"Behind the Wolfships waited the smaller Wargalleys, arranged in hunting pack formation to catch any stray Bretonnians that should escape his net of steel. Koenig placed great stead in the small ramships, respecting their strength, maneuverability and firepower, not to mention the renowned courage of the Wargalley crews. He knew that the Wargalley squadrons would do their duty, their prime targets the smaller Bretonnian vessels. He also knew that the gallant Wargalley captains would not hesitate to attack a vessel many times the size of their ships, for their strength lay in fighting as a squadron, not as a single warship."
- —Accounts of Lord Koenig, Imperial Admiral[2a]
An illustration of an Imperial wargalley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by rowing. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and railing). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used in favorable winds, but human effort was always the primary method of propulsion. This allowed galleys to navigate independently of winds and currents. The galley are mainly used by the fleets of Tilean city-state and Arabyan, but also by The Empire.[1a][2a]
Tilean Galley[]
Tilean merchants would not have got very far had there not been seaworthy ships in Tilea. For a long time the Tileans used galleys propelled by sails and oars, which were ideal for the calm Tilean Sea. The Tilean cities, especially Remas, had large fleets of war galleys which endeavoured to fight off the marauding Corsairs of Araby and Norse raiders. The experience of continuous naval warfare combined with the inventive genius of the Tileans meant that their war galleys became bigger and better over the centuries. The Tileans eventually possessed galleys capable of venturing beyond the Tilean Sea and into northern waters.[1b]
Around the time when Tilean mercenaries were being hired in great numbers to fight in the civil wars within the Empire, Marienburg hired a flotilla of war galleys from Remas. Soon afterwards this city was building its own, even heavier war galleys for use in the Sea of Claws. Centuries later when the Tileans began to mount cannon on their galleys, they opted for much lighter guns than those preferred in the Empire, but then the Tilean crews include many expert crossbowmen and so do not have to rely on firepower to the same extent.[1b]
Tilean galleys are sometimes rowed by slaves.[3a]
The figurehead sculpted on the Tilean galleys often depict curvaceous women.[4a]
Notable Galleys[]
- Deathgalley - Chaos Deathgalley are crewed by Chaos Cultists.
- Empire Wargalleys - Swift-moving, lightly-armed ramships used extensively by the Imperial Navy for patrolling the River Reik and the hostile northern coastlines of the Empire of Man.
- Necrofex Colossus - The unhallowed form of the Necrofex Colossus is one of the most terrifying anathemas known to arcane lore. Varying in composition, they always hold true to the same basic form – a monstrous humanoid shape akin to a giant, fashioned upon a frame of galley-torn timber, iron, or bone, onto which the ‘flesh’ and musculature of the dead has been bound and shaped, with scores of corpses used in their creation.