The Glorious Republic of Crimea
The Republic of Crimea was founded shortly after the Fall. The Crimea, under the control of the Byzantines, was thankfully separated by the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the Danube from Constantinople, and while the insanity finally came upon them, they were warned and had some time. Yes, they had fallen, but not as far. The monstrosities that came by land could be held, with some difficulty, at the isthmus of the Crimean peninsula. Whenever the beasts let up, the Crimeans, though desperate and miserable, built walls to at least slow the beasts and guide them toward bottlenecks.
By water, though, the Crimeans had other problems. Terrible fish men came from the Black Sea, raiding the coasts, eating humans and otherwise sowing discord. However, the people learned that just leaving livestock would placate them, if there was enough.
All the while, many Venetian merchants from Constantinople had fled here, and their talk about Republic, along with Cherson's practice from the old Hellenic Empire of electing Archons, made a distinct impression upon the populace. They had decided that if no Emperor could save them, then perhaps the leader should be elected whom they thought could save them. Thus, the Crimeans elected one of their number, an older commmander from Constantople, to save them. They elected Ioannes Komemnos as their first Basileus, and he directed the war effort. While it was easy enough to hold the isthmus, it was difficult to keep the coasts safe with the terrible fish creatures constantly raiding. He consulted a few of the mad men in the asylums about it, until one gave him a mostly coherent answer. The mad man, a Venetian who came in on a large merchant vessel that was abandoned, gave him a scrap of paper with strange chants inscribed on it, and told Ioannes to speak the chant thrice, and throw precious jewels into the sea to summon the lord of the fish men and make a pact with him.
Ioannes did this, and the lord did come. He was Dagon, the child of Mother Tiamat, and Ioannes managed to convince him, no one knows how, to make an eternal pact with the Republic, although, in return, the Deep Ones, as they were now known, were fully integrated into the Republic.
Further, the religion of the people had morphed, with Jesus being conflated with Mithra, and the reverence for the old gods returning. Some even started to believe that Jesus was not son of Jehovah, but of Zeus! This spread throughout the Republic, offering some hope, but not the salvation that they knew wasn't coming.
The Republic also gleefully added any new members to its Republic as it could. Descendents of vikings, the Iorikids, came down the rivers from Scandinavia, and began trading and living in the Republic, eventually becoming full-fledged members. In the nearby, new volcano Surt, fire giants lived and started trading, and they, too, became integrated with the Republic. Other, lesser peoples and races were also integrated in this manner, forming the modern Republic.
Crimean Christianity
Crimean Christianity is the result of Orthodox Christianity, Mithraism, and old Greek paganism blending together. The Crimean peninsula was always a bit behind the curve religion-wise from the rest of the Hellenic region, thus, it had harbored the older ways for far longer then elsewhere. After the Fall, a lot of the influential priests of Zeus started to fight with the Orthodox priests and lone bishop over what the Fall indicated. The Christians obviously thought this was the result of the Apocalypse, while the pagans thought it more to be the result of titans escaping back to earth. The laity, however, was unconcerned with the why, and merely wanted comfort. The Basileus, Giovanni di Marco (a descendent of the Venetian merchants), had a vision, though (or, at least, claimed to): that God almighty had spoken to him, and revealed himself as Zeus. Zeus claimed that Jesus was his favored son, and had appeared already as Mithra, before needing to return again as Jesus to spread his message to the Roman Empire. Giovanni said that as he was not a theologian, and that Zeus had only given him that message to comfort both flocks, that the priests on both sides would have to reconcile things.
Thus convened the decidedly non-ecumenical Council of Eupatoria. There met the single bishop of the diocese of Crimea, Sergius, along with 507 Orthodox priests, and 29 priests of Hellenic paganism. Because of the majority of Christians at the Council, even with Giovanni presiding, the new religion took a decidedly Christian bent. While Giovanni managed to convince Sergius and many key priests, the priests were still split 302-205 in recognizing Zeus as being God. Many techniques were used to convince members of the reality of Zeus's divinity, such as "Jove" and "Jehovah" being so similar, accounts of old Hebrew references to God being primarily a thunder deity, similarities between Dionysus and Jesus, and many other fairly circumstantial pieces of evidence to connect the two. Eventually, the Council agreed on Zeus being God, the sacredness of oaks, thunder, and lightning, as well as many of the lesser Greek gods actually being angels. However, many other theological points were kept firmly Christian, such as the trinity (with Zeus being the father, Jesus being the Son, and the Holy Spirit remaining as such), Jesus' virgin birth by Mary (discussions of Zeus taking an earthly form and seducing Mary were viciously yelled down as opposing both the divine and Mary's virtue), and the Eucharist. Thus, Crimean Christianity remained, primarily, Orthodox Christianity, but with some blending of old Hellenism, which had the effect of placating and incorporating those remaining pagans in Crimea.
The civil flag of the Republic. The double eagle, the purple, and the cross all represent the Republic's connection to the old Byzantine Empire and Roman Republic, while the blue wave represents the Republic's connection and reliance on the Black Sea.
Crimean Troops
Light Infantry: Archers
Militia
Atl-atl Javeliners
These troops are all armored identically, with simple leather vests and bucklers (for archers) or small shields (militia and javeliners). The archers are equipped with simple longbows and have hatchets in case they happen to get into melee. Militia are equipped mainly with maces or axes, depending on what they are provided with by the armory. The javeliners are equipped with a dozen javelins, an atl-atl, and hatchets. All these troops have some training, as training is mandated by the Republic for a period of 15 days every month during the winter, 10 days a month in the summer, and 5 days a month in spring and fall (so as to not interfere with planting and harvest). They are obviously not superiorly trained, but they can overcome most peasant levies.
Heavy Infantry: Crossbowmen
Spearmen
Halberdiers
Legionaries
The heavy infantry are all part of the professional armies of the Republic. They are well-paid, well-trained, and have superior morale because of their good wages and, usually, devotion to the Republic and its ideals.
The crossbowmen are fairly well-armored, with leather vests and chainmail. They have a windlass system for drawing the bow and pavises for protection. The crossbowmen utilize a “1/3rd” concept wherein 1/3rd of the group is firing, the other third is ready to replace them once they fire, and the last third is reloading the windlass.
Spearmen are well armored, with brigandine armor over chainmail, and large shields. They are equipped with long spears (11 ft. long) and simple maces, should worst come to worst. They utilize as many ranks as can get their spears into the enemy, which is usually around 3-4.
Halberdiers are extremely well armored, with solid steel cuirasses and chainmail. They are equipped with halberds that are 9 feet long, with a heavy axe blade, a spear point, and a hook on the side opposite the axe blade. They are some of the most well-trained Crimean troops.
Legionaries are the evolution of the Roman legions of ages past. These swordsmen are equipped with broadswords, chainmail, leather vests, and large shields. They are well-trained, professional soldiers.
Surtites
Super-Heavy Infantry: Launchers
Thanes
Chieftain Guard
Fire Shamans
Fire Guard
Launchers are the 'lightest' of the Surtites. They tend to be adolescent fire giants who are learning the ropes of warfare and, as such, have some of the poorest melee equipment. Their armor is simply metal bands (often brass) riveted onto heavy burlap padding. However, given the size of the plates and padding, it is often comparable to moderate human armor. They also carry small shields that are 4 feet in diameter Their melee weapons tend to be 'short' swords (though, for them, this often exceeds three feet in length). However, the most defining feature, and that for which they are named, is their launcher: a wooden and metal device resembling a jai alai cesta. The launcher is used to propel leaden bullets that are approximately 6 inches in diameter or about 25 pounds in weight. Because of the launcher, this can be done with extreme velocity and decent accuracy. While they have training, they are somewhat wild troops because of their youth and predilection for vainglory.
Thanes are the original warriors of the Surtites. They are fire giants charged with defending the land and those living on it. The quality of their arms and armor varies some, but is relatively consistent. They often utilize scale armor and chainmail, and are usually equipped with large two-handed swords that are up to 10 feet in length. They are fairly well trained, and are essentially professional soldiers. As such, they have decent training and morale.
The Chieftain Guard and Fire Guard are essentially identical, with each representing the best thanes chosen from Surtite society. They have the best arms and armor available to the Surtites, and while it is the same type as the thanes, it is of superior construction and quality. The main difference is that the Fire Guard receive some magical assistance from the Fire Shamans in the way of buffs.
Fire Shamans are some of the highest members of Surtite society, being the religious and magical leaders. They have mystic control over fire and can imbue the weapons and armor of the Fire Guard with flame, as well as healing the injured and sending gouts of flame at the enemy. They themselves are no slouches in combat, wearing solid brass cuirasses shined to a mirror finish and blessed to resist evil spirits and magic and carrying magical scepter-maces imbued with the rare fire-rubies pulled from the lava of the volcano Surt.
Iorikids
Light Infantry: Boar Scouts
Skirmishers
Boar Scouts are followers of the Boar totem and, while not being able to transform into boar-men, they are still able to go through forests quickly and relatively quietly, like the Boar they venerate. They are very lightly armored, in either leather, hide, or thick cloth, so as to maintain their speed and stealth. They are also fairly lightly armed, with simple bows, small battleaxes, knives, and other small edged weapons. They are well-trained and self-sufficient, so they are able to operate away from the main front in order to subdue small revolts through guerrilla warfare or to spy on troop movements.
Skirmishers are followers of either totem and are mainly harassment troops, used to sneak up on archers and sow chaos in their ranks, or interrupt supply trains, or the like. They are usually only armored with thick leather vests, some chainmail, and rigid metal helmets (usually steel). They are equipped with axes, medium shields, and swords. They are moderately well-trained and fanatically loyal.
Heavy Infantry: Raiders
Berserks
Totem Shaman
Raiders are the mainstay of the Iorikids, comprising perhaps 50% of the adult male population of Iorikids living in the Republic. These men are primarily fishermen when not at war, but when war comes, they gird themselves admirably. Wearing a combination of chainmail and bronze cuirasses, they are often fairly adequately protected, while their large shields help defend them against most arrows and blows. They also wear steel helmets. Their preferred weapon is the battleaxe or a medium-length sword. They tend to be better trained then skirmishers, and hold lines better than they do, and in the Republican army, they act in conjunction with spearmen and halberdiers to fight off other melee troops.
Berserks are the shock troops of the Republican army, with their ability to transform into bear-man or boar-man hybrids. They often eschew armor, instead preferring mystical amulets that functionally provide similar protection as thick leather armor. They are equipped with large axes or maces, as well as their ferocious natural weapons. While unflinching in the face of any foe, they tend not to be all that organized on the field of battle, preferring to rush any troops they can and tearing them limb from limb, and moving onto their next victims. This often has an intense psychological effect on their enemies.
Totem Shamans worship the Norse gods and give their Iorikid fellows the powers of their animal totems. They give blessings of bear strength and boar ferocity, as well as some healing. They are otherwise equipped as the raiders they serve.
Deep Ones
Special Units: Deep One Predator
The Favored
Kraken
Dagon, Son of Mother Tiamat
Deep One Predators are simply adult Deep Ones. They are supreme swimmers, able to keep pace with any boat not given magical assists (and even some with). Even though water negates gravity, the Deep Ones are still much stronger than humans because of the inherent resistance of moving in their watery homes. Because of their gas bladders, they are able to swim adequately, even when carrying metal tools like saws, hatchets, knives, and harpoons. The Deep Ones are vicious anti-ship troops, boarding at night and overpowering and slaughtering human passengers. Because they can breathe air as well as water, they also make forays inland, especially at night, to raid and kill the foes of the Republic whom they are bound to.
The Favored are the shamans of the Deep Ones, worshiping Mother Tiamat and spreading her blessings among the Deep Ones, and controlling the oceans in which they live They have some control over ocean animals, able to summon dolphins, squid, and other normal sized animals, as well as sea birds and marine arthropods. They can also control currents and waves, but only in localized areas. Otherwise, they are almost identical to the Deep Ones they lead.
The Kraken is a monstrous beast, as large as a ship. It mixes the worst features of fish, lobsters, and squid. It's head is like a giant, armored cephalapod, with great bulging eyes, enormous tentacles, and a vicious beak. Its body is covered in a great arthropod carapace, with large chelicerae able to crush boats. The beast terminates in a large, whipping eel tail. It mostly does what it wishes, but Dagon has control over the monster.
Dagon, Son of Mother Tiamat, is a Deep One of enormous size. Whereas his lesser brethren are the size of humans, Dagon is larger than even the largest Surtite. He, though, in reality, Dagon is sexless, is around 20 ft. tall, and covered in golden crowns, necklaces, and rings, studded with the precious stones he so jealously covets. He is the one the Republic made contact with and bound in a contract with, and he executes it with ruthless hate against any daring to oppose the Republic. He is a powerful sorceror, able to summon mighty oceanic storms at a moment's notice, and able to make whirlpools of immense size and speed. He can pound ships into driftwood with his fists and devour men in two bites. He is the wrath of the sea incarnate.
Crimean Cavalry, Siege Weapons, and Special Troops
Mounted Crossbowmen
Heavy Horsemen
Trebuchet
Ballista
Priests
Griffons
The horse crossbowmen are simply the crossbowmen on horses, except without pavises. Their crossbows are also smaller, but they have the advantage of being able to move quickly across the battlefield.
Heave horsemen are the result of the combination of Byzantine Cataphracts and Venetian Knights. They are extremely well trained troops utilizing solid steel cuirasses and scale armor for limb mobility. Their horses are also well-armored. They have good morale, but are slow on the battlefield because of the weight their horses must bear. They are armed with large shields, swords, maces, and lances.
Trebuchets and Ballistae are just standard medieval siege weapons. Trebuchets are counterweight-powered catapults, and ballistae are oversized crossbows.
Priests follow all-mighty Zeus, and dispense his blessings and his wrath among the world. They provide healing to the troops of the Republic, while stabbing with spears of lightning at their enemies. They are equipped with spears and leather vests, and tend to stay at the back of the army, preferring to act as medics, and only using their magic offensively if needed. They are skilled in the arts of divination, at least according to their own words.
Griffons are beasts the size of a large lion, with a lion's hind limbs with the front of an eagle. They can fly, and are smart enough to be trained as attack animals. They can understand simple commands (“kill those people over there”), but nothing too specific. While they cannot be armored, their own skin is as hard as leather, and they are easily capable of picking up men and dropping them from great heights if their beak and claws can't penetrate.
Iorikid Cavalry
Marauders
Marauders are mounted raiders, for all intents and purposes. They utilize horses to move quickly on the battlefield to exploit holes in fronts, weakening troops, or other opportunities.
Surtite Siege Weapons and Special Troops
Doorknocker
Sappers
Basalt Fire Golems
Fotia, the Fire Lord
The Doorknocker is a large, speciality battering ram designed to open the gates of fortresses. It is made of a column of basalt 50 ft. long and 10 ft. in diameter. It is mounted on a large wooden and metal frame, while the column is pulled back by an number of fire giants and the column then falls into the gate by pendulum motion. The column weighs approximately 736,600 pounds or 334,800 kilograms. The frame is covered on top by a sheet of bronze to prevent hot oil or arrows from hitting the operators.
Sappers are Surtite engineers, trained in the arts of excavation and sabotage. While explosives are unknown to them, they do know how to strategically pull support timbers from tunnels to collapse them, thus helping to bring down walls. They are armed with shovels, picks, and other such weapons used for excavation. Because they are sized for giants and wielded by giants, anything else in the tunnels can face large problems.
Basalt Fire Golems are magically animated constructs of basalt carved to resemble the Surtites. They are 15 feet tall and have magical fire-rubies implanted into them, which in conjunction with the sacred ceremonies of the fire shamans, imbues them with something like life. These basalt creations then catch on fire, burning without fuel. They are fearsome creations, able to crush and incinerate most lesser beasts in their stony grip.
Fotia, the Fire Lord is the most powerful of the fire shamans. He leads them in their worship of their inscrutable fire god whose name is known only among the Surtites. He wields a giant brass mace that is inscribed with holy runes and has within it the largest fire ruby yet found. He wears brass armor (cuirass, leg guards, arm guards, helmet), steel chainmail, and has a shield that is shined to perfect mirror finish. His tremendous physical strength is not his greatest asset, though. Instead, it is his divine connection to the primordial fire god. He can conjure fires hot enough to make iron boil and melt even tungsten. While lesser fire shamans can summon gouts of flame, the Fire Lord can make whirlwinds of flame and send them toward his foes.
Dwarves
Living in the same small mountain range as the Surtites, the dwarves were integrated into the Republic alongside the Surtites. They do not serve in much combat capacity, but mainly as smithies and engineers. They do field some troops in times of need, though.
Infantry: Dwarven Militia
Dwarven Engineers
The dwarven militia are well-equipped, moderately trained soldiers. They are equipped with fine scale mail, proportionately large shields (covering most of their body), and hammers.
Dwarven engineers are well-versed in matters of architecture and wartime sabotage. They tunnel, set charges, and otherwise work to open up fortresses for the Republic.
Special Troops: Rocket Artillery
Rocket artillery was recently developed by the dwarves, who have been plying the secrets of gunpowder for the past 80 years. By attaching a small reserve of gunpowder with a small nozzle on a javelin, then putting that javelin with 99 others on a small cart, the dwarves have made a surprisingly fearsome weapon.
Navy
Transport
Light Dromon
Heavy Dromon
The transports are exactly that. They are large ships explicitly designed to move as much cargo as possible. They have a minimal crew, but can carry 200 troops.
Light dromons are small warships, with 100 rowers, 20 sailors, and 30 marines. This dromon's marines carry windlass crossbows.
Heavy dromons are larger warships, with 160 rowers, 40 sailors, and 80 marines. This dromon is equipped with ballistae, as well as windlass equipped marines.
The Glorious Republic of Crimea
Militia - 25 Points
Archers - 25 Points
Atl-Atl Javeliners - 30 Points
Crossbowmen - 45 Points
Spearmen - 45 Points
Halberdiers - 50 Points
Legionaries - 45 Points
Launchers - 85 Points
Thanes - 90 Points
Chieftain/Fire Guard - 100 Points
Fire Shamans - 15 Points/Shaman
Boar Scouts - 30 Points
Skirmishers - 35 Points
Raiders - 45 Points
Berserks - 60 Points
Totem Shaman - 1 Points/Shaman
Deep One Predator - 60 Points
The Favored - 1.2 Points/Favored
The Kraken - 1200 Points
Dagon - 2000 Points
Mounted Crossbowmen - 50 Points
Heavy Horsemen - 70 Points
Trebuchet - 15 Points/Trebuchet
Ballistae - 5 Points/Ballista
Priests - 7 Points/Priest
Griffons - 5 Points/Griffon
Marauders - 50 Points
Doorknocker - 100 Points
Sappers - 85 Points
Basalt Fire Golems - 150 Points
Fotia - 1,500 Points
Dwarven Militia - 40 Points
Engineers - 40 Points
Rocket Artillery - 10 Points/Piece
Transport - 100 Points
Light Dromon - 150 Points
Heavy Dromon - 280 Points
Army of the Republic
Infantry: 23,326
Cavalry: 2,000
Hmm, I seem to be leaning heavily in one direction...
Militia x 10 = 250 Points
Archers x 5 = 125 Points
Atl-Atl Javeliners x 5 = 150 Points
Crossbowmen x 15 = 675 Points
Spearmen x 10 = 450 Points
Halberdiers x 10 = 500 Points
Legionaries x 15 = 675 Points
Launchers x 5 = 425 Points
Thanes x 5 = 450 Points
Chieftain Guard x 1 = 100 Points
Fire Guard x 2 = 200 Points
Fire Shaman x 5 = 75 Points
Boar Scouts x 5 = 150 Points
Skirmishers x 4 = 140 Points
Raiders x 10 = 450 Points
Berserks x 5 = 300 Points
Totem Shamans x 25 = 25 Points
Mounted Crossbowmen x 10 = 500 Points
Heavy Horsemen x 5 = 350 Points
Trebuchet x 12 = 180 Points
Ballistae x 12 = 60 Points
Priests x 10 = 70 Points
Griffons x 10 = 50 Points
Marauders x 5 = 250 Points
Doorknocker x 1 = 100 Points
Sappers x 1 = 85 Points
Basalt Fire Golems x 3 = 450 Points
Fotia x 1 = 1,500 Points
Total = 9,470
Navy of the Republic
Transport x 10 = 1000 Points
Light Dromon x 5 = 750 Points
Heavy Dromon x 5 = 1400 Points
Dagon x 1 = 2000
The Kraken x 1 = 1200
The Favored x 50 = 60 Points
Deep One Predators x 5 = 300 Points
Total = 6,710
Grand Total = 16,180
Free Fortress
Level 3 Fortress on Crimean Isthmus
Added Fortresses
Level 1 Fortress in Southern Crimea (2,500)
Level 1 Fortress in Northern Crimea (2,500)
Grand Total = 21,180
3,820 of EPIC MAGIC
Armies of the Republic
The First Army of Taurica, Guardians of the Gate to Taurica
200 Legionaries
100 Spearmen
300 Halberdiers
300 Crossbowmen
200 Militia
100 Archers
200 Raiders
5 Griffons
4 Trebuchet
4 Ballistae
100 Basalt Fire Golems
5 Priests
Total: 1,400 Infantry, 100 Goelms, 8 War Engines, 10 Special
The Second Army of Taurica
200 Legionaries
200 Spearmen
300 Crossbowmen
100 Militia
100 Archers
100 Skirmishers
100 Raiders
100 Mounted Crossbowmen
Total: 1,100 Infantry, 100 Cavalry
The Third Army of Taurica
200 Legionaries
200 Spearmen
200 Crossbowmen
200 Militia
100 Atl-atl Javeliners
200 Raiders
2 Ballistae
Total: 1,100 Infantry, 2 War Engines
First Army of Leukopolis
400 Legionaries
100 Spearmen
100 Halberdiers
100 Archers
100 Crossbowmen
100 Militia
100 Raiders
2 Trebuchet
Total: 1,000 Infantry, 2 War Engines
Second Army of Leukopolis
200 Legionaries
100 Spearmen
200 Halberdiers
100 Atl-Atl Javeliners
100 Crossbowmen
100 Marauders
100 Boar Scouts
Total: 800 Infantry, 100 Cavalry
Army of the East, 1st Division
200 Legionaries
100 Spearmen
100 Halberdiers
200 Atl-atl Javeliners
200 Militia
200 Crossbowmen
100 Raiders
400 Mounted Crossbowmen
100 Marauders
100 Boar Scouts
100 Skirmishers
2 Trebuchet
2 Ballistae
Total: 1,300 Infantry, 500 Cavalry, 4 War Engines
Army of the East, 2nd Division
200 Legionaries
200 Spearmen
200 Halberdiers
100 Atl-atl Javeliners
200 Militia
100 Crossbowmen
200 Archers
200 Raiders
100 Skirmishers
100 Boar Scouts
200 Marauders
200 Heavy Horsemen
200 Mounted Crossbowmen
2 Trebuchet
2 Ballistae
10 Totem Shamans
100 Thanes
100 Launchers
Total: 1,600 Infantry, 200 Giant Infantry, 600 Cavalry, 10 Special, 4 War Engines