The SpiresArmy Book

To look upon a Biomancer is to look upon Biomancy itself. These are the favored agents of the Directorate, and the full resources of their twisted genius are at their disposal. Everything about them; from their clothing to the menagerie that follows them, even their very bodies, are the direct product of a Biomantic process.

Standing six feet tall, their spindly bodies have been adapted to the rigors of their academic life. Digestive systems have been reduced to minimize distractions. Their senses, particularly sight and smell, have been enhanced to an astounding degree, so much so that the clothing they wear to battle is designed to reduce the sensory overload, allowing them to focus on the task at hand. And the task is only ever the furtherance of the Directorate's plans, first and foremost.

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

Regeneration, Biomantic Practitioner, Biotic Renewal

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

In order to advance through the ranks, Executors must have proven and keep proving their ability time and again, both on the field of battle and without. They must secure chances at proving their capacity, provide victory on the battlefield and be able to claim credit for that victory, always vying against backstabbing colleagues, jealous superiors and ruthlessly demanding masters.

The result is that should one encounter a High Clone Executor leading an enemy force, he should know he is facing a ruthlessly competent individual who has no compunctions or limitations on the pursuit of victory.

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

Cleave 2, Unyielding, Phalanx, Parry, Combat Directives

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

Among the highest echelons of the Lineages, none are truly expected to risk their lives anymore, much less for something as simple and trivial as combat.

The chosen warriors of the Sovereign's Lineages stride through the battlefield safely projecting their consciousness into their Avatara: outlandish creations bedecked in all sorts of ornament and Biomantic enhancements, whose lithe, androgynous frames bely the speed and power they can bring to bear.

With almost no personal risk and minimal skill needed to become a deadly foe, many scions of the Lineages have taken to decorating their Avatara as ostentatiously as possible, for the body-vessels have made them such proficient killers that a tally of the slain foes is simply no longer a practical method by which to distinguish oneself.

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

Flawless Strikes, Quicksilver Strikes, Hardened, Magnanimity

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

Amongst the Lineage Elders who indulge in the base carnal satisfaction of combat there exists a small, but very dedicated and influential, minority for whom the slaughter of lesser foes has lost it's luster.

Many of these hoary ancients have found a new purpose and joy not in the indiscriminate slaughter of unworthy rabble, but rather in the patient, collected and premeditated hunt of a worthy foe.

They have taken to looking upon the foe not as enemy, but as prey. And like all hunters they take pride in the well executed hunt. Not for them the mindless drive into combat, but rather the patient stalk, the flank and rear charge, and then the unleashing of the murderous potential of their Avatara projections.

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

Fiend Hunter, Impact 2, Designate Weakness, Exhilaration, Barrage 2 (12"), Precise Shot

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

Challenging the Directorate and Sovereign's monopolistic grasp on resources, the Merchant Princes have earned their wealth and influence by trading with, and meddling in the affairs of the mortal races.

Exploiting their wealth, influence and even their vast fleets of airships, these ruthless individuals are not to be underestimated despite their lack of physical prowess or Biomantic skill.

Their presence on a battlefield means things have come to a head, they are collecting debt or exerting leverage with the same ruthlessness that has allowed them to challenge the status quo which has existed for millenia.

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

Tricks of the Trade, Master Manipulator, Airship Bombardment

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

Pheromancers are one of the few true blooded Exiles one will encounter on the field of battle. With roles too critical to be relegated to underlings, but lacking the influence, prestige and wealth to command an Avatar projection, these unfortunate souls must brave the dangers of the battlefield to lead the menagerie of the Underspire to battle.

While not the most impressive combatants themselves, their mastery over their own body allows them to secrete pheromones that can suppress survival instincts of their own troops while driving his simple charges into homicidal rages.

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

Aura of Death 2, Violent Delirium

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

The Directorate has long sought to produce the perfect assassin clone, but their efforts have been incessantly stymied by the Sovereign.

He has made it a matter of personal interest to ensure that all Ark vaults containing pertinent data to this research fall squarely under his direct supervision, denying the Directorate access to chameleonic strand sequences and certain personality traits, which it has sought for so long.

They have instead been forced to adapt and improvise with those strands they already possess: agility, strength, aggression and some limited biomechanical functions.

Dodge, Elusive, Flurry, Flank, Mimesis, Ambuscade

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

Nothing epitomizes the Spires' approach to warfare more than the Catabolic Node. Every drone contains the latent genetic code to become a Catabolic Node.

With it's twisted body is seething with toxic gasses and corrosive vital fluids a Catabolic Node is so unstable they are only created on the eve of battle. One shudders to imagine what could happen if the Spires found a way to stabilize these deadly sacrificial troops.

Lethal Demise 3, Feral, Oblivious, Biochemical Detonation, Mindless Vessel

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

The Preceptors are a creation of the Directorate. Originally intended as a front line unit to replace the Vanguard strain whose combat prowess was based on coordination and reaction, they were retired citing the very resource intensive training process they required to be considered battle ready.

Of course, one could argue, the Sovereign would also not look kindly on a tightly structured and well-coordinated fighting force capable of autonomous thought and communication.

Loath to waste resources, the Directorate repurposed the project, introducing Preceptor leaders to Vanguard Clone formations to increase their coordination and cohesion. So far, preliminary trials show a significant increase in battlefield performance…

Flurry, Cleave 1, Unstoppable, Target Priority

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

There are occasions where even the Spires see the merit of reducing casualties amongst their forces. This is where the Ward Preceptor steps in. With his preternatural reflexes and heavy armor, this elite warrior seems to be everywhere at once, his massive tower shield covering any gaps the Spire forces may have left in their defenses.

Shield, Pavise, Iron Discipline, Guardian Protocols

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

After witnessing a Force Grown Drone, one could imagine that they are a byproduct of some other Biomantic process gone awry. Nothing could be further from the truth; the design of their strains represents a groundbreaking triumph for the Biomancers.

The end result is a being that can be gestated within a week and kept dormant until quickened. In meantime, they can be stored within vast racks in the massive storage caverns of the Underspire. When requested, entire racks of these dormant drones can be hitched on to massive, tented, cathedral-like wagons, pulled by dozens of the Brute Drones.

Hundreds of cycles were devoted to simplifying and streamlining the Force Grown strains, allowing the Directorate to create a creature ideally suited to the needs of the Lineages. After all, Force Grown Drones are not meant to fight at the behest of their masters. They are meant to die at their convenience.

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

Shield, Support, Pavise, Oblivious, Pheromantic Node

Lacking the mental prowess to join the Directory or the beauty to serve the Lineages directly as domestics, the vast majority of clones decanted find their way into the ranks of the Bound, the professional forces each Sovereign Lineage keeps on retainer.

Clothed, fed, equipped, and trained at the Lineage's expense, these soldiers are kept on standby for those tasks that require a fully cognizant mind and could not be entrusted to a servile drone. This should not lead one to think that their lives mean more to their masters, but rather that their masters expect more for the investment into their continued existence.

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

Shield, Support, Bodyguard, Obedience

A portion of all Force Grown Drones is tithed to the Onslaught Program. An advanced research grant established by the directorate to further the development of the Spire's combat drones.

It is upon these hapless wretches that the Directorate expands its knowledge of neural and hormonal overstimulation, pushing the boundaries of their own craft a tiny bit further with each test. Already they have borne fruit, allowing the clones' direct supervisors to trigger their hyper aggression only once a safe distance from friendlies has been achieved.

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

Flurry, Unyielding, Oblivious

Unlike the Brute and Force Grown Drones the Vanguard Clones are not grown in the spawning pits deep within the Underspire. Woven from 100% pure exile tissue, their strands are improved upon and woven to produce superior specimens.

Those that survive a brutal culling process undergo a brutal training regime to enter the Vanguard regiments. This first training regime focuses on physical development and a martial arts training. By the end of their third year of conditioning and training, a Vanguard clone is equally comfortable with killing with bows, snap bows, blades and limb.

Their training has been skewed to emphasizes evasion and speed over raw power but raised to peak physical condition and trained in combat for three years, the average Vanguard Clone is more than a match for even a veteran man at arms, capable of going toe to toe with the combat elite of the Dweghom and W'adrhŭn.

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

Shield, Vanguard, Flank, Parry

With bones lightened to the degree they can scarcely support the musculature that power the mighty pinions that bear them aloft, a Spire Stryx would be incapable of posing a significant threat on the battlefield were it not for the cruel disregard their masters have for their lives… and the lethal, toxic payload they carry in their bloated sacks.

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

Fly, Lethal Demise 1, Oblivious

Towering well over two meters, with most specimens touching the three meter mark, Brute Drones are a towering mass of vat grown muscle and aggression. Their skin, where it can be seen beneath the ichor soaked bandages they bear, is a ravaged mass of scar tissue and subdermal bone deposits. Their armor is literally sealed onto their bodies, held in place by alchemically treated cartouches that establish Lineage ownership, lot number and enhancement date of the particular drone.

On the battlefield, Brute Drones are little more than living battering rams. As a result, they are always deployed in conjunction with a Pheromancer, whose powerful pheromonal commands are the only thing that can cut through the haze of pain and rage that clouds their mind.

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

Tenacious, Overwhelm, Oblivious

Desolation Drones are some of the most feared troops that the Spires can deploy despite their humble origins. Once no more than disposable spawning pool disinfectants, it did not take long for some enterprising Biomancer to see what the effect of the digestive liquids they sprayed on the vats would have on the battlefield.

His immediate promotion granted him all the resources he would need to update the weaponry to deliver the liquids from afar. Though the range still leaves something to be desired, the base trooper design remains unchanged allowing for very efficient production to replace the unavoidable losses.

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

Lethal Demise 2, Oblivious, Barrage 1 (10"), Torrential Fire, Reprocessing Agents

Unlike the Brute and Force Grown Drones the Vanguard Clones are not grown in the spawning pits deep within the Underspire. Woven from 100% pure exile tissue, their strands are improved upon and woven to produce superior specimens.

Those that survive a brutal culling process undergo a brutal training regime to enter the Vanguard regiments. This first training regime focuses on physical development and a martial arts training. By the end of their third year of conditioning and training, a Vanguard clone is equally comfortable with killing with bows, snap bows, blades and limb.

Their training has been skewed to emphasizes evasion and speed over raw power but raised to peak physical condition and trained in combat for three years, the average Vanguard Clone is more than a match for even a veteran man at arms, capable of going toe to toe with the combat elite of the Dweghom and W'adrhŭn.

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

Vanguard, Dodge, Elusive, Fleeting Flourish, Barrage 2 (8")

Spliced from a number of tissues to ensure their keen eyesight and flawless hand-eye coordination, these Clones are amongst the most effective ranged troops one can encounter on the battlefield.

The addition of a third arm was pioneered by the Fourth Indigo Lineage, which traded the marginal increases in accuracy that other houses blindly pursued for a significantly increased rate of fire. Despite under performing in the sharpshooting challenges, the dominant superiority in their rate of fire brought glory to their Lineage in the melees for decades, until the other Lineages stole, bought or perfected their technique.

Unleashed on the outside world for the first time in millennia, Marksmen Clones are reaping a bloody toll on the battlefield, providing withering salvoes of accurate fire for the monstrous throng the Spires call an army.

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

Barrage 1 (14"), Rapid Volley

Among the highest echelons of the Lineages, none are truly expected to risk their lives anymore, much less for something as simple and trivial as combat. The chosen warriors of the Sovereign's Lineages stride through the battlefield safely projecting their consciousness into their Avatara: outlandish creations bedecked in all sorts of ornament and Biomantic enhancements, whose lithe, androgynous frames bely the speed and power they can bring to bear.

With almost no personal risk and minimal skill needed to become a deadly foe, many scions of the Lineages have taken to decorating their Avatara as ostentatiously as possible, for the body-vessels have made them such proficient killers that a tally of the slain foes is simply no longer a practical method by which to distinguish oneself.

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

Flawless Strikes, Quicksilver Strikes, Hardened

It did not take long for the Avatara Program to catch on with the Sovereign Lineages. While the Centaur Avatara appealed to a portion of their more wealthy patrons, a few debauched souls have come to view the battlefield as the perfect hunting ground. They have commissioned a new form of Avatar body, one that can stalk its prey amongst the clamor of battle and lose itself to the thrill of the hunt.

Spire commanders routinely seek them out on the eve of battle, knowing that the damage they will cause to the foe's plans far outweighs the difficulty of guiding them to the right target.

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

Fiend Hunter, Impact 1, Exhilaration, Barrage 2 (12"), Precise Shot

A massive humanoid torso crowns the baroque, armored equine monstrosity of the Centaur Avatara, bristling with arms each carrying a deadly blade. Scoffing at the notion of partnership with another being, but keenly aware of the advantages of cavalry upon the field, Spires created the Centaur iterations of the Avatara to mimic the original knights, the companions and equites of the Old Dominion.

To date these have been reserved for only the eldest and most powerful elders of the Lineages. Their recent presence on the western battlefield can only bode ill for the Hundred Kingdoms as these hoary monsters shed millennia of ennui and rekindle their bloodlust and interest in battle.

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

Brutal, Impact 2, Flurry, Unstoppable, Shield

Forgoing any attempt to create a viable organism that could meet their expectations the Directorate instead cultured individual organs to their specifications and assembled them over a reinforced skeleton. Sacrificing almost all attempts at elegance in return for function, the Incarnates are the most successful efforts of the Directorate at overcoming the limits of flesh.

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

Cleave 2, Fearsome, Juggernaut, Trample

Abominations were originally an advanced and cruel form of punishment, devised on a whim by the Sovereign. Ensconced deep within an Abomination lies the body of an Exile who has betrayed his trust or breached the most sacrosanct of Spire laws.

Survivors speak of a keening whine, just on the verge of hearing that pervades their memories, a sound that registers deeper than the cries of their fallen comrades. This is the only sound an Abomination can make, the only sound it is allowed to make: a keening howl to convey the depth of their misery and torment.

Relentless Blows, Fearsome, Cleave 2, Insatiable Anguish, Surgical Afflictions

No creations of the Spire embody both the Directorates pursuits of efficiency and the Sovereigns quest for perfection as does the Siegebreaker Behemoth. Its limbs are designed to dig, climb and still strike with such force it cavitates the very air, producing a thunderous boom that dwarfs the sound of its impact, shredding metal, pulverizing stone and obliterating flesh.

Its sinuous serpentine body is almost nothing but muscle and armour, sacrificing everything for power, mobility and durability. Its nervous system is a complex mix of simple systems that govern its movement and complex self-referencing pain and pleasure receptors attuned only to its hearing.

This is intentional, for its control is established by frequencies known only to its master, who dispenses pain or pleasure ensuring the compliance and good behavior of this unstoppable behemoth.

Terrifying, Cleave 4, Smite, Juggernaut, Impact 2, Chitinous Onslaught, Burrowing Horror

One of the earliest and most successful applications of Biomancy to the art of War, the Pteraphon were originally developed by the Spires as dragon slayers. The folly of their efforts was revealed when the Elder Dragons awoke and put their efforts to shame, but the Directorate was never known for wasting resources.

Refining their efforts they repurposed the suit by eliminating most of its nervous system and turning it instead into a symbiotic "suit" that grants is wearer the power of flight and enhanced senses. Of course the added neural burden of the alien musculature and sensory organs requires unsafe levels of synaptic enhancers which almost invariably leave their unfortunate pilot hosts as wretched, addicted souls.

Despite this many consider this a worthy price to pay for the glory of flight and viewpoint of a god.

Fly, Dodge, Brutal, Spined Descent, Neural Link, Barrage 3, (8")

Originally developed by the Directorate to scour the spawning pools clean of any biological contaminants, Desolation Beasts have been repurposed to become absolute horrors on the battlefield. Their massive scuttling bodies undulate obscenely across the battlefield as they spew acids and enzymes on their hapless foes, dissolving flesh and bone with ease and even ravaging armor in enough volume.

Trample, Fearsome, Visceral Bombardment, Caustic Entrails Barrage 4 (12"), Armor Piercing 3

Developed alongside the Desolation Beast, Consumption Beasts were originally meant to consume the dregs of a spawning pool before the Desolation Beasts were unleashed. This could be the last of the fluids and amniotic structures left in a vat after a successful spawn, but other, darker scenarios are equally common.

It was in fact watching a Consumption beast devour a failed drone vat that inspired the Directorate to deploy them on the battlefield. The carnage this multipedal monstrosities unleash on the battlefield thrilled the observers and ensured their deployment en masse. The psychological impact of eating, and not just killing its foes, is just icing on the cake as far as the Directorate is concerned.

Trample, Cleave 2, Dread, Terrifying, Slaking Maw, Raking Claws