Morsland Military

\*\*\*Trigger Warning: Gore, Undead Terrors, Graphic Descriptions of Death

Example

## Common Knowledge

Almost nobody knows about Morsland, the city-state crypt beneath Binturia, but those few unlucky enough to read about their might, or worse yet to have somehow braved their hordes, know better than to disturb the slumbering behemoth.

## Further Description

In the dangerous and unstable lands of the Binturian Forest lies a forsaken crypt where the legions of living dead gather. From dawn to dusk these creatures of darkness and false life shamble to and fro in ancient cairns to age worn mausoleums, drumming the earth underneath their march and eclipsing the moon with their numbers of tattered wings and decrepit beaks. The festive glamor of their staging grounds herald the beginning campaigns fought by unliving hosts clad in rusting armors and tides of resurrected corpses of rotting flesh, skeletal warriors with red eyes and monstrous beasts with soulless gazes. It is here in the tombs that open up to the surface world that carriage mounts of the Vampire Nobility are located and where they assemble their pure-blooded family to enact a bloodletting to all those that oppose them.

Morsland is an ancient and uncommonly invoked power in the world as they silently observe and gain strength. In the few times in their history that they’ve resorted to military force they’ve always left an impression of devastation on the land and upon the enemy. The Crypt of Morsland contends against the Fae-Folk of the Fae Wilds, the Fel, over-eager Dark Elves, Duergar, Svirfneblin, Demons, and more from even beyond the Plane as their power and influence grows. Their presence is such that the living dead forms a corruption upon the face of the world where they tread. Their advances into enemy territory are swiftly followed by encroaching mists that darken the noon sky as wildlife displace the area posthaste. The trees themselves buckle over as if in agony as the skeletons their roots grow around awaken and climb to the surface. Their tactics and strategies are precursors of the fundamental cornerstones of Necromancer battleplans continent wide. Legions of rotting soldiers who know no fear and no remorse bore down on the enemy before contorted aberrations and nigh-invulnerable beasts crush all into a meaty pulp before arising again in their second-lives as servants to their Undead rulers. Kingdoms of Binturia, throughout their iterations, were wary of these blasphemers of nature and reason for good reason, for their might grows everyday as the living prosper, grow old and wither. Left unchecked upon the world stage, there would be few to stop them without having to pay a hefty price.

## Practices

Morsland’s forces rely on slow, lumbering strength to brute force many military strategic and tactical goals. Their strengths seem to outweigh their weaknesses on paper but the costs for brute forcing any complication quickly adds up and a particularly impatient commander may see his forces shrivel up and return to dust due to rising battlefield costs. However, the inverse is true. If a commander of Morsland can find success again and again, each victory shall be easier than the last as the fallen bolster his ranks and morale plummets among the foes number. If a battlefield is left unattended for too long, the enemy general may see his entire force overwhelmed by shuffling undead.

## Structure

### Core Forces

#### Zombies

+ Zombie Signaller, Unbreakable Morale, Causes Terror, Uses Hatchets, Swords. Upgrades with Rusting Armors

Zombies are the dreaded front-line units of any undead force. They are the staple terror of peasants, undying enemy of priests, as well as an unexpectedly deadly close combat assault unit for generals. While the intelligence of the reanimated sacks of flesh is used as jokes between parties in taverns, the raw, visceral images of their victims clutching their innards as the ravenous jaws of the undead sear off their meat is not a joking matter. Despite being defeated handily by knights, trained monks, and war beasts, any of these individuals can tire under a swarm of cheap zombies and not every trained professional can be where every swarm of zombies are. For untrained militia units, a persistent enemy that feels no fear or pain can be a tough opponent to break, no matter how unskilled and slow they may be.

The Zombies of Morsland are manual laborers first and ‘warriors’ second, but their need for flesh is always on the remnants of their minds. Some hordes of zombies are allowed to keep their rusting armor from their past life as a cheap defense against volleys of arrows or glancing blows from terrified farmers clutching their pitchforks as a final stance of defense. Morsland sometimes adorn certain zombies with ‘Signal’ status, in which the magical residue in their bodies amplify command messages from their controlling necromancer or Lich and makes the pain of managing vast hordes easier. This ‘Signal’ zombie is usually docile among members of its pack and can be easily ‘sensed’ by those magically attuned or by trained casters who can detect the pooling of mana upon an individual zombie. Once the connection is severed with the signal zombies death, the pack assigned to that zombie rampages out of control and lashes out at anything nearby; friend or foe. The worst thing about these creatures are that, even when they’re defeated they are a pain to deal with in their second death. For any living enemy, disposing the bodies is a nightmare as plagues and necrosis diseases spread among the survivors trying to clean up the deceased.

#### Skeleton Warriors

Unbreakable Morale, Uses Hatchets, Axes, Swords, Upgrades with Shields

The Skeletons of Morsland are the mostly sentient citizens and most common citizens of their crypt city-state who also hold some memories and skills of their past lives. When their resting places are threatened, they grab their weapons and shuffle into silent ranks of glowing eyed malice, ready to dismantle any foe bone by bone. For added defense against an enemy’s blunt damage that can reduce their bones to ash, they adorn themselves with shields to protect their limbs and head from suffering damage that can cause their final deaths. They accept their liege’s orders without complaint and carry out any command with true intent.

#### Crypt Ghouls

Unbreakable Morale, Uses Bone Weapons, Diseased Claws, Causes Terror

Crypt Ghouls are Morsland’s specialists of brute force. They are creatures with hunched backs and ugly, plague ridden faces with only wrath and some semblance of malignant reason. Their skins are calloused and filthy as their eyes dart across the land for their next meal. They are on the verge of insanity from their lives as grotesque brutes and are locked away in chambers secluded from the rest of the populace for their own safety and for the safety of others. When released, this pent up frustration equates to dead victims on the battlefield as their snarling lips and brutish strength dismember the limbs off of their prey. They fashion bone weapons from one unfortunate victim to the next and their claws are so plague ridden that if a swipe of their claws turns into a graze and their prey escapes their attention, that individual’s days are still numbered due to the potent necrosis they surely picked up. Without the rigorous medical attention of proper hospitals, they too will join the ranks of the dead after plague’s scythe takes them.

#### Banshee Covens

Unbreakable Morale, Causes Terror, Piercing Shriek, Claws.

Banshee Covens are deceased priests of Morsland who worship the blessings of undeath among other religious undead that were found wanting by their deities. They all turn to Undeath as their salvation for their afterlives, for their regular day to day lives and as a method to cope with their perceived failures in their lives before. They constantly howl ethereal wails in remembrance of the sealed off pleasures of the life that they once lived and in the mental stress that accompanies the peace that their failures have brought them and can never rectify. Their grief may all differ in origins but their screams all form into one cacophonous and lethal symphony of death as ear drums crack and bleed and the hearts of lesser mortal foes stop dead from fright. For those that do not accept the Banshee’s merciful and quick death from their wail, it instead acts an omen of the pain and torture to come as bloodied claws rip and tear away at those that mock them with the pretense of a fight. When the Banshee Covens are done, they add their victims to Morsland’s populace as potential citizens or laborers as they allow them to complete the first step in accepting undeath into their lives. This conversion process is the only solace they get for the rest of their time in undeath as misery loves company.

#### Wight Guards

Unbreakable Morale, Duelists, Causes Terror, Armed with Longswords

Wight Guards are elite Skeletal troops that take and hold a position on the battlefield with near-perfected swordsmanship that has been honed past the limits of mortal potential. While their skeletal brethrens that fill the ‘warrior’ ranks are merely decent in combat, Wight Guards, take the potential of Undeath and fully utilize every advantage that it brings. They are usually formed from deceased heroes and adventurers who had some skills in their lives that carry over into their undeath; never forgotten and instilled into the very core of their being. Wight Guards are ‘Awoken’ and are fully cognizant of their positions and carry out their orders with every indicator of professionalism that a royal knight guard has. They carry banners of Morsland and sound trumpets heralding the return of important nobles and kings of the city-state. They hold half-mail armors and carry neat and polished longswords into battle.

### Artillery Forces

#### Death’s Door

+4 Corpse Mounts, Non-Standard Equipment, Painfully Long Reload Time.

The aptly named ‘Death’s Door’ is a cannon piece used to fire munitions of cannonballs treated with special alchemical ‘Bone Marrow Ashed’ munitions that are specially treated to amplify the Death-Magic enchanted onto them. It is a big ordinance piece created in times of upheaval during Morsland’s past.

The Death Magic that has to be used in a ritual on every cannonball munition, is so effective, so deadly within its radius, that things that survive the impact from the cannonball are assuredly dead from the detonation of the death magic. The Death Magic spell, an Imbuement attack spell, is so efficient that it ‘kills’ elements, objects and more. The effect is so strong that it confers the effect of death upon everything in the magical radius. What this means is that the area is contaminated with the lingering effects of death that those entering an area are killed on the spot from the effect. This effect lasts depending on the quality of the ritual and the resistance of the terrain to a death spell of this caliber. Such is the ear-deafening effect of the cannonball itself that those that are unlucky enough to be outside of the instant-kill blast radius have their world ringing and spinning as they become slowed from the amazing impact. The Skeletal Crews responsible for movement and reloading are usually behind many rows of undead and are armed with only small self-defense weapons like daggers or hatchets. The ordinance itself has to be moved by 4 Corpse Mounts, or by the crew themselves who hoist both the munitions and the weapon into its firing arc.

### Dedicated Spellcasters

#### Lich

Magic Caster, Amazing Morale, Up to Tier 3 spells. Armed with short handed weapons.

Liches are persons who obtain immortality through undeath. They were Necromancers or clerics in life who through research or as a reward for their deeds, have become potent magical undead. In Morsland, they are administrators and directors and every redirection of their skills to military usage is a substantial cost to the operations back at home.

Their role on the battlefield is a long list. They direct lesser hordes to battle as well as support vampires with enchantments and healing. The Liches of Morsland have dominated the role of magical artillery as they dispel and reap the bodies and souls of mortals. Liches have a long memory and a long list of tricks, spells, and rituals, fit for a multitude of situations. For the dynamic battlefield that changes by the hour, Liches are the impervious Jack of All Trades that can meet any challenge.

They keep their phylacteries in a hidden room unbound by time (By a unique spell that’s recasted at set intervals.) and guarded with legions of Crypt Wraiths and skeletal servants.

### Special Units

#### Wight King

Duelists, Armed with Longswords, Immune to Fire. Upgrades with Flameblade,

Wight Kings are leaders of the Wight Guards and can lead other undead units into battle. While ‘King’ is a bit of an exaggeration of their noble titles, their martial prowess is at the top of the scale in power and speed. Wight Kings are lightning bruisers in close combat where they can outcompete dozens of duelists. Their armors are equipped with arcane enchantments that allow the use of fiery magical energy. This magical energy is converted into an enchantment with their weapons or a flaming ball of death that they hurl towards foes. They are incredibly powerful and considered just under, or on par, with vampires. Bloated with baleful energies, this empowered skeletal creature turns the tide into an unstoppable wave with each sword stroke and inferno. Wight Kings are adorned with enchanted flags of Morsland that act as their personal banners and as artifacts that instill fear and an oppressive aura that chokes up lesser willed opponents.

#### Unholy Corpse Carriage

Causes Terror

Undead Chariots are the personal vehicles of high ranking nobility and personnel in Morsland that are requisitioned by the Generals to perform devastatingly brutal cavalry maneuvers. They are ornate carriages fitted with fortifying enchantments. Such is the strength of the wood and metal grating that a fall from a cliffside will most likely leave the frame and its resilient occupants on the inside intact. They are pulled by two undead steeds who trample over enemies at breakneck speeds while the spiked wheels eviscerate flesh and bone.

The carriage is maintained by a skeletal crew of two who direct the horses.

#### Undead Beasts

Unit Size: Variable, Unbreakable Morale, Causes Terror

The beasts of Morsland are all pets of their former masters in life. They all vary in appearance, skill and power as they range from undead dire wolves, Skeletal Dragons to rotting sea Leviathans. They are no less deadly now than they were in life.

#### Dhampyr Swordsmen

High Morale, Duelists, Armed with Rapiers, Parrying Daggers, Cloaks

Dhampyrs are the spawn of a vampire and a mortal and as such they receive some strengths and weaknesses of both. They are cursed with mortality, as the Blood Gift is not strong enough to be passed through birth except in extremely rare and anomalous cases. The sun irritates their skin as they are more likely to develop photosensitivity and other related diseases, such as skin cancer and rashes. Their red eyes readily betray their lineage and their physiques are usually lithe and frail. They are not immune to physical destruction and are more resistant to Undeath than other mortals.

All of this is still not enough to offset the strengths they gain. Dhampyrs are susceptible to be constitutionally frail yet their physiques hide an inner strength beyond that of normal mortal men.  Dhampyrs are adept at detecting, hunting and killing vampires and hunting human prey like one. They stand at the precipice between life and death with sharpened teeth and nails, and increased potential to their strength, speed, and stamina. They are all driven and stubborn with a strange sense of charisma and ‘otherness’ to them. While not as hardy as a true Vampire, Dhampyrs possesses an accelerated healing ability that allows them to heal mild to moderate injuries with greater speed and efficiency than normal mortals. However they can not regenerate missing limbs and organs barring magical assistance. Silver, Fire, certain purified waters and garlic have no special effect on a Dhampyr and recover from any injury as normally as a regular mortal.

The Dhampyrs of Morsland do not have to contend with Vampires as enemies but rather as familial members. Most Dhampyr Swordsmen are broken into familial groups of up to five individuals and usually have experiences as mercenaries for their expertise. They prefer to wear light gambesons that allow them to utilize their increased mobility to the fullest and use finesse techniques such as fencing, arming swords, and other ‘technique-based’ weapons. The more veteran of them are just under the Vampires abilities. While the Dhampyrs are considered equal in the eyes of their parents, the parties that form eventually base a hierarchy on Clan lineage and experience.

Humorously, for a time, Dhampyrs asked their vampire parents to cause trouble in local villages before allowing themselves to walk in and ‘defeat’ the vampire and collect allowance paychecks.

Affectionately calling them ‘Dhampires’ will see them running the offender through with a sword.

#### Vampire

High Morale, Causes Terror, Duelist, Armed with Anything, Upgrades with Corpse Mount

Vampires of Morsland are the undisputed winners in the game of Undeath. Due to the blessings of their Blood Gift, Vampires retain all of their intelligence, ambitions, desires with slowly growing power with each bite of the neck they take, each grimoire they scour over, and each finely tuned, diabolical plan they enact to completion. They are Nobles who do not have to feel the full weight of their consequences as they spend eternity perfecting or obtaining anything that they desired in life or in death. They are selfish creatures with many of their traits of their lives amplified.

While some Vampires exist only to fall prey to their own instinctual desires to feed upon the living, the Morsland Vampires exist to acquire more and more temporal power and ultimately, the freedom to exist without fear of death or strife. The Blood Bonds between family members become rallying cries for the Vampire Clans who defend their home with a righteous fury unknown to those with limited lifespans. s. On the battlefield, the primal blood instinct to feed overcomes them and foe upon foe are forcibly exsanguinated. To call them mindless is to be a fatal error as they are capable of performing intricate plans to get what they sole desire. Victory on the battlefield is assured with the Elder of their kind who have seen situation after situation play out before them time and time again. The well-off Vampires ride into battle with Corpse Mounts.

### Leaders

#### King Lich

High Morale, Death Magic Caster, Armed with Magic Staff Or Enchanted Sword, Can cast up to Tier 4/Tier 6,

King Liches are terrifying forces of power hidden away for millenia, scouring over magical knowledge and perfecting arcane magics. These are one of the leaders of Morsland’s upper echelon and are elected among the Liches for experience and capability to best represent their interests. While the King of Morsland position is most a ceremonial position, and thus any Lich can get into the position, ‘King Liches’ refer to the Liches who have acquired significant power to rival Extra-planar powers. When they take to the field, they are the surest form of magical might Morsland can offer and the tolling deathbell to the Living’s resistance. Using grimoires that are forbidden from any other sane country and experience of casting over the millennia, they can cast magic from beyond the capabilities of any mortal.

#### Vampire Lord

High Morale, Duelists

Vampire Lords are vampires that are just under ‘named’ and limited Vampires that have special abilities. They have considerable experience in either Swordsmanship, Magic, Archery, or possibly all three. While Vampires in Morsland can theoretically sustain themselves indefinitely within the holds of the crypts, they usually attrition themselves on Vampire Hunters, inter clan rivalries, and poor aspects during wartime. This is, of course, after having body counts as high as small countries over the course of their second lives. They are each highly variable and each have specialized into fighting styles that have been long forgotten.

#### Banshee High Priestesses

Unbreakable Morale

Banshee High Priestesses are religious leaders of the Banshee Covens. The  High Priestesses have suffered innumerable tortures and countless reminders of the lives they’ll never lead and have chosen to go down the dark road of imposing Undeath upon their entire world. If they cannot have what they want in life, they’ll drag everyone to their level and take it for themselves. As veterans of countless battles, they are overall stronger than their sisters as they also receive the best enchanted equipment from the Liches.

#### Awoken Revenant

High Morale

These revenants are empowered Zombies in special Lich King Rituals where a sizable majority of the Lich court comes together to bring back an individual from the dead with their memories, skills, and flesh intact. Awoken Revenants have been blessed with a special spell of Undeath that persists until the binding memories or ‘destiny’ that is affixed to their soul is completed at which point they die. On the battlefield, these Undead heroes face all manners of destruction and persist with grim resolve. They can pass for humans aside from pale skin, and a deathly, emotionless gaze.

## Members

All members of Morsland’s military are, to some degree, undead. Otherwise, members vary too much to be pinned to any single trait.

## Further Information

* Binturia
* Ghost
* Lich
* Morsland
* Soul
* Vampire
* Zombie