Banner of the First March

Aura moderate abjuration and enchantment; CL 9th
Slot —; Price 24,000 gp; Weight 4 lbs.

DESCRIPTION

This broad silk flag is mounted upon a polished ashwood pole crowned by a simple rounded finial. The flag itself displays a heraldic Barry of Six, consisting of six equal horizontal bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The richly woven silk possesses a subtle luster and appears perpetually pristine, its colors remaining vibrant and unfaded regardless of weather, age, sunlight, magical corruption, or physical wear. Even after centuries of exposure, the banner shows no signs of fraying, staining, or deterioration.

When unfurled, the colors seem slightly more vivid than those found in ordinary dyes, catching torchlight, sunlight, and moonlight with equal brilliance. Though unmistakably beautiful, the banner bears no additional symbols, devices, crests, or heraldic charges. Its power lies entirely within the six radiant fields themselves, creating a striking display visible from great distances and instantly recognizable to those familiar with its history.

The Banner of the First March functions only when openly carried and raised above the bearer’s head.

While carried, all allies within 60 feet gain a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects and a +2 competence bonus on Diplomacy checks. Once per day, the bearer may plant the banner firmly into the ground as a standard action. For the next 10 minutes, allies within 60 feet gain immunity to magical fear and gain 10 temporary hit points.

If an ally within range would become frightened, panicked, or compelled to flee against their will, they may immediately attempt a second saving throw against the effect as an immediate action. This second save may be attempted once per effect.

Three times per day, the banner may emit a rallying pulse of shimmering light. All allies within 60 feet may immediately stand from prone without provoking attacks of opportunity and gain a +10-foot enhancement bonus to movement speed for 1 round.

LORE

The first marches are rarely remembered for their comfort. Those who walked them faced ridicule, threats, isolation, and uncertainty. Yet they walked regardless. Historians often note that courage is not the absence of fear but the decision that something matters more than fear.

According to tradition, the original Banner of the First March was assembled from dozens of smaller cloth fragments donated by ordinary people. Tailors, laborers, performers, merchants, clergy, and families each contributed a piece. No individual section was remarkable. Together they became something larger than any one contributor could have created alone.

Stories tell of banners carried through storms, hostile crowds, and sleepless nights. Witnesses claimed that seeing the colors rise above the crowd reminded them that they were not walking alone. The banner became less a symbol of victory and more a symbol of endurance.

Modern reproductions often attempt to capture this legacy. Though few can equal the power of the original, every Banner of the First March carries a fragment of the same idea - that solidarity is often strongest when it is most needed.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, heroism, remove fear, mass conviction; Cost 12,000 gp, 960 XP, silk woven from at least one hundred donated cloth scraps worth 500 gp.

Kelwyn's Notes

Civilization often celebrates victories because victories are easy to describe. They possess dates, signatures, monuments, and speeches. Far more difficult to explain are the marches that occurred before victory existed. Those gatherings possessed no guarantee of success. Their participants walked not because they knew history would remember them, but because they feared history might forget them entirely. Such acts reveal a peculiar characteristic of humanity. People will endure extraordinary danger merely to be seen as themselves.

What fascinates me most is that banners are fundamentally impractical objects. They provide no shelter from rain, no nourishment, no weapon against enemies. Their purpose is almost entirely emotional. Yet entire civilizations have carried them into moments of great consequence. This suggests that identity and belonging are not luxuries of the human condition. They are necessities. A people deprived of food may starve, but a people deprived of meaning eventually lose the reason to continue.

The Banner of the First March embodies this truth beautifully. It reminds us that courage is rarely an individual phenomenon. Most people do not become brave because fear vanishes. They become brave because they discover others who are afraid of the same things and choose to keep walking anyway.