Marza Military

Example

## Common Knowledge

Combatants in the many wars fought across Orelisle’s eastern hemisphere may be familiar with Marza’s powerful military. Denizens of Marza (or mercenaries from Cliffhaven) may have even served in that military, and denizens of Kha or Daris may have fought against them.

## Further Description

The Kingdom of Marza keeps a professional army for her defense due to various pressing external factors. Chief among those are the rivalry she has among Kha and Daris that threatens her Sovereignty and her economic prosperity. During the brief periods of peace, Marza contends with monsters released from the Lesion wastes, the abhorrent Mind Demons, and other forgotten terrors from below the Earth that are all national security threats. There is always a need for bodies in the Marzan army and her armies accept both male and female applicants. The Marzan army is divided among sex, with females holding positions of power, elite status and leadership while males hold grunt level foot soldier positions. For many Merchant Houses, they buy mercenaries to join in the army in place of contacts or any employees and a long tradition and prestige of reliable pay and good benefits have seen the country of Marza to employ cheap and reliable mercenaries. With the army augmented by a strong core of fighting men and elite female warriors, the Marzan Army marches onwards to keep the sovereignty of their nation intact.

## Structure

### Core Forces

#### Marzan Militia

+ Marzan Officer, Cheap, Low to High Morale depending on distance from Marza City Capital, Lays traps, Armed with hatchets and shields. Upgrades with Crossbows

Marza’s militia are citizen soldiers called from the countryside to defend their homeland. Most country folk recruited are trained trappers who hunt for fur and meats, and are precise with a crossbow and a skinners knife.

They lay cunning traps hidden in foliage or other camouflage before peppering a trapped prey in bolts or engaging in melee. These militia units usually attack far from the main center of the enemy’s avenue of attack and disperse as soon as cavalry units or significant response is thrown to deal with them. They keep low until the passing patrols stumble into their traps before laying down a barrage of bolts and either sweeping the area to hack at survivors or to restart the entire process anew by trading ground for time. These long, low intensity confrontations continue even past when the Marzan army has achieved victory or routed which forces the enemy to either utilize complete scorched earth tactics on Marzan ground, destroying their own supply lines on the process and galvanizing the Marzans, or to retreat. They are led by a Female Officer Corps.

On core Marzan ground, they fight with a ferocity unseen in mere militia units and utilize the geography, the monsters of the land and pre-made defenses to enact a war of deception and traps that makes a small band of warriors seem like an army of deadly shadows.

#### Elite Marchers

+ Marzital Arts Master,  High Morale, CQC specialists

The Marchers are recruited during the March month where the monk monasteries of Marza train orphans, abandoned children and disowned noble children into Goddess fearing monks and scholars for the state. They learn the techniques of Marzan Martial Arts or ‘Marzital Arts’. Marzital Arts are techniques that involve the use of hands, elbows, legs, and throws to deal with heavily armored foes and single handed weapons such as arming swords, knives, chisels, claws and weaponized fans. There is an emphasis on counter-attacks, locking of chi energy of the opponent and economy of force in movement. ‘Black belts’ of Marzital Arts such as the Marchers can use Chi energy to perform sure-kill moves and terrifying accounts of such individuals parrying a sword with their bare hands and then touching the chest of an enemy to stop their heart are unsettlingly common. It is a rumor that the sun cults of the Unconquered Sun are what the Marzital Arts mentors and masters are, but this is a myth.

They follow the Queens orders to a letter and act as the armies frontline infantry specialists where they close in and break the enemy formation by spacing, dropkicks that force an enemy prone or by superior blade skills. They are mostly women in their ranks and they are highly disciplined and regimented.

#### Cliffhaven Dwarven Mercenaries (Urist’s Own)

+ Major, Medium-High Morale, Dwarven Equipment, Strong, Tunnelers

Currently, since the destruction of Cliffhaven, Marza has granted dual-citizenship to the Dwarves in service to their nation and offered them the ability to form their own city under the jurisdiction of the Marzan Crown but with increased autonomy. This all but guarantees that what remains of the Chapters of Urist’s Own will be in Marzan hands.” (Delcho took a few Chapters as well during that whole Plot thing. I’m not trying to retcon that.)

Deep in the Southern Mountains Homes in the recesses of Cliffhaven lies the poor Cliffhaven kingdom of the Dwarves. Isolationists by nature, they spend most of their efforts on crafting art out of their habitats. Over time these soft-natured individuals become seasoned tradesman in the art of transforming nature’s bounty on the shore and what few poor quality gems they can mine into flawless displays of landscapes, sculptures and media that tells of the emotional or spiritual travels of the artist. Such is the prize of these unique insights into the minds of their peers that noninterference is a core expression of their identity. However with growing militarization by the Council of Health and Safety, the livelihoods of the Dwarves are at risk. With increasing quotas, less leisure time and the ever present eye of ‘The Watch’, some dwarves take up arms as sellswords and military businessmen. The freedom of mercenary work is a cherished act of self-determinism but this path so often conflicts with their foes. To keep their livelihoods intact, the Cliffhaven Mercenaries fight with gusto and enthusiasm to please their stickler masters.

The Mercenaries mostly fight under the seashell banner of ‘Urist’s Own’, a somewhat sanctified band of Cliffhaven’s military forces who fight the many conflicts in South-Eastern Orelisle and for the highest bidder. ‘Urist’s Own’ enjoys privileges that other non-state actors enjoy such as the ability to surrender and enjoy reasonable treatment. Usually they are conscripted to fight alongside their captors, their original employers and then amongst the survivors of their band all in the same week, and in extraordinary yet not uncommon cases, in the same battle. They will not receive payment for this however and many choose death before giving up their hard-fought remittance. The Council of Health and Safety publicly discourages sellsword work, with a fear of spilling the conflict further and further South.

Often the army of 10-100k strong warriors find themselves split up into 1000 Dwarf strong chapters which go on to be hired out individually depending on their skill sets and experience. The more experienced and versatile, the exponential their cost is. It is with regret that Dwarven greed has seen some cases of chapter fighting against chapter in the war, and the sense of unity that once bonded the Dwarves of Urist’s Own has eroded into petty squabbling and rapacity for their next payment of coin.

A chapter of Dwarves is led by a Major who sometimes heeds the call of battle in particularly notable engagements or at the request of their employers who require an extra guiding hand in managing the extra bodies around the battlefield. Dwarven Majors shoulder the burden of managing the supply lines for their chapters and accepting responsibility for the actions of the men under their command. They must directly accept any request made from Cliffhaven over their temporary masters at pain of death and must find enough bodies to fill the ranks to an acceptable degree to continue the desperately needed installments that are never paid in advance for most employers. Debts are common among the ranks and officers and most of the after battle looting and pillaging is made by the men-at-arms of the ‘Urist’s Own.’

The fighting prowess of the Mercenary bands are not underestimated by either side as they are often the last ditch efforts in an attack to overrun a position or the stalwart and haggard defenders of the hope of an exhausted and routing army. Their only falling grace is that their dedication hinges upon a fragile allegiance to a hypothetical payment. It is often said by both armies that the only fighting equal to an elf is a squad of dwarves and their short, strong statuesque figures are nothing to scoff at, in secrecy or overtly. Whereas elves fight elegantly and with a grace and precision likened to a surgeon cutting out a tumor, the dwarves prefer the blunt force trauma of their weapons. It is commonly seen that normal warriors would fall to just a single, devastating strike from a dwarf half their size but quadruple their martial prowess.

The equipment of the mercenary bands vary wildly but due to standardization mandates of the army for ease of supply lines, all materials are at least Dwarven in nature and often a separate supply chain is made for these mercenaries. It is harassed by the opposing armies with risk, for the very same supplies they are destroying might be for the ever decreasing would-be allies of tomorrow.

Not all mercenaries participate in the frontlines and more often than not, the hired help are directed to carry supplies traded from Cliffhaven to the battlefields of South-East Orelisle and beyond. Few choose to take up the blacksmithing trade and craft weapons of war and feed the churn of battle that scrapes material faster than men in some cases. Rarer still are those few individuals who’ve impressed their employers and are recruited for their ingenuity and set out to enact their masterful plans or develop some doomsday weapon of destruction that will turn the tide favorable for the richest bidder.

With the ending of a conflict near, the richest among these men will wish to return home and continue to live quiet lives, content that they secured a future for themselves and their families. They would wish to leave behind a life that revolves around slaughters.

For Dwarves under Marzan employment, entire chapters are inducted into the Marzan army to fill out the ranks as Marza has an economic history with Cliffhaven and a tradition of mercenary work/payment and prestige. Marza is a country that enjoys a greater usage of mercenaries in their armies to fill out manpower gaps and offers steady mercenary work in their economic land routes.

The Marzan government achieves this assurance with the Cliffhaven Dwarves by being economically invested into their country and utilizing efficient administrative tactics. The Marzan government pays in advance which many mercenaries see as an inherent benefit, but also the Marzans also include foreign born mercenaries to their list of government military personnel and includes all the rights, privileges and honors associated with that. Dwarves can march in parade formation in the capital and enjoy veteran feasts as well as any other Marzan military personnel. The Dwarves also enjoy steady pensions or the opportunities for guaranteed work in Merchant Houses as guards for unwavering service to the state during times of war which can be revoked if the Dwarves in question switch sides to Marza’s enemies. The Urist’s Own Dwarves see Marza as a second home and the Cliffhaven government find it hard-pressed to recall their civilians from this foreign government when the economic benefits and ease from their resource stressed nation is lifted from their service.

### Artillery Forces

#### Trebuchets

Unit Size 2/2, Crew Size 8/8, Medium Morale, Armed with Swords. Upgrades with Pack Mules

Trebuchets are rock lobbers designed and engineered to bring down enemy walls and to harass a faraway foe with intimidating artillery fire. Crewed by the best engineers and mathematicians Marza can recruit, these individuals can accurately account for wind resistance and other effects in their shot to have even decent accuracy in a raging hurricane or other anomalous events. The trebuchet crewmen are occasionally given pack mules that carry the rock ammunition and quickly transport the siege weapon across the battlefield. They are given swords and gambesons for light defense.

### Dedicated Spellcasters

#### Court Magician

High Morale, Universal/Celestial Specialists, Armed with Swords/Staffs. Upgrades with Artifacts

The Court Magicians of Marza are academically trained wizards who master the spells of Celestial magicks. They are talented arcanists who can perform or seek out rituals of varied nature to help their lieges in matters of magical nature. In war, they are sent to the front to act as advisors for the commanders or to act as a magical force multiplier within a group of elite units. While squishy and adorned only in magical robes, their pools of mana and vast, versatile lists of spells, makes them a challenging opponent to overcome.

#### Mountain Witches

Medium Morale, Universal/Hex Specialists, Magic Item Users

Mountain Witches are covens of mercenary bandit casters who offer their ill-services to village alderman and Queen alike. They hex, curse, or poison a wide variety of targets in search of profit and for their own power. The Mountain Witches take in the most magically capable bandits or free-thinking arcanists and let them seek out their own power from nature’s bountiful magic. On the battlefield they are the bane of the enemy as they find themselves slowed, harassed and bombarded with hexes and bolts of magic. The Mountain Witches are adorned in light, maneuverable robes and even those who cannot traditionally cast magic, have at least a staff that allows them to channel bolts of arcane energy into deadly blasts of elemental destruction. They all wear witch hats which denote their loyalty to their Coven and are often adorned with raven feathers or other birds that signify their Coven. The most numerous of them are the Murder Coven whose symbol is the Raven. Yes, a group of their Coven’s Witches are called a murder.

Examples of Covens operating in Marza:

Ravens. Group called a Murder.

Chickadees. Group called ‘Banditry’.

Jays. Group called a Party.

And so on.

### Special Units

#### Marzan Tasers

+ Electricians, High Morale, Staggering Blows, Lays traps, Armor-Piercing Attacks

Marzan Tasers are a truly terrifying and shocking presence on the battlefield. An all female force, these individuals are armed with the Marzan engineered ‘Coaxer 10k’; a greatsword-length electrical device that administers a horrifyingly strong electric shock via runes that produce non-lethal to explosively lethal static electrical charges. The blueprints for this technology are believed to have been imported/stolen from a military facility or runic hydroelectric plant in Lesion that predicted the weather. The device itself is sharpened and serrated in edges that acts as well as any greatsword but once the charges are expended, the device must recharge before extra use or else there is a chance of explosion.

Marzan Tasers are used to break through a formation equipped with metal and those armed with the Coaxer have been known to expend their charges into one blast that ‘jumps’ an arc of electricity between heavily armored knights and can arc into a shield and through the wielder’s arm . They wear leather and other insulating materials woven into a gambeson and are led by magical or runic lightning experts known as ‘Electricians’ who specialize in lightning attacks and traps.

#### Marzan Mistresses

High Morale, Projectile User, Prevents Routing. Upgrades with Horses

Marzan Mistresses imbibe the enemy’s fear on the battlefield for they are the crown jewel of the military of Marza. Their roles as consorts and royal favorites to the King and Queen have mostly fallen to the backburner as their relatively newer and more important positions as Royal Guards give them a more important political role and significant military duty than in previous iterations of the Monarchy. These all female soldiers are recruited senior members of the royal courts of Marza from either the intrigues and personnel of the Queen and the Princess to the guards of Duchesses and experts of the courts of other high ranking nobles. These Royal Guards are influential in upholding the Queen’s authority as well as being the centerpiece of morale and leadership within a Marzan army. The Mistresses are all heavy infantry and wear suits of half-plate so that they can still retain the mobility needed for their throwing chakrams and qiangs. On horseback they are an intimidating hit and run cavalry skirmishing force and a decent shock cavalry unit that can thrust through any enemy line and come behind them with one trampling stampede to the next. In response to their accuracy on horseback with their ornate chakrams, it is said that even from 100m ‘They can slice and dice even rice real nice.’ With every throw of their chakrams, the image of their queen’s face is the last thing the enemy will see before their vision turns to the sky amidst a fountain of blood and the cacophony of a Marzan assault.

### Leaders

#### General Rue Ristamina Rushima

Amazing Morale, Duelist, Terror-Causing. Upgrades with Horse

The Right Hand Woman of the Queen, General Rue Ristamina Rushima is a woman of determination, fierce swordplay and unshakable justice. She is a brunette woman with short hair, and stunning hazel eyes and many men and women consider her a natural beauty. She is usually seen wearing a light gambeson with the purple cloak with the symbol of Marza and the royal family crest that the Queen gave her that indicates her as an uplifted noble and black fingerless gloves that are adorned in repentance prayers that hint towards a troubled past. She wears a commissariat-like hat with two out of the three stars that any higher ranking officer in Marza can earn. She would be a General. (From Lt. General —> General —> Field Marshal) General Rushima is armed with the special ‘Mitsuko Weapon’ or ‘The Child of Light’ Whip that punishes foes into utter submission or physical incapability. It is an artifact recovered from the ruins of Lesion that allows the user to strike through armor and directly into the opponent's body, inflicting tremendous amounts of pain and a flat rate amount of damage in the process. Even opponents many times her size and power have been reduced to drooling broken husks underneath her piercing gaze and fast whip attacks. Giants, Dragons and other unassisted, single targets will eventually become immobilized and killed underneath debilitating pain and the unstoppable attacks of the Whip that seems to attack with light and the forces of magic itself. General Rushima obtained her position through both unwavering loyalty to the crown and deadly purpose on the battlefield and any foe that underestimates her will soon see their encounter with her will be their last on Temporis.

#### The Goddess Musette

Progenitor, Unshakable Morale,

The Goddess Musette only assists the Three Kingdoms in times of extraordinary strife. More is recounted upon this on Her document.

## Further Information

* Cliffhaven
* Dwarves
* Incarnation
* Marza
* Musette