⚔️ Wardens of St. Ras
"Guard the Grave. Seal the Rift. Break the Chain."
🛡️ Overview (OSE-Compatible)
The Wardens of St. Ras are a militant holy order who defend Ashkarin and the surrounding frontier from threats both living and unnatural: undead, fiends, summoned monstrosities, and arcane corruption. Rooted in ancient Ember-Faith traditions, the Wardens are more than warriors—they are the keepers of sacred oaths and the final guardians between the living and the damned.
Once grave-guardians of the Old Gravefield, they now maintain watchposts along Stonehell, patrol cursed lands, and enforce divine law upon heretics, necromancers, and demonic cults.
Theirs is a cause of Law, sacrifice, and unflinching judgment.
⚔️ Classes Among the Wardens
Only Lawful characters may serve as full members of the Wardens.
| Class | Role |
|---|
| Cleric | Ritual leaders, healers, and the divine heart of the Order. Turn undead, bless arms, consecrate grounds. |
| Paladin | Champions of Law, purity, and wrath against evil. Rare, exalted, and feared by enemies and allies alike. |
| Knight | Heavily armored warriors bound by chivalric codes. Lead from the front. Often given command of patrols or tomb garrisons. |
| Fighter | The backbone of the Wardens. Versatile, deadly, and tested through battlefield service. |
| Magic-User | Rarely permitted. Only those focused on wards, banishment, or protective magic are allowed—under scrutiny. |
| Thief | Accepted only in the Chainbreakers, where infiltration, lock-breaching, and trapwork are needed. Loyalty must be proven tenfold. |
⚰️ Necromancers, a dark offshoot of the Magic-User class, are viewed as soul-traffickers and grave thieves. All necromancers are declared enemies of the faith.
✠ The Pillars of Vigilance
The Wardens are divided into three sub-orders, each specializing in a particular kind of threat. All report to the High Warden of the Chain and act with semi-autonomous authority in the field.
✠ Ashen Vigil
Sworn against Undeath
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Protectors of tombs and crypts.
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Specialize in sanctification, corpse-interment rites, and anti-spirit warfare.
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Known to carry silver bells and speak the Litany of Passing before battle.
🔥 Emberbound Host
Crusaders against the Abyss
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Sent to confront demons, devils, and cultists.
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Serve as exorcists and fiend-slayers.
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Paladins and fire-brandishing Clerics are common in their ranks.
🔗 Chainbreakers
Warders of Will
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Breaker of circles, destroyer of bindings.
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Track down rogue summoners, corrupt conjurers, and abomination-binders.
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Known for stealth, sudden judgment, and spell-severing expertise.
🏰 Wardens' Holdings
| Location | Purpose |
|---|
| Temple of St. Ras | Headquarters and holy fortress. Built beside the Gravefield. Houses reliquaries, oaths, and saints’ remains. |
| Oathspire Hold | Holds fallen Warden tombs and a chapter of the Ashen Vigil. Known for its funeral forge. |
| The Ember Bastion | Garrison-fortress near Stonehell. Its walls are inlaid with molten silver runes.Shared with Disciples of Vaughn. |
| Broken Circle Tower | A reclaimed conjurer’s keep, now used by the Chainbreakers to train anti-summoning operatives. |
🛡️ Rank Structure
| Title | Description |
|---|
| High Warden of the Chain | Supreme commander of the Order. Chosen from among the Paladins or senior Clerics. |
| Canon-Militant | Strategic and regional leaders. One per sub-order. |
| Knight Vigilant | Honored heavy-armored champions. Often lead sanctified crusades or guard sacred relics. |
| Warden-Exorcist | Elite Clerics specializing in rites of banishment and spiritual warfare. |
| Vigil-Adept | Acolyte or trainee. Must survive the Vigil of Iron Flame to ascend in rank. |
🔥 The Paladins of St. Ras
Rare and revered, Paladins in the Wardens are viewed as the burning hand of the Saint himself. They are bound to uphold:
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The Tenets of Fidelity: Never betray a comrade or leave the dead unguarded.
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The Judgments of Ras: Smite evil, refuse corruption, and speak only truth in oaths.
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The Vigilant Path: Rest only when no dark soul stirs.
Paladins are often:
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Called to lead holy crusades into cursed places.
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Sent alone to confront high-level threats.
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Subject to divine visions, which guide the Order's most secret missions.
| Item | Use |
|---|
| Seal-Iron Chains | Used to bind devils, wights, and summoned horrors. Blessed at the Oath Forge. |
| Warden’s Lantern | Emits light only the undead can see. Reveals spirits and illusions. |
| Holy Brand of Ras | A sigil carried by Paladins; when invoked, provides Protection from Evil once per day. |
| Funeral Bell | Rung in battle to call fallen souls home. Grants +1 morale to Lawful allies in range. |
| Sanctified Polearm | Weapon favored by Knight Vigilants. Glows faintly when within 30’ of necromantic energy. |
😈 Foes of the Wardens
| Enemy | Reason for Hatred |
|---|
| Necromancers | Soul-thieves. Raise the dead, bind spirits, defile sacred law. |
| Orkus Drakar | Apostate cleric of the Lady of Whips. Animates the dead to suffer eternally. |
| Cult of the Duke of Bones | Grave desecrators. Use stolen bones and forbidden rituals to empower their undead god. |
| Children of Yg | Bring unnatural creatures across the veil. Disturb the Chain. Targeted by Chainbreakers. |
| Summoner Cabals | Even legal ones are watched. Magic-Users who bind or exploit extraplanar entities are often “visited” by Wardens in silence and flame. |
🎲 In Play
PC Options:
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Lawful Clerics, Paladins, Fighters, and Knights can easily serve as full Wardens.
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Paladins may begin with an Oath of Vigilance and a funeral relic, such as a small urn of sacred ashes or a bone fragment from a saint.
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Thieves and Magic-Users may interact with or assist the Order but must tread carefully and prove themselves.
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Membership offers access to:
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Holy water
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Rest in Warden sanctuaries
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Divine missions and crusades
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Rare knowledge of undead and planar threats
🕯️ Summary
The Wardens of St. Ras are grim, armored souls of purpose—champions of the dead, slayers of fiends, and scourges of the faithless. They are not adventurers. They are the last watch on the edge of the light, where oaths are made in blood, and rest is earned only after the last grave is sealed.
Paladins rise in their ranks as living saints. Necromancers are burned as heretics. The Chain endures.
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