House Thuranni

Given House Thuranni’s short history and specific focus, you are expected to further the interests of the house at every opportunity. These are the house’s formative years as an independent entity, and every move you make is watched closely. This is not to say that every heir of Thuranni must actively spy at the behest of house elders, but even the house’s most insular artists and artisans are expected to keep up with current political events, and to pass on or collect information when asked.

By choosing the path of espionage, you are joining a secret society that monitors its agents closely. The Shadow Network differs from the Serpentine Table in both its agenda and its methods, and prospective members are encouraged to remember this. Because of its aggressive techniques, the network relies heavily on the loyalty of its members. As such, serving efficiently and consistently is the surest way to earn the respect of one’s peers within the house.

Undertaking missions for the Shadow Network requires strength and certainty in equal proportions. If the companions in your party are not of House Thuranni, they need to respect that you have ties you cannot disclose—or will need to be replaced with new allies. The house has next to no sympathy for those who would jeopardize its existence with even a moment’s indiscretion.

Thuranni chooses its clients and assignments carefully, and any mission you are given will be as important as it is likely dangerous. As with House Phiarlan, Thuranni agents specialize in making magical observation easier by getting close to targets on the ground. Especially with the house’s growing reputation as assassins, the most important part of any mission is to ensure that your work goes undetected.

Should your work for the house bring you into the service of the Dragon’s Path, you can expect your assignments to encompass more than the routine politics of the Five Nations and the dragonmarked houses. The eternal question of what destiny the dragonmarked serve lingers deep in the heart of your house. As a result, you might find yourself engaging in more traditional adventuring—seeking old lore, reclaiming relics of the past, digging through lost tombs—in your ongoing search for the secrets of the past and future. Such expeditions might even bring you into contact with the dragons themselves, about whom your superiors are always cautiously interested in learning more.

As a young house, Thuranni can ill afford mistakes— particularly conspicuous ones. Ambition and talent will take you far in the house, but only espionage work that hows results and goes undetected will see that ambition and talent recognized.

Because its artistic endeavors are so closely tied to its spying, Thuranni expects its heirs to be as ambitious with their creativity as they are with their undercover work. Heirs should strive to make an impression in their artistic field, and to cultivate a reputation that grants them access to the upper levels of Khorvairian society and the secrets held there.

Joining House Thuranni

By virtue of its young age and dark business, House Thuranni is a remarkably guarded organization. Where House Phiarlan found it necessary to open up while rebuilding after the Shadow Schism, the heirs of Thuranni have sealed their operations tightly. The house intends to concentrate on solidifying its power base for the time being, rather than embracing new and potentially troublesome members. At the same time, the house is obliged to accept foundlings and other legitimate heirs (if only to prevent Phiarlan from snapping them up), but such members are always watched closely.

After the Shadow Schism, House Thuranni adopted the displacer beast as its symbol, invoking that creature’s ability to appear to be in one place while actually in another, a hallmark of Thuranni operatives long before the house’s secession. The Thuranni coat of arms also includes the image of a length of chain attached to a spiked bar. Heirs claim it symbolizes both their power and the chains that once bound them to tradition and to the Phiarlan. Those few who dare to imply that the image’s similarity to a flail—the traditional weapon of the Order of the Emerald Claw—is anything more than coincidence are likely to face mocking derision in public, and in private, much, much worse.

Where the elves of Phiarlan employ the mask of shadows as a secondary standard, Thuranni has adopted the symbol of a crescent moon, its face wreathed in shadow. Members of the house wear this symbol in the form of a small pendant, often hidden beneath the tunic or shirt.

Unlike the house from which it split, House Thuranni makes no pretense to neutrality. The house sees its actions as having greater purpose than simply supporting the subtle machinations of lords and kings. This ideological separation combines with the house’s business philosophy to make heirs of Thuranni more ruthless and aggressive than the Phiarlan.

House Thuranni observes the traditional hierarchy of the dragonmarked, but also maintains divisions based on the roles heirs play within the house. Though House Phiarlan still maintains its own center for the Demesne of Shape in Thaliost, all serious students of architecture, costuming, painting, pottery, and sculpture study at the true heart of the discipline—the House Thuranni enclave in the Karrnathi city of Atur. Thuranni calls its demesne the True Shapers as an unsubtle jibe toward Phiarlan, and students from all races and nations study under its master artists and artisans. The True Shapers is run by Lord Eriz d’Thuranni (CN male elf).

Where the Serpentine Table is but one aspect of House Phiarlan, its mirror sect among the Thuranni is the true face of the house—and all other sects merely veils of convenience. The talent and vision of Thuranni artists is real, but so too is the dedication with which they pursue other, darker arts.

NPC Reactions

Most residents of Khorvaire have a passing knowledge that the elves of the Mark of Shadow now comprise two distinct families, but few have any real knowledge of the Shadow Schism or the philosophical divisions that drove the split. Those familiar with the art world know that the heirs of Thuranni comprise the talented painters, sculptors, and architects that once blessed House Phiarlan, but Thuranni heirs typically receive the same degree of respect and awe as Phiarlan heirs (and are often mistaken for them).

Those who know of the Shadow Network are more reserved in their dealings with members of the house, though this apprehension can either improve or worsen starting attitudes, depending on the circumstances.

House Thuranni’s strongest ally among the dragonmarked houses is House Tharashk. The House of Finding is also young and ambitious, and was quick to side with Thuranni after the Schism. Heirs of Phiarlan react to Thuranni with cold detachment, and prefer to keep any encounters brief. At the same time, both houses share a wariness of the Bloody Shadows, who are more hostile to heirs of Thuranni than any other group.

The Shadow Network has safe houses hidden across Khorvaire, but the major enclaves of House Thuranni are found in Karrnath and the Lhazaar Principalities. Since the Schism, House Thuranni has been expanding its operations and has established small enclaves in Q’barra and Droaam.

Regalport: The oldest and largest House Thuranni enclave is in Regalport, the capital city of the Lhazaar Principalities. This is the home of Baron Elar d’Thuranni, who divides his time between this city and a smaller outpost in the Dancing Shadows district of Sharn.

Stonespur: There are rumors that Baron Elar has been constructing secret enclaves for activities that the Shadow Network wants to hide even from trusted clients. Sailors claim to have seen a black citadel near the island of Stonespur, protected with powerful magic; this could be one of Elar’s secret fortresses.

Tantamar: This town, centrally located in the mainland portion of the Lhazaar Principalities, is the heart of House Thuranni’s activities on Khorvaire proper. The house has established a grand theater in Tantamar, and the finest artists of the Shadow Network perform on this stage.

True Shaper's Demesne: When the Thuranni were part of House Phiarlan, they oversaw the Demesne of Shape, home to the material arts. Following the Shadow Schism, House Thuranni retained possession of the demesne, located in Atur in Karrnath. When House Phiarlan established a new Demesne of Shape in Thaliost, House Thuranni renamed its enclave the True Shapers. It is home to some of the finest masters of architecture, costuming, sculpture, and painting; students come from across Khorvaire to learn from them.

Like Orien, it’s pretty straightforward; a feared predator who’s never where you think it is. What better symbol for a house of shadowy assassins?

Though the youngest dragonmarked house, Thuranni has House Phiarlan’s centuries of experience to draw on in its business dealings—and its ability to screen its darker business behind artistic endeavors.

Unlike House Phiarlan, House Thuranni has no interest in opening up to those outside the house. As a result, though it offers artistic training through the True Shapers, such training has no connection to the artistic or espionage activities of the Shadow Network.

Before the start of the Last War, House Phiarlan had a comfortable working relationship with the heirs of Galifar who sat on the thrones of the Five Nations. The house helped them to maintain order in the kingdom, uncover treasonous conspiracies, and guard against any threat from outside Khorvaire. Phiarlan assassins removed insurgent leaders and other internal threats. On more than one occasion, House Phiarlan helped to enforce the strange laws of inheritance, such as the ones which prevented the eldest child of Breland’s king from ever succeeding to Breland’s throne.

There were occasions, even in a unified Galifar, when the rulers of the Five Nations plotted against each other and even against their sovereign, and House Phiarlan was often involved in those schemes. Nascent organizations that would eventually grow into Breland’s King’s Citadel, Aundair’s Royal Eyes, and the like relied heavily on intelligence purchased from House Phiarlan.

With the death of King Jarot, the best efforts of House Phiarlan were no longer able to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and Khorvaire was plunged into a century of warfare. Each of the Five Nations built up its own corps of covert agents and set them to work against the spies of enemy nations, while continuing to rely heavily on Phiarlan intelligence.

A house that was more strongly unified to begin with might have been able to remain united even under such circumstances, but House Phiarlan had always been fractious. The Mark of Shadow appeared not in one family line but in several, and relations among the Phiarlan lines had been strained in the past.

Five lines—the Tialaen, Shol, Elorrenthi, Thuranni, and Paelion—were the most prominent and influential families in House Phiarlan before the schism. Each line had its particular strengths within the broad field of the house’s activities, and preferred clients among the factions and organizations of the Five Nations. Rivalry among those five lines, not to mention the numerous smaller lines within the house hierarchy, often grew fierce. Ultimately, the strains of the Last War proved to be greater than the ties that bound the Phiarlan families together.

The final blow came in 972 YK. The Order of the Emerald Claw—at the time, an extension of Karrnath’s government—was a favored client of the Thuranni family, as well as the most important espionage-related organization in Karrnath’s government. Knight Superior Kadrath ir’Vardikk, a high-ranking Emerald Claw officer, came to Lord Elar Thuranni d’Phiarlan with information that pointed to a Brelish plot to assassinate both Karnnath’s regent and its young king. The plot relied heavily on the talents of the Paelion line, the most fearsome assassins in House Phiarlan. Sir Kadrath demanded that the Thuranni line eliminate the Paelions before the assassins could carry out their mission.

At first, Lord Elar was hesitant to strike against his own house. He first tried to verify the information Sir Kadrath had brought him. What the Thuranni agents uncovered, however, was a far greater threat than a simple assassination plot against Karrnath. Lord Tolar Paelion d’Phiarlan, it seemed, had concocted an elaborate scheme to bring the Last War to an end and gather the reins of power in Khorvaire, not in Breland’s hands, but in his own. Part of this plan, Lord Elar learned, involved exterminating the other Phiarlan families as well as the leadership of the other dragonmarked houses.

Some might have dismissed these plans as megalomaniacal ravings presenting little serious threat. Since they originated in the most fearsome line of assassins in all Khorvaire, however, Lord Elar took them utterly seriously, and he ordered an immediate strike to exterminate the Paelions before Lord Tolar could carry out his plan.

Lord Elar himself killed Tolar and his immediate family, while the Thuranni agents at his command slaughtered every Paelion within the family holdings in Lhazaar, and every one they could find in Phiarlan holdings across Khorvaire. Outraged at this apparent betrayal, Baron Elvinor Ellorenthi d’Phiarlan declared the Thuranni line excoriate. Defiant, Lord Elar refused this punishment, instead declaring the formation of a new dragonmarked house. The clients of the Thuranni family continued doing business with the excoriate house, and Elar—now taking the title of Baron—managed to acquire some clients formerly loyal to the Paelion line.

To this day, Baron Elar d’Thuranni maintains that he acted out of loyalty to his own house and all the dragonmarked houses, quashing a plot that would have thrown all of Khorvaire into even greater upheaval. There are many sides to the story, however, and—as in all tales of espionage—the truth is hard to discern.

Some would suggest that the Order of the Emerald Claw actually fabricated evidence against the Paelions, bringing some of it to Lord Elar while planting the rest in the Paelion holdings for Elar’s spies to uncover. Some further suggest a link between the Emerald Claw’s role in the Shadow Schism and Regent Moranna’s decision to outlaw the order just four years later.

Other theories suggest wilder conspiracies. Some claim that human agents of the draconic Chamber helped to bring the schism about in order to fulfill prophetic claims about thirteen houses or the split of a single house. (Many of these theorists further claim that the same Chamber agents are working to prevent House Cannith from splintering for the same reason.) Others whisper that at least one prisoner in Dreadhold is imprisoned there for his role in fomenting the schism. Still others claim that Lord Elar and Baron Elvinor amicably agreed to a split in the house and used a mutual enemy, the Paelion line, as a scapegoat to cloak their true intentions. 

Whatever the truth, the Shadow Schism was the most important consequence of the Last War as far as the dragonmarked houses are concerned. Just as the empire of Galifar was fractured into smaller nations, so too the Last War left the dragonmarked houses broken, unsure of their role in the new world and their ties to the new political powers of Khorvaire.