Raven Blade Mercenary Company
Located north of Waterdeep is castle Raven Perch the base of the Raven Blade Mercenary Company. They specialize in cavalry and covert operations, the first distracting the enemy from the latter. They field both armored and light cavalry as well as a number of operatives with years of experience in infiltration work. A standard tactic of theirs is to attack an enemy camp in the middle of the night and in the confusion have a planted operative steal intelligence from the commander's tent. They also employ air support in the form of a pair of giant ravens and, formerly, a wyvern.
They are based out of Raven Perch Castle a imposing two towered structure at the base of the Sword Mountains north of Waterdeep. The location gives a massive defensive advantage being set at the top of a large hill with the accent flanked by a pair of tall cliffs allowing them to funnel their enemies into a kill zone. A winding path flanked with archers positions, traps, and hostile terrain is the only, relatively, safe path to take to the castle. As it is set in the foothills of the Sword Mountains a series of tall rocky peaks line the plateau the castle rests on, be aware each path to the castle through the paths between the peaks has been heavily booby-trapped.
Their general organizational structure takes on that of a pirate ship more than a military unit. The captain is the one elected to the position by the group and their rule can be challenged at any time. This takes the form of either a verbal debate, duel, or in rare cases a trial with the rest of the company acting as the jury. The only time the captain's authority can not be challenged is during battle where their rule is absolute. The current captain is Alkarak a gruff moon elf with a no nonsense attitude for both his dragoons and any outsiders interacting with the company.
The people who hire them are usually the disreputable sort, warlords, evil kings wanting to stop a rebellion, or the odd noble with a lot of gold and the need to make someone disappear in a big way. They have had shaky relations with Waterdeep and the Guard. As a military group in a fortified position to the north of the City of Splendor their castle would act as an amazing jumping off point for anyone wanting to invade the city. This has led the captains of the Raven Blade to swear to never work against Waterdeep and pay a tithe to them to not send the Guard on them.
They are based out of Raven Perch Castle a imposing two towered structure at the base of the Sword Mountains north of Waterdeep. The location gives a massive defensive advantage being set at the top of a large hill with the accent flanked by a pair of tall cliffs allowing them to funnel their enemies into a kill zone. A winding path flanked with archers positions, traps, and hostile terrain is the only, relatively, safe path to take to the castle. As it is set in the foothills of the Sword Mountains a series of tall rocky peaks line the plateau the castle rests on, be aware each path to the castle through the paths between the peaks has been heavily booby-trapped.
Their general organizational structure takes on that of a pirate ship more than a military unit. The captain is the one elected to the position by the group and their rule can be challenged at any time. This takes the form of either a verbal debate, duel, or in rare cases a trial with the rest of the company acting as the jury. The only time the captain's authority can not be challenged is during battle where their rule is absolute. The current captain is Alkarak a gruff moon elf with a no nonsense attitude for both his dragoons and any outsiders interacting with the company.
The people who hire them are usually the disreputable sort, warlords, evil kings wanting to stop a rebellion, or the odd noble with a lot of gold and the need to make someone disappear in a big way. They have had shaky relations with Waterdeep and the Guard. As a military group in a fortified position to the north of the City of Splendor their castle would act as an amazing jumping off point for anyone wanting to invade the city. This has led the captains of the Raven Blade to swear to never work against Waterdeep and pay a tithe to them to not send the Guard on them.
Trivia
- They once worked for the notorious Waterbaron of Yartar Harvarthar Kellbonad, he hired them to put down one of the many rebellious that marked his reign.
- They have been known to hire themselves out to powerful wizards looking for some non magic muscle.
- The traveler and author Volothamp Geddarm was once knapped by them for speaking unfavorably about them in one of his Volo's Guide books.
Type
Mercenary
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