Gem Knights

The Gem Knights were originally the followers of Otheron of the Gems, one of the Heroes of Aegea. Otheron was an eccentric wizard who believed that the advancement of technology was a perversion of nature and that society's true strength lay in magic rather than technology. He created and distributed pamphlets arguing against technology and promoting the supremacy of magical advancement.

After Otheron's death and Jack's disappearance at the end of the Age of Wonders, the remaining followers attempted to preserve the organization and continue Otheron's principles. In its original form, the Gem Knights were a benevolent organization. Their opposition to technology was a genuine inheritance from Otheron, but it was not originally accompanied by hatred of other races or general intolerance.

Over the following century, the original members gradually died and were replaced by new recruits. With each generation, the organization drifted further from its original purpose. The Gem Knights retained Otheron's opposition to technology, but increasingly twisted that principle into a broader intolerance of anyone who disagreed with them. Their prejudice came to include non-humans and, eventually, virtually anyone who did not share their views.

By the time the Under the Bus party encountered them, the Gem Knights had largely degenerated into organized banditry. They retained the outward trappings of their former order, including the elaborate gems decorating their armor and equipment, but the reality underneath was much less impressive. A group encountered by the party numbered approximately thirteen men. From a distance, the knights appeared impressive, with their gems flashing in the sunlight; up close, their armor was in disrepair and the men were unkempt and dirty.

Their reputation was particularly bad because of their hatred of technology and their intolerance of other races. During the party's journey to The Gap of Otheron, the Gem Knights were conducting what they called a recruitment mission, seeking both funds and additional members for their campaign against the perceived evil of technology. They demanded that technology be destroyed and treated non-humans and people associated with technology with open hostility.

The group was led at the time by Ferral, a huge man who commanded twelve other knights, all mounted on heavy warhorses. Ferral demanded a tribute of 50 gp per person from the party in exchange for passage. Rather than pay, the party insulted him, and Bo Duke challenged Ferral to a boxing match for the right to continue. Ferral eventually cheated by drawing a weapon, but Ray defeated him, allowing the party to proceed into the Gap.

Jack and Redemption

The history of the Gem Knights did not end with their degeneration into banditry.

Near the end of the Under the Bus campaign, Jack returned to the organization he had once led. Rather than simply abandon the Gem Knights as a lost cause, Jack set out to redeem both himself and the organization.

Jack ultimately succeeded. The Gem Knights were redeemed from their long decline and returned to a purpose more consistent with the ideals they had originally inherited from Otheron. They joined Jack in the final battle against the forces opposing the heroes.

Their final appearance therefore represents the culmination of a century-long decline and recovery: the followers of Otheron who had gradually become bandits were ultimately given the opportunity to become something closer to what they had originally been.

The Gem Knights' opposition to technology remained part of Otheron's legacy throughout this history. Their hatred of technology was not itself the corruption. The corruption was the expansion of that principle into hatred of other races and intolerance toward anyone who disagreed with them. Jack's redemption restored the distinction between holding an unusual philosophical position and using that position as justification for cruelty and exclusion.

Legacy

The Gem Knights are one of the surviving remnants of Otheron's legacy. Their history illustrates how an organization's founding principles can survive while their original meaning is gradually lost through generations of successors.

Their distinctive gems and knightly appearance preserved the memory of the organization they had once been, even when the people wearing them had become little more than bandits. Jack's return ultimately gave them a chance to recover that lost purpose.

Their final participation in the battle against the campaign's villains is therefore not merely an alliance of convenience. It is the final stage of the Gem Knights' redemption.