Fangshields

The Fangshields were a group of talking animals and good-aligned monsters who operated all over the wild areas of Faerûn. They sought out and stopped evil monsters and organizations from carrying out their malevolent plans.

Organization
The group was originally not organized at all, simply a few monsters doing good deeds whenever they could. However, by 1374 DR, there had recently been an increase in the number of worshipers of Lurue and Nobanion, whom most of the group's members considered their patron deities. Also, the number of evil monsters had gone up as well. In response, the Fangshields banded together to concentrate their efforts, using humanoid messengers to impart their plans to cells that they themselves couldn't reach, as monsters tended to attract too much attention on human-built roads.

Activities
Most members operated on their own but in the face of greater threats they sometimes banded together into small groups. They went about about business in much the same way as the Harpers did, though they were more quick to retreat as increased interest from other parties could lead to an unacceptable loss in membership.

They had a few semi-permanent bases, indicated by easily recognizable natural landmarks as well as much smaller temporary ones. They used these bases to cast votes on their next course of action in the region. Ignorant do-gooders often mistook members of the group as evil monsters and tried to slay them so a low profile for the group was essential if an unwanted loss of life was to be avoided.

Their duties included maintaining a vigilance observing malevolent monsters, reporting their activity to superiors and directing humans away from the more dangerous regions of Faerûn without drawing too much attention. Individuals were expected to patrol the territory around their home for one tenday out of four.

Resources
While they didn't collect dues from their members in the form of currency, the Fangshields would collect magic items that were found among their members. They always preferred those that were particularly helpful to non-humanoids, such as custom-fitting armor, potions of healing or magical disguises. While the Fangshields had a relatively large cache of wealth to draw upon, it was scattered across the dens and havens of their various members.

Membership
The group was only made up of a mere 300 members and perhaps 300 more non-members knew that the group even existed. No more than 40 members ever congregated in the same place at the same time. This generated the desired low profile that the organization needed in order to avoid unnecessary casualties. New creatures could only join if they had the approval of three senior members after swearing an oath of allegiance. The upper echelon of the Fangshields included the wemic paladin Kul Kulann, the matriarch of the White Pack, Brena Whitebrow and the unicorn known as Light of the Morning Star.

Membership was supposed to be completely communal, with no individual being more powerful than any other. The multitude of racial differences tended to make this a moot point however, as members of the same race tended to make decisions as a group and those of weaker races usually deferred to the more powerful ones, creating subsects in the organization comprised wholly of a single racial type. These included:
 * White Pack: Selûnite werewolves.
 * Plainsrunners: Blink dogs.
 * Ivory Charge: Unicorns.
 * Stormwind Aerie: Giant eagles
 * Thunder Ride: Centaurs.