The World
Basic Info
The game is set, at the moment, two months after the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold. Cyre is gone, with the scattered survivors just starting to get used to their new lot in life. None of the lay folk expect the peace to last; having grown up in constant war. Everyone from the doting grandmother to the children just getting used to walking know how to fight. In time, people might get used to the idea of not expecting a grand betrayal, but it is not there yet.
Player-relevant Groups
House Tarkanan
The alleged children of Khyber, Tarkanan are a pseudo-dragonmarked house formed in opposition to the twelve true houses. The house seeks out those who bear the aberrant dragonmark; and train them in its use in exchange for joining their cause. The House is best known in Sharn, where it is not unknown that members practice thievery, assassination, and simple killing. From this, the group has a bloody reputation though not totally deserved.
Thora Tavin is the nominal leader of the House; though she is among its leadership she is far an absolute ruler. She sits among the council of barons, each in charge of operations in different regions of Khorvaire, with Thora head of Breland operations. The exact number of barons, and their locations are on a need to know basis.
A secondary purpose of the house is to build, secure, and maintain safehouses for the house at large. Fall back locations, bunkers, etc. The House expects to go to war with the true dragonmarks eventually, and will be ready no matter where it starts.
Members of House Tarkanan are considered to be extended family, those who serve in the same cell refer to each other as 'brother/sister', while unsorted members and those from other cells are referred to as 'cousin.' Membership is not limited to race or nationality, merely the possession of an aberrant dragonmark, or the word of a blooded member allow for entry.
The Lady of the Plagues
A historical figure shrouded in mystery. What is known is that she was a mortal woman fifteen hundred years ago, and that she wielded terrible power alongside Halas Tarkanan, an aberrant marked warlord who occupied Sharn and was warred upon by the existing true dragonmarked houses. When they faced defeat, the two combined their power and laid the city to waste. As her title implies, the Lady had power over disease, vermin, and poisons; so mighty was she that remnants of her magic linger still in Sharn's deepest levels. No documentation exists on her personality, or even to what race she belonged.
However, certain aberrant dragonmarked individuals, especially those who head the call to House Tarkanan are visited by a shadowy figure in their dreams, asking them to make compacts with her. If they dedicate their lives to protecting people with aberrant marks, she will entrust to them secrets of great power. They are few, but those who accept describe a relationship much like the clerical tradition of more established religions.
- Alignment: N.
- Favored Weapon: Shortsword.
- Domains: Pact, Pestilence, Family, Mysticism.
- Creed: We are only as strong as those guarding our flank.
- Holy Symbol: Aberrant Dragonmark.
House Cannith
The house of Artifice, the great makers who created the floating cities, the warforged, and the elemental vessels. They lost the most when Cyre was destroyed, as they will remind everyone in earshot repeatedly. At present, the house is divided into three factions, South, West, and East. At the moment, the house is occupied carefully dismantling the forges which created their living construct soldiers, and vying within itself for dominance.
House Dennith
One of the two martial dragonmark houses, Dennith is the house of defensive warfare. Builders of forts and fortresses surpassed only by Kundarak Dwarves, Denniths excel from attacking from fortified locations, or where the terrain favors them. They are based in Karrnath, but have a presence in almost every part of Khorvaire, the former capital city of Thronehold in particular. Dennith's bread and butter is the training and deployment of mercenaries, which they use to train their own private army. They, more than any other house, actively hunt and destroy aberrant dragonmarked individuals; for crimes real or imagined.
Yanzabit Company
Once a proper mercenary army competing with the best of Valenar's elves, now reduced to one merc group of less than ten soldiers. Mata Yanzabit lost the vast majority of her army to the Dragonmarked houses Tharask and Dennith, who had the resources to maintain such armies without the constant stream of battle. Mata won't peacefully go to retirement though, and so hunts for the next big payoff to bring good publicity back to her name.
Blood of Vol
The seekers of the divinity within. This is a religion of people who seek personal divinity through the power of blood. Other religions beg for power from the feet of greater beings, while the Seekers of the Blood of Vol know that true power lies within them, and it is there prerogative to unlock it. Followers of this religion exist everywhere in Khorvaire, but are most prominent in Karrnath where it is considered the national religion. The fervor with which the Blood of Vol pursues insertion into politics and governments, however, indicates a more sinister agenda.
No two members of the Blood of Vol worship the same way, seek the same type of divinity, or even define what is to be sought the same way. "There is no good or evil, there is power and those afraid to seek it."
Royal Eyes of Aundair
A network of spies, informants, and smugglers working on behalf of the Aundairan monarch. After House Phiarlan and Thuranni, they are the most well informed and omnipresent of spies, as well as third in the use of magic to assist in said spying. Employing loyal Aundairans and trustworthy foreigners, the network is significant in its own right, without counting the ability to buy from the Houses' networks. Few things occur unnoticed by the Eyes.
Notable Figure
The Five Eyes are five of Queen Aurala's most loyal and competent spies in the organization. A closely kept secret, only two of the Eyes have their identities confirmed: Aurala's second son Jurian, and Thuel Racannoch the Spy Master of the Eyes. Speculation on the remaining three, if there are indeed three is common among retired spies.
Splatbook Races
All races from the splatbooks may be included in OZ, so long as the player provides adequate reason for the race's existence there; and is willing to help carve a niche for them in the world.
Spellscales
The mercurial and powerfully magical dragon-blooded race existed in Aundair before the Last War. To be frank, the spellscales seemed to turn up anywhere where vast amounts of magic took place; some carvings recovered from cyclopian ruins indicate they existed on Xen'drik; and the Seren tribes of Argonnessen treat them with great respect, implying they exist there too. Whether the spellscales appeared because of the magic, or the reverse is up for debate.
They posed a problem in Aundairan society; as spellscales could breed true on their own, or spontaneously be born from powerful mages, and even convert others into their species. More than one spellscale was born into a noble house, and quietly placed into a family in a spellscale community. The dragon-kin are chaotic, living longer than humans, and changing their nature as they please. Before the Last War started in earnest, Fairhaven, Thaliost, Metrol, and Sharn all had significant populations of these creatures, however in recent years Sigilstar has had spellscale infants born into its magical families.
The Thaliost spellscales have a habit of being born favoured souls as often as sorcerers; but not of the Silver Flame, or Sacred Host. As the spellscales say, "Magic is my religion." Given the unpleasantness of Thaliost's environment at the moment, many spellscales are growing aggressive. The humans have forgotten that the scaly mages aren't elves or goblins; to be pushed around as they see fit. Spellscales are dragons in bipedal form, and their anger is terrible to behold; as Thaliost is likely to learn.
Sharn spellscales oft have wings, and the simple pleasure of flight is frequently a pastime and sport. Skymages and Artificers are as common as sorcerers. These spellscales, more than any other, took in survivors of the Mourning; not just other spellscales but of all races. Pity and compassion for those who are unable to let go of the earth as they can define this group; sometimes working against them.
Fairhaven spellscales took to the Wayfinder Foundation like dwarves took to the forge. Explorers, wanderers, adventurers, nothing about this group is certain. They are chaotic, even by the standards of spellscales.
Though most of them are dead and gone, the contribution of the Metrol spellscales remains in the annals of history. Metrol was their city; they built it before Galifar united the continent as their home. The spellscales who lived here were the closest to orderly that a spellscale can be; with wizards and artificers being their main members, and having the only group of martial spellscales; the Hexblades. Metrol was stepped in magic by their presence, and was never conquered by Galifar. The lord of the city for that year surrendered on her terms; for Galifar's army could not conquer such a city without considerable losses, and neither could the lone city hold out against such forces. Even when the capital of Cyre moved to Metrol, the spellscales remained the true power of the city. They knew the secret passages, old words that when spoken would reveal doors, they had the maps of the city's catacombs, and they kept the secrets of what ancient magical defenses the city held. The sack of Metrol saw the non-spellscale population ravaged, but the dragon kin seemed to have advanced warning and fled into the depths, returning when it was safe. They are survived by several spells they developed, the order of Hexblades, and the order of Ultimate Magi.
Notable Figure
Caexwarerevasim, known colloquially as Cakes, is Sharn spellscale, and one of the prides of the city. A master smith, Cakes forged weapons and armor of master quality for the Brelish army through the entirety of the Last War. It was he who discovered the properties of Cyrite, and developed the techniques to forge weapons from it. Cakes is also a sorcerer of great renown, and proved such when Karrnath attacked Sharn. Cakes distributed his arms and armor to adventurers and the Watch, before taking part in the battle himself.
Aquatic Elves
These watery beings live in and around Aerenal chiefly. They guard the island nation from threat of watery attack, in return for goods and services beyond their ability to produce underwater. The sahuagin are their hated enemies, and they have no trouble going great distances to strike at one of their settlements out of spite; the sahuagin respond in kind, after all. The aquatic elves have a long-standing treaty with the Aventi of Sarlona, each offering aid to the other after natural disaster, or devastating attack.
Notable figure
Sha'mna, a warlord of great import in Aerenal. During the Elf-Dragon wars, Sha'mna would use techniques he obtained from the hobgoblins of Khorvaire to leap impossibly high distances, and land upon dragons mid-flight. He would cut their wings, and send them falling into the sea where his armies would shred them to pieces. His actions are credited for the great quantity of dragonhide, and dragonbone items among the Aqautic elves. The dragons grew wise to his plan, however, and laid a trap for the warlord. Near the end of the war, before the destruction of the line of Vol, a flight of ten dragons ambushed Sha'mna mid-air. Though he was killed, so were the dragons. In honor of his deeds his sword was made a treasure of the elves and named. However, given Sha'mna has long hated the tradition of naming weapons, they kept it simple. "Ten dragons."