The Ilsamiren Wars

[Ilsamir Lord]

Helm design sounds fine to me. As I say, any Mechathenain unit which wears a helm should have that shape I feel (though not necessarily the exact same helm of course.

Just to re-iterate:

The Factions and units (so far) are:

The Ilsamiri (Late Medieval European-ish design)
Peasants –
Armed with appropriated farming tools, these men are not brave, but they are stronger than other citizens, simply because they have had to hunt and farm to feed themselves.

Conscripts –
These men are forced into the military by random selection. They are usually young and inexperienced, and so are last resorts of desperate commanders. Because they are pressed into service, these soldiers are unreliable and have undergone minimal training.

Swordsmen –
These are sword armed professional soldiers. They are lightly armoured to facilitate rapid movement, but make up for their lack of armour with unmatched skill in defending themselves with their swords.

Spearmen –
These men carry spears and shields and can present an impenetrable wall of shields to a foe. They are not especially brave, but when placed in a tight formation with their flanks protected they are unlikely to waver.

Pikemen –
The natural progression of the spear is the pike, a massive pole-arm designed to hold the enemy at bay. Pikemen are very hardy, but when placed in their customary tight formation they are very vulnerable to flanking assaults.

Archers - with longbows
These archers are some of the finest in the world. They spend a lifetime training themselves to fire their powerful longbows, and are as a consequence extremely strong in a melee. These archers are armoured lightly and carry single-handed, straight fighting swords.

Darineth Guardsmen
These are the finest men in the Ilsamiren army, armed with swords and shields, they wear the finest armour and undergo the most rigorous training, with the result that they are as fast as many light troops, but are infinitely hardier. They are chosen from among the guards of the fortress-city of Darineth, the capital of the Ilsamir lands. They fight in a relatively loose formation to facilitate the swinging of their longswords.

Warriors of Malice (?)
These men are shunned by the rest of Ilsamir society, but they are still respected as fine warriors. They are armed with two-handed swords and wear heavy armour. They have turned from the path of the Weaver, but not from loyalty to the Ilsamiri. These men wear little armour and dress in deep red.

Warrior Priests (?)
These priests are followers of the Weaver and uphold his teachings. Though they are trained to be passive, when they are defending their people their wrath is terrible to behold. They wear white edged dark blue robes and simple helmets.

Morchanin Scouts –
These are the finest warriors in the world. Armed with sabres and blowguns they are capable of taking enemies totally unawares and are particularly skilled in the killing of enemy captains and generals. They fight expertly at night, and hide easily in grass and forest.

The Mechathenain (Middle Eastern-ish design)
Lord's Men
These are an elite corp of guards, reserved for the defense of lords of the Mechathenain. They are armed with long handled curved swords and wear finely crafted armour, crowned with an elaborate form of the characteristic flat helm of the Mechathenain.

Spearmen

Swordsmen

Peasants

Mariners

Falxmen (I'll name these differently later)

Hunters

Mounted Hunters (available only in certain provinces)

More to come... full descriptions will follow.

The Seaborne (not sure, kinda piratey)
Slaves
These men are forced to fight, mainly out of fear for their masters, but also for the chance of winning their freedom. They are armoured very lightly, as can be seen (in the unit picture - they have no shirts.). They are not at all courageous when flanked, but when used in a direct charge they are all but fearless. They are armed with knives which they use for gutting their catches, the only food they get.

Crewmen
These are basic the crewmen of Seaborne ships. These men are more accustomed to working on the seas than fighting on land, but they are serviceable. Armed with a small buckler and cutlass, they are very vulnerable to ranged enemies but can put up a fight against other light infantry.

Boarders (expert shock troops)
Boarders are trained specifically for melee combat and are armed with cutlasses and small shields. They are perfect for making sudden attacks on lighter enemies, but when charged by cavalry they are all but helpless.

Spearmen
Armed simply for affordability, these spearmen are trained to repel enemies that might board their ships. Their spears are in fact adapted boat-hooks which are equally effective on land as from onboard a ship. These spearmen are trained rudementarily for land combat and so are best used in large numbers.

Swordsmen
These men carry lengthened cutlasses, designed to deal long, but not deep wounds. They carry round shields and wear helmets and light hauberks. These are soldiers best used against lightly armoured foes.

Crossbowmen
The crossbow is a frighteningly intuitive weapon to master, but the long time it takes to reload them can mean death for unwary archers. These weapons are powerful, able to pierce most heavy armour and are particularly effective when fired in volleys. The Seaborne are one of the only civilisations to to use the crossbow, and so they will often have the advantage over their enemy in ranged combat.

Archers
Armed with simple bows, these archers are not particularly skilled, their arrows are only capable of piercing light armour, and the archers themselves are poor in a melee.

Repeating Ballistae
The Seaborne are the only culture to produce this weapon, an adaptation of the crossbow on a larger scale. These weapons were originally developed for ship-to-ship combat where they were used to rain large numbers of flaming bolts on enemy craft. They are almost equally useful on land.


The Ocean Tribes (Polynesian/Mayan sorta thing. No direct influences)
Spear Throwers
These are the lowliest warriors of the Ocean Tribes, but they are still quite able to inflict casualties. They wear no armour, as soldiers are expected to provide their own, and carry flint headed spears.

Foresters – hide in woods, long and short range
These men have lived all their lives in the jungles and forests of the scattered islands of the Dividing Sea. For this reason they are expert at hiding in woodland. They too carry flint headed spears and wear light armour but they also carry long handled, flint headed axes.

Waitanath Warriors
These men have been groomed as warriors since their births. They are truly fearsome, beginning every encounter with a terrible war cry and then charging to the fight with flint edged fighting sticks which the wield with terrifying speed and deftness. They wear little armour, but their martial skills more than make up for this.

Waves
Waves carry massive stone headed clubs and wear armour made from plates of wood. They are best used to break up formations of heavy infantry before their lighter armed comrades mop up.

Phanga-Huilin
Phanga-Huilin means Death Rain in Oceanic and indeed these men do rain death upon their foes. They are armed with large bows which are bound in vines and sinews to add further to their power. These men are trained to fire very quickly and with great accuracy, hurling their massive arrows hundreds of yards. They are not well trained for melee, but the strength in their arms makes them more than a match for light infantry.

Tanl-Aoirin
Tanl are the fierce sea-birds which flock around the islands of the Dividing Sea, scavenging and hunting. The Aoirin are their keepers, their friends and allies. They are experts in signalling to the Tanl and can order them to attack specific targets with the knowledge that they will fight until they or their enemies are defeated.


The Northern Kingdom (altered, more rugged version of the Ilsamiri style)
Peasants
See above

Mountaineers
Hardened by life in the harsh mountains of the north, these men, though not as well armoured as their professional comrades, are extremely hardy and brave. They are armed with sharpened staves (which they usually use for climbing) and are only really effective against other light infantry - though they will easily defeat peasants.

Halberdiers
Halberds are brutal weapons, usually consisting of a large, heavy axe-head on the end of a long pole. These men are trained to use them as they should be used - with wide swings - in loose formations. For this reason they are somewhat vulnerable to cavalry. They are heavily armoured.

Foot Knights
These are simply knights who fight on foot, they therefore give up their lances in favour of their long sabres, but they do retain their shields. They are just as heavily armoured and against other heavy infantry are nearly invulnerable except when heavily outnumbered.

Spearmen
Armed with long spears and capable of forming clusters against cavalry, these men are best used to protect weaker infantry.

Swordsmen
Armed with long curved swords these men fight with slicing motions, and are therefore not as effective against steel armour as against lighter protection. They are still excellent at holding positions against infantry.

Archers
Armoured and armed simply and economically these soldiers should not go unwatched when the fight nears but are good for thinning out enemy formations.

Siege Archers
These men are armed with fearsome, large bows of incredible draw weight and are used mainly in sieges, when firing rate is not as important as piercing armour.

Ethed Chariots
These chariots are drawn by armoured ethed and crewed by swordsmen.

Ethed Bowmen
These are expert archers mounted on the ethed, a heavy, bull-like creature. The ethed is not a particularly fast beast, though it can quite comfortably outrun a man, so these mounted archers should not be used against horsemen. If they are engaged the ethed will fight, but a few infantrymen will be able to bring one down quite easily. The bowmen themselves are armed with recurve bows of middling length and range and also with sabres. The ethed is not armoured, and the archer is armoured only lightly.

Ethed Knights
These are the most fearsome cavalry in the world. The ethed, when fully grown, is larger than a horse and has long, tough horns. These knights ride fully armoured ethed, which are strong enough to bare the extra weight virtually unhindered. The knights are armed with long, barbed lances, which they discard after the initial charge, and long sabres. They are armoured from head to toe and carry tall shields. A group of ethed knights in full charge is unstoppable.

Ethed Scouts
These scouts are armoured and armed lightly, meant for reconnaissance only. The ethed itself is of a special breed, lighter and more nimble than its heavier cousins.

The Southern Kingdom (Sea-trade based, Ilsamiren influences, but still unique)

The Western Kingdom (agriculture based, Ilsamiren influences, but still individual)

Units for the other factions will follow, when I find my plans (damn disorganised shelves!). The number of units will also increase. This list is by no means final, and it is only based on those plans from the book which I have found so far. There will be more fear not!

Faction Colours
These colours are not final, and in most cases will only be used for borders and faction icons. Most units in the game will come from individual military orders which have their own distinct colourings and banners.

The Ilsamiri - Dark Blue and White (perhaps silvery grey)

The Mechathenain - Tan and Dark Purple

The Ocean Tribes - Jade green and turquoise (may reconsider).

The Northern Kingdom - Dark brownish red and white

The Seaborne - Grey-green and dark red

The Western Kingdom - Dark green and brown

The Southern Kingdom - Sea green and bronze