The Knights Of The Brass Book - The Inner Brotherhood Of The Zone Troopers From The Cult Classic Television Show 'Otherworld' 1985

The Knights Of The Brass Book
The Inner Brotherhood Of The Zone Troopers

There is an inner brotherhood of the Zone Troopers of Thel, 'the knights of the brass book' are at the heart of the Thel military machine moving unseen among the troopers as an official  part of the 'Church of Artificial Intelligence'. The are a cadre of 50,000 to 70,000 thousand dedicated knights, paladins,inquisitors, clerics, friars,priests moving from providence to city state carrying out the will of the Praetor and those laws of  Law and Order itself or so it would seem. 

They are secreted among the officers of the zone trooper forces and move unseen among the rank and file. The knights of the brass book draw their power and spells from a secret Eternal of Law and Order. Urizen  is the Eternal of  Law and Reason. According to ancient scriptures - ' He is usually depicted as a bearded old man; he sometimes bears architect's tools, to create and constrain the universe; or nets, with which he ensnares people in webs of law and conventional society.'

'Urizen is seen with four books that represent the various laws that he places upon humanity.'

The knights are fanatic devotees of Urizen and the ideals he represents as well being the primary backbone of the triangle of excellence which is the cornerstone of zone trooper philosophy. 

Proficiency,Pride, & Prowess 

 

A combination of  super science and sorcery is used to mold the minds and hearts with the chains of reason and law to bind the knights into warriors of frightening fanaticism and cunning bravery. Only then will they receive the glass dagger which is the mark of their office and become instructed in the secret teachings of Urizen. The knights often move unseen among new societies and dimensions that the Thelian military wishes to conquer, the pass unseen as strangers, travelers, spies, etc. all the while reporting to zone trooper command central and the Praetor himself. 

The knights wear the purple uniform of the zone troopers which is at its heart symbolizes their inner workings. The purple symbolizes magic, mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, dignity, & royalty. The red should stripes represent the color of passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure as well as the blood of conquest. 

The knights of the brass book may pull from the Grey school of magical spells and certain white spells but they must commune with their modules of the Church of Artificial intelligence to telepathically receive their spells from the songs of Urizen. Secretly there are four modules each representing a different aspect of Urizen's laws.
According to the ancient scriptures - 

'Urizen is described as having multiple books: Gold, Silver, Iron, and Brass. They represent science, love, war, and sociology, which are four aspects of life. The books are filled with laws that seek to overcome the seven deadly sins. He constantly adds to the works, even when he faces his opposition in Orc, but the books are destroyed in the Last Judgment. The Book of Brass sets forth Urizen's social beliefs that seek to remove all pain and instill peace under one rule.'

             

The knights of the brass book are often used to fight demons, Lovecraftian horrors, things from beyond the grave and even worse threats to Thelian interests. They are implacable foes and often draw as well as commune with spirit of Urizen himself during these times. They are expected to be completely selfless and utterly devoted to the ideals of the knights. He is often like a father or wise councilor to his charges during these times.

It is said that these circles of teaching, brotherhood, and super science as well as sorcery hearken back all the way to ancient Lemuria and even further back in Old Earth's history. The knight's commands and laws must be obeyed by all zone troopers including commanders and providence leaders. They have been known to shoot anyone who opposes them should they stand in the way of their judgements.

Photo by Michel wal

The knights are able once per day to call upon the consciousness of Urizen for insights in matters of judgement, artifact identification, and more. This miracle is always at the judgement of the DM.

The steps to becoming a part of the order stretch all the way back to the zone trooper academies where certain cadets singled out and selected to under go a rite of combat with a dangerous combat Plasmoid android which is designed to kill the acolyte.

The glass dagger is passed on to the combatant and the ritual trail of combat begins.

The hand to hand rite is as much a contest of wills as it combat and many readings by super science devices scan the very soul of the acolyte who is being tested. Weakness is not tolerated and many trainees are never seen again disappearing when their failure becomes evident.



In the end only the worthy may wield dagger, the +2 bioruptor and don the purple uniform of the knight. They are trained with many of the zone trooper common weapons as well as primitive and archaic weapons. The knights are usually lawful good but still utterly ruthless in their zeal to the ideals of the zone troopers and the praetor. Many however are lawful evil but still Urizen takes them on as his own. His laws and reason tempering their own violence and murderous impulses.

Knights,inquisitors,paladins,agents of law,all of these and more are counted among the ranks of the knights of the brass book. Parties who encounter these dangerous operatives and fanatical agents of the zone troopers will not soon forget them.
No copyright infringement or trade mark violation is intended with this blog entry this is strictly a fan homage to one of the iconic shows from the 80's. I'm simply a huge Otherworld fan who has used this wonderful show in his old school table top rpg old school campaigns.
Part I of this series is right HERE