You belong to an order of knights who have sworn oaths to achieve a certain goal. The nature of this goal depends on the order you serve, but in your eyes it is without question a vital and honorable endeavor. Avalor has a wide variety of knightly orders, all of which have a similar outlook concerning their actions and responsibilities.
Though the term "knight" conjures ideas of mounted, heavily armored warriors of noble blood, most knightly orders in Avalor don't restrict their membership to such individuals. The goals and philosophies of the order are more important than the gear and fighting style of its members, and so most of these orders aren't limited to fighting types, but are open to all sorts of folk who are willing to battle and die for the order's cause. Knights might also have different cultural variants—most samurai in Ryūshima share this background.
A knighthood is among the lowest noble titles in most societies, but it can be a path to higher status. Most knights have either sworn fealty to a certain person of power or were born into a noble clan of knights. Discuss with your DM who this person or group of people may be, and what your relationship is with them.
Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, plus one from among Arcana, History, Nature, and Religion, as appropriate for your order
Tool Proficiencies: Your choice of a gaming set or a musical instrument
Languages: Any one of your choice
Equipment: One set of traveler's clothes, a signet, banner, or seal representing your place or rank in the order, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Feature: Knightly Regard
You receive shelter and succor from members of your knightly order and those who are sympathetic to its aims. If your order is a religious one, you can gain aid from temples and other religious communities of your deity. Knights of civic orders can get help from the community—whether a lone settlement or a great nation—that they serve, and knights of philosophical orders can find help from those they have aided in pursuit of their ideals, and those who share their ideals.
This help comes in the form of shelter and meals, and healing when appropriate, as well as occasionally risky assistance, such as a band of local citizens rallying to aid a sorely pressed knight, or those who support the order helping to smuggle a knight out of town when he or she is being hunted unjustly.
Suggested Characteristics
Your bond almost always involves the order to which you belong (or at least key members of it), and it is highly unusual for a knight's ideal not to reflect the agenda, sentiment, or philosophy of one's order.
Variant Feature: Retainers
If your character has a knight background, you may select this background feature instead of Knightly Regard.
You have the service of three retainers loyal to your family. One is a noble who serves as your squire, aiding you in exchange for training on his or her own path to knighthood. Your two remaining retainers might include a groom to care for your horse and a servant who polishes your armor (and even helps you put it on). These retainers can perform mundane tasks for you, but they do not generally fight for you, will not follow you into obviously dangerous areas (such as dungeons), and will leave if they are frequently endangered or abused.
Comments