House Van Saar
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House Van Saar 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.
Description
The most technologically advanced House in Necromunda, House Van Saar produces technological goods of the highest quality, and wear unique body-suits that provide extensive protection against environmental danger. The relaunch retconned this fashion choice as being essential to their survival; the House's skills stem from their possession of a damaged STC, which irradiates their territory but gives them the ability to manufacture items that no other gangs can dream of. The quest continues to either repair the STC or find a way to permanently cure themselves of the radiation sickness but neither outcome looks like it is in danger of resolving itself soon; one famed Van Saar cyber-chirurgeon claimed to have cured the sickness but was assassinated by House Delaque and left only one test subject known only as the Abomination who exists only as a figure of legend, a "hail and proud" warrior who only continues to wear his survival suit as a badge of honour rather than as life saving rig. So for the meantime they are dependent upon varying regimes of life augmenting cybernetics, tox-filters, and human chemicals. They also trade for the rad-purgatives supplied by House Escher and in return provide them the components for the parthenogenesis process they need to reproduce.
As for the STC itself, it allows them to produce a wide variety of items, and although it is damaged and their own understanding of technology is nowhere near as advanced as the Adeptus Mechanicus they are still able to create items of significant quality. Where other manufacturers stamp out mass-produced equipment, the Van Saar create items from knives to Nihilis-pattern lasguns to Hystrar-pattern energy shields each as a veritable work of art. They also typically gene-code their equipment so that it cannot be stolen from them and used without first being made safe by a good technician.
Van Saar organises its gangs differently from the other Houses of Necromunda, not least because they promote their leaders from the most educated or innovative among them, rather than the most brutal or violent. This tendency in turn reflects itself on the territories that the gangs themselves hold, generally turning into machine temples and forges in imitation of the fabricator vaults of the House itself.
Van Saar are also unique on Necromunda in that they breed and modify the large native arachnids for the purposes of turning them into Servitors, creating Cyberachnids.
Unique Mechanics
The technological gang, every member of House Van Saar can learn both Shooting and Techno skills, making them on-par with House Delaque and arguably superior to House Orlock, especially when their excellent BS (nothing lower than a 4+, with leaders and champions having BS 2+. That said, their skills in Ferocity and Stealth are sorely lacking, with only their gang leaders able to learn them. They also can't boost their Toughness beyond +1 in a campaign game due to the whole radiation thing.
Appropriately enough, they have the best selection of guns: while they favor the use of lasguns and other laser weaponry, they also get more exotic stuff like grav-guns and rad-cannons and can also bolster their defenses with energy shields.