The Blackguard

The Blackguard are a hard-bitten assembly of mercenary monster hunters, known across the Isles for their unwavering resolve and unmatched efficiency in slaying the things that go bump in the night. Once enlisted as elite auxiliaries within the ranks of the Crownsguard, their philosophies gradually diverged from their more by-the-book counterparts, culminating in a very public and very permanent split. Since then, the Blackguard have struck out on their own, answering to no one but the coin in their pockets and the blood on their blades. Their contracts vary, from putting down rampaging beasts in the Ackerland to tracking slithering horrors through Craven’s Waterways, but all agree: if something needs killing, and the Crownsguard can’t—or won’t—handle it themselves, the Blackguard are already on its trail. Their methods are fast, brutal, and often messy, but their success rate speaks for itself. Where others get bogged down in the details, they bring results.

Though many of their number are deadly enough to lead in their own right, the Blackguard have no formal hierarchy to speak of, operating instead as a tight-knit collective built on earned respect and mutual dependence on each other’s talents. Their operations are headquartered at Cloudstone Manor, a sizable Stonegarden estate converted into an armory slash boarding house. Its owner is a grizzled orc named Torben Stonejaw, a founding Blackguard member whose imposing stature and battle scars speak louder than words. While not a commander in any official sense, Torben negotiates the company’s contracts and serves as their figurehead. Between missions, the manor becomes a haven of hospitality and tough love, where lifelong friendships are forged over stories and drinks, binding the Blackguard tighter than any command structure ever could. Most members speak of the company not as a job, but as a second family — one that bleeds and buries together.