Errant Blades
Soldiers of fortune, thrill-seekers, adventurers in the bloodiest sense. Where there is danger along the road, they’ll protect you if the price is right.
Overview
A party of Errant Blades may be mercenaries for hire, body guards, city protectors, elite soldiers, or even assassins. They picked up their weapons and gained skill in combat for myriad reasons–commoners conscripted into war, nobility tasked to protect the land, survivors who had no choice but to fight, followers of a deity of war, hunting, or protection. They may be errant in the sense that they are adventure-seekers, like the knights errant embarking on chivalrous quests for glory. They may be errant as in they have distanced themselves or strayed from the standards and expectations of society, drawn together in their delinquency. Violence and death follow them wherever they go.
Suggested Core Traits
Resources
D8
Both access to resources and resourcefulness keep an Errant Blade alive to fight another day
Connection
D10
When you let people too close, they just get hurt
Security
D6
Security can be bought with a properly-wielded blade
Potential Party Techniques
And this is why this is a fragment. Come back and make the techniques, Steph!
Quests and Campaigns
A party of Errant Blades face dangers, combat, and violence on their quests. The solution may not always be their blades soaked in blood, though. They may also rely on keen survival senses, clever tactics, and heightened situational awareness. Whether they lean into the bloody solution or seek to minimize harm, their quests bring them face to face with dangerous monsters, combat-savvy foes, and deadly situations. They may be hired as caravan guards, protecting merchants as they travel on their way. They may be tasked with holding a fortress against encroaching monsters. They may be hired to assassinate a a high-powered noble.
Over time, the quests they take push them to face not only external dangers but their own internal demons.
Thematic questions to consider for a party of Errant Blades
- What are the consequences of a life of violence?
- Why do we fight–and when do we show mercy?
- How do you measure a worthy cause? What are you willing to do for enough money or status?
- What are the limits of human strength? What would push you past those limits?
As they cross blades with foes, they make allies of those who find value in their strength and enemies of those who are threatened by it. They may find themselves at war with one or more factions, balancing a situation with threats on all sides, where they must either organize the allies they’ve gained to fight together in one great epic battle to claim their rightful place–or flee and hope they can rebuild a life somewhere else.
Examples in Media
Insert Examples of Sword and Sorcery, Combat-Driven things, The Unit, Seal Team, He-Man, Red Sonja, Grimdark Fantasy stuff, maybe Isekai like Sword Art Online, this is another FRAGMENT BIT
Session Zero Discussion Points
In a Session Zero for Errant Blades, discuss the tone of the violence. Is this a more light-hearted combat-driven group, where at the end of the day, the monsters are monsters and the heroes are heroes? Is it more grimdark, bloodsoaked, exploring the impact of an ever-perpetuating cycle of violence that begets more violence? Are you looking for your heroes to start from a place of world-weariness and then find a purpose beyond coin?
As players consider how their individual characters fit within the group of Errant Blades, encourage and support them in looking at each individual character as more than a lone wolf (even if there are a few that would call themselves lone wolves). Find ties that bind and forge loyalties that will keep the party together when the going gets tough.
Potential Party Contacts
Whoops MOAR FRAGMENT
