Since the domain of the Three Queens now covers all of Mada, nearly everyone is held enslaved.  Civilization as the mortals of the world once knew it has been crushed.  Most learning, whether it be art, combat, magic, or history, has been outlawed and lost.  Only a select few secret orders remain that carry on some semblance of what the great jewel that is Mada once was.

All characters in Fifth Age belong to one of these five Orders.  These orders are not only a source of training and special abilities for a character, but they are an immediate social network, providing allies in a strange land.  The five Orders, their brief histories, and their benefits are outlined below.

While each order has other orders listed as likes or dislikes, keep this in mind: no enemy is greater than the threat of the Three Queens.  Everyone on the Isle wants to succeed in the Wizard Supreme’s contest, but it can be hard to forget the animosity of the outside.  Some orders don’t like others, but this is meant to be a catalyst for drama in role-playing, not a reason to hate or ignore other players.

The following layout will be used to explain the orders:

NAME (The common name of the Order)

A description of the Order’s history and motivations.

Likes: The other groups that this order particularly gets along with.
Dislikes: The other groups that this order takes issues with.

Weapon: Each order has access to some special weapon that the others do not.  Any relevant history and mechanical rules for the weapon are here.

Structure: All Orders in Fifth Age are responsible for maintaining a specific structure in base camp, for use by all (but specifically for your Order).  Decorating this building to look as awesome as possible is highly encouraged, and is worth Merits if it looks great.

Each special order structure comes with a special ability that can be gained by performing an activity there.  While any character, regardless of Order, can gain this special ability, they must be coached/aided by a member of that structure’s Order.  No character can gain an Order’s special structure ability more than once per event, though a character could use all five different structure abilities.  If no member of a particular structure’s Order is present (or is present, but is unwilling to help) then a character cannot gain the special ability of that structure.

Fatigue Removal Method: Each Order has a special technique they use to remove fatigue after an adventure, in order to prepare themselves for the next one.  This activity must last a full half-hour, and is designed to encourage role-playing during down time, as well as to allow everyone a chance to participate in adventures.  It also adds flavor and interest to the base camp, encouraging everyone to get into their character.

Adventure Ability: Each Order has a special ability that each of its members may use once per adventure.  This ability and its special rules are detailed here.

Event Ability: At the beginning of each event, a census is taken of each Order.  The Order is responsible for handing in a complete list of its members to the Order of the Lantern by midnight on the first night of each event.  Any members that arrive after that will not get the benefit of this special ability.  The special ability is only usable once each event and only if every member on the census for that event is present and willing.  If a single member is not present, the ability will not work.  These abilities are designed to give the orders an awesome, fun, powerful ability to use during important battles or scenes, and encourage teamwork and organization.  No order is obligated to use these abilities, but they are pretty awesome.  In most cases, the ability stops working if even a single member on the census stops contributing.

The contest of the Wizard Supreme was offered only to those select orders that are in some way acting to the benefit of mortals or the opposition of the Queens.  However, a few people not aligned to the orders have made their way to the portals that lead to the Isle.

It is allowable for a character to start the game not allied to any of the five orders.  Such a character has no benefits of any order, may only use basic weapons (sword, staff, rock), and may not participate in the Great Game.  In addition, the fatigue removal method for the Unaligned is to spend a full hour resting in the base camp, doing as they will.  The unaligned character may join an Order at any time, and in fact must do so by the end of their first event – the Wizard Supreme only allows unaligned on the Isle long enough to choose an Order.  If the Unaligned character chooses an order by midnight on the first night, they may sign up for the census and thus qualify for the Special Event Ability.  Otherwise, the unaligned character gains full benefits of the Order as soon as they’ve joined.  The decision to join is largely permanent; once you’ve informed the staff of your decision, it’s set.  Unless…

It is possible, for a number of reasons, that a character would want to change their Order.  Though extremely rare, sometimes characters undergo a severe change in overall outlook and motivation, sufficient to change their loyalties and align them to another philosophy.

A character may change their Order in between events (never during an event) by spending 100 merits.  This number increases by 100 merits every time it is done (theoretically, a person could change their loyalty more than once).  So the first time is 100, then 200, then 300, etc.