Borderlands: Major Noble Houses

Note: None of these Houses are descriptive of the people their names are derived from

House Danzig: House Danzig is the richest of the houses, having aligned themselves with the many guilds of the Borderlands. This has allowed them to obtain great tracts of arable land and to fill the roads and rivers with their many trade caravans carrying exotic goods imported from beyond the Empire. House Danzig mostly stays outside of inter-House conflict - mainly because they know if they rallied the guilds they have a stranglehold over they could wipe out the remaining houses with a snap of their fingers.

Associated Minor Houses: House Cisneros, House Homme, House Fallon

House Kilmeister: House Kilmeister fields the largest military force among all the major Houses. Raised from birth to be ruthless soldiers, they constantly itch for combat even when the houses are at relative peace. House Kilmeister often press-gangs their serfs into serving in their forces, arming them with little more than a spear and a week of drilling. House Kilmeister also sponsors many smiths and alchemists, meaning their warmachine is replete with advanced technology freshly churned out from their workshops.

Associated Minor Houses: House Pike, House Hinds, House Faris

House Ford: House Ford is the most decadent of all the major Houses. They portray themselves as enlightened, witty and cordial, but they are extremely ruthless and cunning. House Ford employs assassins and spies to kill any who dare get in their way, and use their massive network of illegal drug and poison trade to either incapacitate or kill anyone they please. House Ford is also crueler to their populace than most of the other Houses, putting them in something more akin to slavery than serfdom.

Associated Minor Houses: House Dio, House Malmsteen, House Vialon

House Osbourne: House Osbourne is the oldest extant major House, and strangely the most loved. House Osbourne nobles are narcissistic and carry an undeserved air of superiority, but they are somehow very benevolent to their fiefdoms - feeding the poor, aiding the sick, and educating them. This is all for show, as this has allowed them to create a sense of blind loyalty among their followers that will let them get away with anything - a prime example being the popular imperial election of their scion, Emperor Magnus.

Associated Minor Houses: House Iommi, House Cronise, House Giles

House Halford: House Halford was once replete with pagans and heretics, but after a major conversion effort by the Illuminated Church they have become the most penitent of all the Houses. The Law of the Church is the law in Halford lands, and any who oppose it will quickly find an Inquisitorial force knocking on the door of their hovel. Halfords are brutal and fanatical, so much so that they see other less devoted Houses as heretics that need to be purged - but that, of course, is really just a matter of time.

Associated Minor Houses: House Wishart, House Barge, House Mascis