The Knights of Nekara's new leader - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Knights of Nekara's new leader

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Charles_Phipps
Mar 17, 2005 1:00:55 I was thinking of reviving the Knighthood of Nekara in my games via a number of ways

1. The Return of Ariakan: Given the status of a Death knight by his mother. Ariakan has returned to command the Knighthood and is burned ever by the torment of his failure to his queen. The Knights venerate under his command the Pantheon of Evil in General rather than Takhasis.

With Ariakan's new undead forces as a Death Knight the civil war that resulted was incredibly brief. The only "Evil turning upon itself" involving Ariakan is with Ariakan's absolute utter and devout hatred for Ausric Krell and Mina whom is the representive of Chemosh

Curiously, he allows followers of Chemosh in his order but hates the God above all others including the gods of Good.

2. A new villain: A lowly Knight of the Skull rises up to the ranks of leader of the Knights of Nekara with a restoration of the Vision but a secular one that is lead by the promise of a conquest of the world and restoration of law and order that is not bound by the whims of Gods.

Men follow him for their own purposes and the Knight's grumblings and the "beating into shape of the knighthood" is taking a hell of a lot longer.

3. Steel Brightblade: No, not really, actually a Pit Fiend of all things that was summoned form the Abyss and has an uncanny ability with immitating shapes. "Steel" is playing off his namesake's life and doing his best to make evil attractive even as the Knights of Takhasis are rapidly becming a fiend cult as he replaces "problem" knights with Eriynes, Cornugans, and other Abyssal creatures.

3B. Same option, except its a shapechanged Blue Dragon.

4. Ausric Krell- Shockingly, the Betrayer fits right in within the ranks of the organization and begins immediately recruiting with greed and sheer fear the groundwork to create the Knights of Chemosh. Ausric is actually more intelligent than his appearence indicates and after seperating men like him from the rest, sacrifices the men like him to Chemosh and rebirths as his undead army.

The survivors are lead by Chemosh and Mina's rapid aged son who Ausric has instructions to guard or suffer a fate worse than under Zebomin's wrath.
#2
raistlinrox
Mar 17, 2005 2:39:37 Some very good examples! I especially like the Ariakan one. I've always liked him for some reason.
#3
cam_banks
Mar 17, 2005 3:05:56 I'm fond of Theo Drawde, myself. He's not being used anywhere else at the moment and was the head of the Order of the Thorn. In my campaign he engineered an attack on Ak-Khurman which the PCs helped to overcome, but in the process he struck down and killed one of the party. In response, another party member (sister of the fallen hero) used her dragon orb to command a blue dragon to blast Drawde into oblivion. Kiri-Jolith was later to bring the fallen hero back as a deathless risen martyr, but Chemosh similarly has brought Drawde back (probably as a death knight, I'm not sure yet).

Cheers,
Cam
#4
Dragonhelm
Mar 17, 2005 6:44:52
I'm fond of Theo Drawde, myself. He's not being used anywhere else at the moment and was the head of the Order of the Thorn.

That in itself deserves exploring. Thus far, the head of the KoN/KoT has either been a Lily or Skull Knight. What happens when the order dedicated to arcane magic takes over? Hrm...
#5
daedavias_dup
Mar 17, 2005 7:44:39
Chemosh similarly has brought Drawde back (probably as a death knight, I'm not sure yet).

Cheers,
Cam

Whoa, a Thorn knight wizard, that sounds awesome. Methinks Cam should do that, and then post him on the Nexus :D
#6
Dragonhelm
Mar 17, 2005 7:45:52
1. The Return of Ariakan: Given the status of a Death knight by his mother. Ariakan has returned to command the Knighthood and is burned ever by the torment of his failure to his queen. The Knights venerate under his command the Pantheon of Evil in General rather than Takhasis.

I think it goes without saying that nobody led the Knights of Neraka/Takhisis like Ariakan. Their glory days were under his leadership.

Remember, though, that a death knight is cursed. The other gods may not even want him around since he was Takhisis' servant. Only Zeboim would, and at that, she would not curse her beloved son.

2. A new villain: A lowly Knight of the Skull rises up to the ranks of leader of the Knights of Nekara with a restoration of the Vision but a secular one that is lead by the promise of a conquest of the world and restoration of law and order that is not bound by the whims of Gods.

Men follow him for their own purposes and the Knight's grumblings and the "beating into shape of the knighthood" is taking a hell of a lot longer.

I like this option better. A Skull Knight mystic who gives the Dark Knights faith in their own ability wouldn't be bad.

3. Steel Brightblade: No, not really, actually a Pit Fiend of all things that was summoned form the Abyss and has an uncanny ability with immitating shapes. "Steel" is playing off his namesake's life and doing his best to make evil attractive even as the Knights of Takhasis are rapidly becming a fiend cult as he replaces "problem" knights with Eriynes, Cornugans, and other Abyssal creatures.

3B. Same option, except its a shapechanged Blue Dragon.

Not as fond of this one, personally. Let the leader be human.

4. Ausric Krell- Shockingly, the Betrayer fits right in within the ranks of the organization and begins immediately recruiting with greed and sheer fear the groundwork to create the Knights of Chemosh. Ausric is actually more intelligent than his appearence indicates and after seperating men like him from the rest, sacrifices the men like him to Chemosh and rebirths as his undead army.

The survivors are lead by Chemosh and Mina's rapid aged son who Ausric has instructions to guard or suffer a fate worse than under Zebomin's wrath.

You could do this for a faction of the Skull Knights called the Spiritborne. See Heroes of Hope for more info on them.
#7
raistlinrox
Mar 17, 2005 9:30:39 Who is Theo Drawde?
#8
Charles_Phipps
Mar 17, 2005 11:36:46 Honestly, I think Ariakan would accept the status of Death Knight to get back to the planet Krynn.

I just honestly can't imagine him accepting Ausric Krell's "unlife"

It also fits Krynn's concept of Balance that he couldn't return without a severe penalty.

I'm not overly fond of the Knights of the Skull at the moment though. Under Takhasis they made sense but mystics without a strong moral philosophy motivating them are things I don't really much care for.

Honestly, I'm leaning towards a nonhuman leader because humans have so removed anything interesting about the Knights. A Dragon butchering the false knights has a strong feel of divine retribution to it as well.
#9
ferratus
Mar 17, 2005 13:55:38 I personally can't conceive of the Knights of Nereka being as cool without Takhisis' patronage. That's why I'm not particularly interested in either Ariakan's leadership or Chemosh's patronage.

Personally, I think Takhisis makes a much better patron now that she is dead. Now she can be the one who inspires Dark Paladins without the messiness of dealing with her completely untrustworthy self. Especially now that we have mysticism, so we don't have to reduce the Knights of Nereka to a sidebranch of the church of some evil god. Plus... it would be a good way to prove to the 5th Age fans that mysticism isn't on the way out.
#10
Charles_Phipps
Mar 17, 2005 17:37:19
I personally can't conceive of the Knights of Nereka being as cool without Takhisis' patronage. That's why I'm not particularly interested in either Ariakan's leadership or Chemosh's patronage.

Personally, I think Takhisis makes a much better patron now that she is dead. Now she can be the one who inspires Dark Paladins without the messiness of dealing with her completely untrustworthy self. Especially now that we have mysticism, so we don't have to reduce the Knights of Nereka to a sidebranch of the church of some evil god. Plus... it would be a good way to prove to the 5th Age fans that mysticism isn't on the way out.

Honestly, Takhasis never should have been in charge of the Knights of Takhasis to begin with. The organization should have been founded by Sargonnas and he'd have something more than his Minotaurs to play with honestly.

The Knights of Nekara seem so...pathetic...really without some evil cause the are righteously worshipping. In some ways, they seem to be worse than the Dragon Highlords who at least had the zeal of being in the service of the Dark Queen.

Honestly, the Knights of Nekara are nothing more than a bunch of thugs and mercenaries pretending to be a Knighthood.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Charles_Phipps Mar 17, 2005 1:00:55	I was thinking of reviving the Knighthood of Nekara in my games via a number of ways 1. The Return of Ariakan: Given the status of a Death knight by his mother. Ariakan has returned to command the Knighthood and is burned ever by the torment of his failure to his queen. The Knights venerate under his command the Pantheon of Evil in General rather than Takhasis. With Ariakan's new undead forces as a Death Knight the civil war that resulted was incredibly brief. The only "Evil turning upon itself" involving Ariakan is with Ariakan's absolute utter and devout hatred for Ausric Krell and Mina whom is the representive of Chemosh Curiously, he allows followers of Chemosh in his order but hates the God above all others including the gods of Good. 2. A new villain: A lowly Knight of the Skull rises up to the ranks of leader of the Knights of Nekara with a restoration of the Vision but a secular one that is lead by the promise of a conquest of the world and restoration of law and order that is not bound by the whims of Gods. Men follow him for their own purposes and the Knight's grumblings and the "beating into shape of the knighthood" is taking a hell of a lot longer. 3. Steel Brightblade: No, not really, actually a Pit Fiend of all things that was summoned form the Abyss and has an uncanny ability with immitating shapes. "Steel" is playing off his namesake's life and doing his best to make evil attractive even as the Knights of Takhasis are rapidly becming a fiend cult as he replaces "problem" knights with Eriynes, Cornugans, and other Abyssal creatures. 3B. Same option, except its a shapechanged Blue Dragon. 4. Ausric Krell- Shockingly, the Betrayer fits right in within the ranks of the organization and begins immediately recruiting with greed and sheer fear the groundwork to create the Knights of Chemosh. Ausric is actually more intelligent than his appearence indicates and after seperating men like him from the rest, sacrifices the men like him to Chemosh and rebirths as his undead army. The survivors are lead by Chemosh and Mina's rapid aged son who Ausric has instructions to guard or suffer a fate worse than under Zebomin's wrath.
#2 raistlinrox Mar 17, 2005 2:39:37	Some very good examples! I especially like the Ariakan one. I've always liked him for some reason.
#3 cam_banks Mar 17, 2005 3:05:56	I'm fond of Theo Drawde, myself. He's not being used anywhere else at the moment and was the head of the Order of the Thorn. In my campaign he engineered an attack on Ak-Khurman which the PCs helped to overcome, but in the process he struck down and killed one of the party. In response, another party member (sister of the fallen hero) used her dragon orb to command a blue dragon to blast Drawde into oblivion. Kiri-Jolith was later to bring the fallen hero back as a deathless risen martyr, but Chemosh similarly has brought Drawde back (probably as a death knight, I'm not sure yet). Cheers, Cam
#4 Dragonhelm Mar 17, 2005 6:44:52	I'm fond of Theo Drawde, myself. He's not being used anywhere else at the moment and was the head of the Order of the Thorn. That in itself deserves exploring. Thus far, the head of the KoN/KoT has either been a Lily or Skull Knight. What happens when the order dedicated to arcane magic takes over? Hrm...
#5 daedavias_dup Mar 17, 2005 7:44:39	Chemosh similarly has brought Drawde back (probably as a death knight, I'm not sure yet). Cheers, Cam Whoa, a Thorn knight wizard, that sounds awesome. Methinks Cam should do that, and then post him on the Nexus :D
#6 Dragonhelm Mar 17, 2005 7:45:52	1. The Return of Ariakan: Given the status of a Death knight by his mother. Ariakan has returned to command the Knighthood and is burned ever by the torment of his failure to his queen. The Knights venerate under his command the Pantheon of Evil in General rather than Takhasis. I think it goes without saying that nobody led the Knights of Neraka/Takhisis like Ariakan. Their glory days were under his leadership. Remember, though, that a death knight is cursed. The other gods may not even want him around since he was Takhisis' servant. Only Zeboim would, and at that, she would not curse her beloved son. 2. A new villain: A lowly Knight of the Skull rises up to the ranks of leader of the Knights of Nekara with a restoration of the Vision but a secular one that is lead by the promise of a conquest of the world and restoration of law and order that is not bound by the whims of Gods. Men follow him for their own purposes and the Knight's grumblings and the "beating into shape of the knighthood" is taking a hell of a lot longer. I like this option better. A Skull Knight mystic who gives the Dark Knights faith in their own ability wouldn't be bad. 3. Steel Brightblade: No, not really, actually a Pit Fiend of all things that was summoned form the Abyss and has an uncanny ability with immitating shapes. "Steel" is playing off his namesake's life and doing his best to make evil attractive even as the Knights of Takhasis are rapidly becming a fiend cult as he replaces "problem" knights with Eriynes, Cornugans, and other Abyssal creatures. 3B. Same option, except its a shapechanged Blue Dragon. Not as fond of this one, personally. Let the leader be human. 4. Ausric Krell- Shockingly, the Betrayer fits right in within the ranks of the organization and begins immediately recruiting with greed and sheer fear the groundwork to create the Knights of Chemosh. Ausric is actually more intelligent than his appearence indicates and after seperating men like him from the rest, sacrifices the men like him to Chemosh and rebirths as his undead army. The survivors are lead by Chemosh and Mina's rapid aged son who Ausric has instructions to guard or suffer a fate worse than under Zebomin's wrath. You could do this for a faction of the Skull Knights called the Spiritborne. See Heroes of Hope for more info on them.
#7 raistlinrox Mar 17, 2005 9:30:39	Who is Theo Drawde?
#8 Charles_Phipps Mar 17, 2005 11:36:46	Honestly, I think Ariakan would accept the status of Death Knight to get back to the planet Krynn. I just honestly can't imagine him accepting Ausric Krell's "unlife" It also fits Krynn's concept of Balance that he couldn't return without a severe penalty. I'm not overly fond of the Knights of the Skull at the moment though. Under Takhasis they made sense but mystics without a strong moral philosophy motivating them are things I don't really much care for. Honestly, I'm leaning towards a nonhuman leader because humans have so removed anything interesting about the Knights. A Dragon butchering the false knights has a strong feel of divine retribution to it as well.
#9 ferratus Mar 17, 2005 13:55:38	I personally can't conceive of the Knights of Nereka being as cool without Takhisis' patronage. That's why I'm not particularly interested in either Ariakan's leadership or Chemosh's patronage. Personally, I think Takhisis makes a much better patron now that she is dead. Now she can be the one who inspires Dark Paladins without the messiness of dealing with her completely untrustworthy self. Especially now that we have mysticism, so we don't have to reduce the Knights of Nereka to a sidebranch of the church of some evil god. Plus... it would be a good way to prove to the 5th Age fans that mysticism isn't on the way out.
#10 Charles_Phipps Mar 17, 2005 17:37:19	I personally can't conceive of the Knights of Nereka being as cool without Takhisis' patronage. That's why I'm not particularly interested in either Ariakan's leadership or Chemosh's patronage. Personally, I think Takhisis makes a much better patron now that she is dead. Now she can be the one who inspires Dark Paladins without the messiness of dealing with her completely untrustworthy self. Especially now that we have mysticism, so we don't have to reduce the Knights of Nereka to a sidebranch of the church of some evil god. Plus... it would be a good way to prove to the 5th Age fans that mysticism isn't on the way out. Honestly, Takhasis never should have been in charge of the Knights of Takhasis to begin with. The organization should have been founded by Sargonnas and he'd have something more than his Minotaurs to play with honestly. The Knights of Nekara seem so...pathetic...really without some evil cause the are righteously worshipping. In some ways, they seem to be worse than the Dragon Highlords who at least had the zeal of being in the service of the Dark Queen. Honestly, the Knights of Nekara are nothing more than a bunch of thugs and mercenaries pretending to be a Knighthood.