d20 Adamant Entertainment The Order of the Gilded Rose.pdf

T he Order of the Gilded Rose goes places that

If you take nothing else from this book, remember

that members of the Order are everywhere, and they

see everything. There’s little doubt that the PCs in

your campaign have already encountered at least one

member of the Order, but it is equally assured that

they weren’t aware of it.

nobles and armies can’t. Foreign courts, foul

cults to demon gods, and violent demihuman

invasion forces all unwittingly count the Order among

their membership. Once inside, the members of the

Order learn things that a frontal assault wouldn’t

reveal, and use that information to bring these kinds of

organizations down from within and without.

In some ways, this makes the Order one of the most

powerful organizations in the known world. However,

the Order is not a standing army, and are not under

the protection of any kingdom. Their actual sphere of

inﬂuence is limited mostly to their public guise, that of

an organization providing training to the town guard

of villages too small to do so themselves. They may

have information on almost every other organization,

but they very rarely have the means to act on it alone.

About the NPCs

in this book:

The NPCs in this book weren’t generated with

any sort of point buy method, but instead had stats

that were reverse-engineered from the characters’

personalities and abilities. As these characters

represent better than average adventurers, they tend

to have better than average statistics. As such, you

may wish to take a close look at the power level of

your party before using these NPCs as villains; if

your PCs are particularly weak for their level, they

may be outclassed. As always, remember that you’re

in control, not the game, so feel free to increase or

decrease experience awards based on your particular

group of players.

On the other hand, the Order has orchestrated the

downfall of many tyrants and foiled more than one

scheme to raise ancient demons or overthrow a ruler.

Agents use subterfuge, trickery, and stealth rather

than brute force to accomplish their goals. Sometimes

they’ll spend months or even years in deep cover,

going by an assumed name and gaining power in

criminal organizations to get close to the people

behind those organizations.

The possessions these NPCs carry are not meant to be

treasure for defeating them, and as such may be on the

low side, especially for the more powerful characters.

The possessions are meant to represent the items that

the characters use often and are likely to

always have. As the GM, you may wish to

increase the amounts of gold and items the

characters have if you run them as opponents.

This gives you the greatest amount of control

over the treasure your PCs receive.

The Order was formed thirty years ago by Thelandel

and a local noble called Lady Alena to combat an

evil baron who had taken control of their town. The

Order succeeded in freeing the town, but

Lady Alena was killed in the process. Today

the order is run by Janus Osterford, who has

several established aliases, all of which are

better known than his real name. Thelandel is

still a part of the Order and serves as Janus’s

advisor.

Adventure Hooks

The Inn of the Damned

Philandering Doesn’t Pay

A local inn is expanding its basement, and the

renovations accidentally reveal the labyrinthian crypt

that the Order of the Gilded Rose uses as a last-ditch

escape route. The reason these catacombs are only

used in extreme circumstances is that they’re teeming

with undead. The Order sends a group of recruits

to investigate and help close off the catacombs, but

there’s a group of adventurers staying in the inn who

aren’t all that happy about having their downtime

interrupted by ﬂesh-eating zombies and are apt to

blame the Order for the whole mess.

Men have been turning up dead in a normally peaceful

village. The Order of the Gilded Rose, suspecting a

succubus, sent a team of four members to investigate.

They ﬁnd their succubus, but she’s only a pawn of

a strange demon-cult performing blood-sacriﬁces to

open a portal to a demonic plane.

What Did I Just Say?

Rumors have sprung up about a local pub being a

brothel. When a local magistrate starts receiving

pressure to look the other way on a string of jewelry

thefts, the Gilded Roses investigate a possible link

between the two.

High Society

A local Noblewoman is holding one of her famous

candlelight suppers. Unfortunately for her, one of

the guests has been replaced by an assassin sent to

dispatch the kingdom’s prince. The Order of the

Gilded Rose has gotten wind of this scheme and sent a

two-man team to try and thwart the assassination, but

they run into a local hero and his entourage who are

being honored as guests at the dinner.

The Old Guard

The ﬁrst four NPCs in this book represent the

individuals in command of the Order of the Gilded

Rose. You could consider them the inner circle, the

powers that be, the illuminated ones, etc. The point is,

they wield a considerable amount of power that isn’t

shown in a stat block. They are well-respected private

citizens who ostensibly run a large-scale training

program for town watchmen, when in reality they

wield vast amounts of political power because of their

trade in information.

Barbarian Buccaneers

An infamous pirate captain’s latest plunder includes

the daughter of a barbarian chieftain. Said chieftain is

threatening to take violent action against the kingdom

under whose protection she was travelling if she’s not

safely returned. The Order of the Gilded Rose already

has a team of agents onboard the ship, but the prince

of the threatened country has sent a ship of his own to

bring in the dread pirate once and for all. The lingering

question is why would the chieftain’s

daughter want to return with either group, as

the entire kidnapping was staged, and she has

an agenda of her own.

Very few people even speculate on the true nature

of the Order, but the highest-ranking members are

celebrities in their own right. If you run a

more modern or steampunkish campaign,

they’d be on the front paper of major

newspapers. In a more traditional setting,

bards sing of the exploits of their youth and

commoners wonder aloud about their lives.

To facilitate that feeling, feed the PCs a few

tidbits from the following table as things they’re likely

to hear in a bar. You can roll a D20 and randomly pick

one, or use a rumor that will have some impact on

your campaign. Just remember not to trust everything

you hear.

20 rumors about the Order of the Gilded Rose

Rumors with an F before their description are false.

1. “You remember when the Cortez, that big

merchant ship, sank? I heard that was really a slave

ship full of dwarves someone had bought to work

in a diamond mine. Lady Shara personally loaded

the captives onto two smaller boats, had the crew

arrested, and sank the ship.”

2. F “Don’t trust them Gilded Roses. They seem

okay enough, but they’re just putting people in place

for a huge coup.”

3. “More than one politician has been sent home

because of something the Gilded Roses dug up on

him.”

4. “It was really the Gilded Roses who ended the

war between the Dwarves and the Drow. Silvas

brought them to an agreement without even drawing

his axe.”

5. “I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard Silvas once

fought two hundred trained infantry men and walked

away without a scratch on him.”

6. “The catacombs beneath every church of Aladair

are connected, and the Gilded Roses can use them

when they need to quickly and quietly get in or out

of town.”

7. F “Lady Shara used to be a slave. She got that

scar on her face because she refused to go to bed

with her master’s son.”

8. “There are members of nearly every race in the

order. Even Drow and Tieﬂings have joined, but only

Janus and Thelandel know who they are.”

9. “I heard that Janus once tricked a Baron into

paying to train and arm the very army that overthrew

him.”

10. “Most of those Gilded Roses are a bit weird, the

type of person who never quite felt at home,

even at home.”

11. F “You know Shara is Thelandel and Alena’s

daughter, they had a secret affair a few years before

they founded the order.”

12. “A coupla’ years ago, a bad plague swept through

the orcs. Lady Shara, who is half-elf, mind you, went

out, without her armor or sword, and tended to the

sick for a whole month. The Orcs still talk about her

with a great deal of respect.”

13. “I’ve heard that the Gilded Roses scour the world

for ancient artifacts that they deem too powerful and

destroy them.”

14. “The reason that the lizard folk have gotten more

friendly lately is because one of the Gilded Roses

helped them get rid of their chieftain, a black dragon

who was disguising himself as one of them.”

15. “Lady Shara has only ever taken one lover, and

that was one of the fey.”

16. F “Thelandel, you know, Janus’s advisor? Well,

he’s royalty among the elves, but he gave up his

station because he was in love with a human girl.”

17. “Janus was married once, and his wife was

killed. Other than that, he doesn’t talk much about

it.”

18. “Silvas’s mother was an aristocrat, and his father

was a nomad lord. He’s mentioned feeling pressured

to follow in both of their footsteps.”

19. F “There’s never been a wizard in the Gilded

Roses. Janus and Thelandel would sooner admit a

Blackguard than a wizard.”

20. “The Order of the Gilded Rose runs the Broken

Claw Merchant’s Guild, and the Guild leader, Sorin

Goldenclaw is one of Janus’s aliases.”

Janus Osterford, Male Human Soulknife 15: CR

15; Medium-sized Humanoid (human); HD 15d8+15;

hp 86; Init +3; Spd 40 ft.; AC 25 ( +8 Celestial Armor,

+4 ring, +3 Dex), touch

13, ﬂat-footed 22; BAB

+11/+6/+1; Grp +14; Atk +19

melee (1d8+1d4+6/17-20

mind blade) or +19 ranged

(1d8+1d4+6/17-20 mind

blade); Full Atk +19/+14/+9

melee (1d8+1d4+6/17-20

mind blade); SA Bladewind,

Knife to the Soul, Psychic

Strike +4d8; SQ Free Draw,

Mind Blade, Shape Mind

Blade; AL CG; SV Fort +6,

Ref +12, Will +11; Str 16,

Dex 16, Con 12, Int 15, Wis

14, Cha 18.

Skills and Feats:

Autohypnosis +20, Disguise

+13, Climb +19, Hide +24, Listen +20, Move Silently

+24, and Spot +20; Combat Expertise, Deﬂect Arrows,

Diehard, Endurance, Greater Weapon Focus (mind

blade), Improved Unarmed Strike, Leadership, Snatch

Arrows, Speed of Thought, Wild Talent, Weapon

Focus (mind blade).

Languages : Common, Dwarven, Elven

Possessions: Bag of Holding Type IV, Boots of

Elvenkind, Carpet of Flying (5 ft. by 5 ft.), Celestial

Armor, Chime of Opening, Cloak of

Elevenkind, Folding Boat, Ring of

Protection +4 , 4268gp.

Mind blade: Janus’s mind

blade functions as a +3 Keen

Psychokinetic Burst Longsword ,

though visually it appears to be a

dagger with a mild blue glow.

Appearance: Janus a little on the

short side, and his face has grown

etched with marks of an aging

adventurer. He wears his black hair

in a ponytail and dresses in only the

ﬁnest clothing available, and then

usually only dark colors. His features

are soft and round, giving him a

childlike appearance that belies his

power and abilities.

Personality: Janus’s real personality is a bit of a

mystery. He has several aliases, including Sorin

Goldenclaw, the stern leader of the Broken Claw

Merchant’s Guild and crime boss Janson Colandra.

He’s ﬁrm but understanding with the recruits and

operatives, and generally jolly around his friends, but

it’s hard to tell if that’s his true self, or simply another

act.

Thelandel, Male elf Fighter 8: CR 8; Medium-sized

Humanoid (elf); HD 8d10+8; hp 60; Init +3; Spd 30

ft.; AC 20 ( +6 studded leather , +1 buckler, +3 Dex),

touch 13, ﬂat-footed 16; BAB +8; Grp +9; Atk +14

ranged (1d8+2/x3 masterwork longbow) or +11 melee

(1d6+1/19-20 short sword); Full Atk +12/+12/+7

ranged (1d8+2/x3 masterwork longbow) or +11/+6

melee (1d6+1/19-20 short sword); SQ Elf traits; AL

NG; SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2; Str 12, Dex 17, Con

13, Int 15, Wis 11, Cha 13.

Skills and Feats: Listen +7, Ride +14, Search +9,

Spot +7; Far Shot, Greater Weapon Focus (longbow),

Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon

Finesse, Weapon Focus (longbow), Weapon

Specialization (longbow).

Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven,

Sylvan

Possessions: Arrows (20), Masterwork

buckler, masterwork longbow, short sword,

+3 studded leather, 2759 gp.

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