Canonfire! - Suel Houses of the Flanaess

The identity of all Twelve Houses that came through Slerotin’s tunnel is not well understood, as not all of the Houses remained in the Sheldomar Valley. Some migrated out of the Sheldomar, eventually settling in what is now the Urnst States, the Great Kingdom of Aerdy, the Thillonrian Peninsula, the Tilvanot Peninsula with some Houses migrating to the Amedio jungle and Hepmonaland. The count of these Houses is also a matter of debate. Elayne Mystica, of House Lerara, has claimed that eighteen Houses entered through the Tunnel. Many scholars dispute this reckoning as the additional six Houses cannot be accounted for, or dismiss these numbers as commoner or non-Suel tribes that fled with the Twelve through the Tunnel. However, this rumor provides an opportunity for the DM to add something unique to their campaign.

The names of some of these Houses are well represented through history. Some have gone extinct or disappeared and the fate of others are uncertain. In the tables below, each House is named, along with its known point of origin, and current locations (if still extant), any major historical notes, and the source of information on this house if available.

Canon is a dicey term. For the purposes of this article canon means any published TSR/WoTC product, including Living Greyhawk products. Oerth Journal articles are included because many of the relevant articles were written by notable authors of official Greyhawk products. These authors include Lenard Lakofka, Erik Mona, Sam Weiss, Gary Holian, and Roger Moore. The reader is free to disassociate any source they believe inappropriate for this definition.

The ‘Canon’ 12 Tribes that are confirmed or probably journeyed through Slerotin’s Tunnel

House	Locations	Notes	Source
Neheli (Neheli-Arztin)	Suel Imperium, fled via Slerotin’s Tunnel Keoland: Niole Dra (founders), Barony of the Axewood (Linnoden) Duchy of Dorlin (Dorglast Castle, family seat) County of the Rushmoors Barony of Dilwych Tower of the Silent Ones (near Segor)	The Arztin branch went extinct during the time of the Imperium. Inzhilem II of Neheli-Arztin was the fifth known Mage of Power and an Emperor of the Imperium. He is credited with the creation of the Orbs of Dragonkind. Anladon II, Baron of the Axewood, is a half-elf, and House Neheli is rumored to have extensive contacts (romantic and otherwise) with the High Elves of the Duchy of Ulek. Uhas Neheli (Uhas of Neheli) is the author of The Chronicle of Secret Times, a banned book said not to even exist, that chronicles the flight of the Suel to the Sheldomar Valley. Uhas was both blind and an albino, and a Silent One of Keoland. The Chronicle of Secret Times is said to reveal dealings between the Neheli and Vecna. The Silent Ones were founded primarily by House Neheli to guard Suel magical traditions, guard ancient Suel magical artifacts, and prevent the abuse of magic. For centuries, only the Silent Ones could publicly engage in the use of magic, until the reforms of Tavish the Great. Even today, the Silent Ones are dominated by members of the Neheli family, though they do not answer to Duke Cedrian and barely to the Crown. Lorca is a cadet branch of the Neheli family.	Folio p. 5 LGG pp 13-14, 64-66, 162-163 TAB, p. 55 Dragon 225, p. 50 Dragon 230, p. 8-16 LGJ 1 Kingdom of Keoland p. 8-19 LGJ 4 The Silent Ones, p. 8-21. Greyhawk Adventures, p. 96 WGA4 Vecna Lives!, p. 3, 20, 22 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, page 8
Lerara	Suel Imperium, fled via Slerotin’s Tunnel Slerotin’s Tunnel (Crystalmist Mountains)	The 12^th House was left behind in Slerotin’s Tunnel when a fight broke out between various nobles of the house. They continue to live in the Tunnel and worship a strange being called the “Mother.” They are completely degenerate from ancient and modern Suel culture, and their version of Suel is difficulty to understand. In one telling, the Lerara are a minor family within House Zolax (Ad-Zol). Elayne Mystica, a mage living in Irongate, is a member of House Lerara.	Dragon 241 Legacies of the Suel Imperium, pp. 43-47 WoG Glossography, p. 27-28 WoG Boxed Sex Guide, p. 8 Dragon 139, Lords and Legends, p. 18 Oerth Journal 11, p. 59
Zelrad	Suel Imperium South Province, Great Kingdom (Ahlissa). Extinct?	The Zelrad left the Sheldomar Valley for the northeast, eventually settling in what became the South Province of the Great Kingdom (Kingdom of Ahlissa). It is believed they did so to follow the cryptic instructions of Slerotin, predicting they would merge “with a noble people and together lay the foundations of an exalted kingdom.” The Zelrad intermarried with local Flan and later invading Aerdi. Few if any remain pure Suel, though the family retains a strong Suel character. Some sources (LGG) describe the Zelrad as a powerful House, others as a lesser (LGJ 4). It is possible in earlier times the Zelrad were more powerful than when they fled the Imperium, or fled in too few numbers to continue to rival the larger Neheli or Rhola by the time they reached the Flanaess. The magical blade Vilharian was originally wielded by Sellanus Zelrad during the days of the Imperium. It later fell into the hands of the Rhola before being lost by Tavish III during the ill fated attack on Westkeep. Since then, the intelligent blade is rumored to be in the hands of brigands. The Silent Ones have an interest in recovering the blade.	LGG p. 64 LGJ 1, Kingdom of Keoland, p. 8-19 LGJ 4, The Silent Ones, p. 12, 17
Malhel	Suel Imperium Keoland: Dreadwood Forest (probably extinct) Yeomanry (extinct) Also Tilvanot Peninsula? Possibly extant.	Fled into the Dreadwood after attacking the Tower of the Silent Ones, possibly with the Eye and Hand of Vecna, along with other artifacts of the Imperium. Believed to have self-destructed violently within the Dreadwood, though there are rumors some members went to the Tilvanot Peninsula, while at least one went to the Yeomanry. After the self-destruction of his House in the Dreadwood, Lord Asberdies settled in the Yeomanry, ruling an area settled by Suel commoners (Firstcomers) with an iron fist. Ultimately, he was overthrown though it is not certain if he was killed.	LGG p. 64, 135 LGJ 1 Kingdom of Keoland p. 8-19 LGJ 4, The Silent Ones, p. 12, 14, 16, 20
Rhola	Suel Imperium Keoland (founded Gradsul, family seat) County of Ulek (founded Jurnre) Viscounty of Salinmor (founded, no longer hold)	Sellark is a family in the Rhola clan, and currently holds the Duchy of Gradsul. The powerful Rhola alternated the throne with House Neheli for most of Keoland’s history. They control Keoland’s navy. Gradsul is Keoland’s largest city and most important port. There are at least two branches of the House: the Keoish branch (the largest and most directly descended from the original Rhola), a Gran March branch (the Rholgran), and possibly a County of Ulek branch, as they founded Jurnre as well as Gradsul. One member of the House, Lady Lynandria, for a time owned one of Keirian Jalucian’s journals.	LGJ 1 Kingdom of Keoland p. 8-19 LGJ 4 The Silent Ones, pp. 12, 13, 17 LGG p. 13-14, 64-66 TAB p. 55 WG8 Fate of Istus, pp. 25, 27, 110 LGJ 1 p. , 17 Folio, pg 5 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, page 8 Dragon 268, Greyhawk Grimoirs, p. 70
Lizhal	Keoland: Good Hills, Grayhill (Skotti branch), Viscounty of Nume Eor (Jorgos branch)		LGJ 1 Kingdom of Keoland p. 15, 18, 19
Linth	Keoland (Earldom of Linth)		LGJ1 Kingdom of Keoland, p. 15, 18, 19
Secunforth	Keoland (Viscounty of Salinmor)	Distantly related to the Neheli, may be a cadet branch. Relocated to Salinmor from the Duchy of Dorlin	LGJ 1, p. 17

Additional Suel Houses/Tribes

There are a number of Suel families mentioned in a variety of Greyhawk products via major products, Dragon Magazine, and Dungeon magazine articles, as well as a variety of unofficial or fan based sources. Some of these may have dated to the time of the Imperium, though this is difficult to confirm. Others are modern Suel families of import, who may or may not have descended from true Suel nobility but retain a largely pure Suel bloodline and command considerable power in the modern era.

Sallivarian	Duchy of Urnst	Has retained a nearly pure Suel bloodline.	LGG pp. 78-79
Maure	Duchy of Urnst	Descendants of Slerotin’s apprentices who collaborated to create a new Suel House. Now largely extinct or living in pocket dimensions. Their namesake home, Castle Maure, has long been abandoned.	Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins, pp. 171-172. Castle Maure, Dungeon 112, pp. 12 Chamber of Antiquities, Dungeon 124, pp. 76-101 The Greater Halls, Dungeon 139, pp. 70-88.
Tammeraut	Suel Imperium (extinct?) Possibly Tilvanot Peninsula	Several minor Houses that accompanied Slerotin through the Tunnel joined Kavelli Mauk and his followers when they escaped the RoCF through the Harsh Pass. It seems likely that House Tammeraut was one of these.	Scarlet Brotherhood, p. 2 Dungeon 106, p. 19
Lorinar	Suel Imperium? Duchy of Urnst	House Lorinar is a minor Suel House. It is unclear if the Lorinar were one of the Twelve Houses that traveled through Slerotin’s Tunnel or a Firstcomer House that relocated north and west.	LGG p. 125
Teraknian	Modern Suloise House (possibly extinct)	Modern day Suel House descended from one of the founders of Sasserine. Ruled Sasserine until overthrown by the Sea Princes in CY 480	Savage Tide, Dungeon 139 Savage Tide Player’s Guide, p. 11
Xuel-Crix	Suel Imperium, extinct	House presumed lost during the RoCF The only character known to be associated with this House is Xodast, who originally was given no surname or House name. Later sources later associated him with this name, presumably an Imperial House. In RR01 Suel Imperium: Age of Glory	WG7 Castle Greyhawk RR01 Suel Imperium: Age of Glory Canonfire! Postfest IV The Bringer of Doom
Orlysse	Suel Imperium, extinct	House presumed lost during the RoCF	Dungeon 77, pp 32-56 Return to White Plume Mountain
Kateri	Suel Imperium, extinct	May have been one of the Houses that entered Slerotin’s Tunnel. Was utterly destroyed by Vecna’s forces.	RPGA Living Greyhawk Message board Canonfire! Vecna’s Realm
Belzim	Suel Imperium, extinct	House Belzim went extinct in SD 2664, when all Belzim heirs died on the same day (7 Brightleaf)	Oerth Journal 1, p. 6 Oerth Journal 11,p. 57
Opell	Suel Imperium, fled Imperium, fate unknown	Fled the Imperium in 4117 SD during the War of Purity. The Emperor attempted to obliterate this House for intermarrying with other tribes “to the West.” They sailed south or west and are not heard from again	Oerth Journal 1, p. 7 Oerth Journal 11, p. 58
Ulmar	Suel Imperium, fled Imperium, fate unknown	Fled the Imperium in 4117 during the War of Purity. The Emperor attempted to obliterate this House for intermarrying with other tribes “to the West.” They sailed south or west with the Opell and were not heard from again.	OerthJournal 1, p. 7 Oerth Journal 11, p. 58
Onnwai	Suel Imperium (fate uncertain)	Left the Suel Imperium, and founded Onnwall	Onnwall Gazetteer
Toli	Suel Imperium (possibly Rhola) minor house at best or Modern Suel House (Firstcomer)	Played a role in the founding of the Hold of the Sea Princes, and still have an active influence	Grand Sheldomar Timeline Part I The Rhola and the Toli: The Battle for Jekla Bay
Mauk	Suel Imperium (extinct), Tilvanot Peninsula (extinct as an individual House)	Was probably a minor noble family within one of the great Houses. Only known member is Kevelli Mauk, founder of the Kingdom of Shar/Scarlet Brotherhood and author of The Tome of the Scarlet Sign	Scarlet Brotherhood, p. 2
Andrigal	Viscounty of Salinmor (West Riding)	A Firstcomer House that settled a thinly populated area. While typically Suel in that they are very much the masters of their domain, they are not particularly abusive and have little interest in politics. Elevated to nobility by the Lorchesters, previously were substantial landowners but lacked ‘official’ title	A Guide to the Viscounty of Salinmor: Who’s Who A Guide to the Vicounty of Salinmore: A brief Chronicle of the Viscounts of Salinmor
Lorchester	Rhola allied House, origin uncertain Viscounty of Salinmore (Redshore)	First Vicounts of Salinmore, replaced by the Secunforths. Described as a ‘minor’ Suel House. Uncertain if an Imperial House or a Firstcomer House.	A Guide to the Viscounty of Salinmor: Who’s Who A Guide to the Vicounty of Salinmore: A brief Chronicle of the Viscounts of Salinmor
Makaster	Lorchester allied House, origin uncertain Viscounty of Salinmor (Burle)	Invited to Salinmore by the Lorchesters when they still held the Viscounty, to become the third noble house in the domain. Barons of Burle, and vassals to the Lorchesters and now the Secunforths. Pride themselves on being the power behind the throne. Rumor is they use dark magic. Unclear if they are Suel, they may have been a Firstcomer House	A Guide to the Viscounty of Salinmor: Who’s Who A Guide to the Vicounty of Salinmore: A brief Chronicle of the Viscounts of Salinmor
Rynnow	Lorchester allied House, origin uncertain Viscounty of Salinmore	Elevated to nobility by the Lorchesters, previously were substantial landowners but lacked ‘official’ title	A Guide to the Viscounty of Salinmor: Who’s Who A Guide to the Vicounty of Salinmore: A brief Chronicle of the Viscounts of Salinmor
Nulbar	Keoland (Monmurg)	Former Dukes of Monmurg, dispossessed. Considered themselves the equal of the Neheli and Rhola. Unclear if they are one of the Twelve, a Firstcomer House or even Suel.	A Guide to the Viscounty of Salinmor
Elgarin	Suel Imperium ? Keoland: County of Flen	As Countess Allita Elgarin is a priestess of Xerbo it is reasonable to assume she is of Suel descent. Whether Elgarin was a Suel House, one of the Twelve, or a Firstcomer House is undetermined.	LGJ 1 Kingdom of Keoland
Nehelin	Suel Imperium (as House Neheli) Gran March (Barony of Paysanne)	House Nehelin is a cadet branch of House Neheli of Keoland. Its founder broke ties with the main family when Gran March was established as a buffer state and is now independent.	LG Gazetteer Gran March: Houses and Nobility
Rholgran	Suel Imperium (as House Rhola) Gran March (Barony of Shiboleth)	House Rholgran is a cadet branch of House Rhola of Keoland. Its founder broke ties with the main family when Gran March was established as a buffer state and is now independent.	LG Gazetteer Gran March: Houses and Nobility
	Idee?
Zan	Suel Imperium (extinct) Tilvonot Peninsula	Name survives as that of a Greyhawk Dragon Also the surname of Korrenth Zan, a high ranking Brotherhood official	RR01 Suel Imperium: Age of Glory, p. 20 WG8 Fate of Istus, p. 119 Greyhawk Adventures The Scarlet Brotherhood,
Ingerskatti	Suel Imperium (extinct)	Name survives as that of a Greyhawk Dragon	RR01 Suel Imperium: Age of Glory, p. 20
Shanfarel	Suel Imperium (extinct)	Name survives as that of a Greyhawk Dragon	RR01 Suel Imperium: Age of Glory, p. 20
Barizal	Cryllor	Ruling house of Cryllor. Uncertain if was a Suel Imperial House or a Firstcomer House.	KEO1-02 A Little Reconiassance, p. 8.
Kelven	Yeomanry	Aleksi Kelven led the rebellion leading to the formation of the Yeomanry	KEO1-03 Charting the Course, p. 4
Asiji	Lo Nakar (modern house)	The royal family of Lo Nakar descends from a female and male mage who remained stalwart in their defense of Lo Nakar from the Rain of Colorless Fire, among all the mages of the city who collapsed from the effort. As a reward, Wee Jas established Lo Nakar as a new kingdom with the two mages as Queen and King. The new royal couple abandoned their previous family names, which have been lost to history, and adopted the name of Wee Jas’s disguise as the name of their new royal house: Asiji.	Lo Nakar: Lost City of the Suel

The Twisted Forest in the Drachensgrab Hills is believed to be the remnants of a Suel House turned to stone after massacring a Flan tribe. This House is not identified, and could be one of the Twelve (or Eighteen depending on your source) or a Firstcomer House that fled the Sheldomar after the arrival of the Twelve and the founding of Keoland.

During the centuries after the Great Migrations, those Suel who did not migrate to the Tilvanot Peninsula gradually intermarried and mixed with the local Flan and Oeridian populations. Many families may have retained a Suel name but not a Suel character, or were commoner families even if they managed to retain a largely Suel bloodline. Very few families, even among the known Noble Houses, have managed to retain a pure Suel bloodline.

In the Tilvanot Peninsula (Kingdom of Shar), the citizens became subsumed by the Scarlet Brotherhood’s breeding program. Citizens are the state, and thus the independent character of the Suel Houses of nobility has largely been lost. Some citizens of the Scarlet Brotherhood’s lands may retain some memory of their ancient Houses, but that is all. All authority derives from the Father of Obedience. Even in the earliest days of the Tilvanot colony, Zellif’s followers who were of noble birth were but representatives of their original houses. Members of any number of Suel Imperial Noble Houses were represented in Shar’s early history, including House Schnai, House ad-Zol, and possibly others. Ultimately, the Nobles Council was overthrown, and the last vestiges of Suel nobility were assassinated, executed, or subsumed into the Brotherhood’s breeding programs. Some members of the Brotherhood still retain surnames, but the connection between those names and ancient Imperial Houses is uncertain and tenuous at best, and the original Suel nobility holds no true power within Shar or the Scarlet Brotherhood for its own sake.

Other Suel Houses, particularly Firstcomer Houses fleeing the Twelve Houses as they entered the Sheldomar, or fleeing Vecna, migrated into the Amedio Jungle to be joined by other Suel refugees fleeing the Rain of Colorless Fire directly through other routes. Imperial noble houses disappeared, to be replaced by modern day Houses that rise and fall with local fortunes. Other Houses migrated to what is now Hepmonaland, also largely disappearing from the record. The Suel who survived in Hepmonaland have largely forgotten their original culture, and their dialect of Suel is only 40% understandable by a speaker of Ancient Suel. They live a tribal existence, even if they retain attachment to ranks such as duke, the application of these ranks is essentially that of a tribal chief rather than a birthright.

One single Suel city of the ancient Imperium survives to the modern era: Lo Nakar. Isolated in a large valley in the western Crystalmists, Lo Nakar is xenophobic and does not engage in any contact with the world around them. It is ruled by a Queen and King who are the descendants of the two mages who saved the city from the Rain of Colorless Fire, though with the intervention and support of Wee Jas herself. Approximately thirty or so minor Suel Houses survive in Lo Nakar, though their identities are to this day unknown among the scholars of the Flanaess.

References

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