Revelmoore - Noble Houses

Revelmoore is currently home to seventy-eight officially recognized noble houses. The nobility of Revelmoore is a merchant prince aristocracy. These nobles are not the military families of so many other nations; the nobility of the Jewel of Akados is instead derived from its most successful economic adepts.   The nobles of Waterdeep do not rule: they do not make or enforce laws. Their nobility is a legal status, one which grants them extensive privileges, and one which must be registered and recognized by the Lords of Revelmoore. Such recognition usually only happens at the encouragement of the nobles themselves, although the previous Open Lord Dagult Ambermantle flouted this tradition and ennobled whom he pleased, primarily those who had "purchased" the nobility of another Reveler family.   Today, there are seventy-eight noble Reveler Houses, each with heraldry properly registered and approved by the Heralds. Among the most notable of the houses include;  

House Ilvastarr

One of the three founding families of Revelmoore, representing the blue portion on the city banner’s right. House Ilvastarr was the house of the first Open Lord, Reverie Ilvastarr I (who ruled centuries prior), and is also the house of the current Open Lord, Reverie Ilvastarr II.   The family arrived at the city’s founding location as a mercantile family, but garnered much of their initial fame as monster hunters as they helped to clear the settlement site of vile creatures. This reputation has stuck; children of House Ilvastarr are often expected to pick up a martial or magical trade and carry out an adventuring career before setting down roots and seeing to their noble duties.   House Ilvastarr is also the namesake of Mount Ilvastarr, the mountain overlooking Revelmoore.  

House Ambermantle

One of the three founding families of Revelmoore, represented by the white portion at the top of the city banner. The family traces their origins to the distant land of Oceanus. Once among the most prosperous of the nobility, House Ambermantle was a famed family that exemplified Reveler economic expertise. However, the controversial and corrupt rule of the previous Open Lord, Dagult Ambermantle, has soured the perception of the family in the public eye.   Most Ambermantles have either fled the city for parts where their names are unknown; after Dagult Ambermantle’s ousting as Open Lord, many of them were expected of culpability in his corruption, regardless of the truth of the matter. Renaer Ambermantle, the estranged son of Dagult, remains in the family’s estate and does not participate in legal matters. House Ambermantle is thus seen as all but dead, and it is only Renaer’s presence that keeps the number of noble families in Revelmoore from falling to seventy-seven.   House Ambermantle is the namesake of the Amber Mantle, the beautiful waterfall that cascades down from Mount Ilvastarr.  

House Cassalanter

The third of the founding families of Revelmoore, represented by the rich purple wedge on the left side of the city’s banner. The Cassalanters were initially a famous house of bankers, financiers, moneylenders, and rumormongers. Controlling a significant amount of money flowing in and out of the city, House Cassalanter had a substantial influence on politics in the early years of Revelmoore.   Fortunes rise and fall like the tides, however, and House Ambermantle fell from prominence for a number of generations following the collapse of their banking operation. For many years they operated as a lesser noble family despite their status as founders; however, their status has recovered in recent years, thanks largely due to the genius investments of the current head of the house, Victoro Cassalnter.   House Cassalanter did not lend its name to any of the structures or landmarks within the city, a fact that is still a sore topic of discussion for many members of the house today.

House Zanarkand

House Zanarkand is unique among Reveler Noble Houses in that it traces its lineage to the Outer Planes; its founders were tiefling war wizards of Glorium, a gate-town of the Heroic Domain of Ysgard. After centuries of seeking battle in Ysgard, serving the Fated faction in Sigil, or acting as mercenaries in the Blood War, the precursors of House Zanarkand traveled to the Prime Material seeking glory and adventure in slaying monsters of a more earthly nature.   On the world of Lloegyr, they discovered a veritable treasure trove of danger and venturous prestige; the Undermountain, around which a small town named Reveler's Mooring had been founded. Many hauls of treasure afforded the family a large estate, and before long House Zanarkand was counted among one of the earliest established noble lineages in Revelmoore's unique peerage hierarchy.   As centuries passed, the house's lords traded swords for savings, becoming investors and antique brokers to maintain the family's wealth. Its roots as a warrior's household remain, however, and House Zanarkand is vocally proud of its origins. Many of the sons and daughters of House Zanarkand have become adventurers of renown or knights in service to the Open Lord.   House Zanarkand is largely comprised of tiefling individuals, originating from fiend-blooded planars from Avernus who immigrated to Ysgard to seek a nobler form of battle than the Blood War. Elf blood has become noticeable since the family settled in Revelmoore, but all major individuals of the House have been Tieflings. Proud of their origins, tiefling children of House Zanarkand eschew virtue names in favor of traditionally Infernal names.   The traditional weapon of House Zanarkand is the exotic Double-Bladed Scimitar, a difficult weapon to use and an even more difficult weapon to master. The Zanarkands are also rare keepers of the discipline of Skærendesang, or the 'cutting song', which bears close resemblance to the elven tradition of Bladesinging. Children of House Zanarkand who pursue the art of Skærendesang receive a uniquely forged Double Scimitar upon coming of age.

House Gralhund

A family of recently ennobled arms dealers and mercenary contractors. House Gralhund is known for its strong infernal bloodline; since its founding, every head of house has been a tiefling, something perhaps iconic of the city of Revelmoore itself. The ancestors of the Gralhund family are often suspected to have been Asmodeus cultists, a claim that the Gralhunds vehemently deny.   As a newer noble house, House Gralhund is seen as a ‘little fish in a big pond’, and has to fight for its place in the City of Splendors. However, the head of the house, Lady Yalah, is a reputedly genius schemer, and it is thanks to her political intuition that the house has survived thus far.

House Moonstar

A noble house that made their fortune in cartography, exploration, and guiding. House Moonstar is known for their borderline fanatical devotion of Narrah, the goddess of the moon, to whom they dedicate many festivals and fetes to each year.   Many members of House Moonstar are either half-drow or possessed of some dark elven lineage, a rarity even in the diverse city of Revelmoore. They claim their heritage from dark elven renegades who fled the nearby Underdark and came to the surface to live a more peaceful life than could be found in the grip of Lolth. The family produces magnificent maps of locales both above and below the surface; such maps fetch extraordinarily high prices, and Moonstar maps are often used as centerpiece decorations on the walls of Noble estates.    

House Rosznar

A noble family that claims descent from mercantile lords of Khartous. House Rosznar is famed their tradition of vinery; they produce some of the finest wines throughout Akados. Bottles of Rosznar Red fetch extraordinary prices on the market, and are even said to be spell components in certain incantations of a particularly hedonistic nature.   In addition to their wine production, House Rosznar is suspected of dabbling in the illicit trade of poisons and other illegal substances. The House denies all such suspicions, of course, but their legal expenses tell another story.  

House Margaster

A family tracing their heritage to hedge wizards hailing from the frozen north of the Frostgale Taiga. House Margaster played a fundamental role in the founding of the House of Wonder, where many hopeful mages are tutored by wizards of Margaster descent.   Margasters openly embrace their fiendish ancestry; their blood is known to produce an unusually high number of sorcerers, largely thanks to an infernal contract signed by the family’s founder. Although the Margasters do not worship any devils (and in fact loudly condemn such practices), they see no point in denying the gifts that are bestowed by the actions of their predecessors.  

House Hawkwinter

A family formerly of the lands of Bard’s Gate. The Hawkwinters have long been avid sponsors of Revelmoore’s military, investing heavily in the funding of the Watch and the Guard alike. The griffon cavalry was famously founded by a scion of house Hawkwinter; a fact that they love to share as often as they are able.   Many members of House Hawkwinter forgo their legal status to serve as officers in the Watch and the Guard. More still serve at the fortress of Alkis Anvil, where they lead Reveler soldiers as commanders alongside other warriors of the Buntesveldt.