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Urdo
Patriarch: Scirkas Urdo, a cold-voiced, lidded-eyed autocrat who considers himself the smartest man in Westgate and perhaps anywhere in Toril, save the monks of Candlekeep and archwizards. He prides himself on outthinking and outmaneuvering his fellow nobles.. 2)
…of Westgate, and ignores the Night Masks and wealthy commoners and outlanders alike as beneath his interest; all that matters to him is besting his fellow senior nobles. He just might be the richest man in Westgate, and the Night Masks long ago decided to…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…leave him (and his spies) alone, as they are such handy scapegoats, dupes, and ways of feeding misinformation from the Night Masks to desired ears. Scirkas firmly believes that he has earned his “rightful” place at the top of society in Westgate, and further…4)
…believes that the city must become a well-run center of daily law and order both to safeguard his position atop the heap and to enable Westgate to grow and flourish as a trusted trading center, not a feared, notoriously corrupt shadyhole. So he has embraced… #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…the faith of Tyr, and sponsored local clergy of Tyr in expanding their temple and recruiting new novices and extending their reach and holy resources (freely feeding the homeless of the back alleys daily, for example, and giving out one free useful item—a… 6)
…bowl, a mallet, a handaxe—each tenday).
Matriarch: Lhindra Urdo, a tall, stiff, coldly polite mountain of a woman who is constantly attended by a trio of maids and dressers, as she’s changing her garments and jewelry dozens of times a day. She believes in…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…wearing the great wealth of the Urdo family on her person, to show all of Westgate just how successful they are—so stupendously wealthy that they can buy and sell all of Westgate, including every other noble house—several times over. No one else is really… 8)
…needed; House Urdo is the coin-vault that enables Westgate and this entire end of the Sea of Fallen Stars to run; Forget This NOT. Being first, and getting respect from all others, is what matters in Lhindra’s world. She came from back alley poverty in…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…Westgate, passed herself off as visiting nobility to get into a revel, caught the eye of a young and randy Scirkas Urdo, and is determined never to be hungry or needy again. There are many in Westgate who are so sick of her hauteur and rudeness that they…10)
…heartily wish she’ll die rich—two breaths hence.
Heiress: Szuldra (“SULL-drah”) Urdo, a fat, sulky, unhappy young woman who is beautiful but simply can’t avoid being plump, and is embarrassed by the size of her bosom and behind, no matter how richly and…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…flatteringly clad. So she largely keeps to her rooms (from which all mirrors have been banished) and eats sweets as she cuddles her pet cats. She wants nothing to do with the social whirl, or the unwashed of Westgate’s streets, and her only escape is reading… 12)
…lurid chapbooks about gorgeous—and THIN—young women being passionately wooed by handsome young princes.
Notable Rakes/Adventurers: none living
House Urdo is indeed the richest noble house in Westgate, by far, and this wealth has been built on moneylending (at..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020
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…ruinous rates), wise investments in urban real estate in Amn, and in shrewdly handling two newer, sideline businesses: spying for hire in Westgate and coastal Cormyr and Sembia, and sponsoring adventurers to find and retrieve old magic and then taking profits.. 14)
…from the sale and use of those magics. The money comes in almost faster than Scirkas Urdo’s well-trained, and very well paid, advisors and factors can invest it.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 1, 2020