The Military of Otkorion

Given here is a brief description of units within the Otkorioni army, along with stats for use in the Dragon Pass game. Later I will add more notes, concerning not just unit descriptions but actual organisational notes. Because of my limited knowledge of HTML programming, I cannot use the Dragon Pass symbols in some cases (for instance, the runes denoting a units special powers) so in most cases these are listed with the descriptions.

Military Organisations in Otkorion

With such a high percentage of Warrior Caste initiates, military organisations are very important in the structure of Otkorion. Without them both the Church and the economy would suffer.

Generally speaking, there are the smaller military units of Family, Royalty, Arkati private armies and mercenary units, and the larger military structure of the Church Militant. Firstly, the smaller military factions - the royalties of both cities support armies. In Fiesive there are the Liotcolm, who are Kings only line of defence for his city. Numbering about one thousand, they are generally worshippers singularly of St. Orlanth, and can be seen patrolling the outside of the mountainous city along the shaky stone walkways that line the city walls that have been there since the Arkati lived in their monastery. The Liotcolm are commanded by General Stefan, a Humakti, and the army also employs about 2,000 part time time fighters drawn mainly from the Farmer Caste who can fight in an emergency. The Liotcolm gives good pay, and access to its own special magic, but is only open to those who have lived in Fiesive for at least ten years.

In Valantia the City Guards are more impressive, the Humakti sponsored, Uroxi patronised, city is far more warlike than the City of Nobles, with a far larger organisation. Not being merely content with a city guard, they muster an entire army organised a lot like the Sword of Malkion, in addition to two separate units. Unlike Fiesive, Valantia has units to protect both the Queen and King. The Aocur (King's Guard) composed of crack Humakti and the Betine (Queen's Guard) composed of raving Uroxi. At any point which there is no Queen, the betine pledge to protect the most worthy woman I the city who is, currently, the Kings seven year old niece who was blessed at birth by the Goddess Felster with an oddly shaped mark on her forehead. It looks like a circle bisected by a vertical line.

The Family Guard are discussed elsewhere on my webpage.

Arkati private armies and mercenary groups are not part of Otkorioni military forces, and so are not discussed here.

The Church Militant is the name given to that part of the Church that concerns itself with all matters military. Any religious military unit that the Church commands is part of the Church Militant, for instance the Inquisition or the Sword of Malkion. Obviously, the largest of the units that the Church Militant commands is the Sword of Malkion, the bulk of the Warrior Caste belongs to this. Thw Sword of Malkion consists mainly of the following units; Riverchildren, Stormhearth, Firemas, Spearbrothers, Churchguard East, Churchguard West, Churchguard North, Fortguards, Rioneth, Horal's First, Swordlords and Swordkin. They are given are more detailed description below. Other units within the Sword of Malkion are things like the cult of Cloudcrusher and the Raped Whores. Units not in the Sword of Malkion but still subject to direct command by the Church Militant are all of the magical units (the Windwalkers, the Stormhearthers etc...) and the Diotcolm et al. The other military units of Otkorion, from the Family Guard to the Red Circle, are not under the command of the Church Militant, the Church cannot order them to battle. As these units are often quite a sizeable force of any Otkorioni attack force, it is in the Church's interests to ensure that they rally behind the Church Militant. They can manipulated either by political influence or religious rites - for instance, the King of Fiesive can be forced to battle if the Archbishop enacts a certain Orlanti ceremony. This creates a very uncertain army structure, while the Church can muster a sizeable force, to be a strong army they require the full support of other independent units within Otkorion. Up to now it has worked well, support has normally been granted, however there may well come a day when the Sword of Malkion must fight alone.

The Church Militant are led by the Death Blade, the official name of the High Sword who rules the Military Branch of the Church. It is currently Sreng Kirwan, one of the Temporal Incarnations of St. Humakt. Most members of the Sword of Malkion are St. Humakti, although there are lots of local units of Warrior Caste worshippers of St. Orlanth who act as "home guard" units to protect against minor raids from neighbours. The Church Militant mainly concerns itself on the Lalian border with the Uz raids from there, but sometimes is forced to quell minor invasions form Surkorion or the south. Helby, particularly, has fostered a hatred of Otkorion for what they did to the Gavlosti Church in 1611 ST.

Military Units

Sreng Kirwan
(5!)-6-5-0
The Death Sword of Malkion and Temporal Incarnation of St. Humakt. Sreng and his companions usually lead and co-ordinate all national military efforts and defences. Invested with power by the Archbishop himself to rule Otkorion's armies with an iron hand, his succes in battles and wars so far has been almost unwavering.

If Sreng is ever slain, then the slaying unit becomes a scapegoat for the Yulucuth. Sreng counts as a Hero.

Yulucuth
(7)-7*-6-0
The Yulucuth was a Raven Demon sent by the Saints to aid in the Battle of Amboraid in the First Age against the followers of Gbaji. It has stood guard at the Deothaisel, the Great Temple to St. Humakt in Valantia, ever since, under the direct command of St. Humakt himself. It is one of the Temporal Incarnations of St. Humakt. If any of the other incarnations are slain, the Yulucuth seeks revenge.

If the Yulucuth dies it reappears in Valantia on Deathday. It has aerial movement.

Deocolm
6-5-5-0
The Raven Company of the Deothaisel led by the High Priest of the temple. Armed with ancient magics and Humathi rites, the Deocolm are a deadly and effective attack unit.

King Leoban IV
(3!)-3-5-0
The King of Fiesive is often called into battle, ancient rites and oaths can be evoked by the Death Sword to achieve this. His disdain for this is well-known in court circles, but he has never been anything less than courageous in battle. He rides a warhorse called Elagar and is always accompanied by his Fighting Companions, and General Stefan.

The Cult of Siglolf Cloudcrusher
4-5-4-0
Released by Garundyer from one of the Krjalki of the region, Siglolf's worship was recently imported into the Church. The cult centre is Heltha, in mid-Otkorion. This is where their magics were first used, against rebellious Surkorioni in the east, and they are led by an ex-Kolati called Aoma Cenilbair, a woman from Lankst who recently converted.

The cult can be called to war only by Surantyr himself. They have control of their Cult Spirit, a physical agent of 6-X-X-10.

Liotcolm
4-3-5-0
The Liotcolm is the City Guard of Fiesive (whereas the Aocur and Betine of Valantia are protectors of the Valantian royalty and not the city). If the King is asked to fight for the Church, the Liotcolm are usually rallied into war as well. The Liotcolm have their own distinctive banner of a white sheet with a red crown upon it.

If the Liotcolm is stationed in Fiesive, their CF and MgF is increased by two.

Valantian Royal Guard
4*-4-4-0
The Aocur (King's Guard) and Betine (Queen's Gurd) compose the Valantian Royal Guard. As there are not many of either of these skilled guardians to venture alone into battle, they band together. Therefore, both the King and Queen of Valantia must agree to commit their forces. As there is currently only a King, this is not much of a problem.

Red Circle
2-7-4-8
This rather suspicious magi group of Fiesive is one of the very few organised mystical organisations in Otkorion. They can only ever be persuaded to risk their valuable hides by a decree from royal origins. The Queen has ensured the Circle has remained out of service since she came to power.
The Red Circle have aerial movement. They have a spirit of x-7-x-8.

Golems of Mentir
6-sp-3-x
Mentir is an ancient haven temple. While it resisted the influences of Gbaji and the Dark Empire, it was held under the thumb of the God Learners, who took the Orb of Storm for their mystical "Emerald Eyes" project of Galin. It remained a temple to Orlanth even when the trolls invaded. The priest can sometimes be persuaded to allow the temple golems to participate in battles.

The golems have infinite magical resistance as they lack souls.

Riverchildren, Stormhearth, Firemas, Spearbrothers, Churchguard East, Churchguard West, Churchguard North, Fortguards, Rioneth, Horal's First, Swordlords, Swordkin
5-4-4-0
These units are the bulk of the Sword of Malkion - the few units that the Church has actual direct control over, requiring no intermediaries to order them to war. The Church pays for their upkeep and maintenance.

The Riverchildren are a group of warriors whose name originates from their home barracks in central Otkorion near the Tanier. The Firemas are a military unit that has a faded form of Elmali worship. The Spearbrothers, Horal's First, Sworldlords and Swordkin are the four major Warrior Caste military units based around Otkorion. The Rioneth are a small but viscious group of active soldiers who patrol the Rioneth Cearghot (the name refers to the Bishopric near the troll infested Poldark forest). The Churchguard and Fortguard are groups of Warrior Caste who have a predetermined area of control (either north, south, east or west) where they are stationed in peacetime. The Stormhearth are warriors from the temple in Firheah where reputedly the warriors live with St. Orlanth in a Storm Castle.

Valantian City Guard
5-4-4-0
The Valantian City Guard musters about four units.

Durani Arawac
5-5-6-0
This House of Humakt regularly engages in warafre with both the cults of Zorak Zoran and the inhabitants of the Salantia. They are fanatical undead killers and are normally to be found in the presence of the Diotcolm.

If they are fighting undead units, their Cf is doubled.

Diotcolm
(6!)-6-4-0
A bishop and a Temporal Incarnation of St. Humakt, the Diotcolm can be ordered to battle by the Death Blade if any war is called. The Diotcolm's dedication to Death is unerring, he has many powerful abilities and is famed for his skill.

Any non-vampiric undead unit that faces the Diotcolm is instantly eliminated. If stacked with the Durani Arawac this ability is extended to adjacent hexes. Anyone who kills the Diotcolm becomes a scapegoat for the Yulucuth.

Dunfali
6-6-4-x
The House of Dunfal, led by Eochy Finshad, are a group of highly dedicated fanatical Humakti. They routinely join wars for no other reason other than their own desire for battle - asking for nothing in return.

Stormshadows
4-5-5x
A new unit formed by the order of the Archbishop and placed under the control of the Warrior Caste priest of Valantia. They have all walked a HeroPath accessed by travelling to a place in southern Otkorion. Here they learn the secret wind paths.

They have a special power - at any point during the Exotics phase they mat exchange places with any other player unit. This can only be used once per game.

Raped Whores
5-4-4-x
The red haired Babeester Gori are the only legitimate pagan worshippers in Otkorion. They wield mean axe magics and are accompanied by Great Boa, a spirit that crawled from under the Earth in the Godsage, and hid with the Earth Dwellers and Arkati Reformers until the Babeester Gor cult rediscovered her.

The Raped Whores have a bonus of 1 Cf when facing trolls or their ilk.

Caleg Hul
5-5-5-x
Vingans from Tempest Halls all take the Caleg Hul oath to fight to protect their country. They paint their shields red and drink a glass of red wine every morning. The Caleg Hul can travel day and night without exhaustion, given the proper preparation.

Family Guard
4*-4-4-x
While a rare addition to the rare military forces, families can sometimes, very rarely, be convinced to risk their Family members. The Guard are not trained for warfare and campaigns, but are sometimes useful in turning the tide of battle. There can be up to fifteen units of Family Guard if most of the major families give their support.

The Granson Mor
3-6-4-9
These magic users control the Granson Mor Death Spirits. Under the control of the Church Militant, under the personal supervision of Kien Stormheart, they are a scary part of the Church. Petitions have often been raised in the past for their abolition, and the entombment of the spirits somewhere safe.

Their spirit is a X-6-X-9.

Holders of the Storm Pit
3-6*-5-8
The Storm Pit is St. Orlanth's blessing from Solace, and a group of magi learnt how to tap its powers - including control of the Wind Bowl, the area of stormy weather around Tempest Halls. The Storm Pit serves as a focus of several lightning magics.

Once per game, the Holders can make it rain for up to three game turns. Their spirit is a x-6-x-8.

Tempest Hall Magi
4-5-5-5
The magi of Tempest Halls have basic military training, and are led by those adepts among them who become Storm Voices. Magi is a very misleading term, as they are usually merely adepts.

They can fly, and their spirit is a x-5-x-5.

The Imirib
4-5-4-5
A creation of a member of the Red Circle, a foreigner with support from the Queen called Kabeelian the Stranger. The Imirib are adepts chosen from the ranks of the Red Circle, they meditate in springs two key miles north of Calhaven, and learn eastern secrets.

They have a spirit of x-5-x-5.

Stormhearthers
3-6-5-6
In times of war, the Wizard Caste sometimes organise themselves into units of storm laden military units. The units are not as organised, nor as effective, as full time well trained military units, but can be quite effective if enough wizards can be rallied together.

All Stormhearthers have a spirit of x-6-x-6.

The Eternal Knight
10!-4-4-0
The Eternal Knight is classed as a Hero.

The Hollowwhisperers
3-6-3-10
These wizard caste sorcerers and priests have mastered a powerful group magic that allows them to call upon immense solitude and loneliness felt by the wind, driving those affect mad.

The Hollow-whisperers, and all units stacked are immune to spiritual agents. Their own agent is a x-6-x-10.

Aonbar Cearbhaill
(8)-4-5-0
A Temporal Incarnation of St. Humakt. He is a Doomed Warrior, embodying Honour, and has no-one to supervise his actions, although he confers with his fellow incarnations often.

Anyone slaying Aonbar immediately becomes a scapegoat for the Yulucuth. Aonbar is classed as a Hero.

The Windwalkers
2-4-6+-0
These HeroQuester Priests form a small enclave of people embodying the mobility rune. They can open a variety of secret doorways between the world and the otherworld. They can take other units with them as they move. Their banner is Orlanth's Ram.

They can open doorways across Otkorion as a special power. It can only be used instead of movement. The Windwalkers must travel with the units. They can take up to three units with them. They can only travel from Fiesive to Tempest Halls, Fiesive to Valantia, Tempest Halls to Mashtnog, and from Colmtalinn to Tempest Halls. And vice versea, for instance, from Valantia to Fiesive.