Any thoughts on where they get their money from?

The core rulebook tells us that the dynasty almost collapsed seventy-five years ago after the head of the family, Scelestes Machenko was condemned as a witch, and that the dynasty has recovered mysteriously quickly despite there being no obvious source for its great wealth. The rulebook doesn't go any further than saying that dark rumours abound about where the money comes from. We are also told that no one has been able to find evidence of 'impiety' during the dynasty's return to power.

Personally, I'd prefer the dynasty to be up to something less obvious than sorcery or daemonic pacts. Whoever is head of the dynasty now would have to be stupidly reckless to turn to warpcraft when a pall of suspicion about that kind of thing still hangs over the family. So, some possibilities I've been pondering:

Smuggling- The dynasty has turned from legitimate trade to smuggling in the hope that higher profit margins will help them to claw back their lost fortunes. This might include involvement in the cold trade. The big question with this would be whether smuggling, even on a huge scale, could prove profitable enough to rebuild the fortunes of a great house so quickly

Outside backers- The dynasty has gained the financial backing of of some other shadowy organisation. Peraps the dynasty is now little more than a front for someone else. But who? The Logicians or perhaps a powerful Inquisitor spring to mind as possibilities.

The magic of the market- The new wealth of the dynasty is built upon financial speculation at the Goldenhand. This goes beyond the kind of investment most great houses engage in- Machenko have everything riding on the markets. Of course, a seventy-five year winning streak is pretty incredible, so what's their secret? Witchcraft is out, so maybe they're manipulating the markets illegally (key commodities shipments attacked in transit, vital factories sabbotaged), or maybe they've developed aome new technique for predicting the movement of the markets (huge archaeotech cogitator crunching reams of stolen data, maybe something verging on a silica animus).

The reason I ask about this is that one of the antagonists for a campaign I'm planning is going to be a sorcerer, and I'd like him to be the heir of Scelestes Machenko. Rather than the family being complicit, however, I'd like the sorcerer to be hiding his activities from the dynasty as a whole- they are so paranoid about the possibility of another witchcraft conviction in the dynasty that they would kill him if they found out. To add another layer of plot hooks I'd like to have an idea of what the Machenko dynasty as a whole is up to.

Anything you'd like to throw into the mix would be much appreciated!

It is very possible that the Machenko dynasty is up to no good. They themselves may be hiring pirate conclaves to attack and raid rival shipping. It is also possible that due to their past they may have drawn hidden support from elements of the Inquisition, especially if it was a member of the dynasty who blew the whistle on their warp-dabbling previous family head. They may have called in markers on various other families which were actually honorable enough to hold to their debts and/or allies. It is also possible that they had considerable assets hidden away which they could readily liquidate for "rainy days."

Honestly, I think there is some truth to all of the above. Dishonest business, backing by powerful sources, continued support from old allies and a degree of planning ahead for the worst.

-=Brother Praetus=-

In fact, "powerfull backers" was the first thing that came to my mind after reading the info in the core rules . A possible option (which I personally despise) is that some of this wealth was gained with the help of the Amaranthine Syndicate. I am not found of them, but they seem to be a key element of the Calixis Sector Background. So, why not?

You idea abouth the cogitators is nice. Inspired by "Ravenour"? The "no-one knows where it comes from" speaks for a powerfull backer, unless the Machenko are real artists in the field of financial investment strategy. In this case, I think that both the "Goldenhand" and the Krin should know what´s going on...or should be able to guess. After all, they are "powerhouses" in this field as well.

Unfortunately, besides building up a huge smoke screen around them, the core rules do offer little info.

I'd wondered about the Amaranthyn syndicate too, but I'm not keen on the Slauth as villains either.

I like Brother Praetus' suggestion that someone within the dynasty exposed the witchcraft at the top, perhaps colluding with an Inquisitor to take over the dynasty. What if the new head of the dynasty had used his insider knowledge of the impending crisis in the dynasty to adopt financial positions that actually allowed him to profit from the crisis? In one fell swoop he could have destroyed a family rival, siezed control of the dynasty, and made himself hugely wealthy. Then he uses his new personal wealth to reward his favorites among his recently impoverished family, cementing his position. With this new arrangement in place, the Inquisitor who convicted Scelestes Machenko starts using the dynasty as a means of profiting financially from the activites of her acolytes. When the Inquisitor sanctions sabottage, assassinations, and executions she tips-off the Machenko dynasty. Where the tips have commercial implications the dynasty uses them to make huge bets in the Goldenhand. The inquisitor, perhaps an Istavaan or Recongregator, takes a cut and ploughs the proceeds back into her network, enhancing its ability to create unrest and instability in the sector.

House Krin and the Goldenhand itself must have noticed the strange investment patterns of house Machenko, but they probably can't prove anything. Of course, this might just inspire these two factions to take less conventional action against Machenko...

On the other hand, what's the cogitator link to Ravenor? I haven't read the series but I'd happily 'borrow' ideas from it.

Ravenor -Spoiler-

If you want to read the books and not have it spoiled don't read.

The bad guys are picking them up from worlds that are banned, since they where under the influence of a warp storm. The navy had the whole set of systems interdicted because of taint. Had some really powerful backers in their pocket. Good set of books for ideas. Also, the other set by the same author is quite good.