Oak7ree — Roleplayer Guild

An Interlude: The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed...

Midday. An apartment in Manhattan, New York.

It was a small one and simply decorated, but it was enough for Hasso Steiner, the Thousand Faced Man. He was a simple man, a cog in a great machine. He was shaving his beard in the bathroom. Hasso had been born in Prussia into a military family, and his father had taught little Hasso how a man should shave his face. Steiner the elder, named Franz, had been a devilish disciplinarian, to say the least, but to him details mattered the most.

Hasso was a man in his late thirties. He had a tanned skin, black hair and green eyes. And wasn't. Mimicry was his expertise. He could mimic other people, changing his appearance, his weight and height to an extent. He was a spy by profession, and was about to get his final orders from the Fatherland. For years, he had been waiting in New York, waiting for his activation.

The razor was sharp, but he didn't feel nervous. He felt calm and steady, as he drew the blade slowly but surely across his jaw. He had to look nice. He was going to meet one of his contacts.

It was risky. The FBI was on his tail, and a squad of feds had tried to raid one of his safe houses, but Steiner had rigged the apartment with explosive and traps. The agents triggered one of the traps, and blew the house to rubble. Hasso had been just a block away, buying groceries from a nice lady at a market. He had simply moved to his another safe house in Manhattan.

Hasso finished with his shave. He checked his jaw and washed the shaving foam, drying his face with a towel. He took a quick shower and dressed in a regular black suit. Nothing too fancy, as it might draw unwanted attention. He walked outside to a busy street.

He started to walk, not hurrying, not loafing, going with the flow. The war hasn't descended on New York, and it seemed that there wasn't a war going on, except Hasso could see long lines of young men in front of recruitment offices. He took a longer look at them. If they all were qualified into service, the Wehrmacht would be even more hard-pressed. Hasso had read the news and heard rumours from the Fatherland, and they weren't just good. I hope Otto is all-right, Hasso thought, continuing his striding down the street.

There was a restaurant near his apartment. It was better than your average restaurant, and Hasso walked inside. He knew the contact would meet him there. Hasso was lead to a table, and started to wait. He ordered a glass of red wine. It was from California, but it would do. A few minutes passed quickly, and Hasso looked around him. The restaurant was starting to fill up, and soon enough his contact joined his table. The contact was a she, a sharply dressed woman in normal street clothes. Hasso rose to greet her informally and warmly, like old friends.

"I assume your father sent you", Hasso started calmly. They would converse quite... unprofessionally. She gave him a slight teasing smile. "Yes, And he is well, but he wants me to take more and more of his daily business running, if you understand what I mean."

"Clearly", he answered. "I remember he had some papers for me to sign."

"I have them with me. " She had a case with her, and she handed it to him casually over the table. "The instructions and cover are inside. And send my father's regards to them."

Hasso took the case, put it to the floor beside his chair and smiled faintly. "Will do, dear. Now, let's have some lunch. I've heard one can get excellent salmon with white wine sauce here. All this work gets me hungry."

Here it is, the Warhammer Britain, as written by me. I'll be refining it.

NAME:

The Kingdom of Andemarc

OVERVIEW:

The Kingdom of Andemarc is a feudal monarchy composed of several former independent kingdoms and nations that have been conquered by military means or by marriage. The kingdom is divided into duchies, counties, shires and protectorates, and is ruled currently by King Arthur the First, also known as the Hammerer.

RACE AND CULTURE:

Andemarc is mostly populated with humans, and elves and dwarves are small minorities. Culture is agrarian, meaning most of the people in Andemarc work in farms and agriculture. The population shares the common tongue of Andemaric, but there are local dialects and some remnants of old languages present locally.

The population is divided into four distinct classes: the peasants, the aristrocracy, the clergy and bourgeousie. The peasants are the most numerous, and the aristrocracy the smallest class. Peasants are free men and women, since slavery and serfdom has been abolished, and they work on either on their own farms or as tenant farmers to a landowner. The aristrocracy owns most of the land, and they often have banners, sigils and mottos to promote their status. Their position is hereditary, and once a man has become a noble, his noble rights and privilages can only be revoked by the king or by trial in the case of serious crimes.

Lords, counts, margraves, dukes and knights to the aristrocracy, and they denoted from the rest of the population by major landownership. Peasants often own a farm and enough land to support a family, but the aristrocracy often claims overlordship over these lands. The nobles provide knights and levies to their liege lords as part of a feudal contract. The king can call the banners in the time of war to defend the realm as a whole. Margraves are often given border castles and marches to protect the vital roadways and other strategic regions from hostile forces.

The clergy, shortly put, pray to gods, preach, hold official records and teach the population. The majority of the population believe in the four gods (Leofri, Maar, Fredda, Dagon), who represent the four elements (air, fire, earth, water) of the world. The religion was founded by Saint Catriona, the wife of King Hakon the Red, the third king of Andemarc centuries ago. The religion spread throughout the kingdom, and now is the most adhered religion in the kingdom.

REGIONS & IMPORTANT LOCATIONS

The Duchy of Mormount
Under the rule direct rule of the king.
The capital city Tremerlay is located here
Population: 50 000 humans, elves and dwarves
The Duchy of Roussillon
Under the rule of Duke Edward Narville of Kirkwall
A region known for making wines, the bread basket of the kingdom
Kirkwall is a major town with 25 000 inhabitants built around the River Kirk
The town has been besieged many times by the realm's inner and external enemies, but it has never fallen.
The Duchy of Narmy
Under the rule of Duke John Carmichael of Cole's Keep
Cole's Keep is the major castle of the duchy, and it is sais that it was founded by the elves in the times past.
The Highland Baronies
A collection of multiple independent-minded baronies and castles
The Princibality of Crey
The home of the infamous knight Mordred le Crey, the Black Knight of legend, the Kingslayer, who killed Hakon the Red's father.
Nowadays the princibality is held by the heir apparent of the kingdom to teach them skills of government.
Major castle is Ornstein Keep by the Orn River
The Protectorate of the Valminy Valley
The Valminy Valley holds many small communities, that have sought protection from many a threat.
County of Fairfax
County of Harkland
The Free City of Gulftown
The Grey Hills
The Kingswood

GOVERNMENT:

The king is the head of state, and below him is the feudal aristrocracy, represented in the Royal Council. The Royal Council is the upper house of the reprsentive system, and it advises the king in the stately matters, and can decide on taxation. The king needs the approval of the Royal Council to raise new taxes to fund his projects. The Common Council is the lower house, and the as the name suggests, represents the common people, and towns, shires and guilds can send representives to the Common Council. The Speaker acts as the leader of the Councils of the Realm, and presents new law proposals and such things to the king.

INDUSTRY:

The economic situation of the realm is based heavily on agriculture. The peasant work on the land, and produce all kinds of products to the market, ranging from simple wheat and other foodstuffs to tar and other raw materials. The craftsmen, like the blacksmiths and weavers, make all kinds of goods mostly to domestic use, but Andemari wool is a wanted resource in neighbouring kingdoms and nations for its quality. The kingdom produces the best wool and tar in the known world, or at least the Andemari producers are proud of them.

MAGIC:

In Andemar, magic is seen as a gift from the four gods, and although Andemari wizards, druids and spellsingers are scarce, they mostly rely on the Lore of Life to affect the battlefield.

MILITARY:

As the kingdom is still feudal in nature, the armies of Andemarc are comprised of feudal levies and retinues. The retinues are bands of soldiers led by a captain, who makes a contract to a noble for loot in exchange for their services. Basically, they are mercenaries. The size of a retinue can vary from a few people to few hundred.

The armies are often composed of well-armed infantry and longbowmen, with support from light cannons, bombards and howitzers. The cavalry is often a side-note in a Aedmari army, mostly used for scouting and skirmishes. Heavy cavalry is rare and often are used to protect nobles. The most common infantry unit is a company (100-250s soldiers), and the most common cavalry unit is a squadron (30-50 soldiers). Artillery is often deployed in batteries (3-6 guns).

Gunpowder in Adermarc is often in low supply thanks to the constant wars, but local alchemists have maintained a sound level of quality over the years and decades.

Nobles are required by law to field, maintain and arm a certain amount of their levies at arms at all times. There is a system of allotment in place, where villages and towns provide an amount of soldiers to the king every year for a term of service. They gain a lesser tax burden, but have to provide the soldiers training and equipment in return.

The marches, ruled by margraves, act as the first line of defence agaisnt external foes. The castles are at a central place in a march, and they adjacent countryside mostly supports the castle as a strategic stronghold. They dot the borders of the kingdom.

COMMON UNITS

Longbowman
A peasant man hired from a shire or county, the longbowman is a professional hunter and has no qualms of killing nobles or knights if it means survival. They are often armed with a longbowmen, armoured in light armour (leather or chainmail), and forage what they can from the countryside and battlefields. Often situated in high ground or wooded ground to counter the effieciency of cavalry charges and to hide from sight.

Halberdier
Halberdiers are a common sight as melee soldiers in Andemar. They are lightly armoured, but are armed with a long halberd to face the charge of the cavalry. They often protect the longbowmen from cavalry charges, and as infantry, if they can take a position and dig in, can be hard to dislodge. Often recruited from the peasant population. Their level of training and displine can vary greatly.

Highlander axeman
Axemen from the Highlands have long and curious traditions. They fight in kilts and paint their faces blue with woad. Often clad in leather and chainmail armour, the axemen fight on foot. They wield greataxes

Mounted archer
Simply an archer on horseback. They often scout and skirmish with the enemy before retreating to friendly lines, relying on speed and mobility than muscle to achieve their mission. They can also act as messengers between units and commanders.

Sergeants
Sergeants are common household soldiers of a noble, acting as more heavily armed and armoured foot soldiers. Their equipment vary from soldier to soldier, but often they are armed with heavier weapons and partial plate armour

Sappers
Sappers are the engineers of the army, and they know how to work wood and other materials, build siege engines and operate them.

Howitzer
A simple cannon firing projectiles in a parabolic arc. Heavy to operate, but often drawn by horses when marching. In battle they often operate behind the friendly lines, offering fire support for infantry. They can fire crudely shaped rocks or metal balls.

Bombard
A heavy siege cannon, rarely used outside of a siege due to weight.

Minion
A light cannon, often used agaisnt infantry.

ELITE UNITS

Lancer
With the invention of gunpowder and firearms, the knightly class has dwindled and the main focus of the army has shifted towards infantry. Knights still have a part to play as bodyguards and as the leaders of a shire. They often act as lancers, armed with a long lance and a sword to engage the enemy, concebtrating on chasing retreating enemies or ambush marching columns.

Cavalier
Cavaliers are cavalry armed with pistols and muskets called carbines. The carbine is a shorter version of your average musket. Muskets are hard to come by in Ardemac, and thus there are only a few cavaliers armed with it. They are more likely armed just with the pistols and are clad in a light plate armour.

RARE UNITS

Royal Guard / The Knights of the Griffin
The Royal Guard use a griffin banner and serve to protect the king as his personal bodyguard and companions. The Order of the Griffin is both a honorary and military order, where only the best knights of the realm can be taken in. Their numbers are thus very small (in the few dozens), but they are fiercely loyal and deadly against human opponents.

Spellsinger
Spellsinger are the most common magic-users in Andemarc, often reciting old songs and spells, which act as the way to affect the world with magical energies. They often act as healers and medics.

HEROES & LORDS

King Arthur I the Hammerer
King Arthur wields the legendary sword named Dawn that has passed from king to king for generations. It is said to be a bastard sword that Mordred le Crey used to combat King Hakon the Red. He has spent many years in different fronts and battlefields, and has earned a reputation as a masterful defender.

Prince Morgan
The heir apparent to the throne of Andemarc.

Duke Edward II Narville
A distant cousin to the king, Duke Edward's forebears were granted the Duchy of Roussillon as a gift from the king. Duke Edward is an elderly man, nearing his fifties. He has been one of the most renowned commanders of the kingdom, inspiring loyalty in those who have served with and under him.

Duke John I Carmichael
Duke John rules the Duchy of Narmy, and is one of the best political advicers in the country. He often has acted as an ambassador to the outside world.

Sir Roland Marsten
The captain and commander of the Royal Guard. Sir Roland is a knight of fame and renown, but his character is humble and introverted compared to the tales of his deeds on the battlefield.

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