Knight-Brother Aurelius
by Daniel Mayer Knight-Brother Aurelius,
Member of the Inner Circle of the Knights of the Holy Grail, designated Abbot of Banz OD&D: Level 24, lawful, Paladin
St: 16, In: 14, Wis: 16, Dex: 18, Con: 16, Ch: 17 Hp: 103, AC: -8 (War/Adventure) / 0 (At Ease);
Weapons: +5 Holy Avenger "Durandan" (Int 9, det. inv., det. traps, det. magic; of slicing, +7 vs. Giants, indestructible), +4 dagger of Purity ("dispel evil" at 10th level 3/day on hit, always glowing);
Armour: (War) +4 breastplate (=^chain mail) of reflection and flight, +3 ring of protection,
Cape "Darion" (-3 AC, 2-12 lvls rechargeable drain protection, non-detection)
(At Ease) Clothing of Purity (never dirty, perm. "protection from evil", AC 9),
Cape "Darion", +3 ring of protection
Magical Items: +3 ring of protection, ring of holiness, backpack of holding, boots of travelling & leaping, tent of security (Warning, protection from evil 10´), flying carpet, rod of health, staff of healing (34 charges), 1 potion of full health
Normal Items: fine crafted saddle, bedroll, 4 torches, 6 flasks of oil, 6 holy water, Holy Symbol (cross)
Cash: 43 platinum pieces, 10 gold pieces, 15 silver pieces, 23 copper pieces
Secured treasure: Gems worth 400.000 gold, many sacral figurines and accessories, designed for the new abbey; the whole treasure is reserved to complete the construction of the abbey.
History:
Aurelius was born 980 AC as one of two sons of a wealthy merchant. Titus, his brother, was almost ten years older and a renown member of the same order. When Aurelius was trained as squire in the order, Titus died under mysterious circumstances far away from Thyatis. Some days thereafter, Aurelius dreamed of Titus speaking to him. Some important matters have to be cared for, Titus said. So Aurelius left Thyatis at 3rd lvl with his destination Alfheim. Many adventures showed him that he had divine help. Many years (levels) later, at lvl 12, he really met his ghostly brother, after the "matters" were finally solved. Then he returned for the first time to Thyatis since his departure. Because he got a proof of his mission of the last years, he was accepted as hero of the order in his mid-twenty (1006 AC). He was promoted to the full membership of the order (he had the rank of a squire til 12th lvl!) and roams Mystara as knight-brother since then.
Personality:
************
So. There's much more to tell (even in my conjured "know language", 1st level version of that spell :), but the NPC should leave place for your adoption to your Mystara. I'll send a timeline of my campaigns in a few weeks, after much work I've to do in recalling the adventures...
Aurelius is the kind of a proud warrior everyone knows. He wears his breastplate with dignity and inner strength. Perhaps anyone has seen "Hercules" in TV, when Angel Michael appeared the first time to wake up the Four Riders of Apocalypse. Aurelius is nearly exactly this Michael: Incarnated "Good" with a tendency to overconfidence (Many, many times in our adventures :) He is a humble servant of his church, defends his faith against all kinds of attacks but accepts other religions. He's fond of the Ylari "True Believers" who all seem to be paladins in their faith. Magic is acceptable because the gods created it, his too. He isn't really interested in ownership of land or even ruling. He's made the job of ruling Black Eagle for three years until a suitable successor was found. Now he's waiting for his new abbey in Karameikos to be ready for moving in. The abbey "Banz" lies in south east of Karameikos, 30 miles south of the Lake of Lost Dreams because Laren Nightmaster petitioned the abbey to be near that place.
In his position in the highest religious order in Thyatis (in my Mystara setting :) he is recognised as knight in most countries. In Thyatis he's able to take command in most situations of all Thyatian troops except the royal guard. His commands can of course be countermanded by authorised "regular" commanders of same or higher rank. For comparison he's treated as a junior general (> captain,
Religious Order consisting currently of 107 knight-brothers (>9th lvl), 230 squires (<9th lvl) and 34 pure clerics. Of those, only 47 knight-brothers, 180 squires and 20 clerics are more or less permanently stationed in Thyatis, the rest roams the world.
The order is ruled by an "Inner Circle" consisting of 7 knight-brothers (>17th lvl). This "ruling" council is assisted by 14 squires. All of them carry a special ring, which is trough clerical magic protected against misuse, to be recognisable of their position. The Inner Circle meets at least four times a year and on special occasions. Each member of the Inner Circle can take full command over all members of the order, perhaps on later discussion at a meeting. The line of command is designed by deeds of the members, appraised by the Inner Circle. So it is possible for a 17th lvl paladin to command a 19th lvl paladin. A command promotion of one member is for two years. In this time only because of grave faults the command can be revoked on unison vote of the Inner Circle.
The order is independent of the army. It's duty is to protect the most holy item of the Thyatian church: The Holy Grail. A military organisation of paladins. The fighting aspect is very important, so excellent weapon training available (training up to Grand Master possible in most weapons). A knight-brother (name-level) is superior to army officers of same level.
The sword of Aurelius will get a special mail, too, because it is thought as historical weapon (Roland the Paladin of the true history of Germany wore this weapon forget by Wayland. Legend tells). And "Durang" was the indestructible helm of Roland, if memory serves correctly. A story to read again the next days...