Phyle Badges
Phyle Badges
The oldest of the Phyles claim to have existed before the Polyclasm. (The Regium, for example, is notable for this sort of claim.) However, Phyles as they exist today are results of the Great Breaking. Establishing the Phyles across the many shards was not a simple task, and for the earliest Phyles the question of how to recognize one of one’s co-phylists was a nontrivial one. Most historians agree that one of the causes of the First Inter-Phyle War (not as significant as the loss of the Peace, admittedly, but still important) was the mistrust and instability that this situation caused within the Phyles.
All of that changed in the year II 19. A Clock Tender of great skill in the arts of magic began distributing enchanted images of a clock for his co-phylists to wear. This Tender, a gnome named Anathasius (Αναθάσιος in the Old Gnomic Script), was reputed to be a descendant of Clockmaker Tenthratis himself. He and his companions, the elvish thief Eksator, Nanga of the Green Way, and the affable Emmohtrebor, were true heroes of the age.
The most highly useful aspect of his Badge was its unforgeability. While a casual bystander might be fooled by a knock-off, members of the Phyle almost inevitably noticed a forgery. Another aspect, which the other Phyles only discovered as they adopted Anathasius’s invention, was their ability to represent a bearer’s status within Phyle.
While the other Phyles were keenly interested in the badges, Anathasius only warmed slowly to the idea of sharing his creation with those outside of the Clock Tenders. Historians suspect that he only eventually agreed in exchange for healthy contributions to the well-being of the Clock.
A more curious matter is the creation of new Phyles since Anathasius’s death, a few years before the rise of Kiszlaagara. All recognized Phyles have their own badge, and those versed in the arcane arts have verified that Anathasius’s spells bind these new badges together as well. Rumours as to the final fate of Anathasius (now known as “the Badger”) are varied and range from a vague kind of deïfication, to enlichment, to a merging with his own spells, to other theories even more obscure.
Each badge is slightly magical – the aura is faint enough that a detect magic spell only picks up the badge closest to the caster – usually the one the caster is wearing. The magic has two effects:
- Phylists can detect a forgery of their own phyle’s badge relatively easily. (They get at +10 circumstance bonus on the Spot check to detect forgeries. Anyone with at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (Phyles) gets at +2 bonus from synergy on the check.)
- The badge changes shape in subtle ways to reflect the member’s Standing in phyle. Typically, a phyle does not share the nature of these changes with non-phylists. Consult your phyle dossier for details.