Help me find a PrC: Knights of Watch and Dispatch

Jon_Dahl

First Post
From Living Greyhawk Column: Power Groups - Knights of the Watch (and Knights of Dispatch) Part 2
However, most who pursue a prestige class choose to pursue levels in the Knight of the Watch and Dispatch prestige class. Details on this prestige class are only available to players of Knight PCs and DMs who run sessions with PCs with levels in this prestige class. Rumor has it that those Knights who pursue this special prestige class are promoted faster within the Order.

Eh... I'd love to get a hold of this PrC since I'm running a Greyhawk campaign, but where can I find it? Google did me little good.
 

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Thanks, now we are only missing Knights of the Dispatch :)

Eh, what's this "we" business? :p

The Knights of Dispatch are, from a 3.x perspective, mechanically the same as Knights of the Watch on the grounds that neither have been officially converted and the Dispatchers are an offshoot of the Watchers. The fluff text you need is all in pages 47-50 of Sword and Fist, although there are no actual stats for either faction therein; hence the challenge in finding the file I linked to earlier.

Sword & Fist said:
Recent wars and their grim aftermath brought new
and unwelcome developments to the knighthood: a fractionalization of the order into two distinct branches, the traditional Knights of the Watch and the new Knights of Dispatch. The Watchers continue much as they always have, patrolling the borders of civilization and guarding its inhabitants against the assaults and incursions of the steppe raiders.

The Dispatchers, however, have apparently eschewed the order’s traditional rites of battle, often forming themselves into small scouting bands to range within conquered Geoff (and, until recently, Sterich). The Knights of Dispatch have traded their hatred of the west for a deep loathing of the marauding humanoids who have caused their homelands so
much trouble in the last decade, and have vowed to completely exterminate these foul creatures wherever they might be found, and by whatever means necessary, including such tactics as ambushes, forbidden by the Twelve.

The Dispatchers have also been known to retreat from the field of battle if
fortune goes against them, a direct contradiction of the Twelve’s commands.

The Dispatchers are nothing but a bunch of lowlife cowardly splitters, then...

Or not, as the case may be.

You see, in the interests of comprehensive research, I have - at great personal exasperation - managed to lay my hands on a copy of the 2E Greyhawk Players' Guide... and they were indeed different kits. And the fluff was different. Hmmm.

2nd Edition Players Guide to Greyhawk said:
Both factions of knights fight to protect Gran March and Keoland, and for the freedom of Thornwald (still in the hands of Ket when the rest of Bissel was reclaimed) and Geoff. Both groups have opened quarters in Sterich to serve as new home bases.
While the Knights of the Watch wait for enemies to come to them, Knights of Dispatch actively attack their enemies. Both orders consider the giants and humanoids of the mountains the greatest threat to the Sheldomar valley; but they are wary and concerned about Ket and the forces of Iuz, as well.

Both orders are well respected; the Watchers are recognized for their traditions of formality, while the Dispatchers are known as rugged fighters who will do anything for their cause. Watchers or Dispatchers can be found in the City and Domain of Greyhawk, where they serve their order as ambassadors, fundraisers and recruiters.

Ayup.

I guess from the point of view of determining what benefits the PrC's should give in 3.x, you need to know the 2E benefits of each kit, yes? Well here they are, for all the good it'll do you...

Watchers

The Watchers provide their own equipment, but mounts are supplied to
knights who request one. Watchers can expect hospitality anywhere in the realms they protect; they can depend on their fellows for aid. They may receive meals, lodging and
replacement of nonmagical weapons from nobles and royals in Keoland and Gran March.

When mounted in combat, they receive a 1-point bonus to attack rolls.

***

Yeah man, brutal. A free horse and +1 to hit whilst mounted. You'd better set those entry requirements pretty high.

***

Dispatchers

Special Benefits: Dispatchers can expect hospitality anywhere in the realms they protect and can depend on their fellows for aid. Dispatchers choose one type of humanoid as a sworn enemy; after six months in the order, they gain a 2-point bonus to attack rolls versus that race.

***

Woooo-ee! Lookit me, I'm a half-assed Ranger!

***

I guess we now know why neither class got an official port to 3.x, wouldn't you say? ;)

All mocking aside, armed with the above and the 3.0 port of the Watchers, it should be easy for you to re-skin an existing PrC to fit the Dispatchers. Right now, I'm imagining something like Rangers-who-follow-an-arbitrary-Code-to-get-Paladin-spells.

OK... NOW have I answered the question completely? :angel:
 

Thank you. Yes you have, it seems much more clear now. I wasn't aware of those books but now that I am, I will get them and get smarter. Thanks once more!
 

Both were converted to 3E by the RPGA Lving Greyhawk campaign as a metagroup organization.There is an actual prestige class conversion for them too. Let me check my HD when back at home.

Here are two article about them:
Living Greyhawk Column: Power Groups - Knights of the Watch (and Knights of Dispatch) Part 1
Living Greyhawk Column: Power Groups - Knights of the Watch (and Knights of Dispatch) Part 2
(both from the Complete Living Greyhawk Archives)

The second of the articles notes: However, most who pursue a prestige class choose to pursue levels in the Knight of the Watch and Dispatch prestige class. Details on this prestige class are only available to players of Knight PCs and DMs who run sessions with PCs with levels in this prestige class.

So there is bound to be an official prc along with a meta organization somewhere. Oerth Journal #16 mentions a document named Knights_of_the_Watch_Knights_of_Dispatch_3-1.0.pdf and notes that "This is available at several Living Greyhawk websites" Sadly many of those are now defunct. I found one such site on the internet archive, but alas the download link is not archived.

The document is still available here, but even though it mentions that "The Knight is able to take on the Knight of the Watch/Dispatch prestige class, which is described in Appendix 2 of this document", the prestige class isn't there.

So you should probably search for another version of this document or for an archived Living Greyhawk site, that has the metagroups downloads archived too. Or find someone from Living Greyhawk that might have the pdf.
 
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Great news! I hope to hear if you found anything from your HD!
That PDF you linked provided me valuable information, but I feel disappointed how unfair requirements those knights have.
 

No luck with my HD, sorry. I just found an older version of the document above: KnightsoftheWatchPublicv1-0.pdf which says that: The Knight is able to take on the Knight of the Watch/Dispatch prestige class, which will be described in a different document.

The 3.0 splatbook Sword & Fist contains a chapter on the organization, btw. But no Prc...
 
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I decided to let a PC (Ranger 4/Rogue 3) become a Knight of the Watch (Dispatcher). Any advice or ideas.

(Yes, this is thread necromancy, but I found this a useful thread myself, so perhaps others will also enjoy a re-run.)
 

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