If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.

The Family

In the underworld of Horizon, everyone wants a slice of the pie. Every day the struggles go on as murder, theft and arson are committed for the sake of wealth. If the struggle becomes too obvious, the city authorities will descend and destroy the whole show, leaving the next generation to rebuild; if honour is forgotten in the pursuit of gain, the next generation will be put to the sword so that some crazed street thug can make a point. Might makes right, but it also makes responsibilities. Criminals should fear anarchy as much as the civic authorities do. There must be something for the children to inherit. Always remember the family.

Largely abandoned by the city authorities, the residents of Horizon's Slums have returned to recognising a form of monarchical government; that of the Kellor, a family that controls a vast empire of crime in the darkest quarters of Horizon. To the benighted residents of the Slums, these are not merely a gang of robbers, but the stern yet just rulers who shield them from the harshness of their existence and fight for the betterment of their lot. Nevertheless, fools do not live long in the Slums, and most slum-dwellers recognise that the Kellor are also a family of ruthless business. They have built up power and influence while maintaining a respectable facade; in doing so, they have depended on their extended family and friends, and their trust has been vindicated. The emphasis on family has led them to adopt codes of honour: no children, no women, no narcotics, and so on. Observers often note that the Family treats these rules more as guidelines, but they're still there, and they're still acknowledged. It is rules such as these that help the Family to keep the respect of their clients.

There are a few defining features to the way the Family works in the Horizon underworld. The first, predictably enough, is Family Loyality - the Kellor tend to employ people in whole families, so that as well as normal loyalty between mob members, the Family and their employees are connected by complicated webs of blood ties. The result is an unusual degree of mutual dedication, although the internicine disputes that do arise are truly spectacular. Another is Business. In Horizon, a number of entertainments are illegal or strictly controlled; the Family aims to provide these to the citizens in defiance of the law, and to protect its right to do so. They specilaize in illegal gambling and prizefighting, but also have a considerable sideline in prostitution. Beyond this, the Family's control of the Slums lets them dictate much of the supply of cheap unskilled and semi-skilled labour in Horizon. Like any other mob, they also run a number of lucrative protection rackets. More surprisingly, the Family is also concerned with Social Responsibility. Of course, there is considerable variation between members on this issue, but the Kellor themselves started off among the scum of Horizon's streets, and in general have some concern for the inhabitants of Horizon's Lower City. They run protection rackets, but in return act a lot more like a proper government in their district than any of the other mobs would; the sections of the Slums in which their influence is at its strongest are some of the cleanest and best ordered. They also use their control of the unskilled labour supply to ensure that those workers get some form of protection and fair treatment. In the last few years, they have also begun to throw their weight behind the Steam Union, working in various underhand ways to increase the power of that group and maintain the rights of skilled workers in the Steam in the face of the increasingly rapacious Merchant's Arm. Another aspect of this is that the Family are fundamentally opposed to the trade in drugs - they claim that the substances tear apart families, destroy lives and erode society, particularly that nutured in the more vulnerable areas of the city. These views - and the sometimes violent actions that back them up - lead to considerable tension with the Dockyard Rats, Horizon's main dealers.

The unpleasant final aspect of the Family's workings is their desire for Control. In spite of their good works in the Slums, they are ultimately tyrants over the inhabitants, aristocrats or kleptocrats depending on who you ask; they win some rights for the workers, but exact more profit for themselves. Their aid for the Steam Union is not down to Richterist principles but a desire to extend their power in the Steam, while possibly doing some good on the side. In the end, they believe that their blood-and-honour basis for doing business is the only proper model for the underworld, and seek to extend their principles (and their control) across the whole of Horizon.

To fully understand the Family, one must understand the history of the Kellor themselves. They first arrived in Horizon as refugees from the Last War, poor and desperate. Like many such, they were exploited and abused by both landlords and the "native Horizon" Slum dwellers. Unlike most such, they did something about it. Under the leadership of the legendarily fierce Grandma Kellor, they forged themselves into a force to be reckoned with in Horizon's underworld. Later, they joined the Three Families alliance, along with the aristocratic Columna and the nativist Daynann; their constituency was the immigrant community in Horizon's Slums, both those who had fled the Last War and their children, and others.

Grandma Kellor is dead these twenty-five years, and the Three Families Truce is long broken, the other Families a mere memory (for more details, see here). Now the Kellor are the masters of the Slums, and in the last generation have put down roots outside the immigrant community, winning over native Horizoners (although of course the distinction between the refugees of the Last War and native Horizoners is increasingly blurring). They are lead by Emily Kellor, a granddaughter of Grandma; a less overawing matriarch, Slum-dwellers say, but possibly a more subtle and refined one. The Queen of the Slums, as Emily is known, is sure to be cheered as she walks down the streets; and those of the Slums who do not love their Queen are frightened enough that they cheer along with the rest.

Please Note: The above paragraph is mutable, and may change depending on whether any players decide to play Rank 5 members of the Family. If a single player chooses to play a Rank 5 Family member, they'll end up replacing Emily Kellor as sole leader of the Family; if multiple players choose to play Rank 5 Family members, they'll represent some sort of ruling clique replacing Emily Kellor.

Rank in the Family

Rank 0: You're not a member of the Family, just one of the numerous desperate inhabitants of the Slums. You pay the Family protection money and likely have more connection with them than with the nominal government of Horizon.

Rank 1: You are a pawn of the Family. There is every possibility that your whole family has a history of service to them; or at this level, you might just be street scum looking for a way to better your lot.

Rank 2: You have risen to a position of some importance in the Family's power structure: you oversee a bunch of goons, or run a semi-legitimate cover organisation for them. At this level you are expected to be in the organisation for life; you are something between an employee and a sworn servant.

Rank 3: You are in charge of seriously large operations, or are a skilled professional whose services are highly valued by the Family. Either you come from a family with a long history of service to them; or you are actually named "Kellor".

Rank 4: You are an immediate subordinate or close confidant of the head of the Family (and hence probably a close blood relative). You cannot have this rank without taking the "Kellor" quirk.

Rank 5: You are the head of the Family. On an OOC basis this means you'll be replacing Emily Kellor, who will now be a Rank 4 advisor to you. You will as always need to consult the GM team before taking Rank 5.

Major Developments

Over the next few months the Slums were shaken by battles between the two factions. Fortunately (depending on your point of view) there was relatively little violence: the dispute was played out by bargaining and a few well-placed assassinations. The head of the Pellatus family, always loyal to Emily, was murdered by his own illegitimate son who promptly swore allegiance to Columna, while Christopher himself collapsed after a brush with a street ruffian, apparently poisoned, and remained at death's door for some time. Meanwhile Emily appeared to be going slowly insane. The mysterious fae apparently took a hand as the so-called Knight of the Bright Oak appeared in the city, encouraging activity against Columna. To no avail, though; while Columna slowly recovered, Emily sank further into gibbering insanity, then abruptly died shortly before Horizon's Day. Her cousin William Kellor pledged the remains of the Kellor family to the service of Christopher Columna; while many decried this as a betrayal, only a few were willing to openly oppose it, and they soon went to ground. So, it appears that the Family are once again united, if not contented, under the rapidly recovering Christopher Columna, with William Kellor as his lieutenant. The Slums, with the exception of the remaining Kellor opposed to Christopher, are slowly getting used to their new masters.

Family Rumours

The Kellor rose so quickly in the underworld because they have a deal with someone. Or something.

The Family is thinking of turning completely Richterist, and supporting the HPLF.

The Family is thinking of dumping the working class cause altogether, and patching things over with the Merchant's Arm.