The Tacharim
Also known as: The Black Knights, the Nightmares, the Grasping Gauntlet, the Flower Infernal
The Mounted Scourge of the Land
The Tacharim embody ruthless ambition and systemic exploitation across the planes. Their philosophy hinges on the unrelenting pursuit of power—both personal and collective—through coercion, banditry, and strategic alliances with malevolent forces. Operating primarily in the Outlands’ Brinklands and Gehenna’s hostile slopes, they terrorise travellers, destabilise gate-towns, and manipulate planar conflicts to expand their influence. Unlike mere brigands, the Tacharim employ calculated cruelty, viewing fear as a tool to dominate the weak and elevate their status in a multiverse where power dictates freedom.
The Tacharim ain’t your average bunch of knights—in any sense of the word. They’re a far cry from the noble bashers who work for feudal high-ups of Excelsior, and they’re uncommonly skilled knights of the post. At least Hinterland bandits’ll only rob you blind—the Nightmares (so called for their black horses) prefer to rob, then torture, and then kill you.
Of course, it’s never so simple. The Black Knights are no mindless force of evil (that’s what rutterkin are for)—they have Plans. The dark of these are kept well hidden, but one thing is clear—the Tacharim work for their own interests. They’re certainly not the kind to make noble sacrifices. They’re called the Grasping Gauntlet by some because once they’ve got a hold of something, they don’t let go. Watch out for this bunch—it’s a cert that they’re going to step on whoever they think’s in their way to gain power.
The key to holding power over the weak is fear.
—a Tacharim Knight to a recently robbed merchant
The key to inspiring fear is to make the threat of death ever-present.
Don’t just stand there blubbering – start running.
Sect Philosophy
To properly understand Tacharim philosophy, a cutter must first understand the thinking behind their sect. The Tacharim’s ideology rests on three tenets: power over others guarantees autonomy, collective strength outweighs individual prowess, and ambition is infinite.
First: It is better to have power over others, than for them to have power over you. The true motivator of all Tacharim members is to gain personal power. After all, when you have power over somene else, they do what you make them do. And the more power you have, the less others can make you do things. So, the more powerful you are, the more freedom you will have to do whatever you want.
Second: An individual can never have ultimate power.It’s the sad truth, especially in the planes, that there is no ‘ultimate being.’ Though some individuals are undeniably powerful (like, say, the General of Gehenna), even they cannot challenge a whole army of powers. Not only is there safety in numbers – there’s power as well. So, in order to gain power most successfully, a body’s got to be part of a powerful organisation.
Third: There is no limit to how much power can be acquired. Assuming a group is cohesive, there is always a more powerful group that can be conquered and replaced. Therefore, ambition is never-ending. Most planars can tell you about the Centre of the Multiverse – there is no centre in an infinite multiverse. The Tacharim know this, and know that the path to power is an eternal uphill struggle.
Members reject moral constraints, believing that scruples hinder efficiency in acquiring magical artefacts, military leverage, forging dark pacts, or political sway. What does this end up meaning? In short, the Tacharim are powermongers extraordinaire. They’re constantly searching for new ways to make themselves more mighty and more influential. A Tacharim knight is expected to maximise their personal power, as well as group efficiency. Casting aside any sense of ethical guilt or moral shame makes their work a lot easier.
The result is a band of elite individuals that also work effectively together as a group. Feared by all but the most stalwart (or clueless) heroes, the Black Knights are a scourge not easily ignored, or eliminated.
Primary Plane of Influence: The sect’s de facto headquarters, the Flower Infernal, is found in Khalas, Gehenna, the plane that most closely matches the Tacharim’s demanding philosophy. The fortress serves as a bastion, and breeding ground for homunculi—twisted servants crafted by Tacharim wizards. The plane itself, however, sees less Tacharim activity than the Outlands—because the cynical and tough Gehennan petitioners are much harder to exploit than their Outlands counterparts, because Gehenna is not well suited to horses, but mainly because there are rather more juicy targets of clueless travellers for banditry moving between the gate-towns. Most Tacharim raids occur in the Brinklands. Tacharim operations prioritise high-risk, high-reward targets. They ambush caravans traversing the Outlands’ gate-towns, taking advantage of the Brinklands’ geographical volatility and unpredictable travel times.
Allies and Enemies: Most factions refuse to deal with the Tacharim on a general level. The most ardent foes of the Grasping Gauntlet are the Harmonium (who see them as upstart troublemakers), the Order of Planes-Militant and especially the knights of Excelsior (who see them as a frighteningly efficient force of evil), the Mercykillers (who seek to impose punitive justice), and the Guardians (who disdain their selfish and harmful world-view). Ironically, the Hands of Havoc also see the Tacharim as enemies, because they seek to oppress the masses.
In general, only unscrupulous knights of the post deal with the Tacharim. Evil members of the Doomguard (who see them as a welcome destabalizing force) and the Fated (who can somewhat sympathize with the idea of self-improvement). Evil Ciphers are also known to truck with the Black Knights. Their ruthlessness earns begrudging respect from the baatezu, who occasionally subcontract them to harass celestial forces or destabilise rival demonic legions. Despite these alliances, the Tacharim ultimately serve their own interests, betraying allies if greater power lies elsewhere—a trait that isolates them even among evil sects.
The Dark: Persistent whispers claims that the Tacharim are a front organisation for Factol Pentar of the Doomguard. Constrained from acting out her full destructive impulses by the slow and medium camps of her faction, the story goes that she’s created the Tacharim to wreck havoc where she cannot, and when she can arrange for her absence from her duties as factol to be explained she rides with them herself, a black helm concealing her distinctive features. The most important task she wishes for them to accomplish is the destruction of the Great Modron March, a dream that Sinker factols have long nourished, but currently out of favour since a centuries-long study by the Doomguard itself concluded that, for all its regularity, the March serves entropy at least as much as it squelches it, if not more so. Whether or not this is all true, that’s still dark.
In any case, the Tacharim have been actively disrupting the Modron Procession recently, sabotaging modron cohorts, hijacking drones, and imprisoning modrons for experimentation to create twisted hybrids of flesh and machinery.
Eligibility: The Tacharim are picky about who they let enter their ranks. Regardless of profession, all Tacharim members must have a Constitution of at least 12. No good-aligned individuals join the Tacharim, and most (but not all) Chaotic Neutral trainees prove too individualistic to make good members. However, every profession can find a place among the Tacharim’s ranks. The sect’s structured hierarchy rewards competence; members who secure promotions, magical relics, or command of knightly cohorts cement their status through tangible power gains.
Benefits: Tacharim knights are utterly ambitious—so much so, in fact, they rarely experience fear of any kind. [5e: All fear-like spells or spell-like effects fail against the Tacharim / PF2: Increase the success level of a saving throw against fear by one level. In addition, all Tacharim members gain the benefits of the Strategy proficiency (described in the Birthright boxed set) / Consider granting teamwork feats.]
Restrictions: Tacharim knights cannot willingly relinquish acquired power—whether a leadership role, enchanted weapon, or political favour—without securing an equivalent advantage. This mandate ensures perpetual ambition but also breeds internal strife, as members scheme to usurp superiors or hoard resources. Those who fail to advance face demotion or assassination, reinforcing the sect’s Darwinian ethos.
Canonical Sources: The Great Modron March [2e] p33-42,54,58,102-111 (the Tacharim feature as antagonists in two of the mini adventures); Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. 3 [2e] p50 (Tacharim wizards breeding new kings of homunculous)
Source: Belarius, Ripvanwormer, Jon Winter-Holt