Knights of the Crucible

Three Orders. Countless Possibilities.

Knightly ordersgroups of knights bound together by common oaths, beliefs, and goalsare a fun and exciting part of fantasy lore with deep roots in actual history. The Advanced Players Guide tapped in to this vein of flavor with the cavalier class, which includes a variety of cavalier orders as one of its class features. Though these orders are flavorful and evocative, and also mechanically interesting, they left one thing to be desired: there was no information about the actual orders themselves, as organizations.

Knights of the Crucible presents a somewhat more in-depth look at three new knightly orders, each of which falls within the larger organization of the knights of the crucible. These ordersthe order of the bronze shield, the order of the golden helm, and the order of the iron bladenot only include mechanical information for cavaliers who join the order, as well as archetypes for various other classes that might be interested in joining, but also have detailed information on the way the organization operates, its goals, and its members, as well as specific information on how to implement the order into your game, whether as an organization one or more PCs are a part of, or as NPCs, both allies and enemies.

The book also contains detailed mechanics for membership in the order, including ways to rise in status and rank within the order, and various benefits and perks which high-ranking and influential members can gain through association with the order. Finally, the book concludes with a gallery of sample NPCs and stat-blocks for various members of the orders, in order to make implementing the orders into your game that much easier.

While, at heart, Knights of the Crucible presents three new cavalier orders, in reality, it does far more, providing three unique and detailed organizations for player characters to join, ally themselves with, or fight bitterly. No matter what you need, the knights of the crucible can be a valuable addition to fantasy games of any sort.