Order of the Magpie: Heroic Fantasy Roleplaying

A multiversal order of explorers and scholars, recovering lost artifacts and protecting history from exploitation.

It started with a question, or rather, several.

Why does every adventure seem to end in a pile of bodies? Why is wonder treated as an afterthought, and magic as nothing more than a tool for violence? Why would a group of strangers, meeting in a tavern, risk their lives for each other without a second thought?

The Order of the Magpie exists because the world, every world, is more than just a battlefield.

Originally conceived as a geographical society with a higher purpose, the Order is dedicated to the preservation of history, the protection of knowledge, and the recovery of artifacts both magical and mundane. They are explorers, scholars, and curators, not conquerors. They exist to keep wonders from being lost to time, protect relics from misuse, and ensure that power doesn't fall into reckless hands. Where others see treasure, they see responsibility. And where freebooters, opportunists with no regard for consequence, seek only gold and glory, the Order ensures not everything of value is looted, burned, or forgotten.

What began as a single organization in a single world soon became something much greater. The Order of the Magpie transcends planes, time, and even the boundaries of reality itself. Their headquarters, known simply as the Museum, exists in a plane of its own, an endless archive of lost histories, artifacts of immeasurable power, and wonders beyond counting. But the Order doesn't hoard knowledge; they distribute their mission across countless worlds, franchising their influence through guildhouses where adventurers take on missions without fully understanding the true scope of their benefactors.

This book is designed for The Simple Approach, but like the Order itself, it's not bound to one system. It provides the tools to incorporate the Order of the Magpie into any heroic fantasy roleplaying game, whether as an integral part of a setting or a background force shaping the world from the shadows. The specifics of its structure may change, but the mission remains the same: to seek, to protect, and to remember.

The worlds are vast, the past is fragile, and the freebooters are relentless. The Order of the Magpie stands against them.