D&D General Adventuring Company Names and What They Are Up To

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Let’s make some more adventuring company names:

1. The Swordmaidens of Skull Gorge

2. The Friends of the Merchant

3. The Eight from Esparin

4. The Wyvern Riders

5. The Company of the Rusted Blade

6. The Company of the Finch

7. The Cliffjumpers of Skullwatch

8. The Shadows of the Reaching Wood

9. Tilver’s Readyblades

10. The Tankardtrolls of Fendarl’s Gate

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I just can’t let the list from the previous post stand as is.

Let’s give five sentences or so of description to each of those adventuring bands. I might improve on the names too.

Oh, and before I forget: Most of the places mentioned in the descriptions that follow are found in the left hand third of the awesome Realms map included in the following free download from Wizards of the Coast (this is a direct download link to the pdf file): Wizards of the Coast


1. The Swordmaidens of Skull Gorge
“Mind the swords in the sky,” are watchwords used by merchants that make the Skull Gorge and its environs part of their route. Grim rumor claims these blades—longswords all—float overhead, point down, before plunging into unsuspecting victims, and that each blade is a Swordmaiden transformed. That the Swordmaidens exist is not in doubt, as this all-female group of adventurers make at least one visit a year to Skullwatch, there to trade treasures and ancient coins found in the many caverns that riddle the steep walls of the gorge. Because lore among adventurers holds that the Swordmaidens are active along the north side of the gorge, most treasure seekers will not camp within a mile of its northern edge for fear of being impaled by night.

2. The Merchant Friends of the High Road (name change)
A goodly band of adventurers that avoid dungeons and ruins in favor of battling highwaymen, brigands and monsters that sometimes plague the merchants and travelers that journey along the High Road between Proskur and Easting. The Merchant Friends are welcome among the campfires of all but the most despicable of merchants. They count at least three priests among their ranks along with a dozen experienced warriors. Lore among merchants states that the Friends have no declared leader, and that it is wisest to address the Battlepriest of Tempus among their ranks as her opinion is held in high regard by her fellow Friends. The Merchant Friends fight from horseback.

3. Eight from Espar (name change)
The Eight claim to hail from Espar, in Cormyr. They wander a vast region bordered by the Skull Gorge to the north, the Stormhorns to the east, the Reaching Woods to the west and the Trader’s Road to the south. All are veteran adventurers as well as cutthroat killers. The Eight are led by a zealous priest of Bhall, Lord of Murder, that has perfected a curse that she now bestows on individuals that beg for mercy.[1] When they are not busy plotting the deaths of priests of goodly faiths—particularly if such are members of adventuring companies active in the region the Eight have claimed for themselves—each member of the Eight strives to slay at least one person per day in the name of Bhaal. The Eight are on good terms with the leaders of Darkhold.

4. The Wyvern Knights (name change)
The fang-shaped crags and steep mountains that comprise the Stormhorns are home to winged beasts of many kinds, including bad-tempered wyverns sporting venom so potent that it does not poison so much as melt, thus turning its victims into a flesh puddle the wyvern eagerly laps up before winging away to find another meal. These are the wyverns that the members of the Wyvern Knights intend to tame by any means necessary, and make into potent mounts. The Knights are comprised of hill-dwelling natives that have all grown up in the shadow of the western face of the Stormhorns, with the exception of a pair of sorcerers that call the fortress city of Greatgaunt home. The Knights count one Druid of Silvanus and a quartet of rangers faithful to the Forest Queen (Mielikki) among their ranks.

5. The Rusted Blades
The Rusted Blades were a typical example of the sort of impoverished farmers that are “hired” (read: conscripted against their will) by agents from Darkhold, given rudimentary training and weapons, and made to march to the southern edge of Skull Gorge where dangerous paths lead down to the River Reaching. The Rusted Blades are one of a handful of such adventuring companies that have survived the decent, explored the caves that pockmark the gorge, and emerged with treasure that was promptly claimed by their Zhentarim handlers. The Zhentarim of Darkhold have long used this method to root out dangers in Skull Gorge, and to keep the population of farmers and ranchers to its west small and docile—the better to prevent them from rising up in revolt.

6. The Company of the Lucky Finch (name change)
This band of Cormyrean adventurers wander The Far Hills, and have spent the last two winters in Asbravn. They judged Hluthvar to the north to be too dangerous after repeated attempts on their lives by assassins in the employ of Darkhold. Despite their name, good fortune has yet to find the members of the Lucky Finch since their departure from Cormyr some four years ago; they’ve managed to find meager caches of coins and baubles sufficient to pay for food and shelter, but little else. If the story of their origin is true, then the Company of the Lucky Finch took their name from a bird native to Cormyrthat makes a habit of adorning its nest with shiny baubles (the better to attract a mate). One such nest produced gems sufficient to purchase gear and equipment to outfit the Company, and finance their journey west of Cormyr in pursuit of treasure.

7. The Cliffjumpers of Skullwatch
Among the residents of Skullwatch one can find foolhardy individuals that make a sport out of leaping from the edge of the steep cliffs that mark the eastern end of Skull Gorge down to flat, barely-there strips of level rock that jut out from the cliff face. Provided they survive the leap, such persons then climb back up using only their bare hands and feet, and then do it all over again—this time aiming for landing sites further down. The Cliffjumpers long ago mastered the art of leaping, and have since journeyed west to explore both sides of the Skull Gorge. They are all expert climbers, and they make use of rope, a little magic, guile and acrobatic skill to access the hardest-to-reach caves in the gorge (as well as to make surprise attacks on the many foes and monsters to be found there).

8. The Shadows of the Reaching Woods
The Reaching Woods bends to the northeast, where it is flanked to the north and south by trails that run to Corm Orp and Hluthvar. Residents of both towns are well aware of the Shadows of the Reaching Woods, for the later have conducted a brutal campaign of trap-laying, misdirection and slaughter. The Shadows do not harass the handful of farmers that live within sight of the Woods; instead they target prospectors, rival adventurers, agents of the independent cities to the south, of Cormyr, and of Darkhold, and woodcutters that fell trees without a care for tending to the woodland. Rumor holds that rangers and druids fill the ranks of the Shadows. The Masters of Darkhold believe this too, but they also know that priests of Malar lead the Shadows. The activities of the Shadows are of concern to Cormyr’s leaders as well, for fear that whatever the Shadows seek in the heart of the Reaching Woods will give them undue influence over Malar’s priesthood in Cormyr proper.

9. Tilver’s Readyblades
A former mercenary captain-turned-adventurer leads this band of swords swinging warriors. Lore among adventurers states that the Readyblades are always keen to draw steel, fight fair (if not exactly honorably), and never leave a corpse without enough coins for a proper burial. The Readyblades are known in Cormyr, where they have been active in the vicinity of Griffon Hill and Halfhap. The expiration of their Cormyrean adventuring charter has led the Readyblades far to the west, and the High Road has seen them safely as far as Old Axe. They have decided to make for Maloren’s Rest, there to pursue rumors of armored warriors that melt in and out of the shadows. [2]

10. The Tankard Trolls of Fendarl’s Gate
The waystop-town of Fendarl’s Gate—itself located halfway between Berdusk and Iriaebor—straddles the trade road that connects the two independent city states. Common among its few permanent residents are narrow, lidded tankards made of copper and brass that are embossed with repeating patterns depicting monsters of various types. The most popular of these depict lanky trolls with disproportionately large claws, fangs and noses that are as tall as the tankard from bottom to top. One such tankard served as inspiration for an adventuring company name, and so the newly minted Tankard Trolls cheered to eachother’s long life and future wealth before setting off to the Sunset Mountains to the north and east in search of adventure.


[1] This curse is a form of geas that requires the target to murder someone important to them—a family member, for example, or a trusted friend or acquaintance—within one year. If the cursed individual fails to perform the dread deed within the time allotted then their soul is torn from their body and is forced to linger silently near the priest, where it remains under his control and must do as he commands. These souls are used as silent, nigh-invisible spies by the leader of the Eight.

[2] These rumors are false, having been planted by priests of Velsharoon in the hopes of acquiring the fresh, vigorous blood of adventurers for use in rituals meant to free the vampire lords trapped in the mists that appear every full moon over the Tun River.

 

[Caliban]

Hardstone and Company. "Taking Care of Business" is their motto.

A pair of unruly dwarven cousins from Clan Hardstone and their halfling companion, this rowdy bunch is making a reputation for themselves as both effective and bloodthirsty. They pride themselves on killing everyone and everything when clearing a monster infested dungeon - or a brigand stronghold. When asked who the leader is, both Jasper Hardstone (Life Cleric of Moradin) and Flynt Hardstone (Barbarian Battlerager) will lay claim to the title, while Odo the halfling Thief considers himself the "power behind the throne" as he plays the bickering dwarven cousins against each other. Short on brains but skilled in violence, they pride themselves on completing their missions with the highest possible body count. Somehow they have managed to avoid killing any actual innocents in their adventurers, which is the only thing keeping them out of jail (so far).

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

The Company of the Angry Chamber Pot

To this day, whatever power animated a communal brass chamber pot that sat at one end of a long hallway running the length of the upper floor of the Black Banner Inn—before the chamber pot went careening through the air, bashing into heads and ricocheting off of knees before it landed upside down on the noble head of a Cormyrean who’d recently escaped from the prison castle of Irlingstar, in Cormyr—remains unknown to the members of the Company of the Angry Chamber Pot.

Said members of the Angry Chamber Pot did not hesitate in the presence of good fortune, and so they followed the chamber pot’s route, kicking at the faces of the fallen and delivering punches to the guts of those who’d dared stand back up. The nobleman, doubly furious for being soaked to the bone with the commingled waters of his hired guards—all of whom lay unconscious on the floor or doubled over in pain—failed to remove the chamber pot from his head before the leader of the Company rapped his mace hard against the ‘pot’s brass side, rendering the wayward noble unconscious.

Some say the members of the Angry Chamber Pot used magic to animate the heavy brass chamber pot—itself something that can no longer be found at the Black Banner Inn, nor anywhere in Daerlun where the Inn stands—but the Company counted no wizards or sorcerers among its ranks when they apprehended Lathlance.

In truth, they hadn’t taken to calling themselves The Company of the Angry Chamber Pot just yet; at the time they were hireswords short on paycoins who’d traveled to Daerlun on the promise of employment that was never kept, for the nobleman judged his count of blades sufficient and refused to hire more protectors. Were it not for the fact that one of the hireswords recognized the nobleman and knew of the bounty on his head, the noble may well have escaped.

The nobleman was made to wear the chamber pot atop his head “for his protection” during the brief trip home, but also to conceal his identity; the reward offered by the Crown for the noble’s safe return was substantial, and the hireswords were not about to lose their quarry to bounty hunters or anyone else.

And so it was that Lathlance “Lackluster” Vorlsummer was apprehended and brought back to Azoun’s Hold in Cormyr, there to be “reembraced” by the Crown of Cormyr and eventually reinstalled at his prison cell within Irlingstar, where he is destined to remain for a length of time now double that of his previous sentence.

For their part the hireswords chose to embrace a life of adventure, and with their reward purchased an adventuring charter and a name--one that’s known equally well on either side of the Thunder Peaks.

********

Today the Company of the Angry Chamber Pot ranges up and down Cormyr’s eastern border, frequently dipping into Sembia and north into Semberholme and the Dales. They’ve traveled to Westgate twice, and have no intentions of returning unless the expected reward is significant.

The Chamber Pot have been given leave by the Crown of Cormyr to return noble escapees directly to Castle Irlingstar, and to hunt male and female nobles that are wanted by the Crown. War Wizards and Crownsworn spies tasked with covertly watching the members of the Chamber Pot have observed them to refuse all bribes offered, as they are frequent targets for such by nobles eager to see their sons and daughters quietly returned home in lieu of a stay in prison.

The Chamber Pot spend more time within the bounds of civilization than they do in ruins or forgotten mines infested with monsters (of which there are countless dotting the landscape that makes up the Thunder Peaks), though they will travel nearly anywhere in pursuit of their prey.

Their reputation has spread sufficiently that the sight of a dented brass chamber pot before a door or in front of a hiding place is usually enough to spook their prey into turning themselves over without a fight.

The Chamber Pot do not limit themselves to wayward nobles, however, but also hunt rogue wizards, charterless adventurers, and anyone else Cormyr deems a threat to its interests. They turn over captured prey within the confines of Castle Crag and Castle Nacacia in the north, Azoun’s Hold in the east, and on occasion to High Horn in the west.

 

[CydKnight]

The Independent Legion - Most are grizzled veterans. Those who are not spend years training and doing remedial security contracts before being allowed to participate in hired missions or war. Led by a battle hardened ex-general of a well-known kingdom of the DM's choosing, Idris Ides expects only the best from his mercenaries and likewise he also pays the best. If you have a job that other mercenaries won't touch, The Independent Legion will perform it if you have the coin.

 

[Brandegoris]

One that I recycle in my games is :
1.) Clenched Fist: Symbol is a Raven being crushed by a Mailed Fist.
Leader is: Gregor Turban ( in his 50's Still a stout warrior) High Level Paladin or fighter depending.
I change the flavor of the group and the membership at my whim

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Velahoondelar's Wagontamers

Velahoondelar hails from far away Turmish. He spends as much time cleaning his ornate breastplate as he spends on necessities like taking care of his horse, eating, mending and washing his clothes, and taking baths. Every morning he carefully applies two horizontal marks on his forehead with chalk, in keeping with the traditions of his homeland.

To his adventuring companions, Velahoondelar is a beacon of trouble; his armor is too bright—it can be seen for a mile or more over flat ground—and he cares not for bad weather. Indeed, Velahoondelar welcomes the thundering storms of the North for the chance it affords him to stand naked under the sky and bathe, no matter how cold the wind or how freezing the rain.

Worse still, he will bury found treasure at least once a tenday. Velahoondelar states such burials are offerings to Chauntea, and that doing so will sow the seeds for greater wealth and prosperity in the future. He claims it was this habit that brought wealth to himself and his adventuring companions, in the days when he was a proper wagon tamer in service to merchants plying their wares along The Trade Way and The High Road.

On the Sword Coast, the term “wagon tamer” is understood to mean an outrider that serves a traveling merchants in two additional ways. The first is to keep watch for oncoming threats and inclement weather. The second is to ride at a moment’s notice to catch and bring under control any wagon whose draft animals have become spooked. Merchants all over Faerûn fear the loss of goods, animals and helpers when their wagons go barreling off the road into places dangerous for the terrain, brigands or monsters. Thus, Wagon Tamers are expert riders, have the ability to calm panicked animals, and if all else fails have the strength at the reigns to guide draft animals running wild through difficult terrain until the beasts calm and eventually stop.

Velahoondelar could not keep a pair of frightened horses pulling a wagon from falling nose first into a sinkhole, but fate kept him alive after he slipped in between the cart and the hole in which it was stuck and found himself face to face with an Umber Hulk that was making for the horses dangling by their harness. The horrified shout of fear Velahoondelar gave as the beast charged him sounded like a battle cry to the outriders who’d given chase, and these same outriders gave shouts of surprise after they’d attached ropes to the back of the wagon and hauled it and the horses out of the hole.

The scene below revealed Velahoondelar on his back, a hand’s-length of steel protruding from the back of the Umber Hulk’s squat head, and the bulk of the beast atop him. None but Velahoondelar know the Umber Hulk tripped in its haste to eat him, and that the Wagon Tamer’s instinct to squat low and extend his sword in a final act of defiance resulted in the beast impaling itself on his blade.

From that day until now, whenever an unexpected success occurs or is observed, Velahoondelar can be heard to say, “The gods grant victory how they will.”

The merchant caravan spent the night off the road and not far from the sinkhole. Emboldened by his success, Velahoondelar convinced his fellows to follow him back into the sinkhole by telling them the horses were likely spooked by the Umber Hulk tunneling near the road, and surely more beasts will follow to harass other travelers. Velahoondelar and his companions did not return to the surface until the next morning, but they carried their fresh wounds and newly-won treasure with pride. As well their stories of battle with the creatures of the Underdark and the discovery of lairs filled with the half-eaten corpses of dead travelers.

The caravan arrived in Neverwinter without further incident but did not move on to Luskan as planned until after new outriders could be hired. Velahoondelar and his companions left the City of Skilled Hands a tenday after arriving—this time equipped with torches and gear common to adventurers—and rode straight for the Umber Hulk tunnels.

Velahoondelar’s Wagontamers number ten men and six women. All are human save for a pair of half-elves from Highmoon beyond the fabled land of Cormyr. Of the humans, all except Velahoondelar are natives of the Sword Coast.

The Wagontamers are forever on the move in search of adventure. In the cold months they travel south as far as Baldur’s Gate, while the warm months see them further north on The High Road as far as Neverwinter. (Never onward to Luskan. Velahoondelar sees Luskan as a place of illiterate thieves, selfish wizards and swindlers lacking in tradition and honor, and unworthy of the Wagontamers.)

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

As a thank you to EN World, and to the members who've participated in this thread and left kind comments, I thought I would post an image of some of the adventuring companies that first appeared in this thread, but have since been ported over to the in-progress-with-updates-and-revisions version of my Cormyr sourcebook for the DMs Guild.

Thanks to everyone!

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Harbold's Hellraisers are back!

Here's the final writeup for Harbold and his fellow adventurers, as it appears in my Neverwinter sourcebook.

I hope you find it useful.

View attachment CCNp15.pdf

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Let’s get some more adventuring company names down. 13 of them, to be exact.

1. The Whiteshields

2. The Boldstags of Stonebolt Fields

3. Avrauntra’s Disciples

4. The Dragon Chasers

5. The Oakshields

6. Thiraphel’s Band

7. The Ferocious Five

8. The Chase

9. Shasslan’s Swords

10. The Maids of Misfortune

11. The Men of the Black Hand

12. Darrambur’s Devils

13. The Bluestars