The Army of Bane and Bone (The Army of Death XP)

[Lye]

An Army of Death: Normal assimilation cannot be performed by the Army of Bane and Bone. Living units cannot join this army - only those have fallen. However, to ease this fact, the Lich can attempt to raise fallen foes for his army, but success is no guaranteed. Normal assimilation cannot work for the Army of Bane and Bone. Assimilation attempts by the army are treated the same, but thematically are the Necromancer attempting to summon the dead to his banner.

Bending rules right out the gate huh? Ballsy. To clarify, this army can still "lose" units like all other armies, but for the sake of your written example here, it is guaranteed a replenishment of 1,000 units after each match, correct? This also ONLY applies to after battle to where the magic can gestate and take hold, uninterrupted, yes? Not during the engagement where the army is constantly reanimating the dead, yes?

Baneful Flesh: 2500 Units, One Unit Cost
Rotting, shambling, foul. The living dead, corpses risen while meat still clings to them. The second half of the main force of the Army of Undeath. Shambling corpses with some thought between them, a hunger.

Equipment: Rotting clothes. Broken farmer’s implements. A foul, disgusting sludge.

Ability: The living dead. Hard to put down, as they cannot feel pain, and will just keep coming. Their weapons and bites are infectious, as they carry the living rot of death within their flesh.

So this is a two for one ability. Can't feel pain and infectious weapons. So, for the sake of fairness they either can still reel from pain or have the infectious weapons. Or, the infections are standard grade infections. The human mouth is already foul enough a weapon as is fettid weapons. That said, the actual infections would progress as normal and likely not take grip on an enemy until a day or two has passed. If it is an abnormal infection that takes effect within minutes or hours, it'd be more around ability grade. So a little clarity please.

Undying Ones: 249 Units (498 Cost)
An odd squadron of soldiers. Men and women who for some reason or another, die, and come back to life. Weakwilled, they have been pulled into the Lich’s thrall, their individuality crushed beneath his dark weight.

Equipment: Steel ringmail for armor, and half of the group is equipped with shields and swords or axes, while the other half has trakym and bone composite bows. These units still have some level of human intelligence, and are one of the more specialized, cohesive groups within the army of bane and bone.
Ability: Rebirth: Upon death, these units can return once before their power is exhausted. Surviving a battle resets this counter.

This is interesting. So if I read this correctly, you technically have a unit of 498 men, but only 249 are usable at any given time. If that unit "falls" it comes back as the second group or second phase unit? If these units survive to the next battle, their counter is reset. Meaning, you operate your army 249 units short, but can technically regain 249 units each round if they only die once? Am I getting this right? If so, this is approved. I may need to know how long it takes for reanimation and of course you'll need to include devastating injuries as something they cannot come back from. IE, turned into ground beef, blown to bits, turned to ash, etc.

Special Undying One: 1 Unit, 3 Unit Cost
Erik Dranglein:
An odd undead serving within the Undying Ones, Erik seems more cohesive and aware than the others of the forces. He keeps himself at a distance from the majority of the undead.

Equipment: Iron Sword and Shield, Yew Greatbow with Iron Arrows (Think, small javelin sized for the arrows)
Ability: Hollow’s Curse: Erik comes back in a different manner than the other Undying Ones. While they return right away - he does not. It takes half a day for Erik to revive, effectively removing him from battle whenever he dies.

There is something odd going on with this one….

So not a hero then? And a three unit cost to offset the bizarre ability? I assume you'll be writing from this one soldier's perspective?

Wights: 400 Units (1200 Unit Cost)
Spectral, wailing fiends that have returned to answer the Lich’s call, but came back without flesh. A terrifying shriek is all the warning you have, that these beings are coming for you. The Wights normally only respond to the commands of the Nightmare Wight - who obeys the Lich.

Equipment: None
Ability: Ghost Form: Wights are closer to the ‘dead’ side of death, and are spiritual beings. Non-magical attacks have reduced effectiveness against them. Holy Magic has increased effectiveness against them. All other magic affects them normally.

Non-corporeal units? Still wounded by physical attacks but to a lesser degree and otherwise wounded normally/gravely by magic? What about movement? Constrained to usual obstacles? What about damage from non-magic elements such as fire or explosive charges?

Ability: Faster than a normal man, and stronger (2x in both cases) the real terror of the Ghouls comes in the fact that they are ‘cannibals’, and consume living flesh. Their reputation precedes them, and it has a debilitating moral effect on the enemy - for if you fall to them, they will eat you.

The eating people is fine and not really an ability. Definitely horrible to see regardless. But, you have a two for one ability here. Strong and fast. One or the other please.

Necromancer’s Cadre: 332 Units, 996 Unit Cost
A cadre of Necromancers, serving under the command of the Lich. These fel sorcerers are the ‘healers’ of the Army of Bane and Bone. Utilizing their dark magics, they come after the dead, and restore broken bones and shorn flesh.

Equipment: Heavy cloth robes; bone and gem staves.
Ability: Necromancy. These dark mages can curse and debilitate a living foe, while also restoring damage to the undead that they are supporting. (Each Necromancer can cast three spells per battle, in either offensive or ‘healing’.)

What does the curse do? Weaken bones? Weaken muscles? By how much roughly? And how much 'damage' can they heal to the undead? Enough to reanimate, or are we talking re-attach limbs from the limbs around the field?

The Dark Mount: Large, One Unit, 3 Unit Cost
A massive skeletal horse, wreathed in black ‘flesh’ that moves and shifts as if it were smoke, or fire. The steed is a foul being in and of itself, and its mere presence screams of an abomination against reality. This horse is never seen, except when the Lich takes the field.

Equipment: Heavily enchanted leather barding, giving the protection of steel while no restriction to movement.
Ability: Black Smog: The Dark Mount exists, and in its existence, creates a foul, pervasive smoke that rolls across the nearby battlefield. Living, sane units, will feel great terror, and a desire to flee. (Only affects up to 2-cost units, 3-cost units and above are immune to the unnatural terror of the Smog)

Not necessarily an auto hit ability since fog can be avoided, but what is the radius and duration of this fog? And I assume the fleeing only applies so long as they get out of the fog? Then typical reactions would apply (ie fight around the fog, avoid the fog, screw this, I'm out. You can keep the gold or honor, but I'm not dying on this battlefield.)?

I do not see heroes. Something you'd like to add or should we omit the heroes under a stipulation that you are essentially operating with a race bonus of a bunch of undead? Maybe increase your assimilation cap by sacrificing heroes?

[Erik]

So, so so. Alright. No, I was not attempting to skirt the rules there. What I was meaning is, that instead of after a battle, trying to assimilate units like other armies can, thematically they are attempting to raise the dead back to their ranks. It has the same chances of success or failure that standard assimilation would, just, flavored differently. But yes. The raising would only be possible after the battle for this purpose, for pretty much dead on the reason you saw - it takes time for reanimation to work properly, not something that's feasible in the heat of battle. The main hero(villain) unit I was working on had a temporary ability to do this, but I'm reworking that.


Sorry, I'll fix that up. The infection is abnormal, and I'd like to keep that, so they're losing the inability to feel pain - unless the hero thing is viable and has influence on this, get to that down at the bottom.

And I had not considered how the cost to troop number thing would weigh in, but that works out just fine for me, it that the reborn group is essentially half strength, because they come back. When I get a chance I'll go in and clarify up things, like how long they take to revive from various levels of traumatic death, and what they can't come back from.

Correct. Erik is likely going to be the main focal character for my side of things. I have removed his other abilities for this (healing, throwing lighting, enhanced attributes) and kept his revival function, giving him an increased cost. But I don't think I'd classify him as a hero unit, most of the troops on the field are as strong or stronger than he is. Just a bizarre trooper.

For the Wights, I was looking at it in terms of something like Dungeons and Dragons, spectral enemies. In the version I am used to, non magical attacks have something like a fifty percent chance to just flat out miss spectral enemies, or not do any damage at all, while magic affects them normally. I tried to equate that without being wonky or having to try forcing someone to throw dice rolls into posts to see if their attacks hit, hence the 'reduced damage'. But if that flies, then non magical things like fire or explosives would still do reduced damage since the Wights are really 'all there' physically.

I'll edit out their enhances strength, the ghouls are fast first and foremost.

The curse is less a physical weakening, and a direct damage spell that saps life force, roughly equivalent to one moderate wound. Which is the same level the 'heal' can restore - they won't be making the dead get up and walk again, but they'll be able to slap a new bone arm on a skeleton or give a zombie a new foot. I'll make that clearer when I have a chance to sit down at a computer.

The mount - I'm looking into reworking what the Dark Mount does, might be changing the Dark Fog ability. But yes. Radius of approximately three yards, duration of two posts per use, and the mount can breath out once every five posts to activate the fog. Being caught in the fog is the worst problem, as it is a fear/terror based effect, but once you're out of it you can recover from that fear (or if you have a strong/altered will you can resist it already.)

Heroes are taking me time. I had the Necromancer Lich, I the main general, written up, but the sub heroes are taking too long. I might actually go with your suggestion, and just put the Lich in, and sacrifice the other two heroes for army wide boosts. What do you think?