The Shining Force -- WIP

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High Priest Mikhal
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The Shining Force -- WIP

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

The Shining Force (NG Secret Society)
“With great power comes great responsibility.” -Stan Lee, Spider-Man #1(?)

“Knowledge and power are rarely boons. More often they’re curses that punish us with truths we’d rather not know and implacable enemies that would use our power for their own purposes.” –Alexander Dreamfire

Creatures of darkness have no place in the world of mortals. From fiends that claw their way up out of the Lower Planes to the murderous tailor that gives in to the evil in his heart. The Shining Force is a group devoted to finding and destroying evil in all its forms. Few ever realize when this group strikes, for it hides among evil as evil hides among us. They use the inability to detect moral alignment magically in Ravenloft to great effect, infiltrating evil and destroying it from within. Often even their targets never realize who was responsible for their fall. They seek no accolades or rewards; instead they go on to their next target. For the Shining Force, evil is a disease that must be cut out like a chiurgeon removing infection. Much like a doctor, they also use intensive examination and precision strikes to fight the root of evil and make sure that it never returns.

Unlike many secret societies, the Shining Force is not specialized beyond it’s stated mission to root out evil. Warriors, experts, healers, magicians, even psionic characters of all stripes have come together for the common cause of Good. Members hail from all over the Core and even farther. Priests of Osiris and Ra from Har’Akir, monks from Sri Raji, samurai from Rokushima Taíyoo, even voodan from Souragne. All are united by the goal of taking back their world from the darkness that surrounds them.

History
Alexander Dreamfire (gestalt soulknife-wilder20/illumine soul 5/soulbow 10/illithid slayer 3) had been hunting evil for centuries, particularly the undead. He’d learned the hard way that to flaunt his might only invited the attention of evil. For all his power, he was no more able to fight back the evils of Ravenloft than a farmer could a marauding werewolf. To go it alone and to show his true power were suicidal prospects. He joined with famed hunter of the damned Rudolph van Richten. Yet for every creature they put down, two more took their place. On an individual level they were making a difference, but their efforts were like trying to drain a lake with a bucket. Alexander at first resigned himself to fighting individual creatures and their minions. Then he encountered the Fraternity of Shadows and realized there was much more to this world than he’d ever realized.

In 724 Alexander put out a call for anyone willing to fight with him against the Fraternity of Shadows. Three answered his call. Dratha, priestess of Belenus from Tepest; Orwin Lakewave, a thief from Nevuchar Springs in Darkon; and Niela, a wizard fleeing from Hazlik’s vendetta against magic. Drawn for one cause by disparate reasons, they invaded a secret outpost of the Fraternity in October of 724. The mission was at once a great success and a horrid failure.

They succeeded in stealing vital secrets from the Fraternity of Shadows, yet none of them were fully prepared for the secrets they’d found. What they learned changed them all, as the truth of the Realms of Dread was laid bare. For four years they went their separate ways, trying to come to terms with the things they’d learned. Alexander in particular was shaken to the core by what he learned. He never could have guessed at the depths the darkness in Ravenloft ran. Even after two decades of study and experience, he had only scratched the surface. For all his physical and magical might, even he could be destroyed with ease by those that really ruled this dark world. Worse, if his true nature was made known to his foes he would be hunted for all time. Even his friends Rudolph van Richten and a young George Weathermay could not be allowed to learn the true nature of their world. This was something no one should have known.

Then, in 728, the other three that had joined him came back to his estate in Mordentshire and swore their lives to stopping the evil around them. No longer would they sit idly by and let the darkness control them like puppets on a string. They would take the fight back to the creatures that used them as pawns and food. Thus the Shining Force was born.
Combining elements of various crusading groups from other worlds, Alexander formed the Shining Force to fight evil in all its forms. Folks of all races and skill sets were gathered together under their banner. Rogues and other spies created a network that first spanned the Western Core, then the entire Core, and now has tendrils in various inhabited Islands of Terror and the Clusters. Warriors fought against the physical threats of lycanthropes, golems, and others that could be cut down with the sword. Arcanists and divine spellcasters fought against the more ephemeral threats and even helped create the tools the Shining Force uses in their missions.

Over three decades the group grew in leaps and bounds. The rise of van Richten’s fame as a monster hunter helped draw more to the cause of fighting against evil. More practically, Alexander and the other original members began making contact with insurgent groups, religious orders, and even freedom fighters. The Freemen of Falkovnia, the Circle, the Stygians, the Blessed Army of Ezra, the Noble Brotherhood of Assassins, the Woodcutter’s Axe, and many more groups have ties to the Shining Force. Members of the Force and members of the other groups often fight for one another and cross-membership is very common.

Current Sketch
The Shining Force has grown beyond Alexander’s wildest dreams. Its influence spans the Core and the known Clusters, as well as several inhabited Islands of Terror. Yet for all its power, the Shining Force is a secretive group that hides its activities from the world. Were the darklords and other powerful being to learn of their existence, open war would likely be declared on them. So they fight shadow wars against their targets, using stealth and subterfuge as much as sword and spell. Because their members are often also members of other groups, the Shining Force aids many others.

Only the highest-ranking members know of the true origins of the Shining Force. After three decades of fighting they accumulated a vast library of lore and learned far more than they ever wanted to. This knowledge is not shared lightly and is doled out in the tiniest pieces possible. Much is still unknown to those outside the ranks of the Shining Heroes, and some is still kept secret even to them. Only the most powerful, self-disciplined, and righteous are allowed to study what they’ve collected. Pertinent lore on monsters they face is disseminated among the group constantly, and only the Van Richten Society has studied the various threats more.

Finally, the original purpose of the Shining Force has not been forgotten. The Fraternity of Shadows is in direct competition with them for knowledge of Ravenloft. Where the Fraternity seeks to use it to elevate themselves to the status of rulers over the world, the Force seeks to stop them and others from harming the multitudes of innocent people that live and work in this world.

Forbidden Lore
Despite the best attempts by Alexander Dreamfire and the other founders, the Shining Force cannot keep itself secret from everyone. Both Strahd von Zarovich and Azalin, among others, are well aware of them and their activities within and without their domains. Instead of risking their wrath, the Shining Force has agreed not to interfere with them in their own lands. Other darklords know of them but haven’t made such agreements. The Shining Force is constantly on guard for infiltration and subversion by the agents of these beings. All too often they discover them too late and must repair the damage done. Further, those darklords they swore not to bother have taken shots at them. It’s only a matter of time before one pushes them too far.

Alexander himself has come to know more about Ravenloft than most ever will. His disruption to reality is so awesome that darklords automatically sense him in their domains. Most have actively approached him and drawn oaths that he will not oppose them directly, playing on his code of ethics (with Azalin even citing the Pact Primeval to ensure cooperation). Only two have not succeeded—Sir Wilfred Godefroy and Vlad Drakov. Godefroy earned Alexander’s wrath when he attempted to ensnare the Deathless geist of Priscilla Brandy, a scrappy young paladin from Nidala that joined and became Alexander’s cohort before being killed by agents of Elena Faith-hold for “heresy and blasphemy.” She now stays by his side, as per the Haunted feat. Drakov has come to physical blows with Alexander one-on-one more than once, being soundly defeated every time and left alive to stew over his humiliating defeat. The Talons have standing orders to execute any known members of the Shining Force on sight, and Malocchio Aderre has joined his mentor in hunting them down. However, the latter remains more focused on his genocide of the Vistani and is a passive threat at best.

The Shining Force
Symbol: Sword point down set against a burst of light represented by eight lines spreading out. The sword and burst are done in gold set against a color chosen by the new member at the time it’s created. As of 750 BC all badges are enchanted with geas, mark of justice, and nondetection. Non-Shining Force members suffer a curse tailored to them. The curse and mark last until the thief returns the badge to an initiated Shining Force member. The caster check DC to detect the badge magically is 31 or 15 + the user’s caster level, whichever is higher.
Background, goals, and dreams: For three decades the Shining Force has existed to fight against the darkness and spread knowledge. They began as a group existing solely to counter the Fraternity of Shadows, and now work against evil in all of its forms. Because of their reputation for taking down evil against all odds they are known, feared, and hated by many darklords. In truth this fear is misplaced; as the Shining Force learns of the true nature of Ravenloft, they realize it’s more of a punishment to let these accursed beings suffer the curse they made for themselves. More than a few members would love to take on a specific darklord or two, but among those aware of the existence of these beings there are standing orders to steer clear of them.

Against lesser evils, the Shining Force pulls no punches. They search out their targets, study them closely, and then strike in the manner that hinders them the most. For a corrupt noble this might take the form of public humiliation and vilification. For a powerful lich or vampire, it’s a shadow war against them that doesn’t end until they have been reduced to dust, their minions destroyed, and their plans completely unraveled. Often no one even notices that the Shining Force has struck. They operate under strict secrecy and only strike those involved, going to great lengths to avoid harming innocents. Thus they remain largely unknown to their enemies and to the world at large.

To achieve their goals they work with various other groups like the Dawnbringers of the Morninglord, the Woodcutter’s Axe in Verbrek, the Freemen of Falkovnia, the Blessed Army of Ezra, even the Circle. Members are shared between the two groups in addition to resources and information. The trading of favors is the majority of their interaction, though. While many goals of these groups overlap with those of the Shining Force, they maintain their independence. A cadre of Shining Force members may help the Freemen take out a sadistic Talon and his men in Falkovnia, and in exchange the Freemen will help the Shining Force establish a safehouse in the domain, for example.

The leaders of the Shining Force maintain the original goals of uncovering the secrets of the Realms of Dread and using them to take back the night. Because of the nature of such revelations, they rarely share these with lower members out of a sense of danger and mercy. Most are incapable of grasping the profound truth—that Ravenloft is a construct, an artificial world used as a prison for those who forged their own damnation. Instead they dole out vital secrets pertinent to a mission and fight back the dark forces of the world. For the leaders, the truths they know is a curse they must bear alone.
Type: Cabal (Social)
Scale: 16 (multi-continental)
Requirements To Join: Any non-evil alignment, must be Clean or Innocent, and character level 5+

Affiliation Score Modifier (One Time Only)
Character Level +1/2 PC level*
Cleric or Paladin +2
Exalted feats +1 per feat
Access to Glory, Good, and/or Sun domain(s) +2 each
Access to Good, Life and/or Light and Darkness psionic mantles +2 each
Nemesis-based Prestige Class (witch-hunter, hunter of the dead, knight of the chalice,
herald of dawn, Tepestani Inquisitor, etc.) +1 per Class Level
Knowledge (any) +1 per 2 ranks (max +10)
Innocent +5
Neutral Alignment -10
*Not counting levels in nemesis-based prestige classes

Multiple Use
Defeats a CR 9+ Foe +1
Defeats a CR 15+ Foe +2
Defeats a CR 20+ Foe +4
Brings back a magic item useful against evil creatures (cold iron, silver, adamantine, bane, disrupting, holy, etc.) +1 per item
Exposes political/religious/social corruption +2
Topples corrupt government (if chaotic) +2
Spearheads improvements in law (if lawful) +2
Helps a community form lasting defenses against threats +5
Exposes charlatan hunters or real creatures +2
Exposes an evil creature or heinous criminal hiding among the innocent and brings them to justice or destroys them +10
Commits an Evil Act/Makes a powers check -5
Fails a Powers Check -10 (and kicked out of the Shining Force until sin is successfully redeemed)

Executive Powers: Assassinate, Craft, Research, Shadow War

Titles, Benefits, and Duties: Members of the Shining Force are often left to their own devices until they are needed. Once called, though, they are expected to report to the nearest chapter house. The rewards often include magical items, gold, even tracts of land. For many, though, the real allure is the chance to learn more about the world around them. This is a double-edged sword and only those deemed fit are allowed to join the uppermost ranks of the Shining Force. Those that do are often morose and grim thanks to the secrets they learn.

Higher-ranking members often lead small companies of lower-ranking members or others in campaigns against specific targets. These leaders are given items useful against their foe and they get to keep them if they succeed in their mission. Others seek to help the masses by educating them about what they face and instructing them in techniques that will allow them to defend themselves effectively. Almost any mission that helps others or stops the machinations of evil can be performed in service to Shining Force.

Despite the standing orders not to attack darklords, this is more a suggestion than a firm rule. More than once the darklord of an Island of Terror or other such domain has found themselves under attack. Some are destroyed and their domains returned to the Mists. The majority of the Shining Force are not so grandiose in their nature, though. Countless mundane criminals and powerful supernatural entities have been exposed and dealt with. Yet for all their work, the Shining Force often sees two more threats replace the one they remove. The world is set against them. The true rulers of the land are their hated foes. But they refuse to give up and let evil win.

Affiliation Score and Title
3 or lower: Not a member or junior member with no benefits
4-10: Shining Soldier +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks with other Shining Force members; +1 on attack rolls against one declared enemy (undead, aberrations, lycanthropes, etc.); once chosen, this cannot be changed. Receives a Shining Badge as proof of membership
11-15: Shining Guardian +4 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks with other Shining Force Members; +1 damage to declared enemy (same chosen at Soldier rank)
16-22: Shining Knight +2 on Knowledge (the planes) checks; +1 to attack and damage rolls against new declared enemy; access to library of Ravenloft lore (learn Knowledge [the planes] skill as a cross-class skill).
23-29: Shining Champion +6 to Knowledge (the planes) checks and Knowledge (the planes) is now a class skill.
30+: Shining Hero The +10 DC modifier to Knowledge (the planes) checks for topics outside Ravenloft for natives (or about Ravenloft for outlanders) no longer applies; cast daylight as a cleric equal to your character level at will.

Organization and Structure
Much like it’s founder, the Shining Force is only as ordered as it needs to be. Arranged in a segmented manner, the SF will often put out a call for members to help in a given endeavor and then pick from those that respond. The result is often an eclectic mix of classes and levels and rarely will any given group have all of the same members it had before. One person out of the group is given the leadership role and the others are expected to obey them when they give the order to retreat. Some leaders take a more direct hand while others let individual members work as they wish. Many fall in between, doling out tasks and letting the members go about it as they see fit.

Outside of combat the Shining Force doesn’t put many restrictions on its members. They need only be ready to answer any calls they happen to be able to answer. Rank in the SF is also largely informal, marking devotion to the group rather than any actual authority. Still those who achieve the upper echelons are given due respect. One can tell the rank of an individual by the symbol they wear—besides the sword set against a burst of light there are a series of stars underneath that serve as a symbol of rank. One for Soldier up to five for Hero. Because forging a badge requires an arcanist and cleric of at least level 20 with the appropriate spells, forgeries are rare.

Because secrecy is a key to their survival, the Shining Force rarely displays its symbol openly. Phrases, hand gestures, and other signs are used more often. Because of the above average number of outlanders in the SF, Common is used as a “secret” language. No known domain speaks Common and its widespread use among various outlander worlds makes it clear that the Force is not like anything else in Ravenloft.

When necessary, a general call for all members is made to gather in a domain chosen by the leading council. Often this is an uninhabited domain, such as Forlorn or the Phantasmal Forest. Because of the extreme danger involved the security for such meetings is stringent—both to protect members and to keep enemies and monsters out. Such areas are often forts built using magic and always consecrated and hallowed with a bless spell effecting any official member. Rarely is any given fort used more than once; after use these structures tend to fall to the creatures or forces of the domain they’re erected in and the blessings can wear off before another such grand meeting is called.

The four leading members themselves restrict themselves to their home domains: Mordent (Alexander Dreamfire), Tepest (Dratha), Darkon (Orwin Lakeweave), and Hazlan (Niela). Alexander and Orwin both maintain stockpiles of equipment to be given out as needed—including magical items to be used as rewards to truly heroic acts or exceptional devotion to the cause. Niela and Dratha specialize in creating said magical items and often raise funds for the Shining Force by selling the odd item to interested customers.

Those members told of the ultimate mission to learn all about Ravenloft often go on quests deep into the Mists themselves. Because of the dangers of such ventures, only the most powerful are allowed to go. Half of the time even they never return. Those of lesser power will often infiltrate groups like the Fraternity of Shadows or even the inner circles of various darklords to gather more information on them directly. Again these are dangerous in the extreme and more than once this has backfired disastrously. In both cases, members are given magical items that will aid their quest—anything from wands and scrolls to weapons and armor or even wondrous items like crystal balls. Because of the nature of such missions, these are gifts and not loans. If the members survive, they get to keep the items for themselves.

Rumors of members who have exceeded mortal limitations (epic-level characters) abound among the ranks. This is in fact true, but their numbers are kept secret and they remain isolated even among their fellows. These epic members are almost entirely made of spellcasters and psionicists, with a handful of warrior and expert classes. It’s possible that these members could overthrow the darklords and destroy Ravenloft for good, but at least two outside factors (and several more personal ones) make this improbable if not utterly impossible. The first is that the darklords have earned their positions and it’s more a punishment to let them exist as they are; interfering with their plans, protecting innocents from their predations, and otherwise causing them grief are allowed. Direct harm is not. It remains an official decree from on high that no member of any rank shall attempt to destroy a darklord without express, written consent from both the leading members and a council of at least nine Shining Heroes.

A second—and far more terrifying—factor are the Dark Powers themselves. Given all the Shining Force has learned of the true nature of Ravenloft, they have uncovered the theory of the Dark Powers and that scares even the most hardened epic member. Given that they have cut off the Realms of Dread from the powers (gods), can use the Mists to alter space and time at will, and stand as distant judges of all that happens in Ravenloft, the accepted theory is that the Dark Powers are overgods—gods to the gods—or something else just as powerful and beyond comprehension. These are beings even the most powerful members dare not provoke and desperately seek to avoid the attention of.

Then there’s an unspoken third factor: epic spells and psionic powers do not work except under truly extraordinary circumstances. Thus their most potent weapons can’t be brought to bear ninety-nine percent of the time and even if they do pull one off, there’s bound to be notice from the Dark Powers—not to mention darklords and others who want to control such power for their own gains. Even non-epic but high-level members suffer a rash of unwanted attention from all the wrong sources.
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