Pbartender
First Post
I need a few extra ideas to help flesh out an organization that i'm creating for my campaign world. Here's the poop:
Antediluvia is the current name of my Iron Heroes campaign setting. The basic gist is that this is the real world of approximately 1000 years ago, but... All the appropriate myths and legends of the time (and previous) are/were real, and monotheistic religions never took hold, allowing not only the old pantheons, but also the bronze-age cultures that worshipped them, to survive and thrive into the iron age and beyond.
The Diluvian War, which the setting currently takes its name from, was the war between the Antlantean Empire (was replaces the Roman Empire, mostly) and the Achaeians. Achaeians won, in the end, but the War resulted in several magical cataclysms the reshaped the face of the known world (such as the sinking of Atlantis, and the creation of the Deshret -- Sahara -- Desert).
So, Project #1:
The Most Knightly and Spartan Order of St. Charon the Ferryman
During the worst part of the Diluvian War, an Atlantean legion under the command of V. Servius Strado marched through the Hyperbrian forests and penetrated all the way through Ercynia to the River Ister on the northern frontier of Achaeia itself.
The Acheaians, commanded by Pyrrhus, fought the legion to a standoff on the Pannonian plains north of the Ister, both sides suffering devastating casualties. After several days of fighting, both sides retreated from the field to lick their wounds. In the night, Strado unleash a powerful curse that reanimated the dead on the battlefield to fight for him as a legion of undead. The remaining Achaieans, now faced by overwhelming odds, where forced to retreat across the Ister.
Servius's undead soldiers, however, were unable to cross the running water of the river, and his remaining legions of soldiers were to few to assault the entrenched Acheaian position. The resulting stalemate stood until the end of the war.
And to this day, the Ercynian countryside is infested with all manner of zombies, ghouls, ghosts and other undead souls who cannot make their way back to the land of the dead.
Got all that?
Good.
So. The Most Knightly and Spartan Order of St. Charon the Ferryman is an military order founded originally and specifically to rid fight against the undead of Ercynia. They are primarily dedicated to St. Charon the Ferryman, who ferries the souls of the dead across the Stygian River to the Realm of the Dead, and secondarily to Cerberus, the three-headed hound who guards the gates of the Realm of the Dead... If you know the slightest bit about Greco-Roman mythology, you get the idea.
A few other tidbits I'm considering:
In essence, I want this organization to start off as the Dark Age/Medieval version of what the Spartan hoplites could have turned into, and with the initial expressed purpose of crusading against undead abominations... Though it may evolve into something else as the campaign world's timeline progresses into more modern times.
That's what I've got so far. What have you got to add? Any ideas?
Antediluvia is the current name of my Iron Heroes campaign setting. The basic gist is that this is the real world of approximately 1000 years ago, but... All the appropriate myths and legends of the time (and previous) are/were real, and monotheistic religions never took hold, allowing not only the old pantheons, but also the bronze-age cultures that worshipped them, to survive and thrive into the iron age and beyond.
The Diluvian War, which the setting currently takes its name from, was the war between the Antlantean Empire (was replaces the Roman Empire, mostly) and the Achaeians. Achaeians won, in the end, but the War resulted in several magical cataclysms the reshaped the face of the known world (such as the sinking of Atlantis, and the creation of the Deshret -- Sahara -- Desert).
So, Project #1:
The Most Knightly and Spartan Order of St. Charon the Ferryman
During the worst part of the Diluvian War, an Atlantean legion under the command of V. Servius Strado marched through the Hyperbrian forests and penetrated all the way through Ercynia to the River Ister on the northern frontier of Achaeia itself.
The Acheaians, commanded by Pyrrhus, fought the legion to a standoff on the Pannonian plains north of the Ister, both sides suffering devastating casualties. After several days of fighting, both sides retreated from the field to lick their wounds. In the night, Strado unleash a powerful curse that reanimated the dead on the battlefield to fight for him as a legion of undead. The remaining Achaieans, now faced by overwhelming odds, where forced to retreat across the Ister.
Servius's undead soldiers, however, were unable to cross the running water of the river, and his remaining legions of soldiers were to few to assault the entrenched Acheaian position. The resulting stalemate stood until the end of the war.
And to this day, the Ercynian countryside is infested with all manner of zombies, ghouls, ghosts and other undead souls who cannot make their way back to the land of the dead.
Got all that?
Good.
So. The Most Knightly and Spartan Order of St. Charon the Ferryman is an military order founded originally and specifically to rid fight against the undead of Ercynia. They are primarily dedicated to St. Charon the Ferryman, who ferries the souls of the dead across the Stygian River to the Realm of the Dead, and secondarily to Cerberus, the three-headed hound who guards the gates of the Realm of the Dead... If you know the slightest bit about Greco-Roman mythology, you get the idea.
A few other tidbits I'm considering:
- Their emblems are, used separately or in conjunction, three hounds' heads, a gold coin, or a rowboat and oars. The members fo the organization are commonly nicknamed "Ferrymen".
- It is currently the only Military Order of Knights that accepts women into its ranks.
- The Ferrymen only accept orphaned infants into their ranks, so that they may be trained in the Spartan style from the youngest age. If the child can walk on it's own, it is generally considered too old.
- Full admittance into the Order is attained only upon completion of a rite similar to the Spartan Crypteia... The potential knight is sent across the Ister into Ercynia, unarmed, unarmored and with no equipment or supplies other than their clothing, and must survive on his own for a period of time, returning only with proof that he's destroyed an undead creature.
In essence, I want this organization to start off as the Dark Age/Medieval version of what the Spartan hoplites could have turned into, and with the initial expressed purpose of crusading against undead abominations... Though it may evolve into something else as the campaign world's timeline progresses into more modern times.
That's what I've got so far. What have you got to add? Any ideas?
