Knights of the Divine Hammer

If there was ever a knighthood that started with positive ideals but was driven to murder innocents more than the Knights of the Divine Hammer, I can’t think of it. Lets learn more about the Knights of the Divine Hammer. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3252/Legends-of-the-Twins-35?affiliate_id=50797 

Download the Knights of the Divine Hammer web enhancement: https://dlsaga.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Knights_of_the_Divine_Hammer.pdf  

https://youtu.be/8kpVne0dp6I

Transcript

Cold Open

They initially targeted evil, but quickly spread to anything the Kingpriest feared, which was everything.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Knights of the Divine Hammer. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Kingpriest trilogy, the Knightly Orders of Ansalon web enhancement: Knights of the Divine Hammer and the Legends of the Twins sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

As with all knighthoods in Dragonlance, the Knights of the Divine Hammer were formed based on a vision. But this wasn’t a clear vision of a god presenting themselves to a mortal with a specific edict, or the honoring of a fallen soldier as in other knighthoods, but rather in forty Prae Cataclius a peasant turned bandit turned protector named Cathan MarSevrin had a vision of a burning hammer falling toward the nation of Istar. He shared this vision with Beldinas Pilofiro, the new Kingpriest also known as the Lightbringer, for Cathan helped him find the Miceram, the ancient crown of power the Kingpriests wore. This new Kingpriest was a former monk and religious fanatic. He refuted the Doctrine of Balance after several assassination attempts on his life when coming into power, you know the Law of Balance that is integral to Dragonlance as a setting. This religious zealot interpreted the vision as a sign from Paladine. I doubt anyone could have foreseen the truth behind the vision at the time, as the Lightbringer would be the cause of the Cataclysm, and he was brand new to the job.

The Kingpriest interpreted this burning hammer to be a sign from Paladine that he should eradicate all Evil, and that Istar should have a Knighthood dedicated to that end. After resurrecting Cathan, he appointed him the first Knight of the Divine Hammer. I can’t imagine anyone other than those serving the gods of evil, seeing this new knighthood as anything more imposing than the Knights of Solamnia, save for their sole focus being to protect the Holy Empire of Istar and execute the Kingpriests' will, which is what they did. The order held near total immunity from any legal claims within the Empire. The first Grand Marshal, Cathan’s former bandit Lord turned Holy Soldier, only reported to the Kingpriest himself. As the order eliminated Evil, and eased suffering in this plague ridden era of Istar, members would flock to its ranks, many of them never having set eyes on the capital. Even some Solamnic Knights abandoned their order to join the Kingpriests! The Knights of the Divine Hammer even had seniority and control over the Scatas, the empire's military.

As with any organization of good,