"High" Holy Warriors?

[Lance Goodman]

I've been trying to figure out who to get in touch with from an IC perspective as far as a "High" Champion (or whatever their official title would be) but I haven't had any luck with in-game research. Is there a listing somewhere of which holy warriors are "in charge" for purposes of in-character communication? Are they all NPCs, or are some PCs (remorted, retired, or active)? Any help would be appreciated!

[Gorgon]

Contacting the OoO IG (or via pm if you can find someone on this list to reply http://wiki.avlis.org/Guild:OrderofOMa) or a letter to staff@avlis.org with pretty much this same post would be my first suggestions.

*edits after noticing the forum the question was asked in* Yeah, here works too

[Drac]

Based upon Wiki, Sarmon was/is the Head of the Champions.

[Lance Goodman]

Heh... contacting the head of the OoO would be PM'ing myself, so I think I've got that covered.

I should clarify a little, actually. I'm assuming that there's a high priest of some sort for each of the Nine in every nation. I'd also think there would be a regional HW "leader." I'm aware of Sarmon's "rank" but he's currently MIA. So... I'm wondering who would/should be in charge after him?

Thanks for the help so far!

[Zandel]

I'd also think there would be a regional HW "leader."

That might be true for Champions, I couldn't say. It certainly is not true for Avengers, we are pretty much all equal and neither have, nor need a leader as we follow our hearts, not a leader. I would highly doubt that confounders would have leaders either.

[loki70]

Actually, a lot of the problem is that there is no HW "leaders", per se. The OoG has the High Paladin, but all the other "High" ranks within the religious orders are iffy because the orders represent a small portion of the population of the faith. The High Reaver (Order of Maleki, or whatever) has rarely been a Blackguard. For many years the Prefect of the Sword of Toran wasn't a Justicar. The HWs, for the most part, aren't an individual sect, but treated as a class as far as it goes, much like a mage or fighter within the same orders.

[Drac]

I'd also think there would be a regional HW "leader."

That might be true for Champions, I couldn't say. It certainly is not true for Avengers, we are pretty much all equal and neither have, nor need a leader as we follow our hearts, not a leader. I would highly doubt that confounders would have leaders either.

Based upon Wiki, "Chain of command proceeds up from one champion to the next most powerful, until the matters are decided by Vanoviel's advisors and Vanoviel herself." Obviously with Vanoviel being dead and Sarmon mia, it would be whomever is left standing next in line. It complicates matters that most of Elysia's military leaders are presumed hiding or mia, which likely would include the next ranking Champion (Lt. General Alixcius?).

[Pathos Street]

You want to get in touch with Sarmon.

[loki70]

Hell, for all I know the High Justicar is Derrington...

[girlysprite]

I'm sure if you found a holy warrior and gave them some mellowsmoke...
C'mon, I can't be the only one who thought of this when reading the title. Or is it cause I'm dutch?

[Pathos Street]

My original response:

I would contend that Avengers are the highest holy warriors of them all.

But I thought I'd be helpful instead of a smartass.

[Brayon]

I'm sure if you found a holy warrior and gave them some mellowsmoke...
C'mon, I can't be the only one who thought of this when reading the title. Or is it cause I'm dutch?

Nope, not the only one. I did as well.

My original response:

I would contend that Avengers are the highest holy warriors of them all.

But I thought I'd be helpful instead of a smartass.

Now that is funny.

[spool32]

So, the structure of the Holy Warriors across all of Avlis is going to be different according to which faith we're talking about. If the intention is to find the NPCs who "lead" these Holy Warriors, let me give a very very brief blurb on each:

Gorethar: Paladins are a formal arm of the Church of Gorethar, and ultimately are led by the Church itself. Being a Lawful faith, Gorethite hierarchy is very structured. In each area there is an ArchPaladin, or possibly two if the Church thinks things are bad enough to warrant it. The "Head Paladin" is a dwarf, and he lives in Galdos where your PCs cannot talk to him. In the nations we have represented on the servers, Thror Stormhammer and Vian Valorian are the two ArchPaladins, but apart from the PC-only Order of Gorethar, they must request assistance directly from the Church rather than commanding NPC forces themselves. Formal structure beyond that is complex and best left to FOIG.

Toran: Toran's church is likewise very structured, and the "Head Justicar" for the world is a Dracon living in Toran Shaarda, where you cannot talk to him. In the southern nations, Toranites are more rare and the higest ranking one is probably Lord Derrington. Don't quote me on that, though, as I'm foggy on Toranite lore in M'Chek and could be wrong about other existing NPCs.

Valok: Again, Dominators belong to a very structured church. I won't venture into who the highest ranking Dominator in the south might be, because I'm a total disaster when it comes to Valokian lore in M'Chek. The "Head Dominator" is an Orc in Brekon, where you cannot talk to him.

O'Ma: Champions were centered in Elysia, but their structure is more independent of the church itself. Previously, 2nd Champion Sarmon led the largest organized body of Champions, but there are other groups and individuals working independently throughout Negaria. Sarmon's small army of Champions suffered massive losses during the battle of Elysia, and he himself is missing. Leadership of that group is now unclear, and should be FOIG.

Mikon: Lord Dunster leads the Equalizers of Mikon as the "Head Equalizer" for a body that acts independently of, but in conjunction with, the Church of Mikon. Their major training center is located in Fort Taunton in Blandenberg, after pyrite dragons destroyed Equaloria Keep.

Aarilax: Annihilators traditionally attached themselves to a Boyar as his personal guard or elite warrior corps, and operated according to their own desires and those of any leader who could control them. Since Viovode Kasseshisrath's rise to power, the vast majority of shaahesk Annihilators have pledged themselves directly to him, and take orders from the Voivode himself. Non-shaahesk Annihilators operate secretly or in the open and are scattered throughout Negaria, mostly fulfilling their own personal desires as best they can. There is no "Head Annihilator".

Dru'El: Avengers observe no formal hierarchy either externally or amongst themselves, and while they defer to the Church leaders (such as there are) most of the time, there is no expectation but that each Avenger will follow his own heart and do Dru"El's will as he personally understands it to be. Informal groups, lodges, hunting parties, and other collections of Avengers are scattered throughout T'Nanshi, a large training center is located in Blandenberg, and the rest of Negaria has lesser or greater populations as priests and Holy Warriors feel their presence is needed. In T'Nanshi, the mysterious Hands of Dru'El probably contains many Avengers, but through their history only one Speaker for the Hands has been a Holy Warrior of Dru'El.

Forian: Confounders are everywhere, especially in your teapot and possibly in your pants. No known organization exists, and training seems to happen on-on-one as Confounders run into each other by happenstance. Likewise there seems to be no formal Church of Forian anywhere. If there is a "Head Confounder" his identity is unknown, possibly even to himself.

Maleki: Again, my Blackguard lore is lacking sorely. I know there is a large collection of Blackguards in Malekia in the Seven Cities, and that individual groups choose a leader by his ability to impose his will upon the others he knows. If there is a "Head Blackguard" somewhere, he is probably a giant living on (not under) the mountains of Deglos.

[Moredo]

Valok: Again, Dominators belong to a very structured church. I won't venture into who the highest ranking Dominator in the south might be, because I'm a total disaster when it comes to Valokian lore in M'Chek. The "Head Dominator" is an Orc in Brekon, where you cannot talk to him.

I would go with Lord Sylo as the ranking Dominator (at least the times when he resurfaces). In M'Chek, Lord Japhen Jurok is the ranking Dominator (to the best of my knowledge).

[Lycanthropy]

This may not be official, but here's what I know/assume/think about Maleki:

There is no "Head Blackguard".

Maleki has once-in-a-generation Ultimate Badasses of the faith called Titans. They're roughly the immortals of Maleki, extremely powerful, and they never last very long.

There aren't any of those around in the present day (although some people know where to find what's left of one).

Other than that, there are hundreds of Churches of Maleki, each with their own leaders. It's only exceptional leaders (usually Titans or those on their way to it, but also powerful Giant kings and so on) who can gather any number of Blackguards to their banner, and their enterprises never last. Highest concentrations of Blakguards are in Malekia and among the giant, ogre and goblinoid enclaves throughout the world.

Individual groups don't "choose a leader", the leader chooses themself (through cunning, will, and strength) and forces everyone else to do what they say, or die. As such any Malekite body is always in a state of flux, including the churches. If you're very, very good, you can cling on to power for a while - but you do this by killing, crippling or tricking the competition, and there's always another one coming up when the last challenger is beaten. But all things end; you can never beat all your enemies, you'll get old, and slow, or sloppy, and then the fresh blood will take over.

[loki70]

Toran: Toran's church is likewise very structured, and the "Head Justicar" for the world is a Dracon living in Toran Shaarda, where you cannot talk to him. In the southern nations, Toranites are more rare and the higest ranking one is probably Lord Derrington. Don't quote me on that, though, as I'm foggy on Toranite lore in M'Chek and could be wrong about other existing NPCs.

In a very strict level sense, Rickus has more Justicar levels than Derrington. Justicars can rise above their level implied rank though through service to Toran and missions and the like. The Head Justicar in Kuras was the Prefect, in M'Chek it is most likely either Derrington or one of the random Justicars running around here and there. Justicars, for the most part, are expected to lead themselves, only coming together when there is a threat to the church itself or when ordered to by the highest ranking priest in the province.