Eberron - Rising from the Last War

(Joyce) #1

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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
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