Greetings Mercenaries! Following from our previous devlog, we are publishing a series of blogs related to the enemies of Pathbreakers: The Roaming Blades. The aim is to highlight all of the opposing factions that we will encounter during our journey.
Today, we are taking a deep dive into the Clansmen, a set of barbarian tribes that have inhabited the Stormtossed Isle for a very long time. Although they may seem like wanderers of the uncivilized lands, we will discover that there’s a lot more to them than meets the eye.
The Clansmen are primitive humans who have inhabited some of the most treacherous areas of the isle. Over time, they've been pushed out of the more fertile lands by the main factions of the Isle, forced to live in the near-inhospitable and scorching Badlands. A few have even pushed north as far as the terrible Wastes, a barren land filled with deadly Uzghuls and strange crystal-wrought creatures. The clans are mostly too fractured and infighting to be much of a threat to the other factions, although lately there have been whispers of a chief who is uniting the clans under his banner.
While the clansmen tend to be savage and wild, many resorting to raiding and banditry, over time, some of them formed their cities, boasting a capital and outlying towns.
However, these settlements still tend to be more primitive than the Kingdom's towns, with fewer facilities and less wealth. However, as a warring people, they excel at weapon smithing and can provide unique goods.
The marauding clansmen tend to give their people just as much trouble as they give to merchants and outsiders, so there is no love lost between the two types. As such, taking out the wild marauding raiders will increase the player's standing with the various clansmen towns.
The clansmen are divided into numerous clans, each with their warrior traditions. Below are some things you can expect to see scattered across the badlands.
Uses domesticated whelvs and features an extensive array of weapons. Their fighting style is to surround and focus on vulnerable targets, with their elite Ambusher units able to leap into enemy lines from afar.
The most aggressive clan they are mainly composed of brutish warriors. This clan favors large and heavy weapons. Their Ritualists are versed in various spells that use bones to protect and enhance their warriors.
A clan of nimble warriors with a versatile array of weapons. They are generally not well-liked by other clans, due to their association with the swamp-dwelling Ophidians. Their mingling with these snake-folk has granted them minor regenerative properties, but it has also left them with hideous, noseless, reptile-like faces. Snakeskins often coat their weapons with poison, and their Serpent Priests have access to healing powers.
The Yellow Star and Stonethrower clans are the only clans that managed to establish a presence up North in the Wastes. This feat was, in part, managed by taming and befriending powerful creatures native to the Isle.
Composed of brutes who sling rocks and tamers who control enslaved giants called Ghatheris.
Ghatheris are hulking, gigantic monstrosities, each as strong as a score of men. They are often led by a chieftain who helps coordinate their attacks and focus on already-injured targets.
The Yellow Star clan is often associated with witches and has an affinity for magic. Their units tend to have a defensive frontline of unskilled and expendable acolytes, followed by magical leadership in the form of hags, witches, and Chanters, each with their blend of dangerous magic.
In essence, although the clansmen may seem uncivilized brutes, they are quite organised, and each faction presents strong traditions and social structures that define their population. Hence, it is not uncommon to find clansmen of different groups fighting each other. This means that we can take their skirmishes to our advantage to gain the favor of some clans by aiding them in the conflicts.
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