Looking for a faction with a particular feel [Archive] - Wizards Community

Looking for a faction with a particular feel [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
meto30
10-15-07, 01:10 PM I was bus-driving a friend of mine through the Scarlet Monastery Instance in Wow today, and thought that it would be interesting to introduce the Scarlet Crusade to my campaign. I could put in a lot of analogies, and my players, who all play WoW, would recognize the relationship and have fun.

As I was forming this idea, I wondered if there is any existing faction that is similar to the Scarlet Crusade in Warcraft or can be tweaked easily to fit it. Harpers are already in my campaign, so they're out of the question.

For those who do not know Warcraft, Scarlet Crusade is outlined below.

- Scarlet Crusade is a private army dedicated to destroying the Undead Scourge, an evil undead army.
- It was formed by former people of the now-fallen kingdom of Lordaeron, which fell to the Undead Plague that swept through northern Azeroth.
- Its theme is heavily religious. They call their strongholds 'monasteries', and their headquaters is 'the Scarlet Cathedral'. Their generals are called 'Inquisitors', and their captains are called 'Chaplains'.
- Scarlet Crusade has been driven to insanity by the constant battling. They now attack anyone not wearing their insignia on sight.
- History of the crusade is filled with treachery and deceit. It is a closely guarded secret that the Crusade's higher echelons are actually possessed by agents of the Undead Scourge. The current Grand Champion of the crusade is in league with the king of the undead, and is actually using his army to fight the Forsaken, the undead who escaped the control of the Lich King.
- The Crusade was announced heretic by the Stormwind Cathedral, which is the current Headquaters of the Church of Light.

PS: It would be extra helpful if the suggested faction opposes the Cult of the Dragon.

PSS: It would also be helpful if the suggested faction is led by a beautiful but fanatic woman. High Inquisitor Whitemane, anyone?
Halidan
10-15-07, 08:48 PM For those who do not know Warcraft, Scarlet Crusade is outlined below.

- Scarlet Crusade is a private army dedicated to destroying the Undead Scourge, an evil undead army.

Probably the best text for finding information on mercenary groups of the Realms is the old 1E book, "Gold & Glory." It can be found as a free download on the Wizards Download Page (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads).

- It was formed by former people of the now-fallen kingdom of Lordaeron, which fell to the Undead Plague that swept through northern Azeroth.

So you're looking for mercenaries from a now-fallen kingdon that was destroyed by undead. That's going to be kinda tough. However, if you're willing to compromise on the origins of your company, I might have a match for you.

- Its theme is heavily religious. They call their strongholds 'monasteries', and their headquaters is 'the Scarlet Cathedral'. Their generals are called 'Inquisitors', and their captains are called 'Chaplains'.

The Company of the Singing Dawn (one of the merc groups outlined in Gold & Glory) sounds like a good match on these points as well as fighting the undead.

They were founded in Chondath by Solara, a 10th level ranger. The company is dedicated to Lathander, God of the Dawn. They prefer to fight evil,especially when it involves fighting the undead or otherwise promotes their patron deity. They will not take any job that is antithetical to the worship of the Morninglord. Gold & Glory has additional details on their uniforms, units and fighting styles.

Solara is assisted by Justin Ironedge, a 9th level paladin; Lotharius Greentree, a 9th level elven fighter, and several other 7-9th level characters.

- Scarlet Crusade has been driven to insanity by the constant battling. They now attack anyone not wearing their insignia on sight.

That's going to be tough. I know of no FR mercenary army that's insane to the point of attacking everyone who's not a member. Is this critical to your story? If so, you'll have to write that part yourself.

- History of the crusade is filled with treachery and deceit. It is a closely guarded secret that the Crusade's higher echelons are actually possessed by agents of the Undead Scourge. The current Grand Champion of the crusade is in league with the king of the undead, and is actually using his army to fight the Forsaken, the undead who escaped the control of the Lich King.

Again, that's a theme closely tied to WoW, and not FR. But, if it's important to your story to have a merc group that's directed secretly by undead, you may want to look at the idea of having your merc group hired by the Twisted Rune.

In case you don't know, the Rune is a gathering of 20+ liches rulled by an ancient lich of great power. The Rune opperates in the shadows and is famous for secretly manevering many different groups (good and evil) to do their bidding. So it's easy to speculate that the Twisted Rune had one of it's agents (perhaps an advisor to the rulers of a small country) hire the Company of the Singing Dawn for whatever this crusade is.

- The Crusade was announced heretic by the Stormwind Cathedral, which is the current Headquaters of the Church of Light.

OK so it's not the rulers of a country, but the head of a church that's hired the Company of the Singing Dawn. Since the Company follows Lathander, it would be easy for one of the leaders of a Lathanderite temple to hire them. One of the Lathander clerics behind the decision is actually a follower of the Twisted Rune.

PS: It would be extra helpful if the suggested faction opposes the Cult of the Dragon. That's easy, everyone opposed the Cult of the Dragon.

PSS: It would also be helpful if the suggested faction is led by a beautiful but fanatic woman. High Inquisitor Whitemane, anyone?

Already covered above.

These are just my initial thoughts on the matter. I suspect that other posters will have other ideas. Hope this helps.
meto30
10-15-07, 10:16 PM Thanks, Halidan! Your post was a great help.

I was aiming for a crusade-like faction that fights undead but has a corruption problem. It does not need to be corrupt to the extent of the Scarlet Crusade in Warcraft, though - If I wanted that I'd just directly copy the whole crusade and land it where I want it.

I believe the Company of the Singing Dawn will work just well.

I did not know of the Twisted Rune, but it sounds like it was just what I was looking for.

So here's make re-imagination. Solara and her companions were having a succesful campaign of fighting undead in Chondath. As the faction grows in power Solara leads a crusade into neighboring areas. Justin is left in charge of the original company.

However, recent news is that Solara is turning to violent and not-so-goodish means to fight undead, sometimes forcing people to go through alignment tests and arresting those who come out as evil. Justin is worried and hires the PCs to investigate his friend, an idea he finds abhorrable but a decision he feels he must make. It would turn out that a member of the Twisted Rune ordered the company to the crusade, and the secretive Lich order was trying to control the faction for their own goals.

But how about other areas? Is there any faction nearer to the Sword Coast? I'd like to hear as many suggestions as possible.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
meto30 10-15-07, 01:10 PM	I was bus-driving a friend of mine through the Scarlet Monastery Instance in Wow today, and thought that it would be interesting to introduce the Scarlet Crusade to my campaign. I could put in a lot of analogies, and my players, who all play WoW, would recognize the relationship and have fun. As I was forming this idea, I wondered if there is any existing faction that is similar to the Scarlet Crusade in Warcraft or can be tweaked easily to fit it. Harpers are already in my campaign, so they're out of the question. For those who do not know Warcraft, Scarlet Crusade is outlined below. - Scarlet Crusade is a private army dedicated to destroying the Undead Scourge, an evil undead army. - It was formed by former people of the now-fallen kingdom of Lordaeron, which fell to the Undead Plague that swept through northern Azeroth. - Its theme is heavily religious. They call their strongholds 'monasteries', and their headquaters is 'the Scarlet Cathedral'. Their generals are called 'Inquisitors', and their captains are called 'Chaplains'. - Scarlet Crusade has been driven to insanity by the constant battling. They now attack anyone not wearing their insignia on sight. - History of the crusade is filled with treachery and deceit. It is a closely guarded secret that the Crusade's higher echelons are actually possessed by agents of the Undead Scourge. The current Grand Champion of the crusade is in league with the king of the undead, and is actually using his army to fight the Forsaken, the undead who escaped the control of the Lich King. - The Crusade was announced heretic by the Stormwind Cathedral, which is the current Headquaters of the Church of Light. PS: It would be extra helpful if the suggested faction opposes the Cult of the Dragon. PSS: It would also be helpful if the suggested faction is led by a beautiful but fanatic woman. High Inquisitor Whitemane, anyone?
Halidan 10-15-07, 08:48 PM	For those who do not know Warcraft, Scarlet Crusade is outlined below. - Scarlet Crusade is a private army dedicated to destroying the Undead Scourge, an evil undead army. Probably the best text for finding information on mercenary groups of the Realms is the old 1E book, "Gold & Glory." It can be found as a free download on the Wizards Download Page (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads). - It was formed by former people of the now-fallen kingdom of Lordaeron, which fell to the Undead Plague that swept through northern Azeroth. So you're looking for mercenaries from a now-fallen kingdon that was destroyed by undead. That's going to be kinda tough. However, if you're willing to compromise on the origins of your company, I might have a match for you. - Its theme is heavily religious. They call their strongholds 'monasteries', and their headquaters is 'the Scarlet Cathedral'. Their generals are called 'Inquisitors', and their captains are called 'Chaplains'. The Company of the Singing Dawn (one of the merc groups outlined in Gold & Glory) sounds like a good match on these points as well as fighting the undead. They were founded in Chondath by Solara, a 10th level ranger. The company is dedicated to Lathander, God of the Dawn. They prefer to fight evil,especially when it involves fighting the undead or otherwise promotes their patron deity. They will not take any job that is antithetical to the worship of the Morninglord. Gold & Glory has additional details on their uniforms, units and fighting styles. Solara is assisted by Justin Ironedge, a 9th level paladin; Lotharius Greentree, a 9th level elven fighter, and several other 7-9th level characters. - Scarlet Crusade has been driven to insanity by the constant battling. They now attack anyone not wearing their insignia on sight. That's going to be tough. I know of no FR mercenary army that's insane to the point of attacking everyone who's not a member. Is this critical to your story? If so, you'll have to write that part yourself. - History of the crusade is filled with treachery and deceit. It is a closely guarded secret that the Crusade's higher echelons are actually possessed by agents of the Undead Scourge. The current Grand Champion of the crusade is in league with the king of the undead, and is actually using his army to fight the Forsaken, the undead who escaped the control of the Lich King. Again, that's a theme closely tied to WoW, and not FR. But, if it's important to your story to have a merc group that's directed secretly by undead, you may want to look at the idea of having your merc group hired by the Twisted Rune. In case you don't know, the Rune is a gathering of 20+ liches rulled by an ancient lich of great power. The Rune opperates in the shadows and is famous for secretly manevering many different groups (good and evil) to do their bidding. So it's easy to speculate that the Twisted Rune had one of it's agents (perhaps an advisor to the rulers of a small country) hire the Company of the Singing Dawn for whatever this crusade is. - The Crusade was announced heretic by the Stormwind Cathedral, which is the current Headquaters of the Church of Light. OK so it's not the rulers of a country, but the head of a church that's hired the Company of the Singing Dawn. Since the Company follows Lathander, it would be easy for one of the leaders of a Lathanderite temple to hire them. One of the Lathander clerics behind the decision is actually a follower of the Twisted Rune. PS: It would be extra helpful if the suggested faction opposes the Cult of the Dragon. That's easy, everyone opposed the Cult of the Dragon. PSS: It would also be helpful if the suggested faction is led by a beautiful but fanatic woman. High Inquisitor Whitemane, anyone? Already covered above. These are just my initial thoughts on the matter. I suspect that other posters will have other ideas. Hope this helps.
meto30 10-15-07, 10:16 PM	Thanks, Halidan! Your post was a great help. I was aiming for a crusade-like faction that fights undead but has a corruption problem. It does not need to be corrupt to the extent of the Scarlet Crusade in Warcraft, though - If I wanted that I'd just directly copy the whole crusade and land it where I want it. I believe the Company of the Singing Dawn will work just well. I did not know of the Twisted Rune, but it sounds like it was just what I was looking for. So here's make re-imagination. Solara and her companions were having a succesful campaign of fighting undead in Chondath. As the faction grows in power Solara leads a crusade into neighboring areas. Justin is left in charge of the original company. However, recent news is that Solara is turning to violent and not-so-goodish means to fight undead, sometimes forcing people to go through alignment tests and arresting those who come out as evil. Justin is worried and hires the PCs to investigate his friend, an idea he finds abhorrable but a decision he feels he must make. It would turn out that a member of the Twisted Rune ordered the company to the crusade, and the secretive Lich order was trying to control the faction for their own goals. But how about other areas? Is there any faction nearer to the Sword Coast? I'd like to hear as many suggestions as possible.