House Somerset

Those living in New Dunston know that there is no better way to keep a conversation from being recorded than to put a caged Gremlin in the middle of the table. These small creatures, brought to Pennsylvania by the Somerset family, interfere with electronics, including audio recording devices and security cameras. Besides being known for renting these creatures to anyone, the Somersets have a reputation for letting go of grudges (or not forming them in the first place). They appear to get along with everyone, though people also tend to recognize that appearances may be deceiving.

Internal Structure

The family is a loose patriarchy—the oldest male is boss, and the younger someone is, the less say he has in family business. The current patriarch is William Thomas Somerset III ("Bill"), a 67-year-old womanizer who collects pipes. Though his morals may be questionable, he does run an upstanding house, at least publicly. Bill is known for being a peaceful, generous man. He dislikes hostility, and he ensures that business interactions stay friendly. The eldest of his two sons, John Thomas Somerset II, runs the family business under Bill's supervision. He is the schmoozer, the deal maker, and the face for Somerset Security. John has a wife and four children, and he is known for meaning what he says and saying what he means. John does not appear to have any knacks, but he sure is good at making deals.

The younger son, Nathaniel James ("Nate"), is still resentful of John for being older. As is sometimes tradition in established, rich families, older members enjoy harassing and trying the younger members to test their determination, and Nate did not escape this. According to tradition, however, the terms of the hazing are never discussed. Until recently, Nate oversaw care for and training of the Gremlins, but he has since delegated these duties to a nephew. Nate spends his time reading and, as his father puts it, "being creative." Nate's paintings fetch quite a good price, and he's taken to selling them to the Businessman's Club who sell them in the Grim.

In the past, female Somersets had filled stereotypical women's roles, though some now dare to wear pants, avoid marriage, and even help run the business. John's second-in-command is Carol, his older sister (and rumored favorite child of Bill). She approached her father to ask his permission to attend college in Pittsburgh proper. Unsurprisingly, he consented and even helped her acquire a forged high school transcript and recommendation from a guidance counselor, and she was accepted at Chatham College. She is one of the few Somersets to attend school in the Grim. After ploughing through three schooling-intense years, Carol graduated and went to the University of Pittsburgh's law school. When she was admitted to the bar and returned to her mansion through the cracks, she brought with her a close friend from school, Lisa. The two of them oversee the legal aspects of the business and the house: contracts, paying of taxes, acquisition of property, etc.

There is another sister, Heidi, who is quite a bit younger than her siblings. At 16, she is still sheltered from the rest of the world. Her role in the family is unknown, but she is occasionally seen boating on one of the rivers of New Dunston.

The rest of the family cares for the Gremlins and helps host occasional parties thrown by Bill. These parties are frequently held during stressful times to help alleviate tensions—sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't, but the Somersets always like to try.

Somerset house family members display the widest variety of knacks of all the factions, and family members do not feel obligated to conform to any particular ideal, as long as they stay loyal to the family.

History

John Richard Somerset I and his brother William Thomas Somerset II, an officer in the British Army, moved to Fort Pitt with his family just after its construction in 1758. They served during the Siege of Fort Pitt in 1763, and immediately afterwards, William found a few of the local cracks. Amazed by what he'd seen, he quickly found his brother and they decided to try to make their fortune, or at least an honest living, in what they came to name New Dunston. They sent for the rest of the Somersets, who had been living outside the fort and caring for the few Gremlins they had brought to the colonies.

Another family, House Vester, was an old ally of the Somersets from the old world and was convinced to come to the new world to work with the Somerset's and stake their claim on this new territory in the praetermundus. After some early conflicts with some of the natives, several other European families, House Enfield and Creoda, moved into the area over he course of the nest decade. With their help the combined English Houses claimed much of the local preatermundus.

John and William had many dealings with a Thomas Angleterre, whose family also moved to the local area from Europe. They recognized that this French House had much better relations with the natives, and in 1782 suggested a mutual defense pact between the English Houses and Angleterre. Twelve years later the European Houses, with the help of the Shawnee, controlled most of what they now called New Dunston. House Somerset was opposed to the idea of forming a government beyond their mutual defense agreement, but quickly conceded to the other Houses after only a short argument. And so in 1794 the Peerage was created and House Somerset became a member.

William Thomas Somerset II was the General of the Army of the Peerage in the First Johnstown War. Assassinated near the end of the war, William became known as one of the most intelligent military minds of his generation. The Somersets have done well and have distinguished themselves in every major war that the various governments of New Dunston have had.

In the 1920's, Mildred Somerset and her two sons became interested in a new faction that came to the city called the Keepers of the Lost. They had assisted with some of the financing required to bring the Keepers to the city, believing that a library that contained "lost" books would raise New Dunston's prominence among the cities of the preatermundus. Because the library was not open to the public, Mildred approached the Keepers with an idea to form a more accessible library. Several members of Micah's Question became involved in the interest of searching out new material and the three factions formed the New Dunston Library.

Despite many members being at the forefront of the fighting, House Somerset was the most vocal about calling for the end to the latest war. They were instrumental in the Bergmann Family being brought into the government afterwards.

Gremlins

Gremlins look like young koalas with beady green eyes and mottled fur. While they can speak very basic English, and are quite cunning, they are not all that intelligent. When purchased the Gremlin is delivered within a small iron cage. When the cage is placed in the center of the room and opened the Gremlin will explode into activity. Running around the room and checking all corners the Gremlins will find and destroy any man made surveillance device, though buyer-beware.they sometimes get carried away and destroy other things too. With a Gremlin in the room, and a bit of soundproofing, you can be sure that no one is listening in with anything less than magic.

Gremlins have a natural ability to disrupt man-made objects of all sorts. Mechanical and electrical devices are quite easy and the simple presence of the Gremlin will usually be enough to break them. They can break other objects, such as swords, hammers, and even whole houses. Most Gremlins can break smaller hand held objects with a bit of concentration. Only the oldest can break the larger objects, and even those sometimes take quite a while.

Attempts to question the Gremlins about how they are treated by the Somersets have so far proven fruitless. Most Gremlins don't like to talk about it and those that do spin tall tales of grand Gremlin societies with magical castles and Gremlin heroes living happily ever-after.

The Business

Since inheriting his father's company in 1998, John has rented Gremlins to members of every other faction in New Dunston. A typical dealing usually involves:

A formal request for a Gremlin, sent by post
A meeting set up between the potential renter and John (or a selected delegate). This discussion includes where and when the Gremlin will be used and an introduction to Gremlin that will be doing the work.
A deposit is made.
An initial surveying of the facilities where the Gremlin will be used.
Delivery of the Gremlin and further instructions on its use.
Return of the Gremlin including an inspection of the Gremlin.

Relationships with Others

The Somersets are generally friendly towards all of their clients, and they get along especially well with the Order of the Silver Oak, the Businessman's Club, and the Speakeasy. They recently helped the Bergmanns find a seat among the Common Factions, which has led to a mutually beneficial relationship between the two houses.

The Somersets have upset House Creoda, House Slattery, and the Buena Vista College, but despite some animosity coming from the outside, the Somerset House has claimed not to hold any grudges. It seems they may occasionally vote against matters which would benefit the Creoda, but it's hard to say that it's due to a grudge.

"Secrets"

No one mentions the word "lesbian" when talking about the two, but it is understood that Lisa and Carol are a couple and that any one who harasses either woman will have a very difficult time with any and all electronic and mechanical devices in his home for a good while afterwards.