Post/Author/DateTime	Post
KnightOfRound 09-10-05, 10:03 PM	In the ECS, it mentions that House Thuranni and House Phiarlan split during the Last War. I was wondering, which were the nations that House Thuranni support? Which nations did House Phiarlan support? I'd like to create a dragonmarked ninja that served Breland during the war, and for all of my searching I can't figure out which House supported Breland in the war. (Yes, I know that both Houses serve Breland AFTER the Last War, but I'm wondering which one was more loyal to Breland DURING the Last War)
Salla 09-10-05, 10:07 PM	In the ECS, it mentions that House Thuranni and House Phiarlan split during the Last War. I was wondering, which were the nations that House Thuranni support? Which nations did House Phiarlan support? I'd like to create a dragonmarked ninja that served Breland during the war, and for all of my searching I can't figure out which House supported Breland in the war. (Yes, I know that both Houses serve Breland AFTER the Last War, but I'm wondering which one was more loyal to Breland DURING the Last War) I would be rather surprised if both houses didn't sell their services to whomsoever could pay them, myself.
KnightOfRound 09-10-05, 10:18 PM	Salla, Yeah, they did, but on pg. 236 of the ECS it says that they split because some parts of the family favored one side or faction in the conflict. So the question is, which House sided with Breland? On one hand, from looking at the Phiarlan dragonshards it doesn't seem very likely to Phiarlan would side with any particular nation in the Last War. (They seem to be more loyal to Arenal) But on the other hand, House Thuranni used to have their pre-Mourning headquarters in Cyre. Breland and Cyre were bitter enemies for most of the war. So they don't seem likely to support a particular nation in the Last War either. So which is it?
Hair Wax 09-10-05, 10:32 PM	bear in mind I'm not feeling particularly coherent after a night on the town here's my take on the two in this regard. I really don't think that phiarlan are going to be loyal to Aerenal. They grew disillusioned with the nation after the eradication of the line of vol. That's why they left the sub-continent; they were fearful of an attack on their line by the elves that now seemed xenophobic and philosophically purist. They've hundreds of years on knorvaire working for various noble families against each other, one royal scion against the other (they were distinct provinces probably vying for greater wealth even before the last war probably, even of they were part of a larger nation) and spying for the dragonmarked houses. After all that time they've figured out that no matter who wins a confrontation they come out well. So they'll show loyalty to gold and above all else Phiarlan are loyal to Phiralan. Not any crown or race. They served everyone impartially whilst gathering information for themselves and that's never a bad thing. Thuranni will be the same but probably show more family solidarity as they have just broken away; they'll be like a sect showing loyalty to members above all others until that zeal leaves and they're left the same as any other large mercantile house. Plus family loyalty will have to figue highly in a group that deal death for gold. They have to avoid taking contracts out on their own blood. I've ended up writing much more than intended and now really want to go to bed. Half three is no time for forums. Dan. x
Gurv 09-10-05, 10:50 PM	I think that when they say "favored one side of the conflict or another" they are making reference to "During the Last War, the secret work of the house led to a schism within the family". They are not saying that these "sides" being taken are with countries, but rather with factions within the House. The way I have run in in my game (I DM for a Phiarlan Heir, so I had to make some stuff up), the schism was caused when factions within the House wanted to deviate from older traditions. These traditions, traditions of neutrality and subtle-action had held House Phiarlan in good stead for hundreds of years and made them rich and powerful. Younger factions within the House, however, wanted to take advantage of the Last War, going further than the traditions of House Phiarlan allowed for. They were no content to gather information from both sides, and pass choice bits to the other in ways that would ultimately enrich them without involving the House directly. They wanted to be more involved, acting overtly as spies, assassins, and more. They wanted to be active-spies, and leave the passive-spy tradition behind. This was the disagreement that lead to the Shadow Schism; and is the reason that House Thurrani is noticably more agressive that its older counterpart. In my campaign, at least.
Radkres 09-10-05, 11:02 PM	What probably happened is the agents that had close contact with certain nations started to developed an affinity for that nation and its culture. Might have started to see things their way this is a problem with long term clandestine operatives that are not supervised and rotated for long times they go native and are more likely to respond favorably to the host nation when supplying information and material. It is theses agents I believe that caused the spilt from the information machine back at head quarters and those in the field. In my World the split caused several agents / cells to disappear and form their own cells or were absorbed into the host nation’s covert programs. I view the two houses similar to the CIA(House Phiarlan) and the DIA(House Thuranni) inside the United States both are information gathering machines but they use different methods in agent training programs / outlooks. I would believe that House Thuranni would be my suggestion for your ninja that or one of the splinter cells.