Dragonmarked Houses

Dragonmarked Houses are extended families of a single race whose members sometimes manifest dragonmarks. They often have a near-monopoly on certain kinds of businesses and are considered neutral in any affairs between the nations of Khorvaire.
Their collective "governing" body is The Twelve

Dragonmark	House	Race	Guild Specialties
Detection	Medani	Half-Elf	Bodyguards, Investigation, Risk Management
Finding	Tharashk	Half-Orc	Bounty Hunting, Investigation, Prospecting
Handling	Vadalis	Human	Animal Training and Breeding
Healing	Jorasco	Halfling	Healing
Hospitality	Ghallanda	Halfling	Food, Lodging, Urban Information
Making	Cannith	Human	Manufacturing, Invention
Passage	Orien	Human	Land Transportation, Teleportation
Scribing	Sivis	Gnome	Communication, Translation, Verification
Sentinel	Deneith	Human	Bodyguards, Mercenaries
Shadow	Phiarlan	Elf	Entertainment, Espionage
Shadow	Thuranni	Elf	Entertainment, Assassination
Storm	Lyrandar	Half-Elf	Air and Sea Transportation
Warding	Kundarak	Dwarf	Banking, Storage, Prisons

Structure

With the exception of House Tharashk, the ultimate power within a dragon marked house is held by a single individual, typically known as a baron.
Beneath the baron stands the lords seneschal, who oversee all operations within a particular country; the viceroys, who manage regions within a country; the ministers, who manage house affairs; and the masters, who maintain the guilds. Any member of a dragon marked house who has a dragon mark is allowed to use the honorary title of “lord” or “lady,” but the presence or absence of a mark on someone has no effect on that individual’s standing within the house. The dragon marked Lord Carren d’Cannith could end up working the bellows of a forge, while the unmarked Cainan d’Cannith rises to the rank of viceroy.
The mercantile holdings of a house are split, with one portion staffed entirely by members of the house and the other made up of the licensed businesses of the house’s guild. A smith licensed by House Cannith will put that house seal on his trade sign. However, the smith is not a member of House Cannith. Most of the artisans and labourers of Khorvaire fall into this category—licensed and often trained by one of the houses, but not bound to them by blood.

Excoriation

On occasion, the baron of a dragonmarked house banishes a member of the house who has committed a major crime or brought terrible dishonor on the house. In the past, the process of excoriation involved cutting away the dragon mark of the offender, which often resulted in death. Today, excoriation does not carry physical punishment, but an excoriate cannot hold any rank in the house or make use of the house’s name or its resources. Members of all dragon marked houses are forbidden to aid or associate with an excoriate of any house.