HOUSE TYPES

Although houses cannot be as neatly categorized as guilds or organizations, most of them focus on one area of expertise above all others. The following sections detail six primary types of houses—both noble and nonnoble—to be found in a standard fantasy city. These divisions represent the different primary concerns a house can have; each house usually has many other interests and areas of infl uence as well.

Each discussion below includes four pieces of information that the DM and the players can make use of.

“Associated Classes” identifi es the sorts of people to whom a house is most likely to grant patronage, though these are not necessarily exhaustive.

“Associated Skills” mentions those talents for which the house is most widely known. Characters born into a house must purchase at least 1 rank in one of its associated skills. Houses are more likely to grant patronage to someone with at least 4 ranks in an associated skill. A character who does not have either levels in an associated class or ranks in an associated skill is unlikely to ever receive patronage from that house.

“Supplies Available” indicates the sort of assistance the house might provide on occasions when it is prepared to assist the PCs in a task.

“Sample Contact,” just as in earlier sections of this chapter, is a brief description of an NPC associated with the house and the favor he or she might provide to a character or characters who enjoy the house’s support.