath fighters adopt the mantle of their ancestors to reenact their greatest feats. If a Goliath dies whilst performing one of these roles, it is considered good fortune, for their soul is said to become one with the spirit of the ancestor they embodied, and their name is added to the next feast in turn. In this way, their culture is preserved generation after generation. Many other Clan Houses find the Feast of the Fallen barbaric in nature, but to the Goliaths - who believe strength is everything - it is a vital way of proving their mettle and gaining the respect of their own.
FORGE TYRANT BULLY WITH STUB CANNON FORGE BOSS FORGE BOSS WITH
WITH POWER HAMMER WITH RIVET CANNON RENDERIZER
& COMBI-PISTOL
BULLY WITH SPUD-JACKER BRUISER WITH GRENADE GOLIATH MAULER WITH
& STUB GUN LAUNCHER & BRUTE CLEAVER BOLTGUNS
House Orlock
‘All contracts relating to the Spoil held by House Orlund are hereby granted to House Orlock with immediate effect.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 111.M38
With bikes and ridgehaulers rewing, the gangs of House Orlock descend upon their foes with iron-hard will and even harder bullets. These gangs are the rulers of Necromunda’s roads, their recruits drawn from the descendants of their founding families and the toughest of their drudging classes to create formidable fighters. Many claim that the scions of House Orlock are born with ore in their blood, for theirs are the ancient mines of Necromunda and what little wealth the planet still has to offer. However, it is their tight grip on their house’s affairs that defines them, with billions of drudges slaving away at the house’s command; this pragmatic and brutal approach to keeping their own in line has seen House Orlock rise through the ranks to become a Clan House in just three short millennia.
The House of Iron
“I haven't met a situation yet that wasn’t made easier with a sawn-off shotgun.”
Roky, Sump Dogs, House Orlock
Orlock gangs do not rely on flashy weapons, cowardly stealth or acrobatic prowess. They know that the most reliable thing in this world is cold, hard iron, and whether or not your shot finds its mark. Tools of the trade are common amongst their number, who will just as readily use mining lasers and rock saws alongside their shotguns and autopistols - if it gets the job done, it is as good as anything else. Most scions of the Orlock are also well practiced in fighting at high speed, for coming of age within the clan is not complete without time spent running with a road gang. House Orlock rules the roads as much as it rules the mines, and it is out in the ash wastes where the majority-of their fortune and power lie.
The Orlocks are renowned for their monopoly on Necromunda’s mines. Though the planet has been stripped to the bone of resources, it is the Orlocks who have developed the technology and canny sense to find the little left that remains untapped. The countless drudging classes that they employ toil day in, day out to sift riches from rubbish and pick through kilometres upon kilometres of rock until mineral seams are found. The Orlocks also hold a tight grip on many of Hive Primus’ shipping yards, in no small part due to their control of the surrounding roads. Goods leaving Necromunda can only depart from Primus, which holds the planet’s only spaceport; with the Orlocks protecting the roads, it only makes sense that they deal with much of the incoming manufactured goods. More recently, some Orlocks out in duster settlements have become famous for the brewing of Wild Snake, an alcohol hugely popular with underhivers.
With such a huge expanse of operations, House Orlock depends on their servile drudging classes to get much of their work done. Other houses might soon collapse to riot and revolution from keeping such a huge population in poor working conditions. Not so the Orlock, who have learned through painful experience just how powerful the drudges can be when united. Instead, promising drudges are promoted into gangs, and occasionally even married into the main house the tantalising prospect of rising above one’s station keeps them toiling away.
Unlike many of the other Clan Houses, House Orlock was born in the ash wastes. The first of their number, a man named Olandus Orlock, stumbled upon wealth when he sheltered from an ash storm in the Spoil, only to discover that his refuge was in fact an ancient voidcraft. Rich from the scavenge, he set his eyes upon the lucrative mining contracts of House Orlund, resolving to claim them for himself. A canny and ruthless diplomat, Olandus offered an alliance to the most powerful duster clans in the Spoil. The Kamund, Cinderjack and Merdena clans chose to accept his offer - and Olandus readily claimed the holdings, drudges and crawlers of those who had refused him. The newly united Clan Orlock, consisting of these four duster clans, spent decades raiding House Orlund’s holdings until their rivals faced complete collapse. Eventually, the daughter of Orlund’s leader betrayed her father to marry Olandus’ eldest son, ending the shadow war once and for all. House Orlock assumed its place within the Clan Houses and took Orlund’s contracts for itself.
It would take near ruin, however, for the Orlocks to realise just how powerful the drudges they now controlled could be. After centuries of decadence, running of the mines had passed almost entirely to hired guns; it was only a matter of time before the dissatisfied drudges rebelled. House Orlock was nearly ruined as the drudges used the wealth of the house’s largest mining site against them. Yet the sons and daughters of the house, who had long harboured their own disquiet over their house leadership’s growing complacency, broke away from their elders and formed a new duster settlement. They offered the rebel leaders a place in their reborn house, and the forces established a new way of order. The elders of the house were cast out and left powerless, and the newly born city of Crucible became a symbol of unity for the young Orlocks and the drudges. This began the methods that are used to this day, promoting the best of the drudging class and therefore policing their own workers.
In the 41st Millennium, House Orlock are rivalled as miners only by the Squats, and serve as Hive Primus’ main source of ore and unrefined metal. The House of Iron maintains control of almost all land trade on Necromunda, the roads connecting the hives and the loading levels of the great cities grasped within their fist like the chain upon their sigil.
ROAD BOSSES
Orlock road gangs and drinking hole tales go hand in hand. All dusters love to hear about the violent chaos caused by the house’s Road Bosses, daredevil leaders of vehicle convoys that can only earn their rank via spectacular achievements. Slate Merdena, one of the most famous living Road Bosses, was bestowed the title after uniting the road gangs of the Spider Points under his banner; he now controls the entire mainway that is used to trade with Hive Primus. No less impressive is his daughter Margo Merdena, who opened the Drysea Road for the Mercator Gelt after a long war with the Ash Waste Nomads - at the cost of both of her legs.
HOUSE ORLOCK
GREENHORN WITH GUNNER WITH AUTOGUN GREENHORN WITH GREENHORN WITH SAWN-OFF
COMBAT SHOTGUN AUTOPISTOL & KNIFE SHOTGUN & FIGHTING KNIFE
ROAD BOSS WITH SERVO GUNNER WITH GREENHORN WITH AUTOGUN GUNNER WITH
CLAW & SAWN-OFF SHOTGUN TWO AUTOPISTOLS HARPOON LAUNCHER
ARMS MASTER WITH WRECKER WITH TWO
ARC HAMMER FIGHTING KNIVES
ORLOCK OUTRIDER QUAD
WITH HEAVY BOLTER
CYBER-MASTIFF ROAD SERGEANT
WITH AUTOGUN
House Van Saar
‘All investigations into the provenance of goods from the Radlight Factoria under order 7661-GOLD are hereby cancelled following payment of remunerations.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 437.M37
The House of Artifice is famed for its technological prowess; from vast hoards of weapons to the specific parts that keep factoria running smoothly, they seem to have exactly what is needed, when it is needed. Yet many members of the house look strange indeed, sealed inside thick, supportive suits and as sickly coloured as corpse starch. For the Van Saar harbour a dark secret that some would consider heresy itself
- they rely on an irradiated, ancient machine known as a Standard Template Construct system to produce mechanical marvels from an era long lost. The higher each member is within the house’s hierarchy, the greater their exposure to the deadly radiation until they are entirely dependent on their survival suits to keep their bodies from failing. House Van Saar has solidified itself as a key axis upon which the planet’s trade turns, but at a terrible cost.
The House of Artifice
“What Helmawr’s hounds don’t know won't hurt ’em. And if they come looking to find out, they'll get hurt.”
Nando Gurtz, Procurator, House Van Saar
Even the biggest brutes of the underhive crumple under Van Saar gunfire, ripped apart by las rounds and super-heated plasma. Not only are the house’s suited operatives equipped with the finest weapons in the underhive, but they are trained from birth to understand the technology behind them and to use it to their utmost advantage. Yet the advanced armour that encases the Van Saar has a more vital, sinister purpose each subject of the house is sealed into their suit when they come of age to keep their irradiated bodies alive. The cost of proving indispensable to Necromunda’s trade is steep, and many of them are fated to ill health and a shortened lifespan.
The arachnoid mark of Van Saar can be seen on many finely crafted weapons in Necromunda’s upper spires. Their plasteel armours are light, yet every bit as bulletproof as a suit of heavy flak; their guns are works of art, crafted both for practicality and to suit the decadence of the nobility. Van Saar also sell weapons at enormous profit from their tech bazaars in the underhive. These are less artisanal in nature, but often many times more reliable and powerful than average underhive firearms, which are at times simply cobbled together from spare parts. Van Saar’s stranglehold over the weapons trade has seen them grow into one of the wealthiest Clan Houses on Necromunda - and their Success can be attributed to a single element: their Standard Template Construct machine.
A priceless relic from the Dark Age of Technology, the Van Saar keep their STC enmeshed within their stronghold in Hive Primus. It contains knowledge of engineering that Mankind has long
forgotten, giving the House of Artifice a vital edge over their opponents both in terms of combat and manufacturing. However, after thousands of years of use, the machine has sustained damage that none alive knows how to repair. It constantly leaks deadly radiation, poisoning the Van Saar and causing them to suffer a wasting disease, or as many hivers have nicknamed it, the ‘rad-phage’. Yet the secrets offered by this ancient artefact are considered well worth the sacrifice by the Van Saar, and the suits they use to filter their blood are modified and kitted out with myriad lethal tech that compensate for the weakness of their bodies.
The history of the house and how it came upon its STC are events shrouded in uncertainty, even to the scions of the house. It is known that the name Van Saar originates from an ancient arcology ship, sent to help transform Necromunda - then known as Araneus Prime -- for Terran settlers tens of thousands of years before, and that Van Saar was also the name of its commanding officer. The ship spent countless ages lost in the Warp before it was finally disgorged onto Necromunda’s sands at the turn of the 35" Millennium. Some stories claim that the ship and its damaged STC were claimed by ash raiders that took the name Van Saar from the ship’s hull. Others prefer the tale that Van Saar himself crawled out from the wreckage after surviving in stasis, going on to father the clan’s ancestors. Whatever the truth of the house’s origin, the mercators and scavengers that settled around the ship swore to keep its secret and developed their understanding of the STC, building the great outland settlement known as Junkertown.
As House Van Saar crystallised, so too did their enemies and rivals grow. They knew the STC would not always be safe below Junkertown, and when the settlement was threatened by an alliance of their foes, they put into action a long-prepared plan: to move the STC to safety. The machine and its most dedicated Archeoteks spent decades traversing the labyrinthine tunnels of Necromunda’s underearth, using modified mag-lev trains until eventually they were able to deliver it safely into the cradle of Hive Primus itself. At this point did House Van Saar take its place in Hive Primus once and for all.
The irradiated atmosphere produced by the STC is far from its only drawback - the existence of such ancient, artificially intelligent technology would be considered heresy amongst the agents of the Imperium. The house likes to believe its secret has been kept sacred over its long history, but the more likely story is that Lord Helmawr cannot continue to fulfil the Imperium’s punishing tithes without the quantity of stock provided by the Van Saar. An unspoken agreement has been reached - the Van Saar will remain unchallenged by the House of Helmawr, as long as they continue to meet their demands. This need for utmost secrecy means that not every scion of the house is even aware of the STC’s existence. Only Archeoteks of the Van Saar inner circle, their immediate families, and those who assist in their research are truly privy to the house’s true source of power.
The Van Saar of today are easily recognisable by their distinct armoured bodygloves and superior weaponry. They keep the best and most devastating designs for themselves and the Imperial House; the armaments supplied to even newly established Van Saar gangs giving them a ranged edge over their rivals.
STANDARD TEMPLATE CONSTRUCT
What the Van Saar truly know about the STC’s origin is more an educated guess than fact, being as it is a relic from the fabled Dark Age of Technology. What is understood is that STCs come in all shapes and sizes and were once designed to provide the settlers of new planets the essentials needed to survive and thrive in their new home. As a result, they contain templates for everything from voidships to farming tools. This is how the Van Saar have grown rich, creating all kinds of finely crafted prototypes, which are then sent on to be mass-produced by the Imperial House to meet their tithes. Yet what truly makes the STC a heretical machine is its ability to think, an assumed intelligence operating deep within its core. It has, at various points in history, destroyed traitors of the house attempting to use it for ill, as if it could sense their malicious intent. If it is left in one place for too long, it will begin to take root, enmeshing itself within local power grids and cogitator arrays. Many Archeoteks believe it would be impossible to move the STC should the house need to go into hiding again, and simply pray that such a day never comes.
HOUSE VAN SAAR
PRIME WITH COMBI-WEAPON PRIME WITH PLASMA GUN TEK WITH TEK WITH
& ENERGY SHIELD & SHOCK STAVE LASGUN SERVO-MEDICAE
SUBTEK WITH TWO TEK WITH TEK WITH TEK WITH
PLASMA PISTOLS RAD GUN LASGUN LASGUN
Palanite Enforcers
“Hive Primus Green, Red and Yellow sectors, Levels KEC-Theta-336 to KEC-Theta-348 hereby have all access rights revoked. Anyone caught breaching this order will be allocated to the Mercator Pallidus.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 568.M41
Since the Imperial House first came to be, there has been one rule upheld above all else: the Pax Helmawr. No open warfare, lest Necromunda fall behind on its tithes. All violence is to avoid exceeding sanctioned levels. This rule is vigorously enforced by the Palanite Enforcers, amongst the most grizzled fighters Necromunda has to offer and answering only to the Lord Helmawr. These ruthless killers are unafraid of deploying bolters or shock batons in order to enact Helmawr’s will and deter gang warfare from breaking into full Clan House war. It is by this necessary brutality that the subjects of Necromunda’s hives can appreciate a level of peace and stability - albeit through fear, subjugation, and keeping their heads pointed firmly downwards.
Bastions of Law
“Pax Helmawr Omnus Pretia - Helmawr's Peace At Any Price.”
Inlaid into the gates of Primus Precinct-Fortress Zero-Zero-One
Moving with drilled precision and wielding crackling shock weapons, the Palanite Enforcers are deployed wherever Lord Helmawr requires them to keep the peace. There are countless Enforcers throughout Necromunda that operate from their looming precinctfortresses on almost every level of the hives. Ironically, many of their number are drawn from the very gangs they suppress: there is no better tool to wield against underhive thugs than soldiers that know the tricks of their own.
The primary purpose of the Enforcers
- in theory, at least - is to preserve the Pax Helmawr. In the distant past, Necromunda came close to ruin, the Imperium deeming the houses unfit to govern themselves due to the open warfare that existed. Since the ascendence of the Helmawr line, however, open warfare has been replaced with proxy wars - gang fights in the underhive chief amongst them. The Enforcers ensure this violence is regulated and suppressed where needed - though a certain level is encouraged as conflict breeds strength. The Enforcers also fulfil other roles, depending on which precinctfortress they hail from - there are hundreds within the hive cities that ensure that factoria workers never get ideas beyond their station, and that losses in shipping bays due to opportunistic mercators remain at acceptable levels. Whatever task they are set to, the Enforcers meet it with single-minded determination and violence, crushing those who disobey the will of the Imperial House.
The Enforcers’ ties to the Helmawr line run deeper than as mere tools of their will. The first of their number has passed into legend as the Lone Marshal, bodyguard to Martek Helm’ayr. Upon his master’s death, the Lone Marshal organised those loyal to Martek’s house into the Palanite Guard, with these first bodyguards considered judges, jury and executioners when carrying out the will of the Helm’ayrs. Eventually, as the Imperial House became the Helmawrs and the ranks of the Palanite Guard continued to swell, they were brought into the Necromundan militia. This forced them to formalise their roles and transformed them from ruthless bodyguards into a prototype of the more organised system of Enforcers of the current day.
The newly created Enforcers worked well for a time, ensuring tithes were met and open war was avoided under their ironclad boot heels. However, when the Two-Faced War erupted and Helmawr clashed against Helmawr, the unwavering loyalty offered by the Enforcers to the Imperial House almost became their undoing. Enforcers fought each other in the streets of Primus’ Hive City, the Pax Helmawr utterly ignored. Casualties ran into the hundreds of thousands, and it would take generations of new recruits for them to recover. It was only by expanding into the outlands, allowing future Lords Helmawr to exert their law even within the ash wastes, that the Enforcers began to gain back much of their former influence.
Whilst the reigning Lord Provost Marshal is the de facto leader of the Enforcers, he cannot be everywhere at once. Each hive has their own provost marshal, and each hive level its own proctor-majoris, who serves on their marshal’s behalf. From here, these authority figures dispatch captains and patrolmen into hive city or the underhive, where they do everything from keeping the goods flowing out of the factoria to managing worker riots and quashing underhive upstarts that could incite potential rebellions.
Outside the hives, the Enforcers of the precinctfortresses often have to deal with more unique and unexpected troubles due to the lawless nature of the wastes. Those of the Dust Wall, for example, guard the xenos-infected seclusion zone of Hive Secundus. They are charged solely with preventing anyone from getting through or beyond the wall, and have express permission to shoot on sight. Others manage Necromunda’s roads as best they can, but when outnumbered by unpredictable foes it is a much more perilous job for an Enforcer than any hive city post. Many Enforcers relish the chance to descend into the underhive; far away from the watchful eyes of the Noble Houses and their superiors, there is no limit to the lengths their patrols can go to quash perceived troublemakers, wyrds and mutants.
THE ARANTHIAN DIVIDE
Many hoped that the Two-Faced War would be the last time that Enforcers faced each other as foes. Alas, when Lord Gerontius Helmawr was the target of an assassination attempt, the precincts were divided once again, this time between his heir, Lady Haera, and the usurping Ozostium Aranthus. Indoctrination and vows of loyalty were broken in the face of the ancient Aranthian’s mind-warping abilities, and many of the Enforcers in major hives mercilessly stomped Lady Haera’s supporters out from within their own ranks.
Yet, Lord Helmawr was not extinguished so easily. By the time he had recovered enough to wrench back the throne of Necromunda, the ranks of the Enforcers had once again been drastically reduced by their own hand. Whispers still circulate that some precincts might not have returned to the fold of the Imperial House at all -
SUBJUGATOR SERGEANT ROOKIE WITH BOLTGUN PATROL OFFICER CAPTAIN WITH PLASMA
WITH HEAVY STUBBER WITH STUB GUN PISTOL & POWER SWORD
SUBJUGATOR SERGEANT
WITH CHEM-THROWER
Venators
‘All Imperial Bounties that have been unclaimed for more than seven grand cycles are hereby doubled if claimed within the following 30 cycles.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 989.M40
Within the hives of Necromunda, Lord Helmawr’s word is absolute. Yet, even his Enforcer cadres struggle to reach the dark, fathomless depths of the underhive. It is here that the worst criminals and social outcasts flee to escape the Imperial House. Thus, there is plenty of work for Venator bands: professional bounty hunters and contract killers who go where the law cannot, and collect the spoils as their reward. Venator gangs are comprised of lone killers, exiled clan fighters and professional assassins who have banded together to hunt the most dangerous and desperate bounties. It is not unusual to see fighters from every house in a Venator band; disgraced Van Saar rubbing shoulders with ex-Goliath alphas and many more besides. These gangs are sanctioned by the Mercator Guild to do the jobs that Enforcers will not, and are paid for every wanted captive - or corpse - they haul in.
Sanctioned Killers
“Necromunda is beautiful. Scrip for chasing down scum and a whole playground to hunt them in. Couldn’t dream of a better home.”
Jiynet Oporal, Hunt Leader, Sump Snakes
The underhive is infested with criminals, killers and societal outcasts
- making it a rich hunting ground for Venator bands. These are gangs of hardened bounty hunters, cold-eyed triggermen and ex-gangers who have come together to bring down their prey. Once, they might have served house and hive, but now their only allegiance is to cold, hard creds, and just perhaps the other members of their hunting party. These are the elite warriors of the underhive, each one a talented fighter that would put most of their quarry to shame, especially as a Venator’s lifestyle affords them access to the best weapons and wargear the hives have to offer.
Mercator bounties, issued by the Merchants Guild and certified by the Palanite Authority, are common in the underhive, where the long arm of Lord Helmawr’s dominance struggles to reach. All across the lower hive levels, from the drudging rooms of factorums and precinct blockhouse walls to the rusting gates of down-hive settlements and cross-tunnel gibbets, the faces of wanted fighters flutter in the stale breeze of atmospheric recyclers. A group of talented murderers can make a healthy living collecting these bounties, and with the promise of shared rewards and extra firepower, they gather together, forming ruthless gangs known as Venators. Drawn from every clan, house and outland race on Necromunda, Venators come in all shapes and sizes - mixing ex-Goliath heavies and nimble Escher assassins alongside disgraced bodyguards or homicidal noblemen. Some are sanctioned by the Guilders and carry a hunter’s oath-token, though many are not - the Guilders often paying for the gangs’ captives and kills all the same.
Abhumans represent a large number of those who take the path of the Venator. Squats, Ratlings, Ogryns and even Beastmen find a measure of freedom and respect in taking up the mantle of bounty hunter that would otherwise be denied them due to the crushing social structures of the hive and xenophobic teachings of the Imperial Creed.
Venator bands are not limited to the hives and are to be found all over Necromunda, seeking guilder coin. Notorious wasteland Venators such as the Cinderak Cutthroats or the Sons of Jardlan are well-known in the shanty towns between hives. Outland settlements far from the law also suit those cowled Venators bearing the hallmarks of xenos interlopers. In the underhive, guilders don’t ask too many questions if a masked killer dumps the corpse of a wanted ganger at their feet
- they hand over the scrip and hope to the Emperor that no one ever puts a price on their own head.
Corpse Grinder Cults
‘All deviant cults are hereby banned within the Mercator Pallidus, due to an unauthorised twenty percent increased output from all corpse farms.”
Proclamations of the Lord Helmawr - 934.M40
Blessed is the Lord of Skin and Sinew; hallowed are the habs washed red with his offerings! It is unclear where the Corpse Grinders’ devotion to their bloody patron ends and their mindless cannibalism begins. With cleavers, saws and boning swords, their cults emerge amongst the starving and truly desperate of the underhive - and sometimes even hive city proper - with alarming regularity. Their only purpose is to gorge themselves on the food most readily available: the flesh of the people around them. The Imperial House considered the cults stymied after sealing Hive Arcos, where the Corpse Grinders first brought down their bloodied cleavers. Yet the dark entity these cultists pray to is not so easily extinguished. Their Lord’s name is whispered now in almost every ruined factoria, sump colony and outcast camp - and it is only a matter of time before the Corpse Grinders rise to prominence once more.
Butchers of the Underhive
“CUT THEM.
SLICE THEM.
BOIL THEM.
DICE THEM.
BREAK YOUR
CHAINS AND THEN
WE BITE THEM.”
Message carved into murder victim in Eight Points
Armed with serrated blades, flensing saws and cleavers, the Corpse Grinder Cults move through the hives with one purpose in mind: bloody slaughter. They each possess an insatiable drive to hunt and kill, fuelled by an unquenchable desire for fresh meat. Though mostly feral and animalistic in nature, many of these red cultists pray to an entity they call the Lord of Skin and Sinew. No one truly knows what this creature is, be it an intangible presence or the embodiment of the Corpse Grinders’ own starving insanity. However, its cultists frequently appease him by gorging on entrails and smearing themselves in viscera whilst praising his name.
The first Corpse Grinders appeared in Hive Arcos, known as the Red Hive. They were originally a guild devoted to producing corpse starch, a vital foodstuff for an overpopulated planet. Hive Arcos was the biggest producer of food on Necromunda and was granted no small amount of freedom from the Imperial House in exchange. This lack of oversight would prove to be Hive Arcos’ undoing: the process of turning meat into starch was no easy feat and many guilders were often recycled themselves after the work drove them mad.
The permissible quota of insanity gradually exceeded its margins, and a dark transformation began to take place amongst the citizens of Arcos, beginning at the lowest levels of the Corpse Guild and slowly working its way up. Overseers and eventually leaders of the guilds set upon the unprocessed corpse starch until there was nothing left to eat but one another. Though Enforcers initially marched on the factoria to quell what they thought was a nascent cult, they were met by a madness which boiled up into Arcos’ Hive City and painted the streets red with viscera. Lord Helmawr gave the order for Hive Arcos to be locked down in the hope that the waves of berserk cannibalism would burn themselves out, even if it cost the lives of Arcos’ countless millions.
Despite Necromunda’s best efforts, the Corpse Grinder Cults continue the worship of their Lord, often in the deepest recesses of the underhives where food is scarce and fresh meat is relief and deliverance. Carved symbols of brass and bone are scattered in their territories as warning, and invitation. In the ash wastes, huge ridgehaulers carry stacks of fly-ridden meat, a sight that even the toughest road gangs will give a wide berth. The more the Corpse Grinders eat, the more their muscles bulge with mutation and dark blessing - a reminder that their madness is not just attributed to their hunger, but also a gift from their unknowable lord that lurks beyond.
CORPSE GRINDER CULTS
INITIATE WITH STUB GUN CUTTER WITH PAIRED CUTTER WITH PAIRED
& BONING SWORD BUTCHER’S CHAIN CLEAVERS HEAVY CHAIN CLEAVERS
BUTCHER WITH PAIRED SKINNER WITH PAIRED INITIATE WITH STUB GUN
BUTCHER’S CHAIN CLEAVERS HEAVY CHAIN CLEAVERS & BUTCHER’S CLEAVER
SKINNER WITH SKINNER WITH PAIRED INITIATE WITH STUB GUN
ROTARY FLENSING SAW HEAVY CHAIN CLEAVERS & BUTCHER’S CLEAVER
CUTTER WITH PAIRED SKINNER WITH SKINNER WITH PAIRED
BUTCHER’S CHAIN CLEAVERS ROTARY FLENSING SAW HEAVY CHAIN CLEAVERS
Justicar Courts
“This sector is now sealed, none shall enter or exit! All must attend and witness Helmawr’s justice be delivered by our hand!”
Jortallia Felistri, Magistrate, Justicar Court 367-Delta
The Justicar Courts are predominantly concerned with enforcing the rights and obligations of the Noble Houses. It is they who hold and maintain the records of each Noble House’s domains and tithes due under the Oath Nobilis, bringing swift judgement and sentencing to those who are seen to be in breach of their duties. Their power is feared throughout the spire in much the same way as the Palanite Enforcers are feared in hive city and below, for they hold the power to declare any noble, even a head of house, as a Recidivist and thus an enemy of Necromunda.
Imposters claiming the rank and privilege owed to those of the Noble Houses can be found everywhere on Necromunda, and so the forces of the Justicar Courts can be as well. Palanite Justicar delegations, also known as the Malleus Veritum, or the Hand of Truth, are the most visible of the courts’ agents. Chasing down fallen nobles or imposters, Justicar Courts often enlist the assistance of the Palanite Enforcers, although they pursue very different threats to the Imperial House.
With the rise of Ozostium and House Aranthus, the Palanite Justicars have been sent out into the hives in greater numbers than ever before. Having been previously expunged from the records as a Noble House, the Aranthians represent the direst threat to the Pax Helmawr in generations and so the Justicar Courts are mobilised by Lord Helmawr to fulfil their ancient duties.