Lore & Legends

The Sixteen Orders

Long before the first bag was sealed, the world of Loot learned to measure its wonders. Most things made by mortal hands wear out or are forgotten. A rare few refuse to. Those are called Great, and Greatness is never nameless.

The greatest relics carry a second name after their own, a mark of the power that runs through them: a blade of Fury, a ring of the Twins. Sixteen such marks are known, and adventurers call them the Orders. Some are read as bloodlines, others as faiths older than any crown, and each one leaves its temper on whoever carries its work.

What follows is a reader’s field guide to the sixteen, one theme and one legend apiece, drawn from the stories and half-remembered songs of the Lootverse. Like everything here, it is written by many hands and left open for the next hand to add to.

Confidence
Of Power
One of the oldest Orders and a fixture of the realms' history. Power outworks and outthinks its rivals on a bottomless well of self-confidence, though that same confidence is where it tends to break.
Stability
Of Giants
The backbone of the realms' great constructions, prized by Builders for sheer might. Giants win rank through raw combat, which breeds pride and a taste for force even when a smaller, faster foe calls for strategy.
Law
Of Titans
Said to have come from the Giants as metal comes from earth. Titans are bound to justice and to the rule of their Lord or Lady, keeping the letter of every law so faithfully that a cleverer enemy can trap them inside it.
Competence
Of Skill
An Order of constant self-improvement that still fights best as part of a team. Skill competes on merit and earns every win, yet its hunger to prove itself can show its hand too early in battle or intrigue.
Appreciation
Of Perfection
Makers and keepers of beautiful things, who choose creation over confrontation. Dismissed as mere artists and bards, though the wise know the most dangerous creations in the realms begin here.
Intelligence
Of Brilliance
The scholars, who hold that true perfection lives in thought. Their academies teach the many to find the brightest few, and their archives keep the history of the realms alongside the deep study of mana.
Wisdom
Of Enlightenment
Seekers of harmony who would turn swords into plows wherever they pass. Prized as diplomats and slow to violence, yet an Enlightened one's personal defenses can be extreme.
Sanctuary
Of Protection
Builders of stable economies and neutral ground, founders of the Inns where adventurers rest easy. Their kindness is their exposure, for not everyone repays it in kind, least of all the Dark.
Passion
Of Anger
Feeds on the intensity of a high-strung moment, drawing fuel from the emotion a challenge stirs up. Forever seeking conflict, most of all with Protection whose peace it cannot abide, until it meets a bigger fish.
Temper
Of Rage
Born of Anger, for those who could not show their fury and live. Rage holds an implacable front over a deep well of grievance, and in power it turns to revenge that often buries two.
Destruction
Of Fury
Worshippers of overwhelming force who would sooner destroy a thing than fail to dominate it. Their disciples are set against each other until only the most vicious remain, leaving the Order as competent as it is self-consuming.
Sharpness
Of Vitriol
Lovers of debate who offer an opinion with no thought for the wound it leaves. Raised on ruthless criticism, they hold themselves and everyone else to impossible standards.
Mischief
Of the Fox
Cunning over strength: the Fox hides and feints, winning by trickery. Its children play pranks on the other Orders, and the pranks only sharpen with age.
Empathy
Of Detection
Attuned to empathy, whether to comfort or to manipulate, and able to speak without a word. Masters of persuasion and rumor, a single whisper of theirs can move an army or ruin a caravan.
Focus
Of Reflection
Keepers of their own counsel, who believe the ever-changing realm dulls the ethereal sight. They seek visions of past and future alone in the dark, trailed by rumors of the rituals such sight demands.
Imitation
Of the Twins
Another of the oldest Orders, living communally and moving as one. Among themselves they drift toward the dominant member's style; among others they mimic a chosen mannerism like changing outfits.