The Old Capital - Other Military Forces

 

See here for part one, detailing the Warbodies, Pilots-in-Dreaming, and Exterminator Orbs. 

Angel's Egg, Mamoru Oshii, 1985. Had the privilege of seeing this classic in cinema the other day!

Expungers

Highly trained and expensively equipped light troops, recruited from the state schools after a series of exams, and centrally trained. The second elite force of the Old Capital, after the Pilots. In peacetime, the Expungers are the bodyguards to the magistrates and nobles - each worthy so honoured would be allocated a single Expunger by the state, their 'shadow', and often a skilled and highly-educated advisor, companion, and fixer, in addition to their official duties. 

In wartime, when the nobles and magistrates don warbodies, the Expungers are gathered into loose, autonomous groups led by the most senior among them. They are very effective skirmishers, infiltrators, assassins, and elite light infantry. They were known for their laconicity, and were stereotyped in their time as patriotic, insular, arrogant, and untrusting of democratic processes.

HD2-4, depending on seniority. Expunger Sword, black-bladed light misericorde, iron buckler, light armour and Dreaming, movement: as ninja, disposition: varies, but generally professional, direct, practical, and xenophobic. 

Expungers make two attacks in melee. 

The Expunger Sword is a blade drawn from the soul of the one who wields it. When dormant, it looks like a plain, black iron sword hilt. Someone with the knowing to do so can use this focus to produce a whining, sputtering blade of white light from their chest - you place the hilt on your heart, and literally draw it out of yourself. When an Expunger does this, they take d6 damage, and their blade deals [HD]d6 radiant damage. Someone can be taught to use them, but will have to choose how many d6s of damage they suffer when they summon the blade, which will correspond to how many d6s of damage it deals. The blade is functionally a plasma cutter, and can be used at such to cut open doors, locks, etc. It is about 6ft long, but weightless apart from the iron handle. 

Dreaming: like the Pilots, something terrible was done the the Expungers before the Old Capital fell to its enemies. It is hard to focus on their faces, hard to remember them when they're not in the room. If you kill them they are dead and then not dead again. What this means is that when reduced to 0 hp, they come back to life after a turn with d6hp. If this happens twice (and thereafter), the Expunger will come back as an insane, screaming berserker who can no longer use its Expunger Sword. They will resurrect in perpetuity, but can be tied up, locked up, pushed into bottomless pits, have their limbs shattered, etc. 

Myrmidons, Handlers

The Myrmidons were the professional standing soldiery of the Old Capital. They were pale, taciturn men and women, known for their distinctive white ruffs and pennants, and heavy black iron armour and weaponry. Each Myrmidon goes to war with their Handlers, three or four lightly armed retainers who are often family members or close friends of the Myrmidon they serve. They carry and reload weapons, cook meals, see to wounds, and sometimes fight next to the Myrmidon who they serve. 

In field battles the Myrmidons fight in close order with heavy pikes, but they are trained in the use of many weapons, and often take up looser skirmishing formations on broken ground, or in the endless tunnels beneath the earth, accompanied by their Handlers. 

Myrmidon

HD2, medium sword, heavy pike, plate armour, movement: as human, disposition: professional soldier. 

Handler

HD1, light knife, d3 light darts or 1 bola, buckler, light armour, movement: as human, disposition: professional soldier, squire, weapon loader. 

A bola is a thrown weapon with a range of 20ft that deals no damage. It entangles a target that it hits, making movement, fighting, and other applicable actions impossible until a full turn is spent dealing with it - this is automatic with a knife, but requires and INT or STR check without. 

Each Myrmidon is accompanied by 2d2 Handlers, who accompany them everywhere. The handlers carry one of the following heavy weapons, which they maintain, clean, reload, and carry, and which is typically passed to the Myrmidon for use. This is by social custom - the Handlers know how to use these weapons just fine, and will do so with the full support of their Myrmidon if their lives are on the line. Each weapon comes with d6 shots of ammunition. 

Heavy Weapons

1. Cooker. A large, shoulder-mounted, black iron 'rifle', carried and fired like an RPG. Its barrel is packed down with salt, which is consumed in its firing operation. All targets in a 20ft, 90 degree cone take 2d6 radiant damage (CON save for half) - flesh blackens and armour melts under the invisible heat ray. The Cooker takes two turns (or one turn for two people) and an INV slot of salt to fire again. 
2. Pilum. A large, iron javelin with an explosive charge in the tip. Thrown like a javelin, but deals d6 blast damage to everything within 15ft of the target, whether or not it hits. 
3. Noise Maker. Another shoulder-mounted 'rifle' design - this one incapacitates living targets with high pitched, directional sounds waves. For each 'shot' fired, everything that can hear inside at 20ft, 90 degree cone must save CON or be stunned and knocked prone for a turn. Each successive hit on the same target increases the duration of the stun by one. Sonic Aggressors automatically fail their saves. Noise Makers also use salt as their ammunition, in exactly the same way as Cookers.
4. Stitcher. A long spike of hardened steel attached to something like a rivet gun. Functionally a heavy spear that ignores armour - it hits against AC 10, unless the target AC is coming from something other than armour. This weapon does not need to be reloaded, but can only has charges equal to the ammunition roll, after which it is useless.
5. Illuminator. A high-powered searchlight on a rifle frame. Never runs out of fuel, but can be destroyed by breaking the mechanism. Can be used to blind and confuse people, or to light up huge underground spaces with ease. Anything caught in it who has not encountered something similar before will test morale. 
6. Chakram. Given to Myrmidon Captains with connections in the nobility - city nobles in Warbodies throw them using telepathy, but the Myrmidons do so by hand. A Chakram is a heavy vorpal thrown weapon with a range of 20ft. It is about two foot across, and hurled from over the head or shoulder with both hands, such that it flies vertically. They can damage entities and other incorporeal beings, and deal double damage to beings of Law and Chaos.

Retainer

A professional companion to a city noble. Retainers are courtesans, singers, dancers, and often lovers to their charges, and they are expected to act as bodyguards as well. A single noble might keep many Retainers, and they vie to engage those who are famously beautiful or intelligent. 

HD1-2, a medium scimitar, a bow with 12 arrows, one of the exotic weapons from the table below, light armour and 100s in jewels and finery in current fashion. Movement: as human, disposition: professional who survives on their charisma. 

All Retainers have expertise in dancing, singing, playing instruments, conversation, lovemaking, and recitation. They have excellent memories, and can remember whole a book perfectly given a day or two. Retainers never work for free under any circumstances.

Exotic Weapons

1. Jewel Weapons. Worn in rings and necklaces. As two light weapons that will not be found on inspection. 
2. Poison Teeth. Sharpened dentures of mother-of-pearl, or semi precious stone. Hollow, with small injector mechanisms built in. Can be used as a bite attack that does 1 damage, and injects the target with a random poison. You need to remove your teeth to have one of these installed, and they can be filled with whatever you like. 
3. Ceramic Sword. As a +1 medium sword that shatters on a crit. 
4. Ceramic Pistol. A spring-loaded weapon that fires wicked steel flechettes. d8 damage, range 20ft, fires silently, take a turn to reload. The spring must be replaced after 2d2 shots. 
5. Second Face. A lead mask that shows the face of a magistrate passing judgement. The wearer cannot be affected by gaze attacks, and deals fear damage equal to all other damage. They can also head-butt people for d4 damage in place of a regular attack. 
6. Locket. A pendant with a painted portrait inside. The Retainer who wears it never tests morale, and must be killed twice - the first time doesn't stick. 

Centipedes

So called because they burrow into the earth, and kill what they find there. The Centipedes and strange, tall, long-limbed men and women with paper-white skin, black, dead eyes, and unnervingly large mouths. They are grown in vats, and sent down into the underworld to fight until they are slain. Centipedes cannot speak, do not feel pain, do not appear to have desires or drives, and are totally loyal to their handlers. 

HD4, heavy black iron cleaver and brutality, 3 firebombs, heavy iron armour, movement: as monkey on all fours, as ambulatory scarecrow when upright, disposition: a thing that knows it's a thing. 

Centipedes take -1 physical damage from all attacks, and never test morale. 

Brutality: a Centipede can choose to attack twice with its cleaver, or once per enemy in melee range, whichever is higher. 

Centipedes can unhinge their jaws to swallow equipment and keep it safe in a storage bladder inside its body. A Centipede has 5 INV slots of room inside this space, and the items can be retrieved again by cutting open the corpse of the Centipede. A living human can be carried in this space (taking up the whole 5 INV), and will be uncomfortable and probably traumatised, but safe, for the duration. While carrying a living being, a Centipede must keep its mouth wide open to allow for air flow. The Centipede can regurgitate the contents of its storage bladder at any time.