megadungeon factions - Sun-Scarred Knights and Cult of Set

[Geleg]

one of the smaller and more secretive factions in my megadungeon is the Order of Sun-Scarred Knights. I'm keeping some of the backstory concerning the Master of the Order and his nature out of this post, but might elaborate on it if I get the time later.


Sun-Scarred Knight
No encountered: 1-4
Frequency: unique to the Halls of Arden Vul
Size: M to L
HD: by class and level. Knights are at least 12th level, and tend to be Knights, Fighters, or Rangers, although stories of Fighter-Wizards have been reported.
Move: 30
AC: 22
Attacks: by weapon (sword 1d10; hand axes 1d6x2) plus strength bonus
Special: gothic armor, sun lance, solar ring, circlet of command, backpack of capacity, DR 10 to fire, cold and electricity; regnerate 2hp/rd
Saves: P, M
INT: Exceptional
Alignment: Lawful
Type: Humanoid
Treasure:
XP:
The Sun-Scarred Knights are a strange order of knights who dwell only to dwell in the caverns underneath the halls of Arden Vul. The order numbers 25 named Knights under the rule of a shadowy Master, who never leaves the inner chambers of the Order. The knights also possess a small force of auxiliaries, known as the Varlets of the Order; they are always interested in adding young boys and girls to the ranks of the Varlets so as to ensure a supply of future knights. Those young recruits must be willing and able to spend the rest of their lives in cloistered obscurity beneath the surface of Arden Vul. No one is sure what happens to those Varlets who never make it to the rank of Knight. The Order is ancient, and legend has it that its name comes from the fact that the founder and his initial disciples had been scarred somehow by sunlight, and had thus retreated beneath the Halls to avoid further injury. Current members do boast ritual scars burned onto their faces, but these scars are now inflicted within the Halls as part of the ritual of initiation. The knights are formidable foes, as they possess impressive suits of armor and powerful magic weapons. They mostly travel by themselves through the Halls, on particular quests for the Master of the order (a 16th level Knight), but are sometimes accompanied by one or more Varlets. Although the collective needs of the Order are always paramount, the Knights are highly individualized in their particular goals and agendas, with individual knights pursuing their own projects, some of which may last decades. Indeed, although all knights must be lawful and swear powerful oaths to support the interests of the Master above all else, there is a quite wide divergence in alignment, personality, and degree of interest in the other denizens of the Halls on the part of each Knight.
Intelligent creatures in the Halls respect, and often fear them. An individual Knight may often act as advisors to such groups (goblins, Old Guard Kobolds, the cult of Set, the Troll Thegn, and even the Termaxians) for indeterminate periods of time, all the while furthering his/her own goals. Such advice is usually coveted by the factions of the Halls, since these factions imagine they can gain advantage through a Knight’s wisdom and might. All such denizens recognize, however, that to count on such advice is dangerous, since the Knights can and will abandon their charges according to their own, often untimely, schedules. The arrival of a Sun-Scarred Knight in any of the precincts of the Halls is thus cause for anxiety, hope, and alarm.
Upon joining the Order, each knight takes a new name. The name may honor some previous knight or impressive ancient hero (Sir Simonet, Sir Hrugga, etc), it may represents an allegorical virtue (like Sir Joy, Sir Sorrow, Sir Pride, Sir Suffering etc), or it may be cryptic (as with Sir Sixth, and Sir Beta). The communities of Arden Vul assume that a Knight keeps his/her name for his/her lifetime, but there is no way to be sure that Knights do not change their names as it suits them. Although many attempts have been made to explain the choice of a knight’s name by the character of his/her actions, this has always proven fruitless, for knights do not consistently practice heroism or asceticism, nor do they insist on particular behavior in others. It is assumed that the naming of Knights is connected to the inner rites of the Order, and perhaps to ancient tradition and/or the needs of the Master.
Although the Knights customarily wear their gothic armor when abroad in the Halls, thereby obscuring their bodies, it is widely known that the Knights accept recruits of all races and gender. It is not impossible for there to be a goblin or kobold knight (albeit one of surpassing intelligence and ability), as well as the more customary human knights. Still, it is more common to encounter human knights. The denizens of the halls have learned to their chagrin, however, that the race of a particular knight confers no special preference for any of the factions within Arden Vul. Female Knights are common, and are referred to by the same honorific, “Sir”.
The Knights are known to possess a hidden complex below Arden Vul, and passing mention of the Knights’ Hall, the Master’s Chamber, the Chapter House, and the Solar Chapel have become inscribed in the lore of those sages and scholars of Arden Vul. The precise location of their headquarters is the subject of much speculation and gossip, even though none are so bold as to discuss their theories in the presence of the Knights.
Encounters with the Knights should not be necessarily hostile, unless of course the DM wishes to inflict a potent enemy on the PCs. Rather, the Knights should be developed as a secret faction with logical agendas of their own. Those agendas may not necessarily, at least at first, have anything to do with the PCs; indeed, a Knight who happened to encounter a low-level party (an unusual fact in and of itself, since the Knights venture abroad in the Upper Halls only rarely) is just as likely to politely ignore the PCs as to engage them in combat or even conversation.
In addition to their magical items, knights also typically wear and employ a mundane weapon (typically a thin, but exceptionally strong sword, or a pair of hand axes). When moving through the Halls they wear backpacks of extraordinary capacity.
Special Abilities:
Gothic Armor: all Knights possess suits of plate armor fashioned out of a strange black substance that is as hard as steel but as light as cloth. The armor varies in form, but commonly features elaborate gold- or silver-chasings worked into the arm and leg pieces and small decorative extrusions on the shoulders and helmet. All suits show the symbol of the Order, a setting (or rising?) sun, on the breast plate. The armor is incredibly effective, granting a base 22 AC. It also provides a +10 Damage Resistance to Fire, Cold, and Electricity. Suits grant fast recovery of wounds: regeneration of 2 pts/round. A few suits are reputed to crackle with their own electricity, acting as Shocking Hands spells to those who touch them.
Sun Lance: all knights carry 4' lances. The business end is formed of a black-metal alloy, with a slot in it into which a silver metallic disk may be slipped (for charges). The metallic end is attached to a handle of varying substance (more metal, or wood, or even ivory). The Sun Lance can discharge a powerful burning sun ray of variable power: 1 charge (2d6 heat damage), 2 charges (4d6), 3 charges (6d6). It can also be used to inflict a sun burst (4 charges) which will do 6d6 damage to everyone in a 25' radius. The various effects of the Sun Lance should be considered to be ‘sunlight’ for the purposes of affecting creatures affected by sunlight.
Solar Ring: all knights wear these copper rings set with a silver scarab beetle on top of their gauntlets. Solar Rings have various powers: at will they can Produce Sunlight in a 50' radius; at will they act as rings of feather fall, or rings of jumping; finally, they can also produce an air bubble around the head of the wearer which will permit travel under water for a period of 1 day.
Circlet of Command: these platinum circlets set with a single emerald are typically worn underneath a knight’s helmet. The circlets allow knights to, at will, 1) Detect Alignment; 2) Detect Lies; 3) issue Commands (5x per day); and 4) Charm Person or Monster (2x per day).
Backpack of Capacity: these backpacks can carry 10x the normal weight without encumbrance.

[Geleg]

the Cult of Set:


Set Cultists
No encountered: 6-11
Frequency: rare
Size: medium
HD: 1-2
Move: 30
AC: 10-12
Attacks: by weapon, usually dagger, flail or staff
Special: fanaticism
Saves: P
INT: average
Alignment: LE
Type: human or demihuman
Treasure: 3d20 sp
XP: 15+2
Set Cultists are the mundane followers of the god Set. Set Cultists can come from any race of intelligent creatures, although the leadership of the cult is mostly (75%) human. In the Halls of Arden Vul, 66% of encountered cultists will be human; of the remaining 33%, the breakdown will be as follows: Goblin (40%), Lizardman (20%), Batrachian (20%), Demi-human (10%), Other/DM’s Choice (10%). They are typically not particularly difficult to defeat in combat, wearing only street clothes or sacred robes. They do travel in groups, however, so their numbers can tell against smaller parties of PCs. They typically carry daggers or staffs, or the occasional flail. Often Cultists are accompanied by a Set Priest (50% chance) and/or by 1d4 Set Guardsmen (also 50% chance). It is entirely possible for them to be accompanied by both a priest and some guardsmen. Even though they are essentially mundane creatures, certain Set Cultists are highly regarded figures in the hierarchy of power in Temples of Set. That is, wealth, influence, and knowledge might cause a Cultist to have more influence/power than a formal Priest, with his/her spell-casting abilities.
Fanaticism: due to their fanatical loyalty to Set and his goals, Cultists are always +1 to hit and +1 to saves.

Set Guardsmen
No encountered: 3-6
Frequency: rare
Size: medium
HD: 2 (or more)
Move: 30
AC: 15-17 (Scale Mail and shield, plus possible DEX bonus)
Attacks: by weapon (spear or bow, plus sword)
Special: fanaticism, Bonds of Set
Saves: P
INT: average
Alignment: LE
Type: human or demi-human
Treasure: Type 1
XP: 25+2
Guardsmen (and -women) of Set are warriors dedicated to defending Set’s property and interests, and to punishing those designated by the priesthood. Ordinary Guardsmen are the equivalent of Level 2 fighters, with effective STR bonuses of +1 or +2. With their fanaticism (+1 to hit and save), this makes them +4 or +5 to hit, and +1 or +2 to damage. They typically wear scale mail and carry wooden shields, although some have been known to sport bronze breastplates. They prefer spears, bows, and longswords.
Fanaticism: due to their fanatical loyalty to Set, Guardsmen are +1 to hit and +1 to saves
Bonds of Set: Any given group of Guardsmen is likely (50% per group, not per individual) to carry a set of these bonds. The Bonds are bolas, with weighted balls for ends, which the Guardsmen will use to attempt to immobilize their enemies. An enemy hit with the bonds should determine hit location (50% legs, 40% torso/arms, 10% neck): if hit in the legs, the victim will fall over and will be immobilized for 3-6 rounds; if hit in the torso arms, the victim will drop anything held in his arms, and be rendered immobile until a comrade spends d6+4 rounds freeing him/her; if hit in the neck, the victim will take 1d4 damage and will begin choking, and strangulation will come in 2d6 rounds. The Bonds are difficult to learn to use (-5 to hit for the non-proficient).

Set Priests
Acolytes
No encountered: 1d4
Frequency: rare
Size: medium
HD: 3
Move: 30
AC: 16-18
Attacks: by weapon
Special: fanaticism, was stick
Saves: M
INT: average to high
Alignment: LE
Type: human or demihuman
Treasure: Type 3
XP: 50+4

Deacons
No encountered: 1d3
Frequency: rare
Size: medium
HD: 6
Move: 30
AC: 18-20
Attacks: weapon
Special: fanaticism, was stick
Saves: M
INT: high
Alignment: LE
Type: human
Treasure: Type 6
XP: 250+7

High Priests
No encountered: 1
Frequency: very rare
Size: medium
HD: 9
Move: 30
AC: 22
Attacks: weapon
Special: fanaticism, was stick
Saves: M, P
INT: superior
Alignment: LE
Type: human
Treasure: Type 9
XP: 1000+10

It is important to understand that these Priests of Set are those with spell-casting abilities. Regular cultists may also act in priestly roles (and may indeed have knowledge and prestige greater than some Priests), but lack spell-casting abilities. Set Priests come in three varieties, Acolyte, Deacon and High Priest (i.e., clerics of levels 3, 6, and 9). All Set Priests wear special Set Armor, which is an ensemble similar to that of a Roman legionary: scale body armor, copper leg and arm greaves, copper helmet shaped like a Set Animal (total is +6 AC). Deacons usually possess enchanted (+1) Set Armor, while High Priests possess +2 Set Armor. Set Armor is red and inscribed with symbols of Set. Most do not carry shields. All Set Priests normally carry Was sticks, or rods of power (q.v.) as well as a hand-weapon. All Set Priests are likely to have one or more magical items with them: Acolytes will have 1-2 potions and 1-2 scrolls; Deacons will have a minor protective item, a magical weapon, plus 2-3 potions and a scroll; High Priests carry a magical weapon, 2 minor or one major protective item, 2 potions, and 1-2 more powerful items (amulets, wands, etc). High Priests also wear the feared Ring of Set, a scarab featuring a blood red pig (q.v.). All Set Priests may use spells: Acolytes have 4/3/1 spells per day; Deacons have 5/4/4/2; and High Priests have 5/5/5/4/2/1.
Set Priests are not common, as the cult of Set is in abeyance. They mostly inhabit remote temples or ruins, preferably underground. Their goals are many, among which are the defeat of ‘good’ Gods of knowledge and magic, the acquisition of knowledge and power, and the subtle undermining of human power structures for their own purposes.
Special Objects:
Was Sticks: wooden sticks with a curved neck (like a prybar) and a forked tail, these sticks are carved to resemble Set Animals. They take their name from the Egyptian word for power (was). The sticks carry both symbolic and practical value to Set Priests. As symbols, they mark the authority of the priestly cast, such that any carrier of a was stick will receive a certain degree of respect (within reason) from cultists, guardsmen and some trained monsters/pets. Was sticks also possess magical effects. Acolytes’ sticks: cast hold person 2x/day. Deacons’ Sticks: cast hold person 2x/day; cast silence 15' radius 1x/day. High Priests’ Sticks: cast hold person 2x/day; cast silence 15' radius 1x/day; cast cause light wounds 2x day.
Ring of Set: a copper ring set with a scarab of a blood-red pig. These rings are extremely valuable as symbolic objects (although their inherent metallic value is low), since only the most powerful High Priests wield them. The ring allows the wearer to cast True Sight 2x day and Fear 3x day; it also adds +2 to Armor Class and grants a Spell Resistance of 5. Rings are highly individualized and are actually given names (perhaps the name of their first wearer?). Set will be most displeased with those who steal one of his Priest’s Rings, and any non-believer who acquires and uses a Ring will be cursed by Set. The curse will take the form of a progressive weakening of CON and of a sort of homing beacon which will allow the cult of Set to track the blasphemer and (hopefully) recover the ring.