Huntsmarshall

Overview

A grim tiding in the woods, the wide-brimmed hats, manacles and gleaming badge of a Huntsmarshall can mean only bad tidings. These bounty hunters serve the baronies, seeking out those who have been judged guilty, those who would upset the finely tuned balance of survival in the Greenweald for personal gain. Whereas Houndspriests seek out monsters and Ritters defend the Baronies against invasion, Huntsmarshalls seek out very human criminals.

Need:

Combatant

The life of a Huntsmarshall is a dangerous one. They need to be able defend themselves and chase down their quarry in order to properly execute their duties.

Shouldn’t:

Nil

See above.

Costume Marker:

Marshalls Insignia

While there are a wide number of aesthetics common to Huntsmarshalls (long coats, wide brimmed hats, steelshod boots) most of this has been absorbed into standard Greenwealder garb over time. What truly marks a Marshall is their Marshalls insignia. For some Huntsmarshalls it is present in an embroidered patch, for others it is a brass badge or pendant, even others have it tattooed. But the symbol remains the same; A living raven standing atop a ravens skull. There are some regional differences, which are as follows:

Huntsmarshalls from the Ritterswald guild have a sword displayed on either side of their insignia. Acknowledging their Baronies martial nature.
Verlorenhertz Huntsmarshalls mark their raven skulls with a crown, recalling their guilds expertise at rooting out treason.
Huntsmarshalls from the sunken valleys of Vassertal adorn their ravens with a plant sprig sometimes atop them, otherwise in their beak to show their Baronies skill as herbalists.
The southernmost barony of Resinderholz replaces the raven skull with a stack of coins, showing that their Huntsmarshalls will not be moved by bribe or greed.

Each insignia is either marked in some way by a signature from the Baron/Baroness/Baronite that personally issues it to the Huntsmarshall to stand as proof of its veracity. A Barons change over time, Huntsmarshalls with older insignia are treated with more and more respect. Some Huntsmarshalls hide their insignia until the time is right, but for others it shows their respect and worth as a servant of the people.

History:

While individual Barons would argue over which Barony held the first Huntsmarshalls guild, But it is broadly accepted that the first guild originated in Verlorenhertz after Baronite Kurtz honoured a group of hunters that revealed an encampment of assassins on the outskirts of the Barony in 52AE. This first Huntsmarshalls guild replaced a heavily armed and sedentary constables guild that was based in the capital of Konigsrue.

This more agile method of crime enforcement suited the Baronies far flung villages and dispersed polities far better than a regimented constabulary, proving itself effective quite quickly. It also coincided with a period of reduction of power among the various Barons, in response to numerous actions of civil unrest and assassination. In exchange for removing a powerful force of warriors aimed at the commonfolk and loyal to the Barons (the constabulary), The Huntsmarshalls became a very loyal force, dedicated to their work, but far less dangerous to the commonfolk as a whole.

Over time, guilds were founded in every capital of the Baronies, with Huntsmarshalls occupying a strange place in society between childs boogeyman, Barons enforcer and honourable justice. They worked alongside magistrates to pursue criminals, local garrison commanders to seek out bandits and the Church to pursue heretics and cultists.

With the arrival of The Concord, the Huntsmarshall guilds have seen some change, but business is much the same. They work for Concordian Magistrates now, rather than ones chosen by the Baron. They ultimately divide their loyalties between the civil service and the baronies, rather than being exclusive agents of the Barons (although they do still require their approval to join the guild). Finally, they have begun to work with other realms to retrieve criminals fleeing into the Baronies, a task unthought of in years past.

Becoming a Huntsmarshall:

Huntsmarshalls often gather about themselves a party of skilled experts and allies to assist them in their work. A mage-breaking warrior to assist in tackling a wayward warlock, a wayward warlock who can help bewitch corrupt merchants, a corrupt merchant to ferret out a smuggler's ring and so on. In the vast commonality of these circumstances, these individuals are unofficial allies, working with or for the Huntsmarshall for coin, favours or duty. They carry no official title and rely on the authority of the Huntsmarshall to see them through and through prickly legal circumstances.

Occasionally, one of these retinue members may become a more permanent fixture. Perhaps they enjoy the work (or coin), perhaps they have a grudge to serve or they owe something to the Huntsmarshall. When this occurs, the Huntsmarshall is permitted to ‘badge them in’. Badging a retinue member is part deputisation, part apprenticeship. Badged Retinues carry a small badge, pin or medallion that is an imitation of their Huntsmarshalls own insignia. Doing so allows one to carry a sliver of that same authority. These Retinues travel with the Huntsmarshall, learning the trade beyond their own wheelhouse and experiencing the unique skills of legal knowledge and bureaucracy that Huntsmarshalls walk between the Concordian Magistrates and the Baronial Seats.

Unlike other apprenticeships, Badged Retinues are more equal to their mentors. They are still experts in their field and are still there to support the Huntsmarshall, rather than a meek aide there to absorb knowledge. They are still learning, but in a manner that broadens their horizons rather than builds foundations.

The final, and really only true test, of a Badged Retinue is what’s called ‘The Collar’. An entirely unofficial and strangely quasi-legal event for an organisation of law-enforcers. When a Huntsmarshall thinks their badged retinue is ready to take up a full insignia, they will assign them a case and strip them of their badge. Normally these cases are less investigative and more direct such as runaway bounties, local ganghouses or smugglers' runs. This target is called ‘The Collar’. The test is simple: the Badged Retinue must bring a sufficient number of these criminals to justice, without being punished by themselves.

Lacking any real authority, the Retinue must walk the fine line between assault, kidnapping and theft on one side and the importance of their collar on the other. Turn in a dead body that was once a smuggler to the Magistrate and they’re more likely to punish you as they are to thank you. Start a fire that consumes four houses to flush out a den of slavers and you’ll be the one hanged. This test requires intelligence, knowledge of the law, violence of action and careful skill. Some Retinue will navigate looser magistrates, giving them more leeway in their vigilante actions, others will concoct complicated schemes that entangle their collars and leave their hands clean. Regardless, the Retinue will have proven their skill to their mentor, or they will be arrested and trialed, which is its own punishment.

If successful, the mentor is obliged to vouch for the Retinue to the Baron they serve and intercede on their behalf. Provided the Baron is in need of new Huntsmarshalls, this is often enough to get a would-be Huntrsmarhashall an insignia with their first signature. Welcome to the Silent Service.

In very rare circumstances, a Baron may raise up new Huntsmarshalls without the path of retinue. This is a dangerous thing as these agents are likely unknowledgeable in the ways of the law and the extent of their power. This often occurs in circumstances where a Huntsmarshall is needed desperately, perhaps following a calamity that thinned their ranks or in a new region. These ‘Free Agents’ as they are derogatively called by other Huntsmarshalls are often kept at an arm's length until they have proven themselves. There is no recognised method for doing so, but it is often a process that takes many successful cases and loyalty to the Service.

Three Things Huntsmarshalls Are:

Hunters of Men

The trade of pursuing and defeating humanity is the primary curse of a Huntsmarshall, life is precious in the Greenweald, and while pursuing those who would upset the balance is honourable it is not free of its own dark stains. Huntsmarshalls are grim tidings to most common Greenwealders, considered a necessary evil at best and dishonourable at worst.

Loyal and honour bound

Huntsmarshalls find their loyalty split three ways in modern times. First, to the Baron they serve (and by implicit extension, their Barony). Second to the Concordian Civil Service, whose magistrates dictate the guilty and innocent. Finally to each other, as their lives can be transient and lonely affairs. In pursuit of this loyalty, Huntsmarshalls bind themselves by a code of honour. Each code is a personal affair private to each Huntsmarshall, but they often include the idea to act with kindness to the innocent, to let no quarry escape and to always help another Marshall in need.

Worldy and Skilled

Each Huntsmarshall has their own set of skills and their own focus. But all are required to adapt to their circumstances. Be that a vicious brawl on a mountainside against a cult of Zekartaal, pursuing a thief through downtown Wolstad during a market or interrogating a spy in a ruined abbey. If anything, a Hunstmarshalls greatest skill must be adaptability.

One Thing Huntsmarshalls Aren't:

Dog the Bounty Hunter or Cowboys

While at their core, Huntsmarshalls are bounty hunters with cool badges, they carry more themes and style in common with Warhammer witch hunters, rangers in Lord of the Rings and spy hunters than they do with rowdy American bounty hunters or sheriffs.