Order of Rekkenmark

The vast majority of warlords and officers in the various Karrnathi armies graduated with honors from the Rekkenmark Academy and earned a place in the Order of Rekkenmark. But both King Kaius and the Karrnathi warlords sometimes bestow membership in the Order on those who excel on the battlefield or in other service to Karrnath. Joining the order in such a way is not unlike earning an honorary degree from a university or a battlefield commission. It’s recognition of skills and accomplishments equivalent to those who did excel at the academy.

Every member of the Order of Rekkenmark wears an opal-studded signet ring. Virtually the entire Karrnathi officer corps knows what what ring means: that you graduated with honors from the prestigious Rekkenmark Academy, or that you otherwise distinguished yourself through your heroism in battle for the crown.

Inner circle members get a swift magebred light warhorse, which the Academy acquires from House Vadalis. The Academy replaces your horse periodicallyif you lose it in battle or on a mission for the crown.

You also get a Karrnathi army dress uniform if you don’t have one already.

The academy assigns guards and staff officers to inner circle members and high councilors—often academy students who hope to learn at the elbow of a distinguished member of the order. The guards and staff officers obey any lawful order, but they know they aren’t supposed to be used as front-line troops. (And in any case, they’re low-level and unable to provide much help overcoming typical adventure challenges.) If you’re adventuring, you’ll find that the bodyguards are useful for mundane tasks such as keeping watch, performing manual labor, acting as messengers, and guarding prisoners.

The staff officer assigned to you is somewhat more capable. The officer, typically a lieutenant, can handle logistical tasks such as buying and selling equipment, arranging travel papers, and (if a spellcaster) casting low-level rituals on your behalf.

Aside from the camaraderie with fellow members of the order, you gain an honorary rank in the Karrnathi army. You have no specific duties and no soldiers under your command other than your personal staff. But lower-ranking soldiers stand at attention and salute you as soon as they know your status. You can issue orders to lower-ranking soldiers, but you may have to explain yourself later if you take them away
from their regular duties without a good reason.

It doesn’t come up much, but honorary rank works both ways. Higher-ranking officers in the Karrnathi army can order you around or send you on special missions.

Almost every member of the Order of Rekkenmark has some connection to the Karrnathi military or the crown. The vast majority of your peers either served in the Karrnathi army during the Last War or are still on active duty. The few without military experience distinguished themselves by aiding the army or performing personal missions on behalf of the crown.

Once you’re a member of the order, you advance by undertaking missions on behalf of the crown and the army. As you develop a reputation for success, you’ll receive an invitation to join the inner circle, and eventually you might be named High Councilor.

While missions on behalf of the order are the key to advancement, you can also accept the opal ring and honorary rank and leave it at that. There’s no requirement for specifi c service. Only criminal or treasonous acts will result in your expulsion from the Order of Rekkenmark.

Most members of the Order of Rekkenmark treat it as simply an honorary society. They travel to Rekkenmark once a year for the annual meeting, raise a toast to their fellows, and wear their opal ring with pride.

Inner circle members see a different side of the order, however. For them, the order is a useful way to accomplish military matters without involving the entire military chain of command. For example, one member of the order can say to another, “Let’s try integrating your light cavalry with my scouts, then probe into Valenar,” without involving the entire Karrathi army bureaucracy. The Order of Rekkenmark is, in some ways, a parallel leadership structure based not on rank but on the shared experience of getting through Rekkenmark Academy.

And for a few dozen elite members of the order, the High Councilors, the order is an important sounding board for King Kaius as he contemplates military matters. Whenever word of a military crisis reaches the king’s ears, he summons High Councilors to seek their expertise before making a decision. The councilors aren’t Kaius’s sole advisors, and he doesn’t always heed their advice, but they are among the most influential voices in his court.

At the head of the High Councilors is Gruden ir’Erdei, Kaius’s First Warlord. Ir’Erdei is an honors graduate of the Rekkenmark Academy, its former chancellor, and Karrnath’s Southern Front general at the end of the Last War. Like many in the Karrnath military, Gruden is dubious of Kaius’s push for peace and expects war to reignite, perhaps within a matter of months.

The most famous member of the Order of Rekkenmark is Caldrus ir’Kurtvach. Known throughout Karrnath as the “Rock of Herrenhold” from the battle there in 991 YK, Caldrus has retired from active duty and teaches a seminar on the Analects of War at Rekkenmark Academy every semester. Caldrus chooses the staff officer and retinue for each member of the Inner Circle.

Almost everyone in the Karrnathi military knows what the opal ring means: that the wearer is a well-trained, elite military leader. Accordingly, Karrn soldiers have an initial attitude of friendly toward members of the Order of Rekkenmark—so long as they’re attending to military matters.

The order is well known among military commanders of other nations, as well. Officers who have the rank of major or higher probably know what the order means, and they’ll have an initial attitude of unfriendly based on a sense of rivalry or envy.