Knights are soldiers who serve the province of High Rock under the command of their respective Great Houses. They are the main backbone of High Rock's military and filled almost roughly half of the province's ranks. They are considered the lowest of the nobility but still respected for their rigid discipline and high-quality training despite their lack of numbers compared to the Imperial Legion.
Overview[]
The Knight Orders were found in 4E 176, one year after the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. With the increasing occurrence of riots and revolts caused by economic depression post-war and the lack of organized soldiers to maintain order, the nobles of High Rock pooled resources into creating soldiers with high-quality training, rigid discipline, and undying loyalty. The Knights of High Rock were the result.
Unlike chivalrous knights of old, however, many knights under the command of their Great Houses vary in reputation. Some are interested in justice and compassionate to those less fortunate around them. Others serve as brutal enforcers and extremely loyal soldiers for the less generous and conservative Great Houses.
Knights are specially outfitted depending on factors, including climate, location, task, and expectations. They employ chainmail, scale armor, plate mail, and fitted leather armor depending on conditions. They are very effective at keeping order and law enforcement, more than town guards, and are sometimes considered military police for the Great Houses. Their roles in battle varied as well on rank and preference.
Variants[]
A Squire affiliated to Daggerfall.
As of 4E 177, Knights consist of the following variants:
Squire (Initiates)[]
Trainee knights who lack experience or are freshly inducted into the path of knighthood. Both entirely fresh recruits and Spellswords with magic training will begin here. They are not considered as fully-fledged members and tend to be weaker than a full-ranked knight. Not all of them make it to be promoted into a full knight. Their armament tends to be a sword and shield or a greatsword.
Knight[]
Non-Spellsword members who have served time in the Knighthood and have become fully-fledged members. They are the main backbone, being much better fighters. They utilize a wider variety of weapons. They will generally wear heavy armor of varying designs, depending on their allegiance.
Knight-Captain[]
Knights who act as field commanders. Much like the knight, but more skilled due to their experience in both battle and training. They are usually seen commanding a group of other knights or training Initiates. It is rare to see Crusaders under one unless they happen to have a very high rank.
Crusader[]
Spellswords who choose to focus on the path of heavy armor and arms instead of magic become Crusaders. They undergo the training of a knight after mastering a few novice spells. This puts their skill as a knight before their skill as a mage. As most Spellswords would not retrain themselves as knights, Crusaders are relatively rare. They generally train in defensive arts, shields, and one-handed weaponry, usually a sword or mace.
Unlike the typical knight, Crusaders can use self-enhancement magic and ranged spells. They can move faster and with more agility than any non-magical knight via enhancement magic and movement spells. They preserve themselves in battle far longer by healing spells in conjunction with their heavy armor, and fighting them at range offers no advantage when they can cast ranged magic. The magical prowess of Crusaders cannot be compared to a Battlemage or a dedicated Spellsword, though.
Paladin[]
Paladins are the expert variant of Crusaders and their own version of a Knight-Captain, serving long and trained hard enough to attain their respective rank alongside their combat experience. They are in command of Crusaders and Knights. Generally, they tend to be promoted to higher rankings because it is easier for them to accrue military merit by spells being incredibly useful for combat and their superior performance to most normal knights.
As they are former Crusaders, most Paladins, if not all, wield shields and a one-handed weapon of sorts. They tend to have better quality equipment and a better range of spells, unlike their lower-ranking counterparts. This makes them more dangerous to fight and gives them incredible battlefield stamina. It is not uncommon for them to be clad entirely in enchanted gear and wield a magical weapon, especially if they can afford it.
Abilities[]
Knights are well-known for their incredible resilience, ruthlessness, bravery, and determination in battle. They are less likely to retreat than other soldiers and will attack relentlessly. They were considered extremely dangerous as a team and utilized various weapons and shields with great skill and efficiency.
Combat[]
Knights are powerful melee fighters, preferring to get up-close and personal with the enemy. Their heavy armor provides protection from marksmen and other warriors as they plow through enemies while reducing the damage they take. They are proficiently skilled in using heavy armor, one-handed weapons, and shields. Attacking them head-on is ill-advised, as they can block most attacks with their shield before performing deadly counter-attacks.
However, the heavy armor of knights made them bulky, slow, and weak to specific spells. Usage of armor-piercing weapons, fire spells, shock spells, or block-and-counter techniques is ideal for taking on the heavily-armored knights. One can also disarm them with proper timing and deliver deadly counter-attacks in return. Two-handed power attacks and ripostes will also break through a knight's block and stagger them, leaving a short opening.
Crusaders and Paladins rely on reinforcement spells and heavy armor, making them more durable than base knights. Their enhancement magic also improves their agility and negates many downsides that heavy armor typically brings. Hence, combat against them requires more attention, as they have to be exhausted of Magicka and stamina before their threat level falls enough. It is generally impossible to disarm one even with timing, compared to base knights, being much better. Repeated power attacks and ripostes are needed to break their stance and stagger them.