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| The Temptation of Prior Kostan Armbach |
Updated August 27th, 2026
New artwork and revised article
Few mercenary bands in the realm carry a reputation as grim, enigmatic, and fiercely effective as the Knights of the Blackbriar. Once formally known as the Benevolent Order of the Revered Blackbriar Priory, this ancient brotherhood has traded its sacred monastic vows for sellsword steel, extortion, and royal intrigue.
Whether encountered as cold-blooded mercenaries guarding a corrupt baron's vault, rival treasure hunters scouring a forbidden tomb, or desperate guardians protecting a horrifying secret, the Blackbriars make formidable, morally complex adversaries for any campaign.
The Fall of the Priory
During the cataclysmic Runic Wars, the Blackbriar Priory was entrusted with a terrible and holy duty: the recovery, quarantine, and safekeeping of malevolent artifacts wrested from the defeated Mages of Astrogoth. These tainted relics—whispered to be gifts from unearthly horrors—warped the minds of ordinary mortals. For decades, the pious knights bore this burden in silence, locking the blasphemies away in subterranean vaults beneath their fortified chapterhouses.
Trouble began when the wars concluded. High church elders and covetous nobles demanded access to the vaults to "verify" the relics' containment. The leader of the Order, Prior Kostan Armbach, flatly refused, decreeing that even a glance at the relics would spread spiritual rot, and that their resting places must remain an eternal secret.
His refusal sparked paranoia and greed. Church factions and rival lords launched a smear campaign, accusing the knights of practicing dark sorcery and worshiping the very idols they had sworn to bury. The crown seized the Order's lands, ransacked their priories, and subjected dozens of knights to brutal, politically rigged inquisitions.
Yet, despite torture and execution, not a single artifact was ever recovered.
The surviving remnant broke their vows and went underground. Over generations, the holy order devolved into a ruthless mercenary company, capitalizing on their dark reputation, military precision, and the terrifying mystique of their lost reliquaries.
Appearance & Tactics
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| "Nigrae Spini Milites" translation "Knights of the Black Thorn / Blackbriar." |
The modern Blackbriar is a grim, disciplined combatant. They favor heavy, utilitarian plate armor deliberately chemically blackened or scarred by battle, worn beneath faded grey or cream-colored surcoats embroidered with the Silver Briar.
Cold Discipline: They fight without battle cries, relying on synchronized shield walls, heavy crossbow fire, and brutal flanking maneuvers.
The Blackbriar Oaths: While they take gold for their swords, they adhere strictly to a brutal internal code. A Blackbriar never breaks a signed contract—unless a superior contract involves the retrieval of an ancient relic.
The Whisper of Corruption: Veteran knights often carry lead-lined lockboxes or iron-banded pouches at their hips, never opened in the presence of outsiders.
D4 Truths: Why Did the Priory Fall? (GM's Choice)
| d4 | The Truth Behind the Legend |
| 1 | Martyrs of the Secret: The Blackbriars remained pure. They accepted dishonor and exile solely to keep the cataclysmic relics of Astrogoth out of the hands of greedy princes and corrupt pontiffs. |
| 2 | Rotten to the Core: Prior Armbach fell to the whispers of the relics decades before the trials. The modern mercenary company is merely a front, using sellsword gold to feed dark rituals and restore the Astrogoth dominion. |
| 3 | Empty Vaults: The artifacts were destroyed centuries ago. The Blackbriars maintain the myth of their dread secret simply to intimidate foes and extort paranoid rulers. |
| 4 | The Living Curses: The relics were never objects—they were cursed bloodlines. The Blackbriars are sworn to hunt, protect, or eliminate the living heirs of Astrogoth before their power awakens. |
D6 Lost Relics of Astrogoth
| d6 | Relic | Dread Property |
| 1 | The Crying Torc | A twisted collar of black iron that continually weeps bitter oil; silences divine magic within 30 paces. |
| 2 | The Cinder Nail | A six-inch bronze spike; driving it into soil renders an acre permanently barren but repels undead entirely. |
| 3 | The Vitrified Heart | A pulsing chunk of obsidian that allows the bearer to speak with dead mages, at the cost of bleeding from the eyes. |
| 4 | The Shroud of Weeping Stars | A moth-eaten silk drape that makes the wearer invisible to extraplanar beings, but draws ravenous beasts. |
| 5 | The Cleft Bell of Astrogoth | When rung, creates an unnatural vacuum of sound that shatters non-magical glass, crystal, and ceramic. |
| 6 | The Iron Census | A lead-bound ledger that automatically records the true names of anyone who dies by violence within five leagues. |
D6 Adventure Hooks & Encounters
| d6 | Encounter / Hook |
| 1 | The Toll of Iron: A squad of Blackbriars has seized a crucial river bridge, demanding an exorbitant "relic inspection tithe" on all passing caravans. |
| 2 | The Broken Tomb: The PCs are clearing an ancient barrow when a Blackbriar strike team breaches the burial chamber from an adjoining tunnel, demanding the party surrender an ornate urn. |
| 3 | The Inquisitor's Bounty: An elderly prelate hires the party to infiltrate a Blackbriar encampment and steal a ciphered ledger containing the locations of the original sealed vaults. |
| 4 | Unlikely Allies: Cornered by a terrifying eldritch horror in the deep woods, the PCs are rescued by a silent contingent of Blackbriar veterans wielding heavy incendiary flails. |
| 5 | The Deserter's Tale: A young Blackbriar mercenary flees to the PCs' tavern, claiming his captain opened an iron reliquary in camp and the entire command staff went mad overnight. |
| 6 | The Contract Breaker: A local lord hires the party to defend his manor against the Blackbriars—only for the party to discover the lord secretly stole an Astrogoth relic from the knights. |
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