Crimson Serpent Co

(this is a LARP group from NoCal who have played in our system several
times, but have not been seen in-game, I think, since September 1998. I
am not sure if the contact e-mail address is still accurate. - Mike A.)

## **Devices and Uniforms:**

 The Crimson Serpent Company is best known by their black tabards with a
 red dragon upon the center of the breast. The dragon is a mixture of
Asian and European elements. Senior fighters and command staff have
tabards bordered in red, Men-at-arms have black tabards, red dragon, and
 black trim, and hirelings have black tabard, black trim, and no dragon.
 The Commander wears black leather vambraces with the red dragon carved
in relief. They have been known to travel quite light and mobile but in
full formation they camp with a compound comprising four ten foot by ten
 foot pavilions connected by twenty feet of walls between each, forming a
 forty foot by forty foot fortress.

## **Deity:**

 There is no formal company deity. The first loyalty MUST be to the company however.

## **Goal:**

 The Crimson Serpent Company has always sought to be a balancing force
in the land. They are “Professional Fighting Company” and NOT a
“Mercenary Company”. They define this by fighting for profit and for
causes, as they deem appropriate. In their entire history there has
never been a case of the company changing sides without due formal
resignation. The goal is to increase the size of the company while
admitting ONLY the members deemed worthy of skill and in line with the
company ideals.

## **Territory:**

 Although the Crimson Serpents tend to operate mostly in the western
portion of Xaria, the company has been known to operate wherever and
whenever they are contracted to do so. There are no limits to their
operational theater. There has even been whispers that a Crimson Serpent
 had been on the island of Shorn to discuss, and later turn down a proposal to help Duke Marlon XXXII kill the Querlings.

## **Genesis:**

 The Crimson Serpent Company was formed in Icara in the year 387 by Robert of Herndale.

On a particularly dark day a band of goblins descended upon the village
on the border of Uragoth and which was under the protection of the Lord
of Herndale. Robert was in a most unpleasant situation, he was duty
bound to defend his village, but most of his fighting men had joined the
 Icaran Army to go fight the war against Karandia. Robert chose to
fulfill his obligation to the village even if it meant the end of his
life. Robert had only three warriors left with any battle experience.
They quickly armed themselves and rode into the village. When they
arrived, they found that the goblins numbered at least fifteen able
fighters. Placing their souls into the hands of the almighty the Lord
Robert and his three warriors charged into the fray. How exactly they
managed to win that day is unclear, however word quickly spread of the
outcome of the battle. Soon Robert was receiving requests from many
other villages and nobles who were being plagued by other groups of orcs
 and goblins, along with the bandits taking easy pickings while the
fighters were away. Robert was also receiving letters and visits from
would be heroes who wished to join forces with him.

Robert was the kind of man who believed that nobility was not a
birthright, but something which was defined by one’s own actions, Robert
 quickly organized the best of them into a fighting unit, dressed them
in his red and black family colors (but not with the Crimson Serpent
emblem yet) and began to offer help wherever he could. They were known
as Herndale’s Force.

Soon however the cost of housing, training, equipping and transporting
the group became too much for Robert. He was about to disband the group
when his seneschal suggested that he could charge enough for their
services that they could offset their time and expenses. Although
originally against the notion of a man of honor charging to do good
deeds, Robert soon realized that it was either charge them and be able
to help, or not charge them and not be able to help at all. Robert did
occasionally offer his company’s services to those too poor to pay that
truly needed his services, however, being a pragmatic man he simply
charged the wealthy clients a little more to make up the difference.

It did not take more than a couple of years before the region around
southern Icara was fairly safe and secure. As they had less and less
local problems to deal with, the Force received more and more requests
from farther away. It became obvious to Robert that his Force needed to
be a mobile free company. Robert gave all of his rights and duties for
Herndale over to his younger brother William of Herndale.

Living a life on the road did not allow Robert the opportunity to marry
and have children. So when it became time for him to retire he chose one
 of his Captains, a man by the name of Ian Fraser, as his successor. Ian
 was a Gherin Culloch warrior who had left his clan in search of fame
and glory in the many wars to the south. Ian had distinguished himself
in a battle in Karandia, fighting on the side of the Karads. Herndale’s
Force was fighting for the Icarans. Ian fought well, but his unit was
taken captive. One of the men-at-arms of the Force had the unfortunate
pleasure of facing the great claymore Fraser wielded. As Ian was being
marched off in chains, he happened to notice this man-at-arms and called
 out to him. Ian followed the hail with “ You fought well lad, not many
men woulda’ had the ballocks to face me one ta one as ya’ done”. This
exchange was observed by the man’s Captain, who then took it upon
himself to pay the large Culloch’s ransom. He decided that any man who
was honest enough and honorable enough to say that to an enemy, deserved
 better than a life of slavery.

Well, as it turned out Ian worked out very well. Not only was he honest
and honorable, he was also one hell of a fighter. Ian managed to
distinguish himself over and over again on the field of battle, both as
warrior and as a leader. Ian demonstrated a good head for business also,
 and when promoted to Captain, he also proved to be very level-headed
and even-tempered with his men. It is no wonder that Robert chose him to
 be the first man to command the Force outside of the Herndale family.
In fact, it was Ian who took one of the most powerful, feared and
wizened creatures in Glen Culloch’s mythos, a dragon, and adopted it
into the red and black colors of the Force. Then, since the Force was no
 longer under the command of Herndale, Ian renamed the group as the
Crimson Serpent Company.

## **Past:**

 The history of the Crimson Serpent Company is kept within the company
and only comes out as occasional rumors. A few of these rumors include
helping to end the civil war on Chalter Medrium in 425 and assisting in returning the land of Telumar
 to the hands of it’s people in 488 (in fact, it has been whispered that
 a Crimson Serpent actually enters Telumar without the usual border
investigation). There are further rumors of only three of the Crimson
Serpents holding off a dozen Rynith Guards, double that in orcs and
single handedly slaying a demon during the attempted peace talks of
Gherin Culloch in 496.

## **Present:**

 The Crimson Serpent Company has begun to make a name for itself in the
lands around Icara. Although constantly reminded by the
Brigadier-Marshall Stang that the land is now under Marshal Law and
being from Icara they should enlist in his army. The company has
politely declined this request and, seeing as how it was mostly their
help in the past that stopped Icara from being overrun by monsters from Uragoth
 during their wars with Karandia, Stang has kindly not insisted. They
recently encountered the Rynith Guard and their first meeting was, shall
 we say, tense. Although requested to only guard the bride to be until
the groom arrived, the company basically became the guardians of the
peace talks of Gherin Culloch.

## **Alliances:**

 Their first encounter with the Rynith Guard was tense, but yielded a
certain level of mutual respect. In the view of the Commander, the Guard
 is a little less disciplined than he would like, and less than clear as
 to their moral stance and modus operandi, but they are capable and
their leader showed himself to be a man of wisdom. Not really an
alliance, more of a non-aggression pact.

## **Enemies:**

 Most would-be enemies are dead. As far as vengeful friends, associates,
 relatives, etc.... who knows. There are still a few tribes of goblins
and other nasties in Uragoth who tell tales of the evil red snakes that
kill their kind while laughing.

## **Leadership:**

 The Crimson Serpent Company is lead by a Commander, who is supported by
 Captains. There is only one other Staff rank and that is of Cook. The
rank and file are in order, are senior fighters, men-at-arms, and
hirelings. A new Commander is chosen from amongst the Captains. If the
Commander is alive the decision is exclusive. If not, then the surviving
 Captains (if the Commander is dead, some Captains had better have gone
with) will choose, if no choice can be made, then the one who survives
the “Commanders challenge” is the captain. This is a secret rite known
only to the command staff. If there is no command staff to choose from,
then the cook is next, followed by a free-for-all amongst the troops.
Decisions flow top to bottom, with major policies changes or contracts
coming usually after open discussion.

## **Divisions:**

 None. There are currently 30 Crimson Serpents “on active duty”,
performing the various contracts we have active, as well as working as
border guards between Icara and Uragoth while not under contract.
However, there are over 300 warriors that have been affiliated with the
Crimson Serpents in the past that, for a large contract could take up
the tabard and join the Company, being completely mobilized in 3 days.

## **Code & Prohibitions:**

 Rule number one, The Company is First

Rule number two, The Company is Last

These rules tend to be broad enough to insure that the members do not
perform actions contrary to the best interest of the company. If a
member need to follow a course that would conflict with the interests of
 the company they can inform their superior, remove the tabard, and
attend their business.

## **Recruitment:**

 The most common membership process is personal recommendation. The
second most common method is by observed behavior (usually followed by a
 personal recommendation being made). The third method is the Crimson
Serpent Trials (usually only done for mass recruitment, either after a
particularly devastating loss, or prior to a large contract) These
trials last a full 24 hours and test the petitioners physically,
mentally and emotionally.

## **Typical Member:**

 The typical member is very confident(i.e. arrogant), usually a loner
with the ability to operate as a team player when needed. Specialized
individuals are sometimes around but the norm tends towards
jack-of-all-trades fighters. Most have mass weapon, polearm, missile
weapon, and personal weapon ready at all times to be employed as the
need arises. There is no racial or cultural bias within the group.

## **Generally Known:**

 The company has a reputation for doing whatever is necessary to get the job done

## **In-Character Quote:**

 “You can do anything in this life, if you are willing to pay the price”.

## **Red file:**

 WYSIWYG - There is no hidden agenda for the Crimson Serpents, as of yet…

## **Out-of-Game Contact:**

 Teric is second in command (Senior Captain), all correspondence should
flow through him to the Commander. Easiest way to contact him is via
electronic parchment at markm@watt.com.