The Chronicles of Aeyr

Factions Draft 2.0 - The Reichmark

2011-10-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

THE REICHMARK

The largest and most powerful of the human kingdoms. The Reich, as it is commonly referred to, is made up of 10 semi-autonomous counties. Eight of the ten counties are ruled by a heraditary monarch, the other two are governed by a ruling city-council. From these counties the Emperor is chosen, being elected by his peers, the city-councils and the heads of the two major cults.

Head of State: Emperor Karl Franz

Capital: Altdorf

Religions & Cults:

The Imperial Cult of Sigmar

Head: The Grand Theoginist, Volkmar von Hindenstern

The Cult of Ulric

Head: Ar Ulric, Emil Valgier

Counties:

The Frei State of Bittburg

The Principality of Altdorf

The Grand Duchy of Wittenburg

The Grand Barony of Nordland

The Grand County of Averland

The Grand County of Hochland

The Grand County of Middenheim

The Principality of Ostland

The Frei State of Marienburg

The Grand Duchy of Prustland

HOTT Battle Pic: Lizardmen vs. Wood Elves

2011-10-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I fought a HOTT battle today. She commanded wood elves while I led the lizardmen. My forked tongue minions inflicted heavy losses on the elves, 12AP. Here is a close up pic of lizardmen elements bringing the smack down upon some tree elves. The lizardmen won the battle with their only loss being an ensorcelled mage.

Test Battle of HOTT+ Fantasy

2011-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a HOTT mod for my campaign needs and have had two test battles to date. Here's a picture from the most recent involving undead and wood elves. It involves close combat between a Wood Elf Ent and Dragonfly Drakes vs Undead Pike. Test battles have no effect on the campaign world of Aeyr.

Much more work lies ahead for my HOTT mod. I've changed the direction I was going, and am simply adding new troop types, possibly more spells and slightly increased weapons ranges. Played this battle using a d8 vice d6, but that idea doesn't seem to work very well.

Introducing: Nekash the Witch King

2010-10-15T20:25:00.001-07:00

The Witch King is the epitome of evil in the world of Aeyr. Nekash was once a great half-elf sorcerer who served in the court of the Phoenix King of Ulthantis. Tormented by the thought of mortality, for he was half-human; Nekash actively sought out ancient and dark powers that might prolong his life. He eventually became the first necromancer to ever wake the dead. His powers grew great and terrible. Ever jealous of his elven cousins, he coveted the Throne of Fire. He greatly desired to exalt himself above the Phoenix King. A great civil war errupted with a third of the elves following Nekash, he repayed their loyalty by twisting their very beings into the cruel race known today as the Drow or Dark Elves in the common tongue. The great war ended with the defeat of Nekash and his drow and undead armies but victory came at a great price. The war resulted in the collapse of the Ulthantan Empire and brought about the decline of the high elves in the west.

Retreating to the daemon plagued lands of the east. Nekash built a great dark tower in the land of Nod and named it Darakdur. He allowed his dark elves to live below ground in a great cavernous realm today known as the Underdark and he created the Spider Queen to rule over them in his stead.

2000 years have passed and Nekash labors still to this day in his dark tower of Darakdur raising undead armies, ensnaring beastmen, orcs, barbarians, and the daemon plagued warriros of Chaos to serve him in his attempts at conquest. His agents scour the world, stealing souls to bring back to their master. Nekash rarely leaves his dark tower for he has long since become a liche.

The Black Duke is the lieutenant of the Witch King and the enforcer of his will. For the Black Duke is exactly that, the Witch Kings will made manifest.

The Black Hearts Free Company

2009-12-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

I posted before about my idea of a mercenary free company based on the fictional group of the same name in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. I have painted up another stand of Black Hearts, more spearmen but this time High Elves.

The Black Hearts Free Company thus far:
Captain: Hans Reiner
Standard Bearer: Jurgen Platz
2 Companies of Spearmen.

Total elements for the Black Hearts thus far are 3. Each figure represents 10 men, so each spear element represents 30 men, except for the command stand which represents 18 total.

It is Hans Reiner's goal to one day carve out a barony for himself somewhere in the western kingdoms or build up a large enough army to make a kingdom for himself in the dangerous borderlands south of the Grey Mountains.

Western & Elven Kingdoms of Aeyr

2009-12-23T07:29:00.001-08:00

Below is the basic list of states/factions that I want to inhabit my fantasy world of Aeyr. I have yet to come up with a map and am not 100% set on the background fiction as of yet. The background will borrow heavily from Warhammer, and there will be factions from the Forgotten Realms thrown in as well. I would just take the Warhammer setting and just go from there but there is too much that I want to do with it or change about it. So here we go. I present to you the first part of the Kingdoms of Aeyr.

WESTERN KINGDOMS
1. The Reikland - Emperor Karl Franz, Prince of Altdorf
Commonly referred to as "The Empire" the Reikland is the most powerful and largest kingdom in the west and the most powerful human kingdom in the world. It is a confederation of several smaller states whose rulers vote among themselves to choose their Emperor.

Elector States
The Principality of Altdorf
The Grand Duchy of Wittenburg
The City State of Bittburg
The Grand Duchy of Prustland
The Grand Barony of Nordland
The Grand Principality of Ostland
The City State of Nuln
The Grand Barony of Hochland
The Grand County of Averland
The Grand County of Middenland
The City State of Mordheim (No longer an imperial city; Mordheim was reduced to ruins by a comet)

The Cult of Sigmar & The Cult of Ulric: The titular heads of the two major Imperial religions are seated as electors.

2. Dun Garok - King Durwyn Stonebiter
The mountain dwarves are much larger than both their forest and underdark cousins. This may be due to the harsher existence of carving their homes from and within the great Dragonspine Mountains.

3. Kingdom of Everwinter - High King Agnar Gudrun, the Winter King
Northern city-state confederacy united by the first Winter King over 200 years ago.
Principal cities: Everwinter, Candlekeep.

4.Kingdom of Calenhad - King Guy de Toulon
Calenhad lies to the southwest of the Empire. Calenhad is a human kingdom whose diety is an elven goddess, Danu or The Lady of the Lake as she is known there.

ELVEN KINGDOMS
1. The Kingdom of Ulthantis - Aenareion, The Phoenix King
Island kingdom off the west coast of the Empire. At one time 25% of the world lived and died under the reign of the Phoenix Kings. The Phoenix Empire as it was known in ancient times was the largest empire in history. After centuries of internal strife, civil and national wars, the Phoenix Kings declined in power and retreated back to their volcanic island home of Ulthantis.

2. The Forest Kingdoms (Wood Elves)
The wood elves make their homes within the great forests of the world. Their enclaves are all united under the leadership of their king, Eltharion, although he rules indirectly in a ceremonial role. The wood elves jealousy guard their forest homes from all outsiders and have been known to gather together for great threats or other events. Aside from that they are a patchwork of minor tribes that hide deep in the forests.

3. The Dark Elves
The dark elves, commonly referred to as Drow or Druchii by the dwarfs. Live in great city states beneath Aeyr in a vast realm known collectively as The Underdark. The dark elves are an evil race and have matriarchal societies, although on rare occassions a male will rise to dominance. The drow worship their present monarch, Lolth the Spider Queen whom is a mere puppet of Nekash the Witch King.

The Battle of the Calenwald Forest

2009-12-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

The Calenwald Forest is an immense and ancient wood. It runs from the Wood Elf Kingdom in the south, across the Empire to the border of the Kingdom of Calenhad in the north. The Baron of Lorenz, sent an expiditionary force into the forest to find the white Aeyr trees, so that they could cut them down and bring them back for lumber and other construction. The Aeyr Trees are held as sacred to the elves. As the army entered the forest, Wood Elf scouts kept watch, and once they perceived the threat to the noble white trees they quickly amassed their warden force to do battle to protect the forest.

Upon learning that the elven army approached the baron hurriedly prepared his men for battle. He knew the Elves would not allow him to cut the trees without a fight, his own trees from his own forest, and being a Calenhad noble he was honor bound to fight once it was threatened.

The Elves lined up across the clearing from his army, he gave the order to advance, magic and arrows rained down upon them, yet his men held their line and kept up the march despite heavy losses. Finally in a great clash his men charged the elven line and engaged in hand to hand combat. Both lines wavered but the elven host was able to prevail. The baron and his surviving men were bound and blindfolded, then marched from the forest back into their own lands and left with a warning never to enter the forest again.

Battle Report: Barbarians vs. Kingdom of Alexandria

2008-03-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of Alexandria is a small principality located on the southern coasts of the western realm of Sigmar. In the Empire this southern coastal region is known collectivelly as the Border Princes or the Southern Kingdoms. These lands are frequently raided by barbarians, orcs and companies of adventurers. Although too small to present any real threat to any of the great realms of Aeyr the kinglings of the Southern Kingdoms keep and maintain their own armies.

Today my son and I fought this battle using our home mod for Mighty Armies. James' had the barbarian horde and I commanded the Alexandria's Army with the august King Alexander at the center of the line with his chief mage Achem. Alexander wasted no time and as soon as the raiders were in sight he ordered his 2 cavalry groups to head round the enemy and attack their shamans from the rear or flanks. He then ordered the bulk of his battleforce to march forward and form ranks to prepare for the inevitable onslaught.

As the Alexandrian cavalry approached the barbarian shaman on the enemy's right flank began to weave a spell as he traced symbols in the air with his crooked and notched wooden staff. The air cracked and the sky thundered as a bolt of lightening shot out from the shamans staff and disintegrated the hapless cavalry troopers on contact. The shaman on the left flank attempted the same but Sigmar be praised the shot disappated in the air. Alexander ordered his heavy ballista to fire on the barbarians lines and the crew responded by unleashing hell on the right flank shaman sending him to the nether reaches.

For the rest of the battle the surviving barbarian shaman's power was kept in check by the Alexandrian wizard, Achem. His magical weaves of protection kept the army safe from the effects of the shamanistic magic.

Finally the main groups of the two armies met in close combat with shield on shield and pitched screams of savage fury. Both sides pushed each other to and fro but slowly the Alexandrian Army windled down the savage barbarians. Realizing his great host had either fled or been killed the barbarian chieftan turned with his guards and ran from the borders of Alexandria.

Battle was fought using the Mighty Armies rule system.

First Battle Report: Wood Elves vs. Barbarians

2008-03-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

The forest was heavy with the scent of pine. There was an electric tingle to the air. Warmaster Erinduil Oakenshield stood in the center of his small detachment, his standard slightly furling in the breeze next to him. Erinduil had been sent to destroy the barbarian invaders from the east. The barbarians had come without warning attacking small elven farms and villages. As he peered from the edge of the forest looking out at the burning farm in front of him he saw the alarm in the barbarians as they gathered into several mobs to confront his army. Erinduil ordered his trumpeter to sound the advance and his small army moved out of the trees onto the still smoldering farmland.

The barbarians all grew silent as one of the mighty trees of the forest seemed to come alive and walk out from the forest in line with the elven army. Erinduil ordered his small unit of cavalry to advance around the edge of the farm to cover the left flank while the great white elven chariot crew did the same on the right. Erinduil and his spearmen and archers grouped in the center with the mighty Ent just a few paces from their left.

The barbairan chieftan was plainly visible with all his trappings about him. The two barbarian shaman spellcasters were easily spotted as well. Soon the air was filled with the acrid taste of magic as the two shamans began to weave their spells and lightening danced forth from their staffs only to dance around above the heads of the elven line.

The barbarian chief ordered the two shamans and their mobs forward to attack Erinduil's center. As they approached Erinduil and his archers rained death down on them with their great Elven Longbows. As the first shaman mob charged the great Ent; Erinduil's cavalry hit them in the flank. The chariot team did the same to the second shaman mob as it charged at Erinduil in the center. Amidst the clash of weapons, and screams of men and horses the battle raged for a while and then the mighty forrest walker came crashing down. This seemed to give the barbarian raiders hope but it gave a grim determination to the elves to see this ancient creature, the Ent, fall.

With a shout of war Erinduil led his elves in a renewed attack upon the barbarians. Just as the barbarian chief had been encouraged at the fall of the ent to advance, he just as quickly stopped and turned to flee when he saw his two shamans cut down in a hail of arrows. It seemed that with both their shamans dead and the mobs that protected them lying in bloody meaty heaps on the ground; what barbarians remained fled with their chief back to their wasted lands in the shadowy east.

My son and I fought this battle in 15mm using the Mighty Armies rulebook. The rules provided a quick and fun game. There was a little more to the battle than what I wrote above, for instance the chariot crew and Ent were my elves only casulties.

My Fantasy Campaign Project - World of Aeyr

2008-02-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Setting: Aeyr, a world of high & dark fantasy. A world of magic & arcane technology.

Inspiration: Tolkien's Middle Earth, Warhammer Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy settings.

Games Intention: Hordes of the Things, De Bellis Fantasticus, AD&D Battlesystem, Witch's Brew Dungeoncrawl Rules, Song of Blades & Heroes, D&D, GURPS & others.

"Herein lies the account of Guldas, servant of the wizards, Lawedyr & Dynuil. In my many years of service to my masters I have travelled across, above & beneath the world of Aeyr. I have seen many wonderous things & met many fantastic creatures & people. I have set my pen to paper to recall the great deeds of my masters & other nobles lest men forget.

The lands of the known world are vast, wild and wondrous. From the black gates of Nod in the east to the shimmering crystal blue seas of Ulthantis in the west one will find great forests, mountains, cities and a myriad of creatures. Of the lands beyond the dark lands of Nod I know little. I believe that my masters journeyed there but only briefly and they imparted little of what they saw there. It is believed that nothing exits beyond Nod, just dry barren desert land full of darkness and monsters."