Protection#

The rode of those who stand between a blow and whoever it was meant for. Every physical hit you take does less damage, which makes it the first choice for anyone whose work is to be hit.

Ranks and tests#

Physical resistance. Every bash, pierce, slash, fist or exotic hit you take does that much less damage, to a minimum of 1. +2 at rank 1, up to +10 at rank 5. Rodes of war has the rest of its kind.

1. Level20
   Rank 1: Initiate

   +2 physical resistance

   Stand the gate watch with Drogan's guard for a week, and let nobody through who shouldn't be.

2. Level40
   Rank 2: Walker

   +4 physical resistance

   Bring a caravan across Mellowdeep Marsh to Bartle Trading Post without losing a wagon or a driver.

3. Level60
   Rank 3: Keeper

   +6 physical resistance

   Guard someone you'd rather not, through something that wants them dead.

4. Level80
   Rank 4: Warden

   +8 physical resistance

   Hold a door, a bridge or a pass for a whole fight while the people behind you get away.

5. Level100
   Rank 5: Exemplar

   +10 physical resistance

   Take a blow meant for someone else, one you know you might not get up from.

The master#

Captain Drogan has drilled the city guard of Tharsis for thirty years and still stands the gate watch himself once a week. He shares the barracks with Mandak’s Legion and has never once eaten at their table.

Find Captain Drogan at the city barracks in Tharsis. Where the masters teach maps all fourteen.

How it shows#

None of this changes a roll. It’s how the people around you can tell what you walk, if you want them to.

• Your shield and armor carry a faint white sheen, brighter when someone behind you is afraid.
• You end up between strangers and the door without thinking about it.

Who walks it#

The classes the rode does the most for. Any class can walk it.

Page A page's work is to be hit in someone else's place, and every rank takes damage off every hit. Built for it Plainsman Plainsmen fight in the front rank, and less damage a hit stretches their health further. Helps Headhunter Headhunters lead from the front and take the hits that come with it. Helps Woodsman A woodsman with constitution behind them can hold the line while their traps do the work. Helps

The rode finder ranks every rode for a class.

What others say#

The witness

A clerk who saw a first-generation lord kill a man has to reach the courts in Crecia alive. Drogan won’t send the city guard against a founding name, so he sends his walkers, and somebody with a founding name is paying to see them fail.