Geography: Dirt City Houses

House of the Darts

Background:

Having been founded by outcast thieves, there is no doubt that Dirt City is a rogue's utopia! Despite the nod of acceptance and the insouciance towards scrapes of the roguish kind, over time a veneer of order, if not 'law' has become the norm. Conflict, has, in general been suppressed. Operating in this environment, a very small group has found its niche. In a secret run-down quarter of the city, is the operation known as The House of the Darts. Carry a grudge? Wage a vendetta? Eliminate the opposition? An operative from this house of assassins will fulfill your requirements for vengeance (for a fee!)

Organization:

No one is sure who is actually in charge of the House of the Darts. Individuals work within family 'cells', with the head of household as the team leader. Only he or she reports to a superior outside the cell. Since the activities take place in secrecy and shadows, little is known of the business outside of the immediate family. For purposes of training, children are 'adopted' or 'fostered' with other families. As youngsters, they are unaware of the purpose of their training, but non-the less acquire new skills and proficiencies.

If a customer is seeking the particular services of a Dart (for assassination, a shakedown, or high profile theft) certain seedy bars, and taverns with advertised 'dart leagues' are recognized as agents or intermediaries for the families that make up the larger family of the Darts.

Membership:

The work of the Darts is mainly a family business. The original families being outcasts from the House of the Knives who did not wish to operate within the norm being established by that group, and some elf families of shady background who latter found work and acceptance with this family due to their skills. The occasional outsider is recruited into a family, in order to increase the skill base and resources, but the scrutiny and testing of new members is thorough to the extreme in order to minimize the risk of infiltration.

Goal:

The Darts are a completely mercenary operation. Their goal is to remain in operation and thrive. To do this, they must maintain the veil of secrecy, enrich their members, and ensure the future survival of their operations.

Benefits:

As a member of this family, an individual has access to the best training in exotic weapons, magic, poisons, and to some degree, espionage. Capable foes, assassins are amazing fighters. They also receive extensive instruction in the art of concealment and stealth.

Currently, members of the Darts are quite unpopular. Rightly or wrongly, they have been accused of having some hand in the death of Violet. The Cloaks are concerned that The Darts are preparing an incursion into their area of expertise (espionage) and the Keys and Knives are concerned that the activities of the Darts will upset the tenuous peace and order currently experienced by the city.

House of the Keys

Background:

Few are the families of Dirt City who do not lay claim to a connection with The House of the Keys. Easily Dirt City’s largest thief house, the Keys started out, like the other houses, when like-minded individuals began to ally together in comradeship and to further their collective goals. Less selective, and less secretive than some of the other thieving groups, the break and enter types that survived the banishment, found their association growing quite large when many of the halfling refugees from the giant uprising swelled their ranks. Once an individual joins the Keys, his or her family is quickly accepted. Thereafter, any children born to a Key, becomes a Key by birth rather than by association.

Organization:

The Keys are the most politically active of the houses and structured accordingly. There are two main branches, ‘The Staff’ and ‘The Line’. Charismatic shysters make up ‘The Staff’. Made up of grifters, confidence men, and con artists they have progressed into the very governing of the city as they take over the administration of the various organizations. There have been more Master Thieves elected from the House of Keys than from any other house. ‘Line’ members referred to as ‘Collectors’, run the large Clean Operations against the unsuspecting wealthy. They are the burglar, the caravan jacker, and the safe cracker. Philosophically philanthropists, the Keys pass out the booty via ‘Distributors’ to those who are less fortunate.

Staff – political wing of ‘The House of the Keys’
Line – operational wing of ‘The House of the Keys’
Collectors – responsible for carrying out Clean Ops. (raids, robbery, caravan jacking, etc. large and small)
Distributors – responsible for fencing loot, money laundering, and distribution of the proceeds
Donors – victims of The Collectors
Donations – proceeds from the Clean Ops (also referred to as ‘Taxes’)

Goal:

The Goal of ‘The House of the Keys’ is the maintenance of Dirt City as a utopian city for thieves. Their mission is to keep the city strong and vibrant. By distributing the wealth among the less fortunate, they aim to discourage dirty operations that would only weaken the city. ‘Staff’ are very concerned about the unrest that simmers under the surface and threatens the peace.

Benefits:

The Keys are the only house to have established schools for the education of children. These schools generally accept all children, Keys and non-Keys alike. Only one school is closed to non-Key children. When a letter arrives bearing the imprint of a keyhole pressed into the sealing wax, it is cause for great celebration in a Key household. This letter would be the invitation for a child to attend the prestigious school for young rogues, ‘Picklock College’. There the child will be schooled in all the arts of the thief with the opportunity to specialize.

Tales of the childhood adventures of Dirt City’s best and brightest are common fare at Key family gatherings. These adventures were usually early burglaries where the trainees’ small size and acrobatic skills abetted the teacher-thieves in their daring escapades.

House of the Knives

Background:

The most recent of the houses to form in Dirt City is the House of the Knives. Along with the halfling refugees from the giant uprisings were some half-dozen dwarf families. Not normally known to be sociable with other kinds, these families overcame their objections to strange society when lured by word of tunnels and cheap property that could be purchased underground. Coming from a militaristic background, the Dwarven families pursued an agenda of establishing a civil force responsible for maintaining public order and establishing a military capability for the defense of the city. In the strictest sense this 'self-appointment' by the family was not successful in the utopian city of thieves, but none the less the House of the Knives found a role to play within the city's confines, and without.

Organization:

The original Dwarven families that founded the Knives remain the foundation of that House. As they prospered and grew, they evolved their role in Dirt City. The original Knives have been joined by some of the halfling families with whom they immigrated, and their ranks further increased with the addition of the occasional fighter, ranger, or paladin mercenary who has found him or herself drawn to Dirt City. Members fill two voids in the city. Although distinct quarters of the city are 'policed' by the family members that run that part of town, activities in the common areas were not monitored. The Knives stepped in to fill this void with The Sharps. Sharps function almost exclusively underground, providing some degree of order in the common areas of the lower city, enforcing regulations, and ensuring the underground is safe from thievery or attack. The Keens form the military wing of the family and provide the defense of the city. Although they live underground, most of their training and development takes place above ground so that they are familiar with the environment of their enemies. The House of the Knives derives its revenues primarily from hiring out small bands of Keens to accompany other families or small bands of independents on Clean Ops. The House has also been known to send out mercenary groups to perform their own Clean Ops, or even, it has been rumored (but not proved) intercept and pick off another houses returning Clean Ops outside the city limits. There has been some concern, that some of the Sharps are resorting to extortion in the tunnels, although, there is yet no proof of this either.

Goal:

The Goal of the Knives, like the other families, is the maintenance of Dirt City as the rogues' utopia. Their mission is to keep some semblance of order in their home city, and possibly, by throwing their numbers, and resources behind the right candidate, exercise some degree of control over the power structure.

Benefits:

If 'might is right', then there is sure protection in belonging to this family. Being a part of the House of the Knives ensures some degree of leniency to any rogue caught on the wrong side of the 'law' of Dirty City!

House of the Teeth

Background:

Where ever a demand exists, someone always steps up to provide a supply. In the case of Dirt City, The House of the Teeth is the biggest and best-established smuggler’s cartel. Run by the Requin family, The House of the Teeth was founded by the pirate Vorace Requin. Vorace had a successful ‘career’ as a pirate and privateer, stealing cargo, and smuggling contraband and selling it at exorbitant profits. He worked his way up to captain, and eventually ran a fleet of his own ships as rogues and other sorts inclined towards the sea aspired to work under his charismatic leadership. Vorace was eventually captured, and banished at a relatively ripe age. Robust as ever, and still handsome, the charismatic leader was joined by many of his ‘mates’ who were just as happy to serve him on land as on sea.

Organization:

Having left the high seas behind, The Teeth are still controlled by the descendants of Vorace Requin. Their current captain is the majestic Vox Requin, a six-foot tall, forty-something Amazon with long and lustrous black hair, and a muscular, athletic frame. Her large white teeth, square jaw, and pale grey eyes hint at her great grandmother’s orc ancestry. She is cousin to Violet, who married Arturo of The House of the Wolves after the debacle of the tarnished op. Rumor has linked Vox romantically with her first officer, Horatio Mann.

Captain – leader (Vox Requin)
First Officer – second in command (Horatio Mann)
Lieutenants – directing branches of Acquisitions, Trafficking, and Sales
Midshipmen – field managers and franchise holders
Mates – rank and file

Goals:

Expansion of the Clean Ops, which in turn will lead to more profit, is the goal of The House of the Teeth. Procurement and distribution of black market alcohol, weapons, magic items, religious artifacts, dangerous monsters, and such is their objective. Shortly after Violet joined with Arturo, the Teeth took a stab at legitimacy and made an attempt to run as a legitimate trading house. Alas, aggressive little start-up bootleggers sorely undercut their business. A return to old style business, along with the assimilation or elimination of most of the competition and The House of the Teeth once again became the main supplier of elicit goods and contraband to the citizens of Dirt City (or anyone else with enough gold to pay their price.)

Benefits:

Easy access and first choice of contraband is one of the benefits of affiliation with the Requin family. The network is relatively safe, and members are generally free to pursue their individual ambitions as long as their goals mesh with the overall plans of the House. Franchises are encouraged, and supported, as long as dues are paid back to the house. Competition is thus controlled, and profits maximized.

House of the Cloak

Background:

One of the smaller, if not the smallest association in Dirt City is the House of the Cloak. Tracing their roots back to the first thieves banished by the ‘Free Stators’, the founding members of The Cloaks were informants planted amongst the banished thieves. Forgotten or abandoned by The League, some of the deep cover spies formed relationships with the denizens and allied themselves with the occupants of the new city.

Organization:

Starting out as a loose association of expatriates, The Cloaks eventually developed a quasi-democratic structure with four distinct ranks with an elected leader. Due to the clandestine nature of espionage few individuals form lasting relationships or establish families, thus the house is not family run. Members are recruited, and the leader (for the duration of his or her life) is elected from the membership. Operations depend on the invisibility of the members so there is no real uniform or distinguishing feature. However, during meetings or training sessions the length of the cloak worn by a member will indicate his or her rank.

Initiate – ‘Hooded’ – black/brown hood with collar
3rd rank – ‘Caped’ – black/brown short cloak to elbow
2nd rank – ‘Cloaked’ – black/brown cloak to knee
1st rank – ‘Robed’ – black/brown long cloak to ankle

Membership:

The Cloaks accept all races and classes. Individuals with the attributes of wisdom, intelligence, and charisma are more suited to be spies and infiltrators, thus the smaller races, women, and those with physical disabilities find easy acceptance and a greater representation than the muscular fighter or fierce barbarian. Versatility, adaptability, and resourcefulness are the necessary attributes, along with discretion.

Goal:

Not all riches are tangible items, and the members of The Cloaks ascribe to this philosophy. They measure their wealth, and in fact derive it from the procurement and trafficking of information. The Cloaks have both Dirty and Clean Operations, and are one of the houses that have infiltrated the city below (due in general to their non-violent activities). They do not send out gangs or armies, but rather individuals suited to the task. A ‘cloak’ may be hired out, much like a mercenary, by another house, family, or organization either within Dirt City or without. Others may be sent on missions to gather information, steal maps, reconnoiter an area, evaluate treasures, and then return to the house where the information is documented, and used, shared or sold for the benefit of the house and its members.

Benefits:

The Cloaks value subtlety and discretion, thus they do not flaunt their membership. For some, who would otherwise exist on the margins of society, it provides meaning, and a way of making their living. For others it is the challenge and the thrill. Membership has benefits, other than remuneration. Access to ‘The Cloakroom’, and the wondrous items stored there is one. Rumored to have the most valuable collection of magical cloaks, robes, vestments, and vests, it is also The Cloaks storeroom for rings, potions, scrolls, and other magic that would support a spy in his or her mission. Membership also grants the individual admittance to classes, seminars, and workshops where training is available for new skills, abilities, languages, or feats.

House of the Wolves

Background:

Thugs, brigands, and thieves of the worst kind. That, in a nutshell is the House of the Wolves. Founded by Ajax Canis, and set up to operate a variety of illegal businesses including above ground gambling, rackets, traffic in illicit goods, and it is whispered, trading in slaves. The Wolves are just one step ahead of the ‘law’ of Dirt City.

Organization:

The House of Wolves is a family run business. The Canis family along with their Lupus cousins manages ‘The House of the Wolves’. The leadership is handed down father to son, or ‘Alpha to Alpha’. In recent history, Argus handed the leadership to Anton whose son was Arturo. With a single ‘Alpha’, and a handful of senior leaders, or ‘Betas’, the “family” is capably managed. Most Alphas and senior leadership are related in some way to the family either by blood. The day-to-day operations are carried out by a motley assortment made up of lesser family member and hired hands. Internally, the Wolves refer to their organization as ‘The Pack’.

Goals:

Despite the violence of their operations, the Wolves co-ordination of vice crimes and rackets provides them with steady and regular income. The goal of every member is to live the life of luxury as witnessed by the palatial home of the Alpha families and the comfortably luxurious richness of the Betas. After his marriage to Violet, Arturo made a move towards legitimacy and mercantile operations, but without the full support of The Pack, it was a short-lived venture. In recent times there has been a swing back to darker criminality. Grudges against other Houses are being resurrected, tensions are rising, and there are even rumors of plans for Dirty Ops within the very tunnels of Dirt City!

Benefits:

The glue that binds The Pack together is the rigid code of loyalty. The paramount virtues are respect and fidelity for superiors, along with allegiance to The Pack. Join this mob, pledge your life, and you will receive the protection of The Pack. Spill your secrets to the authorities or try to leave, at your own peril.

Anyone outside the Pack, who crosses the Pack, will rue the day and just might pay the forfeit with their life’s blood!