Warrior House

The Capellan Warrior Houses are semi-religious military orders within the Capellan Confederation, independent from the regular Capellan Confederation Armed Forces. They are a unique feature of the Capellan military, and well known and feared throughout the Inner Sphere. They are typically abbreviated "WH".

Sworn "to the Chancellor and to the Confederation" and fanatically loyal to House Liao, the Warrior Houses are autonomous monastic organizations operating as combined arms regiments, typically pairing highly trained infantry with one or two battalions of 'Mechs, and occasionally armor elements. They operate under traditional House laws based on the Warrior House guidelines, which were created by Colonel Hiritza Hikaru from a somewhat revised concept of the Lorix Order, modeled along the Korvin Doctrine.

The first Warrior House, House Imarra, was formed by the Chancellor's Decree of Martial Unity in 2864.

The Warrior Houses played an important role in Maximilian Liao's reach for power in 2990, and he authorized an increase of established Warrior House regiments from four to eight the following year.

Owing to their structure, the Warrior Houses are mainly used as special forces rather than frontline troops, and have access to the best equipment that the Capellan Confederation has to offer. For this preferential treatment, they have a strained relationship with the regular Capellan military most of the time.

Membership in a Warrior House is regarded as a great honor. Members wear long Katana blades (at least with their ceremonial uniforms) and are trained experts in a wide variety of martial skills, including piloting a BattleMech, infantry training, infiltration, espionage and specialist training.

Each Warrior House is led by a House Master with subordinate Mentors. Suitable membership candidates are chosen at the age of 12 by the House Master, and then educated and trained by the House for a lifetime of service. It is very rare, although not unheard of, for a House member to leave the order. Warrior House pupils lead a life apart from normal society; each House strives to inculcate basic martial philosophy and discipline, and each member is required to take various House Vows.

There is no formal ranking among the Warrior House Orders, although House Imarra is considered the first among equals. The eight major Houses, in order of seniority, are as follows:

House Imarra

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Imarra

The first of the Warrior Houses.

Since House Imarra is primus inter pares among the Warrior Houses, the Imarra House Master is the accepted spokesman for all the Warrior Houses together.

House Kamata

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Kamata

One of two Warrior Houses that deploy their own Aerospace assets.

House Hiritsu

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Hiritsu

Founded on the Lorix Order reinforced by Confucianism, which demands that the warriors of this House respect all positions in society from the Chancellor to the Citizen.

House Lu Sann

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Lu Sann

The fourth Warrior House to be founded, which believes in applying the Lorix Order at all levels of Capellan society. This has led them to criticize Chancellors in the past, so they are rarely rated as "Fanatical" in loyalty.

House Dai Da Chi

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Dai Da Chi

One of only two Warrior Houses to field their own Aerospace contingent. Also the only Warrior House to have two Battalions of 'Mechs.

House Fujita

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Fujita

Founded on principles derived from Bushido.

House Ma-Tsu Kai

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Ma-Tsu Kai

The only Warrior House with a non-military founder.

House Ijori

Also see Main Article: Warrior House Ijori

The only Warrior House to field two Infantry Battalions.

Other Houses

There may be minor Warrior Houses in existence in addition to the aforementioned eight Houses which are frequently referred to as the "major" Warrior Houses. The Capellan Chancellor can create or disband Warrior Houses at any time.

Some also consider the Capellan Death Commandos to be a Warrior House in the wider sense, or at least a related institution. However, it should be noted that the Death Commandos are part of the regular Capellan military and have a particularly strained relationship with the Warrior Houses; they are often set against the Warrior Houses in political maneuvering. Yet, they exclusively recruited (or drafted) their personnel from the Warrior Houses until they opened up for qualified personnel from regular line regiments in 3003.

Warrior House Ranking Conventions

Much like they are a rank apart from the CCAF as a whole, the Warrior Houses employ their own unique ranking convention. However, like the CCAF under the tenets of Xin Sheng, the ranks and their names have been altered:

Old Rank	New Rank
House Master	Shiao-zhang (Lord Colonel)
Battalion Leader	Ying-zhang (Lieutenant Colonel [Infantry])
Company Leader	Lien-zhang (Major)
Lance/Platoon Leader	Pai-zhang (Captain)
Squad Leader	Ban-zhang (Lieutenant)
Infantryman	Zhang-si (Lance Corporal)