House Van Saar

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A skull surrounded by eight mechanical claws: the symbol of House Van Saar

The House of Van Saar, known as the House of Artifice[7b] is one of the Great Houses of the Underhive of Hive Primus on the planet of Necromunda. They are known for their mastery of Archaeotech[7a]


Overview

House Van Saar word mark

House Van Saar is well-known for the quality of its technical products. Van Saar technology is no more advanced than that of anyone else, but their manufacturing processes are precise and their finished materials are noted for their high quality. The noble houses of the hive are known to pay top prices for Van Saar-made goods; as a result, the House is probably the wealthiest in Hive Primus.[1] Due to their familiarity with Imperial weaponry, as well as their abilities to improve and use it in combat, Van Saars are often recruited by the Imperial Guard as "High Utility Conscripts".[2] Their staggering power, however, is built around a dark secret – flaws in their understanding of the corrupted STC that creates their technology, flaws that bathe them in radiation and slowly kill them from within.[4c]

The Van Saars have a well-earned reputation of being serious minded and sombre people, with a deep-seated emphasis placed on order and hierarchy. Like the other gangs of the hive cities, the Van Saars have a style of clothing which distinguishes them from others. In their case this is based on a close-fitting body suit intended to sustain the wearer as their organs fail due to radiation exposure. Semi-permeable membranes in the suit reduce the loss of the body’s moisture, whilst numerous spots on the material change colour to inform the wearer of airborne pollutants and reduced levels of oxygen.[3] The Van Saars' gang-dialect is known as Techno-lingua and Tek-Nik-El.[13]

The House of Artifice is not only known for its wargear and weapons however, but also for its many alliances with the Merchant Guild, Clan Houses, and Great Houses of Necromunda. Bound together by a web of licences and patents, the seal of the House of Artifice is found on thousands of pieces of tech throughout Necromunda. The seal of Van Saar on any piece of wargear on Necromunda assures one of its quality. However their power and prestige has led many to see the House as arrogant and overly secretive.[7a] Besides armaments and technology, House Van Saar also oversees a lucrative energy production industry. They have a number of allies, most notably House Catallus and the Pyromantic Cults.[7d] The House jealously guards the secret of its hidden STC.[7c]

House Van Saar's history is tied heavily to ancient beings known as the Iron Lords[Note 1], whose technology has been scavenged by Van Saar in the past.[7c]

History

House Van Saar's history begins in the first galactic expansion of Humanity, before even the Imperium existed. The arcology vessel Van Saar, carrying a collective of scientists and settlers bound for the world of Araneus Prime, was swallowed up by the Warp. At some point in M35 the Van Saar was disgorged from the Warp and crashed into the wastes of Necromunda. There are conflicting accounts for what happened next, with some claiming that nearby Ash scavengers discovered the vessel and took the identity of Van Saar itself while others say that the ship's chief Technical Officer (also known as Van Saar) crawled from the wreckage after millennia in stasis. Whatever the truth, the new Van Saar gang came to operate from the wreck of the vessel and slowly perfected their knowledge of the precious STC at its core under the direction of a secretive tech-conclave of Archeoteks some say was led by Van Saar himself. Openly, they flourished as tech scavengers and bazaar brokers. The wreckage of their ship would develop into a settlement which in time came known as Junkertown.[7b]

As Van Saar flourished, the Archeoteks would pass on custodianship of the STC to each new generation of their order. Some used it for the betterment of their people while others sought to scour Necromunda of all archaotech to gain a full monopoly. Archeotek Sater Davos is said to have driven an ancient data-spike into his brain, gaining a staggering intellect. He gained domination of Hive Rothgol and sought to possess all knowledge on Necromunda and its people. He eventually followed a trail of clues to the Van Saar STC and became determined to restore the House to the lost age they had originated from. Under his rule, Junkertown prospered and Davos oversaw the construction of the first survival suits and bionics to endure the radiation given off by the STC. By the turn of M37 an extremely aged Davos was still pouring the resources of the house into fulfilling his dream as Junkertown had now expanded its reach into other Hives on Necromunda. However, other Archeoteks said that Davos was bleeding the house dry and the Van Saar should instead seek domination of Necromunda itself. In 411.M37 Sator Davos mysteriously vanished, and in the aftermath of his disappearance a council of Archeoteks established the three laws. These laws affirmed that the STC must always be protected and used for the betterment of the Van Saar, which saw the device moved from Junkertown and into Hive Primus. The Van Saar endured the subsequent Two-Faced War exceptionally well, supplying the armies of the aspiring Governor Lady Cinderak with the finest weapons. After emerging victorious in the war Cinderak used the Van Saar to build a vast space station known as the Eye of Selene. As a reward, House Van Saar was promoted to full Clan House.[7b]

By the start of M38 the Archeoteks of Van Saar were entrenched within the workings of Necromunda. This led to the gaining of many rivals, most notably the former tech masters of Hive Primus House Hera. In the latter years of M38 House Hera launched a massive digital assault upon Van Saar, unleashing cannibal-codes into the cortex vaults which, unknown to Hera, contained the STC. The cognitive engrams of the STC identified the rival House as an enemy and oversaw a series of industrial "accidents" that devastated Hera. This allowed Van Saar to quickly crush House Hera in a brutal counterattack. In the aftermath House Van Saar grew even more powerful.[7b] In 019.M38, Duke Vintor Vorlun Van Saar of the Archeoteks formalised the Three Laws (see below).

When a Mechanicum team visited Necromunda in 132.M40, it mysteriously vanished when it began to investigate House Van Saar.[7c]

In M40 the Iron Lords sought to infiltrate the house and dispatched shapeshifting cybernetic agents to achieve this aim, creating a tech-war that saw the Archeoteks hunt down the cybernetica.[7c]

The Three Laws

  1. No Archeotek may allow the STC to be harmed, stolen, or misused, either through design or ignorance.[7d]
  2. Archeoteks must use the STC solely for the betterment of House Van Saar, except where it conflicts with the First Law.[7d]
  3. An Archeotek may only innovate the technologies of the STC if doing so does not conflict with the First and Second Laws.[7d]

Organisation

Organisation of House Van Saar[7d]

Supreme power in the House is overseen by the various Archeoteks, masters of tech-lore who oversee the secret STC at their core. While similar to the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, these figures have no interest in the religion of the Omnissiah.[7d] Beneath the Archeoteks are Primes, who act as middle-rank overseers. Beneath these are the Primes' lieutenants, which include Augmeks. Beneath these figures are Teks and Subteks, which is a catch-all term for workers and warriors.[7d]

Unlike the other Clan Houses which rely on gangs of slaves and uneducated masses of workers, every member of Van Saar is an expert in the task they undertake, no matter how simple it may be.[7d]

The House's territories extend to machine shops, underhive scavengers, and the heat sink of Hive Primus known as the Thermal Core. However its main base is within the upper reaches of Hive Primus' Hive City, next to its spaceport. Hanging below the Spaceport is the Chamber of Light, where the precious STC of the House resides.[7d]

Forces

House Van Saar Fighter[7a]

Known Gangs

Notable Members

Known former members

Known Products

Images

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Notes

See also

Sources


The Houses of Necromunda
Imperial House Helmawr
Noble Houses Athenos • Catallus • Craft • Greim • Harrow • Ko'iron • Ran Lo • Ty • Ulanti
Clan Houses Cawdor • Delaque • Escher • Goliath • Orlock • Van Saar
Fallen Houses Aranthus • Credo • Hasbel • Helm'ayr • Mung • Olwar • Orlund
Other/Unknown Status Averest • Gorshed • Hera • Jungar • Olrak • Olwyr • Vosak • Weyter • Yoranta
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