Drow Great Houses - Akellon Wiki (2024)

Join this site

asshatdeadmanfictionhomehublogmusicnevranpcorganizationozpcstumptale

Welcome to Akellon! » The World » Drow Great Houses

Large and/or prominent families of drow, after earning some power and/or notoriety, can gain the title of Great House. These clans are occasionally made up of sub-clans, but members of a sub-clan can call themselves either by the sub-clan's name or the greater clan's name. You can recognize a member of a drow great house by their name; commoners and members of a non-Great House will refer to themselves with just their given name or their given name and family name (like humans), but a Great House member will call themselves "[given name] of [house name]."

The leader of a drow Great House is its Matron Mother.

House Aleanlyl

• A minor Great House, very small in number. House Aleanlyl was allied with House Lazrien until Orgolloyss came along, at which point they promptly broke the alliance and chose to live quietly in Orgolloyss' shadow rather than die futilely fighting the Order. It is considered a clan of mystics, and has produced a number of potent mages over the years. Many of its male members are teachers, passing on the secrets of the arcane to the next generation.
• Known Members: None

House Claddani

• One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Claddani was a warrior clan, and many great generals and soldiers of the Underdark War could trace their lineage to the large Great House or one of its sub-clans. They were an extremely potent political and military force before Orgolloyss' takeover, when their champion, Eclavetyrr of Claddani, and their Matron Mother were slain by Yazagh of Orgolloyss and his allies in House Helvirahel to prove the worth of their alliance to the Order. It is said that Yazagh took Eclavetyrr's skull and weaved dark magics upon it, attaching it to a rod of office that the Matron Mother of House Helvirahel keeps as a sign of the alliance pact. The remains of House Claddani fled across the Sleepers' March to join with a branch of the family in Chel'issera, or dissipated across the Underdark.
• The crest of House Claddani is a hunting displacer beast. A slang term used for members of the House before the Underdark War (rarely heard now) was "dispers" or "dispies" for this reason.
• Known Members: Eclavetyrr of Claddani (deceased), Sszeyl of Orgolloyss (by blood), Sszeyl's mother (deceased), Tebryn of Orgolloyss (by blood), Rhylinar of Kenaghim, Zairith of Aleanlyl, Mal'ril of Claddani

House Deneld

• A very minor Great House, scarcely large or powerful enough to hold the title. For its small size, though, House Deneld rivals House Helvirahel in some aspects of artifice. The majority of its members are passionate craftsmen of some kind, producing a wide variety of mundane and magical items. If an item is made by a member of House Deneld, you can be assured it is of high quality, even if it's something as simple and humble as a pair of shoes.
• Known Members: Stin'baldrin of Deneld

House Helvirahel

A sketched version of House Helvirahel's crest.

• One of the most powerful Great Houses under Orgolloyss' rule, House Helvirahel was only a small House before the coup, its numbers constantly trimmed by its many enemies. Helvirahel is a pugnacious house, greatly enjoying needling at their rivals and reveling in their perceived (or actual) superiority. They are known for their work with constructs of both a magical and mundane nature, and are considered at the top of their field in this regard. It is rare to see a prominent member of this House without at least an adamantine spider or homunculus guarding them. While most people know of this aspect of their House, however, few know that they are also full of potent assassins. They act as the secret police under Orgolloyss' rule, even more secret than the Order's secret police. They handle any political assassinations within the Order, as well as hunting down criminals that either attempt to escape the Order's grasp or those that would make the Order seem weaker by pursuing them. They are the bloodhounds sent after those who flee Orgolloyss borders, and they rarely fail in their mission. They have truly flourished under Zilvudar's reign of terror, and they were the first major House to openly ally with the Order.
• The symbol of House Helvirahel is a rust monster, often with metallic or golem-like qualities. A slang term often used for members of House Helvirahel is "rusties," especially if the member in question has any prosthetic parts, as many do.
• House Helvirahel has many enemies, though most of them are now members of extinct Houses or were enemies of the House before the coup. Rival houses include House Deneld, House Claddani, House Kenaghim, House Lazrien, and House Mezzelerath.

Known Members: Thaticice of Helvirahel, the nine-fingered assassin, the golden-eyed assassin, Pellan'zyne (former, discarded House name)

House Iphyl

• A minor agricultural House, allied with House Maet'tar. House Iphyl maintains and operates a number of large fungus farms outside of Ezzebek. The main reason that they have enough economic and political clout to be officially recognized as a Great House at all is the earthsilk trade; after confiscating dwarven strains of the earthsilk fungus and crossbreeding them with local Ezzebekian fungi, the members of House Iphyl have managed to create a variety of earthsilk that glimmers when viewed with darkvision. It is quite popular among the upper echelons of drow society.
• Known Members: Altonor (former, discarded House name)

House Kenaghim

• A minor Great House, considered a "shadow clan." Its members are nearly impossible to get an accurate count of, due to their habit of keeping their whereabouts and business secret. Due to its small size and lack of proper land holdings, House Kenaghim is not considered a prominent political player, even less powerful than House Maet'tar and other agricultural Houses. Though perhaps that's just how the house wants it. A number of drow, when dealing in less-than-scrupulous business, choose to introduce themselves as a member of House Kenaghim falsely… and since the true members of the House may or may not be using aliases themselves at any given time, it's nearly impossible to tell who is properly a member of this House and who isn't unless you are a member yourself!
• Known (or at least, claimed) Members: Rhylinar of Kenaghim

House Kilund

• One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Kilund was a house full of priestesses — all females were strongly encouraged to join Lolth's clergy, and all males were pressed into service either as protectors of the clergy or as consorts to the priestesses. Naturally, this made them a prime target for Orgolloyss when it came time for them to take over Ezzebek in a show of overwhelming force. Mrystina of Zaughim's right-hand priestess was a member of House Kilund, Ilpha of Kilund… however, unlike her superior, she was not slain during the coup, and escaped to parts unknown. Rumor has it that she actually struck a bargain with Zilvudar to kill Mrystina, in hopes of becoming the next High Priestess. If this is true, however, she clearly did not know of Orgolloyss' plans for the clergy.
• Unlike the other Marked Houses, House Kilund is confirmed to be alive and well, as they frequently strike at Orgolloyss-controlled territory from within the borders and outside. Ilpha of Kilund is used as a specter of evil to give Order-controlled drow a target to direct hatred toward (instead of directing it toward their rulers and staging rebellion).
• Known Members: Ilpha of Kilund (whereabouts unknown)

House Lazrien

A sketched version of House Lazrien crest.

• One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Lazrien, in its prime, was a mystically-focused clan, commanding great stores of arcane lore. Many of the contents of its libraries now lie in Orgolloyss' vaults. Destroying House Lazrien was a display of the Order's power, as well as a strategical move to eliminate the arcane spellcasters most likely to resist Order control. Now considered to be a fractured house, nearly extinct. Many of the remaining members of House Lazrien were absorbed into other clans, including House Aleanlyl and House Claddani.
• The meaning of the house's crest was a point of contention among the House, though the general consensus is that of it portraying a spider glancing over an open book or a piece of parchment.
• Regardless, the slang term for a House Lazrien member in pre-war Ezzebek used to be "weaver",especially the member in question was out of earshot. A particularly nasty prank involved getting a drow who should have known better to ask one of the House's members about the nickname's origin - the usual result was the asker getting wracked.
• Known Members: Burmice of Lazrien

House Maet'tar

• A fairly large agricultural house. House Maet'tar is fairly extensive, and has land holdings throughout Ezzebek and surrounding territories. They rose to power mainly through maintaining their hold on land, raising rothe, giant spiders, and myriad types of fungus. Many members of their house are herders, ranchers, and beastmasters of all stripes.
• Known Members: none.

House Maleate

• A relatively small house based in Chel'issera, House Maleate's members are nonetheless fairly rich for their standings. They are a highly mercantile clan, gaining much of their wealth from the sale and trade of magical items. Of course, they have also been known to slip cursed items into their enemies' orders, but that's only drow business.
• Known Members: Talabral of Maleate

House Mezzelerath

• One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Mezzelerath is truly extinct, its members either absorbed by the Order, killed, or absorbed by other Houses. Mezzelerath was a clan of assassins in the service of Lolth, and longtime rivals of House Helvirahel. It is believed that they were targeted to cement the alliance between House Helvirahel and the Order of Orgolloyss. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.
• Known Members: none.

House Mylani

The Order of Orgolloyss

The symbol of the Order of Orgolloyss

• While not a true Great House, Orgolloyss' power is much like an overarching Great House controlling Ezzebek, and its members refer to themselves using the "[given name] of Orgolloyss" naming standard. The Order does not have a Matron Mother, not being a true Great House. Its leader is instead the Chief Monstrosity, Zilvudar of Orgolloyss, a male. The Order is dedicated to controlling the drow's inherent self-destructive, violent tendencies through a rule of fear, maintaining an iron grip on the drow under their control.
• The Order of Orgolloyss has commanded the extermination of five once-prominent drow houses, and while they have been largely successful, Order operatives still have orders to kill all adults and children older than seven years of the blacklisted Houses that are found on sight, and to bring any children of the houses younger than seven years of age to the central monastery to be assimilated and raised as Order monks. The Houses targeted for destruction are House Kilund, House Claddani, House Lazrien, House Zaughim, and House Mezzelerath.
• Known Members: Zilvudar of Orgolloyss (Chief Monstrosity), Yazagh of Orgolloyss (Monster), Micaras of Orgolloyss (Monster), Trivoltil of Orgolloyss (Boogey), Tebryn of Orgolloyss (exiled Nightmare), Sszeyl of Orgolloyss (exiled Terror)

House Rilynasek

• House Rilynasek is noted two main things; for the surplus of entertainers the clan produces, and for openly stating its neutrality in the affairs of the clans, a claim which it sticks to absolutely by being ready and willing to blackmail and backstab anyone as soon as it seems it will profit them. They are the information gatherers par excellence of the drow, found at every party, every social gathering, every shady back alley, anywhere where they might find the next big scoop or juicy rumor. Many other clans utilize them to spy on rival houses, but the wise drow will beware. Their information is accurate, their social networks are vast… but every bit of information comes with a price, and the careless buyer will quickly find their information being sold to the highest bidder. They have flourished under both Lolth and Orgolloyss, with many sub-houses, especially since no clan wants to make them an enemy. Due to their neutral political stance, they have no official allies or enemies, but they do occasionally compete with House Kenaghim and other "shadow houses" for work.
• Known Members: Vicigloth of Rilynasek, Xun'lay of Rilynasek (deceased, murdered by Cal'tel)

House Teken'tyl

House Tel'charath

• An extinct Great House, which operated much like House Kenaghim and Rilynasek while it was still active. A small house, heavily invested in spying and moving unseen. They were eliminated in a clan war roughly 70 years ago, and the survivors have either scattered or been picked up by other Houses. The Sun Raiders are known to have picked up at least two of Tel'charath's abandoned children.
• Former Members: Masabel

House Torval

• A Great House known to have ties to deep dragons. Currently in decline in Ezzebek; the surviving units of the House have only survived by either clinging to Orgolloyss or hiding deep in the tunnels with their deep dragon allies. They are a major power in the no-man's land of the Sleepers' March, however. They are considered to be a very proud clan, moreso than even other Great Houses. A good number of half-deep-dragon drow hail from House Torval.
• Known Members: none.

House Zaughim

• One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Zaughim was a highly devout house, producing a great many strong priestesses in Lolth's name. The head priestess of Lolth before Orgolloyss' takeover of Ezzebek was a member of House Zaughim — Mrystina of Zaughim. She was slain by Zilvudar of Orgolloyss himself, before the whole of the city, with just a touch and a willed thought from the Chief Monstrosity. This formally established Zilvudar's rule of terror over Ezzebek and surrounding territories. Without their head priestess, and with their Matron Mother slain by Zilvudar's agents, House Zaughim fell into disarray and was quickly routed. It is now considered an extinct house. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.
• Known Members: Mrystina of Zaughim (deceased)