"Dogs of War”, they call us — “mercenaries”, like it’s something bad. But I tell yer it’s the way to live like a duke. Regular pay and food, chances for loot, and seein’ the sights in every new town you come to. Of course, sometimes you have to burn them to the ground, but that’s just business."
- —Recruiter to a young labourer[7d]
The Dogs of War, also known as Regiments of Renown, is a catch-all term used in the Old World to generally describe armies or bands of mercenaries from all across the Known World, fighting on behalf of anyone willing to pay their exorbitant prices. They are drawn to places where fortunes can be won by ruthless adventures. From the lush jungles of the New World to the misty isles of the Far East, and from the steamy swamplands of the Southlands to the harsh tundra of the Chaos Wastes, the mortal world is truly awash with rag-tag armies of sellswords who nurture the wishful dreams of loot, plunder and adventure.[1a]
Although many Dogs of War ply their bloody trade to every point on the compass, the most notorious breeding-ground of mercenaries lies within the fractious, war-torn city-states of Tilea in the Old World. From all the kingdoms of the Old World and many more beyond, sell-swords come towards Tilea in the tens of thousands, reassured of profitable employment and great battles to be won. Tilea is the battleground from which these gold-hungry mercenaries will ply their expertise to all those willing to pay. Yet no matter the motivation, bold armies of Dogs of War depart every few weeks from the ports of Tilea and sail off into the sunset, ready to conqueror new lands and found new kingdoms the likes of which no man have ever seen before.[1a]
Tilean mercenaries have a reputation for professionalism that other sell-swords do not. Other foreign mercenaries, such as Kossars from Kislev, the almost feral berserkers from Norsca, or the enormous Ogres who ply their trade in the Empire are often viewed with distrust if not open hostility.[3a]
Many Tilean city-states make extensive use of mercenary armies to dispatch them to Lustria to establish power bases there, from which gold and other riches can be shipped back to the Old World to further the ambitions of the Tilean merchant princes. Other nations have assisted these expeditions due to their superior knowledge of the land and routes of travel. In particular, mercenary warbands from the city-state of Trantio are considered the most skilled soldiers in exploring and exploiting new lands.[4a][5a]
History
Origin
Warriors have always sold their services for money or other rewards, but mercenaries as they are commonly known in the Old World first developed in Tilea. From early times the merchants of Tilea hired soldiers to defend their ships from pirates and to escort their merchandise on overland trade routes. Warehouses and property also had to be guarded and so it became usual for merchants to maintain troops. Mercantile families also used their mercenaries to further political ambitions at home, either to make themselves absolute rulers of their cities, or to oppose such tyrants and proclaim a republic.[7b]
The early Tileans were lucky that their lands remained largely free of monstrous creatures but in 475 IC a vast horde of Orcs and Goblins invaded from the east. The Tilean merchants were not used to fighting invaders — most of their battles were against each other — and the sudden appearance of Orcs burning crops, torching farms, and making off with the merchant caravans was a shock.[7b]
Things grew increasingly perilous when certain Tilean princes hired Orcs to carry out mayhem on their behalf. When Monte Scorri, the Count of Zeluco, stormed Amato and reclaimed his family's crown, the great city states feared this was only the start. They panicked when Zeluco’s army, reinforced with Goblins from the Apuccini Mountains, crushed a Reman militia. Only the onset of the rainy season stopped the ‘Black Count’ from marching on Remas itself.[7b]
Enter Rienzi, who came to be known as ‘the Magnificent’, a priest of Myrmidia. Rienzi had studied all the cult’s holy texts. When word came of Remas’s defeat, this younger son of a Reman merchant family saw an opportunity to honour his goddess — and make a profit. He offered to build the city’s rulers an invincible army if they signed a binding contract and paid his fee. Desperate and afraid, they agreed. Over the winter Rienzi recruited and trained an army, drilling them over and over in Myrmidian precepts of strategy and tactics, paying them well so they could serve full-time.[7b]
In spring, the "Eagles of Remas" crushed the Black Count's army in the Battle of Blood Ford. Monte Scorri’s heavy cavalry charged Rienzi’s pikemen again and again, but couldn’t break through. Meanwhile, the crossbowmen loosed volley after volley into the Goblins, who broke when Rienzi’s cavalry slammed into their flanks. The Black Count’s army fell apart, and he died while trying to escape across the river. Remas was saved.[7b]
Instead of sending his men home, however, Rienzi kept them in service. Offers were pouring in from other city-states, and Rienzi knew a money-maker when he saw. The mercenary army marched out to meet the Orc tribes. Rienzi pitched his tent on one side of a mighty river from where he could observe the enemy encampments. He noticed that various Orc contingents would occasionally fight each other, indeed the whole army was plainly riven with dissent and only the personal attention of the big Orc warlord was keeping it together.[7b]
Rienzi decided that rather than fight the Orcs they would simply hire half the Orc army to fight the other half,[7b][9a] though how such an agreement was negotiated is unclear.[9a] That way, no matter which side won the Tileans couldn't possibly lose, and the spoils won by the victorious half would pay the cost of hiring them.[7b][9a]
Thanks to the example of Rienzi, soon other entrepreneurs were raising their own mercenaries, and Tilea's so-called "Dogs of War" became one of that land's main exports to the rest of the Known World.[7b][9a]
Role of Mercenaries
"Left! Right! Left! Righ… No, your other right, Squig for brains! You march like that, the Goblins will be sticking you full of holes before you can even untangle your feet!"
- —Miraglianese drill sergeant[7d]
Mercenary forces meet several needs. They allow rulers to quickly build ‘off the shelf ’ armies that only have to be paid for the duration of their contracts, saving the cost of maintaining large forces all year round. In peacetime, the nobility and freibergs only need a small core of professionals and local levies. Mercenaries also provide specialist services an employer isn’t capable or willing to develop on its own — miners and master siege engineers, for example.[7b]
Dogs of War are also popular with those seeking to avoid military service. Laws in many parts of the Old World bind guildsmen to serve in their town’s forces in return for the privilege of doing business. That of course risks encouraging merchants to move elsewhere.[7b]
The custom of the ‘shilling soldier’ first arose in Bögenhafen. When the old Graf von Saponatheim demanded all the apprentices and journeymen from the Clothiers’ Guild for four months’ military service, it was simply too much. The guild was expecting a large order from Marienburg, but, if they couldn’t meet the deadline because of a lack of tradesmen, the business would go elsewhere. So they made a proposal: the guild offered a ‘donation’ of ‘a shilling a head’ (later raised to a Crown) so the Graf could go buy his own soldiers, ‘if His Vaunted Highness would then graciously leave us alone’. The Graf agreed, since he wouldn’t have to deal as often with ‘rancorous, ill-disciplined burghers who barely know the sharp end from the butt’. The donation became a regular custom, and the idea soon spread, with wealthy individuals paying to have someone take their place.[7b]
In Tilea
"Yes my son, Tilea is where you must go!' my father said, 'For from the city of Miragliano, the famous freebooter El Cadavo sets sail this very week upon a voyage to the west, to win new kingdoms and explore lands no man has ever visited before!"
- —Memoirs of a Lustrian Adventurer, a personal account by Fleugweiner Sonderblitz[1e]
The Dogs of War reached their purest form in Tilea. In the city-states, where riots are a regular occurrence, the Merchant Houses prefer hiring outsiders to do their fighting, rather than arming and training a potential mob. Most maintain watchmen and militia, but the Watch is meant for patrolling streets and checking doors, not war, while the militias train so infrequently that they are little better than a rabble. Miragliano did away with them altogether, maintaining a large army of mercenaries on long-term contracts that also acts as a Watch, when not on campaign. They even employ a cadre of Rat Catchers, professional soldiers specially trained to patrol the canals and sewers to deal with the swarms of rats and ratlike creatures that creep out of the Blighted Marshes.[7b]
Of the other Tilean States, only Remas recruits its own citizens, selling the right to recruit to contractor-captains called condottieri for a period of service, after which they’re free to seek work elsewhere. Luccini, on the other hand, hires far and wide, even among the detested Estalians, because of the need to garrison the fortress of Monte Castello, which guards the frontier with the Border Princes.[7b]
Tobaro, built into cliffs hard against the Tilean Sea and with the Abasko mountains behind her, has little land to defend. But the sea is her lifeblood, and the tunnels beneath and beyond the city’s bounds hold many dangers — Greenskins and worse. And so Tobaro hires specialised mercenaries, sappers, and tunnel fighters, as well as marines to guard their ships.[7b]
Sartosa is unique, serving as mercenary privateers — ‘Sea Dogs of War’ — in one season, then preying on those same clients the next year as pirates.[7b]
Luccini hires Sartosan ships to protect their commerce and coasts from Arabyan corsairs, while Marienburg reportedly pays them to harry the shipping of Magritta and Bilbali. Though Sartosa seems anarchic, one firm rule holds true: never attack ships guarded by other Sartosan captains. That is bad for business. The last to break it, the Brettonian Captain Guillaume One-Eye, was eventually captured by his fellow captains. He is now known as ‘Blind Will’.[7b]
In the Empire
Mercenaries in the Empire supplement existing forces, rather than forming the whole army. This is due to the belief in many parts that your own people will fight harder for you than any mercenary just ‘doing it for the shilling’. When Orcs come rampaging from the Black Mountains, Stirlanders in the State Army know they are fighting for their homes. Mercenaries might well decide to go home.[7b]
Middenland and Talabecland employ the fewest mercenaries, as Ulricans tend to look down on anyone doing their fighting for them. Mercenaries are more accepted in the west and south. In Reikland, the Grand Prince’s mercenaries augment the State Army to a size few of even the great nobles can match. Nuln has gone furthest down this road. Small in territory, but wealthy beyond belief, the Grand Counts have signed many Dogs of War to long-term contracts as the core of Nuln’s State Army, while Nulners are more often gunners and engineers.[7b]
Tilean mercenaries have served in the Empire since the Age of Wars, when the incessant civil strife of that time provided constant employment. At a time when even the Grand Provinces were breaking down, only the Elector Counts and the most powerful nobles under them could afford the gold necessary to hire truly professional troops. They were capable of sweeping aside rebel militia or the retainers of robber barons with dreams of glory, as well as protect them from the mercenaries of other Electors. The largest free cities and towns got in on the act, hiring their own mercenaries to support their favoured factions, or their neutrality.[7c]
Tilean mercenaries are less common in the Empire’s north and east, where the precepts of Myrmidia are less widespread and many of Ulric’s followers regard ‘effete’ Myrmidians with disdain. In the western and southern Grand Provinces, however, some have been employed for so long that they are effectively units of the State Army. In Nuln, the Blue Herons of Miragliano have served as the Royal Horse Guard since the time of the Grand Countess’s great-grandfather. Though they recruit in Miragliano, all their work is for Nuln.[7c]
During the Turmoil that racked the Empire in recent times many Tilean mercenary captains travelled across the Vaults and sought employment. The famed Leopard Company fought for Emmanuelle von Liebwitz in her campaign to annex the province of Sudenland, and the Birdmen of Catrazza were hired to scout for the forces of Talabecland.[7c]
When not on the battlefield, Tilean mercenaries often double as a city’s elite security force, guarding dignitaries and public buildings. Others, however, lacking long-term contracts and running short of money, turn to banditry, preying on travellers and towns unable or unwilling to buy them off.[7c]
Hiring Mercenaries
Though Tilean city governments and nobles do their own recruiting, anyone else seeking armed help goes to the mercenary guild hall usually attached to the nearest temple of Myrmidia. There, after making a suitable donation to the guild, the resident master -- often a retired mercenary who has joined the priesthood -- brings client and mercenary together and arranges the contract, the temple keeping a copy and mediating any dispute.[7b]
In the Empire, authorities often look askance at anyone trying to hire armed men, at least more than a few. It is one thing to hire mercenaries to guard a mine in the hills, but, with the Empire's history of civil war and rebellion, nobles and towns recruiting large numbers of mercenaries look suspicious to the Imperial authorities, who question why the Imperial State Armies or the nobles' own private armed retinues are not enough to provide adequate defence and security.[7b]
Yet they recognize that sometimes there is a need. Though the laws vary, would-be generals must buy a ‘licence to recruit’ from the local rulers, either a noble or a freiberg’s council. This gives them permission to recruit and operate in that ruler’s territory. The higher up one goes, the broader the area the licence covers. Only the Elector Count’s court can grant a writ that covers an entire Grand Province, a daunting and expensive prize.[7b]
While this is how it is supposed to work, corruption and turmoil can lead to abuse. Many nobles have hired mercenaries in one territory to attack another; when the victims complain to the authorities who issued the licence, they pretend to be as shocked as anyone (and forget to mention the bribes they received to look the other way).[7b]
Usually, a regiment of mercenaries is only available to hire for a limited selection of clients. For example, the Tilean regiments will understandably not fight alongside Skaven. and Dwarfs would never hire Hobgoblins, no matter how good their rates are.[8a]
Forces of the Dogs of War
"We loves ta go a plunderin'...Across the salty seas...A killin' an a muderin'...An' fightin' if ya please!....We loves ta go a plunderin'...Across da mountain sides!....But when we comes ta do them in, dem stunties runs an' hides!...."
- —Mercenary Ogre, camp fire song[1a]
A Dogs of War army is a very diverse military force that consists of many different companies of dangerous cutthroats and sell-swords drawn from a wide diversity of ethnic and racial backgrounds. Of these mercenary companies, the most notorious have earned their reputation through remarkable success, sheer brutality or an adventurous spirit and are known collectively as "Regiments of Renown."
Each individual regiment is led by a famous mercenary for whom the company is usually named. Each of these companies are often assembled and paid for by an ambitious mercenary captain, or for particularly large mercenary forces of army-strength, a mercenary general. Each captain or general is a warrior of great ambition and enormous greed, ready to go forth to seek a life of perilous adventure, bloodshed and hopefully, booty.[1b]
Tilean Pike
Pikes are very long spears, almost twice as long as a normal spear and longer even than a horseman's lance. Because of the great length of the pike, it can reach over several ranks of soldiers, the men behind level their pikes over the shoulders of, or between, the men in front. Pikes outreach other hand-to-hand combat weapons and so troops armed in this way strike first during the very first moments of a fight.[1b]
When fighting cavalry, pikemen close ranks and form an impenetrable wall of sharp points. Horses are very reluctant to close with this steel hedgehog and are held at bay.[1b]
Cavalry
With fewer heavily armed and armoured knights than the Empire, Tilean mercenary armies rely on fast, lightly armed horsemen to provide mobile striking power. Rather than charge headlong into the teeth -- and pikes -- of the foe, Tilean light cavalry, called Stradioti in the Tilean tongue, prefer to strike from the flanks or, best of all, the rear, where the enemy's baggage train presents a tempting target.[7a]
The Pay Chest
"Wars are waged by warriors, but won with gold."
- —An old Tilean proverb.[11a]
Being an army consisting entirely of mercenaries, the prospect of pay is more important to the integrity of a Dogs of War army then perhaps any other factor on the battlefield. As such, the paymaster is possibly as important as the army's general, as he is responsible for all the cash which mercenaries are frightfully keen to claim. The paymaster guards this treasure with his life -- literally so because he carries the army's pay chest with him at all times. The pay chest is a heavy, iron-bound, secure-looking affair that the paymaster brings to battle on a cart. This is pulled by a sturdy, non-excitable beast, such as a donkey, mule or even a compliant Tilean grandmother if no other equally suitable beast of burden presents itself![1b]
So that the troops can see exactly where the paymaster is at all times, something they find reassuring, the cart is provided with a suitably impressive flag that also serves as the mercenary army's standard. The paymaster, together with his pay chest, fulfils the same role as a battle standard bearer and battle standard do in other armies.[1b]
The paymaster can be accompanied by bodyguards. The bodyguards are in the employ of the paymaster. They are usually extraordinarily burly individuals with flattened noses, huge fists, and sour expressions. They are handpicked for their lack of mental agility and are therefore likely to stand their ground and fight where other, more imaginative folk might choose to run away.[1b]
In the Known World there is never any shortage of merchants willing to lend money to ambitious mercenary captains. Rates of interest vary from the merely extortionate to the downright blood-curdling. The borrower must provide collateral in the form of castles, estates or family jewels, and should the unfortunate debtor prove unable to cough up, his whole family is likely to be sold to the slavers of Araby to settle the bill.[1b]
Wily merchants have developed sophisticated banking systems to cope with the demand for money, and have grown fat, rich and unpopular in the process. A Dogs of War army can include a money lender as part of the paymaster's entourage. The money lender is always placed next to the paymaster where he will fight if necessary, though quite honestly he isn't very good at it and would prefer not to![1b]
The money lender's purpose is to lend the paymaster enough cash to increase the pay of the troops and encourage them to fight harder. If a paymaster is accompanied by a money lender, any mercenary soldier is inspired by the money lender's promises of more money. The presence of a money lender can help ensure that the troops cheer their captain and happily return to the fray.[1b]
Below these two individuals there are a myriad of different captains, wizards and officers, each individual having their own goals and responsibilities for their mercenary unit on the field of battle.[1b]
Legend of the Paychest
Several historians record the origins of the mercenary general's custom of taking the paychest into battle. This account was made by Kurt Breizenhof of Nuln.[1b]
As everyone knows, it is the custom in a mercenary army to put the paychest on a wagon in the midst of the troops. The chest, which is invariably very strong and bound with bands of iron and bronze, contains all the treasure and gold with which the employer or the general intends to pay the soldiers after victory is won.[1b]
Furthermore, any booty in the form of gold or silver which is captured by the soldiers in the course of the campaign is added to the treasure in the paychest, to be shared out among the army before it is disbanded. Since the amount of treasure in the paychest is usually very great, only a small proportion of it will be used up in paying for supplies for the army while the campaign is being fought, leaving the greater part to reward the soldiers.[1b]
The paychest has come to be a symbol of the great faith of the army in their commander and the cause for which they fight, and also of the good faith of the commander and the state he represents towards those who are prepared to shed their blood in his service.[1b]
Although the arrogant generals of other armies may mock this custom, the battle standards of their armies are merely relics or tokens inspiring loyalty by honour and pride alone. If such a standard is lost, they simply find or weave another one! Furthermore, their warriors are still paid and supplied, even though they allowed the standard to be lost! However, if the paychest is captured it is not merely a matter of honour, it can mean the complete ruination of the mercenary general in charge! Also, none of the soldiers will be paid or supplied! For this reason the presence of the paychest on the field of battle, within sight of the enemy, is a sign to friend and foe alike that the army and its commander will fight with the utmost determination! [1b]
The origins of this excellent custom go back to the most distant times. It is said that the first general to bring a paychest into battle was Justintine of Varenna in the days when Orcs and Goblins prowled the lands. Hearing that there was much treasure in the city of Varenna, and that the walls of the city had tumbled down in an earthquake, the greedy Orcs gathered together into an army to attack the city. Justintine knew that Varenna could not be held and resolved that the treasure should not fall into the hands of the Orcs. Justintine led the entire population, accompanied by a wagon bearing a great treasure chest, out of Varenna to found a new city elsewhere.[1b]
Unfortunately, the greed of the Orcs and Goblins was so great that they followed Justintine's army wherever it went. Justintine marched his army fast, crossing many rivers and successfully evading the Orcs for many months. Meanwhile the Orc horde grew larger and larger and would not give up the pursuit. Soon all the scattered Orc and Goblin warbands within a hundred leagues had joined those following the treasure chest, and they had proclaimed a certain Warlord Ugwarg as their leader.[1b]
Thus throughout the land there came a respite from Orc and Goblin attacks as all of them gathered in pursuit of Justintine. At long last Justintine and his army, found themselves near the sea. They were tired of forced marching and decided to turn and fight to the death, even though the odds were against them. While the Orcs approached, Justintine sent out word that he would share out the great treasure among any who would come to his aid, rather than let the Orcs have it.[1b]
As soon as this news spread throughout the Old World, adventurous and impoverished warriors began arriving at Justintine's camp. Some came by sea, others marched by night and day over land.[1b]
When the Orc horde drew up for battle, Ugwarg was amazed at the size of the army opposite him and his dark heart grew faint. Seeing the masts of a few ships upon the shore, his chiefs urged their warlord to lead the attack, desiring to capture the treasure before the enemy made away with it across the sea. They did not know that their enemy had no intention of retreating! [1b]
The Orcs and Goblins surged onwards, driven by greed and the warlike instincts of their race. They were soon impaled upon the long spears of the troops arrayed like a solid wall on the shores of the sea. In the midst of the battle line was the treasure chest. Standing upon the chest was Hurcio, a giant of a man, armed with nothing but a club and wearing only the pelt of a lion. Although the Orcs and Goblins surged around him, not one reached the treasure chest and lived.[1b]
It is said that the slaughter of Orcs and Goblins on that day was so great that the land was free from marauders for ten years afterwards. So great were the number of fallen that when Justintine shared out the treasure among the survivors every soldier had so much gold that he could buy land and build himself a mansion. Indeed many Old Worlder nobles claim descent from the victors of the battle! [1b]
All the heroes who fought that day took up the custom of taking their treasure chests into battle and were always victorious in their fights against the Orcs, sea raiders or each other! Thus did the custom become established. As to where exactly the great battle was fought, no one knows for sure. The Luccinians say it was fought near to their own city while the citizens of Remas claim that it was fought not far south of that city. The battle does not have a proper name and is known simply as the 'Victory of Justintine' in all the tales. Nor can the city be found which Justintine is said to have established on the seashore for the survivors of his people. As to the ruins of Varenna, they do exist. They lie not far from Trantio and they are very old indeed.[1b]
Army Composition
Lords
- Mercenary General - "Mercenary general" is a common term to describe any individual leading a Dogs of War army on the battlefield. These great commanders can come from many lands of origin, such as the Empire, Bretonnia or Estalia, but all share the need to become rich through employment, plunder and adventure.[1d][2]
- Hireling Wizard Lord - Hireling wizard lords are mysterious wizards from faraway lands that sometimes fight in battle on the back of a magnificent Pegasus.[2]
Heroes
- Mercenary Captain - Mercenary captains, also known as "mercenary heroes," are expert leaders of men, roguish and often loved by their soldiers, who command units of mercenaries known as companies or battalions. Such units can sometimes take on jobs of their own, or are part of a larger mercenary army under the command of a mercenary general.[1d][2]
- Paymaster - A paymaster is perhaps the second most important individual within a Dogs of War army, whose sole responsibility is to oversee and protect the army's treasury to ensure the loyalty of their own troops on the battlefield as well as paying the mercenaries their gold.[1d][2]
- Hireling Wizard - A hireling wizard is a term for any wizard who willingly lends his service to those that are willing to pay. They can be varied, from simple hedge-wizards to powerful Imperial Wizards.[1d][2]
Core Units
- Pikemen - Pikes are the infantry's weapon of choice in Tilea. Twice as long as a normal spear and longer than a cavalryman's lance, the front of a unit of pikes is an impenetrable wall of steel.[2]
- Crossbowmen - The bulk of the missile troops in a Dogs of War army are formed by crossbowmen from Tilea, Estalia and the Border Princes.[2]
- Duellist - Small units of lightly armed skirmishers are normally employed to protect the flanks of pike-armed units.[2]
- Heavy Cavalry - Cadet sons of nobles from Bretonnia, the Empire and Tilea form the shock cavalry of most mercenary armies. Kislevite Winged Lancers are sometimes employed and are much renowned for their swift manoeuvres.[2]
- Light Cavalry - Scouting ahead of the army, harrying the enemy supply line, attacking vulnerable war machines and engaging the flanks of the enemy line are but a few of the roles performed by these precious troops. Riders from Tilea, called Stradioti, Araby or from the steppes of Kislev are the best choice available to mercenary captains.[2][7a]
Special Units
- Ogres - Massive, ferocious, resilient and not too bright, Ogres make perfect mercenaries. Their ability of eating practically anything means that they are also easy to maintain.[2]
- Dwarfs - The Dwarf race is cursed by an irresistible lust for gold and they certainly don’t dislike fighting (especially against Greenskins). It’s easy to understand how some young Dwarfs decide that they’d rather earn their gold fighting than spend their life scraping the underground in search of rich ore.[2]
- Norse Marauders - Raiding and pillaging is what the berserker Norse are good at, and at times the best way of neutralising the threat they represent is to offer them a job…[2]
- Paymaster's Bodyguards - Only the oldest and most trusted veterans are selected by the Paymaster to form their own bodyguard. These sturdy fighters are handsomely paid and that gives them extra motivation to protect the Paymaster with their lives… well, most of the time.[2]
- Halflings - Halflings are not warlike people, but there are a few among them that just cannot settle in the peaceful land of the Moot. These ‘adventure-loving weirdoes’, as they are referred to by other Halflings, often decide to band together and wander the world as hired bowmen.[2]
Rare Units
- Cannons - Since Dogs of War armies are always on the move, they cannot afford to carry and maintain the massive Great Cannons typical of the Empire. For this reason, lighter, easy to move, small calibre guns are a treasured element of many mercenary armies.[2]
- Halfling Hot Pot - Mercenary Generals know very well that Halfling cooks are an important element in attracting freelance fighters to their army. Another advantage of hiring such refined chefs is the access to the Hot Pot, a weird catapult-like device that uses a cauldron full of hot soup as a projectile. This improvised form of artillery is used only in the direst circumstances (persuading a Halfling to give up his food is not an easy task to accomplish!).[2]
- Mercenary Giants - Those Giants that have been payed to join an army are known with this name, they're oftentimes hired to prevent them from rampaging in the countryside or devouring the locals livestock.[1a]
Notable Regiments of Renown
Famous (or perhaps infamous) mercenary regiments acquire a certain notoriety because they are remarkably successful, brutal, adventurous, or for some other reason that brings them to the attention of the wider world.
Individual Regiments of Renown are led by famous commanders, and indeed are frequently named after these leaders. For example, one of these is the notorious Ogre mercenary captain Golgfag Maneater, whose Ogre mercenaries have, at one time or another, looted and despoiled most of the civilised parts of the Old World...and some not so civilised ones as well. A Dogs of War army often comprises many different Regiments of Renown assembled and paid for by an ambitious mercenary general.[1]
- Al Muktar's Desert Dogs - This band of light cavalry is made up of experienced Arabyan raiders.[1][2]
- Asarnil the Dragonlord - Asarnil is a famous High Elven mercenary who hailed from the mist-shrouded lands of far-off Ulthuan, and was the commander of a unit of exiled Dragonriders known as the Dragonlords.[1][2]
- Beorg Bearstruck and the Bearmen of Urslo - The Bearmen of Urslo are a warband of ferocious Norscan raiders.[1][2]
- Birdmen of Catrazza - The Birdmen are famed throughout the land of Tilea for their ability to fly across the battlefield by using a pair of wings made entirely of canvas stretched out over a light wooden frame.
- Braganza's Besiegers - Trained and heavily armored crossbowmen armed with pavises.[1][2]
- Bronzino's Galloper Guns - A highly mobile artillery band became infamous for their hit-and-run tactics.[1][2]
- Dark Emissary of Albion - Dark Emissaries are those Truthsayers who have been corrupted by the Daemon Prince Be'lakor.
- Fen Beast - Terrible abominations leaded by Dark Emissary or Truthsayer of Albion.
- Hengus the Druid and the Giants of Albion - A band of Dogs of War that fight around the Old World.
- Golgfag's Maneaters - Also known as Golgfag's Ogres, are a famous band of mercenaries hailing from the arid mountains of the Ogre Kingdoms.[1][2]
- Gotrek and Felix - Gotrek Gurnisson, a Dwarf Slayer, and Felix Jaeger, his Human chronicler, are a duo of warriors travelling throughout the length and breadth of the Old World and beyond.
- Johan and Wilhelm - Johann van Hal and Wilhelm Hasburg are a pair of wandering sigmarites whose goal is to eradicate the enemies of the faith- Chaos cults, witches, necromancers and the Undead.
- Leopold's Leopard Company - Leopold's Leopard Company is a mercenary company hailing from the city-state of Luccini, trained as an elite core of armoured pikemen.[1][2]
- Long Drong's Slayer Pirates - An infamous band of mercenary Sea Slayers that travel the seven seas aboard the Fair Fregar.[1][2]
- Lumpin Croop's Fighting Cocks - A band of mercenaries that hail from the peaceful and agricultural farmlands of the Moot, the homeland of the Halfling race.[2]
- Malakai Makaisson's Goblin Hewer - Malakai Makaisson is an infamous Dwarf Slayer-engineer and companion of Gotrek and Felix.
- Marksmen of Miragliano - The Marksmen of Miragliano is a mercenary company hailing from the city-state of Miragliano, trained as skirmishers and marksmen.[1][2]
- Mengil Manhide's Manflayers - A vicious group of Dark Elf mercenaries dressed with the flesh of their enemies.
- Nightmare Legion - A renowned regiment of Undead skeleton warriors that operates in Tilea from their skeletal throne in Lumbrusco.
- Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz - An infamous band of Hobgoblin mercenaries hailing from the Eastern Steppes.[2]
- Pirazzo's Lost Legion - Pirazzo's Lost Legion is a mercenary company hailing from the city-state of Tobaro, trained in the use of both crossbow and pike formation.[1][2]
- Ricco's Republican Guard - Ricco's Republican Guard was a mercenary company hailing from the city-state of Remas, trained as a core of heavily-armoured pikemen.[1][2]
- Ruglud's Armoured Orcs - A band of mercenaries Orcs lead by the infamous Ruglud Bonechewer.
- The Alcatani Fellowship - The Alcatani Fellowship is a mercenary company hailing from the rural countryside of Tilea, trained as armoured pikemen.[1][2]
- The Cursed Company - An ancient mercenary company of Undead, rumoured to enslave those who fall to their deadly blades to eternal servitude.
- Tichi-Huichi's Raiders - From the distant jungle-continent of the Southlands, this mercenary band consist entirely of Skink warriors riding on-top of Cold Ones.[2]
- Truthsayer of Albion - Hermits, preserving the sorceries of their ancient land through ritual and ceremony.
- Vespero's Vendetta - Vespero's Vendetta is a mercenary company hailing from the city-state of Luccini, trained as expert duellists, saboteurs and bodyguards.[1][2]
- Voland's Venators - Voland's Venators is a mercenary company of unknown origins, trained as a core of mercenary knights for hire.[1][2]
Notable Dogs of War
- Borgio the Besieger - Borgio is the Merchant Prince of Miragliano, and one of the greatest mercenary general of this age.[1]
- Leonardo da Miragliano - Leonardo was considered one of the most ingenious minds of this age, and was credited for the creation of many wondrous inventions, his most famous being the Steam Tank.[1]
- Lorenzo Lupo - Lorenzo is the Prince of the city of Luccini, he proclaims to be descendant of both Lucan and Luccina, the city's founders.[1]
- Lucrezzia Belladonna - Lucrezzia is considered the most beautiful woman in all of Tilea if not the whole world, and also a powerful and cunning sorceress and poisoner.[1]
- Morgan Bernhardt - Leader of the famed Grudgebringers and wielder of the fiery Grudgebringer sword.
- Mydas the Mean - A famous paymaster of Arabyan origins.[1]
- Marco Colombo - Marco was a famous Tilean explorer who was amongst the few to have successfully voyaged to the New World and survived to tell the tale. His account of the venture has since earned him much respect and popularity Tilea, but there is still doubt about the truth of his stories.[1]
Miniatures
Game History
Old publications of Games Workshop allowed players to deploy mercenaries from most of the Old World such as Estalian and Kislevites, in addition to the Tilean Condottieri and the Tilean Crossbowmen.
The term "Regiments of Renown" has also been used to describe elite, famed regiments belonging to different realms and factions.
Trivia
Josh Reynolds, author of part of the End Times pentalogy, responded to interested fans about the fate of Tilean city-states and most famous mercenary companies. Having never been published, this information is, however, to be considered non-canon and can be consulted in the article The Fall of Tilea.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 2: Regiments of Renown (Ravening Hordes)
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: The Player's Guide (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 152
- 4: Town Cryer 14
- 4a: pp. 20-26
- 5: White Dwarf 305
- 5a: pg. 27
- 6: White Dwarf 316
- 6a: pg. 25
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 8: White Dwarf 232
- 8a: pg. 46
- 9: Warhammer: The Old World Rulebook (Specialist Game)
- 9a: pg. 191
- 10: White Dwarf 225
- 10a: pp. 85-102 "Raid on Villa Da Vincia"
- 11 Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 11a: pg. 80