The Drekeen Empire

[Gorvoslov]

Centuries ago, a cult of dragon worshippers started becoming truly powerful. First they started attracting great warriors and powerful wizards. Over time, those with bits of draconic bloodlines began being drawn to them. Then some truly great wizards. Then even drakes started taking notice of their growing might as they morphed into a major force. The worship as gods the humans offered was enough to feed their ego, and the tribute certainly didn’t hurt. Finally, even true dragons started joining them. The powerful presence of dragons just fed the zealotry of their worshippers, triggering a feedback loop where both encouraged each other. The drakes would even begin to allow the most notable humans to ride them into combat. Under extreme circumstances, even the dragons would allow this. Becoming personally powerful, and therefore deemed worthy by dragons, became the main driving force in their society. Not via subterfuge, but by straight up self-improvement. Some of the dragons with more righteous inclinations used this to guide and shape the society towards one where the arcane arts are freely shared instead of jealous scholars hiding away in their towers working in secret. This gave the Drekeen Empire even more powerful mages for which they are famed. It is customary that before being sent into battle one is given precious seconds in the presence of a dragon, where they will even touch your weapons. None of this has any practical effect, but as a psychological effect, it stirs even the most cowardly of peasants into unflinching machines of war for they have personally been in the presence of a god.

Almost forty years ago, the Drekeen Empire fought a massive and bloody war with the Kingdom of Lewea that saw the Drekeen Empire left leaderless and completely defeated. Thousands of soldiers, hundreds of drakes, and dozens of dragons were lost or wounded, along with the entire Imperial family line being wiped out. The great drawback of worshipping something that is completely killable was exposed when morale was destroyed every time a dragon was shot down. Tribute was forced to be paid. Territory ceded, some simply to be infested with bandits and savage orc tribes. All in the name of survival. But dragons live a long time, and their ability to hold grudges is legendary. Their pride may be gone for now, but they will rebuild. They will rise again. The Drekeen Empire has been around longer than all others and will still be here after the fall of all others. It’s a lot easier to play the long game when the driving force behind your kingdom has a comically longer natural life span than all your rivals.

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Overwatch





Men-at-arms (3 x 6)



These are mostly peasants who have had modest amounts of training, but most of their military prowess comes from the psychological impact of feeding off the personal presence of a dragon. With the right motivation, the general strength of peasants can be a dangerous weapon.


Prisonminds (2 x 6)



These forlorn hope units are criminals with no hope of release except by military service. Their uniform is to remind everyone of what they truly are: Faceless, expendable, criminals with some mental enchantments to ensure they don’t simply rebel once they leave the city. Those who survive being thrown into the most dangerous part of the battlefield often have their sentences reduced or even commuted outright. Some still choose to serve because they find the high-risk violence suits them.


Crossbowmen (3 x 6)



Those with some money or influence but not nobles tend to find themselves a little bit away from the frontline using crossbows or siege engines. In theory it’s less dangerous of a role.


Spearmen (2 x 6)



Being an army fond of using cavalry, the Drekeen are well aware that you need forces dedicated to dealing with mounted enemies. Admittedly these peasants with long pointy sticks aren’t great, but they should suffice.


Dragonguard (1 x 6)



Peasants (or nobles) who have shown the rare mix of dedication to dragon worship and actual battlefield prowess can be given the rare honour of guarding the religious aspects of Drekeen life. Oftentimes this is the final step on the way to becoming Drake Riders. Their job is usually significantly more important when guarding human religious figures on the battlefield than a Dragon’s lair. In a pinch they can also be used to try to stop opposing cavalry charges as well.


Swordsmen (1 x 6)



To the uninitiated, these may look similar to the filthy peasants. Those who make this mistakes usually realise pretty quickly that these are in fact the more unruly sons of nobility who have been trained to put their violent urges to good use.


Swordmages (1 x 6)



Becoming a Wizard is something many in the Drekeen Empire desire. However, some do not particularly want to “Strut around in a bathrobe and twirling a stick like a fool on the battlefield”. These people tend to become sword mages, wielding steel and magic in a beautiful unified destructive force. The fact that they get to wear pants is purely a bonus.


Light Cavalry (2 x 4)



The Drekeen have large plains in the south of their land suitable for raising good bloodlines of horses and they do not waste this resource. Nobles often carry out their military service wearing heavy armour on horseback where they get all the glory of winning battles, and if it goes south they can run away faster than the more expendable peasants. Not that they are likely to run away because then they risk being mocked by a dragon.


Heavy Cavalry (1 x 4)



The nobles who truly deserve to be called “noble” know the true reason for being rich: The ability to afford enough armour and a fine enough horse to make yourself into an unstoppable killing machine to impress fair maidens. Or wenches. Or dragons. Impressing dragons is also good I suppose. Not super picky other than needing others to think they’re the cool kids.


Wizards (1 x 6)



Unlike some small minded humans who fear magic, the Drekeen highly encourage both magical experimentation and even more terrifyingly, sharing their findings with others. This has shockingly enough caused them to have both the most and the strongest wizards of any of the known kingdoms. Dragons may have been the single cause for forcing the nerds to get along with each other enough to make even bigger fireballs.


Redeemed but Unforgiven (2)



Sometimes, a Prisonmind with a particularly long sentence truly does see the error of their ways but their crimes were too severe to warrant full clemency. Usually this means they annoyed a dragon by committing some sort of accidental breach of etiquette in their presence. They are few in number, and determined to give their lives for The Empire to regain their honour.


Dragon Priestesses (2)

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With all the emphasis on cavalry and magic on the battlefield, sometimes outsiders forget that the Drekeen Empire is, at it’s core, a cult devoted to dragon worship. It does not take long to remember this when a Dragon Priestess shows up. Even apparent death cannot stop a fallen soldier from getting back up if called upon by a Dragon Priestess personally to keep fighting, at least for a time. They do not have the holy power of some of the other kingdoms, but they are still powerful nonetheless. Some say the Dragon Priestesses can even turn into Dragons, but that’s just drunk peasant talk. Probably.


Drake Riders (1 x 4 + 1 Hero)



The greatest honour Drekeen warriors can achieve on a regular basis: Becoming one of the select few drake riders who can be regularly deployed. Drekeen-Lewean war era documents seem to say that Drakes could be either Green or Black, but that’s just silly. Nobody has seen a Black Drake in the Drekeen Empire for as long as drunken peasants care to remember.


Chosen Ones (3)



Some Drake Riders constant close proximity to draconic power changes them in a way that is referred to as a blessing in Drekeen society. These warriors bond with a dragon and give up their mind entirely to it, the dragon’s will becomes their will. If a Chosen One is killed, the dragon can replace them easy enough. If the dragon a Chosen One is bonded to dies, the Chosen One has a singular goal: Kill whoever or whatever killed their dragon. Once achieved, they join their master in death.


Expeditionary “Diplomatic” Fleet (3)

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The Gold Dragons of the Drekeen Empire take a far more active role in Drekeen society. They are the main guiding influence and far more likely to take on Chosen Ones than their Green cousins. Gold Dragons have a strong preference for taking a specific Chosen One as a rider instead of a temporary rider, and are even known to mourn a killed Chosen One. They appreciate the dedication. When the Drekeen wants to send a message, they bring along some Gold Dragons.


Home Defense Fleet (3)

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The Green Dragons of the Drekeen Empire are far more passive, content mostly to accept the rewards while minimally guiding society. As a side effect, they have a longer life expectancy and grow larger and more powerful than their Golden cousins. The Drekeen capital is known as Dragon’s Roost because there are always Green Dragons present that will attack any who are foolish enough to march against it. On the rare occasions a Green Dragon takes a rider, it is significantly more likely that it will be a temporary rider than a Chosen One since they can then send away the rider once the annoyance is crushed. The Drekeen-Lewean war documents speak of Red and Black dragons as well, but those haven’t been seen for awhile for some unknown reason. They probably were just drunken hallucinations when seeing a Green Dragon at sunset or night.


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Heroes


Alchemist Juniper Armistead - Cliche: Mad Scientist who keeps tasting the Science

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Juniper is not anti-social, however, nobody really understands what he does. He’s always got new concoctions and vials, and he doesn’t try to keep his information secret. However, few can stand to be in his lab long enough to actually learn anything due to all the fumes and chemicals messing with their brains. He is definitely extremely skilled though, and any time someone needs a specific potion he is the first person asked. It is hoped that he will accidentally make himself immortal instead of some day all his knowledge dying with him. If he doesn’t accidentally blow himself up that is. One of his most notable discoveries is this strange, blue, alcoholic drink that makes people far more in tune with magic that tastes like a pale ale.


General Destin Tadaharu - Cliche: Warrior of Destiny

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A Private at the time of the Fall of the Drekeen, it is said that General Tadaharu was the one who personally bore the former Emperor Tiberius Auralnus’ body back to Dragon’s Roost following their utter defeat at the hands of the Kingdom of Lewea. He has been working ever since then to restore the glory of the Drekeen Empire to what it truly deserves: To rule over all lesser realms.


General Markus Sabino - Cliche: Old, wise warrior that seems to speak in half-riddles

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An old, wiser general, Sabino has been around a long time. He has little desire to cause conflict again, but will, even in his old age, not hesitate to lead his troops into battle. It is always expected that his next battle will be his last, yet he somehow always seems to come back enigmatically saying “By my age, you learn a thing or two”. This even includes the time that he was impaled on a bandit’s pike at the start of a raid to disperse the encampment, yet when his troops woke up the next day he was back in camp and nobody knew how he got there.



Dragon Priestess Kaida Ryoko - Cliche: Dragon Priestess



The most powerful of the Dragon Priestesses, even dragons find her presence reassuring. She grew up in an orphanage run by the Priestesses after both her parents were killed in a bandit raid at the age of 6 to steal the horses they were raising.



Warmaiden Helena Doryu - Cliche: Dragon Warrior

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A formidable warrior who, for some reason, Green Dragons are bafflingly fond of. Helena is by far the most likely rider of a Green Dragon when they allow it to happen. Her father was the main horsemaster for the Drekeen Empire when she was a child, and her fondness for unicorn stories led to him incorporating the extra horn Drekeen Cavalry (And now some Lewean forces as well) use so heavily. It is quite common for her to carry a unicorn shield instead of a dragon shield in more formal settings as a result


Dragon Trainer Dayashree Tatsuya - Cliche: Dragon Trainer

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The greatest teacher in the land, Dayashree helps train drakes and dragons. Well, trains war drakes and entertains young dragons. The older dragons, while they would never admit it, find the teaching antics amusing. Other than that dreaded song “Baby Dragon”. That is enough to drive even the most stoic of dragons into a massive rage, a fact which is absolutely never abused, except when it is. Sometimes Dayashree also assists with training warhorses.



Archmage Rudival - Cliche: Unbelievably Powerful Wizard

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The most powerful Wizard in the Drekeen Empire and possibly the world, not much is actually known about the Archmage Rudival other than he’s been around an absurdly long time. If the older dragons remember a time when he wasn’t, they aren’t telling. He mostly sticks to himself, but he is willing to assist with particularly difficult problems of a magical nature and even occasionally takes on apprentices for a few months at a time. The opportunity to learn from Rudival himself is in some cases, quite literally to die for. While he is a distant hermit, those who do interact with him are often shocked at how personable he is. Even dragons will sometimes ask his advice.


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Bonus Overwatch

[Spectral]

This is such a great faction! I love that you made them into this unstoppable force of time despite their rather tragic past! I can't wait to see more of your content!

[Infinity]

great faction. I think could be improved with brickwarriors weapons.

[Spectral]

great faction. I think could be improved with brickwarriors weapons.

What are you even talking about? Those weapons are great because he customized the loadout of most of them!

[Infinity]

great faction. I think could be improved with brickwarriors weapons.

What are you even talking about? Those weapons are great because he customized the loadout of most of them!

Custom weapons make stuff more unique and refined. Example the mythic order. https://brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.p ... er#p258403

[Spectral]

But things really shine when you go with original lego and still manage to be unique

[Gorvoslov]

There may be some Brickwarriors etc. in other factions (No timeline, so much sorting... don't move fourteen times in seven years. Just... don't do it to yourself.). I'm fairly purist, but I've got a few that I'll likely wind up using for some heros/elites in small numbers. None of what I have felt like what I wanted for this faction.

[Spectral]

Custom weapons make stuff more unique and refined. Example the mythic order. https://brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.p ... er#p258403
[/quote]

That faction must've cost a fortune! Think about the cost when you have an army as big as Goroslov's. I don't know how much you army build personally, but as someone who does buy custom weapons from time to time that cost adds up faaaaaast.

[Infinity]

Custom weapons make stuff more unique and refined. Example the mythic order. https://brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.p ... er#p258403

That faction must've cost a fortune! Think about the cost when you have an army as big as Goroslov's. I don't know how much you army build personally, but as someone who does buy custom weapons from time to time that cost adds up faaaaaast.
[/quote]
Your'e right. But maybe smaller units with custom stuff. Like elites or knights. The custom weapons prices build up fast. That's why i buy in bulk.

[ninja_bait]

alright who fucked up the q.uote tunnel? that's a-paddlin

[Spectral]

alright who fucked up the q.uote tunnel? that's a-paddlin

Shamefacedly raises hand
Am bad at this