Flaming Fist

The Flaming Fist, or Flaming Fists, was a mercenary company based in the city of Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast, where its members served as city guards. They were one of the most powerful and expensive fighting forces in all the Realms during the 14 century DR, motivated primarily by the promise of riches and the glory of victory, though they edged on the side of promoting order throughout the Realms.
==Organization==
===Leadership===
During the 1300s, the company was led by 10 senior officers which included the master-tactician Scar, the powerful mage Moruene and the company's founder and leader, Grand Duke Eltan.
The other leaders included Beluarion, Kulurauk, Bellan, Nenon, Koruelve, Desedrak and Yulimtul. These high-ranking Flaming Fist officers served as commanders on the battlefield, bodyguards during intense, high-risk negotiations and often as a protective bulwark for Eltan and Moruene when they forayed into combat.
Following the near-disastrous expeditions to Maztica and Anchorome during the early 1360's DR, over half of the senior officers were either killed, went missing or were absent from Baldur's Gate due to new posts from which they served. Along with the surviving Koruelve, A new generation of officers were inducted into the Flaming Fist including Lendali Firehair, Herculus the Hammer, Skot-sar, Delandria Kalvistalk the Huner and Morgan Redwing.
During the mid-15 century DR, Grand Duke Abdel Adrian served as the Marshal of the Flaming Fist until his death in the . He was succeeded by Ulder Ravengard, who also ascended to the office of Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate within a decade.
===Ranks===
The Flaming Fist operated under a strict military hierarchy. They seldom recruited locals to aid in their missions, except in the cases of advisers or wilderness guides.
As of the late 15 century DR, the Flaming Fist comprised six hierarchical ranks. In descending order of authority they were: Marshal, the Fist's general; Blaze, equivalent to a major; Flame, an officer that served as lieutenant; Manip, a Flaming Fist sergeant; Gauntlet, comparable to a corporal; Fist, the rank given to private soldiers.
Some high ranking members of the Flaming Fist were known to have served on the Baldurian Council of Four.
===Membership===
Most members of the Flaming Fist grew up in the Lower and Outer Cities of Baldur's Gate. Yet others were given second chances at life after being imprisoned, and in some cases, taken captive during war. Regular work and stable wages attracted many less-fortunate people, notably among the numerous adventurers that passed through the city. Men and woman of all ages, from many races of the Realms, all decided to join the Flaming Fist.
Prospective members of the Flaming Fist were required to demonstrate basic competencies and physical capabilities befitting a soldier. While discipline was one virtue that could be instilled during training, strong ethics and morality were highly sought after as well. Unfortunately, many soldiers failed at upholding these ideals the longer they served within the Fist.
==Activities==
The Flaming Fist served both as Baldur's Gate military as well as the police force of the Lower City. Despite the city's reputation as being rife with corruption, most soldiers of the Fist did their best to uphold justice and maintain order within its walls. 
On other occasions, they were merciless and engaged in immediate violence in the name of justice. Yet others were prone to corruption themselves, readily accepting bribes from anyone that had the coin.
==Base of Operations==
While the Fist's base of operations was in the city of Baldur's Gate, they had other forts and establishments across the Realms. Notable among these were Fort Flame in southern Anchorome, Fort Beluarian in Chult, and other holdings in Tethyr. The latter of which proved to be a source for recent hires by Duke Eltan during their decades-long civil war. They also worked outside the city and their forts; their sphere of influence extending just south of Beregost but stopping before Nashkel.
==Possessions==
One notable piece of siege weaponry known as the Boiler was gifted to the Flaming Fists by a noble family of one of Baldur's Gate's Dukes. However, the machine was imperfect and became feared as much by the Fists as the subjects of the Boiler's sizzling hot oil streams. When the cauldron was emptied, the Boiler caused a dangerous backsplash as it was returned to the default position, often scalding its operators. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to repair it. However, replacing the Boiler meant offending the noble family, which was completely out of the question.
==Relationships==
A great many adversarial organizations openly opposed the Flaming Fist, including rival mercenary companies, the Zhentarim and the Cult of the Dragon.
==History==
The Flaming Fist Mercenary Company, as it was then called, was founded in the 1330s DR by Eltan, a formidable fighter and Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate. 
During the Horde Wars, 300 members were hired out by Sembia to combat the overwhelming Tuigan forces.
While Tethyr was leaderless during the Tethyrian Interregnum, Duke Eltan hired out small squads of the Fist at a greatly discounted rate. It was believed that he did so in hopes of being invited to the Tethyrian Court, and sought to establish a dependent state over which he would have control.
===Glory of Exploration===
Guided by his fascination with the explorer Balduran, Eltan arranged for an 150-strong expedition into the jungles of Chult led by the officers Beluarion and Nenon. When he got word of the discoveries of Maztica by the Amnian Golden Legion in the , Eltan knew to take action. He arranged for a Fist-led expedition to the "New World" in the , in the hopes of discovering the final resting place of Balduran, in the unknown continent of Anchorome. The settlement of Fort Flame was established that same year.
Not content with the lands that had been settled by the southern neighbors to Baldur's Gate, the Flaming Fist had four of their leading officers, Bellan, Desedrak, Yulimtul and Scar lead 500 of the Flaming Fist, along with 200 horses and a great deal of cargo, set out from the island of Lantan. They immediately encountered troubles in the form of disease and storms. While the Fist clerics limited the spread of disease, they lost three vessels, one of which had been designated as the infirmary for the sea-faring explorers which contained most of the divine healers.
The remaining Fist explorers landed in Helmsport, resupplied and hired 60 Maztican Eagle Knights to replenish their numbers. The Flaming Fist explorers split their forces, with Desedrak, Yulimtul and just over 200 mercenaries venturing northwest across the newly-discovered continent to find the legendary City of Gold, while the remaining 300-plus continued sailing north in search of the fabled Anchorome. The former group was never heard from again, while the latter lost a third of their ships fighting off the Sahuagin from the undersea city of Itzcali, and were led by Scar further north.
Arriving in the mouth of a bay, which they would name the Bay of Balduran, the remaining Fist mercenaries discovered a lush land inhabited by wild elves, unlike any they knew on Faerûn. While they ventured inland, the remaining Fist ships were sunk by massive whale-like sea beasts. The elves they encountered were extremely hostile, and the Flaming Fist were forced to make a fighting retreat out of their territory towards the coast. The remaining hundred explorers, led by Scar and Bellan, established Fort Flame at the mouth of the bay. With Bellan maintaining lead at Fort Flame, the keen-minded Scar led a small band south to Helmsport, sailed back to Baldur's Gate, and petitioned for reinforcements for the isolated fortress, which arrived in the year 1366 DR.
===Latter 14 Century===
The mid–14 century saw the Flaming Fist grow prosperous and bolster their renown. They successfully helped defend Sundabar by routing a massive army of orcs marching en route to the city through Dead Orc Pass.
The Flaming Fist was thrown into turmoil in the , when the charismatic but malicious merchant-warrior Sarevok Anchev threw the city of Baldur's Gate into chaos. He helped orchestrate the Iron crisis of the Sword Coast, which almost sparked a war between the city and the entire nation of Amn to the south.
Later that year, Sarevok orchestrated the death and incapacitation of several of the city's Dukes, and positioned himself as the premiere candidate for one of the vacancies. One of his first acts after being elected, was to appoint Angelo Dosan as Marshal of the Flaming Fist, in order to wield the mercenary group as an extension of his will. The war and Sarevok's attempted coup were thwarted by his half-brother, and fellow child of Bhaal, Abdel Adrian.
In the last months of that year and well into the , the Flaming Fist, along with the armies of Daggerford and Waterdeep, marched across the Sword Coast in a unified Coalition army. Their alliance was formed in direct response to the emergent Shining Crusade, a holy army raised by the aasimar noblewoman of Waterdeep, Caelar Argent and her zealous devotees.
Sometime before the , Flaming Fist mercenaries were involved in defending the city of Baldur's Gate from an invading orc horde. The Fists used one piece of notoriously dangerous siege equipment, the Boiler, to defend the walls from orcs crawling up rickety ladders. When the defenders ran out of bubbling hot oil, Sergeant Lukas Oteril made a decision to toss the Boiler off the wall on the heads of climbing orcs. Even though that actions meant little to the battle's outcome, the Flaming Fists were happy to get rid of the accursed device. The battle was eventually won with the horde's chieftain fleeing with his life and the Boiler.
===15 Century===
By the late 15 century DR, the Flaming Fists had changed from a mercenary group to the police and military force of Baldur's Gate. They were still among the strongest militaries in all the Sword Coast, and allied with other nation-states whenever some threat was menacing enough to warrant it.
===Decade of Turmoil===
The Flaming Fist faced many challenges as one threat after another endangered the lives of the Baldurian citizens. Two of the city's Grand Dukes were slain in gruesome fashion, in large public gathers, within the span of a single decade. In the , the city's beloved Grand Duke and current Marshal of the Flaming Fist, Abdel Adrian was thrown into a horrific battle with the only other last remaining Bhaalspawn, each as two remnants of the century-long Avatar Crisis. The Grand Duke was slain in public in the Wide, and a terrible monster was let loose on the onlooking crowd of Baldurians.
After he was promoted Marshal Ulder Ravengard served as the representative of Baldur's Gate and the Flaming Fist at the Council of Waterdeep, to deal with the emerging threat of the Cult of the Dragon and potential appearance of Tiamat in the Realms.
The criminal organization known as the Guild ran operations throughout the Lower and Outer Cities unchecked, infiltrating the Fist with their own operatives, and even clashing with local vigilante groups known colloquially as crews.
The , posed many challenges to the Flaming Fist and their mission to maintain order in Baldur's Gate. That year, hundreds of refugees from the beleaguered city of Elturel―which had descended into the Nine Hells―and the nation of Elturgard came pouring into Baldur's Gate seeking shelter and new homes. Around the same time, several malevolent cults―including those dedicated to Dead Three, the archdevil Zariel, and an entity known as the Absolute―arose rapidly within the city and sowed chaos amidst its streets.
The Flaming Fist suffered an even greater lost, when it became apparent that Marshal Ulder Ravengard, was in Elturel on a diplomatic mission during its descent. While he managed to survive that horrific ordeal, he and some members of his retinue were abducted by Absolute cultists en route back to Baldur's Gate.
==Members==
===14 Century Forces===
As of the year 1358 DR, the Flaming Fist were some 2,000 soldiers strong. Their forces included: one score rangers, about three dozen rogues and assassin, ten monks of Helm, a handful of wizards outfitted with magical items (crafted by Eltan's ally Moruene), 200 clerics of Tempus, Tymora, and Helm, 200 well-equipped elite cavalry, and 1500 mounted fighters, armored in chainmail and banded mail.
In addition to their fighting force, the Flaming Fist kept 4,000 horses, over 3,000 pack mules to carry their equipment and haul away looted treasure. They typically brought along 9 wagons, packed with weapons, food and drink, medical supplies and siege weaponry. The wagons were well-armored, lined with dragonhide to offer protection from fire and offered a protective barrier from which the Fist's archers could fire their arrows. They had gathered a great cache of useful items throughout their operations, including both mundane and magical items.
By the year 1368 DR, the Flaming Fist's total forces counted about 1000, with only half of that number still garrisoned within Baldur's Gate proper. Many of their numbers had been killed as a result of the treachery of Sarevok Anchev.
===Notable Members===
* Gauntlet Bence Duncan, a loyal Fist soldier who fought for the Coalition army during the War of the Shining Crusade.
* Flame Daryn Falburn, an officer of the Fist who worked out of the offices of the Basilisk Gate.
* Blaze Liara Portyr, commander of Fort Beluarian in Chult and one-time acting-Marchal during Ravengard's absence.
* Oalan, an Eagle Knight of Maztica that joined the Fist out of loyalty to the soldier Bellan who saved his life.
===Former Members===
* Erl Manorran, the city's Harbormaster who served as an officer of the Flaming Fist until an inappropriate joke got him "promoted" to his new position.
* Tamper Tencoin, a former Fist soldier and caravan-master that became a seasoned adventurer, and bearer of the sword Namarra.
* Yvandre Rillyn, a noblewoman who left the Flaming Fist to restore the glory of her once-prosperous family.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
:;Adventures
::Murder in Baldur's Gate • The Rise of Tiamat • Tomb of Annihilation• Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus • Candlekeep Mysteries: "The Price of Beauty" • "The Scriviner's Tale"
::
::The Tortle Package
:;Novels
::Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad • Baldur's Gate
:;Video Games
::Baldur's Gate • Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear • Baldur's Gate III
::
::Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford • Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea
:;Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
::Tomb of Annihilation (Whispers in the Dark) • Avernus Rising (Stopped at the Gate • Hungry Shadows • Day of the Devil • Hellfire Requiem) • Plague of Ancients (The Frozen North)
:: 
::Durlag's Tower • Durlag's Tomb • Infernal Insurgency •The Frozen North
:;Card Games
::
:;Gamebooks
::Spawn of Dragonspear
===Gallery===
Image:You See a Guard Approach AFR.jpg|Ellywick, Nadaar, Hama, and Varis being approached by members of the Flaming Fist in Baldur's Gate.
Image:Price of Loyalty AFR.jpg|A soldier of the Flaming Fist accepting a bribe from a goblin, by Oriana Menendez.
====Concept Art====
Image:Flaming fist shield by janekatsubo.jpg|Flaming Fist concept art.
===External Links===
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* 
===References===
Category:Organizations
Category:Mercenary companies
Category:Military organizations
Category:Organizations in Baldur's Gate
Category:Organizations in the Western Heartlands
Category:Organizations on the Sword Coast
Category:Organizations in West Faerûn
Category:Organizations in Faerûn
Category:Organizations on Toril
Category:Organizations in Anchorome
Category:Organizations in Fort Flame