When it came to the origins of House Zaphresz, I really wanted a noble house that built their empire on the hospitality industry. Really in the same way you see real world families like the “Hiltons.” So I wanted to build a family that cared about that industry. And for me I wanted them to be the kind of family that most people write off, but ultimately people shouldn’t. And that’s when it struck me that this could be a an interesting opportunity to introduce an elven noble family. And the reason being that Elves in the world of Zenith. I don’t like the idea of any race being truly “immortal” just because they were born that way. So my idea for Elves are that Elves age very slowly, and because of that they tend to take a longer view on things.
If you think of the average human lives for 100 years, that means that 10 years is roughly 10% of your life. So a conflict that lasts a decade is significant. And if you have something that takes a year, that’s still 1% of your life. That’s significant, and worth being concerned about.
Now let’s take an elf, and have them live to 1,000 years. By the above math, a decade is only 1% of your life and a single year is only 0.10% of their life. So something that lasts a decade is significantly less, and something that takes a year, even less so.
With that being said, we now have a mobile family where they don’t really see a need to react to a lot, because things are more a blip on their timeline. Additionally, this family should be less interested in things they consider transient like politics and conflicts. More than that even the other Noble Houses should be less concerning because they don’t see the current patriarchs / matriarches living long enough to care.
So if that’s their opinion, what do they care about. And to me it’s savoring the finer things in life which means the hospitality industry makes a lot of sense.
As for the family and their cultures, I would see the Zaphresz, like a lot of elves value their history, and their ancestors, and focus on a spoken history to keep them alive.
The Zaphresz Empire:
The Zaphresz Empire is built upon resorts, taverns, and travel. This family tends to travel a lot to explore and bring things back to Zenith. They are very interested in savoring all the best that the world offers. That also means that they are often absent from votes and meetings with the Noble Families sending envoys in their stead. They have created resort destinations all over the world, the crown jewel of which is the Villa De La Vega resort on the Northern Spire in Zenith. But the truth is they have an island further away that is only spoke of by the world’s elite known as “Soul Light.” Although they own some smaller taverns, they tend to focus their efforts on the higher end experiences and the society elite.
Key Family Members and the Noble Family:
The leader of the family is actually fairly new to the role, with her father Armand Zaphresz, who took control of the family shortly after Zenith was founded and died of old age at the age of 986. The current matriarch of the family is Elena Zaphresz, and she is his only living daughter.
And then her children are heavily involved in the family business and they are:
- D’ana Zaphresz – the eldest child and has been groomed to take over the family the family empire. While she comes off as care free, she very much has a mind for politics, and is able to use her position to gain significant influence. She is a very tall elf with long platinum blonde hair. She has piercing blue eyes and usually is wears tight fitting and cocktail style dresses, with an abundance of jewelry.
- Valera Zaphresz – if the middle sister and she tends to be more of a free spirit, she is an enjoyer of the finer things in life and doesn’t allow politics or other worries to ruin her good time. She has athletic build and keeps her hair cut short in a pixie cut, and has several tattoos on her body.
- Penelope Zaphresz – as the youngest of the sisters, she realizes that the demands on her are likely very small. So she has discovered artwork and painting and tends to dedicate her life to finding beauty in the world. Of the family she is the most reserved and tends to stay out of the spotlight.
Key People in the Family’s Employ:
Like many elven families, the Zaphresz family is small, and given their feelings on political matters they tend to employ a lot of people to support their empire and operations, and a few of the key ones are:
- Duran: The current Duran is a young woman with a darker complexion and long smooth black hair. She stands about 5’6” tall and has an athletic build. Duran is an interest case because it is a family legacy and passed from mother to daughter. And they always have served the Zaphresz family.
- Darius Shadow: Darius is a tiefling with red skin, and long pointed upright horns. He is a vicious killer who serves as an assassin and “fixer” for the family. He is not someone to cross.
- Sabre: is a larger war forged who has served as the bodyguard for the elder Zaphresz for generations. he has a sword that is hidden in his left hand.
- Melissa Wayneright : A taller woman with a slender build and is usually dressed in a fine evening gown. She is the information broker for the family and traffics in their blackmail business.
What are their relationships with other families?
As hinted at above, the relationships with the other Noble Families are pretty distant, mainly because of the fact that Elena has seen so many generations rise and fall. They also believe in Zenith and want to see it flourish, so they do care but tend to take the longer view than the other families are comfortable with.
How can you use House Zaphresz in your games?
There are lots of ways to leverage House Zaphresz in your games. They can operate as quest givers and send the players to explore new areas, or find exploration parties who have gone missing. They also can send them to explore and recover cultural artifacts. They are a group with a lot of reasons to send people out into the world.
They can also be used as potential keepers of informations that the players need due to their long history.
Finally Thoughts?
I really like House Zaphresz for their different perspective on the world, and the opportunity to introduce people who can see the world differently and provide a chance to see all that the world has to offer. They are a great chance to explore social interaction and exploration.