Prestige classes
CHAPTER 2
order’s cause). The order has an unofficial hierarchy based on experience and seniority, but only a captain has direct authority over members. In such a small organization, the captain knows every knight and assigns direction as suits the personality and abilities of each. Other interests within the church (such as concerned priests and rival paladins) frequently try to influence or hinder the work of the gray guards. In order to shield them from such internal politics, gray guards are often sent far afield, with instructions to report for orders only infrequently.
NPC Reactions Most folk assume gray guards are typical warriors or mercenaries and treat them as such. The members of a gray guard’s own faith treat him with widely differing attitudes. Many within the church see the very existence of the order as conceding to evil, the first step to becoming no better than those the faith would oppose. Those whom you would protect abhor your very existence and might even hinder you. Others understand the need for distasteful action to root out evil and can be helpful toward the order. Paladins disdain gray guards, rarely having attitudes warmer than indifferent toward them.
Gray Guard Lore
resort to less than ethical means of dealing with their hated opponents. The easiest way to introduce gray guards into your campaign is to have the PCs encounter one working toward a parallel goal. Presenting a gray guard as a potential ally gives the PCs a chance to ask questions and learn more about the order. After such an encounter, a devoted but frustrated paladin within the party might pursue membership. Alternatively, an NPC gray guard might be a rival to a PC paladin, producing interesting tension.
Adaptation If gray guards don’t appeal to you as presented, you can readily convert their order to fill other niches. With their freedom to exact justice on those of any alignment, gray guards make excellent inquisitors. Such church investigators might openly enforce their faith’s beliefs, hunting down heretics, witches, or any others viewed as violating holy law. Alternatively, they might serve as church police, with the authority to seek out injustices among the devout or monitor paladins’ adherence to their code of conduct. Instead of making the gray guard a prestige class, you can adjust the paladin class to grant its features at advanced levels, representing a higher order free to right wrongs as it sees fit.
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (religion) can research gray guards to learn more about them. When a character Sample Encounter succeeds on a skill check, the following lore is revealed, PCs hunting a villain who hides behind a mask of righteousincluding the information from lower DCs. ness might not be the only ones on their target’s trail. Such DC 10: Gray guards are paladins who aren’t bound by a lurking evil can attract the attention of a gray guard. code of conduct. EL 11: For the last two years, Ambros Brasmere has DC 15: Gray guards seek out injustice in all its forms, hunted an elusive cult of the demon prince Malcanthet, often using the tools and methods of their enemies against Queen of Succubi. His recent investigations suggest that them. the popular owner of a local theater has connections to the DC 20: Paladins often distrust them, but gray guards cult. This prominent socialite is ever surrounded by his take their code of conduct just as seriously as other holy retinue of attendants, bodyguards, and sycophants, any of warriors do and violate its tenets only in the best interest whom might be a fiend in disguise or merely an infatuated of their faith. innocent. Ambros seeks a few allies to help him force his DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can way past the suspected cultist’s clique and get the informalearn important details about gray guards in your campaign, tion he needs, through any means necessary. including faiths that sponsor such orders, notable members, the areas where they currently operate, and the kinds of Ambros Brasmere CR 11 Male half-elf paladin 7/gray guard 4 activities they undertake. LG Medium humanoid Servants of religions that support orders of gray guards Init +0; Senses low-light vision; Listen +3, Spot +3 should have little problem contacting members through Aura courage (10 ft., allies +4 against fear) church officials. Characters without such connections Languages Common, Elven might be able to leave messages for gray guards in care of AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 22 members of the same faith. (+9 armor, +3 shield)
Gray Guards in the Game
44
Gray guards are relatively easy to integrate into any campaign featuring powerful religions. The notion that such devout organizations have semisecret agents working toward their diverse causes probably doesn’t stretch the imagination. Nor does the concept that such powerful groups—no matter how pure they might appear—might
hp 76 (11 HD) Immune disease, fear, sleep Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +14 (+16 against enchantments) Speed 20 ft. (4 squares) Melee +2 longsword +15/+10/+5 (1d8+4/19–20) Base Atk +11; Grp +13 Atk Options smite evil or chaos 3/day (+3 attack, +11 damage) Special Actions debilitating touch, lay on hands 33 points/ day, turn undead 6/day (+5, 2d6+7, 4th)
