Sterngard Foundation

With their vibrant carmine uniform and cock-sure attitudes, the explorers of the Sterngard Foundation are impossible to miss. Part-tomb delver, part-explorer, part-historian, Sterngard officers are eclectic adventurers who risk life and limb for the chance at finding incredible artefacts long thought lost - and with these incredible finds comes a cut of their incredible market value! Any entrusted with the rich red coat and iconic hats of this guild have proven they are worth their salt to the Foundation, be that through a knack for picking locks, navigating trap-laden passageways, or translating ancient mysteries.
The War for Divinity smashed mighty empires from their golden ages and the Riddens scattered their stories and their treasures to the winds. When the Nissen council of Galas Skor commissioned three known pirate captains to sail for a rumoured elvish settlement on Praxin’s southern coast in 1012 CC, there was little hope the criminals would ever return. When one ship limped back six months later with a hull laden with weathered statuary and ancient elvish coins, a long and highly profitable relationship between the asuri of Radeland’s eastern province and increasingly eager pirates from the Bay of Bones began. In 1033 CC, their past crimes were forgiven and they were ratified into an upstanding company of adventurers and tomb-divers - the Sterngard Foundation was born. A new castle, the Emerald Coast Reserve, was built and layered with spells to contain and preserve the myriad wonders they had plundered from the wreckage of elvish history and auctions were flooded by wealthy investors hoping to purchase a piece of this heritage for themselves. With a branch in Brookhall in Koradan and a smattering of outposts across the continent, the Sterngard have thrived in Ilorim’s most ancient and dangerous locales.
Fledgling Sterngard are known as Footpads, demarcated by a bowler hat. Those who have proven themselves time and again are awarded a stetson and the title Investigator. Investigators who perform a great feat or otherwise bring back hauls of significant value are granted the honour of a tricorn hat reminiscent of their privateer heritage and take the rank of Tripoint. Tripoints decorate their hats with feathers of significance to mark out their deeds as they progress. Those whose uniforms have seen a dozen fortunes come and go and whose tricorns are weighed down with absurd amounts of garish feathers are granted the honorific of Prima Pirata - the highest accolade recognised by the Foundation.

Type

Guild, Privateers