The Gilded Oligarchs
If House Khatru is the brawn of Ptolus, House Abanar is its undisputed bank. They are the wealthiest mercantile house on the Council of Coin, commanding an intricate network of shipping lanes, banking houses, and trading monopolies across the Western Empire, Phi, Lopan, Ophid’s Grasslands, Northern Wilderness trading posts of the Inner Sea and The Eastern Territories.
Despite their staggering wealth, they are universally looked down upon by the older, more traditional aristocracy, who view them as classless, greedy upstarts. House Abanar treats nobility entirely as a business commodity. They are unique in Ptolus because they openly allow wealthy merchants to buy minor noble titles and entry into the house for a flat fee of 10,000 gp. On the council, they consistently vote for deregulation, lower harbor tariffs, and anything that maximizes trade profit—frequently putting them at loggerheads with the strict, heavily regulated authoritarianism of House Khatru.
- Estate Location: Located in the most opulent, ostentatious southern sector of the Nobles’ Quarter. The Abanar Estate is an exercise in absolute extravagance. It is a sprawling palace of imported white marble, gold-leaf trimmed gates, and massive, glittering fountains. The compound looks less like a defensive manor and more like a temple dedicated to pure, unchecked wealth, heavily guarded by expensive, foreign mercenary companies.
Prominent Family Members (Public Knowledge)
Lord Dered Abanar
-
Status: Patriarch & Master of Trade (Incredibly Elderly)
-
Pathfinder 2e Concept: Level 11 Human Rogue (Mastermind or Scoundrel racket)
-
Description: An incredibly frail, ancient human who is currently confined to his deathbed. Dered spent his long life transforming a minor merchant guild into a colossal noble empire. Though his body is failing, his sharp mind remains entirely fixated on profit margins. Because he refuses to officially name an heir, his numerous children and sycophants are locked in a vicious, cutthroat shadow war to inherit control of the family’s vast fortune.
Nenia Abanar
-
Status: Eldest Daughter & Interim Council Representative
-
Pathfinder 2e Concept: Level 8 Human Bard (Muse: Enigma or Polymath / Celebrity Archetype)
-
Description: Sharp, fashionable, and ruthlessly ambitious, Nenia currently casts the family’s vote on the Council of Coin while her father is incapacitated. She understands that the older noble houses despise her family’s “new money” background, so she goes out of her way to out-dress, out-spend, and out-maneuver them at every turn. She is a master of corporate extortion, using her immense wealth to buy off corrupt politicians and city officials.
PF2e Mechanical Identity for Vault Tagging
Behind the GM screen, use these Pathfinder 2e baselines to flavor House Abanar merchant-nobles, hired mercenaries, and corporate fixers:
-
Ancestry: Human, though their extreme wealth allows them to hire specialized, elite guards from rare or uncommon ancestries—such as Mercenary Orcs, sharp-eyed Amurruns (Catfolk) caravans, or defensive Dwarven treasure-vault wardens.
-
Class Focus: Rogues (Scoundrel or Mastermind rackets focusing on Society and Mercantile Lore), Swashbucklers (Wit style), and corporate Investigators (Interrogation methodology).
-
Signature Archetypes: Celebrity, Dandy, and Mercenary.
-
Financial Leverage: In your campaign, Abanar’s primary weapon is gold. Their agents don’t rely on grand magic or martial honor; they rely on expensive, high-end gear, alchemical items, and the ability to simply bribe their way out of trouble or hire high-level independent adventurers to handle their dirty work.
-
Common Associations: They maintain a highly profitable, competitive trading relationship with the privateers of House Rau. They are viewed as a vulgar joke by House Kath and House Dallimothan, while the cash-strapped, altruistic House Nagel looks upon their predatory lending practices with deep resentment.