Organizations of Blackmoor

[Havard]

Organizations, whether linked to a class, race, political agenda or religious affiliation can be used in many ways to add flavour to a campaign. In this thread I will compile a list of such organizations from the published material.

What are your experiences or ideas for how to use organizations, orders and guilds in campaigns?

Complete List of Blackmoor Organizations

-Havard

[Havard]

MAGIC USER* ORGANIZATIONS

• Wizards Cabal (BMCS)
  
• Ordo Elementarum (BMPG)
  
• Quincke’s Brigade (BMPG)
  
• Sword & Scroll (BMPG)
  
• Eldritch Underground (BMPG)
  
• Sworn of Angville (Eldrich Underground Subgroup) (BMPG)
  
• Red Mages (Orginal Campaign)
  
• Elven Elementalists (BMCS)
  
• Topaz Eye (Diviners only) (MMRPG)
  
• Raddai, The (Believed to be extinct) (TWC)

*="Magic User" Includes Wizards, Sorcerers, Wokans and Arcane Warriors

FIGHTER* ORGANIZATIONS

• Brothers of the Greenwood (BMPG)
  
• Knights of Ten (BMPG)
  
• Court of the Rapier (BMPG)
  
• The Sightless Sisters (BMCS)
  
• Slayers Guild (DA1)
  
• The Five Thorned Roses (BMPG)
  
• Dragon Knights (BMCS)
  
• Skandaharian Berserkers (BMCS)

*="Fighter" includes Fighter, Warrior, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian

ROGUES* ORGANIZATIONS

• The Coven (Thief)
  
• Assassins Guild (Thief/Assassin)
  
• Merchant Guild (Thief, Merchant)
  
• Brothers of the Dark Vision
  
• Dwarven Songmasters (Bard)
  
• Jocular Jongleurs (Bard)
  
• Northern Collegium Musicium (Bard)
  
• Thonian Collegium Musicium (Bard)
  
• Northern Heralds (Bard)
  
• Order of the Sun and Harp (Bard)
  
• Royal Society of the Lyre and Lute (Bard)
  
• Silver Circle, Blue Circle (Bard)
  
• Society for the Preservation of the Northern Record (Bard)
  
• Voice of the People (Bard)
  
• The Rhymers (Bard)

*=Rogue includes Thief, Bard, Merchant, Assassin,

CLERIC OR DRUID* ORGANIZATIONS

• Followers of the Gnome Pantheon
  
• Cult of the Frog
  
• Holy Thonian Church
  
• Peshwah Priesthood (Peshwa Clerics/Shamans)
  
• Cumasti Church (Elves)
  
• Westryn Church (Elves)
  
• Sisters of Fire (Afridhi)
  
• Druidic Orders (Druids)
  
• Hearts of Winter (Druids)
  
• Storm Lords (Druids, Wokans)
  
• Lords of the Midnight Hunt (Druids)
  
• Shadow Walkers (Shamans, BM4E)

*=Includes Shamans, Idolaters

MONK / MYSTIC ORGANIZATIONS

• The Order of Mystics (aka Monks of the Fallen Star)
  
• Clan of the Great Stone (Dwarves)
  
• Followers of the Cloud (Elves)
  
• Society of the Dark Heart (Afridhi)
  
• The Lawgivers
  
• Sword Saints (Described in BM4E)
  
• Order of Redemption (Docrae)

PALADIN* ORDERS

• Paladins of Balance
  
• Paladins of Chaos
  
• Paladins of Evil
  
• Paladins of Good
  
• Paladins of Law

*=Includes Paladins, Avengers, Blackguards etc


OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

• Sun Brothers (Sollux)
  
• Saboteurs (Dwarves)
  
• Spiked Chargers (Dwarves)
  
• Gen’Ri (Elves)
  
• Fey Lords (Elves)
  
• Spirit Warriors (Elves)
  
• Handmaidens of Death (Afridhi)
  
• Children of Zug (Afridhi)
  
• Regency Council (any)
  
• The King’s Companions (Any)
  
• The Silent Guard (Any)
  
• Skandaharian Cultural Society (Any)
  
• Thralls of Coot (Any)
  
• Brotherhood of the Pendulum (Inventors)

BMCS= Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Campaign Setting, BMPG=Blackmoor: Player's Guide, FFC=First Fantasy Campaign, TWC=The Wizards Cabal, C&C=Clock and Steam, MMPRPG= Blackmoor the MMRPG,

See also the MMRPG Meta Organizations. (Available to Bailif Members only. You can become one for free!).

-Havard

[FXR]

Organizations can be used:

- as opponents or outright enemies: the activities or the goals of the organization conflit with those of the PCs. I'll add that most rpg module writers tend to be extremely lazy and forget that the disappereance of the leader doesn't always mean the end of the cult. Somebody else, either within or without the cult might take things in his hand.

- as employers for one or several PCs: a religious organization might hire the PCs to recover a relic. The organization might make itself known to the PCs or not.

- as a special group to which one or several PCs belong: a knight might belong to an order, a mage might be a member in good standing of the Wizard's Cabal, a cleric is usually affilitated to a church or a specific religious hierarchy, a thief might belong to a guild. Usually membership provides advantages (access to training, to special facilities, to specific personnel (i.e. a fence, for a thief), but comes with drawbacks or obligations. It becomes funny when the goals of the organization don't see eye to eye with those of the PCs - a conflict of loyalty is often fun.

- as a tool for the PCs. Perhaps, the PCs are the leaders of the organization and call the shots. The RPG Reign follows this approach.

[Havard]

Great input FXR!

Organizations can be used:

- as opponents or outright enemies: the activities or the goals of the organization conflit with those of the PCs. I'll add that most rpg module writers tend to be extremely lazy and forget that the disappereance of the leader doesn't always mean the end of the cult. Somebody else, either within or without the cult might take things in his hand.

I like having organizations as rivals or enemies. Especially in a game like D&D where individual villains tend to get killed in the first encounter, an organization helps add a sense of a recurring opponent over many adventures. The Iron Ring Slavers were always a favorite in my Karameikos games. In Blackmoor, the Wizards Cabal is an interesting group that you cna use, maybe not so much as enemies, but they can definitely be out there to annoy the PCs with their arrogant sense of superiority.

- as employers for one or several PCs: a religious organization might hire the PCs to recover a relic. The organization might make itself known to the PCs or not.

Also, definitely a good one. The Regency Council of Blackmoor is one of my favorite groups to use as employers. Churches of various Gods certainly work as well.

- as a special group to which one or several PCs belong: a knight might belong to an order, a mage might be a member in good standing of the Wizard's Cabal, a cleric is usually affilitated to a church or a specific religious hierarchy, a thief might belong to a guild. Usually membership provides advantages (access to training, to special facilities, to specific personnel (i.e. a fence, for a thief), but comes with drawbacks or obligations. It becomes funny when the goals of the organization don't see eye to eye with those of the PCs - a conflict of loyalty is often fun.

Indeed! I could see alot of roleplaying possibilities here. An interesting scenario could be one where one PC is a Cabal Wizard, another is a Sorcerer member of the Eldrich Underground. Lets for instance say that they both know eachothers secrets, but for some reason still decide to stick together and help eachother out, perhaps because they were lifelong friends, lovers or are bound together by a common enemy?

- as a tool for the PCs. Perhaps, the PCs are the leaders of the organization and call the shots. The RPG Reign follows this approach.

Another very interesting idea. I actually have a copy of Reign lying around somewhere. This gives me an excuse to actually read through it I also like how organizations were handled, in a similar fashion, in Unisystem RPGs like Conspiracy X.

One idea I toyed with for a while was to use the BECMI D&D Dominion Rules and War Machine (Mass Combat) rules to simulate the operation of Thieves Guilds. It would definitely be useful to have something like this for D&D. Then again, I suppose a lot of could just be handled through roleplaying as well.

-Havard

[Havard]

Added/updated:

MAGIC USER ORGANIZATIONS

• Wizards Cabal
  
• Ordo Elementarum
  
• Quincke’s Brigade
  
• Sword & Scroll
  
• Eldritch Underground
  
• Sworn of Angville (Eldrich Underground Subgroup)
  
• Red Mages
  
• Elven Elementalists
  
• Topaz Eye (Diviners only)
  
• Raddai, The (Believed to be extinct)

FIGHTER ORGANIZATIONS coming up next

-Havard

[Havard]

Updated!

FIGHTER* ORGANIZATIONS

• Brothers of the Greenwood (BMPG)
  
• Knights of Ten (BMPG)
  
• Court of the Rapier (BMPG)
  
• The Sightless Sisters (BMCS)
  
• Slayers Guild (DA1)
  
• The Five Thorned Roses (BMPG)
  
• Dragon Knights (BMCS)
  
• Skandaharian Berserkers (BMCS)

*="Fighter" includes Fighter, Warrior, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian

BMCS= Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Campaign Setting, BMPG=Blackmoor: Player's Guide, FFC=First Fantasy Campaign, TWC=The Wizards Cabal, C&C=Clock and Steam, MMPRPG= Blackmoor the MMRPG,

Next up are Rogues Organizations

-Havard

[Havard]

Rogues Organizations added to the list. Let me know if I have forgotten any!

ROGUES* ORGANIZATIONS

• The Coven (Thief)
  
• Assassins Guild (Thief/Assassin)
  
• Merchant Guild (Thief, Merchant)
  
• Brothers of the Dark Vision
  
• Dwarven Songmasters (Bard)
  
• Jocular Jongleurs (Bard)
  
• Northern Collegium Musicium (Bard)
  
• Thonian Collegium Musicium (Bard)
  
• Northern Heralds (Bard)
  
• Order of the Sun and Harp (Bard)
  
• Royal Society of the Lyre and Lute (Bard)
  
• Silver Circle, Blue Circle (Bard)
  
• Society for the Preservation of the Northern Record (Bard)
  
• Voice of the People (Bard)
  
• The Rhymers (Bard)

*=Rogue includes Thief, Bard, Merchant, Assassin,

-Havard

[RobJN]

[quote="Havard"]Rogues Organizations added to the list. Let me know if I have forgotten any!

[quote="Havard"]
ROGUES* ORGANIZATIONS

Merchant Guild (Thief, Merchant)

[Havard]

What about the various groups within the Fairwind Circus? Clowns, Performers, etc.?

Yikes, the Fairwind Circus was indeed missing! Well spotted!

At this point I am not sure if the individual groups within the circus ought to be listed. Would they not simply be different "jobs" within the same organization?

-Havard

[RobJN]

What about the various groups within the Fairwind Circus? Clowns, Performers, etc.?

Yikes, the Fairwind Circus was indeed missing! Well spotted!

At this point I am not sure if the individual groups within the circus ought to be listed. Would they not simply be different "jobs" within the same organization?

-Havard

I think just listing the Clowns should cover all the bases for the circus.

Also, would Blackmoor University bailiffs count as rogue or fighter types?