Finder’s Archive – Azorius Chancery

Copyright Wizards of the Coast

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.

In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.

The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder 2 for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we take to the courts, and we plead for mercy at the Azorius Chancery.

Azorius Chancery

To understand the Azorius is to understand the rule of law above all other considerations. They are a powerful guild of magistrates, barristers, lawmakers, and lawful outsiders of all kinds (especially the enigmatic inevitables), who have banded together to strengthen law across the multiverse, and fight chaos wherever it can be found. They’re normally not bothered as to whether something is just or good/evil – only if it is the law or not. In this manner, they transcend the normal concerns of their kind, and one can find angels and devils working side by side, though it is still rare.

The Azorius Chanceries are the physical embassies of the Azorius guild on the material planes. Spread across all the worlds, from here they fight against the encroachment of chaos in any way that they can, hiring adventurers, funding public projects and more, all to stem the tide of chaos and stabilize the worlds. It is rumored that those worlds where they manage to stabilize it completely are sucked into Mechanus, the plane of Perfect Law, increasing the plane’s power further.

Lay of the Land

Each chancery is always set in a settlement, though the size of settlement can range from a tiny hamlet to an enormous metropolis. The Azorius Chancery is a set of 3 buildings, completely symmetrical and always identical across the many worlds that the Azorius seek to influence. The eastern building is always a combined barracks and living quarters, the northern building is always a courthouse and senate – where members can debate freely, or where outsiders can seek adjudication – and the western building is always a library and laboratory. Within these 3 buildings, the rooms vary though, each chancery set up to match the needs of the local populace and conditions, as well as the inhabitants of the chancery. Underneath each chancery is also a magical prison, one that has been built to contain and interrogate chaotic elements. The methods used by the members of the Azorius vary greatly depending on their inclination. Most creatures tremble at the thought of being at the tender mercies of an Azorius pit fiend.

Each Azorius Chancery also has an outreach program in place. They employ and hire adventurers, and locals in various projects that are designed to stabilize the countryside and show that order is the most effective state of being. Adventurers are often hired to rid the countryside of rampaging monsters, while locals might be paid to plant certain crops or build earthworks to defend the chancery or the city in which the chancery lies. Even canals and drainage system are sometimes commissioned if the Azorius deem that it might be beneficial.

Dangers

The inhabitants of each Azorius Chancery vary greatly, as does the leadership. The leader is always known as a “Judge” and is the most powerful and knowledgeable individual working for the Azorius in the region, though knowledge takes precedence over power.
The chancery is always attended by 6 clockwork creatures (for PF2, use the rules for arbiters here, for PF1 you can find the arbiters here, and for 5e use the quadrone modrons from the Monster Manual), however: 2 for each building. These creatures serve as butlers and guides, taking questions from visitors and guiding them wherever they need to go. They also serve as “bouncers,” dealing with any minor problems – but they will call for assistance if the situation is beyond their control.

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Kim Frandsen

40 years old, and a gamer since I was 13. These days I freelance as a writer for various companies (currently Fat Goblin Games, Flaming Crab Games, Outland Entertainment, Paizo, Raging Swan Games, Rusted Iron Games, and Zenith Games), I've dipped my hands into all sorts of games, but my current "go-to" games are Pathfinder 2, Dungeon Crawl Classics and SLA Industries. Unfortunately, while wargaming used to be a big hobby, with wife, dog and daughter came less time.

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