The Crusaders
A small, roaming order of holy warriors who broke from the Zakarum Church to guard the faith against corruption.
Origins and mission
Section titled “Origins and mission”The Crusaders are the order founded by Akkhan, a Zakarum cleric who came to believe that a corruption was taking root within the Church itself. Rather than carry the faith outward to distant lands, Akkhan turned his crusade inward, charging his order with examining and purifying Zakarum itself. Distrusting the Church’s own knights, he built the order from warriors he judged strong enough to resist that corruption, and admitted no serving Paladins among them.
The order is deliberately small, insular, and elite. Crusaders travel Sanctuary alone or in small bands rather than gathering in a fortress, and they keep no standing seat of power. Each wears heavy enchanted plate handed down from master to apprentice, and fights with flail and shield. Their signature discipline is a set of battle-blessings they call Laws, invoked in combat much as a Paladin channels the Light.
Beliefs and outlook
Section titled “Beliefs and outlook”Crusaders hold that the Light answers to no throne or altar, and that the faith is best kept pure by remaining apart from the institution that carries it. They regard the teachings of Akarat as their charge, and they are willing to judge the faithful, including the Zakarum hierarchy, by what they have actually become. This makes them wary of worldly authority and slow to trust any church, crown, or council.
Relationships
Section titled “Relationships”To most of Sanctuary the Crusaders are half-legend, and they are easily mistaken for the Zakarum Paladins they were founded to correct. They hold the Church hierarchy at arm’s length without renouncing the faith itself, and their small numbers and constant travel mean few people have dealt with one directly.
Ties to Tristram
Section titled “Ties to Tristram”A Crusader is defined by travel: to take up the order’s armor is to accept a life on the roads of Sanctuary, hunting evil wherever it has taken hold. Reports of the darkness rising beneath Tristram, and of trouble within the Zakarum ranks of Khanduras, are exactly the kind of thing that would draw one of Akkhan’s order west to see the truth for themselves.
Player character ideas
Section titled “Player character ideas”Example motivations:
- A conviction that the Light answers to no throne or altar.
- Purity kept by standing apart from the institution.
- A willingness to judge the faithful as harshly as its enemies.
Suggested classes: Paladin (Oath of Devotion), Fighter (Cavalier or Champion), Cleric (War Domain).