Red Knight, Lady of Strategy

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Source: Obedience boons adapted from Faiths of the Forgotten Realms by Pyromaniac Press

Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Law, Nobility, Planning (Knowledge), War [Tactics].
Mysteries: Battle.
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Careful observation, meticulous planning, and a well-executed strategy — these are the language of the Red Knight, the goddess of strategy. Believing that intelligent planning can beat even overwhelming odds, the Lord of Strategy embraces creative approaches and calculated risks. Even in the chaos of battle, followers of the Red Knight keep their heads — it is, after all, their best weapon. Worship of the Red Knight arose among a hero-venerating monastic order of Tempus in Tethyr shortly after the Time of Troubles. The Red Knight has since grown in popularity and in divine power because of what her followers call the Great Stratagem: for decades, her priests have been traveling to places of warfare to educate generals and kings in the arts of strategy and battlefield tactics. Grateful victors built temples to the Lady of Strategy, and gradually her faith spread. Some sages speculate that she was raised to a demipower by Tempus, as a counter to his predecessor and mad mortal enemy, Garagos.

Dogma: War is won by those with the best planning, strategy, and tactics, regardless of the apparent odds. Any fool can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with fortune’s aid, but only a master strategist can ensure lasting victory. War is a series of battles — losing a battle does not necessarily indicate the war is lost. Seek out your opponent’s weaknesses and recognize your own; avoid an opponent’s strengths and play to your own. Only by focusing one’s own strengths on the opponent’s vulnerabilities can triumph be ensured. In times of war prepare for peace; in times of peace prepare for war. Seek out your enemy’s enemies as allies, and be prepared to compromise. Life is an endless series of skirmishes with occasional outbreaks of war. Be ready — and have a contingency plan.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Play a game of chess with a with a friend or stranger; between moves, recount your victories gained by the virtue of your faith in the Lady of Strategy. The object of the game is not to win; only to hone each player’s strategy. If you win the match (roll d20 + 1/2 your BAB + your Intelligence modifier against a DC of 20, or an opposed roll of an NPC by the DM), you gain a sacred bonus of +2 on Initiative; if you lose the match, you gain a +2 sacred bonus on Reflex saves.

Boons
1: Setting the Pieces (Sp) anticipate peril 3/day, perfect placement 2/day, or contagious zeal 1/day
2: Strategic Battery (Su) When you complete your obedience, you can roll 3d4 and record the number rolled for each die. For the remainder of the day, whenever a creature you can see within 30 feet of you makes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you can use an immediate action to impose one of the dice you rolled as a bonus or penalty to the opponent’s roll; you must decide whether to modify the attacker’s roll before you know the outcome. The result of each die you rolled is expended once you use it.
3: Absolute Pin (Su) You have learned to channel the Red Knight’s unrivaled strategem for a brief time. Once per day a standard action, you gain the following benefits for up to 1 minute; ending the effects early is a free action:

  • Your Strategic Battery boon is augmented. You roll a d4 when you first activate this ability, and again at the start of each of your turns for the duration. Until the start of your next turn, you can influence one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw of a creature within 30 feet of you with the number you rolled. You cannot use the die rolls gained from your daily obedience while this boon is in effect.
  • You are never surprised or flat-footed, and you gain an insight bonus equal to your Wisdom bonus (minimum +2) to your AC and CMD for the duration of this effect; the AC bonus is lost if you are unconscious, paralyzed or otherwise helpless. You further gain the effect of moment of prescience for a single instance during the effect’s duration, except that you may opt to apply the +25 bonus to the roll of an allied creature within 30 feet of you, rather than yourself, as an immediate action, so long as the ally can see or hear you; this benefit of the boon is only useable once per activation of the boon.

Paladin Oath

Battles, when it comes down to it, are just a series of risks. In every moment of the bloody struggle risks are taken, overlooked, successful, or failed. For paladins of the Red Fellowship, preparation is only half the formula for success — they must be prepared to both identify and control the risks around them to consistently win the day. Their cause is always a just cause, and their intentions always honorable, and they will fight for that cause until the war is won.

  • I strive for Peace; my goal in all conflicts is to find the path to a meaningful victory and a return to normalcy. I will readily — but not hastily — listen to pleas of parley.
  • I plan for War; hostilities can erupt at any time, thus do I prepare myself and my comrades to defend the weak and innocent in any conflict.
  • I may lose battles, but I win wars; there is no shame in retreat to regain strategic ground. The only shame is in foolish sacrifice; for who will remain to win for the greater good, if I do not survive.
  • The enemy of my enemy is my friend; opportunities to forge alliances — even friendships — lie in the merit of a common cause. I shall remain loyal to my alliances, so long as they do not betray the greater good.

For Followers of Red Knight

Archetypes and Alternate Class Features: Red Falcon† (Paladin), Strategist (Cavalier), Tactician (Fighter)

Specialty Priest: Divine Strategist† (Cleric)

Feats: Divine Dignity, Ironbound Master, Perfect Casting, Sword Oath.

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Battle Herald, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained).

Spells: Fallback Strategy, Planned Assault

Traits: Ambassador, Avowed Inspiration, Battlefield Caster, Defensive Strategist, Divine Warrior, Eye of the Strategist†, Eyes and Ears of the City, Honey-Tongued, Honeyed Words, Iron Grip, Lover of the Law, Regal Presence, Shield-Trained, Steady Strength, Strong Heart, Talented Organizer, The City Protects, Veteran of Battle, Well-Prepared.

Clergy and Temples

Members of the Red Fellowship serve in armies throughout the Realms. Many are high-ranking commanders, often comprising elite squads. Others are well-respected instructors in war colleges in kingdoms throughout the Realms. A few are quartermasters skilled at obtaining and managing supplies or establishing and maintaining supply lines over hostile territory. Quite a few priests of the Red Knight have authored tomes on military strategy.

One temple has arisen as the center of the Red Knight’s faith outside of the common aegis of the temples of Tempus. Located at the juncture of the Coast Way and Thundar’s Ride, approximately 40 miles north and east of Baldur’s Gate, the Citadel of Strategic Militancy is a bastion of military might and serves as the home of the newly founded Red War College. This school caters to military officers throughout the Realms who are sponsored by their lieges to study strategy and planning. Most altars to the Lady of Strategy are found within the halls of military barracks, or as shrines within the temples of Tempus.