Lore of the Perilous Land: Wytchguard

I wanted to start a series that delves into some of the inner workings of the Perilous Land - the people, places and beings that inhabit the 11 kingdoms. Hopefully these will add even more flavour and hooks to your Romance of the Perilous Land campaign.

Today we're looking at Wytchguard, the elite fighting force of King Ban who rules over Benwick. This is a kingdom where the threat of the Black Lance is strong, Mordred has allies installed within the king's court and has gained the support of the powerful Red Magisters. The Red Magisters have recently discovered the mystery of raising the dead back to life in a manner of undeath as vicious revenants and monstrous ghouls, who in turn descend on unwary villagers as they sleep in their cots. Seeing the rise of the Red Magisters, King Ban pit together a group of undead slayers called the Wytchguard to defend the city of Beyonne and its outlying settlements.

Jarin Dempster is the captain of the Wytchguard, an honourable and seasoned warrior who quickly rose through the ranks of Ban's army and gained the notice of the king. With his longsword Crusader Jarin has slain hundreds of undead beasts in his short time as captain. He leads a force of 50 Wytchguards, posted within the walls of Beyonne and further out into Coyne and Wandleton. They can easily be recognised by their uniform: a silver cloak bearing the emblem of the Wytchguard, a sword through a skull; black armour; and blood red gauntlets. On their pauldrons elaborate prayers to Gofannon are etched in silver. They each carry a longsword (each named by the owner - a name given to them in a dream by Gofannon upon initiation), a silver dagger and a shortbow. They also carry wooden stakes in their packs.

Members of the Wytchguard must be proficient in the teachings of Gofannon, so each member goes through a year of priestly training before they don their cloaks. Attending morning prayers is compulsory, even if they're camping out in the middle of nowhere. During the prayer, Gofannon is asked to bless each of their weapons in turn with the words:

Gofannon, whose anvil is divine
Bless mine weapon with thy wisdom and virtue
So that the enemies of light are destroyed by thy magnificence
And the darkness is driven from this fair land

If you want to use a Wytchguard in your game, use the stats for the knight, but of HD6 (increase TN to 16, AP 6, damage d8+6, HP 34), and add a  silver dagger weapon. If the silver dagger is used against any member of the undead, it does an additional d6 damage. Jarin Dempster is the same, but HD8.

If you want to create a Wytchguard as a character, use the following build:

Class: Knight
Background: Priest
Deity: Gofannon
Key attributes: Might and Mind
Skills: Athletics, Perception, Survival, Religion, Healing
Starting talent: Monster Hunter
Other talents: Armour Expert, Armour Recovery, Swift Recovery,  Sharp-witted, Darksight

Romance of the Perilous Land: A Roleplaying Game if British Folklore is now available in all good places you can find roleplaying games.