House Cawdor

Crest of House Cawdor. Got some serious Texas Chainsaw Massacre energy.

House Cawdor is one of the six Hive City Houses of Necromunda, making it one of the six original playable factions for the game when it was debuted.

Heavily masked and with a fire motif, House Cawdor has been converted as a whole to the Redemptionist creed of the Imperial Cult. This gives them unique cultural traits, such as always wearing ornate and often hideous masks, and a love of fiery weaponry. It's also made them perhaps the most despised House in Necromunda; even House Delaque is probably more popular than House Cawdor is. Sure, House Delaque is a bunch of backstabbing spies, but at least they're not arrogant killjoys like House Cawdor. The House of Redemption, as it's known, is so suspected of fostering Redemptionist Cult outlaws that bedevil the holdings of the other Houses that it's doubtful that anyone would even care too much if it were confirmed.

In the 8th edition relaunch, House Cawdor has been so intertwined with the Cult of Redemption that they can be played as a House Gang or as a Redemptionist Gang, or somewhere in between, having about twice the number of standard options over any other faction. In the fluff, the Thane of Cawdor still considers himself the equal to Lord Helmawr; the rest of House Cawdor is now wholly and completely the House of the unwashed masses who live in religious poverty and cobble together what arms they can.

History

Prior to the rise of the Redemption in the 39th Millennium, House Cawdor amounted to little more than a rabble of organised thieves and scavengers. They were on the brink of extinction, with very few territories and even fewer merchant contracts, they were also embroiled in an ongoing war with House Orlock over what constituted "mining". Even the scrap lords of the Cawdor constantly bickered among themselves, making the House very difficult to manage centrally.

At the beginning of the 40th Millennium the master of House Cawdor decided to use the Cult of the Redemption as a means to an end, and styled himself as the "Thane of Cawdor", taking on religious trappings and giving the unwashed masses purpose like they had never had before. This worked better than he expected, as within a few decades, those same unwashed masses had risen up, replacing selfish ambition with fanatical zeal, and had usurped him entirely; truly becoming the House of Faith.

By the 41st Millennium, House Cawdor had managed to become a major power player on Necromunda, growing in size on its own, but also finding supporters within other houses and gaining sponsorship from Noble House Ko'iron; their major link to the Ministorum.

While they are unified like never before and more widespread than ever, even spreading their faith off-world, they remain just as splintered as they were before they discovered their new faith, with varying interpretations of the Redemptionist Creed giving rise to independent sprinter groups of crusaders and violent purges of heretics. The faith they spread off-world even came back to Necromunda in a different form, called the Red Redemption, which was somehow even more violent and unforgiving than what they started with.

This resulted in the Noble Houses petitioning the Ecclesiarchy to declare all forms of the Redemption on Necromunda heretics and ban them, which would have resulted in a massive civil war as the gigantic religious population might have risen up in protest. Luckily it never got that far, as the then Thane of Cawdor penned a now sacred document called the Pax Redemptos, which was accepted by the other Houses. This treaty guaranteed that no member of the Cult of Redemption on Necromunda would bear arms in the name of their faith. Resulting in a two-tier society; where any Redemptionist could still bear arms in the name of House Cawdor without legal sanction or fear of retribution, but those whose faith demands they continue to fight solely as members of the Redemption would be treated as renegades.

Present Day

House Cawdor's main role in the hive is to scavenge and reclaim any kind of reusable material- the very act of recycling is a miracle in their eyes, and what most people would consider to be worthless garbage they frequently perceive as relics. This is reflected in their new aesthetic of "religious fanatic crossed with dumpster diver". What they lack in wealth and quality they make up for in sheer numbers; they easily outnumber several of the other Clan Houses combined. If you think in terms of population for a Hive Planet overall, and consider that the industries of the other Clan Houses have their own workforces, House Cawdor must account for an enormous fraction of the population who live in absolute squalor and are not generally being economically productive in the same way as the miners of House Orlock or the foundries of House Goliath. Yet as Imperial Citizens associated with a recognised Clan House, they are still not at the bottom of the heap because they exist above the outcasts, mutants, and native populations who live in the Underhives.

Their relation with the Imperial House is strained at best, as the Thane of Cawdor has made it quite clear that he believes himself to be the foremost servant of the Emperor on Necromunda (ignoring any actual Ecclesiarchy presence) and acknowledges Planetary Governor Helmawr and other high ranking Adepts as "Peers", neglecting to observe the necessary protocols during the rare occasions he is invited. The fact that this behaviour is tolerated gives rise to the opposite opinions that either House Cawdor is too inconsequential for such breaches to really matter, or that as the largest House in terms of manpower with any number of hidden supporters within other houses, the House Cawdor is a force to be treated with very carefully.

The reason for wearing the masks is rooted in their faith in the Redemptionist Creed; as to demonstrate too much individuality could itself be a sin. Though it is particularly prevalent amongst those who adhere to the Red Redemption, it is not an absolute requirement for other variants of the creed.

They also speak in a pigdin dialect of Low Gothic called "Pilgrim Cant" which is effectively the same language, but heavily laden with religious metaphor and subtext, making it inscrutable to outsiders, while giving the low caste Cawdor something to feel superior about.

The members of House Cawdor also seem to have rare knowledge of the Emperor's foremost servants: the "Talons of the Emperor". One of their notable "weapons" is a refurbished autogun mounted on an improvised polearm as a kind of cargo-cult imitation of the Guardian Spears of the Adeptus Custodes, who they have vague legends of being the holiest of the Emperor's servants. Similarly, due to the segregation of the sexes, female gang members are rare but do exist, and often style themselves after the Sisters of Silence, based on third-hand information (or worse) and a whole lot of speculation.

Hangers On

Executioners

At the Right Hand of the Thane of Cawdor are a select group of individuals who enforce his will, and by extension the will of the Redemption.

Even though House Cawdor always wear masks, the actual identities of the Executioners are a closely kept secret, known only by the Thane himself. These Executioners are therefore only known by their means of punishment, such as the Hangman, the Scourge, the Immolator, or the Headsman.

The Executioners freely travel between territories and gangs belonging to House Cawdor, and their arrival acts as its own test of devotion. For as much as they mete out their own brand of punishment to the enemy and unbeliever, the gangs must fight all the harder to ensure they do not fall short of the requirements of the Redemptionist creed and end up becoming executed themselves!

Stig Shamblers

"Some say his skin has the texture of a dolphin’s, and that wherever you are in the world, if you turn your radio to 88.4 you can actually hear his thoughts. All we know is he's called the Stig"

– Proving that masked mutants existed even in M3

There is an oddity in House Cawdor; despite the Redemptionist Creed espousing that mutation is a sin, punishable by death, there to seem to be exceptions.

In a heavily polluted and irradiated environments, with a lack of proper nutrition and medical access; people born with deviations are remarkably common. For some reason or another, these individuals are permitted to live and thrive within the house, despite expectations to the contrary.

There is no actual method or rule as to what is considered acceptable either: Some people might be born with a gimpy leg, or an extra finger. Others might be born with dwarfism, or gigantism and clearly be different from others but do not necessarily always fall under the expected remit of "Mutant". But in cases some other acceptable individuals might indeed be true 40k mutants. It all depends on what the leaders say, and so if someone higher up in the holy chain of command says so, then you have to go with it regardless of your own interpretation of the creed.

These more extreme misfits are called "Stigs" (never mutants, lest it spark a riot) and usually come in pairs in order to overcome their particular deficiencies, such as smart with stupid, or tall with small. They are equivalent to the "Brutes" of other Houses and are often being made to lug around the heaviest equipment, or used as expendable battering rams since nobody really cares what will happen to them.

Sheen Birds

At some point, House Helmawr thought that Necromunda didn't have enough native birdlife that wouldn't peck your face off. So figured it would be a great idea to commission a flock of servitors to invoke the sense of long lost nature.

Sheen Birds are the creations of the Adeptus Mechanicus and are effectively psyber-ravens. Designed to mimic natural behaviour by flocking, roosting, feeding, and even tending to artificial nests complete with fake chicks.

The fad eventually passed, but the Sheen Birds remained, continuing to do what they were made to do, but missing out on essential maintenance and repair. Now they exist as mangy taxidermy birds, stitched together with much of the flesh has decayed off of their metallic bones. Centuries of neglect has also rendered their programming corrupted, so they behave in unpredictable ways.

They are disgusting things, fallen things of beauty that are now full of disease and creepy behaviour. Perfect for the recyclers of House Cawdor, who have probably got no idea what they were supposed to be or where they came from, and now consider them to be avatars of the Emperor's Grace.

They are notoriously difficult to control, just as likely to charge an enemy as they are to ignore commands and sit around and do nothing. Their primary purpose is as a status symbol, as members of House Cawdor who possess one are said to have the blessing of the Emperor himself.

Unique Mechanics

System 1995

House Cawdor gangs are the fiercest of the House Gangs, being the only gang where every member can learn Ferocity skills - even heavies. They are also the only House Gang (besides House Goliath) where somebody other than a heavy can learn Muscle skills, albeit that honor is restricted to Cawdor gang leaders. In exchange, they have absolutely no capacity for Stealth and the weapons available to them are about as effective as you'd think a bunch of cobbled-together scraps and discarded weaponry would be. They're also one of only two gangs outside of House Escher where somebody other than a gang leader can learn Agility skills.

In terms of composition, Cawdor gang members are either "Pious" or "Fanatics" depending on their degree of faith and whether they adhere to the Pax Redemptos or not, meaning that gangs of mostly Fanatics are automatically outlaws. Though gangs can change alignment quite fluidly throughout a campaign, it does mean that certain alliances, hangers-on, or special characters may get unintentionally ejected merely from your roster selection.

System 2017

House Cawdor is the redhead stepchild of Necromundian Clan Houses. Their gangs are supposed to be numerous, with rules for taking additional Bonepickers and Bretheren in every mission to overwhelm the enemy like Skaven. However, they fail miserably at that, as their Fighter are not as cheap as they should be (for example, Delaque Ghost or Gang Sister cost the same as Cawdor Brethren or cheaper while having better stats and gear), and both vanilla Champions and their Redemptionist counterparts are absolutely schizophrenic, with rules tailored for range but only having close combat skills like Brawn and Combat. Tactic Cards in HoF are either overspecialized or underpowered and, once again, sometimes simply worse than counterparts from other Houses. Subplots give absolutely no credits, which is against the whole "horde gang" shtick. Let's also not forget having no access to any skills required to dance around Pinning. All in all, Cawdor gangs have to rely on dumb luck, close range firepower and literal miracles to win a fair fight.

Articles of Faith

Speaking about miracles, similar to the Adepta Sororitas, all Cawdor/Redemptionist gangs have access to Faith abilities that they may use during a battle.

As mentioned above, the Redemption is not actually a single unified creed, and consists of many splinter cults. Although most generally agree on the same thing, there are fluff and crunch differences between Paths.

A path must be chosen by the Gang Leader and it cannot be changed unless the Leader dies and is replaced. They are essentially one-trick ponies and are VERY restrictive in what they do. Don't forget many Acts of Faith punish the fighter that failed to manifest them.

• Path of the Faithful: Representing the "moderate" Redemptionists. Their powers tend to interact with enemy psykers or have a range of generic effects. Most of the useful ones require the fighter to be in 9 or 12" from the enemy at the beginning of the activation.
• Path of the Fanatic: Those who embody the frenzied faith of the Redemption. Including the Red Walk, Disciples of the Burning Brand, and the Children of the Blessed Day. Their powers tend to be about performing superhuman feats, such as crazy leaps of faith or extra actions. Your fighters, however, pay for most of the awesome stuff in blood (literally, with Flesh Wounds).
• Path of the Doomed: those who tend to relish death and nihilism. Including the Forsaken Truth, Scions of the Void, and the Cult of True Resurrection. Their powers tend toward sacrificing themselves as suicide bombers, creating big distractions to interfere with nearby enemies, not dying or summoning reinforcements. This path tends to be the most expensive in Faith dice to cast.
• Path of the Redeemer: representing the most extreme variants of the Creed, including the Red Redemption, Glorium Excrucium, and the followers of Klovis. They see it as their duty to cleanse the souls of the faithless (IE: purging Heretics) Their powers boost chain weapons, can set your melee weapons ablaze, halt enemy actions or outright wound enemy fighters while they're killing yours.

Playable Factions of Necromunda
Clan Houses:	Cawdor - Delaque - Escher - Goliath - Orlock - Van Saar
Noble Houses:	Catallus - Greim - Ko'iron - Ran Lo - Ty - Ulanti - Spyrers
Others:	Ash Waste Nomads - Corpse Grinder Cults - Cult of the Redemption Ironhead Squat Prospectors - Palanite Enforcers - Ratskins - Scavvies