//OOC
Lexicon of Terms and Lore on Red KnightI've recieved a little interest in this so i'll be posting all my information, canon and fanon, on the Church of Red Knight and the Red Fellowship in general.
First the official Stuff.
Red Knight
Lady of Stategy, Grandmaster of the Lanceboard
Faerunian Demigod
Symbold: Red knight chess piece with stars for eyes
Home Plane: Warrior's Rest
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Stategy, Planning, Tactics
Worshipers: Fighters, gamesters, monks, strategists, tacticians
Cleric Alignments: LE, LG, LN
Domains: Law, Nobility, Planning, War
Favored Weapon: "Checkmate" (longsword)
Calm and logical in demeanor, the Red Knight displays a great wealth of compassion, though she is unafraid to send her worshipers to their deaths when necessary to secure the objective of a plan. She rarely raises her voice and is said to love a good joke and have a throaty laugh. She dislikes flighty behavior, and looks unfavorably on those who switch alliances often or capriciously.
The church of Red Knight, known as the Red Fellowship, is an offshoot of a monastic order within the hierarchy of the church of Tempus that concentrated on planning and strategy and has only emerged from the shadow of the temple of Tempus since the Time of Troubles. members of the Red Fellowship serve in armies throughout Faerun, often as high-ranking commanders of elite squads. Others are well-respected instructors in war colleges. A few are quartermasters skilled at obtaining and managing supplies or establishing and maintaining supply lines over hostile territory. Quite a few clerics of the Red Knight have authored tomes on military strategy. When not on duty, clerics of the Red Fellowship are known for their love of gaming. Although they avoid games of chance that require the smile of Lady Luck more then the brilliance of the Red Knight, clerics of the faith strive to constantly improve their skills in abstract games of all sorts to further challenge their development of parallel lines of thought and new strategems and to sharpen their ability to read and opponent's intentions.
Clerics of the Red Knight pray for their spells at night before going to sleep, preparing for the day to come. In addition to observing the holy days and important ceremonies of the church of Tempus, the clergy of the Red Knight honor two important hol days. The Retreat is a day long retrospective on the previous year's campaigns. Strategies are discussed, battles are analyzed, and the accumulated lore is integrated into the churches teachings. The Queen's Gambit is celebrated on the first day of Tarsakh. During this festival, the clergy of the Red Knight unwind with a day of feasting and gamesmanship. Day-long tournaments of chess (also known as lanceboard) are held, with the tournament victors receiving recognition, titles of merit, promotions, and sometimes, a precious gift from the temple armory. Many clerics multiclass as divine champions, fighters, or monks.
History/Relationships: The Red Knight was elevated to divine status by Tempus as a natural countebralance to Garagos. She loyaly serves her patron, whom she regaurds as a father figure, and seeks to undermine both Garagos and Cyric. She works closely with Torm, who holds a similar disposition, and see's Valkur the Mighty as her best ally in naval combat, even if he is somewhat unreliable. The Red Knight keeps her true name secret from all but the lord of Battles, as she realizes that if any being, mortal or divine, were to gain any measure of control over her, they would be privy to all the plots and stratagems of rulers throughout Faerun and the deities throughout the planes.
Dogma: War is won by those with the best planning, strategy, and tactics, regardless of the apparent odds. Any fool can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with fortune's aid. Only a master strategist can ensure lasting victory. War is a series of battles. Losing a battle does not necessarily indicate the war is lost. Seek out your opponents weaknesses and recognize your own; avoid an opponent's strengths and play to your own. Only by focusing one's own strengths on the opponents vulnerabilities can triumph be ensured. In times of war prepare for peace; in times of peace prepare for war. Seek out your enemy's enemies as allies, and be prepared to compromise. Life is an endless series of skrimishes with occasional outbreaks of war. Be ready- and have a contingency plan.
Other Gods on Red Knight
Tempus: ...In recent years, Tempus sponsored the divinity of the Red Knight, a relationship to that of a fond and protective father to a brilliant daughter who works hard at the family business - War.
Torm: ...At Tyr's insistence, Torm has of late befriended the Red Knight in an attempt to temper her lust for war with an apreciation for justice.
Garagos: ...Despite his vacant mind, Garagos still harbors deep resentment against Tempus and his catspaw, the Red Knight. Should these deities meet in the field of combat, there's little doub that the Reaver would come out the worse for it. Eventually, however, Garagos's destructive capabilities might transcend his tactical weaknesses, and on such a day, the followers of Tempus are sure to know true despair.
FanonMost of this was made up by me.
NWN Domains: Good, Knowledge, War
Colors and Garb of the Faith: Armor of any type (heavy armor preferred) or Robes, primarily of Deep Cardinal Red with Ghost White and Bright Silver trim
Paladin Titles and Ranks: All of this is Fanon, you don't have to stick to this if you don't want to, this is just the organizational system of the Red Fellowship based in Suzail, Cormyr; which Maera hails from.
The Order of the Bloody Lance/The Order of the Crimson Sword - Male Paladins of Red Knight
Male Paladins are referred to as Blades, or Einherjar, depending on their rank*
Lvl 1-3: Blade Initiate
Lvl 4-7: Blade
Lvl 8-11: Einherjar
Lvl 12 -14: Einherjar-Lance
Lvl 15+: Einherjar-Captain
The Order of the Crimson Valkyrie/The Order of the Bloody Maidens
Female Paladins are referred to as Shield-Maidens, or Valkyries, depending on their rank*
Lvl 1-3: Shield-Maiden Initiate
Lvl 4-7: Shield Maiden
Lvl 8-11: Valkyrie
Lvl 12-14: Valkyrie-Lance
Lvl 15+: Valkyrie-Captain
*Progression does not necessarily have to proceed by levels, it can also proceed by ones ability to cast 1-4th lvl spells. Specifically, when one is able to cast bless weapon, they are a Blade/Shield Maiden, when they can cast Aura of Glory, they are a Einherhar/Valkyrie, When they can cast Dispel Magic they are a Einherjar-Lance/Valkyrie-Lance, and when they can cast Holy Avenger they are Einherjar-Captain/Valkyrie Captain.
Then again, if you lack the wis score for these spells, you can just go by lvl.Clerical Ranks and progression:All clergy of Red Knight are referred to as Strategeon as a blanket term.
lvl 1-3: Strategeon Pike
Lvl 4-7: Strategeon Rook
Lvl 8-11: Strategeon Lance
Lvl 12-14: Strategeon Bishop
Lvl 15+: Lord/Lady* Strategeon
*There can only be one King and one Queen in a region, they are typically in charge of the churches activities as a whole. This is a politically appointed posistion as voted on by rest of the church, lvl 15 and up is simply required for eligebility- Being over lvl 15 does not automatically make you Lord/Lady.The Red Fellowship is highly regimented, and most ranks are military style ranks, so it is appropriate to give ones full title and deployment when introducing oneself, and to refer to others by their full title. For instance, Maera introduces herself as
Shield Maiden Maera Mournstar of the Order of the Crimson Valkyrie, Formerly 10th Lance under the Command of Valkyrie-Captain Sophia Haggiera the Blooded, and referred to as Shield Maiden Mournstar. Meanwhile, the Lady in charge of the Red Fellowship in Suzail would be introduces as
Lady-Strategeon Helga of Cormyr, and referred to as
Lady-Strategeon Helga.The Chain of Command: The Red Fellowship exists both within and without the Church of Tempus, this while they are not required to heed the orders of the heirarchy of that particular faith, they will often respect it and obey high ranking or respected Tempite priests. In the faith of Red Knight, ones authority is roughly equal to ones combat experiance and ability to lead (and ones rank is directly equal to ones combat experiance and ability to lead, typically). Thus, in a situation where a General who happens to be a fighter is working alongside a Valkyrie Captain and a Bishop, the orders of the layman General take precidence. The Only exception is, at times, a Lord/Lady may assume direct command or countermand an order, but only if they can quote stragetic precidence from the Liber Tactica.
Generally speaking, the Chain of Command follows the person with the highest military/church rank. Laymen, Paladins, and Clergy are all accorded the same amount of respect, based on their rank. A Valkyries word has just as much weight as a Lance Strategeons.
The Liber Tactica: The Liber Tactica is my Fanon term for the holy canonical text of Red Knight. The Liber Tactica is a constantly evolving text, and while the core lessons remain the same, many of the texts evolve in different ways depending on the region (treatise on Naval combat is hardly useful in the Desert, and the finer points of Camel Archery is of no use on a boat!), except for the Retreat when the Parishes attempt to commune and reconcile their compiled strategic theories and lessons- still, reprinting and issuance is a slow process, so except in area's with large churches older more localized versions are prevalent.
The Liber Tactica is half religeous text, half encyclopedia of war. One chapter may deal with ettiquite and lessons about not judging others by appearance, another for the proper handling and care of war chargers and how to correctly goad them into running your opponent down and crushing them under hoof. Though the church of Red Knight is not specifically good, it is beginning to lean in that direction- and is highly lawful in any case, so ettiquite and propreity is paramount, both when dealing with outsiders and other members of the Church.
Organizations:The Order of the Crimson Valkyrie/The Order of the Bloody MaidensBased in Suzail, the capital city of Cormyr, The Order of the Crimson Valkyrie (sometimes known as The Order of the Bloody Maidens) is a female only order of paladins, comprised of 10 lances of 10 Valkyries with typically half as many shield maidens acting as squires in a given lance (thats roughly 150 members, for the mathematically impared). The Valkyries function as a sort of official mercenary band of the throne of Cormyr, approving of the highly militarized nature of Cormyran government and lending their willing aid. A small elite band of shock troops, the Order typically acts in support of the Purple Dragon Knights or squashes small uprisings, incursions, or bandit troups. As such, the 10 Lances of the Order are usually scattered around Cormyr unless a major battle is taking place. Despite their name, Paladins of the Order are not required to remain virginal, though they must be when they first join (not difficult as most begin their training at the ages of 8 or 10). Some however, proudly choose to remain chaste their whole lives and they are not discouraged in this- there is however, no penalty to those who chose to take lovers or husbands, so long as they understand duty comes first. Given their tendency to move around, few Valkyries see their husbands often. When a Valkyrie becomes pregnant, she must retire from active duty to give birth and care for the child until it is old enough to be cared for in the nearest temple of Red Knight (4 or 5 usually) or if child care is unavailible, until the child is old enough to take care of themselves. Thus, most Valkyries do not have children (on purpose) until they deciede to retire anyway. Retiring can be freely done with no shame, though it requires the permission of ones superior officer (permission is rarely refused, unless the reasonings are poor), and it effectivly means that the Valkyrie is expected to serve the church in non-frontline duties, such as guarding temples and holy sites, training new recruits, or maintaining equipment.