"None shall pass!"

BLACK KNIGHT (#31/31, #91/365) [POT]

SKILL: 10

STAMINA: 11

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: Plate Armour

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +1 to Damage Roll

HABITAT: Towns, Ruins, Forest, Plains, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: High

The Right of Dispute is common on Titan, with various interlopers, such as the BLACK KNIGHT, formally challenging wayfarers for passage onwards along the road. So-named for their sombre-hued plate armour, which acknowledges the knight serves no mortal liege-lord, a Black Knight may set out their stall at a common spot, a well, ford, or crossroads, and issue a provocative demand against all-comers - win, and they may pass onwards, but lose, and they must retreat, if still alive. The weaponry choice of a Black Knight varies, and they will always have a dagger, sword and large shield in reserve, but for their main offensive choice of arms, roll on the table below:

Roll Weapon Type

1 Cleaver

2 Morning Star (and Tower Shield)

3 Battle Axe

4 Two-Handed Sword

5 Greathammer

6 Bastard Sword

Also, despite their chosen vocation, the Black Knight may have companions! Roll on the following table to find out who travels with them:

Roll Companions

1 Trusted WARHORSE (with Heavy Barding; the Black Knight will also have a Lance and challenge any opposing knights or warriors to a joust)

2 Faithful MANSERVANT

3 Trained FALCON

4 Pack of 2-7 WAR DOGS

5 Personal PRIEST OF TELAK

6 Alone

The rules of the dispute vary among Black Knights - some fight until first blood, others until one submits (usually at half-STAMINA) -  but in lawless lands it may well be to the death, with the winner claiming all possessions of the loser. The Black Knight has been a common feature of Titan lore for centuries; the master-less warrior choosing dominion over one localized place with which to assert their authority. Even the legends of King Goldhawk of Karazan note the present of a Black Knight within the kingdom, while the Warlock-Prince Lothar of Gundobad encountered one in the Northern Wastes while embarked upon the Trial of Kingship. Black Knights do not necessarily need to have black armour - the White Knights of the Twisted Bridge in northern Allansia are a notable exception - but some do gather into lawless, mercenary bands, such as the Dragon Knights present in one of the later incarnations of Deathtrap Dungeon, who serve the ancient Red Dragon Melkor.