Schloss Industries
Schloss Industries is a Gregoreicher techcorp specializing in automaton, automobile, and weapon manufacturing. It is one of the most rich and powerful corporations in Altea and has development contracts with the Gregoreich Army as well as the United Altean Military.
Despite the company's exceptional wealth, Schloss has been mired by scandal and controversy in recent years. The company has been struggling with labor disputes for months as workers guilds have gone on strike for better pay and working conditions. In 1870, Schloss was caught up in a scandal involving an arcanatech weapon called the Harvester, built with proprietary Schloss tech, that was used to start a great sickness in Spire City's Sylvan Enclave, which killed dozens of sylvan civilians. Schloss has also been suspected of corporate sabotage and murder ever since the mysterious fire that killed the central development team at Viridian Technlogies, a subsidiary of Schloss.
Public Agenda
Schloss Industries sells itself as an autotech company, specifically service droids and automobiles for use in daily life. They are also known for their military contracts, which they wear with pride. "Schloss technology keeps our lands safe" is a common slogan in corporate advertisements.
Assets
Millions of Union dollars and Gregoreich marks, several production facilities, a private army, exclusive contracts with the Gregoreich and Union militaries.
History
Schloss Industries was founded in 1818 by Johan Schloss, a Gregoreicher engineer and son of a respected army general. Johan was an autodroid specialist who saw an opportunity to reinforce the then-struggling Gregoreich army with armored autodroids. After building a prototype, he presented it to his father, who then pushed for the military to fund his son's project. With his first exclusive military contract in hand, Johan set to work. The first line of Eisenschilde autodroids were deployed in 1820 and helped achieve a key victory for Gregoreich, and by extension the Alliance, which helped to turn the tide of the Altean Civil Wars. Production of Eisenschilde autodroids continued past the end of the wars and the founding of the Altean Union, and the modern Eisenschilde Mk. VI still stands as the Gregoreich army's primary autodroid unit.
Schloss Industries developed the first mass-produced automobile in 1862.
In 1870, Schloss was implicated in a major conspiracy in Spire City. While investigating the Pale Sickness that affecting sylvan civilians in the Sylvan Enclave, a kazin private detective and her companions discovered a device in the catacombs that was draining sylvan of their life force. The device was found to be built using Schloss technology. Though Schloss denied having any knowledge or involvement in the Harvester's development, claiming that a rogue engineer had constructed it, the company's public reputation took a major hit.
