House Eltorchul

House Eltorchul

Personages

xxx: xxx Eltorchul Consort: xxx Eltorchul Heir: xxx Eltorchul (xxx) Membership (Nobles): xxx Predominant Faith: Mystra

Faction Details

Common Descriptors: arcane, academic, plotting Primary Classes: Wizard, sorcerer, bard, cleric (of Mystra or Azuth) Alignments: LN, CG, LG, NG, CE

Faction Ranks

• Favored: Rank 1. You are a favored member of the House. If you are a scion of the House, you have pleased the patriarch sufficiently to gain his notice. If you are an agent or retainer of the House, your efforts to aid the House have gone well-noted. • Lynchpin: Rank 3. You are given a position of some responsibility in the House's operations. If you are a Husteem, the patriarch considers you one of the favored scions of the House, and consults with you on matters of House importance. If you are an agent or retainer, your contributions and skills in service of the House have won you a position of no small regard and respect in the patriarch's eyes - although that may earn you the jealousy of his blood kin who are less favored than you. • Matriarch/Patriarch: Rank 10. You are the acknowledged and legal head of the household.

Interests

Trade & Interests: mage schooling, magical research, procuring of rare substances and items Holdings: Waterdeep

History

Ethnicity: Tethyrian Founded: 1167 DR Previous Eras: 1354 DR

One of the noble Waterdhavian Houses known for their study of the arcane, the Eltorchul name is synonymous with careful, academic study of magic. Everyone in Waterdeep knows of the Eltorchul Academy, the House's school for wizardry and arcane lore. Though the Academy takes primarily noble apprentices, particularly promising young apprentices are sometimes accepted to "round out" a given year's enrollment. The Eltorchuls also have a recognized connection to Twilight Vaeteru through both patriarch and his younger brother, and in this way they have made their stance in Waterdhavian society in a way no previous generation of Eltorchuls has quite managed.

History

x

Members of the Family

xxx

Rumors About House Eltorchul

According to rumor... xxx

Faction

A House of wizards and arcane scholars, even those Eltorchuls who can't cast the first cantrip still frequently understand more about magic than many wizardly journeymen in the Realms do.

Overview

House Eltorchul is a distinctly arcane House - their history is shaped by its practice, their most notable members are now and always have been wizards, and they are one of the foremost supporters of the House of Wonder and the clergy of Mystra. Moreover, they are also highly organized in their studies: where other magical Houses maintain lines of apprenticeships and more stodgy modes of working magic, the Eltorchuls maintain a small but vibrant arcane Academy that is seeing more and more of Waterdeep's magically-capable nobility training there.

Goals and Philosophy

Lord Thesp inherited the Academy from his own father, and it is at the center of the House's efforts and incomes. Arcane research, the training of wizards, and the enabling of a magical economy are all of the foremost importance in the House and its Academy, and unlike with other wizards, Lord Thesp expects his wizards to share their findings. There is no room for eccentric, reclusive wizards in House Eltorchul - their mages contribute equally, each to the very best of their ability.

Activities

Even for those who do not work magic, Eltorchuls and their retainers are involved in magical pursuits. Quests undertaken by agents of House Eltorchul might include the following:

• Accompany a small expedition of students into the wilderness surrounding Waterdeep, keeping them safe while they identify and harvest magical resources from the wild.
• Investigate the sudden appearance of Eltorchul magics outside of the school and House to discover who is selling those secrets without permission of the Academy.
• Venture into an old Netherese ruin in the Dessarin Valley to recover the remnants of an arcane library there.

Perks

Scions and agents of House Eltorchul in good standing might receive the following benefits:

• Living Quarters: Rank 1+. Those in good standing with the House are given quarters within the House's Waterdhavian villa appropriate to their role in the House.
• Living Expenses/Salaries: Rank 1+. Those in good standing with the House also receive a stipend of 1gp plus 5sp per day per point of Rank. This is not actual cash, but simply familial credit towards payment of Lifestyle costs. This stacks with the same kind of familial credit received from the Waterdhavian Noble Background (see Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide).
• Academy Student (Title): Rank 1+. Any member of the House in good standing can receive education free of charge at the Academy proper. The fostering of magical talent is of the utmost importance in House Eltorchul, and this includes not just family but also retainers. This includes access to the Academy's lore library for research, its spell library, and its scriptorum as well.
  • Lore Library: The lore library of the Academy is rated Good in Arcana, History, Nature, and Religion.
  • Spell Library: The spell library of the Academy is not only rated Good for both formula and schema research, but it also contains all spells from the Players' Handbook of up to 4th level, any of which may be copied by students at no cost other than what it takes to scribe the spell into a spellbook.
  • Scriptorum: The Academy subsidizes the cost of magical inks and experimentation with new spells, halving the cost to scribe new spells into a student's spellbook. If the spell is one which has already had its cost reduced by half, the student pays one-quarter instead.
• Arcane Training: Rank 2+. Those enrolled in the Academy receive a broad education useful to their magical talents. Such characters gain proficiency in either an herbalist's kit or alchemist's tools.
• Business Opportunities: Rank 3+. Lynchpins to House Eltorchul's operations receive access to a variety of business opportunities within the House's money-making endeavors. This is handled as "Running a Business" in downtime months. This does not incur a business expense, but if the character rolls results that end in a loss of money, he can and will find access to his House funds reduced until the loss has been made up for.
• Heir or Consort (Title): Rank 3+. The holder of one of the legal titles Heir of House and Consort of House, as recorded with the city of Waterdeep, is entitled to an additional 2gp per day in familial credit, per the "Living Expenses/Salaries" entry above. The heir is also accorded certain privileges within the legal system of Waterdeep, including the ability to speak on behalf of his House in some legal proceedings and the like.
• Senior Student or Junior Instructor (Title): Rank 3+. A House member or retainer of this rank is likely to be given a mid-level leadership position in the faculty of the Academy, so long as their magical skill is up to snuff (they are able to cast 2nd level spells or better). Such instructors test would-be pupils for ability and assist other instructors in their lessons. This comes with a stipend of an additional 1gp per day in familial credit, per the "Living Expenses/Salaries" above, and access to the Academy's schema library and magical workshops.
  • Faculty Spell Library: The spell library open to senior students and faculty contains all the spells in the Players Handbook of up to 8th level.
  • Schema Library: The faculty library also has the schema for any magic item of Common, Uncommon, or Rare rarity from the Dungeon Master's Guide.
  • Magical Workshops: The magical workshops of the Eltorchul Academy, which are open to senior students and faculty only, allow magical craftsmen to create 75gp worth of work on a magical item per day of labor, rather than the typical 50gp.
• Instructor (Title): Rank 5+. A House member or retainer of this rank, and the ability to cast 3rd level spells or better is likely to be made one of the proper instructors of the Academy, given a roster of classes in line with their specializations and the needs of the Academy's students. This comes with a stipend of an additional 2gp per day in familial credit, per the "Living Expenses/Salaries" above.
• Senior Instructor (Title): Rank 7+. One of the few Instructors of this rank, Senior Instructors run the school's curriculum and day-to-day affairs, reporting directly (and only) to the Dean of the Academy. This comes with a stipend of an additional 4gp per day in familial credit, per the "Living Expenses/Salaries" above.
• Dean of the Academy (Title): Rank 9+. Though this position has traditionally been held by the House patriarch since the Academy's founding, it could potentially be held by someone else. The Dean is responsible for all major decisions concerning the Academy, and for ensuring House Eltorchul's prosperity via the institution remains on track. If held by someone other than the patriarch, it comes with a stipend of an additional 5gp per day in familial credit, per the "Living Expenses/Salaries" above.
• Wealth of the House: Rank 10. The patriarch of the House is in total control of the House's finances and various holdings, established by the laws of Waterdeep.