Culling Information on the White Cloaks

Qik

First Post

• Jan 17, 2012

• #1

Like the sign says: it seems prudent to gather existing information on the White Cloaks, since they currently don't have their page on the wiki. I'll start off with combining my questions and what info I'm aware of thus far, and we can edit this as things get confirmed/added/etc.
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Location: The entry for Roses D'Avorio mentions that "the White Cloak barracks" are located there. I assume this is meant to be the headquarters? I say it like this because "barracks" suggests a more limited function (at least to me, someone with very little knowledge of the military), whereas headquarters suggest the presence of bureaucracy as well as the housing of soldiers.

Structure: This post from A Soul Indiscretion seems to suggest that each commander is in charge of a district. I assume there would be need for higher-ups as well, though so far as I know none has been mentioned yet (though I'm about to invent one for "Fury Steps In".)

Members:
- Commander Beppe Handso: See above link from "A Soul Indiscretion". Commander of the Planks.
- Galen Parsons: Introduced in Ryall's Estate. Since he's a commander, if the above assumption about organizational structure is true, then he'll have to be assigned a district, though as far as I know, he doesn't currently have one. Perhaps @jkason should be in charge of that assignment, since he created Galen.

 

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J

jackslate45

First Post

• Jan 17, 2012

• #2

I have two standard cops on duty and one Lieutenant in A Spiked Drink : Urdrak and Follet are the local deputies, and Lt. Jorcoth Rondo. They would be assigned to whomever is in charge of the Two Roses.

 

J

jkason

First Post

• Jan 20, 2012

• #3

Qik said:

- Galen Parsons: Introduced in Ryall's Estate. Since he's a commander, if the above assumption about organizational structure is true, then he'll have to be assigned a district, though as far as I know, he doesn't currently have one. Perhaps @jkason should be in charge of that assignment, since he created Galen.

Click to expand...

I didn't assign him anything, mostly because he's been a lot of improv on my part. I created him on the fly when your group decided to drag a literal cartful of dead bodies into town, then his relationship to Gabbiano sort of evolved. Truthfully, I didn't even know the town guard was called White Cloaks when I made him, and shoehorned him in as a member after the fact for that reason.

I suppose that Gabbiano association would make Roses D'Avorio the logical place for him, though I am really, really, really bad at geography, so it may make no sense at all that someone meant to be covering there would be sent to the outskirts of town to catch troublemakers, etc.

Because his relationship to House Gabbiano is also covered by his relationship with Finia, if it works better for someone, I'm fine with plopping him wherever works best for folks and for the overall structure anyone puts in place for the White Cloaks.

 

Qik

First Post

• Jan 22, 2012

• #4

Thanks for that, jackslate - it'll be nice to have info on low-rankers like that, so that a DM doesn't necessarily have to invent new ones at every turn.

As for Galen Parsons - maybe his case deserves a rethink of the Commanders automatically and always being in charge of a district. He's certainly been more of a free-floater (I'm even having him make a little appearance in "Fury Steps In" which isn't totally justifiable beyond the fact that I was already aware of him as a character). Temperamentally, he screams more "Gulls" to me than Roses, in that he seems a bit too rough-and-tumble to be in charge of the uppity district. But then there's the Gabbiano connection.

That's why we're talking this out: to untangle things before they get too tangled up.

 

Systole

First Post

• Jan 22, 2012

• #5

I was thinking of having him show up off-duty in the Roses visiting Finia. Alternatively, I can come up with another commander if that's how we want to play it.

The fact that Parsons seems to be everywhere does break suspension of disbelief a little, but on the other hand, he's a fun character and it's nice to have a familiar face on NPC interactions. To me, he seems best in a free-floating role ... sort of Commander-At-Large, rather than having a district. That way, he might be around to introduce PCs to Commander XYZ, who is in charge of a district, but Parsons provides some continuity.

Maybe he got 'promoted' to the role of Adventurer Liaison for the Whitecloaks.

 

Qik

First Post

• Jan 22, 2012

• #6

Hah! I don't imagine that promotion would be well-received.

I agree that it's nice to have familiar faces/recurring characters when possible; it's one of the things I really like about LPF. I'd rather have him be a Commander-at-Large, like you say, rather than pin him down in a way which unnecessarily forces a change on his character and limits his potential usage on down the role.

In light of this, I say that the rank of commander doesn't necessitate being in charge of a district for the White Cloaks. Perhaps there's a distinction between "District Commander" and just "Commander."

 

J

jackslate45

First Post

• Jan 22, 2012

• #7

I think part of the current problem is there is no organizational list to the White Cloaks. The first real title we had was Commander Handso, who was implied to be the head of a district.

I saw a ranking system like this:

Grunt: Rank and File police
Inquisitor: Specialists in interrogations.
Lieutenant: akin to Detective
Captain: Oversaw different divisions in a district, such as violent crimes, Adventurer Relations
Commander: Oversaw individual districts. The only title that we have set in stone so far.
General: Chief of Police.

Others mentioned:
Coordinator: introduced by Qik, so it's his call. Implied to be higher up then Commander
District Commander: Full title of Commander? Or the people who are actually in charge of a district, and Commander's are the Captains.
Comander-At-Large: Liaison between all the different Commanders of Venza

 

Last edited: Jan 22, 2012

GlassEye

Adventurer

• Jan 22, 2012

• #8

I'd push for as simple an organizational structure as we can get away with:

Coordinator (highest White Cloak rank; equal to modern Commissioner; usually noble born; reports to the Grand Council)
-staff of the Coordinator (many with rank of Commander, earned or honorary)
Note: Parsons could be on staff of the Coordinator, a sort of free-agent investigator/liaison-at-large as previously suggested
Commander (in charge of a district or special operations)
Captain (in charge of a guardhouse which watches over territory less than a full district or special operations, such as inquisitor/detective in a smaller territory than a Commander)
Guardsman (standard White Cloak on the street)

 

Qik

First Post

• Jan 23, 2012

• #9

Looks good to me. I agree that simplicity is ideal.

 

Systole

First Post

• Jan 23, 2012

• #10

I like GE's idea very much.