The BlackbladesLeader: TBA
Population: Around 30
Reputation: Rujaro Hunters
Most Common In: Kenash
Faction Gods: None
Stronghold: Office on the Rajor Plantation
The Blackblades are an organization of hunters who specialize in capturing and killing runaway slaves for varying fees. Fees will be scaled based upon the reputation of the slave, their position in Rujaro society, the skill level of the hired knife, and the information that the client is able to supply about the runaway.
History:WIP
Membership:Membership to the Blackblades is fairly exclusive, and a number of conditions must be met before being accepted as an apprentice, and a great amount of grueling training is undertaken before initiation as a full member.
Entry-level Requirements:-All Skills from Set R (Required)
-3 Skills from Set S (Suggested)
-Skills from Set H (Helpful) are not required, but are desired by the Blacknets and having them improves your chances of being accepted, if all other requirements are met
Skill | Level Requirement | Set |
Acrobatics | Novice | S |
Camoflage | Novice | H |
Climb | Novice | H |
Disguise | Novice | H |
Escape Artist | Novice | H |
Hunting | Novice | R |
Intelligence | Novice | S |
Intimidate | Competent | R |
Investigation | Novice | S |
Land Navigation | Novice | S |
Observation | Novice | S |
Stealth | Competent | R |
Tracking | Novice | R |
Weapon: Any Lethal | Novice | R |
Wilderness Survival | Novice | S |
Meeting these requirements will prove that you are applicable for an Apprentice position amongst the Blackblades.
Advancement Requirements:To advance to Full Membership, you must first successfully hunt and kill ten Rujaro, and provide proof of the kill without failing a single contract. Failing a contract causes the Blackblades to lose face, and such is grounds for immediate expulsion from the organization. On top of this, a certain level of skill mastery must be displayed and a set of necessary lores must be known by the potential member of the Blacknet.
-All Skills from Set R (Required)
-3 Skills from Set S (Suggested)
-Skills from Set H (Helpful) are not required, but are desired by the Blacknets and having them improves your chances of being elevated to Full Member, if all other requirements are met
Skill | Level Requirement | Set |
Acrobatics | Competent | S |
Camoflage | Competent | H |
Climb | Competent | H |
Disguise | Competent | H |
Escape Artist | Competent | H |
Hunting | Competent | R |
Intelligence | Competent | S |
Intimidate | Expert | R |
Investigation | Competent | S |
Land Navigation | Competent | S |
Observation | Competent | S |
Stealth | Expert | R |
Tracking | Competent | R |
Weapon: Any Lethal | Competent | R |
Wilderness Survival | Competent | S |
Lores:Lore of Rujaro Command Structure
Lore of Rujaro Culture
Lore of Rajor History
Lore of Kenash Geography
Lore of Swamp Hazards
Lore of Swamp Predators
Lore of Blacknet History
Lore of Blacknet Laws and Organization
Lore of Human Survival Habits
Maintaining Membership:Amongst the Blackblade there are rules that, if broken, open the possibility of expulsion from the organization and, quite possibly, death.
1. Do not let a runaway maintain their freedom
2. Do not claim responsibility for a target you have not killed yourself
3. Do not steal proof of a kill from another member
4. Do not impede any member of the Blacknet from finding and killing their mark
5. Do not assist any slave in running away
6. Until accepted as a full member, do not accept any contract not given to you by the Headmaster himself.
7. Do not enslave a Freeman
HierarchyAbove all other members of the organization is the Headmaster. He acts as the leader in major decisions going on within the organization, though is more often regarded as a chairman; the first among equals. Headmasters are elected democratically from among all Full Members of the organization.
Below the Headmaster are Members. These people accept freelance slave capturing contracts posted by the Headmaster at the Office, and are often responsible for completing these contracts themselves, though it is not unheard of for multiple members to team together to capture a particularly difficult target.
The next are the Keepers, who do not engage directly with slaves or their capture, but instead handle the finances of the Blackblades. These are the people one would approach if they wanted a contract made, and these are the people who would oversee the delivery and payment for captured slaves.
The lowest-level members of the organization are the Apprentices, who are Members in training. These people hope to one day become full-fledged members of the organization, but are currently stuck honing their skills, keeping the office clean, completing minor contracts and gaining the respect of the order.
Activity:The Blackblades has its headquarters along the Uvic Lake on the Rajor Plantation, on the tip of the small peninsula that juts into the center of the lake. Though their activity is currently restricted to Kenash and its surrounding wildland territory, the organization hopes to grow and expand to one day service all of Mizahar’s slave cities.
Primarily, the tactics of the Blackblades center around stealth, and using the lay of the land to their advantage. They know that Rujaro, if they survive their initial escape, often quickly become aquainted with survival in the swamps, and know that they must have more comprehensive knowledge of the land if they are to succeed. They’re almost religious in their cause, believing that Rujaro are pests to be wiped out and to be tolerated by none. It is well known that they keep a cage of granidiles to feed with the bodies of their kills. It is not as well known, however, that some members actively aim to retrieve their marks alive, in order to give the granidiles a more interesting meal. The fact that they keep the animals, however, has lead to many superstitions that members drink Kelvic blood in order to gain the ability to shapeshift into granidiles.
For their abilities and purpose, the Blackblades are very well liked by the Dynasties, and the maintenance of the order is one of the few things they can all agree upon. Slaves are often uneasy around members of the order, a trait that members work hard to preserve. Rujaro hate members of the order, and will often actively try to kill them if they have the chance. The disposition of Freemen towards the order depends very much upon the nature of the individual, though generally they are perceived as a positive force and as a mercenary extension of the city guard.
Benefits:Joining the Blackblades has several benefits that come along with it, though most are financial in nature.
All Apprentices will receive pay as if they were Mercenaries doing Basic Missions (1-3 GM/day) with bonuses given at the level of their
LOWEST Required skill.
All Members will receive pay as if they were Mercenaries doing Advanced Missions (5-7 GM/day) with bonuses given at the level of their
LOWEST Required skill. However, they are required to donate 10% of their Seasonal Funds to the treasury of the order.
There are also a few social benefits as well. In this manner it is fairly easy to earn the good graces of the Dynasty Families, as well as any other important members of the city. You work in their best interest, and more often than not they are very grateful. Blackblades are sometimes invited as family friends to Dynasty parties, and affluent members of the order have been known to marry into families from time to time.