Druj armies
Overview
This page was prepared by Mladen Escovith of the Prognosticator's Office during his 387YE appraisal into ways to disrupt Druj armies. It contains information built from various espionage actions and engagements with the armies of the Druj over the decade or so prior to the appraisal. Most of this information is not widely known across the Empire - but anyone visiting Anvil, soldiers, and commanders who have fought the Druj before, or those unfortunate enough to have been enslaved, might be familiar with it.
Where the army's quality is listed, it is a result of either a spy network or the work of a scouting army. Some of this information is out of date, due to the shifting nature of the enemy. It is possible that some qualities may have changed since information on the army was recovered - just as the Empire can alter or improve the qualities and size of its armies so too can the barbarian orcs.
Arrow Viper
- Quality: Scouting
The Arrow Viper's banners depict a flying snake, perhaps a form of jaculi. Their soldiers are more lightly armoured than other forces here and include an unusually large number of scouts. They have often been spotted working opposite the Seventh Wave and the Wolves of War across the eastern front, close calls with Imperial scouts are common, but the army rarely engages those scouts, preferring to gather information on the rest of the Imperial force. Like the Deadly Blade, the Arrow Viper is drawn from the Iron Asp sept from the Forest of Ulnak.
Black Wind
- Quality: Merciless
The Black Wind is formed of the sept of the same name that once lived in the Barrens and has made the Forest of Ulnak its home. At one time they were siblings to the Rahvin sept and fought alongside the Great Forest Orcs and the Montanian briars in an attempt to secure an independent Barrens. They failed, and given the choice between destruction or surrender, accepted the yoke of the Druj. Today the army fights beneath unadorned banners of black and is without mercy - in every encounter with the army, they have done what they can to prove themselves as more cruel than even the rest of the Druj. Whenever they have an opportunity to torture and torment any human that falls into their hands they take it but they hate the people of Dawn in a deeply personal way; every warrior that fights beneath the empty banners of the Black Wind would take an opportunity to inflict suffering on a citizen of Dawn over any other nation of the Empire save perhaps Varushka. This is likely tied to the punishment inflicted on their sept in the Barrens. In 386YE they devastated the Iron Helms army, and contributed to the loss of Isaella's Dance during the retreat from Therunin.
Deadly Blade
- Quality: Unknown
The Deadly Blade fight beneath banners showing a serpent coiled around a wavy-bladed dagger or sword. Many of the warriors in the army fight with two vicious envenomed blades. The army is most often encountered on campaign engaging in a vicious, stealthy approach. They are likely to employ both underhanded tactics and venom to quickly overpower opponents taking every opportunity to set up ambushes, feints, and traps that lure Imperial soldiers into deadly situations. They are also known to move amongst the other armies of the Druj offering vials of Serpenttooth and acting on behalf of the buruk-tepel. Like the Arrow Viper, the Deadly Blade is drawn from the Iron Asp sept from the Forest of Ulnak.
Flame Beetle
- Quality: Sappers
The Flame Beetle appear to be named for the large number of monstrous creatures in their ranks - some kind of large armoured beetles. These creatures emit gouts of fire apparently at random, but it would appear they can be controlled by their riders. The creatures have some obvious uses on the open field, but they are known to be capable of climbing up steep inclines, with apparently little difficulty. The presence of siege weaponry and other equipment in their camps indicates that the Flame Beetle is intended to be used to capture fortifications for the Druj. Like the Thorn Born, the Flame Beetle is drawn from the Sawscaled Viper of the Forest of Ulnak.
Hidden Snake
- Quality: Hunters
The Hidden Snake fight beneath empty, unmarked standards. They are adept at using hit-and-run tactics; taking advantage of marshes, hills, and forests to outmanoeuvre Imperial soldiers. They use coveted knowledge to use hidden paths to strike without warning; sabotaging supply trains, blocking mountain paths, and collapsing bridges before melting away when enemies try to engage. The Hidden Snake is drawn from the Banded Snake sept of Sarangrave.
Hidden Widow
- Quality: Treacherous
The Hidden Widow fight beneath banners depicting spiders, although some of their number bear standards which appear at first sight to be solid fields of green or yellow fabric with no obvious design. They are adept at stealthy and vicious combat and appear to enjoy laying simple, brutal traps designed to entrap and slaughter unwary opponents. They make full use of their ruthless herblore to poison, weaken, paralyse, and ultimately destroy any Imperial foolish enough to stumble into their barbed webs. Like the Red Lizard, the Hidden Widow is drawn from the Shadow Krait sept of the Salt Flats of Sanath.
Hunting Scorpion
- Quality: Manoeuvrable
A massive host of orcs that fight beneath banners that bear the mark of stylised scorpions. Their ranks contain a disproportionate number of Hupul and their bands of elite Chikad are well equipped with tonics and magic items that supplement their skills. They are adept at complex manoeuvres, especially taking advantage of opportunities to flank and splinter the ranks of defensive opponents. The Hunting Scorpion is drawn from the Amber Scorpion, who once dominated Ossium but fled to the Salt Flats of Sanath after the Empire conquered the territory.
Jagged Claws
- Quality: Unknown
The Jagged Claws fight beneath banners showing beetles with barbed pincers. A larger proportion of troops are heavily armoured than usually expected for the Druj, and they eschew the complex strategies of the White Lions, both armies drawn from the Keelback sept of the Salt Flats of Sanath, in favour of simply overwhelming their foes with direct, uncompromising force. When the Druj take land, it is often the task of the Jagged Claw to follow in the wake and put down any remaining resistance.
Poison Crane
- Quality: Savage
The Poison Crane fight beneath banners showing a marsh bird with a significantly more martial aspect than the storks the Empire is familiar with. Some Imperial scholars believe they could be a marsh-dwelling cousin of the terror birds that once lived in parts of the Brass Coast. They make use of particularly savage tactics in battle - launching bloodthirsty, sustained attacks against Imperial lines. They are responsible for a significant number of the fatalities suffered during the battles at the Temple of the Winds and the Halls of Knowledge. The Poison Crane is drawn from the Marshlizard sept of Sarangrave.
Red Lizard
- Quality: Unknown; speculated to be similar to the physick quality of Imperial armies
The Red Lizard carry banners showing a burning reptile. While they often engage in aggressive assaults intended to overwhelm those they fight, they have a significantly higher number of tepel healers among their ranks when compared to other armies of the Druj. When on the defence, these healers give not only the Red Lizard an advantage, but also the rest of the Druj - they are at least the equal of the Valiant Pegasus when it comes to the arts of healing, albeit twisted by the natural cruelty of the Druj. Where the herb gardens of the Empire have been looted and ransacked, it is almost always the Red Lizard that is to blame. Like the Hidden Widow, the Red Lizard is drawn from the Shadow Krait sept of the Salt Flats of Sanath.
Tainted Basilisk
- Quality: Arcane
The Tainted Basilisk is a mix of Druj soldiers and other forces from the Mallum. Their ranks include scores of powerful vikari and other, lesser magicians who focus on providing magical support to the army. They are responsible for tearing apart the mana sites across Urizen - it is the Tainted Basilisk who destroyed the Glorious Fountain of Dawn and Dusk. Their soldiers were also heavily involved in the looting and subsequent destruction of the Halls of Knowledge - they are reported to have carried away many books, scrolls, and captured scholars from the ruin of the college of magic. More recently, it was the ritualists of the Tainted Basilisk that enchanted the other Druj armies in Zenith that allowed them to escape the Empire's trap. The Tainted Basilisk is drawn from the Thornwasp sept of the Sarangrave, with several ghulai from the Broken Crater in the Forest of Ulnak being sighted amongst the force.
Thorn Born
- Quality: Unknown
The Thorn Born marches under banners showing twining brambles, apparently formed with the aid of Arhallogen. The Thorn Born are unusually supportive of their allies in battle; their Vikari and tepel are often seen supporting their allies' efforts to kill as many Imperials as possible. It was the Thorn Born who planned and executed the ambush on the Citadel Guard, which ultimately failed. The Thorn Born, like the Flame Beetle, is drawn from the Sawscaled Viper sept of the Forest of Ulnak.
White Lions
- Quality: Disciplined
One of the largest armies of the Druj is the White Lions. Despite the name, most of their banners depict what appears to be a large white ant of some kind, presumably some deadly poisonous creature native to the Mallum. The White Lions are drawn from the most highly disciplined members of the Keelback sept of the Salt Flats of Sanath, in stark contrast to the Jagged Claws who are much wilder. Recently, they have been known to make deals with Agramant for support from agents of that eternal.
Supply
- If a Druj territory cannot support a sept, all armies controlled by septs based there will go out of supply
| Army | Sept | Territory |
|---|---|---|
| Arrow Viper | Iron Asp | Forest of Ulnak |
| Black Wind | Black Wind | Salt Flats of Sanath (Formerly Barrens) |
| Deadly Blade | Iron Asp | Forest of Ulnak |
| Flame Beetle | Sawscaled Viper | Forest of Ulnak |
| Hidden Snake | Banded Snake | Sarangrave |
| Hidden Widow | Shadow Krait | Salt Flats of Sanath |
| Hunting Scorpion | Amber Scorpion | Forest of Ulnak (Formerly Ossium) |
| Jagged Claws | Keelback | Salt Flats of Sanath |
| Poison Crane | Marshlizard | Sarangrave |
| Red Lizard | Shadow Krait | Salt Flats of Sanath |
| Tainted Basilisk | Thornwasp | Sarangrave |
| Thorn Born | Sawscaled Viper | Forest of Ulnak |
| White Lion | Keelback | Salt Flats of Sanath |
Druj armies need to be supplied, just like every Imperial army, but the Druj don't provision and support their forces in the same way that the Empire does and don't operate under the same limitations. The endemic use of brutal slavery limits Druj society in many ways but it does allow them to support a huge number of armies from a relatively small number of territories - much more than any nation outside the Imperial Orcs might normally manage. Rather than pool their resources as an Imperial nation might do, individual septs raise and maintain armies themselves. As a result, it is not possible to cause all the Druj armies to go out of supply, in the way that has happened in recent memory with Urizen and Freeborn armies.
For all the advantages this gives them the approach is not without its drawbacks. The Druj can support a lot of armies, but they do still need land to supply and feed their soldiers and to replace casualties. Rather than being tied to the Druj nation as a whole, each individual Druj army needs the sept associated with the army to control enough land to keep supplying their soldiers.
Mladen believes this may be one of the reasons why the Stone Toad remained behind in Reikos when the Empire reclaimed the territory. The Stone Toad sept were using their fiefs in the territory to support their army - once they no longer had control of those lands the army went out of supply and began to suffer accordingly. The sept took advantage of an opportunity to convert the army into a garrison in High Chalcis, presumably because that was preferable to seeing the army collapse from lack of supply. In theory it ought to be possible for Druj septs to support each other, but the fierce rivalry between them makes that impossible.
Scouring Imperial war reports from the last ten years, Mladen has compiled a list of Druj armies and combined that with various scouting reports, discussions with the Great Forest Orcs and with the septs of Ossium, to identify which sept and territory each army is associated with. If the septs based in a territory were no longer able to draw on their lands there, then the armies they control would go out of supply. They would suffer the same penalties as an Imperial army from a nation that had insufficient supply.
The prognosticator cautions the Military Council not to assume that being out of supply would guarantee that these armies would quickly disband. The Druj don't have anything as powerful as the Marcher breadbasket to draw on, but their forces can benefit from an opportunity just like Imperial armies can. Crucially, insufficient supply prevents an army benefitting from natural resupply, but it doesn't prevent emergency resupply. The Druj have significant supplies of weirwood and access to small amounts of mithril and they are likely to use them to resupply their armies if it is that or see them destroyed.
Mladen also advises the generals not to assume that other barbarian nations operate in a similar way. The former general spent years fighting the Druj, and knows his old adversary well. He has comparatively little experience with the Thule and even less fighting the Grendel or the Jotun. These barbarian nations will need a way to supply their armies, just like the Druj do, but Mladen is certain they do not employ the same approach that the quarrelsome Druj septs use.