Many in Faerûn seek power and prosperity, but few can achieve their ambitions alone. Instead, individuals join influential groups called factions. Adventurers who join a faction stand to gain honors, privileges, wealth, and, above all, respect.
Each faction has its own vision for Faerûn, and these imagined ideals are rarely fully compatible. When their goals conflict, factions form rivalries. Conversely, when one faction overextends itself or becomes too strong, its rivals band together to balance the scales of power. Frequent cooperation might eventually lead to alliances, though these partnerships are rarely made official.
Throughout this chapter, if a creature's name appears in bold type, you'll find that creature's stat block in the Monster Manual unless otherwise specified.
Faction Descriptions
This chapter includes details on the following factions:
Special Facilities
The factions detailed in this chapter each include a special facility that members of that faction can add to their Bastion. See 10 of the Dungeon Master's Guide for the rules for Bastions.
Faction Relationships
The Faction Attitudes table summarizes the sentiments shared between the factions described in this chapter. Faction pairs marked with an F consider each other allies, and their members have a default attitude of Friendly toward one another. Faction pairs marked with an H consider each other rivals, and their members have a default attitude of Hostile toward one another. Members of factions marked with an I begin Indifferent toward one another. Exceptions might exist on an individual level.
| Cult of the Dragon | Emerald Enclave | Harpers | Lords' Alliance | Order of the Gauntlet | Purple Dragon Knights | Red Wizards | Zhentarim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cult of the Dragon | F | H | H | H | H | H | I | F |
| Emerald Enclave | H | F | F | I | F | I | H | H |
| Harpers | H | F | F | F | F | I | H | H |
| Lords' Alliance | H | I | F | F | F | F | H | H |
| Order of the Gauntlet | H | F | F | F | F | F | H | H |
| Purple Dragon Knights | H | I | I | F | F | F | H | I |
| Red Wizards | I | H | H | H | H | H | I | F |
| Zhentarim | F | H | H | H | H | I | F | F |
Cult of the Dragon
The Cult of the Dragon is a centuries-old cabal of evil mages, doomsayers, and dragon worshipers. Its members believe in apocalyptic prophecies that center on dragons as the world's inevitable destroyers (or, rarely, its saviors). To hasten the end times, cultists enact elaborate rituals to empower or summon evil dragons.
Goals and Activities
The plots of the Cult of the Dragon are secret, but its existence isn't. Most folk in Faerûn have heard of the cult but know only that its members revere evil dragons. The cult recruits new members in major cities, where many cultists engage in legitimate business or are assigned to ordinary academic research. Only a few serve as thieves, assassins, and spies.
At its outset, the Cult of the Dragon primarily concerned itself with the creation and worship of dracoliches—powerful undead dragons the cult believes will inevitably rule Faerûn—through rituals detailed in the Tome of the Dragon. More recently, however, the cult has splintered, with many within the cult committing themselves to Tiamat, the evil Queen of Dragons. This splinter group elevates Tiamat above other divinities and looks forward to the Dragon Queen's return, believing that she—not dracoliches—will destroy civilization, usher in a glorious reign of dragons, and reward those who helped bring about draconic rule.
Dragon-themed symbolism and iconography pervade the cult's regalia: a cape or cloak cut to resemble dragon wings, plus clothing, jewelry, and draconic accessories reflecting the wearer's favorite type of dragon. Masks—especially masks of dragons—are common at cult gatherings, and many cultists craft their own masks.
Cultists avoid wearing this regalia in public, but anyone who knows what to look for can often pick an incognito dragon cultist out of a crowd. The most recognizable tell is the sign of Tiamat, a gesture cultists who revere the Dragon Queen use to greet one another: right hand extended, palm forward, with five fingers spread in imitation of Tiamat's five heads.
Leadership and Organization
The cult has a simple hierarchical structure, consisting of initiates on the bottom, four ranks for cultists, and one highest rank for the Wearers of Purple—the leaders and cult masters of particular locales. The cult is ruled by secretive Wearers of Purple called wyrmspeakers—a term of respect given to those whose bond with dragons is supernaturally strong.
Rank in the cult is based on merit and fanaticism. As raw recruits, initiates have no rank and follow the orders of their superiors. Only initiates that prove their worth can advance. A Wearer of Purple can promote an initiate along the track of dragonclaw (first rank), dragonwing (second rank), dragonfang (third rank), and dragonsoul (fourth rank).
Cult operation groups vary in size, from a few low-ranking cultists operating on their own to hundreds of cultists of various ranks under the control of multiple Wearers of Purple, depending on their assigned tasks.
Cells
The Cult of the Dragon consists of countless cells spread across Faerûn. Each cell is led by one or more Wearers of Purple who report to the cult's wyrmspeakers, typically via magical correspondence. Cells have their own agendas but must conform with the wyrmspeakers' doctrine or else face expulsion from the order.
Low-ranking cultists have little reason and few opportunities to interact with cultists outside their own cell.
Recruitment
The Cult of the Dragon is always seeking to expand its ranks. New recruits are encouraged to bring trusted family members and friends for conversion. The next most common form of recruitment is tried-and-true abduction combined with cult indoctrination. Cultists also sometimes recruit undead, fey, or other monsters.
Cult leaders aren't opposed to hiring mercenaries for specific jobs or when ranks are thin. The cult casts a wide net with vaguely worded fliers on job boards or shadowy brokers posted in dark tavern corners; higher-ranking cultists then cherry-pick the most promising (that is, manipulable) prospects. In this way, countless soldiers of fortune, run-of-the-mill toughs, and even seasoned adventurers have unwittingly undertaken missions for the cult. Some complete their job none the wiser of their involvement in the cult's schemes. Others discover the ruse in time to flee. An unsavory few catch on to the true nature of their work and use the opportunity to seek admission to the cult.
Wearers of Purple
The Wearers of Purple stand at the top of the cult's hierarchy, and their word is law for the cultists in the cities, strongholds, and lairs they command. They are the only members of the cult to wear purple, and most are proud enough to flaunt the color. The Wearers of Purple have an affinity for talking to and negotiating with dragons—the gift of wyrmspeaking. Dozens of Wearers of Purple are spread throughout the Cult of the Dragon, and all can marshal the cult's resources at will.
Only the cult's inner circle can promote a dragonsoul to a Wearer of Purple, granting that character a base of operations and funds. Most new Wearers of Purple have already developed a working relationship with a dragon or dracolich as part of their power and authority. Those who don't cultivate this relationship are sometimes demoted. Several priests of Tiamat have recently been made Wearers of Purple and are establishing temples for her open worship in Faerûn.
Wyrmspeakers
Five Wearers of Purple conduct the cult's farthest-reaching plans. The members of this inner circle each wear a different colored dragon mask that hides their true identities. They call themselves wyrmspeakers, and members of the cult fear their power over dragons. Each wyrmspeaker has an affinity for a particular color of chromatic dragon. They treat with dragons of those colors to recruit more dragons to the cause, and plan cult missions that advance the cult's plots.
Leaving the Cult
Once initiated, a cultist belongs to the cult for life. Those who escape the cult spend the rest of their days fearful of every shadow and stranger, for the cult doesn't take kindly to deserters. In exceptionally rare cases, a cult member might be excommunicated yet allowed to live. The price of this mercy is never cheap; exiled cultists must usually give up all their memories to mind-obliterating magic or commit some unspeakable act the cult can later use as blackmail if needed.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Cult of the Dragon by working with dragons or by completing quests for the cult. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Cult of the Dragon Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | The Cult of the Dragon provides you a 6 for free at its hideouts. |
| 5+ | You can hire Cult of the Dragon hirelings for half the usual cost. |
| 10 | You receive the honorary rank of dragonclaw. The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, the cult rewards you with one random Uncommon magic item. |
| 15+ | You receive the honorary rank of dragonwing. You can assign a squad of up to six Cultists to perform any task that doesn't directly conflict with the cult's doctrine. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 25+ | You receive the honorary rank of dragonfang. You can request the aid of one Cultist Fanatic for a mission. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 30 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 30, the cult rewards you with one random Rare magic item. |
| 40+ | You receive the honorary rank of dragonsoul. You can call in a favor to make a specific Humanoid creature "disappear" for 1d10 days. You must know the name of the target creature, but you don't need to know their location. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 50+ | You receive the honorary rank of Wearer of Purple. All cultists obey your instruction and openly provide you information. In addition, you can request an audience with the cult's inner circle. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again. |
Cult of the Dragon Characters
The Cult of the Dragon attracts members from all walks of life; soldiers, spellcasters, and scoundrels all have skills valuable to the cult.
Any character might associate with the Cult of the Dragon, even those who aren't evil. Desperate times can push good-natured people to beseech the cult for a favor. Cultists often blackmail innocent people—including cultists' own family members—into doing work for the cult. A character could be aiding the cult unwittingly (even if you, the player, know the truth).
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Cult of the Dragon, you receive the following benefits.
Tithing
You are expected to donate 100 GP or 10% of your earnings per month, whichever is less, to the leader of your cult's cell.
Trinket
Roll on the Cult of the Dragon Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Cult of the Dragon.
Vestments
As part of your initiation, you receive a set of Robes and a sinister dragon mask. You choose the color of these vestments: black, blue, green, red, or white.
Marked by the Dragon
The Cult of the Dragon conducts sacrificial rituals to advance its esoteric goals. But not all the cult's sacrificial victims perish in the ordeal. A rare few emerge from the ritual not just alive, but changed. Such survivors are said to be "marked by the dragon." Some call these individuals dragonscarred. Different cells treat dragonscarred differently. Some view them as monstrous and exile them from the cult's territory. Others treat dragonscarred well, elevating them to higher stations in the cult.
If your character has undergone a sacrificial ritual and yet survived, you can roll on the Dragonscarred Blessings table to randomly determine the physical feature your character bears from the ordeal. These features are superficial and serve no practical function.
| 1d8 | Physical Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | You bear a facial scar in the shape of a dragon. |
| 2 | You have vestigial dragon horns, vestigial wings, or a vestigial tail. |
| 3 | Your eyes have slitted pupils and vividly colored irises. |
| 4 | Parts of your skin are covered in patches of reptilian scales. |
| 5 | Your blood is icy cold. |
| 6 | A flame crackles inside your chest, and you exhale bits of ash with every breath. |
| 7 | You crave and can digest foods your species would normally find inedible, such as whole eggs, raw poultry, dirt, or bones. |
| 8 | Your hair stands on end and crackles with static electricity. |
Special Facility
Members of the Cult of the Dragon can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Emerald Enclave
A ranger guards a caravan through monster-plagued wilds. Forest defenders dismantle a war camp polluting a vital river. A circle of druids enacts a rain ritual for a drought-stricken village. These are but a few examples of how the Emerald Enclave makes the world a peaceful, hospitable place for people and nature alike.
The Emerald Enclave is an organization of survivalists and nature worshipers who refer to themselves as Caretakers. Members of the enclave maintain the balance between wilderness and civilization and reinforce what they call "the natural order." This natural order is exemplified by places where people and nature live in harmony—places where neither settlements nor wilds threaten to overwhelm the other. Caretakers protect such areas with their lives. To the Emerald Enclave, individual sacrifice is worthwhile if it means the preservation of the whole.
Caretakers wear green clothes made from natural, foraged materials such as plants and animal hides. The most powerful members have magically bright-green eyes. Most Caretakers are constantly surrounded by animals and can walk seamlessly between civilization and the wilds.
Members of the Emerald Enclave are loosely organized into diffuse sub-factions called circles. Some Caretakers from the same circle might work together in small bands, but many operate in isolation. These lone wolves rely on the animals and plants around them to monitor other Caretakers (and non-Caretakers) in their vicinity.
Goals and Activities
Caretakers preserve sacred natural sites by guarding them from logging, mining, and other exploitation. In areas where the natural order has already been compromised, the enclave restores the land so it is once again fruitful and hospitable. The enclave's spellcasters draw on nature magic to expedite labors such as planting trees and cleaning litter-filled waterways.
In dire situations—such as an undead-riddled battlefield—the Emerald Enclave leads coordinated assaults to root out the land's defilers. When necessary, Caretakers put impenitent evildoers to the sword. Members of the enclave don't relish violence against nature's children, but they know destruction is sometimes necessary for healing to begin. Caretakers do, however, proudly raise arms against unnatural forces such as aberrant monsters, reanimated dead, and machines of war. Members of the enclave believe such creatures exist to threaten the natural order and must be destroyed.
When they aren't healing broken lands or fending off the forces of chaos, Caretakers study and promote the ways that fauna and flora peacefully coexist in nature. Some spend time in settlements to forge new connections and encourage communities to tend the world around them. The enclave is always in search of allies, for, as one Caretaker saying puts it, the herd is strongest when its numbers are great. Thus, wise Caretakers hone their communication skills, knowing that a compelling speech or poignant adage can help others connect to the land.
Lunar Rituals
The cycle of the moon and seasons is important to the Emerald Enclave's rituals. New Caretakers are initiated to the enclave each month on the full moon. New moons are reserved for tribunals, when judgment is passed on enemies taken prisoner or on Caretakers who've failed to uphold their duties. Many Caretakers plan sojourns to coincide with the lunar cycle so that they venture away from home while the moon wanes, then return while it waxes.
Just as the enclave shares in times of bounty, so too it shares the onus of performing necessary evils. When a tribunal demands capital punishment or a lunar ritual requires animal sacrifice, the tribunal selects an executioner through a casting of holy stones or sacred sticks or the summoning of a nature spirit that temporarily possesses an individual. In this way, no single Caretaker must bear the entire weight of the grisly work that must be done.
Leadership and Organization
A Caretaker who achieves acclaim might take an epithet. Typically such an epithet is bestowed by another Caretaker to commemorate a worthy deed. Storied Caretakers have multiple epithets, which are then appended to one another; for example, a veteran enclave member named Krodar might be referred to as "Caretaker Krodar, Axe Breaker, and Tamer of Owlbears."
Enclave Circles
A circle of the Emerald Enclave is a collective of Caretakers who study and practice the teachings of a particular aspect of the natural world to achieve the enclave's goals. Circles act independently, but they might seek one another's expertise when dealing with large-scale or far-ranging challenges.
There is some overlap between enclave circles and druid circles. But not all druids belong to the Emerald Enclave, and not all enclave members are druids. A druid of the Circle of the Moon, for example, might go their entire life without encountering the Emerald Enclave's circle of the same name, even though both groups practice similar teachings and rituals.
Each circle is led by its longest-serving and most accomplished members: sage rangers and ancient druids known as Verdant Ones. Verdant Ones lead lunar rituals, train new Caretakers, and coordinate missions with other circles. Often, a Verdant One passes judgment on issues where the balance between natural forces is unclear.
These are just a few of the enclave's circles in Faerûn:
- The Circle of Air believes the world's eons-long natural cycle requires similarly lengthy study to fully comprehend.
- The Circle of the Ancients is the oldest and most influential circle, tapping into primordial secrets.
- The Circle of the Giants reveres the titans of the natural world: dinosaurs, dragons, and megafauna.
- The Circle of the Land is the largest circle, protecting nature in all its forms and helping others survive in the wilderness.
- The Circle of the Moon aids those who travel at night, and those threatened by nocturnal forces.
- The Circle of Wildfire understands destruction is a fundamental part of the natural cycle and individual sacrifice is necessary for the greater good.
The Three
The leaders of the Emerald Enclave are called the Three. These legendary druids provide guidance to other enclave circles and pass judgment on the most serious offenses. They occupy and protect a sacred temple to Silvanus called Oakenhall. Rarely the Three might visit another sacred site; such visits are never announced and rarely portend good news.
Though rarely spoken of as individuals, the Three are sometimes identified by the leaf-shaped masks they wear: the Oak, the Elm, and the Willow. The Three began as ordinary people, but when an individual dons one of these three magical masks, the mask merges with their flesh and transforms the wearer into a faceless, ageless being of no known species—nine feet tall and identical to the other members.
Sacred Sites
All over Faerûn, Caretakers congregate at meeting grounds called sacred sites. Except for Oakenhall and a few other notable temples, the Emerald Enclave's sacred sites are naturally occurring locales of spiritual or magical import. The Emerald Enclave considers these sites—and any other locations where nature has worked its miracles—symbolically important and worth guarding closely. The following are a few notable sacred sites.
Coltree
In the foothills around the Spine of the World grows a massive fir called Coltree. It rises from a white granite slope ribboned with thick veins of exposed coal that give the landscape a zebra-like appearance.
Moraeire
Moraeire is a blue-tinted stone column in a valley of similar pillars off the west coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars. The valley is flooded most of the year, creating a unique ecosystem that's part bog, part canyon.
Silver Tear
The Silver Tearin Anauroch is an underground oasis at the center of a massive grotto. Its exact location is secret, but the entrance lies somewhere at the bottom of a steep gorge riddled with red caves.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Emerald Enclave by defending nature against would-be despoilers and by completing tasks for enclave members. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Emerald Enclave Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | You can hire Emerald Enclave hirelings for half the usual cost. |
| 5+ | You can request a Caretaker (Scout) to accompany you on a journey and help you navigate, forage, and search. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, a Caretaker teaches you Druidic. |
| 15+ | You can buy Common and Uncommon potions and Spell Scrolls from the Emerald Enclave. |
| 25+ | If you or your companions are at risk of suffering from dehydration or malnutrition while within 10 miles of an enclave site, Caretakers bring you enough food and water to meet your needs. |
| 30 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 30, Caretakers provide you with 1d4 Potions of Healing (superior). |
| 40+ | Your eyes turn bright green. Centaurs, treants, unicorns, and all Beasts are Friendly to you by default. |
| 50+ | Members of the Emerald Enclave openly share information with you. In addition, you can request a single audience with the Three. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again. |
Emerald Enclave Characters
Adventurers who commit their lives to the Emerald Enclave are often Barbarians, Druids, or Rangers, but anyone who honors and protects the natural balance can find a place in the enclave. Those who spent their formative years around the Emerald Enclave might have the Guide or Hermit background.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Emerald Enclave, you receive these benefits.
Modest Lifestyle
The Emerald Enclave provides its members with enough food, water, and shelter for a 6.
Trinket
Roll on the Emerald Enclave Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Emerald Enclave.
Special Facility
Members of the Emerald Enclave can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Harpers
Harpers are secretive spies, sleuths, and skalds who oppose evil throughout the Forgotten Realms. Harpers believe that power, fortune, and knowledge should be shared by all rather than hoarded by the few. They are disinterested in fame and glory—whatever they do, they do for the common good, with no expectation of reward.
Harpers employ magic, subterfuge, and wit to achieve their aims, preferably without arousing any suspicion of their interference. They favor subtle manipulation to overt action—a Harper is more likely to turn enemies against one another than to stick a dagger in a despot's back. Better yet is depriving bad actors of power in the first place, such as by securing dangerous magical weapons before they fall into the wrong hands. Yet for all their behind-the-scenes action, Harpers are well known among both downtrodden common folk, who laud them as heroes, and the forces of evil, who scorn them as meddlers.
Goals and Activities
The Harpers' primary goals are to free the oppressed and dismantle the power structures that enable such oppression. To achieve the former, Harpers commit heroic deeds and dispense useful knowledge in equal measure. To someone who says, "Give folks a fish, and they'll eat today—teach them how to fish, and they'll eat for the rest of their lives," a Harper says, "Why not both?"
When it comes to disarming evildoers, Harpers monitor political powers and employ covert action when necessary. They don't rush into confrontation when there's time to study the situation and develop a cohesive plan. On the other hand, no Harper would hesitate to help someone in imminent danger. A Harper balances the desire to gather information and the need to act quickly.
Harpers' secondary goals are many, and the prioritization of these goals is a matter of individual discretion. Silver-tongued Harpers focus their talents on the advancement of the order's virtues, especially fairness and equality. Harpers with a penchant for magic undertake missions to protect or destroy potentially harmful magic items. And, of course, Harpers who simply want to punish the wicked and save the innocent have no trouble finding opportunities to do just that.
Harper Code
Harpers follow a loose set of guiding ideals called the Harper code. Like the order itself, the code is in a state of constant flux, growing, shrinking, and changing to fit the needs of the time. But some tenets, such as fairness and equality, remain much as they were when the order was first founded.
Watchwords
The Harper code is organized into a system of phrases called watchwords. Harpers coin and recite watchwords to guide their actions in uncertain situations. Harpers exchange watchwords with one another as pass phrases or to verify identities. Senior Harpers pass down watchwords in their sacred rites of initiation and in the training of new recruits.
Some Harpers carry a small book in which they collect or pen watchwords, but the Harper code has no official canon. Still, a few watchwords are so common that all Harpers can be expected to know them. Examples include the following:
- No one is free until all are free.
- Whatever it takes, a Harper will do.
- Study the past to preserve the future.
- For freedom to flourish, there must be balance.
Leadership and Organization
The Harpers are scattered, with neither a strict hierarchy nor a centralized place of command. Rather, they consist of many small cells and lone agents who operate within a vast, loose network. This open and resilient structure has enabled the Harpers to form, disband, and re-form many times in the history of the Realms.
As befits their ethos, there is no one leader of the Harpers. Authority and responsibility are shared equally among members. That said, veteran Harpers have broader access to useful contacts and greater knowledge of goings on simply by virtue of having been around longer, and novice Harpers tend to take missions and receive counsel from their more experienced peers.
Harpers have strong bonds with their fellow Harpers. Feuds or even friendly rivalries among members are rare. A Harper never hesitates to help a fellow Harper in need.
Harper Cells and Strongholds
Although they range across Faerûn, Harpers aren't a unified force. Some Harpers act mostly independently, but many belong to a local Harper cell—a collective of Harpers who share information and undertake missions together. These cells are differentiated by the location of their strongholds (if they have one), their local notoriety, and what parts of the Harper code they consider most important.
The Harpers of Twilight Hall in Berdusk, for example, work in coordinated groups to achieve long-range plans. Harpers based out of Silverymoon, on the other hand, emphasize the responsible use of magic and securing dangerous Artifacts. Yet another example is Harpers like those led by Storm Silverhand in Shadowdale: lone wolves who conduct themselves like secret agents.
Joining the Harpers
A person doesn't simply become a Harper—they have to be chosen by a Harper to receive the honor. Harpers observe potential candidates from afar to assess their words and deeds. Candidates deemed worthy are approached by a Harper in disguise who poses a test of the individual's character. This test is typically a fabricated moral dilemma or a veiled choice between self-enrichment and self-sacrifice. To ensure their motives are true, a candidate shouldn't know they are being observed or tested.
A candidate who passes the secret test is eventually apprised of the gambit and invited to the Harpers. To join the order, the individual must swear an oath before a council of senior Harpers to uphold the Harper code. Once an individual swears this oath, they must uphold it for life.
Ex-Harpers are rare for two reasons. First, the process for testing new Harpers is rigorous enough to weed out most candidates unwilling to maintain the oath. Second, the punishment for betraying the Harpers is severe, summarized by this watchword: Traitors must die. The few Harpers who abandon their oath—or who commit an offense that doesn't warrant death—are cast out of the order. Atonement is sometimes possible, but it is a long and arduous endeavor.
High Harpers
Harpers are equal in rank with one notable exception: the High Harpers. These mysterious figures are responsible for the Harpers' long-term planning and the order's greatest campaigns against evil. High Harpers are voted into their position by a secret ballot among other High Harpers, who select candidates from among the order's most accomplished and capable individuals.
The High Harpers rarely convene, and when they do, it is a truly momentous—or dire—occasion. Someone who seeks an audience with the High Harpers might wait many moons before receiving their counsel, if it is ever granted. But the wait is worthwhile; the High Harpers' favor is a great honor and a tremendous resource.
Harper Personas
Harpers are masters of disguise and improvisation. The best Harpers develop a repertoire of false identities—called personas—to assume at a moment's notice. Veteran Harpers sometimes teach these personas to fellow Harpers or allies. Much in the way a knight might pass on their precious sword or shield to a squire, a Harper might bequeath the tale and attire of a persona to a less experienced Harper.
Harper personas share tropes or fall into recognizable archetypes. When allies recognize a persona, they realize it's a Harper and play along. When a persona becomes too well known, Harpers retire the character and develop a new one.
A character with a Disguise Kit can assume a Harper persona by succeeding on a DC 10 Charisma check to apply makeup. When you learn a persona in this way, you can roll on the Harper Personas table to randomly determine what persona you learn.
| 1d8 | Persona |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rusty Riba, a rowdy smith with a folksy accent, filthy fingernails, and a quick temper |
| 2 | Father Temino, a morose priest of Amaunator, Helm, Chauntea, or another well-known deity, who offers somber counsel in a monotone |
| 3 | Pippi Toobs, a talented but overeager busker, whose performances include whistling, sleight of hand, and foot juggling |
| 4 | Aargus, a humorless patriarch who's always complaining about his seven good-for-nothing kids who ran off to become adventurers |
| 5 | Aunt Cecilia, a silent sage, friend of animals, and inveterate winker, who's never without a bag of birdseed |
| 6 | Johann Overbridge, a scatterbrained rookie guard in ill-fitting armor who never has his papers in order |
| 7 | Vincent, a young thrill seeker and shameless heartbreaker with a fresh black eye and a cocky grin |
| 8 | Liza Lily, a flower seller with worried expression and a chronic cough, who looks even more pathetic than her wilted posies |
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Harpers by completing Harper missions and upholding the Harper code. As their Renown Score with the Harpers increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Harpers Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | You can stay in any Harper stronghold. While there, the Harpers provide you a 6 for free. |
| 5+ | You can buy Common potions and scrolls at Harper strongholds. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, you learn one persona from the Harper Personas table. |
| 15+ | You receive a 15 percent discount when you buy potions, scrolls, and adventuring gear at Harper strongholds. |
| 25 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 25, you receive a Harper Pin (silver) and learn an additional persona from the x table. |
| 30+ | When you enter a settlement for the first time, local Harpers freely share any notable rumors and important intel with you. |
| 40 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 40, you receive a Harper Pin (golden) and learn an additional persona from the Harper Personas table. |
| 50+ | You can request a single audience with the High Harpers. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again. |
Harper Characters
Although many Harpers are Bards, musical talent isn't required. Rogues, Rangers, Sorcerers, and Wizards make fine Harpers.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Harpers, you receive these benefits.
Harper Kit
When you first join the Harpers, you receive a Musical Instrument and a Disguise Kit.
Trinket
Roll on the Harper Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Harpers.
Special Facility
Members of the Harpers can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Lords' Alliance
The Lords' Alliance is an association of nobles and rulers representing settlements across western Faerûn. The alliance believes that solidarity is the surest means to keep the forces of chaos at bay and secure prosperity for people throughout the North. Agents of the alliance ensure the safety and prosperity of their settlements by proactively eliminating forces that threaten civilization.
Goals and Activities
The alliance's primary goal is to ensure the safety and prosperity of cities and other settlements across Faerûn. To accomplish this, alliance members share information with one another about potential threats within and near alliance territory. Dangers are many in Faerûn, leaving the alliance spread thin, so settlements hire reputable adventurers and dispatch them where they are most needed.
Although the alliance's mere existence is a strong deterrent against evildoers, it has a reputation for internal bickering and dysfunction. Alliance representatives are aware of this reputation, and they go to great lengths to exhibit solidarity and coordination. Cities in the alliance frequently sponsor tournaments, festivals, and fundraisers to increase the perception of a unified North.
Many within the Lords' Alliance believe the best defense is a strong offense and that the alliance should proactively eliminate threats. Alliance leaders pressure one another to keep their borders well guarded. Members frequently hire adventuring parties for scouting missions and forays into monster nests, thieves' dens, and cultist hideouts.
Agents of the alliance swear allegiance to a specific lord. These lords tend to be self-concerned and proud, and they expect their agents to act nobly and bring honor to them. The lords engage in friendly competition over their agents' contributions. Should Waterdeep's militia prove integral to the routing of an invading army, for example, Open Lord Laeral
Silverhand is sure to casually mention this fact at the next Lords' Assembly.
Leadership and Organization
Each member of the Lords' Alliance has an official representative on the alliance's governing body, the Council of Lords. Typically this representative is the settlement's ruler. When necessary, a representative can select a proxy to stand in the representative's place.
Representatives convene several times per year for a Lords' Assembly. These assemblies occur around the same time as the festivals that mark the changing of the seasons. Alliance members take turns hosting assemblies, with preference given to cities that have suitably large (and secure) forum spaces. During times of crisis, such as war or catastrophe, an emergency assembly might be called.
Alliance Members
Following are descriptions of some of the members of the 2 and their representatives on the Council of Lords. New members join occasionally, and members sometimes leave the alliance or are expelled.
Amphail
Rivaling Longsaddle for the honor of the alliance's smallest settlement, Amphail is best known as a playground for bored nobles from Waterdeep. Petty family feuds are the order of the day in Amphail, as are minor catastrophes caused by the unabashed negligence of haughty aristocrats. Lord Warder Dauner Ilzimmer speaks for Amphail on the Council of Lords, but like most nobles in Amphail, he has little interest in matters that don't endanger his cushy lifestyle.
Baldur's Gate
The massive city of Baldur's Gate is one of the Sword Coast's most powerful trading ports, and Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard's outsize influence on the Council of Lords reflects this. In Baldur's Gate, criminals, cultists, and corruption hold as much (if not more) sway as the city's nobles. The city requires frequent aid from the Lords' Alliance to maintain order within its walls.
Daggerford
Lady Morwen Daggerford oversees the small, walled town of Daggerford, surrounded by floodplains and pastures. It is a key stopover for caravans headed to Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate, and this function as a watering hole and supply outfitter makes Daggerford a vital member of the alliance. Daggerford is the kind of idyllic town that settlements in the North aspire to be, with lively taverns and merry festivals that draw visitors from all around.
Longsaddle
Longsaddle is an unassuming hamlet of ranchers, butchers, and farriers famous for a family of wizards, the Harpells, who call it home. Dowell Harpell is Longsaddle's representative to the Lords' Alliance, though the wizard exhibits little interest in foreign affairs and rarely speaks during assemblies.
Mirabar
Humans and dwarves are the primary residents of Mirabar, an ancient city built partly belowground. The city's lifeblood is its gem mines, and Marchion Selin Ramur jockeys for resources from the Lords' Alliance to protect Mirabar's vast stores of wealth.
Mithral Hall
Mithral Hall is the ancestral home of the famous Battlehammer dwarven clan. Despite its status as an alliance member, Mithral Hall is more of a stronghold than a settlement, with tunnels to other dwarf holds hidden deep below its mines. Queen Dagnabbet Waybeard represents Mithral Hall on the Council of Lords; a bold leader and a fierce warrior, she firmly supports Mithral Hall's membership in the Lords' Alliance despite other dwarven settlements' reluctance to join the coalition. The queen's proxy on the council is Ambassador Connerad Brawnanvil.
Neverwinter
The City of Skilled Hands is no stranger to the threats that the Lords' Alliance was formed to rally against—ancient monsters, agents of Thay, devils from the Nine Hells, and more have endangered Neverwinter in the course of its history. Those who call it home are a serious, resilient folk. Dagult Neverember is the city's present lord protector, and he commands the people's respect.
Silverymoon
The peaceful city of Silverymoon is a bastion for scholars, treasure hunters, and anyone who seeks respite from the harsher realities of the North. It is a famous haven for the Harpers and is known for its schools, shrines, and great library. The city's current leader, Lord Methrammar Aerasumé, is a gruff tactician and Silverymoon's proxy to the Council of Lords, but the city's representative is Methrammar's predecessor, the wise Lord Taern Hornblade.
Waterdeep
Many Waterdhavians become agents of the Lords' Alliance to represent not Waterdeep as a whole but rather one of Waterdeep's many power-hungry lords. For her part, the open lord of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand, uses spies to assess visiting adventurers. Those who show potential receive invitations from the city guard to undertake quests for the Lords' Alliance.
Yartar
Yartar is a fortified town best known for its impressive barge-building operation and annual hiring fair, the latter of which attracts adventurers and patrons from across the North. Yartar's leader and alliance representative, Waterbaron Nestra Ruthiol, is an underhanded, cunning aristocrat. Her vengeful schemes and petty rivalries typify the sorts of internal strife that limit Yartar's potential influence in the alliance.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Lords' Alliance by thwarting evil's attempts to overrun the North and by expanding the influence of settlements that belong to the alliance. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Lords' Alliance Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | Nobles from Amphail, Daggerford, and Yartar are Friendly to you by default. |
| 5+ | While in an alliance settlement whose nobles are Friendly to you by default, you can buy potions and Spell Scrolls from an alliance quartermaster at a 10 percent discount. A Spell Scroll bought with this discount can contain a spell of level 3 or lower. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, your lord gives you one random Uncommon magic item. |
| 15+ | Nobles from Longsaddle, Mirabar, and Neverwinter are Friendly to you by default. |
| 25+ | In any Lords' Alliance settlement, you can enlist a spellcaster to cast the Sending spell for you at no charge, targeting an alliance representative. |
| 30+ | Nobles from Baldur's Gate, Mithral Hall, Silverymoon, and Waterdeep are Friendly to you by default. |
| 40 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 40, your lord gives you one random Rare magic item. |
| 50+ | You can request an audience with any representative of the Lords' Alliance. In addition, you can request a detail of up to three Knights to accompany you for one mission. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
Lords' Alliance Characters
Alliance agents include proud warriors, talented mages, and silver-tongued diplomats. They are experts in combat, observation, and innuendo who are loyal to the alliance.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Lords' Alliance, you receive these benefits.
Lifestyle
You enjoy a 6 lifestyle while in the alliance settlement you represent and a Comfortable lifestyle within any other alliance settlement.
Mount and Tack
You receive a steed worth up to 75 GP, such as a Riding Horse, and a Riding Saddle.
Trinket
Roll on the Lords' Alliance Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Lords' Alliance.
Heraldry of the Lords' Alliance
Each member of the Lords' Alliance has a unique coat of arms that identifies them as a member of a house and reflects their reputation. Heraldry is displayed on armor, tabards, and standards.
Designing a Coat of Arms
You can design a coat of arms using the following guidelines. A coat of arms is made of four parts.
Escutcheon
The escutcheon is the basic shape of the coat of arms, such as square, oval, diamond, or kite. A shape can be distinctive, such as the pinched shield of Waterdeep.
Division
A division is the way in which the escutcheon is partitioned: solid, halved, divided into three or four parts, split in half diagonally, checkered, and so on.
Charge
One or more charges, symbols associated with the lord's reputation, are added. Common charges include weapons, armor, monsters, flowers, plants, celestial objects, and musical instruments.
Tinctures
Finally, the coat of arms is distinguished by its tinctures, the materials and colors used in the escutcheon and charges. While traditional tinctures include colors and metals (such as gold or silver), more fanciful tinctures use illusion magic to create shields seemingly made from pure radiance, prismatic light, or shadow.
Special Facility
Members of the Lords' Alliance can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Order of the Gauntlet
The Order of the Gauntlet is a body of faithful justice seekers who seek out and eradicate evil. Members of the order must be honorable in their actions, vigilant in their outlook, and zealous in their convictions. Moreover, they must always watch out for corruption from within.
Most of the order's knights are heavily armored, many wield shining blades or maces, and all wear their holy symbols proudly into battle. They embody virtue for its own sake and model ideals of bravery and piousness for the common people they protect. A worthy knight of the order risks anything to save a fellow knight or complete an important mission. But knights also acknowledge that zealotry can lead to fanaticism, and they caution each other to be wary of straying from the path of good.
A knight follows the order's creed, the Code of Scales and Weights. They're devoted to a patron deity: typically a good god such as Helm, Tyr, or Torm. Finally, a knight of the order defends their companions. To the order, faith is the greatest weapon against evil—faith in oneself, one's god, and one's friends.
Goals and Activities
The Order of the Gauntlet is armed and vigilant against evil. Its knights use every resource available, including armed reconnaissance, magical scrying, and divine consultation with higher powers. To ensure they can act swiftly against the forces of evil, knights maintain fortified strongholds along border lands, keep well-stocked armories, and practice daily to remain in peak fighting condition.
The Order of the Gauntlet strives not only to expand the boundaries of just society but to maintain justice in lands where it has already taken root. Knights of the order strengthen their presence by
establishing chapters—fortresses and strongholds from which knights venture on missions.
In keeping with their mandate for swift, tough action, knights of the order are neither subtle nor discreet. In fact, many knights view any amount of deceit or trickery as cowardice unbefitting a member of the Order of the Gauntlet. "There is no shame in doing what is right" is a popular axiom used to encourage knights to serve the order openly.
The order emphasizes retribution rather than proactive measures. Its knights don't try to predict evil or preempt it, believing the practice of trying to preempt villainy, even if well meaning, is the first step on the road toward tyranny. As one line in the Code of Scales and Weights puts it, knights of the order should strive to "punish evil actions, but not evil thoughts." The order insists on personal freedom, believing that every individual, regardless of their past or associates, can act morally and honorably if given the choice.
Code of Scales and Weights
To enact judgment quickly and with certainty, the Order of the Gauntlet relies on a lengthy list of crimes and punishments called the Code of Scales and Weights. The Code defines crimes against the order ("scales"), as well as appropriate punishments ("weights").
A written version of the Code is available at every chapter of the Order of the Gauntlet. However, as every knight knows, evildoers won't wait patiently for a law enforcer to consult their notes. Thus, to be initiated to the order, every aspiring knight must commit the Code to heart and recite it before an audience of other knights.
Role in War
In times of war, the order's troops are among the toughest, most steadfast soldiers on the Sword Coast. City-states and small nations call on the order to aid their campaigns against injustice. However, the order lends its sword only in conflicts of good versus evil; the order is reluctant to choose sides in morally ambiguous feuds or petty territorial disputes.
In addition to serving as infantry in their own units, veterans of the order act as sergeants or commanders for other units. Soldiers have few qualms taking orders from a knight of the Order of the Gauntlet; many know the leadership and tactical expertise of the order mean the difference between a disorganized defeat and a glorious victory.
Leadership and Organization
The Order of the Gauntlet is a new organization, eager for action. It doesn't take orders from any government or temple, although the opinions of holy figures are greatly esteemed within the order.
Hierarchy
Knights who commit acts of great valor gain rank in the order: knight of the guard (lowest rank), knight of the banner (second rank), knight of justice (third rank), or chapter knight (highest rank). It's possible, though rare, for a knight to skip one or more ranks when ascending the order's hierarchy.
Members of the order must respect and follow their superiors. Failure to do so is punished by expulsion from the order. This strictness cuts both ways: a high-ranking knight discovered abusing their station is tried in the order's private judicial system, the Court of Justice, and punished severely.
Trials and Justice
The Order of the Gauntlet judges evildoers summarily and punish them promptly. To determine punishments, knights refer to the Code of Scales and Weights or, if in doubt, use a spell such as Commune to ask a divinity (typically Tyr or Torm) for guidance. Only in the most morally gray situations will knights arrest an offender. Arrested suspects are taken to the nearest chapter to undergo a Court of Justice.
A Court of Justice includes interrogations, cross-examinations, and follow-up investigations. Knights of justice use magic such as the Zone of Truth spell to determine the facts and identify wrongdoing. Suspects not convicted within a tenday are released.
Knights of justice monitor other knights and the order's larger activities, keeping an eye out for corruption and fanaticism.
Chapters, Leaders, and Faiths
The Order of the Gauntlet's bases are called chapters. The western heartland is home to the highest concentration of order chapters, but knights establish new chapters as the order's influence grows.
Each chapter is run by a chapter knight, overseen in turn by the justiciary sublime. The current justiciary sublime is a seasoned human paladin named Ardria Rightglaive, who oversees the construction of the order's new headquarters, Castle Invetrius in Elturel.
The Order of the Gauntlet's governing body is a tribunal called the Righteous Hand. This tribunal consists of the justiciary sublime (who is sometimes referred to as "the Gauntlet's thumb") and four veteran chapter knights called high champions ("the Gauntlet's fingers"). Historically, the four high champions have been selected from the upper echelons of the order's four most prominent faiths: the churches of Helm, Hoar, Torm, and Tyr, whose followers founded the Order of the Gauntlet.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Order of the Gauntlet by fighting evil or completing quests for the order. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Order of the Gauntlet Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | You can stay freely at any chapter of the Order of the Gauntlet, which provides you with a 6 lifestyle. |
| 5+ | You earn the honorary title of knight of the guard. Patrons and priests of any temple or shrine of Helm, Hoar, Tor, or Tyr are Friendly to you by default. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, the order gifts you one random Uncommon magic item from the Armor, Ring, or Weapon category. |
| 15+ | You earn the honorary title of knight of the banner. Spellcasters at any temple or shrine at which priests are Friendly to you by default and will cast spells of level 2 or lower for you for free. |
| 25+ | When you visit a temple at which priests are Friendly to you by default, you can enlist 1d4 Knights to aid you for 10 days. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 30+ | You earn the honorary title of knight of justice. Patrons and priests of any temple, shrine, or other established presence of a deity associated with a good-aligned plane of existence are Friendly to you by default. |
| 40 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 40, the order gifts you one random Rare magic item from the Armor, Ring, or Weapon category. |
| 50+ | You earn the honorary title of chapter knight. If you or one of your allies dies and the body is brought to a temple at which priests are Friendly to you by default, agents of the order cast the Resurrection spell, targeting the deceased. This reward is free the first time you use it. On subsequent occasions, you must provide any Material components normally consumed by the spell. |
Order of the Gauntlet Characters
The Order of the Gauntlet appeals primarily to good Clerics and Paladins. However, anyone who worships a righteous god and has a stake in the fight against evil is welcome to petition for knighthood. Fighters and Monks often exhibit the discipline expected of the order's knights. Bards (who memorize the Code of Scales and Weights with ease) and Rangers (whose practical survival skills take them far into lawless wilds) also find their way to the Order of the Gauntlet.
Knights of the Order of the Gauntlet often have training in religious customs, law enforcement, or tactical warfare. Characters with the Acolyte, Guard, and Soldier backgrounds fit in well.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Order of the Gauntlet, you receive these benefits.
Trinket
Roll on the Gauntlet Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Order of the Gauntlet.
Vestments
You receive a Holy Symbol and a tabard emblazoned with the symbol of the Order of the Gauntlet.
Higher Callings
When knights of the Order of the Gauntlet speak of a higher calling, they are referring to the particular way in which a knight pursues and enforces the Order of the Gauntlet's creed. Higher callings come to knights from divine epiphanies, messages from higher powers, or omens witnessed during or after important events.
A knight's higher calling is summarized in a proverb called the knight's dictum. For example, a knight who strives to dismantle systems of oppression might espouse this dictum: "Disarm those who unjustly disarm others." Knights frequently decorate their weapons or armor with their dictums.
Even though a knight's higher calling is usually personal, many knights share higher callings. Knights with shared higher callings often congregate at particular chapters of the order.
Examples include the following:
- Slay cult leaders, crime lords, and other evil masterminds.
- Aid Celestials in their war against Fiends.
- Locate people in need and help them find their way.
- Pursue positions of authority to identify powerful evildoers.
- Construct and maintain a stronghold for the Order of the Gauntlet.
- Perfect virtues that should be undertaken by all.
Special Facility
Members of the Order of the Gauntlet can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
The Purple Dragon Knights
The Purple Dragon Knights have protected the kingdom of Cormyr for centuries. But a decade ago, the knights underwent a transformation led by the spirit of an ancient amethyst dragon named Eldenser. Eldenser was a scholar of the multiverse, and in his travels, he saw people partnering with dragons on the world of Krynn. Inspired by what he witnessed, Eldenser called other amethyst dragons to Cormyr and persuaded them to partner with the kingdom's Purple Dragon Knights to defend Cormyr while pursuing new knowledge and experiences. Now the knights ride amethyst dragons across Faerûn to oppose Cormyr's enemies, hunt aberrant monsters, and carry out the will of Cormyr's noble queen, Raedra.
Goals and Activities
The foremost obligation of the Purple Dragon Knights is to protect Cormyr and carry out the wishes of its ruler, Queen Raedra. The knights lead Cormyr's armies, defend its strongholds, and represent the crown and Cormyr more broadly across Faerûn. Many travel Faerûn as knights errant, assisting people in need and searching for potential squires.
The knights' amethyst dragon partners have goals of their own. First and foremost, amethyst dragons seek out new experiences. Their curiosity prompts them to explore and collect knowledge not just on Toril, but throughout the multiverse. They have a special hatred of aberrations and lead their knights on quests to hunt and kill such creatures.
Together, Purple Dragon Knights and their dragon partners oppose the Cult of the Dragon, rooting out and destroying secret cells of the cult whenever possible.
Leadership and Organization
The Purple Dragon Knights have a simple rank structure. The leader of the organization is the Grand Knight, currently Dunstan Cormaeril, who has served in this role since the re-formation of the Purple Dragon Knights a decade ago. Dunstan is assisted and advised by the spirit of Eldenser, whose incorporeal form dwells inside Dunstan's magic sword. Because Dunstan doesn't have a living amethyst dragon partner, he can't travel around Faerûn as easily as other knights can, and his duties keep him at Purplemont, the knights' fortress in Suzail.
The Grand Knight is assisted by a council of twelve High Knights, experienced warriors whose loyalty to Cormyr is beyond question. They lead other knights of Cormyr in battle.
Most Purple Dragon Knights are simply knights, with no other rank. While knights aspire to become High Knights, few ever achieve that rank. Knights might be assigned quests by the Grand Knight or the queen, but between missions they live as knights errant. They travel Cormyr or anywhere their dragon takes them, pursuing justice for the oppressed, protecting the weak, and furthering the goals of Cormyr.
New knights carry the title of knight novice for a year and a day. During this time, they follow the orders of other knights and master the art of riding a dragon. But because the Purple Dragon Knights are few, knight novices must often rise to the occasion by undertaking perilous missions with only their dragons and fellow adventurers for allies.
Purple Dragon Knights sometimes take squires—aspiring knights who have not yet earned their dragon partner.
Taking the Purple
An individual who wants to join the Purple Dragon Knights—or "take the purple," in Cormyrean parlance—must get the attention of a knight and ask to become the knight's squire. For citizens of Cormyr, this is relatively easy; an aspiring squire who goes to Purplemont in Suzail can usually attract a knight's attention in short order. But the legend of the Purple Dragon Knights has spread far and wide in recent years, and people from Icewind Dale to Calimshan dream of riding an amethyst dragon across Faerûnian skies. For these people, finding a knight can be a significant quest.
Knights decide who to take as a squire. Most knights expect a squire to demonstrate fighting skill, courage, a willingness to follow orders, and a keen sense of right and wrong. More eager candidates exist than there are amethyst dragons, so knights select only the best to become squires. Since it's considered bad luck to accept a squire who has already been refused by another knight, few aspirants continue their quest for knighthood after facing rejection.
Squires usually train for a few years before they're made a knight, but proving their courage, skill, and character in extraordinary circumstances can expedite their knighthood. But before a squire can become a Purple Dragon Knight, an amethyst dragon must choose the squire as its rider. Not every squire is chosen, and squires passed over by a dragon often get discouraged and quit their pursuit of knighthood. Others stick it out, continuing to serve the Purple Dragon Knights as squires or administrators in hopes to be chosen as a dragon's rider one day.
The Dragon and the Knight
The relationship between a Purple Dragon Knight and an amethyst dragon partner is complicated and intense. Amethyst dragons are telepathic; they routinely read their partners' minds and communicate by thought. Every Purple Dragon Knight knows that secrets can't exist between a dragon and its rider if both are to succeed; eventually the pair comes to know everything about each other.
Amethyst dragons are exceptionally powerful. A Purple Dragon Knight is usually far less formidable than the dragon they ride. But a dragon's rider has courage, ambition, and hope—qualities admired by amethyst dragons. The best pairings strategically leverage their strengths and weaknesses. Against an especially dangerous enemy, a knight is apt to let the dragon take point. When a situation calls for diplomacy and a dragon might be seen as a threat, the knight leads.
Purple Dragon Knights make use of their amethyst dragons' unique powers outside of encounters as well. For example, because amethyst dragons can breathe underwater and swim at great speed, many knights make temporary camps in undersea grottoes or in hidden pools accessible only by flooded tunnels. The Grand Knight even built a secret sanctuary for the knights in the Dragonmere, a small sea on Cormyr's southern coast.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Purple Dragon Knights by defeating Aberrations and members of the Cult of the Dragon, defending Cormyr from its enemies, and assisting amethyst dragons. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | The Purple Dragon Knights provide you a 6 lifestyle for free at Purplemont, the faction's fortress in Suzail. |
| 5+ | You can hire Cormyrean hirelings for half the usual cost. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, the Purple Dragon Knights give you an Uncommon magic item from the Armor or Weapon category. |
| 15+ | You are given an honorary Cormyrean knighthood. The royal family of Cormyr is Friendly to you by default. |
| 25+ | Amethyst dragons are Friendly to you by default. |
| 30+ | You can command a troop of 1d6 Knights to help you on a mission or complete one task that doesn't go against the Purple Dragon Knights' core principles. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 40+ | You are trusted by the Purple Dragon Knights' Great Knight, who confides in you and provides information. |
| 50+ | You are asked to take care of an amethyst dragon egg until it hatches. Additionally, you can call on a High Knight to perform a major favor for you, such as granting a private audience with the royal family. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
Purple Dragon Knight Characters
Adventurers who aspire to join the Purple Dragon Knights were often stricken with wanderlust from a young age or pursued occupations adjacent to knighthood. Characters with the Guard, Sailor, or Soldier background fit in well with this faction. The Purple Dragon Knights take members of all types, as long as a person's heart is untainted by evil and they swear to uphold the glory of Cormyr.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Purple Dragon Knights, you receive these benefits.
Equipment
You receive a 6 weapon, a Lance, a suit of 6, and an Exotic Saddle.
Trinket
Roll on the Purple Dragon Knight Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Purple Dragon Knights.
Dragon Quests
Before an amethyst dragon accepts a squire as its rider, the dragon sometimes asks the squire to undertake a heroic quest. Completion of this quest signals that the squire is worthy of the dragon's respect and ascension to knighthood. Such quests are rarely simple affairs; some amethyst dragons, now notorious, have assigned the same quest to many squires who failed—or even died—in their attempts.
An amethyst dragon rarely discloses the quest's details until after a petitioner has agreed to undertake it. What's more, a squire who's agreed to undertake an amethyst dragon's quest can't thereafter accept a different dragon's quest.
Some amethyst dragons offer their quests to non-squires, allowing unaffiliated adventurers a chance to join the Purple Dragon Knights without being squires.
If your character aspires to join the Purple Dragon Knights and has received a quest from an amethyst dragon, you can roll on the Amethyst Dragon Quests table to determine the quest.
| 1d6 | Quest |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Destroy a cell of the Cult of the Dragon, and bring me the cult leader's head." |
| 2 | "Find a lance that befits my majesty." |
| 3 | "Travel to another world. Return to me only once you have something worth showing." |
| 4 | "A psychic disturbance pains me. Locate the monster causing this, and slay it." |
| 5 | "I yearn to see an aerie atop a mountain of unparalleled beauty. Take this amethyst to such a place." |
| 6 | "I sense the presence of a wayward flumph somewhere on this world. Help this flumph find its cloister." |
Special Facility
Members of the Purple Dragon Knights can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Red Wizards
When folk in Faerûn think of the Red Wizards, most imagine cabals of undead mages clad in blood-red robes and wielding unholy arcane powers. According to such tales, these vile spellcasters hail from Thay, a hellish nation of paranoid wizard-lords called zulkirs and their zombified minions. Red Wizards are universally evil, so the stories go, and should be treated as such.
The truth is more nuanced. Magic has restored Thay's environment, and trade has returned, despite the dangers posed by Thay's powerful undead ruler, Szass Tam. Szass Tam is a necromancer and lich who rules through fear and cruelty, but he is only one of eight rival zulkirs. These zulkirs—and the Red Wizards they command—can pursue their own interests so long as they don't displease Szass Tam.
Still, Red Wizards share enough common traits—namely their formidable skill at magic and their craving for arcane power—that, despite rivalry among the faction's leaders, the Red Wizards are still a unified group.
Goals and Activities
Red Wizards are experts in the arcane arts. Many serve a zulkir, while others travel Faerûn gathering magical secrets. Red Wizards often seek ways to extend their lives. In the past, necromancy was the go-to solution to the problem of mortality, but lately zulkirs have begun seeking other methods, such as pacts with devils or archfey or the use of powerful Artifacts.
Rivalry between the zulkirs is ubiquitous. Inside Thay, this rivalry is kept out of the public eye so that the supremacy of the zulkirs isn't questioned. But outside Thay, this rivalry frequently breaks out into the open, leading to battles between Red Wizards on the streets of settlements throughout Faerûn.
Some Red Wizards leave Thay and abandon the dangerous intrigue of their homeland. These Red Wizards travel Faerûn seeking magical power and ancient lore—not to bring back to their zulkir masters, but for their own benefit. Many of these Red Wizards become magic item brokers, financing their travels and arcane research by crafting and magic items.
Demeanor and Disguise
As their name suggests, Red Wizards wear crimson robes. In Thay, they are the only caste permitted to wear this color; the penalty for others doing so is death. Most Red Wizards shave their heads and bear prominent arcane tattoos on their face or scalp. Red Wizards might wear silver, steel, or silken accessories, but they aren't ostentatious, nor are they spiritual or overly concerned with traditions or rites. To the Red Wizards, arcane power is everything—more important than all the gold, gods, or glory in the multiverse.
The reputation of a Red Wizard precedes them, and this can create difficulties for Red Wizards who leave Thay to pursue personal goals or simply carry out instructions from the zulkirs. When Red Wizards leave Thay, they often conceal their identities to avoid persecution. Red Wizards' skill at magic makes this a simple matter; unknown numbers of Red Wizards walk in plain clothes, shrouded by illusion, in every major cosmopolitan area of the Forgotten Realms.
Traveling and Trade
Many Red Wizards travel in groups so they can complement one another's different specialties; since Szass Tam's fall, the eight magic schools have become evenly represented among them. Traveling together also enables Red Wizards to practice circle magic (see x).
To fund their adventures, many Red Wizards trade in magic items, as well as traditional goods like silver and silk. In many parts of the world, Red Wizards are well known for their ruthlessness in commerce—and, in some cases, their predilection for spell-assisted deception. Common traders exercise great caution when dealing with Red Wizards.
Leadership and Organization
Most Red Wizards hail from Thay and serve that nation's zulkirs—a council of the eight most powerful Red Wizards, one for each school of magic. Szass Tam seldom leaves the Citadel, his most formidable fortress on the slopes of Thaymount. The other zulkirs scheme against each other, pursue personal goals, and relish their lofty positions as corulers of Thay.
Beyond the zulkirs, Red Wizards have no official ranks or hierarchy. Unofficially, Red Wizards are sometimes given one of three titles—apprentice, master, or sage—that reflect magical prowess and respect among other Red Wizards. Apprentices are expected to blend into the background of Red Wizard meetings until they've proved themselves worthy of speaking. Sages are the Red Wizards' eldest, most accomplished arcanists, responsible for training apprentices and rearing future generations of Red Wizards. Masters fall between apprentices and sages and are the majority of Red Wizards.
Thayan Enclaves
Over the last two centuries, Thayan wizards and merchants worked together to established enclaves—small communities of Red Wizards who traded in magic items and spells—across Faerûn. Governments permitted these enclaves within their borders because they resulted in lucrative trade. According to the charters of the Thayan enclaves, the land within the walls of an enclave is Thayan soil, and Thayan law applies there.
Over the years, many enclaves were besieged or abandoned. But others survived through skillful negotiation on the part of the Red Wizards who lived there or simply because they were far enough away from Thay that even Szass Tam's onerous reputation meant little. A few converted to illicit markets hidden among the mundane trade of the local settlement.
But the old charters are still legally binding, and with a little persuasion, some concessions, and gifts of powerful magic items to the right rulers, Thayan enclaves are reopening in settlements across Faerûn. The typical Thayan enclave is walled and houses a handful of Red Wizards, their bodyguards, a garrison of soldiers to defend the enclave and project power into the nearby settlement, and a flourishing market for magic items. Profits generated by these enclaves go back to Thay to fuel the reconstruction of the nation.
For anyone who seeks an audience with the Red Wizards—or who aspires to become one—the first step is to seek out the nearest Thayan enclave.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Red Wizards by completing quests for the faction, acquiring powerful magic, and contributing to the reconstruction of Thay. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Red Wizards Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | You know the locations of Thayan enclaves around Faerûn and can enter and stay in them, providing you a 6 lifestyle for free. |
| 5+ | You can buy the following kinds of adventuring gear from Thayan merchants at half cost: Arcane Focus, Ink, Ink Pen, Paper, Parchment, Potion of Healing, and Spell Scroll (cantrip or level 1). |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, the Red Wizards give you an Uncommon magic item from the Rod, Staff, or Wand category. |
| 15+ | You have Advantage on ability checks made to influence a creature while bartering to buy or sell a magic item. |
| 25+ | You gain access to a tattoo artist who can ink Thayan Spell Tattoos on your body (see x below). |
| 30 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 30, the Red Wizards give you a Rare magic item from the Rod, Staff, Wand, or Wondrous Item category. |
| 40+ | When preparing to cast a Circle spell (see x) in a town or larger settlement, you can recruit 1d4 Mages to assist you for free. The mages arrive in 1d10 days. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. |
| 50 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 50, the Red Wizards give you a Very Rare magic item from the Rod, Staff, Wand, or Wondrous Item category. |
Red Wizard Characters
Red Wizards who take up the adventuring life serve Szass Tam or one of the other zulkirs. When not carrying out a superior's instructions, a Red Wizard seeks magical power and explores Faerûn for secrets and lore.
The archetypal Red Wizard is driven by ambition. They are loyal to friends, proven allies, and Thay itself. Altruism is a rare virtue among the Red Wizards, but it shines all the more brightly for that rarity. Most Red Wizard characters are Wizards. Rarely, Warlocks and Sorcerers find their way to the order.
Although not true Red Wizards, Thayan knights frequently deal with the order. To play a Thayan knight, consider taking levels in the Fighter class and selecting the Eldritch Knight subclass.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Red Wizards, you receive these benefits.
Red Robes
You receive a set of crimson robes. As long as you're a member of the Red Wizards, these robes magically mend and clean themselves each day at dawn.
Trinket
Roll on the Red Wizard Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Red Wizards.
Tattoo Magic
Red Wizards often adorn their bodies with tattoos. Many of these tattoos are decorative or symbolic, signifying, for example, a Red Wizard's allegiance to a particular zulkir. Some, however, are magical tattoos, called Thayan Spell Tattoos, which allow the wearer to cast the spell contained in the tattoo's ink.
Special Facility
Members of the Red Wizards can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Zhentarim
The Zhentarim—also known as the Black Network—is a loose affiliation of merchants, mercenaries, and malefactors. When a caravan needs escorts, a noble needs bodyguards, or a city needs soldiers, the Zhentarim provides the best-trained fighting forces money can buy. If the cargo is shady or the cause is questionable, the Zhentarim doesn't mind one bit—if there's money to be made, Zhents will dabble in just about any venture.
Zhentarim agents consider themselves part of an extended family, and membership in the organization comes with the perks—and tension—that familial relations imply. Resources and security are shared among the organization, but the Zhentarim recognizes and rewards personal ambition, granting its members autonomy to pursue their own interests. In this way, the organization is a meritocracy; those who do well for themselves do well in the Zhentarim at large. But woe be to any whose personal aims conflict with the Zhentarim's, for loyalists respond to treachery with fierce retribution.
The Zhentarim welcomes all whose primary motivator is money. This mindset has earned the organization a negative reputation among Faerûn's other factions. Harpers in particular have historically clashed with Zhents, and members of the Lords' Alliance and Order of the Gauntlet keep a close eye on the organization's effects on Faerûnian politics. At an individual level, however, adventurers have little to fear from Zhentarim allies on assignment—they just make sure to read the fine print before signing any Zhentarim contracts.
Goals and Activities
The Zhentarim's public-facing philosophy is one of ruthless enterprise. According to Zhentarim doctrine, money left on the table benefits no one and only wastes precious resources. By this logic, the faction's activities are altruistic. No laws are being broken, after all; the laws are simply being used to their fullest potential.
In actuality, the Zhentarim has its fingers in many illegal industries and unsavory ventures, ranging from racketeering, intimidation, and smuggling to grand larceny, assassinations, and warmongering. Zhentarim veterans may go deep undercover for months at a time, disrupting well-established local power structures, or leading task forces of lower-ranking agents into volatile situations.
In places where laws prove too restrictive for the Zhentarim to achieve its fiscal goals, it pulls strings to change those laws. In some parts of Faerûn, the Zhentarim effectively is the authority, having rewritten the legal code to suit its own ends. Such is the case in many districts of cities like Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate as well as the Zhentarim's de facto headquarters in Darkhold.
The Zhentarim's ultimate aims are unknown. The most common theory is the Zhentarim wants to monopolize trade protection and become the richest organization in Faerûn. If merchants were ever wholly reliant on Zhentarim transport, the Zhentarim would control commerce across the entire globe. But no one knows what the Zhentarim would do with such power once the faction had it.
Ties to Evil Deities
The Zhentarim has a long history of involvement with two deities: Bane and Cyric. Presently the organization has no official affiliation with any god, but these deities still find many devotees among
the Zhentarim. Bane's ethos of domination over the weak is a natural complement to the ambitions of power-hungry Zhents, whereas Cyric's cunning and ruthlessness are admirable traits in Zhentarim circles.
Nowadays, religious Zhents are more likely to consort with diabolic divinities than world-famous gods. The Lords of the Nine boast countless patrons who can advance a mortal's social standing or wealth, and many Zhents beseech such powers. Some of the Zhentarim's most popular infernal sponsors include Mammon (the Nine Hells' principal miser), Fierna (coruler of Phlegethos with her father, Belial), and Glasya (Asmodeus's daughter).
Leadership and Organization
The Zhentarim is based foremost out of Darkhold, a citadel in the western Heartlands. Darkhold Vale has a small militia that answers to a local captain named Sulvarn. But the true leader of the castle—and the entire Zhentarim organization—is the legendary Pereghost: a dark knight credited with leading the Zhentarim toward its current prosperity. No one knows the Pereghost's identity or whether he is even a single person; he's never been seen without his black iron armor and face-covering helm, and he's led the Zhentarim for over a hundred years.
The Zhentarim famously conducts itself like a family. Some members take this to heart by assuming epithets like uncle, mother, or cousin. But the Zhentarim's official titles are far more sinister sounding. In order of lowest to highest rank, titles range from primal animal parts (such as fang) to the names of predators (wolf, viper) to original monikers of Zhentarim design (ardragon, dread lord).
Zhentarim Outposts
Although the Zhentarim's center of power is in Darkhold, the organization maintains outposts in virtually every region where there's money to be made. Whether Zhents are manipulating the knucklehead trout trade of Icewind Dale, inflating the price of sunmelons in the Dalelands, or hunting rare dinosaur pelts in Chult, they rely on Zhentarim outposts to relay news, refresh supplies, and relax after a successful job.
Many Zhentarim outposts are secret—unassuming locales such as abandoned warehouses and crumbling tenements that keep illegal doings hidden from public notice. Other outposts are ostentatious and richly appointed: handsome manors, lavish villas, and well-outfitted guild houses that loudly advertise the organization's services and reputation for success.
Renown Rewards
Characters gain renown with the Zhentarim by completing Zhentarim jobs and expanding the organization's reach. As their Renown Score increases, characters gain access to various perks, as shown on the Zhentarim Renown table. If your campaign doesn't use Renown, your DM decides if and when characters earn these perks.
| Renown Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3+ | You earn the honorary title of fang. You can stay in Zhentarim-controlled safe houses and inns, providing you a 6 lifestyle for free. |
| 5+ | You can reliably sell stolen goods in settlements. |
| 10 | The first time your Renown Score reaches 10, you receive a random Uncommon magic item. |
| 15+ | You earn the honorary title of wolf. You receive a 10% discount when buying weapons, armor, and adventuring gear in Zhentarim-controlled markets. |
| 25+ | You earn the honorary title of viper. In Zhentarim-controlled settlements, you have Advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made to influence others. |
| 30+ | You can assign a group of up to six Spies to complete a task that doesn't interfere with the Zhentarim's business. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again until your Renown Score increases. In addition, the first time your Renown Score reaches 30, an ardragon gives you a writ for a Zhentarim insignia (see x below). |
| 40+ | You earn the honorary title of ardragon and receive the authority and funds necessary to establish your own Zhentarim outpost. In addition, you can call on a Zhentarim-allied Beholder for help on a single mission. Once you use this reward, you can't do so again. |
| 50+ | You earn the honorary title of dread lord. In addition, the first time your Renown Score reaches 50, Zhentarim agents cast the Clone spell, targeting you, for free. |
Zhentarim Characters
Adventurers of every stripe can excel in the Zhentarim. Fighter, Monk, and Rogue are good choices for a rank-and-file Zhentarim mercenary. Wizards, Warlocks, and Bards are well suited to the skilled work and high-level deals required to make it in the organization's upper echelons.
The fewer scruples a character has the better; lawful and good-aligned characters won't be comfortable doing the Zhentarim's ethically dubious work. When it comes to background, many Zhents trace their origins to prior work as a Criminal, Merchant, or Soldier.
Member Benefits
If you're a member of the Zhentarim, you receive these benefits.
Loaner Gear
At the outset of a Zhentarim assignment, you can requisition a single weapon or suit of armor worth up to 50 GP. You must return the item to the Zhentarim on the job's completion or pay a fee equal to twice the item's price.
Steady Work
You can always find mercenary work while in a settlement.
Trinket
Roll on the Zhentarim Trinkets table to determine what trinket you have from your time with the Zhentarim.
Zhentarim Insignias
Zhents take great pride in their tools of the trade. Many Zhents decorate their cherished weapons and armor with ornamental accessories, decorative etchings, and other custom flourishes.
Zhentarim artisans craft and apply specific motifs called Zhentarim insignias. These insignias, which must be authorized by a senior Zhent of rank viper or higher, recognize the recipient's good work, notable exploits, or continued loyalty. Zhents wear their insignias on their gear with great pride, much as soldiers wear badges of honor.
Only Zhentarim-affiliated artisans are permitted to apply an insignia; counterfeiters are rooted out and punished.
Work with your DM to determine what, if any, insignia your Zhentarim character has. The most common Zhentarim insignia is of a downward-flying dragon chasing an orb on a field of flames, which signifies an individual has completed their first successful job for the Zhentarim. Later, this initial design could be augmented with insignias that signify important deeds or special honors. For example, additional orbs usually signify the accumulation of wealth, and the number of flames on the field of fire signify lives taken during Zhentarim jobs.
Special Facility
Members of the Zhentarim can add the following special facility to their Bastions.
Criminal Syndicates
Thieves' guilds, crime rings, and outwardly lawless factions are common in Faerûn. While some are so local in scale, short lived, or disorganized that they're little more than common gangs, others—such as the Shadow Thieves of Amn or the Fire Knives of Westgate—enforce their edicts on monarchs and lords through intimidation, terror, and outright murder. Adventurers, justice seekers, and potential rivals (or accomplices) do well to keep tabs on these criminal organizations.
Fire Knives
The Fire Knives is a syndicate of noble-born assassins, extortionists, enforcers, and spies based out of Westgate. The syndicate is run by the city's ruling family, House Bleth, blurring the line between law and crime there.
Originally based out of Cormyr, the Fire Knives traces its roots to two disgraced noble families from that nation: House Bleth and House Cormaeril. Most Fire Knives are born into the organization from these families, though the syndicate occasionally recruits outsiders. Anyone who wants to influence Westgate society benefits from a good relationship with the Fire Knives.
Members of the Fire Knives take advantage of their noble bloodlines and aristocratic training to move freely within high society and get close to their favored targets: Cormyrean nobles—particularly House Obarskyr. Only the syndicate's leader, the Grandmother of Assassins, knows the true reasons behind the Fire Knives' bloodthirsty schemes.
Fire Knives agents work alone on assassinations, though they sometimes use accomplices to help them set up the killing and escape safely afterward. Most prefer poisoned blades—daggers, stilettos, or the like—to accomplish their deeds, using aristocratic wiles or clever disguises to get close to a target before eliminating them. When necessary, an agent slips a toxin into the target's food or drink instead. The Fire Knives disdain what they consider "brutish" weapons, such as garrotes and crossbows.
Nine Golden Swords
The Nine Golden Swords is a powerful crime syndicate based out of Thesk in northeast Faerûn. From there, the Swords' power extends eastward along the Golden Way, the legendary trade route between Faerûn and lands to the east, as well as westward around the Sea of Fallen Stars, where cells operate in port cities like Telflamm and Westgate. The Nine Golden Swords' operations include highway robbery, intimidation, and peddling vices in dens of iniquity. The leader of the Nine Golden Swords is a mysterious figure known as the Golden Throne.
The Nine Golden Swords has a strong foothold in Westgate, where they're based out of the city's Shou District. The syndicate opposes the ruling Fire Knives and claims to be an organization of the people, though most recognize it's a criminal enterprise. Still, the Nine Golden Swords has publicly opposed the Fire Knives' worst affronts against those too weak to defend themselves. Consequently, the Nine Golden Swords enjoys the favor of the working class.
Punishment, rather than reward, is the typical tool of control within the Nine Golden Swords. Members are referred to as soldiers and are treated as an elite military order, with defection punished by death. Conversely, a soldier's loyalty might be rewarded in time, but advancement isn't guaranteed. The hierarchy of the Nine Golden Swords is opaque, even to those inside the organization.
Shadow Thieves
The Shadow Thieves is the largest and most prosperous thieves' guild in Faerûn. Its goals are simple—accumulate wealth and acquire power—and thus appeal to aspiring crooks and cons the world over.
The Shadow Thieves is based out of the nation of Amn, where it controls markets as well as politics and is even secretly supported by that nation's ruling Council of Six. The Shadow Thieves once controlled the criminal underworld of Waterdeep, to the north; the guild's leaders have nursed a grudge against the city and its rulers ever since their exile.
The Shadow Thieves' influence is felt far and wide. According to common wisdom, the Shadow Thieves has a hand in everything that happens along the Sword Coast. Savvy merchants and aristocrats alike recognize the folly of ignoring the guild, so individuals of means make allies among the Shadow Thieves, or at least stay apprised of the faction's activities.
The Shadow Thieves' success is derived from its complex hierarchy, which is organized into layers like an onion. At the center of the guild is the Shadow Council, led by the Grandmaster of Shadow. Reporting to the council are senior administrators called cloakmasters, who are in turn served by the guildmasters and the guild's countless rank-and-file operatives. Situated at each level of this hierarchy are arrays of blinds—stool pigeons with false titles who operate out of decoy hideouts and whose purpose is to throw off the Shadow Thieves' enemies.
Joining the Shadow Thieves isn't difficult, and recruits who survive their first few missions can quickly climb the guild's ranks. Guildmasters have autonomy to recruit and promote within the local guild level.
Xanathar Guild
The Xanathar Guild is, despite its name, a criminal organization in Waterdeep with no official guild status. Anyone is welcome to join, and many runaways, street urchins, and common ruffians seek admittance to the Xanathar Guild in hopes of improving their poor lot. Before membership is granted, however, an applicant must pass a test that always involves committing a serious crime. Possibilities include murdering a guild member who has failed Xanathar in some fashion, kidnapping a Waterdhavian citizen, collecting a ransom, robbing a coach, or looting a warehouse.
Among low-ranking guild members, rampant speculation goes on about the true nature of Xanathar. Some say Xanathar is a beholder or another monster, perhaps an unusually patient minotaur or magically enlightened ogre, while others insist that the name belongs to a human who uses illusion magic to appear like a monster. Still others contend that Xanathar isn't an individual but rather a metaphor for a set of villainous ideals. (Intellectualism is held in low esteem in the Xanathar Guild, even by the standards of criminal gangs, so that last theory is scorned by guild members.)
Advancement in the guild is fiercely competitive and based on a member's wiles or their ability to dispose of rivals. Evil adventurers can thrive in this environment, but the risks are seldom worth the reward.
Other Organizations
Countless other factions, orders, and societies populate the Forgotten Realms. This section describes numerous organizations that, though less well known than the other factions in this chapter, have made a sizable impact.
Arcane Brotherhood
The Arcane Brotherhood is a cabal of powerful wizards that operates out of the Hosttower of the Arcane, a multi-spired structure that towers above the city of Luskan on the Sword Coast. The group's leadership consists of five renowned archmages who handpick the other members, favoring wizards of great accomplishment. Every year, scores of wizards from across Faerûn flock to the Hosttower in hopes of gaining admittance to the brotherhood's prestigious ranks. Nearly all candidates are dismissed out of hand without so much as a test, feeding rumors that the group's leaders are more interested in marketing their own brand of exclusivity than finding new talent. Yet prospective wizards are willing to debase themselves regardless, for admittance to the brotherhood grants access to the Hosttower's incredible libraries of magical lore.
Once welcomed into the organization, wizards are free to pursue their own interests so long as they place the security and sanctity of the Hosttower and the cabal above all else. When not rallying to defend their home, wizards of the Arcane Brotherhood are rivals to one another, striving to outdo their peers in magic. Open conflict between members is forbidden, yet members are adroit at finding underhanded ways to needle and sabotage one another.
Aurora's Emporium
Aurora's Emporium sells unusual and luxury goods in cities across Faerûn. Clients order items out of a detailed catalog, then pick up their purchases at any of the Emporium's many convenient locations. Purchases can also be delivered by special request. Among the catalog's unique array of offerings are useful adventuring gear; specialty curiosities; and staples such as wine, bread, and a dozen varieties of cheese.
The Emporium's goals are threefold: acquire quality goods, make these goods available to interested parties at a reasonable profit, and uphold the name of Aurora's Emporium as an honorable business with satisfied customers.
The business's namesake is Aurora, a former adventurer whose mission in retirement was offering the kinds of gear and supplies she wished she'd been able to purchase in her heyday. Because she was an adventurer herself, Aurora understood the importance of procuring reliable, quality merchandise, so she provided the best products and service money could buy. She became a legend in the adventuring community but passed many years ago after a long and happy life. Now the business is run by her great-granddaughter, also named Aurora, who employs storekeepers and mages to conduct day-to-day sales operations, and adventurers to procure new and interesting items for sale.
The first Emporium storefront opened in Waterdeep, and the enterprise has since spread throughout Faerûn. The Emporium now consists of dozens of shops and warehouses in locales both populous and remote. Emporium workers use magic to transport goods to stores—a practice that keeps valuable items from becoming targets for thieves.
One of Aurora's most popular offerings is the cheese bag: a pound of cheese randomly selected from a dozen different varieties from around Faerûn. According to the posters on many of Aurora's Emporiums, the cheese bag is the "Best Cheese Deal on the Material Plane." One cheese bag costs 1 GP, and sales are limited to one per person per day. When a character buys a cheese bag, roll on the Cheese Bag Contents table to determine the kind of cheese therein.
| 1d12 | Cheese Variety |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arabellan cheddar |
| 2 | Chessentan lotus cheese |
| 3 | Damarite red |
| 4 | Elturian gray |
| 5 | Farmer's cheese |
| 6 | Green Calishite |
| 7 | Mist cheese |
| 8 | Nut cheese |
| 9 | Pepper cheese |
| 10 | Turmish brick |
| 11 | Vilhon blanc |
| 12 | Waterdhavian |
Elemental Cults
Four cults of evil doomsayers scattered across Faerûn (and, indeed, the entire multiverse) are collectively known as the elemental cults. These cults are ancient and appear on every world. Whenever and wherever the cults manifest, heroes or gods usually seek to destroy them in due order. But the elemental cults never truly die, eventually returning in some fashion.
The elemental cults venerate a mysterious force or principle called Elemental Evil. Each cult worships Elemental Evil in its own way, favoring one of the four primordial elements: air, earth, fire, or water. The cults operate independently from one another, and each believes itself superior to the others.
Air
Cultists of the Howling Hatred venerate the element of air. To them, powerful winds are the ultimate expression of power. Air cultists are among the most vengeful and petty members of the elemental cults, seeing slights in every social encounter and brooding on ways to get back at their rivals. The cult's numbers frequently include assassins, illusionists, and spies.
Earth
The Cult of the Black Earth aims to destroy civilization by exerting the inexorable power of the land. Earth cultists conduct rituals to bring about mudslides, sinkholes, and earthquakes in the effort to wipe the world clean of those who defile it. This cult counts miners and quarry workers among its enemies and burrowing beasts like ankhegs and bulettes among its allies.
Fire
The followers of the Eternal Flame cult worship the destructive power of fire in all its manifestations. Their ideal world is a wasteland of ash and cinders—a world purified by flames. Fire cultists tend to be reckless and brash. They launch themselves into dangerous situations with no regard for their own safety, seeking only to inflict as much damage as possible. To fire cultists, it is better to burn brightly and briefly than to live a long life of mediocrity.
Water
Cultists of the Crushing Wave believe that all life is simply water waiting to be set free by way of bloodshed, drowning, or pulverizing pressure. Members of this cult are opportunistic and pragmatic, exploiting enemies' weaknesses whenever possible. They seek out wealth and magic items to advance their schemes. Among those who hear the call of Elemental Evil, fishers, sailors, and others who feel at home on water are typically drawn to this cult.
Flaming Fist
The Flaming Fist is a mercenary company based in Baldur's Gate. It is led by the city's grand duke, Ulder Ravengard. Although the Watch is the city's official constabulary, the Flaming Fist is its true peacekeeping force. The mercenaries' red and gold colors are so ubiquitous in Baldur's Gate that they are commonly associated with the city itself.
Membership in the Flaming Fist is easy to achieve. The company offers employment and a sense of belonging to any who can lift a sword and follow orders, regardless of their origins. Thousands of soldiers current serve in Baldur's Gate proper, at the Fortress of Wyrm's Rock on the Chionthar River, and at remote outposts such as Fort Beluarian in Chult.
Experienced adventurers swiftly advance in rank (and political influence) once they become members. Many ranking officers are former adventurers who have "retired" to the company.
Kraken Society
The Kraken Society is made up of seafarers and land dwellers alike who advance the cause of their patron, an enigmatic entity that dwells at the bottom of the Trackless Sea. They traffic in information and commit all manner of atrocities along the Sword Coast and throughout the Trackless Sea's islands in pursuit of their mysterious goals. Norlanders and other sailors of the Trackless Sea whisper the name Slarkrethel, a monstrous squid some call the King of the Trackless Depths, though just as many dismiss the creature as a mere fable.
Members of the Kraken Society are called Krakenar. To Krakenar, information is power, and this tenet guides their actions. Information can be sold to enrich the group's coffers or wielded as a weapon against the society's enemies. The right words whispered in the right ears can deliver great fortunes to society leaders—countless merchant ships, for instance, have sunk to the floor of the Trackless Sea as a result of Krakenar meddling.
Krakenar who accrue and disseminate information quickly are apt to climb the faction's ranks. Skilled diviners and spies make up most of the Kraken Society's upper echelons. Beyond information gathering, Krakenar conduct assassinations, kidnappings, torture, and other violence.
Most Krakenar join the Kraken Society with the sole aim of advancing their own personal power and wealth. But the watchful eye of Slarkrethel and the strict discipline enforced by the kraken's senior followers both ensure that Krakenar keep the Kraken Society's interests at top of mind.
Order of Delvers
The Order of Delvers is an explorers' guild dedicated to exploring and mapping Faerûn's vast subterranean underbelly. Guild members are called delvers, and chapter leaders are called delvemasters. The guild promotes the exploration of cave systems, natural tunnels, and the uppermost levels of the Underdark.
The Order of Delvers was originally founded by a devout dwarf explorer who sought to locate the mythical Soulforge—the hearth where, according to dwarven mythology, Moradin the All-Father created the first dwarves. The order has since expanded into a spelunking guild with chapters in dwarfholds throughout Faerûn. Many delvers are dwarves devoted to traditional dwarven religious beliefs, but anyone with an adventurous spirit and an appetite for discovery is welcome to join.
Member Benefits
A member must pay regular dues to remain in the order. Delvers enjoy a variety of benefits, including the following.
Discounted Supplies
Delvers receive discounts on equipment and services purchased from guild-sponsored smithies and adventurers' shops.
Guild Support
Members are expected to share their discoveries and useful findings with fellow members of the Order of Delvers.
Recovery Services
In the event of a catastrophic mishap, the Order of Delvers can be hired to send a team of highly trained delvers to locate and recover a delver's belongings (and, if necessary, their corpse).
Special Equipment
The Order of Delvers commissions a variety of magic items available for delvers to purchase, including Elven Chain, Heward's Handy Haversacks, and Orbs of Direction.
Spellguard
The Spellguard is an order of militaristic mages based out of Silverymoon. Originally founded as the royal guard of Silverymoon's then-ruler, Alustriel Silverhand, the Spellguard's duties soon expanded to include the protection of the whole city. During times of peace, members of the Spellguard patrol Silverymoon's borders and monitor the roads between Silverymoon and its allied cities. Though most Spellguards remain close to Silverymoon in case of emergency, elite Spellguards are assigned to special missions in distant lands and even other parts of the multiverse.
The responsibilities of the Spellguard are too grave to entrust to a novice. To join this elite order, an individual must prove their prowess in battle magic, including creating and dispelling magical wards, scrying enemies' positions and intentions, and launching effective magical assaults. Many young mages strive to join the Spellguard both out of pride for their city and to enjoy the prestige and perks that accompany the station.
In time, the order's most experienced veterans can rise to the position of warder. Warders are responsible for testing and training new recruits and spend most of their time in and around Silverymoon's High Palace.
Waterclock Guild
The Waterclock Guild was a group of artificers, geomancers, and artisans based out of Neverwinter. The guild's members were responsible for crafting that city's once-famous waterclocks: beautiful, incredibly accurate timekeeping devices powered by the flow of water and—unknown to many—elemental magic.
Although the guild proper ceased operation long ago, vestiges of its works still litter forgotten crypts and abandoned ruins in Neverwinter. Recently, traveling gnome and dwarf crafters arrived in Neverwinter in search of the Waterclock Guild's lost inventions. These crafters claimed to be guild members returning from a centuries-long sojourn, and they sought to recover their fellows' relics so they could restore the guild and continue its work. Their labor is still underway, but the project, now known as the Waterclock Renaissance, seems destined for success.
The leaders of the Waterclock Renaissance are eager to bolster their numbers. Even novice clockmakers are being considered for positions in the small organization, as are woodworkers, metallurgists, and spellcasters with an aptitude for the craft and maintenance of clocks.