Infantry:Irregulars – 1 point
30 Man Unit
Training: Militia
Armor: Resin-reinforced kapok vest and steel pikeman's pot helmet.
Equipment:
10x .56 Serpentina Caplock Carbine
- Spade Bayonet
20x Ceramic Grenades
When someone comes to attack Rogueport or the various small trade posts and homesteads around it, the attacker will invariably face irregulars and militias who form to repel the invader either on their own, if the attackers are few in number, or with the army, if they are more numerous. What constitutes these makeshift bands varies from villages to village, in some communities it may involve all the adult men in the town, and in others it might be a handful of paid targ mercenaries they keep on hand as watchmen to keep both predatory animals and opportunistic raiders away. In dire circumstances, such as an organized attack by another tribe or nation, Torrzal will muster troops from the entire demesne, at which point these irregulars operate very similarly to the militia of more traditional clans.
Usually, these levied soldiers do not take part in wartime activities of an offensive nature, though several desperate situations over the decades have pushed Torrzal to make use of irregulars to bolster the ranks.
It’s law in Draanmor that all families have at least one longarm to their name, so that the people can defend themselves and their countrymen if called upon to do so. Yet, the clan and its people are not the wealthiest, and the exile nation faced heavy import restrictions for many years to help keep them in line, so the firearms available to the commoners are scarce. Most rely on the tried and true Serpentina Carbine, and keep a stockpile of grenades on hand for when they’re inevitably outnumbered. Not to be confused with frag grenades, those used by the militia are made of ceramic, porcelain, or other clay-products and baked in frontier kilns as a stop-gap measure in place of more modern explosives. This practice tends to be frowned upon but no move has been made to stop it.
Regarding the Serpentina, it's a breach-loading rifle so named for its distinctive opening lever, which was oftentimes said to resemble a snake, serpent, or eel. Over time gunsmiths began to outright stylize this piece of the firearm to directly resemble these creatures, both normal and fantastic, as both a maker's mark and added flair. They're single shot and can take either paper or metal cartridges, but the former are by far the most common and popular despite their age. This is because they can also be muzzle loaded with loose powder and shot in that configuration if premade cartridges aren't available. In the frontiers of Draanmor, that isn't always a certainty.
Armsman Squad – 1 point
20 Man Unit
Training: Regular
Armor: Scaled vest with steel sun helmet.
Equipment:
9x .45L Daghda Revolver Rifle
- Spade Bayonet
1x .45 Tanwen Light Machine Gun
- Spade Bayonet
10x .45 Troy 6-shot Revolver
20x Frag Grenades
10x ‘Ghanbar’ Mace
1x Backpack Radio
Optional:
1x .65 Afton Anti-tank Rifle (Replaces Machine Gun)
10x Smoke Grenades
Armsmen are the hired soldiers, which can come from many backgrounds and social/ethnic groups, that work full time to man fortresses, patrol roads, and fight raiders in the sprawling badlands of Draanmor. They’re a common sight in Rogueport, Ironberg, and the outlying settlements, and their ranks are composed of hardy tribesman, mainland adventurers, and the occasional Boar who’s tired of civilian life and out for excitement and adventure. While the ones that man the walls and guard important areas in the capital are well supplied, the jobs of many take them far from constant supply lines as they staff frontier watch posts and keep an eye on farms and homesteads in the countryside. For that reason, their gear is light and robust, able to survive the harsh conditions of the wasteland and the rigors of battle both. While their rifles and pistols are definitely somewhat dated, both are solid designs that the soldiers, whom are often superstitious to fault, are loathe to part with.
Although more than capable of fighting ‘on the line’, so to speak, the armsmen are usually outnumbered and for that reason prefer to skirmish as light infantry when not possessing the benefit of fortifications or rough terrain. Their conservative kit and nonreliance on supply lines means they’re able to flee ahead of heavier foes and conceal themselves for ambush after ambush until the fight can be decisively decided in a manner better suiting their situation.
The
rifle they tend to use relies on tried-and-true revolving cylinders rather than the bolt-operated magazines that have been catching on in the mainlands. While this tends to give them fewer shots overall, they can lay down more firepower faster in the opening rounds of combat where it matters most. Revolvers are also extremely robust, easily to produce, and capable of being silenced due to the unique shape of the cartridge used in the gun; the neck of the bullet projects into the barrel of the gun itself to seal the chamber against resulting gas leakage. Their sidearms, consequently, operate on the same principle and this together makes them excellent ambushers and raiders.
As with many pieces of the Torrzal military, the Ghanbar club and their armor are adapted from the natives of Draanmor. Targs have long since hunted creatures of the wastelands for hides and meat, with the aforementioned scaly hide turning out to produce surprisingly robust armor. Hunting of many of these species is restricted these days, but ranchers not afraid to lose a few fingers attempt to cultivate captive populations to produce
authentic armored vest, which sell very well to mercenaries. Most examples these days are made from metal scales styled after the animals, however. The original armsmen in Rogueport popularized this type of armor amongst the exiles, and soon it became the norm for mercenaries to sport it. Adoption by the actual army came later, after finding out that it proved much more efficient than competing designs from the mainland at stopping firearms.
The
club is another Targ weapon, produced from Bramblewood trees that are left in the salt marshes to seal and harden the wood to a near-petrified state. The resulting weapon is already dangerous enough to break a skull, but it's made even worse by fastening sharpened blades of metal or stone to the head's edges. These are often yanked like saw blades after impacting a foe to rip into their armor and flesh, producing horrid wounds. It's a rite of passage for most nomand tribes to produce one of these weapons for themselves upon reaching adult age, which they travel alone in the Bramblewood to undertake. Coming back alive isn't always a guarantee. Their introduction into the army follows a similar trend to the armor, it was made popular by the mercenaries that protected the cities and villages. The design changed little after being picked up by the military, but the crude blades were exchanged for bronze or steel serrates that significantly increase their lethality.
Citizen-soldier Squad – 1 point
15 Man Unit
Training: Elite
Armor: Scaled vest with padded silk backing, steel sun helmet.
Equipment:
8x .255 Foley Straight-pull Bolt-action Carbine
- Spade Bayonet
2x .45 Tanwen Light Machine Gun
- Spade Bayonet
10x .45 Troy 6-shot Revolver
20x Frag Grenades
10x ‘Ghanbar’ Mace
1x Backpack Radio
Optional:
2x .65 Afton Anti-tank Rifle (Replaces Machine gun)
10x Smoke Grenades
The elites of Clan Torrzal’s military are the citizen-soldiers. They’re given the best gear, the best training, and are comprised entirely of Boars so that their loyalty and stubbornness in even the worst fights is assured. While few in numbers their track record speaks for itself, and a handful of these men can stiffen a line of even the most unworkable rabble. They sport relatively advanced straight-pull rifles imported from Wellblium, who just so happened to have a large stockpile of them and their ammunition on hand after losing a contract bid to supply them to one of the southern clans who had lost faith in the Royal Arms company. Clan Torrzal, in need of a good reliable firearm, decided to simply buy them off the manufacturer rather than waste time and funds to produce one in house with all the trial and error that would come with that. While not able to match newer semiautomatic guns in rate of fire, the reliability of the Foley is very well appreciated in the Southlands. Originally designed as full sized rifles, Torrzal was insistent on getting carbines, so the Foleys were hastily converted to short barreled models before export. The quality of these conversions can vary, but poorer jobs typically get palmed off to private buyers with the army keeping the best for use in these squads.
Citizen-soldiers are not a volunteer force, so to speak, though they aren't conscripted in a general muster the way levies and irregulars are. Generally men, and now women too as of the new Viceroy's decree, are conscripted to serve two years in the military, and after that they're allowed to return home as reservists and are only called back for refreshers at infrequent intervals. This service revolves mostly around training and arms keeping, and unless trouble is expected to come in short order, the conscripts usually aren't going to be sent out to fight during this period. When citizen-soldiers need to be sent out a small portion of the aforementioned reserves are called up and mobilized, usually attached to a force of armsmen to keep down costs.
Cavalry: Longrider Squad – $670
20 Man Camelry Unit
Training: Regular
Armor: Scaled vest with steel sun helmet. Camels have barding of the same material.
Equipment:
8x .45L Daghda Revolver Rifle
- Spade Bayonet
2x .45 Tanwen Light Machine Gun
- Spade Bayonet
10x .45 Troy 6-shot Revolver
20x Frag Grenades
10x ‘Ghanbar’ Mace
1x Backpack Radio
Optional:
10x .50 Daghda Air Rifle (Replaces Rifles and Machine Guns)
- Spade Bayonet
10x Smoke Grenades
Longriders are the mounted equivalent to armsmen, and primarily are composed of Serrans and Targs. Both are skilled ranch hands and camel riders, which is essential, as all cavalry from Torrzal ride camels and not horses, which do not fair nearly as well in the badlands. In addition to keeping trouble down, they help ranchers to control and corral their herds, and act as much in nonmilitary capacities as otherwise. Their skills are highly respected in the wasteland, and most are welcome anywhere that Torrzal settlers can be found in hopes that they’ll share their survival skills and stories of their long journeys across the barren deserts they call home. Over the years a sizable number of Boars have also joined the ranks of the longriders as their traditions passed to plainsmen in frontier communities.
In battle they act as raiders and outriders, sowing trouble with constant hit and run attacks that they can easily evade reprisal to with their swift mounts. Most of the nomadic tribes in Draanmor and the desert lands around it fight in similar fashion, and sometimes entire warbands are mounted. While most lack formal military training, a life of making ends meet in an unforgiving countryside is almost as good, and their keen accuracy at hunting down the next meal is just as good when turned to hunting down an enemy artillery crew. Their contracts tend to pay better than those of the footmen, and so they can afford to equip themselves with superior firearms than the armsmen they usually work alongside. When fighting from camelback is not called for they are equally skilled as mounted infantry, and in some cases they exchange their more modern rifles with Daghdas for the added stealth that the revolver rifles bring.
Support Elements: Fire Support Squad – 1 point
5 Man Unit, Mounted on Camels
Training: Regular
Armor: Scaled vest with padded silk backing, steel sun helmet. The gun is made of steel.
Equipment:
1x 8-pounder Dynamite 'Pack Gun' (Heavy Weapon, Howitzer.)
5x .255 Foley Straight-pull Bolt-action Carbine
- Spade Bayonet
5x .45 Troy 6-shot Revolver
10x Frag Grenades
5x ‘Ghanbar’ Mace
1x Backpack Radio
Optional:
10x Smoke Grenades
Fire support squads, as the name implies, give long ranged fire support to aid and assist conventional infantry squads in battle. Air guns have long since been popular choices for weaponry in Clan Torrzal, and even their artillery uses the principles of pneumatics. Similar to Clan Kasorymor's dynamite guns, these breech-loading howitzers lob high explosive shells without muzzle flash and little sound, and can be used to fire directly or indirectly. Because they don't have to withstand the harsh pressures brought about by powder combustion, the frames and barrels of these cannons can end up being very light compared to their more conventional counterparts that have to be solid enough to weather the repeated explosions that are needed to throw ordnance. This was the primary reason that the gun was adopted; the light weight. These guns are known as 'pack guns' because they can be broken down into 5 parts and packed up for ease of transportation. The individual parts are actually light enough that a man could carry one piece on his own, but the squads are given camels so that only ends up being used in dicey situations. Being mounted also means they can reposition quickly and put their guns in the most opportune spots that slower towed guns would be too slow to reach, or would not be able to reach at all such as on the top of a mountain cliff or beyond a river.
Another key benefit of the dynamite gun is that it allows the use of blasting gelatin that would explode in the barrel from the shock of powder combustion, meaning that regular artillery can't use it. While not as powerful as modern explosives point-for-point, this nitrocellulose jelly is very cheap and easy to produce compared to other explosives being pushed into use, which are not so easy to manufacture and would thus strain the industrial might of the exiles considerably. In a pinch, stones can be smoothed and fed into the gun to be used as cannonballs if no real ammo is available, which is another benefit that comes from pneumatic propulsion. This makeshift round shot has been used in several sieges since the gun was rolled out 25 years ago.
The crew consists of 5 men. One commander, one guard/spotter, two loaders, and one gunner. Technically two men could work it if casualties are sustained. The artillery piece has a forward gun shield to protect the soldiers manning it, optional wheels to tow or push it once deployed, and a sizable compressed air tank below the barrel.
Heavy Weapon Squad – 1 point
10 man unit
Training: Elite
Armor: Scaled vest with padded silk backing, steel sun helmet.
Equipment:
6x .255 Foley Straight-pull Bolt-action Carbine
- Spade Bayonet
4x .255 'Buraq' Medium Machine Gun
10x .45 Troy 6-shot Revolver
200x Frag Grenades
10x ‘Ghanbar’ Mace
2x Backpack Radio
Optional:
20x Smoke Grenades
For the most part the infantry of Clan Torrzal try to remain light and mobile, but heavy support is obviously still an important requirement. For that, they have dedicated squads of soldiers given heavier machine guns to assist the light infantry and lay down suppressive fire at greater ranges and for longer spans than the lighter Tanwen can provide. These guns are still portable enough for one man to carry on his own without much issue, but they're chambered to use the same caliber as the Foley, and are fed by links rather than magazines. Against a massed foe, the end result can be nothing short of horrifying if they are not properly drilled in how to face these new weapons. While they can be moved by one man, firing while on the move is feasible but extremely inefficient - recoil would render most shooting a futile gesture, unless the wielder were unusually strong. It happens on occasion, but your baseline soldier couldn't pull it off.
The crew for these teams consist of: Two spotter/guard, four loaders, four two gunners.