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Factions Of Steamworx

Derwent is a land of politics and power-struggles, a place where law is only as strong as the family who declare it. In recent years a veneer of “unity in adversity” has disguised a vicious and continued power struggle of powerful Factions. Any character class can be a member of any faction, as all factions court the aid and loyalty of any person of skill or power. Anybody who is not in a faction is a ‘Free Agent’, which is not a title that earns much respect in Derwent, or a “Berenian” which is arguably even worse...

Dreshkar, Masters Of The Factory
House Dreshkar are the presently ruling faction and most powerful house in Derwent. They took the title from House Ossuary before the plague forced everybody to flee and currently hold the reins of power remotely. They own the huge factories where the commoners work, producing the power which runs the city of Derwent. This grip on the source of all power has proven their golden chalice.

Ossuary, Masters Of Trade
House Ossuary are a very strong and influential faction. They are in charge of trade with Kyr (mostly slaves) and with the far Western nation of Kriegmund. Their reputation as “dealmakers” has taken a blow recently, since it is Dreshkar, not Ossuary, who brokered the move to Bereny to escape the plague. Little known is the fact that House Ossuary already have business in Bereny. They own the mysterious “New Day Traders” which do good business along Berenian Roads.

Sanguine, Masters Of Pleasure
House Sanguine are the fourth most powerful House in Derwent after Dreshkar, Ossuary and Lunar. They are in charge of training the Elvish Pleasure Maidens in their craft and also handle most other dubious “pleasure” activities in Derwent.

Lunar, Masters Of Illusion
House Lunar are generally considered to be the third most powerful house in Derwent after Dreshkar and Ossuary. House Lunar are masters of the Derwentian Illusionary Magic and are experts in arcane matters. All House Lunar members are not werewolves, as some people say, but rumours remain that their leaders know the secrets of lycanthropy.

Brass, Masters Of Clockworks
House Brass are not one of the more powerful Houses, but they are influential because so many of their clockwork creations are vital to life in Derwent. While they have never been the most powerful house, their support can make or break another houses bid for primacy. House Lunar are the masters of all things clockwork, with more Clockworkers under their wings than any other faction.

Riven, Masters Of Science
House Riven are one of the weaker Derwentian Houses. Only House Skerrit is weaker than them. Due to this, House Riven enjoy pointing out how weak and pathetic House Skerrit is, and how their willingness to let “commoners” into their inner ranks makes them little more than mongrels. House Riven are the masters of science in Derwent. They handle all the lobotomising and other dark experiments. They have more Engineers in their number than any other faction.

Skerrit, Masters Of The People
House Skerrit is the poorest and weakest of the Derwentian Houses. It is the only house which is not entirely made up of original noble families at its core and the fact that it has some commoners in its higher ranks make it a laughing stock among the other houses. House Skerrit’s main job in Derwent is to liaise with the commoners and negotiate with them where necessary. Skerrit is generally considered to be the most “liberal” of the factions.

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