Heraldry From the Dark Country

The following  shields were made with made with Inkwell Ideas Coat of Arms Design Studio.  I'm not sure if there is a way to add the helmets on top in the free version, so these lack them.  I used some information from Fleur-de-lis Design to come up with them.  I recognize that the meanings of heraldic symbols are hotly debated and are likely all rubbish anyway.  Still I'm more interested in medievalism than medieval with the Nightwick Setting.

There are obviously more that need to be made, but these are the ones which the PCs in my campaign might be aware of at this point.

The Sword Brothers shield is the most derivative and really only exists as a seprate entity because I couldn't find a version of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword's that looked good on my blog.

I'm not sure if a reeve would technically have a coat of arms, but heres one anyway.  The crosses in the chief represent the fact that the village was originally owned by the Sword Brothers while the black represents sadness at their turn towards darkness.  The bat apparently represents awareness of the powers of evil and chaos, which is appropriate for people who live on the mouth of Hell.

Technically, there is no current Reeve of Nightwick because the last one was executed for his inability to control the peasants (read: keep the PCs from pissing off the bishop).  Lord Eckhard is the de facto governor but uses neither the title nor the shield (see below).

The Bishopric of Lichegate's shield has much in common with the Reeve of Nightwicks, and for many of the same reasons.  The cross in the upper left represents the Sword Brothers, while the one on the right represents the new bishopric.  The black is again sadness caused by the war, and the white castle is the town itself.  The bishop's men will almost always wear a red livery with a white cross on it, unless they serve one of his vassal's that possesses their own device.

The blue represents Eckhard's loyalty to the Bishop, while the red represents his appointment as commander of the whole of the Bishop's host.  The bear is more or less there because Lord Eckhard would be played by Brian Blessed if this was a movie.

Lord Eckhard standing next to the Duke of Averoigne

That picture reminds me, I need to squeeze in someone who would be played by Ian Holm.  I love Ian Holm.