Streltsi

The Streltsi are an elite branch of Erengrad Kossars  that specialize in the use of blackpowder rifles, perhaps the only known Kislevite rota to do so. The Streltsi were originally a rota of Kossars from Erengrad. Led by Boyar Boydinov, an eccentric noble obsessed with the Empire - they wielded pole axes rather than axes, mirroring the halberds favoured by the State Regiments of Ostland. In 2345 IC, whilst driving back a Chaos horde alongside his Empire allies, the wide eyed Boyar witnessed the devastating effects of Imperial black powder for the first time.

His Kossars were changed forever. In his last will, Prince Boydinov ordered that a considerable part of his fortune be used for the upkeep of a regiment of handgunners. This tradition endures today, but because Kislev is a poor country, only the city of Erengrad is able to support a regiment of Streltsi.

Now, many years after the death of Boydinov, the Streltsi are the foremost masters of firearms in Kislev, using weapons once viewed with fear and superstition. Soldiers from across Kislev travel to Erengrad to earn the crossed "berdische and musket" badge, which is awarded to any who train with the Streltsi for more than two seasons. The streltsi can shift suddenly from a disciplined line of calm, almost machine-like handgunners to a raging horde of axe-wielding berserkers in an instant, often terrifying even those foes brave enough to cross the wall of gunfire they lay down.

Source

 * Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Realm of the Ice Queen -- pg. 105
 * Kislev, the Claws of the Great Bear, Pt. 2, (Citadel Journal, Issue XX) -- pp. 25

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