Proposal: The Order of Kamara


This proposal describes the Order to which Larissa Kondred (new PC) belongs.

The Order of Kamara
Legend says that, at the age of 60, Lady Kamara was left in charge of her keep while her husband was called to war. A group of brigands entered the keep in disguise as wounded Rornish soldiers, then massacred the keep's remaining guard. Lady Kamara and a handful of her retainers fled to the hills while the bandits remained in the keep, believing themselves safe until the passes were clear of snow. Kamara rallied the people of the valley to her, building an army of shepherds and villagers. After a month of training, and under Kamara's inspired leadership, the army recaptured the keep and slew every one of the brigands.

Today, Lady Kamara is remembered as one of the Sword Saints, and the members of the Order of Kamara honor her memory by training and organizing citizens to defend themselves. Their doctrine is one that demands vigilance and commitment to the study of the martial arts, but emphasizes community rather than extreme self-reliance. Every citizen has in them the seed of the hero, and the Order seeks to make sure that when the need arises, it will bloom.

In its early days, the brothers and sisters of the order worked mostly in rural communities, helping to organize local militias and prepare the community's response to natural disasters. Their role kept them away from the barracks and the palace, Rorn's centers of power, and so the Order were regarded as a rustic and somewhat marginal group.

This might have remained the case, but fate intervened. Some 20 years ago, Rorn found itself in a protracted campaign against the latest charismatic leader of the horselords.* The High Marshal was forced to pull his forces to the western border, leaving the border with Heth relatively unguarded. Brigands emerged from the lawless kingdom and began staging raids across the border. Their raids became alarmingly bold, but still the High Marshal could not dispatch troops.

At the request of the Grave, the Order of Kamara dispatched a contingent of its members to Heth. While the lizardfolk would never have tolerated an incursion by Rornish troops, they seemed willing to turn a blind eye to a handful of priests. The members of the Order situated themselves in Heth villages and towns along the border, organizing militias and creating a network of well-organized defenders with the strength to take on the bandits. The brigands withdrew to safer havens deeper within Heth, and the villagers' newfound security brought prosperity to both sides of the border.

The Grave were quick to realize there might be other roles for the Order, and formed an alliance. Gold from the Rornish treasury began to fill the Order's coffers, and its members were dispatched to troubled locations to work their magic. Most recently, members of the Order have been dispatched to the Landadel Baronies to counter the growing influence of Rhat'matanis in the region. This has met with a mixed reception; the leaders of some baronies have welcomed the development of a stronger militia, while others have feared it and banned the Order.

The paladins and clerics of the Order are known for their diplomatic skills as much as their strength of arms. They are trained in persuasion and oratory, and held to the highest standard of honor and good conduct. Failure to help a community find its strength is a failure that can be overcome, but a breach of honor disgraces the Order and undermines its mission everywhere.

Many members of the Order have mixed feelings about its relationship with the Grave. The Order's duty is to communities worldwide, not just those whose strength is of value to Rorn, and some feel that allowing the High Marshal so much control undermines their mission and their credibility. But the leadership seems to feel it is better to do some good with Rornish gold than to do less without it, and the uneasy alliance is tolerated.

The Order's symbol is a stylized, heavy-bladed sword stuck into the side of the mountain; the image symbolizes a sword (beaten from a plowshare) on the mountain where Lady Kamara trained her army. Members of the order tend to favor heavy-bladed greatswords, though these well-crafted weapons bear little resemblence to the crude implements of their founder's army.

*This view is that held by Rornish historians. The Horse clans refer to the period as one of renewed aggression by their Rornish neighbors.


Agreed. YES.

I had been wondering about the order's view on training non-Rornian peoples, but you wrote that in nicely. An interesting fleshing-out of the interplay/tensions between Rorn's religion and its politics.