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Rangers of Shadowdeep - Story Time

 In this post, I want to share some of the story and lore that I have come up with for my warband, The Red Brothers, and the campaign they are about to embark on. I'm not breaking any new ground here, but this is my gothic ROSD campaign setting.


The Red Brothers are a band of monks, priests, and acolytes, serving their church (which church? Who knows...) and the Order of St. Michael, the slayer of pagan demons (that's a real thing, look it up). This order of monks is different from other orders, as they have received holy dispensation to try and execute any heretics of the faith that they discover. These monks cannot do their work from a monastery, so they roam the land in search of what they deem to be evil. The key here is what they (and the church) deem to be evil. These are not nice men, and they will destroy people and ideologies that differ from their own, but they do also kill demons...

The band is led by a Witch Hunter, designated as the Father. The Father leads a few trusted brothers of the order, as well as some acolytes in need of real world experience. They travel from town to town, looking for corruption, blasphemy, heresy, demonic possession, or necromancy, and often leaving lifeless villages behind them. Some people say that the order finds witches everywhere they look, but those people should be careful what they say.

This particular group is known for their efficiency, and they are often dispatched when the church gets some hint of a particularly unpleasant event. They are most famous for their exploits in the year Anno 1308, when they uncovered a network of grave robbers who were supplying a necromancer with corpses. The captured and hanged the grave robbers (and a handful of suspicious innocents), but they also did battle with the re-animated corpses and burned the necromancer and his tower to the ground. There are rumours that some children were killed during the purge, but those are just rumours.

The Red Brothers are as follows: 

Father Georg Reikner (Ranger), a witch hunter of ill-repute. Ruthless, effective, and pious to a fault.

Brother Edmund (Arcanist), a scholar who has been given permission to study the dark texts, if only to better recognize and destroy their adherents.

Brother Otto (Templar), what he lacks in brain he makes up in brawn, and in unwavering devotion to the church.

Brother Robin (Man-at-arms), a fighter at heart. Courageous but misguided, he owes his life to Father Georg, and can never do enough to repay the debt.

Acolyte Lief (Recruit), fanatical in every sense of the word. He has no personality, only devotion and service.

Acolyte Rolf (Recruit), the newest member of the order. He is a kind soul trying to make sense of a harsh world, not sure how he ended up here.

Beatrix (Warhound), the faithful beast of the brothers, beloved companion.

Their world is bleak. In order to combat the true deprivation found in demons and warlocks, priests may have to do unpleasant things. The brothers are now making their way to the town of Helm to investigate reports of demonic possession. The plan is to go door by door and make sure the good people of Helm have no secrets to hide. 

I will be posting scenarios and battle reports as I go through this new campaign, so check back if you are interested in trying out the scenarios for yourself!


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