Aug 7

Aug 7 Dragonmarked Houses - House Lyrandar

This week we will be exploring House Lyrandar, the half-elf house whose heirs bear the Mark of the Storm. Considering how these half-elves can control the weather, it seems a little odd that they went into the delivery business, but who am I to judge. These days they rule the skies with their airships, and the ships within the world of Eberron are pretty cool, so who am I to question their life choices. If you lived in Eberron and always dreamed of being a pilot, let’s hope you bore the Mark of Storm, since they were the only humanoids able to pilot these ships.

House Lyrandar

Dragonmark - Mark of Storm
Race - Half-Elf
Traits - ASI Increase, Windwright's Intuition, Storm's Boon, Headwinds, Spells of the Mark
Headquarters - Stormhome (Aundair)
Matriarch - Esravash d'Lyrandar
Emblem - Kraken
Guilds - Windwrights Guild, Raincallers Guild

History

Elves migrated to Eberron approximately 2600 years ago. Relationships and families were formed among the elven and human settlers, and the result was a population of half-elves that continues to increase to this day. The half-elves referred to themselves as the Khoravar or the Children of Khorvaire. Kind of makes sense, since these individuals were the first of their kind in the land of Eberron. The half-elves Lyran and Selavash were the first to introduce this title to the half-elves, and they were also the first to manifest the Mark of Storm. They both claimed to have had visions, accompanied by images of the sovereigns Arawai and Kol Korran, when they received their marks.

What is a sovereign, you ask? Well, The Sovereign Host consists of the nine deities, also known as sovereigns, most commonly worshiped by the majority of Khorvaire's population. Arawari is the Sovereign of Life and Love, the patron of fertility. She is the embodiment of positive forces within nature, bringing good weather and bountiful harvests. Kol Korran is the Sovereign of World and Wealth, and it is he who guides and protects traders and travelers along with promoting fair negotiation. Depicted as a fat, cheerful dwarf in high fashion clothing, it must be the human side shining through in worshiping this deity. Can you imagine an elf praying to a dwarf? I cannot.

Now that we got that whole issue explained, let's continue, shall we? In their visions, both Lyran and Selavash were told that they were the real children of Khovaire. They were told that the blood of humans and elves running through their veins would allow them to hold power over the forces of nature, trade, and commerce among the humanoid races. Humble they were not, and they spent the next few decades traveling throughout Kohaviare, tell all about their visions and their own personal greatness. It was these two the laid the foundation for half-elves to seek their own identity and establish their communities. Within these communities, bloodlines were maintained through arranged marriages, and the Mark of Storm continued to grow in strength among the families that bore the mark. As the families grew in power, they became House Lyrandar. The house's primary source of income came from operating a small fleet of sailing ships, carrying cargo across the seas for those that could pay. They also used the power of the mark to provide the appropriate weather for local farmers.

As with the other Dragonmarked Houses, House Lyrandar maintained a neutral stance during the Last War. Also, like the other houses, Lyrandar sought to profit from the war. Their profit stream wasn't as immediate or significant as the other houses but more of a steady stream of decent gold from the warring nations. They provided sea transport whenever needed, but most of the transport services needed were over land, and those routes belong to House Orien. Where their income came from was through using the Mark of Storm, manipulating the weather to help or destroy transport routes, aid whichever nations were paying them to control the weather on the battlefield, and increasing food production by creating a favorable climate for growing crops.

Everything changed when House Lyrandar, who in conjunction with the gnomes of Zilargo and House Cannith, created the first elemental airships. The half-elves now controlled all the trade routes as the ground and sea no longer limited them. Cargo, passengers, and soldiers could be flown anywhere and were not subject to the hazards that previously came with traveling such long distances. Even with the dangers that came along with air travel - airships were known to explode often in the early days - and the stupidly high prices that House Lyrandar charges, there was no better way to get whatever cargo you needed from point A to point B. Because of their new fleets of airships, whatever profits they may have missed out at the beginning of the war, they made up for ten-fold by the end of the Last War.

The Mark of Storm

In 3.5e, the Mark of Storm was a series of three feats that focuses on weather control spells. The first feat was the Least Dragonmark feat, and the series culminated with the Greater Dragonmark feat. The prestige class in this edition was the Storm Sentry. The storm sentry was a flamboyant warrior who used their powers over the weather to supplement their natural fighting prowess. They were known to use winds as a shield against ranged attacks, rain/sleet/snow to control the battlefield, and imbuing their weapons with lightning for extra damage.

Least Mark of Storm - Endure elements 1/day, fog cloud 1/day, or gust of wind 1/day; +2 bonus on Balance checks - think dexterity checks against being knocked prone.

Lesser Mark of Storm - Sleet storm 1/day, wind's favor 1/day, or wind wall 1/day. Sleet storm allows a character to create either warm rain or freezing sleet. A character using wind's favor can create a localized area of strong wind (approximately 30 mph) in an area 10 feet wide, 10 feet high, and 100 feet + 20 feet per caster level long. The wind blows for 1 hour per caster level or until the character dismisses it. By concentrating as a full-round action, the character can change the direction of the wind by 45 degrees.
Greater Mark of Storm - Control winds 1/day or control weather 1/day.

In the 4th edition, the Mark of Storm feat allowed you to knock back an opponent when you did lightning or thunder damage. It also provided you with a bonus of 10 feet when flying. Ritual casting abilities included Endure Elements, Enhance Vessel, Summon Winds and Water Walk. The paragon path was the Lyrandar Wind-Walker. The Wind-Walker harnesses the power of the wind, using it to fly. They also control the weather and use it as a weapon. Their abilities included the following:

Wind Burst -Charisma or Constitution bonus damage and knockback your opponent.
Zephyr Wings - Use the wind to allow you to fly.
Unruly Cyclone - A moveable cyclone that, when a creature starts there turn within, takes up to 30 points of damage and knocks them back.

Today

House Lyrandar's airships have become the primary form of travel in Khovaire, and the house's status, prestige, and wealth have increased exponentially in the years since the Last War. The lightning rail of House Orien is now seen as a secondary method of travel and transport, and they harbor a great deal of resentment toward House Lyrandar. House Cannith also has some pent up anger toward House Lyrandar, as they feel that they deserve a percentage of all business conducted via airship as payment for their role in their creation. Members of House Lyrandar take this in stride and consider these grievances as petty jealousy since they have grown in power, while House Orien and Cannath have seen their power wane.

House Lyrandar's airships are marvels of modern technology. They use a bound elemental to hold a ship aloft and propel it through the air. It seems odd that the elementals used are air and fire elementals since wood has this annoying tendency to burn when exposed to fire. This wood is no ordinary wood, but a unique timber called soarwood. Found only on Aerenal, this light wood is used for the hulls of airships, keeping the ships afloat in conjunction with the elemental, which propels it through the air. The elemental is bound into a ring around the hull, which is suspended on four struts jutting outward. The pilot, which has to be an heir of the house, channels the Mark of Storm through the wheel of wind and water that controls the vessel. An airship can travel 20 mph and is quite the spectacle to behold. They are decked out with every amenity imaginable, which helps justify the price tag that comes along with a ticket. Travel on these ships is not cheap, as passengers are charged one gp per mile! The pilot lands the vessel through a process known as suppression. When the elemental is suppressed, the ship remains aloft because of the soarwood but is unable to move. The pilot always suppresses the elemental before docking, using ropes to steer the airship into the docks.

Matriarch Esravash d'Lyrandar rules the house from Stormhome, which is by far the coolest name of any of the house's headquarters. A private island, it is from here that Esravash runs House Lyrandar, which in turn controls the Rainmakers and Windwrights guilds. The Rainmakers guild controls the weather, allowing for perfect flying conditions for their airship fleet, favorable weather conditions for farmers, and whatever else those wealthy enough to afford their services can think of. The Windwrights Guild controls the shipping trade of Khorvaire, bringing House Lyrandar the lofty status it now has. Even with House Lyrandar growing in prestige since the Last War, Esravash is ambitious and has plans to continue to grow the house's power and influence within Khorvaire. Being the youngest leader of all the houses, she has the time and motivation to see her plans through.

In the 5th edition, the Mark of Storm is a half-elf subrace with the following traits:

Ability Score Increase - Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Windwright's Intuition - When you make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or any ability check involving navigator's tools, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the ability check.
Storm's Boon - You have resistance to lightning damage—time to fight Thor and kick his ass.
Headwinds - You know the gust cantrip. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the gust of wind spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Spells of the Mark - If you have spell casting abilities, a variety of weather control spells are added to your spell list, including such spells as fog cloud, sleet storm, control water, conjure elementals.

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