House Ghallanda

House Ghallanda is a halfling dragonmarked house found throughout Khorvaire. Ghallanda is one of the few Dragonmarked Houses that are not involved with some form of arms dealing or soldiering, instead Ghallanda are Eberron's best hosts dealing in food and shelter. Ghallanda maintains and licenses inns, restaurants, and similar establishments throughout the continent, running both roadside inns on the frontier and self-sufficient enclaves in major cities. With secret agents, deserters, fugitives, renegades, war criminals, and mysterious strangers of all sorts crowding the streets, House Ghallanda provides a safe haven for clandestine meetings and a jumping-off point for thrilling escapes from the pursuers waiting just outside a Ghallanda enclave’s walls. If the way to a person’s heart is indeed through his stomach, then House Ghallanda holds the hearts of all in Khorvaire. Ghallanda’s strength lies in charm and connections. A Ghallanda innkeeper hears many things—if you want to know what’s really going on in a community, talk to the halfling bartender. The leaders of House Ghallanda don’t sell information; they prefer to build friendship and deal in favors. But should a Ghallanda baron every truly need something, they likely have a favor they can call in. Its largest base of operations is the city of Gatherhold, the only permanent settlement amid the nomadic halflings of the Talenta Plains.

Mark of Hospitality

House Ghallanda bears the Mark of Hospitality. This mark grants various magical benefits that allow its bearers control over food and shelter, giving Ghallanda an advantage in all areas related to hospitality.

History

The mark of hospitality first appeared over 3000 years ago on the native halfling tribesmen and women of the Talenta Plains. Those who bore this mark tended to congregate together and chose to call themselves Ghallanda. The Ghallandas wandered Eastern Khorvaire, travelling from outpost to oasis, they offered food and shelter to all those who crossed their path. During their travels, they managed to end feuds, prevent conflicts such as monster and bandit raids and generally ease tension wherever they visited. When Karrn the Conqueror finally explored the Talenta Plains, the other dragonmarked houses discovered the Ghallandas. After much negotiation the Ghallandas were recognised as a fully fledged dragonmarked house and not long after House Ghallanda began to spread all over Khorvaire. They started off small by building humble inns and taverns though, with time they began construction of entire enclaves that dotted the map from Barren Sea to the Lhazaar Principalities.

The Last War

House Deneith and House Ghallanda agreed on a contingent during the early years of The Last War for Ghallanda members to follow Deneith soldiers to provide them food and shelter on the field. It wasn't long until the nations' noticed the effectiveness of House Ghallanda and began hiring them to provide the same treatment for their armies. House Ghallanda wished to avoid taking sides and to remain a non-combatant however, when things went wrong they found themselves fighting alongside soldiers on the front lines. These soldiers now turned veteran are still around to this day and are not completely uncommon.

Ghallanda Sanctuary

Every one of Ghallanda's enclaves lies beyond the legal reach of the Five Nations, the other dragon marked houses, and the other great powers of Khorvaire. House Ghallanda takes the mandate of the Mark of Hospitality very seriously.