The Green Company

The Green Company is a conclave of Beastmaster Rangers dedicated to defending the wild places of the world from both the unnatural forces, such as fiends and the undead, and the depredations of humanoids, such as those who would destroy the forests for their own gain. The Green Company is not a religious order, but its members all worship Diana, and they accept only female members.
The company gets its name from the fact that all members wear dark green, hooded cloaks of finespun wool. Although these cloaks appear normal at other times, when the wearer raises the hood, the cloak shifts colors continuously to match the background, making the wearer difficult to see even while moving, and even harder to target with weapon attacks. Due to these cloaks, the Company's members are sometimes referred to as "Greencloaks."
Each member of the company has a sacred animal companion who accompanies her in the wilderness, and fights alongside her. Although referred to as Beastmasters by outsiders, the Greencloaks do not consider themselves to be masters of their animal companions, but family, and refer instead to their animal companion as "brother" or "sister."
Membership in The Green Company is severely restricted. In addition to being a female, the individual must also be a Ranger of at least the third level of experience. Furthermore, although regular worship is not required, the member must be of an alignment that would be accepted as a worshiper by the goddess Diana (i.e., Any Good alignment, or true Neutral). Finally, the Ranger must either already have chosen Beastmaster as her class specialization, or else do so upon joining the Company. Women of any race may join, provided they meet the other requirements.
Upon joining the Company, the member is granted the signature article of clothing (the Cloak of the Green Company), and is granted full access to the Company's lodge (named the Last Healing Hearth) in the Viridis Forest in Rhodanensis. Greencloaks ordinarily act alone, defending the world's natural places from the forces of evil or carelessness. However, a handful of Greencloaks, including the Pathfinder of the Company, remain in the Viridis forest near the Last Healing Hearth.

Ritus Vocationis (Ritual of Calling)

The Greencloaks call the ritual that is used to summon the animal companion ritus vocationis, the ritual of calling. To perform this ritual, the Ranger requires 50 gold aurei worth of rare herbs and fine food. At least 4 different types of herbs must be used. The herbs are burned in a fire, one type of herb every two hours, until all the herbs have been consumed. The food must be of the highest quality. This can include prime cuts of beef, game hens, mutton, pork, wine, and olives. The food is to be roasted gradually throughout the 8-hour ceremony. The types of herbs that may be used include the following (price for 1 sprig listed after the herb name):

• Agrimony (2 gp)
• Belladonna/Wolfsbane (5 gp)
• Blackroot (4 gp)
• Edram (30 gp)
• Garden Flax (3 gp)
• Hare's Ear (2 gp)
• Lungwort (2 gp)
• Mandrake Root (3 gp)
• Nightshade (4 gp)
• Pennyroyal (3 gp)
• Shepherd's Purse (5 gp)

The ritual is performed at night, beginning at 8 PM, and concluding at 4 AM. Throughout the period, as herbs and food is burned, the Ranger repeatedly calls out to the animal companion and seeks its arrival. Prayers to Diana are usually said, to request that the animal find its way to the Ranger. At the end of the eight hours, the animal companion will normally appear, no matter where it was living before the summons, including on another plane of existence - even the afterlife.
Whether the ritual transports the animal to the Ranger's side, or whether the animal somehow sensed the summons would come some time in the past and began a journey so as to arrive exactly when called, is a point of debate among the Greencloaks, and no agreement on this matter has ever been reached.

Membership

The following are the currently known members of the Green Company:

Name	Race	Pet
Jarsali Firahel	Light Elf	Dhonu - Snow Leopard
Saral Goodearth	Halfling	Erky - Giant Weasel
Shava Aurelia Rothenel	Grey Elf	Calida - Boar
Keyleth Hanali	Sylvan Elf	Kekuel - Black Bear
Paavu Wolftamer Ogolakanu	Goliath	Ami - Wolf
Ahset Neb-am	River Folk	Metjen - Mule
Yzabel Flavia Bestia	Desert Folk	Jejuni - Cheetah
Maia Flavia Laura Nobilis	Timber Gnome	Mkali - Leopard

Structure

The Greencloaks do not generally stand on ceremony, and make decisions in an egalitarian fashion. Following the ancient Republican model of Rome, the members elect one member to be Pathfinder of the Company. The Pathfinder is only a "first among equals," and does not hold any arbitrary powers.

Public Agenda

The Green Company is dedicated to preserving the natural places of the world. They seek out and fight against the forces of corruption, and fiercely oppose the unnatural forces such as the Undead, Fiends, and Aberrations. They also oppose the ravaging of the natural world for material gain. Subsistence lumbering and hunting they do not oppose, but destructive practices such as slash-and-burn agriculture or clear-cutting of forests would draw their ire. The Greencloaks are very secretive, however, and few have ever heard of them, let alone know anything about their agenda.

Assets

The Green Company has few assets. Its members operate independently most of the time. The exception to this is the Last Healing Hearth, a large wooden lodge located deep in the Viridis Forest in Rhodanensis. This lodge is run by the Greencloaks and several of them, their animal companions, and most of the other animals of the woodland, defend it.

Territories

The Last Healing Hearth is a Ranger Lodge located in the northern reaches Viridis Forest. The easiest way to find it (first described by Thiala the Druid to Laura upon their meeting in a goblin mine), is take the Via Ebrodunum (the road between Ebrum and Nemasus). One halts at Milestone DLVII M.P.R. (567 miles from Rome), which is exactly 50 miles between the two towns. From the Milestone, leave the road and travel south 2.5 miles to a hollow tree stump taller than a man. Just beyond this is the forest, and a game trail will be visible nearby. Follow the game trail south 5 miles to a small pond. A brook feeds the pond from the east. Travel upstream for several miles, and one will find the Hearth.

Tellures silvestres defendimus.
"We defend the wild places."

Type

Secret, Brotherhood

Alternative Names

Greencloaks

Demonym

Greencloak

Deities

• Diana

Location

The Known World