Eberron - Rising from the Last War

72

VOICE OF

l�'lANlO

BLOOD ADDICTS'

DRAGON DRUG

Imagine it: a long-lasting state of euphoria, a feeling

of power and energy, a measurable impact on certain

magical powers, and the risk of addiction and deadly

overdose with every use. That's the thrill of the drug

called dragon's blood, which currently enjoys skyrock­

eting popularity in Sham. Every day the death toll from

this mysterious substance rises among "blood addicts."

And no wonder, as it's produced in Droaam and sold in

drams or "veins" by the monstrous thugs of Daask, who

surely seek nothing less than to destroy the prosperity of

Sham but targeting its most precious resource: its sober,

hardworking people. Remember friends, "Stay on the

wagon. Say NO to dragon!"

Running Your Own. Rather than join an existing

syndicate, you can start your own. You need to establish

your own headquarters and direct the activities of the

3d6 criminals who work for you. By claiming a 15 per­

cent share of their take, you can rely on an income that

will sustain you at a modest lifestyle, plus an additional

ld6 gp in profit per week. You can access contraband

and fe nces as described earlier in this section, but you

don't get a discount at syndicate-owned businesses un­

less you acquire some businesses of your own. You can

also use the Running a Business downtime activity to

direct the activities of your syndicate.

Dragonmarked House

Yo ur group works for one of the most influential or­

ganizations in Khorvaire: the dragonmarked houses.

Whether or not any member of your group carries a

dragonmark or is even related to one of the houses by

blood, you act on behalf of a house to advance its inter­

ests. You might function openly as representatives of the

house, wearing its badge and exerting its authority, or

you could be covert or unacknowledged agents.

The thirteen dragonmarked houses are described in

detail earlier in this chapter.

PATRON BENEFITS

With a dragonmarked house as your group's patron, you

gain the fo llowing benefits:

Compensation. Your patron house pays you for the

work you do on its behalf. On average, the house pays

each member of your group an amount equal to 10

gp x the average level of your characters per day you

spend on the mission.

CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER CREATION

House Services. When you require the services pro­

vided by your patron house, you can secure them at

a discounted rate (10 percent off the normal charge).

You might also be able to trade in a favor to get ex­

traordinary services or a larger discount.

Independence. Each member of your group is issued

papers that identifies you as agents of your patron

house. Because the dragonmarked houses are bound

to political neutrality by the terms of the ancient Korth

Edicts, these papers guarantee you the right to travel

freely across national borders on the business of your

patron house. (If you assert that you are on the busi­

ness of the house, even if you aren't, border agents are

unlikely to challenge you.)

BUILD YO UR GROUP

Dragonmarked houses employ adventurers who suit

their needs. The roles characters play in a group with a

dragonmarked house patron often have more to do with

their relationship to the house than with the specific

roles in the party. Consider some or all of these roles for

your characters:

Adventurer. Some characters are associated with your

patron house because of their connection to its ruling

family or its businesses. The Adventurer, though, is

hired by the house for more traditional adventuring

skills-usually capabilities that the house's other

agents lack. The Adventurer might have a wide range

of abilities, particular to whatever needs the House

has at the time. Many with peculiar skills or highly

specific fields of expertise find themselves in the em­

ploy of dragonmarked houses or house members with

eccentric interests and deep pockets.

Guilder. Every dragonmarked house is more than a sin­

gle family. Each house encompasses at least one guild

that operates just like a traditional craft or trade guild,

and hundreds of people associate with these guilds

while having no other relationship to the houses that

oversee them. The Guilder is among these, perhaps

being a skilled physician or cleric in Housejorasco's

Healers Guild, for example, or an inquisitive associ­

ated with House Tharashk's Finders Guild. The Guil­

der might have the guild artisan background or some

other set of skills suited to the specialties of your pa­

tron house's guilds.

Heir. The Heir is a member of your dragonmarked

house patron, related by blood and carrying the house

name. This character most likely chooses the race that

matches the bloodline of the house. The Heir can be

dragonmarked (with the appropriate marked subrace

or racial variant) or unmarked. The house agent back­

ground (described in this chapter) proves particularly

appropriate for this character.

HOUSE MISSIONS

Your group and your DM should decide together which

house employs you. The nature of the missions you un­

dertake depends in part on the house or guild you work

for, but there are general categories of work that every

house needs agents to perform on its behalf. The House