Hi everyone! This is the second installment of my Obscure Eberron Lore series, highlighting little-known elements of the Eberron campaign setting only found in obscure corners of canon. Today, I'll be featuring Loyal Daison, Aurum Concordian and slum king of Karrlakton, who was featured in the article Eye On Eberron: The Aurum in Dragon Magazine #415.
"Loyal" Daison is a powerful Concordian of the Aurum who owns a full one-eighth of the property in Karrlakton, Karrnath. Having earned his first fortune as a contractor during the Last War, Daison invested his wealth primarily in property damaged in battle or abandoned by those fleeing the war. When refugees poured out of Cyre in the aftermath of the Mourning, Daison was poised to offer them shelter... at steep prices. His wealth skyrocketed as families offered him what remained of their life's savings to live in his slums, even offering treasures and heirlooms the refugees had managed to salvage. Those who couldn't afford his exorbitant rent could choose to enter into predatory service contracts, and are now bound to Daison, working off a debt that will take decades to repay. Some say that more Cyrans serve Loyal Daison than Oargev, the king-in-exile of New Cyre.
Daison is a human in his early forties, heavyset with a resonant voice and booming laugh. He wears a distinctive gold and steel prosthetic as a replacement for his left hand, which he lost many years ago in an industrial accident. He developed strong ties with many of the southern warlords of Karrnath during the Last War, which he has strengthened in recent years with generous donations.
Since the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold, Loyal Daison has continued to invest his profits in a variety of ventures; a common joke in Karrlakton is that an unlikely event will occur "When Daison stops spending." In addition to his continued investments into city property, he has also begun purchasing property rights in the Mournland from his Cyran subjects at bargain rates, and sponsored salvage crews to recover valuables there. But his interest in the Mournland is more complex than just picking its bones. He has assembled a well-funded think tank of sages and arcanists called the Daison Institute to study the Mournland's effects, and perhaps find a way for Cyre to recover from the Mourning. Is this pursuit merely financial, a way for Daison to raise the value of his holdings? Or does he have other motivations?
Loyal Daison, like many Aurum Concordians, could serve as a patron or enemy—or both—over the course of a campaign. Consider the following hooks:
- Cyran characters might begin their adventures with a personal connection to Loyal Daison. Either they themselves or their family members might be under a service contract to him; Daison could offer to free them from the contract, in exchange for performing a dangerous task.
- A destitute Cyran family seeks the adventurers' aid in retrieving a precious family heirloom from the Mournland. However, Daison also has his eyes on the artifact, and has sent his own team to procure it. Can the adventurers get there first?
- The Daison Institute can serve as a resource for the player characters, perhaps funding expeditions into the Mournland or paying for recovered relics. The sages of the institute hope to find a way to push back the dead-gray mists, a noble endeavor to be sure. But what will the adventurers do when they discover that Loyal Daison has directed the institute's engineers to find a way to harness and weaponize the Mourning's power?
Next time: Horas Calt, the Bandit King of the Whistling Woods!