Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast.

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A new group, and a surprise lesson on Nerath’s history!

The Lore

So far we’ve only got the bare minimum of information on the history and geography of Nerath as a whole. We mostly know that the Vale was part of its northern frontier, that it did a number on the Vale’s native peoples when it moved in, and that it fell about a hundred years ago. This entry gives lots of new information because the history of the Phantom Brigade is intimately tied to that of the empire of Nerath.

The Empire of Nerath was founded in the distant south around six hundred years ago, with the establishment its capital city of Nera. It quickly spread in all directions and became a world power. Its long history starts with an early period of rapid expansion, goes through the troubled and despotic rule of Emperor Magroth, and then through a long period of hegemonic peace and stability. This peace lasted until the empire’s abrupt fall about 100 years ago.

No one knows exactly how the fall of Nerath happened (or, if they do, they’re keeping it a secret). What is known is that a combination of traumatic events that might have included both monster attacks and natural disasters left the entire imperial family unaccounted for. Nerath’s armies were left leaderless and without direction, and all the simmering conflicts between its noble houses blew up with no one to keep them in line. Soon the complex infrastructure that united all regions of the empire stopped being maintained and crumbled, turning its cities and provinces into the scattered points of light we know today.

Nerath had several knightly orders at the time of its fall, and none where more prestigious than the Knights of the Empire. Imperial Knights were paladins and rangers selected for their skill, loyalty, and nobility of character. They answered directly to the Emperor, acting as his personal bodyguards and extensions of his will. When everything went to ruin, they were one of the few groups who remained committed to defending the empire and keeping it whole. Nearly all of them died in the decade between the initial catastrophe and the day everyone finally acknowledged Nerath was no more.

This did not stop the Knights, however. The oaths that bound them to the order were more than just pretty words. They included a mysterious magical effect or curse that eventually made the dead Knights return as ghosts. This started happening decades after the fall. Though the Knights know their empire has fallen, they are still compelled to seek the honor they could not gain in life, and fulfill their oaths as best they can. They are now known as the Phantom Brigade.

The first recorded appearance of the ghost knights was right here on the Vale, when three of them were spotted racing through the Gardbury Downs. In our narrative present they can be seen anywhere the hand of Nera used to reach.

Knights look much as they did in life, though ghostly and translucent. This means you have a very important decision to make. Is the Nazgul-looking fellow in the illustration a typical Knight, or is he Sir Georg Edgelord, who is an outlier and should not be counted? Your answer will say very interesting things about Nerath either way.

Their weapons bear the emblem of the Threefold Crown of Nerath, unmistakably marking their bearers as Knights of the Empire. Those weapons and also serve as the receptacle for their souls.

Though we saw in previous entries that Nerath did some pretty horrible shit in the past, the Knights seem genuinely concerned about upholding its highest ideals and their original oaths, even though they’re ghosts. They will not attack random travelers unprovoked and will probably be enthusiastic allies in the fight against threats to the Vale if they can be convinced of the need for this alliance.

However, they can still come into conflict with the PCs if they try to trespass upon the areas the Knights still protect (which are full of juicy treasure-filled Nerathi ruins). In these cases a fight might be avoided if the PCs can present the Knights with a genuine writ of passage or Nerathi signet ring.

The Numbers

Phantom Brigade members are Medium Shadow Humanoids with the Undead tag. Most of them are former humans. They have Darkvision and immunity to disease and poison, but lack the usual resistances and vulnerabilities. They have ground speeds of 6.

As ghosts, our knights have both Insubstantial and Phasing. Only force damage will deal full damage to them, and since they don’t have additional vulnerabilities the trait can’t be temporarily shut down. They do tend to have less HP than a typical monster of their level, which somewhat compensates for it.

Their unique signature trait is Unrelenting Brigade. Whenever an ally who also has this trait drops to 0 HP within 5 squares of the knight, they gain a +2 to-hit bonus until the end of their next turn.

Every single stat block in this entry has Lawful Good as its Alignment, a rarity in monster and NPC stat blocks.

Level-wise, the Phantom Brigade can be a threat from the mid-Heroic to the mid Paragon-tier, putting them on the same bracket as, say, the Gray Company.

Phantom Brigade Squire

Squires are Level 6 Minion Soldiers. They can attack with their Soulbound Short Swords and their Spectral Crossbows, both of which deal psychic damage. If an enemy hits an ally adjacent to the squire with a melee attack, they can use Shielding Martyr to become the target of that attack instead.

Phantom Brigade Armiger

Armigers are Level 7 Brutes with 71 HP. They fight with Soulbound Bardiches that deal psychic damage, and their charges use the Charging Rebuke special attack that deals the same amount of damage, push the target 1 square, and knock it prone. They can also make Furious Sweeps to attack everyone in a Close Blast 2 for slightly less damage.

Phantom Brigade Justiciar

These Level 7 Skirmishers have 54 HP and project an aura (1) of Blind Justice that inflicts a -2 to-hit penalty on enemies caught inside. They fight with Soulbound Hammers that can be used in melee or thrown, and they can Evade and Strike at will. This ends any marks on them, lets them shift 4 squares, and then make a basic melee attack.

Phantom Brigade Banneret

Bannerets are likely minor officers, since their name means “one who carries a banner”. They’re Level 8 Soldiers with the Leader tag and 60 HP. Their phantom banner projects a Gift of Grace aura (3) that grants a +5 bonus to saves to allies inside.

The banneret fights with a Soulbound Tulwar, which does psychic and radiant damage. As an effect, it also marks and slows the target for a turn. If a marked enemy within 5 squares tries to make an attack that doesn’t target the banneret, they can use Stalwart Restraint as a reaction. This always hits! It immobilizes the target and inflicts 10 ongoing psychic damage on them (save ends

Bannerets are quite danregous. Their attacks always do something and they’re a lot more dangerous to ignore than your typical soldier monster.

Phantom Brigade Templar

These imposing undead paladins bring the Brigade into the paragon tier. They’re Level 12 Controllers with 85 HP. They fight with Soulbound Morningstars that deal psychic damage and slide 2 squares on a hit. They can attack at range with Righteous Strikes that deal cold and radiant damage, and also slow on a hit (save ends). And they can use their Frightful Majesty to attack enemies in a Close Burst 1 and daze them for a turn on a hit. This recharges when they’re first bloodied.

Phantom Brigade Knight-Commander

Knight-Commanders are high-ranking officers, likely responsible for leading all Imperial Knights in a given region. They’re Level 14 Soldiers with the Leader tag and 96 HP.

Their weapon of choice is a Keening Soulbound Backsword, which deals psychic and thunder damage and which marks the target for a turn as an effect. The sword can be used in a Soul Strike maneuver (recharge 5+) that deals more damage and gives the knight-commander 10 temporary HP. The commander can also attack enemies in a Close Burst 1 by repeating the Oath of Nerath, which targets Fortitude and deals psychic damage.

If an enemy within 2 squares that’s marked by the commander chooses to ignore the mark, the commander can use Call to Arms to allow an ally within 5 squares to shift 3 spaces and make a free basic attack against the triggering enemy.

If my assumption back in the first paragraph is correct, there’s a Knight-Commander in the Vale. The book doesn’t give any information about that individual, so you’re free to come up with their backstory and description yourself.

Final Impressions

Turns out undead in 4e don’t have to be evil! The magic binding these knights to the world could still be quite bad, but it has not affected their souls or personalities. Still, as mentioned, they might end up fighting PCs who insist on exploring former Nerathi sites the knights consider to be under their protection.

I’m very interested in what might happen if the Gray Company or one of their Nerathi revivalist rivals runs into the Phantom Brigade. I imagine that anyone who meets with the knights’ approval will have the legitimacy of their claims greatly bolstered… but I also imagine that Halvath Cormarrin would not have their approval. On the other hand, the Knight-Commander’s sword is likely the weapon Cormarrin is after, because that’s an easy and fun connection to make.

Things will turn out very differently it Cormarrin does in fact have a way to compel the Phantom Brigade to be loyal to him. This could be the thing that catapults the Gray Company into a paragon-tier threat. In that case, making the Knights turn against him would be a key step in defeating their imperialist aims.

If you want the Phantom Brigade to be evil after all, you can use their stats exactly as they are presented and only change their alignment and behavior. You can also add some Death Knights to their number, since they are also evil undead knights with their souls bound to their weapons. You might say those are members of the order who managed to retain their physical bodies after all this time.