The House of Vraneth

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Voodoomaster
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The House of Vraneth

Post by Voodoomaster »

ok, i am following Darkspear's example on the way he has told the history and the background to his army.
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The House of Vraneth

1)History
2)Great Characters
3)Army Units
4)Army Composition
5)Army Tactics/Battle Doctrines

History of the House:

The Noble House of Vraneth has risen to power rapidly in the past millennia with the rise to glory of Kurl Vraneth, the current master of the house of Vraneth.
The House of Vraneth is an ancient one stretching back to the dawn of elven civilisation before the coming of Chaos into the world. The family first came to the attention of the lords of Nagarythe when Khalir Vraneth defended the dragon pass. For months did Khalir defend the pass before leading a counter attack, and pushing north towards the phoenix pass, leaning destruction in his wake.
Alas the forces of Nagarythe were forced back to their strongholds; Khalir was forced into a small fortress at the mouth of phoenix pass, with waning strength. Until, the great cataclysm, water surged past the fortress sand broke it free of its bedrock, becoming one of the black arks of Naggaroth. With the foundation of the Black cities however the house of Vraneth was largely forgotten by the ruling elite of Naggaroth and Khalir was simply given a minor title in the city of Har Ganeth, training the first battalions of Executioners, until Khalir’s Death at the first Siege of Griffon gate. The House remained insignificant for many millennia until the rise of Kurl Vraneth the Cruel.
Kurl became the master of the house of Vraneth with the death of his father and elder brother by the hands of the savage warriors of the northern wastes. His first act as the master of the house was to begin a series of attacks across the world aboard the black ark of his ancestor Khalir…The Spear of Khaine. With these attacks and the number of slaves that were bought back by Kurl’s raids his favour grew in the court of the Witch king and of the Dread lord of Har Ganeth. The House of Vraneth’s final rise to power came in the wake of the battle finuval plain, Kurl’s defence of the left flank during the battle and his valiant rear-guard action gained him great favour in the Halls of the witch king and of that Dread lord of Har Ganeth and as a result He was given the title of Lord and Master of Har Ganeth, one of the highest positions in the city of Har Ganeth, and answerable on the Witch King and the Dread Lord of the city. The house of Vraneth’s rise to power was complete and Kurl remained a hero in the city of Har Ganeth for many centauries that is until, the rise of his Youngest Son, Khael.
Khael, the youngest of Kurl’s three sons was only a few minutes older than his twin sister Lelith, both were very close during their childhood until that is Lelith was sent away to harness her Sorceress ability and both twins did not see each other for nine hundred years. However with the out break of the civil war in Naggaroth and the betrayal of Kurl’s second son Khaleth to the forces of Slannesh, Khael found it his duty to kill his brother and regain his house’s honour. Both Brothers met outside the city of Ghrond and after a titanic struggle Khael was victorious his brother broken in the snow beside him. From this Khael was made the Lord-General of Khaine by the Hag Queen Hellbronne in the city of Ghrond. During the Civil war Khael’s feats became legend especially within the temples of Khaine throughout Naggaroth, however to quote Khael himself the result of the civil war was not what Khael expected.
“For every victory there is a defeat, for every defeat there is a victory.”
Although the forces of Khaine were victorious Khael himself was exiled. Branded a Zealot by the witch king, Khael left Naggaroth to regain favour in the eyes of Khaine.
The House of Vraneth meanwhile thanks to Khaleth’s betrayal and Khael’s banishment has lost some of its favour that Kurl gained it during his great exploits, and the house’s position in Druchii society is under threat. But this is the way of the Druchii, and Kurl, his eldest son Drukh and his Daughter Lelith must now attempt to regain their lost favour in the eyes of the Witch King and the dread lord of Har Ganeth or suffer dishonour and death.

Great Characters:

Kurl Vraneth the Cruel, Lord and Master of Har Ganeth: The Current master of the house of Vraneth, Kurl worked long and hard to gain the position in Druchii society that his house now holds, and is fears that his arrogant younger sons will destroy it for him. This unfortunately has partly come true with the betrayal of Khaleth and the banishment of Khael. Kurl had for many centuries ridden to battle on one of the great Cold Ones, but now instead he rides upon a mighty Black Dragon gifted to him by the Witch King for many years of Loyal Service. Kurl now leads his hosts to battle in Ulthuan alongside the Dread Lord of Har Ganeth and the Witch King, although he has recently returned to Har Ganeth for unknown reasons.

Drukh Vraneth: The Eldest Son of Kurl, Drukh has always loved the thrill of battle and takes great delight in working out complex strategies in order to defeat his foes. Armed with an enchanted gauntlet and an enchanted shield Drukh likes to lead from the front deep inside a unit of Warriors deeply loyal to his family, he currently is fighting alongside his father in Ulthuan until he returned to Har Ganeth to aid Khael in the civil war.

Khaleth Vraneth: The Middle Son of Kurl, Khaleth was not as powerfully built as his brothers he was non the less just as competent of leading warriors as his brothers, mounted on a great cold one and armed with a blade that seems to increase his reflexes, he was a fearsome warrior in combat. That is till his betrayal to Slannesh and his death at the hands of his own brother Khael.

Lelith Vraneth: The Youngest of Kurl’s children all-be it by only 5 minutes, she is a very powerful and accomplished sorceress, but yet is also as skilled with her demi-draich as any single executioner, she has gained much favour in the eyes of her father with her leadership and victory over the forces of the cult in the southern reaches and at the wrath gate before it, Now she has returned to Har Ganeth after some nine hundred years in training and has taken her now deceased mother’s place in the court of Har Ganeth.

Khael Vraneth, the Lord-General of Khaine: Perhaps just as infamous as his father now, Khael is the Lord-General of Khaine and is therefore held in great esteem by both the Druchii people and by the temples of Khaine in all of the dark cities. However with his banishment many followers of Khaine followed their general into exile, armed now with the blood draich of Khaine, Khael leads his followers on foot in the heart of combat. His presence in combat has always been powerful, but now as the Lord-General of Khaine it is even greater. However the question is when will Khael return from exile?


Edit: Woot 1500 posts
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"For every victory there is a defeat, for every defeat there is a victory. My victory, my defeat are for all to see..."
Khael Vraneth, Lord-General of Khaine.
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Darkspear
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Post by Darkspear »

Its quite a good piece of work. I myself is quite impressed by the fact that your clan's story is not streamline, there are ups and downs. I hope u will write more soon.
In my land, everyone calls me the darkspear. The most famous spearmen commander of all.
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Voodoomaster
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Post by Voodoomaster »

Army Units:

Spearmen: The House of Vraneth believes that large units of spearmen from the city of Har Ganeth are perhaps the best in the known world, they have been trained by some of the best lords of the city. The Spearmen of the city form the mainstay of the house's battle line, although very few units are 100 percent loyal to the house and many have to be watched with care.

Repeater Crossbowmen: The House believes that the warriors weilding crossbows are just as effective in close combat as they are at shooting the enemy from afar, they are usually deployed at the rear of the hosts of the House and charge into any combat that they believe can turn a battle.

Corsairs: Due to the fact that the house has their own black ark, corsairs are quite common in the armies of the House of Vraneth, however they are no where near as common as the multiple unit of spearmen that form the bulk of the House's armies. the Corsair's role is to usually form a hard hitting flanking unit that shall support the spearmen.

Dark Riders: These are the Vanguard and heralds of the Clan, it is they who are the warriors who tell the enemy to surrender. however most of the time this is refused. their misson is to seek out and destroy enemy mages, war machines and to slow the enemy down by harrasing their flanks.

Cold One Knights: Due to the distance from Hag Greaf, Units of young nobles on Cold Ones are quite rare in the armies of the House of Vraneth, however when these great beasts are availble they often prove hard to control with the knights that ride them often proving to arrogant to listen to the leader's commands.

Cold One Chariots: with fewer cold ones needed to create these chariots of war, chariots are slightly more common than the great units of Cold one knights. however they are still rare and number no more than one chariot for every battlion of spearmen, their primary misson is to to support the infantry as they advance.

Shades: with the spiteful peaks only a few dozen leagues to the north shades are quite common in the armies of the House of Vranet, their principle mission is to take out enemy warmachines and to harras the enemy in anyway.

Executioners: The main stay units of the House of Vraneth, with their role in Har Ganeth executioners are perhaps the most common unit that their armies hold, with multiple units being led by lesser lords of the city under the command of the House of Vraneth. the executioners main role is to be the hard hitting support for the spearmen, and to keep the ranks of young warriors in order, their presence on the battle field always has given a sense of foreboding.

Witch Elves: they have always had a minor presense in the armies of the House, but now with Khael becoming the lord-general of khaine these mad warrior witches are now perhaps as common as the executioners in the armies of Har Ganeth, their main purpose is to hold against large enemy ranks and wait for support from more infantry units.

Harpies: Rare in the armies that fight inland of the city of Har Ganeth, however aboard the black ark Spear of Khaine a small colony has been florishing for generations, now trained by beastmasters hired from the city of Karond Kar their role in battle is to slow the enemy down and to seek out any enemy commanders.

Reaper Bolt Throwers: These act as artillery to soften the enmy up before contact is made by the warriors of the House where the real slaughter lies.

Cauldron of Blood: the rarest of all of the House's units, only twice has it appeared with the armies of House of Vraneth but now with one of the great cauldrons with Khael in his exile, who knows how many more victories it will lead the house to.


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@Darkspear: thanks for your comments, and yeah the house wasn't always a great power, there are always ups and downs in life.
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"For every victory there is a defeat, for every defeat there is a victory. My victory, my defeat are for all to see..."
Khael Vraneth, Lord-General of Khaine.
Thanan
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Post by Thanan »

Seems like you've put a lot of effort into the house and its nice to see a story line and fluff without a completely rosey and brilliant side to it :P...good to see some downs as well as good upsides :)
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Deathraider
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Post by Deathraider »

wow that was really enjoyable to read. You seem to have put in a lot of detail and work into this. Well done
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Beastmaster kurlan: hmm i dunno itl definately go to tournies anyway, as he has the spear and hod anyway, but its in blakc and white so woohoo kb hail of doom.
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just coz i found a legend combo and u didnt
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Voodoomaster
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Post by Voodoomaster »

@Thanan and Deathraider: thanks for your comments.
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Army Composition:

Usually the hosts of the house of Har Ganeth often include elements from other houses, but all the houses in the city have access to the spearmen of the city, and many lords and ladies of the city have their own battalions under their command but the core and heart of the armies of the House of Vraneth are formed from the spearmen of the city, backed up by executioners and Cold one chariots with Dark riders, warriors with repeater crossbows and bolt throwers in support. However most of the time the armies depend on who is leading them, Kurl likes to have a fast mobile army that is backed up by spearmen alone whereas Drukh likes to have his spearmen in the thick of battles; Lelith likes to rely also on spearmen but backed up with Executioners and Witch elves. Although she is a high sorceress she is still respected by the temple for her leadership in the southern reaches. Khael however, has almost no cavalry support at all with his leading his armies on foot, with large blocks of spearmen, executioners and witch elves smashing into the foes of the House in one devastating charge. However the mentality of the whole family however, is the same. All of them like direct combat even Lelith who is usually seen supporting infantry in the thick of combat. This mentality has worked for centauries and it was because of it that the house rose to power so quickly, however, this also leaves the Houses assets open to attack from other families in Naggaroth something that Drukh is becoming aware of. The Standard army of the House however is expected to contain large amounts of infantry especially spearmen and executioners supported by Chariots light cavalry and Artillery, Khael however in his Exile no longer follows this, and only Khaine knows what his army will contain given his limited resources.

Army Tactics/Battle Doctrines:

As Kurl Vraneth himself once said, “We have more Exquisite ways to kill than any other.” This reflects the Houses blood thirsty nature and their loyalty to Khaine is unquestionable save for Khaleth but he lies dead, along with the Slannesh rebellion. The House prefers direct combat, and leaves other lesser tactics such as harassment to other nobles under their command, such as Duke Tualarc whose house specialises in harassment from horseback; he is the herald of Lelith Vraneth. In the standard battle the Houses armies will line up in a standard infantry line, usually with the leader at the centre with chariot and light cavalry support on the flanks and finally a solid firebase consisting of Warriors with repeater crossbows and Reaper Bolt throwers.

The House has always had a great respect for the Sorceress’ of the Convent partly because one of their own is a member of the 3rd convent; as a result the House frequently opens its chests of gold and silver to hire Sorceress’. The Convent that the house does its most dealing with is with the 3rd convent, whose main speciality is with magic of shadows, although they are just as capable with Dark and Death magic it is shadows that is their real specialty.

Enemies of the House often report that usually the few nobles of the House are present at most battles and frequently take wounds, however there are just as many lesser nobles that serve the House of Vraneth that lead smaller incursions, these usually are found out on the flanks of a confrontation rather than leading from the front, yet again this highlights the house’s over reliance on combat rather than outsmarting the enemy by harassing his lines before combat, yet the House’s nobles and highborn’s seem to live a blessed life and few have sustained life threatening wounds thus far.

In a typical battle, light skirmishers and light cavalry under the leadership of some ally of the House of Vraneth are used for flanking and the taking out of war machines and enemy magic users. Warriors with Repeater crossbows and Reaper Bolt throwers are used to soften enemy units up first before the massed infantry units of the House charge in. However years of working with this tactic have allowed infantry lordlings to pick their targets before the battle, so that they don’t bite off more than they can chew, And even if they fail to break them, there I usually a supporting unit nearby to lend their support and turn the tide of that little conflict.

Elite infantry play a central role in most of the houses armies and are often used to inspire the basic spearmen to greater feats of courage and battle; this is partly why the nobles of the House lead from the front rather than the back. This however does prove to be a double edged sword as there is no option for retreat with these perhaps rash and overly confident tactics. Yet with the increasing numbers of witch elves that the house is employing for battles, the Executioners example is often ignored due to the massed and often foolhardy combats that the maibd get involved in, yet none the less it still inspires the Warriors of the house.

Battle Doctrines are often talked about before and after battles, but as quoted from a famous Human General “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” It is quite often that a plan is discussed before a battle, but is then totally changed when the hosts are at each others throats. Although the favourite tactic that the Hosts of the House of Vraneth is to send captured Slave Warriors of other Druchii Houses forward as the first wave and have the enemy over commit their forces and then hit them hard with a counter strike from both sides. And with more victories than defeats in the past nine hundred years the House is doing fine despite it’s current crisis caused by the Civil War.
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there i am finished my work about the House of Vraneth, i hope you enjoyed reading it and thanks for your comments thus far

Voodoomaster
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"For every victory there is a defeat, for every defeat there is a victory. My victory, my defeat are for all to see..."
Khael Vraneth, Lord-General of Khaine.
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