The Hundred KingdomsArmy Book

Observing the history of the Hundred Kingdoms and their nobles, it is perhaps no surprise that the vast majority of their houses have strong military traditions. When the Long Winter receded and humanity ventured far from the shores of the Bitter Sea, the Orders were stretched too thin to control the nobility. Soon, the paradigm of 'might is right' resurfaced among both aspiring and established rulers.

To command swords became a matter of survival, to command them effectively promised a long rule and Conquest. While the legitimacy of the Divine Right of Kings offered by the Theist Church has swayed many, the old nobility knows that power flows from the edge of the blade.

This unit's Retinue is Household Guard. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Flawless Strikes, Parry, Best of Men

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

The reasons a Noble Lord might take up the mantle of a crusade are many and varied, ranging from the practical to the spiritual, but the end results are often the same: a loyal noble in charge of an armed host at the disposal of the church to wield against its sanctioned enemies without infringing upon the ancient laws that still bind the church.

These warriors take up the mantle of the devout and strike fear into the hearts of their foe who know no action is forbidden to them in pursuit of the Churches enemies.

This unit's Retinue is Crusaders. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Cleave 2, Unyielding, Overwhelm, Faith and Fury, Theos Vult

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

No matter how old and established a noble house is in the hundred kingdoms, none have forgotten the wise adge: "Power flows from the edge of the blade." As a result, all houses, no matter how humble or imposing, can always count on noble scions trained in the art of war to lead their troops. These Noble Lords are trained from youth in the arts of swordsmanship and mounted combat, the wealthiest amongst them even attending the proud War Colleges in Argem.

Whatever the specifics, few question that many a noble's right to command does not derive simply from the blood coursing through their veins. The prestigious martial tradition of the Hundred Kingdoms demands leaders whose men believe in, whose training and experience foster confidence and whose skill demands admiration. A Noble Lord who issues orders can reasonably expect his men to storm the battlement, one that leads from the front knows his men would brave the gates of hell.

This unit's Retinue is Household Knights. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Impact 2, Brutal, Shield, Wedge

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

Today the War Colleges represent one of the only sources of higher education in the Hundred Kingdoms. Wealthy and influential parents face only three real choices: the War Colleges, the Church Schools or an apprenticeship. The War Colleges remain by far the most popular choice.

This unit's Retinue is Steel Legion. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Practiced Manoeuvres, Redoubled Efforts

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

All of the Orders have adopted a loosely decentralized model of operations for their forces. This is in large part due to the conflicting nature of their goals, but also closely tied to the idealism of their cause and the zeal with which they pursue it.

Most Orders forces are concentrated in small groups called cloisters that usually operate from a single fortified monastery or abbey. A priory Commander is the greatest amongst his peers, elected by them to lead them in combat and represent their interests at the round table of Argem.

This unit's Retinue is As per Order. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Impact 2, Cleave 1, Honor thy Order

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

The Chapter Mages of the Hundred Kingdoms have long been a powerful political tool, their magics more suited to the civilized environment of the court rooms and balls, than the raw elemental puissance demanded on the battlefield.

The stories of temperamental and impulsive Pyromancers, distracted and impatient Aeolomancers or plodding, obsessive Geomancers is not a cultural cliché: their esoteric obsessions and proclivities are manifestations of their own imbalanced souls, and isolate them from mundane society, almost invariably turning them into pariahs or recluses.

This unit's Retinue is Mercenary Crossbowmen. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Spellcaster 3, Sorcerous Conduit

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

Adopting religious symbols into their military banners, these noble houses have taken up the cause of the Theist Church, or at least use religion as a stepping stone to further their own goals.

Their motivation matters little to the paeneticum, and the leadership of the Theist Church has been very puick to respond to this new trend, ordaining large numbers of young nobles, thus creating strong bonds with their families. More importantly, however, it founded a series of new ordinariates, led by bishops, responsible for the pastoral care of military troops.

Who needs to confess more than a soldier who kills, who needs their spirits strengthened more than those who face the horrors of battle and do they not have the right to have their last rites read to them?

This unit's Retinue is Sicarii. When included in your Warband, the Retinue Regiment counts as a Mainstay instead of a Restricted Regiment.

Blessed, Spellcaster 3, Cleave 1, Martyrdom

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

During the early reign of the Hundred Kingdoms, the Order of the Shield took it upon itself to protect man from its most dangerous predators.

Eschewing the combat formations of their predecessors, the Order of the Shield traveled the lands alone and sought to alleviate suffering where they could. The Emperor elevated their Order to the rank of Imperial Magistrates, allowing the Errant Knights of the Shield to work as judge, jury and executioner against all but the most powerful of noble houses.

This did not endear them to the nobility, and when the last Emperor died one of their first moves was to seek out and destroy any members of this ancient order. Today they are few and far in between but continue their thankless task of protecting the citizens and peasants of the 100 Kingdoms against all those who would prey upon them, especially the nobility itself.

Shield, Cleave 1, Bravery, Judge not the Innocent

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

A Noble Lord on foot, surrounded by his loyal Household Guard, is a force to be reckoned with. A trained Noble Lord on foot, surrounded by his loyal Household Guard as they are led by his loyal Arms Master is something to behold.

Flurry, Bodyguard, Defense of Lord and Liege

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

The training regime of the Steel Legion is as legendary as the unit itself. Those who have failed it speak with the harshest words to describe it, recounting drills and abuses, both physical and mental, and pressure that are hard to believe.

Be such claims true or not, one thing is certain: every single man and woman of the Steel Legion has gone through it and their effectiveness on the field is undeniable, while their performance under the harshest of circumstances unfaltering.

While the worth of each of the Legionnaires is unquestioned, an observant eye can see the source of their performance; for in the presence of their Drillmasters, the Legion's fervor and aggression is unstoppable. After all, it only makes sense for one to perform better when someone screams at one's ear during combat, asking what one's major malfunction is.

Cleave 1, Double Time

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

Modest, humble and absolutely terrified a Neophyte really has no place on the battlefield… but devout warriors of the Hundred Kingdoms are often accompanied by one nonetheless. Capable of providing final rites and shriving the troops of their sins, the presence of a neophyte does little for the battle effectiveness of the troop, but does mark them as devout in the eyes of their general and gods.

Fearless, Spellcaster 2, Pious Oration, But a Humble Servant

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

A simple functionary of the ancillary branch of the vaunted Order of the Sealed Temple, the humble Servite has probably done more work on improving the lot of the common peasant of the Hundred Kingdoms than a hundred nobles. By ensuring that their militia is well shod and fed a commander of the hundred kingdoms ensures they are where they need to be when they need to be.

Vanguard, Ever Vigilant, But a Humble Servant

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

Null Mages are gifted in each of the four elements. While no human could hope to reach the pinnacle of power that a Dweghom Sorcerer could muster, it is a known truism that it is easier to destroy than create. Given his access to all of the elements it is almost trivially easy for a Null Mage to dispel the efforts of even the most powerful mage, allowing the Hunter Cadre that hired him to finish the job safely and efficiently.

Spellcaster 2, Fearless, Nullify, Hunter's Quarry, Barrage 2 (12"), Armor Piercing 2

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

A society as militarized as the Hundred Kingdoms is bound to have countless veteran arms men roaming the lands. The Orders and the Office of the Imperial Household have exerted tremendous effort to mitigate the destabilizing influence they could be to society, encouraging them to retire to border communities where they are hired to train the militia on Imperial wages subsidized by the Orders.

However, there are always some hardbitten veterans who cannot seem to stay away from the battlefield. Veterans of countless battles, these seasoned campaigners are invaluable to any Commander, bolstering his front line and leading the men by example.

Cleave 1, Shield, Grizzled

Each [Character] in your Warband may purchase a single Upgrade; a Warlord may instead purchase up to 2.

Freed from the need to work and protect their land, Men-at-Arms were able to focus exclusively on their martial pursuits, allowing them to march on extended campaigns and travel in search of employment, ensuring that sufficient trained men were available to all commanders with the coin to spend in securing their services.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield

The Militia Act has been one of the most stabilizing and far reaching reforms ever implemented in the Hundred Kingdoms, curbing the power of the noble lords, while helping the population defend itself against outside threats. This holds doubly true in the old imperial province of Braeonia, where the peasantry has mastered the use of the longbow.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Support

The Militia Act has been one of the most stabilizing and far reaching reforms ever implemented in the Hundred Kingdoms, curbing the power of the noble lords, while helping the population defend itself against outside threats. This holds doubly true in the old imperial province of Braeonia, where the peasantry has mastered the use of the longbow.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Barrage 1 (12")

The cornerstone to many a commander's battleplan, the longbowmen of the Hundred Kingdoms are a tremendous addition to any force. Providing a withering amount of long ranged firepower, these troops fulfill a vital role in the Hundred Kingdoms war machine. Note this product is a dual Kit that allows players to create either the Longbowmen or the Hunter Cadre troop type.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Cleave 1, Barrage 1 (14"), Armor Piercing 1

Trained in the arts of combat almost from childhood, squires are a potent force on the field even if they lack the panoply of a full knight. Often the youngest sons of landed nobles or wealthy burghers, their arms and equipment are a cut above what one would expect.

Many noble houses have taken to fielding their squires in battle, rewarding them generously for their efforts calculating that their breeding, education, and training are far more valuable and dependable than the simple mercenary motivation of a man at arms.

Recruitment: 1 Warrior — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Impact 1, Elusive

Recruiting the best men their money can buy, the Household's Guard is often an eclectic mix of veterans, washed out Legionnaires, foreign mercenaries and the younger progeny of lesser nobility with few alternative prospects. An Arms Master is often employed by the Noble Houses to keep these powerful and difficult men in check. These hard-bitten warriors are fiercer, tougher and deadlier than any of the men they lead and implicitly trusted by the Noble Houses that employ them, as they often serve as bodyguards, champions and executioners.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Cleave 2, Support, Bodyguard

The Gilded Legion could have had a reputation and a history at least as storied as that of the Steel Legion, as both trace their origins to the first professional forces Charles Armatellum established in his bid for Empire.

Their position, however, as guardians of the Imperial Mint, their attendant duties as the protectors of the Imperial tax collectors and the controversial past of their legion, have served to forever overshadow their accomplishments. Note this product is a dual kit that allows players to create either the Gilded Legion or the Household Guard troop type.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Flawless Strikes, Support, Bastion

The Steel Legion is one of the oldest fighting forces in the Tellian Empire. Taking its name from the storied legions of the old Dominion and tracing its origins to the very first professional armies the Emperor fielded, only the Orders can claim a more storied or glorious past.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Iron Discipline, Cleave 3, Bravery

The crossbow represents a significant technological improvement over the bow and longbow. While some could argue that the longbows increased range and rate of fire outclass the crossbow, mastery of that massive weapon requires years, while a man can learn to competently care for and use a crossbow in a matter of days.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Barrage 1 (12"), Armor Piercing 2

The Imperial Ranger Corps was born in the early years of the Tellian Empire when its expansion gave the Imperial family more lands than it could reasonable and safely manage. A group of expert woodsmen was hired to explore, catalogue, and safeguard these lands.

After the fall of the Empire successive Chamberlains have reinforced and expanded the role of the Imperial Ranges, given their intimate knowledge of not only them Imperial Households lands, but all lands in between making them the fearsome force they are today, equally at home on the field as they are in the woods.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Vanguard, Expert Scouts, Barrage 1 (14"), Precise Shot

The Hunter Cadre are bounty hunters, plain and simple. Gifted with the right tools and know-how, they are tasked with hunting down the most dangerous of beasts and spellcasters who would threaten the main battleline of the Hundred Kingdoms force. Their dedicated professionalism has spelt the doom to countless dangerous foes across hundreds of battles.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Fiend Hunter, Fearless, Hunter's Quarry, Barrage 1 (12"), Armor Piercing 2

Barred by law from employing men at arms, the Theist Church has turned to the Sicarii to become their main bodyguards and enforcers. The archaic form and wording of this ancient ban was circumvented by the Church arguing that as the Sicarii go into battle unarmored and even more ancient laws allow all peasants to carry 'blades' for hunting or self defense.

Their political clout has allowed them to exploit these technicalities to deploy the Sicarii in numbers, but still deprives them of the ability to employ more conventional forces. Raised since orphans on the Church's creed, the Sicarii are fearsome and devoted warriors, unflinching in the face of death in battle against the enemies of their faith.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Cleave 1, Deadly Blades, Oblivious, Zealotry

The advent of the Archangels and the machinations of the hierarchy of the Theist Church have finally granted them the spiritual and temporal power to be able to call for a Crusade.

Mobilizing the population and nobility on their behalf, the Theist Church has been able to circumvent the ban on their mustering an army as the forces remain pledged and led by the Crusading Noble Lords, the Crusaders needing little further incentive than the promised heavenly reward to fall upon the enemies of the faith, their faith bolstering their every blow against the wicked and impure.

Recruitment: 4 Warriors — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Unyielding, Overwhelm, Theos Vult

The massed charge of Household Knights is one of the most powerful weapons at the disposal of a Hundred Kingdoms commander. Hundreds of pounds of obdurate metal and muscle, forged through years of training and experience, they have shattered men, formations, and kingdoms throughout the ages…

Recruitment: 1 Warrior — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Impact 2, Brutal

Despite its long evolution from a ancient infantry legion into the order of mounted knights the world sees today, the Order of the Sealed Temple has never wavered from its mandate to protect its charges from a hostile world.

More worldly and politically involved than all other Orders, this order has proven equally adept at wielding the velvet glove of wealth and influence or the iron fist of battlefield superiority. On the battlefield these paragons of the chivalric ideal are horsemen without peer, using their speed and maneuverability to deliver powerful charges where the enemy is least prepared.

Recruitment: 1 Warrior — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Impact 2, Flawless Strikes, Overrun, Peerless Precision

The Order of the Crimson Tower has taken upon itself to combat one of the great scourges of mankind: War. They have forsaken the notion of eliminating it entirely, instead focusing on ensuring it causes as little collateral damage as possible.

Incredibly scrupulous in securing employment, they not only demand their employer have a strong Casus Belli (legal reason for war) but demand from their employers that no looting or pillaging take place.

Were they any less effective in combat, these terms would make them incredibly unpopular, but such is their prowess that many lords are willing to forsake the material gains of war in order to secure their service.

Recruitment: 1 Warrior — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Shield, Impact 2, Brutal, Fearless, Casus Belli

Exemplars even amongst the superhumanly skilled Orders, the Order of the Ashen Dawn are spoken of in hushed whispers and respectful tones even by those who are unlucky enough to count them as enemies.

Clad in baroque armor of a craftsmanship that has reduced master smiths to tears, these holy warriors are the definitive answer to the monsters and nightmares that plague mankind. They are the final guardians of the Sealed Temple and the keepers of its darkest treasures.

Recruitment: 1 Warrior — the minimum size of this Regiment.

Blessed, Impact 2, Cleave 2, Unstoppable, Glorious Charge

Kindled by the faith of the Theist devout, the Archangels of the Theos have descended upon Ea to cleanse the land of the enemies of the Theist Church.

Boundless faith given form and definition by the shattered places of worship that their followers have sacrificed, these beings are relentless foes of any who would oppose the church.

Their mere presence on the battlefield elevates the faith of the devout to terrifying heights, enabling them to perform feats of faith and valour no foe has recourse against.

Cleave 3, Terrifying, Dauntless, Divine Purpose

• Divine Purpose: Friendly Theist Warriors within Command Range gain the Dauntless Special Rule.
• Avenging Angel (Aspect of the Avenger only): Against Wounds caused by this Monster's Impact Special Rule, Enemies must Re-Roll successful Resolve Tests.
• Requiem (Aspect of the Redeemer only): When an Enemy within Command Range Slays a Friendly Theist Warrior, that Enemy must take a single Resolve Test; If Failed, they become Broken!

Castles and men at arms form the backbone of the feudal might of the Hundred Kingdoms. Well aware of this, the Emperors of the Tellian Empire wished to ensure that the ability to breach fortifications and sweep those men from the battlefield remained unmatched amongst their vassals.

The Imperial Collegia were created to develop these deadly machines of war, something they continue doing at the behest of the Imperial Throne, even when the Emperors of old are long gone.

The monopoly on the advanced principles needed to successfully construct these deadly machines of war is one of the tools the Imperial Chamberlain often employs, allowing chosen allies, even if temporary ones, to wield the awesome might fo these power machines against their foes.

Iron Discipline, Siege Engine, Emplacement, Ready, Field Engineers, Loose!