Daask is a criminal organization operating in Aundair and Breland.[3][1] The word daask is a Giant word translated as 'monstrous eye.'[4]
History
First appearing in Sharn in 988 YK, they quickly spread through Breland and into Aundair in the five years that followed, with Fairhaven being their most recent endeavor.[1]
Bases of Operations
They are active in Sharn, Wroat, Passage, Starilaskur, Ghalt, Lathleer and Fairhaven.[1] In each city, they operate only in the most lawless areas and their bases are renovated Dhakaani Empire subterranean strongholds, to which outsiders are almost never permitted access. Instead, each Daask cell has one location above ground where one of their spokespersons can be found. In Sharn, this is Shamukaar in Khyber's Gate, a tavern and butcher shop for Droaam refugees.[5]
Membership
Most of their members are gnolls, shifters, and orcs, with ogres, worgs, minotaurs, tieflings, and gargoyles making up the rest of their numbers. Harpies, war trolls, medusas, lycanthropes, and several kinds of trained feral monsters are available for special occasions, though the threat of their potential involvement alone has proven an effective intimidation tool in its own right.[1]
The exact composition of a Daask cell varies based upon the city; in Sharn, for example, an unusually large number of harpies and gargoyles are present. The leader of a Daask cell can be of any race, but they are always imposing individuals.[5]
Each member of Daask is an elite soldier, chosen more for intelligence than for anything else. The ogre enforcers may seem like brutes, but it is all a carefully constructed facade. When circumstances demand it a Daask cell pulls together with all the precision of a military strike team, and they have an immensely diverse set of monstrous abilities to pull from. With all the resources of Droaam behind them, their operatives are often armed with magic items, artifacts and oracular insight to boot.[5]
Activities
They are primarily engaged in protection rackets, loan sharking, and illicit alchemical substances.[1]
The protection racket is what they are altogether best known for, and they make good on their promises surprisingly often. Most of the violence Daask commits targets other criminal groups, and as they operate only in the most lawless areas many have begun appreciating their fair but harsh justice.[6]
As loan sharks, they offer the raw gold of Droaam's mines to those in need. To ensure swift repayment, they often demand collateral in the form of the "stone loan", where one of the borrower's family members is petrified by a medusa. Failure to repay the debt by the due date results in a finger or toe being chipped from the statue and sent to the borrower for each missed payment. Unclaimed victims are often brought back to Droaam, where they are auctioned off to the highest bidder to make up for lost revenue.[5]
The trade in illicit alchemical substances is where Daask butts heads with other criminal organizations the most, as they compete for the same markets. Aside from long-time favorite drugs such as dreamlily, Daask also offers one mysterious product no other organization does: dragon's blood, a highly addictive substance which enhances arcane magic. Several influential members of society have become addicted to this substance, and as Daask is the only organization which can supply it, this has become an additional level of influence for the group.[5] So far, dragon's blood has defied all analysis, with at least one ingredient known only to the Daughters of Sora Kell, but it's unlikely to be actual dragon blood. The exact effects vary by user and by dosage.[7]
Daask is expert at manipulation, and there's no telling how many high-placing members of society are already under their control through the threat of violence, either against them or a petrified loved one, or the threat of being cut off from their dragon's blood supply.[5]
Secret Purpose
Anyone studying Daask for a prolonged time will notice that many of their actions show too much thought and foresight, with some of their activities only hitting an enemy months after the fact and sometimes in a different city altogether. The reason for this is that Daask is guided by one hand: that of Sora Katra. Each cell leader owns a scrying crystal that puts them in direct contact with Sora Katra whenever she wishes. She knows who owes Daask gold and who uses dragon's blood, and she uses this knowledge to manipulate events across the east on a massive scale. Slowly but surely her agents are crippling the established criminal guilds, and once they are through with them Daask will have free reign in the east's seedy underbelly.[5]
Notable Members
- Sora Katra, one of the Daughters of Sora Kell, ruler of Droaam, and leader of the organization.[8]
- Ash, a human priest of the Shadow in Sharn.[8]
- Askhora, medusa and leader of the Daask cell in Wroat.[5]
- Cavallah, an oni, expert at aerial combat and leader of the Daask cell in Sharn.[8]
- Cazha Bloodwing, a harpy who resides in Sharn.[9]
- Fell, werewolf and leader of the Daask cell in Passage.[5]
- Harash, a male medusa who is Cavallah's right hand.[8][9]
- Keshta, a gnoll leader of a unit of gnoll commandos in Sharn.[8]
- Zaeran, an elf werewolf visiting Sharn and a son of the Dark Pack's leader Zaeurl.[8]
Appendix
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Mechanics
Daask are an alternative option for a Crime Syndicate group patron in Rising from the Last War.
Appearances
Adventures
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Keith Baker (September 2011). “Eye on Eberron: Daask” (PDF). Dungeon #194 (Wizards of the Coast) (194)., p. 1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Keith Baker, Jeremy Crawford, & James Wyatt (2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 249–252. ISBN 0786966890.
- ↑ James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 127. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ Keith Baker (2004/10/25). The Daughters of Sora Kell, Part 2. Dragonshards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016/11/01. Retrieved on 2021/06/23.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Keith Baker (September 2011). “Eye on Eberron: Daask” (PDF). Dungeon #194 (Wizards of the Coast) (194)., p. 2.
- ↑ Keith Baker (September 2011). “Eye on Eberron: Daask” (PDF). Dungeon #194 (Wizards of the Coast) (194)., pp. 1–2.
- ↑ Keith Baker (September 2011). “Eye on Eberron: Daask” (PDF). Dungeon #194 (Wizards of the Coast) (194)., p. 3.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Keith Baker, Jeremy Crawford, & James Wyatt (2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 249–250. ISBN 0786966890.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Keith Baker & James Wyatt (2004). Sharn: City of Towers. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 153. ISBN 0-7869-3434-4.