INTRO - Mercenaries and Sell-Swords
Wherever there is gold to be won you will find them. Whenever there is a fight in the making they will be lurking around the next corner. These are dangerous men, all too willing to lend the weight of their blade to whoever will offer the heaviest purse.
The Dogs of War are warlords and bandits, sell-swords and freebooters, and brave adventurers who willingly risk all upon the battlefield for the chance to win measureless riches. They are possibly the most egalitarian force in the whole of the Old world. These sell-sword armies are formed from a wide variety of races who have set aside their petty differences and banded together under one banner. Skilled pikemen and marksmen rub shoulders with drunken Dwarf Pirates and huge Ogres from the badlands. Man fights alongside Dwarf and Elf and Ogre, all in the name of the purest cause of all: unadulterated greed!
RECON
Varies scouts and spies. Assassins can perform tactical espionage. Merchant Princes have plenty of cash and are skilled at diplomacy. They can certainly entice third parties to join them with a bit of gold, and may even attempt to buy off auxiliaries used by the enemy if they can.
PRIMARY:
Mobility: 4
Training: 3
Max Range: 25 feet
Preferred Range: Melee
In the war-torn lands of Tilea, soldiers heft long, heavy spears called pikes, a weapon often favored by mercenary regiments. The pike evolved from the simple thrusting spear previously used by the Tileans during the war against Bretonnia in 1425. After the tournament at Ravola where the Tilean Venators bested the Bretonnian Knights in jousting by using slightly longer lances, the idea quickly spread to apply the same technique to the spears of all Tilean soldiers. As the Tileans are quite a competitive people, it is said that when the Merchant Prince of Miragliano decided to lengthen the spears of his city by half a foot, thus giving them an advantage over the other city-states, another Merchant Prince decided to lengthen it a whole foot instead. This soon escalated until soldiers were carrying spears up to 25 feet long, which forced them to eschew their shields altogether and carry the weapon with both hands in order to keep it straight.
However, this trade-off turned out to be worth it in the end, as the new pike proved to be incredibly useful at deterring enemy charges. When fighting cavalry, the Pikemen close ranks and form an impenetrable wall of sharp points. Soldiers set the foot of the pike into the ground and wait for the charging enemy to impale himself on the sharp spearhead. Horses are very reluctant to close with this steel hedgehog and are held at bay, making pikes ideal for combating heavy cavalry. Because of the great length of the pike it can reach multiple ranks of soldiers, the men behind leveling their pikes over the shoulders of, or between, the men in front.
Offense: The pike, as was just described to you, and they have swords if the enemy gets past those.
Defense: Depends. New mercenaries have piecemeal armor plundered from various battlefields. Regiments that are part of private armies tend to be better equipped, with much nicer armor.
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 4
Training: 4
Max Range: Crossbow
Preferred Range: ^^
The Tileans are world renowned for their love of the crossbow, and many mercenary commanders value their crossbowmen highly. It is not known who first brought the crossbow to the attention of the mercenary generals, and the debate between Humans, Dwarfs and others has gone on for years. Crossbows take much longer than other bows to make, so they are expensive and relatively rare weapons in the rest of the Old World, but very common among mercenaries.
The bulk of the missile troops in a Dogs of War army are formed by crossbowmen from Tilea, Estalia and the Border Princes. The Crossbowmen from the city-states of Tilea are some of the most famous and widespread mercenaries in the Old World and are often employed by the Empire, where they are much sought after. Many are those whom have perished from a hail of their bolts.
Offense: Were you paying attention? It's the crossbow!
Defense: Plate and Distance
Additional Factors:
-Many people question the Tileans' favoritism for crossbows over the more powerful and often more effective gunpowder weapons on the market. Of course, Tileans use gunpowder, many carrying a pistol on them when entering some of the rougher areas of the large cities, but many reasons stand for the choice of more archaic and perhaps, out-dated weaponry. These reasons are founded in the personality of the Tilean populace, firstly wanting to preserve their old traditions and heritage, and secondly wanting to preserve themselves, for crossbows offer a longer range and lower cost than most gunpowder weapons, allowing the less courageous mercenary to keep out of harm's way whilst still earning a decent pay. That's not saying that the Tileans shun handguns altogether, as some richer regiments can indeed be found wielding these temperamental weapons in lieu of their safer crossbows, but they are far from common.
Mobility: 4
Training: 4
Max Range: Pistol
Preferred Range: Melee
Duelists are men of the shadows, their reputations dark and bloodthirsty. They are men of iron nerve who stare unflinchingly into the face of death every time they draw their pistols. As well as expert pistoliers, Duelists are master swordsmen, their close quarter fighting deadly and brief for their opponents. Those who seek the services of a Duelist must frequent dark avenues and taverns to locate them, for they are enigmatic and elusive figures. However any army who secures their skills will reap great benefit. Duelists are quite happy to hire themselves to anybody willing to pay their often extravagant prices.
Offense: Swords and Pistols are their trade
Defense: Minimal, rather they keep themselves safe with their skills. Still, some will wear light armor, such as leather
Additional Factors:
-Duelists come in two varieties: happy-go-lucky devil- may-care swashbucklers who regard their exploits as a continuous adventure, and deadly serious fighters who wear their honor on their sleeves and are very quick to take offense at slights, imagined or otherwise.
Mobility: 4
Training: 4-5
Max Range: Varies
Preferred Range: Varies (Usually Melee)
The constant warring among the city-states of Tilea provides many opportunities for a man who knows how to use a weapon. Enriched by trade, but with only a few small armies, the Tilean city states often resort to hiring companies of mercenaries commonly referred to as Sellswords. These men come from all over the Old World, though Tilea is particularly famed for its regiments. Tilean mercenaries are known for their bargaining skills and have even switched sides during battles when offered more money by their opponents. Mercenaries are also the mainstay of Border Princes armies, traveling from across the Old World to make their living. Native Border Princes mercenaries typically fight as core troops of an army. In fact, Sellswords are so common in Tilea that they are represented by their own guilds.
Offense: Varies, but could be any weapon from Swords to Hammers. It all depends on the individual, what their boss will provide, and what the situation calls for.
Defense: Again, see above
Additional Factors:
-Upon being hired, they establish the responsibilities required, be it to serve as a bodyguard, kill someone, or provide backup in a tough scrape. They won't scout ahead and rarely take the initiative to do something, instead waiting for orders. Estalian mercenaries are known as skilled swordsmen with hot tempers. Because they do not cooperate well with other mercenaries, Estalians are often hired in smaller groups and given special objectives to handle on their own, a role they perform well at. Imperial, Kislevite, and Bretonnian deserters seeking either a better life or better pay are also rather prevalent, as are various units of Free Company during subsided periods of fighting in the Empire.
-Unlike the Knight, who has a certain amount of loyalty, the Sellsword is hired muscle, usually drawn from street toughs from the Old World's worst neighborhoods. They are loyal to one thing only: gold.
-While as dangerous and skilled as any soldier, Sellswords often rely on cheap tactics and tricks to defeat their enemies.
Mobility: 4
Training: 4
Max Range: Melee / Spear
Preferred Range: Melee / Spear
All across Tilea, there are gladiatorial fighting pits where tough warriors are forced to take up arms against each other in brutal hand-to-hand fighting, often to the death, for the bloodthirsty pleasures of the baying crowd. From the vicious pits of Remas to the Blood Pits of Luccini, there can be heard the clash of steel and the screams of the dying.
The vast majority of fighters are slaves who work for the so-called 'circuit' and they have to go through rigorous training before they are let loose in the bloody world of the fighting pits as they are considered an expensive investment by their owners. They strive to survive long enough to earn their freedom by paying off their owners with a large cut of the winnings. Most successful pit fighters live for the sport (and, of course, often die for it also!) because they know of little else. Enough Pit Fighters either earn their freedom or, as is more often the case, escape and form bands of fugitives on the run from their former owners. These bands of outcasts make ideal warriors for hire to Mercenary Generals.
Others are simply free men who earn their living from savage pit fights. When not in the pits, Pit Fighters offer their services to the highest bidders, and they readily find employment as mercenaries. Pit Fighters are powerful and dangerous fighters, and their unique weaponry gives them an advantage against almost any opponent. Pit Fighters are especially adept at fighting in close quarters with little room to maneuver, and this makes them much-feared opponents among their foes. The warriors in a group of Pit Fighters are very dangerous adversaries indeed even for the most rugged, experienced of mercenaries, for they are entirely ruthless and offer no quarter.
Offense: Close combat specialists carry heavy flails, gauntlets with razor-sharp claws stylized on ghoul claws or Orc choppas. Light Skirmish troops called 'Pursuers' carry two light swords, a spear and net or several javelins.
Defense: Close combat specialists wear heavy armor across their shoulders, thick iron gauntlets and heavy greaves. They also wear heavy horned helms that caricature warriors of Chaos, helmets with fake tusks and leering faces akin to Orcs or skull-faced helmets that look like the Undead. Light Skirmish troops called 'Pursuers' wear very little armor, preferring to use hit and run tactics over brute strength.
Special: Variant: Pit King: The most feared and respected type of Pit Fighter is the Pit King - a veteran fighter of many bouts, a heavily scarred killing machine with muscles like iron. Pit Kings are often dressed in heavy armor reminiscent of Tilean heroes of old, adorned with a laurel wreath which is the symbol of his status.
Additional Factors:
-We Who are About to Die… : Pit Fighters feel no fear
-There are as many different types of pit fight as there are venues, from small fistfights in an old barn or a back alley, to huge conflicts with many heavily armed combatants. There are vast amounts of money to be made by the illegal gambling cartels and on the sly by the merchant guilds from the pit fights. In the larger cities of Tilea the pit fights are bigger, more widespread and far more lavish.
Mobility: 3
Training: 4
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Dwarfs are famed for their love of gold, ale and adventure, not necessarily in that order. It is easy to understand how some young Dwarfs decide that they would rather earn their gold fighting than spend their life scraping the underground in search of rich ore.
Since the fall of many of their holds, they have come to Tilea in ever increasing numbers, some seeking riches, but many just after a good fight (especially against Greenskins). They're well known as tough warriors and are very much sought after as hired muscle by mercenary armies.
Offense: The axe is the most prominent weapon of the Dwarf
Defense: Gromril is a well known dwarf metal, far sturdier then human metals. They also use large shields.
Special: Shieldwall: Multiple Dwarfs standing together can form a shieldwall.
Additional Factors:
-Racial Distrust: Dwarfs loathe greenskin races, and are unlikely to work with them. They also hold a long standing grudge against the Skaven race. Finally, their long standing dislike of Elves is well known. While they can potentially work with elves, they won't be happy about it.
-When a Dwarf plants himself, he's not likely to give ground.
-Few Dwarfs become mercenary generals. This is because any Dwarf with the qualities of a general will be utterly loyal to clan and ancestry. Dwarf mercenary generals are likely to be outcasts for some reason, or cherishing some terrible grudge against all their kin. What else could force a Dwarf to associate with the kind of treacherous scum who become mercenaries? Furthermore, the payment of gold to hired sellswords and the sharing out of plunder is something that would tear at the heart of any true Dwarf. Indeed then, any Dwarf who becomes a mercenary general must have a strange saga to tell. It would be wise not to delve too deeply.
Mobility: 6
Training: 6
Max Range: Bow
Preferred Range: Varies
Tilea has many Elf enclaves in its cities and forests, the largest in Tettoverde Forest. Although their lands fall within the boundaries of the Tilea, the Elves do not recognize the Merchant Princes as their rulers and do not consider themselves Tilean citizens. Elves value their privacy and use fey enchantments to hide their woodland homes, but they have not forgotten about the rest of the world. Elves may be rarely seen, but they see much beyond their borders.
Elves are most commonly seen in the big trading cities like Miragliano, Remas and Luccini. Here powerful merchant houses represent the interests of distant Ulthuan. The scions of these mercantile families are expected to travel widely in their youth, for gaining worldliness will help them in the years ahead. While they tend to look down on their uncouth sylvan kin, they know they are far from the gleaming towers of Ulthuan and thus of lesser status to many of their High Elf cousins. For the most part they are feared and distrusted by humans, though some live in the cities among men and offer their services as minstrels and archers in return for a high fee. The few High Elves who become mercenary generals are often exiles, banished from their realms for dire misdeeds or forsaking their kindred with a self-imposed exile. One or two have had the misfortune to be shipwrecked and stranded in distant lands. After trying in vain to fight their way across the known world, they have been forced to sell their fighting skills in order to survive.
Offense: While Elves are best known for their skill with the bow, they can also be excellent swordsmen, able to move with greater speed and grace then any human, dwarf, or greenskin could hope to match.
Defense: Elves typically wear light armors, and combine that with incredible speed and agility to avoid harm.
Additional Factors:
-Elves have a rather… complicated history with Dwarfs. They would prefer not to work with them, but desperate times may call for desperate measures.
Mobility: 3
Training: 3-4
Max Range: Bow
Preferred Range: Bow
Halflings are a small but dexterous race who look like Human children to the untrained eye. The fact that they cannot grow beards only reinforces this impression. Although they tend to be pot-bellied, since they eat twice as often as any other race, they are capable of great stealth. When combined with their well-known skill with the sling, Halflings can prove to be surprisingly stubborn opponents. They are, however, largely a peaceful people, content to farm, eat, and smoke pipe weed. They are proud of their families and all Halflings can recite their family lineage back ten generations or more.
Most Halflings are homebodies. The enjoy peace and quiet and want nothing more than to be left alone to enjoy good food and a good smoke. There are, however, a small number of Halflings who find the Moot intolerably boring. Halflings are not warlike people, but there are a few among them that just cannot settle in the peaceful land of the Moot. When the most exciting event of the day is finding out what kind of pie is for desert, some folks need a change. These Halflings develop a taste for adventure and leave the Moot behind, often for roguish pursuits. These 'adventure-loving weirdos', as they are referred to by other Halflings, often decide to band together and wander the world as hired bowmen. These bold spirits are much sought after by mercenary bands, for they are splendid archers, and excellent cooks to boot. Since these Halflings are the ones most often encountered in Tilea, it is perhaps no coincidence that Halflings as a whole have gotten a reputation as light-fingered sneaks.
Offense: Slings, Arrows, and swords (though to a Halfling, a dagger is what is considered a sword)
Defense: Sneaking about, camouflage, and hiding behind bigger units.
Additional Factors:
-Halflings are quite skilled at navigating through forests.
-The origins of the Halflings are obscure. When Human tribes settled the lands that later became the Empire, Halflings were apparently already among them. Their numbers, however, were small and they played little role in the wars that led to the establishment of the Empire. Indeed, Halflings are barely mentioned in history hooks until the year 1010. At that time the Emperor granted the Halflings a land of their own, as legend has it in recognition of their contributions to Imperial cuisine. Whatever the reason, the Halflings were given land near the upper reaches of the River Aver. This area has been known as the Moot ever since. The Halflings govern the Moot themselves, but it is still a part of the Empire. In fact, the Elder of the Moot is one of only fifteen Imperial Electors and thus wields some political power.
LINEBREAKERS:
Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Javelin
Preferred Range: Melee
Norsca is a grim northern land, full of fell beasts such as Snow Trolls and Chaos Spawn, and it breeds tough fighters. Among the most feared are the Norse Marauders, brutal warriors who plunder the coastlines in search of foodstuffs, gold, and slaves. They are a merciless lot, hardened from their frequent battles with sailors and the feeble militia that stand against them. Marauders sail the seas to bring booty back to their settlements in their frozen lands.
Some few berserkers make their way to Tilea because they've been exiled or simply have a desire to see more of the world. They rarely stay in one place for long, since no watchman wants a frothing lunatic disturbing the peace. Norse Marauders are highly prized mercenaries, however, due to their rarity and effectiveness. There are no formal organizations of Norse Marauders in Norsca, but things are different in Tilea. Half-mad warriors are not trusted, particularly those from near the Chaos Wastes, so a Norse Marauders without a group to back him up is an easy target for witch hunters and the paranoid.
Most Norse Marauders join a mercenary company, where they are welcome as long as they do not cause serious injuries to their comrades in the inevitable brawls. In general, mercenary berserkers gain the respect of their comrades after the first battle. Others enter the service of wealthy individuals who want a truly intimidating bodyguard. Norse Marauders in these jobs find less camaraderie, and are often out of work after entering a frenzy and grossly overreacting to a slight against their employer. A few just find like-minded individuals and form a small group looking for adventure. Such groups are treated with even more suspicion than a lone Marauder, but they are often dangerous enough to dissuade most watchmen from starting trouble. Raiding and pillaging is what the berserker Norse are good at, and at times the best way of neutralizing the threat they represent is to offer them a job…
Offense: Battle-Axes, Longswords, Javelins, and Brute Strength
Defense: Chainmail and a large round shield (which can also be used to bash people in the head with).
Special: Blood-Rage: Marauders can work themselves up into a blood-crazed frenzy, leading to them fighting like animals and attacking with no regard for their own safety.
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Ogres are big, ugly humanoids, with coarse features and an imposing presence. Ogres enjoy eating, fighting, and eating some more. While they may be brutal and can eat nearly anything, ogres are not evil per se. Many Ogres follow the way of the mercenary. As a race, they are just as brutal and warlike as Orcs, in some cases, more so. Since dumb muscle is welcome in almost any army, ogres can be found throughout the Old World. They make formidable mercenaries and bands of ogre sell-swords are a common sight in the Empire, Tilea, and the Border Princes. They happily accept any employer, as they are notoriously unbothered about who they fight for.
Ogres are well known for their tendency to travel, and can be found across the four corners of the world fighting in mercenary groups of a score to a few hundred or more. It seems an Ogre's natural place in the world is killing for money. Massive, ferocious, resilient and not too bright, Ogres make perfect mercenaries. A lone Ogre mercenary general can often cause an entire enemy army to tremble, just by glaring at them at close quarters!
Offense: Ogres primarily favor the club, as it allows them to kill without spill to much blood, which ogres enjoy savoring in their meals. Besides the club, Ogres are also content just beating an enemy to death, or tearing them apart with hands and teeth.
Defense: Ogres are naturally resilient to most forms of injury, but their most prominent form of defense is the Gut-Plate. This large round piece of metal is placed over an Ogre's stomach. It is typically decorated with designs depicting Ogre legends or symbols of victory and prosperity. It may also have tusks or spikes sticking out of it to act as a combination defense/offense.
Additional Factors:
-Most generals don't mind them eating the enemy, as it saves burying them with the grave-detail and cuts feeding costs. Their ability of eating practically anything means that they are also easy to maintain.
-Ogres tend to have very poor hygiene. This, combined with their eating habits, makes other mercenaries uncomfortable being around them, unless they're also Ogres, Orcs, or Goblins.
Mobility: 4
Training: 7
Max Range: Varies
Preferred Range: Varies
Ogre Maneaters are veterans of many campaigns fought in far off lands. Traveling mercenaries beyond peer, they have spent decades accruing scars, tall tales, wealth, exotic wargear and new skills before heading back to the Ogre Kingdoms. Maneaters have fought throughout the Old World and beyond and many races attempt to recruit such fighters into their armies, promising food, gold or whatever else the Ogres want in return for their services. It is the pay that matters, not the foe, although with some contracts Maneaters are awarded fallen enemies to eat, so in those cases the enemy may matter. Ogres will eat anything, but they have preferences!
Maneaters inherit the cultures of the lands they visit rather than spread their own. These mercenaries learn the fighting skills and adopt the style of dress appropriate to the lands in which they fight. For example, a Maneater in the Empire might wear breeches and an ostentatious feather with a brace of huge pistols across his chest. A Maneater campaigning in the jungles of the Southlands might go into battle as the Savage Orcs do, that is, wearing an undersized loincloth, a gut-plate and nothing else but smeary warpaint, although more civilized folk might not want to visualize that...
Offense: It's rare for any two Maneaters to fight or be equipped in exactly the same manner, and opponents find themselves fighting against a dizzying array of different weapons and combat techniques. Really, they could have any weapon, depending on where they've been.
Defense: See above, though the Gut-Plate tends to be near universal. They may have chainmail, they may have leather, they may have nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all... (You finish gagging, I'll be over here laughing my head off)
Additional Factors:
-Maneaters are famously stubborn opponents and usually prefer to fight to their last breath rather than flee. After all, they have learned the hard way that if they run off in the course of a battle, they won't get paid!
-The only real factors uniting the individualistic Maneaters are their monumentally inflated sense of self-worth and their capacity to smash aside lesser creatures without breaking a sweat.
RAPID RELIEF:
Mobility: 5
Training: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Just as warriors of the lower social orders can become mercenaries, squires or nobles may offer their skills for hire by becoming a Freelancer or "robber knight". They have inherited little but their weapons, horse and armor. Having become disillusioned with their lot in life they have taken the only road available to them: that of a hired sword. Financial considerations take precedence over the dictates of honor and chivalry. Many Freelancers have drifted to Tilea, and offer their considerable strength to the highest bidders.
The Tilean city-states frequently make war among themselves, and being a Freelancer is a very lucrative career here. Consequently there are many bands of Tilean mercenary knights willing to fight for one city or another. As such, anyone who can afford a prime warhorse and a decent suit of armor will try and make their living fighting from horseback. Indeed this need for money does rather limit the range of people who make up units of Freelancers on the battlefield. These men often band together into groups of like-minded individuals, often friends or even relatives, making them close knit packs of warriors, an essential trait on the battlefield.
Offense: Lances for the charge, then once up close they use broadswords, maces, or flails.
Defense: Plate Armor
Special: Mount: Warhorse
Additional Factors:
-In times of relative peace, many seek employment elsewhere in the Old World. Others tend to make some extra money by entering into jousting tournaments. In true Tilean nature, the results are often rigged, or some cheating occurs with the length of the lance, or some more nefarious jousters make the weapon more lethal. This makes the profession extremely dangerous, but in a way this is what attracts the young men to it in the first place. They are also attracted by the glory and sway it brings them, especially in the bars of the land. Stories of recent battles or jousts are often exaggerated at least threefold, and at the end of the night, when all leave the bar, it will be the man clad in the shiniest armor who will have women hanging off his arms.
Mobility: 4 (5 on horse)
Training: 4
Max Range: Crossbow
Preferred Range: ^^
One of the most common mercenaries originating from the Border Princes are the Stradiots; experienced outdoors-men who reconnaissance for armies, caravans, and other traveling parties. Scouting ahead of the army, harrying the enemy supply line, attacking vulnerable war machines and engaging the flanks of the enemy line are but a few of the roles performed by these precious troops. They are the eyes and ears of the army, constantly on the lookout for ambushes and other hazards. Because they operate in advance of the main party they must be self-sufficient and level-headed. Stradiots must trust their instincts and make their own decisions, because they have no one else to turn to when they are alone in the wild. A few specialize in trailblazing, riding ahead into unknown and hostile territory. These men earn more money for their services, but their life expectancy is short.
Offense: Light crossbows
Defense: Usually none, unless otherwise equipped by their employers.
Special: Mount: Warhorse… most can't afford their own, and thus have to be equipped by their employer.
Additional Factors:
-Scouts, used to harry the enemy
-Very Brave
-Short life expectancy.
Mobility: 6
Training: 6
Max Range: Bow
Preferred Range: Bow
Though Elves become rarer in the Old World each year, there are still some roaming on the trackless paths of the dark forests. Elf Rangers are experts of concealing themselves; they can hide in plain sight even in close quarters. Their skill with the bow is legendary, outclassing the best marksmen in Tilea with ease. These Elves are sometimes hired to be scouts to gain information of enemy encampments and troop movement, but it is hard to find many willing to work with humans.
Nearly supernaturally silent and fleet of foot, Rangers are most at home in the forest, though they can readily pass unseen over mountains and other terrain if need be. Rangers are deadly archers, famed for never missing their targets. They are usually either soft-spoken or taciturn and considered to be both odd and intimidating, even by their own people. They are often more comfortable with the natural world than they are around other sentient beings.
Offense: Bows mostly, though they can use short swords if the occasion calls for it.
Defense: Chainmail, distance, and camouflage.
Additional Factors:
-Uncommon to Rare
Mobility: 5
Training: 4
Max Range: Bow
Preferred Range: Melee
The vast majority of the fighting strength of any Hobgoblin tribe is made up of vicious Wolf Riders. Eclipsing all but the finest Elven cavalry in sheer speed and maneuverability, Hobgoblin Wolf Riders are the terror of the Eastern Steppes. Usually armed with bows, but equally at home with curved blades or long spears, Wolf Riders run circles around their enemies, often ambushing from the flanks or scouting ahead of the main force, attacking by surprise from behind a ridge or ragged copse. Once they have engaged, all pretense of stealth disappears, and the Wolf Riders concentrate on sowing havoc and fear in their hapless victims.
Offense: See Description
Defense: Leather is most common, but Hobgoblins may have stolen other armor to use as well.
Special: Mount: Giant Wolf: Giant Wolves are the most common predator found in the steppes. They come in a myriad of colors and shapes, particularly those that have been domesticated by Hobgoblins for many generations. Giant Wolves serve as the mounts for Hobgoblins much as horses do for humans and you can be certain that in any Hobgoblin army worth its salt one will find hundreds of Giant Wolves being ridden to battle.
The malign demeanor of these great wolves means that they share a kindred spirit with the sinister disposition of Hobgoblins and Goblins. They are natural companions for those that plunder and pillage, slaughter and slay, and so over the centuries Hobgoblins and Giant Wolves have created an alliance of convenience. The Hobgoblins ride atop the feral wolves scouting out settlements to raze and encircling confined foes with their vast speed. In return, the Hobgoblins provide their lupine steeds with fresh meats and sufficient shelter.
Additional Factors:
-Hobgoblins and wolves enjoy an almost symbiotic relationship on the Eastern Steppes. A Hobgoblin is not a true warrior unless he rides on wolf back, and no Hobgoblin would follow a Khan who walks on his own two feet.
-Can act as scouts.
-Treacherous Gits: See Hobgoblin Warriors
-Cowardly Despoilers: Hobgoblins care nothing for fighting fairly, always seeking to take advantage of their foes in any given situation. Why risk one's life by meeting the enemy head on, when it's much safer to plunge a knife in their backs instead?
-Ded Shooty: The hobgoblin armies of the great Hobgobla Khan primarily consist of a vast horde of Hobgoblins riding giant wolves. The constant wars of the hobgoblins and the experience gained in fighting in the lands of the east have allowed them to excel at mounted archery, able to maintain a great deal of accuracy (for a Hobgoblin that is!) even while on the move.
Mobility: 6
Training: 3
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
A Pegasus is a winged beast that resembles the mightiest of horses, with a hide the color of virgin snow and intelligence beyond that of any other steed. Their coats sparkle under the sun in a manner reminiscent of light playing over new-fallen snow. It is cunning and intelligent beyond the measure of any ordinary steed. They are wild beasts, capable of staving a soldier's head in with a well-placed blow from one of their hooves. While they seldom take to the ground, preferring the sky, when they do they are swift runners.
Pegasi are primarily sought after as steeds for noblemen and sorcerers, for they are loyal beasts who seem to anticipate their master's every move. If a Pegasus is ever to accept a rider, it must be captured while still a foal. It takes many years of patient training to gain the trust of a Pegasus, but once that trust is established, they are loyal mounts that will obey their master's every command.
Offense: Their hooves can cave a man's skull in
Defense: Flight, some riders give them light armor
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 6
Training: 4
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: ^^
Griffons are fearsome beasts that have the heads of birds of prey combined with leonine bodies and massive feathered wings. Their beaks are hooked and can easily sever a man's limb. Their claws, which are reminiscent of a hawk's talons, they keep sharp by regular scoring against stone. Griffons swoop down on their prey, screaming war cries as they come. They continue to attack until no opponent is left moving. Survivors of Griffon attacks often have dreams of being hunted down and rent limb from limb for years afterward. These mighty predators dwell amid the highest peaks of the World's Edge Mountains, occasionally flying to the lowlands when food is scarce. A rare few serve as mounts for the richest and most powerful Mercenary Generals, who are willing to pay vast sums of gold for a single egg or chick. Griffons are fierce and wild creatures, never entirely tame, no matter how many years of domestication they've endured.
Offense: Claws and a sharp beak can take a man's arm off without even trying.
Defense: Thick muscles, and some riders give them light armor. They can also fly.
Additional Factors:
SHOCK & AWE:
Mobility: 2
Training: 3
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: ^^
Any Merchant Prince worth his salt has at least one Halfling chef as their personal cook. Mercenary Generals know very well that Halfling cooks are an important element in attracting freelance fighters to their army. Another advantage of hiring such refined chefs is the access to the Hot Pot, a weird catapult-like device that uses a cauldron full of hot soup as a projectile.
Originally a desperate innovation, the Halfling Hot Pot has now become something of an institution among Halflings. The Hot Pot is exactly that, a pot of boiling liquid hurled at the enemy's ranks, burning, scalding and even dissolving the foe. The ingredients which make up the special stew are a closely kept secret and vary from chef to chef. At a push boiling oil on its own will do the job, but a typical mixture has corrosive properties and is sticky so that it adheres to exposed flesh. This improvised form of artillery is used only in the direst circumstances, as persuading a Halfling to give up his food is not an easy task to accomplish!
Offense: See Description
Defense: A wooden platform and a iron pot
Additional Factors:
-Slow to Fire
Mobility: 3
Training: 4
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Melee
Giants are solitary creatures that wander the lands, settling for short periods of time when they find a rich food source. A Giant can consume a whole herd of livestock in a sitting, and will devastate any village he comes across, pulling out and eating anything he can find amid the stomped and splintered structures. Breweries are especially favored target, as Giants are notorious drunkards. On occasion, a Giant will be persuaded to join a passing army, who lure the lummoxes with promises of fighting and food. Fighting as a mercenary offers a constant supply of meat and drink, seeing as they have no compunctions about eating other races, or for that matter, other Giants and since gold has little use for a Giant other than as ornamentation, they are often willing to fight for the spoils alone.
Many Dogs of War Giants are first recruited when they wander into civilized lands from the mountains they inhabit. It is, after all, better to have a useful soldier than to have a 30-foot tall menace wandering around the countryside eating shepherds and being a nuisance. Not all Giants are evil creatures, and some of them still possess the peaceable natures of their Sky-titan forebears. They are just very thick, and often very hungry, two things which, when put together in the body of a Giant, do not make it easy to maintain peace. The Giants that make their living from war tend to be brighter than others, and will have scraps of equipment from all over the world.
Offense: Giants can smash things with their club, jump on them, pick up smaller things and either hurl them away or eat them, or headbutt larger creatures. While fighting, Giants tend to yell and bawl at the top of their lungs. This is unpleasant for everyone involved, as they are deafening loud, and have terrible oral hygiene.
Defense: Thick Skin. Those that have worked with Dogs of War for a while may have some form of armor made piecemeal from various trinkets they've acquired from their travels.
Additional Factors:
-Giants are ungainly creatures, not helped by their love of drink. As such, they have a tendency to trip over their own feet. This would be bad enough, were it not for the fact that they are, you know, GIANTS, and thus tend to squash whatever they fall on.
Mobility: 2
Training: 3
Max Range: 300 yards
Preferred Range: ^^
A ballista is a giant crossbow designed to hurl missiles with incredible force and speed. Most have wooden arms, from which ropes made of human hair or animal sinew attach, acting as the bolt thrower's springs. Winches pull the bowstring back. Though accurate, they do not match the range of the stone throwers.
The first bolt throwers, gastraphetes and bellybows, made their appearance in the Old World nearly a thousand years ago in Tilea. Capable of launching arrows incredible distances, they were used throughout the land. Several hundred years later, after the emergence of stone castles, primitive bolt throwers went through even more advances. Two descendants were developed. The first was the modern bolt thrower, or ballista. With unmatched precision and range, these weapons were used against troops and supply trains, sowing confusion among the enemy from long distances. Capable of hurling a spear over 300 yards, they became the terror of the fields of war.
Offense: Large bolts that are hurled with such force that they can pierce through several men without slowing. They have killed dragons and giants and punched holes in war machines.
Defense: Made of wood
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 2
Training: 3
Max Range: 200 yards
Preferred Range: ^^
The second type of bolt thrower in Tilea is the Scorpion, a smaller, lighter version of the contemporary Ballista. Though of reduced size and payload (it only fires javelins), it still has an impressive range, accurately hitting targets over 200 yards away.
Offense: Javelins thrown hard enough to pierce any armor.
Defense: Wooden Frame
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 3
Training: 3
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: ^^
First developed by the Dwarfs, the cannon eventually became popular in mercenary armies throughout Tilea. A cannon is a large muzzle-loading gun, meaning that the shot and powder are loaded from the front and ignited by lighting the charge in the rear of the weapon. Essentially, cannon are larger, deadlier versions of gunpowder weapons. As precursors to handguns and other weapons, cannons represent a powerful force on which armies depend. However, though capable of shattering units, blasting walls, and killing huge monsters outright, they are unpredictable, capable of spectacular misfires that kill the crews and many around them.
Since Dogs of War armies are always on the move, they cannot afford to carry and maintain the massive Great Cannons typical of the Empire. For this reason, lighter, easy to move, small caliber guns are a treasured element of many mercenary armies.
Offense: Cannonballs, though of smaller caliber then normal cannons.
Defense: Cast iron
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 3
Training: 3
Max Range: Slightly less then artillery
Preferred Range: Protecting other artillery
Originally invented by the genius Leonardo da Miragliano who had been experimenting with mounting large numbers of gun barrels in one frame, the Ribault, also known as the organ gun due to its many pipes, is a fearsome spectacle on the battlefield. Armed with nine short-ranged barrels, it is often used in the defense of other longer-ranged artillery. Able to fire all nine barrels at once, it makes the enemy think twice before engaging!
Offense: See Description
Defense: Iron and Wood
Additional Factors:
SPECIALIST SUPPORT:
Mobility: 4
Training: 3
Max Range: Battlefield (They paid for the army)
Preferred Range: Behind the lines
In most cases a single merchant family is preeminent in each of the Tilean cities at any one time. In republics the power is shared more or less equally between several families, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed in the streets! Often where one household is more powerful and respected, the head of the family becomes the ruling Prince of the city. Such rulers are known as Merchant Princes.
There is no hereditary right to rule and so every Merchant Prince must watch out for rivals making a bid for power. It is quite usual for the ruler to be toppled from power by a rival contender from another family or even from among his own relatives. Such power struggles usually take the form of violent street fights between warriors hired by either side. Sometimes an ambitious pretender to the princely throne will go as far as hiring an entire army to oust his rival. It is a Tilean custom for anyone whose ancestor ever wielded political power to claim the title of Merchant Prince. This alone can lead to political rivalries and never-ending vendettas.
Offense: They typically aren't fighters, but rather financial backers. But if they do have weapons, you can guarantee they're the best money can buy. High chance to include magical weapons.
Defense: Many bodyguards, with the occasional suit of very high quality armor. High chance to include magical armor.
Additional Factors:
-Vendettas: Anyone who rises to power, whether by intrigue, assassination or force of arms, is certain to make enemies on the way. In Tilea the tradition of getting even with your enemies is strong. This has given rise to the notorious custom of the vendetta. Unlike Dwarf grudges, which are struck off the book when resolved, vendettas are permanent. They are not written down, but instead are remembered and cherished for generations within a family, to be set aside or renewed as occasion demands. Anyone who is looking for an excuse to topple the ruler and usurp his position, or for that matter, any Merchant Prince looking for a reason to make war on a rival principality, simply has to dredge up some long standing vendetta. On the other hand, if reconciliation or a political alliance is in order vendettas are conveniently put aside for another day.
Mobility: 4-5
Training: 7
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Varies
A Dogs of War army comprises many different regiments assembled and paid for by an ambitious mercenary general. A mercenary general is likely to be a bold adventurer who has probably risen from the ranks, or perhaps a renegade lord who has been forced to hire troops to regain lands which rightfully belong to him or don't, as the case may be. The truth is that mercenary generals come from all walks of life. Whilst many are motivated by honest-to-goodness greed and down-to-earth ambition, there are undoubtedly a few deranged individuals who simply enjoy the life of adventure and discovery in foreign lands.
Throughout the Old World there are those who are drawn to the life of the professional soldier. The most successful and powerful of these adventurous sell-swords become the leaders of entire armies of mercenaries. Mercenary Generals are hard-bitten campaigners, veterans of countless battles across the Old World. Some harbor ambitions of conquest and fame but all fight for money and treasure. Veterans covered in the scars from a life of war, the General is a powerful individual, feared and respected throughout the Old World. The best generals have lead successful forays into faraway lands coming back with riches for themselves and their patrons. Even though a few take the riches and became rogue, the majority believe in honoring a contract.
Offense: The best weapons in the army, with a high chance for magical ones.
Defense: The best armor in the army, with a high chance for a magical set.
Special: Variant: Mercenary Captains: Mercenary Captains are expert leaders of men that have proved themselves leading units and now are starting to assemble small forces for battle and exploration. Most Captains are tough professional soldiers who have survived dozens of fierce battles to get where they are. Captains tend to respect experience and ability over birth and social position. They know what counts on the battlefield. They are usually remarkable by their strength, tactical acclaim, lucidity, toughness or even sheer perseverance to duty, and are often loved by their soldiers.
Additional Factors:
Mobility: 4
Training: Varies
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: ^^
Wizards, shamans, mystics, all these and more are associated with men who can wield the power of magic. Humans born with magical talent are dangerous and feared individuals, as Daemons and disaster gather about an untrained Wizard. All magic is potentially dangerous and originates from Chaos, so those blessed (or cursed) with the power of sorcery are both hated and feared. Still, it is not difficult to find employment if you are a wizard, and many are willing to take the risk of persecution.
Demand for sorcerous support always exceeds supply, so it is small wonder that enchanters both great and small make their way to Tilea where their talents can earn them good money. The lure of adventure in foreign lands, weird new magic, and ancient secrets is a major attraction for many Hireling Wizards, though others are in it for the gold like any other sane and sensible individual. Hireling Wizards serve to lend their magical talents to whatever endeavor their master hired them for, though they provide council freely. In addition, they are expected to help resolve magical dilemmas and similar situations.
Offense: A Hireling Wizard may use spells from ONE of the Eight Basic Lores of Magic (Fire, Shadow, Metal, Beasts, Life, Death, Heavens, Light)
Defense: Magical Barriers
Additional Factors:
-While the motives and backgrounds of Hireling Wizards are as varied as the nature of magic itself, they do share a constant goal - the pursuit of knowledge and power. A wizard is driven constantly by a thirst to discover the secrets of creation. This undeniable compulsion is not in itself evil. However it is a constant call to power that all who tread the path of the wizard experience.
-Human Centric: Just as most mercenary generals are human, so is it with the hireling wizards. Many Hireling Wizards are outcasts or renegades from the Orders of Magic and live by selling their magic powers for the best offer. Sure, there is an occasional disinherited Elf that can be found in mercenary armies, but that is very rare.
Mobility: 5
Training: 7-8
Max Range: Varies
Preferred Range: With their knife in a target's back
Killing for money is hardly unusual in Tilea; after all, mercenaries do it every day. Few sell-swords achieve the Assassin's level of lethality, however. These hired killers are expertly trained and deadly with a variety of weapons. Many also master the poisoner's art. The best Assassins can dispatch their targets in a matter of seconds, leaving behind no evidence of their presence. Their services are much sought after by the various Merchant families in order to dispatch rivals and enemy generals. Few Assassins care where the commissions come from. They only want a challenging mission and a fat purse for their fee.
Politics is a dangerous game and not all dangers are found on the battlefield. The Assassin specializes in removing 'obstacles' with discretion. He will hire himself out to the highest bidder and satisfaction is guaranteed. The Assassin calmly dispatches his rather distasteful duties with fastidiousness and finesse. In between jobs, such a man will often join a mercenary army in order to hone his skills; assassination is not a profession for the slow or dull-witted!
Offense: Various weapons. Daggers, throwing knives, swords, hammers, maces, a hidden blade, fists, pistols, crossbows… Any weapon really. If they're hiding among the ranks of other troops, they'll carry weapons appropriate to that unit. Almost all of their weapons will be poisoned though.
Defense: Typically stealth, but if they're hiding among a particular unit, they'll have armor appropriate to that unit type to help blend in.
Additional Factors:
-Killers, Not Leaders: Assassins are not generals, and they do not lead other troop types.
-Whilst native Tileans are well versed in these rituals of intrigue, this is not always true when it comes to other races. When Golgfag the Ogre was in the employ of Lorenzo Lupo, he managed to offend most of the locals one way or another. When he awoke to find a horse's severed head upon his pillow he merely remarked that it was the best horse's head he had ever eaten. Several subsequent attempts on his life resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of professional killers in Luccini. At one point there were so few murderers, assassins and poisoners remaining in his city that Lorenzo Lupo was concerned law and order would break down altogether!
Mobility: 4
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: By the Paychest
The Paymaster is the keeper of the army's pay chest, and that makes him a very popular fellow. He is possibly as important as the army's general, as he is responsible for all the cash which all mercenaries are frightfully keen on. He guards this with his life - literally so because he carries the army's pay chest with him at all times.
The Paymaster is hired by the merchant families to keep an eye on the cash used to hire the mercenary army during campaigns. As Paymaster, his duty lies in making sure that no mercenary tries to take his share before the campaign is over, and to inspire the mercenaries to fight harder by reminding them what they are fighting for - namely money.
Offense: Next to the general, they will have some of the best weapons in the army. High chance of having a magical one.
Defense: Next to the general (and perhaps even more so) they will have some of the best armor in the army. High chance of magical armor. Will also be guarded by several bodyguards.
Special: The Paychest: The pay chest is a heavy, iron-bound, secure-looking affair that the Paymaster brings to battle during extended expeditions, carried by two burly bodyguards. The presence of it reminds the mercenaries even more what they are fighting for, and inspires them to greater deeds.
Additional Factors:
-Paymasters are expected to hold on to the money at any cost, failure to do so will likely ruin his career, as no one will hire a paymaster who can't keep their investments in check. He does this by keeping the key to the paychest in a chain around his neck at all times, meaning anyone willing to get some before payment is due would have to step over his dead body to get it. Not many try.
-The death of a paymaster can be a major blow to troop morale. They can begin to bicker among themselves as they question if they're still being paid, and by whom. Some will flee the battle outright, believing the money to be lost.
-While it might surprise some people that the Paymaster, a lawyer and accountant in the bottom-line, can fight almost as well as any mercenary captain, it has a good explanation, for if not the guardian of the paychest can protect the money, who can?
Mobility: 4
Training: 7
Max Range: Varies
Preferred Range: By the Paymaster
No one is so tough that they couldn't use some hired muscle for protection sometimes. The trade is lucrative, and it doesn't take much effort, as the job most commonly requires just standing around and looking tough. Bodyguards rarely initiate combat. Instead, they hold back until some fool tries to attack their boss. Then they go into action.
Only the oldest and most trusted veterans are selected by the Paymaster to form their own bodyguard. They are extraordinarily burly individuals with flattened noses, huge fists, and sour expressions. They are handpicked for their lack of mental agility and are therefore likely to stand their ground and fight where other, more imaginative folk might choose to run away. These sturdy fighters are handsomely paid and that gives them extra motivation to protect the Paymaster with their lives… well, most of the time.
Offense: The best weapons money can buy. High chance for a magical one.
Defense: The best armor money can buy. High chance for magical armor.
Additional Factors:
-They protect the Paymaster, no one else. They will not leave his side so long as he lives.
HEROES & LEADERS:
Mobility: 5
Training: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Borgio, Prince of Miragliano, was nicknamed "The Besieger" because of his unsurpassed expertise in siege work. It was said that no city, not even the ingenious ramparts of Miragliano itself, could defy him. Borgio was certainly an expert tactician and won most of his battles. In three great victories he established Miragliano as the most powerful principality in Tilea. After these, his enemies usually avoided open battle and shut themselves up behind the walls of their cities, only to succumb to Borgio's siege techniques. He was equally astute as a politician, but rather tyrannical. Opponents and rivals did not last long!
During his career, Borgio fought against every other principality and republic in Tilea for one reason or another, from wars over trading rights to pure vendettas against rival Princes who had tried to have him assassinated. Indeed, there were so many failed attempts to assassinate Borgio, some of which came very close to success, that he gained a reputation as a man who had to be killed more than once to be sure! It is said that Borgio once defeated an Orc horde by splitting them into three parts. Opinion is divided as to whether this refers to the horde or the individual Orcs. It is also said that Borgio could ride a horse, go to sleep and read a book at the same time!
Another apocryphal tale says that he was once taken prisoner by the Pirate Princess of Sartosa and escaped by diving into the sea from the dungeon tower (which was conveniently leaning over a high cliff) and swam the Pirates' Current across to Tilea. Then he returned with a mercenary fleet, captured the princess and would not let her go until the pirates had paid him an enormous tribute gathered from their far-flung stashes of plunder! If this ever happened it must have been early in his career. It is also rumored that Borgio wrote very good poetry, did all his own cooking (wise man) and wrestled with lions!
Borgio is noted for devising unusual battle tactics and new troop types, which usually took his opponents by surprise. He certainly had access to Leonardo's manuscripts in the library of the princely palazzo in Miragliano. He was a very big and imposing man of robust stature. In a siege he always dismounted to lead the assault over the walls in person and would strip off his armor and jump down into a moat to dig with the common soldiers. This endeared him to the troops and he commanded a loyalty among his mercenaries which has been the envy of every Prince since!
However, Borgio could not always count on similar loyalty from courtiers, intriguers and spies in the pay of rivals, who knew they could not defeat him in battle and so resorted to underhanded means. There were numerous assassination attempts and many occasions when he appeared to fall in battle. However, he strangely defied death time and time again, enhancing his awesome reputation. It is said that he finally met his end, after a long and distinguished reign, when he was stabbed with a poisoned toasting fork in his bath! This was one of several deaths which he suffered, but it was the only one that he did not survive. The circumstances are mysterious, but this was probably the only occasion that a man such as Borgio could be taken by surprise. Many say that his marriage to Dolchellata, the rather bad-tempered older sister of Lucrezzia Belladonna, was his undoing!
Offense: Mace of Might: Borgio wields a hefty mace made from a cannonball which failed to slay him at the siege of Remas and ended up embedded in his breastplate. Borgio, regarding it as a lucky talisman, had the cannonball made into a mace.
Defense: Armor of Brazen Bronze: This is the very armor which Borgio was wearing when struck by the cannonball at the siege of Remas. The armor was forged in Miragliano from melted down statues dredged out of the blighted marshes. Who knows what deities were represented or what magic was wrought into the metal? The armor certainly proved formidable.
It allowed him to survive a cannonball. It also gives him a potent magical force-field.
Monstrous Mask Helm: Borgio wears a grotesque helmet with a fearful visage sculpted on it. It allows Borgio to cause fear in those that gaze upon him.
Special: Mount: Warhorse
Additional Factors:
-Charismatic Leader: He inspires exceptional trust and devotion from his troops. They will follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond!
-Difficult to Slay: Borgio the Besieger was notoriously difficult to slay. Borgio the Besieger has an almost unnatural ability to withstand pain and injury. Many times has an enemy thought they've killed him for good, only for him to get up later and limp off.
-Master of Siegecraft: Borgio earned his nickname due to the many successful sieges he waged as the Merchant Prince of Miragliano. No fortress could withstand him for long.
Mobility: 5
Training: 7
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Behind the Scenes
The most beautiful woman in all of Tilea, and some say even the whole of the Old World, is Lucrezzia Belladonna. She is also the most dangerous to know. Lucrezzia is a renowned sorceress and rumored to be a master poisoner, mistress of many assassins.
Lucrezzia's first husband, Luigi, Prince of Pavona, perished at the hands of paid assassins sent by rival Merchant Princes. Lucrezzia, then only a very young woman, was determined to keep her hold on the principality at all costs. Several mercenary generals who commanded armies in defense of her city became her husbands and therefore also Princes of Pavona. Every one met with a mysterious demise, usually when their political and strategic skill was found wanting!
Consider Borso, who lost the battle of Etobrutti and died soon afterwards when his wounds were mistakenly treated with poisonous herbs. The next day, the mercenary captain Donato assumed command, won a great victory and saved the city from the Verezzians. Donato married Lucrezzia soon afterwards and became Prince of Pavona. A few years later Donato was about to make a disastrous alliance with Trantio against Borgio the Besieger, who was married to Lucrezzia's older sister Dolchellata at the time. However, before the army of Pavona was committed to this unwise course of action, Donato succumbed to a meal of poisonous toadstools which had been gathered from the woods by an ignorant kitchen servant unable to tell the difference between edible and venomous mushrooms.
Lucrezzia was of course angry and distressed, but not so much as to prevent her subsequent marriage to the dashing captain Ranuccio, after an indecently short interval. He immediately rushed off at the head of the army of Pavona to attack the rear of the Trantine army just as it was deploying against Borgio and expecting reinforcements from Pavona! For this show of solidarity with an old ally, Pavona was richly rewarded by Borgio.
Lucrezzia's seventh husband, Poggio, recently made an abrupt exit from the political scene after drinking three bottles of very dubious quality wine. Lucrezzia is now casting her eye around for a new husband to share the government of Pavona and lead its armies to victory, with her by his side.
Offense: Lucrezzia is a powerful wizard who uses spells from the Lores of Shadow and Death
Defense: Magical Barriers
Special: Mount: Warhorse
Special: Lucrezzia's Kiss: She has been known to kiss the weapons of a hero who she takes as her champion. These weapons become much more lethal due to the potency of the poison in her lipstick.
Special: Poisonous Items: Although Lucrezzia is a Master Sorceress, she does not have magic items. Instead she has various Poisonous Items, reflecting her special skill as an arch poisoner.
-Phial of Poison: Long before the battle, the enemy camp is infiltrated by Lucrezzia's paid assassin, equipped with a phial of poison specially prepared by his mistress. This will be tipped into the drink or meal of one of the enemy leaders during the feasting on the eve of battle. The poison is slow-acting and will strike the next day as the armies draw up for battle. Does not affect Daemons, Undead, or Spirts.
-Poisoned Stiletto: Lucrezzia always keeps a stiletto dagger secreted in her garter. This is not only for self-defense, but because you never know when you might want to do an off-the-cuff assassination and may not have a ready prepared poison to hand. Of course, Lucrezzia's stiletto has been dipped in the venom of a toad and used to chop poisonous mushrooms.
-Potion of Pavona: Lucrezzia will mix up potions to strengthen whoever drinks it, selecting the right ingredients. However, there is a risk, as the potion may prove slightly poisonous.
Additional Factors:
-Master of Intrigue: Lucrezzia has many spies who she has work their way into the enemy camp, planting false information and rumors regarding her army. And when they come back, they will have stolen the enemy generals battle plans seeing where he means to deploy his troops and his secret weapons. She will also work to have enemy wizards and heroes assassinated to cause confusion in the enemy ranks.
-Stunning Beauty: Lucrezzia Belladonna's beauty has an amazing effect on human mercenaries in the army. Any friendly human who sees her will automatically rally, being ashamed of running away from the enemy before such a beautiful and commanding lady.
Mobility: 4
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: ^^
Lorenzo is very proud of his line of descent from his city's founders: Lucan and Luccina. As well as this he is quite an antiquarian and collector of art and antique artifacts. His palazzo on the old acropolis of Luccini is decorated with frescoes in the antique style and the gardens and colonnades display old statues found in the acropolis. His prized possessions are heirlooms of his house, said to have been owned by the city's founders.
Lorenzo wears armor of the old-fashioned style and fights on foot in the manner of his ancestors. This is a strange eccentricity of his and would be considered quaint and maybe even ridiculous by his rivals if he wasn't so good a general and didn't beat them so regularly. Instead, his reputation for bravery and fighting hand-to-hand in the front rank of his troops has earned him the respect and awe of his enemies.
Offense: Sword of Lucan: Lorenzo Lupo's sword, believed to be the actual sword used by his remote ancestor, Lucan, the founder of Luccini. The sword's razor sharp edge cuts through any armor with ease. This magical weapon ignores all armor.
Defense: Plate Armor & Shield of Myrmidia: This old shield was found during the rebuilding of the temple of Myrmidia on Luccini's acropolis. It dates to the time of the founding of the city, or perhaps even earlier. The shield bears the sun symbol of the war goddess and has the magical ability to dazzle the bearer's opponents.
Special: Ring of Luccina: Luccina, sister of Lucan, was said to be a sorceress. Lorenzo wears a ring which bears a cameo gem depicting her, and which may even have been hers. The gem has the ability of restoring the soldiers' morale, returning their will to fight for their lord again.
Additional Factors:
-Drillmaster: He trains constantly, never allowing his skills to grow dull.
-Fights on Foot: Lorenzo is a very eccentric man in that he prefers to fight on foot in the style of his ancestors. He always takes his place at the front ranks of his pikemen or leads his soldiers on his men-of-war. This is very inspiring to his men, and they are eager to fight for and defend their Merchant Prince.
-Mighty Athlete: Lorenzo follows many of the classical athletic pursuits that his ancestors practiced, and as a result he is a very well-built, muscular man. He regularly rows across the Tilean Sea, wrestles the mightiest opponents or runs from one end of his princedom to the other.
Mobility: 4
Training: 4
Max Range: Crossbow
Preferred Range: ^^
Marco Colombo is best known as the explorer who "discovered" Lustria, although it was really discovered years before by the Norse. Marco was, however, the first Old Worlder to establish friendly relations with the Lizardmen - not an easy thing to do! Before Marco's epic voyage to Lustria, he had visited Araby as a merchant and taken part in various sea fights along the coast of Araby and around the pirate stronghold of Sartosa. Marco was therefore already a seasoned campaigner and known as a mercenary captain before making his name as an explorer.
On his return from Lustria with a great fortune in gold and gems, he took over the army of his patron as a mercenary general and made himself Prince of Trantio. After that he led the army of Trantio against rival cities on several occasions, as well as occasional expeditions beyond the Apuccini Mountains. He also sent further expeditions to Lustria, in order to seek the fabled Norse colony of Skeggi, which they eventually discovered after several years of searching. Marco is one of several famous Tilean mercenary generals who not only led armies in the wars of Tilea, but also in distant tropical regions against strange and unknown opponents.
Offense: Crossbow
Defense: Distance, Gem of Lustria: While in Lustria, Marco acquired this strange gem as part of his reward for serving the Slann Mage Priests as a mercenary. The gem is made of a polished green stone and shaped in the form of a snake's tongue - the mark of the Lizardmen serpent god, Sotek. This gem gives Marco a modest magical forcefield
Special: Navigator's Telescope: Marco has a special high-power telescope which he uses at sea. He can use this in concert with his crossbow in order to pick out enemy commanders or heroes in their units.
Special: Gourd of Lustrian Wine: Marco always keeps with him his last remaining gourd of cactus juice, which he calls Lustrian Wine! This was given to him by the Skinks during his expedition to Lustria. Although it is about as potent as orange juice for a Lizardman, for a human being it is prickly stuff indeed! Once he drinks it, Marco's strength will be tripled for the next few minutes.
Special: Scroll of Araby: While stopping off in Lashiek, Marco did the usual foray into the bazaar looking for maps. One map, although uninteresting in itself; was written on an old scroll with partly obliterated, arcane writing of ancient Khemri on the reverse. By reading from this scroll, Marco and any nearby units are covered in a minor magical barrier.
Additional Factors:
-Marksmen: Extensive training and battlefield experience coupled with keen eyesight allow Marco to regularly hit targets at distances where less skilled troops must rely on volume of fire to hit their opponents.
Mobility: 4
Training: 8 (Scientific Knowledge)
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Behind the scenes
Leonardo da Miragliano came from humble and obscure origins in the winding streets of the city. His genius first came to light when he was a mere apprentice to one of the architects of the Prince, engaged in the task of rebuilding the city on a new plan. Prince Cosimo came to inspect the work and by chance saw the plans drawn by the young Leonardo. The Prince saw that Leonardo was the genius he had been looking for and immediately placed him in charge of the grand scheme for the whole city. After many years Leonardo had not only completed the master plan for the new Miragliano, but also devised a new set of ramparts, even more ingenious and impregnable than before. Leonardo went on to become court inventor to Cosimo and his house. Leonardo soon found his talents in demand from every Prince and city in Tilea and he set his intellect to many varied problems and served as adviser with several mercenary generals. His fame eventually reached as far as the Empire. This led to Leonardo's most famous achievement which was to found the Imperial Engineering School. Leonardo presided over this establishment and created many new war machines while he was there, most notable of all being the dreaded Imperial steam tanks.
One of Leonardo's favorite hobbies and intellectual exercises was to design leaning towers. He would set himself the problem of designing a tower which would stay up despite the most exaggerated angle of inclination. Soon Princes of Tilea vied with each other to acquire Leonardo's latest design for the most outrageous and gravity-defying tower!
Leonardo also designed an enormous number of strange and potentially very effective war machines. Many of these are doodles on scraps of parchment or on the back of maps or military messages, which Leonardo made to while away the time in camp when on campaign. He would give these doodles to the various Merchant Princes he served, on the off chance that they would actually ask him to make the machine. Usually his patrons were too busy waging war and just stashed the plans for use later on. Many of these devices cannot yet be made with the technology available. Even so, the plans, which are now distributed throughout the Old World, change hands for vast amounts of gold and are eagerly sought by Merchant Princes.
Offense: Leonard is not a fighter. He is a thinker, and as such does not engage in combat…usually.
Defense: Leonardo is typically far away from danger. If he is near a battlefield, he is well protected.
Special: Scientific Items: Leonardo is neither a general nor a wizard. He is a scientist, and his genius is illuminated by the light of reason and method, not superstition! Therefore, Leonardo does not have magic items. Instead he has Scientific Items, reflecting his expertise as an inventor and investigator.
-Sphere of Alchemy: Leonardo dabbles in alchemy and has mixed up a powder which he has enclosed in a bronze orb. When thrown, the orb cracks and the powder explodes on contact with the air, creating a small blast.
-Prism of Power: Leonardo has a specially shaped glass prism which uses purely physical properties of refraction to diffuse any kind of energy flowing over the battlefield. The effect of this is to steal the winds of magic from the opposing side and dissipate the energy, just as if it were rays of light from the sun. This makes enemy magic users' spells much weaker, assuming they can still cast at all.
Additional Factors:
-Genius: Leonardo is renowned as a genius. He is able to apply his intellect to any problem and come up with a way of improving things. Of course, mercenary generals find his special talents very useful and will consult with him when making their battle plans, constructing field defenses or siege works, planning the order of march or just inspecting the artillery before the battle. Generals may set Leonardo's formidable intellect to any of the following problems:
--Artillery Accuracy: Leonardo inspects one war machine in the army and observes some test shots. He then calculates angles and trajectories and makes corrections to the devices or advises on firing technique, quantity of gunpowder, torque tension and so forth, which increases the accuracy and reliability.
--Crossbow Accuracy: Leonardo inspects one unit of Crossbowmen as they shoot volleys at targets. He checks the tension of the bows and considers wind velocity and the weight of the crossbow bolts. He may advise certain subtle reshaping of the flights to improve accuracy, or recommend that the crossbowmen aim slightly to the left or right of their target, or just above their heads. Either way, if Leonardo is with them, their accuracy will be greatly increased.
--Battlefield Strategy: Leonardo inspects the maps and charts and rides up to high ground to survey the land with his telescope. Then he discusses the options with the general and his captains in a council of war, explaining his calculations for rates of march and so on.
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Mydas the Mean
Mobility: 4 (5 in Pay Cart)
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: With the Pay Cart
The most notorious Paymaster ever to come out of Tilea is Mydas the Mean. His origins are obscure. Some say he was the sheikh of Araby who embezzled a fortune from the sultan and had to flee. Whatever his origin, he first rose to prominence in Sartosa. Here he was put in charge of guarding the treasure stash of the Dwarf Pirate Gridi Scumbeard. The renowned Dwarf leader quickly began to appreciate and admire Mydas' incredible meanness and reluctance to part with gold, even to the extent of refusing to tell the Dwarf where his own stash was. Fortunately for Mydas, Gridi came to a bad end in a fight with the Corsairs before he realized that Mydas had relocated his stash with the intention of keeping it.
Mydas next turned up in the service of Groccolo, Prince of Verezzo, once again in charge of the gold which was to pay a vast mercenary army. Mydas defended the pay chest valiantly in several hard fought battles, assisted by his hand-picked henchmen. When the time came to pay the mercenaries, Mydas somehow managed to part with so little gold that he caused a mutiny in the camp. The Prince was promptly deposed and fled back to Verezzo.
In the confusion Mydas remembered his duty to defend the pay chest and conducted a fighting retreat, fighting off entire companies of enraged mercenaries seeking their arrears of pay. As it happened, Mydas managed to retreat in a totally different direction to Verezzo, and so neither the Prince nor the mercenaries ever got the pay chest. To this day, its whereabouts is known only to Mydas.
Since then Mydas has turned up in many lands safely beyond the bounds of Tilea, offering his services as Paymaster for mercenary armies or such tasks of tax gathering, gold counting or treasure hiding that might be required by various mighty lords. Although many of his masters have been horribly defeated due to their own dubious qualities of leadership, Mydas has never let any of the pay chests in his charge fall into the hands of the enemy; nor for that matter into the pillaging hands of fleeing mercenaries who don't deserve to be paid for losing a battle!
Offense: See Paymaster
Defense: See Paymaster
Special: The Pay Cart & Sheikh Yadosh: A chariot with the pay chest on it. It is guarded by Sheikh Yadosh, a wealthy Arabian moneylender who has accompanied Mydas since his days in Sartosa. He is given the task of keeping the pay chest secure during the battle. Placed on a light carriage ridden by Sheikh Yadosh, the pay chest inspires acts of heroism and bravery among mercenaries, hoping that by such acts they will be paid a bonus.
Special: Bodyguards: Mydas's bodyguard are hand- picked from among the galley slaves of the pirates of Sartosa. Every one has been personally redeemed from captivity by the generous expenditure of gold by Mydas himself, and so they are all deeply grateful and utterly loyal to their master. As well as this, they are all big, muscular, bronzed men hardened by years laboring at the oars.
Special: Treasure Map: Mydas has a treasure map on which are marked the hiding places of several pay chests which he has heroically rescued from the confusion of battle when defeat seemed inevitable. He keeps the map stuffed down his leggings. The map is drawn on an old scroll which he found in Gridi's treasure chests. On the reverse of the parchment are a number of strange Lizardmen glyphs. Mydas does not know or care what these are and thinks they are meaningless doodles by some demented wizard. In reality the scroll is a magical 'warrant of trust' carried by Skink interpreters to give them an aura of credibility when dealing with or misleading outsiders. Some adventurer long ago must have acquired this in Lustria, thinking it was worth something to a wizard, and eventually it found its way into the Dwarf pirate's chest. As long as this map is on Mydas' person, people are more likely to believe whatever he says. Perhaps it is fortunate that Mydas does not realize the map's powers, eh?
Special: The Crest of Mydas: A priest of Myrmidia forged the runes on the Crest of Mydas. Mydas the Mean mounted this item onto the lock of his pay chest as a good luck charm. When he goes into battle, his weapons and those of his men glow with a dull golden light. All units close to Mydas (say, around 10 meters) gain magical attacks.
Additional Factors:
-Paymaster: See Paymaster Additional Factors
-Mydas will often promise bonuses for hardworking men, with another if victory is achieved. This makes the men fight all the harder to not only win the battle, but protect Mydas so that he can pay them afterwards.
Mobility: 5
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield (War Cry)
Preferred Range: Melee
In the distant east, beyond the Dark Lands where the endless, wind-swept steppes stretch for untold leagues lies the dominion of the Hobgoblins that fight under the Great Hobgobla Khan. A warrior race of a thousand thousand wolfriders, the armies of the great Hobgobla Khan hold sway over the greatest empire in the world. This empire of hobgoblins has rarely been seen by the eyes of man or dwarf, and if they do, they are hunted down, or worse, captured and sold to the Chaos Dwarves. Very few of these savage greenskins have ever been seen in the lands of the Old World, but one of them is known well in the lands of Tilea and the kingdoms of the south - Ghazak Khan, the Butcher of Torrico Fields, the Terror of the East, commander of the Blackwolf mercenaries. Sent to the Old World by his master to learn of the tactics of the races that lie in these lands, Ghazak Khan discovered that hiring his great skills as a general and a great warrior to the people of these lands would be the best way to gain the desired knowledge. In Tilea, Ghazak Khan has built himself a very nasty reputation for savagery, and prowess in the heat of battle. The mercenary army that he leads has won victory after victory, leaving many villages in ashes and the population devoured by the monstrous regiments that follow his every word.
His army was recently hired by the Senate of Remas to destroy the Lahmian vampire, Maria Sarsosa. It was discovered that this former member of the Remas Senate was a vampire when a mercenary captain came upon her feasting on a patrolling pike man. The vampire escaped from the city-state and began to raise an undead army to devastate Remas, and the people that had discovered her secret. Ghazak Khan had never battled a vampire before and was very eager to do battle with her. Ghazak Khan met Maria's army at the banks of the River Remo. Due to the war torn nature of Tilea, Maria was able to raise a large undead army quickly, which made her more than ready for an attack. Ghazak Khan sent outriders to the flank of the undead hoard and sent some of the monstrous regiments to wade up the river to engage the other flank. A few hours before dusk, Ghazak Khan launched his attack. Maria was completely caught off guard, because she had not even considered anyone would attack at night when she is the strongest.
Khan's army began to break down the regiments of skeletons and zombies. As soon as night fell, Maria began to raise the fallen soldiers to swell the ranks of her army. At that exact moment, the flanks of the undead army were hit by the outriders and monstrous regiments of Ghazak Khan. The vampire's army began to crumble, and once again to her shock, Ghazak Khan made another move that she had never expected.
Leading a regiment of well over 200 wolfboyz, Ghazak Khan was driving up the centre of the undead horde with one purpose in mind, hand to hand combat with the vampire. When Khan met the vampire in hand to hand, Maria was surprised that her speed held no advantage against the green-skinned general. The vampire blasted Ghazak Khan with a bolt of black magic, which caused the wind demon enslaved within the hobgoblin's helm to be released. This forced Maria to the ground and Ghazak Khan lopped her head clean off. As the sun rose, the undead crumbled into dust.
Ghazak is one of the most successful Mercenary Generals of the age. His army includes many of the most infamous mercenary regiments, like Manglar's Mutant Goblins, the Long Knife Orc Warriors and the dreaded War Trolls of the Grey Mountains. With these and many other ruthless cut-throats, Ghazak's band has developed a fearsome reputation as utterly merciless warriors who will not shy from slaughtering (and eating) entire populations of cities and burning scores of villages to the ground in their campaigns. When the black wolftail standards of Ghazak are seen in the horizon, men grow desperate, for the mighty Hobgoblin has never been defeated in the open field.
Of his past in the steppes beyond, Ghazak speaks little (indeed it is very difficult to understand the grunting language of the Hobgoblins and those who have dared to ask anything are usually beheaded by Ghazak). However, it is said that he is one of the most powerful of the war-chiefs who the Great Hobgobla Khan sent to study the lands beyond. This claim is supported by traders who have traveled to the steppes of the east and visited the ruler of the Hobgoblin nation in his tent (said to be the size of a small village), who say that the green-skinned despot is ever hungry for new conquests. Perhaps Ghazak is but the first of the Great Horde to cross the mountains, and one day the countless wolfriders of the Hobgobla Khan will cross the World's Edge Mountains and sweep the nations of men before them.
In battle Ghazak rides Warghan, a gigantic wolf the likes of which has never been seen in the lands of the west. In his hand he carries a huge scimitar which promises red ruin for his opponents. Ghazak wears a monstrous helmet over his scarred head. His ululating warcry is famous, very loud and justly feared.
Offense: The Red Scimitar: Ghazak carries a magic red, curved sword to battle. It has been notched in hundreds of savage battles by the Khans of the Blackwolf clan, and in the hands of Ghazak it has acquired a dire reputation. The Red Scimitar strikes deep and cuts through any armor with ease.
Defense: High quality armor, and the Daemonhead Helmet: As the mark of his position as a Khan, Ghazak wears a huge, horned helmet, decorated with a black wolftail. The helmet holds a captured Wind Daemon of the steppes, which protects Ghazak if he is wounded. When he's hurt, the daemon awakens and enshrouds Ghazak in a magical forcefield that stops both physical and magical attacks (save the strongest ones). In addition, the helmet doubles his strength, which is often put to use on the unit that injured him.
Special: War Cry: When Ghazak Khan charges, he lets out a mighty war cry that strikes terror in the hearts of his enemies. Such is their terror they can only stand helpless as Ghazak cuts them down.
Special: Mount: Warghan: His giant wolf pet.
Additional Factors:
ARMY X-FACTORS
Morale: 65
Logistics: 55: They can scrap and utilize from the land. Ogres eat anything, Halflings can turn any food into a delicacy, and some of these humans have had to rough it before. Plus, with enough money to throw around, the Princes can afford enough supplies to last awhile if things get rough. And as long as the mercenaries are still being paid, they'll go along with it.
Espionage: 40: A few scouts and assassins, as well as wizards who can use magic, they certainly wouldn't turn down espionage but their methods are somewhat limited.
Discipline: 70: These guys are as dedicated and disciplined as you can get… for mercenaries. They've seen plenty of battles, so it'll take a bit to shock them.
Army Intimidation: 57: Aside from a couple of impressive units, for the most part they're no more intimidating then your average army.
Reinforcement Rate: Very High: With enough money, there's always more men to be found. Especially in Tilea, where this is basically the number 1 profession.
ADDITIONAL INFO
-Mercenaries of Tilea: Not all mercenaries are human, although many are. Amongst the Dogs of War, freebooters from the frozen wastes of Norsca rub shoulders with Corsairs from Araby and mysterious warrior monks from the east. Mercenaries commonly form into itinerant bands under the leadership of a charismatic or especially brutal leader. The most famous of these bands are, more often than not, known by the name of their leader, such as Hagar Whitefang's Were-Marauders, Khalag's Sure Shots, and the renowned Golgfag's Ogres. An entire army of Dogs of War is made up of many of these bands under the overall leadership of a roguish mercenary general.
Mercenary armies of Dogs of War fight all over the world. They are drawn to places where fortunes can be won by ruthless adventurers. The treasure-houses of the Lizardmen in Lustria are a major prize and have attracted many a would-be conqueror, such as the crazed Piaza Pizzaro and the near-legendary Sven Hasselfriesian. Further east the mysterious Dragon Isles and the shadowy lands of Cathay have tempted soldiers of fortune such as Count Egmund Baernhof and the infamous Thorson Grint. South to the Southlands and the legendary treasures of Karak Zorn, eastwards to Cathay, and west to the treasure-houses of Lustria, the world is truly awash with rag-tag armies of sell-swords who nurture wishful dreams of empire!
Although Dogs of War ply their bloody trade to every point of the compass, the most notorious breeding-ground of mercenaries is the land of Tilea in the Old World. From all the kingdoms of the Old World and many lands beyond, sell-swords come to Tilea where they can be assured of ready and profitable employment. The reasons for this are quite obvious. Tilea is an anarchic and largely ungovernable country, where self-serving individuals rule precariously over proudly independent cities. The real power lies with wealthy Merchant Princes who plot and scheme against the tax-gathering authorities and each other with almost equal enthusiasm. Indeed, such is the tradition in Tilea that all armies of any size are mercenary armies - paid for and deployed by a wealthy Prince, a devious merchant or some ambitious tyrant.
Tilea is also a melting-pot to which all kinds of mercenaries come with the notion of joining whatever overseas adventure is the flavor of the month. Such ventures are sometimes funded by wealthy merchants keen to open up new trade routes east and south, but often the whole thing is down to some crazed adventurer with a theory that the world is round, cubed, the shape of a very tall floppy hat, or some other such nonsense. No matter what the motivation, bold armies of Dogs of War depart every few weeks from the ports of Tilea and sail off into the sunset. On the whole they are never heard of again, but just occasionally a ship sails back stuffed to the gunnels with treasure, bearing a few jewel-encrusted survivors back to a new life of ease and luxury.
-The Rise of Mercenaries: From early times, the merchants of Tilea hired soldiers to defend their ships from pirates on the high seas and to escort their merchandise on overland trade routes. Of course, warehouses and property also had to be guarded, and so it became usual for merchants to maintain troops more or less all the time.
The various mercantile families also used their mercenaries to further their political ambitions at home, either to make themselves absolute rulers of their cities, or to oppose such tyrants and proclaim a republic! In Tilea money is power - and power, military might and status all amount to pretty much the same thing.
-The Mercenary Bands: The demand for soldiery led to the establishment of numerous mercenary bands - soldiers who sold their services to whichever merchant, trader or banker happened to require them.
Merchants would sometimes hire troops on a more or less permanent basis, but most would be hired only when needed. Besides, the fees charged by the very best fighters were far too high for ordinary merchants to pay. The most successful mercenary captains became rich and influential in their own right, and their services were soon in demand throughout Tilea. Rivalry between the different merchants inevitably led to raids and even outright wars. When this happened it was the mercenaries that settled things, and the side which could muster the most money would usually win pretty quickly! Merchants would sometimes squander entire fortunes hiring mercenaries to fight their wars, whilst money lenders were all too eager to provide more cash secured against future earnings.
In this way the armies of Tilea developed as mercenary armies. Many good fighters grew rich on the profits, whilst warriors from all over the Old World would gravitate to Tilea where their talents would be appropriately rewarded.
VICTORY GAINS
Money, first and foremost. The mercenary armies are gonna want to be paid, and if the Merchant Princes can do it with the conquered lands' money rather then their own, all the better (though they will of course, take their share). They likely won't want slaves (though the Ogres might take some people eat). Conquered lands will have Princes set up to rule. Third parties could potentially be incorporated as future Dogs of War. Mercenaries are certainly welcome.
