Tier 2 Undead

Crypt Guard Warriors – A Skeleton Warrior that had been covered in armor and is also larger than a standard Skeleton Warrior. While fewer in number than a unit of Skeleton Warriors, Crypt Guard Warriors are easily more capable in combat. Tier One undead can occur naturally, but Tier Two undead cannot and must be made by a Necromancer. While a Skeleton is at most about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, a Crypt Guard without its armor stands at a height of 6 feet, 5 inches.

While not covered in full plate, Crypt Guard Warriors and their cousins, Crypt Guard Halberdiers and Crypt Guard Riflemen are much more heavily armored than their near naked comrades. Clad in a menacing suit of Plate-mail and carrying spike-rimmed kite shields and wielding flamberges that radiate dark power, Crypt Guard Warriors are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Despite their size and stature, they are a bit physically weaker than a normal living soldier of the same size and equipped similarly. This is not unusual for Undead, which are not usually more strong or durable than their living counterparts but instead capitalize on their numbers and intimidation factor. Like all Kain’s Undead, his Crypt Guard Warriors are created in cohesive units that function as a collective entity.

This makes fighting his undead substantially more difficult than fighting normal undead, which act as individuals and have no mind for tactics. A particular note of interest is that Kain’s undead from Tier 2 onwards have the ability to think and create strategies and tactics on the fly, although a Tier 2 Undead is much less capable of doing so than a Tier 3 Undead, and the more bestial Undead merely show an increase in animal cunning and instinctual reaction.

Unit Size – 160 (Twice the size of a standard Human Swordsman Formation)

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Crypt Guard Halberdiers – A larger, more heavily armed and armored unit of Skeleton Spearmen who wield massive polearms that are just as useful against infantry as they are against cavalry. They are strong enough to only need one arm to wield their halberd effectively, leaving their off hand to carry large tower shields that are reminiscent of a Roman Legionaries shield, except made from petrified wood and covered in a thin layer of tempered steel. Unlike their weaker cousin, they are smart enough to brace before the charge of cavalry and to even make pike-squares and work together with other units to achieve things no normal undead force could.

Unit Size – 160 (Twice the size of a standard Human Spearmen Formation)

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Crypt Guard Riflemen – Unlike the cold weapons that were in the previous tier, Crypt Guard Riflemen are equipped with hot weapons. Their rifles require physical ammunition, but this is immediately replenished by magic after every battle. Their range is far longer than that of an archer or crossbowman, but in exchange they cannot fire in as much of an arc as the cold weapons their predecessors used. They may be focused towards ranged warfare, but their rifles are built sturdy enough to be used as clubs or as shot spears with their permanently-attached triangle bayonet. Their shots are armor piercing, and thus even the iron plate of the nobility will not stop the Minni balls fired from their ‘thundersticks’.

Unit Size 160 (Twice the size of a standard Human Archer Formation)

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Skeletal Magi – Skeletal Magi are not Liches, but instead are merely Skeletons that are capable of launching spells. These spells are individually weaker than that of a normal person, yet they make up for this by the sheer volume of spells launched. They have limited intellect, and function as a kind of mobile light artillery, almost like a group of small mortars. Their spells arc high into the air and come down upon their foes but due to this are highly inaccurate. They can pool their power into a single massive spell but doing this has a not insignificant chance to backfire and explode in their midst.

Unit Size 60 (No Human Formation to Match)

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Wraiths – As if to mock the forces of the living, Wraiths are near intangible images of the Grim Reaper that float menacingly above the ground. While few in number compared to other Undead formations, they make up for it by being practically immune to anything other than magical attacks. Without silver, blessed/ cursed weapons of magic, a blow that would normally be ‘fatal’ is reduced to impotent and pointless waving of blades and spears. Wielding scythes as large as themselves, and inflicting terror though their sheer presence alone, Wraiths are a force to be reckoned with, even when separated from the rest of a force. As even their weapons are ethereal, there exists no normal armor that can protect the flesh of the living from being harmed by their reaping scythes.

Unit Size 60 (No Human Formation to Match)

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Crypt Zombies – Crypt Zombies are faster than normal Zombies by far. They sprint on all fours across the ground and lung at their opponents with jaws that are filled with filth and deadly pathogens and claws that are as long and sharp as iron nails. They are fewer in number than Zombies and lack their ability to endure large amounts of damage, but they make up for this with their speed and deadly poison and venom, not to mention the ferocity they display and the terror they inflict. After all, the sight of slobbering and shrieking beings that skitter across the ground on all fours with long and sharp talons coming at you is easily enough to cause many to flee in terror. The fact that they can scale walls without the use of siege ladders or towers is just more icing on the undead cake.

Unit Size 60 (No Human Formation to Match)

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Cursed Trebuchet – Siege weapons that are animated by dark power, Cursed Trebuchets are self-propelled artillery. While they normally fling conjured rocks covered in balefire, they can also be made to launch projectiles that are not summoned by the device itself. As there is no crew to manipulate the weapon, the only way to stop it is to tear it apart or use Light Magic to dispel the energies that control it. As it is infused with dark magic, it is far more durable than a normal trebuchet, and thus can endure far more stress before needing time to be repaired. This means it can overtax itself to launch its projectiles farther and even launch projectiles that would normally be to massive for it to fling.

Unit Size 4 (Standard Size of Human Artillery Formation)

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Cursed Ballista – Siege weapons that are animated by dark power, Cursed Ballista are self-propelled artillery. Unlike the Trebuchet, the Ballista is used to launch specialized projectiles. Cursed Ballistae normally launch large jars containing one of three mixtures, either being balefire, poisoned sludge or containers filled with various short-lived creatures. It can launch other projectiles, but these have to be manually loaded into it by a crew, just like what would need to happen with a Cursed Trebuchet.

As there is no crew to manipulate the weapon, the only way to stop it is to tear it apart or use Light Magic to dispel the energies that control it. As it is infused with dark magic, it is far more durable than a normal ballista, and thus can endure far more stress before needing time to be repaired. This means it can overtax itself to launch its projectiles farther and even launch projectiles that would normally be to massive for it to fling.

Unit Size 4 (Standard Size of Human Artillery Formation)

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Noir Knights – Crypt Guard who are mounted on Skeletal Steeds, Noir Knights are the entry-level armored horse-cavalry for the undead. Notably able to swap their weapons on the fly depending on the need, they generally charge into battle in a arrow formation, equipped with lances before switching to other melee weapons after the charge has broken the foe. Their weapons and armor are bound to the group, as are their horses and bodies. Rather than being separate beings, a Noir Knight and its steed are just one being that happens to have two bodies. If one is destroyed, the other will follow soon after.

Unit Size 60 (The Size of a Standard Knight Formation for Humans)

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Hell Bats – The larger, more aggressive and far more powerful cousins of Fel Bats, Hell Bats are roughly the size of a decently sized carriage, complete with two horses. Due to their size, they have fewer numbers in a unit than Fel Bats, but they more than make up for it with seer ferocity. Unlike Fel Bats, Hell Bats can land on the ground to tear apart their foes and will make aerial dives into groups of soldiers, sending bodies flying as they crash into lines of men. Hell Bats were extinct before being brought back by Kain due to him unlocking them to be recruited. It is a rumor that Hell Bats are in fact not actually larger offshoots of Fel Bats and are in fact Vampires that devolved due to a mix of extreme hunger and torture, but this is a rumor and nothing more.

Hell Bats can use small amounts of Blood Magic, but only barely and doing so requires them to be in the middle of fight, at which point they are usually too busy rending flesh and slurping blood to think about using their powers. Thus, it is mostly used instinctually to draw more blood to their ravenous maws, much to the dismay of their victims who are forced by subliminal magical suggestion to rush headlong into their waiting jaws and claws.

Unit Size 14 (No Human Formation to Match)

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Death Hounds – Larger, more aggressive and far more intimidating versions of Dire Wolves, Death Hounds are fewer in number than Dire Wolves but make up for their lack of numbers with pure brutality. The same size as a Hell Bat, just without the ability to fly, Death Hounds lack most of the speed of their smaller, weaker counterparts. In place of this speed is absurd levels of strength, so much so that even the fortified and reinforced gates of a city can be battered down with a few rams from a charging Death Hound pack.

They are powerful enough to forcibly climb up sheer rock surfaces with grip strength alone and durable enough to take a shot from a cannon and merely limp away. While they lack the speed and maneuverability of Hell Bats, they outclass their airborne comrades with pure staying power. Death Hounds can use a small amount of Death Magic, but the only real application they can manifest is an intimidating aura that can strike fear into the weak willed. This fear does not manifest as flight or fight, but rather it manifests in the third response to fear, freeze. A person struck by this aura will have no other option but to stay put and hope they are overlooked, which of course, they are not.

Unit Size 14 (No Human Formation To Match)

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Mortal Auxiliary

The Mortal Auxiliary are better equipped versions of the standard Human Formations, drawn from civilians who joined the armed forces to serve Darksol and its allies. People from all walks of life end up as soldiers for one reason or another, some are in it to bring Darksol’s glory to others and some are just there for the benefits and the paycheck. The Auxiliary is a meritocracy, where one’s actions and words decide how far up the chain of command you will go.

In the Auxiliary, race, gender, social standing, religion, nationality, sexual preference and more mean nothing, all that matters is that you are doing your part. Abuse in the ranks is not tolerated, and not only can a person be permanently banned from service for abuses of power, but they will be forced to pay reparations and will be blocked from certain jobs. As such, men and women are able to serve together and are encouraged to speak up if someone breaks the strict codes that govern the armed forces.

Devised by Ervin Krueger as a ‘Good Face and Best Foot Forward’ for Darksol, the Mortal Auxiliary has evolved into something far more potent, a way for those with nowhere else to go and nothing else to live for to find a way to survive without ruining themselves.