Hellriders

The Hellriders (also written as HellRiders and Hell Riders ) were an elite cavalry unit who acted as the primary armed force of the city of Elturel in the Western Heartlands in the 14 century DR. The Hellriders helped Elturel establish and maintain civilization in these harsh lands. They were one of the most renowned and well-regarded military forces in the Realms.

Organization
Around 1358 DR through 1367 DR, they numbered approximately 2000 women and men. and around 1372 DR, their number was given as 200 mounted warriors.

A typical Hellrider patrol numbered thirty warriors, with at least one cleric of Helm and led by a Marshal. They also had foot patrols of twenty warriors around the city. Travelers most often encountered the Hellriders via these patrols. Significant raids, expeditions, and punitive assaults on aggressive demihumans were commanded by Lord Dhelt, the High Rider of Elturel, or by the High Watcher of Helm Berelduin Shondar.

Tactics
Skilled soldiers who fought from horseback, they were typically proficient with spears, composite bows, and a long curved sabers. They could fire their bows from their backs of their horses while on the move without hindrance. Their light warhorses were mighty destriers. They were strong and well-equipped.

Activities
In addition to guarding and policing the city itself, they patrolled the lands around that were within Elturel's jurisdiction with their well-known mounted patrols. This included patrolling the nearby reaches of the Chionthar river using their four rowing barges. Any given point on the road would be passed by a Hellrider patrol every four hours, day and night, every day. However, they could patrol and escort caravans as far as Iriaebor and Waterdeep.

All around the Fields of the Dead, they established guardhouses with fresh mounts kept ready. In the farmlands to the west, north, and east, they had warning beacons ready to light. The Hellriders kept constant watch from the roofwalks of Elturel's High Hall, home of the High Rider, on the lookout for returning Hellriders or the smoke or fire of the beacons.

Foot patrols were regularly sent to the Bent Helm tavern to break up brawls.

Membership
All Hellriders were required to give a tenth of their earnings to Elturel's coffers.

To be a Hellrider was a job for life, no matter short it turned out to be. Those determined to resign were given a final mission involving very difficult tasks, and even if they succeeded, and survived, they were stripped of their gear, exiled from the city, and named a heretic in the eyes of Helm, God of Guardians, for abandoning their post. In the mid–1360s DR, there were no living ex-members of the Hellriders—too many had died in battle. Lord Dhelt was a former leader of the Hellriders, but still led patrols and significant actions.

Possessions
On their commission, warriors of the Hellriders were granted a light warhorse and a suit of crimson and white plate mail armor, which was marked with an upturned crescent symbol.

Reputation
It was said that every boy and girl of Elturel and the lands around dreamed of being a Hellrider some day, even those whose talents lay in the arcane more than the martial arts. To call such a child a "hellion" was not an insult but a compliment, marking one as having the courage and drive to ride the Hellriders' destriers. Elturians were thus raised in the saddle, familiar with how horses would behave in any situation, even those that never became Hellriders. In turn, all true warriors of Elturel were Hellriders.

Thanks to the Hellriders' vigilance, caravans and convoys of riverboats chose routes through Elturel's zone of control so they could relax their own security, if only for a day or two.

Relations
The warriors were close-knit and exceptionally loyal, both to each other and to their commanders.

History
It was said that a company of Riders had once ridden into the Hells themselves—namely Avernus, the first layer—to rescue one of their own. From this story, the Hellriders were named.

Members

 * High Rider Lord Dhelt, former leader and patrol leader
 * High Watcher Berelduin Shondar, priest of Helm and patrol leader