Dogs of War

You can run, but you can’t hide

David Hall

Common Names: The Howling Heroes, Gunnar’s Chosen Men, Cornard’s Boys.

Form: The Greydog Clan warband

Typical Homeland: Heortling

Cultural Context: The warband of the Greydog clan

Ideology: "Our Bark is as bad as our Bite"; "Violence is always an option".

Look and Feel: A loud and intimidating Orlanthi warband, much given to animalistic growls, howls and the bearing of teeth. Think of a disciplined pack of large baying dogs, but with spears, shields and swords.

Purpose: The warband protects the Greydog clan from strangers and foreigners. It rends and savages its enemies.

Headquarters: The Greydog Chieftain’s feasting hall in Greydog village, usually in the best places around the fire.

Reactions: Other clan members are glad to have such fierce and brave defenders, though internal factions such as the Three Widows always seek to curb the warband’s enthusiasm for war and raiding.

Resources

Leader: Cornard Deathdealer is the famed Champion of the Greydog Clan and a worshipper of Hedkoranth, the Thunder Slinger. He has been killing Orlmarthi since he was fifteen.

Renowned Members: Olaf Iron-Axe is an old & grizzled weaponthane of Snorri’s Stead who wields an axe his grandfather was gifted by the Longaxe himself. Morlond the Terrible is an Osgosi and Cornard’s second. Trondi Goodaxe is a cunning Vingan warrior whose cunning and guile has more than once caused the Ridgeleapers to turn-tail in terror.

Membership: At the heart of the warband are the ten weaponthanes and their carls, plus the few mercenaries hired by the clan chieftain as his housecarls (up to half-a-dozen Indrodari or Uroxi weaponthanes before Starbrow’s Rebellion, exclusively Indrodari weaponthanes thereafter).

The Greydog Clan can also call on up to 150 fyrdsmen and women.

Other Contacts: The Greydog Clan, The Brothers of the Hunt, The Indrodari Temple.

Organisation

The Dogs of War are the warband of the Greydog clan. All adult members of the fyrd are members of the warband, but most serve part-time and are called up en masse only in time of war or for large-scale raids.

For the Greydogs, membership of any of the Thunder Brothers or Indrodari subcults qualifies for membership of the warband. However, Odalya & Yinkin worshippers (the specialised hunters of the clan) are not expected to join the warband, and seldom do.

The warband has a strict hierarchy and pecking order defined by each member’s skills as a warrior. Duels are common between the warriors of the warband to demonstrate their skill-at-arms and to impose their authority (thereby moving them up the pecking order in the eyes of the other warband members).

Membership Keyword

Membership Requirements: Members are drawn from the Greydog clan or from mercenaries who serve the clan chieftain. An existing weaponthane must sponsor someone who wishes to join.

Members must obey their leaders and hand over all plunder taken on raids to the leader for redistribution.

Skills taught: Throw Javelin, Scout, Mythology of Thunder Brothers, Fyrd Combat (Shield Wall Fighting).

Typical Personality Traits: Brave, Fierce, Loyal.

Magic: Members worship one of Orlanth's warband cults, usually Starkval.

Edruf Greydogsson (Guardian)

Edruf was the bravest cub in the Greydog’s pack. It was he who found his master’s body and savaged the killers. When the pack went to Dragon Pass, Edruf led the way, sniffing out the safest paths and places, and defeating in battle those who tried to bar the way or threaten the pack’s safety.

Method: Emanation

Form: The War Pelt of the Greydog. This large shaggy pelt of a Grey wolfhound is worn over the shoulders and head of the clan Bannerman (the tallest man in the warband). During fighting the head of the pelt growls, howls and sometimes yelps at the opposing foe (on rare occasions it has been known to bite anyone attacking the Bannerman - or an incompetent warband leader).

Warband members usually augment the sounds the pelt makes with their own growls and howls in order to strike fear into their foes.

Communication: The various barks and growls that the war pelt makes are interpreted by the warband members as simple messages or instructions.

Three Functions:
Awareness: Smell Danger
Blessings: Terrify Foes
Defence: Pack Defence