1. Organizations

House Tarkanan

Crime Syndicate

House Tarkanan is known as a small order of highly skilled assassins and thieves in Sharn. Less well known is the fact that this guild consists primarily of criminals who bear aberrant dragonmarks—hence its choice of namesake, as Lord Halas Tarkanan united the bearers of these marks during the ancient War of the Mark.

House Tarkanan is known as a small order of highly skilled assassins and thieves. When they first appeared in Sharn six years ago, the Boromar Clan attempted to assimilate them, and when that didn’t work, to eliminate them. The members of the socalled house turned out to have impressive skills and organization, and the Boromars ultimately backed down from the confl ict. The Boromar Clan doesn’t traffic in assassination in any case, so an agreement was made: As long as House Tarkanan would agree to never accept a contract against a Boromar, the Boromar Clan would allow the house to operate in Sharn without paying tribute.

Today, House Tarkanan focuses on three services. The first is theft—both burglary and the work of the cutpurse. The employer names the target and provides all necessary information to locate him; the house does the rest. The price of the job depends on both the difficulty of the job and the value of the object being stolen. The second service is assassination. The price varies based on the level of the target and the complexity of the scenario. Simply killing a man with a quick death attack in a bar is considerably easier that infecting him with a fatal disease and making sure that he dies of “natural” causes. The final service is manslaughter. Simpler than assassination, this involves killing the target quickly and by whatever means are most convenient. The cost is the same as assassination, but obviously there is no modifier for the complexity of the scenario.

House Tarkanan does not target high-ranking members of any of the major criminal organizations in Sharn—the Tyrants, Daask, or the Boromar Clan. The house does not guarantee success; if an assassin is killed in the course of his mission, the house may send a second assassin, or they may choose to abandon the contract, in which case they do refund half of the fee. House Tarkanan also offers one additional special service: assassination of the soul. The house possesses a single +1 Keeper’s fang dagger. For twice the usual fee, a House Tarkanan assassin will kill her target using the dagger—trapping the victim’s soul in the domain of the Keeper and thus preventing her from being raised or resurrected. Of course, resurrection is rare enough on Eberron that mutilating the body is often sufficient to rule out raise dead.

House Tarkanan’s business is straightforward enough, and most people who are familiar with the underworld know of them. However, few people know the history of the organization. Toward the end of the Last War, the Brelish King’s Dark Lanterns assembled a team of spies who all bore aberrant dragonmarks, hoping to harness their powers in the work of espionage. The experiment was a failure, and half the group ended up killed. The King’s Dark Lanterns tried to silence the remnants of the group, but its surviving members fled to Sharn, led by a human woman named Thora Tavin.

Drawing from her extensive education, Thora Tavin took up the name of Lord Halas Tarkanan, the warrior who united the bearers of aberrant dragonmarks during the War of the Mark, and formed House Tarkanan as a mockery of the dragonmarked houses. Thora continues to seek out others who bear aberrant dragonmarks, as well as other skilled spies and criminals, to expand the ranks of her organization. She is driven to learn more about Lord Tarkanan and the aberrant marks that were exterminated during the War of the Mark, and spends much of her organization’s resources funding expeditions into the ruins of UnderSharn.

The active members of House Tarkanan generally possess aberrant dragonmarks and 2 or 3 levels in a player character class. Rogues and sorcerers are both common, as are barbarians.

Rising from the Last War

House Tarkanan is an elite force of mercenary thieves and assassins. The criminal talents of the Tarkanans are enhanced by another trait they share: every member of the house possesses an aberrant dragonmark. Thus, every Tarkanan has an unpredictable magical gift—and all of them are united by the fear and prejudice that most aberrant heirs elicit from other people.

If you have a contact in House Tarkanan, you might know someone on the Tarkanan Contacts table.

Tarkanan Contacts

d6 Contact
1 Rotting Bal (human) is an assassin, an expert in unarmed combat, and a founding member of the house.
2 Fileon (halfling) is a healer with a deadly touch, who evaluates and trains potential recruits.
3 Nightshade (gnome) is an assassin and alchemist specializing in exotic poisons, who’s always interested in acquiring new toxins or unusual herbs.
4 Whisper (elf) is a thief whose aberrant dragonmark absorbs sound. Whisper appreciates fine things and has a vast collection of unusual trinkets.
5 Zae (halfling) can influence vermin and see through rats’ eyes—an ability often used to spy on people.
6 Mala Shol (half-elf) is an expert pickpocket and a master of disguise, with a talent for illusion.

Long ago, the dragonmarked houses sought to exterminate the bearers of aberrant dragonmarks. Today, those who carry aberrant dragonmarks are still treated with fear and suspicion. During the Last War, the King’s Dark Lanterns of Breland trained a team of covert operatives who all bore aberrant marks. Considered expendable, this group was sent on one suicide mission after another. After half its members died in the field, the survivors turned on their masters. Six years ago, they fled to Sharn and founded House Tarkanan. The group takes its name from Lord Halas Tarkanan, who fought the dragonmarked houses long ago and used his aberrant dragonmark to destroy Old Sharn.

The smallest of the four criminal organizations described here, House Tarkanan has no interest in claiming territory or dominating the criminal underworld. The house takes neither side in the war between the Boromar Clan and Daask, and it will not assassinate high-ranking members of either organization. In other matters, it sells its services to all who have the gold to pay for them. House Tarkanan’s top priority is using its wealth to protect, train, and care for people who have aberrant marks. The leaders of the house are pragmatists and soldiers, and they train their recruits to be warriors and thieves.

Despite its name, House Tarkanan is not a dragonmarked house; it has taken the name to mock its enemies, and it doesn’t have the recognition, power, or resources of a dragonmarked house. In fact, many members of House Tarkanan hate the dragonmarked houses for being prejudiced against their kind and fear that they will instigate a second purge of aberrant marks. Others are more idealistic, and see the growing power of the houses as a threat to all of the nations of Khorvaire.

House Tarkanan Operations

House Tarkanan provides two basic services to clients: theft and murder. Fees for jobs are based on the task’s complexity and riskiness; a simple cutpurse contract costs far less than the assassination of a Sharn Watch captain in Skyway.

What differentiates the assassins of House Tarkanan from those of House Phiarlan and Thuranni is their accessibility. The dragonmarked houses sell their services only to a select list of wealthy and powerful clients, and they can pursue contracts anywhere in Khorvaire. Conversely, anyone with enough gold can hire House Tarkanan’s assassins, but they take jobs only within Sharn.

House Tarkanan NPCs

Because House Tarkanan helps all those who have aberrant dragonmarks, the organization has allies across a wide range of society, from beggars to nobles. Some of the organization’s most important people are these:

  • Thora, a female human, has the ability to sense mystical energies—a gift that enables her to identify others with aberrant marks. She founded the organization and serves as its leader. While she uses the name Thora Tarkanan among her compatriots, she has established herself as Thora Tavin among the wealthy elite of Sharn and has cultivated relationships with many influential people.
  • Rotting Bal is one of Thora’s most trusted lieutenants. A male elf, Bal was part of the original squad of aberrant commandos. He’s an exceptional martial artist whose skills are enhanced by his mark.
  • Zae is a female halfling who has the power to speak to and control vermin. Though she’s no warrior, her gift helps the house gather information.

House Tarkanan Villains

Some House Tarkanan villains are obsessed with bringing down the dragonmarked houses. Others are willing to take innocent lives if doing so means saving one person with an aberrant mark. Sample villains appear on the House Tarkanan Villains table.

House Tarkanan Villains

d4 Villain
1 A member of House Tarkanan murders members of dragonmarked houses, reducing her victims to smoldering piles of ash.
2 Driven mad by his aberrant dragonmark, a dwarf becomes obsessed with destroying Sharn in the same manner that Halas Tarkanan collapsed Old Sharn.
3 A House Tarkanan half-elf kidnaps children with aberrant marks, believing the organization is better suited to bring up the children than their parents.
4 A House Tarkanan mage starts drinking the blood of dragonmarked nobles, believing it will increase the strength of his aberrant mark.

House Tarkanan Campaign Themes

As assassins for hire, the members of House Tarkanan can appear in a campaign as agents of other enemies of the adventurers. But they can also play a central role in a campaign.

To use House Tarkanan as a recurring villain, you can stress its ruthlessness and emphasize its hatred of the dragonmarked houses. If any of the adventurers have ties to one of the houses, this confrontation could begin with a number of small attacks against the adventurer or their friends. Over time, these actions could escalate. In addition, you could build a story around Thora Tarkanan’s quest to discover the secrets of aberrant dragonmarks. Long ago, Halas Tarkanan and the Lady of the Plague possessed marks so powerful that they could destroy cities. Can Thora find a way to amplify her own power in the ruins of Old Sharn?

If one or more of the adventurers has an aberrant dragonmark, House Tarkanan can also serve as a group patron for a party of adventurers, as described in chapter 1. The House Tarkanan Assignments table provides hooks for adventurers who are working with the organization, and the discussion of crime syndicates in chapter 1 includes additional ideas.

House Tarkanan Assignments

d4 Assignment
1 Steal a satchel full of research on the War of the Mark, carried by a wizard who works at Morgrave University.
2 Kill a Karrnathi warlord who is visiting Sharn, and make it look like an accident.
3 Kill a target before she signs her last will and testament to assign her property to a new heir.
4 Rescue a dreamlily dealer with an aberrant mark who has been captured by the Sharn Watch.

House Tarkanan Adventure Hooks

The House Tarkanan Adventure Hooks table presents ideas for adventures themed around House Tarkanan.

House Tarkanan Adventure Hooks

d4 Adventure Hook
1 House Tarkanan disturbed the dead during an expedition to Old Sharn, causing undead to terrorize the city above.
2 House Tarkanan declares war on the dragonmarked houses in Sharn and begins killing nobles in the streets. Many of the houses’ businesses in the city are shut down as fear spreads.
3 A victim who was killed by a House Tarkanan assassin returns as an undead that tries to kill anyone who bears an aberrant mark.
4 House Tarkanan steals a key that can disable a ticking time bomb created by an artificer.
January 14th, 2020 January 19th, 2020

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