The Silver Crest
The Silver Crest is an alliance of knightly orders devoted to the principles of justice and honor. While each order has their own tenets and specific mission, collectively they see it as their duty to bring justice to the largely lawless Dragonsmoke Archipelago: to protect those who cannot protect themselves and prevent a descent into warlordism and "might makes right". The main guild hall is the Grand Temple of Helm in Hillsfar, though worship of Helm is by no means required. Currently, the members of the Crest include:
Knights of the Silver Hand
One of the founding orders and still largely composed of Helmites, but gladly accept devotees of other gods (or none at all) who hold similar ideals. The Silver Hand provides alms and shelter to the poor and to weary travelers, while their knights patrol the towns and cities of the archipelago to uphold justice and ward off monsters. This order is mostly priests and paladins devoted to protecting the innocent or maintaining the law. Motto: "For the Hand and Crest."The Knights Sanguine
Believing in retributive justice, the Knights Sanguine accept devotees of vengeful (non-evil) deities, monster slayers, and even count a few assassins among their ranks. They gladly mete out punishment to evildoers, visiting death upon the most heinous. Compared to the other orders of the Crest, the Sanguine’s members are rough, dour, and callous. They see themselves as doing the dirty work that other “good guys” don’t want to do. Motto: "Blood for blood."Knights of the Compass Rose
The third founding order of the Crest is an association of rugged explorers and dungeoneers whose aim is to push the frontiers of civilization forward and tame the wilderness for mortal purposes. Knights of the Compass Rose pride themselves on self-sufficiency and practical know-how, training themselves in wilderness survival, vehicle operation, and essential skills such as hunting, cooking, and equipment maintenance. Part of its mission is figuring out how to map the ever-shifting landscape of Dragonsmoke Archipelago, and as such this order is also home to arcanists who research such questions and scribes that love cartography. Motto: "Boldly into the unknown!"Hierarchy
Rank 1: Dedicant- Declared themselves devoted to the Crest, but have just begun their journey. Expected to perform menial tasks and charity work.
- Recognized as a skilled adventurer, each Squire is taken under the tutelage of a Knight to continue their training. Squires can establish guild outposts with the approval of their mentor.
- When ready, a squire chooses an order to belong to and that order's Master dubs them a fully-fledged Knight of the Crest. The Knight creates personal heraldry to use as a seal.
- Banner Knights are lieutenants of the organization with multiple knights reporting to them. The Knight's heraldry appears on a banner in the Grand Temple's sanctuary.
- Each Master is the head of one of the knightly orders that makes up the Silver Crest. The masters form a council that makes decisions about the collective goals of the organization.
- The speaker is the de facto Guild Leader of the Silver Crest, though the position is moved from one Master to another every year. The speaker can marshal the Silver Crest in times of crisis and makes decisions for the council if a consensus cannot be reached.
Membership
Each Dedicant is provided a brooch upon their Initiation that allows them to communicate with other members of the Crest. When knighted, the generic brooch is replaced by one with the symbol of the Knight's order.Contracts: Religious Guild Equipment, Tools, and Training as an Adventurer’s GuildSilver Crest Brooch
Wondrous Item (Common)
While wearing this brooch, you can communicate with other creatures that are also wearing a Silver Crest Brooch by speaking into it, as long as they are on the same plane of existence as you. You can activate the brooch as a bonus action to cast Spare the Dying or Detect Poison and Disease (each spell recharges at dawn). If it detects poison or disease, the brooch glows, shedding dim light in a 5ft radius.
Type
Guild, Fighter / Mercenary
