House Ghallanda: The Mark of Hospitality

A King’s Bounty with a pinch of vazilla, as always. But what’s wrong? I can see it in the slump of your shoulders, my friend; something’s weighing you down. Tell me your troubles. A burden shared is a load lifted. And if I can’t help you solve your problem… Perhaps I know someone who can.

House Jorasco possesses the Mark of Healing. Those who carry this Mark can cure disease and heal physical injuries. The gifts of House Ghallanda are subtler than that. Rather than healing existing afflictions, the Mark of Hospitality grants the ability to provide sustenance and comfort—to maintain health and happiness through times of hardship. Those who bear the Mark can provide food and shelter, and settle disputes before they result in violence. In its earliest days, House Ghallanda used the Mark of Hospitality to help travelers survive the many dangers of the Talenta Plains. Since then, the House has spread across Khorvaire. As innkeepers and bartenders, as bakers, brewers, and chefs, House Ghallanda continues to provide sustenance, shelter, and comfort for those in need. 

In many ways, House Ghallanda is the happiest Dragonmarked House. The majority of its heirs take real joy in the work that they do. A Ghallanda innkeeper takes pride in providing a sanctuary from the grim world beyond their walls. A Ghallanda chef hopes each meal they prepare will give someone a moment of joy. Yes, they charge for their services, because they have to in order to continue to provide them. But even as Ghallanda maintains casinos and luxurious resorts for the wealthy elite, it still continues to look out for those in need. The Wandering Inn is an ancient tradition, traveling across the Talenta Plains and helping travelers. There is no Wandering Inn in the Five Nations, but there are Wanderers. Some Ghallanda heirs know exactly what they want to do in life. They train in culinary arts or hostel management, going straight from their training to service in a thriving establishment, working their way up from within. But other heirs wish to see more of the world before they lay down roots. These heirs can choose the path of the Ghallan—the “Helpful Hound”—or as they are generally called, the Wanderers. Ghallans are charged to travel. They’re encouraged to make as many friends as possible, and to try as many types of food as possible—to learn recipes they might use in the future. But like the Wandering Inn, the primary charge of the Wanderer is to help those in need. This might mean giving goodberries to a starving family, offering a fugitive a temporary shelter in an extradimensional space, or stepping in to mediate a dispute before blood is shed. Wanderers aren’t expected to have an answer for every problem, or to be able to provide long-term support. But they strive to make a difference, to ease burdens and to help where they can. When a Wanderer does settle down, they bring those experiences with them. How is it that the bartender at The Dog & Biscuit knows Prince Oargev? I’ll tell you. It was a few years back, with the war still going then. It was raining cats and dogs… and I don’t mean that as a figure of speech. Lamannia was coterminous and we were in a manifest zone, and, well, I’ve never seen anything else like it. The Prince and I were traveling in the same Orien coach, him in the private chamber mind you, when a brace of falling wolfhounds just shatter the thing. We’re out in the open now, and it’s clear that we’re either going to be crushed by falling beasts or eaten by the ones already on the ground. So I raise my Tiny Hut and invite the prince and the coachman inside, and we spend the next hour eating morsels and playing cards. By the time the storm was over, well, I’d won a fine estate near Metrol and a friend for life. Too bad the manor was lost in the Mourning, but of course the Korth wouldn’t have let me keep it…

The innate, ongoing gifts of the Mark of Hospitality include an intuitive bonus to using Cook’s Utensils and Brewer’s Supplies. As an heir carrying the Mark, you have an innate appreciation for flavor, as well as an instinctive sense for proper timing and ratios. The Mark also provides an intuitive bonus to Persuasion. This is less about active manipulation, and instead reflects the fact you’re inherently easy to like. People who carry the Mark of Hospitality have a disarming charm; it’s why it’s so easy to open up to the Ghallanda bartender. 

In playing a Ghallanda heir, consider the road you’re on. Most of your cousins know exactly what they want, and they’re willing to take the slow road to get there—cleaning tables, working as cooks, bellhops, or stewards until they eventually have the opportunity to own their own establishment. What is it you dream of? Do you want to own an inn? If so, do you already have a name for it? Are you always tracing out the floorplan or doodling ideas for the inn sign? Would you rather be a brewer or a chef, in which case you might be searching for the perfect flavor or some legendary ingredient? Are you a Ghallan Wanderer, always looking for a way you can lend a hand? Or are you finding your own path—not committed to any tradition or duty, just waiting to see where fortune takes you? 

THE MARK OF HEARTH AND HOME

The Mark of Hospitality has three aspects: Food, Shelter, and Soothing. The ability to provide nourishing food is a key aspect of the Mark of Hospitality. Anyone who bears the Mark has the ability to Purify Food and Drink. The greater gifts of the Mark allow heirs to produce food from thin air. When cast through the Mark, Goodberry is called Mighty Morsel; rather than producing berries, the spell creates ten pellets that provide the sequential flavors of a three course meal. Prayer of Healing is called Fortifying Feast: when cast using the Mark, the ten minute casting time involves conjuring a small meal which must be consumed by the beneficiaries. Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall allows the caster to create a meal for up to thirty people! For all of these food related spells, the caster must make a Wisdom (Cook’s Utensils) check to determine the quality of the meal; 10 is acceptable, 15 is excellent, and 20 or higher is superb. When casting Create Food and Water the caster has disadvantage on this check; this food tends to be bland, and it takes an exceptional chef to imbue it with compelling flavor. 

Providing shelter is a second key aspect of the Mark of Hospitality. The Tiny Hut of the Lesser Mark conjures a simple physical shelter that endures for eight hours. It’s an excellent way to escape from unexpected bad weather. There’s a branch of the Hosteler’s Guild that specializes in what we would understand as Glamping—a Ghallanda guide takes you through an interesting stretch of wilderness, producing a Tiny Hut as a secure shelter for the night and preparing a fine meal. Rope Trick has a short duration that prevents it from being terribly useful as a commercial service, but it is the stepping stone toward the most iconic power of the Mark: Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. This allows an heir with the Greater Mark of Hospitality to open a portal to a small extradimensional space, with furnishings and decor drawn from the imagination of the heir. The 24 hour duration allows any heir with this power to run their own “pop-up” business. Aside from putting a roof over one’s head, the Mark of Hospitality also helps to secure that shelter. Any heir with the Mark of Making can cast Unseen Servant. This is said to draw off a fragment of the heir’s own spirit, calling on their own helpful nature to offer assistance. Heirs with the Lesser Mark can conjure a more palpable force: Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound, or as it’s called when cast in this way, Ghallan Guardian. This typically takes the shape of a spectral Blink Dog formed from the swirling lines of a dragonmark, though occasionally heirs manifest unique shapes for their guardian; Baron Yoren is known to summon a guardian Clawfoot raptor. A Ghallanda innkeeper may offer to cast a Guardian for a customer who seems to have a need for a little extra security for the night. The final gift is quite rare: the ability to cast Hallow, drawing on the power of the Mark to protect an area from malign forces. No heir can cast both Hallow and Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall; even player characters must choose which of the two spells they have access to.  

The final aspect of the Mark of Hospitality is the ability to soothe others, helping people enjoy their food and shelter. At its simplest level, this is seen in the innate bonus to Persuasion granted by the Mark. Any experienced heir can extend this to cast Calm Emotions, which has brought an end to countless bar fights. Some heirs learn how to concentrate this effect, channeling this soothing energy into the ability to cast Sleep.  

What about Prestidigitation? Prestidigitation has always been associated with the Mark of Hospitality. It was one of the optional spells tied to the Mark in the original Eberron Campaign Setting book, and it was a gift of the Mark in Eberron Rising From The Last War. However, Forge of the Artificer has dropped it, instead allowing the bearer of the Mark to cast Calm Emotions. Prestidigitation is an extremely useful spell for an Innkeeper or chef: it allows them to heat, chill, or flavor food and drink, as well as to clean floors and dishes with a gesture. This article already imposes a number of changes to canon in the revised Spells of the Mark list, and I prefer not to change the traits as well. As a result, this article introduces the Innkeeper’s Gloves as a common focus item that allows a Ghallanda heir to cast Prestidigitation. The point being that almost every marked heir CAN cast Prestidigitation—they’re just doing it through a focus rather than through the unassisted Dragomark. 

Kanon vs Canon. My goal with these articles is to strengthen the story of the Dragonmark, ensuring that its abilities paint a consistent picture and support the services the House provides in the world. With the Mark of Hospitality, this has resulted in me changing four Spells of the Mark from those that will appear in Forge of the Artificer. 

• At 2nd level, I’ve replaced Aid and Enhance Ability with Rope Trick and Prayer of Healing. I like Prayer of Healing because the ten minute casting time allows it to be presented as a form of Heroes Feast (which was originally granted by the 3.5 Greater Mark of Hospitality); the idea being that the heir actually prepares a meal that strengthens the party. This is more compelling to me than the random boost of Aid. Meanwhile, Rope Trick plays to the idea of providing shelter and foreshadows Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. 

• At 4th level, I’ve replaced Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum with Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound. This was a difficult decision; Ghallanda inns would benefit from being shielded by Private Sanctum. But Private Sanctum is a spell that becomes permanent if cast enough times, which means that if Ghallanda had it, people would be paying them to cast it for them. Nobles would want Private Sanctums in their homes. And for that reason, I feel that Private Sanctum should be a gift of the Mark of Warding, not the Mark of Hospitality. KUNDARAK is the house you’re supposed to be paying for magical security, not Ghallanda. Furthermore, Private Sanctum primarily protects against Divination and Teleportation, which again feels more like WARDING. By contrast, the Mark of Hospitality already has the ability to cast Unseen Servant. Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound is essentially a strengthening of that existing spell; it fits the Blink Dog iconography of the House; and having an Innkeeper put a dog at your door for the night feels appropriate without stepping on the toes of Kundarak. 

• At 5th level, I’ve added the option of Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. Hallow is a powerful spell, but it’s very limited in its use; it has a 24 hour casting time and a 1,000 gp casting cost; it’s not something an adventurer can use on a regular basis. Beyond this: Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion was one of the original options for the Greater Mark of Hospitality in the 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting, and for me it’s always been part of the flavor of House Ghallanda. Part of the point of the Wandering Inn is that you have mansions inside wagons. With the current structure it’s awkward to give a Dragonmark the ability to cast a 7th level spell; so I’ve created Hospitable Hall as a slightly weaker version of Magnificent Mansion. Note that this is a spell that is only supposed to be available to characters with the Mark of Hospitality—emphasized by making the Mark a component of the spell. For most people, this is still a 7th level effect. 

As always, using kanon content is something that requires DM approval. This is how I use the Mark of Hospitality in MY campaign, but other DMs may prefer to rely on canon material.   

FOCUS ITEMS

Ghallanda heirs employ the common focus items presented in Exploring Eberron—Dragonmark Channels, Dragonmark Reservoirs, and Channeling Rods. Exploring Eberron also introduces the Ghallanda Cauldron (which reduces the time required to prepare a meal) and the Manor Key, which preserves the 3.5 tradition of Ghallanda Magnificent Mansions. Exploring Eberron also highlights the idea that existing magic items can be reflavored as focus items, calling out the Ghallan Jug as a form of Alchemy Jug that draws on the Mark of Hospitality. In addition to these, here’s a few new focus items to play with. 

Bag of Bounty

Wondrous Item, Uncommon 

This leather bag has three charges. A creature with the Mark of Hospitality can take a Magic Action to open the bag and cast Create Food and Water, expending one charge in the process. When using the Bag, a creature can make a Wisdom (Cook’s Utensils) check to determine the quality of the food; they don’t suffer the disadvantage that normally applies when casting Create Food and Water with the Mark of Hospitality. The Bag of Bounty recovers 1d3 charges at dawn. 

Hosteler’s Anchor 

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Hospitality) 

The Hosteler’s Anchor is a stone brick engraved with the Mark of Hospitality. If the anchor is placed in an extradimensional space created by the creature attuned to Anchor—such as a Magnificent Mansion, Hospitable Hall, or Rope Trick—it can help maintain the space in the absence of the caster. When the duration of the spell expires, the caster can immediately refresh the spell through the Anchor. This requires the creator to expend the appropriate spell slot or charge from a magic item, but it requires no action on the part of the creator. The creator can even set this effect to occur even if the creator is unconscious, although they must have the appropriate spell slot or item charge available to be spent. 

Innkeeper’s Gloves

Wondrous Item, Common 

If you possess the Mark of Hospitality, you may use a Magic Action to cast Prestidigitation while wearing these gloves. 

That's all for now! As always, thanks for your support!