Monastery of the Iron Eagle

Image by andreasrocha, source

This fortified monastery is in Norwold, on the north coast of the Great Bay and to the east of Latela. The Alphatian authorities in Alpha don't pay much attention to it - as far as they are concerned it is home of a hardy order of neutral clerics who have come to the icy climes of Norwold to test their discipline and endurance. What the Alphatians don't know is that although the monastery is officially independent of any nation, its resident clerics worship Vanya, patron goddess of the Heldannic Knights and others who are intent on conquest and glory. Thus unofficially the Monastery of the Iron Eagle is the Heldannic Knights' northernmost toehold in Norwold. 

The residents have found themselves in something of a predicament - they came here expecting to use the monastery as the launchpad for glorious Heldannic raids and expeditions against the Alphatians and anyone else too weak and decadent to defend themselves. However, the clerics of Vanya and their Heldannic allies have found themselves frequently on the back foot, and isolated from their usual allies. 

Further to the north in the Noskumi Tundra there are the Revvak tribesmen, human but brutal savages who worship Chaos and prone to slaughter any civilized folk, whether Alphatian, Heldannic or Thyatian. The Revvak hate anything to do with culture, stability and order, and they view the monastery as an outpost of such principles that must be destroyed. The exact population and distribution of the Revvak is unknown but must number into tens of thousands. The Revvak are led by their Great Seer of Chaos, a powerful chaos cultist who claims to commune with the essence of Chaos itself. 

image by Todor Ignatov,  source

Every few months, whatever the season, the Revvak will launch some sort of attack on the monastery, whether it be an attempt to completely beseige it, stealthily climb the walls in the dead of night, or simply harry and raid any group trying to enter or leave. Both sides are constantly changing tactics and trying to learn from their mistakes. The barbarians have not won yet, though several times they have caused considerable losses to the clerics and Heldannic knights, and forced the monastery to muster every combatant they have to the battlements. 

The monastery has 260 clerics of Vanya of various levels, as well as a company of 120 Heldannic knights, 210 men-at-arms and 70 servants and maids, theoretically non-combatant but when the Revvak are at the outer walls everybody picks up a weapon (even a kitchen knife or pitchfork) to defend themselves. 

NPCs of the Monastery of the Iron Eagle

Commander Gertrune Hollerstein (Fighter 14, human female align L (LE), Str 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Dex 10, Con 16, Cha 14) Equipment: Plate mail +2, Bastard Sword +2 + 4 vs giants, Dagger +1, 
Commander Hollerstein is fervent true believer in the Heldannic cause. She is of old Hattian stock and believes she is naturally superior to everyone and is determined to prove it. Although when calm she can be tactically astute, her zeal and fanaticism can overrule good sense when making strategic decisions. At her worst she can fly into a fury at the failure of her plans and blame those who were supposed to carry them out, accusing her subordinates (such as Captain Gollering) of cowardice and lack of faith. This has made her very unpopular within the monastery, though she is still the leader of the company of knights there.  She also sees her posting here as a test set by her superiors in Frieberg, and to ask for help would be a sign of weakness and therefore failure. 

Mother Superior Karrella Bruggenhoff  (Cleric 13, human female, align L (LN), Str 11, Int 14, Wis 15, Dex 9, Con 13, Cha 14) Equipment: Plate Mail +2, Mace +2 +3 vs undead & casts light spell 1/day, Shield +1, Holy Symbol
Mother Superior Bruggenhoff is the senior cleric of Vanya in the monastery and although she believes in Vanya's principles of conquest and glory, she is level-headed about how this is achieved. Her first priority is the security of the monastery and its people. She is also pragmatic about dealing with other civilized folk - Bruggenhoff particularly wants to establish better relations with the Thyatians of Latela as she sees them as natural allies rather than just one more town to be subjugated, and is willing to ask for help from the Heldannic homeland

Captain Varnius Gollering (Fighter 9, human male, align L (LN), Str 15, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 10, Con 14, Cha 14). Equipment: Plate mail +1, Polearm +2, Shortsword +2
Captain Gollering is in charge of the men-at-arms in the monastery. He is not a happy man, and is on the verge of losing his faith in the cause, having seen dozens of his men die in desperate and near-futile attacks on enemies ordered by Commander Hollerstein. He of course took the brunt of the blame. He hates Commander Hollerstein and would like to see her removed, either administratively or by brute force. He has a better relation with Mother Superior Bruggenhoff whom he sees as a reasonable authority. 

Krellig Stauffenburg (Magic User 10, human male, align N (NE), Str 8, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Cha 10), Equipment: Bracers of defence AC 5, Cloak of Protection +2, Wand of Fireballs, Staff of Summoning Elementals (any type, always 8HD)
Krellig is the resident mage in the monastery, advising the clerics and knights about magical matters and casting spells when required. He is no fanatic and simply sees his time in the monastery as a stepping stone to greater ambitions. Nonetheless, he has some loyalty to the Heldannic cause (he grew up in Altendorf and learned magic in Freiberg) and also realises that at least for the moment he needs the protection of the monastery. He stays clear of Commander Hollerstein, considering her a dangerous fool. 

Notes on alignment with the Heldannic Knights: The B/X system of Law versus Chaos works fine in most circumstances but the Heldannic Knights do not fit this model very well. In AD&D terms I see the Heldannic order as a mixture of Lawful Neutral and Lawful Evil - they are ruthless, fanatical and warlike, which could all be seen as chaotic tendencies. Yet they are also rigidly disciplined and believe they are champions of civilization (or at least their idea of civilization). They would be horrified and affronted if described as chaotic, yet their behaviour can be just as destructive and nihilistically violent as any band of orcs or ogres. Thus when giving their alignments I have decided to add in brackets where they might be on the AD&D 2-axis 9-alignment system. This is probably going to be a temporary thing. 

Some philosophers believe that the Heldannic Knights are lawful, but a corrupted version of Law, perhaps a version of Law tainted by Chaos. Most of the Heldannic Knights believe they are Lawful and will describe themselves as such, but they have drifted far from the ideals and principles that the cosmic forces of Law want from mortals, becoming no better than the forces of Chaos they claim to oppose. In this regard they do not fit into the conventional Lawful/Neutral/Chaos spectrum that the vast majority of D&D sentient creatures can be found on