Hooded Lanterns

“There cannot be a Westemär without Drakkenheim.”

— Lord Commander Elias Drexel

The Hooded Lanterns are an irregular military force drawn up from remnants of the old Drakkenheim City Watch and veterans of the Westemär Civil War. Led by the grim Lord Commander Elias Drexel, they wish to drive out the monsters and outlaws who infest their nation’s capital and restore the realm of Westemär.

Background

Multiple military operations have attempted to retake Drakkenheim over the past fifteen years. Each has ended in miserable failure, and the contaminated ruins have swallowed thousands of soldiers’ lives. What remains of these assaults are merely twisted monsters and undead monstrosities formed from the risen corpses of these regiments. After these disastrous attempts, Drakkenheim was left abandoned while civil war ripped Westemär apart instead. These conflicts also ended in vain, with the royal line of House von Kessel undone by fratricide.

Westemär is slowly disintegrating into a realm of squabbling fiefdoms, yet some amongst the fractured nobility hold a glimmer of hope in restoring the nation and rebuilding the capital. Three years ago, they marshaled up the remnants of the royal guard, the city watch, and patriotic veterans of the civil war to make one last-ditch attempt to retake the city. Although officially dubbed the 4th Provisional Expeditionary Force to Reclaim the Capital, this guerilla regiment was nicknamed after oil lamps carried by the old city watch: the Hooded Lanterns.

The core members of the Hooded Lanterns are warriors fighting for their homeland. Few honest soldiers survived the civil war, so many veterans have a life of bloody deeds behind them already. On the other hand, new recruits are seldom old enough to have any strong memories of Drakkenheim before it was destroyed. As such, many possess naïve and idealistic notions honed into simmering rage and fury at a golden age stolen from them.

Under the leadership of Lord Commander Elias Drexel, the Hooded Lanterns have finally broken the losing streak of previous military operations. Rather than making an all-out assault on the ruins, they have taken a methodical approach. After spending nearly a year carefully scouting out the ruins, they began clearing out important fortifications in the city to use as staging grounds for future operations. This strategy has paid off: the Hooded Lanterns have managed to establish countless safehouses and supply caches within the city. They captured Shepherd’s Gate and the Drakkenheim Garrison last year. However, in recent months their efforts have been stymied by sabotage enacted by the Queen of Thieves, and the emergence of a horrific garmyr warlord in the Inner City known as the Lord of the Feast. While the Hooded Lanterns have imposed the mantle of law-and-order in the city, these setbacks have revealed their actual authority is limited to their strength of arms. The regiment maintains only a fragile foothold in Drakkenheim, and their supply lines are now exceptionally difficult to maintain. It’s taking almost everything the Hooded Lanterns have to hold their current position.

The Hooded Lanterns are supported by surviving loyal vassals of the royal family who wish to see the old monarchy of Westemär restored. Many of these wealthy nobles lost estates, treasure vaults, family heirlooms, and personal documents when the city was destroyed, and expect the Hooded Lanterns to retrieve them. In return, these noble houses provide soldiers, material, and other supplies to the Hooded Lanterns on a periodic basis, but their financial resources are not inexhaustible. Indeed, the Hooded Lanterns have often resorted to selling delerium themselves to make ends meet.

Attire

The Hooded Lanterns are a professional military unit. Every member uses standardized equipment: their uniform consists of a forest green cloak with yellow trim, the traditional colours associated with the Drakkenheim coat-of-arms. They bear the Hooded Lanterns’ symbol on their chest pieces, and shoulder stitches denote their rank and company. Scout units wear light armour, and often wield longswords, shortswords, and longbows. Guard units are equipped with chainmail, shields, spears, and crossbows. Each member also wears a metal chain with an inscribed plate bearing their name, hometown, and next of kin. Most Hooded Lanterns cut their hair when they sign up, but since many spend weeks at a time fighting, they end up a disheveled mess by the end of their assignments.

Strongholds

The Hooded Lanterns hold three key positions in Drakkenheim and its environs: the Emberwood Watchtower, Shepherd’s Gate, and the Drakkenheim Garrison. They have converted the stockade beneath the garrison into a bunker insulated from the Haze. Beyond these key locations, the Hooded Lanterns have several minor bases in old cottages and watchtowers a few days outside the city where their soldiers rest and recuperate after being posted to the ruins.

Objectives

• Restore Drakkenheim
• Obtain the Seals of Drakkenheim
• Re-establish a rightful monarchy

Key Characters

Lord Commander Elias Drexel leads the Expeditionary Force as the Faction leader. He has two close confidants who interchangeably act as the faction lieutenant: Captain Ansom Lang and his sister, Lieutenant Petra Lang.

NOTE: The Hooded Lanterns use a formal military rank structure. Although Ansom and Petra are ranked as “captain” and “lieutenant”, this doesn’t change their role as faction lieutenants for the purposes of their interactions with the player characters.

Lord Commander Elias Drexel

Elias Drexel is a man in his early fifties. He is stocky and imposing with a furrowed brow and a grim frown on his wide and angular face. His harsh features are framed with a thick moustache, side chops, and a mane of long braided brown hair. He is garbed in chainmail armour with heavy leather gloves and boots, worn under a fur-lined dark green cloak and iron pauldrons. He wears a pinned brooch - the Lord Commander’s Badge, the symbol of his office. A quiver, a longbow, and two longswords are strung on his back.

Elias Drexel was appointed to the office of Lord Commander before the fall of Drakkenheim, and was outside the city leading training drills when the meteor fell. Afterwards, he took part in three military expeditions to reclaim Drakkenheim, and saw firsthand their horrors. He then went on to fight in the Westemär Civil War alongside Mannfred von Kessel.

Command Staff

The Lord Commander has several important aides who assist with the day-to-day operations of the Hooded Lantern’s forces:

• The Warden - oversees the defenses and dungeons of the City Watch Barracks.
• The Quartermaster - attends to the supply cache.
• The Apothecary - tends the wounded and manages their hospice.
• The Master of the Forge - a dwarf blacksmith.
• Paige - personal attendant to the Lord Commander.

Ansom and Petra Lang

Captain Ansom Lang is a human urban ranger. He is an athletic teenager with long black hair and a short neat beard, angular jaw, and rugged features. He is garbed in a hooded green cloak and light chain armour of the Hooded Lanterns that prominently displays a captain’s insignia on his shoulder.

Lieutenant Petra Lang is a human urban ranger. She is a fit and nimble teenager with long black hair, a narrow pointed chin, and bold features. She wears a hooded green cloak and light chain armour of the Hooded Lanterns with a lieutenant’s insignia on her shoulder pauldron.

Company Roster

The Hooded Lanterns are organized into a regiment of five companies, making up a total force of approximately one thousand soldiers plus their support staff, orderlies, and crew. Each company is led by a captain and two lieutenants, and each has a distinct role:

• Scout Company. Intrepid infiltrators who undertake dangerous reconnaissance operations into the city centre. Led by Captain Raine Highlash.
• Garrison Company. Protects the established holdings of the Hooded Lanterns such as the Watchtower, Shepherd’s Gate, and the Drakkenheim Garrison. Led by Captain Jakob Slovak, the Garrison company operates at double strength, since these soldiers must be constantly rotated to prevent them from becoming contaminated while on duty.
• Vanguard Company. These experienced shock troops carry out offensive operations against priority targets, led by Captain Ansom Lang.
• Reserve Company. A reserve force maintained outside the city composed of new recruits and aging veterans charged with maintaining supply routes.
• Royal Guard. A special unit activated only if the Hooded Lanterns discover a royal heir. This small unit is composed of veterans hand-picked by the Lord Commander for trustworthiness and skill.