The Esoteric Order of Iznet is a secret cabal of subterranean races that recruit and train surface races to make war against the drow. They call their training grounds “academies”, and they advertise themselves to the surface world as agents of a great crusade against evil, but their methods are far from pure.The Order was formed centuries ago, when the drow noble house of Ildorno took power in the city of Stad Elidura and began a campaign of systematic slaughter against the surrounding races. Creatures that had been at each others’ throats for a millennia suddenly found themselves shoulder to shoulder as they fled to safety. As the surviving refugees came together in the relative safety of duergar outposts, they met for the first time in peaceful negotiations.
No single nation, save perhaps for the duergar, was powerful enough to face the dark elves alone. Any of the nations could have allied themselves with the duergar, but that would have meant subjecting themselves to the brutal rule of the dwarves. They also refused to ally with each other directly, each remembering past grudges and betrayals all too keenly. The defeated refugees realized that they needed to call upon outside help to reclaim their lands, and, not wanting to call upon the duergar for fear of the cost, decided to turn instead to the surface world. Thus the Esoteric Order of Iznet was born.
Within days, the first agents of the Order stole to the surface. A dozen derro, mind flayers, and hired duergar mercenaries traveled at night and under magical disguises and began their reconnaissance of the local settlements. With the duergar supplying muscle, the derro’s madness-tinged prophecy, and the mind flayers able to create loyal servants, they quickly formed a base of power in the catacombs beneath an abandoned temple to Evaine, while establishing a front of brainwashed followers in the ruins above. The Order’s puppets insinuated themselves into the local community, spreading word that they required heroes for a crusade against the dark elves.
The news spread quickly, and within the year, the usual crowd of malcontents, riffraff, and adventurers had gathered in the coss-covered courtyard to take the first solemn oath against their new foe. Many races answered the call, including a sizable number of elves, each one raised on stories of dark elf cruelty and villainy.
The group was split into different divisions according to the students’ skills, and training began in earnest. This training gave rise to the prestige classes listed below.
Prestige Classes
Cloak of Iznet
Iznet Avenger
Iznet Sage
Back to Prestige Classes
Migdalia Home
