Hexenstein

Originally a chivalric coterie of Maraqi knights, the Order of the Pelt was created by followers of the storied soldier and paladin Ser Olivard Sanz. After the advent of her Third Ordeal (the slaying of the Leviathan of Argasi), Ser Olivard retired from military service and became an itinerant member of the clergy, traveling the lands of Haven, destroying monstrous creatures that threatened the faithful. Tradition holds that Ser Olivard died while on quest, poisoned by the blood of a great wyrm even as she brought it low.

In previous centuries, the Order of the Pelt was a highly esteemed order of knights and nobles. While members generally lived lives as any others of their station might, periodically they would be petitioned to face down some great beast or terrifying creature. A single member could answer such a call, or they might send word to their peers and summon up a host of doughty companions to dispatch a particularly dangerous foe.

The Harrowing changed all that.

The unprecedented surge in the number and strength of monsters caught many members of the Order unprepared in the early days, and dozens of valiant (if overly confident) peers donned shining armor, took up bright lances, and rode smiling to their inglorious deaths in far off caves or ruined towers. Eventually, circumstances forced the Order to recognize the change in the world, and both tactics and the organization as a whole evolved and adapted. Flintlocks and grenades became far more widely used, for one thing, but far more importantly, membership was opened up to any person able to fell a sufficiently dangerous creature and bring back proof of the same. Moreover, rather than having a centralized authority and base of operations, the Order was split into four grand Lodges.

Each of the Lodges grew organically to meet the needs of their locations. The Lodge of the East is known for dealing with demons of the flesh and the other strange abominations that roam the wastes under the light of the new sun. The Lodge of the North prides itself on putting down the great beasts of the colder climes, the furred behemoths and scaled monstrosities that frequent the foreboding peaks and shadowy forests. The Lodge of the South counts the things that lurk and crawl beneath the earth among their prey. And, finally, the Lodge of the West hunts those things that were once human, such as the vampire, the dhampir, and the vlkodlak, as well as the horrors of the ocean deeps.

Today, the Order of the Pelt is made up of people from all walks of life, each of whom has stood toe to toe with a terrible monster and not only survived, but emerged triumphant.

Prominent Members

Francois Buhnam of the Southern Lodge: Somewhat unusually for a member of the Order of the Pelt, Buhnam leaves the actual hunting of monsters to others. That said, he is indispensable to the Order for logistical purposes, traveling between Lodges ferrying requisite supplies and baneful materials. His ability to find necessary rarities borders on the uncanny.

Revna Hjordis of the Northern Lodge: Best known as a scout and guide, Revna Hjordis is a fearsome hunter in her own right. She has tracked a specific beast for years, following it out of Torjavik and the northlands and into the Grimwold. Though stories disagree on the precise reason for her dauntless search for her quarry, pity those who stand between her and her goal.

Albrecht Montrevoy of the Western Lodge: Wearing the caestus penitent of a disgraced paladin, Montrevoy is viewed with something approaching trepidation by fellow members of the Order. Those who take note of such things mark his arrival the way they might a circling raven, or a dark cloud—an ill omen, and one that speaks to the presence of monstrous creatures of the night.