A United Front?: Defenders of the High Court (Ferny's Fluff)

[Ferny]

I've just written up some fluff for a tournament I'm attending in a fortnight. I've always found it hard to reconcile white lions and pheonix guard in the same army (both kinda have a bodyguard role), but this 'Intrigue at Court' approach seems to deal with it OK. Gameplay-wise none of my characters are bound to any particular unit so you might find characters leading/sheltering in the 'wrong' units. This fluff is to accompany this army: http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic. ... 57&start=0

Dramatis Personae:
Lord Aeshna, Noble, Bannerman of Finubar (BSB)
Intrigue plagues the noble houses of the High Court where Finubar, the absentee Phoenix King of Ulthan, is not universally liked. It’s in this setting that Lord Aeshna, a young first cousin of the Phoenix King plies his trade. An aspirational noble, Aeshna exhibits many qualities which have made him a powerful Elven politician; fine statesmaship, excellent negotiation skills and a talent for scheming. Through a combination of political alliances and manipulation he has soared through the ranks to attain the position of Finubar’s Bannerman – a position he is less than suited to. While breeding and corruption will get an elf far, to his chagrin an abject lack of military prowess will eventually hamper further career progression. A coward at heart, Aeshna leads from the back, armed with his magical bow (Reaver Bow) and bedecked in as much magical armour as his light frame will support (Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield).

To keep his battlefield enemies at arm’s length, Lord Aeshna has attracted a cavalry force of Reaver Knights and Silver Helms who fight under his personal colours, through which he stakes a claim to battlefield glory.

As a member of the royal household, Aeshna is accompanied into battle by a bodyguard of white lions and their champion Agrion. While sworn to protect him, Lord Aeshna harbours the suspicion that these gruff northerners are really Finubar’s eyes and ears, and that maybe the Sailor King isn’t quite as absent as the mutinous court might like to think…

Lord Libellula, Warder of the Glittering Tower (Lv4 High Archmage)
Lord Libellula, charged as the Warder of the Glittering Tower, is one of the nobles responsible for the defence of the Straights of Lothern. A competent commander and an accomplished mage, Libellula is constantly hindered by Lord Aeshna’s prominence amongst his forces and loudly petitions for his demotion or relocation (or better yet –both!). Libellula is doubly hampered by the unhappy knowledge Lord Aeshna’s safety is his concern – should anything happen to the incompetent bannerman it’d be Libellula who would have to answer to the High Court for it. While many princes would privately delight at the young upstart’s demise few would miss an opportunity to replace Libellula with their own puppet in the Glittering Tower. So while he puts up with Aeshna’s personal cowardice he is forced to personally lead the troops and maintain morale, an act of true bravery given that he lacks the armour of the White Tower’s warrior mages.

A unit of Phoenix Guard are assigned to his personal command, along with a citizen levy of archers drawn from the merchant ranks of Lothern. Since being burdened with Lord Aeshna, and having to compete for glory and recognition, Libellula has also hired at personal expense a unit of Mist Walkers (Sisters of Avelorn) who’s magical, flaming shots have earned him high praise in the constant skirmishes against daemons and encroaching flotillas. Their choice of troops exemplifies their command skills – flashy knights which are ill-suited to marine combat for the brash politician contrasted with flaming bows for the army’s general.

Ishnura, Mage-Captain of Manlann’s Fury, prototype Storm Ship (Frostheart Phoenix, conversion)
Ishnura is a citizen of Lothern but with no family-name to speak of was destined for obscurity. This changed when he felt the pull of magic. Rather than study in the White Tower, Ishnura travelled to Vaul’s Anvil in Caledor and began an apprenticeship with the Priests of the Maker God. A century later Ishnura personifies a new breed of elven adventurer-alchemist, proudly captaining his most impressive invention, the Storm Ship. This vessel, modelled on the Lothern Skycutter, carries his precious storm condensers which direct blizzards (Blizzard Aura) and lightening (Thunderstomp) onto his enemies below. This prototype, named Manlann’s Fury, is pulled into battle by a ghostly Air Elemental in eagle form summoned from the Blue Winds of Azyr (Fly, Large Target, Terror). Having returned to Lothern, most metropolitan of all Ulthuan’s cities, Ishnura has adopted Aeshna as his patron to fund further research and to progress his reputation. While Manlann’s Fury has proven the power of Ishnura’s invention, the ship’s power remains tied to the Winds of Magic and can suffer when they wane (Attuned to Magic). Still, while Lord Aeshna keeps sponsoring his research, Ishnura remains loyal.

Sympetrum, Apprentice-Artificer (Lv 2 Celestial Mage)
When Ishnura left Vaul’s Anvil he was accompanied Sympetrum – his newly appointed apprentice. While Sympetrum still has much to learn, Ishnura offloads all the menial tasks to him; cleaning out the storm condensors, wiping elemental ectoplasm off the prow and running round the markets sourcing the necessary components to make his inventions work. While elven patience is longer than that of the dwarves, it might not be long til Sympetrum seeks a new tutor – a fact that Lord Libellula is only to ready to exploit.

[Glorfindain]

Good stuff! I especially like how you fit the Frostheart Phoenix rules to the Skycutter mini.

[Ferny]

Cheers. I'm gonna tone it down for next time, but it's submitted already for this one. Next time I'm gonna pull back the links to Finubar and Glittering Tower and maybe aim for something lower key.