Full of riverboat songs and natural magic, the Jadengarde joyfully patrol the rivers and streams of Almira. These nomadic companies use their small, flat-bottomed boats, called gardskiffs, to float down rivers or attach them to powerful hounds to use as sleighs. Equipped with well-worn weapons, strong magic, and boisterous songs, the Jadengarde travel the rivers and roads in search of interesting trade goods, unique adventures and stories worth telling.
The Jadengarde get their name from their mastery of crafting with spirit jade, a composite stone formed from soul dust, the essence of souls spilled when creatures die and make their way to the Catacombs. The Jadengarde use natural magic to sing the stone into form, an art drawn from the spirits of the earth.
The Jadengarde is a collection of boisterous, familial caravans. In a time lost to memory, those who would become the Jadengarde were a mercenary group, conducting bloody murders for those who would pay them. In time, the mercenaries found the first mine of spirit jade. The souls of those they had so mercilessly killed reached out from the jade, conveying the pain and terror dealt to them by these mercenaries. It was then that the Jadengarde took up their name and changed their ways. This is what the skalds tell us, but the skalds have many stories.
Regardless of the veracity of the Jadengarde’s origin story, Jadengarde caravans have a loose hierarchy similar to a military installation. Each Jadengarde caravan is led by a commander, who reports the movements and the outcomes of their trade missions to the grand general of the Jadengarde. Each caravan contains family members, lovers, thrill seekers, and random passersby looking for a ride. Azata and agathions are often quick to travel with the Jadengarde, reveling in their free spirit, sense of duty, and love of the wilds. Jadengarde caravans always host a single priest of each of the five True Gods.
The Jadengarde are magnificent storytellers, adept fortune tellers, and jolly traveling companions. Jadengarde companies are often composed of halflings, catfolk, humans, shifuni, and vaellu, though people of any race are enthusiastically welcomed into the fold. Adventurers who join, or are born into, Jadengarde companies often take jobs as skalds, scribes, diviners, shamans, swashbucklers, or mesmerists.
The Jadengarde get their name from their mastery of crafting with spirit jade, a composite stone formed from soul dust, the essence of souls spilled when creatures die and make their way to the Catacombs. The Jadengarde use natural magic to sing the stone into form, an art drawn from the spirits of the earth.
The Jadengarde is a collection of boisterous, familial caravans. In a time lost to memory, those who would become the Jadengarde were a mercenary group, conducting bloody murders for those who would pay them. In time, the mercenaries found the first mine of spirit jade. The souls of those they had so mercilessly killed reached out from the jade, conveying the pain and terror dealt to them by these mercenaries. It was then that the Jadengarde took up their name and changed their ways. This is what the skalds tell us, but the skalds have many stories.
Regardless of the veracity of the Jadengarde’s origin story, Jadengarde caravans have a loose hierarchy similar to a military installation. Each Jadengarde caravan is led by a commander, who reports the movements and the outcomes of their trade missions to the grand general of the Jadengarde. Each caravan contains family members, lovers, thrill seekers, and random passersby looking for a ride. Azata and agathions are often quick to travel with the Jadengarde, reveling in their free spirit, sense of duty, and love of the wilds. Jadengarde caravans always host a single priest of each of the five True Gods.
The Jadengarde are magnificent storytellers, adept fortune tellers, and jolly traveling companions. Jadengarde companies are often composed of halflings, catfolk, humans, shifuni, and vaellu, though people of any race are enthusiastically welcomed into the fold. Adventurers who join, or are born into, Jadengarde companies often take jobs as skalds, scribes, diviners, shamans, swashbucklers, or mesmerists.
As the Jadengarde caravans travel the rivers and roads of Almira, they offer up worship to what they refer to as the True Pantheon. In Jadengarde lore, each deity of Almira is a single facet of the five True Deities. Each of the True Deities represents a single alignment. Each Jadengarde caravan contains at least one priest of each of these true gods.
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Frumhovin is the True Goddess of Law of the Jadengarde, her portfolio includes honor, filial duty, poetry, and family crests.
Domains: Community, Knowledge, Law, Magic, Rune Subdomains: Education, Family, Language, Loyalty, Rites Favored Weapon: Iron Brush |
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Haygi is the True Goddess of Chaos of the Jadengarde, she oversees the wildness of natural growth.
Domains: Air, Animal, Chaos, Plant, Weather Subdomains: Fur, Growth, Revelry, Seasons, Wind Favored Weapon: Shortbow |
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Involdr is the True God of Evil of the Jadengarde. His portfolio includes alcohol, rash decisions, impassable roads, and the noise in feasting halls.
Domains: Evil, Mountain, Trickery, War, Water Subdomains: Blood, Corruption, Greed, Ocean Favored Weapon: Greatsword |
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Rigma is the True Goddess of Good of the Jadengarde. In her aspect of the Lantern Star, she embodies the moon itself to guide caravans. In her other aspects she presides over apothecaries and sexuality.
Domains: Charm, Darkness, Healing, Magic, Sun Subdomains: Alchemy, Captivation, Light, Medicine, Moon Favored Weapon: Estoc |
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Silwyr is the True God of Neutral of the Jadengarde. He presides over wealth, death and the afterlife.
Domains: Artifice, Death, Repose, Sun, Travel Subdomains: Industry, Psychopomp, Revelation, Souls, Trade Favored Weapon: Coins, followers of Silwyr treat copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins as shuriken |
As merchants and wanderers, the Jadengarde are well known for the animals and items that they use to navigate the rivers and roads of Almira. These unique, identifying features allow the Jadengarde to live their lives in comfort and happiness, and to share their joy with those who seek it.
The Jadengarde use powerful hounds to propel their flat bottomed skiffs over the land. However, these hounds are more than just labor animals. Jadengarde handles breed and train Jadengarde hounds to sing beautiful accompaniments to their storytellers, and to maintain a fierce loyalty to their caravan. These dogs are powerfully built, with short hair, perky ears, and muscular chests.
The flat bottomed skiffs used by the Jadengarde are known as gardeskiffs. These shallow, flat-bottomed boats are similar to rafts with raised sides, and have intricately designed cargo holds. A gardeskiff can be poled along shallow rivers or lashed to two riding dogs. Gardeskiffs are not designed for travel in large rivers, seas, or oceans. A gardeskiff cannot carry any siege engines.
The Jadengarde take their name from the Spirit Jade which reformed their community from criminal lackeys to free spirited caravaneers. This dull green stone is formed from the sediment of soul dust left behind when the dead depart for the Catacombs. Items made of Spirit Jade have a sort of primal intelligence, though they do not have an Intelligence score and are not sentient.
The Jadengarde use powerful hounds to propel their flat bottomed skiffs over the land. However, these hounds are more than just labor animals. Jadengarde handles breed and train Jadengarde hounds to sing beautiful accompaniments to their storytellers, and to maintain a fierce loyalty to their caravan. These dogs are powerfully built, with short hair, perky ears, and muscular chests.
The flat bottomed skiffs used by the Jadengarde are known as gardeskiffs. These shallow, flat-bottomed boats are similar to rafts with raised sides, and have intricately designed cargo holds. A gardeskiff can be poled along shallow rivers or lashed to two riding dogs. Gardeskiffs are not designed for travel in large rivers, seas, or oceans. A gardeskiff cannot carry any siege engines.
The Jadengarde take their name from the Spirit Jade which reformed their community from criminal lackeys to free spirited caravaneers. This dull green stone is formed from the sediment of soul dust left behind when the dead depart for the Catacombs. Items made of Spirit Jade have a sort of primal intelligence, though they do not have an Intelligence score and are not sentient.