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The Clergy is responsible for staffing the Order's Chapterhouses, religious education, acts of charity, and providing oversight on Orthodoxy to all research activities within the Order. Due to the relatively small size of the Order, Agnes created the posts of Circuit Priests. As trained clergy become available, they are assigned areas not otherwise covered by the Order's few places of worship. The emphasis is on reaching areas with large concentrations of people whose only exposure to the Church is provided by clergy viewed as being corrupt or repressive. These Circuit Priests give impromptu services and training in houses, roadside shrines, even taverns in an attempt to revitalize the interest of people in the Church of Bahamut. Needless to say, this causes a great deal of friction. The most prominent member of the Clergy is Carter Cardinal McRoy of Lethbridge.
The Knight Errants are similarly charged with spending at least half of each year on the road, protecting people from bodily dangers such as bandits and striving to set an example of the noble warrior-servant. This is primarily aimed at landowners and nobles, in an attempt to convince their sons to follow a more enlightened code of conduct than the simple rights of the rich. The Knights themselves are viewed with great suspicion by the fundamentalists of the Church, since all who are able are trained in magic. The Knight Errants also include about one score Paladins. These are Knights who have also taken religious orders and are thus true warrior-priests. The Paladins of the Order are also required to have magical aptitude, and receive as much training as other clergy in Arcane Lore. The 297 census counted fewer than 10 score Knights ranging from Cadets to Paladins. Of these, 5-10 are in residence at the Chapterhouses in Devonshire, Lethbridge, and McMannon, 15-20 at the Chapterhouse in Arundel, and the remainder are either on the road or off-duty at home. The most prominent Knight within the Order is the controversial Paladin Sir Pavane, whose frequent and well-known clashes with Knights of the Claw and flexible interpretation of the Order's Code have kept he and the Order quite busy.
The Service Branch is further broken into two sub-branches: the Deaconate and the Colleges. The Deaconate is the everything branch of the Order, responsible for everything from the administration of charitable activities to the physical construction, maintenance, and security of the Chapterhouses. Each Chapterhouse also features schools run by the Colleges, ranging from basic reading and writing to more abstract crafts and fields such as math and civil engineering. The Colleges are also the primary sponsor of pure research, including research into the Arcane. Most of the abstract research takes place in the main Chapterhouse at Arundel, although some of the more sensitive arcane research is currently performed in the Chapterhouse near Trent to take advantage of Duke Lethbridge's Magic Foundation. This cooperation is primarily restricted to sharing general theory, since the two organizations operate under vastly different constraints. Several prominent scholars have officially joined the Order, including the reclusive historian Randall Barker, a specialist in Ancient Dialects and early Church history.
Category/Type Knights Paladins Priests Mages Patronage +15 +20 +15 +5 Enemies -10 -15 -10 0 *Note that the enemies row refers to both religious fundamentalists and groups such as Spectrum. Mages get no additional points in this category since they are already despised by fundamentalists and a certificate of Orthodox Practice doesn't particularly excite your average Tiamat worshipper. The Patronage benefits vary as follows:
Mages: every five years, affiliated mages must have their magical knowledge and practices reviewed in order to have their certificate of Orthodox Practice renewed. This provides limited protection against being burned at the stake, since other members of the Order are sworn to ensure due process for their fellows, and access to the approved spell list.
Priests: Priests receive access to the full spell list of the Order, Sanctuary, the protection of Canon Law, and basic starting equipment (scythe, light mace, or staff; leather cap; scale torso armor; small shield; leather leggings).
Knights: Knights with Magery have access to the approved spell list. All Knights also receive Sanctuary and starting equipment (primary weapon, lance, full chain, medium warhorse (ST 26-32)).
Paladins: As with Priests, Paladins have access to the entire spell list. They also receive ample starting equipment (choice of sword, choice of axe/mace/flail, lance, light plate, choice of shield, heavy warhorse (ST 34-40) with choice of leather or chain barding. Depending on the area, they may or may not be liable under civil (as opposed to Canon) law. They do, of course, retain the right of Sanctuary.
The following is a basic draft of the Code of Conduct for the Order of the Helm. As an early draft, it is subject to omissions, revisions, and erroneous emissions.
The Code of Conduct has few rules but many obligations. Members of the Helm are to remember at all times that their primary obligation is to serve Bahamut and his people, not to follow the letter of any law nor to serve any secular purpose. The laws of men and their orders are flawed and cannot include every possibility. Members are expected to use their own judgement to reason the correct path, and will be held accountable for their own actions under all circumstances.
The primary duty of each person is to encourage the love of Bahamut and the understanding of his Path. No man ever gives from the heart when the flesh is threatened, so members shall never use force in following this duty.
Evil abounds in the world and in the hearts of men. Each human carries both evil and good, and therefore it is unwise to think in terms of absolutes. It is the happy Warrior of Bahamut who is confronted by clear evil, but life is not always so simple. In matters where the true nature of good and evil are unclear, strive to do only what is necessary and no more, lest ye be blinded by pride. When in doubt, seek the counsel of thy fellow members.
It is written that the knowledge of good and evil exists in each man's heart. Thus, when the path of good differs from the desires or laws of men, each man must listen to his heart. Strive to obey the strictures of men, but remember that there is no higher law than Bahamut's, and that each man will answer to Him alone. It is held true that a group of those dedicated to Bahamut's service can sometimes see the true path more clearly than one alone.
One may tolerate evil in others, hoping to convince them of their folly, but only within the bounds of reason. No evil may be suffered to exist if it is committed in Bahamut's name or when it imposes its evil upon others. Encountering such evil, ye are charged to destroy it if possible or to report it if it is beyond thine own power, even unto the killing of others or thine own death. But do not pursue vain glory; the servant of Bahamut who dies in battle is unable to do further work in this world. The Knight who charges into a host of enemies serves pride, not Bahamut, and thus aids evil himself. Neither may ye make compromises with evil merely to preserve thine own existence. Spend thy life with care lest the work of Bahamut be thwarted by vanity or pride.
Each man shall be judged by Bahamut for his own actions. So take not the testimony of others as to the True Path without considering the truth thine own self. Even the faithful may err in the pursuit of good, and no man shall be held blameless by virtue of another's judgement. When differences occur, seek ye the counsel of thy fellow members.
A man may not use the deeds of yesterday as excuse for the deeds of today. Thusly, thou shalt strive to follow the True Path at all times as best ye may. The man who rides under Bahamut's banner one day and does evil the next shall be held as a vain and evil man.
There are those who seek to control or limit the lives of others by the knowledge they are permitted to have. There is without doubt knowledge in this world which has no usage save in evil, yet the arguments of scholars may hold that some evil must be understood to be opposed. It is surely true than the knowledge of a thing must be held separate from the usage of it, but there is also knowledge that may endanger even the most faithful. This is the most difficult task that ye will face. In such matters, the counsel of thy fellow members must be relied upon to ward thee from evil. Thou must seek such counsel from those unrelated to the question whenever possible, to avoid folly from overtaking thee and thy fellows as the tide overtakes the beach. Moreover, thou shalt submit thyself to the questions of thy fellows whenever they occur, and to their judgement when their belief differs from thine. And if thee hast committed thyself to the study of the arcane, thou shalt also submit thyself to the rigorous examination of thine Order every five years, that thou shalt not stray into folly through lack of congress.
Ye have seen that ye are bound by evil and by good. But in matters where good and evil are not held to be at issue, thou may still stray from the Path. Let simple Brotherhood guide thee in all dealings outside the scope of thine vocation. The man that requires too much of his fellows shall be held to have committed evil as surely as the man who blesses Tiamat's name.
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