""A floating symbol of Cathay's pre-eminence, powered by the burning wings of magical warbirds.""
- —Description of a Kongming Sky Lantern from Total War: Warhammer III
Concept art for a Kongming Sky Lantern and Kongming Sky-junk created for Warhammer: The Old World. The Sky Lantern is on the left.
Kongming Sky Lanterns are light airships used by the Grand Imperial Army of Grand Cathay primarily to provide effective airborne reconnaissance.[1]
Kongming Sky Lanterns are used by Cathayan armies to observe enemies from on high, as well as direct troops in battle. Held aloft by a caged Vermillion Warbird -- the magical creature's burning wings giving the great balloon the needed hot air to provide lift -- a Sky Lantern suspends an armoured gondola beneath its bulk.[1]
From this gondola one of the Cathayan Lords Magistrate's best strategists use fans and banners to signal their troops to better meet the tactical needs of an ongoing battle, or to better direct the ranged fire of the army's war machines at vulnerable targets. Should enemy flyers or missile troops get too close to the Sky Lantern, a pair of Crane Gunners aboard the airship snipe from their exceptional vantage point.[1]
Miniatures[]
Trivia[]
Kongming (孔明, Kǒngmíng) was the courtesy name for the famed Chinese general and strategist Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, used during his later years to show respect. He was the namesake of a hot air balloon or lantern used in ancient China to send messages across the air, as in legend he was considered its inventor.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Community - Read the Official Background for Total War: Warhammer III’s Most Deadly Units.
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