Warlords see safety in war. One warlord told me that a nation at peace was a nation breeding cowards to be enslaved. Warlords rule by the Law of the Sword, establishing leadership based upon annual bloody tournaments of battle. Many warlords are clever tacticians, while others are legendary warriors unto themselves. Though they tend to trust the power of their well-trained arms over supernatural powers, Warlords will sacrifice everything to protect their homelands. They train in strong armor, with an assortment of weapons, and view scars as badges of honor.
--Gifted Lords of the Third Age, by Ralinstone Pedant, Chronicler
All of the Warlord's unique units must be produced at cities with the correct class building. The following is the order in which the empire upgrades must be researched as well as the necessary buildings.
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Scout
"Once there was a fool who fell in love with a Scout. All day he stared at her running. He loved her with his entire heart. She was fast, and loved running more than she loved the fool. So even faster she left him, leaving behind nothing but air."
'My brother, Rogan, was just a scrawny farm boy when he was pressed into service by a Warlord. He trained Rogan to be a Berserker. Before long, Rogan could chop down enemies with his two-handed axe, charge fearlessly into any conflict and overwhelm enemy combatants. He never again wore a shirt. His torso was covered with scars, mostly from arrows he failed to dodge. He fought with pure rage. Unfortunately, he never did learn to control his temper, and sadly, he didn't live long.'
'Nippling County's swamp was filled with undisirables. Every winter when food got scarce, the swamp's denizens would leave the swamp to snack on the villagers. The people complained to their Warlord who decided, rather than ignore his people, he'd train them to fight back. He trained the whole village of Nippling to be Monster Hunters. The next winter when the hungry creatures shambled from the bogs, the villagers used their newly acquired skills in slaying monsters with their crossbows and great swords. Within a decade, the citizens cleared the swamps of all predators larger than a tadpole.'
--Catch Them All, by Ashley Katsun, Shepherd Scholar
'Our last master forced us to learn to fight with a bow, hiding behind the city walls, waiting for a swordsman to skewer us. I was good enough with my bow to join a company of archers, but my heart has always been on my father's ranch and I didn't look forward to being skewered. Unfortunately, ranching isn't so profitable. When Romoro the Warlord inherited our city, I was able to train as a mounted archer. We now ride around the battlefield with the speed of cavalry, launching volley's while moving out of range of pikes and swords.'
--Plight of the Common, by Orson Macdonner, Rancher
'I gathered the most vigorous orcs of my forces and informed them they would be wearing armor, hefting a shield and wielding a pike. All three of these bits of news they scoffed at. After decapitating their chieftain they agreed to fight according to my way, with soldiers gathered as a wedge, shields tight together like a wall, crawling across the battlefield with pikes extended. I will admit only a skilled Warlord can create the discipline required to create a phalanx from his troops, but once mastered, the troops that engage in the technique will live a lot longer.'
'Gerta was the Warlord's favorite concubine, a beastly woman, more ogre than person. Still, he lavished gifts on her, and in return she gave him many babies. I used to be jealous. Until I saw his adolescent children, and realized female seduction would never give the Warlord what he wanted. Gerta's children were huge destructive beings, more intent on walking through a door than in figuring out how to open it. Inhumanly strong, huge and they scarcely noticed when you beat them. His Warbreed were not offspring to be coddled, but born to destroy.'
--The Warlord's Harem, by Scarlet Mallow, Concubine
'They came from the sky. Men riding great flying cats. It sounds absurd when you state it outright. Cats have no business flying. Did I say they were lion sized cats with spiky tails? Who thought a Warlord like Ogg could breed such terrible monsters and control them? But somehow Ogg did it. They flew right over the walls of Lily Town. The men that fought became their food source. I surrendered. I mean...Flying Cats! My grandpa told me about cities full of cat warriors, but I thought it was a bedtime story. Now it seems Ogg has flying cats, so maybe the story of a whole cat warrior city is real too.'
--Conquest Interviews, by R. L. Stinton, Battlefield Auditor
Bestows the unit with +2 , First Strike and Polearm abilities until the end of combat. Addionally, affected units will get 2 times the normal bonus to defense and resistance when guarding.
The guarding bonus is stackable with Defender (to obtain 3 times the normal bonus)
Attempts to panic target enemy unit. If it fails, the unit is Hindered instead. Panicked units don't obey orders and attempt to flee from enemies or escape the battlefield for 2 . Hindered units suffer -50% for 1 .
Attempts to cause the target enemy unit to go Berserk for 2 . If it fails, the unit is Slightly hindered instead. Berserking units don't obey orders. Instead, they attempt to attack the nearest unit with their Melee attack. Slightly hindered units suffer -25% for 1 .
Strength: 9
Elemental units and units with Mind Control Immunity cannot be targeted.
Even the gravest of wounds can't stop a warrior from fighting that which they believe in. Target friendly unit gains Steadfast for 2 . Steadfast prevents a unit's health from dropping below 1 . Can not be cast more than once on a single unit.
Incites troops to take down their enemies in the most brutal ways imaginable, leaving nothing but a red-stained battlefield. Bestows +5 strength on all friendly units.
All units in target friendly army gain additional equal to their maximum until end of turn. All affected units lose 50% of their current . The capabilities of the units in combat are not affected. Does not affect machine or undead units.
The lands around target city tremble, foreshadowing a dread siege by the armies of the Warlord. Units that belong to the enchanted city's Empire suffer -500 within that city's domain.
The Enemy in Domain and Enemy at the Gates morale penalties are twice as effective against the caster's enemies. In addition, the caster's units require -25% upkeep cost outside of the caster's domain.
A full-on military assault is launched. The caster's units gain Charge and First Strike, and are promoted to . Units produced in the caster's cities are instantly promoted to as well.
Units with Evolve promoted this way still have to fight one battle to evolve.
The and production costs of Archer, Cavalry, Infantry, Irregular, and Pikeman units is reduced by 20%. This sums up with other Production cost reducing factors like Goblin's inherent -10% or Shadowborn Adept's File:Karissa's Rally.pngKarissa's Rally -5% instead of a multiplication of these factors. In this case, the total factor would be 0,1+0,2+0,05 = 0,35 = 35% instead of 1-(0,9*0,8*0,95) = 0,316 = 31,6%.