A Flag of the Stoatorian Guard as rendered by Tetoli on DeviantArt.
The Stoatorian Guard is the elite military organization responsible for the indirect protecting of the Emperor's person and realm - the direct duties are handled by the Navy, of course, since the Imperium is a chain of islands, as well as a small army of landbound beasts situated mainly on Vulpinsula. Their command is the domain of the Minister of War.
Location and Blueprints[]
The Guard, being so closely tied with the Emperor's protection, have based their HQ in the Ministry of War building, which is in turn conveniently located between the Trenches andBarracks in Bully Harbour .
Blueprints have yet to be made public due to an obscure lack of paper within the ministry building. Some believe this to be due to the pyromaniacal nature of the last MinoWar, but then again, we cannot be too sure. All we have found in support of this is a pawful of smoking ashes on her desk and a steel box.
Ranks and Memberlist[]
There are two ranks in the Guard open for acceptance to anybeast with a reasonable moral code and a skill for weapons.
- Guardsbeast: The 'grunts' of the Stoatorian Guard, these creatures are usually adept with weapons and have a fairly good knowledge of the city mapped out in their minds. Fast, tough, dedicated and smart, these 'lads' are the best of the best.
- Lieutenant: The best of the Guard are pawpicked in their profession to lead a four-beast squad under their command. Any other positions, such as the Black Five, may be given in preference to one of these Lieutenants.
The Black Five[]
- Minister of War - Nadia Darkon
- The Captain of the Guard - open
- Master of the Keys - open
- The Last Quartermaster - Pavot D. Sauvage
- The Smith - open
The Black Five are the elite serving to protect the Emperor and the inhabitants of his city. All pawpicked by the The Minister of War they are proficient in what they do and form a near-impenetrable force against those who have dishonorable plans against the Imperium.
As the name suggests, the Black Five is made up of five members, each one specialized and trained for their purpose:
- The Minister of War is allotted with the task of War and Peace within and without the boundaries of the city. Her tasks include bringing foreign lands under the Emperor's control, keeping law and order throughout the Imperium, and protecting His Grace the Emperor. She is also in charge of the Law at the Imperium and runs the Navy; appointing Captains, sending missions to ships, sending the Navy out on missions etc. It's far harder than it sounds, and it sounds tough to begin with.
- The Captain of the Guard is the MinoWar's second in command. If the Minister is absent from her post for whatever reason, the Captain will step in and keep things running smoothly until the Minister returns. Always an adept swordsbeast, the Captain of the Guard has the power to arrest and detain any citizen, for whatever reason, below the rank of Minister.
- Master of the Keys is perhaps the only creature apart from His Grace himself to hold every key to the Emperor's Palace. A lockpick and adept bowbeast, the Master is trusted with the Emperor's life on a daily basis, and thus must be a trustworthy creature.
- The Last Quartermaster is so called because she will be the last quartermaster her victims will ever get food from. The Last Quartermaster acts as the Emperor's gloved paws. With a good knowledge of all criminal rings and many contacts, the undercover side of protection is often darker than it is made out to be... Assassins, close brushes with death and a strong stomach are all required on a typical night as Last Quartermaster.
- The Smith is typically associated with "breaking things" - said things being creatures, doors, walls, weapons... The Smith is always a big creature. Typically found at the Minister of War's shoulder during patrols or otherwise, the Smith's duty is to either clear away debris, break defences, or smash through things with a hammer. Not a weakbeasts work, for sure.
Uniforms[]
The uniform is identical throughout the entire Guard, from the lowest to highest, differing only in terms of cuffs and epaulettes. The uniform consists of: Black boots, Black breeches, A navy jacket to about mid-calf length and any shirt can be worn beneath that, but most choose either black or white. The Colours are as follows:
- MinoWar: Grey
- Captain Of The Guard: Forest Green
- Master of The Keys: Orange
- Last Quartermaster: Navy Blue
- Smith: Sepia Brown
- Lieutenant: Sky Blue
- Guardsbeasts: Black (no cuffs or epaulettes)
Guard NPCs[]
- Lieutenant Durkan - Lieutenant
A ferret of some brain but little speed, Lieutenant Durkan is fiercely loyal to the MinoWar. He spends most of his time in the streets with his pawpicked patrol of four beasts. He particularly enjoys picking up drunks from the Bilge for 'hindering the passage of respectable beasts' or 'annoying everybeast', etc. On a good night, Lieutenant Durkan often wipes out the majority of the Bilge's customers before his shift ends.
- Rino and Marcus - Contacts/Intelligence
A duo of spies and shady former-criminals, the two contacts know more about the city than some of the Guard do. Having had their sentences suspended until further notice, stoat and rat are loyal to the Guard and can provide useful information or locations for the Ministry to use. Rino, the black-furred stoat, uses his close connections to other factions specifically to get what he wants. Gifted with an amazing memory, but weak fighting skills, this conbeast-turned-intelligence enjoys selling information and locations to the Guard. Marcus is less of a criminal then his two compatriots and far more amiable in his ways. With a vast knowledge of every underground system* and rooftop pathway, the buck rat likes to hang around the Master of the Keys and Captain of the Guard when called upon.
(* Although the Unsmudgables's tunnels are still a bit of a mystery. He still can't quite get past the Whistling Guillotine and the Impromptu Collapsing Spike-Roof With The Musicbox Fanfare.)