| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Darkheyr |
Posted - 18 Apr 2005 : 09:56:29
The Flameblade Order
In most realms of Faerun, you can find a small group of elite warriors, furiously loyal, defending their king and land to the end. In Cormyr, there are the Purple Dragon Knights. The Silver Marches have the Knights in Silver and the Spellguard.
And for Calimshan, next to the Imperial Guard, there is the Flameblade Order.
A mere hundred of them exist, spread out through Faerun. A hundred of the syl-pashas finest warriors, and all accomplished fire sorcerers - for in their veins runs the blood of the ancient efreet that ruled Calimshan so long ago. Some have awakened powers that even the efreet had long forgotten, and mastered the elements of air, water and earth alike. Others meddle with the powers of illusion and disguise. Most flameblades are of human origin, with a few fire genasi in between.
The Flameblade Order has but one duty: defend the Syl-Pasha, Calimport, Calimshan and itself - in precisely that order of priority. While the people may have heard of that order, none know of its members. The flameblades themselves usually serve as an Imperial Guard officer, although a few keep a low profile by intention. Only about 30 are in Calimport itself, however, the rest is travelling throughout Faerun, being eyes and ears for the Syl-pasha. They are encouraged to gather experience as mercenaries or adventurers - which is another reason why there are only so few of them. If their services are required, they are simply contacted via means of magic.
The enigmatic leader of the flameblades is simply called "Abu Lahab"; roughly translating to "Flamefather". Most other members have similar order names, from longer examples as "Flame of Almraiven" to a short and simple "Phoenix".
An example of a flameblade: Yasheira nyl-Jassan, "Flame of Almraiven"
Yasheira was born as the daughter of Nelanna, a minor sorceress, in the city of Almraiven. At the age of five, her magical power begins to show for the first time, and it quickly becomes apparent that her talent is far superior to her mothers. Nelanna takes special care to give Yasheira the best possible training and control, and leaves the family business entirely to her husband, Terol.
As common in calishite culture, Yasheira was expected to marry as soon as possible after turning sixteen, and within a year she is wed to Khalid nyl-Jassan, a member of the military caste and soldier currently stationed in Almraiven. From him, she quickly picked up a formidable skill with the blade. When her husband joined the Imperial Guard and thus moved to Calimport, Yasheira decided to follow his lead and became a soldier herself. Despite many problems that arose from this rather untraditional role for a woman, she eventually managed to become part of the Imperial Guard as well, and even attained an officer rank.
However, it was not going to last. During an assassination attempt at the syl-pasha, both of them were heavily injured. Yasheira survived, but Khalid succumbed to his wounds before clerical assistance arrived. Haunted by her husbands death every time she walked within the imperial palace, she requested herself to be relieved of her service.
The syl-pasha on the other hand, respecting her skill with magic and sword alike, did not wish to loose her as a warrior. Thus he offered her to join the Flameblade Order, which allowed her to roam the realms freely until her services were called. Yasheira accepted, and became the Flame of Almraiven.
The latest news claim that she has recently departed from Shadowdale with a group of adventurers and a noble's carriage, heading to somewhere within the Western Heartlands.
Game Rule Information
Expect each and every flameblade to be at least level 7, able to cast second level spells and having a BAB of +4. Anything below that simply is not good enough for them - yet, anyway. They usually take up a fighter/sorcerer combination, switching to eldritch knight or spellsword at the soonest possible occasion. They also have many unique spells, or spells your regular sorcerer wouldnt be able to obtain - the druid spell "flame blade" is a common occurence in a flameblades magical arsenal. As well, npc flameblades should definitly be created using an elite ability array, or whatever ability scores you seem fit for the finest elite.
For example, Yasheira is a Sor4/Ftr2/Spellsword4. |
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