The Industrialists

Industrialist Characters

Alignment: Usually lawful, often neutral
Suggested Races: Human, Automaton
Suggested Classes: Face, Marshal
Suggested Archetypes: Suave, Diplomat, Authority
Suggested Ladders: Born Leader, Savant

You might enjoy playing a character who belongs to the Industrialists if one or more of the following statements are true:

  • You want to play a character who thrives on innovation, wealth, and wielding influence through economic power and industrial dominance.
  • You want to explore a role where building alliances, securing trade deals, and managing production lines are as important as combat or intrigue.
  • You want to be part of a faction dedicated to expanding industry and commerce, driven by ambition and the promise of progress.
  • You’re drawn to the challenge of amassing wealth and influence in a world where competition and corruption are ever-present forces, even if it means making morally questionable choices.

Background: Industrialist

If your character was born and raised in the bustling heart of Salvation, you can choose this background instead of those listed in the Ultra Modern Redux rule book.

From a young age, you were exposed to the fast-paced world of commerce and innovation. Whether through family ties to powerful business leaders or a personal knack for invention, you were groomed to understand the intricacies of industry, trade, and economic power. Your education focused on resource management, negotiation, and strategic thinking, forging you into a key player in the Industrialist faction. Whether you fully embrace the cutthroat nature of the industrial world or harbor a secret distaste for its ruthless tactics is your choice, but you’ve emerged as a respected entrepreneur or industrial strategist, trusted to lead in high-stakes situations where hesitation could mean financial disaster.

  • Skill Proficiency: Persuasion and Intimidation
  • Languages: One language of your choice
  • Renown 1 and Rank 1 with the Industrialists

Feature: Trusty Assistant

Your business has provided you with a loyal assistant—an experienced manager, agent, overseer, or skilled clerk. This retainer handles essential but mundane tasks, such as negotiating minor trade deals, making purchases, delivering correspondence, and managing logistics on your behalf. They are invaluable in maintaining your operations and ensuring smooth day-to-day affairs.

However, they will not engage in combat or accompany you into dangerous situations, such as hostile territories or hazardous industrial zones. If the assistant is placed in frequent danger or mistreated, they may abandon their post. Should they be lost or otherwise incapacitated, your family or business will assign a new assistant within a few days.

Common Person
Character | May 2, 2025

Suggested Characteristics

Members of the Industrialists are shaped by lives immersed in commerce, competition, and the pursuit of profit. Their personalities reflect their ambition, their skill in navigating complex power dynamics, and their ability to balance innovation with ruthless pragmatism.

While many Industrialists remain pragmatic and calculating, some struggle with the moral dilemmas inherent in their work—whether it’s the exploitation of resources, the harsh conditions in factories, or the manipulation of markets. This inner conflict may manifest as a quiet ambition to change the system from within or a growing dissatisfaction with the faction’s goals. Despite these tensions, Industrialists form powerful alliances, united by shared ambition and the promise of prosperity for themselves—and perhaps, for the city.

Contacts

Members of the Industrialists are deeply entrenched in the city’s production, trade, and economic power structures. Their mission places them in regular contact with influential business leaders, factory workers, and trade officials. Due to their role in shaping Salvation’s economy, they often interact with a variety of characters, from wealthy investors to rival magnates and ambitious entrepreneurs.

Their position at the heart of the city’s economic engine leads to both respect and rivalry. While many view them as essential to Salvation’s prosperity, others see them as exploitative opportunists. Over time, Industrialists develop a wide range of contacts, providing them with access to valuable resources and information, but also drawing the attention of enemies who seek to undermine their efforts.

Gain four contacts from the contact table below. Two are allies, and two are rivals.

Structure

Where Do I Fit In?

You play a critical role within the Industrialists, a powerful and pragmatic faction dedicated to expanding the boundaries of technological advancement, controlling key resources, and ensuring the survival of civilization through innovation. Your position might range from an apprentice engineer learning the basics of machinery and resource management, to a seasoned operator responsible for maintaining critical infrastructure or overseeing key industrial projects. Alternatively, you could serve as a director, coordinating large-scale production efforts, managing trade negotiations, and ensuring the Industrialists remain the dominant power in the region.

The Industrialists offer clear avenues for advancement, where your ingenuity, leadership, and technical expertise directly impact the prosperity and safety of society. Whether you are refining your skills as a machinist, working on groundbreaking inventions, or rising through the ranks to shape the Industrialists’ policies, this faction gives you both purpose and the opportunity to gain wealth, influence, and prestige. Your contributions are vital not only to industrial progress but also to ensuring that the future remains in the hands of those with vision and discipline.

Rank and Renown

Rank 1: Apprentice

  • Prerequisite: Renown 1 with the Industrialists

Apprentices receive foundational training in engineering, mechanics, and resource extraction. They work under the supervision of senior members to gain practical experience in maintaining industrial operations.

Benefits:

  • Granted the Industrialists' insignia, identifying your membership.
  • You gain the Crafter Feat (see side bar)

FRANCHISE NOTE

The following ranks will be awarding benefits that are based off the Franchise rules presented in Acquisitions Incorporated reference those rules for the mentioned benefits.

Rank 2: Technician

  • Prerequisite: Rank 13, Renown 3 with the Industrialists

Technicians are trusted operatives who maintain and improve industrial systems. They are responsible for small-scale projects and troubleshooting technical issues.

Benefits:

  • Gain an additional contact with the Industrialists
  • You gain Franchise Rank 1
  • You gain Rank 1 in a Company Position

Rank 3: Engineer

  • Prerequisite: Rank 25, Renown 5 with the Industrialists

Engineers are specialists in building and maintaining advanced machinery. They lead small teams and take on high-priority projects.

Benefits:

  • Gain an additional contact with the Industrialists
  • You gain Franchise Rank 2
  • You gain Rank 2 a Company Position

Rank 4: Overseer

  • Prerequisite: Rank 37, Renown 10 with the Industrialists

Overseers are responsible for directing industrial operations, from managing resource output to coordinating large-scale construction. They enforce Consortium policies and ensure optimal efficiency.

Benefits:

  • Gain an additional contact with the Industrialists
  • You gain Franchise Rank 3
  • You gain Rank 3 a Company Position

Rank 5: Director

  • Prerequisite: Rank 50, Renown 15 with the Industrialists

Directors lead critical industrial divisions, such as energy production, advanced manufacturing, or trade negotiations. Their decisions influence the entire region's economy.

Benefits:

  • Gain an additional contact with the Industrialist
  • You gain Franchise Rank 4
  • You gain Rank 4 a Company Position

Through Innovation, Dominion.

Born from the relentless march of progress and an unyielding belief in innovation, the Industrialists stand as the epitome of technological advancement and order. Emerging in an era when the clash between magic and machine threatened to fracture society, the faction took root among those who saw machinery, industry, and intellect as humanity’s greatest weapons against chaos. Its members are driven by a singular creed: that the future belongs to those who can shape it through precision, discipline, and invention. From massive foundries to towering steel buildings, the faction has built a network of power that fuels its rise toward dominance.

This faction thrives on structure, valuing ingenuity as highly as loyalty. Its ranks are composed of engineers, inventors, and industrialists who believe that technological mastery is the key to survival. Where others cling to ancient traditions, the Industrialists pave the way forward with cold, calculated resolve. Whether revered as saviors or reviled as conquerors, its members carry the weight of progress on their shoulders, determined to forge a world where order reigns supreme and the weak are left behind.

You step into the cluttered, yet oddly meticulous workshop, the air thick with the scent of oil and metal. The hum of machinery buzzes softly in the background as you’re greeted by a young technician, their face a mix of excitement and uncertainty. They stand proudly beside a half-finished contraption, the kind of invention that could change everything—or fall apart in an instant. You can see the raw ambition in their eyes, a spark that only someone who’s just taken the first step into the world of business can have. With a firm handshake, they introduce themselves, eager to explain their new venture—a startup focused on refining the machines that power the faction’s infrastructure. Every word they speak is filled with a passionate belief that their creations will help shape the future, though it’s clear that the road ahead will be challenging.

As you listen, you catch the slight tremor in their voice, a quiet admission that this is their moment of truth. They’re determined, but the weight of responsibility presses down on them as they navigate the complex maze of commerce, competition, and innovation. You can’t help but admire their resolve, knowing that their journey will be filled with both triumphs and setbacks, but they’re committed to forging their path, one gear at a time.

Alternative Names
Consortium of Progress (an old name), Brasslords (slang)
Demonym
Industrialists, Cogs (slang)
Location
Related Species

Goals

  1. Expand Industrial Growth – Build and upgrade factories, refineries, and production facilities to maintain economic dominance.
  2. Monopolize Trade – Secure and control key trade routes, negotiate exclusive contracts, and eliminate competition.
  3. Influence Policy – Lobby for policies that favor industrial interests, reduce regulations, and ensure a free-market economy.
  4. Advance Technology – Fund research into new technologies that enhance productivity and expand their power base.
  5. Ensure Stability – Maintain social order by keeping the workforce employed and ensuring the continued flow of goods and services.
Invention is not born from comfort—it’s forged in the fires of necessity. And we, my friends, are the ones holding the flame.
— Silas Korrin, Founder of the Faction

Influence

The Industrialists wield immense economic power, making them a formidable force in Salvation’s political landscape. They can sway policy decisions related to industry, taxation, and trade through wealth, negotiation, and strategic alliances. Their influence is strongest in economic matters, but they are known to hire private enforcers to ensure their interests are protected, sometimes clashing with other factions, such as the Mage Slayers or the Bureaucratic Class.

Their wealth also enables them to sponsor public works, gain favor with the populace, and support cultural institutions, though their motives are often questioned.

Progress doesn’t wait for permission. We move forward, or we are crushed beneath the weight of those who will.
— Director Althea Smith

Crafter Feat

You gain the following benefits.

  • Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with three different Artisan’s Tools of your choice from the Fast Crafting table.
  • Discount. Whenever you buy a nonmagical item, you receive a 20 percent discount on it.
  • Fast Crafting. When you finish a Long Rest, you can craft one piece of gear from the Fast Crafting table, provided you have the Artisan’s Tools associated with that item and have proficiency with those tools. The item lasts until you finish another Long Rest, at which point the item falls apart.
Artisan's ToolsCrafted Gear
Carpenter's ToolsLadder, Torch
Leatherworker's ToolsCase, Pouch
Mason's ToolsBlock and Tackle
Potter's ToolsJug, Lamp
Smith's ToolsBall Bearings, Bucket, Caltrops, Grappling Hook, Iron Pot
Tinker's ToolsBell, Shovel, Tinder Box
Weaver's ToolsBasket, Rope, Net, Tent
Woodcarver's ToolsClub, Greatclub, Quarterstaff
Steel and will are our only allies. Trust them, and you’ll never be left defenseless.
— Engineer-Knight Garrik Torven, Renowned Field Operative

Allies

These two factions often work together to meet mutual goals. However, they are sometimes in conflict regarding policy and economics. The Technocrats take a very narrow view, believing that technological development is all that matters. The Industrialists recognize that the settlement needs more then new technology. They need a stable food supply and able bodied workers.

Neutral

They a rarely involved in each others affairs.

Comments

Author's Notes

Images created using Imagen 3.


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