"History tells us that the hellish crusade of the Red Harvest was led by undying soldiers marching beneath banners stained crimson by the countless sacrifices made to them. No army could stand against them, and the kingdoms of old fell one by one, their citizens dragged screaming to dark altars. It was only when some forgotten hero seized the first of those bloody standards in a desperate battle that their weakness was revealed and the course of the war turned toward the light."
Red Harvest Crusade Standard
Description: A large infantry battle standard hung from an iron-shod banner pole just over 10' in height. The flag bears an image of an iron-gray circle made up of nine links of chain against a bone-white background - but the more sacrifices are made to the standard (see below) the more of the white becomes blood-red. At the peak of the Red Harvest these flags were almost always pure red with no white showing.
Powers: Any intelligent creature with a soul can be sacrificed to the banner in short ritual invoking whatever dark gods, devils, or demons best suit your campaign. Each sacrifice adds a charge to the standard and turns a small part of it from white to red, with no known upper limit to the number of charges. Another ritual allows a living being with a soul to swear an oath to serve the Red Harvest, a crusade to send the souls of all who oppose it to some punishing afterlife run by the creator of the standard.
While the standard is raised, its bearer and any oathsworn allies in its company cannot be slain. Instead, when they would take a mortal wound, one charge is used, a bit of the banner turns from red to white, and the "slain" soldier is restored to full health. This can happen any number of times, charges permitting.
The standard offers no benefits to anyone not sworn to its service, nor does it function unless boldly displayed aloft. The banner and pole can be damaged as normal, but the bearer can make saves for the item against effects like (say) fireballs, and anything short of total destruction has no effect on the magical properties of the standard. Many Red Harvest standards are tattered, stitched up, and riddled with holes from previous battles.
Possible Origins: These things come from Hell, or whatever your game's equivalent is. They simultaneously empower the soldiers who serve Hell and ensure that their own souls are damned in the end. Mortal spellcasters (usually dark priests or cultists) may be involved in their creation, but the real power behind them comes from darker sources.
Complications: Anyone sworn to one of these banners is damned the moment they're saved from death by its powers, their soul forfeit to whatever powers lie behind it when they do finally die for real. If the banner is destroyed (flag burned, disintegrated or shredded to pieces - the banner pole is just there to hold it up and could be replaced if broken) every creature sworn to it is slain instantly. The standard's powers cease to function if it's dragged down or seized by an enemy, although reaching it to do so when the soldiers around it cannot be killed may be difficult.
Any oathsworn creature that refuses the orders of a military superior can be declared a traitor to the Red Harvest with a single word. Traitors are instantly slain (and claimed by Hell) if they've ever been spared from death by a banner's power. If not, their oath is voided and they can no longer benefit (or suffer) from the banner's effects.
Design Commentary: This post was inspired by the Banner of Promised Valor, which you can see over at the link below on Telecanter's Receding Rules. Wonderful idea there, but if the heroes get a neat flag the bad guys deserve one too. :)
http://recedingrules.blogspot.com/2020/10/banner-of-promised-valor.html
I like the idea of an artifact whose power can be ascertained visually from a distance. In fact, you might give low level characters an adventure based on seeing how red the banner is "Don't engage, just observe and report back."
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