Goals of a Knightly Order

[BenTheJester]

I made a knightly order for our next campaign called the Blood Knights, aptly named for their ability to sacrifice HP to make themselves better in combat. However, other than to teach that discipline to a select few individuals, they don't really have a motive or a general goal.

So, what goal or motive could a knightly order have? I'd rather have the order be neutral(in the evil-good axis) with lawful tendencies(i.e.: not overly lawful).

[Worlok]

Weeding out the weak? I mean, hp drain for more power gives that vibe of "able and willing to withstand extreme punishment to acchieve their goals". If such is gone about with the right level of mandatory personal discipline while still allowing for a certain level of adaptability in action, backed up by the fruits of their punishment-withstandery, it gives off certain tones of "Lawful", while still not being overly so. They are neutral in that they don't see much of a difference between those who are vile and those who are wondrous, merely focusing on the annihilation of those they consider beneath their own fabled endurance and willpower for some borderline-eugenic concept of what is "best for humanity".

Possibly give them sort of an end-of-days-mentality - They're out to whip the people of the world into shape and purge the ranks of the unworthy because some demons or something have been prophecied to make their appearance soon, out to deliver the (plane your campaign is set in) some apocalyptic battle?

[Coidzor]

There's an example of the Knights of the Great Kingdom (forget their proper name) from Oerth/Greyhawk who were the royal order of knights in the Great Kingdom, who have as their ultimate goal the reestablishment of the proper line and monarchy of the Great Kingdom, beneath that the reunification and restoration of order throughout its territories, beneath that finding and protecting surviving members of the royal bloodline.

Historical examples of Knightly Orders have had them concerned with keeping particular holy sites and routes of pilgrimage safe or with conquering/unifying various tracts of land under a certain political structure.

Unholding the law of the land and rooting out corruption and sedition/sabotage would make sense for certain lawful-leaning organizations....

They could be concerned with maintaining their political control over their holdings and upholding their reputation in the region with their knights errant...

Edit: The more recent Castlevania, Lords of Shadow, had a brotherhood of light or something, and they were concerned with fighting evil creatures and possibly with maintaining humanity amongst the supernatural elements of the world.