The Fifty Families

## Description:

The Fifty Families, sometimes referred to as "The Commitee" or "The Project" by its members, is a large series of loosely affiliated organized criminal clans of Felinids that covers a large swath of western Cerinth. The Families operate on a strict code of conduct with a very deep culture and seek only to survive and thrive in the wastelands of Cerinth. The Families retain mediocre relations with one another, suspicious relations with the Dwarves of Clan Deepthrive, and pleasant relations with most other factions as a result of their trade.

Due to being found only in Cerinth, 99.99% of the rest of K2's population does not know the Families exist; only cosmic beings, others in Cerinth, and those individuals involved in organizations like the JPCU are aware of the group's existence.

### Organization:

#### Capitol: N/A

The Fifty Families operate according to a decentralized leadership structure. The overall collective of The Families is led by an assembly of the leading members of each of the Families, known as a Chief. Each Chief gets one (1) vote on matters which concern the entire organization, like invasion from foreign forces or large-scale trade agreements that have to be settled. Each Chief leads their respective Family; Chiefs are usually the oldest or most experienced member of a Family, although this is not always the case. Sometimes, Chiefs are replaced by younger or less experienced members after the loss or abdication of older, more veteran members. Below each of the Chiefs are the Captains, each of whom manage the military and security matters of the entire Family; due to the great disparity in Family size between the different groups, Captains can control a dozen Warriors or tens of thousands. Families also choose a Treasurer to manage finances, an Elder to advise on matters of spirituality and social issues as well as lead religious rites, and an Arbiter, who oversees internal issues, punishes crime, and maintains loyalty and discipline. Families have their own subcultures and unique features, including different terms for the various ranks; many Families have a much wider range of titles, some of which are purely honorary, while others are very loose with their hierarchy. One such rank is that of the "Ringmaster," who oversees official duels between Family members, regardless of the weapons used, to ensure proper procedure and honor.

The overarching organization does, however, have a branch of its own. Comprised of members from all of the local Families in a region, the "makh'aela," or Judges, are Family-neutral enforcers that work for the council of Chiefs. They ensure that Families pay their dues and follow the rules laid out by their ancestors; failure to do so, by either an individual or a Family, leads to a "dey'kunaa," or kill-order for the offender(s); the Judges have the authority to draft any Family or member into the hunt for a "miyahk," a traitor. Traitors to the Families are given no quarter, and anyone found to aid or abet one such individual or group is punished in equal measure; similarly, all Family members are obligated to hunt for the traitor(s) if they have the opportunity to do so. The Judges also help maintain public order and enforce Family rule, settle and enforce rulings and disputes between Families, etc. Crimes committed by Family members against other Families are often handled by the offender's Family as a show of justice and willingness to cooperate; requiring that the Judges involve themselves is considered an act of defiance and insult against the victim and their Family. Most criminal charges, including those conducted by outsiders against a specific Family, are handled within the Family. Those Family members who succumb to the temptations of Magic are known as "Reowbah," the Family word for 'witch' that more closely translates to 'demon'; these individuals often wield Magic improperly, irresponsibly, or as a crutch for their lack of physical ability, all of which goes against the Families' strict rules regarding the use of supernatural forces. These witches/demons are feared, and hunted for the threat they pose to the Families they so often target.

Each Family is not strictly organized by blood relation alone; non-blood members are allowed to join a Family via a special initiation ritual, which often comes after the Family's upper echelons determine that a non-blood member has earned the right to join. Non-blood members brought into the Family are afforded the same privileges, rights, and respect as blood members; in Family-run settlements, membership in a Family is akin to citizenship. The specific initiation rituals differ from Family to Family, although most involve some kind of act of violence, as a hunt, an assassination, or a symbolic dual between the new member and an older one. For non-blood recruits, initiation is akin to a coming-of-age ritual regardless of the individual's actual age. Families recruit as often as they can; members die with relative frequency, either from the elements or from conflicts with other groups, and replacements must be found.

All of the Families work towards one goal: survival. Cerinth is a Hinterland rife with dangers, and the Families attempt to stave them off to the best of their ability. To this end, the Felinids and Goblins of the Families created firearms; what were once no more than muskets and flintlocks are now modern-era firearms of a large variety of calibers, makes, models, and types. Firearm and ammo production is the Families' primary export, although they do not sell more advanced firearms to non-Families; instead, outsiders are sold muskets or crossbows, weapons easier to maintain and understand that do not require advanced machining devices or oil to keep functioning. The profits from these exports are used to secure territory, food, and resources to keep the Families afloat and alive; most consider the Families to be one of the few groups in Cerinth doing better than they did before the Fracture. The Families operate across a very large swathe of land across Cerinth, and are usually nomadic peoples; however, the larger or more wealthy Families can afford to establish permanent settlements in the desert or across the savanna, where they build large factories to produce automatic weapons, vehicles, and even artillery pieces. The Families are few in number, but they more than make up for it with their weaponry.

The Fifty Families have an incredibly complicated series of relations between all of them; each has deals, rivalries, feuds, alliances, and trade agreements with one another that often confuse or overwhelm outsiders.

#### List of Known Families:

1. Carminole Family
2. [REDACTED]

### Equipment:

The Families have individual traditions surrounding fashion, drawn from a wide range of styles and materials. Some common features of Family clothing and equipment include: a love of jewelry, loose and baggier clothes, fine silks, and a noticeable lack of armor. Most Families do not mandate that their members wear actual armor, believing that it slows them down and displays cowardice; Families claim that wearing armor displays the person's belief that they will get hit, indicating low self-efficacy or fear of injury/combat. Most Family clothes feature bright colors, with formal clothing looking vaguely like suits found in other parts of K2; coloration of formal clothing indicates a person's rank and wealth, and the details of the suit like button count, material, etc. indicate someone's rank within their Family.

The Families are one of the most technologically advanced societies in Cerinth. The Families have access to advanced firearm technology and the machines needed to produce them in large quantities; the Families have produced muskets and flintlock weapons for centuries, but only developed more modern techniques and models after the Fracture. Family settlements, although rare, often have wealthier districts that operate with electricity, and some Families have access to gas-powered vehicles.

Weaponry is central to The Families' cultures. While firearms are most associated with The Families, they are known to have opinions on melee weapons as well; specifically, The Families believe that smaller blades are more honorable than large ones. Small daggers require skill, speed, and precision, while large swords only need strength to kill effectively; as a result, similar to The Families' beliefs about larger caliber guns being respectful of the victim, smaller knives indicate a greater respect for one's opponent.

Like most Felinids, the Families place a very minimal role on the use of Magic. While the Families maintain their priestly class to oversee social affairs, they rarely have access to Magic themselves. Instead, the Families make use of Magic via Runes and Magitechnology. Magitech weapons, Arcane Androids, etc. are all known Magic tools at the Families' disposals.

#### Military:

The Fifty Families maintain their Judges as a collective military force that protects all Families; however, each Family member is expected to train with and make use of firearms and other weapons, creating a hunting culture that leaves every member a soldier in their own right. Almost all Family members can serve as soldiers or militia members if the circumstances call for it, as all are expected to be as independent and self-reliant as possible.

The Families have developed a number of martial traditions in their pursuit of superior combat skill. Some martial traditions are used only against non-Family opponents, others are used only against animals, and others are purely ceremonial or intended only for use in formal duels; individual Family members are not expected to know or exhibit expertise in all of the martial traditions but are expected to hold competency in at least one (1).

##### Melee Martial Traditions:

1. Safru: A knife-fighting style built around speed and precision; attacks are designed to distract, feint, and attack simultaneously so as to end a fight as fast as possible. Safru is feared among the residents of Cerinth for its lethality, but it lacks defensive capabilities and is difficult to learn for those who lack the speed to employ its higher-level techniques.
2. Vodfojo: A knife-fighting style built for use against animal opponents in hunting; it is patient, analytical, and slow in its manner of killing; it prefers to bleed an opponent rather than face it outright, leading it to develop a very taboo reputation if used against a humanoid target. Its brutal stabs and tearing motions intend on gutting an opponent while it is still alive, which defaces and maims a humanoid opponent such that their Family would be unable to display the body publicly at a funeral, adding another element to the disrespect.
3. Sajago: A dual-wielding knife-fighting style designed to allow a single defender to take on multiple opponents at once or in quick succession;
4. Vinte: An unarmed martial arts style designed as a pragmatic necessity; the style uses every available means of survival in its techniques, turning a user's body into a living weapon. This is achieved via use of claws, teeth and jaws, hands, feet, etc.; the style is brutal, conventionally underhanded, and designed to allow a user to end a fight as quickly as possible, often via lethality or options for retreat. Adaptations of Vinte can specialize in fighting armed opponents, and can afford users an extra advantage when outgunned.

##### Ranged Martial Traditions:

1. Nakarti:
2. Uqilu: A potent offensive gunfighting style which centers around the user's focus, which allows them to perform feats of great athleticism and acrobatics whilst engaged in combat, including techniques like dodging bullets or leaping across great distances and firing one's weapon simultaneously. The form is very difficult to master, and is best trained in active combat, leading to a reputation of great risk but equal reward for those who succeed.
3. Ju'lencha: A firearms technique system designed to allow a single defender to effectively take down multiple opponents at once; unlike normal gunfighting methods, Ju'lencha intends on placing the user in the midst of the battle, putting themselves between as many opponents at once to allow for easier target acquisition. Ju'lencha is also designed to distract, surprise, and confuse opponents with its brazenness, adding to the myths surrounding its use.
4. Syon'daro: A weapon-throwing technique system designed to level the playing field between a melee fighter and a gunman; with precise and incredibly fast maneuvers, a melee combatant is expected to learn how to use their thrown weapons to damage gunmen or archers and impede their aim at the same time. Legends say that masters of Syon'daro can throw weapons faster than bullets and pierce multiple foes with a single throw.
5. Mak'aeolo: A combined ranged and melee-focused martial style designed for use by the Judges of the Families; created specifically for use against practitioners of other traditional Family martial arts, Mak'aeolo combines slow, methodical strikes with patience and careful observation to identify weak points in opponents' forms. It also seeks to redirect enemy attacks and recycle an opponent's momentum for one's own purposes, throwing enemies off-balance or getting them to harm themselves. Mak'aeolo can be used with all manner of weapons, and is designed for adaptability.