Flamepunk: The Hadar Families

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The Hadar

The Hadar families are criminals whose power rivals that of the Guilds. With fingers in every pie and at every level of society, they are dealers in sin and blood without equal. The Hadar tattoo themselves with images of black flames; it is whispered that they have made pacts with dark elemental lords, who grant them the power to douse flames and shatter lights.

"The Hadar" is the collective name for a group of powerful families who are one of the supreme military forces on (Name of World). The Hadar are involved in society at many levels, and find themselves coming into conflict with the Church and the Guilds. Hadar enterprises are frequently street-level, but they are by no means "common crooks" or unsophisticated thugs.

All Hadar are honor-bound to never betray their Family, regardless of the potential benefit for doing so.

Hadar Organization

Though individual Hadar operate indpendently for the majority of their work, they are all fall into the following hierarchy.

The Families

The true power behind the Hadar, and the feudal lords of all who serve them. Some Families are truly caring for their communities, while others seek only power and influence. The Families are interlinked by a byzantine web of contracts, marriages, and debts, and so rarely go to war against each other. It is not uncommon for Family members to hold ranks in the Guilds or in the Church, allowing Hadar influence a foothold in those organizations.

Hadar Shadows

The Hadar Shadows are expertly-trained warriors who specialize in the use of smokecraft to accomplish their goals. They can bend smoke to their will, using it to create confusion, poison their enemies, and extinguish flame-based weaponry.

Hadar Ashwalkers

"You must be talking about the Ashwalkers, what they call their Hadarram. I don't really know how they do what they do, but they say that the Ashwalkers can somehow harness an inner flame. Even without brands or fireware, they can still manifest many similar abilities. Any blazer along the Wick or down in the Embers can score a set of flamebound knuckles or a firetongue, but Ashwalkers have been seen to catch blasts of flame with their bare hands and hurl it back at their attackers or mold the flame into a sort of lance or whip to lay waste to everyone around them. They can run across flying sparks. I've even heard rumors about real masters being able to sheath their whole bodies with a solid fiery aura that lets them stand toe to toe with an infernal engine."

The Hadar Ashwalkers are paragons of inner discipline, and have harnessed the very flame of their soul as a weapon and as a guardian. They can project searing heat from their bodies, see into the infrared, and guard themselves from the effects of fire. Together with the Shadows, they are the elite soldiers of the Hadar.

Life and Death among the Hadar

Benefits

• Family: everyone fears the Hadar; they are a family. Hurt one, and they are all after you. Join a Hadar family, and know they have your back. Also, respect; you have the flashy clothes, the hottest new mounts, and you move to the front of the line at restaurants and clubs.

Drawbacks

• The other families: it's a tough life, constantly getting blood revenge. After you're seen enough violence, it can be tough to remember the original reason why you're fighting; the flame Rage shades everything red. Also, loyalty only goes up the chain; you're expected to do what you're told. You steal what they tell you to steal, you threaten who they tell you to threaten, and you kill who they tell you to kill. And Flame forbid you get romantically involved with someone who's not family.

Powers

• The Hadar are masters of rune tattoo binding. No one else has your speed and reaction time with flame; bindstones and prayers deal with forces outside yourself, but your flame is a part of who you are, and you use it as instinctively as another walks.

Hadar Termination

• Blood in, blood out. You're in the Family for life ... literally. And sometimes you just Burnout.

Flamepunks

• They may copy Hadar rune tattoos as rune scars without fear of reprisals, but the secret of how to apply rune tattoos is kept among the highest ranks of the Families. Generally, rune scars aren't as powerful or versatile as rune tattoos, and much more painful to get, and much more prone to Rage and Burnout. The Hadar view 'punks as raw street trash, without their sense of belonging, history or family.