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The Knights of the Rose are the epitome of
all that is good and honorable in Knighthood.
Initially, the Knights of this order were taken
only from the royal houses of the land.
What constituted a royal house was determined
by the ruling council of Knights who
would convene and hear the history and lineage
of that house. If there was sufficient
proof that the house was a ruling house and
that its history was an honorable one. then the
crest of that house was included in the Measure
and those of that house were accepted.
This was not something that was done often,
for the Measure was strict about the requirements
requirements for accepting a house into the Roster of
Loyalty.
Since this stricture of accepting only those
of royal descent was said to have been added
well after the time of Vinas Solamnus and
was, in some minds, invalid as a part of the
Measure. there has arisen in more recent times
a more acceptable argument before the
Knightly councils. Rather than represent that
the Measure was in error or flawed, the argument
has been made that over the course of
the centuries there have been so many marnages
between royal and common houses that
practically everyone is somehow related to royalty.
With the Cataclysm obscuring the genealogical
records of the past, most acceptable
candidates are not denied access to the Order
of the Rose without extraordinary evidence.
(Beings from off-world, however, are not
accepted into the order.)
The details of how a Knight is accepted into
the ranks of the Rose, however, has changed
little. The Knight must be brought before a
Knightly Council of the Rose. There he must
relate the tale of his family and his deeds that
exemplify the ideals of Knighthood and Honor
tempered with leniency and wisdom. Once
this tale is told. the council holds a closed session
to discuss the Knight's application in
light of his merits and shortcomings.
The Order of the Rose takes its Measure
from deeds of wisdom and justice Examples
of deeds befitting the Measure of the Rose:
taking compassion on the less fortunate, sacnricing
one's life for the sake of others, giving
no thought to one's own safety in defense of
the Measure and its Honor. protecting the
lives of fellow Knights, seeing that no life is
wasted or sacrificed in vain.
Knights of the Rose
Game Data
Q: What exactly are the special profi-
ciencies in weapons and combat
gained by a Rose Knight?
A: Rose Knights gain
the cavalier?s weapon
of choice bonuses in addition
to the Crown
Knight?s weapon specializations
and Sword
Knight?s spells.
(143.98)
Minimum Requirements: As with Knights
of the Sword, characters do not start out as
Knights of the Rose. Characters must first
have gained two levels as Knights of the
Crown, then been accepted as Knights of the
Sword and earned two additional levels before
they can be considered for the Order of the
Rose. Once a character has earned sufficient
hit points to become 4th level, he can petition
the Order of the Rose to be accepted into that
body. In order to be considered for the Order
of the Rose, the Knight must have the following
minimum characteristics:
Rose Knight Minimum Scores
| Strength | 15 |
| Intelligence | 10 |
| Wisdom | 13 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 15 |
| Charisma | None |
The candidate must present his petition to
a Rose Knight of no less than 6th level. The
candidate must then be presented by that
Knight to a Knightly Council at which sits a
Rose Knight of no less than 9th level. If no
quesuon of honor is brought up before the
Knighthood at that time, then the Knight is
assigned a quest to prove his worthiness to the
Knighthood.
The quest must include the following elements:
a journey of no less than 500 miles
and 30 days, one test of the Knight's wisdom,
three tests of the Knight's generosity, three
tests of the Knight's compassion, the restoration
of something that was lost, and the defeat
of an evil opponent of equal or higher level
than the Knight. The candidate must be victorious
while demonstrating the ideals of honor
and courage and without killing the foes.
The Knight can enlist the aid of anyone to
complete the quest so long as he maintains the
ideals of the Knighthood and does not further
the cause of evil. The exact form of the quest is
up to the DM. but it must include the preceding
elements.
Rose Knight Advancement Table
| Level | Experience Points | Hit Dice (d10s) | Title |
| 4 | 27,000 | 5 | Novice of Roses |
| 5 | 60,000 | 6 | Knight of Tears |
| 6 | 125,000 | 7 | Knight of Mind |
| 7 | 200,000 | 8 | Knight of Heart |
| 8 | 425,000 | 9 | Knight of Roses |
| 9 | 800,000 | 10 | Keeper of Roses |
| 10 | 1,500,000 | 10 + 2 | Master of Roses |
| 11 | 2,000,000 | 10 + 4 | Archknight |
| 12 | 2,500,000 | 10 + 6 | Lord of Roses |
| 13 | 3,000,000 | 10 + 8 | Master of Justice |
| 14 | 3,500,000 | 10 + 10 | Lord of Justice |
| 15 | 4,000,000 | 10 + 12 | High Justice * |
| 16 | 4,500,000 | 10 + 14 | - |
| 17 | 5,000,000 | 10 + 16 | - |
| 18 | 6,000,000 | 10 + 18 | - |
* There is only one High Justice at any given
tune. Others may attain 15th level, but their
titles remain Lords of Justice.
The Knights of the Rose gain special proficiencies
in weapons and combat. While they
advance more slowly than other Knights
(because of the great amount of training and
skill required by their proficiencies), they also
can advance farther than any of the other
Knighthoods.
| Proficiencies | Weapon/Nonweapon |
| Initial * | 3/2 |
| Added | 2/1 per 2 levels |
* The Initial Proficiencies listed here are in
addition to those proficiencies already
obtained. In other words, during the Knight's
inkial training period in the Order of the
Rose, he acquires three additional weapons
proficiencies and two additional nonweapon
proficiencies on top of any already received as
a Knight of the Crown and as a Knight of the
Sword.
The Knights of the Rose and Their Measure
The Order of the Rose exemplifies honor
guided by wisdom and justice.
Wisdom is the strength of honor and ability
applied in the service of just causes. Justice is
the heart of the Measure and the soul of a Rose
Knight.
All beings regardless of their stations, positions,
or beliefs have equal claim to compassion
under the Measure. Deeds befitting a
Knight of the Rose include the following: taking
compassion on the less fortunate, sacrificing
one's life for the sake of others, giving no
thought to one's own safety in defense of the
Knighthood, protecting the lives of fellow
Knights, seeing that no life is wasted or sacrificed
in vain.
Responsibilities of a Knight of the Rose:
forfeiture of all wealth accrued as a Knight
save for that needed for the upkeep of any
principalities under the protection of the
Knighthood, to honor the gods of good at all
times and in all acts, to fight for justice without
regard to personal safety or comfort, to
never submit to any evil foe, to sacrifice all in
the name of honor.
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