The Great Houses and Their Uses Content . Living in the Ashlands , you get used to life being hard . Angry kwama , poisonous fungus , tribal raiders — everything wants to kill you . Don ' t let them . I ' ve compiled some notes on the Great Houses of the Dark Elves . Use them or don ' t . It ' s your decision . Just don ' t come crawling to Tel Verano if you find yourself in a Dres slave caravan . House Indoril If you ' re anywhere near the southern shore of the Inner Sea , House Indoril probably runs the show . The dogs of Almalexia control the most powerful house in Stonefalls and Deshaan . The Dres have money , and House Redoran has troops , but don ' t be fooled . The blue hats control the spiritual heart of the Ashlands . Have you seen their crest ? It has wings , to let them fly far above us . That ' s how they see us : beneath them . Far beneath them . The military in Stonefalls is one of the most powerful in the region , and Indoril ' s war hero Tanval is right at the top . Loose Coins : Bribe Indoril troops before any others . They have the most clout . Don ' t try cracking temples . They ' re like fortresses . Anyone in Indoril robes has serious clout in Stonefalls and Deshaan . Look for easier targets . House Redoran Duty . Honor . Idiocy . Redoran has the common - folk thinking their house is the strong arm of the Pact . Whenever you seen a group of Pact military officers in the field , they want you to think the most impressive hats belong to their noble house . The reality is somewhat different . Red hat troops do drive the Pact armies , but from the ground , not the top . Argonian scouts and Nord berserkers also command a lot of troops . The reason they try to slip this coin under the cup ? Redoran nobles are still upset the Pact was formed in the first place . Their martial prowess looks a little thinner compared to Argonian stealth and Nord courage . To quote from one of their proverbs : " Life is hard . Judge , endure , and reflect . A careless life is not worth living . " That ' s all well and good until different - looking folks come along . Then it ' s time to lie and strut for the commoners . Loose Coins : Redoran troops are humorless , but greedy . Offer one enough , and he ' d sell you his own mother . Never insult a Redoran to his face . In fact , never insult a Redoran . They have a tendency to hear things in the training yard . If you ' re going to pick a pocket , a Redoran is a good target . Just make good your escape , or you ' ll be meeting with the Three sooner than you planned . House Hlaalu You have to hand it to the Hlaalu . They actually walk the talk when it comes to Pact togetherness . It ' s not because they suddenly love our ancient enemies and slaves , though . No , Hlaalu ' s grandmaster is just smarter than most of the rest . An open hand makes it harder to notice the dagger behind your back . Am I right ? While Indoril holds claim to the most powerful positions , Hlaalu has a snake ' s grip on Deshaan . Narsis is one of their greatest cities , and even in Mournhold , they have a lot of clout . Hlaalu public houses and plantations are everywhere south of Stonefalls . Learn their layouts well . A lot of the builders use the same plans over and over . When you learn the hiding places in one Hlaalu public house , you ' ve learned them all . Loose Coins : Hlaalu troops are like kwama queens in Deshaan . Use that against them . Outside Deshaan , Hlaalu housemembers are likely to feel like they ' re standing in an ashstorm . No matter where you see them , yellow hats make good marks . Take them for all they ' re worth . House Dres You probably think you know the Dres , right ? Heartless slavers with rigid class roles . Arrogant nobles who ' d just as soon sell you as look at you . You ' re pretty much right . " Don ' t cross Dres " is a good bit of coin you can roll around in your head . I can hear you now , though . " Tel , they have more money than they know what to do with . " You ' re right again . Your average Dres noble has enough jewelry on display to tempt even the most seasoned cutpurse . Restrain your nimble fingers , friend . Dres justice doesn ' t bother with Ordinators or local guardsmen . You cross the Dres , you disappear . You ' re dead or a slave on some noble ' s plantation . Loose Coins : The coins are all tied up in a slavemaster ' s purse . Don ' t cross the Dres . House Telvanni There ' s only one good thing about this house of mages : they don ' t give a guar about the Pact . They only care about their sanctuary on the Telvanni coast . When the Pact formed , they got their robes in a twist and tossed out every other house trooper they could find . They ' re no friends of the lizards or the Nords . They wouldn ' t walk to the other side of the road to save another house ' s grandmaster . In short , they ' re the classic ivory tower wizards . Everything else about the brown hats is bad news . They move almost as many slaves as House Dres . To become a noble in House Telvanni , you need serious power . Look at a well - dressed brown hat the wrong way , and they ' ll melt your face off . They value fabulous magical treasures just as much as books you couldn ' t trade for a stale loaf of bread . Loose Coins : Rampaging Daedra couldn ' t make me assault a mage ' s tower , but if you ' re desperate to leave Nirn , I suggest buying armor enchanted against fire and frost . Then observe the tower as long as you can . If the mark has any magical defenses in place , he ' ll probably have to come outside to restore them . You might have better luck on the street , but examine your new loot carefully . Some treasures have their own defenses built in .