Militaries of the Tyr basin, part the first

Setting
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#1

So, what are the rough military strengths and compositions of the Tyr region? Let’s start with Dregoth in New Guistenal:

He has roughly 4,000 Dray that function as a militia. These are stronger than core race equivalents, say +1 in 3e terms, well trained and equipped with good morale. They hover around level 5 or 6. Morale is high. Perhaps 5/600 of these can be considered professional soldiers at level 8.

There are also around 100 Kalin Riders, elite light cavalry with levels in Templar, levels 10 to 12. Supported by defilers and psionicists of similar level.

There are around 350 other Templars around level 8.

There are around about 80 to 100 Dray agents and infiltrators scattered around the region with levels of rogue and bard between levels 8 and 12. They may have gained some cultists (who weren’t sacrificed Raamites).

Let’s posit some constructs, say 300 or so golems. Sand and granite. Bone and flesh golems can be included with the undead. More on these later.

Speaking of which there are 300 first generation Dray zombies and skeletons with perhaps twice that second generation Dray, a good portion of which could be living zombies. Another 300 mul zombies are added to this mix. There’s a clan of rlven zombies, the Fire Bow of the Silt Stalkers tribe, maybe 800 to a 1,000. To add to this zombie horde (together with anyone else that can be sacrificed in the interim) there should be some officers, higher tiered undead wraiths, ghosts or ghouls. An obvious move is to supplement these with undead from nearby Bodach, adding salt zombies, controlled bugdead and mummified undead. Hard to pin the numbers for this, but lets say 1,500 all in.

Of those constructs earlier, Dregoth had started to extract the souls of his loyal minions from the Caller in the Darkness into obsidian orbs. Though in CbtSS he had only extracted one and had only a handful orbs ready to go, it’s not unfeasible that he’s extracted the majority of the rest (incidentally weakening the Calller), these 300 warriors could pilot the constructs whilst he had access to a great many more ordinary subjects trapped in the Caller.

Which leaves the fiendish legion. Let’s say a 1,000 lemures with similar numbers of abishai (fitting his racist profile) spilt between colours. Perhaps 100 imps, 600 spined devils, 400 bearded devils, 300 barbed devils, 200 chain devils and 200 bone devils. Led by a score of ice devils. Pretty much invented these figures but they seem to be about what he could raise given access to the planes with uis mirror and time.

These all together should make Dregoth a serious threat to the region, even if its armies combined against him. Not counting Dregoth and his senior officers themselves…

Thoughts? Let’s hash this out then see what some of the other militaries could bring to bear.

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#2

Here’s a quick run through of what I found in Dune Traders

  • Stel 3000 warriors 3rd level or above, HQ weapons, well trained in tactics. Armored kank or crodlu riders, light armor scouts, elite raiders trained in stealth and secrecy, grim and efficient mul mercs, dwarf warriors, elven archers, and every other imaginable troop type
  • Vordon officially 2000 troops. 1000 more through dummy houses
  • Shom 2000, mostly idle, gambling, drinking. Light halfling scouts, armored giants, thri-kreen
  • Tsalaxa 1500 warriors.
  • M’ke 600, mostly cavalry and armored infantry
  • Renythi League 300 - 600 troops
  • Inika 500, 5th level or higher, skilled in many different weapons and tactics, scouts, cavalry, infantry, or elite raiding forces
  • Lamnos 500 warriors
  • Dedys 500 troops
  • Ardian 300 HQ troops
  • Fyra 300 troops, free slaves and gladiators, substantial skills
  • Ianto 200 troops
  • Klethira 150 warriors
  • Sysra 50 warriors and slaves

Wavir didn’t have numbers, neither did the Elven trade houses.

Slave Tribes

  • The Free 500, not sure how many are warriors
  • Black Sand Raiders 100
  • Sortar’s Army 70

The other slave tribes have less or no fighters.

I checked Elves of Athas and Thri-Kreen as well, nearly no numbers there either, unless I didn’t read carefully enough (possible, I skimmed). Same for City State of Tyr.

According to Road to Urik, the Urikite army is 10k

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#3

The first Wanderer’s Journal does have some information.

Balic has 10,000 highly disciplined foot soldiers equipped with 12 foot lances, large wooden shields and bone daggers. Every citizen, male or female, slave or free, is a member of the militia and spend 1 month out of 10 patrolling alongside the army.

Draj has no numbers given, but is said to be constantly at war for slaves, and are equipped with obsidian edged swords and barbed spears attached to long ropes.

Gulg has no numbers either. Their warriors are half hunters and half fighters, using stealth to ambush with bows and arrows or poisoned darts.

Nibenay has a core of 1000 half-giants armed with agafari lances and clubs.

Raam is said to survive because of the sheer numbers of the army it can field and they can arm every citizen of Raam with wooden shields, flint tipped throwing spears and obsidian spiked flails.

Tyr has a Royal Guard containing 2000 mercenaries and 500 half-giants, as well as Templars all armed with steel swords. There is a references to it never having an army larger than 10,000 troops, but its elite units are composed of highly trained men, each equipped with a steel sword and iron tipped javelin, and that they have often destroyed an army five times it size equipped with lesser weapons.

Urik has an army of 10,000 slave soldiers led by 1,000 half-giants armed with lances, all extremely loyal to Hamanu as he trains with them every day. He also has the services of 200 halfling warriors used to disrupt the enemies rear areas.

These are fairly rough numbers though, as they don’t include all the other troops that the armies of the cities are said to have - war chariots, kank and crodlu cavalry, templars, psionicists, and defilers, undead troops and war beasts like mekillots, inixes and undead war beetles.

Any army that has a large number of half-giants is going to be very effective - a thousand half-giants are worth far more than a thousand of any other race in combat.

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#4

Dragon Kings has additional information about Athasian military units.

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#5

All sounding good. Let’s look at Urik next, which has the largest of the standing armies of the regular SKs. With good morale, It’s the best trained and most experienced of the armies and roughly comprises:

10,000 medium infantry slave spearman. Levels 6 - 8 fighters.

1.000 veteran heavy infantry half giants. Levels 8 - 12 fighters.

300 experienced halfling skirmishers. Level 6-8 rangers.

A Brute Squad. 500 barbarians of levels 4-6, with heavy weapons and little armour.

1,200 or so Templar Knights. Medium infantry of mixed levels 4-12. Supported by a score of Royal Defilers.

A company of 50 High Driks, with their Drik charges (3 to 4 per High Drik). A couple of squadrons of Mekillots accompany these.

A militia of 64,000 freemen (including client and tributary villages), the entire free population, levels 4 -5 can supplement this. Mostly light infantry, a third armed with slings with obsidian shot. Most have accompanied armies in the past. This includes a few squadrons of noble charioteers, with additional levels in aristocrat, and two or three hundred psionicists and psychic warriors. A mixed cavalry of kanks and crodlu rounds out the militia. 10 to 20% of this could be mobilised, more at great need.

This could be supplemented by around 3,000 gladiators at need from the slave classes, acting as skirmishers.

I don’t see Hamanu making much use of the undead but much use of golems. These would be perhaps 600 stone, 200 bone, 400 sand and 400 obsidian. Though rarely employed and not counting the Obsidian Man.

Shom could augment these

Incidentally, I see Hamanu, Andropinus and Nibenay as being in at least a loose alliance (even if only a NAP) as they have compliments personalities and no real conflicts of interest. They also have the three largest armies between them but with different strengths and focuses.

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#6

Went through Dragon Kings and Ivory Triangle for some additional information.

Dragon Kings has a list for a SK force comprising;
1 x 15th level Templar
1 x 10th level Templar per 3 units
1 x 10th level Templar per undead unit
1 x 5th level Templar per slave unit
1 x 15th level Defiler per 8 units
1 x 5th level Defiler per 5 units
Up to 6 Heavy Chariots
Up to 8 Light Chariots
Up to 80 Heavy (Kank or Crodlu) cavalry
Up to 80 Medium (Kank or Crodlu) cavalry
Up to 80 Light (Kank or Crodlu) cavalry
Up to 100 Templar Heavy Infantry
Up to 120 Human Slave Infantry (Irregular)
Up to 60 Dwarf Slave Infantry (Irregular)
Up to 120 Skeleton Infantry (Irregular)
Up to 80 Skeleton Archers (Irregular)
Up to 120 Zombie Infantry (Irregular)
Up to 2 War Mekillots
Up to 4 War Inix
Up to 2 Undead War Beetles

Its a fairly generic force, not counting for any special modifiers or units that each city-state might have.

The Ivory Triangle box set provides some more information on Gulg and Nibenay.

Gulg is said to have a army of 1500 spearmen, 1500 short bowmen who use poison arrows and 1000 specialist troops, which includes crodlu cavalry, hunter nobles and light charioteers. Gulg troops gain a +1 morale for infantry and use all the units listed in Dragon Kings but Heavy Chariots and Heavy Cavalry. They also only use Crodlu cavalry, using kanks for baggage. Hunter Nobles are listed as 10th level rangers.

Nibenay has a core of 1000 half-giant infantry and has a reputation for frequent use of undead war machines like rezhatta beetles and watroaches. They are backed up by around 5000 people employed in the army, which includes the city watch and templars. Nibenay uses all listed Dragon Kings units and has teams of trained telepaths for scouting and reconnaissance.

Nibenay prefers fighting out in the open on the salt flats, where its brutal half-giant infantry and war machines have no obstacles. If they met Gulg in battle in the open they’d crush them given their numerical and half-giant advantage but Gulg prefers using their stealth and hunting advantage to skirmish in the forest.

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#7

Nibenay vs Gulg is a kind of Vietnam War scenario. I don’t think I need to define which city is supposed to be which supposed to be the counterpart of the real world countries.

I suppose that there would be the occasional outrage by Nibenay of defiling the forest to remove cover for Gulg militants (like agent orange). It’s probably used sparingly.

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