The Black Daggers due to the fa t that the hobgoblins were By: Osmund-Davizid surrounded by hill giant tribes.

1ny Used with Permission. Do not repost without e,pansion into their territory would have obtaining prior permission from the author. been sui idal. /his tribe also worshipped the goblin god of mediation 3Bargrivye'5. /his made them more open to diploma y and Keoland always had a good reputation for pragmatism than the average hobgoblin ra ial toleran e throughout its history. !ounded by two of the most goodly aligned tribe. and wise "uel #ouses $ %eheli and &hola $ /he land in whi h they lived was ri h in iron. Keoland made it an early poli y to be a epting of any and all who would wor' to /he hobgoblins mined with great s'ill and soon be ame first rate smiths. /hey found a ma'e the fledgling 'ingdom strong. "oon Oeridians( !lan( )lves( Dwarves( #alflings( ni he for themselves as the weaponeers and armorers of the humanoid tribes of the and *nomes were all ounted as part of 6otens 3!% 95. /hey were the suppliers of Keoland+s ra ial mi,. -ore importantly( many people from these various ra es held arms to the more powerful lans rather than seats in the .oun il of %iole Dra. /hus they the warriors themselves: trading weapons and armor for foodstuffs and gold. ;oods had a voi e in the government and its poli ies. Presently( there is still a wide mi, ofnear the mines allowed the hobgoblins to peoples represented in the .oun il of %iole e,periment with being bowyers and Dra. Dwarf lords from the 0ortmils sit ne,t flet hers as well. /heir wor' ame to be re ognized by a small bla ' dagger to elven prin es from the Dreadwood and engraved on ea h weapon and pie e of gnome barons from the *ood #ills. -ore than one demihuman noble has a title and a armor they produ ed 3!% <5. land grant from the 'ing himself. %ow this During the /ime of /roubles( the giant tribes on ept is going one step further. united and plunged into "teri h( 'i 'ing the tribes of smaller humanoids in ahead of During the battles to regain the lands of "teri h( many varieties of humanoids were them. /his in luded the Bla ' Daggers. 1 hill fought( but by far the primary danger was giant lan betrayed the Bla ' Daggers and from the giant tribes. 1t the last few wee's for ed them out of their an estral homes to fight the "teri h. /he hobgoblins were of the liberation( a weary Keoish general was ontemplating another assault on one of assigned to o upy the far eastern area of "teri h south of the Davish &iver after the the last ma2or giant strongholds left in eastern "teri h when a hobgoblin with a flag war( but 'ept trying to go ba ' to their of tru e approa hed. "uspi ious( but willing homeland. /heir giant overseers bullied them and for ed them to stay. /his aused to listen( the general agreed to parlay. mu h resentment and anger towards the /he hobgoblin delegation was headed by the giants. "o mu h so that when the first opportunity to stri'e ba ' at the ame up( hief of the Bla ' Dagger tribe $ Krell Daggerstorm. /he Keoish general $ a s'illed they were willing to ta'e it. "o thus the on2urer and King+s 1gent named Bentazur $ Bla ' Daggers offered to Bentazur their was open to hear the hobgoblin+s story 3!oot servi es as s outs and warriors. /o the hobgoblins( being allies of the humans was %ote 45. preferable to being slaves of the giants. /his /he hobgoblin related that his tribe has lived finally goaded them to try to ma'e pea e in the area where the 6otens meet the 0ittle with the Keoish. #ills for over 788 years. /hey 'ept mostly to Bentazur( who badly needed reinfor ements( themselves( not being as e,pansionist as was willing to give the hobgoblins a han e most other hobgoblin tribes. /his is partly

to prove their intentions were good. /he the town guard. -utual respe t and trust tribe provided intelligen e about the giant has been fostering for some time now. stronghold and offered to be among the first units to assault its wea' point. Bentazur /he hobgoblins have also passed along loo'ed over the information( onsulted his mu h intelligen e regarding the movements ad2utants( and finally allowed the operation of giants and other monsters in the to begin. /his time the assault on the giant mountains. /heir information tipped the stronghold was su essful. /he Bla ' s ales in "teri h+s favor in several Daggers fought e,tremely well( with the s'irmishes over the past year. 1 grateful same type of determination as the "teri h )arl of "teri h re ommended that the who battled along side of them 3!% =5. 1fter government of Keoland formally re ognize the stronghold was bro'en( Bentazur the Bla ' Dagger+s territory. Krell allowed the hobgoblins a share of the Daggerstorm wishes to go further and aptured supplies and well as a grant from ement a long term allian e( perhaps even his own provisions in gratitude. /he Bla ' entering into the Kingdom of Keoland. 1s Daggers a ompanied Bentazur+s for es as it Daggerstorm sees it( he has to ally with mopped up the last remnants of the some stronger power or ris' destru tion or o upation for es in "teri h. Upon "teri h+s enslavement again. /his is 2udged with favor omplete liberation( Krell Daggerstorm in ?stivin( has having a permanent ally with re>uested that the Bla ' Daggers be eyes and ears in the 6otens will help prevent released from their servi e and be allowed another invasion. Plus( "teri h still needs all to re laim their an estral home. Bentazur the raw materials( weapons( and mer enary granted his re>uest. for es they an get their hands on: and an allian e with the Bla ' Daggers will ensure a 1 few months after the fighting in "teri h steady supply of all these things. eased and the rebuilding pro ess began( Bentazur followed up on the Bla ' Daggers( King+s 1gent Bentazur has forwarded tra ing them to their homeland in the through all the appropriate diplomati 6otens. #e found that the Bla ' Daggers hannels the re>uest for anne,ation of the su essfully reestablished themselves but Bla ' Dagger lands 3 alled 1ggrethor by the now needed new trading partners. Bentazur hobgoblins5 with a title of baronet for Krell bro'ered a deal in whi h the Bla ' Daggers Daggerstorm. /his has aused a great would now send their produ ts to "teri h ontroversy among the established nobility. rather than to the giants. .oming when it -ost notably( resistan e omes from the did( this was a tremendous blessing for elves( who regard hobgoblins as impla able "teri h( who badly needed materials in enemies. "upport for this a tion omes from order to retren h and rebuild. the -ar>uis )arl of "teri h( )mondav( the @is ount of %ume-)or 3who views this a tion /he Bla ' Daggers now regularly trade in as dove-tailing into his own efforts to attra t iron ores( weapons( armor( and oal to the half-or s to his territory and promote "teri h towns that border the mountains. ?n toleran e for them5( and most remar'ably( return( the hobgoblins get foodstuffs( loth( from the young dwarf lord Kordan Bada,e. and 2ewelry. /he arrangement has been /his dwarf lord now fo uses his antipathy for wor'ing well( and gradually the townspeople giants rather than goblinoids( so any ally of these villages got somewhat used to the who has proven himself against the giants hobgoblin mer hants. ?n the township of earns his respe t 3!% 75. Plus( as Bada,e+s Davishton( a small hobgoblin >uarter has lands are the losest to 1ggrethor( he is in even been established. /he hobgoblins have best position to 2udge the wisdom and long opened up several bla 'smiths and term effe ts of this a tion. weaponsmiths there and also supplement

Presently( this ase is held up in bureau rati limbo. /he general onsensus %O/)": among the human and dwarf lords is to allow this a tion on a very provisional basis. 4: Bentazur was the war wizard for this /he elves still resist( but it loo's li'e the parti ular Keoish unit at the start of the former attitude will arry the day. Under the reta'ing of "teri h. ?ts ommander was ompromised terms( the hief of the Bla ' 'illed on a bot hed first attempt to storm Daggers( Krell Daggerstorm( would be made the giant stronghold. .ommand then fell to baronet of the newly formed territory of Bentazur. #e is also highly unusual among 1ggrethor( provided that a very parti ular the King+s 1gents for being of Ba'luni allegian e treaty is signed. /he fine print on heritage. #aving e,perien ed a little bit of this treaty is endless( and Bentazur is ra ial bigotry himself while wor'ing in Bissel wor'ing with Krell to determine what his may have led him to be more open than response will be. most to the idea of negotiating with the humanoids. 1t this time( Krell Daggerstorm is sending his son( Dhaar Daggerstorm( to %iole Dra 9: /he >uality of their wor' is e, ellent by with Bentazur to help plead their ase. humanoid standards and humans highly Dhaar is well spo'en 3for a hobgoblin5( and value their edged weapons as being is genuinely eager to ement this allian e e, eptionally sturdy and durable. )ven a and se ure a title for his father 3!% A5. dwarf warrior( when presented with a dagger Benatzur and Dhaar and an honor guard of as a gift remar'ed that Bit is not ompletely Bla ' Dagger soldiers are traveling to %iole useless( a dwarf hild might do as well on Dra to wor' out the final details of the his first attempt to ma'e a weaponC. ?t must treaty. &umors are strong in %iole Dra that a be noted( however( that the dwarf still 'ept group of elf and human nobles is arranging the dagger. for the party to have an unfortunate Ba identC along the way. <: /he tribe got its name from the e,ploits of its founder and greatest hero $ /or-6oro'. King "'otti+s has been 'eeping his opinion #obgoblin legend has it that /or-6oro' slew on this matter to himself. ?t is said that he a great red dragon who was threatening the wishes a private audien e with Dhaar and tribe. /his in itself was a great Bentazur to de ide how he will ad2udi ate a omplishment( but it is said that /or-6oro' the situation. -eanwhile( this a tion has 'illed the dragon using only his dagger. #e rea hed the ears of the ommon people( and sa rifi ed his life in slaying the dragon( and this an threaten the stability of the his dagger was lost in the battle. ;hether 'ingdom. 1 large portion of the population is there is any histori al basis for the e,ploits against the on ept( not being in a mind to of /or-6oro' is sub2e t to s rutiny. ;hile it forget the events of the *iant /roubles. But sounds fantasti ( there is a law of a small a signifi ant portion is desperate for any red dragon mounted on the staff of the allies in these times. /here have been some tribe+s battle standardE rumblings of dissent over this poli y( with small in idents of minor violen e o urring. ?n honor of /or-6oro'( the tribal elders /he hobgoblins themselves ontinue to trade de reed that all their enemies will be slain with the "teri h and generally follow their by nothing but daggers. /his being hief+s lead in their attitudes on this allian e impra ti al( the hobgoblins ame upon an 3!% D5. Keoland+s ra ial toleran e poli y has inventive solution( they would engrave a rea hed a turning point( and it remains to dagger on every sword( hammer( be seen what will finally ome from all this. arrowhead( and spear tip. /hus( in a sense( they would always be honoring their

greatest hero by using a dagger without sa rifi ing using better weaponry.

following the end of fighting in "teri h. /he Bla ' Dagger tribe presently onsists of over =88 hobgoblins. ;hile they are still /o this day( many young warriors of the generally 0awful )vil in alignment 3to in lude tribe be ome >uesting adventurers( loo'ing Krell Daggerstorm5( there is a growing for /or-6oro'+s lost dagger. ?t is rumored to minority that is tending to a 0awful %eutral have the power of red dragon slaying 3as outloo' 3primarily those who deal with the per the sword5 as well as other bonuses "teri h on a regular basis5. But be ause against dragons 3su h as fire resistan e5 they are lawful( they stay true to their oaths and intelligen e as well. 3when they give them5. /hey are re ognized by the bla ' dagger engraved on their =. ?ndeed( more than one "teri h soldier has weapons( embossed on their shields and ommented that they were impressed by tabards( and the tattoo of the dagger motif the ourage under fire the hobgoblins on their left shoulders. showed when they repeatedly attempted to s ale the sheer walls of the stronghold. )ven /heir territory is in the northern 6otens( near the small ontingent of dwarves 3who had the 0ittle #ills border( and en ompasses originally protested against allying with the about 98 s>uare miles of rugged hills and hobgoblins5 gave grudging respe t to the s attered woods. /heir iron mines are still hobgoblin pi'emen who slew three giants yielding mu h ore( and they re ently found a using surprisingly advan ed and reative large deposit of oal. /hey have re ruited a polearm ta ti s and te hni>ues. small 3488 member5 tribe of goblins to dig the oal and they treat them relatively well. 7. Kordan Bada,e is famous dwarven giant /hey border 0ord Bada,e+s territory and slayer and was made a lord of a ri h have sent a small ontingent of traders and territory in the 0ittle #ills. #is loyalty to diplomats to Kordan+s hall to attempt to Keoland and "teri h is still strong( but first open trade with him. and foremost he is a dwarf lord and his fealty is through his dwarf masters. /he fa t /his tribe is also uni>ue in that the that he has spo'en with Bentazur at the hobgoblin females are treated almost as .oun il of %iole Dra in support of this effort e>uals to males. ;hile Bla ' Dagger has swayed many opinions in its favor. females are not often warriors or miners( they do other wor' whi h has( over the A. Dhaar is truly a remar'able hobgoblin. #e years engendered the respe t of the males is mu h more worldly then most of his 'in( of the tribe. !emales often wor' to smelt the having traveled all throughout the 6otens( ores as they are brought to the surfa e. .rystalmists( and #ellfurna es as well as /hey have also ome to dominate the "teri h and western Keoland. #is has a high mer hant business with the "teri h( harisma( relative good loo's 3by human be oming 'nown as sharp traders among standards5( better than average intelligen e( the people there. /here are more and more and an spea' fluent ommon without mu h females wor'ing in the many forges of of an a ent. #e has formal training from 1ggrethor as daggersmiths. /hey are also several human warriors while he visited the ma2ority of the Bla ' Daggers bowyers "teri h and has adventured >uite a bit in and flet hers. Krell Daggerstorm+s own servi e of his tribe. #e should be treated as daughter( *yla( is herself one of the premier a mid-level fighter in ombat and his weaponsmiths of the tribe. alignment is lawful neutral 3with a slight tenden y to good deeds5. /he Bla ' Daggers &evisited D: /he tribe has been steadily growing 1n agent of the King of Keoland had a

radi al proposal. ?n the light of the rather in harge of the implementation of this desperate straits Keoland had found itself in poli y. following the liberation of "teri h( this agent de ided to ma'e an allian e with a tribe of /he terms of the allian e that were hobgoblins 3the Bla ' Daggers5 that lived in hammered out in luded trade agreements. the nearby mountains. /he allian e began as 1ggrethor is ri h in iron( and the Bla ' one of mere onvenien e( but later fostered Daggers have be ome >uite good weaponsmiths. /he hobgoblins are to trade into wary respe t. /his warmed up to the raw ore( metals( and finished weapons to point that the agent( one Bentazur 3!oot %ote 45( de ided to sponsor a delegation of Keoland for shipments of foodstuffs and loth. /he small town of Davishton 3lo ated the hobgoblins to petition King "'otti for re ognition of the tribe and anne,ation into in eastern "teri h( near the base of the the 'ingdom itself. 1 party of hobgoblins( to 6oten -ountains5 is to be the sole trading post to handle traffi between Keoland and in lude the tribal hief+s son( Dhaar 1ggrethor. /he inhabitants there are mostly Daggerstorm( mar hed from its home 3 alled 1ggrethor by the hobgoblins5 to the miners and mer hants( and are >uite willing to 'eep >uiet about the situation if it means Keoish apital. that their town will profit from it 3!% =5. /he proposal forwarded by Bentazur met ;hile Keoland needs all the resour es it an with atastrophe. On the way to %iole Dra( get( the trade with the Bla ' Daggers is the diplomati delegation was ambushed by primarily for raw ore and bars of metal mas'ed riders 3!% 95. /he party was for ed rather than for weapons 3the distin tive to fight off the riders several times. /he dagger mar'ing on the weapons may reveal party also en ountered overt hostility from their sour e5. 1ny shipments of weapons are the various towns and inns that the party sent to ;est'eep 3where no one loo's too stopped. /hese events made it lear to both losely at any supplies re eived( nor as's Bentazur and to Dhaar that it would be futile many >uestions5. to ontinue to %iole Dra and petition the /he military assistan e and intelligen e King for a title and land for the hobgoblin gathering terms are to be even more tribe. /he party turned ba ' to 1ggrethor ir umspe t. ?f the word went out that there and reported their failure to hief Krell. was any formal military aid oming from the Bentazur was not willing to let the matter hobgoblins then there would li'ely be riots drop. #e traveled ba ' to %iole Dra by among the Keoish population. 3*eoffite himself and petitioned an audien e with the refugees( who are still without their homes King. Politi s being what they are in due to giants and humanoids would be Keoland( Bentazur had a long wait( but parti ularly bitter about any su h finally was given a private audien e 3!% <5. ompromise5. *enerally( the use of Bla ' %othing was released to the general publi Dagger assets would be onfined to on erning this meeting( and the details are gathering intelligen e from the regions 'nown to only a few( but "'otti and ad2a ent to 1ggrethor 3the .rystalmists( Bentazur negotiated a ompromise #ellfurna es( and 6oten mountain ranges5. agreement. #owever( several small bands of parti ularly s'illed hobgoblins have infiltrated the 0ost ?n e, hange for a trade agreement( military 0and of *eoff and are starting to send support( and intelligen e e, hanges( the information out to Keoish agents. "'otti was Kingdom of Keoland is to re ognize the also very interested in having more spies to sovereignty of the traditional hobgoblin assist the besieged for es in ;est'eep. lands of 1ggrethor as a separate state. Dhaar Daggerstorm himself is leading a Bentazur is to be the ambassador and agent small spy ell that reports to the Keoish

ommander there 3!% 75.

?n return for this aid( Keoland is to provide military assistan e to the Bla ' Daggers should they re>uest it. /his is perhaps the tri 'iest part of the allian e. On e Keoish ?n sum( this issue is a politi al powder'eg. troops ommit to any assistan e( the se ret ;hile the benefits of the allian e urrently allian e will be out( and the ramifi ations outweigh the liabilities( all it would ta'e is ould be >uite severe. 1gent Bentazur is the one error and this arefully rafted s heme liaison for the operation and is the one who ould fall apart with ramifi ations that ould has authority to send Keoish troops to aid ripple Keoland and shift the balan e of the Bla ' Daggers. "o far( things are >uiet in power in the south. 1ggrethor( so no assistan e has been %O/)": needed yet. But there have been movements of giant s outing parties near 1ggrethor+s borders( so "'otti may be for ed 4: Bentazur is a wizard who spe ializes in ab2uration magi . On e a war wizard who to show his hand sooner than e,pe ted. led troops in the re laiming of "teri h( he King "'otti is playing a dangerous game in has be ome fas inated with the hobgoblin ma'ing this allian e. #e needs all the allies ulture. "o mu h so that he now has sage profi ien y in all aspe ts of hobgoblins and he an get( espe ially in the beleaguered ity of ;est'eep. But an open allian e with other humanoids. the Bla ' Daggers is out of the >uestion. "hould word of this ompromise lea' out to 9: /he identities of the mas'ed riders were never as ertained. 1ll wounded riders were the .oun il of %iole Dra or to the general population of Keoland( the King would suffer arried away by their omrades. Bentazur politi ally 3!% A5. -any ordinary itizens of suspe ts that a ertain fa tion of nobility Keoland would not rea t 'indly to the news opposed to the King sponsored the atta 's( but also hypothesizes that the " arlet that its leaders would in any way ally or Brotherhood would have mu h to gain by negotiate with hobgoblins. 1gents of the " arlet Brotherhood would not miss su h an preventing su h an allian e. ?t is a opportunity to further e,ploit the situation( possibility that whoever sponsored the atta 's may suspe t the allian e( and try and this may even sha'e the support of again to bring the endeavor down. allies of Keoland 3espe ially the Feomanry and the Prin ipality of Ule'( whi h both are <: ?t is a tribute to not only the fighting for their lives against hordes of humanoids5. ?t would be pure spe ulation as perseveran e of Bentazur to wait so long to to how the Knights of the ;at h would rea t gain a meeting with the 'ing( but also a tribute to his re ord fighting in the 'ing+s to su h a revelation. servi e that he got to meet with the 'ing at all. -ost King+s 1gents have only enough On the hobgoblin+s part( there is mi,ed pull to see at best an advisor to the 'ing( rea tions to the se ret nature of this but Bentazur was anny enough in the allian e. .hief Krell Daggerstorm is bitter about the failure to se ure a title( but being byzantine world of Keoland politi s to ut surrounded by hostile giant tribes poised to through the red tape. ?n parti ular( Bentazur rush his tribe ma'es him pragmati about is 'eeping 0ashton( the Keoish ourt wizard( the allian e. -any of the younger warriors out of the loop. Bentazur has a past history see this ompromise as an insult and would of animosity towards the sly ar hmage and ounsel a essation of the agreement( but may be inviting trouble on this point. on the whole( the tribe remains loyal to their =: Davishton is a small town lo ated along a

hief. -any of the more hot blooded warriors have volunteered to serve in *eoff or ;est'eep in order to wor' off some steam and laim some glory 3!% D5.

bran h of the Davish &iver. *enerally of the "ea Prin es without attra ting too isolated( and e onomi ally depressed( the mu h attention. Presently( there are three trade from the Bla ' Daggers was viewed as su h groups operating in *eoff. One ell a wel ome boon by the ma2ority of the reports to Keoish spies in the "tar' -ound population. 1 ess to river traffi westward ity of 1lvein. /his ell reports enemy to the larger towns in "teri h+s interior a tions from in and around the #ornwood ma'es Davishton an ideal trading post. and *orna. 1nother ell operates in northern *eoff and reports to agents in #o ho h. /he 7: /he agents who re eive the intelligen e third ell is still attempting to infiltrate *eoff from the hobgoblin spies are generally through the Oytwood( and will not be in a unaware of the identities of the sour es. /he position to report to any Keoish agents for hobgoblins have been instru ted by some time yet. /here is only one ell Bentazur to leave their intelligen e reports operating in ;est'eep. ?t is lead by the in hidden drop sites( where other agents hief+s own son and has been >uite olle t them at a later date( sometimes su essful in a ts of espionage and leaving new orders as well. /hus( the sabotage. /he spies operating in the hobgoblin spies must be able to write and mountain ranges report dire tly to hief Krell read in order to pass on information. /he in 1ggrethor and he passes on information spy ells have been e>uipped with spe ial to Bentazur. lo 'able s roll tubes to store their reports. /he spies an re ognize ea h other by Possible adventuring hoo's in lude: showing these distin tive devi es. /he s roll stumbling a ross one of the spy ell+s drop tubes are made of white 2ade with abstra t sites( finding a s roll tube 3with orders designs arved on them 3worth 988 gp5( and inside5 in the possession of a hobgoblin( have several buttons along the sides that being hired to assist the Bla ' Daggers have to be pressed in a parti ular order to against their giant atta 'ers 3in lieu of open. 1 thief may open with a su essful sending a onventional military for e5( and if open lo 's roll( failure mean the tube the players are stationed in ;est'eep they e,plodes( doing 4-G damage to anyone in a may be ordered to dire tly assist Dhaar+s 48 foot radius. spy ell. !inding out about the allian e may present your adventurers with a moral A: )spe ially in the light of "'otti+s stubborn >uandary( do they report what they have insisten e on holding the ity of ;est'eep. learned or 'eep the se retI Depending on /his a tion has reated mu h riti ism and their loyalties 3to one Keoish fa tion or ontroversy in the halls of the 0ion /hrone. another( other interested parties( to "ome high ran'ing military leaders as well 0ashton( or to the King5 they may attempt as many nobles view ;est'eep as a lost to assist Bentazur or bring him down. ause or a foolish waste of resour es. Knowing that this information ould 1dding the fa t that hobgoblins have to be destabilize Keoland( agents of the " arlet employed to ma'e the o upation wor' may Brotherhood may have to be foiled in their doom the enterprise in the eyes of many. efforts to e,pose this allian e. /he hara ters may be embroiled in other plots D: 1 hobgoblin spy ell usually onsists of and ounter plots to either prote t this about five hobgoblin warriorHthieves. /hey allian e or see it fail. are able to wal' *eoff and the former lands