The heraldry of the surviving Roppsmenn clan as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.[3a]
The Roppsmenn, also spelled Ropsmenn [3a], are a virtually extinct ethnic group of semi-nomadic Men who once claimed the lands north-west of Kislev before their eventual decline as a tribe and a people. According to legend, the Roppsmenn entered Imperial history when they invaded the tribal lands of the Udoses under the demands of the dreaded Norsii, whom they were forced to fight as slaves of the Norsii after the Norsii invaded Roppsmenn territory and took their wives and elders as hostages.[1a]
They were known to wear patterned cloaks of red and green with heads shaven except for long braids at their ears. Each fighting man was armoured in a mail vest and bore a small wooden buckler and a wide-bladed sword or scimitar into battle.[1a]
Following the death of King Wolfila of the Udoses, the Emperor Sigmar led a grand campaign against their people, resulting in nearly ten thousand Roppsmenn being put to the sword, leaving only a single thousand of them, mostly woman and children, to flee their homeland and head to the northern territories beyond the River Lynsk. Following their foolish attack against the nascent Empire, the Roppsmen were a broken people, living on the fringes of civilised lands, fearing the wrath of Sigmar's realm and the savage northern tribes which dwelled within Norsca.[1b]
Map of the tribal territories of Men in what would become the Empire during the reign of Sigmar Heldenhammer. The Roppsmenn lived in the far northwest, where Kislev would later be founded.
The Roppsmen lived for centuries within the hostile lands of the Troll Country, coexisting with their Ungol cousins to the east. However, when the Gospodars invaded Kislev in -30 of the Gospodarin Calendar (1494 IC), the Ungols were forced into the Troll Country and fought their former allies among the Roppsmenn for dominance.[2a]
Having ruled the Roppsmenn before, the Ungols quickly gained the upper hand in the wars they were now forced to fight for territory. In -27 (1497 IC), the army of the Ungol warlord Hethis Chaq defeated a Roppsmenn host led by King Wieran on the cliffs overlooking the Sea of Claws. The battle saw the Roppsmenn scattered, and the Ungols claimed their lands.[2a]
This is considered the time when the Roppsmenn as a people became extinct as the Ungols proceeded to completely absorb their survivors into their own culture. However, there are still scattered bands of horse tribes in the Troll Country who claim to be the living descendants of the original Roppsmenn.[2a]
Remnants of the Roppsmenn live in the "Old Town" of Praag,[2b] in the so-called "Roppsmen Ghetto."[2c]
Sources[]
- 1: Time of Legends: Empire (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen (RPG)
- 3: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- 3a: Ropsmenn Clan Icon, Realm of Chaos Campaign