Factions and Guilds
The Storm Wardens
With the fall of so many Knightly Orders during The Thousand Eye War it was inevitable that survivors of the war would band together to fill the void left when people started to rebuild. One of the widest spread of these new Orders are The Storm Wardens; These Warriors are often devout followers of the Goddess Vim though they have never been recognised as a church group.
Their formation after the war was notable in several ways; Firstly, they accepted many Drow into their ranks as they view most of the denizens of the Shadowlands to be victims of the true enemy, abominations such as Beholders or Mindflyers who held rule over all during the war. Second, while they will protect the areas around their monasteries the Storm Wardens have a scared oath which among other things compels them to not interfere with the wider world unless it is directly connected to their holy mission (A mission which many do not understand other then they like to kill strange monsters from the Shadowlands) Thirdly, the Storm Wardens do not have a central base but rather many smaller monasteries and abbeys spread all along the borders of the Shadow Lands. The Storm Wardens have two main subgroups within them; The Watchers: Those who live within the lands owned by the Storm Watchers who train and prepare for their holy war yet to come. Criminals who flee the lands owned by these Storm Watchers often find bounties on their heads, others not sworn to the order doing the will of the order. The Wondering Storms: Storm Wardens who travel the world hunting monsters and patrolling the wilds they are almost always seen alone, the most ever recorded in one settlement were three who separately tracked abomination summoning cultists to a small mining town of Dimond Back. Though they will often hire mercenaries when dealing with larger more dangerous foes. There have always been rumours that a third group exists hidden from the world within the Storm Wardens. Assassins who travel the world having sworn a different oath, some rumours have these hidden wardens blamed for many political deaths over the years. Some claim they are nothing more than knives for hire earning money for the order doing any vile deed required others believe that they are beacons of hope and only raise their blades against those who would make deals with the dark creatures of this world. If they exist at all then the truth of their mission is unknown to any outside the order. |
The Hidden Heart
|
Treasure hunters extraordinaire! Seekers, smugglers and liberators of curiosities, the rare, mysterious and magical, forgotten lore and misplaced loves. The Hidden Heart is a generally good-natured criminal organisation known for finding and trading information on the obscure and recovering things stolen by others. It also dabbles in new identities and relocations.
This growing network of adventurers is supposedly led by the White Thief, whose identity is unknown. Those who have seen him/her report her/him to be of various shapes and sizes, but always wearing white; a billowy cloak and deep hood and bandana. It is rumoured that the White Thief is several different people, or someone under an illusion, or both, or doesn’t even exist at all and was just made up to give them more mystery as an organisation that deals in mysteries. The Hidden Heart gained a measure of notoriety a few years ago when some of its members discovered a secret base of the legendary Garak the Destroyer. Known as the Ruby Sanctum this buried vault below Drazi soil was filled with powerful artefacts and a library full of books thought to have been lost when Minbari Prime fell to the Shadowlands. Based mainly within Minbar The Hidden Heart has agents in many great cities around Tarsonis always looking for rumours of things lost, discovering the past for a brighter future. Though sadly the life of a member is rarely glamourous and all too often these agents find only death within the secret and forgotten places of this world. [Agent of the Hidden Heart Background]: Skills: 1 from Deception / Perception / Sleight of Hand Skills: 1 from Investigation / Arcana / History / Religion Tools: 1 from Calligraphy / Cartography / Thieves Tools / Forgery / a Gaming Set Languages: 1 Uncommon Equipment: An incomplete treasure map / rubbing, a waterproof scroll case, dark common clothes and a belt pouch with 10gp Feature: “Friends in strange places” During your assignments many a strange object has passed through your hands and you know how to get a good price for your goods. You can Gain Advantage for investigation checks to sell magical and rare items, but with a higher chance of only finding "Shady Dealers" |
The Blood Hunters
Before the lands become cluttered with the rise and fall of great and powerful nations, long before the Minbari Empire grew to encompasses so much of Tarsonis, out in the wild places of the world there were the Blood Hunters.
It was known that when there was a danger too great for locals to deal with, a terrifying monster, a beast of legend or the wail of the Undead then it was time for the call to summon a Blood Hunter. These warriors were greatly respected for they had sacrificed part of themselves, taken an evil upon themselves or even lost a part of their soul all with the sole purpose of gaining enough power to fight the evils that others couldn’t. The various Orders of Blood Hunters pre-date all other Holy Orders or Enclaves of monster hunters on record, legends say that the Orders were founded by the original Drazi Demon Kings shortly after the Awakening and they were charged to keep the lands safe and prepare for an endless war with the darkness of the world. Back when they were young the Orders had great keeps dedicated to the training and support of the Blood Hunter Orders but as time passed and nations formed there was less and less need for the Blood Hunters, an army could deal with any threat far better than a few dedicated warriors. But it wasn’t until the Minbari Empire grew beyond the lands of the Inner Ring that these Blood Hunter Orders finally died out as the rituals used to grant Blood Hunters their powers were outlawed by the Emperor. Now new Blood Hunter Orders are forming once more to protect the people, regardless of the cost to themselves, for the world needs their skills now more then ever. These Orders are found mostly within the Shattered Lands and this new breed of Blood Hunters no longer have great citadels full of hundreds of training warriors to choose from, now it is often found to be a Master and their Apprentices who answer the call for aid and more often than not will require a heavy coin purse to direct their wrath upon the beasts of the wild. Whether this new breed of Blood Hunters will rise to take up the mantle of their forbears or if they become yet another guild of mercenaries remains to be seen but what is clear is that with each passing year more young hopefuls go looking for these Blood Hunters to gain the power to defeat the terrible creatures of this world regardless of the price they must pay. |
Wayfarers Guild.
Once the Minbari Empire was fully established, and stretched across the continent, the Emperor’s struggled to find ways to live up to their forbears. Some, tried to conquer the last remaining kingdoms such as the Stormreach Islands, some sent expeditions to explore other lands such as the Red Wastes or failed journeys across the Skyreach Mountains but it was Emperor Mengsk VIII who truly invested his time and efforts into his people and one such example of this was the founding of the Wayfarer’s Guild.
A guild of travellers who were granted Imperial licence to travel unfettered by local lords, tariffs or tolls, charged with delivery of correspondence throughout the empire. When fears that they would ruin existing merchant caravans, which were still subject to the costs of traveling within the empire, Mengsk VIII decreed that the Wayfarers may only transport what they could carry unaided by animal, clever design or magical means. So, the migration of Goliath workers from the highest mountains to all corners of the empire was almost ensured. Further decrees forbidding the carrying of living creatures were made once it became common practices for Wayfarers to carry passengers across borders to avoid paying duty to the Empire.
To ensure the safe passage of the Wayfarers not only was it a capital crime to assault one but every guild member was given intense combat training and had to pass several extremely difficult trials to gain membership but for those that both the stamina and the skill entry into the Wayfarers Guild the rewards were well worth it.
Like so many institutions the Wayfarers Guild was destroyed during the Thousand Eye War and the following Secession Wars with so many members slain and new nations no longer recognising their rights to free travel. Several attempts over the following generations to revive the Wayfarers Guild all failed almost as soon as they started due to the dangers of the wild and their own corruption with coin taken but messages never being delivered. Things have been changing over the last few years as a new guild has formed within the Drazi Dukedoms and with the backing of King Sheridan this new Wayfarers Guild travels freely throughout Drazi.
The founder of this new guild is known only as Delenn and is said to be a powerful magus able to read the truth in the hearts of any potential members so that no one untrustworthy or unskilled gains membership.
A guild of travellers who were granted Imperial licence to travel unfettered by local lords, tariffs or tolls, charged with delivery of correspondence throughout the empire. When fears that they would ruin existing merchant caravans, which were still subject to the costs of traveling within the empire, Mengsk VIII decreed that the Wayfarers may only transport what they could carry unaided by animal, clever design or magical means. So, the migration of Goliath workers from the highest mountains to all corners of the empire was almost ensured. Further decrees forbidding the carrying of living creatures were made once it became common practices for Wayfarers to carry passengers across borders to avoid paying duty to the Empire.
To ensure the safe passage of the Wayfarers not only was it a capital crime to assault one but every guild member was given intense combat training and had to pass several extremely difficult trials to gain membership but for those that both the stamina and the skill entry into the Wayfarers Guild the rewards were well worth it.
Like so many institutions the Wayfarers Guild was destroyed during the Thousand Eye War and the following Secession Wars with so many members slain and new nations no longer recognising their rights to free travel. Several attempts over the following generations to revive the Wayfarers Guild all failed almost as soon as they started due to the dangers of the wild and their own corruption with coin taken but messages never being delivered. Things have been changing over the last few years as a new guild has formed within the Drazi Dukedoms and with the backing of King Sheridan this new Wayfarers Guild travels freely throughout Drazi.
The founder of this new guild is known only as Delenn and is said to be a powerful magus able to read the truth in the hearts of any potential members so that no one untrustworthy or unskilled gains membership.
The Quincy
*The Following extracts are from “Way of the Quincy, Fact or Fiction” by T Brennan*
The history of the Quincy is a rather short and bloody one from what little information I could uncover as the Quincy clans formed during the Thousand Eye war, if they existed before this time knowledge of them was not common and lost during the war, and very few if any members survived the ending of the war.
When people speak of Quincy clans they are almost always misinformed by unsubstantiated songs popular after the Thousand Eye War. The clans are not, as is popularly believed, formed not from bonds of family or birth but rather around bonds forged in battle. These clans had all manner of races and social backgrounds coming together and while it may have been true that some joined a clan as a family the majority of the Quincy were refugees from central Minbar and a clan were those men and women who fought together to survive using the weapons provided.
Who provided these weapons you ask, well that sadly was something I have never been able to substantiate. There are of course songs and rumours that one God or another sent an agent or apparition down to Tarsonis to save the people of Minbar from the forces of the Underdark, almost certainly wishful thinking by minstrels hoping for a more dramatic story. What is most likely is that all of these artefacts were created by a single magic user of remarkable skill, possibly even a survivor of the great undertaking that caused the Thousand Eye War in the first place.
These weapons take the form of Quincy bracelets and they are truly magnificent magical items, able to focus the Will and Resolve of the wearer into a weapon of pure force regardless if the wearer had any prior magical abilities. Each of these bracelets that I had the chance to examine were unique but similar enough in design that I can confidently say that they were made by the same creator, or at least more accurately I can say that each bracelet I have examined was made by the same creator and it is reasonable to assume from other evidence that the majority of these bracelets were made by the same hand.
These bracelets came in three main verities or more accurately a master Quincy could attune the same bracelet into one of three forms (Or Way’s as the Quincy called them);
Way of the Bow,
Way of the Blade,
Way of the Beast.
Any wearer may increase the basic potency of the bracelets a small amount due just to practice and familiarity but to unlock the true potential requires some deep understanding of the crafter’s philosophies as well as adherence to the rituals of the Quincy.
The Code of the Quincy is as follows:
The history of the Quincy is a rather short and bloody one from what little information I could uncover as the Quincy clans formed during the Thousand Eye war, if they existed before this time knowledge of them was not common and lost during the war, and very few if any members survived the ending of the war.
When people speak of Quincy clans they are almost always misinformed by unsubstantiated songs popular after the Thousand Eye War. The clans are not, as is popularly believed, formed not from bonds of family or birth but rather around bonds forged in battle. These clans had all manner of races and social backgrounds coming together and while it may have been true that some joined a clan as a family the majority of the Quincy were refugees from central Minbar and a clan were those men and women who fought together to survive using the weapons provided.
Who provided these weapons you ask, well that sadly was something I have never been able to substantiate. There are of course songs and rumours that one God or another sent an agent or apparition down to Tarsonis to save the people of Minbar from the forces of the Underdark, almost certainly wishful thinking by minstrels hoping for a more dramatic story. What is most likely is that all of these artefacts were created by a single magic user of remarkable skill, possibly even a survivor of the great undertaking that caused the Thousand Eye War in the first place.
These weapons take the form of Quincy bracelets and they are truly magnificent magical items, able to focus the Will and Resolve of the wearer into a weapon of pure force regardless if the wearer had any prior magical abilities. Each of these bracelets that I had the chance to examine were unique but similar enough in design that I can confidently say that they were made by the same creator, or at least more accurately I can say that each bracelet I have examined was made by the same creator and it is reasonable to assume from other evidence that the majority of these bracelets were made by the same hand.
These bracelets came in three main verities or more accurately a master Quincy could attune the same bracelet into one of three forms (Or Way’s as the Quincy called them);
Way of the Bow,
Way of the Blade,
Way of the Beast.
Any wearer may increase the basic potency of the bracelets a small amount due just to practice and familiarity but to unlock the true potential requires some deep understanding of the crafter’s philosophies as well as adherence to the rituals of the Quincy.
The Code of the Quincy is as follows:
- A Quincy does not fight with a heart of hate.
- A Quincy does not fight with a heart of love.
- A Quincy fights only with a heart of Duty.
- A Quincy fights for the Honour and Security of their Clan.
- A Quincy Honours the Gods and their servants even be they foes.
- A Quincy Honours the souls of those slain in battle even be they foes.
- A Quincy Honours the strength and skill of those they battle.
- A Quincy Honours the sacrifice of those who came before.
- A Quincy never Dishonours themselves by slaying a helpless foe.
- A Quincy never Dishonours themselves by slaying a innocent.
- A Quincy never Dishonours themselves by slaying a member of their Clan.
- A Quincy never Dishonours themselves by seeking battle for baseless reasons.
The Great House of Malus
The Underdark is ruled by the Great Houses and there family this started long ago and then all the Houses were ruled by Drow lords Since then others have grow to power and taken over or cut out an area and built a new Great Houses of there own. At this time there are 13 Drow Great Houses, a Mind flayer, 5 Human 2 are in Realty Hiding Dragons and 2 of which are powerful Necromancers
The Name of the Houses are as follows
The Name of the Houses are as follows
Drow Ruled
The House of Blade The House of The Twisted Sisters The House of Malus The House of Venger The House of Omens The Peoples House of the N.W.O. The House of Luna The House of Spidera The House of Ta-She The House of Doomgaze The House of the Ice King The House of The Black Pyramid The House of Torturing Life |
Human Ruled
The House of The Fallen Angel The House of Changing Doors The House of He that was The House of Time The House of a Thousand Souls |
Mind flayer Ruled
The House of lost untruths |
There is a fine and often broken easy amongst the Houses and over the years some have been ravaged some have seared to be and other grow to take there place. The House of the N.W.O; is one of them Formerly owned by a cruel Tyrant who's people killed him and toke power for them self's. They have now set them selfs to ambushing other Houses to try free there people most of which dont see them self as needing saving and serve there lords loyally. The House of Time has been gaining numbers thanks to this after following the battles and both stealing gear and raising the dead.
The House of Blade has also sent members of the Crow Concave to each of the none Drow ruled House with offers of peace and friendship and promise of a major war to come once the underdark is unite again.
The House of Blade has also sent members of the Crow Concave to each of the none Drow ruled House with offers of peace and friendship and promise of a major war to come once the underdark is unite again.
More to come.