The Kindly Cartels

The Kindly Folk, Suits

“The Blade and the Lotus — this is our way and how we protect it”

Symbol

The bladed lotus, representing their benevolent nature and lethal capacity. In more simplistic iconography, it is simply a square placed over an equilateral diamond. Many wear flowers or lotus-like adornments on their lapels, if not their own Cartel’s symbol.  

LORE: Low Medium

Cartel lore is more involved, with the traditions and histories of a person’s Cartel of being prime importance. However, the concept of a yakuza or mafia-type character is easy enough for many players to grasp

Aesthetic

The individuals from the Cartels are often called “Suits” with good reason. Washed vests and suits with mended rips and indelible stains. Spectacles, shaded and scavenged from the ruins of a World that was Lost. Cuffs, hands ringed with metal bands, and scuffed and armored dress-jackets. And buttons, of course. Many have ripped sleeves that show distinct Cartel-affiliated tattoos. Even more Suits, especially Enforcers, carry weaponry and tokens that display their loyalty to the Faction that clothes them and protects them from the chaos of the world.

Outlook

Aggressive Politeness: “Please” and “thank you” were considered the basics of common courtesy in the old world. This remains so with the Cartel who tend to pursue this decorum while they have their Suit. This may even sound strange as it persists in heated moments, where a Suit is directing an ally or threatening an enemy. In a similar sense, Suits tend to refer to their allies within a Cartel as “cousin” or “comrade”.

Business and Battle: It is said that the Cartels view business and battle with the same need-to-win mindset. Though known for their viciousness, the Cartels prefer to trade and traffic with living rivals over looting dead ones. At the negotiating table, Suits tend to be assertive with their demands, becoming pliant or giving way when needed. Tactically, Suits are known for the same aggressive yet adaptable methods, striking brutally at enemy weak points and drawing back when foes strike back. 

The Family Business: Despite their callous exteriors and business minded nature, the Cartels tend to look kindly upon even their lowliest members rather than as expendable fodder or simple followers. Directors encourage a filial devotion among Suits within a Cartel, expecting their fellows to guard one another in a world where a moment’s distraction can mean gruesome death. These bonds are nurtured for the Cartel’s profit and benefit, there is no doubt -- however, many Suits do think of their organization, or at least their immediate Cartel as a big family that is there to feed and protect them. 

Professionalism: Far from the gangs and the triads of old, the Cartels are known to conduct themselves with professionalism. The definition and the strictures of this may vary from group to group but the ideal Suit is loquacious when they need to be and silent and vicious when the time calls for it. This typically means that Suits do not engage in loud displays of intimidation or aggression when quiet and meaningful threats align more easily to their aesthetic. This aesthetic may fly out the window during a Suit’s downtime however, with some individuals choosing toward wildness and chaos when they are “off the clock”. 

Suit Up: Outside of one’s family, the world requires a member of the Cartel to “Suit up”. Beyond its literal meaning, this also represents steeling oneself against emotion, to weakness, and to distraction. This does not mean that such things are “disallowed”, but among the Cartel, the ideal is that Suits are put on and stay on until removed (when relaxing with friends and family).

Understatements: Suits are known for their tendency to understate their language instead of using exaggerations or overstatements. The aftermath of a brutal battle may be described as a bit of a mess. A particularly raucous feast may be spoken of as a moderate celebration. When precision is required, they will use numbers or percentages to give a better idea of their statements. 

Names

The Kindly Cartels are known for their professionalism and demeanor. It is of little surprise then, that their names tend to reflect such values, simply prefixing their names with their title. Because of their active recruiting policy across the Mid-Atlantic, their members come from a plethora of cultures and communities. 

Example Names

• Associate (Junior) Jeremiah Zhao is newly minted into the organization. Skilled in sword and auto pistol, Associate Jeremiah is no stranger to the grit and blood that his messier missions may require.

• Associate (Senior) Anika Anand is sourced from outside the Cartel and aligned communities for her interpersonal skills and her proficiency with the Arcane. This Seraph ornaments her stylish hats from the Haberdasher Cartel with an aspect of her spiritual companion. 

• Supervisor (Junior) Marianna Beneventi comes from the core families of the Golden Fortunes, but was able to avoid the internecine feuds that almost destroyed it. This comes primarily from the cunning and insight that a Guild Broker absolutely requires. 
  
  
  

Example Character Ideas:

The following are some character concepts that may be seen from this Free Tribe. If desired, feel free to use or alter one of these for your character.

Auditor: There are times when the Cartel needs to gather information in an area or perform surveillance activities. When they can afford to, they send an Auditor, a Suit trained in observational methods and practices to discover what they can. Some Auditors are trained in magical means, using Shamanistic divining, spiritual guidance, or other similar eldritch powers to ferret out secrets. On occasion, these individuals are garrisoned in high traffic or high “chaos” vicinities, to monitor any changes to Cartel leadership.    

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Ranger

Cartel Apothecary: The Cartel is known for their trades and few crafts are as in demand as the Apothecary. The Verdant Gardeners Guild uses these individuals the most, but all Guilds within the Cartel hold a roster of these experts in chemicals and hospitality. Whether these folk offer on the go “refreshment,” over the counter “enhancement,” or simply oversee in-house “entertainment,” such is the demand for their services that Apothecaries never go out of business. 

Suggested Classes: Builder, Counselor

Executive Enforcer: These are the military divisions of the Cartels, trained in warfare and defense of their faction’s interests. They look as sharp as their weapons and have a precision to match. Enforcers are often garrisoned to defend Cartel holdings in a town but, just as often, they can be recruited or employed in a region’s defense; protecting a store or an industry means nothing if the community around it is slaughtered by mantids. 

Suggested Classes: Ranger, Warrior

Guild Broker: The Kindly Cartels value trade and peace above all, though in practice, they prefer the former to the latter. Brokers are persons in a web of contacts and connections, befitting the Cartel’s own ethos. They value favors more than they do currency, allowing them more breadth and resources than their own personal skillset would normally allow.

Suggested Classes: Builder, Counselor 

Hunter-Assassin: There are times where the destruction of an irritant to a Guild becomes an internal matter or one where the imprecision of outsiders is not appreciated. Enter the Hunter-Assassin, Cartel operatives that are as efficient as they are deadly. Unlike the rest of their fellow Cartel members, they are afforded some measure of erratic idiosyncracy or strangeness. Some seem completely unlike the Cartel until they Suit up, with their Suits showing odd ornamentation that marks them as immensely different. Regardless of their appearance, they are valued for their professionalism and their skills.

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Ranger

Leadership

Each Cartel is governed by a Director. However, each Director is said to answer to the Executive Court: the five Chairs of the Cartel (who are also the Directors of their own Cartels). Also called the “Big Five”, these individuals meet yearly and correspond frequently. Their typical discussions revolve around inter-Cartel conflicts, threats to Mid-Atla, and the resolution of said issues. The Big Five are usually content to let the Cartels self-govern, but Directors (or their Executors) are expected to show up whenever the Big Five calls an Executive Summit. 

Resources flow to and from the Court -- they receive a cut of yearly Cartel profits as part of membership. However, they are expected to send martial or economic assets to Directors who request them. Furthermore, the Executive Court is honor-bound to act within the Cartels’ interests and reputation. This means uniting to eradicate wayward Cartels, “strongly advising” Cartels to budge when needed, or ensuring that Cartels’ in debt pay their dues.

Becoming a Chair in the Executive Court requires a vote from four of the Big Five. This is also one way to lose a Chair position in the Court. 

Currently, the Big Five consists for the following Cartels: the Golden Fortunes, the Patient Scriveners, the Peace Makers, the Royal Haberdashers, and the Tranquil Gardeners.

Note: the yearly dues are assumed to be part of a Character’s normal maintenance and does not cost them anything.

 Cartel History

Important Events:

World’s End (0 BTF): The end of the world knew not status or wealth -- all were subject to its scourge. In the fires of the apocalypse, groups of refugees flee from infested New Amsterdam. The so-called “underbelly” of society left with them, not as predators but as guardians. Wounded and stumbling northward, one such group encounters a few survivor communities and joins forces with them against the horrors of the apocalypse.

The Night Kings’ Due  (12 BTF): Even before the Long Fall, these communities were bonded to each other by support, lineage, and traditions. Years of fighting and working alongside the newcomers begin to smooth over their differences. Suddenly, vampiric marauders raid the villages for captives on the orders of the “Night Kings”.

The Kindly Ones (17 BTF): After a brutal attack by vampiric raiders, the militias coordinate to better protect the communities and the roads between them. A greater portion of this group is peopled by both villagers and newcomers, sharing martial skills, equipment, and monstrous lores. As time passes and the new militia proves itself, they lend their strength and supplies to farther villages that have also suffered from the raids. For their works, this earns them the name “the Kindly People”. 

The Bladed Lotus (25 BTF): With the raids diminished, the next decade brings prosperity to the villages and to the Kindly People, especially when Arcanists join their ranks. Though their military strength waxes, they prefer to advise communities and open mercantile opportunities instead of iron-fisted rule. This brings mixed results. Their philosophy of martial ruthlessness and professional courtesy comes to be known as the “Bladed Lotus”, which becomes their symbol. 

Expansion and Hegemony (32 BTF): The Kindly People expand as the decades wear on, though surviving communities are rare finds. Their emissaries go to other settlements not as conquerors but as trading partners and hired protection. When their ability to defend settlements thin, they start recruiting and equipping locally -- this  leads to the establishment of the “Kindly Cartels”, with each Cartel being a local office of the Kindly People.  

The Southern Road (37 BTF): Cartel progress to the north continues to be stymied by the vampiric Night Kings. However, their southern expansions show greater success, especially at the Port Atlantica and in the communities south of Libertina, including Snakewater. Port Atlantica becomes a major Cartel ally and a casino town. Franky’s Goldens become the Golden Fortunes Cartel. Similarly, distant settlements trading with each other create banking opportunities for the Cartel.

Woe and Weal  (42 BTF): From their coastal settlements, the Cartel finances several seaborne expeditions to disastrous effect. After reports of hull-sundering sea monsters, the Cartel discontinues southern expansion by sea and refocuses on land based operations. The latter continues with some success as settlements near the Capitol ruins show a willingness to host Cartel offices, especially the village at Arundelia.

Western Wardens (49 BTF): The Cartel contacts the Grailguard Wardens and their influence is rebuffed -- those communities already have protectors. They halt westward expansion, though they succeed in basic trade relations with the Order of the Shielding Palms. Meanwhile, the Cartels continue to recruit and strengthen their influence. Also, they work with Scavver Caravans to maintain the trading routes between Cartel allies.

The Battle of Griswold (BTF 53): A brutal attack by the Night Kings halts all northern exploration. In the course of the next few years, the Traveling Webbers Cartel is diminished into nothing or converted to join their armies. A lesser known Cartel, the Royal Haberdashers, steps in their place. The Haberdashers hold  the Night Kings at the bridge town of Griswold in southern New England. This gives the Patient Scriveners and the Peace Makers enough time to rally their forces and scatter the undead army. 

Gardenholt (58 BTF): Far south of the Capitol ruins, the Gardenholt settlement agrees to host Cartel offices. In exchange, the Patient Gardeners Cartel assists them against invading eldritch flora. Despite several near losses, the tide is turned due to the Cartel’s unification efforts in the region and support from the other Cartels. Much of the land southward appears to be an impassable verdant nightmare, marking the end of the Cartel’s southern progress. 

The Night Fades (65 BTF): The Night League raids cease. Scouts sent north find burned out outposts and villages, but they do not venture far. The Royal Haberdashers aid the local towns and consolidate their influence in the area. Griswold becomes a major settlement with the help of the Cartel. After a few decades, the Haberdashers would join the Cartel’s leadership.

Slayer Simone (72 BTF): The Golden Fortunes ascend to join the bigger Cartels in a leadership position. But as time progresses, Director Alessandro Simone’s tyrannical reign brings internal discord. Six bloody years later, Director “Slayer” Simone is put down by his own Cartel and Peace Maker Executors. The Goldens fall from the Big Five, but return a decade later under the previous Director’s daughter. 

Illustrados Contact (83 BTF): Destroying the sea creatures they encountered, several Illustrados ships dock at Port Atlantica and Bridgeboro. Diplomatic relations are enacted with them. When faced with the scope of the Illustrados’ power and the magics of the Templars, the Cartel attempts to foment unity among the settlements of Mid-Atla. This chills relations between the Cartel and the two Archfactions.

Trade with the Templar (85 BTF): Trading relations are established with the Carmine Templars and the Flame Templars who are discovered to have removed the Night Kings from the north. Though these Templars do not invade southward, their strength and their magics are enough to heighten the Cartel’s militancy and quicken their efforts of unification. 

War over Embers (90 BTF): With the arrival of the Harbingers, the Cartel successfully forms the Free Tribes alongside the Grailguard, the Dustriders, and other communities in Mid-Atla. They join forces with the Illustrados and the Templars to defeat the Harbinger Hosts, though at great cost. Many villages and allies are lost in the scattered skirmishes of the war. 

Armistice and current Era (99 BTF): New alliances with the Temple and the Illustrados allow the Cartel new in-roads within those Archfactions. To those ends, they seek not only to recover from their losses but to profit from their new circumstances and new allies – detractors believe that the Cartels will silence or intimidate any opposition at any cost to ensure their future prosperity.

Important Persons and Groups

Carmine Conclave: A portion of the Temple of the Shattered Mother known for its focus on diplomacy rather than militancy, though they are far from unarmed. Members are called Carmine Templars or Carminians. 

The Free Tribes: Formed by the Cartel, this is a group of communities and tribes based in and around the Mid-Atlantic (aka Mid-Atla) area, but also within the New England, Tidewater, and Midwest regions.

Grailgard: A western neighbor of the Cartel, styled like the knights and guardians of the old world.

The Harbingers/Harbinger Hosts: Four sorcerous entities of incredible power and the monstrous armies that followed them. They came from the west and savaged their way to Mid-Atla until they were stopped by the combined efforts of the Free Tribes, the Illustrados, and the Temple. 

Hellhound Motorgangs: Over a hundred different warbands from the Midwest that revel in raucous battle and bloodshed. They used to raid the territories around them for supplies or demand tribute from settlements. 

The Illustrados Union: An Caribbean-based Archfaction known for their technological wonders, their mercantile bent, and their naval prowess

Kindly Cartels: Groups of soldiers and merchants with offices across Mid-Atla and surrounding regions. They comport themselves like businessfolk and corporations of old, but will murder to protect their allies and interests. They are led by the five biggest Cartels: the Golden Fortunes, the Patient Scriveners, the Peace Makers, the Royal Haberdashers, and the Tranquil Garden. 

The Night League: Formerly two dozen settlements and towns under the brutal rule of powerful vampiric entities. Calling themselves the Night Kings, these individuals treat other humans as nothing more than thralls and food. They are greatly diminished but are still a threat. 

Scavver Caravans: These are scattered nomadic communities that convey endlessly in Mid-Atla and nearby regions. They loot city and military ruins, using or selling their gains.

The Temple of the Shattered Mother (aka Templars): An northern Archfaction based on their faith to the God-Empress and dedicated to the destruction of wickedness and eldritch evil.

Cartel Power Groups

Listed below are the main groups of influence among the Kindly Cartels, the five Chair Cartels of the Executive Court. 

Except for the Peace Makers, Player Characters may come from any Power Group although they cannot be the leadership of that group. It is recommended that those willing to write backstories intertwined with the Kindly Cartels contact Game Staff for further information/guidance.

It is the requirement of Game Staff that players who create their own Cartels as part of their backstory submit a profile of that group to Game Staff (for further use in plot if need be).

The Golden Fortunes Cartel: Purveyors of trade, vice, and inebriants. 

The Patient Scriveners Cartel: Traders, diplomats and bankers, working from the shadows.

The Peace Makers Cartel: Monster slayers, pact keepers, and guardians of the lower Libertina region.  

The Royal Haberdashers Cartel: Known for their fine textiles and fabrics, especially when it comes to their hats and other headwear. Also, they are known for their vampire hunters. 

The Tranquil Garden Cartel: Makers and exporters of tea and other inebriates from their orchards. 

The Golden Fortunes Cartel

Dicers, Goldens

“Pleasure is our Business”

Basic: The Golden Fortunes are purveyors of trade, vice, and inebriants. Roadhouses, spice gardens, gambling dens, and the supplying of such places are their forte and their main source of profit.  

Symbol/Token: Two golden six-sided dice, encircled by a wreath. Only the Simone and Riggs family are allowed to feature six and six. Their tokens are golden rings, tattoos involving dice or cards, and a lucky charm or a set of dice. They are associated with the colors of Dark Gold and Grey Blue. 

Territory: The Goldens lair in Port Atlantica, which has grown from a modest island port to a casino town surrounded by shanty villages. The Golden Fortunes also have influence with the villages in and around the Flooded Pines to the west.

Overview: When the Cartel reached the Flooded Pines, the Golden Fortunes were already there. Francesco Riggs and his followers had a decent-sized hub of a town that drew folk from the rest of the region, though their practices were less than sterling. The Cartel found their operation astounding and invited them in as a franchisee, provided that they forswore some of their darker methods and profiteering -- thus Franky’s Goldens became the Golden Fortunes Cartel and they released all their debtors from their holdings soon afterward. 

Thirty years ago, the Goldens even made it to the Big Five, allowing them freedom from restriction. This was the time of Alessandro Simone, the Ace of Clubs, and a bloody tyrant within his Cartel. After a murderous six years, he was put down by his own family with help from the Scriveners and the Peace Makers. It was too late by then, the in-fighting had weakened the Goldens in the region. Where they were too distracted or too wounded to maintain their holdings’ defenses, the wildlife swept in.  This was especially exacerbated by the Ember War and its brutality. The Golden Fortunes stayed away from the conflict at large. Their presence was lacking in the Battle at Libertina, a slight that they have yet to recover from -- however, that also means that they did not suffer horrendous casualties like the other Cartels did.   

The Goldens tumbled from grace, but caught themselves before falling too far. Their Director, Dina Riggs-Simone, has just finished her mission of “cleaning house”, picking up where the Cartel and her family had left off. As the sole heir to the Riggs-Simone dynasty, she rules with an iron fist and a keen eye. Village by village, leader by leader, she is recovering the Cartel’s influence in the region. She has also made contacts beyond the Cartel, shipping in exotic new delights for the Goldens’ clientele to sample and to enjoy. 

And thus far, it has worked -- the Cartel’s favor is rising in the Cartel and Dina’s leadership is to be credited for their amazing recovery. 

Leadership: Constantina “Dina” Riggs-Simone is also called the Queen of Diamonds or “Diamond Dina”. The brave among her detractors call her the Queen of Spades instead, due to the death count that surrounds her and her retinue. 

A Psion of prodigious power, she has been described as authoritarian, devious, and utterly ruthless. Her Cartel’s withdrawal from the Ember War was said to be at her behest, even though she “executed” the person who suggested it before her Cartel rejoined near the end of it.  

The Patient Scrivener Cartel

Scriveners, Skyrunners

“Patience is a seed and prosperity is the fruit”

Basic: The Patient Scrivener Cartel are traders, diplomats and bankers, working from the shadows instead of the forefront. 

Symbol: A flower with five petals. Their tokens are spiraling/whorled tattoos, an ornamented hatchet, and a tome. They are associated with the colors of Light Grey and Dark Blue. 

Territory: The Patient Scriveners count Sky Solace in the upper Hudson River as their headquarters. This village has grown into a town with industries for export, such as paper, medicine, and other sundries. Under the watchful eyes of the Scriveners and the work of its people, it has become a major center for learning among the Cartels. Naturally, the Scriveners also have an immense amount of influence over the nearby villages of the area. 

Overview: When the Kindly People began to grow and expand, they were peopled by two factions. The more subtle and cerebral of the two were the Skyrunners. These individuals were skilled in the lores and mysticism of the wild. These were swift raiders, shadowy hunters, and prescient Animancers. In the time of the Kindly Cartels, these would become the Patient Scriveners. 

As the decades passed and pockets of stability were eked into the wilderness, the Patient Scriveners allowed their war-like aspect to fade into the background and became guides to the communities in the area. Their focus became less on the martial and more in ensuring that other villages and towns benefited from the Cartel’s protection and trade (in exchange for some fees, of course). 

In their role within the Executive Court, the Scriveners were central to the formation of the Free Tribes. Their contacts and their influence allowed them to rally the communities in the Mid-Atlantic. This would help immensely in gaining the Archfactions’ help against the Harbingers. During the Ember War, the Skyrunners of old returned for a short while with clandestine raids against Harbinger flanks and leadership forces. Erstwhile, the Scriveners’ Animancers rivaled even the Temple’s Diabolists in utility and insight. 

After the Ember War, the Patient Scriveners have only deepened their new trade relations with the Archfactions, much to their benefit. On other hand, some in the Free Tribes have wised to the Cartels’ grip upon the other factions and communities. Regardless, the Scriveners continue to work to keep the Archfaction together. And if the Skyrunners are needed once more, they will be called for. 

Leadership: Chimney Deer is a talker, as most folks will speak of him and his optimistic attitude which belies his age and his depth of knowledge over many things. A Diviner and a Veiler of the Animancy tradition, he is also revered for his connection to the mythical world of the spirits. Most of his Cartel do not share this Psion’s amiable attitude, preferring the professional mein that the Cartel is known for -- until the Suits are doffed and merriment is abound. 

The Peace Maker Cartel

Peacekillers, PZs

“Blessed are the Peace Makers for they are the killers of gods” -- a corrupted old world saying

Special Note: This Power Group is NPC-only, although Players may associate with them amicably and sometimes pursue missions  under their employ.

Basic: Slayers of monsters, keepers of the pact, and guardians of the lower Libertina region. 

Symbol: A Shield with an eye and two swords through it. The Peace Makers like to have monstrous clothing, iconography, or trophies on their person. Bright or Dark Red and Midnight Black or Dark Grey are their associated colors.

Territory: Bridgeboro (headquarters), Snakewater and a half-dozen minor settlements along the Serpent River and up to Libertina Ruins. To the west of Snakewater is a patch of Shroudlands similar to the corrupted region around Grailhome. Exploration has been very limited in the area but nothing has been discovered yet. Furthermore, monster attacks have grown in number and ferocity. 

Overview: The Peace Makers joined the Cartel 50 years ago, though they were several closely related groups of Vundarkin at that time - bloodthirsty, berserking worshipers of a spirit that called itself the Godslayer. These Packhunters revelled in tracking and slaying monsters, though at great cost in casualties. Unable to fully commit to defending the communities but unwilling to leave them without protection, the Gardeners  hired these Vundarkin to assist in the towns’ protection. They paid the Packhunters in weaponry and equipment, which the Vundarkin easily learned how to use and maintain. 

Unlike similar experiments in the past, this plan allowed not only these settlements to thrive but for the Vundarkin to organize under a singular body. They made additional currency through guardianship of towns and caravans (including passing Scavvers). As the years progressed, the Peace Makers grew in influence and in territory to the point that they were brushing up against the Fortunes and the Scrivener Cartels. 

The War over Embers forestalled any true conflict between the Cartels but it cost the Peace Makers deeply. Much of their territory was ravaged by the fighting with the Harbingers, though they were successful in evacuation efforts. Snakewater was one such settlement, almost completely leveled during a battle between the Peace Makers and a God-Flesh Abomination named the “Tyrant of Eyes”. 

The rebuilding process has been painful but has met with great success, because of investments from the Archfactions. On the other hand, the Cartels have yet to truly assist in recovery efforts -- cooling their relations with the fiercely independent Peace Makers. 

For their part, the Peace Makers are no longer the Packhunters that they were but they are protective of their settlements and their allies. They also retain much of their Vundarkin traditions, passing them along to new recruits and adoptions.While they are spread thinly across the territories they have recovered, they have taken to hiring mercenaries and Delvers to make up for their lack. 

Leadership: Sen Sharp is the Director of the Peace Makers and is also part of the Executive Court. Despite their position, they listen closely to the concerns of their Cartel, even the finials are heard. While they hate the status of the Cartel, they understand that this way is the only path available to survive the hard times ahead. Owing debts of the Archfactions is a knife in their gut, but Sen has taken worse. 

The Royal Haberdashers Cartel

Hatters, Royals

“Hats for heads and roofs above that”

Basic: The Royal Haberdashers are a Cartel known for their fine textiles and fabrics, especially when it comes to their hats and other headwear. In addition to this specialty, they are also known and feared in the northeastern portion of the Mid-Atlantic for their viciousness and their brutality against the hungering corpses of the Night League. 

Symbol: A crown and a single horizontal line beneath it. The tokens of this Cartel are a hat, jeweled rings/tattoos, and a stylized pistol. The Hatters are associated with dark green and light orange. 

Territory: This Cartel is based in Griswold, located east and north of the New Amsterdam ruins and watching a bridge upon the Longtide River. 

Overview: The Hatters were a smaller Cartel of traders and weavers under the employ of the Traveling Webbers. The latter were extinguished in a bitter skirmish against the Night League. The Royal Haberdashers took up the torch from the Webbers, halting the Cartel’s rout from the area and establishing fortified coastal towns to prevent further Night League ingress. The Patient Scriveners and the Peace Makers send reinforcements and supplies to assist the nascent Cartel. After a bloody battle at Griswold, the fighting turned into skirmishes and raids. This would go on for decades until the Night Kings’ headquarters was sacked by the Templars and the Hellhounds.

The Royal Haberdashers are in the process of taking back their lost territory with some aid from the Kindly Cartel and the Carmine Templars. Their partnership with the Temple has granted them immense strides against their common foe and toward a peaceful relationship with each other. Some of the Cartel has even taken up the Templar faith. 

Leadership: Dour and moody, Akari MacFarlane is the Director of the Royal Haberdashers. She allows her half brother, Angus MacFarlane, to manage the business side of the Cartel as the Executor. On the other hand, she is more hands on and action oriented. Metabionic implantation has made her colder and more vicious than she was, a product of a near-fatal ambush of the Harbinger Hosts. 

The Tranquil Garden Cartel

Tranquils, Gardeners

“Growth without Discipline is Chaos”

Basic: Called Gardeners or Tranquils, the Tranquil Garden Cartel are the Mid-Atlantic’s primary makers and exporters of tea and other inebriates from their orchards. 

Symbol: A flowering tree, usually a magnolia bonsai. The Cartel tokens are: tree tattoos, swords, numbers. Like the orchids they love, the Gardeners are often associated with green and dark violet. 

Territory: Gardenholt, far to the south of the Capitol Ruins. It is surrounded by orchards and gardens, tended to by the Cartel and those they employ. 

History: When the Kindly People began to grow and expand, they were peopled by two factions. The more martial and forward of the two were the remnants of the Honest Knives gang. Though once one of the bigger crime syndicates in New Amsterdam, they had turned away from their sordid past in the face of the World beyond the Fall. What they lacked in subtlety, they made up for in fervor and weaponry. But in time, the Honest Knives would absorb the calmer aspects of their counterparts, becoming the Tranquil Garden Cartel. 

For the decades that followed the Kindly Cartels’ founding, the Tranquil Garden seeded and nurtured new alliances as they spearheaded the southern expansion. Through them, new franchises joined the Cartel, including the Peace Makers and the Golden Fortunes. In time, they would find a home in Gardenholt. In addition to assisting the local communities in flourishing and in defense, the Tranquil Garden also established the orchards that eventually became their mainstay of trade and income.

Like most Cartels, the Tranquil Garden suffered greatly from the Ember War and the Harbinger Hosts. Furthermore, their homes were ravaged by monstrosities and raiders while the war ranged in the north. Thus, it is not surprising that their efforts are focused on rehabilitation and on recovery, not only for themselves but also for the villages within their influence. 

The current threat to the Gardeners’ domains is the ever present devil ivy, believed to be an eldritch form of kudzu. It is relentless against the unwary, blanketing even fauna and humans. Fire and vigilance wards it well enough, though there is worry that it may be more cunning than previously believed. 

Leadership: Ronaldo Chow-Tse is the eighth Director of the Tranquil Garden and the finest botanist in a Cartel of gardeners, known not only for his private collection but his own field work. Reportedly he is a man of aesthetics, grace, and courtesy and rivaled only by his spouse, Sebastian Chow-Tse, who manages the brewery portion of the Gardeners as his Executor. Ancient yet proficient swordsmen, Ronaldo and Sebastian ensure that the Tranquil Garden’s recovery and their defense against the devil ivy are of the utmost priority. 

Cartel Society

The Cartel

The Kindly Cartels are divided into smaller organizations and groups called Cartels, being of 10-500 individuals. These are akin to noble houses or gangs (in the case of smaller Cartels). The bigger of these groups hold influence over several or even a score of settlements, maintaining mercantile opportunities and assisting local militias with defense. 

Smaller Cartels are without territory and instead assigned to specific tasks or ongoing tasks under the patronage of the Executive Court. Each Cartel has an intricate webs of relationships -- rivalries, alliances, and fealty -- to other Cartels, especially the five biggest Cartels. Many smaller Cartels began as an off-shoot of a bigger one, such as the Royal Haberdashers were with their predecessors.

Social Strata

In the perspective of the Cartel, there are three main divisions in society: 

• Externals: outside the Cartel

• Filials: peers and subordinates

• Elders: superiors (usually manager level and higher). 
  

Externals run the gamut of “assets” (mercenaries, laborers, etc), foes, rivals, family/allies, and those who are a mix of one or more categories or who shift between categories at any moment. Suits understand that despite their penchant for order, the world around them is disjointed chaos so these categories are general guidelines more than anything else. 

Filials make up the majority of one’s interactions. These are generally positive or “working” interactions, except when Cartels have a rivalry or a feud between them. Cautious Suits will be especially careful and observant with their interactions. Otherwise, one is expected to acknowledge the due respect for their Filials, referring to them as “Cousin” if they are within the same Cartel or “Comrade” if they are from a different one.

Those of superior rank to a Suit are usually called “Elders” -- occasionally a superior within the same Cartel is referred to as “Boss” in an informal setting. They are treated with deference, primarily if they are directly within the chain of command for a particular Suit.

Ranks:

• Associate (Junior or Senior): These are the lowest ranking members of the Cartel. They are expected to do footwork and wetwork. Courier work and various miscellaneous errands are considered the lowest of work and so, these are delegated to Associates. 

• However, they are considered fully-fledged Suits and are accorded their due respect. This is especially important since some Elders “retire” by demoting themselves to Associate or Supervisor positions. These individuals are placed in non-hazardous positions (such as a storefront or a tea shop), since one cannot leave the Cartel once it is joined. Thus insulting a “lowly” Senior Associate may prove to be one’s undoing.  

• Supervisor (Junior or Senior): Also called “Vizers”, these Suits are granted some responsibility and power due to their veterancy, leadership, and wisdom. Because of their perceived competence, they may also be assigned paperwork: filing reports, recording data, and similar tasks. Those who lack any of the three listed virtues do not exceed Senior Associate. 

• Overseer (Junior or Senior): This rank is marked by being responsible not only for the personnel in their command but also of the immediate Cartel’s holdings. 

• Executor: A position of power and responsibility, Executors personally serve the Director as their proxies, their messengers, and their observers. They are considered to be of a similar rank to Overseers but they are often empowered by Directors to supersede their Overseers counterparts in most circumstances. 

• Director: The leader of a Cartel. Directorship is either granted from a Cartel’s previous Director or granted by the Big Five. This is the highest ranking available to a Player Character.

• Chair: The leaders of the Kindly Cartels -- due to the burden of their roles, they sometimes delegate the leadership of their Cartel to their Executors. Although highly unlikely, this is the highest ranking available to a retired Player Character. 

  
  

Upbringing 

Cartel recruits are typically hand-picked from Externals by Cartel recruiters or Cartel leadership.The lives of these recruits before the Cartel are varied and diverse.

Life for a Cartel child is a different story, influenced by the mores of the Faction and the Cartel they were born in. While some of these children shy away from the regimented and rigorous demands of the Directors and Chairs, there are many that are drawn to the glamour and romance of being a Suit. For much of their lives, most Cartel-born are privy to the tales of their heroes, the order they represent, and their influence upon humanity’s current direction. 

Some of the larger Cartels will fund daycare and schooling for their Filials’ families, allowing only some Externals entrance at a high cost. A fair amount of Cartel-born will live much like their External counterparts, albeit with the protection and the shelter that the Cartel provides — provided their connection remains in good standing, of course.

Those that show promise are observed and studied by Cartel leadership and prepared for their Onboarding (see Cartel Religion and Rites).

Stigmata among the Cartel

Any Stigmata can be found within the ranks of the Kindly Cartels. The most frequently seen Stigmata are Psions and Risen. Because of their relative novelty, Metabionic and Eidolonic Stigmata are rarely seen.

Those with Stigmata are regarded well for their talents, though not necessarily considered better than their Unmarked fellows. For the Cartel, magic and other abilities can be incredibly useful but the universal qualities of cunning, resourcefulness, and loyalty are worth more.

Law and Order

For the order obsessed Cartel, the law and its adherence is very important. Some Cartels offer their services as enforcers for the local leadership. 

In communities where they are the dominant power, their position is fairly straightforward. They push local leadership to change the laws that they dislike and publicly follow the law. They also have businesses and outreach programs that lend assistance to the locals. Most importantly, they keep extra legal activities minimal or even off-shoring them out of that community’s borders. 

In communities where they are the minority, their activities become all the more clandestine. They still attempt to have a say in local leadership, but this may range from the benign to the intrusive to the intimidating, depending on that Cartel’s policies and culture. While they might still assist the locals with their trades, they may also interfere with law enforcement. These circumstances are where the tales of the Cartel’s strongarming tactics come from -- where the local government is eventually forced to capitulate to a Cartel’s demands. 

The Fortunes Cartel was especially fond of these brutal hegemonistic practices, edging out and usurping the will of the people. The Big Five of today oppose such methods, preferring a slower, more diplomatic approach to expanding Cartel influence. They are believed to deliver castigation upon those Cartels that violate their directives, but such rebukes may be notoriously slow or even inconsistent depending on the “offending” Cartel’s influence and wealth. 

In Port Atlantica and similar bastions where they themselves are local leadership and law enforcement, the Executive Court has the final say in all judicial matters and conflicts. Theft, murder, and battery are punished harshly in this places. Similarly punishable are misfiling, failure to follow protocol, unlawful employment, and impersonating a higher Rank -- the last is especially egregious in the Cartel’s perspective and is punished as harshly as murder.

Punishments include fines for lesser offenses, amputation for greater offenses, and exile or execution for the highest offenses.

Cartel Territories

Griswold

This town overlooks a major crossing point for the Longtide River in southern New England. This is the center of the Royal Haberdashers’ operations and the site of many battles against the Night League. It was on its way to becoming a major breadbasket in the region until the Ember War’s eruption. It has since diminished in stature until reconstruction and rebuilding efforts are completed.

Sky Solace

The Patient Scriveners count Sky Solace in the upper Hudson River as their headquarters. Sky Solace is the biggest of the villages that took in the refugees from New Amsterdam. This village has grown into a town with industries for export, such as paper, medicine, and other sundries. Under the watchful eyes of the Scriveners and the work of its people, it has become a major center for learning among the Cartels. Wealthy families within the Cartels send their children to the Scriveners for instruction. 

The trust for the Patient Scriveners is heavy in this region. Though the Cartel does not dictate the decisions of Sky Solace and the surrounding villages, their word carries immense weight. 

Gardenholt

The southernmost stronghold of the Kindly Cartels and the headquarters for the Tranquil Garden Cartel. It is surrounded by lush vegetation, much of which has been domesticated into orchards and gardens. Unfortunately, it is under constant threat from devil ivy, which creeps in from the south. 

Port Atlantica

A place of vice and indulgence, Port Atlantica is the island headquarters of the Golden Fortunes. A popular vacation spot for Cartel and even Illustrados, it is said to be as lurid and as wasteful as a true pre-Fall city thanks to the mercantile contracts of the Goldens. 

Bridgeboro 

Nestled on the eastern shore of the Serpent River, this town holds the main offices and garrison of the Peace Makers. From here, the Peace Makers are able to police Snakewater and a half-dozen minor settlements along the Serpent River and up north toward the Libertina Ruins. To the west of Snakewater is a patch of Shroudlands similar to the corrupted region around Grailhome. Exploration has been very limited in the area but nothing has been discovered yet. Furthermore, monster attacks have grown in number and ferocity. 

Cartel Religion and Rites

Cartel Faith

The Cartels do not ascribe to religion as a general rule. They allow their members to follow whatever faith they wish, as long as that faith aligns well with the Cartel’s tenets and codes. The families of the older Cartels continue to ascribe to their faiths while others follow no faith but their own moral compass and the Cartel’s  tenets. As the decades have progressed, there are certain Rites that the Cartel share as a whole and certain Perspectives that the Cartel share as a general rule. 

Tenets of the Cartel

• Your Word is Everything: When the Cartel makes a promise, they do everything in their power to deliver upon it. Likewise, when they make a business deal, they make the same measures to hold up their end of the bargain. However, they are not idealists and are willing to offer reparations if they are unable to maintain their word. 

• Defend your Cartel: The Cartel values loyalty among its members. The Director has a duty to defend their subordinates and peers. Those below them have their own duties to each other and to their superiors. 

• Words before War: The Cartel knows all too well the dangers of war in a world where humanity was almost rendered extinct. Whenever possible, all other measures will be used before engaging in violence against other humans -- but when the Cartel commits, they do so with a savage bloodlust, rupturing families root and branch to prevent retribution. 

• Diligence and Professionalism: The Cartel are known for their precision and professionalism. This does not mean that they are robotic suits without feelings or personalities, but it does mean that they extend courtesies and practice good behavior to most of those they meet, usually to those who have not earned it.

• Influence not Dominion: Each Cartel has a headquarters, as well as holdings and franchises. However, they only seek to increase their clientele and expand their operations -- not dominate or lord over towns and regions. While one can argue that an economic hegemony is no different than violent domination, the Cartel view themselves as purveyors and providers foremost. 
  
  

Life Rites:

Birth Rite

The Cartel has no specific Birth Rituals for those born within its auspices. However, each family may have its own traditions, handed down from generation to generation by their faith or simply by rote practice. 

Rite of Passage -- Onboarding

Onboarding involves a trial that must be completed by a prospective Suit and at least three allied witnesses. This rite is a modified and extended version of the Business Lunch, with the contract being the employment of the initiate into the ranks of the Cartels. This portion is highly dependent on the Cartel in question but tends to involve the Director (or a proxy) and several Cartel witnesses.

An important aspect to this is that the initiate must gather, construct, or otherwise obtain three items of great value, sentimentality, and symbolism to give to the Cartel. Obviously this is done before the rite — and may by themselves present a challenge. In exchange, the Cartel will bestow its tokens (or a proxy for things like tattooes) upon the initiate. 

This sacred (but not always somber) rite is followed by celebration and the welcoming of the new recruit(s) into the fold.

Business Lunch

In the times of old, men and women of business would negotiate pacts and oaths with written words and signatures. However, those times have long gone and the Cartel has had to make due without paper until recently. In lieu of this came the Business Lunch-- a semi-sacred rite between the Cartel and other Cartel members or those they do business with. Besides the basic pleasantries, this meeting may or may not involve food, tea, or inebriants, depending on the Cartel and the client. 

It also serves as an official verbal agreement with multiple witnesses. Some Cartel involve additional practices, such as tea making or cigar rolling. However, in addition to discussing the terms of a work contract, an armistice, or even a declaration of war, both parties exchange a single distinct item at the end of the Lunch. This has led to many Suits rendering the sharing of food, drinks, or intoxicants with another person as an act of peace or companionship. Sharing a lunch with a Suit is not going to stop them from killing you for a misdeed, but may make them think twice before they do it. 

Funereal Rites -- Send-Off

The Cartel are usually not proponents of religion, but they do revere the important figures of their past. The Send-Off is a relatively simple ceremony where a body of a deceased Suit is prepared for cremation and then burned in front of the fallen’s peers, friends and family. 

While it burns, the Director (or their Proxy) speaks to the assemblage and manages the funeral, calling upon individuals to speak of their experiences of the fallen and pour out a small amount of water (or inebriant) over the flames after they speak. 

When the fire is low, the Director/Proxy concludes the Send-Off, extinguishing the flame and delegating the moving of the remains to a proper, respectable grave. On the occasion that there is no body, a flame is simply ignited, with the ashes placed in a cenotaph.  

View of the Afterlife

The Cartel’s view of the afterlife is relatively diverse, with their willingness to recruit worthy individuals regardless of their upbringing. 

However, with the arrival and fall of the Abyssals, many of the old world’s faiths have fallen apart or otherwise disintegrated along with pre-fall society. This is especially true of organized religions. 

Still, more than a few pre-Fall faiths persist through the chaos and horror for the current era. With the rise of sorcery among humanity, some of these have even found renewed vigor. But if one were to look at them from the perspective of the World that Was, the new practices and traditions have become alien and inscrutable from their ancestral origins. 

View of Magic

Though they place immense value on honor and appearances, the Cartel is known for its pragmatism. The controlled use of sorcery is therefore of great value to the Cartels as a whole. However, the Cartel is wary of magic’s side effects and corruptive nature -- these can make the leadership of a particular Cartel keep Arcanists or spellcasters at arm’s length. 

There are exceptions, of course. The Scriveners and Gardeners are frequent users Shamanic Animancy, with their Animancers relying on the guidance and assistance of nature spirits or helpful ancestors. The other Cartels prefer the simplicity of Talismanry. The dire straits faced by the Hatters and the Goldens have forced them into being more open-minded with regards to employing Diabolists, Xenotheurges, and Necrotheruges. 

The Ember War has opened the Cartel’s eyes to the immense potential of magic, something that even the Big Three argue about with each other. On one hand, there is profit and control that can be seen from a mass deployment of Cartel-oriented Arcanists. On the other hand, ethical concerns for spiritual balance and concerns for the dangers of large-scale employment remain an obstacle to the engagement of this plan.