Imperial Paladins Guide

[Darth Nyrys]

Imperial Knights Paladins Guide

 

“To the most skillful hands, the sharpest blades.” Paladin proverb.

 

The Paladins of the Imperial Knights are the most in line with the title of knight, questing nobles who shoulder the burden of confronting and destroying threats that are too dangerous for soldiers from more common cut and measure. It is the duty of every Paladin to train and discipline themself to be the champion that the Empire needs, to rise above all others so that the galaxy can know some measure of safety and hope.

 

The Paladins are the most overt symbol of the Imperial Knights taking deliberate and meaningful action to protect the Empire and its citizens, and are what people most often think of when they think of the order. Houses maintain their own lodges of Paladins if they have the numbers, or second them to the lodges of larger houses as Color Bearers. The Empire requires tithes of Imperial Knights, with the greatest numbers coming from the Paladin lodges, who trade their house colors for the Imperial crimson, and bring with them house armsmen. With the loss of the Empress, Imperial Paladins wear various forms of white shrouds and veils in mourning. Exact percentages of tithed Paladins vary from house to house, with martial houses like Blutfalke and Edsbryder treating terms of service as mandatory for all of their Knights. House Corrado has a special exception where they instead command and supply the Vipere Stellari, a naval special forces group that specializes in space combat and pirate hunting.

 

Paladins that don’t have the status to have a family lodge or be seconded under the banner of another house take the title of knight errant, regardless of their place in line of their house’s order of succession, and travel the galaxy in search of deeds to gain the recognition of the other houses. Some rise, some fall, and many find a galaxy indifferent to their aims and aspirations, eventually returning home to quietly live out the rest of their days in ignominy. A particularly promising knight errant might earn a marriage alliance with a house of higher standing, or an invitation to a lodge.

 

Perhaps the most defining feature of Paladins is their willingness to adopt power armor and bracer mounted shields into their fighting style. Their suits are not weapon laden artillery platforms, as they are not common soldiers, but offer excellent protection, enhanced strength, and increased traversal speed(But not necessarily always maneuverability). Squires describe their first experiences in the armor as being like trying to ride a stampeding rancor with no harness, and Paladin training rooms are full of impact craters from novices running into walls, miscalculating jumps, and underestimating how far a dodge to the side would take them. To capitalize on the strength of the suits, Paladins often wield weapons that benefit from increased impact energy.

 

Proper operation of a Paladin’s power suit takes years of training without the aid of the Force, and even accomplished Paladins describe controlling the suit to be more like channeling a storm than an exercise in precise and measured movement. Even the more agile lancer class flight suits require a great deal of intuition to pilot without clipping an obstacle with your helmet and snapping your neck or facing decapitation. However. However, when Paladins that have learned to properly ride the storm enter the battlefield, it is a truly awesome sight to behold. Defensive walls shatter, trenches are cleared in a single bounding leap, and armor crumples under the staggering force of the Paladin’s blows.

 

Each lodge has its own tactics and preferred combat methods, and every house its own code of honor, so for the sake of everyone’s sanity, this guide instead offers classification based off of the suit designations, with the features and powers most often taught in tandem with them listed below.

 

Armor Designations 

 

Conqueror Assault Armor: The original and most heavily adopted suit designation, the conqueror series balances strength and weight to create a truly formidable melee suit. Traditionally, this designation comes with a forearm mounted energy shield, but some bold and impetuous knights reroute shield power for additional strength or to allow for a free hand for grappling. Fulfilling the role of heavy assault, conquerors are linebreakers that thrive in the midst of enemy formations.

 

Tremor Stomp: The Paladin strikes the ground with strength augmented by the suit and channeled by the Force, causing kinetic energy to erupt upward with staggering force. If the path of the force is left undirected, it radiates out three meters from the impact, if directed, it travels 9 meters in the chosen direction in a line that is one meter across.

 

Augmented Strike: Sometimes Paladins hit people, with either their weapons or armored fists, or perhaps a body slam or jump kick. In this extremely rare scenario, physics enters a state of sheer panic, and flees the scene in disarray, carrying whatever or whomever got hit with it. This unplanned flight is extremely disorienting and requires considerable combat skill to maintain any semblance of balance or recover from quickly. Premature termination of one’s flight by foreign objects can result in broken bones, concussions, hurt egos, and death. In layman's terms, this suit can hit people and things really, really hard.

 

Reinforced Weapons: Paladins using conqueror suits wield specially crafted melee weapons that by necessity can survive the strain of the forces imposed upon them by the physical power of the suit. Perhaps one day they will be legend clad in their own right, but for now they cannot use heirloom or cycle weapons without using a limiter that prevents their access to Augmented Strike.

 

Augmented Speed: Not to be mistaken for increased agility or dexterity, conqueror suits can accelerate to great speeds and easily clear meters of terrain in a single leap. However, the faster the suit is moving, the harder it is for the operator to change direction. The suit does incorporate kinetic dampener fields(suit operation red lines them too much to absorb enemy attacks, their purpose is to protect the operator from the suit, not act as additional defenses), but the side effect of predictable movement remains. Experienced Paladins can kick or shove off of hard surfaces for drastic course correction, but this has limits and can become predictable in its own way.

 

Shield Boop: A variation of shield bashing techniques that relies on controlled impacts in order to not overload the shield and short it out from hitting the opponent’s face too hard. While not as heavy hitting as an augmented strike, the shield can still stumble and disrupt the concentration of an opponent. Furthermore, the thermal regulation of the shield is less efficient than say a lightsaber’s, and prolonged close proximity can cause considerable melting of armor and faces. The shield itself can protect against kinetic and energy attacks, but Paladins must rely on barrier powers and Force imbued weapons to defend against Force attacks, as the shield is just a shield and not a magic space sword.

 

Maneuverability Jets: Starting at Knight rank, conqueror suit pilots get access to armor subtypes with supporting mobility systems such as jets or repulsors to help reduce maneuver predictability and offer greater control and options of the suit’s mobility. Of course, they can also be used to double down on the suit’s current course, especially with the jets. 

 

Known By Our Scars: Paladins that use Conqueror armor suits regularly develop a special affinity for dynastic weapons, allowing them to channel the Force through them more readily, and maintain their power more effectively in their shattered state. Knights and lieges can utilize a fighting style that treats shattered dynastic weapons like whips or flails, utilizing the boundless nature of the Force to hold their blades in loose cohesion that grants greater reach and flexibility.  

 

As Without, So Within: Just as their affinity with dynastic weapons allows them to function beyond normal limits, conqueror pilots can use their connection to the Force to empower broken or shattered limbs back into functionality. This power is not the same as healing the wounds, and is more in line with holding themselves together with chewed gum and good intentions.

 

Military Grade Components: Conqueror armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the pilot knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared.

 

Dragoon Flight Armor: Fast moving skirmishers that trade the power of other suits for flight capability, greater speed, and a modicum of additional maneuverability. Dragoon Paladins often serve as an intervention force to bolster fracturing positions and extract VIPs as swift guardian angels. Dragoon pilots are most commonly found amongst Knights Errant and Paladins of smaller houses looking to make a name for themselves through a notable rescue or turning the tide of battle at a major point.

 

Augmented Awareness: Piloting a dragoon suit, especially at top speed, is only possible with the aid of the Force or preternatural reflexes. Sure, the suits sport advanced sensor relays and state of the art HUD systems, but even with these tools dragoon pilots require a reaction speed that borders on precognitive. With training, these Paladins can process information so quickly that the world seems to move in slow motion. This does not actually enhance their physical speed on its own, just their ability to comprehend events at high speed.

 

Galestorm Bracer Masers: Dragoons don’t generally carry melee weapons, even with their armor the forces involved in hitting someone at high speed would tear their arm off. Instead, they use short range rapid fire masers mounted on their forearms. Masers are similar to blasters except that they deliver kinetic force on impact in addition to thermal exchange. These masers are tuned for CQB and trade high rate of fire and lethality for an extremely short effective range of ten meters for lethal blows. Dragoons rarely fire these weapons during high speed maneuvers, lining up shots is just too difficult.

 

Sonic Breach: With enough training, knight dragoon pilots can store the sonic energy from when they breach the sound barrier during extended flight, releasing it as they approach enemy contacts to confuse and disorient them. Liege rank pilots can infuse the boom with telekinetic energy, adding to the chaos.

 

Augmented Speed and Flight: The definitive trait of Dragoon armor is its flight capability and incredible speed with which the suit can move. How finely the pilot can maneuver the suit is dependent on their experience and connection with the Force, with squires encouraged to keep things simple, knights having some semblance of control, and lieges capable of performing aerial acrobatics at medium levels of speed and not running into things at ludicrous speed. It should be noted that this is referencing traversal speed and not attack speed or limb movement speed, and that reaching top speeds requires an acceleration period first, you don't just go zero to sonic boom instantly.

 

Slip Blades/Talons: A general classification for monomolecular edged vibro blades with short reach. The Imperial Knights avoid arming dragoons with much reach to counter the instinct to strike while traveling at high speed, because doing so would result in loss of limbs. With their enhanced speed and reaction time, dragoon pilots are exceptional close in knife fighters, using a combination of flight, speed, and disruptive powers to close the range gap. Many of these Paladins wield weapons forged from the shattered remains of larger broken heirloom weapons, too much of the original material lost to remake them, but now serving in a new, subtler form. A unique feature of these blades is their numbing quality, useful both for field surgery and depriving dark siders of the power they would normally gain from wounds.

 

Jubilant Advance: The dragoon pilot uses the Force to manifest a riot of light, sound, and smell that erupt in a torrent of energy from their hands. While most commonly used to confuse and disorient enemies, this power can overload the mind and cause a passive fugue state that lasts for a few days.

 

String Cutter: Dragoon pilots are known for using their anatomical knowledge to disassemble their opponents, cutting tendons and slicing arteries to leave their enemies crippled and bleeding out. Their enhanced speed and smaller weapons allow them to find and exploit joints and openings in armor better than larger weapons with less point control and more mass getting in the way of hitting vulnerabilities.

 

Military Grade Components:  Dragoon armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the pilot knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared.

 

Field Triage: A stabilizing form of Force Healing that prevents the wounded from bleeding out or otherwise regressing to a worse state from their wounds, allowing the dragoon pilot to exfiltrate a wounded person to proper medical assistance.

 

Eye of the Tempest: Dragoon pilots are conduits of inertia, momentum, and speed. When not traveling at high speed, they can actualize a maelstrom of potential energy around them as a probability storm of ghostly maybes and what ifs. These probability specters are not substantial enough to pass as the pilot under any level of true scrutiny, but they can disrupt targeting systems and misdirect snapfired shots.

 

Chevalier Riding Armor: The noble elite have an extensive history of mounted combat and hunting, and the Chevaliers continue this tradition on the battlefield, augmenting and protecting their mounts with the Force. Chevalier armor is designed for riding, with features tailored to the specific traits of the Paladin’s mount, such as rebreathers for amphibious mounts or limited flight capability for aerial mounts in case the rider is dismounted. Chevalier suits do not house the same physical augmentations as the other suits on account of being mounted negating the need for them, instead they utilize personal shield generators and sensor suites so that the rider can focus on protecting and commanding their mount. Their mounts are often similarly armored as their frame allows, with flying mounts necessitating lighter armor.

 

Symbiotic Defense: The bond between mount and rider is so substantial that the Paladin benefits from their mount’s instincts and senses, while the mount is considered one with the Paladin for the purpose of barrier coverage. The bond also apprises the rider when their mount is hurt and how it will affect their movement.

 

Military Grade Components: Chevalier armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the wearer knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared. While Jedi might see the death of an animal companion as a natural part of the Force and ruminate on the dangers of attachment, an Imperial Knight is absolutely going to pay to clone their prized purebred mount should anything happen to it.

 

Blast Smart Shield: An AI governed smart shield strapped to the mount uses its integrated sensor suite to specifically gate damage from anti tank weapons(Clarification, it will not activate for small arms fire). Like any shield, it can be overcome, but it at least provides initial protection from weapons meant to eliminate larger targets.

 

Harrier Hound Packs: Not necessarily always canines, but necessarily well trained and bred, chevalier Paladins often use pack hunting animals to locate and harry prey. The role of these animals is to locate and harry, not to actually bring down a threat, so they are more a threat to the enemy’s ability to conceal and concentrate than their actual lives. Upon finding the prey, they will alert their owner and do their best to encircle it, making noise and nipping at the enemy with probing attacks should their back be exposed.

 

As One:  Chevalier Paladins often describe their form of mounted combat as dual control, with both beast and rider informing the actions taken. While in this state the rider is somewhat entranced, and while retaining enough control to stay mounted, their mind is too occupied to coordinate their own attacks. However, they are able to augment their mount’s physicality as if it were their own body when using this power.

 

Gilded Beast: Chevaliers often commission specially designed pieces of armor or modifications for their mounts, particularly focusing on protecting the most exposed parts of the beast when it attacks. These custom pieces are much more likely to contain rare alloys like phrik or cortosis, as they lack the precision engineering necessary of Paladin power armor and are produced in much smaller quantities.  

 

Inheritor Class Armor: A more refined implement for houses that possess both the means and the history to possess heirloom weapons and martial traditions for the battlefield. Inheritor class armor is more in line with modern power armor in terms of speed and strength, allowing wearers to use weapons not designed for the strain of the more powerful suits, and be constructed of rarer materials.

 

Artisan Grade Materials: Unlike the other suits, the Inheritor class is able to be constructed on an individual level, and therefore can be made with rarer materials like phrik or alloyed cortosis. Artisans are loath to dip heavily into the reserves for freshly trained Paladins, so squires generally must make do with bracers and pauldrons while the rest is made of durasteel and the like. Knights have their armor reforged to accommodate more rare materials, and lieges regularly make use of cortosis dueling capes. Like the other suits, the electronic components are hardened against ion and electrical attacks.

 

Rise Above: Inheritor class armor is often outfitted with repulsor systems that allow the Paladin to quickly take the high ground or survey their surroundings. It gives them a surreal, dreamlike quality as they float above the earth like an otherworldly being. 

 

Heraldic Traits: Properly trained Executors can emblazon heraldic beasts and symbols associated with the Paladin’s house onto their armor, enhancing it with appropriate traits, such as additional resilience, strength, or speed. In truth, these emblems function as channels for powers such as Force Speed, allowing the wearer to call upon them more efficiently and with greater results, while making other physical enhancements more taxing and less effective. Sometimes they instead create more utilitarian functions, such as the House Corrado serpent providing a peculiar winding forward momentum that their paladins often use to traverse vacuum or the House Ecupha Impisi hyena giving an inherent knowledge of scavenged technology.  

 

Student of Tradition: Because of the Inheritor class’s more reasonable levels of physical enhancement, Paladins who wear it are more easily able to translate martial styles into use with power armor. Inheritor armor also allows for more precise and refined movements, such as managing edge control and leading an opponent’s blade during a clash.

 

Clad in Names: Inheritor class armor is far more distinctly of its house than other armors, on account of its custom, handcrafted nature. Its symbolic nature and adornments allow the wearer to more easily call upon their heritage and bearing to resist fear and mental effects. It can also be crafted to invoke the legends from the past, similar to Heraldic Traits but feeding off of a person’s legend rather than a mythical symbol.

 

Faithful Blade: Because of the immense value of heirloom weapons, Inheritors are taught a highly specialized form of telekinesis focused on the swift recovery of their weapon should they lose their grip on it. This power actually persists and strengthens should the Paladin lapse into unconsciousness or perish, an echo of will that seals the weapon in a steel grip and repulses any unworthy attempt to recover it with a blast of telekinetic force. 

 

Rook Class Armor: An evolution in design of the hazardous environment suits used by the houses on industrial death worlds to oversee production and hunt smugglers and thieves. Rook class suits do not enjoy the same preternatural reflexes as their sister designs, there’s simply too much mass for the power suit to move, but they benefit from far thicker armor, greater redundancies, and significantly more mass behind their attacks. Furthermore, the suits carry massive metal shields into battle that can mitigate even mighty blows and powerful ranged attacks. Paladins who pilot rook class suits are often likened to prudent strategists or chessmasters, moving the pieces into place before crushing an overwhelmed and pressured opponent.

 

Industrial Grade Components: Rook armor suits are made of industrial grade extreme hazard rating alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Rook suits can better resist heat and corrosion for longer than other suits, and the underlying musculature of the suit can survive more punishment before failing. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the wearer knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared.

 

Inviolable Bulwark: One of the trademark traits of rook class suits is its use of physical shields, massive aegises that have been engineered to withstand the force that the suits can bring to bear. Squires are given durasteel and ultrachrome alloy shields, knights are awarded cortosis alloy shields, and lieges are honored with mastercrafted phrik alloy shields. The shields are often emblazoned with heraldic devices or reliefs of historic battles, and designed to channel Force energy to further enhance their sturdiness and redirect concussive force.

 

Known by Our Steel Emblazoned: Rook shields, especially after reaching knight rank, are often crafted with heraldic symbols that can channel the Force into specific effects that emanate from the shield’s front. Stars and suns projecting blinding light, storm clouds and birds projecting overpowering gusts of wind, and mirrors and reflecting pools causing the shield to reflect attacks are all common choices.

 

Support Drones: As mentioned earlier, the rook is adapted from mining power suits, and the engineers have retained the onboard drone bay. The drones are small repulsor hovering units with basic systems and AIs, focused on fulfilling simple roles. Drones might have a survey scanner, cryoban beam emitter, compressed fire retardant foam, electric dissuader, low powered blaster like a training remote, or networked camera that feeds back to the suit. The rook can carry eight drones that need to be set up for their role in advance, with squires being able to operate one at a time, knights being able to operate two, and lieges being able to operate four.

 

Hydraulic Vice: Rook suits are capable of using their power limbs and incredible mass to crush threats, applying so much force that armor buckles and bones crack. Attacks that trap the target between the Rook and a solid unyielding surface have drastically increased potential for ignoring armor.

 

Burden of Power: The Rook pilot can channel the implacable nature of their suit to drastically alter gravitic fields around them, making them greatly resistant to telekinetic attacks like Force Push, and making anyone around them struggle to move with speed or ease. This is an incredibly draining power when used beyond the Paladin’s personal area, but can be used to pin an enemy at a vital moment for a killing blow.

 

Augmented Strike: Sometimes Paladins hit people, with either their weapons or armored fists, or perhaps a body slam or jump kick. In this extremely rare scenario, physics enters a state of sheer panic, and flees the scene in disarray, carrying whatever or whomever got hit with it. This unplanned flight is extremely disorienting and requires considerable combat skill to maintain any semblance of balance or recover from quickly. Premature termination of one’s flight by foreign objects can result in broken bones, concussions, hurt egos, and death. In layman's terms, this suit can hit people and things really, really hard.

 

Reinforced Weapons: Paladins using rook suits wield specially crafted melee weapons that by necessity can survive the strain of the forces imposed upon them by the physical power of the suit. Perhaps one day they will be legend clad in their own right, but for now they cannot use heirloom or cycle weapons without using a limiter that prevents their access to Augmented Strike.

 

Redcloak Imperial Armor: The mass produced armor of the original Imperial Knights serving under Empress Raven in the Imperial remnant. While the original form of the armor used pure cortosis gauntlets, supply issues demanded that current models use an alloyed form that lost the ability to deactivate lightsabers but could still withstand them. Redcloaks trace their origins to renegade Jedi that left the order after their frustrations with the former council’s pacifism grew too great. Redcloaks have far greater access to Jedi teaching than their cousins in the noble houses, and as such function mechanically like Jedi Guardians. I’ve still included some flavor powers for them to express their imperialness outside of combat, and one Redcloak specific piece of gear.

 

Voice of the Throne: Redcloaks are trained to use the Force to control the pitch, tone, and volume of their voice to better direct and command people around them. Every Redcloak has the bearing and voice of an authority figure, and they can easily direct or address even the most panicked or volatile crowd.

 

Writ of Authority: Redcloaks carry an Imperial Writ of Authority that gives them legal authority to access any property on imperial territories and question any imperial citizen without the issuance of a warrant from a judge.

 

Detainment Baton: A stun baton used exclusively by Redcloaks that also can emit stun blasts similar to the E-11 blaster rifle. Redcloaks are as much law enforcement as they are a military force, and they often run into situations where lethal force would be an overreaction.

 

Imperial Network Access: Redcloak armor has suit mounted sensors that are connected to Imperial identification databases, and constantly run scans on everyone they encounter. Potential persons of interest are identified and pinged on the Redcloak’s HUD.

 

Royal Armory

 

Cycle Weapons: Cycle weapons are hybrid energy and mass weapons, with paired energy transmitters on one side and a physical edge or impact surface on the other. A switch on the hilt allows the Paladin to rotate the blade’s facing without having to manually reverse the blade’s edge alignment. The energy component is generally a cutting laser or electrical current, but other options have been observed, such as cryotic beams. Cycle weapons are too complex to withstand the full stress of being used by a conqueror class suit, although some suits have been modified to incorporate limiters in conjunction with them. Redcloaks were the first adopters of cycle weapons, allowing for a mass producible but symbolic weapon for their recruits that didn’t come from the Jedi order, not to mention a weapon that did not require the sourcing of rare, high quality crystals. 

 

Titan Weapons: Decidedly simple compared to the other options in function, titan class weapons are sturdy melee implements designed to withstand the extreme forces that the conqueror class armors can bring to bear. While the more pretentious weapon experts might dismiss them as little more than masses of durasteel and ultrachrome, they are masses of durasteel and ultrachrome being accelerated by state of the art power armor that can hit with enough force to shatter normal weapons if swinging without restraint. Titan weapons are commonly constructed to take full advantage of the suit’s strength, being too large and heavy for anyone outside of the suit to wield effectively. 

 

Dynastic Weapons: Reforged from the remains of heirloom weapons, dynastic weapons are crafted to serve as better conduits of the Force, at the cost of losing some of their spiritual identity as a weapon tied to a noble house. Former Jedi take to dynastic weapons quickly, and they are a common boon bestowed to Jedi that marry into a noble house, or distinguish themself enough to receive a personal invitation to join the Redcloaks. They are also often found in the hands of minor houses that received them for some notable service or virtuous act witnessed by a house of greater standing. Dynastic weapons share a peculiar trait where they can maintain their cohesive form even after breaking or shattering, although at the cost of some focus on the part of the wielder and reduced effectiveness due to the compromised integrity of the weapon. Subsequent reforgings have been observed to enhance this trait’s effectiveness. 

 

Heirloom Weapons: Weapons of particularly illustrious history in battle, or so heavily associated with a noble house that through ritual and ceremony they adopt the traits commonly associated with that bloodline. Heirloom weapons can come from a variety of materials and take an infinite number of forms, but their nature means that they are better suited to manifesting storybound traits than directly channeling the Force. Heirloom weapons can be reforged into dynastic weapons, although the process reduces the mystical traits of the weapon to a pale specter. If an heirloom weapon is truly lost, an Executor can create a replica and pass it off as the recovered original, as symbols are more about belief than truth.

 

Lightsabers: Most commonly found in the hands of Imperial Redcloaks, although occasionally passed down from rogue Jedi either directly or through knowledge of their construction. House lightsabers almost always use crystals from their holdings, with some mining houses producing truly exquisite focusing crystals. House Edsbryder are known to use pulse spears, a variation of lightsaber spear that only activates the blade on the strike but emit a stronger and less energy efficient beam. House Ecupha Impisi lightsabers are each in their own right a masterpiece in design and construction, sporting superior thermal shielding, variable length blade settings, and precision cutting settings, as they are used as much as scavenging tools as they are weapons.

 

Gauntlet Spikes and Mercy Blades: Most Paladins carry on their person or install in their armor a slender stabbing blade for the purpose of finishing off an armored opponent. Gauntlet spikes are generally retractable blades mounted on the forearm, and mercy blades are sheathed in a way that they can be quickly drawn with a free hand in combat.

 

Lessons in Steel, the Paladin fighting styles

 

Stijgende Staking: The “plunging strike”, this style focuses on skewering enemies after advancing with great speed. It is favored by conquerors and chevaliers, whose tactics and gear readily support this form. Despite common misconceptions, dragoons do not practice this style, their suits move too quickly to maintain integrity while striking at maximum speed. When not at war, this style is used in jousting tourneys, and the delivery of a perfect blow on the lists can be a means to achieve fame and glory.

 

Oogstende Snede: The “reaping cut”, this is the preferred form of Paladins who use their suits to carry massive weapons. It focuses on wide arcing cuts that can fell multiple opponents in a single swing, and its training heavily drills the combatant on maintaining proper edge alignment throughout an entire cut. Masters of the form are known to mark their armor or weapons with their highest count of killing blows in a single swing.

 

Doordringende Slag: The “piercing blow”, a style dedicated to the combating of armored opponents, consists of specialized techniques, tools, cuts, and grapples that come together to defeat the defenses of modern, next generation, and occult armor. Doordringende Slag is not just about the killing blow, but creating the circumstances that allow the killing blow to be delivered. Paladins using this fighting style seek to cripple their opponent’s armor joints, exhaust their endurance, exploit gaps in armor plating, and use throws to put opponents on the ground and at a disadvantage.

 

Verstevigende Houding: The “Bracing Stance” is as much a spiritual kata as it is a defensive stance. Its carefully controlled and elegant movements translate into spiritual motions that the Paladins use to conjure defensive barriers. Paladins have a less comprehensive and in depth understanding of barriers than consulars or executors, but they can use the intermediate teachings of a single defensive philosophy.

 

Leidende Rand: The “Guiding Edge” is a fighting style largely reserved for liege rank Paladins and knights in Inheritor armor, and primarily focuses on edge manipulation and blade control to defeat opponents through superior technique. Leidende Rand masters can position their blade like a mercurial serpent, ever present to lead the opponent’s blade astray, yet able to twist and weave around the opponent’s defenses in the blink of an eye.

 

Hansatee Huee Baarish: The specialized style used exclusively by conqueror Paladins, this form of combat not only counters the flaws of dynastic weapons, but builds upon their unique traits to turn setbacks into advantages. Practitioners of this style can turn a shattered dynastic blade into a lash of quivering razor edged shards bound loosely by unseen forces. While in this state the weapon is less capable of penetrating hardened armor, its effects on anything else can only be described as horrific.

 

Privileges and Accouterments

 

Artisans, Attendants, and Blademasters: Paladins have constant access to artisan crafters, attendants that see to the maintenance of their weapons and armor, and blademasters to both refine their current techniques and introduce them to rare and exotic styles.

 

Command centers, Halls of Power, and Lodges: Paladins can be found in both strategic and political places of power, and while the Executors oversee the sourcing and production of most arms and armor shipments,Paladins are often at the beginning and end of the process, requesting specific designs and reviewing finished pieces. Lodge halls are also familiar places to Paladins, where they may train and converse among their own.

 

Discipline and Authority: More so than either of their spiritual cousins, the Paladins have great rapport with the Imperial military hierarchy, with each group respecting the style and professionalism of the other. An unspoken peer network of Imperial soldiers, officers, Redcloaks, and Paladins exists unified under the bonds of men and women who have fought and bled together for shared purpose. 

 

Military Endorsements: Paladins often receive endorsements from military corporations, which in addition to additional funds gives them access to military grade technology for their conveyances, armor, and electronics.

 

Cloning Training: Paladins receive extensive prep and training for the cloning process, and are revived in state of the art medical facilities with full physical and mental care professional teams.

 

Esoterica and Errata

 

The Queen of Rats: Once a truly gifted and brilliant noble scion, the Queen of Rats had aspirations of becoming a Paladin, but felt that she was being unnecessarily held back by instructors that did not acknowledge her talent and ability. In secret, she constructed her own variation of a Paladin suit, and began performing vigilante justice. Without proper guidance however, her efforts at justice and goodness slowly became twisted by pride, sadism, and the thrill of the hunt, until murder consumed her. She hunts in the dark places now, with a cult of followers that feel that their value has gone unseen. While her slaughter still maintains a thin veneer of justice, what she considers deserving a death sentence is so erratic that anyone who isn’t a true believer rarely lasts long amongst her followers. The Imperial Knights have launched more than a few expeditions to find her, sometimes to try and redeem her, other times to put her down, but at current she remains at large.

 

Blood Soaked Origins: Many of the styles that the Paladins use as part of their unified training manuals were actually developed by gladiatorial slaves that were granted their freedom during the Empire’s newfound love of liberated populations. Freed gladiators were offered a sum of credits for their knowledge accrued in the arena, and many took the offer having no other prospects lined up for income.

 

Tenders: Heirs whose questionable legitimacy would cause untenable scandal but whose noble parents want to provide for are often selected as caregivers either to their pureblooded peers or the noble menageries. Tenders are allowed to learn the healing arts, if they have the aptitude for it, and quietly fulfill a role that would otherwise be left empty.

 

Hedgeknights: Most houses will hold yearly tourneys in which warriors of notable skill and potential might distinguish themselves enough to earn the position of squire to a knight. Competition is fierce, and to even earn an invitation requires documented feats of valor. Aspirants who seek to raise their station through valor are referred to as hedgeknights.

 

Favor and Fancy: It is not uncommon for Imperial nobles to offer tokens of favor to Paladins that they admire and wish to court, a system that has existed since ancient tradition. However, modern Paladins now also grant tokens called fancies to those who they value and wish to protect above all others. This newer tradition was introduced to help legitimize relationships between the nobility and Force sensitive individuals who were otherwise of common birth, use chivalric storytelling to set the tone of such couplings. Paladins however have also started using it to try and sidestep arranged marriages, which has created a conflict between families securing greater spiritual power versus maintaining political alliances with other power players.