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Dragonmarked Houses
No other group exerts as much influence over the Five
Nations as the combined membership of the dragon
marked houses. Each dragonmarked house is part noble
family and part business cartel, involved in businesses
ranging from hospitality to espionage-for-hire.
The reach of the houses is so yxtensive that they have
interests in every facet of life in the civilized lands of
Khorvaire and beyond. Those interests often bring them
into conflict with local rulers and national governments.
Unified Galifar had the strength and influence to impose
its will on the collected dragonmarked houses, but in
the wake of the war it remains to be seen if any single
nation has the resources to challenge them.
Although most houses have distinct spheres of inter
est, their concerns overlap just enough to cause friction.
House Orien's control of transportation and shipping is
threatened by the growing reach of House Lyrandar's
airships. House Tharashk's arrangement with Droaam
threatens House Deneith's monopoly on providing mer
cenary services. House Cannith lost its leadership in the
Mourning, and rival barons are fighting for control of
the house.
An organization called the Twelve seeks to medi-
ate disputes and encourage cooperation between the
houses. Adventurers could be caught up in the rivalries
and schemes of the houses, or they could work with the
Twelve in an effort to resolve these feuds.THE HOUSES IN THE WAR
The dragonmarked houses generally thrived during
the Last War. Each house's unique talents were easily
adapted to the war effort. Ostensibly neutral in the con
flict, the houses made huge profits by selling services
and material to every nation involved in the war. For all
the houses, ultimately, the war years were a time of vig
orous growth and increased influence.
In some ways, though, the dragonmarked houses
did feel the brunt of the conflict. House Cannith, for in
stance, suffered great setbacks near the end of the war.
Many of its foundries and factories were destroyed, and
the Treaty of Thronehold forced the house to dismantle
the creation forges that produced the warforged. Worst
of all for the house, the destruction of Cyre left Cannith
without a clear leader, resulting in the house being frag
mented into three semi-independent branches.
In another major development, House Thuranni broke
away from House Phiarlan during the war, in part be
cause of the conflicts of interest that arose within an
espionage organization that was being called on to serve
multiple sides in a complex conflict.ARCANE WORKSHOP
Map 4.1 depicts an arcane workshop, of a sort com
monly constructed by the fabricators of House Cannith.
These fa cilities are well stocked with raw materials,
artisans' tools, and magical reagents. Most of them have
small libraries containing works related to the work
shop's signature creations.CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURESARCANE WORKSHOP FEATURES
Arcane workshops have many features in common,
from workbenches and tools to diagrams etched into
the floors and walls. Although most workshops are
controlled by House Cannith, that house is not the only
group of artificers who build and operate such locations.
Zil gnomes who bind elementals and Mror dwarves who
forge powerful weapons and armor must have spaces
devoted to that work. The wizards of Arcanix in Aundair
who create magic items and test new spells build spe
cialized workshops for those purposes.ARCANE WORKSHOP ADVENTURES
Characters might find their way to an arcane workshop
for a variety of reasons. Some possibilities are outlined
in the Arcane Workshop Adventures table.ARCANE WORKSHOP ADVENTURES
dl2 Adventure Goal
Steal a pattern for creating a magic item, before the
workshop's artificers finish making the item.
2 Petition the ranking artificer for access to the work
shop's specialized library.
3
456Use the workshop to create a crucial magic item.
Locate a stolen construct that has been modified for
use as a servant in the workshop.
Storm the workshop before the artificers complete a
doomsday weapon.
Investigate the workshop for signs of the illegal
creation of warforged.
7 Defend the workshop against an invasion while the
artificers try to repair a magic item.
8 Bring an unknown artifact to the workshop so the
artificers can identify it.
9 Convince the owners of the workshop to give up one
of their subordinates, who is wanted for crimes in
another nation.
10 Escort a newly discovered bearer of the Mark of Mak
ing to the closest Cannith workshop.
11 Seek assistance from the workshop's masters to
determine why a young artificer's magic is producing
unpredictable, often dangerous results.
12 Request assistance from the artificers in recovering
crucial memories from a destroyed construct or
warforged.DRAGON MARKED NPC s
The reach and influence of the dragonmarked houses
means that they can play many roles in a campaign.
Dragonmarked heirs can be valuable patrons.