Post by Sardinal on Jun 13, 2014 17:21:38 GMT -5
The Knights Perogator
The Knights Perogator, or as they are formally known The Varied Order of Personal Perogatation Knights, are one of Severall's more unorthodox Knighthoods. They are the champions of Personal Freedom and individual choice, an order dedicated to ignoring any order but their own.
History:
The Knights Perogator were founded in the late years of the Fourth Age, just after the Ascension of Sammael, Rawrrun, and Zivix. Their originator was a Knight named Sir Girrant Rue-Domaine, by all reports a good and kindly man and Knight of Hearthome. Over the course of his career, as his memoirs tell it, Sir Girrant came face to face with the greed of the wealthy and noble who ruled Hearthome and governed his Knighthood. Their disinterest in right, their ambivalence towards the common folk, and their willingness to shirk all morality for more power and wealth eventually convinced him that no amount of good works on his part could ever justify the actions he was often ordered to execute. Sir Girrant broke with his Civic Vows and left both the Knighthood and the city of Heathome.
During his travels, he met a strange woman named San'ariel, who claimed to be a prophet of three beings known as the Lords of Chaos. She stunned him by reciting his life story to him over a campfire. She told him that his life as a mere purveyor of Law had shown him the folly of Law for Law's sake and that he was ready for a new path that would be the greatest work of his life.
For two years he traveled with the woman across the confederacy, meeting other followers of the young gods Sammael, Rawrun, and Zivix. He learned from their priests and mystics, and preached to others as well. Finally, he set forth to create a new form of Knighthood. One based on the desire to do good and right for no reason but personal choice and desire. He sent out the call to knights from all over the confederacy to come and join his new order. He spent his fortune building the Order's Motherhouse in Medovar. The attempt proved to be an unmitigated disaster.
None of the Knights who answered his call could agree on anything. Many, hopelessly unable to abandon their grounding in the Law, grew offended at the chaos of this new order. Others, of a more philosophical bent, questioned whether it was even possible to have an Order of Chaos. Arguments and infighting quickly grew out of this mess and the fledgling order fell apart within the week.
Sir Girrant, distraught over his failures, spent the rest of his waning years scribbling his new philosophies into a book he called "On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity", dying less than a year after finishing it.
Almost a decade later, the book was found by a small group of thieves ransacking the grounds of the empty Motherhouse. It gradually made its way from person to person through the underworlds of the Confederacy, slowly gaining an almost cult like following. A few years after that, the first of those calling themselves The Knights Perogator began to pop up in different places. The Philosophy Sir Girrant had tried so hard to force onto the world was now blossoming among those that worshiped the Lords of Chaos. Copies of the book began appearing in cities all over East and West Elyra.
30 years ago, a wealthy Knight Perogator named Sir Jarvik of Edgehill purchased the old Motherhouse in Medovar and spent a huge sum to refurbish it. It now stands as the only official Chapterhouse of the Order. Knights come and go as they please, always welcome and never questioned.
The Knights have made a name for themselves across the Confederacy. Those of a Goodly bent are often Heroes, helping those in need and doing good works for the pleasure of doing so. Those not so goodly tend to concern themselves with the destruction of overbearing law and the ruination of Tyranny. Many simply seem to wander about doing only that which pleases them. The Knights have a reputation for unpredictability and are usually disliked by more lawful orders as well as the governing bodies of most cities. Still, individual Knights have proven themselves to be great assets on occasion.
In more recent years, the Order has grown somewhat, accepting followers of Sierra as well.
Philosophy
The Knight's believe in personal Freedom and Individual Choice above all things. The Order itself is designed to have no hierarchal structure, no ranks, and no organization safe for deference to another knights fame and reputation. The Knights have never once in their history banded together for a common cause, and some say this makes them more of an Adventuring Guild rather than a true knighthood.
Good and Evil are questions of a personal nature and it is considered rude among the Knighthood to inquire on ones stance on the subject. Knights Perogator have fought on both sides of the same conflict on more than one occasion yet still treat each other with civility once the conflict is over.
The Knights are very anti-authoritarian, vigorously resisting all attempts to put them under heel. They also adhere to the idea that each Knight is responsible for his own affairs and rarely interfere unless assistance is asked for.
Code of Conduct
Authority is an illusion created by the powerful to justify their disrespect for the weak. If one more Powerful than you gives you an order, treat it as gravest insult. If one less powerful than you attempts to do so, treat it as rudest joke. This aspect of the Code is pretty universal among the Knights. Being given an order or command is unacceptable to the Knights Perogator, yet many can be driven to great lengths with polite requests or personal pleas.
Choice rules the three worlds and one must respect the choices of others if ones own choices are to be respected. This part of the Code is also viewed in the same light by most of the Order. Interfering with another's choices is considered impolite at best. Knights tend to treat those that do so with disdain or even open hostility. Advice and conversation concerning such things is fine, but once a person makes their choice, no knight would interfere with it. This part of the code, in practical and mechanical terms also forbids the use of Enchantment (Compulsion) spells, abilities, and effects (other than their Smite Authority ability) as they force their subject to abandon choice.
As Choice is the ultimate power, the freedom to make ones own choice is of paramount importance. This part of the Code is interpreted somewhat differently by the varied aspects of the Order. Knights of a goodly bent believe that Sir Girrant Rue-Domaine was insisting that the Knighthood become the fervent enemies of slavery and domination. Some even dedicate their entire careers in the Order to the fight against tyranny and slavery. Those of a less beneficent nature insist that the Code implies that the choice to not be a slave must come before any attempt to free said slave. Those that simply bow their heads and accept their servitude have made the choice to be slaves and that choice must be respected. No Knight, however, would ever choose to actually own a slave.
Laws that respect Freedom and Choice are to be respected. Laws that inhibit Freedom and Choice are to be ignored. This aspect of the Code causes the Knighthood more trouble than any other. It is the great Catch-22 of the Order. Any law respecting choice and freedom is to be respected, yet any law that is truly Law will, by it's very nature, restrict some aspect of choice or freedom, thus leaving a given Knight interpretive wiggle room to ignore it. Much of the Knights Perogator's ill reputation among the nations and cities of Severall stems from the fact that any given Knight will interpret a given law differently than the next will. They operate with little to no consistency in respecting local and national laws. Many a Knight has spent years in a city or country's jails for infractions against the law, and the number of places that react to the arrival of a Knight Perogator with automatic suspicion grows every year. More than one Knight Perogator has had to seek Atonement for interpreting a law differently than the God they worship does.
Faith in those that create and protect Choice and Freedom is the cornerstone of our Order. Act not against the First Freedom (Sammael), the First Choice (Rawruun), or the First Desire (Zivix) unless they or their institutions act first against you. The most recent copies of On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity have altered this line to read "Faith in those that create and protect Choice and Freedom is the cornerstone of our Order. Act not against the Lords of Chaos nor the Lady of Love or their institutions unless they first act against you. This aspect of the Code is seldom controversial, excepting those few Knights that stand in opposition to Sierra Linenbright being added to the roster.
Freedom is the spark of Desire, Desire is the birth of Choice. Always make you most fervent desires your most Holy Quest. This part of the Code has little room for interpretation. It is the most Holy quest of the Knights Perogator to chase their desires. According to their philosophy, nothing fuels their Gods delight more than seeing their followers following their dreams.
The Price of Personal Freedom is Personal Accountability. Regret is the messenger of the Gods, informing one that he must account for whatever blame lies with him. This aspect of the code is also open to much interpretation. Some, most good individuals, insist it means to strive to always act in a manner that will never breed regret. Many others believe that a life without regret is impossible so the passage must mean only to never allow such feelings to fester, to always assuage ones regret with actions to correct it. Regardless, the message is still clear, it is ones personal feelings of regret (or lack thereof) that determine the need to be accountable for undertaken actions, not the moral or legal authority of others/cities/nations/gods.
Becoming a Knight Perogator:
Prerequisites:
Class: Must have a single level in the core classes of either Warrior of Faith or Knight OR one level in one of the Knightly Prestige Classes such as Holy Liberator.
Alignment: any Chaotic
Deity: Sammael, Rawruun, Zivix, or Sierra
Special: Must have read a copy of On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity and swear to uphold its traditions in the presence of another Knight Perogator or a priest of one of the Orders Gods.
Substitution Levels
These substitution levels are available only to members of the Knights Perogator, not to all Warriors of Faith of Sammael, Rawrrun, Zivix, and Sierra. Like most substitution levels, they are a product of a small, elite organizations degrees of specialization and not a function of the God's church or Faith. Not all Knights Perogator take these levels.
WoF level 4 BAB: +4 Fort +4 Ref +1 Will +1 Improved Spell Casting
WoF level 5 BAB +5 Fort +4 Ref +1 Will +1 Smite Opposed Alignment 2x/day, Smite Authority
WoF level 6 BAB +6/+1 Fort +5 Ref +2 Will +2 Reckless Swing
Improved Spell Casting Not caring one way or the other about undead, Sammael (The First Freedom) offers the Knights this blessing to enhance their magical prowess instead. Gain one bonus 1st level WoF spell per day as if by a high wisdom score at 4th level. Gain one bonus second level spell per day at 8th, one 3rd at 11th level and one 4th at 14th level. In addition, that WoF caster level is half their WoF level +2, + any Arcane caster levels from a single arcane casting class the Knight Perogator possesses.
This ability replaces the WoF's standard Turn Undead ability.
Smite Authority Once per day, rather than simply smite law, a Knight can use this special Smite Authority to hit a creature that has attempted to give the Knight an order. Zivix offers this blessing to ensure the freedom of the Kngihts. This Knight still uses his Cha bonus to the attack roll, but if the attack lands no extra smite damage is applied. Instead, the target must make a will save (DC 10 + the Knights Charisma Mod, +damage dealt or be confused (As the spell) for a number of rounds = to the Knights Charisma Mod. This can only be applied to a creature that has ordered the Knight to do something.
Reckless Swing Rawruun blesses the Perogators with a small taste of his frenzied power in order to assure his knights have the strength to make and defend their own choices. Starting at sixth level, once per day a Knight Perogator may sacrifice a portion of his AC to boost his Attack and Damage Rolls. He may Subtract up to his STR mod in Armor Class and gain a +1 to attack and damage per point of AC so sacrificed. The damage increases to +2 per point of AC sacrificed when wielding a two handed weapon or a one handed weapon in two hands. The damage decreases to +1 point per 2 points of AC sacrificed for weapon in the Knights off hand when dual wielding. Both the AC loss and the Attack and Damage bonuses remain in effect until the beginning of the Knights next turn. This ability may only be used with melee attacks and thrown weapons.
This ability replaces the WoF Dispel Opposed Alignment ability. At each level the Knight would gain another use of Dispel Opposed Alignment he instead gains another daily use of this ability.
The Knights Perogator, or as they are formally known The Varied Order of Personal Perogatation Knights, are one of Severall's more unorthodox Knighthoods. They are the champions of Personal Freedom and individual choice, an order dedicated to ignoring any order but their own.
History:
The Knights Perogator were founded in the late years of the Fourth Age, just after the Ascension of Sammael, Rawrrun, and Zivix. Their originator was a Knight named Sir Girrant Rue-Domaine, by all reports a good and kindly man and Knight of Hearthome. Over the course of his career, as his memoirs tell it, Sir Girrant came face to face with the greed of the wealthy and noble who ruled Hearthome and governed his Knighthood. Their disinterest in right, their ambivalence towards the common folk, and their willingness to shirk all morality for more power and wealth eventually convinced him that no amount of good works on his part could ever justify the actions he was often ordered to execute. Sir Girrant broke with his Civic Vows and left both the Knighthood and the city of Heathome.
During his travels, he met a strange woman named San'ariel, who claimed to be a prophet of three beings known as the Lords of Chaos. She stunned him by reciting his life story to him over a campfire. She told him that his life as a mere purveyor of Law had shown him the folly of Law for Law's sake and that he was ready for a new path that would be the greatest work of his life.
For two years he traveled with the woman across the confederacy, meeting other followers of the young gods Sammael, Rawrun, and Zivix. He learned from their priests and mystics, and preached to others as well. Finally, he set forth to create a new form of Knighthood. One based on the desire to do good and right for no reason but personal choice and desire. He sent out the call to knights from all over the confederacy to come and join his new order. He spent his fortune building the Order's Motherhouse in Medovar. The attempt proved to be an unmitigated disaster.
None of the Knights who answered his call could agree on anything. Many, hopelessly unable to abandon their grounding in the Law, grew offended at the chaos of this new order. Others, of a more philosophical bent, questioned whether it was even possible to have an Order of Chaos. Arguments and infighting quickly grew out of this mess and the fledgling order fell apart within the week.
Sir Girrant, distraught over his failures, spent the rest of his waning years scribbling his new philosophies into a book he called "On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity", dying less than a year after finishing it.
Almost a decade later, the book was found by a small group of thieves ransacking the grounds of the empty Motherhouse. It gradually made its way from person to person through the underworlds of the Confederacy, slowly gaining an almost cult like following. A few years after that, the first of those calling themselves The Knights Perogator began to pop up in different places. The Philosophy Sir Girrant had tried so hard to force onto the world was now blossoming among those that worshiped the Lords of Chaos. Copies of the book began appearing in cities all over East and West Elyra.
30 years ago, a wealthy Knight Perogator named Sir Jarvik of Edgehill purchased the old Motherhouse in Medovar and spent a huge sum to refurbish it. It now stands as the only official Chapterhouse of the Order. Knights come and go as they please, always welcome and never questioned.
The Knights have made a name for themselves across the Confederacy. Those of a Goodly bent are often Heroes, helping those in need and doing good works for the pleasure of doing so. Those not so goodly tend to concern themselves with the destruction of overbearing law and the ruination of Tyranny. Many simply seem to wander about doing only that which pleases them. The Knights have a reputation for unpredictability and are usually disliked by more lawful orders as well as the governing bodies of most cities. Still, individual Knights have proven themselves to be great assets on occasion.
In more recent years, the Order has grown somewhat, accepting followers of Sierra as well.
Philosophy
The Knight's believe in personal Freedom and Individual Choice above all things. The Order itself is designed to have no hierarchal structure, no ranks, and no organization safe for deference to another knights fame and reputation. The Knights have never once in their history banded together for a common cause, and some say this makes them more of an Adventuring Guild rather than a true knighthood.
Good and Evil are questions of a personal nature and it is considered rude among the Knighthood to inquire on ones stance on the subject. Knights Perogator have fought on both sides of the same conflict on more than one occasion yet still treat each other with civility once the conflict is over.
The Knights are very anti-authoritarian, vigorously resisting all attempts to put them under heel. They also adhere to the idea that each Knight is responsible for his own affairs and rarely interfere unless assistance is asked for.
Code of Conduct
Authority is an illusion created by the powerful to justify their disrespect for the weak. If one more Powerful than you gives you an order, treat it as gravest insult. If one less powerful than you attempts to do so, treat it as rudest joke. This aspect of the Code is pretty universal among the Knights. Being given an order or command is unacceptable to the Knights Perogator, yet many can be driven to great lengths with polite requests or personal pleas.
Choice rules the three worlds and one must respect the choices of others if ones own choices are to be respected. This part of the Code is also viewed in the same light by most of the Order. Interfering with another's choices is considered impolite at best. Knights tend to treat those that do so with disdain or even open hostility. Advice and conversation concerning such things is fine, but once a person makes their choice, no knight would interfere with it. This part of the code, in practical and mechanical terms also forbids the use of Enchantment (Compulsion) spells, abilities, and effects (other than their Smite Authority ability) as they force their subject to abandon choice.
As Choice is the ultimate power, the freedom to make ones own choice is of paramount importance. This part of the Code is interpreted somewhat differently by the varied aspects of the Order. Knights of a goodly bent believe that Sir Girrant Rue-Domaine was insisting that the Knighthood become the fervent enemies of slavery and domination. Some even dedicate their entire careers in the Order to the fight against tyranny and slavery. Those of a less beneficent nature insist that the Code implies that the choice to not be a slave must come before any attempt to free said slave. Those that simply bow their heads and accept their servitude have made the choice to be slaves and that choice must be respected. No Knight, however, would ever choose to actually own a slave.
Laws that respect Freedom and Choice are to be respected. Laws that inhibit Freedom and Choice are to be ignored. This aspect of the Code causes the Knighthood more trouble than any other. It is the great Catch-22 of the Order. Any law respecting choice and freedom is to be respected, yet any law that is truly Law will, by it's very nature, restrict some aspect of choice or freedom, thus leaving a given Knight interpretive wiggle room to ignore it. Much of the Knights Perogator's ill reputation among the nations and cities of Severall stems from the fact that any given Knight will interpret a given law differently than the next will. They operate with little to no consistency in respecting local and national laws. Many a Knight has spent years in a city or country's jails for infractions against the law, and the number of places that react to the arrival of a Knight Perogator with automatic suspicion grows every year. More than one Knight Perogator has had to seek Atonement for interpreting a law differently than the God they worship does.
Faith in those that create and protect Choice and Freedom is the cornerstone of our Order. Act not against the First Freedom (Sammael), the First Choice (Rawruun), or the First Desire (Zivix) unless they or their institutions act first against you. The most recent copies of On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity have altered this line to read "Faith in those that create and protect Choice and Freedom is the cornerstone of our Order. Act not against the Lords of Chaos nor the Lady of Love or their institutions unless they first act against you. This aspect of the Code is seldom controversial, excepting those few Knights that stand in opposition to Sierra Linenbright being added to the roster.
Freedom is the spark of Desire, Desire is the birth of Choice. Always make you most fervent desires your most Holy Quest. This part of the Code has little room for interpretation. It is the most Holy quest of the Knights Perogator to chase their desires. According to their philosophy, nothing fuels their Gods delight more than seeing their followers following their dreams.
The Price of Personal Freedom is Personal Accountability. Regret is the messenger of the Gods, informing one that he must account for whatever blame lies with him. This aspect of the code is also open to much interpretation. Some, most good individuals, insist it means to strive to always act in a manner that will never breed regret. Many others believe that a life without regret is impossible so the passage must mean only to never allow such feelings to fester, to always assuage ones regret with actions to correct it. Regardless, the message is still clear, it is ones personal feelings of regret (or lack thereof) that determine the need to be accountable for undertaken actions, not the moral or legal authority of others/cities/nations/gods.
Becoming a Knight Perogator:
Prerequisites:
Class: Must have a single level in the core classes of either Warrior of Faith or Knight OR one level in one of the Knightly Prestige Classes such as Holy Liberator.
Alignment: any Chaotic
Deity: Sammael, Rawruun, Zivix, or Sierra
Special: Must have read a copy of On Personal Perogitation and it's Necessity and swear to uphold its traditions in the presence of another Knight Perogator or a priest of one of the Orders Gods.
Substitution Levels
These substitution levels are available only to members of the Knights Perogator, not to all Warriors of Faith of Sammael, Rawrrun, Zivix, and Sierra. Like most substitution levels, they are a product of a small, elite organizations degrees of specialization and not a function of the God's church or Faith. Not all Knights Perogator take these levels.
WoF level 4 BAB: +4 Fort +4 Ref +1 Will +1 Improved Spell Casting
WoF level 5 BAB +5 Fort +4 Ref +1 Will +1 Smite Opposed Alignment 2x/day, Smite Authority
WoF level 6 BAB +6/+1 Fort +5 Ref +2 Will +2 Reckless Swing
Improved Spell Casting Not caring one way or the other about undead, Sammael (The First Freedom) offers the Knights this blessing to enhance their magical prowess instead. Gain one bonus 1st level WoF spell per day as if by a high wisdom score at 4th level. Gain one bonus second level spell per day at 8th, one 3rd at 11th level and one 4th at 14th level. In addition, that WoF caster level is half their WoF level +2, + any Arcane caster levels from a single arcane casting class the Knight Perogator possesses.
This ability replaces the WoF's standard Turn Undead ability.
Smite Authority Once per day, rather than simply smite law, a Knight can use this special Smite Authority to hit a creature that has attempted to give the Knight an order. Zivix offers this blessing to ensure the freedom of the Kngihts. This Knight still uses his Cha bonus to the attack roll, but if the attack lands no extra smite damage is applied. Instead, the target must make a will save (DC 10 + the Knights Charisma Mod, +damage dealt or be confused (As the spell) for a number of rounds = to the Knights Charisma Mod. This can only be applied to a creature that has ordered the Knight to do something.
Reckless Swing Rawruun blesses the Perogators with a small taste of his frenzied power in order to assure his knights have the strength to make and defend their own choices. Starting at sixth level, once per day a Knight Perogator may sacrifice a portion of his AC to boost his Attack and Damage Rolls. He may Subtract up to his STR mod in Armor Class and gain a +1 to attack and damage per point of AC so sacrificed. The damage increases to +2 per point of AC sacrificed when wielding a two handed weapon or a one handed weapon in two hands. The damage decreases to +1 point per 2 points of AC sacrificed for weapon in the Knights off hand when dual wielding. Both the AC loss and the Attack and Damage bonuses remain in effect until the beginning of the Knights next turn. This ability may only be used with melee attacks and thrown weapons.
This ability replaces the WoF Dispel Opposed Alignment ability. At each level the Knight would gain another use of Dispel Opposed Alignment he instead gains another daily use of this ability.
