Massalan

The Massalan family was one of the many noble houses in Waterdeep in the mid-to-late 14 century DR. They had a major presence in the gem and jewelry trade in the region.

Organization
Lord Iliaru Massalan was the patriarch of the family from at least the, to at least the. He had no consort and the heir to the family title was his eldest nephew, Phorol. As of 1372 DR, there were fifty-two living members of this noble family.

Activities
The Massalans were fine jewelers and dealt with gems and jewelry, serving those with the means to buy their wares.

Base of Operations
The Massalan Villa was prominently located on the northeast corner of the High Road and Delzorin Street in the North Ward. It consisted of a few unique one- and two-story buildings in a walled compound, with the main manor facing the Lanngolyn villa across Delzorin Street.

Possessions
As of 1372 DR, the family had liquid resources of approximately 49,000 gold pieces available if necessary.

History
The Massalans were of Chondathan descent and were ennobled in the, along with many other merchantile families.

Members

 * Iliaru Massalan: Patriarch in the mid–14 century.
 * Phorol Massalan: Eldest nephew and heir of Iliaru.
 * Khalamdar Massalan: Nicknamed "Nethercoats", implicated in the Traitor's Mill incident and disappeared.
 * Dereira Massalan: Seductress involved in a real estate scandal in the late 1470s DR.

Rumors & Legends
Phorol Massalan was known to be wooing a popular socialite named Ophyl Ramstel, but she refused his marriage proposal and also a suit from a wealthy merchant, Vulphor Stralmaer. Sometime after these rejections, her beauty was horrifically marred by curses, potions, caustic agents, or some combination of all three. In revenge for her loss of beauty and status, she published a small chapbook entitled What I Saw and Felt, a tell-all exposé of her observations and exploits at various nobles' fetes and dinners in the past year. Many of the named noble families decried its inaccuracy and pressed Lord Piergeiron to seize all copies of the book and punish the author with exile, whipping, or worse. Phorol denied there was ever any romance between himself and the courtesan.

A young scion of the family, Khalamdar "Nethercoats" Massalan, was reportedly in cahoots with Hetheko Nesher, Darrask Phull, and Melthro Snome (all young members of the nobility) in a scheme involving weapon smuggling and building their own private armies using a mill on the Dessarin River sometime in the late 1470s DR. The City Watch got wind of the scheme and investigated, only to be slaughtered by the mill "staff". One officer managed to escape with her life and report back to the leadership. After several failed attempts at neutralizing the well-armed and well-guarded mill, the Waterdhavian forces were eventually victorious and the four noble conspirators were exposed. The families all denied any involvement and blamed the overseer that had been hired to run the mill. The Lords of Waterdeep knew better and labeled the four men traitors. All four disappeared from the city, perhaps to begin anew in Baldur's Gate.

In the, the Vraunt of the Masked Princess revealed that Lady Dereira Massalan had received undocumented loans from at least four of the city's treasury officials (presumably by seducing them) and used the funds to buy investment properties in the Sea Ward, making tidy profits upon resale.