Order of Rod and Star

Summary

What remains of the Black Hand of Bane's legacy in Sundren must surely reside amongst the Order of Rod and Star, informally known as the Black Cloaks of Sestra. The Rod and Star are a militant organization whose devotees count the expansion of Sestra's military influence in the valley as chief among their goals. They are soldiers, tacticians and masters of warfare. While other militaries may be larger in number, none can confidently claim that their armies are better-trained than the Sestran hosts assembled under the strict discipline of the Rod and Star.

Recognizing that a military cannot be fed or geared without a strong economy, the Black Cloaks reluctantly coexist with the Sable Order. Tension rises where the two orders' policies conflict; in recent years, a mandate of conscription instituted in Sestra by the Order of Rod and Star has come under particularly heavy criticism. The current Exarch has yet to make known his feelings on the matter but the Rod and Star are adamant that the mandate should stand.

Typical Member Traits:

• Usually Fighters, Blackguards, and Clerics of the Dead Three
• Strong sense of duty and pride.
• Comfortable in strict hierarchies
• Typically LE, LN, NE, N

Origin/History

The fanatical elements of the Black Hand may have been driven out by Marshal Hashart Datton after the Declaration of Silent Peace and the waning of Colibrus' influence in Duskfall, but the worship of Bane and the Dead Three would never die. Datton himself was a devout follower of Bane until the last of his days and his leadership ensured that those faithful to the Lord of Darkness would always have a place of power in Sestra. He ensured that the Order of Rod and Star rose in prominence along with the Sable Order, a counterpoint to the city's flourishing economy that would ensure that no matter how wealthy a citizen of Sestra could become, they would always know their place.

The Rod and Star's soldiers were trained by its leaders to become exceptional, peerless warriors. Draped in their namesake black cloaks, they were widely feared - but more than that, they were respected by all of Sestra's populace. Crime was answered swiftly and to the letter of the law, without question and without exception. Anyone able to carve out an existence under this new world order knew that they could rely on the law to seek justice. And so, even once the mandate of conscription demanded the delivery of all Sestran firstborns into the military, many families in Sestra took a cold comfort in knowing that their sacrifice would ensure the city's safety and their children's glory.

Base(s) of Operations

Sestra

Objectives

The Order of Rod and Star work toward the expansion of Sestra's military capabilities and influence. It is a poorly-hidden secret that the Black Cloaks have ambitions for the domination of the entire valley under the Sestran banner.

Alas, fending off the Sable Order's lobbying and denunciation of Sestra's mandate of conscription has become a primary objective of the Rod and Star. While their black-cloaked generals are experts on the battlefield, the field of politics is - as yet - still a foreign one to them.

Ranks

• Marshal
  
• General
  
• Colonel
  
• Major
  
• Lieutenant
  
• Sergeant
  
• Corporal
  
• Private
  

Timeline/Historical Events of Note

• 1385 - 1389 - Duskfall and the Silent Peace. The Sable Order takes advantage of Marshal Hashart Datton's sympathies to excise the more fanatical and tyrannical elements of the Black Hand.
  
• 1402 - Hashart Datton, seeing the need for a balance to the Sable Order's rising influence, quietly throws support behind Regus Drach, himself an aspiring military leader.
• 1408 - Regus Drach is promoted to General of the Sestran military. He establishes the Order of Rod and Star.
  
• 1413 - The Order of Rod and Star puts down a nascent rebellion in Sestra. Hashart Datton rewards the order with cloaks as black as midnight, soon to be adopted as part of the Rod and Star's formal uniform.
  
• 1417 - Regus Drach earns the title of Grand Marshal upon winning a series of border skirmishes against nomad barbarians.
• 1424 - The Rod and Star formally institute Sestra's Mandate of Conscription, much to the chagrin of the Sable Order.
• 1428 - The Rod and Star are behind an initiative to strictly regulate - but not ban - necromancy in Sestra.
• 1432 - Wyman Zuul is named Exarch of Sestra in accordance with Sestran Law. He appoints Regus Drach to the Exalted Ministry as Minister of War
  

Leadership/People of Note

Grand Marshal Regus Drach, Minister of War

Regus Drach has been a man of many faces, always opportune to his needs. As a soldier, he was loyal, efficient, and dutiful. Elevated to a command position at the age of one and twenty, he became charismatic and inspiring. His men followed him into battle willingly, assured that Regus would lead them to victory. Regus proved them right. He has never lost a military conflict. Promoted time and again, there was no question that he would ascend to his current position as Grand Marshal. For a time, there was even some suspicion that he ought to be named the next Exarch. Here, he readily acquired a politician's demeanor, charming and wooing his allies and opponents alike. With the ascension of Wyman Zuul, however, Regus' hopes for Sestra's throne have waned. It remains to be seen what face Regus will don next, and whether his appointment to the Exalted Ministry will satisfy a man whose rise seemed pre-ordained.

Major Resa de Baudelaire

A scion of House de Baudelaire, Resa is something of a wild card within the Rod and Star. Were it not for her father's influence, some suspect the young de Baudelaire would have been expelled from the Order long ago. She has earned a small but loyal following within the order, however, and her ambition suggests she will not be content to remain at a mid-tier command position for long.

Lieutenant Grozdan Mossglow

Twin brother to Dragomir Mossglow of the Sable Order, Grozdan is determined to prove himself to be the superior contestant to inherit his house. He has ascended the ranks of the Rod and Star quickly, but now finds a dangerous opponent in Major Resa de Baudelaire, who seems determined to quash him beneath her boot.