House Delaque

The symbol of House Delaque, very subtle.

House Delaque 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.

House Delaque is known as a house of spies and information mongers, with a particularly close relationship to Imperial House Helmawr. They have a reputation as assassins, spies, sabotuers and double-agents, which means that nobody in their right mind trusts a Delaque. The House is also defined by its pale skin, baldness and light-sensitive eyes, traits that have led some fans to assume they may actually be contaminated by Genestealers. Then again, as the Genestealer cults are now playable in Necromunda, perhaps they are secretly servants of the Alpha Leg*BLAM*the Alpha Legion does not exist

In the relaunch, House Delaque is said to be the primary information broker of the gangs, observing rival Houses and reporting what they find to House Helmawr. No mention of their number being Genestealer-tainted is made; however, it is said that they have somehow allied themselves with the descendants of Necromunda's long-forgotten indigenous life (or perhaps they are those descendants). Few have heard of this claim, and fewer still believe it could be true- which is exactly how House Delaque likes it.

History

The history of House Delaque is a strange one, muddied with rumour and misdirection, which is how the House prefers. Some tales tell of them being manufactured in the same laboratories as the Goliaths, or being the last survivors of a broken hive. But the truth is likely stranger still...

The name "Delaque" did not arise until some time during M36, when the rogue planet Somnus passed close to Necromunda. Many hivers from various backgrounds, whether they be poor workers, wealthy overseers, and even children, were touched by dark dreams and were found sleepwalking. Many of these people simply vanished, seemingly never to be seen again. This mass dreaming did not occur all at once, and instead trickled over the long course of the planetoid's drift through the system. Inquisitors, Rogue Traders, and other Imperial Agents who investigated seemed to determine that whatever was snatching sleepers from their beds was searching for something.

When Somnus finally passed, those who had vanished returned, bound with a singular will and purpose: Delaque.

Fortuitously, the chaos left by the passing of Somnus also left behind rich avenues for exploitation. House Delaque slotted themselves neatly into Necromundan politics, not with wealth or violence, but a seeming knack for being able to persuade people to assist their cause, whatever it may be. It must be pointed out that at this point, the Delaque were still relatively weak, and had not yet taken their modern appearance.

My M38, the Delaque entered into an alliance with House Avarest, who were vital in establishing the Ghast trade on Necromunda, a drug that has the potential to unlock psychic ability. At first they came as advisors, but steadily coerced the Avarest into signing over their industries and contracts to the Delaque. It was also over this time that the appearance of the Delaque was beginning to change to incorporate baldness and augmetic implants, as well as their penchant for concealment and misdirection, leading the other Houses to suspect them of warpcraft, or some other heresies.

Realising his fate far too late, Lord Avarest tried to rally support from the other Houses to remove the usurping Delaque, but was met by a stony silence. Ultimately all he could pull together was an "army" of bounty hunters and religious extremists. The last stand of House Avarest is barely reported anywhere, and hardly made a dent on the rise of the Delaque, if anything, it established Delaque as a major power player. Leading some to surmise that they had struck some deal with the Imperial House Helmawr to secure their safety.

In modern times, Delaque has an overall monopoly on the Ghast trade, though it generates fantastic wealth, it bears remembering that it is still only a relatively small and HIGHLY illegal industry. House Delaque have their fingers in other pies too, famously holding the Ulanti Contract up until it was taken from them by House Orlock.

It's also worth pointing out that the pale-faced, bald, and highly augmented members of House Delaque do not represent of the bulk of the citizens of the Clan. Like most Clan Houses there is a usually wide distinction between the gangers who act as soldiers/adventurers and the larger proportion of lower class dregs that make up their labour force. In House Delaque, those cases where they do run legitimate front businesses, their lower caste members are referred to as the Lost, who typically look much closer to "normal" people. It is from masses of the Lost that the gangs select their new members, though the criteria for selection are relatively unknown. Delaque also operate a number of fringe businesses through third parties and proxies, including other Clan Houses, who might not even be aware of who benefits from their labour at all.

However, despite all of that, their main focus is as information brokers, spies, and assassins; roles their agents excel at, meaning their "gangs" are often synonymous with those primary industries.

The Psychoterica

There are only two hard truths "known" when referring to House Delaque:

The First is that they seem to have some kind of instinctive bond with one another, leading many to suspect that they are a House of psychics.

The Second is that they are led by a group known as the "Silent Ones", though the meaning of that term is not actually understood by anyone outside of the House.

The truth boils down to something called the Psychoterica, a gestalt shared consciousness that all Delaque have the ability to access. This is not the same as true telepathy, and most members of House Delaque are not measurably psychic. It does allow them to instinctively sense who is connected to the Psychoterica and who is not, as well as allowing them to convey feelings and ideas to one another. It is NOT the same as a hive mind either, as each member still retains his or her personality and ambitions, allowing for rare instances of plotting and violence within the House itself.

The source of the Psychoterica is bizarre to the point of being unbelievable, however too many points of evidence exist for it to be discounted entirely:

Millions of years ago, when Necromunda still had oceans, it was inhabited by a race of immense behemoths that were worshipped by the natives as gods. As time passed, the oceans began to dry up, threatening a mass extinction event. The behemoth-worshippers solution was to build immense underground seas for their gods to inhabit safely. As time passed, the natives of the surface oceans practically died out, and were supplanted by human colonists who were ignorant of the planet's history and it's original inhabitants.

Later, when a sleeping sickness overcame the human population, the behemoths were able to reach out and influence the dreamers, bringing them into the psychoteric fold of Delaque and becoming their "Silent Ones". Though they do not control the Psychoterica, and their intentions must be interpreted from the melange of voices and thoughts from all the other members, to the point that the masters of the house are not even sure they exist.

Though this sounds too bizarre to be true, as many listeners would deem underground sea monsters an impossibility, there are points of evidence that support it.

• The Delaque speak a unique language known as the Dark Tongue, which is not believed to be a human language at all. Though it is rarely spoken to outsiders, the Delaque may not even be aware of its true meaning and translation when they speak it. One recurring sentence roughly translates as The deathless sleeper waits, beneath the dead world.
• House Ty sponsored an expedition to the deep underground, looking for a fabled lost city. The only survivor was a bashed up servitor, with mnemonic fragments of underground oceans and slumbering shadows.
• In mid M41, members of Delaque descended to the sump and called something out of the toxic sea to destroy the settlement of Downtown.
• Yageloth - Master of Whispers, reportedly has also made the journey to the presence of the Silent Ones, and returned as, something else. With the ability to manipulate the Psychoterica to the point he can transcend his physical form.
• House Delaque have some kind of arrangement with a xenos race called the Pisceans, who may or may not be the original inhabitants of Necromanda's oceans and the first followers of the Silent Ones, whatever the truth, they share access to the Psychoterica.
• The masters of Delaque shared a dream that drove them to build a stalker construct of genetic scraps and memories. Unlike all of the others, this one has limited self direction and will and is known simply as the Servant of the Silent Ones. It has a unique interaction with the Psychoterica and can echo any psychic power cast by a Delaque agent in close proximity.

Hangers on / Brutes

Cephalopod Spektor

House Delaque use some strange bio-cybernetic technology not seen anywhere else. A "Spektor" is a floating, matrix-esque squiddie robot that is keyed to a single user. The core cogitator of each Spektor is formed from a cloned portion of the users brain, cultured to the point of adulthood, and then installed in the robotic body.

This gives it a unique connection with the user, able to anticipate their needs and act as a powerful and loyal watchdog. However it's shared brain matter means that it often suffers the same obsessions and idiosyncrasies as it's master.

Piscean Spektors

Whether or not the tales of underground oceans and immense slumbering gods are true, House Delaque does have some kind of relationship with a xenos race called the Pisceans. In life they are shark headed and immensely strong, yet are never encountered in settlements (which might be underwater) and no effort has been made to communicate between themselves and the Imperium. They only ever come to the surface to die, where they are recovered by House Delaque artisans to have their brains transplanted into powerful cybernetic armatures as like the more common Cephalapod Spektors.

While this may not seem especially relevant, considering that Delaque have many cybernetic devices at their disposal, and other Houses have access to Ambots which appear to be similar in scope. The difference is that the Pisceans also have access to the Psychoterica and share the same inscrutable goals. By freeing them of their physical bodies they become even more powerful. If they weren't true psykers before then they most definitely are by the time they get their cybernetic bodies, making them an exceptionally dangerous foe to deal with.

Spyker

It is said that they use particularly vile concoctions made by House Escher to forcibly bring out psychic powers in some of their number. These unfortunates are strapped into medicae harnesses and injected with a concentrated Ghast solution over many months or years in order to enhance any latent psychic potential. Those who survive the process have their bodies atrophy from prolonged lack of use; and must remain within the support of the harness for the rest of their lives. In exchange, those medicae harnesses are upgraded with flight mechanisms, giving them a means of moving around, and their craniums enlarge along with their destructive psychic potential, essentially becoming warp infused versions of Goliath Zerkers.

Psychoteric Thralls

Members of House Delaque are not the only ones who can tap into the gestalt network of the Psychoterica. Presumably it is quite easy for House Agents to locate these individuals and capture them before they become a threat. These Thralls can be used as the focal point for allied Delaque psykers, who are able to cast wyrd powers using them as the origin source.

Most times they are simply unfortunate citizen workers who have been caught up in gang warfare, but other times they are actual gangers from other Houses. Giving players a great opportunity to add a model from a different faction to their collection, even coming with steep debuffs to Leadership and Willpower to their former allies.

Unique Mechanics

House Delaque is the sneaky, shooty gang of the House Gangs; everybody in it can learn both Shooting and Stealth skills, which is comparable to House Van Saar and arguably superior to House Orlock. Whilst gangers can learn Agility, this gang is extremely ill-suited for frontal assaults; only gang leaders can learn Ferocity and Combat skills. Recent expansiins have further given Delaque their own flavour by having them focus on Psykers.

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