The Six Hidden Houses [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Six Hidden Houses [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Caterpillar
02-02-08, 05:49 PM In the back of the Complete Psionic there are the entries about "The Six Hidden Houses." Is there any other information about it? Can anyone think of some good ideas to what the secret of their past is? Anyone using it in campaigns/have used it?

Thanks.
Katash
02-02-08, 06:42 PM I found it is a great way to bring more Psionics to a Campaign- the Talaire (use Kalashtar as race) had thier homeworld destroyed by Illithids and the Six houses used Psionics to link thier souls with humans in your world fleeing to whatever world your playing in. We use this Hook in FR- that way you don't need to use the Inspired. The Kalashtar got thier dual souls from Talaire.
Amaril
02-02-08, 07:25 PM I've written them into my version of Eberron based on the idea that Talaron was a city in Riedra. The six psionic houses were nobles in that city and they were the equivalent of the Dragonmarked Houses. Their innate psionic power was what attracted the quori to Riedra to begin with. The two missing houses were what came to be the first of the chosen.

Now the six hidden houses reside primarily in two locations: The Shadow Marches and the Lhazaar principalities. They do not operate as noble houses for the sake of keeping hidden from the quori, and they have agents and enclaves hidden within Khorvaire's major cities.

Another Eberron possibility is to have the hidden houses come from a world destroyed by the daelkyr. Perhaps it was their flight from that world that first turned the daelkyrs' eyes toward Eberron? You could also extend that to elans by making elans a dealkyr experiment on the peoples of Talaron.

When I ran Greyhawk, I made the Six Hidden Houses a part of the Rhennee. It was rumored that that Rhennee fled their old world and came to Oerth. it also lends to the mystical personalities of Rhen-folk.
Ruy
02-03-08, 11:03 AM I'm planning on using the Talaire as the exiled inhabitants of a (fictional) fictional world, that, thanks to a cataclysmic event involving psionics and dream magic, escaped the dream world and became real. So, the so-called enemy becomes the waking world, or reality itself.
There are two factions within the upper echelons of the houses. There are those who seek to rip reality to shreds in vengeance against the world that forced their exile, heralding an age of eternal dreams, and there are those who seek to supplant reality with their own lost world, sublty altering cultures and rewriting history until this reality becomes a forgotten dream, and Talaron becomes real.
I was inspired by Borges' short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, it's very interesting, you should check it out.
Amaril
02-03-08, 12:15 PM For what it's worth, the Talaire first appeared in Dragon Magazine Issue #281 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/downloads/v5748btpy7v32) in an article titled "The Mind Lords of Talaron." There's a lot more details about Talaron itself, and it includes an "adventure track" for incorporating the Talaire into your campaign.

That issue is available as a PDF from Paizo's site.
Eldritch_Lord
02-04-08, 04:44 PM I've written them into my version of Eberron based on the idea that Talaron was a city in Riedra. The six psionic houses were nobles in that city and they were the equivalent of the Dragonmarked Houses. Their innate psionic power was what attracted the quori to Riedra to begin with. The two missing houses were what came to be the first of the chosen.

You must be kidding--I finished an Eberron campaign a month or so ago where the DM did the same thing! And I know it wasn't you; you aren't able to manifest read thoughts, are you?
Amaril
02-04-08, 05:08 PM To be honest, half of that is stolen from Keith's articles. The other half is my own addendum to it; it just seems to fit so well.

As an aside, I actually like the original article from Dragon Magazine much better. The infighting among the houses has long since ended, the enemy was specifically communicated as being illithids (which could be transposed to daelkyr in Eberron), and the names of the houses seemed less obviously associated with the disciplines.
Amaril
02-04-08, 05:23 PM Here's a draft of what I had written up regarding the Six Hidden Houses in relation to Sarlona.

Talaron, a vast metropolis in the Sarlonan kingdom of Rhiavhaar, was once home to eight noble houses whose members were gifted with psionic abilities. The noble houses of Talaron were known for their psychic powers and vivid dreams. For ages these psionic abilities helped them maintain their influence in society.

When the Dreaming Dark turned its eyes to Sarlona, those same powers were turned against the houses. Many heirs, including the entirety of two houses who later would become the Two Lost Houses, proved to be particularly vulnerable to quori manipulation, and these formed the first rank of quori agents in Eberron: the force that would one day become the Inspired. Those who could resist the Dreaming Dark became targeted by quori, creating much of the strife that began to tear Riedra apart. Those nobles then fled to Khorvaire with the other refugees.

Because the nobles feared the persecution of the Dreaming Dark and the Inspired, the houses hid their heritage and eliminated all records of Talaron's location as well as any knowledge that the quori were responsible for the destruction of the twelve kingdoms. It was for this reason that the houses no longer know the location of Talaron or the true identity of the Enemy. Recently, the younger heirs of the Six Hidden Houses have developed strong interest in rediscovering lost artifacts, family treasures and historical documents that might still reside within the ruins of their lost home, leading them to look for clues that might help them to locate those elements that conceal their ancestry.

Some speculate that Lhazaar herself was a member of one of the Six Hidden Houses.

I need to do a chronological comparison with Eberron's timeline to see if it fits.
Caterpillar
02-04-08, 11:18 PM This is some good stuff, to bad I do not do much with Eberron :/.
Eldritch_Lord
02-04-08, 11:22 PM To be honest, half of that is stolen from Keith's articles. The other half is my own addendum to it; it just seems to fit so well.

Whoa whoa whoa...what articles? Keith did some articles on ComPsi?

As an aside, I actually like the original article from Dragon Magazine much better. The infighting among the houses has long since ended, the enemy was specifically communicated as being illithids (which could be transposed to daelkyr in Eberron), and the names of the houses seemed less obviously associated with the disciplines.

That does sound good; unfortunately, the only Dragons I have are a random dozen or so of my friend's old issues.
The_Mess
02-05-08, 12:36 AM Not much, but it's mentioned here:

Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a)
Eldritch_Lord
02-05-08, 01:08 AM Not much, but it's mentioned here:

Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a)

Thanks.
Amaril
02-05-08, 06:16 AM That does sound good; unfortunately, the only Dragons I have are a random dozen or so of my friend's old issues.

As I said, Paizo has them as downloadable PDFs for $5. Original electronic copies, too, rather than scanned.
Amaril
02-05-08, 09:23 AM Not much, but it's mentioned here:

Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a)

He also wrote an Eberron Expanded article for Complete Psionic (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebee/20061023a).
The_Mess
02-05-08, 12:47 PM Ooo, missed that, thanks!
Eldritch_Lord
02-06-08, 07:38 PM He also wrote an Eberron Expanded article for Complete Psionic (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebee/20061023a).

Thanks for that one too, and I'll have to check out Paizo's back issues.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Caterpillar 02-02-08, 05:49 PM	In the back of the Complete Psionic there are the entries about "The Six Hidden Houses." Is there any other information about it? Can anyone think of some good ideas to what the secret of their past is? Anyone using it in campaigns/have used it? Thanks.
Katash 02-02-08, 06:42 PM	I found it is a great way to bring more Psionics to a Campaign- the Talaire (use Kalashtar as race) had thier homeworld destroyed by Illithids and the Six houses used Psionics to link thier souls with humans in your world fleeing to whatever world your playing in. We use this Hook in FR- that way you don't need to use the Inspired. The Kalashtar got thier dual souls from Talaire.
Amaril 02-02-08, 07:25 PM	I've written them into my version of Eberron based on the idea that Talaron was a city in Riedra. The six psionic houses were nobles in that city and they were the equivalent of the Dragonmarked Houses. Their innate psionic power was what attracted the quori to Riedra to begin with. The two missing houses were what came to be the first of the chosen. Now the six hidden houses reside primarily in two locations: The Shadow Marches and the Lhazaar principalities. They do not operate as noble houses for the sake of keeping hidden from the quori, and they have agents and enclaves hidden within Khorvaire's major cities. Another Eberron possibility is to have the hidden houses come from a world destroyed by the daelkyr. Perhaps it was their flight from that world that first turned the daelkyrs' eyes toward Eberron? You could also extend that to elans by making elans a dealkyr experiment on the peoples of Talaron. When I ran Greyhawk, I made the Six Hidden Houses a part of the Rhennee. It was rumored that that Rhennee fled their old world and came to Oerth. it also lends to the mystical personalities of Rhen-folk.
Ruy 02-03-08, 11:03 AM	I'm planning on using the Talaire as the exiled inhabitants of a (fictional) fictional world, that, thanks to a cataclysmic event involving psionics and dream magic, escaped the dream world and became real. So, the so-called enemy becomes the waking world, or reality itself. There are two factions within the upper echelons of the houses. There are those who seek to rip reality to shreds in vengeance against the world that forced their exile, heralding an age of eternal dreams, and there are those who seek to supplant reality with their own lost world, sublty altering cultures and rewriting history until this reality becomes a forgotten dream, and Talaron becomes real. I was inspired by Borges' short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, it's very interesting, you should check it out.
Amaril 02-03-08, 12:15 PM	For what it's worth, the Talaire first appeared in Dragon Magazine Issue #281 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/downloads/v5748btpy7v32) in an article titled "The Mind Lords of Talaron." There's a lot more details about Talaron itself, and it includes an "adventure track" for incorporating the Talaire into your campaign. That issue is available as a PDF from Paizo's site.
Eldritch_Lord 02-04-08, 04:44 PM	I've written them into my version of Eberron based on the idea that Talaron was a city in Riedra. The six psionic houses were nobles in that city and they were the equivalent of the Dragonmarked Houses. Their innate psionic power was what attracted the quori to Riedra to begin with. The two missing houses were what came to be the first of the chosen. You must be kidding--I finished an Eberron campaign a month or so ago where the DM did the same thing! And I know it wasn't you; you aren't able to manifest read thoughts, are you?
Amaril 02-04-08, 05:08 PM	To be honest, half of that is stolen from Keith's articles. The other half is my own addendum to it; it just seems to fit so well. As an aside, I actually like the original article from Dragon Magazine much better. The infighting among the houses has long since ended, the enemy was specifically communicated as being illithids (which could be transposed to daelkyr in Eberron), and the names of the houses seemed less obviously associated with the disciplines.
Amaril 02-04-08, 05:23 PM	Here's a draft of what I had written up regarding the Six Hidden Houses in relation to Sarlona. Talaron, a vast metropolis in the Sarlonan kingdom of Rhiavhaar, was once home to eight noble houses whose members were gifted with psionic abilities. The noble houses of Talaron were known for their psychic powers and vivid dreams. For ages these psionic abilities helped them maintain their influence in society. When the Dreaming Dark turned its eyes to Sarlona, those same powers were turned against the houses. Many heirs, including the entirety of two houses who later would become the Two Lost Houses, proved to be particularly vulnerable to quori manipulation, and these formed the first rank of quori agents in Eberron: the force that would one day become the Inspired. Those who could resist the Dreaming Dark became targeted by quori, creating much of the strife that began to tear Riedra apart. Those nobles then fled to Khorvaire with the other refugees. Because the nobles feared the persecution of the Dreaming Dark and the Inspired, the houses hid their heritage and eliminated all records of Talaron's location as well as any knowledge that the quori were responsible for the destruction of the twelve kingdoms. It was for this reason that the houses no longer know the location of Talaron or the true identity of the Enemy. Recently, the younger heirs of the Six Hidden Houses have developed strong interest in rediscovering lost artifacts, family treasures and historical documents that might still reside within the ruins of their lost home, leading them to look for clues that might help them to locate those elements that conceal their ancestry. Some speculate that Lhazaar herself was a member of one of the Six Hidden Houses. I need to do a chronological comparison with Eberron's timeline to see if it fits.
Caterpillar 02-04-08, 11:18 PM	This is some good stuff, to bad I do not do much with Eberron :/.
Eldritch_Lord 02-04-08, 11:22 PM	To be honest, half of that is stolen from Keith's articles. The other half is my own addendum to it; it just seems to fit so well. Whoa whoa whoa...what articles? Keith did some articles on ComPsi? As an aside, I actually like the original article from Dragon Magazine much better. The infighting among the houses has long since ended, the enemy was specifically communicated as being illithids (which could be transposed to daelkyr in Eberron), and the names of the houses seemed less obviously associated with the disciplines. That does sound good; unfortunately, the only Dragons I have are a random dozen or so of my friend's old issues.
The_Mess 02-05-08, 12:36 AM	Not much, but it's mentioned here: Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a)
Eldritch_Lord 02-05-08, 01:08 AM	Not much, but it's mentioned here: Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a) Thanks.
Amaril 02-05-08, 06:16 AM	That does sound good; unfortunately, the only Dragons I have are a random dozen or so of my friend's old issues. As I said, Paizo has them as downloadable PDFs for $5. Original electronic copies, too, rather than scanned.
Amaril 02-05-08, 09:23 AM	Not much, but it's mentioned here: Psionics in Eberron (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20060925a) He also wrote an Eberron Expanded article for Complete Psionic (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebee/20061023a).
The_Mess 02-05-08, 12:47 PM	Ooo, missed that, thanks!
Eldritch_Lord 02-06-08, 07:38 PM	He also wrote an Eberron Expanded article for Complete Psionic (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebee/20061023a). Thanks for that one too, and I'll have to check out Paizo's back issues.