The Paladins

"The Multiverse needs to be fair and balanced."

The Paladins, at their most fundamental, are about a reasonably equitable status quo and accountability among Elites. Established in the chaos following the A.U. 26 collapse of the Ascendancy and Union, it was brought about by the efforts of the Commonwealth -- a group of governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations -- who did all they could to stem the tide of violence that spread from the crumbling of the old order. Although originally thought to have been primarily an organizational descendant of the Union, more recent examinations of the Commonwealth's backers reveal it to be primarily an Afterusian effort with some minor roots in the Cirrus-Marine Pact, a neutral power that didn't participate in the Gate Wars which became a victim of the Ascendancy during its final years.

The relief efforts pushed by the Commonwealth transformed into a more formal structure as time went by, and recruitment efforts were put towards organizing the disparate Elites that were conducting similar, independent helpful operations within the Sector. This formal structure is what is now known as the Paladins, which focuses on a combination of diplomacy, aid, and crisis response, with greater emphasis on holding members accountable to local laws and due process.

More than any other organization in Sector Zero, the Paladins emphasize that Elites have outsized influence over their surroundings and an obligation to the societies from which they come-- or at the very least an obligation not to run roughshod over them. While they do believe that Elites require a certain amount of slack in how to resolve crises that require their attention, Elites not being outside the boundaries of civilization's social contracts is key to their philosophy.

1. By Application: The Paladins as an organization are the easiest to enter in this way. They'll train somebody who doesn't cut it until they do -- or decide they're not cut out for membership -- and only really permanently flunk people out for severe ethical concerns. They also have a robust force of non-Elite military support and civilian staff that can be recruited from more directly if they turn out to be Elites that were misplaced.
2. By Direct Recruitment: Unlike the Concord and Watch, provisional or ad hoc memberships are more wrapped up in red tape. Ultimately, knowing a person will get you to the front of the recruitment line, but it won't get you out of training and evaluations. The Paladins want their Elites to fit their image, and conduct themselves with a certain minimum of public-facing decorum. Their entry-level rank being Chevalier isn't a coincidence-- ideally, they'd like members who can pass as somebody with a concept of noblesse oblige.

The operational behavior of the Paladins is proactive; while they have responsibility for guarding Commonwealth worlds, they're always a crisis response organization rather than a first line of defense. They operate in parallel with each Commonwealth world's local crisis response structures, engaging ongoing problems to supplement those response structures. More pressingly, they're first contact specialists, seeking out newly-unified worlds to assist them with integrating into the community of Sector Zero. These worlds don't always join the Commonwealth or integrate their crisis response forces with the Paladins, but it happens often enough to make the outreach worthwhile.

Members of the Paladins are beholden to a variety of expectations of reasonable use of force and particularly reasonable use of Elite special abilities, which are tempered by the reality that their Elite members are usually responding to apocalyptic problems. One particular operational standard they have is observation of local sovereignty; not everyone getting help from the Paladins is of the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth's policies are rarely to take priority over those of other state-level entities.

Their diplomatic posture makes the Paladins the second-best-funded of the major organizations in Sector Zero, though their broad-spectrum outreach means that it's usually fairly tightly assigned to ongoing projects.

Rank Structure

1. Grandmaster
2. Seneschal
3. Warden
4. Chevalier

Revision Notes

File updated November of 2025.