WARHAMMER ARMIES -
THE UNGOLS

BACKGROUND

The Ungols, are the nomadic people who make up the Ungol Empire. This Empire spans the Steppes of the Far East, and is the largest Empire in the Known World. It's borders Hobgoblin Hegemony and the Mountains of Mourn to the West, the frozen tundra and uninhabited forests to the North, Imperial Cathay to the East, held off by the Emperor's Wall, and the Kamalayan Mountains and the Princes of Indhi to the South.

They are a tough and enduring people, battling not only their environment, but their enemies, to the East, South, and West. They believe that one day, the Great Khan will return, and lead them to final victory, when the world will be theirs. Their armies are the most seasoned and maneuverable in the world. If it wasn't for the Chaos Dwarf Citadels and their Hobgoblin servants to the West, and Imperial Cathay to the East, they would be unstoppable. But between two numerous enemies, to each side, has hindered their greater ambition.

Despite their massive Empire, the culture is a nomadic one, with dispersed populations. The men herd cattle, sheep, and goats, while the women cook and maintain the household. They were organized around a traditional tribal and clan order, but with the rise of the Khans, this has changed.

The Ungol are mounted archers, riding fast steeds, and firing torrents of barbed arrows at their enemy, but never close enough to engage in melee combat. They are unparalleled horseman, and masters of the bow. The Kislevs are closely related to the Ungols.

History

The Ungols hail from the Steppe Nomads. The Steppe Nomads have long pestered the nations of Cathay. Over the last few centuries, they were threatened by Hobgoblin Hegemony and the Cathayan State of Chen. The Ungols came from the northern forests, and quickly drove the remaining tribes south.

Constantly embroiled in internecine warfare amongst the tribes, they amounted to little other than continual raids and bloodshed.

Around two hundred years ago, after a number of epic adventures, a young Noyan, known as Kenghis Khan came to power. Uniting the Ungols amidst a great amount of bloodshed and massacres, he turned his people into clearing the steppes of rivals. He drove the Hobgoblins to the Mountains of Mourn, and then turned on the Cathayan nation of Chen, a breakaway nation and rival of Imperial Cathay. Within a year, he had conquered the Chen, and moved beyond the Emperor's Wall, and was laying waste to Imperial Cathay. He then turned to Indhya, leaving the battle in Imperial Cathay to his Go-Ong, or Prince of State. Within a few years, he had conquered Indhya.

In Cathay, the Ungols were finally repulsed. Kenghis by this time has gone to war against the Hobgoblin Hegemony and it's Chaos Dwarf allies. While leading a massive army that was successfully driving out the Hobgoblins and tearing apart the Chaos Dwarf Citadels, he reached the World's Edge Mountains. It was here, at 63, that Kenghis died. Returning his body to the Burkan Kaldun, his Keshik, killed every living thing that crossed the funeral procession. Leaving a continent in flames behind them, they returned Kenghis' body to it's burial site.

After Kenghis' death, the Ungol Khans became more conservative. They lost portions of Indhi, and never defeated the Hobgoblin Hegemony, which is once again threatening the Ungol Empire. In Chen, the Ungols there are becoming more and more like the Cathayans.

The Ungols still await for Kenghis' return. Kenghis is predicted to return to lead his armies to victory once more.

Gender Roles

Ungol society is a patriarchal one, with the male role being a dominant one. For the most part, women are submissive to men, and will assume typical female roles. All women are trained to ride and fight, as this can at times be necessary. Women who think they can prove themselves as competent as men may take a trial to become a Jarghere, or a female warrior, who is viewed as a male warrior. Since a woman can't really fight, she is assumed to have adopted a male role. These women are few, as many prefer the close knit company of women rather than the hard life made more difficult by having to put up with proving oneself to every male.

Clothing and Appearance

The Ungol men and women wear similar apparel. The wear a long tunic garment, which is fastened across the breast. Durable trousers are worn underneath, and they wear strong leather riding boots. The warriors wear a leather belt upon which they attach quivers and bow cases. In the cold, they wear two fur coats, one with the fur inside, and an outer layer with the fur on the outside. To keep their head warm, they will wear fur caps.

The men grow beards and mustaches, and often have their hair braided.

Trade and Economy

Under the guidance of the subject Cathayans, the Ungols have somewhat prospered under a revised economic policy. Although the Ungols create very little trade, they now have a choke hold on all trade moving across the steppes. Instead of raiding caravans, they now guard the caravans travelling from the Old World and Indhi to Cathay. There is a certain amount of trade coming from the subject people.

The Ungol Empire is fairly self sufficient, with the Ungol people having all they need, but a tidy income is brought in by their taxes on trade, crafts, and agriculture.

Religion and Magic

The Ungols dominant deity is an aspect of Taal, known as Muguko Talgri. Talgri is the Everlasting Sky, the god that gave them horses and the land, and watches over them from above. The also worship a goddess Nachigai, also known as Itugen or Etrugen. The wife of Talgri, she is an aspect of Rhya, the Earthmother.

The Ungols perceive the world as one of spirits, who take an active interest in affairs. Most are nature spirits, conscious manifestations of the natural world. They must often be appeased to stay out of Ungol affairs. The other cult is one of ancestral worship, based on the great heroes and ancestors. All these groups have a number of shamans, and there is a toleration and acceptance for each other.

Government

The Ungols are ruled by a Great Khan. Underneath the Great Khan are the nobles, or Noyan, who rule over the clans and tribes in peace, and act as officers during war. The Khans word is law, and defiance of his law is punishable by torture and death of the offender and his family.

The government is kept working by the Yam, or the Imperial Post, which consists of messengers on fast steeds riding circuits. Several parts of the Ungol administration are run by Cathayan subjects, who curb the excess and violence that the Ungols are prone to exhibit.

Law

All major laws are listed in the Yasa, a code of laws that instructs Ungols in how to treat other Ungols. It does now apply to non-Ungols, who have no protection under Ungol law. For non-Ungols, breaking Ungol law is a last fatal action one can do.

The Yasa describes a number of laws for the Ungols to live by. Show honor to the learned and wise of all people, to the righteous and innocent, and to all religions. To love one another and to share food. It is wrong to steal, commit adultery, to bear false testimony, or betray an Ungol. Finally, to show compassion and spare the aged and the poor.

Military law is different. For the officers, darkhan, and the noyan, they must inspect the weapons and equipment of all their soldiers, and rectify and deficiencies or face severe punishment. Officers failing to attend their Khan's addresses or are unable to control and discipline their men are removed from their command.

As for the soldiers themselves, they must respect the other men, return any dropped weapons of their fellow soldiers or suffer punishment. To betray, abandon, or desert a fellow soldier in their arban, to plunder without permission or to fall asleep on their watch is punishable by execution.

Ungol law is as hard, cruel, and demanding as the Ungol people themselves can be.

Military

The Ungol people are a martial group of people. Their horsemanship, their steeds, and their bows are all parts of daily life that can be applied to military pursuits. They have often skirmished with the goblinoids and raided Imperial Cathay. They survive solely on their abilities as warriors. Their old tribal wars were barbaric and violent, with betrayals, massacres, torturing and execution. The Ungol people ask for no mercy and compassion, and are incapable of giving them either. It is said that they are as cold and merciless as the land they originally hail from.

The Ungol military were originally small tribal forces, but after Khengis Khan unified his people, they were reorganized along more formal lines. Each group of ten men is called an Arban. Every ten Arbans or one hundred men form a Jegun. Every ten Jeguns or one thousand men form a Mingan. Every ten Mingans form a Tumen, of around ten thousand Ungols. The Tumens are commonly organized by Khans for attacks and raids. At any time, a Khan can raise in a short time up to 15 Tumens to defend Ungol lands, with more if greatly threatened.

The Ungol Horse Archer is a deadly opponent, and the basic type of troop in the Ungol army. They act as the main body of the troops, moving quickly, firing their bows from speeding columns, always impossible to engage in melee. When the Ungols do attack, it is from the Lancers or heavy cavalry who charge the weakened enemy. The fleeing foes are then cut down by the lighter Ungol Horse Archers.

The best troops are organized into the Keshik, or the elite bodyguard of the Great Khan. The Keshik number nine thousand, the holy number of the Ungols. They can command any group of Ungols, usurping command of the leading officers. They are essentially a bodyguard, an elite Imperial Guard, and a officer's corp.

The standard weapon is the Composite Bow, which shares the same characteristics as a Normal Bow, but is the size of a Short Bow. To use it requires the Specialist Weapon Composite Bow, to be able to use the pull effectively. They rely on wooden shields and toughened leather jerkins to protect them.

Ungol Tactics

The Ungols are masters at moving quickly around their enemies, and surrounding them. They are capable of making flank and rear attacks at will. They prefer to ambush their enemies, or cutting off elements and destroying isolated units. They have the fastest moving army of the Known World.

Their enemies are unable to bring the Ungols to battle. The Ungols have no large cities, no castles or fortifications to defend, and the endless Steppes to evade their enemies in. They are absolutely merciless. They have no problems being cut off from their armies, having numerous steeds, able to sleep in the saddle, and living off the land. Even their appearance on a battlefield leaves the enemy to wonder if this appearance is a trap. The Ungols often make feints and false attacks to trick their opponents, while another unit circles around behind. Often a fleeing Ungol unit will lead their pursuers into an ambush. Their maneuverability is almost infallible, having everywhere to flee to, and being able to attack almost anywhere.

The largest difficulty is fighting in sieges. They have taken many siege specialists and artillerists from Cathay, and routinely use them in siege warfare.

The hobgoblins of the Hobgoblin Hegemony would appear to have an advantage over the Ungols, because of their giant wolves, which can track by scent, and are faster than the horses of the Ungols. However, the tracking ability of the Giant Wolves is often used to lead the Wolves into a trap, since the Wolves are unable to reason themselves out of traps. An over reliance on the tracking abilities of the Hobgoblins is the greatest weakness of the Hobgoblin invasions. The Ungol Scouts are aware of the invaders, and will lead Ungol troops to the locations, while the Hobgoblins prowl about the empty steppes, seeking aimlessly for something to fight. The speed of the Giant Wolves is negated when one realizes that the individual Ungol warrior may have up to twenty remounts! The Giant Wolves may gradually eat up the distance between them, but the superior bowskill of the Ungol Horse Archer allows for him to gradually shoot the pursuers to pieces at his own leisure.

The Ungol will also work closely with their Shamans, and the Hobgoblins will often find while pursuing fleeing Ungols, that the earth itself will erupt, spewing forth Earth Elementals that tear the pursuers apart while the Ungol "prey" cheer and give praise to the spirits.

It is the relative safety and strength of the impregnable Chaos Dwarf towers and strongholds, their numbers of the goblins, and the relative wasteland that keeps the Ungols from sweeping across into the Old World. The siege weapons of Cathay, while impressive, are worthless against Chaos Dwarf batteries. The great numbers of goblinoids bog down the Ungols and threaten to overwhelm them. And the environmental damage done by the Chaos Dwarfs make subsistence off the land for both Ungol riders and their steeds nearly impossible.

To the East, in Imperial Cathay, the Ungols find themselves facing the Emperor's Wall, and the far more numerous Cathayans. Well organized armies, backed by powerful mages, clerics, and spell casters makes any invasions or raids costly. Once beyond the wall, the Ungols find themselves restricted to the roads, easily defended by the Cathayans, as the rice paddies and irrigation ditches hinder any idea of cross country movement. Imperial Authorities are quick to flood areas and open dams if the Ungols invade. For now, a quiet peace has evolved between the Ungols and the Emperor of Imperial Cathay. The Ungols, did after all, rid Imperial Cathay of it's rival state...

For now, the Ungols find themselves fighting a small crusade against the goblinoids of the Dark Lands and the Hobgoblin Hegemony.

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