Houses Phiarlan & Thuranni — Services & Prices

"We are the shadow — the border between light and darkness. We are not simply spies or assassins. We are agents of balance, and through our dance, we shape the future."

Mark: Shadow | Guilds: Entertainers and Artisans Guild, Serpentine Table (Phiarlan), Shadow Network (Thuranni) | Symbols: The Hydra (Phiarlan), The Displacer Beast (Thuranni)

House Phiarlan and House Thuranni are the two dragonmarked houses bearing the Mark of Shadow. Once a single house, they fractured in 972 YK during the Shadow Schism, emerging as rivals with shared techniques and deeply divergent philosophies. Both sell beauty, entertainment, and influence. Phiarlan favors tradition, cultural continuity, and intelligence embedded so deeply in performance that few clients ever recognize what they have purchased. Thuranni favors precision, deniability, and final outcomes — often lethal.

On geography. House Phiarlan operates primarily west of the Mournland — Breland, Aundair, Thrane, and beyond. House Thuranni controls the east — Karrnath, Lhazaar, Droaam, Q'barra. The two do not generally compete in each other's territory. In cities where both have a presence, clients deal with whichever house controls local performance infrastructure. Outside those cities, EAG-licensed performers from either house may be found at Gold Dragon Inns across Khorvaire, by arrangement with House Ghallanda.

On access. Services above the public tier require retainers, vetting, and strict secrecy clauses. Access to covert and elimination services requires an introduction from within the house — these are never offered to walk-in clients. As a normal person on the street, you cannot walk into a Thuranni enclave and hire an assassin. You go there to purchase art, take a class, or engage entertainers. If the house decides you need its other services, it will reach out to you.

Prices are listed in gold pieces (gp) unless otherwise noted.

What the Houses Will and Won't Do

Both houses will: Sell to clients with sufficient standing and coin, regardless of nationality. Provide performance, intelligence, and covert services. License and train artists through the EAG.

Neither house will: Publicly testify about client relationships or share intelligence gathered for one client with another. Accept contracts against sitting heads of major nations — a constraint inherited from Galifar Wynarn's founding edict. Alter memories directly (as opposed to shaping emotional context). Accept mass-casualty contracts or take work against children.

House Thuranni openly acknowledges targeted killing as a contracted service. House Phiarlan publicly condemns assassination — while maintaining Serpentine Table reach that competes quietly with Thuranni's in every domain except the final blade.

ENTERTAINERS AND ARTISANS GUILD — ENGAGEMENT TERMS All performances contracted through the EAG are conducted under house standards for quality, conduct, and discretion. Licensed performers are not available for direction outside the scope of the contracted engagement. Neither house accepts liability for information overheard by its performers in the course of their professional duties. What the performer hears is the performer's business. What the performer reports is the house's business. What the client hears is art.

I. Dragonmarked Performance Services

The Mark of Shadow is woven into the craft of performance, not deployed as a separate spell. A Phiarlan stagehand using Phiarlan whispers or Shol flame to add detail to a production is not pausing to cast — the mark is part of how they work. In a professional Phiarlan or Thuranni theater, the shadow weaver podium allows an operator with the Mark of Shadow to cast major image, creating images, sounds, and smells. A shadow orchestra can produce anything from elaborate weather effects to monsters charging across the stage. Traveling companies of the Carnival of Shadows mount such focus items in wagons, allowing them to create an extraordinary set within minutes.

The crystal theater is Phiarlan's most significant recent innovation — a large device that projects a live performance from one Demesne stage onto a screen in a distant venue. As the network expands, adventurers with interesting careers may be approached about licensing the rights to dramatize their exploits.

The Carnival of Shadows is a traveling show that blends illusions, physical arts, and exotic beasts. It always includes a Serpentine Table presence, though patrons rarely know it.

Thuranni performances are typically private, invitation-only, or exclusive to specific venues — most prominently the Palace of Shadows in Atur.

II. EAG Licensing & Training

Most patrons who retain a house-placed court musician believe they have hired an entertainer. A subset — properly vetted nobles and merchant lords — understand they also have access to the Serpentine Table through that liaison. The two tiers are deliberately kept indistinct.

III. Intelligence & Information Services

Observation disguised as entertainment or social participation. Most clients who purchase social reconnaissance never know how the information was obtained or who else in the room was on retainer.

Phiarlan emphasizes long-term intelligence accumulation — years of embedded observation feeding a picture no single contract can replicate. Thuranni prioritizes actionable intelligence with clear endpoints.

IV. Espionage, Surveillance & Counter-Surveillance

Not offered to clients without established house relationships. Clients may not directly command operatives or dictate methods.

Mark use leaves faint arcane signatures detectable by expert diviners. Both houses account for this in operational planning and price sensitive engagements accordingly.

V. Mark-Assisted Illusion & Shadowcraft

Dream parlors are venues providing entirely illusory experiences — separate from live theater. Neither house alters memories directly; memory framing adjusts emotional coloring around intact recollections.

VI. Focus Items (Summary)

For full descriptions, see the Houses Phiarlan & Thuranni — Dragonmark Focus Items article.

VII. Protective Deception & Reputation Management

Phiarlan favors soft redirection. Thuranni backs misdirection with removal of sources when required. The two approaches are differently priced for reasons clients rarely need explained.

VIII. Thuranni Elimination Services

House Thuranni openly acknowledges targeted killing as a contracted service. Available only to clients who receive a direct introduction from within the house.

No contracts against children, non-combatant civilians, or mass-casualty configurations. No contracts against sitting heads of state. Contracts are fulfilled at the house's discretion as to method and timeline. Below this threshold, House Tarkanan operates within Sharn for clients who cannot secure a Thuranni introduction.

House Phiarlan does not offer assassination. It is worth noting that the Paelion line — which did — was exterminated during the Shadow Schism.

IX. Training, Academies & Specialist Development

The Shadowtwin program pairs two Thuranni operatives for training in synchronized covert operations; graduates typically work as bonded field pairs indefinitely.

X. Hirelings & Specialists

All hirelings remain loyal to their house. Attempting to coerce or poach a house operative voids the client contract and invites retaliation. The distinction from organizations like House Tarkanan: the dragonmarked houses choose their clients carefully and can pursue contracts anywhere in Khorvaire. Tarkanan accepts anyone with coin but operates primarily within Sharn.