The Fellowship of the Torch during the Greyhawk Wars

This group was originally described in FFF. PP. 69-73, in which its pre-war status and membership were fully detailed.

At the outbreak of war, the Fellowship had no doubts as to its allegiance and moral course of action. They readily perceived Iuz as the great enemy of what they held dear and rightful, and hardly needed Grimmri’s pleadings (as a Highfolk gnome) to seek service with Furyondy, for they suspected this land was Iuz’s target.

By the beginning of 583 CY, the Fellowship had headed for the free town of the Highfolk, and fought incursions of Iuz’s forces into the Vesve Forest. There, Geren the ranger made many friends among the elves and rangers—friends he would meet again at war’s end. Later in that same year, they moved south and enlisted with a northern Furyondian noble, fighting in the Battle of Crockport and being engaged in the rearguard of the retreat to Chendl. In that retreat, Grimmri was slain by a tanar’ri, but the group could not then mourn their lost friend. Chendl was beseiged, and they were within its walls.

The seige of Chendl proved the Fellowship’s finest hour. Kiri became a figure of hope to the ordinary people, using her clerical skills to heal and create fresh water and food for a starving populace. She spent the few hours left to her after her efforts in prayer and devotions. Nastassia became a heroine atop the battlements—the increased magical power of the Torch of Anazander a source of hope to all. Geren’s deadly bow, an acquisition from a fallen evil mercenary in the Vesve, sang as arrow after arrow sped to the hearts of the besiegers when they broke cover. Geren in particular seemed almost possessed during the siege, a gaunt figure stalking the battlements and arrow slits of the towers of Chendl, seeming never to sleep, full of grim resolve. Attrition and adversity brought out the true steel of the ranger.

When Chendl was liberated, the Fellowship took part in many daring forays deep into the lands of Iuz. Many thought them reckless, but they always came back with the objects of their quests; a magical item, a senior priest of Iuz, the head of a fiend. They fought long and hard in the war with Iuz, and currently they are back in the Free City, at their old haunts, but not for very long. Geren is visiting his old friends in the Gnarley Forest; Nastassia has come to quietude and recuperation in the Temple of Rao; Kirilarien is usually away in Celene where she has links with the Knights of Luna (and, while in the Free City, she is seen with Melf Marie spends many hours in the Guild of Wizardry, honing her skills.

There is a significant change in the psychology of this adventuring group. They have become steeled, not ready to trust others, and self-reliant. They are activists; Nastassia has become less meditational, ready to accept the Torch as a weapon of power, and fired by the desire to combat evil. She has abandoned the study of magic, though she retains her earlier skill in this domain. Kiri is eager, impatient by elven standards. She openly espouses the cause of the Knights of Luna, despite Melf’s entreaties to caution and covert action. Marie no longer gambles or drinks, but is consumed with the desire to gain more power as an illusionist. Geren is stern, impatient with fools and time-wasters, eager for the fray. What is more, this group has a tough, grim edge. They looked on helplessly as Grimmri was butchered by a fiend; they have seen the Road of Skulls and watched men being dragged into the watchtowers to be burned alive; they know evil, and they burn. But they are not fools, nor are they reckless.

This group believes wholly in each other, and the four survivors have a depth of fellow-feeling which is truly enduring to (and beyond) death. When they reassemble, they will seek to hire mercenaries of acceptable (LG, LN, NG) alignment and head for the Highfolk, in memory of Grimmri and because they can fight in the Vesve against the enemy they perceive as an endless threat, fell Iuz.

Politically, they are on excellent terms with the Knights of the Hart, both the Highfolk and Furyondian branches. Several Furyondian nobles have made overtures to the Fellowship. Lemajen Sterrich is a personal friend of the Fellowship, and Belvor himself is thought to have offered Nastassia a minor title, but she politely refused this, claiming unfamiliarity with the political involvement that acceptance of this might entail.

In game play, the Fellowship will ally only with PCs who seek the same goals, and they are likely to cooperate as equals (unless the PCs are very high level, have exceptional Charisma, etc.) or as hirers of PCs for missions of their own.