TEXT: The School of Hard Knocks Version 7.0 
  A social club providing specialized training to its members 
   
  A Gran March Meta-campaign Organization written by Nick Perch, Will Dover, and the Gran March Triad 
   
  Organization Alignment(s)   
   
  Any 
  PC Organization: 
  Yes 
   
  The most commonly heard phrase in this Hall has got to be “So, there I was . . .”  
  Anonymous member of the Order of World Travelers, circa CY 591. 
   
  The School of Hard Knocks (or more formally, the Order of World Travelers) has gone from being an 
  exclusive social club for people with means to being an excellent educational facility for those who desire 
  skills not found in any classroom or military training ground. It also maintains an excellent library on 
  foreign travel and exploration, with many issues of the Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society contained 
  therein. 
   
  Organization 
   
  The School has relatively little structure. It has a board of seven Trustees elected from the membership. 
  Each Trustee serves a seven-year rotating term, so that each year there is an election to select a new 
  Trustee. Former Trustees have to wait a full seven-year cycle before they are eligible again for the post. 
  The Trustee who has served the longest in their current term serves as Headmaster of the School for his 
  last year. The Headmaster oversees the maintenance of the facility as well as the recruitment of new 
  instructors. 
   
  Philosophy and Credo 
   
  The Order values three ideals: education, etiquette, and exploration. It expects its members to use the 
  Hall to sharpen their skills and to help others to sharpen theirs as well. In addition, given that members 
  are experienced travelers, the Order expects members to conduct themselves as civilized beings. After 
  all, they are but guests in the regions that they visit. Finally, the Order realizes that the best education 
  comes from exploring new areas and cultures and encourages its members to travel as much as 
  possible. 
   
  Day-to-Day Activities 
   
  The School is activity defined. On any given day, a visitor could find one room containing martial arts 
  instruction and another room containing a forum on a member’s visit to the Sea of Dust. Only during the 
  late hours of night does the School have calm. 
   
  Important Dates, Holidays & Ceremonies 
   
  The election of the new Trustee is the biggest event of the School. Election Day is on the first day of 
  Brewfest every year. There is a feast conducted in the main meeting room of the Hall, after which the 
  members present vote for the new Trustee from a list of candidates chosen by the remaining Trustees. 
  Members who cannot be present leave a proxy vote with the Headmaster. The candidate who receives a 
  majority of the votes wins the seat. If there is no majority on the first ballot, a run-off election occurs 
  between the two top vote getters. After the election, there is more celebration, with speeches from the 
  outgoing Headmaster, the new Headmaster, and the new Trustee.  
  
  School of Hard Knocks 7.0 
   
  2 
   
  Headquarters / Major Power Centers 
   
  The main headquarters of the Order is the Fellowship Hall (or the Hall for short). The Hall is located in 
  Hookhill. While it began as a relatively small meeting hall on a tiny parcel of land, the Hall has expanded 
  so much that there is hardly room for even a blade of grass to grow. It is now a multi-story facility with 
  classrooms, gymnasiums, and a small library. 
   
  With club membership at an all-time high, the membership decided at the end of CY 593 to establish a 
  second Fellowship Hall in Shiboleth. Groundbreaking occurred in midyear of CY 594. The recent events 
  in Shiboleth, however, have delayed completion for the near future. The club increased its fundraising 
  efforts for the building fund by increasing the fees and dues for use of facilities and for matching teachers 
  with students for many of its training sessions. The fee scale is for members only; club members share 
  their training only with other responsible, cultured (more or less), and wealthy club members. 
   
  History 
   
  It was never anyone’s intention for the School of Hard Knocks to be what it has become: a training ground 
  for many of the wealthiest or most gifted of Marchers. It began as a social club, founded in 560 CY by a 
  retired and weary man who just wanted to spend his golden years in the company of like-minded people. 
  With his savings, and calling in favors earned through a lifetime of sacrifice and valor, Watcher Urrelin 
  Polirian - Elder Inquisitive Raven, bought a parcel of land in Hookhill. Upon this patch of land, he erected 
  a building that bore the name of The Grand Fellowship Hall of the Order of World Travelers, now known 
  simply as The Hall. 
   
  Polirian intended the Order of World Travelers as something of an exclusive organization. Membership 
  was limited to those who could demonstrate that they had traveled extensively abroad, experienced many 
  things, and could share that experience with others. The Order also expected its members to behave in a 
  civilized manner, and contribute substantially to the Order’s finances. Many of these expectations hold 
  true even today. 
   
  Though Watcher Polirian passed on in 572 CY, the Order continues, in a slightly different form. Over the 
  years, the Order’s tradition of sharing world experiences through lectures and informal discussions led to 
  classes and individual instruction, especially as younger members who would still apply the training in 
  practical situations began to fill the ranks. This trend reached a peak after the Greyhawk Wars, when a 
  large number of soldiers returned from trips abroad, and were welcomed into the club. In the current 
  incarnation, the Order, nicknamed the School of Hard Knocks, serves both as a social club but more 
  importantly as a training center in which members share their experiences. 
   
  Recently, the Order entered into negotiations with the Royal Explorers Society of Keoland to serve as an 
  extension office for that Society. Those negotiations, however, have stalled with the recent unrest in 
  Keoland. The Board of Trustees anticipates that further work towards greater cooperation between these 
  two organizations will resume in the near future. 
   
  Allies 
   
  The Order has no formal alliances with any other group. If there is one trend, however, it is that many 
  veterans find their way through the doors of the club so there are loose ties with the various militia 
  companies. Clerics and followers of Fharlanghn also tend to haunt the Hall as well to swap tales of the 
  road with explorers. Finally, many bards from the Bardic Guild are members to increase their knowledge 
  of long-forgotten lore. 
   
  Rivals 
   
  The Order has a friendly rivalry with the Royal Explorers Society of Keoland. The Society sees itself as 
  the parent organization of all other such groups in the Sheldomar Valley. Members of the Order, in turn, 
  take every opportunity to one-up their Keoish counterparts. In fact, members of both organizations have 
  
  School of Hard Knocks 7.0 
   
  3 
   
  placed many a bet on the outcomes of two separate expeditions of these competitors to some unknown 
  part of Oerth. 
   
  Foes 
   
  As its doors are open to all, the Order has no visible enemies.  
   
  Heraldry/ Symbol 
   
  The symbol of the School is three chains (one gray, one brown, and one green) joined at the bottom and 
  fanning upward against a black field. The gray chain symbolizes the age-old value of education. The 
  brown symbolizes the comfort found in proper conduct. The green represents the freshness of knowledge 
  found through exploration. 
   
  Requirements  
   
  To join the School, a person must: 
   
  • 
  Be a Gran March citizen, a legal resident, or an active-duty member of the Gran March military. 
   
  • 
  Be experienced in the ways of the world (as demonstrated by possessing a Base Attack Bonus 
  (BAB) +2 or better). 
   
  • 
  Have traveled to at least one foreign land (as documented on log sheets, Adventure Certificates, 
  or ARs). 
   
  • 
  Pay an initiation fee of 200 gold pieces. The order may waive the initiation fee for one TU of 
  service to the School. Such service cannot come from military TUs, but does not incur lifestyle 
  costs, just like the lifestyle benefit described below. 
   
  • 
  Behave in a civilized manner (as demonstrated by possessing Charisma 10+ or at least 2 ranks 
  in Diplomacy or Knowledge (nobility and royalty) and by maintaining at least an Adventurer’s 
  Standard upkeep). 
   
  • 
  Not be a convicted criminal. 
   
  Benefits 
   
  Those who are members of the School in good standing have the following benefits: 
   
  • 
  Members have Open Access to the Leviathan Hunter prestige class (Sto) as many of the 
  members are heroic adventurers and explorers who have seen and fought exotic beasts. 
   
  • 
  Due to their extensive training facilities, the School can give a member the ability to meet the 
  special requirements for the Dungeon Delver (CAd) Prestige Class.  
   
  • 
  Members of this organization seem to have a lot of luck on their side and thus have Open Access 
  to the feats Fearless Destiny (RD), Heroic Destiny (RD), and Protected Destiny (RD). 
   
  • 
  Members have Open Access: Regional (Gran March) to the following mundane items: 
   
  o 
  10-sq. ft. tent (RW) 
  o 
  Ascender / slider (AEG) 
  o 
  Camouflage kit (CAd) 
  o 
  Candle, insectbane (AEG) 
  
  School of Hard Knocks 7.0 
   
  4 
   
  o 
  Desert outfit (Sa) 
  o 
  Distillation kit (Sa) 
  o 
  Frostbite salve (Fb) 
  o 
  Navigator’ kit (AEG) 
  o 
  Spelunker’s outfit (AEG) 
   
  • 
  Members have access to The Hall. Members may stay at The Hall when in Hookhill or Shiboleth 
  free of charge. This gives Free Adventurer’s Standard Lifestyle whenever a scenario has either of 
  these two cities as a setting. 
   
  • 
  As part of the time covered by their TU costs, members take correspondence courses on other 
  cultures and locales. As a result, each member gets a +2 circumstance bonus on all of the 
  following skills (note that these bonuses do not substitute for being trained in these skills): 
   
  Knowledge (dungeoneering) 
  Knowledge (geography) 
  Knowledge (history) 
  Knowledge (local - Core) 
  Knowledge (local - Sheldomar Valley Metaregion) 
  Knowledge (nature) 
   
  Costs 
   
  A member bears certain responsibilities of membership: 
   
  • 
  Members of the Order must pay annual dues of 200 gp each.  
   
  • 
  Members of the Order must also spend 3 TUs which are used for training, reporting to the Order 
  on their explorations during the previous year, and helping maintain the facilities. Due to the 
  quality and specialized nature of the training provided, active-duty military PCs may use military 
  TUs for their membership as it is considered cooperative training time. 
   
  • 
  Members of the Order must always maintain at least an Adventurer’s Standard upkeep. 
  Members cannot “live off the land” as it is crude and unsophisticated. 
   
  Members should note all fees in the Items Bought section of the AR in which the PC pays the fee. 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Metaorg Material/Gran March/Gran March School of Hard Knocks 7.0.pdf