Knights -of- Everest

Take on the role of a squire, knight, or noble sworn to the realm. Clad in steel and
bolstered by resolve, you overcome life-and-death peril, agonizing trials, and
merciless foes to earn your place among the chivalric order. As a knight, you
embody the virtues of courage, fairness, integrity, and justice. Lay low powerful
giants, repel cunning invaders, and fight for the honor of your homeland. Stir
fierce love and bitter hatred, summon loyalty and betrayal. Witness mercy and
malice, lust and devotion, valor and fear —all the triumph and tragedy of
knighthood.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS
Races Kingdoms
Humans The Kingdom of Romula
Dwarves Rundvall
Elves and Half-elves Kagenheim
Orcs and Half-orcs Erilene
Aasimars
Tieflings
Knighthood
The Code Romulas
Classes Order of the Knights Romulas
Barbarian, Bard Royal Order of the Purple Dragon
Cleric Order of St. Cuthbert
Druid, Fighter, Paladin Righteous Order of the Chalice
Ranger, Rogue Playing a Knight
Sorcerer, Warlock Exalted Deeds

Religion The Alpharian Year, Cosmology

The Church of Romula
The Old Faith Appendix A: Forge Domain,
Moradin Honor Ability Score
The Seldarine
Appendix B: Channel Divinity
The Silverstars
Gruumsh Appendix C: Apocrypha
 Knights of Everest is a campaign setting for DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS (5e 2014). The following books are on the table:
Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster
Manual.

An optional Honor ability score is presented in Appendix A.

Available Races: Aasimar, Dwarf, Elf, Half-elf, Half-orc, Human, Tiefling

Available Classes: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk (supplemental),

Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock

Unavailable Races: Dragonborn, Gnome, Halfling

Unavailable Class: Wizard

Knights of Everest is an epic fantasy. The campaign emphasizes the conflict

between good and evil, with the adventurers on the side of good. These heroic
characters are driven by a higher purpose than selfish gain or ambition.
Characters might struggle with moral quandaries, fighting the evil tendencies
within themselves as well as the evil that threatens the world. And the stories of
these campaigns often include an element of romance: tragic affairs between star-
crossed lovers, passion that transcends even death, and chaste adoration between
knights and nobles.
 Knights of Everest is a campaign setting for
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (5e 2024). The following
books are on the table: Player’s Handbook, Dungeon
Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual.

Available Classes: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Monk

(supplemental), Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock

Available Species: Aasimar, Dwarf, Elf, Orc, Human, Tiefling

Unavailable Class: Wizard

Unavailable Species: Dragonborn, Gnome, Goliath, Halfling

T
he elven woods are home to the elves and their allies. Not many dwarves
or half-orcs live there. In turn, elves, humans, halflings, and half-orcs are
hard to find in underground dwarven cities. And while nonhumans may
travel through the human countryside, most country folk are humans. In the big
cities, however, the promise of power and profit brings together people of all the
common races.

Humans
Whatever drives them, humans are the
Races innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers
Humans, dwarves, and elves of the world.
are the most commonly
encountered people. There Humans are late to arrive on the world
are also aasimar, orcs, and scene and short-lived in comparison to
tieflings. They’re dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is
uncommon, less widespread, because of their shorter lives that they strive
with no homelands of their to achieve as much as they can in the years
own. Instead, they live they are given.
among humans, dwarves,
and elves. Races are as Humans who seek adventure are the most
described in the PHB unless daring and ambitious members of a daring
otherwise noted. and ambitious people. They seek to earn
glory in the eyes of their fellows by
Going forward from D&D 5e amassing power, wealth, and fame. More
2024, ‘race’ is called than other people, humans champion causes
‘species’. rather than territories or groups.
Dwarves

Squat and often bearded, the original dwarves carved cities and strongholds into
mountainsides and under the earth. Their oldest legends tell of conflicts with the
monsters of mountaintops and the Everdark, whether those monsters were
towering giants or subterranean horrors.

Subrace. Two main subraces of dwarves populate the world: hill dwarves and
mountain dwarves. Choose one of these subraces.
Elves
Elves mingle freely in human lands, always welcome yet never at home there.
They are well known for their poetry, dance, song, lore, and magical arts. Elves
favor things of natural and simple beauty. When danger threatens their woodland
homes, however, elves reveal a more martial side, demonstrating skill with sword,
bow, and battle strategy.

Elves are not native to Alphere; they originate from a realm far beyond the seas,
known as Arvanaith. The pathway back to their homeland was lost long ago.

Subrace. Ancient divides among the elven people resulted in two subraces: high
elves and wood elves. Choose one of these subraces.
‘Half-elves’ and ‘half-orcs’ don’t appear in the 5e 2024 PHB. There is an ‘orc’
species.

Half-elves
Humans and elves sometimes wed, the elf attracted to the human’s energy and
the human to the elf’s grace. These marriages end quickly as elves count years
because a human’s life is so brief, but they leave an enduring legacy —half-elf
children.

The life of a half-elf can be hard. If raised by elves, the half-elf seems to grow
with astounding speed, reaching maturity within two decades. The half-elf
becomes an adult long before she has had time to learn the intricacies of elven art
and culture, or even grammar. She leaves behind her childhood friends, becoming
physically an
adult but culturally still a child by elven standards. Typically, she leaves her elven
home, which is no longer familiar, and finds her way among humans.

If, on the other hand, she is raised by humans, the half-elf finds herself different
from her peers: more aloof, more sensitive, less ambitious, and slower to mature.
Some half-elves try to fit in among humans, while others find their identities in
their difference. Most find places for themselves in human lands, but some feel
like outsiders all their lives.
Orcs and Half-orcs
In Knights of Everest, half-orcs are notably different than described in the PHB.

Combat is the highest form of expression in orc society. They fight easily in any
environment and are well disciplined. Orcs are ruthless, although this is tempered
by pragmatism and strategic and tactical cunning.

Personality: Orcs focus on the well-being of their people first and on the
individual second. They can be selfless in the sense that the needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the few.

Physical Description: Orcs and half-orcs are, on average, tall and broad
(standing between 6 and 7 feet tall and weighing between 180 and 250 pounds).
They have gray skin, ears that are sharply pointed, and prominent lower canines
that resemble small tusks.

Society: Orc society is regimented, based on a complex system of laws and

customs that call for unswerving loyalty and obedience. Each orc is a valued
member of society with a duty to fulfill.

Relations: As a people, orcs aren’t exactly on good terms with humans, dwarves,
or elves. Individually, each orc finds a way to gain acceptance. Some are
reserved, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Others simply try to be so
tough that others have no choice but to accept them.
The Steel Reaches: Orcs are quickly rising to prominence throughout Alphere.
For as long as anyone can remember, orcs have been prone to bickering and
warring against each other. This changed a few decades ago, when (in an effort
to survive the Everlasting Nights) hordes of orcs unified into a seemingly stable
realm, the Steel Reaches. It remains to be seen if this newly founded realm will
have actual staying power.

The Steel Reaches

Races of Destiny offers a general overview of aasimars and tieflings. Setting
specific details are covered here.

Aasimars
Graceful, regal, and noble, aasimars (pronounced ah-sih-mars) have been touched
by the divine and most wear it with pride. Aasimars can arise among any
population of mortals. Their lineages may lie dormant for generations before
manifesting, often unexpectedly. They resemble their parents but have features
that hint at their celestial heritage.

Personality: Most aasimars are kind, pleasant, and approachable. However,

some project a crusading zeal and sense of purpose that can be daunting and
unapproachable —hearkening to the vengeful, judgmental aspect of their celestial
ancestor. Few aasimars crave the limelight, and they shun positions of authority,
except in instances where they can lead by example.

Physical Description: From a distance,

aasimars appear as normal humans (or
dwarves, or elves if the player wishes).
Up close, their celestial bloodline shines
through in their tall stature and attractive
features. Some bear a minor physical
trait that highlights their celestial nature,
such as silver or golden hair, metallic
eyes, or a rich, melodic voice.

Non-Human Aasimars: Non-human

aasimars have the same statistics as
human aasimars. Thus, an ‘elf’ aasimar
possesses the same statistics and
abilities as a human aasimar —the
difference is purely cosmetic. Non-
human aasimars do not possess any of
the racial traits of their base race.
However, they are usually raised in the
same cultural context as other members
of their base race, and thus generally
adopt the same fighting style as their
peers, use the same types of weapons
and armor, and study the same skills.
Relations: Aasimars maintain excellent relations with good beings. They are
found primarily among humans, but they also associate with dwarves and elves.

Aasimars treat one another with respect and friendship, seeing other aasimars as
cousins united in the cause of good. However, if they encounter the rare aasimar
who has fallen to evil, they become frightful to behold in their anger and righteous
indignation.

Aasimar Lands: Aasimars are relatively few in number and do not hold any lands
of their own. Most are loners, wandering from place to place and providing aid
and good deeds when needed. Others integrate themselves more thoroughly into
human society, although their predilection for action and good deeds means that
they rarely take up a sedentary vocation.

Religion: The indisputable fact of their celestial lineage leads aasimars to become
deeply devoted beings who feel a personal connection with gods and powers.
Even those who do not become paladins are profoundly religious and forthright in
their faith. While they are not prone to proselytizing, by words and action
aasimars show the power and righteousness of their faith to those who have not
yet seen the light and truth that they experience themselves.

Language: Aasimars speak, read, and write Common and have an intuitive
understanding of Celestial from birth.

Names: Aasimars are given names appropriate for the area and society in which
they were raised. The majority, raised by human parents, bear human names.
Some adopt a more celestial-sounding name on reaching adulthood to
demonstrate their devotion to their faith and to the cause of good.

Male Names: Exelar, Henzio, Mortibal, Overmar, Sentalial, Vitarri.

Female Names: Alleraia, Eretri, Irethia, Marethial, Savial, Terim.

AASIMAR TRAITS
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Constitution or
your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Aasimar mature at the same rate as humans, but they can live up to 160 years.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in
darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of
gray.

Healing Hands. As an action, you can touch a creature and roll a number of d4s equal to
your proficiency bonus. The creature regains a number of hit points equal to the total
rolled. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Light Bearer. You know the light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.

Celestial Revelation. When you reach 3rd level, choose one of the revelation options
below (choose the option each time you transform). Thereafter, you can use a bonus
action to unleash the celestial energy within yourself, gaining the benefits of that
revelation. Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it (no action required).
Once you transform using your revelation below, you can't use it again until you finish a
long rest:

Inner Radiance. Searing light temporarily radiates from your eyes and mouth. For the
duration, you shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet,
and at the end of each of your turns, each creature within 10 feet of you takes radiant
damage equal to your proficiency bonus. Until the transformation ends, once on each of
your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it
with an attack or a spell. The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.

Heavenly Wings. Two luminous, spectral wings sprout from your back temporarily. Until
the transformation ends, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and once
on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal
damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.

Necrotic Shroud. Your eyes briefly become pools of darkness, and ghostly, flightless
wings sprout from your back temporarily. Creatures other than your allies within 10 feet
of you that can see you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your
proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened of you until the end of
your next turn. Until the transformation ends, once on each of your turns, you can deal
extra necrotic damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell.
The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.

Tieflings
Tieflings are touched by something fiendish. Their lineages may lie dormant for
generations before manifesting, often unexpectedly. Shunned and maligned as
they often are, many tieflings prefer to maintain a low profile, and typically thrive
in the seedier side of society.

Non-Human Tieflings: Non-human tieflings have the same statistics as human

tieflings. Thus, an elven tiefling (known as a fey’ri) possesses the same statistics
and abilities as a human tiefling —the difference is purely cosmetic. Non-human
tieflings do not possess any of the racial traits of their base race. However, they
are usually raised in the same cultural context as other members of their base
race, and thus generally adopt the same fighting style as their peers, use the
same types of weapons and armor, and
study the same skills.

Personality: Deserved or not, tieflings

have a reputation for being conniving,
sneaky, and underhanded. Indeed, some
are self-serving and only look out for
number one. Just as many however, strive
to do good (or at least cause no
unnecessary harm).

Physical Description: Tieflings have large

horns that take any of a variety of shapes:
some have curling horns like a ram, others
have straight and tall horns like a gazelle,
and some spiral upward like antelope horns.
They have thick tails, four to five feet long,
which lash or coil around their legs when
they get upset or nervous. Their canine
teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes
are solid colors --black, red, white, silver, or
gold- with no visible sclera or pupil. Their
skin tones cover the full range of human
coloration, but also include various shades
of red. Their hair, cascading down from
behind their horns, is usually dark, from
black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.
Relations: Tieflings are the subject of supernatural fear. Their infernal heritage is
plainly visible in their features, and as far as most people are concerned, a tiefling
could very well be an actual fiend. People might make warding signs as a tiefling
approaches, cross the street to avoid passing near, or bar shop doors before a
tiefling can enter.

A Darker World
[A different outlook] Tieflings are usually forced to conceal their true nature since the
prejudice against their fiendish heritage is so strong that they are often persecuted and
reviled. Some religions consider fiendish heritage beyond redemption and condone their
slaughter. There are even a few slayers who devote their entire careers to hunting
tieflings and putting them to the torch. Because they are persecuted, there is an unspoken
bond between tieflings that brings them together regardless of class or alignment. In
some areas, these unique individuals have formed a kind of secret society that calls upon
its members to come to the aid of their brothers and sisters whenever a threat arises.

Tiefling Lands: Tieflings are too few in number to claim their own lands.
However, they can be found almost anywhere, often in lawless lands where a lack
of scruples is an asset.

Religion: Many tieflings are too selfish to pay attention to religion. Those who
choose to worship may take up any religion, based on their backround.

Language: Like aasimars, tieflings are largely raised among humans and speak,
read, and write Common as their primary language. The Infernal tongue comes
naturally to them; some parents of tieflings have been horrified when their child’s
first words sounded as if they had emerged from the Underworld.

Names: Tiefling names fall into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another
culture typically have names reflective of that culture. Some have names derived
from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their
fiendish heritage. Some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world,
adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that
concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it's a grim
destiny.
Male Infernal Names: Akmenos, Amnon, Barakas, Damakos, Ekemon, Iados,
Kairon, Leucis, Melech, Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai

Female Infernal Names: Akta, Anakis, Bryseis, Criella, Damaia, Ea, Kallista,
Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia, Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta

"Virtue" Names: Art, Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair, Excellence, Fear, Glory,
Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere, Open, Poetry, Quest, Random, Reverence, Sorrow,
Temerity, Torment, Weary

LANGUAGES
(In-game) Humans speak, read, and write Common. They are fond of sprinkling
their speech with words borrowed from other tongues they might learn: Orc
curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarven military phrases, and so on.

(In-world) Humans speak, read, and write Romulan and/or Alpharian (depending
on backround). The antiquated forms of these languages are known as Old
Romulan and Ancient Alpharian.

Dwarves speak, read, and write Common and Dwarven. Dwarven has its own
runic script. Dwarven literature is marked by comprehensive histories of kingdoms
and wars through the millennia.

[The language of dwarves is called ‘Dwarven’. Only 5th Edition calls it ‘Dwarvish’.]

Elves speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is divided into two
varieties: High Elvish and Low Elvish. High Elvish is used mostly for ceremonial
events and formal communications. High Elvish is never taught to a non-elf,
although Low Elvish (a less formal version) may be taught, such as to a star-
friend.

Half-elves speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one extra language of
your choice.

Orcs and Half-orcs speak, read, and write Common and Orc.

Aasimars speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.

Tieflings speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.

Using 5e 2024 Rules. Your character speaks, reads, and writes at least three
languages: Common plus two other languages you roll for or choose.
 CLASSES

Barbarian
Beyond the walls of cities and towns, and well beyond the bounds of civilization,
dwell the barbarians. From windy steppes to mountain tops, from deep jungles to
arid plains, barbarians live in freedom –a part of their environment rather than a
slave to it.

Bard
Whether a lore master, skald, or scoundrel, a bard weaves magic through words
and music to inspire allies, demoralize foes, manipulate minds, create illusions,
and even heal wounds.
Cleric
Clerics are healers and warriors, divine agents of the gods.

The Church of Romula is a human faith, just as Moradin is a

dwarven god. A dwarf or elf wouldn’t become a cleric of the
church. Likewise, a human wouldn’t become a cleric of the
Seldarine (although she might follow the faith and live
according to its guidance).

Church of Romula (Suggested Domains): Life, Light, War

Clerics of Moradin (Suggested Domains): Forge (see Appendix

A), Knowledge, War

Clerics of the Seldarine (Suggested Domains): Any. An elven

cleric’s ability to appease many different gods rather than just
one means any domain is appropriate.
Silverstar clerics (Suggested Domains): Life, Knowledge

Clerics of Gruumsh (Suggested Domains): Tempest, War

Depending on their racial and cultural backround, half-elves, half-orcs,

aasimars, and tieflings may become clerics of any of the above faiths.

Raising the Dead: When someone dies, they cannot be raised by a cleric of
another faith unless magic of 7th level or higher (like resurrection or true
resurrection) is used, symbolizing divine intervention by that specific deity or
power. Magic of 5th level or lower (like raise dead, reincarnate, or revivify) has no
effect (unless cast by a cleric of the same faith).
Druid
Druids serve the forces of Nature and its inherent cycles such as birth, growth,
death, and rebirth. The processes of Nature generate divine power that its
servants can tap into. Druids themselves often refer to druidism as the Old Faith
or even more simply, the Faith.

Fighter
The fighter is a champion, a swordsman, and a soldier. He lives or dies by his
knowledge of weapons and tactics.

Paladin
The paladin is a warrior bold and pure.
Human paladins belong to the Order of
the Knights Romulas, holy warriors who
act as the military branch of the church.
Not every knight of the order is a paladin
of course, but by his very nature, a
paladin is invariably called into service
with the knighthood.
Asimaar, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings can become paladins, following
traditions based on their racial and cultural backrounds.

Dwarves and elves have their own traditions, unrelated to the Church of Romula.
The following is swiped from The Castle Guide.

Dwarven Paladin
Dwarves take their warring very seriously
indeed, and their views on war and honor
would make any visiting Oan warrior
proud. Dwarves, in stark contrast to the
elves, would rather die in glorious battle
than any other way. Dwarves take the
ceremonial aspects of their idea of chivalry
very seriously but keep such things rather
private.

Dwarves like to make their armor heavy,

plated, and black. Almost without
exception, all dwarven-sized armor is
actually made from dwarven forged iron.
A dwarf will not wear armor forged by any
other race, for their pride is quite strong
and their codes of honor very exacting on
such points. While elven armors require
constant repair if they are to remain
attractive, dwarves place less value on
appearance and more value on defense.

Dwarves dwell extensively on their own version of heraldry, based on the personal
histories and family genealogies of the entire dwarven race. Dwarves are
remarkable at remembering long list of names and spend a great deal of their lives
memorizing details about everyone they ever see, meet, or hear about.

Dwarven knights take the honorific kal before their name (much like human
knights do sir). It means soul.
Elven Paladin
Elven paladins are properly known as Sword
Knights of the Seldarine (Aelavellin Seldarine
in Elvish). There's more to elven battle
prowess than their mastery of bow and arrow.
Clad in shinning elven mail, elven paladins are
paragons of elven swordsmanship. Relying on
quickness and agility over brute power, the
elven paladin is able to stand up to any
muscled warrior.

Elves follow the code of chivalry to the letter,

except when it comes to battle. Elven life is
too precious to be squandered needlessly
against lost causes. When they do sacrifice
themselves, it is only for the greatest good of
elven lands or in defense of their companions.
In short, elves as a people avoid war
whenever possible. They prefer to depend on
politics to settle disputes, and are far less
aggressive than most other races.

Elven paladins place a high regard for the ceremonial aspect of chivalry, as well as
respecting their peers and superiors. However, they are quick to the point of
snobbery in showing contempt of those beneath their station and those of ignoble
ideals. To their credit, elven paladins place no weight on class differences in such
judgments, just on personal character and reputation.

Elven paladins almost never wear plate armors, but prefer more lightweight,
flexible armoring made of fine chain. As elves prefer battle within forested
environments where they can rely on their natural adeptness in such surroundings
to give them an added edge, they consider plate armor too noisy and bulky for
such maneuvering. Elf paladins that choose to wear plate armor (very rare)
always make them look like they were made from mithral. A highly polished
coating of the shiny silver metal is applied almost like paint to the armor, and the
suit then gleams and shines in even the most indirect lighting. In fact, the
greatest of kings or the richest of paladins often take their armor to the elves for
such detailing once it has been purchased.

Elven knights take the honorific ael before their name (much like human knights
do sir). It means shining.
Ranger
The ranger is a skilled wilderness fighter and
tracker. Among the elves, rangers are an elite
order of warriors akin to knights in human
culture.

The path of the ranger is an elven tradition

shared with non-elves who have proven
themselves as star-friends.

While non-elves often train other non-elves as

potential rangers, they never train elves
without the supervision of another elf. The first
rangers were, and always will be, elves.

Star-friends are those who are recognized by

the elves as providing special aid or alliance to
their efforts. ‘Star-friend’ is given as title or
epithet.

Rogue
Rogues share little in common with each other. Some are stealthy thieves.
Others are silver-tongued tricksters. Still others are scouts, infiltrators, spies,
diplomats, or thugs.
Sorcerer
[In-world] Sorcerers are called magicians.

Magic is the lifeblood of the world, a vast

ocean cradling and saturating every
stone and every living being. Among
sorcerers, this arcane power is known as
Essence.

Warlock
Bound by a pact to an all-powerful patron, warlocks trade their loyalty for
supernatural abilities and unique magic.

Wizard
There are no wizards in Knights of Everest. In order to sense and control arcane
energy, a spellcaster must have inherent talent with it; intellect and study have no
effect on the Essence.
 Arcane Magic is not a science. It is not a
complex formula, not a phrase or a number,
nor a symbol written in dragon’s blood.
Many magicians train under the guidance
of an older, experienced mentor. These
mentors don’t instruct their apprentices
in facts and theories. Rather, the
apprentice is taught to focus on the
Essence, until the budding magician is
able to both sense and control the
arcane energy. [Similar to how Jedi
apprentices are trained to sense and
control the Force in Star Wars].

Essence physically appears as a fine, glittering dust. This dust is typically stored
in small watertight leather belt pouches. An arcane spellcaster with such a pouch
is assumed to have all the material components and focuses needed for
spellcasting except for those components that have a specific cost (as indicated in
a spell’s description).

This is the component pouch (described in the PHB, page 151) reflavored for
Knights of Everest. Since arcane magic in this setting is based on “sense and
control” rather than “study and learn” it’s more tonally fitting. Nothing destroys
that feel quicker than having a magician worry about bat guano and sulfur when
casting a fireball.

In its physical form, Essence is sometimes exchanged in lieu of actual coinage

(most commonly among magicians). [This is merely a bit of flavor, just like the
‘component pouch’.]
Deities in Knights of Everest are distant and remote; they don’t directly influence
the world. The philosophies and ideas that a deity embodies can be compelling
and capture the imagination and influence the actions of worshippers. The faithful
are often guided through visions and epiphanies.

The major faiths of Knights of Everest are described here. Less influential faiths
are described in Appendix B: Channel Divinity. Next to the Church of Romula,
Moradin, and the Seldarine, these deities have relatively small followings. Clerics
of these deities can be of any race.

Raising the Dead: When someone dies, they cannot be raised by a cleric of
another faith unless magic of 7th level or higher (like resurrection or true
resurrection) is used, symbolizing divine intervention by that specific deity or
power. Magic of 5th level or lower (like raise dead, reincarnate, or revivify) has no
effect (unless cast by a cleric of the same faith).
 Church -of- Romula
The Church of Romula is an organized, modern incarnation of many
primal light and fire worshipping faiths long ago practiced by tribes of
scattered humans. The church is the dominant religion among humans
in Alphere.

Outside the kingdom, the faith is known as the Church of the Silver Flame. It is a
faith of strength against adversity and hope against darkness. For many
centuries, the church was recognized as peaceful and benign. With the threat of
the Dark Six however, it has become more aggressive and proactive, bringing the
forces of light to bear against evil and corruption where it may seek to hide.

Church of Romula (Suggested Domains): Life, Light, War. The church favors
bludgeoning weapons such as the mace and flail (so-called “bloodless” weapons,
from when the faith was more benign and peaceful).

Clerics normally wear white or blue clothing adorned with a stylized silver (or more
rarely golden) flame serving as the universal symbol of the faith. Ceremonies and
holy days call for a thick blue silver or gold-trimmed sash in addition to the cleric’s
traditional vestments.

The teachings of the Church of Romula are:

 Destroy evil in all its forms. Fiends are particularly abhorrent to the church.
 Bring relief to those who suffer.
 Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Offer aid to those who can.

The Church of Romula is a human faith, just as Moradin is a dwarven god. A

dwarf or elf wouldn’t become a cleric of the church. Likewise, a human wouldn’t
become a cleric of the Seldarine (although she might follow the faith and live
according to its guidance).
THE SILVER FLAME
The most important symbol of the Church of Romula is the Silver Flame. It takes
physical form as a brilliant white light. Legends say that it has burned from the
beginning of the world and will burn until its ending. The ‘Silver Flame’ is holy
energy [radiant damage].

A POWER, NOT A GOD

The Silver Flame is a force created with a concrete purpose: it keeps apocalyptic
evil at bay. The Silver Flame isn’t an anthropomorphic entity; rather, followers
recognize it as a pure force of celestial energy. It doesn’t influence the world on
its own, and can only empower champions who will use that gift to protect the
innocent. The Flame itself doesn’t speak to people; instead, it guides the faithful
indirectly through visions and epiphanies. Ultimately, the Silver Flame is a
resource; if you seek to protect the innocent from supernatural evil, you may be
able to draw on the power of the Flame to aid you in your fight.

CHURCH HIERARCHY
The leaders of the church are the hierarchs, high priests who decide policy and
interpret theology in the areas that they govern. A high council meets
periodically in the Royal City of Rundvall.

DUTIES OF THE CHURCH

The Church of Romula has the right of coronation, and in specific circumstances
can even deny someone the right to take the throne. The church exercises such
power with care however.

The church demands a small tithe of the faithful. It is used for upkeep of the
church's buildings and temples, purchase of supplies and equipment for priests
and such.

A CLERIC’S ROLE
Clerics of the Church of Romula belong to their own ‘caste’; that is, being a cleric
is their principal occupation. Most clerics live in the temple or in properties owned
by the faith. When on church duty, they are expected to wear clerical vestments
and display church regalia prominently.

Clerics belong to a sovereign order, which means they have the right to a church
trial and cannot be tried by secular authorities for any crime or trespass. Early on
in the faith’s history, clerics used to marry. In the fight against the Dark Six
however, clerics can’t afford to be distracted by thoughts of home and family.
Proverbially, the Silver Flame is all-consuming.

Clerics are quiet and kindly, with the courage and resolve of a dragon. They are
primarily nurturers and protectors but when time comes to bear arms they do not
hesitate to do so. They use their powers to heal, nourish and otherwise aid the
needy, while practicing the skills necessary to protect their charges should the
need arise.

Clerics pray at dawn, with eyes open and heads raised upwards. This posture
symbolizes the cleric's acknowledgment of light and defiance of and vigilance
against darkness.

THE ROLE OF PALADINS

Paladins act as the military branch of the Church of Romula; they’re holy warriors
of the Order of the Knights Romulas. Not every knight of the order is a paladin of
course, but by his very nature, a paladin is always called into service with the
knighthood.

RELICS
There is power in the bones of saints, and in the stones blessed by a high priest,
and in the weapons that have fallen to earth from the hands of angels. The pious
have such faith in the incarnate power of holy relics that a mere sliver of bone can
inspire men to charge into the teeth of Death itself. It is therefore the duty of the
men and women of the church to identify, guard and use these relics as best they
can.
RELATIONS WITH OTHER FAITHS
The church’s attitude toward other faiths is simple: those that fight for the side of
good are allies, while those who promote evil or suffering are enemies. So, Kord,
Pelor, and Rao are embraced while Erythnul, Nerull, and Wee Jaas are rejected.

HOLY TEXTS
Codex of the Silver Flame: Written by a triumvirate of archangels, this book
provides guidelines for proper behavior. The book covers the origin and tenets of
the faith and provides letters and guidance from early members of the religion.
Every cleric is expected to have a copy of this book and many are very old,
decorated with gilt lettering, calligraphy, and illuminations; few, if any, copies are
simple or plain.

Copies of the Codex have a special property: They can be read normally in any
light short of complete darkness. The reader simply sees the text as if reading it
under the best possible lighting conditions. [This is a ‘ribbon’ effect, meant to
convey flavor rather than an actual game mechanic.]
 The Journal of Heironeous: This holy book is
filled with heroic tales and adventurous exploits
of the eponymous Heironeous, a powerful
champion of rightful combat and chivalrous
deeds. In reality, ‘Heironeous’ is a collective
pseudonym used by the various authors of the
holy book.

Over time, the Journal of Heironeous has

become an important reference, giving names to
and providing details on, the powerful fiends and
other insidious threats to the church (a task the
Codex of the Silver Flame often falls short on).
It has never been accepted as canonical by the
clergy, but for anyone seeking to be truly
knowledgeable about the faith, this book is required reading.

Heironeous, The Invincible, The Archpaladin, is the champion

of rightful combat and chivalrous deeds. He is the patron of
those who fight for honor, and the fair and good order of
things. Beloved of heaven, he is gifted with many powers to
fight evil, especially against his half-brother, Hextor.
A Paladin in Hell
 The Inquisition
W
hile the Church of Romula was suppressing heresy early on, it was only
as needed. The suppressions were generally slow and without pattern.
The threat of the Dark Six changed things; a sovereign order of
Inquisitors was established. These ‘witch hunters’ (as they are sometimes
irreverently known) are few but act in the name and full authority of the hierarchs.
They alone judge heresy, using local authorities to put a tribunal and prosecute
heretics.

The Inquisition is tasked with eradicating heretics and destroying fiendish cults,
which threaten the law and order of the kingdom. Inquisitors are typically
suspicious of everyone, but fearful rumors aside, innocents are not ‘collateral
damage’ in the battle against the guilty. The appearance of an Inquisitor elicits
dread in other folk (an undeniable advantage) but there are limits.

While many champions are dedicated to fighting external evils —Inquisitors are at
least as concerned about evil and corruption within. When greed eats away at
church hierarchy, when devils infiltrate a knightly order and seduce its leaders to
evil, when high clerics succumb to evil enchantments and fall from the path, it is
usually an Inquisitor who uncovers this kind of taint and cuts it away. Many
Inquisitors rely on divination magic (to seek out evil and corruption) and
abjuration magic (to protect themselves and others from evil magic).
A Darker World
[A different outlook] A world where fiends walk is not a “nice” place. It is not a world
where good and bad are clear and distinct. Rather, it is a place where creatures of pure
evil may disguise themselves as trusted friends, where loved ones can be possessed or
corrupted, and where an innocent encounter may be part of a fiendish plan.

In order to fight fiendish evil, Inquisitors themselves use methods which many might call
evil. Driven by fear, less objective hunters perpetrate even greater crimes. Such a world
is a dark and brooding place, full of mistrust, corruption, and paranoia.
 The Old Faith
Druidism is an ancient religion whose history
remains largely unrevealed and unexplored, even
to the most wizened sages and learned
philosophers. None can honestly claim to know
the how, when, and where of its genesis (nor do
they try). Rather, most consider that it always
has been and always will be.

The druidic faith is a federation of regional

priesthoods that form a loosely organized global
faith, all of whose members worship Nature and
follow a similar ethical philosophy. Druids divide
their world into regions, or domains. A domain is
a well-defined geographic area bounded by
mountain ranges, rivers, seas, or deserts —druids
have divided the continent of Alphere into at least
four domains. Druidic regions do not rely on
political borders, or on racial or ethnic groups; a
domain can encompass several countries, races,
and peoples.

Druid Circles
All druids dwelling within a domain are organized
into circles. Circles typically are named for the
geographic area their domain occupies, but
sometimes they bear other names, harking back
to their foundation. For instance, druids in
Alphere have formed the “Sovereign Sea Circle”
and the “Circle of Amaru”.

The members of a circle hold themselves responsible for the well-being of the
wilderness and the continuations of the orderly cycles of Nature within their
domains. Circles operate within a very loose structure. They use no large temples
or abbeys, for rarely do more than a few druids live together. All druids within a
circle acknowledge a single greater druid as their leader and recognize this figure’s
moral authority.
Life After Death
Since they see the universe as a cycle or series of cycles, druids believe the life
force of a person (especially one who follows the old faith), is reborn again and
again. A being’s reincarnation will not remember a former life but may possess a
similar personality.

Druids believe a person’s soul may be reincarnated into an animal instead of a

sentient being —yet another reason they revere all the world’s animals.

The People
Building Bridges The Old Faith teaches that all people are
Every century or so, spiritual interconnected. Far flung as they may be, all
leaders of humans, dwarves, people are your kin, as if you were a member of
and elves gather in a secret a great tribe that includes members of all races
location to engage in inter- across the world. According to the faith, it is
faith dialogue. Led by druid entirely possible that a dwarf and an elf,
hierophants, the parliament’s meeting for the first time today, are actually
self-proclaimed objective is to related in another life, whether from long ago or
cultivate harmony among even into the future.
these religions, building
bridges between diverse The core beliefs of the Old Faith are similar
spiritualities, and celebrate the among all races, although each has its unique
intersections of all faiths. traditions and services.

Clerics of Nature
Clerics of Elhonna and Obad-Hai practice the Old Faith.

The Secret Language

In rare cases, the Old Faith appears almost sentient, waiting for just the right
moment, for the time of greatest need, to reveal itself to potential believers.

One way it reveals itself is through Druidic, a secret language normally known only
to druids. For instance, an adventurer might unexpectedly find herself able to
communicate on a very basic level with forest animals. If she fails to follow
through and become an actual druid, then the ability is invariably lost.
 is the dwarven All-Father, the god of
Moradin creation, smithing and stonework.

He is also the Father of Battle,

watching over the battle-skills of dwarves from his celestial mountain fortress. His
clerics encourage valor in battle, weapon-mastery and training, and wisdom in
war. Treachery or deceit is never brooked. Triumph is obtained through valor and
bravery. Any who overcome by cowardly or deceitful means are swiftly humbled
and humiliated.

Dogma
The finest hours of the dwarves come in the thrusts and feints of battle. Seize the
opportunity to defend your kin and ensure their victory wherever conflicts erupt.
Revel in the challenge of a good fight, and never waver in the face of adversity, no
matter how ominous. Lives should never be thrown away foolishly, but the
greatest honor is to sacrifice oneself for the cause on the field of battle in service
to a righteous cause. When not fighting, prepare for the next conflict physically
and tactically.

Clergy and Temples

Outside of battle, clerics of Moradin are
charged with maintaining and advancing the
dwarven race in all walks of life. They
perform a wide range of public ceremonies
(marriages, blessing, and the like). They
keep detailed genealogies and historical
archives.

Every temple or shrine of Moradin includes

an anvil and a forge that the clerics keep
perpetually burning. The anvil can be a
simple decoration or part of a working
smithy, but it often serves as the temple
altar. [The idea of a perpetual flame is also
prominent within the Church of the Silver
Flame.]

Clerics of Moradin (Suggested Domains): Forge, War

The Seldarine
The elves worship a pantheon of deities known as
the Seldarine, a complex term that can be roughly
translated as "the fellowship of brothers and sisters
of the wood". They act independently of one
another, but the elven powers are drawn together
by love, curiosity, and friendship to combine their
strengths, to accomplish a task, or in the face of
outside threats.

Clerics of the Seldarine (Suggested Domains):

Any. An elven cleric’s ability to appease many
different gods rather than just one means any
domain is appropriate.
 The Silverstars
The Silverstars are a sect of Seldarine
worshippers. They often travel extensively
outside elven lands, and it is not uncommon
to find them residing in human controlled
lands. Many elf adventurers (i.e. PCs) are
Silverstars.

The Silverstar faith is made up of

autonomous sects; there is no universal
'church', no central authority that oversees
all practitioners. Thus, a sect of Silverstars
in one community is different —at least in
the details, and frequently in major practices
— from any other. It also means that
Silverstars aren't necessarily in agreement
on religious matters.

For instance, a few more radical Silverstars

believe the melancholy of many other elves
is a sin, a spiritual apathy, an absence of
love. A more moderate take is that the Seldarine don’t intend for elves to insulate
themselves from the world. This more widespread view is one reason why
Silverstars are accepted by most other elves as an offshoot of Seldarine worship,
rather than outright heretics of the faith.

The most commonly seen symbol among the Silverstars is a ring of stars, silver,
white, or blue.

Silverstar clerics may be of chaotic good, chaotic neutral, or neutral good

alignment. They can choose from among the following domains: Good, Chaos,
Magic, and Travel. Silverstar clerics gain domain abilities as normal. They may
choose their favored weapon from any weapon they are racially proficient with.
 Gruumsh
Gruumsh One-Eye, the god of conquest,
survival, strength, and dominion, was often
branded a savage by his foes. More
realistically, he was an uncompromising
force shaping the destiny of his people.

A titanic battle against the elven god

Corellon marked the arrival of the elves in
Alphere. Gruumsh was defeated and
unfortunately, history was twisted by the
victor. It was claimed Gruumsh harbored a
deep hatred for elves. It was more about
making damn sure that elves earned their
place in the world. Orcs, dwarves, and
humans could trace their origins to these
lands, but elves were strangers, outsiders
trespassing upon an ancient domain.

Singular Purpose: Gruumsh is a force of

will. Never stop, never compromise. He
empowers champions who follow this
example.

Clerics of Gruumsh (Suggested Domains):

Tempest, War

Evelore
Mortals do not simply ascend to godhood. Gods are far beyond the reach of
mere mortals, as far as giants from ants. Gruumsh alone overcame and defied
this inviolate law. Once a mortal orc warrior —standing alongside the
legendary dwarf Kagyar— he carved his place among the gods through sheer
will and power.
 Kingdom -of- Romula
Romula is a feudal society. The lower class is comprised primarily of tenant
farmers who work on lands owned by their lord. Free farmers, most merchants,
artisans, and the military make up the middle class. The upper class is comprised
of wealthy landowners and the most successful merchants. The peasants pay
fealty to a local lord, who in turn pays fealty to a high noble. All high nobles of
course, owe their loyalty to the king.

From the outside looking in, the kingdom

of Romula appears to be a strong, stable
realm, with a reputation for honesty and
integrity. In reality however, Romula has
been engaged in the so-called Infernal
Wars for over two centuries, battling
against the depredations of otherworldly
fiends. The church has uncovered
evidence of demonic possession and
sinister fiendish cults are thriving. As a
result, Romula is a realm that is hesitant to
place its trust in others; the people realize
they must be self-reliant and depend on
their own strengths to survive, for all too
often, the clasped hand of a generous
friend has proven to be the clutching talon
of a grinning fiend.

GOVERNMENT
The throne is hereditary; the king or queen names his or her successor before he
dies, usually the eldest son or daughter. House Aulance is the reigning royal
house of the kingdom.

The monarchy and the Church of Romula share the burden of law enforcement and
administrative duties within the kingdom. The church is a sovereign entity; clerics
have the right to church trial and cannot be tried by secular authorities for any
crime or trespass.
Surrounding the monarch and making everything work on a daily basis are several
councils of government: Chancellor of State, Chancellor of War, Chancellor of
Trade, the Royal Magician, and the Royal Treasurer.

PEOPLE
Humans are the most commonly encountered people within Romula. Dwarves and
half-orcs can be found in larger human cities (but are less common in smaller
towns and villages). Elves and half-elves sometimes pass through on business or
trade but rarely take up permanent residence in human communities. Aasimar
and tieflings are uncommon, found mainly in the largest human cities.

Dwarves and elves have their own communities within the kingdom. Humans can
sometimes be found residing in these communities but other races are uncommon.

Dwarven ‘strongholds’ have both surface and underground sections. The

underground sections are more heavily settled (and typically restricted to dwarves
only). The largest dwarven settlement in Romula is Bazzakrak (a military enclave
of the dwarven Citadel).

Elves and half-elves rarely take up permanent residence in human communities;

rather, they have their own ‘havens’. The largest elven settlement in Romula is
the city of Moondale.

COUNTIES AND SHIRES

The Kingdom of Romula consists of eighteen counties and shires, areas ruled by
various counts, barons, and dukes, and administered by the crown.

Thistlegrace Shire Elmholt Brambleroot Downs

Sunfell Hollow Hearthridge Foxmere Shire
Wendmere Vale Oakenfast Duchy of Ironmarch
Duchy of Crowsend Barony of Stonebrae Barony of Sablemere
Barony of Gildengar Highhold Barony Barony of Duskridge
Barony of Thornwatch Barony of Valecrest Crowsend Barony
KNIGHTHOOD
There are several orders of knighthood within the kingdom; two of the most
prominent and prestigious are the Order of the Knights Romulas and the Royal
Order of the Purple Dragon. Other orders include the Order of St. Cuthbert and
the Righteous Order of the Chalice. See below for more details.

All knights adhere to the Code Romulas, the list of ethics set down by the founders
of the Knights Romulas.

NAMES
Human names are typically English in flavor. Often, characters also have
descriptive titles or epithets as well as a given name. Often, these titles describe
a physical distinction (e.g. “the Tall”); a place of origin, so you might be “of
Olengrad”; or a family link, such as “son of Gauter.” Titles may be self-given or
earned in play.

COINAGE
Crowns, large silver coins (worth 1 gold piece) are
used within the kingdom. The front bears an image
of the first king of Romula, while the back shows the
year of minting. They’re slightly larger and heavier
than coins as described in the PHB. They supplant
gold pieces.

Smaller (typical size) coins, copper and silver,

known indiscriminately as knaves, are also used.
On the front is an image of Avengard, the royal
palace; on the back, the year of minting.
 Rundvall
Rundvall is the Royal City, capital of the Kingdom of Romula. Surrounded by a 40
feet high stone wall, the city is home to the royal family, the most influential
nobles, and important merchant houses. The center of the city is the Royal Court,
containing the Royal Palace, numerous noble estates, and the Royal Gardens.
The rest of the city is separated by Lake Azure, which serves as a small natural
moat. A long semi-circular street known as the Promenade runs along Lake Azure
defining the border between the Royal Court and Rundvall proper.

GOVERNMENT
A mayor, appointed by the king, rules Rundvall. The current mayor is a strict
former Watch commander, Lord Brosen Entheim. Lady Angela Amansre, a
hierarch of the church takes a gentler approach. She spends much of her time
away from Romulas Cathedral, moving throughout the city, dispensing blessings,
and hearing grievances.

POPULATION
Rundvall is a large city whose population can easily double during times of heavy
trade. Humans are the most commonly encountered people, while dwarves, elves,
half-elves, and half-orcs are less common. Elves and half-elves routinely pass
through on business or trade, but most never take up permanent residence within
the city. Aasimar and tieflings are uncommon, even in a city of this size.

LOCAL HISTORY
Two decades ago, a major crime wave swept through the city, instigated by the
Red Knives thieves' [described in a separate article]. In the years since, the
Watchers have been given enormous leeway in doing their job.

LAW AND ORDER

Everyone must submit to a search by Watchers upon request, the domestic police
of Rundvall. By law, all households take their turn at watching in order to keep
the peace and apprehend ‘night-walkers'. Many avoid these obligations however
by hiring deputies to serve in their place.

Watchers typically patrol in groups of three (one being a commander). ‘Badges’

are embroidered on the black and red tabards they wear. Watchers avoid killing
whenever possible, disarming and taking into custody any potential threats.
Typically, they wear light armor and carry distinctive batons. Depending on the
situation however, reinforcements may be called upon and any manner of weapon
and armor used.
Watchers escort the accused to headquarters for incarceration and trial. It is not
the job of the patrols to judge or carry out sentence (that’s left to city officials).

The King’s Guard is tasked with keeping Rundvall secure from enemies within
and without. They guard the royal palace, Avengard, and are responsible for the
personal protection of the king, as well as any important dignitaries visiting the
city. In times of war, they provide a regiment of able soldiers to man the city’s
perimeter walls and barbicans.
Kagenheim
Dwarves call Kagenheim and its surrounding mountains home. While smaller
dwarven communities in other lands may include a few humans and other races,
Kagenheim is exclusively a sanctuary for dwarves —no other people are allowed to
live here (although they may be invited to visit for a time).

The influence of the Citadel (the dwarven military) can be felt far and wide
throughout Alphere. Beyond its military might (or perhaps thanks to it), the
dwarven-led Citadel acts as an alliance of leaders and nobles from many lands. Its
members all have conflicting goals and long-standing rivalries but band together
for security and prosperity. They have promised to share information and effort
against common threats. It is a loose confederation of realms and their agents, all
of who owe allegiance first to their homelands and second to the Citadel.

The Citadel (proper) is located within Kagenheim. The dwarves extend their
influence beyond their homeland, via smaller Citadels (military enclaves) found
throughout Alphere. During the initial chaos of the fall of the Alpharian Empire,
the Citadel played a vital role in protecting and defending the many peoples of
Alphere.

The Sons of Kagyar are the ultimate

authority within the Citadel. Decadent
and selfish, they care little for the welfare
of the people under their authority. They
wallow in excesses of wealth and
opulence while their subjects toil in
hardship and drudgery. Outside of
Kagenheim however, the Sons of Kagyar
are seen as Protectors of the Realm (for
their actions during the fall of Alpharian
Empire).

Kagyar the Invincible was a venerable

dwarven warrior whose exploits are the
stuff of myth and legend. His weapon:
the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. Persistent
rumor says that Kagyar will return in his
people’s time of greatest need.
Everlore
The Sons of Kagyar first rose to power centuries ago after the fall of the
Alpharian Empire. At a time when the hubris of humans and the folly of the
elves brought them low, the Sons of Kagyar achieved their greatest desire:
Immortality.

Once they were mortal; now, their voices ring throughout the halls of the
Citadel while their bodies lie entombed deep within the earth. They manifest in
the wider world as ghost-like avatars. Despite their unusual appearance,
they’re not undead; they simply have a different form from most other living

Coinage: The gold piece is known as the pound, the silver piece is the steel, and
the copper piece is the stone. They’re slightly heavier than coins as described in
the PHB. An image of Kagyar appears on the obverse of each coin, while on the
reverse, is an image of Mount Kag (the tallest mountain in the world).
 Erilene
Myth, magic, and the unexplained cloak the realm of Erilene from the
outside world. Most think of this elven sanctuary as an enlightened
realm. Other than the elves themselves however, no one knows
exactly what goes on here.

Elves call the great city of Erilene and its surrounding forests home. While smaller
elven communities in other lands may
include a few humans and other races,
Erilene is exclusively a sanctuary for
elves and half-elves —no other people
are allowed to live here (although they
may be invited to visit for a time).

The Regency of Sorrows

There are four elven regents in
Alphere, a pair of brothers and a
married couple. These lords and ladies
hold all the power and influence of
kings and queens. Since the Arrival
however, use of royal titles has
traditionally been avoided –the actual
elven King resides in Arvanaith.

Always bow politely whenever you are

about to enter a forest, even on a road.
It lets the elves know that you are not
their enemy. –An old forester to his
son
Closing the Border: The border of Erilene
isn’t only a political boundary; it’s a physical
one as well. Normally, the border is open
and indistinguishable to the average traveler.
At a moment’s notice however, the
Desh'miriai may close the border, preventing
any traveler from entering or leaving. While
the border is sealed, anyone attempting to
walk into or out of the dense forests of
Erilene finds herself hopelessly lost, with all
routes leading back to where she started.
Strange occurrences near the border mean
most people avoid settling too close (on
either side).

Inspired by such fantastic locations such as

the Lost Woods ‘mazes’ from the Legend of
Zelda video game series, and the ‘Mists’ of
the Ravenloft setting.

Money: The elves are the only people to use

a durable paper money, known as the leaf
(printed in various denominations between
one and ten gold). It has no value outside of
Erilene (except perhaps as a curiosity). On
the front is an image of the so-called Solace
Moon. On the reverse is the amount of the
denomination.

Everlore
The Desh'mirai, a small but powerful group of protectors, watch over Erilene.
Legends say these mysterious beings are wanderers from many different worlds.
Whether they are elves (or something else), none can say.
 The Code Romulas
Knights adhere to the Code Romulas, the list of ethics set down by the founders of
the Order of Knights Romulas.

 You shall believe all that the Church of Romula teaches and shall observe all
its directions.
 You shall defend the Church.
 You shall respect all weaknesses and shall constitute yourself the defender of
them.
 You shall love the country in which you were born.
 You shall not recoil before your enemy.
 You shall make war against the Evil-Hearted without cessation, and without
mercy.
 You shall perform scrupulously your feudal duties, if they be not contrary to
the laws of Heaven.
 You shall never lie and shall remain faithful to your pledged word.
 You shall be generous and give willingly to those in need.
 You shall be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good
against Injustice and Evil.

Organization of an order: The organization of an established order of knights

usually consists of the following: a grandmaster, a seneschal (the grandmaster’s
deputy), a marshal (responsible for direction of military affairs), a group of high
officers (responsible for the order’s castles and troops), and a main body of
knights.

There are several orders of knighthood within the kingdom. Some of the most
prominent and prestigious orders are:
Order of the Knights Romulas
Heart of fire

This sovereign order of knights serves as the

military branch of the Church of Romula.
Membership is extended to those demonstrating
exemplary courage in defense of religious
principles or church property.

A grandmaster, elected by a vote of the

knighthood, leads the order. To acknowledge his
position, the grandmaster wears a blue, silver-
trimmed sash around his neck bearing the emblem
of the Knights Romulas. The grandmaster answers
directly to church hierophants. Knights of the order
wear silver ‘stars’ (badges) to denote their order.

Like clerics, knights of the order have the right to a

church trial and cannot be tried by secular
authorities for any crime or trespass.

Knights Romulas favor the Oath of Devotion.

Royal Order of the Purple Dragon
Heart of the dragon

More secular than the Knights Romulas, this

order honors exceptional service and loyalty to
the kingdom. Its knights are regarded across the
kingdom as exemplars of disciplined, skilled, loyal
soldiers. Purple Dragon knights swear fealty to
the king and promise to uphold the Code
Romulas.

The king traditionally holds the title of grand

master. He wears a purple, gold-trimmed sash
to acknowledge his position. Purple Dragon
knights wear gold badges to denote their order.
Hearken now to one of the deepest secrets of the realm . . . aye, lean close and listen low, for
some slay to learn this, and others to keep it secret.

You’ve heard, I doubt not, that somewhere in Romula,

skulking in the Stormwilds, there’s always one Purple
Dragon.
Dalagh Surr
is an ancient black dragon, Aye, a dark wyrm, so ancient that its scales are purple.
namesake and patron of It’s said the mighty creature can hide in the semblance
the Knights of the Purple of a human, though its eyes burn like purple flames.
Dragon. As a wyrmling, his None know all the powers of the Purple Dragon, but it
mother placed him into the hates too much tree-felling and too many laws and
care of human warriors. grasping greed, and loves wild things and the beauty
Like his mother, Dalagh of the land. It wants its folk to be free and daring in
Surr’s scales became so their dreams and deeds.
dark over the centuries
that they took on a The Purple Dragon walks alone and stands apart, and
purplish sheen in the right none know its mind. It can be kind and caring, or fell
light. The warriors were and deadly, rescuing a lost child one moment and
inspired to name their tearing proud and cruel knights out of their armor bone
order after the coloration by bloody bone the next.
of these scales.
It is said that when the last Purple Dragon dies, then so
Dalagh Surr is very too will Romula. Some there are who say that day is
reclusive in his old age. He not so far off now. Others —enemies of the crown—
now serves as adviser to seek the Purple Dragon, meaning to slay it and so
the order. bring about the end of the Shield Kingdom. For my
own part, I hope they find what they seek. It’s a hard
Surr is an honorific
thing to kill a dragon, after all, and that would be one
reserved for ancient
less Alpharian or haughty high lord to worry about.
dragons. Human knights
have corrupted this into sir.
—An old forester
Order of St. Cuthbert
Strong deeds, gentle words

E
stablished in the name of a sainted leader of the Church of the Silver Flame,
these knights now accept members of any realm and faith, as long as they
promise to follow the ideals of chivalry. Knights of St. Cuthbert roam the
land, aiding those in need, and defending civilized lands from orcs, dragons, and
other monsters. They usually focus their attention on peasants in distress rather
than nobles. The symbol of the order is the simple cudgel and its knights typically
wear plain brown or yellow tunics.

Though they are an organized order, knights of St. Cuthbert have no central seat
of control or power. Instead, they gather at a secret circle of standing stones once
per year to introduce new initiates and discuss the order’s business.

The Legend of St. Cuthbert: Saint Cuthbert is a curmudgeon –set in his ways,
certain he knows best, and quick to gripe about the shortcoming of others.
Despite this, he is a benign cleric who holds an unwavering dedication to law and
good. His no-nonsense attitude appeals to commoners and frontier folk who live
hard lives. Plainspoken and intolerant of backsliding, he is a stern disciplinarian in
a world where evil lurks just out of sight. Common sense and honesty are the
basis of good character, and if these virtues were more common, everyone would
be better off. He is a practical man who gets the job done, for nothing is worth
doing if not done well, whether that means raising a barn or crushing an orc
raider’s skull.
Righteous Order of the Chalice
Into the storm

The Righteous Order of the Chalice is an elite organization dedicated to fighting

fiends and otherworldly evils. Ostensibly based in Rundvall, many of its knights
are lone crusaders, maintaining only loose connections to their order. The symbol
of the order is a ruby chalice crossed with lightning bolts. Its knights typically
wear red and white tunics.

Although not an official organization of the Church of the Silver Flame, the order
venerates many saints of the Church, even taking its name from the heavenly
being known as the Chalice.

Knights of the Chalice are renowned relic hunters. Powerful relics are safeguarded
within the keeps of the Lightning Council (the leaders of the order).

The Chalice is a warrior whose wisdom, courage, and

devotion earned them an honor granted to only a
handful of mortals —to be transformed into an
angel. They’re the namesake and patron of
the Righteous Order of the Chalice. They
appear as a human, dwarf, or elf,
depending on the viewer’s own race (non-
humanoids see a being of any one of
those races).
BECOMING A KNIGHT
The process of training for knighthood begins before adolescence, inside the
prospective knight’s home, where he learns courtesy and manners. A knight
usually belongs to a noble family. Around the age of 7 years, he is sent away to
train and serve at a grander household as a page. Here, he serves as a kind of
waiter and personal servant to his elders. For at least seven years a page is cared
for by the women of the house, who instruct him in manners, courtesy,
cleanliness, and religion. He learns basic hunting and falconry, and also valuable
battle skills such as the use of weapons and armor and the carrying, readying, and
riding of horses.

A page becomes a squire when he turns 14 years of age, being assigned or picked
by a knight to become his personal aide. This allows the squire to observe his
master while he is in battle, in order to learn from his techniques. He also acts as
a personal servant to the knight, taking care of his master’s equipment and horse.
This is to uphold the Code Romulas that promotes generosity, courtesy,
compassion, and most importantly, loyalty. The knight acts as a tutor and teaches
the squire all he needs to know to become a knight. As the squire grows older, he
is expected to follow his master into battle, and attend to his master if the knight
falls in battle. Some squires become knights for performing an outstanding deed
on the battlefield, but most are knighted by their lord when their training is judged
to be complete.

A squire can hope to become a knight when he is about 17 to 18 years old. Once
the squire has established sufficient mastery of the required skills, he is dubbed a
knight. The procedure begins with the squire praying into the night, known as
vigil. He is then bathed, and in the morning, he is dressed in a white shirt, gold
tunic, purple cloak, and is knighted by his king or lord. The squire is made to vow
that he will obey the regulations of the Code Romulas and never flee from battle.
A squire can also be knighted on the battlefield, in which a lord simply performs
the accolade, i.e. strikes him on the shoulder saying “Be thou a knight.”

The night before his knighting ceremony, the squire takes a cleansing bath, fasts
and prays all night in the chapel, readying himself for his life as a knight. Then he
goes through the knighting ceremony the following day. Knights follow the Code
Romulas, which promotes honor, honesty, respect, and other knightly virtues.
Knights serve their lords and are most often paid in land.

PLAYING A KNIGHT
Entry into the ranks of knighthood is a mark of honor and distinction. Anyone can
be made a knight, but such an honor is usually bestowed upon those of noble
birth.
Sanctuary: Knights are considered nobles and thus may demand shelter. While
traveling within Romula, a knight can demand shelter from anyone of lower status
than nobility. Most nobles will also offer shelter if asked.

Passions: Knights are enflamed by passions: Loyalty (to their lord or lady), Love
(of family), Hospitality, Honor, and (possibly) Hate.

Choice of Weapons: Weapons that deal out damage at a distance (slings and
bows for instance) call into question the knight’s personal bravery, and as such are
avoided by all except the most prestigious of knights. [Players can use any
weapons they want –without drawbacks; this is flavor, primarily intended for
NPCs.]

Armor: To the knight, armor is a much as badge of station as it is a means of

protection. Thus, a knight character will always seek to possess the very best and
finest-quality armor the knight is able to own. In this endeavor, appearance is as
important as function, so engraving, inlaying, and decoration of the armor will
always be sought.

Coat of Arms: As a member of the social upper classes, the knight has a coat of
arms and armorial bearing. This bearing is the device worn upon the knight’s
shield to identify himself on the battlefield and in tournament. (In tournament,
the shield may be covered with dark hide to keep the user’s identity unknown,
hence a “black knight.”) The armorial bearing may be kept covered while
traveling, but is always revealed when an encounter occurs with creatures that
might understand the import of such a device.

Knightly Mottos: Every knight in shining armor has a coat of arms. Part of this
coat of arms is the knight’s motto, a few meaningful words which express the
value of the Code Romulas simply and efficiently. In some cases, the motto is a
statement a knight makes to future generations; in others, it is a source of self-
inspiration in times of doubt or temptation.

Unlike lengthy stories or essays, a motto captures a great deal of meaning in just
a few words, and those words must be chosen very carefully. Consider these
mottos from authentic knightly coats of arms —what do these sentiments say
about those who espouse them?

Forms of Address: When addressing a knight, tradition holds that accompanying

the title is the given name, and optionally the surname. So, Jocelyn Torrington
may be called Sir Isaac or Sir Jocelyn Torrington, but never Sir Torrington. Wives
of knights are entitled to the honorific "Lady" before their husband's surname.
Thus, Sir Jocelyn Torrington's wife is styled Lady Torrington, rather than Lady
Jocelyn Torrington or Lady Adelaide Torrington. The style Dame Adelaide
Torrington could be used; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in
the most formal of situations.

The knightly honorific sir derives from the draconic honorific surr (as in the ‘Purple
Dragon’, Dalagh Surr).

Respect: This is a land where respect is deeply woven into the fabric of society.
Interactions between nobles and common folk exemplify this ideal —nobles,
whether born into their status or elevated by wealth and reputation, receive
deference, admiration, and, in some cases, genuine affection. In return, they
uphold the principles of nobility, striving to earn and justify their positions through
honorable actions.

Maintaining this atmosphere of respect within your campaign can be challenging.

Some players may embrace a rebellious mindset, instinctively resisting authority
—even when it comes from characters who possess wisdom and power beyond
their own. Such players often make it a point to assert absolute control over their
actions, disregarding guidance or tradition.

The best way to address this potential issue is through open discussion before the
campaign begins. Ensure players understand the role respect plays in the world
you've crafted. Those whose characters hold positions of obedience or deference
should follow the expected social customs in most situations. While moments of
defiance are inevitable —and sometimes necessary— they should recognize the
importance of maintaining a respectful demeanor as a general rule.

For players who struggle (or refuse) to embrace this concept, the game itself can
provide natural consequences. Characters who act with blatant disrespect toward
those who have rightfully earned their position will find themselves ostracized from
respectable society. Doors —both figuratively and literally— may close to them,
limiting their opportunities. Conversely, those who embody kindness and regard
for others will be met with the same respect in return, forming valuable alliances
and earning trust.

Of course, respecting authority does not mean blind obedience. Those who
unquestioningly follow a corrupt leader are not heroes —they’re pawns. True
change only occurs when someone stands up for what is right. Whether breaking
away from oppressive rule or challenging traditions that have grown unjust,
respect should guide characters’ actions, but courage must drive them forward.
[The following is swiped from The Castle Guide.]

HERALDRY
Every knight or noble worth his castle has a family crest or banner. In fact, once a
new noble is knighted, a banner bearing the family heraldry must be sent to the
king’s castle where it is hung proudly in his great throne hall, another sign to all
visitors of a king’s vast wealth and power.

While every noble has a coat of arms, this section is specificially tailored to warrior
knights in particular. As their standards are the most colorful and meaningful,
they offer the best examples of the great art of heraldry. However, any noble lcan
bear a coat-of-arms, and any important personality (PC or NPC) can have their
own personal etched rune, wizard mark, or identifying glyph, and these guidelines
can be used by any person interested in adding just a little bit more flavor to their
fantasy persona.

STANDARDS
Most notably, a knight’s standard appears in five places: on his armor, his shield,
his lance-banner (when leading a charge to battle or shown at the beginning of a
tournament), on a large banner or flag flying high above his castle, and on his
private signet ring (which is used to leave an impression in sealing wax on letters
and legal contracts).

The standard can include anything from the favorite flowers of a knight’s lady to
the depiction of the knight’s most hated enemy or heroically vanquished foe. In
classic medieval history, the objects placed on the standard usually had no
apparent meaning to those outside the family. Often that secret was not passed
down to the next generation of the family either, making things very confusing
indeed if a genealogy is attempted.

The royal standard is born only by the king, his squires, and his personal knights,
guards, and army. However, some kings require at least a portion of their
standard to be included somewhere in the standards of any sworn vassals, noble
or knighted. In such cases, the king’s symbol is something simple and easily
recognized, like a sun, moon, lion, single bar, backround color, or even a dragon,
which is easily incorporated into any lesser standard.
[The following is swiped from Chapter 3, Relics & Rituals: Excalibur.]

Knights of Everest is filled with images of knights in plate armor on great chargers,
wielding long lances and gleaming swords. This fits nicely with the standard
fantasy setting in most ways.

WEAPONS
The most common weapons for
knights are the longsword, the
battle axe, the mace, and the
spear. Soldiers use maces and
battle axes more often than swords
(swords cost more to make, and
take more training to use properly),
and either crossbows or spears.
Only trained archers use longbows,
and shortbows are more for hunting
than for combat. Peasants and
travelers use staves and clubs to
defend themselves, though they
may have a crossbow and a hand
axe or dagger as well. Hunters
carry hand axes, daggers, short
bows, nets, and spears.

ARMOR
Armor is very important to the feel of Knights of Everest, particularly plate. Full
plate is actually worn by most knights, though the less wealthy might make do
with half-plate or even breastplate. Soldiers typically wear leather armor, studded
leather, or chainmail —chain shirts were also common. Only a barbarian would
wear hide armor.

CLOTHING
The average male peasant or commoner wears a simple outfit, consisting of
trousers, boots, and a shirt or tunic. During cooler weather, a vest or jacket is
added, and the pants and shirt are made from thicker material (wool or leather
instead of cotton) while the boots are fur-lined. Cloaks might also be worn over
everything else. Women of this class wear loose skirts and cotton blouses, or
simple dresses —they add shawls or cloaks in cold weather. Most fabric is undyed
or in the earth tones provided by the cheapest homemade dyes.
More affluent men wear a cape over their shirt, and often have a light vest of
embroidered material. Those who work indoors occasionally wear low boots or
shoes instead of the stiffer, sturdier outdoor boots. Gloves and hats complete the
outfit. Women wear gowns and dresses rather than skirts, with a cape or shawl
thrown over the shoulders and gloves to protect their hands from getting dirty.

Men in the employ of a noble wear either a tabard or a surcoat over their normal
clothes. A tabard is simply a rectangular piece of cloth with a hole cut for the
head and neck. It is worn over the shoulders, so that it covers both front and
back, and is usually fastened with a belt. The sides are completely open, and the
garment has no sleeves. These items have a coat of arms either dyed or stitched
onto them, both front and back, and the edges are often hemmed in a different
color —fancier tabards have edging of a different material, like velvet or fur.
Surcoats are similar except that they are split down the front, and so resemble a
long vest —most surcoats reach to the knee. These bear a coat of arms across the
back, and a smaller copy of the same insignia on the left breast. Surcoats are not
fastened, and simply hang loose, like a sleeveless robe. Having an image dyed
into the cloth is by far the least expensive option, but also produces an image with
slightly blurry edges, and one capable of fading with wear. Embroidery is cleaner,
sharper, and more durable, but more expensive, particularly for more detailed
coats of arms.

Within their own home, nobles often wear robes —these simple belted items are
most often made of linen, silk, or fine cotton, though heavier winter robes might
be fur-lined wool or simply fur. Nobles can often afford fabrics colored with more
the expensive dyes that provide rich jewel-tones.

Knights also wear lounging robes during tournaments. These are very similar to
normal robes, but cut much larger and fastened not only with a belt at the waist
but with a tie or fine chain near the neck. A knight can pull his lounging robe on
over his armor, so that he can entertain guests in his tent without appearing
barbaric but also without taking the time to remove his armor completely.

Noblemen wear the same type of clothing as merchants or townsmen —pants,

shirt, vest, cape —but the materials are finer. Their clothing is made of linen or
silk or velvet rather than cotton and wool, and often has fur or velvet or metallic
thread for a border, along with embroidery at the cuffs and neckline. Noblemen
often wear low boots of soft leather, which are useless in mud or dirt but fine for
cobbled streets or marble floors. All of their clothing has their coat of arms
embroidered into it somewhere, and the wealthier nobles have precious metals
and stones woven in as decorations as well —kings and princes sometimes wear
tunics of gold cloth, or vests completely encrusted in gems.
Noblewomen wear gowns and dresses, but their clothing is also of finer material
and more detailed workmanship than those of lower rank. Their gowns may have
gathered bodices and pleated or ruffled skirts made of silk, velvet, satin or
brocade with lace trim slashed sleeves show patterned or embroidered material
beneath, and the same material might fill in the area between the neckline and the
actual neck of the garment, which often ends in a choker. Gloves are worn, and
low soft slippers. Embroidered or lace shawls drape over the shoulders. In winter,
a noblewoman might also wear a large fur-lined cloak with a hood.

The last type of clothing could also be considered armor of a sort, or at least
mount-related gear often worn with armor. These are the spurs. Spurs are metal
devices shaped like a U but with an extra prong extending from the bottom of the
curve. They are worn about the ankles, so that the prong sticks straight back and
is parallel to the ground. Leather straps attached to the front edges fasten around
the foot to hold the spur in place, and the back prong ends in a sharp point, or a
group of points (like a caltrop) or even a small spiked wheel. Riders wear spurs
and use them to goad their horses to a gallop by digging the point of the spur into
the animal’s side. These devices became a symbol of horsemanship, even though
good riders pride themselves on never having to apply their spurs. Because a
knight is expected to be an expert horseman, spurs became associated with
knighthood as well, and each new knight receives a pair along with his sword and
shield. They are also the most common prizes for riding competitions, and for
riding-related elements of a tourney. Knights and nobles take great pride in their
spurs, and often have a pair custom-made. Most spurs are made of steel or iron,
but they are often engraved with designs or crests, and may be gilded with gold or
silver —the wealthiest nobles might even have spurs of solid silver or solid gold,
though these are less practical than decorative. Some also have gems set into
them, making the spurs as much jewelry as equipment. It is considered a major
failing for a knight to lose his spurs to another.

JEWELRY
Both men and women wear jewelry in the Kingdom of Romula. This is for two
reasons. First, it shows everyone how wealthy they were. But jewelry also serves
as an excellent way to carry that wealth —a necklace worth 50 crowns weighs far
less than those same gold coins in a pouch, and so is easier to hand to someone
as payment.

Typically, women wear more jewelry than men. A noblewoman might wear a pair
of earrings, a necklace, a bracelet on each wrist, and two or three rings on each
hand. Brooches can be pinned to her gown, clasps used for her shawl or cloak,
pins and combs fastened to her hair, or belts worn around her waist. Necklaces
come in three varieties: the necklace, the pendant, and the choker. Pendants are
a simple chain or ribbon with a piece of jewelry hung upon it —the jewelry might
be a simple stone setting, or a carved design, or a small emblem, but it is usually
no larger than a gold coin. Necklaces have stones or metal or some other material
running all along their length, though often with a larger stone or more intricately
patterned piece of material at the center, so that it hangs at the lowest point
directly in front. Necklaces often consist of strings of beads, and these can be
coral, pearl, gems, metals, or even carved stone or wood. Chokers are similar to
necklaces but much shorter, and worn around the throat rather than down across
the chest. Jeweled belts usually consist of links, each piece decorated and
connected on either side with small metal hooks. Most jewelry is made of silver or
gold, though some are also carved directly from gemstones or even from rare
materials like coral, mother-of-pearl or ivory. It is not uncommon for noblewomen
to wear at least one piece of jewelry carved with their family crest.

Men’s jewelry is usually larger and heavier than women’s, less delicate and often
with less fine detail. Necklaces may be nothing more than linked series of
precious gems or of engraved gold squares, and usually hang low and loose.
Brooches —most often of carved stone or cast in gold or silver and inset with small
gems— resemble animals or plants, or are engraved with the noble’s coat of arms,
and are. Cloak clasps usually have simple designs, but may have gems set in
them as well. Men may wear linked belts, though theirs are larger and heavier
than a woman’s, but they also wear normal leather belts with jeweled buckles.
Men rarely have pins and combs in their hair, but long hair is not uncommon for
both genders and a nobleman might pull his hair back and use a silver or gold
clasp to hold it. Earrings are also common for both genders, but women’s earrings
are usually more elaborate, while men customarily wear a single stone in a simple
gold or silver setting.

By far the most common jewelry is the signet ring. Even merchants have these
items, carved across the front with their personal seal and used to verify
purchases, sales, and letters. Nobles have more elaborate signet rings bearing
their coat of arms. A simple signet ring might be made from bronze or iron, a
more expensive one of silver, while nobles generally have theirs cast in gold. The
front face of a lesser ring is the same material as the body, but nobles like to set
gems into the face and then have those carved with their seal. These gems can
be semiprecious, garnet or amethyst or topaz, or precious stones like ruby or
emerald or sapphire. The stone’s color usually matches the family’s dominant
color (often the background of their shield or crest), and the coat of arms may be
gilded in silver or gold (or both) to make it easier to distinguish details. Signet
rings usually have oversized fronts, to better accommodate the seal and to make it
easier to read once stamped.

The other jewelry worn is the crown. These are reserved for royalty, of course,
kings and queens and their children, but powerful nobles have found ways to
achieve a similar effect. Noblewomen often wear tiaras, which are like slender
crowns that only wrap around three-quarters of the head. That makes the tiara
easy to pull on and off, and it is usually woven into the hair for fancy parties and
other formal occasions. Most tiaras are made of gold and have gems set along the
front edge but not along the sides. Men wear circlets, simple gold or silver bands
twisted or engraved with patterns, or encrusted with gems. Sometimes a circlet
takes on more elaborate shapes, like a wreath of leaves, and a few even rise up in
points like a true crown would. Kings and queens are often possessive of their
rights, and may frown upon anyone who dares to wear a headpiece too similar to
their own. Most circlets and tiaras are low enough and simple enough to not cause
offense, however, while still demonstrating the true nobility of the owner.

MOUNTS AND RELATED GEAR

Domestic animals are common in the setting. Most farmhouses have at least one
dog and at least one cat —the dog is for security and for hunting, while the cat is
for pest control, and both provide comfort and companionship for the children.
Donkeys and mules pull carts and plows, but the most prized animal is the horse.
Every knight is expected to have a riding horse, and most farms have at least one
workhorse, though these slow but powerful creatures do not compare to the
knight’s charger. A warhorse is also powerful, but fast and sleek, and trained for
battle. Heavy warhorses are trained to carry knights in full armor, while lighter
warhorses are faster and handle cavalry soldiers and messengers. Knights without
horses cannot enter jousts, but more importantly they have no way to carry their
heavy armor —full plate was never designed for someone who travels on foot.

Because horses are so important, knights spend a great deal of time and money
on their gear. Every riding horse requires a saddle, but armor necessitates a
different saddle than a regular rider would need, with more support and more
stability. Jousting saddles have notches for holding a lance level, so that the
knight can let the saddle take most of the weight until the actual charge. A
second notch on the opposite side and down near the knee serves the same
function for the knight’s shield. These saddles also have higher backs, both for
additional support and to prevent the knight from being knocked backward off the
saddle when struck by a lance. Jousting saddles also have wider, longer stirrups
to accommodate armored feet and legs.

Barding is very important for a warhorse. Most barding is either half-plate or full
plate, although leather and chain barding also exist. Barding comes in two
varieties: total and partial. Total barding encases the horse’s head in a helm,
covers the neck and shoulders, covers the entire body, and has greaves strapped
to each leg. The only places not fully protected are the back of the legs, the tail,
and the belly (which does have leather, but not metal). Partial barding covers the
horses’ forehead and nose, the front chest and shoulders, the upper portion of the
body, and the knees. It is less cumbersome, but also provides less protection,
particularly on the lower body.

Another option for the warhorse is the battle-harness. This is much lighter than
barding, and does not limit the horse’s speed or maneuverability at all, but it does
provide some degree of protection. The battle-harness is made of leather with
iron rings for connectors, and iron spikes along most of its length except where
the rider’s legs might be. The bridle is also spiked, allowing the horse to do extra
damage when head-butting. It is not uncommon for knights to put spiked shoes
on their warhorses as well, to increase the damage they do when lashing out with
their hooves.

Traveling knights also have to worry about carrying their armor from place to
place. It is heavy and uncomfortable, and so they prefer to wear it only when
fighting. The rest of the time, their plate mail is stored in specially made
saddlebags. Each piece fits into its own leather pouch, and they are then strung
together to create a surprisingly compact package —the entire set could be fit into
a large backpack and carried on one’s back.

FOOD AND DRINK

People in the Kingdom of Romula have a surprisingly well-balanced diet, because
along with their bread and meat they also eat cheese, and frequently have
vegetables or fruits as well. Vegetables can be divided into two groups: roots and
greens. Roots are items such as turnips, onions, and carrots, and are often used
in stews. Greens include lettuce, cabbage, and peas, and are more often used as
salads or in soups. Fruits can be divided between grapes, berries, and orchard
fruits. Orchard fruits include apples, peaches, pears, and plums.

Of course, people also eat meat and cheese. Meat is usually beef, lamb (or
mutton), pork or venison. Hunting is the most common way to get meat, rather
than by raising a herd for slaughter —most farmers have some pigs and sheep and
possibly a few cows, but they do not have enough land or enough money to
maintain a proper herd. Poultry is also common, particularly game birds like
pheasant, partridge and quail. Cheese comes from cow’s milk or goat’s milk.

For drinks, most people choose water, ale, or beer. Beer is similar to ale but
lighter and thinner, and with less alcohol. Mead is also popular —this sweet
alcoholic drink is made from honey, but it is expensive enough that most non-
nobles can only afford it for major celebrations. Wine is also too expensive for any
but wealthy merchants and nobles, and varies wildly in quality. Red wines are the
only ones available.

LODGING
When traveling to a city, knights rarely stay at inns. Instead, they can usually find
another knight to put them up, preferably a noble with his own manor or keep. In
smaller towns and on the road, however, the knight may not be able to find such
generosity, so he may have to pay for a room. But an inn is not the only option.
Villagers and townspeople often rent beds to travelers —these homes are quieter
and cozier than the inns, cheaper, and often have better food. The other
possibility is a barn —most farmers will let someone spend the night in their barn
for a few coppers a night. Barns with hay lofts actually make excellent makeshift
rest stops, and the farmer may include breakfast with the family the next morning.

SERVICES
Most lords and ladies have retinues, people in their employ who handle most tasks
for them. But not all knights can afford to keep several servants, and when
traveling having a large entourage becomes even more difficult and expensive.
Because of this, many knights choose to travel by themselves or with only a
squire, and simply hire people to handle other tasks whenever they reach a town,
a city or the site of a tournament. These tasks can be divided into two categories:
attentive and assigned. Attentive tasks are those activities that require constant
attendance on either the knight or his belongings. These include serving as his
squire, standing by to carry messages, or seeing to his horse or gear. Assigned
tasks are those which the knight assigns and which can be carried out without
further instruction or oversight. These range from cooking a meal to fetching an
item to procuring a room to announcing the knight’s presence in the city.

When a knight hires a person for more than a few hours, it is understood that, in
addition to the established pay, the knight must also provide that person with
food. And, if the person requires specialized clothing or equipment for the task
and does not already possess them, the knight must provide these as well.
Knights often carry several tabards or surcoats in their saddlebags, and hand
these to the people they’ve hired —it is far easier than having new clothing made
each time, and tabards and surcoats of a general cut can fit most adults and quite
a few older children.

One of the services a knight usually requires is that of a herald. Heralds ride or
walk through an area and proclaim the name, rank, and history of some important
personage. This allows those of lesser rank to move out of the way, and those of
equal or greater rank to prepare themselves for such a visitor. During
tournaments, dozens of knights may arrive in a single day, causing the heralds to
compete with each other to make sure it is their message that gets heard.

Another important service is that of a squire. Knights prefer to bring squires with
them, because they can then develop a long-term relationship with the young
person. The knight trains the youth in martial skills, riding, hunting, and also in
proper knightly behavior, and eventually sponsors the youth to become a knight
himself. In the meantime, however, the squire travels with the knight and takes
care of cooking, cleaning, caring for the animals, and maintaining the knight’s
gear. Squires are particularly useful for donning armor, because full plate is
cumbersome and has many small straps and buckles. Some knights have recently
lost a squire and have not yet had the chance to find another long-term one, while
others simply prefer to travel on their own. These knights hire temporary squires
for events, often the son or daughter of another knight or of a local merchant. If
the knight and the squire get along well, the knight may choose to offer the
youngster a chance to travel with him and train for the knighthood.

COMPETITIONS
Knights travel for two reasons: to
seek adventure and to compete in
tournaments. These tournaments
are a chance for fame, glory, and
even riches. But knights are not the
only people interested in
competition. Commoners love fairs,
festivals and tourneys, and often
sign up for events as well. A few of
these events are combative, such as
wrestling, but most of them are
either nonviolent activities such as
racing and swimming or events
where the contestants do not
compete directly. Artistic events
such as dancing and singing involve
performing before an audience, who
then votes on a winner with claps
and cheers and whistles. Crafts
competitions are less immediate —
the craftspeople submit their items
in the proper category, such as
leatherworking or woodcarving, and
a panel of judges selects the best in
each category as the winner. Food
competitions can either involve
preparing food, such as a competition for the best pie or the best ale, or eating the
food, as in a classic pie-eating contest. Most of these competitions cost far less to
enter because they are aimed at commoners rather than at nobles, but the prizes
are also worth less money —many give ribbons but no actual coinage.
[The following is swiped from The Castle Guide.]

HIGH HOLIDAYS
All societies take time off for one reason or
another. Usually these official holidays are:
religious (if one religion is truly dominant in
OYEE! OYEE! OYEE!
the area), agricultural (commonly at the His Excellency Sir James Essex,
Count of Garette has declared
equinox and solstice), or political in nature. In
a Holiday and Feaste for his
the latter case, they often mark the founding
lands in honor of the Grande
of the country or some great victory of war or
Tourney of the Golden Dagger,
revolution. Usually, one can count on one
three days of fighting and
officially recognized holiday every other month
celebration in honor of his
or so.
excellency and his Dominion.
Religious holidays rarely involve either fairs or
All are invited to attend the
tournaments. These are traditionally times of
Field Lists which include
fasting and personal sacrifice to one’s church.
Archery, Wrestling, and many
They are always placed on days significant to
Weapon Contests. Forsooth,
the given religious calendar (i.e. the death of a
come and see the nobility of the
saint, the resurrection of a god, the founding land strive with great fervor in
of a new order). Holy knights, like paladins, the Jousting Lists for the
tithe their incomes to the church during bejeweled Golden Dagger.
ceremonies held on these occasions. They also
spend a lot of time seeking guidance from both
their local priest and their patron deity.
Visions of great quests often come at such
soul-searching times.

Agricultural holidays are celebrated by the rich and the poor, and there will be
both common fairs and a royal tournament held to mark such occasions. Those
marking the harvest in autumn and the end of the planting season in spring
usually last for a week at a time, while all others last but a day.

Political holidays are times of private parties, town parades, and local noble
tournaments. Unless the political deed had great significance to the realm and the
king in power, no royal tournament is likely to be held on this day. In essence,
towns hold large Market Days on these days, supplanting the need for the usual
monthly Market Day.

Private Celebrations
Occasionally a lord or king will be particularly blessed during the course of a year.
Some examples of such blessings include a wedding, birth of a first-born heir (or
any royal prince or princess), major victory in war, successful truce, or the
defeating of some ancient lingering menace to the realm, like a dragon.

Often this involves only the lord in question throwing a lot of money and food
around at the next Market Day.

However, the local lord may wish to sponsor a tournament or fair. He might want
to graciously invite the new ally or vanquished foe to attend. He might just want
to show off his new son, or give a big sendoff to his departing heirs.

Tests
Sometimes a king or lord feels the need to test his knights, especially if there has
been a lack of war recently, or too many incidences of cowardice or bumbling.
There might even be a regularly scheduled test every other year or so, depending
on the size and nature of the campaign.

Challenges
Whether as a friendly competition between two rival lords, or as a hostile
challenge between two knights in dispute, challenges make for the most
interesting of tournaments.

For example, the royal archery tournament depicted in the film The Adventures of
Robin Hood was held for the sole purpose of identifying and trapping Robin Hood,
well-known as the “finest archer in England.”

It is also a great way to lure an enemy’s finest knights into ambush, or away from
something they are protecting. However, such an evil deed is most unsporting and
would only be attempted by a black knight.

Fortunately for the plotter, the code of chivalry requires that any charge or
challenge be taken up. Since a tournament is another form of combat, and
combat is glory, no knight can refuse such a challenge. But that doesn’t mean the
knight cannot be prepared, i.e. bring along some friends in case of trouble, put his
lands on alert status, etc. Naturally, this assumes he knows or suspects that the
challenging knight is up to something.

Local Fairs
Local fairs are like carnivals and circuses are today. There are games of chance
like the dagger toss, dunk the peasant, and chasing a greased pig with prize
money tied around its neck. There are competitions for chopping down trees the
fastest, catching the biggest fish, baking the best pie, racing horses, ale guzzling,
and a variety of sporting events, including tossing horseshoes and medieval
versions of soccer and stickball.
Noble Tournaments
Noble tournaments are very rich in adventuring opportunities. Unless the
tournament is private, it is always open to the general public as well as the
nobility. However, the very types of competition leave little room for
nonprofessionals to earn any honors. If they do prevail, however, the prize
monies are enormous —often enough to allow a serf to retire or buy his way into
the yeoman class.

These affairs are attended by the nobility, first and foremost. The food is prepared
by gourmets, the tents are of the finest linens, local cavalry troops ride by on
parade, and all of the knights and nobles are trying to outdo each other.
However, the real competition is down on the field, and that is what everybody
has come to see.

Jousting
Squires and would-be knights compete in their own
jousts. These contests are round robin events, with
the victors of each contest moving on to the next
round. Note that the competition is open to rich and
poor alike. Officials inspect all lances before the
competition and no contestant is allowed to battle
without a shield. All such contests are conducted
under nonlethal rules and use blunted lances.

Winning such a contest often gets the victor and his

lord much prestige, and sometimes a better home.
Another lord may offer to “take over the knight’s
training” for a hefty sum if the winner is already a
knight-in-training. Or, the rogue squire or warrior
who wins might get an offer of patronage from a
noble house interested in training knights. In any
case, the reward money is usually enough to
encourage the victor to further competitions in the
future, wherein he might just make quite a name for
himself.

The main joust is also round robin but open only to knights of the realm. If he
wins honorably, the victor brings honor to his name and the sponsor of the
tournament. Disgracing the joust, either by killing an unarmed foe, harming or
killing a mount, or in some other manner, is considered a loss of family honor or
worse.

Winning a royal joust often earns the knight the position of Royal Champion,
meaning sometimes that there’s going to be a new Captain of the Royal Guard,
Lord High Chamberlain, or Lord High Marshall in the realm. At the very least, the
knight earns the right to hold the next royal tournament at his castle. If he
decides not to do so, for whatever reason, there is no loss of honor, and the
tournament returns to the royal castle the next time. The knight retains the title
of Royal Champion until the next royal tournament. Note that the result of lesser
jousts has no bearing on the standing of the Royal Champion, although a number
of losses to the same rival might boost the betting odds the next time around.

Sometimes, for show, the winner of the open joust competes against the winner of
the royal joust, but usually the former backs down without loss of honor, deferring
to his obvious superior, the Royal Champion.

Magic items of all kinds are permitted at a joust, but anything which is deemed
dishonorable by the list officials cannot be used. Such an item, if discovered after
the joust has begun, causes the wielder to forfeit automatically. It’s a loss of
personal honor, as it is the knight’s responsibility to be fair. Some jousts even go
as far as to ban magic altogether, providing their own lances and suits of armor
for the combatants to wear.

[The rules for jousts are written by ‘Wally DM’ 😊 .]

To Enter a Joust
To enter into a joust you must:

 Be Proficient in Animal Handling

 Have proficiency in Heavy Armor, Shields, and a Lance
 Be of nobility or be sponsored by a noble or Granted Knighthood by a
Church, a city/state, or a ruler of Baron status or higher

Entry into a joust requires a Plate Mail, a Shield, a Lance, and a well-trained horse,
thereby giving all contestants an AC of 20. The lances used in jousting are
specially made with a blunt tip and designed to shatter on impact. Magic is
forbidden (see below).

The shield, Ecranche, is to be painted with the heraldry (colors and symbols) used
to identify the knight. Each knight must hire their own crew to manage their
lances, gear, and paperwork.

Rules of the Joust

A joust is held within an arena called Tilt Yard. The list measures approximately
40-70 feet long. The riders are separated by a six-foot high wooden barrier called
the tilt. The match consists of three passes. Each contestant begins on opposite
ends of the field and charge their opponents while aiming their lance. The goal is
to shatter your lance against an opponent’s armor. Attacks are made
simultaneously with a roll to hit. Combatants may use their strength modifiers
and their Proficiency Bonus on their hit roll.

Each pass will award knights with points on how well they strike their opponent.
The goal is to strike the opponent’s shield and shatter the lance. The highest
score after three rounds wins the match. The player and/or the DM will Roll a 1d20
for their knight and add the allowed modifiers. Points are determined by the
adjusted die roll and scored as follows:

Natural 1: You miss your target and are unbalanced. You must make a Strength
Animal Handling check with a DC 20 to stay on your horse. Falling off the horse
will cause 1d6 Bludgeoning damage from the fall and will award their Opponent
with an additional +2 Points for the unseating.

2 – 14: Lance glances off of your opponent’s armor. The lance does not break.
You score 0 points and no damage is dealt.

15 – 19: Lance hits opponent’s shield, but does not break. +1 Point. No Damage
is dealt.

20 – 24: Lance hits opponent’s shield breaking the tip of the lance. +2 Points and
deals 1d12 HP of damage + STR modifier.

25 or higher: Lance hits opponent’s shield and shatters. +3 Points. 1d12 HP of

Damage and opponent must make a Strength Saving Throw or be unseated. IF
the opponent falls off the horse, the striking knight receives an additional 2 points
for a total of 5 points and the knight takes an additional 1d6 Bludgeoning damage
from the fall.

Natural 20: Lance hits opponents and Shatters. +3 Points. Maximum Damage is
dealt (12 for the 1d12 plus STR modifier). Opponent must make a Strength
Saving Throw or be unseated. IF the opponent falls off the horse, the striking
knight receives an additional 2 points for a total of 5 points and the knight takes
an additional 1d6 Bludgeoning damage from the fall.

In summary:
1 Point for hitting the shield, but not breaking the lance
2 Points for hitting the shield and breaking the tip of the lance
3 Points for hitting the shield and shattering the lance
Additional 2 points for a knight being unseated from their mount
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 The DC for Strength Saving throws in order to prevent being unseated from
their mount is equal to 10 plus the amount of damage taken from the hit.
 A contestant who is unseated will take an extra 1d6 of bludgeoning damage
from the fall.

The Knight’s Crew

As a participant in the joust, each knight is allowed to have a ground crew.

A Bard – Introduces the knight to the crowd. A bard can provide one inspiration
die per match.

A Groom: Takes care of the horse. This NPC/PC must be proficient in Animal
Handling.

An Armorer: Tends to the knight’s armor. Must be proficient in Smith’s Tools.

A Lance Handler / Valet / Squire. Someone who hands and retrieves a lance
to/from the knight. Requires a strength score of 12 or higher (Optional. Up to the
DM)

Disqualification from a Joust

Magic is strictly prohibited in jousting events. Anyone found guilty of using
magical weapons, armors, items, potions or spells will be disqualified and subject
to punishment. Those that enter into the list may be subject to a Zone of Truth
spell to agree with the terms of the tournament and/or a dispel magic aura to
cleanse any possible benefits.

Aiming for the head of their opponent along with other malicious attempts to
further damage or cause serious harm to an opponent is forbidden. The rider will
be disqualified from the joust and subject to punishment.

A Rider found not to be a noble or appointed by a noble as previously stated, will

be disqualified and subject to punishment

Jousting Etiquette
A bard will introduce his knight. Providing an inspiration die that can be used for
the match.

Healing is not allowed until after the knight has been eliminated from the
tournament. After a contestant loses their event, they may receive healing (often
provided by the host of the tournament) and join the crowds to watch the
remainder of the event.

Dying in an event is frowned upon. If a character falls below 20% of their

maximum hit points they are encouraged to withdraw from the joust.

A rider may hold up their hand and shout the word “Hold” in order to pause an
event. This is only done if there is something wrong or unsafe with the current
bout.

A rider may remove their helmet and trot down the tilt signifying a withdrawal
from the event.

Quests for Jousting

Perhaps one of the characters are challenged by a rival? A young maiden has
secret information but will only give it to a knight? The prize is an item the party
is looking for? Or the knight is asked to represent their king?

Personal Challenges
In the case of a personal challenge between two knights, the lances are not
blunted, and a fallen knight is not out unless he begs for mercy or is knocked
unconscious. The knight on horseback has the advantage because of his height
above his opponent and the length of his weapon. The fallen knight can only use
his sword, and any roll of a natural 1 means the horse is struck. Deliberately
striking the opponent’s horse is a serious loss of personal honor, and means the
loss of the challenge and possibly other repercussions as well.

Two challenging knights taken to the ground are provided with maces or hammers
for the continuation of the battle. Whoever is up and alive at the end wins, and he
has the choice of slaying his foe, or granting him mercy. Usually, a knight grants
mercy.

Archery
Archery contests are typically open to all comers, although they’re run a little
differently. Usually, the royal contest is held first, again in round robin fashion.
However, the last 3-5 archers (depending on the size of the tournament) do not
finish against each other, but rather challenge all comers, noble or poor. The
competition again proceeds normally, this time until a victor is chosen.

As with the joust, magic items or spells that render the game unfair are grounds
for forfeiture of the competition.

Note that the archer is not accorded the kind of honors a Royal Champion
receives.
Holy Debates
While priests have little to fight about, they do tend to make excellent debaters, as
they are supposed to be wise and learned. Usually, the debates will center around
a specific question, like “why are we here?” or “what is the true nature of good
and evil?” They tend to avoid questions of politics and never directly confront
each other about their faiths. While such events are not well attended by the
uneducated, they draw more than their share of sages, luminaries, and the like.

[For more in this vein, check out the ‘Tournaments’ chapter from Relics & Rituals:
Excalibur.]
[Swiped from the Book of Exalted Deeds]

What is good?

Many characters are happy to rattle off long lists of sins they haven’t committed as
evidence that they are good. The utter avoidance of evil, however, doesn’t make
a character good —solidly neutral, perhaps, but not good.

Being good requires a certain quality of temperament, the presence of virtues that
spur a character, not just to avoid evil or its appearance, but to actively promote
good. As expressed in the v3.5 Player’s Handbook, “‘Good’ implies altruism,
respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters
make personal sacrifices to help others.” Good is not nice, polite, well mannered,
prudish, self-righteous, or naïve, though good-aligned characters might be some
of those things. Good is the awesome holy energy that radiates from the celestial
planes and crushes evil. Good is selfless, just, hopeful, benevolent, and righteous.

EXALTED DEEDS
These acts of goodness are concrete, positive means by which the heroes of the
world fight against the darkness of evil.
They are the meat and drink of the exalted
hero, and should serve as an inspiration for
how to play a character of good alignment,
suggesting not only common actions but
also motivations and personality traits.

HELPING OTHERS
When a village elder comes to a good
character and says, “Please help us, a
dragon is threatening our village,” the good
character’s response is not, “What can you
pay?” Neutral characters might be that
mercenary, and evil characters would
certainly consider how to collect the most benefit from the situation. For a good
character, however, helping others is a higher priority than personal gain.

A good character might ask a number of other questions before leaping up from
her seat and charging to the village’s aid: good characters aren’t necessarily
stupid. A good character can be cautious, determining how powerful the dragon is
and whether additional reinforcements are required, but she should never say,
“Sorry, I’m out of my league. Go find another hero.” It’s just good sense to learn
as much as possible about a foe before plunging into battle. Even more, a good
character need not be naïvely trusting. Some might go to great lengths to verify
that the elder’s story is true and not some villain’s attempt to lure them into a
trap.

All her caution or suspicion still doesn’t undermine a good character’s

responsibility to offer help to those in need. Altruism is the first word in the
Player’s Handbook’s definition of good, and helping others without reward or even
thanks is part of a good character’s daily work.

So who are these “others” a good character is supposed to help? Again, the “good
is not necessarily stupid” rule comes into play. Obviously, a good character is not
required by her alignment to help evil characters or those who are working at
cross-purposes to a good character’s own goals. However, altruism often blends
into mercy in situations where a villain asks for quarter and aid (see Mercy below).
In any case, altruism is tempered by respect for life and concern for the dignity of
sentient beings, and good characters balance their desire to help others with their
desire to promote goodness and life.

CHARITY
One specific aspect of helping others is charity: providing material assistance to
those in need, particularly those whose situation in life robs them of pride and
respect. Offering food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, lodging to the
homeless, care for orphans and widows, and hope to the hopeless are among the
simplest and yet most profound of good deeds. Good characters offer this sort of
assistance to needy people without regard for their moral character and with the
utmost concern for their dignity.

The idea that creatures too weak to better themselves deserve their low position is
a hallmark of evil dogma. Good characters reject this notion completely,
recognizing that most poor and needy people are the victims of circumstance, not
of their own weakness or failings.

HEALING
Healing wounds, removing disease, and neutralizing poison are a concrete
embodiment of a good character’s respect for life. These deeds are not inherently
good, since they can be performed selfishly or in the interests of evil. Even so,
healing magic involves positive energy, which is closely linked to holy power.

Many good characters devote their lives to healing as an expression of their

morality. Pelor is a god of healing, and his clerics with the Healing domain make it
their mission to share Pelor’s beneficence with others through healing. Even
paladins, whose mission is primarily to smite evildoers, have the innate ability to
heal wounds and remove disease as a reflection of their pure goodness. A
character devoted to healing views the power to heal as a gift of celestial powers
and is generally careful never to use that gift in a way that would cheapen or taint
it —by healing evil characters, for example. On the other hand, some view healing
as a means of grace, believing that every cure light wounds cast on a blackguard
cannot help but lead the villain closer to repentance and redemption.

PERSONAL SACRIFICE
A good character doesn’t just help others or fight evil when it’s convenient for him
to do so. Even the most generous altruism, when it comes without sacrifice or
even serves one’s own self-interest, is neutral at best. A character committed to
the cause of good champions that cause in any circumstance, often at great
personal risk or cost.

Forfeiting any claim on a reward for one’s deeds is a simple form of sacrifice
touched upon in the previous section. Voluntarily donating money, goods, or even
magic items to a temple, charitable institution (an orphanage or aid society), or
other organization is another financial sacrifice often practiced by good characters.
Exceptionally virtuous characters might swear sacred vows, forever sacrificing the
enjoyment of some worldly pleasure —alcohol or stimulants, sex, or material
possessions— or course of action, including violence. True heroes of
righteousness, all too often, sacrifice their own lives to save the lives of others.

WORSHIPING GOOD DEITIES

The deities of good are the highest exemplars of the principles of virtue,
righteousness, and purity. By offering them worship, sacrifice, and service, good
characters cultivate their own personal virtue, assist the cause of good in concrete
ways (supporting the charitable work of the church and strengthening the clerics
and paladins who serve as the deity’s agents), and extend the deity’s reach in the
world.

Not all good characters worship good deities. Some serve neutral deities like St.
Cuthbert, Obad-Hai, or Olidammara, while others put the claims of good above the
dogma of any deity. Nevertheless, virtually all good characters are willing to
cooperate with the churches of good deities, recognizing them as allies with a
common cause.

Unlike evil deities, good deities usually have temples and shrines in open, public
places —often at or near the center of bustling cities. In fact, the worship of good
deities is one of the forces that often helps to cement humanoid communities
together, serving to unite the populace in a common activity and a common set of
ideals. This is particularly common among nonhuman races of good alignment,
including halflings, dwarves, and elves, where good alignment is the norm and a
single deity often claims the allegiance of an entire community. However, it is
common for even human cities to be drawn together in the worship of Pelor, who
commands at least the respect of neutral citizens as well as good. Of course, in
evil cultures, the worship of good deities can be both a crime and an act of
rebellion.

CASTING GOOD SPELLS

Good spells alleviate suffering, inspire hope or joy, use the caster’s energy or
vitality to help or heal another, summon celestials, or channel holy power.
Particularly in the last instance, good spells might be just as destructive —at least
to evil creatures— as a fireball. Not all good spells involve only sweetness and
light.

Good spells don’t have any redemptive influence on those who cast them, for
better or worse. An evil wizard who dabbles in a few good spells, most likely to
help him achieve selfish ends, does not usually decide to abandon his evil ways
because he’s been purified by the touch of the holy. On the other hand, there are
certain spells whose sanctified nature demands a concrete, physical sacrifice from
the caster. No character can draw upon such holy magic without being changed
for the better as a result.

MERCY
For good characters who devote their lives to hunting and exterminating the forces
of evil, evil’s most seductive lure may be the abandonment of mercy. Mercy
means giving quarter to enemies who surrender and treating criminals and
prisoners with compassion and even kindness. It is, in effect, the good doctrine of
respect for life taken to its logical extreme —respecting and honoring even the life
of one’s enemy. In a world full of enemies who show no respect for life
whatsoever, it can be extremely tempting to treat foes as they have treated
others, to exact revenge for slain comrades and innocents, to offer no quarter and
become merciless.

A good character must not succumb to that trap. Good characters must offer
mercy and accept surrender no matter how many times villains might betray that
kindness or escape from captivity to continue their evil deeds. If a foe surrenders,
a good character is bound to accept the surrender, bind the prisoner, and treat
him as kindly as possible.

In general, it’s a good idea for the DM to make sure that the players aren’t
punished unnecessarily for showing mercy to opponents. If every prisoner
schemes to betray the party and later escapes from prison, the players quickly
come to realize that showing mercy simply isn’t worth it. It’s fine for these
frustrations to arise once in a while, but if they happen every time, the players will
rightly give up in frustration.
FORGIVENESS
Closely tied to mercy, forgiveness is still a separate act. Mercy means respecting
the life of an enemy, treating him like a being worthy of kindness. Forgiveness is
an act of faith, a willingness to believe that even the vilest evildoer is capable of
change. Good characters are not enjoined to “forgive and forget” every time
someone harms them. At the simplest level, forgiveness means abdicating one’s
right to vengeance. On a deeper level, if an evil character makes an effort to
repent, turn away from evil, and lead a better life, a good character is called upon
to encourage the reformed villain, let the past be past, and not to hold the
character’s evil deeds against her.

Forgiveness is essential to redemption. If those she has harmed refuse to forgive

her, a character seeking to turn away from evil faces nothing but hatred and
resentment from those who should be her new allies. Isolated from both her
former allies and her former enemies, she nurses resentment and quickly slides
back into her evil ways. By extending forgiveness to those who ask it, good
characters actively spread good, both by encouraging those who are trying to turn
away from evil and by demonstrating to evildoers that the path of redemption is
possible.

BRINGING HOPE
If the most soullessly evil villains relish spreading despair and devouring every last
shred of hope, it naturally follows that the cause of good involves rekindling hope
in the face of despair. This might be the most nebulous of all good deeds, hard to
define or measure, but it also might be the heart and essence of good. All the
other good deeds discussed in this section, in addition to their often concrete and
physical benefits to people in need, have the additional intangible benefit of
increasing hope. A man whose body is wasting away from disease actually has
two illnesses: the physical disease that consumes his flesh and the despair that
gnaws at his soul. Healing him not only heals his body, it also restores his lost
hope. A woman who throws herself on a paladin’s mercy and turns from her evil
ways struggles along the difficult road to redemption. The paladin’s mercy and
forgiveness offer the most important assistance along that road: hope, a vision of
the reward that lies ahead.

Hope in its truest form is more than just a vague wish for things to be better than
they are; it is a taste of things as they might be. When an exalted bard comes to
a city that groans under the oppressive rule of a pit fiend, he may inspire hope by
singing tales of liberation or by demonstrating force of arms against the pit fiend’s
diabolic minions. But the best hope available to the oppressed residents of the
city is when the bard simply shows them kindness, thereby reminding them of
what it was like to live under a more benign rule. He brings them together in
community, whereas the devils have been turning them against each other,
sowing distrust alongside despair. By experiencing a taste of kindness and
freedom, however small, the citizens are inspired with hope. That hope empowers
them to resist the devils, with or without the bard’s force of arms.
REDEEMING EVIL
Perhaps the greatest act of good one could ever hope to accomplish is the
redemption of an evil soul. Bringing an evil character to see the error of her ways
not only stops her from preying on innocent victims, but helps her as well, winning
her a place in the blessed afterlife of the Upper Planes instead of an eternity of
torment and damnation in the Lower. While acts of charity and healing might
help a person’s body, redeeming an evil character helps her soul.

Holding a sword to a captured villain’s throat and shouting, “Worship Heironeous

or die!” is not a means of redemption. Sword-point conversion might be a useful
political tool, but it is almost entirely without impact on the souls of the “converts.”
Worse, it stinks of evil, robbing the victim of the freedom to choose and echoing
the use of torture to extract the desired behavior. True redemption is a much
more difficult and involved process, but truly virtuous characters consider the
reward worth the effort involved. The process of redemption is described in
Chapter 2: Variant Rules.

THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW

The choice to follow the path of exalted deeds means picking one’s way among
complicated moral issues and painful dilemmas. It means questioning some of the
common assumptions about what’s acceptable in the context of a D&D adventure.
While the previous section outlined positive actions good characters can (and
should) perform to improve the world and better the lot of those in it, this section
discusses some of the difficult choices and decisions that characters trying to live
up to high ideals are likely to face when those ideals make contact with reality.
BEING AHEAD OF YOUR TIME
Heroic characters often end up at odds with their culture and society. The
standards expected of good characters in D&D, especially those who lay claim to
exalted status, bear much more similarity to modern sensibilities about justice,
equality, and respect for life than to the actual medieval world that D&D is loosely
based on, and that is quite intentional. It is certainly possible that your campaign
world might be a more enlightened place than medieval Europe —a place where
men and women are considered equal, slavery is not practiced in any form, torture
and capital punishment are shunned, and the various human and humanoid races
live together in harmony. In such a case, an exalted character can live in relative
peace with her culture, and focus her attention on slaying evil creatures in ruins
and dungeons or rival, evil nations.

On the other hand, your campaign world might

more closely reflect the realities of life in the
Dark or Middle Ages of the real world. Perhaps
A Darker World women are not viewed as men’s equals or even
The former is the default sentient beings in their own right, slavery is
assumption in Knights of widespread, testimony from serfs is only
Everest. These sidebars take acceptable if extracted through torture, and
the latter approach (and put the humans of a certain skin tone (let alone
setting on a darker track). nonhumans) are viewed as demonic creatures.
Personally, I would again It is vitally important to remember one thing:
emphasize the final point: these factors don’t change anything else said
“Even if slavery, torture, and here (or in the Book of Vile Darkness) about
discrimination are condoned by what constitutes a good or evil deed. Even if
society, they remain evil”. slavery, torture, or discrimination are condoned
by society, they remain evil. That simply
means that an exalted character has an even
harder road to follow. Not only must she worry
about external evils like conjured demons and
rampaging orc hordes, she must also contend
with the evil within her own society.
The Alpharian Year is divided into twelve months: Newyear (mid-winter),
Wind (late winter), Birth (early spring), Rain (mid-spring), Bloom (late spring),
Sun (early summer), Growth (mid-summer), Blessing (late summer), Toil (early
autumn), Harvest (mid-autumn), Moon (late autumn), and Yearsend (early
winter). A year is 365 days long.

Alphere marks the years from the founding of the Council of Alphari (the
“Alpharian Year” or AY). Years occurring before the Alpharian Year are denoted
with negative numbers. The current year is 1420 AY.

Day and Night: A day is 24 hours long. The days of the week take their names
from the seven virtues: Charity, Chastity, Generosity, Humility, Patience,
Temperance, and Zeal. Zeal is commonly associated with worship, and Charity
with rest. The remaining days are considered “work days”.

A day might be addressed formally, such as a “Day of Patience”, or informally,

simply as “Patience”.

Dwarves and elves have their own calendars.

Kagyar | Awakening Dwarves use the World’s Age calendar,

Friend | Fury which names its years rather than numbers
Sun | Focus them. Years are counted off using a pair of
Warrior | Vengeance concurrently running cycles; one of eleven parts,
Wind | Memory the other of nine. The eleven-part is counted
Dragon | Reverence
and spoken first, in the order presented in the
Mountain | Agitation
King | Defiance
sidebar. The nine-part is counted and spoken
Rain | Slumber second.
Enemy
Ral For example, a cycle begins with a year of
Kagyar’s Awakening and ends with a year of
Ral’s Slumber.

Elves use the Roll of Years, a system by which each year has its own personal name.
They refer to births, deaths, weddings, and other events by the name of the year.
Children learn the order of the years from bards’ songs, artistic designs in the great
temples, and the teachings of their elders.

The naming of a year is not random, nor does it necessarily commemorate any great
event or occurrence. Many centuries ago, the Lost Sage wrote out thousands of years and
named them in the Great Library. It’s a rare year that doesn’t see some event that seems
clearly connected with its name (at least in retrospect), and most folks view the Lost
Sage’s name as mysterious portents of the years ahead.
Cosmology
The worlds of D&D are part of an immense
cosmos. Most campaigns and adventures
play out on worlds on the Material Plane.
The rest of the multiverse consists of
different planes of existence defined in
relation to the Material Plane.

In Knights of Everest, cosmology is based

around the idea that the world is
unimaginably large, if not infinite in size. It
includes not only the so-called Material
Plane but also places like the Astral Sea, the
Elemental Chaos, the Feywild, and the
Shadowfell. There are no other planes of
existence; its all one singular place.

One World. In this model, there are no other planes of existence, but the
Material Plane includes places like the bottomless Abyss, the shining Mount
Celestia, the strange city of Mechanus, the fortress of Acheron, and so on. All the
planes are locations in the world, reachable by ordinary means of travel -though
extraordinary effort is required, for example, to sail across the sea to the blessed
isles of Elysium.

[From the 5e 2014 DMG (page 44)

As all things must, the One World came to an end. Catastrophe! From its
remnants, the gods made countless smaller worlds. In my various homebrew
settings, there are rare people, places, and things that are simply ‘out of place’
(not of this world): a castle in the sky, a warrior with strange psychic powers, a
holy symbol devoted to an unknown god. Pieces of the first, One World, scattered
throughout the multiverse.

My idea of the One World is similar to (but independent of) the idea of the First
World, from the 2024 DMG, Lore Glossary:

The First World

Scholars speak of a primordial state, a single reality they call the First World,
which preceded the Material Plane. Many of the peoples and monsters that
inhabit the worlds on the Material Plane originated there. After the First World
was shattered by a great cataclysm —giving birth to the worlds that came in its
wake— the progeny of the first elves, dwarves, beholders, and other iconic
creatures took root on world after world, like seeds scattered by a cosmic wind. If
the musings of these great sages are true, every world of the Material Plane is a
reflection —or, in some cases, a distortion— of the First World.
APPENDIX A: Forge Domain, Honor Ability Score

FORGE DOMAIN (Ported from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything)

The gods of the forge are patrons of artisans who work with metal, from a humble
blacksmith who keeps a village in horseshoes and plow blades to the mighty elf artisan
whose diamond-tipped arrows of mithral have felled demon lords. The gods of the forge
teach that, with patience and hard work, even the most intractable metal can be
transformed from a lump of ore to a beautifully wrought object. Clerics of these deities
search for objects lost to the forces of darkness, liberate mines overrun by orcs, and
uncover rare and wondrous materials necessary to create potent magic items. Followers
of these gods take great pride in their work, and they are willing to craft and use heavy
armor and powerful weapons to protect them. Deities of this domain include Gond, Reorx,
Onatar, Morad in, Hephaestus, and Goibhniu.

FORGE DOMAIN SPELLS

Cleric Levl Spells
1st identify, searing smite
3rd heat metal, magic weapon
5th elemental weapon, protection from energy
7th fabricate, wall of fire
9th animate objects, creation

BONUS PROFICIENCIES
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor and
smith's tools.
BLESSING OF THE FORGE
At 1st level, you gain the ability to imbue magic into a weapon or armor. At the end of a
long rest, you can touch one nonmagical object that is a suit of armor or a simple or
martial weapon. Until the end of your next long rest or until you die, the object becomes a
magic item, granting a +1 bonus to AC if it's armor or a +1 bonus to attack and damage
rolls if it's a weapon.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

CHANNEL DIVINITY: ARTISAN'S BLESSING

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to create simple items.

You conduct an hour-long ritual that crafts a nonmagical item that must include some
metal: a simple or martial weapon, a suit of armor, ten pieces of ammunition, a set of
tools, or another metal object. The creation is completed at the end of the hour,
coalescing in an unoccupied space of your choice on a surface within 5 feet of you.

The thing you create can be something that is worth no more than 100 gp. As part of this
ritual, you must lay out metal, which can include coins, with a value equal to the creation.
The metal irretrievably coalesces and transforms into the creation at the ritual's end,
magically forming even nonmetal parts of the creation.

The ritual can create a duplicate of a nonmagical item that contains metal, such as a key,
if you possess the original during the ritual.

SOUL OF THE FORGE

Starting at 6th level, your mastery of the forge grants you special abilities:

 You gain resistance to fire damage.

 While wearing heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

DIVINE STRIKE
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with the fiery power of the
forge. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can
cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 fire damage to the target. When you reach 14th
level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

SAINT OF FORGE AND FIRE

At 17th level, your blessed affinity with fire and metal becomes more powerful:

 You gain immunity to fire damage.

 While wearing heavy armor, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and
slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
NEW ABILITY SCORE: HONOR (Ported from the 5e 2014 DMG)
If you're running a campaign shaped by a strict code of honor, consider adding an actual Honor
score. It functions like the standard six abilities, with a few exceptions specified here.

Here's how to incorporate this at character creation:

 If your players use the standard array of ability scores, add one 11 to the array.
 If your players use the optional point-buy system, add 3 points to the number of points.
 If your players roll their ability scores, have them roll for the Honor ability score.
 If you ever need to make a check or saving throw for Honor for a monster that lacks the
score, you can use Charisma.

HONOR SCORE
If your campaign involves cultures where a rigid code of honor is part of daily life, consider using
the Honor score as a means of measuring a character's devotion to that code. This ability fits well
in a setting inspired by cultures such as Kara-Tur in the Forgotten Realms. The Honor ability is also
useful in any campaign that revolves around orders of knights.

Honor measures not only a character's devotion to a code but also the character's understanding of
it. The Honor score can also reflect how others perceive a character's honor. A character with a
high Honor usually has a reputation that others know about, especially those who have high Honor
scores themselves.

Unlike other abilities, Honor can't be raised with normal ability score increases. Instead, you can
award increases to Honor- or impose reductions- based on a character's actions. At the end of an
adventure, if you think a character's actions in the adventure reflected well or poorly on his or her
understanding of the code, you can increase or decrease the character's Honor by 1. As with other
ability scores, a character's Honor can't exceed 20 or fall below 1.

Honor Checks. Honor checks can be used in social situations, much as Charisma would, when a
character's understanding of a code of conduct is the most defining factor in the way a social
interaction will play out. You might also call for an Honor check when a character is in one of the
following situations:

• Surrendering while trying to save face

 Trying to determine another character's Honor score
 Trying to use the proper etiquette in a delicate social situation
 Using his or her honorable or dishonorable reputation to influence someone else

Honor Saving Throws. An Honor saving throw comes into play when you want to determine
whether a character might inadvertently do something dishonorable. You might call for an Honor
saving throw in the following situations:

 Avoiding an accidental breach of honor or etiquette

 Resisting the urge to respond to goading or insults from an enemy
 Recognizing when an enemy attempts to trick a character into a breach of honor
APPENDIX B: Channel Divinity

The major faiths of Knights of Everest are described in the main article. Less
influential faiths are described here. In compariosn to the Church of Romula,
Moradin, and the Seldarine, these deities have relatively small followings. Clerics
of these deities can be of any race.

Relations with the Major Faiths

The major faiths are good (with the exception of Gruumsh). The attitude toward
the smaller faiths is simple: those that fight for the side of good are allies, while
those who promote evil or suffering are enemies. So Kord, Pelor, and Rao are
embraced while Erythnul, Nerull, and Wee Jaas are rejected.

Eternal Power: In Knights of Everest, deities are all-powerful, with no need at all
for the worship its followers give.

Deities gain nothing from their followers. They are eternal, independent of any
need to be worshiped. A few even ignore their followers completely. The lack of a
reciprocal need makes deities all-powerful in regards to their followers.

Followers may find them uncaring and perhaps even cruel if the deity is indifferent
or oblivious. They can offer nothing the deity craves. The unequal relationship
might make the followers humble and subservient, wishing only to please a force
to which they can offer nothing but their worship. Alternatively, a benevolent
deity may succor its followers and shower them with benefits just because it can.
Deities are real; they have powers which they can grant to their special servants
(clerics). The outward display of true power, as well as the opportunity to channel
powers beyond those available to normal men and women, will draw many people
to a religion.

No Universal Churches: These faiths are relatively minor, made up of

autonomous sects, without monolithic governing entities. There are no
“churches,” in the sense of worldwide theological authorities that oversee all
practitioners of a given faith.

Thus, a temple or sect of Pelor in one community is different —at least in the
details, and frequently in major practices— from any other. It also means that
followers of Pelor aren’t necessarily in agreement on religious matters. It’s
possible for two or more worshipers to prove competitors, or even downright
enemies.

No Single Deity: Most people revere more than one deity, praying to different
deities at different times. Commoners in a small town might visit a temple that has
three altars, where they pray to Fharlanghn for luck, Obad-Hai for fertile crops,
and Kord to aid their athletic skill. Clerics and paladins more often serve a single
deity, championing that deity’s particular cause in the world. Other adventurers
range across the spectrum, from paying lip service to the whole pantheon, to
fervently serving a single deity, to ignoring the deities entirely as they pursue their
own divine ascension.

Mixed Messages: The remoteness of the deities in Knights of Everest can alter
the message and practices of their religion, sometimes dramatically. For instance,
there is a sect of heretical priests of Pelor that have warped his message of
watchfulness and compassion into a doctrine of searing spiritual intolerance.
Branding the heathens who don’t bow to their will is the least of their
depredations.

Mythic Heroes: In some settings St. Cuthbert, Hieroneous, and Hextor are
deities. In Knights of Everest, St. Cuthbert is a sainted leader of the Church of the
Silver Flame. Hieroneous is fictional, a collective pseudonym for the authors of a
holy book of the church (and his brother, Hextor is a part of the story).

There is also Kagyar, the legendary dwarven king. He and Gruumsh were
adventuring companions. Gruumsh is the only mortal to ever ascend to godhood
(an otherwise inviolate rule of the setting).

Meanwhile, Rao, god of peace and serenity, quietly joins the cast of deities. He is
a patron of the Gold Cloaks, an order of benevolent knights. Bahamut and Tiamat,
draconic deities, and the Spider Queen round out the cast.
[The following is swiped from 3e Deities and Demigods]

The deity of magic, Boccob (bock-obb), appears as a

handsome man of indeterminate age clad in loose purple
garments. Shimmering golden runes that move and
change cover his attire. He has few followers, but this
fact does not seem to concern him in the least.

Boccob is a distant deity who promotes no special

agenda, except proclaiming magic the most important
force in the world —more vital than good, evil, law, or chaos. Most of his clerics
observe strict neutrality. One missal advises Boccob’s followers to seek balance
above good, evil, law, or chaos and to push back encroachments of good or evil.

This steadfast moderation in political, ethical, and philosophical affairs earns

Boccob and his followers few friends. Nevertheless, Boccob’s worshipers are
respected for their knowledge and magical prowess, and their advice is valued (if
not always completely trusted).

Boccob’s clerics favor purple garments with gold trim; many are cleric/wizards or
cleric/sorcerers. Most remain aloof from worldly affairs and devote themselves to
magical research and to formulating prophecies. They share their knowledge of
the future only sparingly, lest someone get the upper hand and upset the balance.
Boccob’s clergy actively creates magic items, which they usually sell to anyone
with the cash to buy them. During war, Boccob’s clerics happily sell magic items
to all sides. Many of Boccob’s clerics keep busy rooting out bits of magical lore,
recovering lost magic items, and investigating mysteries. They adamantly oppose
any attempt to destroy a magic item or any magical place.

Boccob’s temples are usually located in urban areas. The are always well fortified
to withstand outside interference, and they house extensive libraries. Most are
also well equipped with various scrying devices. The clergy use them to spot
infiltrators and keep an eye on the surrounding area.

Visitors to a temple of Boccob usually get a cool greeting at best and are never
truly welcomed unless they have some unusual magic item to offer for
examination or money to spend on spells, magic items, or information.
 Ehlonna (eh-loan-nuh) sometimes appears as a
raven-haired human and sometimes as an elf with
golden tresses. Her garb varies, ranging from the
serviceable clothing of a forester or ranger to the
delicate gown of an elven princess, but it is always
pale green. Ehlonna watches over all good people
who live in the forest, love the woodlands, or make
their livelihood there.

Ehlonna watches over all good people who live in

the forest, love the woodlands, or make their
livelihood there. She likewise protects forests and
woodlands from destruction or overuse.

Ehlonna exhorts her followers to live in harmony with their woodland homes,
taking only what they need. The bounty of the forest, Ehlonna teaches, is a gift to
be cherished and appreciated, not a treasure to be coveted or looted.

Ehlonna’s clerics usually choose serviceable attire of forest green. They live in
forests and keep on friendly terms with the local rangers, druids, elves, and fey.
They keep guard against encroachments by evil folk, loggers, and others who
would exploit and ruin any woodland. When confronting anyone who would
despoil a forest, they tend to be gentle but firm, at least at first. If the invaders
persist, Ehlonna’s clerics can be ruthless in driving them out. Many of Ehlonna’s
clerics take it upon themselves to teach woodcraft, plant trees, or both.

Woodland temples to Ehlonna are often open-air affairs with only trees for a roof.
Small shrines to her are occasionally found in forest villages.
 The deity of slaughter, Erythnul (eh-rith-null), is a
terrible sight to behold. He usually appears as a human
with knotted muscles and a blocky frame. His skin is
mottled and ruddy, almost as though blood oozes from
his pores. In battle, his features change between
human, gnoll, bugbear, ogre, and troll. This mutable
form is reflected in his title, The Many. He wields a two-
handed morningstar in battle. This weapon has a
perforated stone head that makes frightening sounds
whenever Erythnul swings it.

Erythnul is a brutal deity who delights in panic and

slaughter. In civilized lands, his followers (including evil
fighters, barbarians, and rogues) form small, criminal
cults. In savage lands, evil barbarians, gnolls, bugbears,
ogres, and trolls commonly worship him.
Erythnul admonishes his followers to shed blood for its own sake, to covet what is
not theirs, and to destroy anyone who would deny them anything. He further
urges them to bring ugliness and strife to pleasant locales.

To take something away from someone else —especially from a rival— is an

exalted act in Erythnul’s eyes. Foes who cannot be killed should be maimed, and
that which cannot be stolen should be destroyed.

Erythnul’s clerics favor rust red or bloodstained garments. They are cruel,
sadistic, and hateful. They maintain a low profile in most civilized lands. In
savage areas, members of the priesthood are known as bullies and murderous
tyrants. They love to deface beautiful things and to disfigure attractive people.

Anyplace where great bloodshed or a spectacular act of cruelty has occurred is

considered a holy site and an excellent place for a temple dedicated to Erythnul.
In the countryside, Erythnul’s followers build squat, unsightly fortresses in places
where battles, ambushes or massacres have occurred. In urban areas, Erythnul’s
temples are usually hidden in seedy sections of cities, preferably on sites where
horrible crimes have happened.
 Fharlanghn (far-lahng-un), the deity of
roads, appears as an elderly, weatherbeaten
man with deeply wrinkled skin and sparkling
eyes. He wears nondescript clothing, usually
of leather and unbleached linen. His garments
are always travel-stained. He roams the roads
and paths of the Material Plane, greeting fellow
travelers politely. Fharlanghn is always glad to
converse, but not at any great length.

Fharlanghn is the patron of all who travel long

distances, no matter what path they follow or
how they’re getting there.

Fharlanghn insists that people need to move

around and experience new things. The state of world is not fixed, and you never
know when you might need a new perspective or even a new home. Look to the
horizon for inspiration.

Fharlanghn’s clerics travel the world, always seeking out new things. They favor
simple clothing of brown or faded green. They bless caravans (and sometimes
guide them), explore new territories, scout for armies and settlers, and record
long travelogues describing journeys beyond the horizon. They also serve as
translators and diplomats. Many serve as surveyors or engineers and help build
roads, bridges, and ports. Still others are involved in the manufacture of traveling
gear, everything from shoes to sailing ships. No matter what their activities,
Fharlanghn’s clerics move around frequently, and a character who visits a shrine
or temple more than once is likely to meet a different group of clerics there each
time.

Fharlanghn’s wayside shrines are common on well-used roads. His temples

usually double as rest stops for travelers in need of shelter or protection.
 Kord (kohrd), deity of strength, appears as a
hugely muscular man with long red hair and beard,
wearing white dragonhide gauntlets, blue boots, and
fighting girdle of red leather. A hedonistic being, he
is known for tackling physical challenges of all sorts
just for the fun of it. He is also reputed to have
dallied with beautiful humans, elves, or even giants,
and tales are told of the great heroes that are born
of such liaisons. He fights with his intelligent
dragon-slaying greatsword Kelmar, and when
wounded he often enters an intense blood rage.

Kord loves physical challenges and contests, and he promotes nonlethal sports as
a method for resolving disputes among his followers. His teachings say that the
strong and fit should lead the weaker, and that bravery is the greatest quality
anyone can have, ruler and citizen alike. Everyone should scorn cowardice, says
Kord.

Kord’s clerics are expected to be leaders. They value strength but not domination.
They train people to become stronger, organize athletic tournaments, and
participate in challenging physical activities. Doubting their fitness is a grave
insult, and they go to great lengths to prove their physical abilities (although they
realize the difference between difficult and suicidal challenges). They favor attire
in red and white.

Kord’s temples tend to be spacious and airy. They always include at least one
gymnasium and usually extensive baths. They invariably have adjoining fields for
athletic competitions.
 The deity of death, Nerull (nare-ull), is widely known
and widely feared. His gaunt form resembles a
mummified, nearly skeletal corpse with rusty red skin,
thick blackish-green hair, a cowled cloak of rusty black,
and eyes, teeth, and nails like poisonous verdigris. His
black staff, Lifecutter, forms a scythelike blade of red
force that slays anyone it touches.

Nerull is the patron of those who seek the greatest evil

for their own enjoyment or gain.

All are equal in Nerull’s cold realm. Every living thing is an affront to the Reaper,
and every death brings a dark spark of joy to his long-dead heart. Those that
pray to Nerull to appease him only attract his attention and their own doom.
Those that kill in his name shall be rewarded (or so Nerull promises).

Clerics of Nerull are secretive and solitary, since few sane people tolerate their
presence. Except in the most evil lands, Nerull has no organized churches. With
no overall hierarchy, individual churches work against each other at times. Still,
the Reaper is feared across the lands. His clerics wear rust-red garb when not in
disguise. Nerull’s clerics commit murders as offerings to their deity. If their
actions are discovered, they move on to new hunting grounds. Some take up the
wandering life and put on innocent faces as they move from town to town,
murdering a few people and then moving on.

Temples to Nerull are always hidden, even in lands where the Reaper is honored.
They usually are located underground, often as parts of catacomb complexes.
Most temples are stocked with undead creatures and others that spread or
celebrate death, such as hags, fiends, and vargouilles.
 Obad-Hai (oh-bod-high), deity of nature, is most
often shown as a lean and weathered man of
indeterminately old age, dressed in brown or russet and
looking like a hermit, although nonhuman communities
depict him as one of their own race. Because Obad-Hai
strictly adheres to neutrality, he is a rival of Ehlonna.
Obad-Hai plays a shalm (a double-reed woodwind
musical instrument, also spelled “shawm”) and takes his
title from this instrument. He also carries a staff.

Obad-Hai rules nature and the wilderness, and he is a friend to all who live in
harmony with the natural world. He expects his followers to live in harmony with
nature in all its variety. Those who destroy or otherwise harm nature deserve
swift vengeance in an appropriate manner, says Obad-Hai. Those who are one
with nature, however, have little to fear, although the well-meaning but foolish are
sometimes brought down by a danger they could not avoid or divert.

Obad-Hai teaches that the wilds can sometimes be ugly, dangerous, or terrible,
but that these things are a part of nature and should be respected as much as
those that are beautiful, harmless, or wonderful, for these characterizations mark
a newcomer’s perspective.

Clerics of Obad-Hai have no hierarchy. They treat all those of their order as
equals. They wear russet-colored clothing and maintain hidden woodland shrines
that are usually located far from civilization. They keep to the wilderness and to
themselves, rarely getting involved in society.

A wide variety of peoples serve as Obad-Hai’s clerics, including humans, gnomes,

halflings, and sylvan fey. They serve as protectors of nature, acting as the agents
of retribution when their protection is insufficient or too late.

Temples to Obad-Hai can be located nearly anywhere but are usually located amid
groves of oak trees.

The deity of rogues, Olidammara (oh-lih-duh-mar-

uh), most often appears as a brown-haired man of
rakish appearance, olive skin, and merry eyes, but he
often goes incognito. Olidammara delights in wine,
women, and song. He is a vagabond, a prankster, and a
master of disguise. His temples are few, but many
people are willing to raise a glass in his honor.
Olidammara loves upsetting anyone who seems too attached to an ordered life
and a predictable routine. He urges his followers to bend every effort toward
mastering the art of music. He also teaches that life is meant to be happy and
entertaining, and the best jokes need a target to hang them on. The tables can
turn on any trickster, and Olidammara’s followers should accept the laugh and
appreciate the trick when it happens to them. Wine, Olidammara says, is one of
the joys of life, and the only thing better than making wine is drinking it. Avoid
misery, temperance, and solemnity, for they are the greatest poisons to the soul.

Olidammara’s religion is loosely organized, but his clerics are numerous. They
usually work among urban folk or wander the countryside. Olidammara’s clerics
often have a second occupation, such as minstrels, brewers, or jacks-of-all-trades.
Thus, they can be found almost anywhere doing or wearing anything.

Temples dedicated solely to Olidammara are few. But as his followers say, there is
a temple of Olidammara anywhere there is wine, song, and laughter. Most formal
temples of Olidammara are hidden, because they usually double as hideouts for
thieves. Many drinking establishments include at least small shrines to
Olidammara.
 Pelor (pay-lore), deity of the sun, is depicted as an
older man in white, with wild hair and a beard of shining
gold. Pelor is the creator of many good things, a
supporter of those in need, and an adversary of all that
is evil. He is the most commonly worshiped deity among
ordinary humans, and his priests are well received
wherever they go.

Though widely revered as a peaceful and gentle deity

who alleviates suffering, Pelor also has more martial
aspects. He brings his wrath to bear on darkness and
evil, and he invigorates and heals those who champion the cause of good.

Pelor teaches that the energy of life originates from the sun. This light brings
strength to the weak and health to the injured, while destroying darkness and evil.
He urges his followers to challenge the forces of corruption aggressively, but also
to remember that just as staring at the sun can cause blindness of the eyes,
relentless attention to the destruction of negative forces can blind the heart to the
true essentials of life: kindness, mercy, and compassion.

Pelor’s clerics favor yellow garb. They are usually kindly people with backbones of
steel. They are primarily nurturers and protectors, but when the time comes to
bear arms they are not afraid to do so. They use their powers to heal, nourish,
and otherwise aid the needy, while practicing the skills needed to protect their
charges should they be threatened. Many clerics of Pelor leave their pastoral
duties and go to explore far lands in an effort to drive off harmful beings and
spread their deity’s gifts to all who need them.

Temples to Pelor tend to be tall, airy, and blindingly white. They are usually
placed so the sun shines into most of their rooms throughout the day. They often
feature open, sunny courtyards as well. Pelor’s temples are always kept
scrupulously clean, and many of them of have wings that house hospitals.

Rao (pronounced RAH-oh) is the patron

of peace, reason, serenity, truth and
harmony. Although he never intervenes
directly, he is the creator of several
artifacts of Good. At a glance, he is able to
inspire the greatest calm in the most
belligerent of creatures, even the
belligerent god Nerull.
Reason is the greatest of virtues. It leads to dialogue, which leads to peace, which
itself leads to serenity. If everyone reasoned with their neighbor, the world would
benefit from the harmony of order. Some refuse to hear the way of reason and
prefer to rely on violence. It is then that we must act -with reason and wisdom- to
thwart their actions and restore peace.

Clerics of Rao spend much of their time in meditation and teaching. Some are
gifted counselors and negotiators, and many warring noble clans only bury the
hatchet after a cleric of Rao bids them sit down and talk of peace.

Temples to Rao are generally stately, open-air affairs filled with incense, quiet
chanting, and earnest philosophical discussion. Many have extensive libraries and
learned sages on hand to answer even the most esoteric questions.
 Wee Jas (wee jass), deity of death and
magic, is most often portrayed as a stunning
woman dressed in a beautiful gown, wearing
some piece of jewelry with a skull motif. Wee
Jas is a demanding deity who expects obedience
from her followers. She respects Boccob, but
the two do not have an alliance.

Wee Jas promotes using spells and magic items

(though many of her followers insist she favors
the creation of such things).

Wee Jas tells her followers that magic is the key to all things. Wee Jas promises
that understanding, personal power, security, order, and control over fate come
with the study of magic. She admonishes her followers to respect those who came
before, because they left their knowledge and died to make room for them. She
reminds them that death is inevitable, but she promises that their learning and
memory will be honored by those who come after.

Wee Jas’s priesthood has a strict hierarchy. Her clerics are known for their
discipline and obedience to their superiors. Clerics of Wee Jas arbitrate disputes,
give advice on magic, investigate magical curiosities, create magic items, and
administer funerals. Clerics of lower level are expected to defer to ones of higher
level at all times. They wear black or gray robes.

Temples to Wee Jas are few and far between, but she counts many powerful
sorcerers and wizards (especially necromancers) among her worshipers. Most of
her temples are located in or near graveyards or catacombs, and they always
contain crypts where powerful wizards are buried. They also contain extensive
libraries of arcane lore and large collections of items that once belonged to great
wizards from past eras.
APPENDIX C: Apocrypha

The Dark Six

Fiends (demons and devils) are not gods but their
inhuman power means they are often worshiped as such
by the malevolent. Where gods are distant, fiends are
very active within the mortal world. Where angels tend
to hold back, fiends have no compunction about using
the full extent of their power and influence in the earthly
realm. These incredibly evil beings have a keen
interested in the affairs of mortals; some for no other
reason than to prey upon and exploit them, while others
find pleasure in the destruction and madness they bring
to the world.

The mortal servants of the fiends are often organized

into cults, and are very nearly as dangerous as the
fiends themselves. Although unable to provide divine
prayers to their followers, the fiends are powerful
patrons and inspire fanatical devotion.

Over countless millennia, numerous fiends have taken an

active interest in Alphere. Many of their names are
found in the Journal of Hieroneous (a holy book of the
church) but the ‘Dark Six’ are pointedly mentioned:
Asmodeus, Levistus, Mephistopheles, Orcus, Pazuzu and
Vecna. The Inquisition was formed to combat the
insidious threat posed by fiends such as these.

[In some settings Asmodeus, Orcus, and Vecna are

deities. In Knights of Everest they’re fiends.]
 The Secret
History of
Vecna
Vecna is the Archlich of
Alphere. Before he became a lich,
Vecna was emperor of Ancient
Alphari. It’s rumored Vecna was
of one of the earliest warlocks,
who trafficked with an archfiend
referred to (in the most obscure of
texts) as the Serpent.

According to legend, it was the

emperor who made first contact,
drawing the archfiend’s attention
to the mortal realm. Had the
emperor not actively sought it out,
many believe that the archfiend
might have been content to
overlook Alphere altogether, thus
sparing the land and its people
from centuries of unrelenting strife
and outright destruction at the hands of countless fiends.

As emperor, sitting upon the Spidered Throne, the being that would become
known as Vecna is believed to have committed horrible evils, exploited the lives of
anyone unfortunate enough to live under his rule. That vicious rule ended
however, when Vecna’s fiendish patron decided it was time to collect payment for
the dark powers it had bestowed upon him. When Vecna refused to submit, the
archfiend called upon the vampire assassin known as Kas (another being the
archfiend had a pact with). Realizing the vampire was vastly more powerful,
Vecna wisely decided to flee.

A ruthless warrior of unparalleled prowess and cruelty, Kas set upon the trail of
Vecna. It was during this trying time that Vecna discovered the lure of secrets.
Should he discover the right secret about his pursuer, Vecna knew it would give
him a much-needed advantage.
 Decades passed and Vecna continued on
with Kas in relentless pursuit. Many
times, in countless lands, the assassin
came close to acquiring his target, but
was never able to close-in completely. As
an ageless vampire, Kas did not feel the
passing of years, but Vecna was still
mortal, and inevitably, he began to slow.
In his relentless pursuit of secrets
however, Vecna eventually discovered the
process that would transform him into a
lich. Now, as an undead magic-user, the
battlefield between the two would be
leveled. Finally, Kas the Destroyer, had
caught up with Vecna.

The resulting battle raged for days, with

Vecna employing dark magics never
before seen and Kas severing the lich's
left hand and eye.

Prior to the battle, Vecna had discovered that Kas' sword was sentient. As the two
fought, the lich magically whispered into its thoughts, driving the inhuman
intelligence within insane. Fighting against his own sword in addition to Vecna,
Kas was unable to bring the battle to a swift conclusion. When the smoke and
magic-storms cleared, all that remained of the evil combatants were three terrible
artifacts, the Hand and Eye of Vecna, and the Sword of Kas.

After the battle, the villains were destroyed (or so it was believed). Vecna
continues to be pursued to this very day, although it isn’t Kas on his trail now.
The Serpent himself has set out to make sure Vecna is held accountable. Unlike
Kas however, the archfiend is more covert in its pursuit. Thanks in large part to
his continued unearthing of forbidden knowledge and long-buried secrets, Vecna is
aware of his pursuer and manages to stay one step ahead.

Centuries have passed, and the artifacts have traveled from land to land, sowing
evil wherever they go. Although his mortal empire was broken long ago, Vecna's
name still carries a dread weight, and cults of fear grow about him. Some seek his
artifacts for their power, others think they are the keys to finding Vecna himself,
and a few even wish to worship his greatness in hopes that he will teach them.
 Vecna
Vecna (VECK-nah) had humble
beginnings in the Greyhawk setting,
where an order of Wizards used him
as a bootblack and scribe. He
studied magic in secret until he
amassed enough power to slaughter
the order, and then he turned his
efforts toward scribing the Book of
Vile Darkness (described in the
Dungeon Master’s Guide). Armed
with that dread tome, he forged a
kingdom to rule, with the vampire
Kas as his lieutenant. But Kas
betrayed and killed him, leaving only
one hand and one eye intact (the
Eye and Hand of Vecna are
described in the Dungeon Master’s
Guide).

Vecna’s evil will was so great that he

persisted beyond death and
eventually became a demigod of
secrets and evil magic. His ambition
drives him to pursue greater divine
power across the multiverse.
If you have me, you want to tell me.
If you tell me, you don't have me.
Kas the Betrayer
Answer: Secret Kas (KOSS) is a vampire, legendary
swordfighter, and ruthless warlord.
He once served as the leader of
Vecna’s armies and the lich’s most
trusted lieutenant, and he wielded a
sword made for him (the Sword of
Kas, described in the Dungeon
Master’s Guide) by his liege. But
the evil sword convinced Kas to
betray Vecna, and now Kas is driven
primarily by his hatred for his
former lord.
While legions of fiends are perhaps mankind’s most pernicious
enemy, angels are without doubt, their staunchest allies.

The Heavenly Host

Seven archangels lead the Heavenly Host (a strictly military division of angels):
Barachiel the Messenger, Domiel the Mercy-Bringer, Erathaol the Seer, Pistis
Sophia the Ascetic, Raziel the Crusader, Sealtiel the Defender, and Zaphkiel the
Watcher.

The Heavenly Hierarchy

Ever mindful of the vast power at their command and the responsibility it brings
with it (especially within the confines of the mortal realm), only three of these
paragons of good have openly revealed themselves to the world.
 Hierophants
Heirophants are an ancient religious order, having existed on Everest, in one form
or another, for many thousands of years. They wield power beyond the ken of
most mortals. Heirophants are a unique part of the old faith. Some go so far as to
say they are the faith.

Hierophants typically respect the great druids (the leaders of the circles), but need
not obey their mandates nor operate within the borders of any circle.

Unlike many junior druids, hierophants always have a global perspective and
agenda. They concern themselves with the rise and fall of empires, the migrations
of peoples, or the growth or extinction of a species. Hierophants are notorious
behind-the-scenes manipulators. Their life spans extended through divine magic,
many hierophants weave subtle schemes with far-reaching plots that might take
many decades to hatch.

v3.5 rules: Hierophants are epic characters and use the rules found in Chapter 6
of the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Epic Level Handbook.

Recommended Reading: “Ancient PCs: Playing Elders in D&D” by Hal MacLean

(presented in Dragon Magazine #354). Even if these rules are not used,
hierophants are considered to have the Endless special ability: A creature with this
special quality ceases to age once it achieves a certain point in its life cycle. These
beings exist in a special kind of physiological stasis, counteracting all the
consequences of advancing years that usually lead to frailty and eventually death.

5e 2014 rules: Hierophants have the epic Boon of Immortality (see Epic Boons in
the DMG).
[Swiped from Complete Book of Druids]

Everlore
In a time now long forgotten by all but the most ancient of beings, a terrible war
erupted between families of sorcerers —good and evil— that controlled great
empires. Sorcerers on both sides vowed to fight until they were utterly
triumphant, seeking to purge their rivals from the earth. With fearsome magic
and dragon armies they battled for decades, neither side winning final victory.

In the course of the warfare, the sorcerers wrought vast destruction on the world
—forests blazed up, islands sank into the sea. During the long war, a small
number of druids amassed a great and vast power, the likes of which had never
been seen on Everest (then or now). Finally, the hierophants (as these druids
called themselves) decided to intervene in the destructive war.

Calling upon the power of the gods themselves (or so it seemed), the hierophants
caused a star to fall from the sky, into the midst of the two warring armies. Known
as the Starfall, the death toll was massive, the destruction unimaginable. The loss
of human life, though incalculable, would eventually replenish itself. The damage
to Nature was much more devastating. To this very day, the Starfall is a wound to
Nature that has never healed. The hierophants had to make a tough decision: If
the war were allowed to continue, then the damage to Nature would be much
worse than even that of the Starfall. So, the hierophants decided to act.

The hierophants demanded peace talks begin immediately. Despite the

devastation, the two empires continued to fight. They felt certain the powerful
druids wouldn’t (or couldn’t) attempt such a destructive act again. They were
wrong. Within a matter of weeks, another Starfall was called down by the
hierophants. This time, the warring armies listened, their vast numbers nearly
decimated by the incredible destruction.

The hierophants have bitter enemies in the ancient remnants of the warring
sorcerers —those who escaped the fate of their fellows— those who would become
known as the magi. The animosity between the hierophants and the magi
continues to the present day.

The “Starfall” was a true dweomer (a.k.a. epic magic). The secret of true
dweomers is (so far) the ace-in-the-hole of the hierophants. In many centuries of
existence, magi and clerics have never realized true dweomers are potentially
available to all powerful spellcasters (not just hierophants). It remains to be seen
when and how this changes remains to be seen.
 The Magi
Elder magicians are given the honorific master by younger, less experienced
magicians; a few even presumptuously assume the title of their own accord. Only
the most powerful and respected magicians however, are ever recognized as magi.

There are only a handful of magi in all the world.

They are very old, eldritch energies preserving their
lives beyond the normal span of years. Such
longevity is not without price however. Magi
invariably find themselves subtlety but undeniably
changed; they are no longer completely of this
world, but have grown apart from it. Some magi
withdraw out of distaste for the modern world,
while others seclude themselves away, fearing that
the potent arcana at their command will attract
unwanted rivals.

As a group, the magi are at best a loosely allied

fellowship, but they have one inviolate rule: They
do not become involved in worldly politics. Despite
their best efforts however, a few magi still find
themselves entangled in such affairs. As a group,
the magi punish any and all of their number who
persist in taking part in worldly politics. The magi
will allow none of their number to be harmed by
another, no matter the circumstances. All rights to
punishment are reserved solely for themselves, yet
it can be difficult to petition them for such. In the
end, the magi remain a secretive and most
enigmatic group.

The magi have conflicted with druid heirophants for

longer than even the most ancient beings can
remember.

v3.5 rules: Magi are epic characters that use the rules found in Chapter 6 of the
v3.5 Dungeon Master’s Guide (which are expanded upon in Epic Level Handbook).

Recommended Reading: “Ancient PCs: Playing Elders I last forever and in

D&D” by Hal Maclean (presented in Dragon Magazine you might have
too much or too
little of me,
either way you
will run out of
me eventually.
#354). Even if these rules are not used, the magi are considered to have the
Endless special ability: A being with this special quality ceases to age once it
achieves a certain point in its life cycle. These beings exist in a special kind of
physiological stasis, counteracting all the consequences of advancing years that
usually lead to frailty and eventually death.

5e 2014 rules: Magi are considered to have the epic Boon of Immortality (see
Epic Boons in the DMG).

Elders commonly keep diaries and write journals because they have lived for
hundreds, even thousands of years. Unfortunately, memory is finite (elders refer
to a 'memory horizon'); mortals only really remember a single lifetime’s worth of
years, with just occasional flashes of the time before that. Writing diaries and
autobiographies saves the elder from looking things up in public records. Not to
mention, there might be things they want to know about themselves . . . things
that they don’t want to get into those records.

[This is a homebrew expansion to the 'Ancient PCs' article in Dragon Magazine.]

The Spider Queen

Like her servants the drow, the Spider

Queen is an outcast; she was once a
member of the Seldarine. The Dark Faith, as it is sometimes called, is one of
betrayal and revenge. The faith has a webbed hierarchy, with cells connected by a
single linking thread. A cell could be an individual or a small group.

Due to their subversive nature, drow typically don’t wear any form of unique
clothing, carry any item, or bear any physical mark to identify themselves. There
are several secret signals they use to recognize one another however. One
common signal is for a drow to spread the fingers on each hand apart, then touch
the fingers of each hand together, creating an image of a spider. The counter-
signal is for the other drow to clasp his hands together, fingers entwined, palms
down, then turn them up, signifying the inevitable ascending of the Dark Queen
and her followers. Drow only know other operatives with whom they have direct
contact.

THE BASICS (v3.5 rules)

The Spider Queen is a chaotic evil deity and drow clerics may be chaotic neutral,
chaotic evil, or neutral evil alignment. While her followers may be any of these
alignments, most drow clerics are neutral evil. The portfolio of the faith is evil,
darkness, betrayal, and to a lesser extent, spiders. Drow clerics may choose their
domains from Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Trickery. The favored weapon of a
drow cleric is a dagger, a weapon which can be hid easily and which symbolizes
the secretive nature of the faith.

THE BASICS (5e 2014/2024 rules)

The Spider Queen is a chaotic evil deity. Suggested Domain is Trickery.

Due to the clandestine nature of the faith, drow clerics only wear clerical
vestments when there is no chance of being observed by outsiders. In private
ceremonies, they favor long, concealing black robes, often embroidered with red
thread in spider-web designs. Silver thread is used only rarely —since it’s a color
normally associated with the Seldarine.

The symbol of the Spider Queen is a spider-webbed star. Drow operatives often
leave spider or webbed images as reminders of their continued presence in elven
society. Drow abhor images of the moon, which is the symbol of the Seldarine;
they typically deface such imagery whenever possible, sometimes ‘corrupting’ the
moon by covering it with blood.

“The Spider takes hold with her hands and is in royal palaces.”

HOLY TEXTS
Keeping secret is all encompassing, thus few texts are openly available. The
following text has significant status within the faith however:
Teachings of Lloth was written by a venerable elven cleric who was supposedly
retreating to Arvanaith. On the fateful journey, she received a powerful vision of
the Champion (creator of the elves) being torn into two separate entities. It was
revealed how the Spider Queen embraced betrayal by the other gods (subsumed it
into her very nature, in fact). The cleric believed that the Spider Queen would
inevitably regain her place among the Seldarine. The cleric eventually made her
way back to the mortal realm and become the Dark Faith’s first matriarch.

Teachings of Lloth is essentially an 'expanded and clarified' Seldarine Bible. Many

scholars take this as proof that the Champion does indeed have two aspects (since
neither holy book is 'complete' in and of itself). They’re similar enough in size that
most copies of Teachings of Lloth can pass as Seldarine Bibles at a glance. A
common tactic is to leave Teachings of Lloth out in the open (rather than hide it);
a way for drow to taunt their enemies.

A CLERIC’S ROLE
The Spider Queen expects her followers to be shrewd, calculating and aware of the
dangers and opportunities around them. Drow clerics are the epitome of this
philosophy, seeing it as their duty to learn as much about their current
communities as they can, which makes them better clandestine operatives.

A few might pass themselves off as Seldarine clerics (or at least attempt to) but
most drow clerics live within regular society, earning a day-to-day living, just like
most other elves. There is no special education required to become a drow cleric;
all that is required is a desire and willingness to follow the edicts of the Spider
Queen. Drow seldom retain any ties to former friends or family and this is
especially true for clerics.

The daily tasks of a drow cleric change based on the needs of the cell. One day,
he might be called upon to officiate a ceremony inducting new members into the
faith, while the next he could be required to disguise himself as a minstrel,
infiltrate and covertly ‘disrupt’, a wedding between two important nobles.

Drow clerics pray only at night, their prayers taking the form of whispered chants
that fill the darkness.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

The Spider Queen is of course, a bitter enemy of the Seldarine. She stands in
opposition to all good faiths however, and drow can be found operating anywhere
the Spider Queen’s interests might be served; attempting to destabilize church
hierarchies, and seeking to undermine the faith of their followers.
 When an elf embraces evil, elven society moves

Dark
quickly to punish the guilty. The elven respect
for life does not permit them to execute these
individuals. Instead, those elves deemed

Elves dangerous are cast out and named dark elves.

An elf that is accused of evil acts is brought before a council of her peers, where
the elf may present a case. If the council unanimously votes the elf guilty, then
her crimes are presented before the Seldarine and the elf is given a chance to
repent. If she does not sincerely and honestly repent, then she is declared a dark
elf, and her name is stricken from the hearts of the elves, and no elf is permitted
to speak her name.

Only through forgiveness can a dark elf be welcomed once again into the realms of
the elven people, but redemption can often prove to be a difficult and dangerous
trial. Most do not survive the struggle, though on rare occasions it is the very fact
of self-sacrifice that redeems the dark elf.

Subrace: Drow are a subculture, rather than a subrace of elf. Choose a subrace
(high elf or wood elf).

Appearance: Physically, dark elves appear no different from other elves.

Dark elves can be broadly categorized into two groups, depending on their beliefs:
Drow
Most elves that embrace evil have been corrupted through servitude to an evil
deity known as the Spider Queen. These elves are known as drow, a low elven
word meaning “under” or “beneath”; some elves even translate this literally, to
mean “contempt”. It’s rare for elves to even admit that drow exist; to outsiders,
elves insist drow are nothing more than glorified bogymen.

True to their name, the drow are subversives, often living within elven society.
They attempt to pass themselves off as typical elves whenever possible. Drow
meet in shadows and make secret plans, relying on subterfuge and cunning to
accomplish their unholy work. Their ultimate goal is to restore their Spider Queen
to her rightful place among the Seldarine. Drow who are caught are exiled from
elven society.

Faithless
Not all dark elves are evil. More than anything else, belief in their gods unites the
elves as a people. There are rare individuals who, for whatever reason, lose faith
in the Seldarine. These elves might continue to exist in elven society normally,
were it not for the unbearable personal shame and conflict within their hearts,
which hinders healthy interaction with other elves. It is no surprise then that most
such elves choose to live in voluntary exile. They roam the world alone, knowing
they will never again see their home or people again.
 Lolth (lohlth) appears as either a tall, beautiful
female drow or as a black spider with a female drow’s
head. She maintains a ruthless, tyrannical reign over
the drow, ruling through a combination of fear and the
promise of power.

It was Lolth who first spread evil among the elves, and
it was she who led the drow to break away from the
rest of elven society and to dwell underground. Drow
scoff at any attempt to suggest that they were
banished from the surface. Nevertheless, Lolth has
sworn vengeance against Corellon Larethian and his
people.

Lolth constantly turns one drow against another. She

claims to do this to cull out the weak and to make the
race strong, but she is a cruel and capricious deity who
enjoys watching others suffer. She is careful to
prevent open or widespread strife among the drow.
She does not tolerate campaigns of harassment or
attrition among groups of drow, but she does sanction
well-planned, swift, and overwhelming attacks.

Lolth expects her people to be shrewd, calculating, and aware of the dangers and
opportunities around them. She has no use for sentiment, weakness, or love. She
expects her people to rule the entire Underdark (the realm beneath the surface of
the earth), eliminating foes that are weak enough to be destroyed and biding their
time before attacking other opponents. She also expects them to eventually
invade and conquer the surface, not to colonize it but to defeat Corellon Larethian
and the surface elves.

Lolth rules her people through her clerics, who are exclusively female and
organized into noble houses made up of clerics related by blood. The oldest clerics
rule the house, with younger clerics following in order by age. Each house also
includes non-cleric drow related by blood or marriage. The clerics serve as
absolute rulers in Lolth’s name. They are the leaders, police, juries, and
executioners of drow society.

Nearly every drow home has at least a small shrine to Lolth, even if it is just a
spider statue or modest altar. Larger temples to Lolth are usually laid out in the
shape of a spider. They serve as meeting places, sacrificial sites, and centers of
entertainment for high-ranking drow.