Vanguard Company
A world of disparity
The life of a sellsword is brutal and short.
Vanguard Company prides itself on rewarding those who venture down this dangerous career path with fair and equal shares for jobs successfully completed. Above all else, the organization knows that their mercenaries are their best clients and, in that, allows them the freedom to approach their contracts in the way they see best fit.
About
Vanguard Company is a small community of roleplayers that aim to provide a curated series of monthly adventures with a focus on collaborative storytelling and lightweight combat rules within the world of Final Fantasy XIV. Our size allows us to maintain a living world wherein characters can network and see the effects of their actions on and off the clock.We operate with an "Adventure of the Week" format to ensure a player can easily join in at any time, and welcome both roleplay veterans and beginners looking to learn!Our ranks are mostly comprised of middle to low power combatants, but there is room in the company for those who do not fight on the frontlines. Healers, mages, academics, and accountants alike can provide to the fledgling mercenary company.Additionally, if your company would like to establish a partnership with Vanguard Company we are always open to collaborative roleplay opportunities!If your character works for Vanguard Company, this simply means they have been approved to take contracts with the company and does not imply they are disallowed to work elsewhere. There is a light IC and OOC command structure and each adventuring party will have an assigned handler, but this hierarchy extends only for active assignments or other Vanguard Company matters.
Our Stories
We currently offer an adventure a week with plans to expand this out as we gather both more players and DMs.Vanguard Company's adventures take them all over the world to deal with a variety of threats and foes such as monsters and organizations, though they will also take jobs for smaller or more intimate matters such as missing persons' requests or recovering lost valuables.Since Vanguard Company's founding they have done everything from fighting spider-like voidsent aboard a merchant vessel to tracking down runaway nobles all while making sure characters from accomplished mages to swordsmen with no ability to use aether are able to meaningfully contribute.
Stand Alone
Our Stand Alone plots are self contained adventures designed to be completed in a single sitting. These one off stories are run with a small crew of Vanguard Company members and, while not always combat oriented, they do require some level of team work to reach a favorable end.This is a glimpse of the stories that have shaped us with many more on the horizon...
The Salvage Operation
A strange boat is left floating and seemingly abandoned a half mile from shore outside of Limsa, and Vanguard Company has been hired by the infamous Blue Hawk Trading Company to retrieve the cargo aboard the ship no questions asked and return it to shore.
Theft on the River's Diamond
A note to the less lawfully minded members of the company is passed to them by an impossible to place shrouded figure one day while walking the streets of the city. A gambling den hosted on a riverboat where the prizes are gil and dangerous artifacts alike. You have been chosen to be part of the crew that will be making off with every cent and magical trinket aboard the infamous River's Diamond. Bring a snappy outfit.
Gone to the Dogs
A short notice call for urgent aid brings the Vanguard to the distant lands of Thavnair, travel expenses and all, but this is no vacation: A pet dog with an unusual and rare sickness under treatment from a local alchemist has escaped into the wider city of Radz-at-Han. Find and recapture it before the disease can spread.
A Voice in the Woods
Reports of a crazed gunman hiding in the woods in Limsa have prompted the Maelstrom to reach out to Vanguard Company for the first time, requesting their aid in tracking this person and bringing them to justice.In an entirely unrelated incident there have also been reports of people experiencing severe hallucinations outside of Wineport, and you've been asked to investigate this matter during your time there as well.
Push comes to shove
A local gang of miscreants has claimed their town's tavern for their own, and it's terrible for business - even after hiring several adventurers to chase them off, they keep coming back. The Vanguard is to pose as a bigger, badder gang, and scare them off for good by conquering the place themselves.
Seasons
Some stories can take a little more time to tell. Our Seasons are made up multi-event adventures that shift and flow based on the interaction of our players. These plots have a history of tackling difficult themes and gruesome consequences intended on challenging a character under oppressive conditions.These are the stories we have told and with many more left to tell...
Homecoming
Come home...
Following the unfortunate death of his adopted Elezen parents, Kaste is called upon to complete the paperwork for claiming his family's estate. What he attends is something far more sinister - an ambush by his adopted brother Aerosic who has the means to flip a conditioned switch that throws Kaste in to a blind and violent rage. No longer able to work on his own behalf, the Auri man calls upon his employer Vanguard Company to seek out his spiteful older brother, disarm the sonic device that dissolves his self control and put an end to the affairs that have kept him hiding in fear of hurting those he loves. The finale was met with tragedy and Vanguard Company's only remaining option was to turn to the questionably aligned mage Rihad. Their payment? Something far more valuable than assets; a favor.
You Shall All Be Healed
Knight Captain. Arriving. On the field.
Vanguard Company had taken a bill from the City of Ishgard to aid in the exploration and security of an abandoned underground lab built during the Dragonsong War. Their task was to assist a blacklist company of knights known as the Chapter of Penance - a penal chapter made up of souls who were determined skilled enough to serve their time in military service to the City-State rather than behind bars. What was found in the shuttered facility was the evidence of unethical experiments and the state issued slaughter of the CoP's former ranks. The Chapter, now lead by former defector Tetra Vinn, paid far more than their sentenced time in suffering having been subjected to experiments and poor conditions during their term. Vanguard Company has found themselves in support of the Chapter of Penance's efforts to survive in the frigid snowfields of Coerthas, withstand attacks from opposing Knight Chapters and earn their freedom.
Falling Stars
Our current adventure...
A letter arrives, unsigned, to Vanguard Company headquarters - with a staggering amount of gil included.I hope I find you all well. I've come to make a request: Several members of Ul'dah's Adventuring Guild have gone missing in recent days, the last of which was on a course for the Sagolii Desert before their disappearance. You and yours are to investigate - the latter half of your payment will arrive when you do. Forgive my secrecy, but rest assured I will know when the task is complete. All will be clear in time. Safe travels.