Crusaders of Terak

The lawful good crusaders of Terak are rarer than the paladins of many other churches. For whatever reason, it is uncommon to hear this call, and serve the faith as paladins do. The crusaders’ order exists to fight evil, stand shoulder to shoulder with common soldiers, give comrades hope in times of need, and conquer the most daunting foes. Some within the temples believe that one day, a sea of crusaders will rise to aid the mortal races against threats so dire they are too terrifying to imagine. Others believe the Teraketh faith’s rules of equality and readiness already make all adherents holy warriors.
Unlike most of the Teraketh, crusaders must follow all doctrine to the letter. They can never drink or indulge in intoxicants, cannot seek personal glory, and so on.
Dedicated to the brotherhood of all mortals, they do not tolerate discriminatory remarks or slurs, and certainly never make them. Furthermore, crusaders are held to a much stricter standard regarding the protection of the weak. There is no rest for them, for they must pursue a constant quest to help the downtrodden. There is no such thing as retirement; they fight evil until they die, no matter how old they become or how much they might desire to set aside their burdens. It is a miserable life, or so it would seem to most, but they are consumed by their call to duty, and do not easily shrug off their responsibilities.
Crusaders associate with any who oppose evil and defend the weak. They do not associate with anyone actively prejudiced against other mortal races, no matter how well intentioned they might be. They might try to move them from the path of prejudice, but failing that, break company over what might seem like “innocent” comments. For instance, a dwarven fighter who constantly derides “pointyeared elves” might be fine company for most, but a crusader will not accept his intolerance. Crusaders generally don’t care about their companions’ leanings toward chaos or law, if they are actively good. A party that seeks to help people will find a crusader their fast ally. Parties that must have their palms greased or need convincing to offer aid will not find the crusader in their midst for long.
Taking the teaching of Terak that all mortals are equal quite seriously, the crusaders put no faith in strict hierarchy or titles. They are all addressed and introduced as “crusader,” and the most senior or skilled crusader commands the others in times of need. For instance, if several crusaders band together to fight evil sorcerers, the crusader with the most knowledge of evil sorcerers takes command, even if she is the least experienced among them. Because of this (and the tenets of their faith), crusaders do not hold to honorifics and correct those who call them “sir,” “master,” or anything other than “crusader.”

Type

Religious, Holy Order

Parent Organization

Holy Orders of Terak

Deities

• Terak

Related Myths

• From One to Many

Joining the Crusaders of Terak

Becoming a crusader takes very little time, with the candidate training with another crusader for just two or three months. In fact, the hardest part about becoming a crusader is tracking down a teacher. Seeing more than one crusader at a time is rare, and usually means there’s trouble brewing. As it stands, the crusaders do not have a well-established order and refuse to pretend they do. Upon completing training, the new crusader becomes a paladin, and when it comes time to swear their Sacred Oath, most take the Oath of Battle.