Aristocrats

“Let come the end of the world — we will greet it in spite of itself with rich food, heady wine, and ebullient company, and those who take issue with us can clang ignobly at the manor gates as the darkness swallows them.”

The world may be ending, but money still spends and for those who have it. The attitude House Galdepark holds is that their wealth will insulate them from the worst the Rust Age brings to bear against them, whether it be jealous fellow aristocrats, treacherous truefolk, coarse unbonded, or even the Ruin itself.

IN SEARCH OF BRIGHT PROSPERITY.

The hallmarks of House Galdepark are a broad and deep collection of the finer things — as many of the finer things and of as grandiose a quantity as their estimable moneys can buy.

At their best, they use their vast wealth as patrons, hosting cultural salons, elevating artistic or intellectual discourse, and bolstering philanthropic causes with cash and influence. At their worst, individual Galdepark are selfish hoarders, jealously guarding treasuries of funds accumulated across generations from exploitative compacts their forebears had in place since before the Blights.

POWER IS BEING ABLE TO NAME A THING’S WORTH AND WATCH THE WORLD AGREE.

“The favored scions of House Galdepark pay exceedingly well and expect peak performance for their remuneration. In most cases, this is because the hospitality they extend to the highest echelons of the social peerage is itself the most esteemed. But in a few cases, it’s to ensure silence or to compensate for others covering up some of the most repellent indiscretions one might find upstairs or downstairs at any privileged estate.”

— Saxby, Fellow-ranked Underbutler of Coldstream Grange, Truefolk

  1. ABOUT THE ARISTOCRATS

    Five families make up the current aristocracy: House Astus-Willough, House Bellephine, House Dara, House Galdepark, and House Valgreave. However, the term family is used very broadly, and intentionally so. The aristocrats aren’t related strictly by blood, and may also include found families and tight-knit relationships. Social pressures obligate aristocrats as they strive to maintain their status, standards, and influence within their circles, among which they often compete against rivals and navigate secret alliances. Aristocrats also have access to grand estates that can shelter them against the dangers of the Ruin… so long as they’re maintained accordingly.

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