House Edall

The night watches and the darkness listens. Halt your body and still your tongue; lest you lose either to the shadows.

House Edall are the stewards of death within Lonnhaven. Because they call upon Bas as an origin for much of their spellweaving, they are the most qualified to defend the city during the passing of the Plane of Death. Members of House Edall work to reduce the effect of Bas' influence in Lonnhaven constantly by tending to the dead and seeking out those unlawfully using dark magics. They also maintain the catacombs and provide a means for peaceful rest when the time comes. Whenever a person dies within the city, they can be brought to the catacombs to be honored after death or marked on the Wall of Rememberance.

Public Agenda

Death is common with in a city as large as Lonnhaven. It is necessary to contain or destroy the bodies quickly after their demise to mitigate the influence of Bas's passing on the city. Stewards of House Edall tend to the corpses and maintain various memorials to the deceased throughout Lonnhaven. Whenever an individual passes, their body is destroyed, but they will not be forgotten. The Wall of Rememberance that spans the length of the rise in the Edall District has each name marked on it. Edall Stewards are stationed along various points of the wall to guide people to the name of the deceased. Individuals of a higher status may be interred in the Eternal Home or a personal crypt. Typically, only Twilight Walkers are allowed to tend to these more private places.
House Edall is also crucial to the continued survival of Lonnhaven. In its passing, Bas will have many effects on Nemas and, by extension, Lonnhaven. The dead will grow restless and sickness will run rampant. Members of House Edall will patrol through the city looking for evidence of these things and work to mitigate the damages to person and property. Dark Censors seek out mages unlawfully who utilize the dark magics of Bas in times of peace and stop dangerous rituals during the passing, coordinating with the Empress Guard.

History

House Edall was one of the five founding houses of Lonnhaven. The founding Edall, a shadow sorcerer whose name has been lost to time, was crucial to the creation of the enchantment stopping the Decay. Their knowledge of Bas's power helped explicitly stop its energies and allow the other planes' energies to be utilized.

Once Lonnhaven was founded in earnest, the first Edall brought the rest of their family to safety, forming House Edall. House Edall was initially concerned with maintaining its purity and power, not allowing anyone born without the shadow sorcerer blood. They presided over Edall District as fair and aloof leaders, favoring a hands-off approach when it came to the ever increasing population. This was revealed to not be a good approach, something most of the nobles houses learned around this time, causing the Riots of 5009S., ultimately leading to House Loheim taking the role of a central government.

As time approached the first passing of Bas post-founding, House Edall realized the enchantment was not as powerful as the founding sorcerers and druids thought. While a majority of Bas' power was stopped from progressing into Lonnhaven and Saol, the influence of Bas still brought its periodic terror upon the inhabitants. In addition, the power stopped from entering the city, was the energy necessary to weave their magics. House Edall had very little power to prevent the Accursed Night (as it is now known). Lonnhaven was, and still is, the most dense population center in history and there was no plan in place to handle Bas' passing. The hordes of dead rose and proceeded to slaughter the common folk, causing more undead to rise. The lower districts would have been completely taken if not for nearly every capable fighter and mage taking to the battlefield to save the citizens.

After the Accursed Night, House Edall was blamed for the events and their reputation fell to the lowest of the noble houses. The Duchess of Night directed the most talented spellweavers to analyze Lonnhaven's protective enchantment to no avail. Umbral Hierarch Pocilzu Korul is credited with discovering the enchantment would indeed not be sufficient to stop another incident like that occurring. Korul proposed a source of power be brought into Lonnhaven for mages to utilize. A huge feystone was found and imbued with an enchantment to hold a reservoir of Bas' power. It was named the Crux of Repose and was placed in Edall Keep. House Edall utilized the Veduthenid to magically bind anyone who wielded its energies.

The terrible mismanagement in the lead up to the Accursed Night caused the Duchess' philosophy on membership to change. House Edall began allowing others to join to share the burden and work now known to be necessary. Stringent tests were put into place to filter out the easily corruptible as weaving Bas' energy required a strong will, lest the mage fall to the darkness. Utilizing the new members, House Edall immediately began centralizing the disposal of the dead across Lonnhaven. The subsequent passings of Bas were far less impactful, but the populace still fears a repeat of the Accursed Night.

House Edall had been holding ceremonies for the dead. While the ceremonies were officially unaligned, but there was a growing section of the population who desired the worship to be authorized. It took many years but in 5122S, around one hundred years post-founding, House Edall spearheaded an amendment to the Accords authorizing the worship of Idnera. The worship of the Goddess of Death and Fate was chiefly limited to the Edall District with several small churches in other districts. Thus, clerics of the grave domain were sanctioned within Lonnhaven. They were required to adhere to the Accords and were only allowed to operate within their discipline.

The faction has grown in size and competency in the years since. The passing of Bas is still taken seriously and is a stressful time House Edall. The entire city watches every year in fear of another Accursed Night. Every member of rank Twilight Walker or higher is on a near-constant vigil during the passing. Few major incidents have happened since that night. Stewards and priests direct many citizens to safety and lead vigils to comfort the anxious populace. There have been rumors that House Edall uses the corpses it collects for nefarious purposes. Some people believe it holds a veritable army of undead. If true, what its plans are for these undead are completely unknown, but no one trusts that it would be good.

Demography and Population

Classes

As most noble houses, House Edall began with a sorcerous bloodline. The shadow mages initially dominated the faction but after the Accursed Night, the faction opened itself up to mages and mundanes alike. Presently, you are likely to find the following:

• Grave Domain Clerics help guide the worship of Idnera and provide a lot of supportive services to the mausoleums.
• Fighter: Every faction needs guards to protect various assets. House Edall is frequently targeted by people who fear it and the guards help defend it.
• Way of the Shadow Monk
• Ranger: House Edall does occasionally require information or assets that require a more delicate and hidden approach. Gloom Stalkers are typically called upon for these situations.
• Rogue: Any manner of rogue can be employed by House Edall. Typically Inquisitive Rogues are higher to assist Dark Censors and serve as an information network.
• Sorcerer: The sorcerous bloodlines are divided into their respective houses. It would be nearly unheard of to find a non-Shadow Magic sorcerer in House Edall.
• Warlock: While warlocks might be illegal, that doesn't stop the factions from utilizing them. Undying (SCAG) and Raven Queen (UA) warlocks are most common within House Edall, but Celestial warlocks exist within the house as well.
• Wizard: Wizards who left the Draoi Wizarding Academies in favor of practical experience tend to come to House Edall to study Necromancy but Abjuration wizards also exist, typically to help with sealing magics.

Races

House Edall does not discriminate against any races when accepting members. Anyone who is willing and strong willed enough to do the work is accepted. It does tend to attract a fair number of the under races because a large portion of the work is underground. In addition to the under races, you will most often find High Elves, Half-Elves, Halflings, and Humans. The more honor-bound races (Dwarves, Goliaths and Minotaurs) might see fit to join as well.
A number of races have an inclination to avoid joining House Edall for various reasons. Many distrust its work with the dead or just don't want to be affiliated with that kind of magic. Races that tend to value free movement or Saol's energy avoid House Edall.

Territories

Quick reference to Edall District.

Organizational Structure

Each member of House Edall is important to the proper functioning of the faction. House Edall judges its members by their skill and strength of will. Bas can corrupt even the most good individual and those who tap into its power must take care to not fall. Only when you have shown yourself to be strong enough may you advance in the hierarchy, if you have gained enough Renown by that point.

Rank 1: Steward

Prerequisite: Renown 3 or higher in House Edall
Stewards are low ranking officials in the faction. They tend to much of the day to day activities of the guild, taking on many roles such as undertaker and guide. You can expect deference from those who have lost someone, they will perform small favors that requires no significant risk, effort, or cost as long as they respect House Edall.
No Steward lives in poverty. Between adventures, they earn a salary that supports them at a modest lifestyle.

Rank 2: Twilight Walker

Prerequisite: Rank 1 and renown 10 or higher in House Edall
Twilight Walkers are trusted with the more private affairs of the faction. They tend to the private mausoleums and work with more sensitive matters. They also manage groups of Stewards, they can call upon 1d4 Stewards (use the Acolyte (MM) stat block with additional spells and no cure wounds) to perform tasks that won't put them in danger.
When not adventuring, Twilight Walkers earn a salary that supports them at a modest lifestyle.

Dark Censor (Special Role)

Prerequisite: Renown 10 or higher in House Edall, 5th level or higher, and the ability to cast remove curse
There are those who unlawfully perform dark magics. Dark Censors are those who hunt them. The Censors perform the vital task of rooting out those mages before they can affect the population. Censors work closely with the Empress Guard and can call upon 1d4 Soldiers (GGR) and possibly an abjuration specialist from the Draoi Wizarding Academies if their work demands it.
Dark Censors earn a salary that supports them at a modest lifestyle.

Rank 3: Umbral Speaker

Prerequisite: Rank 2 and renown 25 or higher in House Edall
Umbral Speakers have demonstrated they are competent at managing the delicate work of House Edall. They manage the districts of the church of Idnera, the death services, or sections of the catacombs. If needed they can call upon 2d4 Twilight Walkers (use the Cult Fanatic (MM) stat block) to assist in a faction-approved mission. A Speaker can also dispatch a Dark Censor to investigate rumors.
While not unheard of, Umbral Speakers tend not to seek out adventure, preferring the comfortable lifestyle their salary affords.

Rank 4: Umbral Hierarch

Prerequisite: Rank 3 and renown 50 or higher in House Edall
Chosen by the Duchess herself, Umbral Hierarchs have proved themselves to be adept at navigating the politics of Lonnhaven and House Edall. They serve as high ranking political emissaries to the other factions and realize the Duchess' vision for House Edall. Hierarchs have access to nearly all the resources of House Edall and have the ear of the Duchess of Eternal Night. Umbral Hierarchs rarely find themselves adventuring and earn a salary that supports them at a wealthy lifestyle.
Umbral Hierarchs hold the keys to the factions' greatest secret. They can allow the release of the undead horde House Edall has been curating for centuries. This must be approved by each Umbral Hierarch or the Duchess herself. Doing this will cause a massive shift in political dynamics and is likely to ultimate downfall of the house. However, with every able bodied caretaker assisting, the undead horde can be directed and serve as an almost unlimited supply of troops without harming any member of House Edall.

Dukedom of Eternal Night

House Edall is led by the Duchess of the Eternal Night. She is shrouded in secrecy to the point that no one outside the family knows her true name, it is unknown if anyone within the family knows it either. She has been the matriarch for countless years and the faction has only strengthened under her direction. No one knows if the title has passed to another member of the family or if the current Duchess has an unnatural longevity.

Background: Edall Caretaker

As a member of House Edall, your life is devoted to the service of the House and, by extension, the people of Lonnhaven. In times of peace, you guide in honoring the late citizenry and in times of darkness, you defend the people against the influence of Bas in the city. You might have joined the faction to help the mourning with their grieving or just perform a wide-reaching civil service. Or you could have joined to further study darker magics, hopefully for a good cause.
Skill Proficiencies: History, Religion
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: An Edall insignia, a prayer book, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp.

Feature: Mark of the Night

Your membership to House Edall can be proved by the Arcanic Brand of the house. Most members have the sigil tattooed on their palm or forearm, but others eschew tradition and place it elsewhere, but always in a relatively public place in case they need to prove their membership. The Mark of the Night conveys benefits according to the rank you have achieved with House Edall. You have all the abilities of the ranks you have achieved.

• Unranked: Even the lowest members have access to Edall Faction Spells detailed lower down.
• Steward: At the end of a short or long rest, you can choose whether spells and abilities that detect life or undeath detect you as alive or dead. This lasts until the end of your next rest, when you revert to your natural state.
• Twilight Walker: You can Turn Undead, as per the cleric Channel Divinity. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you meditate at a shrine to Idnera and no more than once per short rest.
• Dark Censor: You have advantage on your spellcasting ability check when casting remove curse.
• Umbral Speaker: Your attacks and spells against undead ignore any damage resistances.
• Umbral Hierarch: Undead have disadvantage on saving throws against your abilities or spells that turn or control them. Additionally, whenever an undead would be turned by an ability or spell you control, that creature is under the effect of a gaes instead. All undead affected by the same turning effect receive the same gaes.

Edall Faction Spells

Prerequisite: Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature
For you, the spells on the Edall Faction Spells table are added to the spell list of your spellcasting class. (If you are a multiclass character with multiple spell lists, these spells are added to all of them.)

Edall Faction Spells

Spell Level	Spells
Cantrip	chill touch, spare the dying
1st	bane, ceremony, inflict wounds
2nd	darkness, gentle repose, shadow blade
3rd	animate dead, feign death
4th	death ward, shadow of moil
5th	antilife shell, negative energy flood

Your magic is darker than most others, both visually and in ability. Even as you do good with your magics, you will be looked upon with suspicion and fear only because you weave the shadows.

What's gone is not forgotten.

Type

Political, Faction / Party

Alternative Names

Clergy of the Grave

Demonym

Edall Caretakers

Leader

Duchess of the Eternal Night

Parent Organization

Council of the Honored

Location

Edall Keep