Drow Great Houses

Large and/or prominent families of drow, after earning some power and/or notoriety, can gain the title of Great House. These clans are occasionally made up of sub-clans, but members of a sub-clan can call themselves either by the sub-clan's name or the greater clan's name. You can recognize a member of a drow great house by their name; commoners and members of a non-Great House will refer to themselves with just their given name or their given name and family name (like humans), but a Great House member will call themselves "[given name] of [house name]."

The leader of a drow Great House is its Matron Mother.

House Aleanlyl

 * A minor Great House, very small in number. House Aleanlyl was allied with House Lazrien until Orgolloyss came along, at which point they promptly broke the alliance and chose to live quietly in Orgolloyss' shadow rather than die futilely fighting the Order. It is considered a clan of mystics, and has produced a number of potent mages over the years. Many of its male members are teachers, passing on the secrets of the arcane to the next generation.


 * Known Members: Zairith of Aleanlyl

House Claddani

 * One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Claddani was a warrior clan, and many great generals and soldiers of the Underdark War could trace their lineage to the large Great House or one of its sub-clans. They were an extremely potent political and military force before Orgolloyss' takeover, when their champion, Eclavetyrr of Claddani, and their Matron Mother were slain by Yazagh of Orgolloyss and his allies in House Helvirahel to prove the worth of their alliance to the Order. It is said that Yazagh took Eclavetyrr's skull and weaved dark magics upon it, attaching it to a rod of office that the Matron Mother of House Helvirahel keeps as a sign of the alliance pact. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.


 * Known Members: Eclavetyrr of Claddani (deceased)

House Kenaghim

 * A minor Great House, considered a "shadow clan." Its members are nearly impossible to get an accurate count of, due to their habit of keeping their whereabouts and business secret. Due to its small size and lack of proper land holdings, House Kenaghim is not considered a prominent political player, even less powerful than House Maet'tar and other agricultural Houses. Though perhaps that's just how the house wants it. A number of drow, when dealing in less-than-scrupulous business, choose to introduce themselves as a member of House Kenaghim falsely... and since the true members of the House may or may not be using aliases themselves at any given time, it's nearly impossible to tell who is properly a member of this House and who isn't unless you are a member yourself!


 * Known (or at least, claimed) Members: Rhylinar of Kenaghim

House Kilund

 * One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Kilund was a house full of priestesses -- all females were strongly encouraged to join Lolth's clergy, and all males were pressed into service either as protectors of the clergy or as consorts to the priestesses. Naturally, this made them a prime target for Orgolloyss when it came time for them to take over Ezzebek in a show of overwhelming force. Mrystina of Zaughim's right-hand priestess was a member of House Kilund, Ilpha of Kilund... however, unlike her superior, she was not slain during the coup, and escaped to parts unknown. Rumor has it that she actually struck a bargain with Zilvudar to kill Mrystina, in hopes of becoming the next High Priestess. If this is true, however, she clearly did not know of Orgolloyss' plans for the clergy.


 * Unlike the other Marked Houses, House Kilund is confirmed to be alive and well, as they frequently strike at Orgolloyss-controlled territory from within the borders and outside. Ilpha of Kilund is used as a specter of evil to give Order-controlled drow a target to direct hatred toward (instead of directing it toward their rulers and staging rebellion).


 * Known Members: Ilpha of Kilund (whereabouts unknown)

House Lazrien

 * One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Lazrien, in its prime, was a mystically-focused clan, commanding great stores of arcane lore. Many of the contents of its libraries now lie in Orgolloyss' vaults. Destroying House Lazrien was a display of the Order's power, as well as a strategical move to eliminate the arcane spellcasters most likely to resist Order control. Now considered to be a fractured house, nearly extinct. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.


 * Known Members: none.

House Maet'tar

 * A minor, agricultural house. House Maet'tar is fairly extensive, and has land holdings throughout Ezzebek and surrounding territories. They rose to power mainly through maintaining their hold on land, raising rothe, giant spiders, and myriad types of fungus. Many members of their house are herders, ranchers, and beastmasters of all stripes.


 * Known Members: none.

House Mezzelerath

 * One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Mezzelerath is truly extinct, its members either absorbed by the Order, killed, or absorbed by other Houses. Mezzelerath was a clan of assassins in the service of Lolth, and longtime rivals of House Helvirahel. It is believed that they were targeted to cement the alliance between House Helvirahel and the Order of Orgolloyss. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.


 * Known Members: none.

The Order of Orgolloyss

 * While not a true Great House, Orgolloyss' power is much like an overarching Great House controlling Ezzebek, and its members refer to themselves using the "[given name] of Orgolloyss" naming standard. The Order does not have a Matron Mother, not being a true Great House. Its leader is instead the Chief Monstrosity, Zilvudar of Orgolloyss, a male.


 * The Order of Orgolloyss has commanded the extermination of five once-prominent drow houses, and while they have been largely successful, Order operatives still have orders to kill all adults and children older than seven years of the blacklisted Houses that are found on sight, and to bring any children of the houses younger than seven years of age to the central monastery to be assimilated and raised as Order monks. The Houses targeted for destruction are House Kilund, House Claddani, House Lazrien, House Zaughim, and House Mezzelerath.


 * Known Members: Zilvudar of Orgolloyss (Chief Monstrosity), Yazagh of Orgolloyss (Monster), Micaras of Orgolloyss (Monster), Trivoltil of Orgolloyss (Boogey), Tebryn of Orgolloyss (Nightmare), Sszeyl of Orgolloyss (exiled Terror)

House Torval

 * A Great House known to have ties to deep dragons. Currently in decline; the surviving units of the House have only survived by either clinging to Orgolloyss or hiding deep in the tunnels with their deep dragon allies. They are considered to be a very proud clan, moreso than even other Great Houses. A good number of half-deep-dragon drow hail from House Torval.


 * Known Members: none.

House Zaughim

 * One of the five Great Houses targeted by the Order of Orgolloyss, whose members are to be killed or assimilated on sight. House Zaughim was a highly devout house, producing a great many strong priestesses in Lolth's name. The head priestess of Lolth before Orgolloyss' takeover of Ezzebek was a member of House Zaughim -- Mrystina of Zaughim. She was slain by Zilvudar of Orgolloyss himself, before the whole of the city, with just a touch and a willed thought from the Chief Monstrosity. This formally established Zilvudar's rule of terror over Ezzebek and surrounding territories. Without their head priestess, and with their Matron Mother slain by Zilvudar's agents, House Zaughim fell into disarray and was quickly routed. It is now considered an extinct house. If any members still live, they are either well-hidden or no longer in Orgolloyss-controlled territory.


 * Known Members: Mrystina of Zaughim (deceased)