Knights of the Divine Hammer

If there was ever a knighthood that started with positive ideals but was driven to murder innocents more than the Knights of the Divine Hammer, I can’t think of it. Lets learn more about the Knights of the Divine Hammer. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3252/Legends-of-the-Twins-35?affiliate_id=50797

Download the Knights of the Divine Hammer web enhancement: https://dlsaga.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Knights_of_the_Divine_Hammer.pdf

Transcript

Cold Open

They initially targeted evil, but quickly spread to anything the Kingpriest feared, which was everything.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Knights of the Divine Hammer. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Kingpriest trilogy, the Knightly Orders of Ansalon web enhancement: Knights of the Divine Hammer and the Legends of the Twins sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

As with all knighthoods in Dragonlance, the Knights of the Divine Hammer were formed based on a vision. But this wasn’t a clear vision of a god presenting themselves to a mortal with a specific edict, or the honoring of a fallen soldier as in other knighthoods, but rather in forty Prae Cataclius a peasant turned bandit turned protector named Cathan MarSevrin had a vision of a burning hammer falling toward the nation of Istar. He shared this vision with Beldinas Pilofiro, the new Kingpriest also known as the Lightbringer, for Cathan helped him find the Miceram, the ancient crown of power the Kingpriests wore. This new Kingpriest was a former monk and religious fanatic. He refuted the Doctrine of Balance after several assassination attempts on his life when coming into power, you know the Law of Balance that is integral to Dragonlance as a setting. This religious zealot interpreted the vision as a sign from Paladine. I doubt anyone could have foreseen the truth behind the vision at the time, as the Lightbringer would be the cause of the Cataclysm, and he was brand new to the job.

The Kingpriest interpreted this burning hammer to be a sign from Paladine that he should eradicate all Evil, and that Istar should have a Knighthood dedicated to that end. After resurrecting Cathan, he appointed him the first Knight of the Divine Hammer. I can’t imagine anyone other than those serving the gods of evil, seeing this new knighthood as anything more imposing than the Knights of Solamnia, save for their sole focus being to protect the Holy Empire of Istar and execute the Kingpriests’ will, which is what they did. The order held near total immunity from any legal claims within the Empire. The first Grand Marshal, Cathan’s former bandit Lord turned Holy Soldier, only reported to the Kingpriest himself. As the order eliminated Evil, and eased suffering in this plague ridden era of Istar, members would flock to its ranks, many of them never having set eyes on the capital. Even some Solamnic Knights abandoned their order to join the Kingpriests! The Knights of the Divine Hammer even had seniority and control over the Scatas, the empire’s military.

As with any organization of good, it will inevitably fall to bureaucracy and evil. We see this in our own world, and as that is where the various authors come from, we see it in this fictional one as well. It is never enough to eradicate Evil, when evil’s population is reduced. You need to continue finding shadows be they caused from friend or foe, and that is exactly what the Kingpriest did. If you did not agree with his interpretation of Good, you were by default evil. If you believed in neutrality, seeing as the Kingpriest forsook the Doctrine of Balance, you were by default evil, and his order of Holy knights executed his will with glee. You can’t help but find parallels in socio-religious, and political parties sharing this very narrow minded, self serving, and truly ignorant approach to life even today! In thirty-two PC the kingpriest declared Shinareans to be heretics for hoarding wealth, as all religious institutions do by the way. Three years later, it was the Holy Order of Sirrion which was cast out for their hedonistic ways. Eventually it was to worship only good gods, or you are branded as evil and will be burned at the stake.

Why did the people of Istar go along with it? Well, as long as you are taken care of, and atrocities aren’t happening to you, people simply go along. They make justifications or ignore reality. Again, very true to our world. This twisting of logic and genocide would continue for a decade, largely ignored by the population until the Lost Battles. The Lost Battles would prove to be a pivotal turning point in the knighthood as most of the knights died in their war against the Orders of High Sorcery. Cathan would replace Tavarre as the Grand Marshal, but in turn would be replaced by Lord Olin Silverhaft in twenty PC. Olin, a former Knight of Solamnia, would do his best to rebuild the knighthood, but at this point, Imperial Scatas, lesser noblemen’s children and mercenaries trying to make a name for themselves would swell their ranks, and ultimately led to an even more ignoble order if you can imagine. By his death in nine PC, Cathan’s former squire Tithian became the Grand Marshal, and he was forced to fight Istar politics which proved to be far too ingrained into the Holy Empire.

Then Istar and the Kingpriests acts of evil called destruction down upon Krynn, sundering both Ansalon and Taladas. The Law of Balance can not be ignored, and the Cataclysm was the result. Like the Knights of Solamnia after them, the Knights of the Divine Hammer would be hunted by the surviving population for causing the Cataclysm, and their order would be wiped from Krynn. It is poetic justice and bitter irony that the vision of destruction that formed this Holy Order would be the very form of destruction to it. The Kingpriest’s beliefs are a parable that I believe we can all learn from. It is okay for you to believe whatever you want, but when you start exercising your belief on others, you will inevitably become a victim of said beliefs.

The Knights of the Divine Hammer were fervent believers in the Kingpriests vision of a righteous world without evil. They were led by their Grand Marshal and they in turn led the Imperial military. An Imperial Cosa or Company consisted of four Inas. A squadron consisted of three hundred scatas with a contingent of knights and clerics. The Bifras or Regiments, were composed of five menibas, with the Istar division or Droma being made up of six Bifras. Typically the first officer or knight banneret of the order would command a dozen knights and thirty scatas. A Knight Commander leads six knights banneret and can requisition a further two hundred scatas. They would also instruct squires and lesser knights in the use of arms. A Knight Marshal leads four Knights commanders and is granted authority over a city. Over them are the Senior Marshall who defends a province then ultimately the Grand Marshall or Lord Marshall who heads the order itself.

While the knights themselves are forced to exercise chastity and obedience to their leadership, they are granted exquisite equipment and near total authority in the holy empire. Personally I would question anyone willing to give up personal autonomy for religious authority, but I seem to be in the minority, as that’s what religious followers do on the regular in our world.

Outro

And that is all I have to say about Knights of the Divine Hammer. Do you think they ever truly had good intentions? Do you see any relation to real world groups? And finally, would you run a character through a morality based campaign? Leave a comment below.

I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:

I’ll pack my tears away for today. The gods know that they’ll be here tomorrow. As for the aching in my heart… It will be here always.