Noble Houses
Players must apply to roleplay as members of noble NPC families represented in-game. Please review the Requests and PrC Applications process to learn how. If accepted, you are expected to play them as an unimportant member of that House. Your character will not hold sway or authority to represent the rest of the lineage.
Characters with the noble reward are expected to not roleplay as royalty. Your character is welcome to lie, of course (as is anyone about being noble in the first place), but you can not actually play as a royal character.
Naming Conventions, Titles: Characters are not allowed to have titles in their name. For example, these names would all be forbidden. We will rename your character and forcefully drop the title. Please do not make us do this.
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House Derlson
House Derlson is famously known as one of the founding families of Cordor. Honored for the Derlson’s long history of service to the royal lineage, even during the tumultuous times of the Patrician, this family enjoys a powerful presence at court as one of Edward’s favored allies.
Their current estate was built upon the location of the old Fort Cordor where the family entertains a tradition of matrilineal succession for leadership, titles, and passing of land between generations. While matrilineal lines are uncommon in Cordor, house Derlson honors this tradition with great respect for the four founding sisters of the house named Kasha, Elspeth, Anna, and Stella. Female progeny of this house are often given the names of the four sisters in hopes that they will accomplish brilliant feats like their matriarchal ancestors.
Despite House Derlson playing a very active role in the political arena of Cordor, often the Derlsons are more recognized among members of the court for the multitude of tragedies that befell the house over the years.
The current matriarch of the house is Kasha Derlson who is both a scholar and a successful politician. While Kasha is busy with court matters or her studies, her eccentric and bombastic husband Harlod often handles day-to-day matters in the household. Kasha and Harold both have two small children who have not yet been introduced to noble society.
Another prominent member of the Derlson house is Hadrian Derlson who is noted for working as an Ambassador to Guldorand in the Cordorian Embassy.
House Derlson’s heraldry is recognized as a large Brown Boar on top of a purple background. One of its tusks surrounds the image of a golden crown.
Players seeking to use their noble reward to make a Derlson should know that most members of House Derlson lean towards the Lawful Neutral Alignment. The three main faiths that the Derlson family commonly worships are Siamorphe, Malar, and the Red Knight.
House Eldren
House Eldren, though relatively new among Cordor's noble families, boasts a rich history on the isle of Arelith. Tracing its Noble Patent back to the lands of Minmir under the infamous Earl Manfried, the Eldren family garnered acclaim for fostering prosperity in the region's local commerce, earning noble recognition from both human and elven communities.
The family's fate would take a tragic turn, however, as Earl Manfried's actions soon brought calamity to the lands of Minmir. Rescued by the devout followers of Bane, the sole surviving heir was whisked away to Waterdeep. There, he maintained a strong connection to Arelith and the Banites who rescued him, eventually converting to the Faith. This bond would give rise to a family tradition, one that compels every new member born into House Eldren to embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of Minmir on Arelith, reaffirming their Faith in the Black Hand.
The family continues to maintain their primary strength in Waterdeep, supported by a thriving textile trade and strategic alliances formed through arranged marriages with notable Waterdeep families like Hunabar, Urmbrusk, and Hedare. Building upon this foundation, House Eldren has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of the City of Splendors' minor nobility and economy, assuming a pivotal role in both domains. More recently and particularly noteworthy is the family's connection on the isle of Arelith to Cordor's royal family, established through the union of Jennifer Eldren and King Edward Cordor.
Members of House Eldren tend to align with Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, or Neutral Evil alignments, as they worship Bane as their family's patron god.
- Applications to play as a member of this NPC family are currently suspended until further notice.
Underdark
Vaunted Freth
House Freth, an NPC drow house known to be influential in the Arelith under-region. Once cast into exile for their unorthodox beliefs, they took their chance during the city of Andunor's establishment to seize a metaphorical seat of power within The Devil's Table. Thanks to this positioning their ideology Freth Faith, once shunned as heresy, has become more widely accepted in the Underdark.
Exalted Claddath
The defacto ruling NPC House of The Sharps District, much of House Claddath's history defies description or is too nightmarish to even encapsulate in a brief summary. Known as the House of Horrors and flesh crafters churning out abominations in the name of the Abyssal Mother. This Noble House has a reputation of keeping to themselves, much to the relief of the District they oversee. For few in their right mind would desire the attentions of such a family or their Matron.
Notes from Staff
GrumpyCat » 18 Jul 2022 13:12
So you know, there's three paths to playing a 'noble' award:
First: The easiest is to make one up yourself! Come up with a cool name, a reason why you're on Arelith from the mainland, and go for it! Or claim to be a lesser-known noble house on Arelith! That could work too.
Second: Find an existing player noble house and contact them OOC to ask if you can join as a family member. There are a few dotting about.
Third: Join a currently EXISTING noble house of NPCs. (e.g. House Derlson, House Freth, ect) Joining these holds a little more RP clout. They are powerful NPC organizations after all, so we (the dm team) ask you to send in an application to us for this, to get permission first. Just covering things like who your character is, what their aims are, et cetera, et cetera, nothing too wild.