- General
- Faerûn
- Mercenary Companies
- Psionic Organizations
- Underdark Organizations
- Minor Valorous Organizations
- Organizations of Waterdeep
- Organizations of the East
- Demon-led Organizations
- Cult of the Dragon
- Druids of the Tall Trees
- The Emerald Enclave
- Fangshields
- Fellowship of the Purple Staff
- Fire Knives
- Guardian of the Weave
- Hand of Vengeance
- Marshals and Heralds in the Realms
- Harpers
- Knights of the Flying Hunt
- Knights of Imphras II
- Knights of the North
- The Lords' Alliance
- Malaugryms
- Order of the Grand Snakemaster
- People of the Black Blood
- Red Wizards of Thay
- The Seven Sisters
- Shades
- The Soft Claws
- The Xanathar's Guild
- The Zhentarim
Order of Illumination
Evil might lie behind any door, and shadow might hide in any heart. The Order of Illumination holds this maxim close as it seeks out and destroys evil wherever necessary.
The organization has two main branches, each dedicated to fulfilling one of the order's two functions. The first is to ferret out evil wherever it hides, and it is the shadowbane stalkers who devote themselves to finding hidden evils and piercing the lies of evildoers. The second task is to confront these evils directly, and it is the shadowbane inquisitors who pick up sword and shield and take the fight to evil creatures.
Although many of its members adventure with their comrades (especially in partnerships between a stalker and an inquisitor) and with independent adventuring groups, the Order of Illumination is not an adventuring-oriented organization. The order is far more concerned with finding and combating the evils that hide within civilized communities than it is with finding lost tombs or raiding the lairs of dragons. The comrades are quick to praise such activity when it clearly serves the cause of good, but members are encouraged to look for evil closer to home whenever possible.
Joining the Order of Illumination: Becoming a member of the Order of Illumination is no easy task. A prospective member must prove his or her dedication, purity, and desire to fight evil by fasting for three days. During this trial period, paladins and clerics belonging to the order visit the candidate to pose difficult moral questions, engage in mock combat trials, and repeatedly subject the candidate to detect evil, detect chaos, and discern lies spells. Membership also requires an offering of 100 gp.
A potential member need not meet any specific class or level requirements, but he cannot be evil or chaotic. Although a very small number of neutral characters choose to join, the order's strict requirements and rules mean that only lawful characters find it appealing for long. The majority of the membership is lawful good, with a significant portion being lawful neutral.
Character Benefits: The resources of the Order of Illumination are vast, but the organization is careful never to put too many of these resources into the hands of one person, however trustworthy that person may seem to be. Player characters who are members can count on shadowbane stalkers to provide a steady stream of rumors about evil or suspicious activity, and can find a safe place to rest and heal in any city that has a cathedral dedicated to the order. The order's intolerance of evil means that it is willing to combat any real threat, but it won't throw lives away needlessly just on the player characters' say-so. If the PCs need help with a particularly evil foe or opposing force, they might be able to appeal to an individual inquisitor, but the DM has the final say in any such activities.
The Order of Illumination greatly covets holy weapons, and it will pay 60% of a weapon's value if it has the holy special ability. Likewise, the order prizes the destruction of evil items and weapons and will pay 60% of the value of any such item turned in by a member. The order sees the procurement of holy items and the destruction of unholy items as among its most important duties.
Roleplaying Suggestions: Personalities vary greatly between the members of the two arms of the Order of Illumination.
Those affiliated with the shadowbane stalkers prefer unobtrusive methods of finding evil. They lace their dialog with subtle questions, use deceit whenever they feel such behavior is warranted by the greater good, and often hide their affiliation with the order in order to better discover the true intentions of those they meet. Shadowbane stalkers are often quiet individuals who carefully watch the effects that their words and actions have on others. They are just as suspicious and reactionary as the inquisitors, but they are less open and vocal about both of these traits.
Members affiliated with the shadowbane inquisitors, on the other hand, rely on physical power and an unquestioning sense of what's right to battle evil openly. Unwavering in their devotion to what they define as law and good, the inquisitors are blunt speakers who assume guilt or hidden motives in most individuals. They are highly suspicious of others and seem driven more by zeal than by regard for the facts.
Typical Member: Most members of the Order of Illumination are low-level clerics and paladins dedicated to a deity of law, good, destruction, or war. The order's teachings blend these faiths together into a pure quest to rid the world of evil. Most members with more experience end up taking a level or two in rogue and then pursue one of the two prestige classes associated with the order. Although members of other classes join the order all the time, the group encourages new members to begin training as either a cleric or a paladin (if they haven't already done so) to prepare for entry into one of the shadowbane prestige classes. Although a typical member may be too inexperienced to enter those prestige classes, each still thinks of himself or herself as serving one of the two branches. For example, a 1st-level paladin in the service of the order probably thinks of himself as a shadowbane inquisitor-in-training even though he's several levels away from meeting the prestige class prerequisites, while a 1st-level cleric/1st-level rogue who has served the stalkers for a few years considers herself a potential shadowbane stalker even though she might never meet the requirements for the prestige class.
Prestige Classes: The two prestige classes associated with the order represent the pinnacle of the two arms of the group. The shadowbane stalkers ferret out evil, and the shadowbane inquisitors confront evil directly. Both classes require a mix of cleric and rogue (or paladin and rogue) abilities to meet the entry requirements, and these requirements shape the abilities of the bulk of the guild's membership. The order expects all its members to aspire to one of the two classes.
For some characters, the power and purity of the inquisitor is difficult to maintain, and those who fall from its demanding standards often end up becoming some of evil's most powerful and dedicated servants - blackguards. These traitors are a dark blight on the light of the order, and they are its greatest foe. What's worse, such villains often maintain the illusion that they retain their former status and operate from within the order for long periods of time before their evil is finally discovered.
Lore of the Guild: One of the order's most deadly foes, a blackguard known only by rumor and reputation, supposedly works from within the highest ranks of the organization itself. This villain has reportedly killed or subverted any member who has ever come close to discovering his true identity, yet rumors of his existence persist. The order officially denies the existence of such an individual and strictly forbids its members from discussing such rumors. However, paladin comrades use detect evil on the membership with surprising frequency, and it is extremely unusual for a member to refuse being the subject of such a spell.
An Order of Illumination Campaign: The Order of Illumination has a complex relationship with the evil that it fights, and a campaign that features one or more members can give the PCs a chance to explore their own definition of good in the light of the extremist stance taken by the group. Likewise, there are many rich roleplaying opportunities in a campaign that features the order as a collection of good-aligned extremists that serve as antagonists of characters who are also good-aligned but have a more tolerant outlook.
Source: Complete Adventurer