Faction Overview Burgundii

by Alex the Bold

Hail noble warlord and welcome to the lands of the Burgundii! We are a small tribe, noble warlord, a tribe made of those who dared cross the Cold Sea and settle so far away from our ancestrla homeland.A tribe of merchants and sailors say the rest of our brethren. A tribe of warriors, of raiders, of víkingr. Thus we have the potential of defeating those syncofants, uniting our Germanian brothers under our sword and, perhaps, under your leadership rule Rome and the mysterious kingdoms of the East, travelling as far as no Burgundian has travelled before.

The Lands

Now, let’s guide you to our lands. Our largest city is a small set of hovels called Campus Burgundii by those Pila-Throwers, who also call our territory Tribus Burgundii. Our land borders the Northern Sea which we crossed five generations ago. There lies the possibility of commerce, which will fund the raising of the Burgundian armies. However, we Burgundians should turn our eyes inland in our search for allies to assist and enemies to crush. So, let’s guide you through our neighbours. To the South lies the realm of the Lombardi, the most reknowned archers in Germania. Our people and the Lombardi have lived next to each other for five generations. Therefore, we are closely related to them and most of our warriors would never attack their Lombardi relatives. Even though we prefer the art of the sword and the axe, those archers should be respected, if not feared for their skills granted by Wotan. Thus, an alliance with these people would be of great benefit to us.

To the West lies the realm of the Saxones, the Tribus Saxones. These sea-faring people have been relatively isolated from the rest of the Germani and their homeland is rich with resources, not to mention the best ship-builders of the Northern lands. These people are the ideal target for an invasion, and it should be your priority, noble warlord, to attack them before they recruit more warriors with their riches. Be careful though, as these people have mastered the art of melee combat using a formation called “Skjaldborg” which has proven nearly invincible. However, our warriors would follow anywhere.

To the Southwest lies the realm of the most powerful Germanic tribe, the francisca-wielding Franks. These people utilise a long-feared weapon; the francisca. They also use the shieldwall in their advantage. They are currently occuppied with fighting those pesky Romans, so it would be in our best interests to have a friendly relationship with them. Nonetheless, this is your decision to make.

To the East lies the greatest danger to us, though. We have heard terrible tales from crippled survivors , tales of centaur-like men who spend days on horseback. We know many names: Sarmatians, Roxolani, Goths, Vandals, Huns. It is one of your priorities to make sure they never invade our homeland. . .

The Troops

The Burgundian warhosts are similar to other Germanic warhosts. They mostly consist of slow-moving, low-quality warriors armed with Wotan’s favourite weapon: the spear. Even though these warriors are usually dismissed as inferior,due to being levies, they are good enough to hold their ground early on, before more experienced warriors flow under our banners. They can also defend our most precious troops against cavalry. We also boast axemen who wield the two-handed axe and can hack through the enemy warriors as easily as a knife through butter, brave archers trained by the infamous Lombard marksmen who can hit a man’s skull from 70 feet away and the specially trained Night Raiders, who can hide nearly anywhere and terrify our enemies with their fearful appearance and terrifying warcries.

We Burgundii have also acquired from the neighbouring Romans the knowledge of building massive engines to besiege the enemy towns and cities. This technology, the “Onagers” as they are called, are to prove very useful in the future. We also boast other warriors, such as the terrifying Golden Band warriors, a military brotherhood made up from the bravest veteran warriors of the Burgundii, who are rightfully feared from our opponents. In addition to them , we can also train large warhounds to fight alongside our brave warriors.

In addition to these troops, we also boast to special units: The berserkers, the best warriors of the tribe with superhuman strength and stamina, warriors who live only to kill and are dedicated to Donar, the Protector of the Men, and our own famous Burgundian cavalry, the fastest heavy cavalry in Germania. Even though we are the descendants of sailors, our best warrioras enlist in the cavalry. Brave, agile and skilled, they are an example of Burgundian bravery and should be used extensively throughout your campaigns, noble lord.

Temples

We Burgundii honour many gods, the gods of our ancestors. The most prominent among them are: Donar the Fearless, the god of thunder, the Protector of Men. His temples and priests give courage to our warriors and make them fight braver, as they have no fear of our enemies. Among his most faithful worshipers are the infamous berserkers, a valuable addition to your warhost, noble warlord.

We also honour Frigg, the great Mother and Wife to the king of the gods, the Cunning Wotan. Her worship can make our farms give more crops each year, so that our income increases and our warriors are fed. As the saying goes, a bear cannot fight with an empty stomach, so our strong-as-a-bear warriors must be fed.

In addition to the other two gods, we also honour Wotan the Wise, the King of Asgard and Protector of Wisdom and all the wise men. His temples are a gathering place for all noble men and warriors who wish to have his protection. His priests inspire our men before combat, so that they fight better.

Besides our ancestral gods, some of our people also honour a new God, the Christian God. His strict rules make these men more obedient to our rule, so perhaps we should allow them to practice their religion freely. . .

The Oracle’s Advice

This is the advice of the sacred oracle of Wotan to you, leader of the Burgundii, in order to help you plan your moves:

Two roads lie ahead of you, young warlord. Both could lead to great wealth or doom. The first one is to stay in your home, build up your cities and conquer more lands, uniting Germania. However, this road will probably leave you vulnerable against the souless Eastern warriors who are feared even by the gods. The other way is to abandon your home, burn your houses and migrate south, to the rich but well defended lands of the weakened Roman empire. There, you may create a new place for your people to live, away from the Eastern devils. However, can you take on the mightiest empire the world has ever seen?