Nobility

## **Nobility Expanded**

(not including the 6 original noble houses which are not on the archive)

> You may have noticed recently some of the DMs haven't been as active on the server. Well, in the course of real life taking us by surprise, we've been procrastinating in our respective offices writing new lore. (Please give Fateful\_Encounter very big kudos when you see him for his hard work; we spent quite some time fleshing these out in the middle of several nights.)
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> We're very happy to announce the implementation of several new noble houses with a plethora of diverse personalities and memorable NPCs. Please note that these noble houses are **not**available for PC application; these are additions to lore that will -- and to some extent already have -- be featured in DM events and ongoing role-play. Please also note that what's listed here is an abridged version of a much more lengthy background and reputation. These are, so to speak, teasers for the player-base.
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> That said, here they are!
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### **House Ashby**

A House that rose to prominence primarily as a nominal middleman between the “Farmer Family” House Ulsteris and the rest of the nobility, gaining renown through the importation, transport, and administration of grain. They value all things high society and carry a ruinous reputation among the common people of Sundren. The Ashby name is synonymous with cruelty in Cheapside, with only a marginally greater standing among other nobility, where they're known best as mediators and worst as toadies.

### **House Zenten**

A merchant house that clawed its way to nobility, leveraging business connections, trade arrangements, and dealings with the shadier facets of Sundren City to achieve their goals. Their reputation even amongst other nobles is low, and they are often regarded with suspicion and distrust by the rest of the nobility. The ruined remains of a few other less wary houses lie in their wake and serve as warning to any who would deal haphazardly with the Zenten. To the common man, Miro Zenten is a legend, well renowned for achieving what very few others could. He is also, unfortunately, rightly feared for his willingness to step on any lesser man in his path.

### **House Val'Tess**

 Renowned as a House where honor meets pragmatism, the Val’Tess are skilled diplomats, advisors, counselors, and arbiters. Greatly respected for their hardline neutrality in disputes between fellow nobles, many have come to refer to the family as easily as they would the temples when in need of an arbiter. Whether it be a matter over trade, marriage, land or honor -- as the saying goes, none are more fair than Val'Tess.

### **House Blackburn**

  Arguably Sundren’s most religious family among the minor nobility, House Blackburn prides itself on it’s history of service to Helm and more recently, the house of the Triad. A house of knight-esquires and paladins; clerics and truth-seekers. Blackburn has been and remains the champion of the public, their multifaceted faith and dedication to honor ensuring no wrongdoing is left unpunished. This has given them an equally sour reputation with the nobility, who view them as hopelessly naive and consider them natural troublemakers. The prominent exception to this is house Aurelianus, with whom Blackburn is connected by a string of marriages.

### **House Melcant**

Originally a prominent merchant family from Waterdeep, Melcant has always had ties to house Hellstrom. After the first Bloodmaim war, Melcant gradually moved their assets and estate to Sundren to align with their noble patriarch's designs for the valley. They were granted a minor lordship by virtue of the same connection and have operated for all intents as a branch family, the occasional marriage and adoption into Hellstrom solidifying the notion in recent times. As such, they have little notoriety of their own, acting primarily as a shadow to the greater family.

### **House Kellridge**

This young House was founded in late 1382 DR when Tostig Kellridge, a third-generation cousin of House La Croix and ranking officer of the Red Blades prior to their disbandment, was knighted baronet by Emperor Verinus following his exemplary service during the Second Sundering. Although only a nominal title, these accolades resulted in La Croix acknowledging Kellridge as a competent vassalage and sponsoring them as a prominent symbol of the main house’s good image. Carrying a long lineage of legionnaire officers and Red Blades in good standing, house Kellridge prides itself on a reputation as law-keepers, war heroes and most importantly: martyrs of Sundren state, both past and present. While still stepping into the full measure of their nobility, they are nonetheless an eye-catching spectacle among the higher strata of society.