Officers of Maal

It is one thing to pass judgment or to demand that the law be followed, but quite another to enforce that judgment, or those demands. When criminals must be pursued or judgments enforced, the officers of Maal perform such duties.
They do so because of an abiding belief that laws make the world better for everyone. It is not possible to become an officer if one secretly harbors a perverse pleasure in punishing people, or has too much love for her authority.
Officers of Maal must not lie, cheat, or in any way knowingly allow an injustice—great or small—to be done. The exception is in cases of tragedy, where an injustice would occur no matter what the officer does. In such cases, the officer must minimize damage to the innocent. Officers of Maal obey legitimate laws, and bring them to the lawless.
Officers of Maal oppose anarchic magic or anything else that takes away the rights of mortals to stand before formal justice, or Maal’s presence after they die.
Officers of Maal tend to be most interested in their companions’ goodness. They do not expect everyone they know to be tireless champions for law, or the rights of the downtrodden. However, they stop associating with anyone who uses anarchic magic, and do not work with those who flaunt just laws. A rogue who ceaselessly violates the laws of a corrupt city to overthrow their tyranny, while using methods the officer might not use herself, is certainly an appropriate companion.
Members of the order are introduced with title preceding name, followed by, “an officer of the courts of Maal.” So, a shield named Gwaithin would be introduced as “Shield Gwaithin, an officer of the courts of Maal.”

Sword

New officers of the court of Maal are called swords, and addressed as “sword.” Having gone through exhaustive training, swords serve courts. Most courts have five swords, each given a separate duty. The high justiciar might say, “You, Sword Pavel, serve as bailiff, to keep order and escort prisoners to and from proceedings,” or “You, Sword Hellyne, serve as a bodyguard to young justiciars whenever they journey beyond this court.” The swords serve and obey the high justiciar of the court, or any lesser justiciars they’re ordered to serve.
More mystical members of the court system refer to each sword as a “finger,” with each of their duties likened to the duties of the fingers of the hand. The sword who serves the bailiff is like the thumb, the anchor of the hand. The sword who helps victims find and prosecute their attackers is like the index finger, which indicates evil, and so on. This is an old-fashioned way to think of such things, but what remains of this tradition is that when five swords go out to capture a dangerous criminal, they’re called “fists.” The courts of large cities employ several organized fists, alongside a few unassigned swords. Some of the most promising swords don’t belong to fists. They go on adventures that, while not lofty enough for shields, still serve the courts of Maal. These “unsheathed swords,” as they are called, are the envy of other young officers of Maal, and are usually the very best of the order, allowed to wander because it would be wasteful to shackle them with bureaucratic work at a court.

Shield

After serving many years as a sword, officers go forth and protect people. The high justiciar of the court administers a mystical test involves strange visions and mysterious questions. The high justiciar casts a spell called test of souls on the promising sword, and delves deeply into her very being to affirm she is ready to serve Maal independently, protecting the innocent and preserving the right to justice. If the sword fails, she can never become a shield, though she maintains her status and powers as a sword of Maal. It is no great shame to fail the test; Maal simply wishes the failure to remain a sword. One who passes becomes a shield, expected to fight against lawlessness and anarchic magic, under the guidance of Maal himself. Shields obey high justiciars and, certainly, any edicts set down by the Four Justices, but are no longer subservient to a single court, and do not have to be involved in day-to-day legal affairs. Several shields often band together and form minor holy orders, though these are culturally specific and left to the GM to create. A shield is addressed as, “shield.”

Hand of Maal

After a shield survives many adventures, she might be moved to make the journey, no matter how far, to the Court of the Four Justices. There, she is tested by the Justices to see if she’s ready to be a hand of Maal. This time, the test of souls ritual includes fifteen hours of interrogation, culminating in the ultimate question: Is the shield prepared to stand before Maal? If so, she is given a drink of deadly poison. Upon her death, she goes before Maal for judgment. Four days after, the Four Justices bring her back from the dead. While no officer who has experienced this speaks of her time in Maal’s kingdom, it is clearly excruciating to return.
The restoration to life works only on willing participants, and by the time one is a ranking officer of Maal, the rewards of the afterlife must be rich indeed. A hand of Maal puts those awards aside to walk once more in this imperfect world, so profound is their desire to better mortals’ lot. Sometimes officers refuse to return, though such occasions are rare and spoken of sadly. Once brought back, the shield is elevated to the title hand of Maal, because it is said she is now the sword, shield, and hand of the King of Souls on Earth. She receives rich gifts from the Four Justices. Hands act as living agents of Maal’s will. They lead armies, topple evil kingdoms, slay terrorizing dragons, and perform other epic works of heroism in the name of law and justice. A hand is addressed as “grim lord,” or “grim lady.”

Four Justices

When one of the two Justices from the officer order dies or steps down, a hand is supernaturally called to sit upon the council of the Four Justices, exactly as happens for the justiciars. A justice from the order of officers is addressed as “supreme lord” or “supreme lady,” and might be introduced as, “Supreme Lady J’oinelle, one of the Four Justices of the courts of Maal.”

Book of the Righteous

Test of Souls

4-level Divination

Ritual - does not require spell slot, takes 10 minutes longer

Casting Time: 1 action

Range/Area: Touch

Components: V

Duration: 1 hour

You touch a creature to test their heart. The target must be willing, or the spell has no effect. When you cast the spell, you and the target are transported in your minds’ eyes to a testing ground, where the target undergoes a series of tests of a metaphysical and metaphorical nature to reveal their attitudes toward life, the gods, death, and more. You observe these tests and can put the target to tests of your own devising.
The testing lasts for the duration, during which time you and the target are unconscious. If either of you take any damage or are slapped or shaken, the spell ends. At the end of the hour, you learn all the following information about the target:

• Alignment
• Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores
• Religious affiliation and degree of piety
• Race
• Whether the target has told you any lies during the preceding 24 hours and what those lies, if any, were.

Joining the Officers

Officers are selected by Maal himself, it is said, for their goodness of heart and their courage to do what must be done. Thus, nearly all officers are lawful good. When it comes time to swear their sacred oath, they usually take the Oath of Vengeance.

Type

Religious, Holy Order

Parent Organization

Holy Orders of Maal

Related Myths

• First Vengeance and First Law