House Talmost
House Talmost
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Personages
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| Matriarch: Brandeleira Talmost Consort: None Heir: Albu Talmost (grandson) Membership (Nobles): 11 Predominant Faith: Sune |
Faction Details
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| Common Descriptors: Fashionable, trendsetting, artistic Primary Classes: Bard, sorcerer, cleric (Sune) Alignments: LN, N, NE |
Faction Ranks
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| • 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 scion of the House, 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. |
Interests
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| Trade & Interests: Textiles, fashion clothing, furs Holdings: Waterdeep, Talmost lands (SE of Ardeep Forest) |
History
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| Ethnicity: Chondathan Founded: 942 DR (659 DR as Delimbyran nobility; 697 DR as Delimbyran royalty) Previous Eras: 1354 DR |
The Talmosts as a family were once nobility in the Delimbyr Vale, eventually rising to wear the crown as royalty. They'd been kings when Nimoar the Reaver first laid the foundations of his Hold, which would one day become Waterdeep. When a succession of warlords rose after the death of Nimoar, it was the Talmosts who first hit upon the idea of settling property within the city of Waterdeep – why wait for the warlords to grow bored of infighting and come raiding on Talmost lands when they could help bolster the hold's stability by establishing a familial estate within its walls? So the first nobles were recognized in Waterdeep in 942 DR, and the Talmosts literally created a practice that exists to this day.
Over the years, the Talmost lands have suffered, and the Talmosts long since lost their crowns. Today, they are often considered one of the most frivilous Houses by those with no knowledge of Waterdeep's history. And to some degree, they are that: focused on textiles and fashion, they are trendsetters and fashion mavens.
Lady Brandeleira Talost, wrinkeld old noblewoman, who knows Elminster intimately and has a terrible fashion sense (E:DM pg. 79 )
Members of the Family
- Lady Brandeleira Talmost: Matriarch (Rank 10) • 83 years. A wrinkled old woman with a fondness for mauve silk and amethysts, Brandeleira's deplorable taste in fashion is suspected by some to have been deliberately cultivated all these years, as a way of proving that Talmosts set fashion, rather than follow it. And the occasional points of popularity of purple-pinks in silk and satin over the years, along with an on-going favoring of amethysts by the older generation of nobles suggests that she's been right all along. Brandeleira seems to know everybody, from important lordly figures to nobody sages from Shadowdale, and often intimately. She has been a widow for nigh on thirty years now. She has chosen her successor, her grandson Albu, and seems content to enjoy the rest of her life in Waterdeep's elite social circles.
- Albu Talmost: Heir (Rank 8) • 31 years. A handsome redhead, Albu sadly has no mind for fashion himself. What he does have, however, is the power of patronage: his design household, the Diamond Dreams, houses some of the finest of Waterdeep's fashion innovators. His household's work is always the height of the Trousseau Festivals every year, and folk look to him to exert influence over a season's fashions.
- Mirn Talmost: Albu's consort (Rank 5) • 29 years. A chubby, bearded fellow, Mirn Tileth was one of Albu's first designers, and the two fell in love dreaming up dashing new waistcoat cuts together. They've since married – celebrating their fifth year together – and Mirn has set up his workshops in Talmost Towers proper. Though a small part of him dislikes House Talmost receiving credit for his creativity and work, he loves his life with Albu, and considers it a small price to pay for the lovely opulent life they have together.
Holdings
- Resources Limit: If necessary, House Talmost could probably generate about 40,000 gp in liquid coin and valuables within a month.
Talmost Towers (Villa)
The High Road, North Ward
A high stone wall surrounds the Talmost Towers compound, with a stone carving representing the tower-and-torch of the House's heraldry every twenty or so feet.
- Talmost Towers: Three stories in height, with ample entertaining spaces on the ground floor and incredibly comfortable living quarters for members of the family on the upper two floors, Talmost Towers has hosted many, many parties for Waterdeep's finest over the years. The cellars contain living spaces for retainers and servants, as well as storage space (including an incredibly well-stocked wine cellar). It is said the house vaults are also hidden away somewhere in the cellars.
- Crownhall: The front half of the ground floor to this two-story building is set aside as a semi-public gallery space that shows off both some of the historically finest works of House Talmost, as well as artifacts of their time as Delimbyran royalty, including a glass case containing the crown for which the building is named. The rest of the space is a variety of opulent apartments, usually three to four individual rooms gathered around a communal space. There are also perfectly decadent baths in the cellars.
- Hiddencourt: Less opulent than the other two buildings of the compound, the two-story Hiddencourt is both a retreat for the older, less-involved members of the family as well as a place of banishment for those who have angered the head-of-house. It has a modest kitchens, and is almost entirely two room suites otherwise, without even a dining room for gathering – residents either eat at tables in their suites, or pop into the Towers for a family meal if they desire such.
- The Textiles Tower: A simple round tower some three stories in height, the tower is mostly a warehouse space for the family's needs, with typical household goods on the ground floor, wines and other long-storage goods in the basements, and space for textiles and other tailory goods of all sorts on the two floors above it.
The Diamond Dreams (Design House)
Gondalim's Court, Trades Ward A large two-story building divided into workshops with attached apartments, the Diamond Dreams household is where Albu Talmost's pet designers live and work. Servants serve meals in the dining hall, and the designers frequently spend quiet evenings there socializing or entertaining guests. Albu Talmost is a frequent visitor, as are noble patrons seeking something fine and unique. The ground floor boasts a well-lit show-room where the designers can show off their best works; indeed, there is pressure to have the best and newest goods there, for Albu awards a prize purse to the designer with the best entry on the 15th of each month. The competition to get rooms here is incredible, as being able to claim one had rooms at the Diamond Dreams is practically a gateway to guaranteed success in tailory.
Talmost Lands
Southeast of Ardeep Forest are the lands belonging to House Talmost. Once a successor state after the fall of Delimbiyran, these lands are no longer a kingdom of their own. The ancient keep that served as their seat is a set of ruins today, with paid mercenaries who ensure that the things that occasionally wander out of its cellars do not harass those in the countryside. The rest of these lands house a few small private hunting lodges of the House, and a variety of hamlets whose crofters raise sheep and cattle. Some of House Talmost's finest wool comes from here.
Rumors About House Talmost
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Known Faction Perks
Scions and agents of House Talmost 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).
- Business Opportunities: Rank 3+. Lynchpins to the House'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 too many of the character rolls results that end in a loss of money, he can and will find his Rank in the House reduced.
- 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.
- 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.
