Cathnorunz Order

The Order began as scattered merchant guards and Temple devotees who shared food, information, and protection along dangerous roads. The principality later recognized their service and granted them a charter, allowing them to bear arms openly as a religious order. Their first generations were small and dependent on merchant donations. They grew when the principality's trade expanded and caravans began crossing regions where local authority was weak. Their watershed moment came during the Bronze Ledger Crisis, when a succession of caravan attacks coincided with falsified toll records. The Order uncovered that some toll collectors and raiders had been working together, charging merchants twice and then robbing those who refused. The Order's officers exposed the scheme publicly, returned much of the stolen money, and protected witnesses despite pressure from powerful interests. The principality renewed the Order's charter, but added limits requiring the Order to record its fees and submit serious accusations to civic courts. That compromise remains a point of pride to reformers and resentment to commanders who consider it an obstacle. In the decades since, the Order has become a national institution with more than a thousand members. It has defended trade during border conflicts, escorted refugees and merchants alike, and helped standardize safe-conduct practices. It has also been drawn into disputes where commercial protection shades into political influence. Today its reputation rests on a difficult promise: a merchant's safety matters, but no merchant should be above the measure of the law.

Religious Order

Cathnorunz Order

Merchants generally consider the Order dependable, professional, and expensive.

Type: Religious Order
Size: 1,761 members
Reach: National
Base: The principality's seat of government

Overview

How it began

The Temple teaches that Cathnorunz, gnoll god of commerce, persuasion, and protection over merchants, first revealed the Order's purpose through a caravan that vanished on a dangerous road. In the story, the caravan's surviving guards and traders argued over whether to spend their last coins on weapons or bribes. A gnoll pilgrim invoked Cathnorunz, and the group instead pooled both their money and their weapons, negotiated safe passage with one band of raiders, and fought off another. The tale's lesson is not that every threat can be bargained away, but that protection and commerce must be weighed together. The first sworn protectors were merchants, guards, and pilgrims who adopted that principle. Their names have not survived in reliable records.

How to know them

MottoWeigh the blade with the coin.

EmblemA bronze scale wrapped in a purple banner. A sword rests on one pan and a pile of coins on the other, perfectly balanced. The emblem means that force and wealth must answer to the same measure: protection is not a license to extort, and commerce is not an excuse to abandon the vulnerable.

Colours

Bronze, Purple

Signs

Bronze scale wrapped in a purple banner.
A sword balanced against a pile of coins, representing force and wealth held to the same standard.
Bronze badges worn openly by sworn members; novices wear a plain purple cord until they complete their probation.

DressMembers wear practical travel clothes rather than a single rigid uniform. A bronze badge and purple sash or cord identify their standing. Officers often wear bronze-trimmed coats over armor, while field members favor durable leather, mail, or other equipment suited to their means and duties. The Order does not prescribe a particular weapon or armor type.

Standing

AlignmentA broad institution rather than a uniform bloc. Its vows favor protection and fair dealing, but members range from principled lawful protectors to hard-nosed pragmatists. These are narrative tendencies, not mandatory game alignments.

AgeThe Temple of Cathnorunz is several centuries old; the Cathnorunz Order has existed in its present, principality-chartered form for 143 years.

WealthWealthy by institutional standards, with substantial equipment, maintained waystations, and a large treasury. Its resources are committed to payroll, repairs, emergency supplies, and travel, so the Order is not uniformly flush with spendable coin.

What they say they want

Protect merchants and their companions throughout the principality.

Keep trade routes safe and usable.

Promote honest exchange and fair measures.

Serve Cathnorunz through disciplined protection rather than conquest.

What they are doing now

Keep the principality's principal trade roads open through the coming winter.

Recover missing charter ledgers before they are used to challenge the Order's legal standing.

Find out who is coordinating attacks that leave merchant caravans untouched but destroy their written contracts and account books.

Settle an increasingly bitter dispute between the Temple's charitable priests and the Order's military command over how donations should be spent.

Where it leads

A principality where travel and trade do not depend on wealth or armed escorts, and where the Order is eventually needed less because roads, courts, and communities can protect one another. The contradiction is that achieving this vision may require the Order to gain enough political power to make itself difficult to disband.

How others see them

Merchants generally consider the Order dependable, professional, and expensive. Ordinary travelers value its presence when danger is near, but some see it as a force that protects commerce before people. The principality praises its service while watching carefully for any attempt to become a private army.

People

6 ranks

First Scale

Oru

Patient, quietly observant, and difficult to provoke. She listens closely, then makes decisions with unnerving finality. She dislikes public displays of piety when practical help is needed.

First Scale1 member
National commander. Leads the Order, represents it before the principality, and cannot alter the charter without Temple approval.
Bronze Seats12 members
Senior officers responsible for major regions, the treasury, training, discipline, and relations with the Temple. They advise the First Scale and vote on national policy.
Roadwardens48 members
Regional commanders who assign escorts, coordinate patrols, investigate attacks, and maintain relations with local merchants and officials.
Scale-Captains180 members
Lead local houses or traveling companies. Keep rosters and accounts, hear complaints, and decide how to divide limited guards among routes.
Sworn Shields920 members
Full members who escort caravans, guard markets and waystations, train recruits, and carry out investigations.
Road Novices600 members
Probationary members and support staff learning route law, negotiation, first aid, logistics, and the Order's vows. They may travel with escorts but do not command them.

Other key members

Shessa of the Lower Road Roadwarden and leading advocate for protecting small merchants
Tamas Varga Bronze Seat responsible for treasury and charter negotiations

How they are organised

How it is runChartered religious military order

Who comes nextWhen the First Scale dies, resigns, or is removed, the Bronze Seats nominate up to three candidates. The Temple appoints one after hearing the nominees and regional representatives. The principality is notified under the charter but has no formal vote. The process can become contentious if Temple authorities and the Bronze Seats disagree, and an acting First Scale may serve for months during a deadlock.

How they recruitCandidates are usually nominated by a member, a Temple devotee, or a merchant who has witnessed their conduct. They serve as Road Novices, learning route safety, first aid, negotiation, recordkeeping, and the Order's vows. A candidate must complete a supervised journey and explain how they would respond to a conflict between a wealthy client and a vulnerable traveler. The final decision belongs to the local Scale-Captain, with appeals heard by a Roadwarden.

To join

Swear to protect merchants and those traveling with them without treating a protection fee as permission to exploit them.
Accept the Order's rules for recording fees, losses, and use of force.
Complete a probationary period on an escort, at a waystation, or in a Temple service role.
Demonstrate practical judgment under pressure. Combat skill is valued, but members must also learn negotiation, observation, and safe travel procedures.
Members may worship other faiths, but must not use Cathnorunz's name to justify fraud, extortion, or needless violence.

Operations

What they do

Guarding merchant caravans and trade routes.

Maintaining waystations and reporting road hazards.

Negotiating safe passage and mediating disputes between travelers and local authorities.

Investigating attacks, thefts, and fraudulent tolls that threaten commerce.

Providing emergency aid to travelers caught in danger.

How they do it

Assign guards to caravans according to route risk, available personnel, and the needs of the merchants involved.

Negotiate safe passage with local authorities and communities before resorting to force.

Record attacks, tolls, losses, and disputed conduct so patterns can be identified across regions.

Use scouts, local guides, and merchant informants to warn travelers about hazards.

Escort witnesses and transport urgent messages when ordinary roads are unsafe.

Refer serious crimes to principality courts when possible, while preserving evidence and protecting complainants.

Services for hire

Caravan escortA negotiated fee based on route danger, cargo, and available guards; some hardship cases are subsidized.
A trained escort for a merchant party, including route advice and basic defensive support.
Road-house refugeA small fee or donation, waived during emergencies.
Temporary shelter, route warnings, and access to a guarded yard at an Order road house.
Scale hearingUsually a donation or reciprocal service.
A mediated hearing for disputes involving travel contracts, escort fees, damaged goods, or alleged misconduct by an Order member. The Order cannot replace a court's judgment.
Recovery inquiryNo standard fee for urgent threats; wealthy clients may be asked to fund the response.
A search or recovery effort for missing travelers, stolen cargo, or lost route records, subject to available personnel.

What they can do

The Order can coordinate escorts across distant regions using a mature network of waystations and route reports.

Its members are trained to combine defensive tactics with negotiation and logistics.

The charter gives the Order recognized standing to bear arms and protect trade, but does not grant unlimited police or judicial authority.

D&D 5E note: The Order has no universal spell list or special class features. Individual members may be built using suitable published character options, while any unique mechanics should be treated as campaign-specific homebrew.

What they have

A national network of guarded waystations, route reports, and trained local contacts.

The principality's charter recognizing the Order as a legitimate religious military body.

A large, mobile force experienced in escort work, negotiation, logistics, and defensive combat.

Temple donations and merchant contributions, tracked through a central treasury.

The sealed archive of early charter records and accounts from the Bronze Ledger Crisis.

Where they are weak

The Order depends on merchant donations and principality recognition, leaving it vulnerable to pressure from both.

Its national size creates uneven standards: a trustworthy command can still have a corrupt local officer.

Members are expected to record their work, which helps accountability but can expose informants and planned operations.

Its charter is ambiguous about investigation and enforcement, making principality officials able to challenge actions after the fact.

Its mission can be manipulated by wealthy clients who frame personal feuds as threats to commerce.

Territory

Headquarters

The principality's seat of government

KindTemple compound and fortified administrative house

The Order's national command works from a fortified compound adjoining the Temple of Cathnorunz in the principality's seat of government. Its bronze-clad gate opens onto a public counting court where merchants can register complaints, request escorts, and challenge a protection fee. Behind the court are barracks, a stable yard, a shrine, and an archive of route reports. The archive's oldest section is sealed by a custom lock and can be opened only by the Temple's senior clerics and the Order's senior officers together.

Lands they hold

The principality's main trade roads.

Major caravan markets and registered waystations.

Neighboring routes where the principality's merchants travel, usually by agreement rather than formal authority.

Outposts

Road housesAt major road junctions throughout the principalityProvide guarded rest, basic supplies, route warnings, and a place to file complaints.
Scale courtsAt busy markets and caravan yardsRegister escorts, mediate commercial disputes, and record fees and losses.
Watch sheltersOn exposed stretches of roadOffer a lookout point and emergency refuge. Most are modest and staffed only when danger is expected.

Secrets

The big secret · GM only

During the Bronze Ledger Crisis, the Order's founders accepted secret cooperation from a principality official who had helped create the toll scheme. He provided records that exposed the other conspirators, but the Order concealed his role in exchange for the renewed charter. A fragment of his testimony remains in the sealed archive. If revealed, it could discredit the Order's founding triumph, implicate a respected line of civic officials, and give the present customs office grounds to demand control over the Order's investigations.

What they really want · GM only

Hidden plans · GM only

The Order's senior command wants to secure a permanent right to inspect trade contracts and toll records, believing that protection without knowledge of commerce is merely hired violence.

A quiet bloc of officers is building a private reserve of coin and arms in case the principality withdraws its charter. They describe it as prudent preparation; critics fear it is the beginning of an army outside civic control.

Some Temple clerics want the Order to protect poor peddlers and traveling laborers with the same commitment it gives wealthy merchants. A few commanders resist this because the charter's language and donors prioritize recognized traders.

Smaller secrets · GM only

Several waystations quietly maintain emergency stores for travelers who cannot pay, though official accounts describe them as spoiled or lost provisions.

Some officers use coded marks on route reports to warn colleagues that a merchant is dangerous to their own staff, not merely that the road is dangerous.

A few members have become skilled at negotiating with raiders and quietly convince them to abandon attacks in exchange for food, work, or information. The Order neither endorses nor fully suppresses this practice.

What insiders say · GM only

Trouble inside · GM only

The central conflict is over what the Order protects: commerce as an institution, individual merchants, or the people whose livelihoods depend on trade. Traditionalists argue that reliable service to paying merchants sustains the whole network. Reformers argue that protection which excludes poor traders betrays Cathnorunz. A second division pits charter loyalists, who accept civic oversight as the price of legitimacy, against officers who believe the Order must act first and explain itself later. Gnoll members also debate whether the Order honors Cathnorunz's roots or uses the god's name to reassure the principality's majority.

Crimes · GM only

Individual officers have accepted bribes to overlook contraband, though such conduct violates the Order's vows and is not official policy.

A past chapter concealed evidence that a powerful merchant had arranged an attack on a rival's caravan.

The Order has occasionally detained suspected raiders without a principality warrant. Whether this was necessary protection or unlawful imprisonment remains disputed.

Plot hooks

5 hooks

1
The Missing Purse
Personal, low to moderateReward: A sworn ally, access to a road house, or evidence connecting the merchant to a wider scheme
A novice is accused of stealing a purse from an escorted merchant. The novice insists the money was planted to silence them after they found a discrepancy in the merchant's cargo ledger. The characters can investigate the accusation, protect the novice, or decide whether the evidence implicates the Order itself.
2
The Unwritten Route
Local investigationReward: Coin, a useful escort, and a clue about the attacks on trade records
A caravan arrives at a waystation with no guards, no driver, and a sealed contract addressed to Shessa of the Lower Road. The cargo is intact, but every written record of its route has been cut apart. The Order asks the characters to trace the caravan's last safe stop before the authorities seize the goods.
3
A Weight Out of Balance
Regional political crisisReward: Political leverage, a principality contact, or the Order's lasting gratitude
A customs official offers the party a legal warrant to inspect an Order storehouse, claiming stolen toll revenue is inside. Oru says the warrant is forged; Tamas quietly admits that some of the money was set aside without authorization. The characters must decide what to expose, whom to trust, and whether the storehouse contains more than funds.
4
The Ledger That Must Not Be Read
Campaign-scale investigationReward: A major secret, a reform alliance, or a dangerous claim on the Order's future
A series of attacks targets contracts rather than goods. Merchants begin accusing the Order of staging the raids to justify a larger budget. The party can follow the attackers, protect a vulnerable witness, or uncover the sealed record that explains why the old charter is being targeted.
5
The Unpaid Escort
Personal or localReward: Goodwill among ordinary travelers, a modest payment, or a lead to a smuggling operation
A poor peddler asks the characters to escort a wagon of medicine but cannot pay the usual fee. A local Scale-Captain refuses the assignment, citing a more urgent contract. The party can take the job, appeal to Shessa, or discover why someone has offered an unusually large payment to keep that particular wagon off the road.

Work they offer

1Escort a caravan through a route where attacks have become frequent.

2Find a missing waystation patrol before the next trading day.

3Recover stolen account books that could prove a toll collector has been cheating merchants.

4Protect a witness whose testimony might expose a member of the Order.

5Carry medicine and emergency supplies to a settlement cut off by raiders.

What gets in the way

The charter grants authority to protect merchants, but does not clearly define when a dispute becomes a matter for the Order rather than the principality's courts.

Some members believe protection means defending every lawful merchant, while others quietly distinguish between honest trade and profitable trade.

Gnoll members face prejudice even though Cathnorunz is revered by gnolls and non-gnolls alike. The Order's public inclusiveness is real, but not every local chapter lives up to it.

A shortage of trained escorts forces the Order to choose which routes receive protection, making every assignment a political decision.

The Temple's charitable kitchens and the Order's armed patrols compete for the same donations and public attention.

Rumours

1True: Some Order houses provide food and a safe bed to travelers who cannot pay, though they rarely advertise it.

2True: The Order keeps records of dangerous merchants as well as dangerous roads.

3False: The bronze scales on the Order's emblem are made from melted coins taken from every merchant it protects.

4Partly true: A hidden stockpile of weapons exists beyond the Order's ordinary inventory. It was assembled by officers who fear the charter may be revoked.

5False: The Order will escort anyone who can pay. Its rules forbid members from knowingly protecting a slaver, raider, or extortionist, though enforcement is uneven.

Cathnorunz Order

Cathnorunz Order

Overview

How it began

How to know them

Standing

What they say they want

What they are doing now

Where it leads

How others see them

People

First Scale

Other key members

How they are organised

Relations

Operations

What they do

How they do it

Services for hire

What they can do

What they have

Where they are weak

Territory

Headquarters

Lands they hold

Outposts

Secrets

Plot hooks

Work they offer

What gets in the way

Rumours

Media

Turn Cathnorunz Order into a sheet