Chevaliers de l’Étoile d'Ioun

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Chevaliers de l’Étoile d'Ioun

At the height of Imperial Azlant, a shining order of armored magi known as the Knights of the Ioun Star served as the personal guardians of the emperor and the empire's Throne of Glass. For centuries these able warriors provided the ultimate bulwark against assassination and intrigue, bringing a much-needed stability to the tumultuous early human kingdom. Because the knights served the office of the emperor rather than the empire itself, their political motivations and alliances shifted over the centuries, causing the scant remaining documentation on the order to paint the knights in very different shades, from glorious heroes and arcane adepts to the bullying minions of despotic tyrants.

Chapters of the Knights of the Ioun Star were known as almorains, an Azlanti term akin to "family" or "alliance." All almorains pledged their loyalty to one of two sects within the larger order: the Knights of the Western Star, who served the emperor directly in business and intrigue within the empire, and the Knights of the Eastern Star, who searched the lands beyond the empire's borders for secret lore. As the Empire of Azlant began its long slide into decline, the knights began to despise the corrupt leaders they were sworn to protect. The Eastern Star Knights began scouring the globe for a prophesied ruler called the Last Azlanti, who they believed would wrest the Throne of Glass from pretenders and lead the Azlanti people into a new future.

A few fortunate Knights of the Western Star survived the devastation of Earthfall and eventually came to serve the living god Aroden, whom they believed to be an embodiment of the Last Azlanti prophecy. Records of the knights accompanying Aroden in the early years of the city of Absalom abound, and armored Knights ofthe Ioun Star stood alongside the human cultural hero in his struggles against the Whispering Tyrant, his defense of Absalom, and other adventures from the Age of Destiny through the Age of Enthronement. When Aroden died just over a century ago, the Knights of the Western Star faded from history. Meanwhile, the Knights of the Eastern Star have remained scattered throughout Avistan and beyond since Earthfall, ever searching for secret lore and the messianic ruler who would restore the glory of Azlant-they never believed Aroden was truly the Last Azlanti, and took his death as confirmation of their suspicions.

The remaining knowledge of the Knights of the Ioun Star is gleaned from scant surviving Azlanti texts and millennia of apocryphal additions contributed by latter-day converts to the order, many of whom invented esoteric mythology to fill in history's gaps. Modern Knights of the Ioun Star dabble in occult activities, trying to cobble together a secret history of their order from scattered Azlanti fragments. They sponsor expeditions into the ruined continent of Azlant, gather secretly to conduct rituals of dubious provenance, and await one who can rebuild the empire o f Azlant and claim the Throne of Glass once again. Naturally, after dedicating their lives to this search, some of the order's most ardent members come to believe that they themselves are the only ones worthy of this tremendous honor.

Most Knights of the Ioun Star come to the order on their own after running across a mention of it in a longforgotten tome. Eventually, research on ancient Azlanti prophecies and conspiracies leads them to a web of similarly minded enthusiasts, who introduce initiates to a complex series of secret rituals and occult practices, some completely made up and some with genuine ties to potent Azlanti arcane traditions.[1]

KNIGHTS OF THE IOUN STAR[1]

Formed to protect the Emperor of Azlant in ancient days, the Knights of the loun Star exists today as an order that passes down oncient Azlonti wisdom and magical traditions jumbled together with later fabrications through a series of secret rituals in hopes of reestablishing the lost empire in modern times.

Location any city

REQUIREMENTS

Initiation Fee none

Initiation Test Knowledge (history) DC 20

Offerings 100 gp/service period

MEMBERSHIP

Obeisance Check Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (history), Spellcraft

Service Period 3 months

Excommunication 4 consecutive failed Obeisance checks

TASKS

loun Harvest (+1 Fame per 1,000 gp) When you recover and return any ioun stone to the Knights of the loun Star's leaders, your Fame score increases by 1 point per 1,000 gp of the ioun stone's value.

Lost Lore (+1 Fame) Once per semester, f you donate a written work of Azlanti antiquity to the Knights of the loun Star, your Fame score increases by 1. The written work or works that you donate must be worth at least 1,000 gp per point of Fame you already possess.

AWARDS

Certainty of Greatness and Inevitability (15 Fame, 10 PP) You have become convinced that you are the hero the Knights of the loun Star have been seeking, and that you alone can lead humanity to a new destiny. This steadfast certainty in your future allows you to reroll a failed Will saving throw once per day and grants you a +2 bonus on saves against death effects.

Gift of the loun Star (10 Fame, 5 PP) Others in the order have heard of your exploits, and deliver to you an eastern star ioun stone or a western star ioun stone at your request.

Hunch of Great Destiny (5 PP) Your esoteric research and successful adventures have started to lead you to the conclusion that you are destined for great things. You gain a +2 bonus on Bluff checks when the subject of discussion is yourself and on Diplomacy checks to underscore your strong personal character.

EASTERN STAR IOUN STONE PRICE 4,000 GP, SLOT none a 12th, WEIGHT -, | AURA strong divination, This red crystal is cut in the shape of a five-pointed star. Its user understands spoken and written languages as if under the effects of comprehend languages.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS; COST 2,000 GP, Craft Wondrous Item, tongues

WESTERN STAR IOUN STONE ;PRICE 4,000 GP; SLOT none | CL 12th; WEIGHT -; AURA strong illusion; This blue crystal is cut in the shape of a five-pointed star.

As a standard action, its user can alter his appearance as with a disguise self spell. When so disguised, the user can render the western star and other ioun stones in his possession invisible.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS; COST 2,000 GP; Craft Wondrous Item, disguise self

Using the Knights of the loun Star[1]

Players need not join the Knights of the Ioun Star for the order to play a part in a campaign. Consider the following adventure hooks.

Ancient Enemies: Research on the order or a chance discovery leads the PCs to a document detailing a mission undertaken by an Azlanti emperor's personal guard in the years leading up to the fall of the empire. The knights did battle with an exiled Azlanti prince called Nhur Athemon at a massive edifice of green glass known as the Emerald Spire, which lies in the modern day River Kingdoms. The PCs can pursue their investigation into the Knights of the Ioun Star further in Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon, which contains more details about the order.

New Emperor: Tales of the PCs' exploits convince an NPC knight that one among them is the predestined next emperor of Azlant, who will lead humanity once more into greatness. The NPC follows the chosen player character relentlessly, lending a hand whenever he can. Eventually, more members of the order arrive to aid the PCs, driven by their zealous belief in the supposed next emperor. Eventually, however, the devotees demand that the character take a more active role in her "duty," and might grow adversarial should the PC prove reticent to fulfill this new messianic ambition.

The Sun Rises in the East: The strongest faction of the Knights of the Eastern Star is centered in the Taldan city of Oppara, though most of its attention is cast even further to the east, in the Windswept Wastes of Casmaron. Adherents of the so-called Apotheosis Almorain believe that a resurgent cult ofthe Ninshaburian hero-god, Namzaruum, will produce the leader destined to become the next emperor of Azlant. As the campaign begins, the PCs might hear about an order of ancient Azlanti knights supporting a desert cult in the distant east. The Knights eventually lead an army of religious fanatics out of Kelesh and begin slipping these forces into Taldor, even as they begin to gather political power in that nation.

Références

  1. 1,0 1,1 et 1,2 Pathfinder - [EN] - Campaign setting - Occult Mysteries