Post by xkcdapostle on Apr 25, 2012 13:15:00 GMT -5
Oath of Action
I swear this Oath in the Name of the Emperor, His Grace Eternal, I do honour to the DVIII Equites and to the Empire. I swear to expand His Divine Boundaries to the furthest reaches of the Old Empire. I swear to Prosecute His Foes on the field of Battle and in Righteous Fury be the Wrath of the Divine Emperor Himself.
I swear to uphold the Conduct of the Emperor's Knights of Arms, and swear to uphold the Holy Legus of the Imperalis Regenum. I swear to spread His Church and bring all lost lands of Man and the Men into His Protective Embrace. Pax per Gladius, Pax per Actio. I swear to bring the Rule of Our Eternal Guardian and Saviour to these lands of the Vermiculus Rex.
I swear to take all measures to judge the Purity of Man in the Lands of Siranda, and conduct the Compliance with least casualty to the Soldiers of the Divine Lord of All Man.
I swear to Purge the Impure, the Heathens and the Arcane from these lands.
I, Gabriel Hastus, do swear to this Duty.
_______________________________________________________________________
Gabriel is a Paladin of this Emperor: a mysterious Lord who claims that the Empire he founded is the true successor to the Netherilese one of Old. As such they believe in the supremacy of Man over the other races and are generally Xenophobic, Ruthless and Uncompromising.
The Empire is structured in Government to have a Council of Lords whom interpret, with the aid of the Divine Master's Head Priest or Priestess, the Imperator's Will. Rulers of an Oligarchy comprising of thousands of Citizens and numerous more bastards of other races ruled under them, each Lord is generally the Head of a Body of the Empire and represents the Body they lead.
The Emperor was said to have seen the Fall of Netheril, and through His Divinity, live the Centuries of Warfare and has seen the rise and fall of Gods. It was said that he, during this longevity, built and prepared the new Empire He now rules. Thousands of Imperial Citizens celebrate and worship their Divine Lord, for He has Guided and Protected Humanity during these years and continues to do so.
Now, the Council interpret that the Emperor requires a Great Crusade, to be fought for the eventual conquest of all Faerun. Sending Great Fleets and Armies numbering in Legions, the Imperial Faithful go to conquer the Lands lost and stolen after Netheril's fall.
Chief amongst their belief, is that the Arcane was the cause of the Fall. The Emperor hath decreed the banning of the practice of Magic, and created the Sanctioned Mages. Wizards and Sorcerer's sworn in the Emperor's service, they seek out others who do not have the Emperor's Blessing to protect the Empire from the unlawful practises that may bring about the next Fall. The Sanctioned Mages are the Chief Body of all Imperial Technology, they develop and study Technology for the Good of the Empire, they evaluate the threat of the Arcane, with the Wisdom and Guidance of the Emperor's Church to ensure the Purity of Science.
The Emperor is not unwise to neglect the Churches of Other Gods, for he fights not only on our plane, but His Priests and Priestesses claim that he fights on the Divine Planes. Wielding our Faith as a Shield and Sword against the Heathen Gods that would have Humanity die out in war or through spite. All Imperial Citizens are Zealous in their Worship. For the Emperor is the Guardian of the Purity of Man and His Right to rule all Mankind is not through the Blessing of Gods. His own Divinity as God of all Man is the reason for his Rightful Rule.
Clerics of the Emperor spread His Gospel and are His Apostles and Missionaries. The Gospel can be considered to be messages of extremes that no Good Character would agree to, except those who are Lawful Good of course. For the Church of the Emperor is built on the narrow minds of His Lawful Servants and through Flame and Sword purges the Unclean, the Heathen and the Arcane.
The Empire does not solely harbour Humans. Dwarves and Elves descended from conquered Settlements in the rise of the Empire still live. With such a Xenophobic Empire, their lives are highly regulated. Treated as Second Class Citizens, and resenting Humanity's Divine Place as Rulers of Faerun. These races are rebellious and as such generally culled to ensure their numbers are never more than half the current population by the Census records.
On occasion, a hapless scribe has been known to incorrectly remove a 0 from the tally of Men in a village. Causing the Empire to ruthlessly dispatch a Company of Equites, or knights, to carry out the Holy Duties of a Cull.
The Empire believes only in the Purity of Man (through Birth, Worship and Service).
Half races with Man cannot be tolerated, making no distinction between Half Orcs and Half Celestials. All must be purged to ensure Humanity is pure in Blood. Half races with other races, as in they have no human blood, are generally seen with disgust, for to make ones bloodline impure is anathema to the Imperial Citizen.
The Empire's Military is organised to have the Equites as Elite Shock Troopers and Horsemen.
Legions of ordinary men as the Imperial Military Corps, armed with Halberds and some primitive gunpowder weapons, they are simply men disciplined to hold the line and die in droves for the Empire.
The Sanctioned Mages are usually attached to act as the Engineers of the Military, though most are also there to ensure no men in the rank and file harbour the evil of the Arcane. They design and have built the siege engines and infrastructure for the coming of the Imperial Colonisers.
Chief Clerics and Chaplains also follow, eager to spread the Divine Faith and re-educate the Local Masses of their role in the Empire. They also direct the purges of the Unclean, unconverted Clerics of the Heathen Gods, and the Discovered Arcane Practitioners. They also search the rank and file to seek out the corruption of Faith and to instil the Faith of the Emperor to encourage Acts of Courage in His Divine Name.
Druids are not accommodated for in the Empire, viewed as a corruptive influence on the Men in the Empire. Druids are persecuted and purged to prevent their twisted Magics, which are declared Arcane Anathema by all Sanctioned Mages and a perversion of the Truth of Nature by the Emperor's Holy Servants in His Clergy. They are feared, for their powers over Nature cannot be disputed, and many men in the Empire have died to kill such threats, for the Good of the Empire and Mankind.
These armies are not always men, though Races other than man are openly despised. They too form their own companies of Auxilia. Elves are naturally enforced into the role of Ranged Warfare and Dwarves are enlisted to be the troops that hold the line as their Human superior's direct Imperial Corpsmen to flank the enemy.
The Empire entrusts to its Equites to command the theatres of War. Said to each have drank a drop of the Emperor's Blood to give them Divine Health and greater endurance, an Equite is commanded directly by a Centurion. The Centurion of each Equite is directly answerable to the Council, and through them The Emperor Himself.
Gabriel is an Equites, given charge of a company of Equites and two divisions of the Imperial Military Corps and their attached Auxiliaries, to annex the Isles of Siranda, making them compliant to the Empire. However, as they approached the edge of the Cloud surrounding the Isles in Darkness. Gabriel's Expedition was all but destroyed, unable to find his Trusted Lieutenant, the expedition's Chief Sanctioned Mage and most Trusted friend and Divine Missionary to the Emperor. Gabriel shall now be seeking to find his men and regroup to build a new outpost and await reinforcements that are sure to come from the Empire. He was entrusted by His own Centurion to lead this Expedition as they advance to secure Naval routes to lands further North and West of the Isles. Now he must nurse his own failure or be subject to the Emperor's Final Judgement.
Compliance can be reached by the way of Diplomacy or War, Gabriel hopes to ensure that the Lands of Siranda are won in Good Faith and co-operation rather than by the mud and blood of His Foes at his feet.
Influences to the theme of the Empire include: Warhammer 40K, and Warhammer Lore. Wikipedia's articles on the Roman and British Empires.
Credit goes to Gatalis for testing the idea within the framework of DnD mechanics.
I swear this Oath in the Name of the Emperor, His Grace Eternal, I do honour to the DVIII Equites and to the Empire. I swear to expand His Divine Boundaries to the furthest reaches of the Old Empire. I swear to Prosecute His Foes on the field of Battle and in Righteous Fury be the Wrath of the Divine Emperor Himself.
I swear to uphold the Conduct of the Emperor's Knights of Arms, and swear to uphold the Holy Legus of the Imperalis Regenum. I swear to spread His Church and bring all lost lands of Man and the Men into His Protective Embrace. Pax per Gladius, Pax per Actio. I swear to bring the Rule of Our Eternal Guardian and Saviour to these lands of the Vermiculus Rex.
I swear to take all measures to judge the Purity of Man in the Lands of Siranda, and conduct the Compliance with least casualty to the Soldiers of the Divine Lord of All Man.
I swear to Purge the Impure, the Heathens and the Arcane from these lands.
I, Gabriel Hastus, do swear to this Duty.
_______________________________________________________________________
Gabriel is a Paladin of this Emperor: a mysterious Lord who claims that the Empire he founded is the true successor to the Netherilese one of Old. As such they believe in the supremacy of Man over the other races and are generally Xenophobic, Ruthless and Uncompromising.
The Empire is structured in Government to have a Council of Lords whom interpret, with the aid of the Divine Master's Head Priest or Priestess, the Imperator's Will. Rulers of an Oligarchy comprising of thousands of Citizens and numerous more bastards of other races ruled under them, each Lord is generally the Head of a Body of the Empire and represents the Body they lead.
The Emperor was said to have seen the Fall of Netheril, and through His Divinity, live the Centuries of Warfare and has seen the rise and fall of Gods. It was said that he, during this longevity, built and prepared the new Empire He now rules. Thousands of Imperial Citizens celebrate and worship their Divine Lord, for He has Guided and Protected Humanity during these years and continues to do so.
Now, the Council interpret that the Emperor requires a Great Crusade, to be fought for the eventual conquest of all Faerun. Sending Great Fleets and Armies numbering in Legions, the Imperial Faithful go to conquer the Lands lost and stolen after Netheril's fall.
Chief amongst their belief, is that the Arcane was the cause of the Fall. The Emperor hath decreed the banning of the practice of Magic, and created the Sanctioned Mages. Wizards and Sorcerer's sworn in the Emperor's service, they seek out others who do not have the Emperor's Blessing to protect the Empire from the unlawful practises that may bring about the next Fall. The Sanctioned Mages are the Chief Body of all Imperial Technology, they develop and study Technology for the Good of the Empire, they evaluate the threat of the Arcane, with the Wisdom and Guidance of the Emperor's Church to ensure the Purity of Science.
The Emperor is not unwise to neglect the Churches of Other Gods, for he fights not only on our plane, but His Priests and Priestesses claim that he fights on the Divine Planes. Wielding our Faith as a Shield and Sword against the Heathen Gods that would have Humanity die out in war or through spite. All Imperial Citizens are Zealous in their Worship. For the Emperor is the Guardian of the Purity of Man and His Right to rule all Mankind is not through the Blessing of Gods. His own Divinity as God of all Man is the reason for his Rightful Rule.
Clerics of the Emperor spread His Gospel and are His Apostles and Missionaries. The Gospel can be considered to be messages of extremes that no Good Character would agree to, except those who are Lawful Good of course. For the Church of the Emperor is built on the narrow minds of His Lawful Servants and through Flame and Sword purges the Unclean, the Heathen and the Arcane.
The Empire does not solely harbour Humans. Dwarves and Elves descended from conquered Settlements in the rise of the Empire still live. With such a Xenophobic Empire, their lives are highly regulated. Treated as Second Class Citizens, and resenting Humanity's Divine Place as Rulers of Faerun. These races are rebellious and as such generally culled to ensure their numbers are never more than half the current population by the Census records.
On occasion, a hapless scribe has been known to incorrectly remove a 0 from the tally of Men in a village. Causing the Empire to ruthlessly dispatch a Company of Equites, or knights, to carry out the Holy Duties of a Cull.
The Empire believes only in the Purity of Man (through Birth, Worship and Service).
Half races with Man cannot be tolerated, making no distinction between Half Orcs and Half Celestials. All must be purged to ensure Humanity is pure in Blood. Half races with other races, as in they have no human blood, are generally seen with disgust, for to make ones bloodline impure is anathema to the Imperial Citizen.
The Empire's Military is organised to have the Equites as Elite Shock Troopers and Horsemen.
Legions of ordinary men as the Imperial Military Corps, armed with Halberds and some primitive gunpowder weapons, they are simply men disciplined to hold the line and die in droves for the Empire.
The Sanctioned Mages are usually attached to act as the Engineers of the Military, though most are also there to ensure no men in the rank and file harbour the evil of the Arcane. They design and have built the siege engines and infrastructure for the coming of the Imperial Colonisers.
Chief Clerics and Chaplains also follow, eager to spread the Divine Faith and re-educate the Local Masses of their role in the Empire. They also direct the purges of the Unclean, unconverted Clerics of the Heathen Gods, and the Discovered Arcane Practitioners. They also search the rank and file to seek out the corruption of Faith and to instil the Faith of the Emperor to encourage Acts of Courage in His Divine Name.
Druids are not accommodated for in the Empire, viewed as a corruptive influence on the Men in the Empire. Druids are persecuted and purged to prevent their twisted Magics, which are declared Arcane Anathema by all Sanctioned Mages and a perversion of the Truth of Nature by the Emperor's Holy Servants in His Clergy. They are feared, for their powers over Nature cannot be disputed, and many men in the Empire have died to kill such threats, for the Good of the Empire and Mankind.
These armies are not always men, though Races other than man are openly despised. They too form their own companies of Auxilia. Elves are naturally enforced into the role of Ranged Warfare and Dwarves are enlisted to be the troops that hold the line as their Human superior's direct Imperial Corpsmen to flank the enemy.
The Empire entrusts to its Equites to command the theatres of War. Said to each have drank a drop of the Emperor's Blood to give them Divine Health and greater endurance, an Equite is commanded directly by a Centurion. The Centurion of each Equite is directly answerable to the Council, and through them The Emperor Himself.
Gabriel is an Equites, given charge of a company of Equites and two divisions of the Imperial Military Corps and their attached Auxiliaries, to annex the Isles of Siranda, making them compliant to the Empire. However, as they approached the edge of the Cloud surrounding the Isles in Darkness. Gabriel's Expedition was all but destroyed, unable to find his Trusted Lieutenant, the expedition's Chief Sanctioned Mage and most Trusted friend and Divine Missionary to the Emperor. Gabriel shall now be seeking to find his men and regroup to build a new outpost and await reinforcements that are sure to come from the Empire. He was entrusted by His own Centurion to lead this Expedition as they advance to secure Naval routes to lands further North and West of the Isles. Now he must nurse his own failure or be subject to the Emperor's Final Judgement.
Compliance can be reached by the way of Diplomacy or War, Gabriel hopes to ensure that the Lands of Siranda are won in Good Faith and co-operation rather than by the mud and blood of His Foes at his feet.
Influences to the theme of the Empire include: Warhammer 40K, and Warhammer Lore. Wikipedia's articles on the Roman and British Empires.
Credit goes to Gatalis for testing the idea within the framework of DnD mechanics.
