Sunday, November 5, 2017

Dragon Rampant and OldHammer, An Introduction to the armies of Altgard. Part 1

     With GW’s mangling, bungling, horrifyingly ham fisted destruction of the Old World, I have endeavored (like so many other Warhammer grognards) to preserve the memory of the Old World and what I loved about it. (And it doesn’t involve Sigmarines!) So with Dragon Rampant and Kings of War becoming the haven of many an Old Worlder, I have joined in the fun by “reconstructing” my own Empire army along with Dwarves. Mainly with the help of such wonderful plastic Landsknecht kits from Warlord and of course Mantic’s take on the Dwarves and Undead. So here are my constructed states, so far, for my own “Altgard” or “Old Earth”, this article centering on the “MittleReich” or the “Middle Empire” of Men, known here as the Volk, or “Folk” in their own tongue:

The Free City of Sunngarde:

      Situated on the banks of the River Teustch, Sunngarde is a glittering, wealthy merchant city with a burgeoning trade along the river. Her regiments are made of disciplined and well paid mercenaries from all corners of the Empire and several Orders of Knights also have keeps within her mighty walls, guardians of the temple of the city’s patron god, Sunna, the Sun God. God also of mercantile, and as such a fitting patron for the “City of Merchants”. Ruled over by the House of the Burgomeisters,  (made up of the wealthiest Merchant Lords of the City), Sunngarde makes its wealth through trade and manufacturing, as well as renting out her large army to other rulers at almost, but not quite, unreasonable rates. The main army of Sunnegarde is financed by the Burgomeisters and is composed of the most disciplined regiments that can be provided by the Mercenary Guild which manages the city watch, and the Armory, among other things. Many a sellsword flocks daily to Sunnegarde in search of his fortune and the City of Merchants has no shortage of able bodied volunteers to fight for her interests on the battlefield. A former capital of several Emperors of the MittleReich (Middle Empire, or the Middle Realm), Sunngarde’s citizenry pride themselves on this fact and often claim to hail from the “Old Capital” when asked where they’re from. Though a “free city”, Sunngarde is often at war in some form or other with the rest of the Empire as the city’s immense wealth makes for a rather “golden egg laying goose” for the various much leaner states surrounding her. Though to those who know the tale, killing the goose will also kill any chances of getting more golden eggs!

Regiments of Sunnegarde.

The Duchy of the Hernevald/City of Horneburg

     Further north of Sunnegarde lies the dark and brooding forest of the Hernevald, birthplace of the MittleReich and of the Teuschten Volk as a whole. Here is the sacred hunting ground of Herne, the Wild Huntsman, God of the Forest, Virility, Fertility, and all Wild Things. Here is celebrated the winter festival of Yolnacht, where devout worshipers of Herne make a pilgrimage to the “Gerichstlinde”, or “Doom Linden”, a gigantic linden tree beneath which the first kings of the Volkisch tribes made an oath of unity under Siegfried, founder of the Empire. It was here that the first seat of government was held and a city in time grew up around this sacred tree, now called the Horneburg, City of Herne. It is more like a large town rather than a bustling city, trade flows in rough, uneven patterns through the region and most of the residents of the Hernevald live on farmsteads in the valleys and mountains around the city rather than in it. The Duke of Hernevald, currently Otto Von Barentz, holds court in the Jaegerhoff, a stoutly fortified castle at the end of the Seigfriedstrasse, the main street that winds its way up the hillside through the center of the city. Here also is located a small temple to Herne, though any true hunstman (the most devout followers of the Hunting God of course!) will tell you that the true sanctuary of Herne is the forest itself, and therefore the most magnificent of any temple to the gods. The army of the Hernevald is more often than not a militia made up of farmboys and hunters that will meet up at the Gerichstlinde when the Duke sends out a general call to arms. The most professional “army” the Hernevald has is the Duke’s personal guard and the well trained Horneburg Watch. These along with a handful of mounted nobles and their retinues form the backbone of the Hernevald’s military might. But what the forest province lacks in professional troops, it more than makes up for in marksmen, for the jaegers of the Vald are among the most storied sharpshooters in all the Empire.
Soldiers of the Horneburg Watch
Coat of Arms of the Hernevald showing the golden stag’s head sigil of Herne with the Red Griffin of Siegfried holding a bishop’s mitre over the cross of the Siegfried Cult.
Banner of the Duchy of the Hernevald

Coat of Arms of the Horneburg, showing the Gerichstlinde at the heart of the city.

The Principality of Silezenland/Free City of Potzdorf

     Silezenland is a cold country, on the eastern edge of the MittleReich, it is also a very different place from the rest of the Empire. Originally Silezenland was a barren waste home to many forest dwelling and steppe nomad tribes that came from the same place as the Volk but branched off into their own language and culture. Often considered barbarians by the only slightly more civilized Empire to the west, the Silezen tribes were conquered by Kaiser Sigismund II two hundred years before the reign of the current Emperor. Riding atop a mighty Red Griffin, Ironclaw, Sigismund slew a great many tribesman in the name of his ancestor god Sigfried, and built a mighty industrial city on the banks of the River Osric. The city of Potzdorf. Here stands the current capital of the Empire, a city of technological marvels, of great cannon factories, and of the College of Sorcery, which sanctions professional wizards and issues permits to practice their art within the Empire. The Emperors of the Red Griffin line, the supposed bloodline of Siegfried himself, holds court in the “City of Magic”. The factories produce gunpowder weapons of all kinds and the School of Engineering is continually at work creating all sorts of new and fantastical weapons for the Imperial armies as well as tools for the Empire as a whole. It’s most famous inventions being bomb lobbing War Balloons, and the dreaded Steam Tank. Here also resides the mighty, sky piercing Cathedral of Seigfried, wherein resides the Arch-Patriarch of the Church of Seigfried. Seigfriedism is, compared to the other cults of the Empire, relatively new. Siegfried disappeared after reigning a hundred years and it is believed he sleeps beneath one of the mountains of the Hernevald, interceding on behalf of the Volk and will one day awaken and return to lead the Volk in their last, desperate battle at the End of Days. The army of Silezenland is chiefly formed around the Army of the City of Potzdorf, whose regiments, being directly controlled by the Emperor or one of his subordinates, are among the best drilled and finest in the Empire. They are also the best led. Stunning uniforms of soot black and crimson red bedeck the proud soldiers of the Kaiser. The Imperial Arms of the Red Griffon Emperors (der Rotergreiff House) adorns the banners of the Imperial Army and when the Kaiser takes to the field with the full military might of the MittleReich, it is truly a wonderous sight to behold. Row upon row of cannons, musketeers, and occasional steam tanks adds thunder and fire to the Imperial battle line, while scout Balloons of the Imperial Luftballoon Corps reveals the enemy to the Kaiser’s generals while sanctioned wizards call forth mighty storms of magic to harry their enemies. The current Emperor is Ludwig Rudolf III, Kaiser vom MittleReich, Uberkonig von der Volk, Prince of Silezenland, and Grand Count of Potzdorf. Ludwig rides into battle atop his mighty griffin, Firebeak, and wields the ancient runesword of his mighty ancestor Siegfried. The runesword itself is a holy relic of the Church and can only be drawn from its sacred linden branch (once part of the mighty Gerichstlinde of Horneburg before a thunderbolt struck off the branch that held the sacred sword during the reign of Emperor Sigismund II.) by a descendant of Siegfried. Upon the death of the ruling member of Siegfried’s house, the sword is resheathed into the sacred branch til such time as a worthy descendant can claim it.
One of the Imperial regiments of Potzdorf, from the minor Nuln foundry district near the river.
Kaiser Ludwig atop his griffin Firebeak leading the charge against some troublesome greenskins that plague the region.





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