Difference between revisions of "Order of the Beleaguered Shield"

Revision as of 23:35, 25 August 2018 (view source) The Lich (talk | contribs) ← Older edit		Revision as of 00:52, 26 August 2018 (view source) The Lich (talk | contribs) (→‎The Council-Perilous of the Order) Newer edit →
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	===The Grand Serjeant of the Seal===		===The Grand Serjeant of the Seal===
−	===The Lord Draconarius===	+	===The Knight-Draconarius===
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−	Selected solely by the Grand Master of the Order, the Lord Draconarius is chosen from among the chief cavalier-companions of the Order.  He is the highest ranking honorary member of the Order, and is afforded the privilege of a binding vote on the Council-Perilous.  As such, he is the link between the landed hereditary knights and to the Order proper.  He is entrusted with the Red Dragon Standard, the symbol of a united Dwarden, and the standard of the Grand Master himself.
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		+	Selected solely by the Grand Master of the Order, the Knight-Draconarius is chosen from among the chief cavalier-companions of the Order.  He is the highest ranking honorary member of the Order, and is afforded the privilege of a binding vote on the Council-Perilous.  As such, he is the link between the landed hereditary knights and to the Order proper.  He is entrusted with the Red Dragon Standard, the symbol of a united Dwarden, and the standard of the Grand Master himself.
	==The High Chancellery==		==The High Chancellery==

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Revision as of 00:52, 26 August 2018

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Introduction

The Sovereign Military Order of the Knight-Defenders and Brothers-Militant of Dwarden, colloquially abbreviated as the Order of the Beleaguered Shield, is the sovereign national military religious order of Dwarden...

Original Notes:

"Based in the fallen lands of Dwarden, the Beleaguered Shields fight almost exclusively within those lands. Dwarden is a hellish land beset with undead, a result of a pagan god's curse. That god's avatar itself still lives within Dwarden. The Beleaguered Shields' mission is to cleanse this land of its curse. Paladins of this Order gain the ability to turn undead, however most steeds fear these rugged holy warriors."

Symbol: A weathered steel shield with reinforced bolts, crossed with a hammer over a sworn coming before the Yathamian trefoil. The Yathamian trefoil bears the golden halo of the Spirit and the silver halo of the Voice, but with both under the iron halo of the Power.

Foundation: 6th century A.M.

Basic Concept and Structure

The Order of the Beleaguered Shield is the sovereign national military order of Dwarden. Due to the centuries-long existential crisis in this land, the Order is the effective government for the entire nation. It is composed of four classes: knights, chaplains, serjeants and men-at-arms. Knights of the order are composed strictly of paladins, which is to say that no non-paladin will ever become a knight of the Order. Chaplains are priests that serve the Order specifically. Serjeants are chevaliers and non-knightly leaders of the Order, serving in important command and administrative posts. Men-at-Arms are those men who have sworn allegiance to the Order. All are dedicated to the destruction of all undead in their lands, especially the arch-enemy of Dwarden, the lich priest-king Thagdion the Mad. The Order traces its roots to the ancient landed knightly class which has always been part of Dwarden society and war. The Order of the Beleaguered Shield is in the 9th century AM an order which unifies the Dwarden resistance against the lich-king Thagdion the Mad. Although there still exist lords and knights with private domains, it is the Order which is by far the bulwark of defense against Thagdion. All the lands not under Thagdion thus fall within the domains of either a bailiwick or priory, led by a member of the Order. Lordly domains and independent knightly lands fall under these jurisdictions. The entire resistance falls under the command of the Grand Master of the Order. Although religiously oriented and extremely close with the national Church, the order is technically secular, and is furthermore sovereign in that it draws no charter or authority from any king or lord. The Order does not intend to rule after any theoretical extirpation of the undead. The basic administrative hierarchy of the Order is represented by the chart below.

Grand Master

Grand Priory

Priory

Bailiwick

Commandery

In effect, the Order governs the lands of Dwarden not currently fallen to the undead. The Order functions under the theory and the auspices of a permanent national military emergency.

Faith and the Church in the Order

Within the lands of Dwarden, the secular clergy (those clergymen not officially members of the Order) and the regular clergy of the order exist side-by-side. Within towns and villages, the secular clergy often sees to the spiritual needs of the common people. In the ancient tradition of St. Yathamian, almost all members of the secular clergy are deacons, especially in the east of the country, although due to Thousierisan influence, priests and even bishops provide services to the west. However, in many if not most communities in Dwarden, it is the regular clergy of the Order ("regular" indicating those members of the clergy whose faith and conduct are regulated by a religious order) who shepherd and protect the faithful of Mandador. Generally, both the secular and regular clergy work in concert with one another, and in practice there is little friction between the two institutions of the Faith.

Save for rare outliers, almost the entirety of the regular clergy of Dwarden are members of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield. Ultimately overseen by the Chaplain-General of the Order appointed by the Grand Master himself, the regular clergy of the Order are referred to collectively as the Brothers-Militant. Almost all the Brothers-Militant live under the Rule of St. Karant, the cleric-lawgiver who in the late 6th century laid down the religious rules and customs that now govern the clergy of the order.

The Rule of St. Karant

Organization, Subordinate Orders and Hierarchy in the Order

The Lay Brothers-Militant and the Brothers-Militant-at-Sword are considered to be their own unique sub-classes of either cleric or crusader. All of them enjoy a +1 bonus when attacking any form of undead, and gain a +1 bonus to saving throws involving the undead, death spells or necromancy. Due to their grimness however, they receive a -1 penalty to reaction adjustment rolls, and a -2 penalty to reaction adjustment rolls from those who are strangers to the customs of Dwarden.

Lay Brothers-Militant

The lay brothers-militant are by far the most common of the monks of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield. Although specialty orders with specific rules, habits and powers exist within the Order, almost all the brothers-militant are generic clerics, level 1-4. Almost all such monks are simply addressed as "Brother" in common speech, or as Brother-Militant in formal matters. They are officially designated as Monks-Militant of St. Karant.

Most lay brothers of the Order fall under the rule of an abbey, ruled by its abbot-militant. Sometimes however, abbeys are too small, and having less than nine brothers are not authorized an abbot, in which case they are considered "conventual" abbeys, and are instead ruled by their senior brother. Abbeys of the Order are either independent, or subordinate ("obedientiary") to a Commandery of the Order.

Lay brothers-militant are generally from the lower classes of Dwarden. Selected by brothers- and friars-militant in their youth, usually between the ages of 9-12, they are trained at the abbey in prayer and faith, labor and toil, and shield and mace. All of them learn and specialize in at least one task, such as farming, masonery, blacksmithing, carpentry or other mundane tasks. As men of lower classes, they are rarely afforded the opportunity to learn to read and write, and instead are trained to see to the everyday tasks needed for maintaining an abbey and any attached lands. Their lives are tightly controlled under the Rule of St. Karant, watched over by their seniors. They are however trained thoroughly in combat, drilling at least once a week, often very harshly. It is not uncommon for boys to be removed from the Order for failing to attain the martial discipline of this training period. The boys are generally segregated from the lay-brothers who have taken strict vows and entered the novitiate, but as the years pass and they mature, they slowly graduate in the tradition steps of postulant, petitioner and aspirant.

By young manhood, aspirants may or not be offered the chance to take their formal vows and become novice lay-brothers in the Order (1st level clerics). After having spent ten years or more in becoming aspirants to the novitiate, most of these young men are eager to enter formally into the Order, for if they do not they will generally return to their life as a peasant, which they have abandoned for those many years. If accepted, upon taking their oaths, aspirants are laid on hands by a friar or abbot and become novice brother-militants of the Order (1st level clerics).

Some men of the community, including those not selected for the novitiate, are offered the opportunity to become affiliate-brothers, and assist in the work of the abbey. Such (0th level) affiliate-brothers can often be important members of the abbey, but are not offered the same opportunities. Occasionally, retired men-at-arms of the Order find sanctuary later in life as affiliate-brothers.

Lay brothers-militant advance from novices (1st), to initiates (2nd), to brothers (3rd), and then to senior-brother (4th). After this, some brothers may advance as brothers-superior and stay within the purview of the abbey. Alternatively, senior-brothers may advance to become friars (5th+), and thereby become free of the rule of the abbey and granted the right to defend the faith and faithful in Dwarden as they see fit in the world abroad. More rarely, senior-brothers may be offered the chance to seek ordination and gain holy orders as a sub-deacon, and thereby become a choir monk in the abbey, and thereby pursue the possibility of eventually becoming a chaplain to the commandery, an abbot, or other positions still higher in the Order's hierarchy. Lastly, some brothers-superior rise to become trainers, managers and even commanders, all with various roles and titles, in senior levels of the Order, with some even serving at the Council-Militant of the Grand Master of the Order.

Choir Brothers-Militant

Choir-brothers are those monks who have taken up holy orders and become ordained clerics of the Church of Mandador, thereby making them automatically superior to all lay-brothers of the Order. Men of the equestrian class or nobility may train at the abbey as youths under the tutelage of choir-brothers militant, and there learn to read and right, and train to become educated clerics of the Order. Those of junior equestrian status who successfully become novices are generally immediately awarded minor orders, advancing as an ostiary, lector, exorcist and acolyte, until being awarded holy orders and made a sub-deacon (5th level). As a sub-deacon, they are now considered choir brothers-militant, and as such are among the leading members of an abbey. Some of these are selected to become chaplains to a commandery, vice-abbots, or abbots. The senior brothers of the Order are always choir brothers-militant.

The Brothers-Militant-at-Sword

On occasion throughout the Order's history, military necessity and the desire of powerful priests in the Order to build more combat effective forces have gained permission from the Grand Master of the Order to appeal to the Patriarch of Dwarden to relieve an abbey or priory of the limitation on clerics of the faith from using weapons designed to draw blood in combat. Rarely given, these exceptions are however permanent and passed down for as long as the monastery stays in righteous service. Such abbeys and priories train soldier-clerics, crusaders, whose fighting skills are put at a higher premium than their works of faith. Their labor is almost totally of a martial nature, and their monasteries are more akin to military camps. They are almost always commanded by senior brothers-militant-at-sword, who do not use the title of abbot, but rather brother-commander, or prior-commander. They advance similarly to traditional lay-brothers, which they are, but they have no friars as they are never released from their oaths of obedience to a commander. Upon reaching the rank of brother-superior, they are often given subordinate commands or other positions of responsibility, such as Brother-Superior of Artillery, or Brother-Superior of the First Band, or Brother-Superior of the Column. Some brothers-militant-at-sword are seconded to traditional abbeys and priories as trainers, councilors or guards, and some rise to senior positions in the Order as a whole. Brothers-militant-at-sword can never receive holy orders.

Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous

A specialized order within the Order of the Beleaguered Shield, the Militant Order of the Shield Perilous is composed of specially selected and volunteer brothers who undergo advanced training in combat and faith. Steeped in extremism and fanatical defiance of the undead scourge of Dwarden, these brothers-militant are especially empowered to combat the unliving. Training for this order can be extreme, but it is open to all boys who receive the recommendation of both their abbot and prior. Many are found wanting through the training, and are compelled to return to their original abbeys. All brothers-militant of this order are awarded holy orders upon reaching 1st level.

Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous are all composed of sub-deacons, deacons and arch-deacons. They have one bishop, who is the Abbot-General of their order, and who sits at the Council-Militant of the Grand Master of the Order.

Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous are all considered specialty priests. Members of this order gain the THAC0 advancement of warriors, certain defenses and immunities against undead, and a powerful array of granted powers to combat the undead as they advance in level.

The Sacred Order of Saint Kalmantane the Redeemer

Background: Saint Kalmantane was the powerful Abbot Superior of High Gate, Grand Prior of the Marlamarkan, before taking up the hammer and receiving the sacred state of paladinhood later in life to cleanse the hill lands of the so-called Dun Knights, who had become increasingly unsympathetic to the Order, favoring independence and even the totemic gods long dormant in those lands. Kalmantane suspected that the Black Crown was behind this weakening of the Marlamarkan, which after considerable protest was revealed to be the truth. Kalmantane's war against the Dun Knights was nearly complete with the sudden rise of the Black Prior, and made himself known for leading his small army against the waning resistance in the Erlokt.

After the death of two Grand Masters of the Order at that hands of the Black Prior and his army, Kalmantane was elected by what remained of the Council-Perilous and the Iron Knights as the next Grand Master. Kalmantane was almost made the Archbishop of St. Galdren-Ferox, ordered to rebuild the city by the Patriarch of Dwarden.

Kalmantane spent the next several decades extirpating the traitor knights and clerics of Dwarden who had sided with the Black Prior in his rebellion, and even fought a rebellion of the mountain kings of the west. Kalmantane aggressively cultivated new and young paladins, and personally assessed the worthiness of clerics seeking holy orders. As a very old man, Kalmantane resigned the Grand Mastery and returned to the Grand Monastery at High Gate, where he built the Tower of the Diviner, becoming highly interested in magic and the divine in this late stage of his life.

He successfully predicted the Black War at the end of his life, and with young heroes recovered the Sword of Stars, blessed by St. Yathamian himself. Kalmantane personally wielded the mighty two-handed sword against the Black Crown, empowered even as an ancient man by the grace of Mandador. His magic was great enough to destroy several lichly lieutenants, before nearly destroying the Black Crown himself, before falling to the Black-Gold hammer, and thus receiving his wish to die in battle. His young apprentice destroyed the Black Crown's person, and the war was won.

Saint Kalmantane is one of Dwarden's greatest knights and heroes, and is buried at High Gate.

Background

Kalmantane

Knights of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield

Knighthood

A knight commander can grant the basic knighthood, but only bailiffs and above can create a knight commander. Knight grand commanders can be created by a grand prior. A Knight of the Grand Halos can only be created by the Grand Master. Knighthood in the Order is not equivalent to the hereditary knighthoods of Dwarden, which are technically knights banneret. Knighthood in the Order does however elevate one and his perpetuity to the equestrian class, often allowing first-born sons to enter into the serjeantry, whether in the Order or with lords and knights banneret of the land.

Knight of the Iron Halo

Knight Grand Commander

Knight Commander (granted the honorific "sir")

Knight

Powers of a Knight of the Order

addition: saves against level-drain, ageing and other necromantic/death spells and powers that normally allow no saving throws

addition: turn undead as cleric

addition: instead of curing disease in others, paladin may instead forego that power and restore in himself or another character a drain of one level or drain of __ years, if he successfully makes a saving throw vs. PPDM with a +2 bonus. Must be done within one day per level of the paladin from the time of draining.

addition: gain sphere of white necromancy for casting spells

addition: +1 bonus when attacking undead; at 2nd level choose undead type for +2 bonus to hit

addition: circle of power against undead and necromantic magic -2 penalty to attacks against him instead of -1

edit: sense undead, not evil

edit: turn fiends at -2 penalty to rolls; turn them as normal paladins

edit: cannot call war horse (but may ride them, although generally they must be specially trained for his aura reeks of the undead)

edit: -3 reaction adjustment outside of Dwarden culture, or to strangers

The Council-Perilous of the Order

The Council-Perilous is the ruling council of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield, composed entirely of the Grand Officers of State. These high ministers of the Order advise the Grand Master, carry out his commands, and enforce his rulings. Together, with equal vote, they elect their own replacements by a 2/3 +1 super-majority vote. The Council-Perilous is led by the Grand Master of the Order, a paladin who sits upon the Throne-Militant, possessing ultimate authority over the entire Order, with only a very few exceptions. Second in rank is the Grand Seneschal of Dwarden, the Grand Master's deputy and second-in-command. The Grand Seneschal of Dwarden is a paladin of excellent reputation, and who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the entire Order, and thus all Dwarden. Third in rank is always the High Marshal of Dwarden, a man of the order of serjeantry, who has risen to the highest rank he might aspire to attain. The High Marshal is the overall military leader of the Order, responsible for the management, logistics, and military readiness of all the Order's forces. As a man outside equestrian rank, the High Marshal is therefore outside the chain of command of the Order, and cannot becoming acting Grand Master of the Order. The fourth Grand Officer of State is the Lord High Chancellor, a paladin-knight who oversees the

The Grand Master of the Order

The Grand Seneschal

The Chaplain-General

The Chaplain-General of the Order is entitled the Grand Prior of the Church of Sts. Kalakran and Tarmayn, of which he is Grand Arch-Deacon. He also retains the titular archbishopric of Kalnak, a great castle of ancient kings. He leads the Sacred Order of Sts. Kalakran and Tarmayn, a small but elite force of selected clerics, crusaders and specialty priests.

The High Chancellor

The Grand Justiciar

This Grand Officer of the Order is responsible for all justice in Dwarden, and is the keeper of the law in the Order, and in all secular matters. A justiciar-paladin himself, the Grand Justiciar appoints justiciars as roaming knights-visitor, or resident justiciars and high justiciars assigned to the priories and grand priories. In matters of law and justice, those of equestrian and regnal class are entitled to the appeal to the justice of the Order if they reject the ruling of the knight-commanders, bailiffs, or priors. The classes of serjeantry and commoner may also appeal, but justiciars are not entitled to hear their cases.

The Grand Justiciar is generally the last level of appeal, although the Grand Master himself may hear a case before his court if he so chooses.

The Grand Justiciar is also a teacher of Dwarden law. He is also often the final executor of the Order's justice, and will behead rebellious petty kings and hereditary knights personally.

The Prior-General

The Abbot-General of the Shield Perilous

The Inquisitor-General

The Confanonier, Standard-Bearer of the Order

The "Squire-General" of the Order, the Confanonier is selected by the Council-Perilous from among the professional squires serving the knights of the Order. He is generally a veteran warrior, often of the equestrian class, and leads a squadron of mounted Honor Guard men-at-arms and crusaders which are his to command as he wills.

In practice, the Confanonier serves as roaming support for the Order, riding his standing squadron of elite cavalry to where aid is needed. He enjoys the support of his own assigned chaplain, a brother-commander crusader, and a white necromancer and his apprentice. He is also served by his own paladin-squire.

The Confanonier rarely carries the Banner-Perilous personally, but defers this to one of his serjeants, the Grand Serjeant of the Banner.

The Grand Serjeant of the Seal

The Knight-Draconarius

Selected solely by the Grand Master of the Order, the Knight-Draconarius is chosen from among the chief cavalier-companions of the Order. He is the highest ranking honorary member of the Order, and is afforded the privilege of a binding vote on the Council-Perilous. As such, he is the link between the landed hereditary knights and to the Order proper. He is entrusted with the Red Dragon Standard, the symbol of a united Dwarden, and the standard of the Grand Master himself.

The High Chancellery

The High Preceptor

The Grand Serjeant of the Fisc

Other High Offices of State

The Grand Sentinel

A special office, reserved solely for the senior-most paladin-inquisitor of the Order, appointed at the sole discretion of the Grand Master. The Grand Sentinel is commissioned to destroy the black necromancers and liches of the Order, wizardly, priestly, or otherwise. He is given legal authority to inspect the soul of any white necromancer serving the Order, or to prosecute any other wizard of Dwarden besides. He may command any officer of the Order to support his mandate, including Grand Priors and even the Grand Officers of the Order. The Grand Master alone has authority over this High Officer of State. The Grand Sentinel may appoint other Sentinels of the Order as he sees fit, who are similarly empowered.

The Chaplain-Sentinel Superior to the Grand Sentinel

The Chaplain-Superior to the Grand Sentinel is nominated by the Chaplain-General of the Order, but confirmed by the Grand Sentinel himself. He is often chosen from the choir-monks of the Order, usually an abbot or ex-abbot of the Brothers-Militant of the Shield-Perilous. The Chaplain-Sentinel Superior serves as the spiritual advisor to the Grand Sentinel. Among his duties, the Chaplain-Sentinel Superior serves as the internal inquisitor for the inquisitors of Dwarden, or the Order of St. Kalmantane the Redeemer, and as such is necessarily chosen from outside that religious order. Upon confirmation, he is laid-on-hands by the Chaplain-General and instilled with all the specialty powers of their order (after receiving a quest spell lay-on-hands from the Chaplain-General he effectively becomes a specialty-priest of the Order of St. Kalmantane the Redeemer at his current, in addition to any other specialty priest powers he has, but without requiring the XPs necessary, and maintains such powers as long as he retains the special religious office).

The Chaplain-Sentinel Superior may appoint deputies and subordinate Chaplains-Sentinel if he is powerful enough to do so (quest spell capability).

...

Men-at-Arms of the Order

Men-at-Arms

Men-at-Arms of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield are the common warriors of the Order, and formally considered affiliate members. Although they do not take the Kargal Oath, they do swear oaths of loyalty and obedience to the Order and to their Knight Commander.

As opposed to the militia duties of the common folk of Dwarden, men-at-arms of the Order are selected by the Order, almost always from a young age, to be trained as professional warriors of the Order. Trained in an intimate religious and military environment (generally their local commandery), they are molded throughout their teenagers years to become capable fighters. Although they have other menial duties in their early teens, as they age they increasingly focus upon their skills at arms, and learn other useful skills such as blacksmithing, masonry, carpentry, armory, weaponsmithing and repair, and even engineering skills. Eventually, usually be the age of 21, after various trials of skill and experience at campaign, they are evaluated by senior men-at-arms, the serjeants, and lastly by the knights and the knight commander himself, and it is decided whether or not they will be offered a permanent seat at the knight commander's hall. If he is offered a seat, he will be maintained and even paid an allowance as a man-at-arms of the commandery (or higher) for perpetuity, as it is very rare, and usually only for grave reasons, for a man-at-arms to be dismissed from service.

Men-at-Arms serve in practice as religiously oriented mercenaries in service to a knight commander. Over time, their pay increases with time and experience, but generally such stipends are quite modest. In addition to serving the commandery as fighters, almost all men-at-arms have other responsibilities that match their training as boys, such as wall building, maintenance and repair, blacksmithing, carpentry tasks, etc. In practice, such duties often take of the majority of their time, with their martial duties falling into a secondary status. Yet certainly all required to maintain themselves and their arms at all times for the service of their knight commander.

Men-at-Arms typically refer to each other as brothers. Although they have no rank structure after the Pompiersian model, they do maintain an order of precedence, usually dictated by age, experience, and position. Such positions vary considerably from keep to keep, but common ones are Brother of the Watch, Brother of the Guard or Brother of the Armory, with all such positions indicating they have been placed in charge of such duties, and that there is no serjeant placed in that roll instead.

Before they gain a seat in the commander's hall and thus become fully recognized men-at-arms, the younger men maintain themselves in their own barracks, and are referred to as the "infantry", a term introduced by the Thousiersians. It is from the younger boys of the infantry that, on rare occasion, knights select squires, who thereby rise in status above the men-at-arms, and have the potential to be offered the chance to become a knight.

Men-at-Arms of the Order are typically led by serjeants, and at the commandery level these are in turn led by a serjeant-at-arms, who is, if there is no other knight beside the commander, the second in the chain of command at the commandery.

Men-at-Arms may become serjeants, as discussed below.

Serjeantry

Since the Thousiersian invasion, the institution of serjeantry has become a major element in the Order. Effectively of the yeomanry, this Thousiersian social class quickly became an important part of the Dwarden social order, filling in the void of the ever decreasing size of the knights. Before serjeantry, men-at-arms served the Order of the Beleaguered Shield, serving knights of the Order. Unfortunately for the Order, knights and the knightly class from which they came were becoming rarer with the passing years, and an institution was needed to help fill the gap. By Cecil's time, serjeantry is a respected social class, with serjeants filling numerous important posts. Legal advocates, important vassals, fortress commanders, supply managers and many other important positions are all filled by serjeants. Most serjeants are however but other warriors, junior to knights, who serve individual knights or knightly commands. Dwarden serjeants should not be confused with the military sergeants of Pompiersian armies. Serjeants are not simply noncommissioned officers, and many are more military than administrative. Those of knightly wealth and position, but not able to achieve knighthood through paladinship, are more likely to earn serjeantry than men-at-arms without such social status. It should be noted that many serjeants are the non-paladin sons of powerful Order knights, whom without the paladinship are unable to achieve knighthood. Thus barred, they may pursue ever more increasingly important and powerful positions of serjeantry.

Examples of Serjeantry:

Serjeant of the Fisc

Serjeant Seneschal

Serjeant of the Armory

Serjeant of the Fair

Serjeant of the Hunt

Surgeon-Sergeant

Grand Sergeant of the Seal of the Order, a position currently held by the Barons of Karthane

Honorary Membership

Cavalier-Companions

Men of the knightly class but who are unsuitable or unwilling to become knights, and who likewise refuse to swear the Kargal Oath of obedience to the Order as serjeants or men-at-arms, may pursue the path of becoming Cavalier-Companions of the Order. To do this, candidates for this position must serve the Order as fully armed and mailed cavalrymen, and receive the embrace of a Knight Commander of the Order or higher upon the conclusion of combat and while still standing upon the field of battle. As long as he takes the subsequent oath of allegiance, he is thereafter entrusted with the shield and gray mantle of the Order, and an epistle of declaration is given to the Cavalier-Companion, with a copy sent to the Grand Seneschal of the Order. This distinction is reserved for those of equestrian rank. The honor is often granted in the moments before death.

For those who receive this honor they are assured the maintenance of the Order for the rest of their lives, and are thus guaranteed sanctuary and sustenance at any commandery of the Order for the remainder of their lives.

Companions-at-Arms

Awarded to the common men of the militia, they are awarded this status much as a cavalier-companion, with the kiss and embrace of a knight of the Order of any rank. They are given the mantle and shield upon taking the oath of allegiance, and they are awarded the rights of a man-at-arms of the Order for life, within their commandery. They may also be invited to become formal men-at-arms of the Order, and take the Kargal Oath.

Companions of the Table

Those of knightly rank may be invited by Knight Commanders to "sit at table" in the hall of his commandery's keep. Such men may even be commanded to do so by the Knight Commander, for when the Order is suspicious of knightly families, they have often demanded their sons to sit at table so that their loyalty may be groomed, or so that they may become de facto hostages.

Companions of the Table are treated as guests of the Knight Commander for as long as it is his pleasure, and although they are not members of the Order nor holding rank in it in any way, they nonetheless are treated with respect.

It is customary for a knight commander to lend the generosity of his table to any traveling man of equestrian class, to a white necromancer, or to any ordained cleric, regular or secular. Such men are considered Companions of the Table. Traditionally, such generosity is extended for a nine-day, but may extend for as long as he desires.

Trusted Knight-Companions are treated as the Knight Commander's elite cavalry. Those who gain special trust may even be employed as the Knight Commander's standard bearer or ensign. Such ensigns have special authority over non-members of the Order within the granting Knight Commander's commandery. While entrusted with such a banner and the powers it entails, an ensign is considered an honorary or legal member of the Order with regards to the actions he carries out in service of the Order.

Some knightly families have become desirous of claiming the title of ensign, especially those who are particularly loyal to the Order. Therefore, when Knight Commanders wish to deputize their Companions at Table as lieutenants who may muster loyal knightly families who themselves are considered ensigns, Knight Commanders may create a "first ensign" who holds authority over inferior ensigns.

Ensigns are entitled to display the banner of the Order, and while doing so are considered to be under a limited form of the Kargal Oath of obedience. While the banner is claimed, the ensign is sworn to obey the commands of the Knights of the Order, but by relinquishing the banner he is free of the Kargal Oath, but is no longer an ensign.

Companions of the Table are often groomed to be commanders of what household warriors and militia their family estates might muster. Once they have been properly trained and their loyalty is ensured, typically the sons of knightly families are released from their seats at their Knight Commander's table and they may return to their homes.

Social Customs, Traditions and Habit of the Order

The Kargal Oath

Named after a founding knight of the Order, the Kargal Vow officially binds a man to the Order. Once taken, it is for life. The oath principally involves temporal affairs, and most importantly declares of those who take the vow that their property is thereafter the property of the Order. In theory, taking this vow puts a man's entire possessions under the control of the Order, but in practice, this is most principally exercised in the Order's control of lands owned by swearing knights and nobles. The Kargal Oath stems from the foundational history of the Order, when just before its creation, the great knights of the land feuded with one another, and no clear and permanent decisions could be made regarding positions of leadership within any unified force these knights attempted to assemble. It was the Knight-Deacon Kargal who conceived of the original concept of an oath of unity to be made practicable by enforcing the shared community of lands, for without controlling their personal lands, the knights were far less capable of battling against one another.

In practice, the Kargal Oath does not divest a man in the Order of personal property. Although all wealth, treasures, equipment and any possession at all owned or acquired falls under the control of the Order, this is rarely enforced by any leader. As it was once it was first uttered, the Kargal Oath remains as a principle method for divesting secular knights of lands and castles, and adding them to the domain of the Order.

Tithing

Despite the Kargal Oath which declares that all monies possessed by members of the Order already belong to the Order, in practice, such monies are not readily demanded by the Order. Currently, the rule of the 5th is enacted by the Grand Master of the Order, ordering that 20% of all cash earnings of brothers of the Order will go as proceeds to their commandery or the next highest echelon. Such proceeds are usually collected and managed by the serjeant seneschal of a Commandery.

Marriage in the Order

Brothers-militant are not permitted to marry, but under the societal norms of Dwarden, brothers-militant, upon rising from an initiate to a full brother or above (3rd level) are permitted by omission of a pertinent prohibition within the Rule of St. Karant to "take to woman" and maintain a household. Officially however he has no claim on her as a husband, and he remains bound by the Kargal Oath. By adopting this stance, Dwarden society perpetuates the generation of clerics while also perpetuating the generation of children who will become future supporters of the Order. The children of brothers-militant who are slain or reassigned to another abbey or priory are considered "sons and daughters of the chapel" and are treated honorably, and such mothers are given paying positions or even a pension by the Order.

Friars, being formally released from many of the strictures of the Rule of St. Karant, are permitted to formally marry.

All Choir Brothers-Militant at the level of priest and higher are permitted to neither take wives nor "take to woman". By Dwarden tradition set forth by St. Yathamian, both sub-deacons and deacons may marry, as long as she is a virgin, of legitimate birth, and suitably legitimate. As long as they were previously married, priests and above may keep their wives.

Knights are not allowed to marry until they reach the rank of Knight Commander, although if they were already married before becoming a knight, this is accepted.

Habit of the Order

Knight's Habit

The paladins wear the great gray mantles iconic to the Order, but their surcoats are of a dazzling white.

For a knight commander, the trefoil is surrounded by a copper halo.

For a grand prior, the halos surrounding the trefoil become one large golden halo, usually festooned with intricate patterns and precious stones.

For a knight of the iron halo, the halo surrounding the trefoil is a thick black halo, surrounded by a gold halo.

For a bailiff, the trefoil is surrounded by both copper and silver halos.

For a prior, the trefoil is surrounded by copper, silver and gold halos.

For a knight grand commander, the trefoil is surrounded by a thick silver halo, surrounded by a gold halo.

Serjeant's Habit

Serjeants wear the gray mantle, with deep red or maroon surcoats.

Man-at-Arm's Habit

As affiliates of the Order, Men-at-Arms' wear the gray mantle, but with brown colored surcoats.

The infantry are not granted gray mantles, although their shields and mail may present the Trefoil of the Order.

The Monks-Militant

The Brothers-Militant, upon earning the rank of novice, are awarded the gray mantle, with gray surcoats.

Monks-Militant that take on holy orders are awarded half gray and half black mantles upon becoming sub-deacons, but upon becoming full deacons their mantles are black.

Abbots wear black mantles with a copper halo surrounding their trefoil.

Arch-Deacons wear black mantles, but their trefoils are surrounded in a silver halo.

Monk-Commanders wear trefoils surrounded by a red halo.

Monk-Bailiffs wear trefoils surrounded by copper and silver halos.

Monk-Priors wear trefoils surrounded by copper, silver and gold halos.

A Monk-Grand Prior's halos surrounding the trefoil become one large golden halo, usually festooned with intricate patterns and precious stones.

Monastic Vicar-Generals wear black mantles, but the trefoil on their gray surcoats is surrounded by a purple aura.

Monastic bishops wear black mantles, and a purple surcoat, with his trefoil surrounded by a large gold halo in the manner of a Grand Prior.

Manner of Address

Knight Commander: "Commander"

Knight Bailiff: "Lord Bailiff"

Knight Prior: "Lord Prior"

Knight Grand Prior: "High Lord Prior"

Military Organization of the Order

Land Assessment and the Support of Soldiery

Heavy Thousiersian influence in the realm of feudal administration has significantly professionalized the methods of military-tenure throughout Dwarden. The most common assessment of arable land is by knight-fief, or the smaller serjeantry-fiefs. By the time of the great land settlements in the 700s, the Order normally assessed a knight-fief as the lands required to raise and maintain a mounted, armored and armored knight, his immediate squire and servants, as well as a band of twenty raised armed, trained and equipped militiamen. Serjeantry-fiefs are considerably smaller parcels of land, assessed as an amount of land necessary to maintain ten militiamen.

Scutage (obligatory military service) and socage (cash or other payment in lieu of military service) is mandatory almost without exception in Dwarden. The glebe or secular church land taxes are still assessed and collected by the Church, but the Order ensures their lands are very small. Very few lands are assessed by the Order as "allodial" or owned as real property apart from Dwarden, although there are very rare exceptions where a family or individual truly owns and maintains their lands apart from the Order, and is not required to support the Order in any way.

Knight's Company

A typical commandery as commanded by a typical Knight Commander may muster knight-paladins (2-3), their mounted squires (2-3), visiting warriors-at-table (2-3), their mounted serjeants (3-4), their infantry serjeants (4-5), the professional men-at-arms (10-15), 10 trained infantrymen, 10 junior infantry skirmishers, and perhaps 100 light infantry militiamen. This will usually be supplemented by the abbot, 2-3 choir monks, a resident friar, 3-4 senior brothers, 5-8 junior brothers, and perhaps 10-18 aspirants. The knight-commander will typically also have one white necromancer, and his apprentice, and may even have allies such as a clan of 9-12 sun dwarves, gnomish peltasts (15-20), or even a high bard of Dwarden.

This force will typically be called a Knight's Company, but he will rarely employ it outside the defenses of his commandery's walls.

Bailiff's Battle

The typical field fighting force of the Order is a "battle", largely composed of the soldiery derived from a military levy drawn from outside the resources of the commanderies proper. Lord Bailiffs are able to demand such levies. If a bailiff commands that a battle be summoned, he will so issue his orders to his knight-commanders, who will themselves demand the troops and resources necessary for a campaign. Furthermore, the Lord Bailiff will then command his most experience combat serjeant, the bailiwick's master-at-arms, to coordinate the combined logistic assets of the various commanderies into a uniform whole. Once summoned, battles may levy hundreds of men, often over 500, combined with whatever strength was summoned from the commanderies. Knight-paladins will typically command the van, the left and right wings, and the center, with the rear guard commanded by a senior serjeant. Landed knights or their private serjeants will command their own men organized in bands and banners, but typically senior serjeants of the Order will act as column commanders, keeping the bands and banners in line. Battles also often have enough cavalry to form a squadron of cavalry, where typically the knights and excess knight-paladins may be found, commanded by the next most senior paladin in the battle. Wizards, bards of Dwarden, the resources and clerics of a full monastery, and siege engines almost always reinforce the strength of a battle.

Priory Armies

A prior or grand prior may summon their army if necessary. They follow the same basic procedure as does a bailiff, but instead the constituent bailiwicks provide the enormous support necessary, and the organization is managed by a man of high serjeant rank, holding the position of marshal or grand marshal, the second in command of the force. Armies of Dwarden are often thousands strong, and commanded by the Lord Prior. One of the crusader commanderies almost always joins the support of a regional army, and can typically boast of many powerful heroes and large units. Battles are generally stripped of their cavalry, and composed themselves the van, the left and right wings, etc. The cavalry is once again overall commanded by the second most senior paladin in the army, but he usually divides his force into multiple squadrons, each led by a knight.

Units by Echelon

Band:

Banner:

Column:

Squadron:

Company:

Battle:

Army:

Host of Dwarden: