N o Qu a r t e r

Issue 04

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Contents

04 ESCALATION TO WAR IV
THE FIRE & THE FORGE

20 FACTION COMPANY UPGRADES

COMPANY OF IRON

26 CASTLE OF THE KEYS

HOSTILE TERRITORY

34 THE BLACK FLEET CID

AFTER ACTION REPORT

40 SCRAP YARD
NO QUARTER GAMES

46 STRANGELIGHT WORKSHOP PART II–CHARACTER CREATION

IRON KINGDOMS RPG

74 FORCES OF CRYX–PIRATES OF THE SCHARDE ISLANDS

THEME FORCE
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE

Vol. 4: Vultures Gather, Summer 605 AR

ESCALATION TO WAR
by Douglas Seacat; “Loyal Servants” by Josh Colon; “A Clean Death” by Matt Goetz

“The Fire & the Forge” is a feature that examines pivotal moments in the recent history of
western Immoren and its groups battling for supremacy or survival. It is intended to allow
newer readers to become familiar with what has come before and to serve as an engaging
reminder to older readers.

THE PROTECTORATE UNBOUND
While the Protectorate of Menoth played a somewhat limited
role in the events of the Llaelese War, this period marked
a turning point for the theocracy. The appearance of the
Harbinger of Menoth in 603 AR coincided with the long-laid
plans of the hierarchs to launch the Great Crusade, an effort to
bring all of humanity back to the True Faith. The secret arming
of the Protectorate in preparation for crusade and war had
begun under Hierarch Ravonal, but his successor, Hierarch
Voyle, greatly escalated these efforts. The fact that Cygnar
was embroiled in fighting in the north created the perfect
opportunity to set these plans in motion.
Hierarch Voyle’s work to ensure the Protectorate could contest
the militaries of larger and more technologically advanced
nations was multifaceted. It was also controversial among the
more traditional members of the clergy. Voyle pushed for the
modernization of weaponry to rival the enemies of the faithful,
including the adoption of methods formerly considered profane.
In the process of creating armory stashes, the armed defenders
of the Temple of Menoth had already accepted the necessity
of warjacks, so long as they were ritually blessed, but their
ability to create such machines had been limited. Under Voyle’s
direction, the Protectorate expanded its industrial capacity to
bolster its armory. The fabrication of warjack cortexes required
advanced arcane and mechanikal expertise, a problem not
easily solved.
In past decades, the Protectorate acquired its cortexes through
covert means, relying on smuggling by supporters from
other nations. The largest number originated in Khador,
sent by members of its Old Faith. For decades, the Khadoran
government turned a blind eye to this, since support for the
Protectorate helped undermine Cygnar. Useful as this channel
had proven to be, however, the total number of cortexes received

4 No Quarter PRIME
this way was insufficient to address the needs of a modern
military. And after Cinten 10th of 605 AR, Queen Ayn Vanar
began to crack down on cortex smuggling, ordering those guilty
of such crimes to be executed as traitors.
This might have been crippling to the Protectorate if Voyle had
not, early in his reign, created an organization called the Vassals
of Menoth to control and exploit arcanists. A number of foreign-
born arcanists with the needed expertise were captured and
enslaved. Eventually, these reluctant experts were joined by
native-born Menites with arcane powers, something that would
have once resulted in their execution by the scrutators. The
Vassals of Menoth offered a controlled environment wherein
their talents could serve the nation. While this organization
unsettled many senior priests, its existence enabled the
Protectorate to fabricate military-grade cortexes years before
the need became urgent. This coincided with hidden factory
complexes allowing the production of the theocracy’s first ’jacks
built purely for war, ’jacks such as the Reckoner.
One way Hierarch Voyle ensured his armed forces would
become formidable was to prioritize the training of warcasters
for the crusade to come. His reign saw the rapid elevation
of those with these gifts to critical positions within the
Protectorate’s martial orders and its clergy. The hierarch was
willing to entrust authority even to ambitious and less-pious
warcasters such as Feora, who, as Priestess of the Flame, was
given oversight of the Temple Flameguard. Hierarch Voyle
saw her as vital to the militarization of the Great Crusade, as
she was beloved of her subordinates and a proven force on the
battlefield. The hierarch even encouraged rivalries between
martial organizations like the Knights Exemplar and the Temple
Flameguard, believing that competition would strengthen the
resolve of members of both groups.
By the middle of 605 AR, Hierarch Voyle had rejected all the
concessions originally made after the defeat during the civil
war for the theocracy to obey the Kingdom of Cygnar and its
laws. The theocracy’s clergy had already taken measures to
reclaim the term “Protectorate,” no longer considering this a
subordinate legal status but a duty to safeguard the faith of the
Creator of Man. In the seventh month of the year, on Solesh 11th,
the Cygnaran Army launched an attack on a refinery called
the Cistern of Asherius in an effort to curtail the refinement
of Menoth’s Fury. This was intended as a warning to the
Protectorate against violating their agreements not to support
a standing military, but it failed to deter the hierarch. Less than
a month later, on Octesh 6th, Voyle declared the Protectorate’s
independence from Cygnar by sending his grand scrutator to
attack the gates of Caspia.
No Quarter PRIME 5
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE

Major Conflicts and Events

Summer, 605 AR

1 The Fall of Merywyn

Rowen 12th (sixth month)
6
The formal end of the Llaelese
War with the surrender of
Llael’s prime minister.

2 Battle of Ausperine Valley

Rowen 19th
A clash between Khadoran
and Protectorate forces near
Caerly’s Crag, interrupted by 3
a flood.
2
3 Battle at the Cistern
of Asherius
Solesh 11th (seventh month)
A costly Cygnaran attack on a
Menoth’s Fury refinery used
by the Protectorate.

4 Silshade’s Destruction
Octesh 2nd (eighth month)
Skarre Ravenmane discovers
the scope of Asphyxious’
treacherous plans after
interrogating a skarlock
named Silshade.

5 The Protectorate Declares 5

Independence
Octesh 6th
Sul unleashes a siege engine
called Lawbringer against the
gates of Caspia.

6 Battle of the Black River

at Corvis
Octesh 22nd
Khadoran gunships sent down
the river from Llael to destroy
a munitions factory north
of Corvis are thwarted by
Cygnaran artillery.

6 No Quarter PRIME
DECLARATION BY FIRE beg our mercy, a mercy we will only allow them should they
throw themselves prostrate in worship of the Lawbringer!
Sul, Octesh 5th, 605 AR
“Who here will stand with me in this Great Crusade? Who
They gathered for him in the central courtyard before the Great of you will march to punish those who defame and deny our
Temple of the Creator in Sul with the same enthusiasm they hierarch, thinking themselves above the True Law?”
might have had to greet Hierarch Voyle himself. Eager listeners
The answering clamor from the gathered assembly, from the
sprawled out into the nearest streets and occupied dozens
countless thousands of citizens of the holy city of Sul, rose up
of windows amid the nearest buildings. Among them were
as a roaring cry that felt like a physical blow. Grand Scrutator
subordinate priests on platforms, ready to echo his words.
Severius made a sign of benediction, acknowledging their
Despite his age, Severius’ voice remained powerful and carried voluntary commitment to what lay ahead. All that remained
well. Once, he had stridden freely across the Iron Kingdoms, now was to deliver to Cygnar this same message in a manner
regularly making pilgrimages into foreign lands to spread the none would misunderstand.
teachings of the True Law. He had trained his voice to be heard
even amid such throngs and even when other voices had been —●—
raised to counter his, but this audience was rapt and eager to
hear his words. The gathered crowd continued to cheer and celebrate his words
as their religious fervor was diverted to the marching lines of
Severius raised his hands and began. Temple Flameguard and Knights Exemplar that passed from
“For years we, the faithful, have prayed and prepared, the Temple and out into the main streets. It was a military
demonstrating our dedication time and again for what lay display such as had never been performed in Sul; for so long,
ahead. For generations, we have given our sweat in grueling toil the theocracy had pretended not to possess a true army. Grand
to ensure the Temple would be strong in its hour of need. Each Scrutator Severius quietly turned and withdrew into the Great
of us has done our part, whether it be endless hours laboring Temple’s vaulted hall, eager to set in motion the details of the
in the fields under the merciless summer sun or enduring the pending operation.
cold of winter or the torrential rains of spring and autumn, all to For the moment, he felt buoyed by the surge of reaction from the
feed the Temple’s guardians. For some, your dedication has been faithful. It distracted him from the reminders of his advancing
shown in encouraging sons and daughters to join the Temple age and the short span of years ahead of him. The ornate
Flameguard or Knights Exemplar. Each of these tasks is valued, warcaster armor he wore helped support him and maintain his
though we rightly hold in our hearts a special love for those dignity, though those closer to him could see how his hands
who risk life and limb to protect the Sacred Flame. trembled when he held his stave. He despised the weakness of
“Each and every one of us has known we might be called upon his flesh, though all must, in their time, be called before Menoth.
to defend our homes, to defend the faith to which all mankind Two figures approached him in the great hall, coming from
should adhere. That call has now come. This is the Great different directions, both high-ranking warcasters he had
Crusade anticipated by Hierarch Ravonal, endorsed by the summoned to join him in this endeavor. The one to the left he
coming of the Harbinger, and now set forth by Hierarch Voyle.” had expected to see now—High Exemplar Mikael Kreoss, who
He had to pause as the crowd swelled and roared in reaction.
Severius felt his own bodily aches and pains fade with the
sound, his energy reinvigorated by their enthusiasm.
Raising his hands for quiet again, he said, “Now we prove our
love and devotion, gladly embracing a time that will be hard
and fraught with peril, eschewing comforts and the security of a
peace that has yet to be earned. For there can be no peace, no rest,
as long as Immoren swarms with the faithless. They must bow to
Menoth or reap the consequences of their indolence in an eternity
of punishment, chased by the Wurm across the hells of Urcaen!”
Again the crowd roared.
“One of the first steps of that crusade will be to cast aside the
shackles that for too long have bound us. It was here, in this
very place where I speak to you now, that Sulon stood and spoke
of his vision of the theocracy to come. It was here he put forth
his call, summoning the faithful from across these lands to join
him. This is a task now renewed, and it is with joy and zeal I
speak these words.
“We do not acknowledge Cygnar’s authority. We shall bring fire
and destruction to their gates and see them tremble while they

No Quarter PRIME 7
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
F&F Intel:
The Grand Scrutator
Accepting the responsibility for
internal enforcement of doctrinal
purity, the scrutators have
assumed positions of leadership
in the Protectorate of Menoth.
They have tremendous sway
over the lives of every citizen,
including other priests, and they
work closely with the reigning
hierarch to serve as extensions of
his authority.
The highest rank in this caste
was traditionally vice scrutator,
a position of considerable
eminence, one often reserved for
senior visgoths. Hierarch Garrick
Voyle created the position of
grand scrutator for the warcaster
Severius to honor his standing
as a military leader and his
seniority in the caste. The grand
scrutator was empowered with
authority over the armed forces
of the Protectorate of Menoth.
Traditionally, the martial orders
and other armed defenders of the
Temple were kept separate from
one another, each with their own
chain of command and individual
leaders. The grand scrutator was
the first leader other than the
hierarch to be given authority over
them as a collective.
At this time, the grand scrutator
also became ineligible to become
a visgoth, which theoretically
barred him from ever becoming
hierarch. This allowed Hierarch
Voyle to entrust to the grand
scrutator the theocracy’s military
might without opening up the
possibility of overthrow by coup.
This distinction would become
irrelevant after the events of
607  AR, when the Harbinger
intervened in the succession.
8 No Quarter PRIME
bowed deeply and respectfully on his approach. He
had removed his helmet as a sign of humility and
submission, leaving his face naked in contrast to the
grand scrutator’s masked demeanor.
The other, walking forward with a confident stride
and then only offering a marginal inclination of
her head, was Feora, the Priestess of the Flame.
Unlike Kreoss, her face remained masked, covered
by a thin and finely sculpted brass likeness of her
features. Given that she was a priestess, the mask
was proper. Still, the way she bore herself conveyed
a lack of deference.
“Priestess,” he said to her, his voice even, “I thought
to find you leading the Flameguard through the
streets of Sul. I would have thought you loathe to
miss this welcome.”
She showed no acknowledgement of any implied
vanity and said, “I would gladly have done so, were
it not more important to speak with you, Grand
Scrutator. It falls to the preceptors to ensure my
Flameguard performs to standards.”
“They are not your Flameguard, Feora,” Kreoss
growled, his indignation obvious.
Severius smiled behind his mask, appreciating
Kreoss’ honesty, his forthright nature. The
Exemplars had always been the most dedicated
weapon of the scrutator caste, the sharpened sword
unable to disobey the hand that wielded it.
Kreoss went on. “The Flameguard belongs to the
Temple. You are merely its custodian.”
“That is where you are wrong,” she said, facing him
levelly. “They are my Flameguard. I have forged
them into this instrument on the hierarch’s orders.
They are as bound to me as are my arms and legs.
The bonds between Exemplar cannot always achieve
such perfection, I know. An Exemplar is said to be at
one with the brothers and sisters, but each phalanx
stands apart, united only by their service to a given
priest or scrutator. This is your role.”
Kreoss was still, but his face reddened and his eyes
flared. When he spoke again, it was through gritted
teeth. “We look to Grand Exemplar Baine Hurst,
whose example you could spend a lifetime seeking
to emulate and still fail.”
Feora chuckled lightly, a sound almost shocking in
the sacred hall of the Great Temple, its mirth a minor
sacrilege. “Yet you do not serve Hurst. Your order’s
creed is obedience to the clergy. That is your role.
Hurst is a figurehead. An example—nothing more.
He has your love, but obedience to him would violate
your creed. The Flameguard obeys me and me alone.
I, in turn, serve the hierarch.” She said this last as if
grudgingly allowing this fact.
“You also serve me,” Severius said calmly.
Feora paused only briefly before inclining her head.
She said, “Of course, Grand Scrutator. You stand for
Voyle at times like this. Your orders are his.”
Severius had allowed them to argue, as was their
habit, for he was a patient man and understood such
venom had to be voiced. The enmity between these
two ran deep. He had to admit he found Feora’s
arrogance more grating than Kreoss’ truculence.
There were times he appreciated hearing Kreoss
speak aloud what the grand scrutator could not. As
much as Feora vexed him, though, he had come to an
understanding of her place.
Voyle had elevated Feora for a reason. She was what
she needed to be to ensure the Temple Flameguard
could become the army of the Great Crusade. It was
by the points of their spears and the bulwark of
their shields that this great conflict would be fought.
They would die in great numbers, exceeded only
by the barely trained masses of citizen zealots sent
alongside them to fight and perish in Menoth’s name.
Zealots by themselves would be insufficient to fight
this war. And brave as they might be, the Exemplars
could not bear that burden, for they were too few.
“Enough,” Severius said. “I must prepare for the
assault on Caspia tomorrow.”
“That is why I came to you,” Feora said, drawing
herself up. “I should be the one to lead the attack in
your stead.”
The impertinence of this statement was striking.
Severius took it calmly, but Kreoss was on the cusp
of losing his temper entirely. “You should lead? You
would dare put yourself before the grand scrutator?
He has worked for decades to prepare for this day.
What gives you the right?”
“You speak beyond your station, High Exemplar,”
Feora said coldly. “I am Priestess of the Flame. I will
not be spoken to with disrespect by a subordinate of
another order, however esteemed. This is unseemly
behavior for a high exemplar. I’d have thought
better of you.”
That she had scored a mark was clear from his
expression. Severius felt sympathy for the knight,
but had to admit her point was valid. Kreoss was
a warcaster and a seasoned veteran, and this had
allowed him to rise to a standing beyond his rank.
But he did not yet stand on equal footing with Feora.
Severius said, “She has a point, High Exemplar.
Watch your tone.”
Kreoss inclined his head. “Yes, Grand Scrutator.
Forgive me. I apologize, Priestess.” His anger at
Feora was clearly undiminished, but he swallowed it.
Feora turned back to Severius. “We brought from Imer the great
ballista Lawbringer. Let me unleash its might upon Caspia’s gates.
It should be the Temple Flameguard and Deliverers at the fore of
this, to show our people our role in this fight. Let them see the
rank-and-file soldiers, the men and women such as they. It will
inspire them, and they will flock to join us.”
Severius considered her words. The truth was, he felt no desire
to earn glory. Feora’s words were persuasive. That they were
also self-serving did not trouble him unduly.
He said, “Mighty as Lawbringer might be, it will not be able to
bring down those gates. Are your soldiers ready to perish? Will
a failed attack not make their morale brittle?”
Feora answered without hesitation. “The outcome does not
matter. My men are ready to do what they must, and this attack
will serve us, even in failure. What is important is to show the
Caspians and our own people the severity of our purpose. We
will fire our rockets over the gate and walls into Caspia itself,
there to terrify the foe and remind them why they should pray.
They will realize the cost of turning their backs on the Creator
of Man as their homes burn.”
Severius had reason to doubt Feora’s deeper piety, and her
words seemed rehearsed, but her zeal at the prospect of violence
was genuine. He had no doubt she would inspire her people to
march toward the Cygnaran rifles. And many youths would
clamor to join and replace the fallen.
After a moment to consider whether Voyle had chosen well or
poorly in appointing this woman to lead the most numerous
protectors of the Sacred Flame, he inclined his head. “Feora, you
have my leave to begin the attack. Let Lawbringer announce our
independence.”
—●—
The next morning, long gunner Corporal Lars Haggin was
returning to his post along the upper eastern ramparts of Caspia
when the bells began to toll. He had been sent by his sergeant
to bring back tin cups of coffee and paper-wrapped pastries
from a favored vendor near the garrison. Lars was startled into
dropping them and with a curse he ran through the narrow lane
while alarm bells continued clamoring. This was no drill.
He felt an impact through the stone beneath his feet and heard
an explosion in the near distance. Looking up with mouth
agape, he saw swiftly moving dark specks arc over the wall,
white trails of smoke behind them. There was a whistling noise
as one crashed into the storefront of a grocer just twenty paces
from where he stood. It detonated with a thump that sent debris
flying. Alarmed people near to him began to scream and wail,
running in seemingly random directions to search for safety.
Washerton, he thought numbly. The name of the grocer.
Every instinct he possessed told him to run, and it was only
through a teeth-clenched effort of will that he took the stairs up
to the battlements. He itched to have his rifle in hand, and it was
that thought that took him back to his post.
We’re under attack—in Caspia of all places, for Morrow’s sake!
He had not been alone in thinking himself fortunate to be given
this post far from the war’s front. They had all eagerly listened
to every rumor and report of the progress of the war in Llael,
all the while counting their blessings to be hundreds of miles
away. Despite some grumbling from the youngest soldiers,
he suspected they were all grateful to be bored as they stood
their posts, staring across the river at their Sulese counterparts.
They had been comfortable in the certainty that both sides
understood the madness of attacking across that divide.
He reached his brothers in arms, all of whom were lined up along
the battlement with their rifles. They fired with a methodical
rhythm, stopping periodically to detach an ammunition wheel
and replace it. Lars’ sergeant gave him a sharp nod and pointed
to his position. There was no rebuke at his failing to bring what
he’d been sent for. The world where they had looked forward to
morning coffee seemed very far away.
The rifle felt comfortingly familiar in his hands, the length and
heft of it. He braced the extended barrel on his firing niche.
“Hold!” the sergeant ordered. “They’re out of range.”
Lars looked down to witness the Sul-Menites arrayed in battle
formation along the opposite side of the bridge. Closer to the
middle were a number of bodies and fresh pools of blood.
At this distance it looked unreal, but he still felt a sickening
sensation in his stomach to see the carnage. Those sent to recover
the limp bodies were shielded by a wall of Temple Flameguard.
Towering above and behind them was an enormous siege
weapon, a ballista such as he had never seen before. The scale
of the machine would have been hard to grasp if not for the
Redeemer light warjacks behind it, each gleaming with rocket-
firing pods angled toward the wall.
Smoke from dozens of rockets obscured the enemy soldiers. The
explosive projectiles lifted from the bridge to soar up toward the
wall. Then the ballista fired, and the entire battlement shook as
its shell exploded against the gates, washing it with liquid fire. It
was difficult not to believe that the time of judgment had come,
and the rifle in Lars’ hands no longer gave him any comfort.
Aftermath: Lawbringer
The attack on Caspia’s gates by the great siege engine Lawbringer
did not, ultimately, succeed in breaching the city's defenses.
The Cygnaran Army garrisons held firm and managed to deliver
withering retaliation to the Sul-Menites sent against them. The great
gates suffered considerable damage, but endured. The terror of the
assault left many inhabitants shaken, reminding them how cheaply
their hostile neighbors weighed their lives.
This assault was the means by which the Protectorate declared their
defiance in the face of previous Cygnaran attempts to disarm them.
Hundreds of civilians were killed in this attack and in the aftermath.
Ultimately, no one in Cygnar’s Royal Assembly could deny that the
Protectorate of Menoth was now an independent nation, one that
held Cygnar in deep contempt. This would be the first of many acts
of violence comprising the Great Crusade to come.
No Quarter PRIME 9
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
Planting Dark Seeds
For centuries, the lich lords of Cryx were little more than
rumors on the mainland—distant and unknowable figures
allegedly governing the Nightmare Empire and possessing
terrifying powers, yet never encountered directly. The nearest
echoes of these beings were the iron liches that prowled the
fringes of the Iron Kingdoms. Preeminent among Cryx’s agents
in the mortal kingdoms was Asphyxious, a being as ancient as
the lich lords, one who saw himself as their equal even before he
seized one of their titles for himself.
The exact nature of Asphyxious’ actions during the Llaelese
War is difficult to pin down, though he seems to have played
an important role in securing grisly assets from the remains of
its bloody battles. This had long been Cryx’s way—parasitically
feeding on the aftermath of carnage by gathering corpses to
turn into thralls. While this behavior was typical, Cryxian
activity far from coastal regions was on the rise during this
conflict, to a degree that alarmed many military officers in all
the involved kingdoms.
The size and composition of these Cryxian elements suggested
an active army at work, one supported by helljacks, bonejacks,
pistol wraiths, and malevolent banes, all signifying that this
was no force hastily assembled from the recent dead. It would
not be until months later, on the 10th of Goloven, that Cygnaran
Scout General Bolden Rebald delivered the Hurstwallen Report
to the crown. This document summarized his findings that
the Scharde Invasions twenty years earlier were orchestrated
to cover Cryxian landings and movements. Cryxian military
assets moved into the interior with the collusion of agents and
unwitting collaborators in Five Fingers, who facilitated access to
the Dragon’s Tongue River.
Bloodwyrm
10 No Quarter PRIME
Even with this report, spies of the mainland kingdoms could
not gauge the extent of Cryxian operations. It was several
years later that the scope of their subterranean facilities under
the Thornwood was finally revealed. This included a massive
necrofactorium capable of providing Asphyxious’ armies with
military hardware, bypassing the need for unbroken supply
lines connecting his forces to the Scharde Islands. Asphyxious
had also entered into an extended alliance with a powerful
cephalyx hive beneath the Thornwood, gaining access to its
large tunnel network.
All of his accomplishments suggested Asphyxious’ goals and
actions were perfectly aligned with the lich lords and their
master, Toruk the Dragonfather. For more than fifteen centuries
he had proven his loyalty and dedication to the Nightmare
Empire. It was understood that liches had their own agendas,
each an immortal and immensely powerful being. It was
inherent to their natures to accumulate occult lore to increase
their power. Few were as driven or ambitious as Asphyxious,
who seethed with resentment that his singular greatness had
long been disregarded.
It was no coincidence that Asphyxious selected the Thornwood
for his primary necrofactorium and connected subterranean
facilities. His interest in this place was rooted in the buried
ruins of ancient Morrdh as well as in the more recent structures
erected by the Orgoth to exploit its redolent and deeply steeped
necromantic energies. His deeper purpose involved finding and
excavating the greatest Orgoth temple, a site with advanced
soul-harvesting mechanisms he planned to use to facilitate his
transformation into a god.
Even as he scavenged from the war’s battlefields, Asphyxious
sent agents abroad to advance his plan of apotheosis. Most of
these efforts went unnoticed—but not all of them. One who
began to suspect him was Skarre Ravenmane, a being possessed
of keen insight into the webs of fate.
Takkaryx
Loyal Servants
At sea near Baleglow Island,
Octesh 2nd, 605 AR
Silshade leered over the prow of his ship where the
calm ocean water reflected the face of one of the
moons. As the ship neared the beachhead, millions of
luminescent plankton lit up the shore in an echo of the
starry night sky. The skarlock was capable of taking
in the aesthetics of his surroundings but chose not to
waste the intellect gifted to him on such trivialities.
Long had he considered himself his master’s favored
servant, but after tonight, all others would see the
futility of their ceaseless jockeying for position. Even
that insufferable Vociferon would realize he was
unfit to polish the iron lich’s armor.
Placing one clawed hand on the nearby railing,
Silshade turned to gaze at the vast, empty ocean
beyond the ship’s stern. He watched a heavy fog
rolling behind the boat’s wake and briefly wondered
why he hadn’t noticed it before. No matter. Soon,
centuries of toiling for the master would come to
fruition. Asphyxious would rise to new power and so,
too, would Silshade.
—●—
Skarre Ravenmane and her raiding party came
ashore less than an hour after the skarlock. The
Widower had been following the ship for days,
A very different vision had brought Skarre to
Asphyxious decades earlier to inform the lich of
an opportunity he was in a unique position to
exploit: the birth of a sorceress with unprecedented
potential. It had been on Asphyxious’ orders that
Skarre had attacked the coastal town of Ingrane,
capturing and delivering the girl who would become
Deneghra. Yet Skarre had had a falling out with the
ancient undead in the aftermath of this. Instead of
thanking Skarre, Asphyxious had rebuked her for
failing to secure the girl’s twin. Despite the fact that
Cryx had benefitted from Deneghra’s capture, a rift
remained between the pirate queen and Asphyxious.
Still, they had fought toward the same end and
served the same masters—or so she had thought.
Skarre’s investigation into the source of this newer
vision had led her to the skarlock. Such creatures did
not ordinarily stir the winds of fate, but this one was
at the forefront of a storm. She felt certain he was the
key to unraveling the lich’s schemes.
Katixa, Skarre’s first mate, distracted the pirate queen
from her musings. “’It's beautiful, Cap'n. Tis a shame
we don’t have time for a little blood ritual. The moons
look right for it.”
“Maybe once we’ve completed our task here,” she
conceded. “For now, have the raiding party prepare
to scout the jungle. And keep the ruckus down. Just
because they don’t have ears don’t mean the thralls
can’t hear us coming.”
F&F Intel: Skarlocks
Skarlocks are among the most
intelligent of Cryxian thralls,
considered among the finest
products of the necromantic
arts. Where lesser thralls are
essentially mindless and only
capable of the simplest of actions,
skarlocks have sophisticated
and complex minds. They are
capable of deeper understanding,
making cunning assessments
based on observations, and
executing layered conditional
commands. Their minds become
more nuanced over decades
of performing the will of their
masters, and they develop distinct
personalities and mannerisms.
Despite this, skarlocks are not,
in fact, self-willed, as they lack
a soul, unlike certain other more
advanced undead. The intelligence
of a skarlock is entirely artificial.
In many cases, their quirks are
lingering echoes of traits once
possessed by those whose bodies
were used to create them. In
other cases, their personalities

using a cloaking ritual and the blackship’s ability As if sensing her captain’s unease, Katixa leaned in arise from accumulated and
haphazardly assembled fragments
to summon an unnatural fog to conceal the pursuit. closer to avoid being overheard by the rest of the of the minds of their masters. An
Skarre had ordered her senior sea witch, Talyx, to approaching raiding party. “Aye, Cap’n. Your crew old skarlock may think of itself as a

remain aboard and maintain the enchantment for as
long as possible. The Satyxis selected to accompany
Skarre were sufficient to face off against the
skarlock’s meager retinue, but she would rather wait
before making their presence known.
Her mind turned to the vision that had set her upon
this voyage. She had seen a looming shadow of
magnificent wings stretching across the mainland—
clearly the wings of the Dragonfather—but something
had been amiss. Her eye had been drawn to a region
where the wings could not reach, a pulsing sickly
light where the shadow pulled back as if burned. It
filled her with a growing dread. In the weeks that
followed, other images came to her, including a
skull with a baleful green eye that she was certain
represented the iron lich Asphyxious, whom she
had served in years past. She did not know why he
manifested now as an omen of disaster.
knows their duty.” complete and independent being,
but in all cases, each is powerless
At this, Skarre turned to face her first mate, the to do anything but obey those who
briefest moment of annoyance quickly giving way
created and control them. Any
apparent agency is a self-delusion.
to recognition, then to a small smile. “You’re right,
Katixa. I leave their oversight to you.”
Katixa held up a hand between her and her captain,
a gesture of familiarity only earned by decades of
shared bloodshed. “Don’t worry, my queen. You’ll
make that bag o’ bones spill his secrets.”
Skarre smiled. “Just make sure you get me where I
need to go.”
Katixa returned a wolfish grin that conveyed her
eagerness for violence. “Aye, Cap’n.”
She turned to the gathered raiders, who now formed
a circle at the base of the quarterdeck stairs. “You
heard your cap’n, maggots. Into the jungle! Time to
crack some skulls.”

No Quarter PRIME 11
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
—●—
The rustling of windblown leaves masked the soft tread of the
raiders as they moved through the undergrowth. As Skarre’s
party advanced deeper into the small island, the familiar
sounds of crashing ocean waves faded to give way to the
humming of native insects and the cries of nocturnal birds.
The tall jungle trees blocked most light, enveloping everything
under their thick, twisted branches in darkness. Despite this,
the veteran raiding party moved smoothly, relying on other
senses to compensate for the shadows.
The resonant staccato of jungle creatures quieted until all was
eerily silent. The energies of a dark ritual would have this effect
on the environment. They must be getting close.
Katixa and her raiders had gone ahead to make way for her
arrival, leaving Skarre alone. She heard the faint sound of
whipping steel followed by something thudding to the earth.
Then she heard it again, this time just beyond a nearby bush.
Skarre pushed through the foliage and came upon the
mutilated corpse of a mechanithrall. A lacerator had torn
apart its reanimated body, severing limbs and leaving deep
gashes in its sickly flesh. Pleased with her crew’s efficiency at
neutralizing this sentry, Skarre continued on, every few yards
coming across another destroyed mechanithrall in a macabre
trail of breadcrumbs.
—●—
Soon Skarre came upon her crew crouched and hiding at the
edges of a clearing. She followed suit, kneeling next to Katixa
and another senior raider. Katixa pointed toward the opposite
side of the clearing.
After a few moments, Skarre saw them: a squad of armored
figures moving in the brush. The dried skin pulled taut across
their skulls was covered in animating runes. Bane warriors,
heavily armored and more dangerous than any mechanithrall.
Using a small branch, Skarre drew an attack plan in the dirt, a
simple flanking maneuver that nevertheless demanded careful
timing. She gestured to each of the assembled raiders, indicating
their various positions on the diagram. Then the raiders
dispersed, spreading left and right along the perimeter of the
clearing in two equal groups. Waiting several long breaths,
Skarre locked eyes with her first mate and gave the slightest
nod. The Satyxis emerged from the trees to strike.
Six Satyxis cut down half as many bane warriors in seconds.
Another half-dozen raiders engaged the remaining banes. The
mere proximity of these void-born warriors sapped the vitality
of the living, but by working together to exploit their opponents’
defenses, the Satyxis maintained the upper hand.
With the success of the initial assault, Skarre stood back with
Katixa and a few hand-chosen raiders to await the next step in
the conflict. Skarre had commanded banes in battle before. They
were cunning and ruthless, but death had robbed them of the
solidarity and kinship needed to fight with passion.
12 No Quarter PRIME
The last remaining bane warriors pulled back into the brush,
only to immediately give way to a full unit of bane knights
marching in tandem, polearms and shields held ready while their
spectral forms passed insubstantially through the jungle foliage.
Following them was another full squad of warriors, a dark
standard held aloft next to the bane in command of both units.
Without prompting, the forward raiders pulled back, while
from out of the trees on both sides of the enemy the remaining
Satyxis sprang forth, flanking the oncoming banes from two
directions. Skarre and her retinue joined the central raiders, and
with a gesture of her cutlass Takkaryx, the pirate queen ordered
everyone forward. They joined the battle in earnest.
—●—
Slaying the already-dead did not provide the same thrill as
murdering the living. Skarre reminded herself that their
purpose had the highest stakes, not only because of the dire
consequences she sensed beneath her vision but because
interfering with Asphyxious was perilous. She could risk
neither Silshade fleeing nor his destruction before she learned
his purpose. As a skarlock, he could communicate with his
master even at a great distance, potentially alerting the lich of
the pirate queen’s interference.
So, instead of unleashing a wild torrent of arcane power, Skarre
relied on her skill with the blade. She made an upward thrust,
driving Takkaryx’s steel tip through the bane knight’s skull. She
yanked her blade free in time to parry a second bane’s shield,
preventing it from fracturing her jaw. The same bane attempted
an arcing strike with its lance, but Skarre stepped in to smash
her great horns into the warrior’s breastplate, buckling its armor
and toppling it off its feet. A casual flick of Takkaryx separated
its skull from the rest of its body.
To her left, a large group of banes moved to engage her but were
met by Katixa and her warriors. Each of Skarre’s forces held a
blood razor, a long and wickedly curved ceremonial dagger
empowered by blood magic. Katixa held the distinction of being
able to wield a blood razor in each hand, a feat beyond most.
Two banes converged on her with heavy axes, forcing her to
contort to dodge their blows, stepping between them as they
swung. She plunged a blade up into the skull of each bane then
turned to face two more bearing down. Her blood razors were
now charged with the powers of death, and they blurred as she
struck. The banes' skulls shattered like pottery; their armored
bodies collapsed to the ground.
Hurrying now, Skarre unsheathed her dagger Bloodwyrm.
She cut deep gashes on her palm, and harnessed the power of
her spilled blood to increase her strength and that of several of
those around her before heading straight at the remaining foes.
In moments, she had dispatched four banes single-handedly,
eventually coming upon their officer. With an upward swing,
she cleft the bane in half from its right hip to its left pauldron in
a single devastating stroke.
For a moment, silence returned. Even their labored breathing
was muffled. Then the gathered raiders moved into the jungle
toward their true quarry once more.
No Quarter PRIME 13
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
—●—
Silshade’s clawed hands quivered with anticipation as he placed
the opened soul cage onto the dais. It took a few moments
for the energies contained within the soul cage, submerged
and untapped for centuries, to reawaken. Despite his perfect
implementation of his master’s calculations, at times like these
Silshade always felt a glimmer of anxiety. After a moment’s
pause, he addressed one of the five bane warriors surrounding
the dais in a loose circle.
“You there, the one with the scratched armor,” he said.
Two nearby banes turned to face each other, their exposed
skulls incapable of demonstrating their confusion.
“Not you. You. The one with the tarnished chest plate and no
self-respect,” Silshade said.
A third bane, wearing rough-shod plate mail, stood awkwardly
at attention.
“Yes, you. A little to the right.”
As the bane moved into position, the obsidian stone at the center
of the dais came to life. A bright green glow emanated from
beneath, moving up the ten-foot-tall pillar at the center. Near
the top, a horrific stone face with an exposed tongue glowed
with the same energy. The sickening glow then slowly subsided.
Energy still hummed in the stones beneath the skarlock.
“Success!” he hissed.
Silshade concentrated on his connection to his master. The
baleful green energy emanating from Silshade’s eyes and mouth
shifted into a violet hue.
14 No Quarter PRIME
The image of Iron Lich Asphyxious took form in his mind, but
he could perceive little of his master’s surroundings. The space
seemed empty but for a shadow nearby. The warwitch Deneghra,
no doubt. One more witness to Silshade’s glory, he mused.
“Master, it is I, your humble servant,” Silshade said.
“Ah, yes. Silshade. I trust your mission to the resonance site
proved a success?” the iron lich asked.
“Yes, Master. We arrived at the island less than three hours ago
and immediately set to the task. Just as with all three previous
sites, the Orgoth structure on this island reacted once it was
fed soul energy.”
“One moment, Silshade.” Asphyxious became blurry, difficult
to see and hear. The skarlock waited, trying to restrain his
impatience. Soon the iron lich’s image returned to the skarlock’s
mind. “Vociferon has verified your findings. It appears the soul
you fed to the Orgoth cairn has transferred to my location.”
Vociferon, that wretched cur. No, not even he could ruin this day.
“You have done well,” Asphyxious said. “This success pleases
your master. Return to the Thornwood at once.”
“Thank you, Master. I cannot tell you what it means to me to
hear you say those words—” Silshade began, but before he
could continue, his connection to Asphyxious ended, and the
skarlock’s skullfire reverted back to its normal green.
Silshade turned to his banes, only to find they inexplicably lay
collapsed as a heap of discarded bones and armor plates.
The skarlock saw he was surrounded by several Satyxis.
“What is the meaning of this?” Silshade snarled.
“Look, Cap’n,” said one of the pirates; she was holding a pair of
large, ornate daggers. “We saved you one.”
—●—
Skarre stepped past her crew and took a moment to regard the
skarlock. Its armor was more ornate than many of its kind, and
even its bearing belied its greater presence and will. But even as
the skarlock began to spew self-righteous invectives, her eyes
went to the dais behind it.
At once, her vision of the dark wings of the Dragonfather
spreading across Immoren came rushing back. No. Not the
wings of Toruk, rightful God of Caen. These wings weren’t
casting shadow—they were of shadow. They weren’t diminished
or driven back by the peculiar green glow at the center but
instead sought to surround and enclose it.
New images arose in her mind. She witnessed a temple of
ancient design rising from the broken earth, holding within it
an even older source of power. A gathering of armies battled at
the foot of this great edifice, each death causing the shadows to
multiply around them. Next, she saw a warrior’s silhouette that
was as red as blood and wearing a crown of ravens’ feathers.
It plunged a broken sword into an albino lion’s breast. The
imagery was strange, but she could sense the meaning beneath
the symbols. It suggested a ritual of great power, a convergence
of energies that would change fate. Above them all, Asphyxious.
As she came to, Skarre turned to face the skarlock. She placed
her gauntleted hand around its throat and slammed it against
one of the pillars on the outer dais.
“You will not stop him, Ravenmane. His power is absolute,” it
rasped at her in a dry and arrogant voice.
“Tell me, skarlock—what does he plan to do with all those
souls?” Her voice was filled with barely restrained fury. “How
does this serve the Dragonfather?”
The skarlock looked directly at the pirate queen, its blazing eyes
conveying its pride and condescension. “Fool. All the souls of
Urcaen will belong to Asphyxious. As for Toruk, how can the
father of wyrms stand against the new god of death?”
Without hesitation, Skarre bashed its skull into the cold
obsidian, shattering its head into little more than dust.
The gathered Satyxis stood silently, waiting for their captain
and queen. It was Katixa who broke the silence. “Cap’n?”
Skarre Ravenmane turned back to her crew, her features hard
set against the dangers they were about to face. “Back to the
ship. We sail to save Cryx from itself.”
Katixa stepped forward to stand next to her queen, a fearsome
smile spreading across her face. “Do you think they’ll give us a
heroes’ parade in Blackwater?”
Aftermath: Skarre’s Warning
The clandestine journey of the Widower and Skarre’s discovery
after investigating Silshade’s actions on Asphyxious’ behalf set
in motion a complex and escalating chain of events that led to a
massive shake-up in the upper strata of Cryxian leadership. The first
of these was sparked by Skarre bringing her discovery to Lich Lord
Daeamortus, one of the thirteen rulers of the Nightmare Empire.
Daeamortus was also ostensibly Asphyxious’ superior. He and
Terminus had been the two lich lords responsible for the Scharde
Invasions, which had landed substantial assets on the mainland,
actions in which Asphyxious took a key role as the iron lich in charge
of establishing the new mainland bases. Asphyxious served as the
most highly placed and prominent of Daeamortus’ subordinates.
This meant that his potentially treasonous actions would be that lich
lord’s responsibility.
Without Skarre’s vision and the choices she made, Asphyxious might
well have succeeded in his goal. The shape of Cryx—and perhaps
Immoren itself—would have been very different. Even with her
interference, Asphyxious proved to be cunning and adaptive. He
would soon rise to considerable power, if not in the manner he had
originally planned.
THE TRAITOR WITHIN
The capture of Merywyn by Kommandant Gurvaldt Irusk
would mark the end of the Llaelese War and a singular triumph
for Khador. The siege of the capital had been protracted and
tense, but the final assault was executed efficiently. The Llaelese
defenders, though courageous and fierce, proved incapable of
preventing an incursion once their Cygnaran allies withdrew
from the city.
Khador had committed to a simultaneous three-pronged assault
that effectively scattered and divided the city’s defenders. The
speed with which Winter Guard and Iron Fang pikemen seized
the city’s major roads and advanced on the wealthiest districts
eroded any will to resist among those governing nobles who
had retreated to their estates. By the 12th of Rowen, Prime
Minister Deyar Glabryn quickly offered the complete surrender
of the Llaelese government, and many of his peers joined in the
chorus, promising to cooperate and lay down their arms.
What some forgot in subsequent years was the large number
of nobles who did not stand down and who continued to offer
defiance. Indeed, there was considerable outrage over how
quickly the prime minister had surrendered. To many, this
seemed a cowardly act. Those living outside Merywyn and
even in the city’s outer districts had endured hardship and
suffering for weeks at the hands of the invaders, and yet they
continued to fight. It seemed as though Merywyn’s aristocracy
folded the instant Khadoran boots stepped on the streets of
their neighborhoods.
It would later be revealed that Deyar Glabryn had been
deeply complicit in the invasion and paved the way for the
Khadoran seizure of Llael. For at least five years, he had been in
communication with agents of the High Kommand and Great
Vizier Blaustavya’s ministry. They had persuaded him that their
conquest of Llael was unavoidable and that his only hope to
preserve lives was to cooperate.
Not only did Glabryn feed vital intelligence to the High
Kommand, he actively worked to undermine the defenses of
Llael. Under his influence, the military budget was slashed, and
soldiers were reallocated away from the western fortifications.
His lobbying convinced many of Llael’s nobles that the expense
of maintaining a large standing army hurt Llael’s economy and
was unnecessary so long as they could rely on Cygnar’s support.
Indeed, he also did what he could to convince the Cygnaran
generals that the upkeep of their soldiers in Llael was creating a
cost burden on their hosts. That Glabryn had forewarning of the
invasion was proven in the eyes of many when, just days before
the invasion, he sent his wife and eldest daughter on a diplomatic
mission to Caspia. There they would safely wait out the war.
Glabryn’s treachery was contrasted by the actions of dozens
of other nobles who proved willing to fight and die to defend
Llael. After the surrender of Merywyn, thirty-seven of the
kingdom’s elite stood defiant before their conquerors. They
were imprisoned, tried by Irusk and his officers, and then put
to death as a demonstration of what would happen to any who
failed to comply.
No Quarter PRIME 15
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
Not every noble or commoner who refused to accept Khadoran
rule endured imprisonment and execution or remained in
Merywyn. Many went east to Rhydden, where they regrouped
and launched the Llaelese Resistance. Pockets of resistance
persisted in every occupied city, and these groups began to
communicate and coordinate. Included among them were
Cygnaran soldiers remaining behind in Llael despite their
orders to withdraw. All vowed to remember those executed
after the surrender of Llael’s traitorous prime minister, who
was rumored to have helped compile the list of their names for
Irusk. The warcaster Ashlynn d’Elyse would rise to leadership
in the Llaelese Resistance after her life was irrevocably changed
in Rowen of 605 AR.
16 No Quarter PRIME
A CLEAN DEATH
Merywyn, capital of Llael, Rowen 26th, 605 AR
Kapitan Sofya Skirova stepped from the darkness into the light.
The shadowed doorway she emerged from opened onto a large
plaza, where ranks of armored Iron Fangs flanked her path. All
the men and women of her kompany stood beyond. They held
their blasting pikes at parade rest and their shields interlocked,
creating a spiked wall of steel.
Skirova gave the chain in her right hand a tug, causing her
captive to lurch out into the plaza. The man winced at the
light and tried to shield his eyes with his manacled hands. His
gesture pulled the chain taut between them and drew them
closer for a moment.
Before his capture, he’d had a regal bearing that befitted his
noble station. He was tall with a slender build, sharp features,
and long silver hair. He cut the perfect figure of Llaelese
nobility, matching poise and grace with quick wit and a
cutting tongue.
Now his face was bruised and swollen, his grey hair hanging
limp and sweaty around it. The neat white beard he wore bore
thick streaks of crusted blood that had run from his broken
nose and teeth. The fingers of one hand had been broken and
rested in a curled and ugly claw. He was stooped over like a
man decades older than he was, a pitiable figure, but Skirova
knew better. The Greylord interrogators had given him many
opportunities to renounce the Llaelese who were still fighting.
For days they had tried to break him. The man had earned his
injuries—he should wear them with pride.
Skirova allowed her prisoner to take in his surroundings. His
gaze moved over the fresh banners hanging from the city’s
buildings, long narrow pennants of red emblazoned with the
Anvil of Khador, and the thousands of people who filled the
plaza. Beyond the Iron Fangs, a hushed crowd of the city’s
inhabitants stood. Their eyes were downcast as they saw who
would be next on the executioner’s block.
“Move,” Skirova said. If the wretch didn’t understand her
language, her tone was clear enough. He began shuffling
behind her as she marched east toward the city wall. As she
passed each line of Iron Fangs, the soldiers banged the haft
of their blasting pikes on the cobblestones, filling the air
with a steady thudding like a military drum.
“Someone back there was off-tempo,” the prisoner
mused. If his teeth had not been shattered and his lip
split and swollen, he might have spoken good Khadoran.
Skirova didn’t respond. She kept her eyes up as they
moved toward the eastern wall.
There, workers had built an executioner’s platform. Skirova
had led many men and women up those wooden stairs over
the past few days. Her station as a kapitan of the elite Black
Dragons served to intimidate the citizenry, but she knew
Kommandant Irusk’s reason for selecting her went deeper
than that. Many of the condemned Llaelese nobles
were proficient duelists. If a noble attempted to fight
to freedom, she had orders to cut them down.
So far none had tried their luck at breaking free,
though if any of them were brave enough to try she
suspected it would be the man presently at the end
of her chain.
They finished their march to the executioner’s
platform, and Skirova tugged the chain sharply to
stop her prisoner at the foot of the stairs. Above,
a dozen heads—slack and stupid in death—stood
spiked on the rim of the platform, crawling with
black flies.
An old man was already atop the platform with his
neck cradled by the chopping block. Skirova knew
only that he was a clerk or scribe of some high house.
He had begged and blubbered ever since his capture.
Seeing her new prisoner, the old man sniffed back
his sobs.
“For the Stars and Crown, my brother! I will meet
you in the next life, when Morrow’s grace—”
The executioner’s axe fell, cutting off his final words.
The bald head thudded on the platform and rolled
into a blood-stained metal bin.
“I will not beg before you,” the prisoner said to her.
His voice was like a father reminding his child of a
lesson she’d forgotten, not a man about to die. “My
people will see me face death as an old friend. I will
not allow you to turn it into a weapon against them.”
Her prisoner took a bold step onto the stairs. Before
he could continue, a Greylord adjutant pushed
through the Iron Fangs.
“Kapitan Skirova, the kommandant demands that
you bring this prisoner outside the gates. He has
something different in mind.”
“Understood,” she said, pulling her prisoner back
down to the stones.
Skirova followed the Greylord through the open
eastern gate and out of the city, into a wide plain
filled with Winter Guard and a select audience of
Llaelese captives.
One figure stood out from the soldiers. Kommandant
Gurvaldt Irusk’s warcaster armor was polished to a
deep glow, his bearing like the statue of an imperial
conqueror. He had his armor powered, and the twin
smokestacks on his back bled thin, dark trails into
the air to fill it with the scent of a hot brazier.
Skirova halted and came to attention, pulling the
prisoner up beside her. The bedraggled man’s face
furrowed as he tried to puzzle out the meaning of
his surroundings.
“Lord Benoir d’Elyse,” Irusk began, striding to them
with his hands folded behind his back. He spoke
in Llaelese, likely for the benefit of the gathered
citizens. “I was beginning to fear you would not be
able to join me.”
D'Elyse remained stony and refused to meet the
kommandant’s gaze. He stared into the east, at
the golden light of early morning. “Don’t flatter
F&F Intel: Black
yourself with mock-pleasantries, Irusk. You are a
Dragon Iron Fangs
warmongering murderer. Just cut my head off and be
The Black Dragons are an elite
done with this farce.”
force of veteran Iron Fang heavy
infantry who have refused to
Irusk moved close and switched to Khadoran. retire and thereby abandon their
comrades, despite having already
“That will do for the others. They were a pack of served with distinction and
spoiled aristocrats. But we both know that you’re reaching an age when stepping
something more. Your men charged into the fire down would be expected. The
foundation of the Black Dragons
because it was you giving the orders. Be proud, can be traced to the end of
Lord d’Elyse. Not many men command such hostilities between Khador and
respect. Thus, I cannot allow you to die in so simple Ord in 468 AR. After the war, some
veteran Iron Fangs of proven
a manner,” Irusk said. experience and skill petitioned
the High Kommand for permission
“Any death you give me will only serve to show my to remain on active duty. Given
people how cruel you are. Others will hold the stars that many of these veteran Iron
of Llael high. May our flag’s shadow fall across your Fangs were highly decorated war
heroes, their request was granted,
grave, Irusk.”
and the Black Dragon kompany
was formed. Since that day, they
The kommandant considered d’Elyse’s words for a have carried the tradition forward,
moment. He even turned to share a look with Skirova, only inviting the rare few proven
as if considering the possibility of the nobleman’s veterans who come to their
attention and are deemed worthy
words, before responding, “Of the two of us, I will
of meeting their standards.
have a grave, Benoir.”
Irusk turned away from the prisoner to face the other
nobles. “Until a few days ago, we have been at war.
My queen has seen fit to return these lands to their
rightful place under the protection of Khador. This
man, Lord Benoir d’Elyse, carelessly threw away
the lives of your brothers and sisters, your sons and
daughters, in his misguided attempts at resistance.
In actions better fitting an assassin than a peer.”
“You invaded our nation, massacred our people, and
declared yourselves its rightful inheritors,” d’Elyse
said. He coiled as he spoke, as if ready to launch
himself at Irusk. Skirova had to wrap his chain
around her wrist to rein him in. “Deny it so they can
see you for the liar you are.”
“Priest King Khardovic first civilized these lands,”
Irusk replied. “It is from his authority that our
queen reclaims it. Kapitan Skirova, you may release
your prisoner.”
She released the chain and unlocked the fetters on
d’Elyse’s wrists. Rather than try to attack her or
escape, he gave her an authentic look of appreciation.
“Thank you,” d’Elyse said, rubbing his wrists. He
maintained a measure of grace.
No Quarter PRIME 17
 THE FIRE & THE FORGE
F&F Intel:
Prosecution of Nobility
Traditionally in most of the Iron
Kingdoms, the laws are not equal
across all castes of society, with
members of the nobility and
royal bloodlines enjoying special
immunities and reduced sentences
even in cases where they might
be judged guilty of high crimes.
In war, nobles also possessed
a higher expectation of being
taken alive and being given better
treatment as prisoners. Often,
officers with noble titles could
expect negotiations to secure their
freedom from enemy powers.
18 No Quarter PRIME
“Lord d’Elyse, for your actions against Khador and
her queen, you have been condemned to die. You
proved yourself a competent warrior, however, so I
will not force you to die on your knees,” Irusk said.
At that comment, the line of Winter Guard parted,
revealing a battery of several mortars set in a row
near the city wall. There was a pile of explosive
munitions stacked next to each weapon. Skirova’s
chest tightened when she saw them, apprehending
their purpose.
D’Elyse’s face went ashen. “What madness is this?”
“Our scouts say that the last vestige of your
resistance is gathering to the east. Your own
daughter among them,” Irusk said in Llaelese,
gesturing across the farmlands east of Merywyn.
“You have a chance to run to join her.”
“You cannot do this, Irusk,” d’Elyse said. “Take up
your sword, kill me yourself. You cannot be serious
about this barbarity.”
Irusk spoke over him. “Khadoran justice is an iron
thing. These soldiers all lost friends and family in
your raids or were cut down by your sword. You will
run, and they will try to stop you. Let divine justice
decide your fate.”
Skirova could not believe it. Killing a man in battle
was one thing, a clean death from beheading
another. But to toy with a man like this—it was so
far from her expectations of Irusk that she could not
believe he would suggest it.
“I will not,” d’Elyse said.
Irusk came close and grabbed the nobleman’s head,
pulling his face close enough for their foreheads to
touch. It was a gentle gesture.
Irusk spoke softly. “There are over twenty sons
and daughters of the lords we have executed held
in Glabryn’s estate, including the archduke of
Northryne’s infant son. Refuse me, I will throw them
to the doom reavers and feed what’s left to the dogs.”
Skirova felt as if she had been slapped. It took
all her discipline to not recoil. While she stood
dumbfounded, Irusk pulled something from a pouch
at his belt. It was a medal: the Shield of Khardovic,
awarded for unflinching service and obedience in
war. He pinned the medal to d’Elyse’s chest.
“For Grishka,” Irusk said.
D’Elyse closed his eyes and nodded. His earlier
defiance was replaced with serenity. Irusk released
him and stepped back, and the Winter Guard moved
to open a path to the eastern fields. Skirova noticed
for the first time red pennants placed in the fields.
Range markers.
The nobleman did not wait for Irusk to speak. He
started running, first at an uncertain jog while his
broken body got used to the pace and then faster. His
body still sagged to one side where he held his ribs,
but he steadily increased speed until he was racing
across the fields.
Irusk waited for him to pass the first pennant before
turning to the Winter Guard manning the mortars.
“You may begin firing.”
 —●—
Some time later, Skirova found herself outside the office
Kommandant Irusk had taken for his personal use. She hadn’t
planned to visit the kommandant, yet her mind had been
consumed by the day’s events. Staring at the door wasn’t
helping. She rapped on the frame with one gauntleted hand.
“You may enter,” Irusk’s voice came from within.
The room was large but not ostentatious, and Irusk had filled
it with objects that spoke to his character. There was a large
vellum map of Llael with small wooden tokens representing
the last position of Khador’s battalions and pockets of Llaelese
defenders. A decanter of vyatka and several glasses to enjoy
it. As Skirova approached, she noticed a small cameo open to
Irusk’s right, revealing a painting of a young woman with fair
features and sleek hair. He gestured for Skirova to take a seat
without looking up from his work.
“Kommandant, I apologize for the intrusion. It is not my place to
question the actions of my superiors…but the execution today. I
fear that it may embolden the citizens of Merywyn,” she said.
He looked up, studying her with a gaze similar to the one he used
to scrutinize his books. “You fought at Ravensgard. Tell me, did
the deaths you saw there make you hate the southerners?”
“I hated them before,” she answered honestly.
“Precisely. The deaths of your fellow Iron Fangs only
reinforced what you already felt. Most people do not change,
fundamentally. Anyone here who harbors sedition would
eventually succumb to such feelings. Perhaps my actions will
accelerate a few to act against us, but we know who they are.
They are already being watched.” As he spoke, Irusk selected
two glasses and poured a small measure of liquor into them.
“Why him, Kommandant? You spoke of him as a leader, but his
family is minor compared to others whom we beheaded.”
“Lord d’Elyse was from a minor family, but he participated in
many battles that proved costly to our military. Worst of all, he
was responsible for the death of Kovnik Grishka. Do you know
that name?” He picked up a glass and extended it to her.
She did not and said as much before accepting the offered drink.
It was good vyatka, smooth and oily on the tongue.
“Kovnik Grishka was a young warcaster I assigned to hold the
Noble Road. Lord d’Elyse was there when Grishka died. It was
necessary make an example of what happens to those who bring
harm to warcasters of the Motherland, Kapitan,” Irusk said. He
finished his drink and poured another careful measure into the
glass. “He could not be permitted a clean death after staining
his hands with warcaster blood. A man with a sword is not
allowed to kill a god.”
Those last words hung in the air for a moment. Skirova had
often been awed by the feats of magic and martial ability
Khador’s warcasters performed in battle. They were a sight as
sure to lift flagging morale as a kompany banner flying high.
For a warcaster to fall to one lacking such gifts, like d’Elyse or
herself, made them seem mortal. Proved they were not gods.
Something occurred to Skirova. “D’Elyse’s daughter is a
warcaster, isn’t she? When word of her father’s death reaches
Rhydden, she is going to seek revenge.”
“Of that there is no doubt,” Irusk said. “I will face that
eventuality soon enough. She is skilled, but the nature of her
father’s death will enrage and blind her. When she comes for
revenge, I will be the sole object of her obsession. It will create
a vulnerability I can exploit.”
“Of course, sir,” Skirova said. “I appreciate you speaking with
me. With your permission, I would return to my kompany.”
“You may, Kapitan. I hope our talk allowed you to see the
broader perspective. I take no pride from the events today.
Many are the bitter truths of war.”
Skirova finished her drink, returned the glass to Irusk’s table,
and stood to leave. Halfway to the door, she stopped without
turning back to look at the seated kommandant.
“When you spoke to him, you mentioned the children we took
captive. You told him you would kill them,” Skirova said.
“It was necessary to pressure him to comply.”
It took her a great deal of courage to ask her final question.
“Would you have, kommandant? Would you have given such
an order?”
Irusk sighed. There was a long pause, during which she heard
Irusk picking up something from the table. His drinking glass?
The cameo?
He answered, “What matters is that he believed I would.”
Skirova nodded. “Thank you, Kommandant.”
She was uncertain why she pried for such information, even less
certain about Irusk’s answer. It was evasive but seemed honest.
Most of all, the warcaster sounded tired. The life of a conqueror
must be wearying. To pretend to be a god, even worse.
Skirova stepped into the hall, leaving Irusk alone with his books
and his thoughts.
Aftermath: End of the Llaelese War
With the surrender of Merywyn, the Llaelese War ended. It had
proven to be a short but brutal campaign, demonstrating the
military efficiency and effectiveness of the modern Khadoran Army
under Kommandant Gurvaldt Irusk in execution of the will of Queen
Ayn Vanar. This defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for the Cygnarans,
doubly so as it was immediately apparent despite expectations
to the contrary that Khador would not slow its conquest while
absorbing this new territory. The attacks on the northern Cygnaran
border proved to be more than just a ruse to force Llael’s ally to
withdraw from the Siege of Merywyn, as the northerners would
soon launch an extended campaign to control the Thornwood. This
would set in motion a large number of conflicts in the region, also
rooted in the efforts of other forces with an interest here, including
Cryx, the Circle Orboros, and the countless well-armed trollkin kriels
inhabiting the deeper forest.
No Quarter PRIME 19
 COMPANY OF IRON

Faction Company
Upgrades
by William “Oz” Schoonover

In this issue of No Quarter Prime, we continue our ongoing support for Company of Iron
with rules for upgrading your company. All Company Upgrades add new abilities to your
force, and many add even more models to what is available when building an army.

M ost Company of Iron armies fit the standard army

organization of the various Factions fighting across the
Iron Kingdoms or represent hastily assembled reaction forces.
New Core Rules
Some armies, however, represent specific groups or special Arc Node
organizations. The Company Upgrades described on pages
Replace the Arc Node rule in the Core Rules (p. 9) with the
23–25 allow you to field some of these thematic forces.
following:
When building a Company of Iron army, you can gain the
When this model activates, draw a Command card.
benefits of one of these Company Upgrades as long as your army
follows the model restrictions in the rules for that upgrade.
Channeling
The Field Allowance stat (FA) is not normally used in Company
of Iron, but if you are building an army with a Company Add the following to the end of the Channeling section in the
Upgrade that allows more than one model of the same type, that Company of Iron Rules Addendum:
model’s FA determines how many can be included. When a model with Channeler that is not a member of a
Before diving into the the all-new Company Upgrades unit activates, draw a Command card.
themselves, this article first presents a number of adjustments to
the core game rules and to specific model rules that arose as we Model Cost & Activations
developed the upgrades for each Faction, followed by requisition
Individual models with a point cost of 10 or greater can be
costs for new models now playable in Company of Iron.
activated twice each round. Each unused activation is counted
when determining if a player can pass priority.

20 No Quarter PRIME
Adjustments to
Model-Specific Rules
Assisted
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
This model is not a warrior model and cannot advance.
Once each round after another model in its unit completes
its activation, this model can be moved up to 5˝ if the
other model began its activation within 2˝ of it. This model
is automatically hit by melee attacks. It cannot become
stationary or knocked down and never suffers Blind.
Carried
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
This model is not a warrior model and cannot advance.
Once each round after another model in its unit completes
its activation, this model can be moved up to 5˝ if the
other model began its activation within 2˝ of it. This model
is automatically hit by melee attacks. It cannot become
stationary or knocked down and never suffers Blind.
Companion
This rule is not used in games of Company of Iron.
Destruction-Spawned
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
This model does not begin the game in play. When a
friendly Exalted solo with Soul Taker: Gatekeeper is
destroyed, replace the Exalted solo with a Kovaas unless
another friendly model has been replaced with a Kovaas
during this game. If the Exalted solo had soul tokens on
it when it was destroyed, place up to three of those soul
tokens on the Kovaas replacing it. Effects on the destroyed
Exalted solo expire.
Disorientation
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
This model can sacrifice its Normal Movement to be placed
anywhere completely within 8˝ of its current location.
Distant Deployment
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
This model can be placed at the same time as your models
with Advance Deployment  , up to 8˝ beyond your
deployment zone.
Focal Point
This rule is not used in games of Company of Iron.
Fury-Linked
This rule is not used in games of Company of Iron.
Spawn Horror (★Action)
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
Remove three corpse tokens from this model to place a
non-character Faction lesser warbeast into play under your
control. Place the warbeast completely within 3˝ of this
model and choose a friendly Faction beast warden. This
warbeast comes under the beast warden's control unless the
beast warden is already controlling its maximum number of
warbeasts, in which case the warbeast becomes wild.
Shifting
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
Place this model anywhere completely within 8˝ of its
current location.
Shifting Powers
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
Choose one of the following effects at the start of this
model’s activation:
Spirit Nexus
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
Once per round, one friendly Faction model B2B with this
model can sacrifice its Combat Action during its activation
to attempt to commune with the spirits. When a model
does so, roll a d6. On a roll of 1 or 2, the spirits become
angry and the communing model suffers d3 damage
points. On a roll of 4 or more, draw a Command card.
Teleportation
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
If all three Shifting Stone models in this unit are in the
Leader’s or Officer’s command range, place one friendly
Faction model whose base is within the triangular area
between the stones anywhere completely within 8˝ of its
current location. The placed model must forfeit its Normal
Movement after being placed this round. A model can be
placed only once per round as a result of Teleportation, and
only one model in this unit can use Teleportation each round.
Wellspring
Use the following text instead of the text on the model’s card:
When this model activates, draw a Command card.
No Quarter PRIME 21
 COMPANY OF IRON

Requisition Costs
model name faction Requisition
Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron Minions +1

Bone Shrine Minions 0

The Covenant of Menoth Protectorate –1

Deryliss Cryx 0

Enigma Foundry Convergence 0

Freebooter Mercenaries 0

Gallows Grove Circle 0

Northkin Bear Handler & Battle Bears Trollbloods 0

Scrapjack Khador 0

Sentry Stone & Mannikins Circle 0

Shifting Stones Circle 0

Spawning Vessel Legion 0

Subduer Mercenaries 0

Warden Mercenaries 0

Witchwood Grymkin 0

Wrecker Mercenaries –1

22 No Quarter PRIME
 Keepers of the Groves
CiRCLE oRBoRos CompAnY upGRADE
The Circle Orboros strives to limit the expansion of civilization
and preserve the wild places of Caen. Blackclads assisted by
Wolf Sworn warriors protect the consecrated groves of the Circle
against intrusion. Many of the most sacred sites are watched
over by silent guardians carved from the stones of the very
earth they are tasked to defend.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Blackclad,
Wolf Sworn, and construct models, you can also
include Stone models/units and a Gallows Grove.
Bonus
You gain +1 to priority rolls, and models in your
army gain Advance Deployment and Ambush.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
mortenebra’s Lair
Cryx CompAny upGrADE
Of all the necrotechs in the Nightmare Empire, the genius
Mortenebra, Numen of Necrogenesis stands above all others.
Having stolen and adapted the secrets of the Convergence
of Cyriss, Mortenebra has seamlessly merged them with the
dark technologies of Cryx. When her duties call her away
from her personal factorium, she entrusts its protection to her
most senior skarlock thrall, who shares a small portion of her
necrotechnological brilliance and instructs her minions on how
best to maintain her masterful crafts.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Iron Lich,
Necrotech, Thrall, and warjack models, you can
include Deryliss at a point cost of 5. You can also
include more than one of the same warjack in
your army.
Bonus
When you make a repair roll, double the result.
Additionally, when checking to see if a warjack is
in its controller’s CMD range, double the range.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Wicked Woods
Grymkin: the WiCked harvest Company upGrade
Across the countryside people whisper dark deeds are carried
out at night in the deep of the forests. Few dare to tread in these
accursed places, where the power of story and superstition holds
sway. In these well-shadowed woods, disappearances are common,
and new whispers now circulate of siren songs that lure wanderers
away from the safety of the roads . . . and into despair.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only warrior
models, you can also include more than one
Witchwood.
Bonus
Witchwoods in your army gain Heart Eater. (When
a model with Heart Eater destroys a living or
undead enemy model with a melee attack, it gains
the destroyed model’s corpse token. A model with
Heart Eater can have up to three corpse tokens at
any time. During its activation, it can spend corpse
tokens to make additional melee attacks or to boost
melee attack or melee damage rolls. It can make
one additional attack or boost one roll for each
token spent.)
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Consecration Calculation
ConvergenCe of Cyriss CompAny upgrADe
The devoted followers of Cyriss understand the mathematics
that guide all action in the universe. The application of these
calculations is treated with the same reverence as holy rites, as it
is considered an aspect of worship in the Maiden of Gears’ cult.
Priests utilize the most advanced mathematics to bless the efforts
of the Great Work and protect their troops on the battlefield.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Soul Vessel
and warjack models, you can also include an
Enigma Foundry.
Bonus
Enemy models cannot gain souls from your
models, and injured models in your army B2B with
your Enigma Foundry automatically roll a 6 when
making a casualty roll.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
the malcontents
Cygnar Company upgraDE
When the Cygnaran military has a mission that requires soldiers
with skill, strength, bravery, and honor, they call upon the Storm
Division. When less savory jobs need to be done, they call upon
the Sixth Platoon, otherwise known as the Malcontents. While its
members have fallen from the honor expected of a Storm Knight,
this group of thieves, drunkards, and worse can complete missions
no other companies will take on.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Storm
Knight, Stormsmith, and warjack models, you can
also include Savio Montero Acosta. Acosta is a
Cygnar model instead of a Mercenary model.
Bonus
Your models’ weapons with Damage Type:
Electrical gain +2 RNG, and your non-character
models gain +1 RAT.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Agents of the old Witch
KhAdor CompAnY upGrAdE
The mysterious Old Witch of Khador has been working in the
shadows for untold centuries. No mortal knows her true goals,
but the rural folk of the scattered mountain villages of the North
understand that when Zevanna Agha sets a task before them, it is
better to attempt and fail than to refuse and draw her ire.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Kossite,
Manhunter, and Greylord models, you can also
include Scrapjack at a point cost of 6.
Bonus
When setting up your models at the beginning
of a scenario, you can exceed the scenario’s limit
for models with Ambush by two. Additionally,
Manhunter models in your army gain Ambush.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
 Blighted Crèche
Legion of everBLight CompAnY upgrADe
Unlike the warbeasts bred by the druids, skorne, and trollkin,
the dragon Everblight creates his own spawn from blight-tainted
blood. In some ways, the armies of the dragon have more in
common with the armies of humanity than with their fellows in
the wilds. As with warjacks, creating dragonspawn requires raw
materials, and Everblight often sends out scavengers to comb the
battlefields of western Immoren for flesh that will later be shaped
into tools of destruction for his Legion.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Blighted
Nyss and lesser warbeast models, you can also
include a Spawning Vessel. Additionally, you can
include more than one of the same lesser warbeast
in your army.
Bonus
Models disabled by attacks made by your lesser
warbeasts suffer –1 to casualty rolls until the end of
the round. When checking to see if a warbeast is in
its controller’s CMD range, double the range.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
talion Boarding party
merCenaries CompanY upGraDe
The Broken Coast is home to many pirate crews, but few have
the notoriety of the Talion Charter. This group of mercenary
marauders boasts some of the most formidable buccaneers to ever
sail under a pirate flag. Thanks to the financial backing of Lord
Rockbottom, it is also a well-provisioned force that isn’t afraid to
spend good coin on the proper tool for a job.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Privateer
models, you can also include a Freebooter.
Bonus
Solos in your army gain +2 CMD.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Blindwater Zealots
minions CompAnY upGRADE
Many who fight for the Blindwater Congregation have been
coerced into service, but the core of the group comprises adherents
who are truly devoted to their new god, Barnabas, Lord of Blood.
Where these zealots go, the swamp seems to follow, and their faith
empowers the dead they command.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Minion
models with Amphibious , you can also include
a Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron unit and a Bone
Shrine.
Bonus
Undead models in your army gain Tough .
Additionally, after players have chosen table sides
but before models have been deployed, you can
place three 3˝ AOEs anywhere on the table. These
AOEs are shallow water terrain and cannot be
placed in contact with any other terrain feature.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Experiment 1374D
mErCEnariEs CompanY upGraDE
Hives of mysterious cephalyx operate unseen across western
Immoren. Many of their raiding parties rely on captured warriors
who have had their minds corrupted, but some forgo the use of
psychically-shackled slaves and instead use the alchemically
enhanced and weaponized titans called monstrosities.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Cephalyx and
drudge models and does not include a Dominator,
you can also include monstrosities. Additionally,
you can include more than one Cephalyx Agitator
in your army.
Bonus
The Instigate special action on your Cephalyx
Agitators also affects drudges.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
Farrow salvage Crew
minions CompAnY upGRADE
The influence of the mad doctor Arkadius has spread well beyond
the group of farrow with whom he works directly. Some outside
his immediate circle, having seen the power of the steam engines
he melds with the flesh of their giant boar cousins, have become
intrigued by such machinery. These farrow have begun salvaging
warjack parts from the battlefields of the Iron Kingdoms and
cobbling them together into ramshackle but lethal engines of war.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Farrow
models, you can also include Mercenary light
warjacks.
Bonus
Warjacks in your army are Minion models. Your
commander and friendly Bone Grinders gain ’Jack
Marshal . Additionally, Bone Grinders in your
army gain Repair [d3] (★Action)* and Dismantle.
(A model with Dismantle gains an additional die
on damage rolls against construct models.)
*Repair [d3] (★Action) – RNG B2B. Target friendly
Faction construct model. If the model is in range, remove
d3 damage points from it.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
pilgrims of Ancient icthier
proteCtorAte of menoth CompAnY upGrADe
The routes Menite pilgrims follow to Ancient Icthier are
protected by dedicated squads of Flameguard warriors.
There are always a few pilgrims on the road, but when a
holy artifact is moved between the cities of the Protectorate,
hundreds of faithful join its progress, ready to give their
own lives to preserve the relics of their faith.
Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Zealot,
Deliverer, and Flameguard models, you can also
include the Covenant of Menoth.
Bonus
Battle-ready models in your army gain +1 to casualty
rolls while in the CMD range of the Covenant.
©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade
 the Hand of Glyssor
RetRiBution of sCyRaH Company upGRade

Most Iosans view soulless children as horrifying symbols of

the decline of the Iosan race, but a shrewd few see potential
where others see only grief and loss. Among the Nine Voices
of the Retribution of Scyrah, Glyssor Syviis has been an
outspoken advocate for using the unique side effects of the
condition to the Retribution’s advantage.

Composition
If your army includes only Mage Hunter and
Soulless models, you can include more than one of
each type of solo in your army.

Bonus
Models in your army gain Advance Deployment
and Ambush, and Soulless models in your army
gain Gang Fighter. (When making a melee attack
targeting an enemy model in the melee range of
another friendly Faction warrior model, a model
with Gang Fighter gains +2 to melee attack and
melee damage rolls.)

©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade

Heretics of House Baashek

skorne Company upgrade

Among the mystics of the Skorne, there is a secretive minority that

sees the sacral stones of exalted ancestors as a powerful resource
that should be exploited for conquest. House Baashek has fostered
a sect of these reckless extollers for generations, hoping that their
profane efforts can elevate the house’s standing in the empire.

Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Extoller,
Exalted, and Praetorian models, your can also
include a Kovaas.

Bonus
Models in your army with Soul Taker begin the
game with 1 soul token.

©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade

northkin Hunters
trollBloods CompAnY upGrAdE

The rowdy trollkin of the far North have carved out a life for
themselves among the mountain crags and frozen forests of their
homeland. Many have taken to living alone in the woods, and
some have even learned to tame the wild bears that share their
territory. When a call to war is heard by these bear handlers,
they respond with the fury of the wilds at their command.

Composition
If your army otherwise includes only Northkin
models, you can also include a Northkin Bear
Handler & Battle Bears unit.

Bonus
When setting up your models at the beginning
of a scenario, you can exceed the scenaro’s limit
for models with Ambush by three. Additionally,
Northkin Raider models in your army gain Ambush.

©2018 Privateer Press, Inc. COMPANY OF IRON Faction Company Upgrade

No Quarter PRIME 25
 HOSTILE TERRITORY
The Castle of the Keys
by Matt Goetz & Douglas Seacat
T he Castle of the Keys is a storied place. Built by human hands
in the early days of civilization, it was forgotten by the race
that built it. For many centuries, the castle ruins have lain at the
fringe of the Bloodstone Desert, untouched by the conflicts of
the human nations. Initially built as the stronghold for a warlord
who terrorized the first cities of humanity, its once-great ramparts
eventually collapsed. To human eyes, the whole fortress is now
a cracked and crumbling place, looming and dark, with a cruel
history long since forgotten, a ruin where vile things lurk and
prey on the unwise.
The Castle of the Keys has never truly been truly forgotten. It
simply fell into the talons of a new owner, one of unfathomable
power. For thousands of years, the Castle of the Keys was
the hiding place of one of the scattered progeny of Toruk: the
dragon Pyromalfic. Hidden beneath its stones, protected by a
fanatical cult of blighted elves, the Castle of the Keys is where
Pyromalfic laired, evading its siblings and progenitor.
Upon Pyromalfic’s rediscovery—and ultimate destruction—
battles at the Castle of the Keys set in motion events that would
lead to the deaths of thousands and threaten all life on Immoren.
26 No Quarter PRIME
CONSTRUCTION
The fortress that would one day be known as the Castle of the
Keys was constructed in the early centuries of the Warlord
Era by a nearly forgotten barbarian king called Domnar the
Greyfang. Domnar selected a site at the cusp of the Scabbard
Hills in the northwest of the Bloodstone Marches, where the
hills meet with the rugged Greybranch Mountains.
This location was an ideal defensible position atop a series
of natural plateaus shielded to the north by the impassible,
steep peaks of the Greybranch Mountains. The site included a
natural spring that fed into the Claysoil Wash and from there
to Scarleforth Lake, which would provide abundant fresh water
in the event of a siege while forming a natural moat around the
plateaus on which the castle would stand.
Unlike other castles of its time, which relied on rammed earth
walls covered in brick, the walls of Domnar’s castle were made
entirely of stone and were several feet thicker at the base than
along the ramparts. The outer walls were over sixteen feet thick
and nearly thirty feet in height, with ramparts deep enough to
hold several rows of archers. Several towers with curved faces
were worked into the wall, each with wide windows that could
protect four additional archers. Atop the towers, Domnar had
iron braziers installed that, in the event of a sudden attack,
could be lit to signal defenders throughout the castle.
The only route into Domnar’s castle was an irregular,
inclined path leading to a narrow stone bridge. The bridge
was deliberately built to prevent masses of infantry from
overwhelming the defenders at the main gate, and the
meandering route to it was made purposely difficult. Anyone
seeking to attack the fortification would have to weather a
long march under arrow fire from both the ramparts and the
three main towers. As soldiers finally reached the top of the
stairs leading to the bridge, their backs would be fully exposed
to archers at the western tower. Anyone hoping to reach the
gates would do so at a crawl, while trying to survive a constant
barrage of arrows.
Given the building’s relative sophistication for the era, later
historians theorized King Domnar had an architect and master
stonemason of prodigious talents, though the identity of this
person has been lost. Construction of Domnar’s castle took
nearly a decade, a pace that could not have been achieved
without the labor of slaves taken captive from communities
to the south and west. Stone quarried in the mountains to the
south and west had to be hand-carried up to the plateau, as the
terrain was too difficult for beasts of burden. Many slaves died
under the lash of Domnar’s overseers.
The slaves would not be the only workers to die during
construction of the castle. Domnar instructed his stoneworkers
to create an extensive network of caverns and tunnels beneath
the structure. Meant to store caches of food for prolonged sieges,
these tunnels also included several secret escapes from the
castle, should defeat seem like a certainty. Upon completion
of this work, the warlord rewarded these stoneworkers with
execution to protect the secret layout of the tunnels.
HISTORY
After completion, Domnar’s mountain castle served him and
his successors for generations. It weathered multiple sieges
launched by numerous rivals, all of whom found the castle to
be impenetrable. Even holy Menite crusaders seeking to root
out the last vestige of Domnar’s family line failed, so they
chose another tactic: starvation. The Castle of the Keys was
cut off during a prolonged siege when Ryn warriors from the
north encircled the fortress. Hunting parties were caught and
executed, and supply wagons were burned within sight of the
castle’s towers. Once the cache of supplies in the tunnels ran
out, most within were forced to resort to cannibalism. Over a
period of years, the siege reduced Domnar’s line to fewer than
a hundred men.
The Ryn ended the siege, viewing the survivors to be too little a
threat to warrant further operation. The barbarians within were
allowed to live, provided they never increased their numbers to
threaten the civilized world. For nearly a century they did so,
never suspecting that another entity coveted their home. When
Domnar’s castle finally fell, its defeat came by an unexpected foe.
In the last century of the Warlord Era, the dragon Pyromalfic
sought to escape from Toruk, the Dragonfather. Toruk had
been actively hunting his progeny, chasing them across
Immoren. Rather than flee, Pyromalfic chose to hide.
In the previous century, Pyromalfic had lured a sect of
vulnerable Iosans from the nearby Mistbough Forest to serve
him. These elves were easy converts to Pyromalfic’s control.
The power and splendor of the dragon inspired worshipful
reverence in the Iosans, who fostered a small but devoted cult.
Pyromalfic used its cult to overwhelm the defenders of the
castle. The cultists were fanatic, sacrificing their lives to please
the dragon. Pyromalfic ended the battle when it flew over
the defenses and exterminated the greatest concentrations of
human fighters. It then claimed the castle for itself and the
cult, creating an expanded underground lair while leaving
many of the tunnels and the castle proper to its followers.
The dragon lingered here undisturbed for many centuries. It
was not troubled until late in the Orgoth Occupation, when an
expedition of Orgoth warriors attacked the Iosan cult. Most
records of the event were lost during the Scourge, but a few
scraps detail how the Orgoth decimated the castle’s defenders
only to themselves face ruination when Pyromalfic emerged. A
tome from this era suggests that Pyromalfic was injured in the
confrontation, and it describes some curse or poison that sapped
the dragon. While Pyromalfic had its victory, it would prove
costly, leaving the dragon in a state from which it never seemed
to fully recover. Blood from Pyromalfic’s injuries seeped into the
soil of the Greybranch Mountains and infected the groundwater,
which for many generations led to outbreaks of mild blight,
manifesting in an unusual disease among fringe communities.
Secure within its lair, Pyromalfic entered a state akin to
hibernation. Meanwhile, occult researchers from a fringe
sect of Ios’ House Vyre snuck into the castle and performed
unconscionable experiments, working to combine the
power of dragon blight with other arcane energies, noting
how their powers changed as their flesh transmuted. This
group infiltrated and subsumed the preexisting dragon cult,
combining their rites and rituals to create something new and
arguably even more twisted.
Later, elements of the Skorne Empire’s Army of the Western
Reaches discovered the castle. They were drawn by
Pyromalfic’s blight, which was visible to the special sight
possessed by skorne extollers such as Supreme Aptimus
Zaal. The cultists hid from the skorne scouts as they began to
establish an encampment, remaining in the deeper caves and
caverns beneath the surface structure. Experts in these unseen
passages, they evaded notice by the skorne.
No Quarter PRIME 27
 HOSTILE TERRITORY
In the centuries since Pyromalfic claimed the Castle of the
Keys, numerous battles have taken place in its vicinity, either
within or near its ruined ramparts. These included clashes
between farrow, the Circle Orboros, and even the Orgoth.
Throughout all of this, the draconic sect and its slumbering
master remained undisturbed. It was not until the spring of
607 AR that a reckoning came to the castle, one which would
spell the end of its longtime master.
It was in this year that an army of the Legion of Everblight
crossed half of Immoren in desperate haste to descend on the
castle. They came to this place after hearing the words of the
eldritch Goreshade the Bastard, who had offered knowledge
of a weakened dragon, one that was ripe for the plucking.
Everblight’s vessel, the ogrun Thagrosh, led a massive army
that comprised the bulk of Everblight’s gathered strength.
The movements of Everblight’s legion had not gone without
notice, as the Circle Orboros had its own reasons to stand
against the dragon. The blighted army crossed hundreds of
miles so Everblight could consume Pyromalfic’s athanc, thereby
growing tremendously in power. Goreshade had learned of
Pyromalfic’s presence from former members of House Vyre
inside the dragon’s cult. Deciphering Goreshade’s motives in
these events is impossible, yet whatever his reasons, he desired
to have the Legion rush in full strength to the Castle of the Keys.
It is possible this diversion allowed Goreshade to achieve some
other objective which otherwise would have been impossible.
The convergence of forces led to a great and bloody clash. It
drew in Everblight’s Legion, the Circle Orboros, and also the
soldiers of the Skorne Empire who had created their own tower
and garrison upon the upper levels.
The Circle could not muster sufficient forces in time to
prevent Everblight’s victory. The Legion’s warriors and flying
dragonspawn soon overcame the defenses of the castle. At last,
Pyromalfic recognized the threat as great enough to emerge
personally to battle Everblight’s army. While the injured dragon
fought fiercely and took many creatures with it, in the end it was
overwhelmed. Thagrosh and Everblight took measures to ensure
the greatest of their losses would be among their dragonspawn,
not their archers or their swordsmen, trying to preserve as
many blighted Nyss as possible.
In the end, Thagrosh ripped loose the athanc of Pyromalfic and
added it to the one in his chest, thereby magnifying Everblight’s
power. The events at the castle threw the balance of power
between dragons askew, eventually resulting in a great clash
over Cygnar’s skies two years later that would leave Toruk
wounded, Blighterghast strengthened, and at least one other
dragon destroyed utterly.
In the years that followed, the Castle of the Keys saw continued
clashes. The skorne erected other towers and fortifications here
and collected the bones of Pyromalfic, which were utilized in
ongoing occult research by both Lord Tyrant Hexeris and Void
28 No Quarter PRIME
Seer Mordikaar. These limited battlements proved inadequate
when the dragon Scaefang arrived to assault Mordikaar’s tower,
apparently driven by the desire to learn more of Pyromalfic’s
fate. This attack was part of a sequence that alerted the rest of
Toruk’s progeny to the threat that Everblight posed to their
alliance against Toruk. The skorne defenders still occupying the
upper structure proved unable to defeat Scaefang. Much of the
upper fortification was destroyed, convincing the skorne that
the Castle of the Keys was no longer worth the full attention of
the Army of the Western Reaches.
Not long thereafter, Kallus, the Wrath of Everblight, led a
covert operation here to recover bones of the dead dragon.
Everblight, it seemed, coveted Pyromalfic’s bones, as they were
a potent resource that would allow Everblight to manufacture
gargantuan dragonspawn. Kallus successfully gathered some of
Pyromalfic’s remains in 608 AR and returned to the Legion with
them, ultimately leading to the creation of the Archangel.
Many of the tunnels below the castle subsequently collapsed
in a great earthquake that struck this region in 609 AR. This
earthquake and other destruction in the vicinity were the
result of a battle in the northern Bloodstone Marches between
farrow, gatormen, and trollkin, one which nearly resulted in
the manifestation of the Devourer Wurm on Caen. Even with
this latest wave of devastation, remnants of the Castle of the
Keys endured, and its ancient tunnels have yet to be fully
explored or plundered.
CURRENT AFFAIRS
In the years since Scaefang’s last attack, the skorne have largely
avoided the Castle of the Keys, though they have rebuilt several
watchtowers and fortresses nearby to keep them apprised of
movements in the area. This region has been contentious for
the skorne in other respects, with battles near Lake Scarleforth
against both trollkin and forces of the Circle Orboros. There are
still some, however, who see the value of the place. Any draconic
blight remains of great interest to mortitheurges like Lord Arbiter
Hexeris, and the defensible position of the site makes it useful as
a lookout point for forces at nearby Klokhor Fortress.
The skorne are not the only ones with a persistent interest in
the Castle of the Keys. Everblight has periodically sent small
forays into the region, both to keep watch over the ruins should
another vulnerable dragon seek sanctuary within it and to
search for additional draconic remains. Some of Everblight’s
desire to maintain a presence at the Castle of the Keys stems out
of pure ego—the castle represents one of Everblight’s greatest
accomplishments in recent centuries, and the dragon will not
allow his achievement to be forgotten.
So too does the Circle Orboros keep watch over the castle.
Omnipotent Mohsar of the Eastern Dominion has assigned
several promising overseers to observe the castle and prevent
any blighted remains within from finding their way back into
the Legion of Everblight’s hands. This work has gone hand in
hand with efforts to restore ley lines here.
BUILDING A CRUMBLING TOWER
by Danny Samuels

Few sites in the Iron Kingdoms are as venerable and as widely known as the Castle of the
Keys. Its giant stone fortifications were a wonder of its time, and the ruins of the castle are still
an imposing sight to this day. Follow this guide to build an impressive crumbling tower, as
part of your own Castle of the Keys or any war-torn fortress.

1 2a
TOOLS & MATERIALS
STEP 1: MOCK-UP CONCEPT Black foam board
Often when starting a new piece of terrain, I begin Blister packaging foam
by making a cardboard model. This is an example
Formula P3 Hobby Knife
of a rough one I created for this project—it allows
Formula P3 Super Glue
me to see the scale of what I’ll be building before
I begin the final and further allows me to design Hot glue gun
in the round. MDF or hardboard
Miscellaneous polystyrene
STEP 2: CREATE THE STONE strips and rods for details
WALLS 2b 2c ½˝ Pink insulation foam
1˝ Pink insulation foam
2a) Cut and glue two 4½˝ × 5½˝ pieces of 2˝ thick
2˝ Pink insulation foam
foam. This will end up being the first floor of your
Ruler
tower. I use wood glue for this.
Sand or ballast
2b) Cut walls for the second story from ½˝ thick
Sheet polystyrene
foam; these pieces are 5½˝ × 2¼˝, 5˝ × 2¼˝, (thickness .03 mm)
3¾˝× 2¼˝, and 4˝× 2¼˝. Feel free to add holes for
Textured rock
windows of your choosing at this stage.
Wood filler or spackle
2c) Cut walls for the third story from ½˝ thick
foam; these pieces are 4¾˝ × 2¼˝, 3˝ × 2¼˝, and
2¾˝ × 2¼˝.
3a 3b

STEP 3: ADD STONE TEXTURE

3a) Draw in stones with a ballpoint pen. Press the
pen lightly to create an impression that will serve
as your brick detail.
3b) Carefully add a bevel to top of the first floor.
This will help the building look as if it’s crumbling. I
used a large knife and sandpaper.
3c) Use a pencil eraser to push in selected bricks 3c 3d
throughout the stone pattern.
3d) Rock a stone back and forth over the foam
surface to add another level of texture and detail
to the walls of the tower.
3e) Define some edges of stones further with your
hobby knife. Have fun with this stage—it really
helps it look as though it’s falling apart. I also took
out a large chunk of the first floor during this step
to add even more damage.
3f/3g) Repeat steps 3a–3e on the second- and 3e 3f
third-story walls. I also added window frames from
thin slices of foam.

3g

No Quarter PRIME 29
 HOSTILE TERRITORY

4a 4b 4c
STEP 4: ASSEMBLE
THE SECOND STORY
4a) Cut a 6˝ × 6˝ floor for the
second story out of foam core.
4b) Glue three of the walls to the
foam core square using either
hot glue or wood glue, then add
basswood strips using super glue
to create a wooden floor. I add the 5a 5b 5c
wood before adding the last wall
so the floor is more accessible and
I’m not tight for space.
4c) Add the fourth wall.

STEP 5: ASSEMBLE
THE THIRD STORY
5a) Cut a jagged piece of foam
core for the floor of the third
story. Cut one side around 6 ½˝ 6a 6b 6c
and the other around 5 ½˝. The
third side should be cut fairly
short. Add a second layer on top of
this first one but shrink it by about
¼˝ on all sides.
5b) Bevel the edges of the jagged
side of the foam core and then
merge them with wood filler. This
will help the foam core fade away
from view yet still provide stability
to the wood planks you will be 7a 7b 7c
adding.
5c) Glue the three walls to
the foam core and then add
basswood strips to create a
broken wooden floor that follows
the shape created by the jagged
foam core. The foam core will
add the support needed for
gameplay but won’t stand out
much visually.
8a 8b 8c
STEP 6: DETAILS AND
WEATHERING
6a) Create another two-layer
foam core piece. Score it, bend
it, and add damage to it with
your hobby knife. This will act as a
section of broken floor under the
third story.
6b) Add rubble and sand to the 9a 10a 10b
blown-out section of the second
floor.
6c) Add corner details to all
three floors using thin strips of
insulation foam and the same
stone technique used in step 3.

30 No Quarter PRIME
 STEP 7: CREATE THE
BROKEN ROOF
7a) Cut a 5½˝ × 3½˝ rectangle
of foam core, then remove a
3½˝ × 2½˝ rectangle from the
backside. This should give you a
geometrically C-shaped piece of
foam core.
7b) Cut walls for the roof section
FRONT from ½˝ thick foam. Make one
piece roughly 5˝ × 2 ¼˝ and two
pieces about 3˝ × 2 ¼˝. Have fun
carving these walls—make them
look crumbly and ruined.
7c) Glue the walls down to the
foam core. I left about a ¼˝
border from the edge of the foam
core to the walls.

STEP 8: CREATE THE

DOOR
8a) Cut a 2 ¼˝ × 1˝ rectangle of
sheet polystyrene.
8b/8c) Add basswood strips
or coffee stirrers to the styrene
rectangle with super glue and
then add more details in styrene.
You can add whatever type of
detail you like to this door.

STEP 9: CARVE BROKEN

CASTLE WALLS
9a) Carve 1˝ foam to create
broken walls using the same
technique used in step 3.

STEP 10: ADD DETAILS

AND A BASE
10a) At this point, you can begin
to add whatever details you would
like. I attached the door to the
base of the first floor and added
a stone door frame. I also added a
trapdoor and some wood patching
to the second-story floor.
10b) Attach the first floor and
the broken castle walls to a
hardboard base and then add
your choice of basing materials
and begin painting. I paint each
story separately, then glue them
all together at the end. This allows
me to reach all the surfaces on the
tower with my brush.
DOOR DETAIL The crumbling tower is complete.
Now you’re ready to battle at the
Castle of the Keys!

BACK
LADDER DETAIL

No Quarter PRIME 31
HOSTILE TERRITORY SCENARIO
THE SKYWARD SEPULCHER
Kaazak of House Konash scowled down at the desert flats below him.
This was not how he expected to die.
A desert wind blew across the peaks and through the ruins of the
castle. The sound almost drowned out the war chants of the distant
army approaching from the south, but he could still make out the faint
prayers the approaching humans sang. Among the blocks of pikemen
marched several great machines belching ribbons of black smoke that
trailed over the soldiers’ heads.
Lord Arbiter Hexeris had assigned Kaazak and his Praetorians to protect
a cabal of mortitheurge mystics investigating the occult power still
residing in scraps of the dragon’s remains scattered around the ruined
Castle of the Keys. The task was beneath a warrior of his skill, but Kaazak
knew better than to oppose Hexeris.
The Praetorian had just turned to order his taberna into action when a
lookout on the western wall blew an alarm on her shodar horn. Kaazak
jogged across the crumbling courtyard, pointing one blade at the senior
mystic as he passed. “Gather what you can carry. We are leaving.”
“Master,” his Praetorian said as Kaazak reached the top of the
crumbling stairs. She bowed her head to him. “A force approaches from
the western hills.”
She spoke the truth. Riders on slender, antlered mounts bounded nimbly
over the rocky western approach in a long wedge formation. The graceful
curve of bows dangled from their hands. The diseased descendants of
Lyoss drew near.
“We must return to Klokhor Fortress,” Kaazak commanded. “Have
your karax defend the mortitheurges. My swordsmen will take the
lead. Lord Arbiter Hexeris must have his prize.” He waited for the
Praetorian to leave before allowing himself to shudder at the thought of
what might happen to him should he fail.
Gameplay Overview
The Skyward Sepulcher is a free-for-all WARMACHINE and
HORDES scenario for four players. In this scenario, the players are
battling near the outer perimeter of the Castle of the Keys. Here,
a crumbling tower holds some of Pyromalfic’s blighted remains, a
powerful tool for any force strong enough to retrieve them.
The tower itself is saturated with blighted energy. While taking the
tower and securing the dragon’s remains is the primary objective
of each army present, only the strongest warriors will be able to
survive the foul energy seeping forth from the ruined structure.
32 No Quarter PRIME
by Will Hungerford
Setup
This scenario is played with four players. Each player creates a
50-point army.
Place the Crumbling Tower terrain feature (see Special Rules
below) centered in the middle of the table. Place a 30 mm
Draconic Remains token completely within the Tower at the
highest possible elevation a model could advance to.
Next, starting with the first player, each player takes turns
placing a single piece of terrain anywhere on the table until there
are eight additional pieces on the table, using only the following
terrain types: obstacles, obstructions, rubble, and hills. No terrain
feature can be placed within 3˝ of another terrain feature or in a
player’s deployment zone.
Players do not choose a table edge to deploy from but instead
choose a table corner to deploy from. Each player’s deployment
zone is 10˝ from their chosen table corner. Models using the
Ambush special rule cannot be placed within any player’s
deployment zone when they are put into play.
Special Rules
The Crumbling Tower
The Crumbling Tower is a unique piece of terrain—models can
advance into it, stand on its multiple floors, and take cover within
it. A Crumbling Tower is made up of four portions: Open Areas,
Blocked Areas, Floors, and Gateways. Before the game begins,
the players should agree on which sections of the Crumbling
Tower are Open, Blocked, Floors, or Gateways.
A Blocked Area represents an intact portion of the tower that
would completely obscure a model from enemy fire (such as
a stone wall). Blocked Areas are treated as obstructions that
provide cover and block LOS.
An Open Area represents an area such as a portion of destroyed
wall that a model could see into and out of, or any area a model
could stand on. Open Areas are treated as open terrain.
A Gateway represents a door, a ladder, a rope, or any other
method of entering the tower or advancing between floors.
Players must establish what two points each Gateway connects.
For example, the front door of the tower could connect to a
hatch on the second floor, while a hanging rope could connect
the second and third floors.
A non-huge-based model can move through a Gateway during
its Normal Movement. When a model is within 1˝ of a Gateway,
during its Normal Movement you can place it within 1˝ of the
connected Gateway, then the model can continue its Normal
Movement. Models cannot charge, slam, or trample through a
Gateway. A model can only move through a Gateway once per
activation.
A model within 1˝ of a Gateway is considered to be engaging A warrior model that contacts the Draconic Remains token
enemy models that are also within 1˝ of the connected Gateway, during its activation can pick it up. Remove the token from the
allowing a model to attack models on the other side regardless of table when it is being carried by a model. If a model carrying
their model’s melee range. the token is destroyed or removed from play, replace the model
with the token. If the token was dropped as a result of a friendly
A Floor represents one of the various platforms within the Tower
attack, it cannot be picked up the turn it was dropped.
that models could stand on. Floors are treated as Open Areas but
block LOS to the area directly above and below them. A model carrying the token loses and cannot gain Flight ,
Incorporeal , Pathfinder , Stealth , and Tough .
Huge-based models cannot advance into the Crumbling Tower
but can attack models in Open Areas to which they have range and
LOS. For example, a Stormwall standing near an open portion of Victory Conditions
a Crumbling Tower wall can make melee attacks against enemy A player wins if they have the only warcaster or warlock
soldiers standing on the third floor of the tower that are in its remaining in play.
melee range, but it cannot stand on the third floor itself.
Additionally, a player wins if they begin their turn controlling
Pyromalfic’s Remains a model that is carrying the Draconic Remains token and is
completely within their deployment zone.
Every round, at the end of the fourth player’s turn, blighted energy
cascades from the Draconic Remains token. If the token is within
the Crumbling Tower, all models within the Tower suffer a POW 8
magical damage roll . If the token is being carried by a model,
the model carrying the token suffers a boosted POW 8 magical
damage roll , and all other models within 8˝ of the model
carrying the token suffer a POW 8 magical damage roll .

No Quarter PRIME 33
 AFTER ACTION REPORT

THE BLACK FLEET CID

by Will Pagani

Leaving blood in their wake, the Black Fleet comes to the mainland! Additions to the
Slaughter Fleet Raiders and Scourge of the Broken Coast theme forces are here, and they
are brutal! With all-new Satyxis, Blighted Ogrun, and even the Admiral of the Black Fleet
herself riding her ship into battle, the Black Fleet was an exciting CID cycle, bringing up
some of the maligned warcasters and units in the Cryx Faction while also tempering some
of the hottest-burning options.

Unyielding Skarre, Admiral of the

The Unyielding special rule was reevaluated during this CID
cycle. Many players have misunderstood how this rule actually
functions, and it has caused many undesirable and complex
interactions. Changing the rule to simply read “+2 ARM against
melee damage rolls,” we remove all of this confusion and create
a very consistent and simple rule to apply.
Black Fleet
Skarre brings a unique playstyle to the Cryx Faction in the
form of a gun platform/support-style warcaster. Riding atop a
spectral ship, Skarre supports her troops and her ’jacks alike.
Her list is packed with powerful spells: Dash, Deceleration,
Guided Fire, and Draconic Blessing are all powerful spells and
are well utilized in many different army builds. Her unique spell,
Dark Waves, gives her a few “tricks” to play by allowing her
to position ranged ’jacks, increase the threat of melee ’jacks, or
even disengage from enemy models at a whim. During the CID
process, her spell list changed, losing the spell Admonition, and
her defensive stats dropped a slight amount. Players had found
her survivability to be a little more than seemed reasonable,
especially when escorted by a Satyxis Blood Priestess.

34 No Quarter PRIME
 Skarre, admiral of the Black fleet 2018 v1 Skarre, admiral of the Black fleet
CRyx SAtyxiS BAttlE EnginE WARCAStER

SKARRE 3 SKARRE 3
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Dual attack – This model can make melee and ranged attacks in the
7 14 7 6 12 19 10 same activation. When this model makes its initial melee attacks or
a power attack, it can also make its initial ranged attacks. This model
can make ranged attacks even while in melee.
RepaiRable – This model can be targeted with Repair special actions
HAnd CAnnon as if it were a construct model.
RNG ROF AOE POW
ReinfoRcements [living faction] – During your Maintenance
12 1 — 12 Phase, return d3 small- or medium-based friendly destroyed living
— Faction Grunts to play. Models return with 1 unmarked damage box.
Place the returned Grunts completely within this model’s command
CutlASS range, in formation, and completely within 3˝ of another model in
RNG POW P+S their unit. Returned Grunts must forfeit their Combat Actions the
0.5 * * turn they are returned to play.
CAnnon
shaDow fiRe – A model hit by this attack does not block LOS for
RAm one turn.
FOCuS RNG POW P+S RAm
1 0 14 Ram – When an enemy model is hit by this weapon during this
7 model’s Combat Action, it becomes knocked down and can be
pushed 1˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit is pushed,
this model can immediately advance 1˝ directly toward it.
CutlASS
LEFT FIELD OF FIRE RIGHT FIELD OF FIRE inDepenDent attack – This attack has base STR 6, base POW 3, and
P+S 9. During its activation, this model can make its initial attacks
CAnnon CAnnon with these weapons before it makes its Normal Movement.
RNG ROF AOE POW RNG ROF AOE POW
12 1 3 14 12 1 3 14
L R

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DAMAGE +27 C All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc.

Skarre, admiral of the Black fleet 2018 v1 Skarre, admiral of the Black fleet

SPELLS COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF

Dark Waves 1 self – –
When the spellcaster ends its Normal Movement, choose one other
non-huge-based friendly Faction model the spellcaster moved within
2˝ of. You can place the chosen model completely within 2˝ of its
current location, then Dark Waves expires. A model can be placed
as a result of Dark Waves only once per turn. Dark Waves lasts for
one turn.
Dash 2 self CTrl – Turn
The spellcaster and friendly Faction warrior models activating in its
control range gain +1 SPD. While in the spellcaster’s control range,
friendly Faction warrior models gain Parry . Dash lasts for one
turn.
Turn no
Feat: Blood Rite
Drawing on her mastery of blood magic rituals
and sacrificial rites, Skarre Ravenmane transforms
her own spilled blood into arcane power and calls down
a maelstrom of magic on her unprepared foes.
Skarre can suffer 1 damage point to cast a spell instead
no
of spending focus this activation. She can cast each of
her spells once as a result of Blood Rite.

Blighted
DeCeleraTion 3 self CTrl – rnD no
While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction models gain
+2 ARM against ranged and magic attack damage rolls. Deceleration

Trollkin
lasts for one round.
DraConiC Blessing 2 6 – – uP no
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 STR and Immunity:
Fire . Models are not affected while out of formation.
guiDeD fire 3 self CTrl –
While in the spellcaster’s control range, models in its battlegroup gain
Turn no Marauders
boosted ranged attack rolls for one turn.
The Marauders are a complicated
unit to balance because we
cannot allow them to invalidate
Bloodgorgers or be totally
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outclassed by them. At the start
of the cycle, the units were
similar—they shared Unyielding,
Blighted trollkin Marauders
CRyx UNiT
2018 v1 Blighted trollkin Marauders they had the same MAT, and yet
LEADER & GRUNTS LEADER & GRUNTS Marauders had a higher POW on
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Ashen Veil – This model has concealment. Living enemy models
without Immunity: Fire suffer –2 to attack rolls while within 2˝
their melee attacks. This caused
5 7 6 5 12 16 7
of this model.
them to be the clear choice
in almost every situation. By
FiRE BRAziER
FiRE BRAziER Burning FlAmes – If this attack directly hits, center a 3˝ AOE on the

removing Unyielding from them,

RNG ROF AOE POW model hit. Models in the AOE suffer the Fire continuous effect .
8 1 — 12 Thrown – Apply any modifiers to this model’s STR to the POW of
this weapon.
increasing the Bloodgorgers'
BRAziER STRikE MAT, and changing around
how Slaughterborn and Jussika
RNG POW P+S
1 5 12
interacted with the units, we
were able to create two unique
units that each serve a purpose in
a Cryx army.

Leader & 5 Grunts 9 FA Illus. by Néstor Ossandón © Privateer Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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No Quarter PRIME 35
 AFTER ACTION REPORT Black Ogrun IrOnmOngers
CRyx UNiT
2018 v1 Black Ogrun IrOnmOngers

LEADER & GRUNTS LEADER

Black ogrun SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD

6 9 6 4 13 15 7
Curse [FaCtion warjaCk] – This model can use Curse once per
activation at any time. Choose an enemy model/unit in this model’s
command range. Friendly Faction warjacks gain +2 to attack rolls

ironmongers
against the chosen model/unit. Curse lasts for one turn.
Dismantle – This model gains an additional die on damage rolls
TooL against construct models.
RNG POW P+S
repair [d3 + 1] (HaCtion) – RNG B2B. Target friendly Faction
Ironmongers are one of the most 1 3 12 construct model. If the model is in range, remove d3 + 1 damage
points from it.
offensive mechanic units to date. GRUNTS
Players used their Curse rule to Dismantle – See above.
repair [d3 + 1] (HaCtion) – See above.
great effect during the CID cycle
with both ranged- and melee-
centric lists. With Dismantle, the
Ironmongers can play a front-
line combat role against most
WARMACHINE armies. During
the cycle, they did not receive
MODEL A’S DAMAGE

very many changes, but post-cycle MODEL B’S DAMAGE

they did drop to 6 points, as we MODEL C’S DAMAGE

felt they were not quite living up

to their point cost. PC Leader & 2 Grunts 6 FA
2
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Scharde Scharde dirge SeerS 2018 v1 Scharde dirge SeerS

Dirge Seers
CRyx UNiT

LEADER & GRUNTS LEADER & GRUNTS

SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Battle Wizard – Once per turn, when this model destroys one
The Scharde Dirge Seers are a 6 5 7 4 14 11 6 or more enemy models with a melee attack during its activation,
immediately after the attack is resolved it can make one Magic Ability
front-line support unit for the special attack or special action.
dodge – This model can advance up to 2˝ immediately after an enemy
Slaughter Fleet. They have a
CLAwS attack that missed it is resolved unless it was missed while advancing.
RNG POW P+S It cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement.
variety of spells, ranging from 0.5 * * Magic aBility [6]
• Guidance (Haction) – RNG CMD. Target friendly model. If the
solid offense (Hex Bolt), defense model is in range, it gains Eyeless Sight and its weapons gain
Damage Type: Magical for one turn.
(Summon Vortex), and superb • Hex Bolt (Hattack) – Hex Bolt is a RNG 6, POW 13 magic attack.

utility (Guidance). Overall, the

Models hit cannot make special actions, special attacks, or power
attacks for one round.

Dirge Seers bring a lot of options • Summon Vortex (Haction) – Center a 3˝ AOE cloud effect on this
model. The AOE remains centered on the model for one round.
to the table. With MAT 7 and If this model is destroyed or removed from play, remove the AOE
from play. While in the AOE, enemy models suffer –2 to attack rolls.
Needle, they threaten enemy ripoSte – When it is missed by an enemy melee attack, immediately
after the attack is resolved this model can make one basic melee
living infantry quite well. Battle attack against the attacking model.
CLAwS
Wizard lets them shine, allowing needle – Instead of suffering a damage roll, a living model hit by this

them to either support their

weapon automatically suffers 1 damage point. This weapon cannot
damage non-living models.

army or continue to destroy

enemy models as they slice apart
opposing troops.
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PC Leader & 2 Grunts 6
2 All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc.

Jussika
Bloodtongue Jussika Bloodtongue
Cryx BlIghted trollKIn Bloodgorger CommAnd AttAChment
2018 v1 Jussika Bloodtongue

Jussika has seen many iterations

AttAchment [Blighted trollkin] – This attachment can be added to
JUSSIKA 1
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
a Blighted Trollkin unit.

throughout her development 5 8 7 6 12 17 9 JUSSIKA 1

Bloodthirst – When it charges a living model, this model gains +2˝
time. When the CID cycle started, movement.
grAnted: VengeAnce – While this model is in formation, models
she had settled down into a
BlUnderBUSS
RNG ROF AOE POW in its unit gain Vengeance. (During your Maintenance Phase, if one
or more models in a unit with Vengeance were damaged by enemy
Command Attachment for both 8 1 — 12
attacks during the last round, each model in the unit can advance 3˝
and make one basic melee attack.)
Blighted Trollkin units, where no sleeping on the JoB [Blighted trollkin] – This model and
hAnd WeApon
she would stay. Bloodgorgers and
friendly Blighted Trollkin models in its command range cannot
RNG POW P+S become knocked down.
1 4 12
Marauders are both helped out oVertAke – When this model destroys one or more enemy models
with a basic melee attack during its Combat Action, after the attack is
by Vengeance and No Sleeping resolved it can immediately advance up to 1˝.
tActics: relentless chArge – Models in this unit gain Relentless

on the Job. Relentless Charge Charge. (While advancing as part of a charge, a model with Relentless
Charge gains Pathfinder .)
is certainly more helpful for Unyielding – This model gains +2 ARM against melee damage rolls.

Bloodgorgers, but Marauders

benefit heavily from it as well.
Jussika did not change in any
significant way during the CID
process and was liked by the DAMAGE

majority of players who used her.

PC FA Illus. by Néstor Ossandón © Privateer Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
5 C All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc.

36 No Quarter PRIME
Black Ogrun SmOg BelcherS 2018 v1 Black Ogrun SmOg BelcherS
Black Ogrun
CRyx UNiT

LEADER & GRUNTS LEADER & GRUNTS

SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
6 9 6 6 13 15
SmoG BELCHER
RNG ROF AOE POW
12 1 3
HAND WEApoN
RNG
1 4
MODEL A’S DAMAGE
MODEL B’S DAMAGE
MODEL C’S DAMAGE
MODEL D’S DAMAGE
MODEL E’S DAMAGE
PC Leader & 2 Grunts
Leader & 4 Grunts
Scharde PirateS
CRyx UNiT
Smog Belchers
Smoke Cloud – Center a 3˝ AOE cloud effect on this model when it
7 makes a ranged attack. The AOE remains in play for one round.
SmoG BELchER
ArCing Fire – When attacking with this weapon, this model can
ignore intervening models except those within 1˝ of the target.
Choking ASh – On a direct hit, living warrior models hit cannot run or
The Smog Belchers bring another
13 charge for one round unless they can ignore gas effects. unique direction to the Faction
with their cannons. A solid RNG
POW P+S of 12 and a strong POW of 13
13
combine well with Cryx’s debuff-
style casters, allowing them to
remove hard targets with ease.
During the CID cycle, we ended
up dropping their RAT to 5, but
after some internal testing, we
felt this drastically reduced their
effectiveness with a large portion
of the casters. So, we returned
their RAT to 6 in an effort to
9
15
FA
2
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All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc. expand the number of warcasters
that would be rewarded for
taking them. The Smog Belchers
Scharde PirateS also offer a sizeable amount of
2018 v1

LEADER & GRUNTS LEADER & GRUNTS utility with their special rules
Smoke Cloud and Choking Ash.
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD GanG – When making a melee attack targeting an enemy model in
6 6 5 5 13 11 7 the melee range of another model in this unit, this model gains +2 to
melee attack and melee damage rolls.
Smoke Cloud leaves cloud effects
DECk SWEEpER to hide behind, and Choking Ash
RNG ROF AOE POW
SP 6 1 — 12 will make any living warrior
model lucky enough to survive a
HAND WEApoN
RNG POW P+S
direct hit unable to run or charge.
0.5 3 9 We have seen this be powerful
against cavalry models as well
as the upcoming Legion Blighted
Ogrun and Man-O-War additions
to the game!

Leader & 5 Grunts 8 FA Illus. by Néstor Ossandón © Privateer Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
PC Leader & 9 Grunts 14 u All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc.

Scharde Pirate Officer 2018 v1 Scharde Pirate Officer

CRyx COmmand attaChmEnt
AttAchment [SchArde PirAteS] – This attachment can be added to a
OFFICER
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
Scharde Pirate unit.
6 6 6 6 13 11 8 OFFICER
GAnG – When making a melee attack targeting an enemy model in
the melee range of another model in this unit, this model gains +2 to
Scharde
dECk SWEEpER
RNG ROF AOE POW
melee attack and melee damage rolls.
GrAnted: ASSAult – While this model is in formation, models in its
unit gain Assault .
Pirates and
Officer
SP 6 1 — 12
no QuArter – This model can use No Quarter once per game at
any time during its unit’s activation. This activation, models in this
unit gain Pathfinder . A model in this unit that charges as part of
hand WEapOn
The Scharde Pirates are the
its Normal Movement gains +2˝ movement. No Quarter lasts for
RNG POW P+S one round.
0.5 3 9 tActicS: FeiGn deAth – Models in this unit gain Feign Death. (A
model with Feign Death cannot be targeted by ranged or magic skirmish unit of the Slaughter
attacks while knocked down.)
Fleet. With their solid speed and
Assault, they can dig deep into
the enemy’s front lines early in
the game and put pressure on the
opponent in a way the blighted
trollkin and ogrun could not.
With very few changes during
DAMAGE
the CID cycle, the Scharde Pirates
tested well.
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4 u All faction names, logos, warjack®, warcaster® & warbeast are TM of Privateer Press, Inc.

No Quarter PRIME 37
 AFTER ACTION REPORT
CRyx SOLO
Satyxis Blood
Priestess
The Satyxis Blood Priestess is a
pretty unique combination of
warcaster support and combat
solo. On a turn-to-turn basis,
the Blood Priestess allows your
warcaster to upkeep a spell
without spending focus and
grants your warcaster Sucker!,
which is a powerful survivability
enhancer that allows you to
transfer ranged attacks to the
models around you.
Misery Cage
CRYx Solo
Misery Cage
The Misery Cage made it
through CID with no changes.
As a support-style piece that
generates focus for warcasters,
the Misery Cage was a player
favorite right out of the gate.
I expect it to be a common
inclusion in Cryxian forces.
AxiArA WrAithblAde
CRyX SAtyXIS Solo
Axiara
Wraithblade
Axiara Wraithblade did not
change significantly during the
CID cycle. Players were excited
to use her Battle Plans, and she
is no slouch in combat herself—
sporting a P+S 13 sword with
Weapon Master can put the hurt
on anything that wanders too
close.
38 No Quarter PRIME
SatyxiS Blood PrieSteSS
2018 v1 SatyxiS Blood PrieSteSS
AttAched – Before the start of the game, attach this model to a
BLOOD PRIESTESS
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
friendly Faction warcaster for the rest of the game. Each Faction
warcaster can have only one model/unit attached to it.
6 6 7 4 14 12 6
BLOOD PRIESTESS
ArcAne Assist – If its warcaster is in this model’s command range
during your Control Phase, the warcaster can upkeep one spell
SaCRaL BLaDE without spending focus.
RNG POW P+S
temptAtions of fAte – While this model is within 3˝ of its warcaster,
1 7 13
the warcaster gains Sucker!. (If a model with Sucker! is directly
HORnS
hit by an enemy ranged attack, choose a friendly non-incorporeal
warrior model within 3˝ of it to be directly hit instead. That model is
automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects.)
RNG POW P+S SacRaL BLaDE
0.5 3 9 AttAck type – Each time this weapon is used to make an attack,
choose one of the following special rules:
• Dispel – When this weapon hits a model/unit, upkeep spells and
animi on that model/unit immediately expire.
• Distillation – When a living enemy model is destroyed by
this attack while this model is in its warcaster’s control range,
immediately after the attack is resolved remove d3 + 3 damage
points from the warcaster.
• Rites of BlooD – Once per activation, immediately after resolving
an attack in which it destroyed a living model with this weapon,
this model can cast one of the spells on its warcaster’s card with a
COST of 3 or less. This model cannot cast upkeep spells or spells
with a RNG of SELF or CTRL. Use the warcaster’s FOCUS stat
when making magic attack rolls.
HORnS
CRitiCal KnoCKDown – On a critical hit, the model hit becomes
DAMAGE knocked down.
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4 1
2018 v1 Misery Cage
MISERY CAGE MISERY CAGE
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Distant Deployment – This model can be placed at the same time as
— 1 0 0 5 16 0 your models with Advance Deployment , up to 12˝ beyond your
deployment zone.
Gallows Fruit – During a friendly Faction warcaster’s activation,
it can remove 1 corpse token from this model if this model is in its
control range. When a friendly Faction warcaster removes a corpse
token from this model, the warcaster can gain either 1 focus point or 1
corpse token. Each warcaster can do this only once per turn.
Gibbet – This model begins the game with one corpse token. When
a living or undead model is destroyed within 8˝ of this model, this
model gains the destroyed model’s corpse token if it does not already
have one. This model cannot have more than one corpse token at
any time.
immobile – This model has no Normal Movement or Combat Action,
cannot become knocked down or be moved, and is automatically hit
by melee attacks.
revulsion – While this model has a corpse token, it gains Stealth .
DAMAgE
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2018 v1 AxiArA WrAithblAde
AXIARA 1 AXIARA 1
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Battle Plan – This model can use one of the following plans at any
7 6 8 6 15 14 9 time during its activation. A friendly Faction model/unit can be
affected by only one plan each turn.
• Serpent’S Grace – RNG 5. Target friendly living Faction model/
unit. If the model/unit is in range, it gains Dodge for one round.
HAnd CAnnon
• Sneak – RNG 5. Target friendly living Faction model/unit. If the
RNG ROF AOE POW
model/unit is in range, it gains Prowl. Models are not affected
12 1 — 12
while out of formation. Sneak lasts for one round. (While a model
with Prowl has concealment, it gains Stealth .)
• Special OrderS – RNG 5. Target friendly living Faction model/
AnAtHemA unit. If the model/unit is in range, it gains Reposition [3˝] for one
RNG POW P+S turn. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a
1 7 13 charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its
activation ends.)
dOdGe – This model can advance up to 2˝ immediately after an enemy
attack that missed it is resolved unless it was missed while advancing.
HoRnS
It cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement.
RNG POW P+S
tactician [livinG FactiOn] – While in this model’s command range,
0.5 3 9
friendly living Faction models can ignore other friendly living Faction
models when determining LOS. Friendly living Faction models can
advance through other friendly living Faction models in this model’s
command range if they have enough movement to move completely
past them.
AnAthemA
BlOOd ShadOw – If this attack boxes a living or undead model, this
model can gain Incorporeal for one round.
hoRns
critical knOckdOwn – On a critical hit, the model hit becomes
knocked down.
DAMAGE
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 Severa Blacktide 2018 v1 Severa Blacktide
CRyx SAtyxiS Solo

SEVERA 1 SEVERA 1
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD ElitE CadrE [SatyxiS GunSlinGErS] – Friendly Satyxis Gunslinger
6 5 6 8 15 12 7 models gain Run & Gun.
PiStolEEr – Gunfighter attack damage rolls made by this model are
boosted.
rECiProCatE – When it is missed by an enemy ranged attack,
MAgEloCk PiStol
immediately after the attack is resolved this model can make one basic
RNG ROF AOE POW
ranged attack against the attacking model.

Severa
10 1 — 10
run & Gun – At the end of its activation, if this model destroyed one
or more enemy models with ranged attacks that activation, it can
make a full advance.
HoRnS
RNG
0.5
POW
3
P+S
8
MAgElock PiStol
attaCk tyPE – Each time this weapon is used to make an attack,
Blacktide
choose one of the following special rules:
• Black Penny – This attack ignores the target in melee DEF bonus. Severa Blacktide saw some
• Ghost shot – This model ignores LOS, concealment, and cover
when making attacks with this weapon. updates alongside her
accompanying Satyxis
• heart seeker – Gain an additional die on damage rolls resulting
from this attack. Discard the lowest die in each roll.
chain attack: Vortex Blast – If this model hits the same enemy
model with both its initial attacks with this weapon, after resolving Gunslingers. Swapping around
the attacks it can immediately make an additional ranged attack
against that model. If the attack misses, nothing happens. If it hits, the shot types on both led us
push models within 2˝ of the model hit 2˝ directly toward it in the
order you choose. Then center a 3˝ AOE on the model hit. Models in to some interesting options
the AOE are hit and suffer a POW 12 damage roll.
for both of these models.
HoRnS
CritiCal knoCkdown – On a critical hit, the model hit becomes Heart Seeker was one of the
knocked down.
DAMAGE
community-suggested attack
& - use this aMPersand FOr CirCLe
PC
6
FA
C
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types for these models, and we
really liked the concept of it!

Hollow Holden 2018 v1 Hollow Holden

Grymkin Hollowman weapon attacHment

HOLDEN 1 AttAchment [hollowmen] – This attachment can be added to a

sPd str Mat rat deF arM CMd
Hollowman unit.
6 6 5 7 13 12 7 HOLDEN 1
AnnoyAnce – Living enemy models within 1˝ of this model suffer –1
to attack rolls.

Hollow
HuNTiNg rifLE AppArition – During your Control Phase, place this model anywhere
rnG rOF aOe POW completely within 2˝ of its current location.
14 1 — 10 GrAnted: pAthfinder – While this model is in formation, models in

Holden
its unit gain Pathfinder .
poisoned fAte – If Holden is in play during your Maintenance Phase,
roll a d6 (or flip a coin). On a roll of 1–3 (heads), this unit gains
TrENcH KNifE Reposition [3˝] this turn. On a roll of 4–6 (tails), this model’s weapons
While Holden is certainly not
rnG POW P+s gain Weaken this turn. (At the end of an activation in which it did
0.5 3 9 not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up
to 3˝, then its activation ends.) (A living model hit by a weapon with
Weaken suffers –2 STR and DEF for one round.) a Cryx model, he was tested
prowl – While this model has concealment, it gains Stealth . within this cycle. Though he
sniper – Instead of making a damage roll to resolve a ranged attack,
this model can inflict 1 damage point. A model disabled by a ranged did not undergo many changes,
attack made by this model cannot make a Tough roll.
we did rework how and when
you roll for his Poisoned Fate
special rule by moving it to the
Maintenance Phase instead of
at the start of activation. This
daMaGe
allows players to plan their
PC Fa Illus. by Néstor Ossandón © Privateer Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. turns out a little better while the
randomization factor remains.
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LEGACY MODELS
Wraith Witch Deneghra Gerlak Slaughterborn
Wraith Witch Deneghra saw a major transformation during Many players found Gerlak to be a little too inconsistent and
this cycle. Her feat was completely reworked, much of her spell hard to use. Exchanging Finisher for Weapon Master and
list was changed, and several of her abilities were updated. Grievous Wounds makes Gerlak a much more consistent
Our vision of Deneghra was that of a shadow-like infiltrator. combat solo. Changing his Leadership rule to Elite Cadre means
Her missions involve sneaking behind enemy lines, extracting Gerlak’s positioning is not as difficult when trying to keep the
information or assassinating a target, and then disappearing Bloodgorgers in his command range.
back into the shadows after whatever short fight occurred. Her
new rules really showcase this as a play style and allow her to
function in a uniquely compared to other Cryxian warcasters.

No Quarter PRIME 39
 No Quarter Games

SCRAP YARD
by Will Hungerford

Scrap Yard is a WARMACHINE and HORDES rules supplement for a gladiatorial arena
combat game. Scrap Yard uses all of the standard rules of WARMACHINE and HORDES to
activate models, perform attacks, deal and suffer damage, and so on, but the rules presented
here supersede those rules where the two conflict.
In Scrap Yard, you take on the role of a crazed mechanic
participating in a junkyard brawl. You’ve scoured the heaps of BUILDING YOUR TEAM
wrecked warjacks and injured warbeasts to build a team to fight Before each game of Scrap Yard, a player must decide if they
in this dangerous environment. You even have the opportunity are going to build a warjack team or a warbeast team for that
to make some special modifications to your team that might be game. A player with a warjack team can purchase only warjack
the difference between victory and defeat! models, and a player with a warbeast team can purchase only
warbeast models.

GAME OVERVIEW
Scrap Yard is played between two players on a 30˝ ×  30˝ table.
Each player fields a customized team of warjacks or warbeasts as
they battle for survival in a rusty junkyard.
A game lasts for several rounds, with players alternating their
model activations each round. The goal is to annihilate the
enemy team. Players fight each battle in a specific junkyard arena
with its own terrain and special rules. Before each battle, players
customize their team by purchasing warjacks or warbeasts as well
as modifications for each model. Each player has a set number of
Scrap points with which to purchase models and modifications.
40 No Quarter PRIME
A player’s team must have at least one model and cannot have
more than six. After purchasing warjacks or warbeasts for their
team, players can use unspent Scrap to purchase modifications.
All modifications are usable by both warjacks and warbeasts.
Each player begins the game with 75 Scrap points to purchase
models and modifications. Each available warjack or warbeast
has a Scrap cost that must be paid to add that model to a team. A
model’s field allowance (FA) determines the maximum number
of that model a player can have on a team.
THE HEAPS
The models that can be used in Scrap Yard are divided into “heaps” (corresponding to their Factions) as listed below. Not all warjack
and warbeast models found in WARMACHINE and HORDES are available in Scrap Yard. Players do not have to purchase their
warjacks or warbeasts from the same heap. For example, a warjack team could contain a Juggernaut from the Big Heap, a Slayer from
the Forbidden Heap, and a Minuteman from the Sparking Heap.

The Sparking Heap The Burning Heap The Big Heap The Forbidden Heap
Cost Model Cost Model Cost Model Cost Model
15 Hammersmith 17 Vanquisher 16 Decimator 13 Inflictor

13 Cyclone 15 Templar 14 Marauder 13 Reaper

12 Ironclad 12 Castigator 13 Kodiak 13 Seether

9 Charger 10 Crusader 12 Juggernaut 10 Slayer

9 Minuteman 9 Vigilant 9 Berserker 8 Stalker

8 Sentinel 7 Dervish 8 Mad Dog 7 Scavenger

Berserkers and Mad Dogs lose Unstable.

The Hidden Heap The Motley Heap The Whirring Heap The Growing Heap
Cost Model Cost Model Cost Model Cost Model
16 Daemon 15 Mangler 16 Assimilator 19 Dire Troll Bomber

15 Hydra 15 Wroughthammer Rockram 15 Inverter 15 Dire Troll Mauler

14 Manticore 11 Nomad 12 Conservator 15 Earthborn Dire Troll

9 Gorgon 11 Vanguard 10 Modulator 12 Troll Impaler

8 Griffon 10 Warden 6 Diffuser 10 Slag Troll

6 Aspis 9 Freebooter 5 Galvanizer 10 Troll Axer

Convergence warjacks have base MAT 6 and

RAT 5 instead of the normal variable stats.

The Shifting Heap The Blighted Heap The Screaming Heap

Cost Model Cost Model Cost Model
18 Feral Warpwolf 17 Angelius 15 Titan Sentry

17 Wold Guardian 17 Scythean 14 Titan Gladiator

12 Shadowhorn Satyr 14 Seraph 12 Archidon

8 Scarsfell Griffon 13 Neraph 12 Rhinodon

7 Wild Argus 12 Teraph 8 Cyclops Brute

5 Wold Wight 9 Nephilim Soldier 8 Cyclops Savage

The Succulent Heap The Insane Heap

Cost Model Cost Model
16 Blackhide Wrastler 15 Skin & Moans

16 Road Hog 14 Cage Rager

15 War Hog 9 Frightmare

14 Swamp Horror 8 Rattler

9 Gun Boar 6 Gorehound

7 Boneswarm Skin & Moans and Cage Ragers can

collect corpse tokens from construct
models as if they were living.

No Quarter PRIME 41
 No Quarter Games
MODIFICATIONS
A player can purchase any number of modifications each game. There no is limit to the number of different modifications a single
model can have, but a model cannot receive the same modification more than once.
Modifications available for purchase are shown below. These modifications are grouped into categories, but players can mix and
match them on the same model as they wish.
Body Modifications
Cost MODIFICATION
Telescoping Gauntlets – This model’s melee weapons become
7 7
RNG 4 during its activation.
Repulsion Module – When this model is hit with a melee attack
5 made by a model in its front arc, after that attack is resolved the
attacking model is pushed 1˝ directly away from this model.
4 Propulsion System – This model gains Flight  .
3 Sawtooth Shinguard – This model gains Pathfinder  .
2 Ash Belcher – This model has concealment.
2 Aetheric Coating – This model is immune to continuous effects.
armor Modifications
Cost MODIFICATION
7 Redundant Armor Plating – This model gains +2 ARM.
Rewired Reflex – This model gains Side Step. (When a model with
Side Step hits an enemy model with an initial melee attack or a
5
melee special attack, the model with Side Step can advance up to
2˝ after the attack is resolved).
4 Wrist-mounted Dueling Blades – This model gains Parry  .
Spinal Spikes – This model gains Carapace. (A model with
3 Carapace gains +4 ARM against free strike damage rolls and
ranged attack damage rolls.)
2 Leg Stabilizers – This model cannot become knocked down.
2 Dense Metal – This model cannot be pushed.
42 No Quarter PRIME
Weapon Modifications
Cost MODIFICATION
Targeting System – This model gains an additional die on
attack and damage rolls. Discard the lowest die in each roll.
Fellsteel Coating – This model gains Rapid Strike. (A model with
5 Rapid Strike can make one additional melee attack each Combat
Action.)
Recalibration Gyro – This model can reroll one attack or
4
damage roll each turn.
Truesight Scope – This model ignores Stealth  , cover, and
3
concealment when making ranged attacks.
Superfluous Claw – Choose one of this model’s melee weapons.
2
That weapon gains Open Fist  .
Internal Powder Store – Choose one of this model’s ranged
2
weapons. That weapon gains +2 RNG.
Unique Modifications
Cost MODIFICATION
Cephalomek Rewiring – This model ignores the effects of
7
crippled systems and aspects.
Automated Repair System – During your Control Phase,
5
remove d3 damage points from this model.
4 Camouflage Projector – This model gains Stealth  .
Short-range Teleporter – This model gains Apparition.
3 (During your Control Phase, place a model with Apparition
anywhere completely within 2˝ of its current location.)
Relocation Beacon – This model gains Ambush. (You can choose
not to deploy this model at the start of the game. If it is not deployed
normally, you can put it into play at the end of any of your Control
2
Phases after your first turn. When you do, choose any table edge
except the back of your opponent’s deployment zone. Place this
model completely within 3˝ of the chosen table edge.)
2 Blitz Node – This model gains Assault .
ARENA SETUP
Games of Scrap Yard are played on a 30˝ × 30˝ field of battle.
Instead of placing terrain randomly, players choose one of the
Scrap Yard arenas described below, which detail exactly where
each component is placed and what specific obstructions and
hazards are used. If the players cannot agree on which arena to
use, they roll off, and the winner chooses the arena.
Each arena contains several unique obstructions and hazards,
but all arenas share two key components: the Safe Zone and
the Scrap Clock. After a certain number of game rounds have
occurred, the majority of the arena becomes lethal, instantly
removing from play any models that are not completely within
the 12˝-diameter Safe Zone. Cowardice is not an option!
Each arena has a unique theme based on the types of terrain
placed in it. A game played in the Jagged Yard arena is a very
different experience than a battle within the Smeltin’ Hole.
All arenas use the following common rules:
Safe Zone – The Safe Zone is a 12˝-diameter circular zone centered
in the middle of the table. It has no special rules aside from being
the only place a model can survive once the Scrap Clock run outs.
Scrap Clock – As soon as the opening buzzer sounds and the
brawl begins, the Scrap Clock starts running. At the end of the
third game round, Sudden Death begins as the arena fills with
lava, corrosive sludge, hungry goraxes, or some other similarly
lethal content. From the start of Sudden Death until the end of
the game, any models not completely within the Safe Zone are
immediately removed from play.
PLAYING THE GAME
Scrap Yard is played over a series of game rounds. The round
structure and the order of the players’ phases each round is a bit
different than a standard game of WARMACHINE and HORDES.
Before the game begins, players roll off to determine the first
player. The first player deploys first. Because terrain in the arenas
is symmetrical, it does not matter which player deploys on which
table edge.
Both players resolve their Maintenance Phase and Control Phase
at the start of each round, then the players alternate activating
models by passing priority in a shared Activation Phase.
DEPLOYMENT & TEAM SYNERGY
Both players deploy completely within 5˝ of their table edge.
Models can use Advance Deployment and Ambush as normal.
All models on a team are friendly Faction models to each other.
GAME ROUND STRUCTURE
At the start of a round, the first player resolves their Maintenance
Phase and Control Phase.
Next, the second player resolves their Maintenance Phase and
Control Phase.
The first player begins each round with priority. Each turn, the
player with priority can either choose to activate a model or, if
they have fewer models that have not activated this round than
their opponent does, they can choose to pass priority to the other
player without activating a model.
If a player activates a model, after the activation is over, priority
passes to their opponent.
Once all models have activated once, the round ends.
At the start of the following round, both players roll off to
determine first player again. This means a player can have back-
to-back turns with priority if they ended last round with priority
and they win the roll off in the following round.
Effects that last for a turn expire at the end of the current round.
Effects that last for a round expire at the end of the next round.
FOCUS ALLOCATION, FURY
LEECHING & SHAKING
Although there is no warcaster or warlock in a Scrap Yard team,
all warjacks and warbeasts are considered to be in the control
area of a friendly Faction warcaster or warlock in regard to
spending focus or being forced.
Warjacks do not Power Up. Instead, a player controlling a warjack
team can allocate up to six focus points to their warjacks, divided
among the models as desired, during their Control Phase.
Similarly, a player controlling a warbeast team can leech up to
six fury points from their warbeasts during their Control Phase.
Warbeasts perform threshold checks and frenzy as normal.
Models can shake effects both during their controller’s Control
Phase as normal and also at the beginning of the model’s activation.
WINNING THE GAME
A player wins the game when they have the only models
remaining in play.
No Quarter PRIME 43
 No Quarter Games

scrap yard Arena

THE Jagged Yard

The Jagged Yard is where forgotten things go to die. Constructed
in the ruins of a derelict scrapyard, it is a monument to broken
machines and shattered bones. Mountains of scrap litter the arena,
8.5˝ 9˝
with countless sharp edges waiting to slice open meat and muscle
or sever hydraulic lines. You can’t go five feet in the Jagged Yard
without gouging yourself on something. If you happen to lose your 15˝
9˝
footing, it’s a long, painful tumble to the bottom. And when you
reach it, don’t be surprised if they rip off your head and plant it on a
rusty ten-foot-tall iron spike. You see, back before the bottom fell out
of the market for big rusty spikes, factories were turning the things SAFE ZONE
15˝
out by the thousands, and it seems like most of them ended up here.

Set up the Jagged Yard arena according the diagram.

In addition to the Safe Zone and Scrap Clock, this arena uses the
following terrain features:
Pile of Junk – A Pile of Junk terrain feature is a hill that is 5˝
in diameter. A model that becomes knocked down while in
15˝
contact with a Pile of Junk suffers Deep Wound for one round. (A
model with Deep Wound suffers d3 damage points and becomes
knocked down at the end of its activation.)
Rusty Spike – A Rusty Spike terrain feature is an obstruction
that is 50 mm in diameter (equal to a large base). A model that is RUSTY SPIKE PILE OF JUNK
slammed or thrown into a Rusty Spike suffers d6 damage points
after the slam or throw is resolved.

scrap yard Arena

THE STICKS
If you travel far enough off the beaten path, you’ll eventually arrive
at the Sticks. In this muddy field churned up by oversized talons and
huge metal feet, the remains of all who’ve fallen here linger in piles 7.5˝
of rat-chewed bones and wet pits of carnage. Warbeasts are fond of
nipping off to the Sticks to grab a quick mid-bout snack to regain
15˝
their strength, and damaged warjacks can dig through the pits to
find suitable parts for some hasty repairs.

Set up the Sticks arena according the diagram.

In addition to the Safe Zone and Scrap Clock, this arena uses the SAFE ZONE
following terrain features: 15˝ 1˝

Gnawed Bones – A Gnawed Bones terrain feature is an obstacle

that provides cover and should be 4˝ × 0.75˝ (standard wall
template size). If a model benefiting from cover from a Gnawed
Bones feature is targeted by an enemy ranged attack and that
attack misses, remove the Gnawed Bones from the table after the
attack is resolved.
Pit of Parts – A Pit of Parts terrain feature is a trench (3˝ × 5˝). A
model that begins its activation completely within a Pit of Parts 15˝
immediately heals d3 damage points.

GNAWED BONES PIT OF PARTS

44 No Quarter PRIME
scrap yard Arena

THE Smeltin' hole

Fire is the great equalizer, and it isn’t picky about what it turns to
slag. Sitting in the heart of one of the largest metal foundries in the
Iron Kingdoms, the Smeltin’ Hole is a scorching arena lit by the 6.5˝
radiance of liquid steel and white-hot crucibles. Here, one wrong
step will leave you blistered and burning as you brush up against 15˝ 10.5˝
something you shouldn’t. Or maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones to
step in a pool of molten metal and earn yourself a pair of thousand-
pound clodhoppers once the steel cools. One thing’s for certain in the 10˝
Smeltin’ Hole: winner takes all, and the loser gets burned.
Set up the Smeltin’ Hole arena according the diagram. SAFE ZONE
15˝
In addition to the Safe Zone and Scrap Clock, this arena uses the
following terrain features:
Metal Pool – A Metal Pool terrain feature is shallow water and
should be 5˝ in diameter. A model without Flight  that begins
its activation in a Metal Pool suffers –2 SPD for one turn.
White-hot Cylinder – A White-hot Cylinder terrain feature is an
obstruction and should be 50 mm in diameter. A model that is
slammed or thrown into a White-hot Cylinder suffers a POW 12 15˝
damage roll and the Fire continuous effect  after the slam or
throw is resolved.
WHITE HOT
METAL POOL
CYLINDER

No Quarter PRIME 45
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

STRANGELIGHT WORKSHOP PART II

CHARACTER CREATION
by Josh Colón, Matt Goetz & Douglas Seacat

46 No Quarter PRIME
The Strangelight Workshop is a private institute that investigates and resolves incidents of
occult phenomena. Most often the services of the Strangelight Workshop are contracted for
a price, but the organization sometimes conducts its own investigations and may do pro
bono work if there is a high chance of gathering rare and interesting information. Though
primarily interested in the study of otherworldly entities, particularly grymkin, infernals,
and the disembodied dead, they also investigate matters of the occult and black magic. Such
“mundane” cases generally lie outside the Workshop's core interests and are undertaken only
for the purpose of garnering monetary compensation or when pertinent to other research.
The Strangelight Workshop is most active in Cygnar and Ord, where it has small branch
offices in several cities, but it has agents and contacts scattered across all of western Immoren.

T he mysterious industrialist Jacob Strathmoore founded the

Strangelight Workshop in 593 AR. Strathmoore, known
as a brilliant mechanik and inventor, became obsessed with
the occult world of spirits and supernatural phenomena and
made researching it his top priority in life. He transformed
the massive estate, Blackwell Hall, into the nexus of his
organization and poured unfathomable amounts of gold into
developing new machines and techniques for observing,
recording, and capturing supernatural entities.
Strathmoore may be the founder and patron of the Strangelight
Workshop, but its members seldom see him. Some even believe
him to be vanished or dead. Instead, a handpicked team of
top-level agents manages the Workshop and its duties, working
under the scrutinizing eyes of Commander Banning Keller, the
Workshop’s second in command.
The basic unit of the Strangelight Workshop is the field team.
Composed of several specialists under the guidance of a lead
investigator, field teams investigate claims of the supernatural
on the Workshop’s behalf—and they negotiate any payment for
dealing with a supernatural entity, should one be discovered.
Several field teams are in operation across the Iron Kingdoms,
scattered between minor chapterhouses in major cities and
Blackwell Hall itself.
CHARACTER CREATION
Your character is your persona in the Strangelight Workshop,
a member of a field team through which you’ll fight to uncover
the supernatural mysteries of the Iron Kingdoms, do battle
against the disembodied dead, and earn enough gold to make
a living.
Characters created for a Strangelight Workshop game do not
follow the conventional rules of character creation. After
selecting a race (FMF Core Rules, pp. 108–114), do not select an
archetype or two careers. Instead, use the following steps.
• Choose a Background (p. 48): A character can have
only one Background.
• Choose a Calling (p. 52): A character can have only
one Calling. Calling also determines a character’s
breaking point. A character’s Calling may change over the
course of their career (see “Choosing a Calling”).
• Choose a Profession (p. 56): A character can have only
one Profession. A Profession determines a character’s
starting abilities, skills, and gear.
• Increase Stats: Spend three improvement points to
increase the character’s stats, up to racial maximums.
• Purchase Equipment: If you have any additional gc from
your background or profession to spend, you can use it to
purchase starting equipment on p. 68 or from the Full
Metal Fantasy Core Rulebook.
• Character Advancement: Strangelight characters use the
unique character advancement table provided on p. 57.
All characters start the game with 1 Reputation point (after
all, they had to have done something in order to convince the
Workshop to offer them the position).

Strangelight field agents ambushed during

the infamous "Night of the Gremlins"

No Quarter PRIME 47
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG
BACKGROUND
Nearly every member of the Strangelight Workshop, both
the numerous field agents and the senior members of the
organization, started their lives on another path. The Workshop
is a small and esoteric society considered by many to be a
collection of lunatics, scam artists, or eccentrics obsessed
with unsavory occult matters. Typically, the people who join
only do so after a transformational experience related to the
supernatural world (see “Calling,” p. 52). These people are
the ideal candidates for the Strangelight Workshop, as they are
willing to leave behind their old lives and throw themselves
into uncovering the secrets of hauntings, grymkin, infernals,
and other occult matters.
The fact that most members lived very different lives before
joining has its advantages. The diversity of backgrounds among
the Strangelight Workshop agents provides the organization
with a wide range of experience and skills to draw on. This
is particularly valuable among field agents. The best research
can miss a key element of an investigation, so having agents
able to comprehend a range of complications and tasks is vital
to success. While not an official policy, the people responsible
for accepting new field agents review a potential candidate’s
background, hoping to expand the Workshop’s broad base of
skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Choosing a Background
Your character’s Background represents what they did prior
to joining up with the Strangelight Workshop and in part
determines the character’s capabilities in game. A character
can only have one background, and it must be chosen during
character creation.
Each background provides benefits like skills, abilities,
equipment, or valuable resources. Your character begins the
game with all benefits listed in the chosen Background.
Academic
You spent your life in the academic field. You might have
been a professional student from one of the many prestigious
universities of the Iron Kingdoms, a professor devoted to an
esoteric field of study, or a self-taught student who spent years
poring over rare books in scattered shops and lamp-lit back
rooms. Your experience as an academic gives you a critical eye
and a broad knowledge base.
Starting Resources: You start the game with a pen and ink,
bottled light, a blank notebook, a collection of esoteric research
notes (choice of +1 to Lore [extraordinary zoology], Lore
[supernatural], or Research rolls), and the constant belief that
the pen is mightier than the sword.*
*Note: It isn’t, usually.
Connections (Academic): You maintain connections in the
academic world that you can call upon in times of need, such
as a professor at a local university or a librarian in charge of
an important archive. Aid can come in the form of access to
48 No Quarter PRIME
otherwise restricted university libraries, assistance in dealing
with research topics, or simply a place to crash in a dormitory
while out on assignment.
Scholar: When you gain occupational skills through character
advancement, you gain 1 additional occupational skill.
Adventurer
Your life has always been one thrilling exploit followed by
another. As you wandered across the Iron Kingdoms in
search of fortune and glory, you became adept at overcoming
dangerous situations, using your wits and a growing
assortment of skills to deal with whatever crossed your path.
Your experiences abroad have made you quick thinking and
resourceful.
Starting Resources: You start the game with an armored
greatcoat, a melee or ranged weapon worth up to 20 gc, a
traveling pack filled with miscellaneous and possibly useful
items gathered over your career, 20 gc, and a seemingly endless
number of stories, some of them passably amusing.
Sounds Familiar: Your life of adventure has made you familiar
with all sorts of unusual information. Once per session, with
the Game Master’s permission, you may spend a point of
Reputation to recall an obscure piece of trivia that may point
the team to the next clue or allow you to learn an item of lore
associated with a single creature.
Well-Traveled: You have accumulated a variety of skills in your
travels. You begin the game with 1 point in a single Military
Skill and two different occupational skills of your choice. Add
your chosen skills at level 4 to your list of potential military and
occupational skills.
Craftsman
You are good with your hands and have developed a trade for
yourself. Whether through formal education, apprenticeship
under a master, or pure self-motivation and grit, you have
become proficient at your craft. You might have been an
innovative mechanik who spent years toiling away in your
workshop, a skilled gunsmith who fabricated weapons for the
Cygnaran Armory, or a jack-of-all trades with experience in
multiple fields. Your proficiency as a craftsman lets you intuit
practical solutions to problems and gives you an eye for detail.
Starting Resources: You start the game with goggles, a
mechanik’s apron, reliable tools (counts as mechanik’s toolkit),
and a desire to make the finest quality whatever-it-is you make.
Reliable Tools: You have a set of reliable tools from your
time as a craftsman. You can reroll 1s when making Craft or
Mechanikal Engineering rolls made using the mechanik’s
toolkit you begin the game with. This replaces the toolkit a
Mechanik character starts the game with.
Good with Your Hands: You begin the game with 1 skill point
in three Craft skills. Choose from the following list: carpentry,
gunsmithing, metalworking, stoneworking, tailoring, or
tanning. Add Craft (chosen specialties) 4 to your list of potential
occupational skills.

Criminal
You spent time as a criminal. You might have been a former
pickpocket who worked with a gang of paupers to survive, a
second-story man who broke into the bedrooms of the rich and
privileged while they slept, or a simple thug who hurt people on
a crime boss’ orders. Your experience allows you to move in the
criminal underworld and affords you special talents that may
come in handy while on assignment.
Starting Resources: You start the game with a suit of dark
clothing (+1 to Sneaking rolls), a set of thief’s tools, and a
lingering desire to amass ill-gotten gains.
Connections (Criminal): You maintain connections to the
criminal underworld that you can call upon in times of need,
such as with a low-level criminal boss in the city or with a gang
of young guttersnipes living in the street. Assistance can come in
the form of information about comings and goings on the streets,
surveillance of specific subjects, aid breaking into a particular
location, or a secluded hideout if you need to lay low for a while.
Tools of the Trade: You start the game with a selection of
appropriate tools from your old life. Choose two of the
following: crowbar, disguise kit, grappling hook and 25´ rope,
spyglass, or three smoke bombs.
Scapegrace: You start the game with Sneak 1 and your choice
of Deception 1, Escape Artist 1, Forgery 1, Lock Picking 1, or
Streetwise 1. Add Sneak 4 and your chosen skill at level 4 to
your list of potential occupational skills.
Diplomat
You spent time in diplomatic circles and are familiar with
complex social interactions. You might have been a negotiator
working on behalf of a merchant house like the Mateus or
Mercarian League, assigned to aid a foreign dignitary, or
worked in the halls of city government arbitrating deals
between the city fathers. Your experience as a diplomat gives
you a silver tongue and the ability to talk down even hostile
individuals while out on assignment.
Starting Resources: You start the game with a suit of fine
clothes (+1 to non-Intimidation social rolls), supplies for drawing
up contracts and diplomatic letters (pen, ink, parchment, wax,
and signet ring or stamp), and the misguided belief that people
can all just get along.
Language Arts: You start the game knowing two additional
languages.
Diplomatic: You start the game with Etiquette 1, Law 1, and
Negotiation 1. Add Etiquette 4, Law 4, and Negotiation 4 to your
list of potential occupational skills.
No Quarter PRIME 49
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

Medical
You served in the medical field for some time. You might
have been a doctor working in a city’s clinic, a battlefield
medic helping treat the wounded on the front lines, or a
traditional healer combatting illnesses and injuries with
poultices and teas in the wilderness of western Immoren.
Your time as a healer gives you experience in treating a
wide range of injuries, physical or otherwise.
Starting Resources: You start the game with bottled light, a
surgical kit, and a working knowledge of what people look
like on the inside.
Emergency Aid: With a surgical kit, you can treat an injured
living character as a full action. Make a Medicine skill
roll against a target number of 14. If the roll succeeds, an
incapacitated character adjacent to you regains 1 vitality
point and may reroll any Injury table result, choosing which
of the results are applied to the character.
Medical Training: You start the game with Medicine 1 and
Rapport 1. Add Medicine 4 and Rapport 4 to your list of
potential Occupational skills.

Military or City Watch

Having served in your nation’s armed forces or town
militia, you are no stranger to death and horror. You might
have been part of the frontline infantry, fighting in the
trenches at the fore of battle, an officer used to commanding
others while under pressure, or a member of the city
watch who protected the citizens of your hometown. Your
experience affords you a stern resolve and fighting prowess
beyond that of most Strangelight agents.
Starting Resources: You start the game with a uniform,
a military-issue pack and personal equipment, a sword,
a second weapon (choose one: blunderbuss with five
rounds of ammo, military rifle with five rounds of ammo,
or repeating pistol with fifteen rounds of ammo), and the
knowledge of what it sounds like when someone dies.
Connections (Military or Watch): You maintain connections
in the military or city watch that you can call upon in times
of need. Your connection might be a supply sergeant at the
local garrison, a former commanding officer, or a soldier-
turned mercenary living in the city. Assistance can come
in the form of access to otherwise restricted areas, a supply
of ammunition that “goes missing,” or even the temporary
loan of a piece of military hardware. Watch contacts may
afford some leniency with minor legal transgressions.
Military Training: You start the game with Hand Weapon
1 and your choice of Pistol 1, Rifle 1, or Law 1. Add Hand
Weapon 4 and either Pistol 4, Rifle 4, or Law 4 to your list of
potential Military and Occupational skills.

The Strangelight Workshop recruits many

members from its home city of Ceryl.

50 No Quarter PRIME

Occult
You have a past as part of the darker occult world of the Iron
Kingdoms. You might be a former—or current—member of an
unsavory organization devoted to dark powers, the onetime
victim of a cult who was rescued by the Strangelight Workshop,
someone with a desire to learn more about gaining power
over the supernatural world, or someone just fascinated with a
particular secret occult order’s beliefs. Your experience with the
occult gives you a greater familiarity with the supernatural and
related subjects than most new Workshop agents.
Connections (Nobility): You have connections among the
nobility that you can call upon in times of need. This is likely
due to your noble blood, but your connection can also come
in other forms, such as a family your own was close with.
Assistance can come as access to a noble estate, an invitation to
an exclusive function, introductions to high-society individuals,
or even a “small loan” of a hundred gold crowns to help get you
back on your feet in times of trouble. Nobles tend to be a touchy
group obsessed with appearances, so your connection may turn
their back on you if you cause any trouble for them, like ranting
about the supernatural at a society function.

Starting Resources: You start the game with a book filled with
occult lore (choice of +1 on Lore [Occult] or Lore [Supernatural]
Religious
rolls), a symbol of faith, a ritual dagger, 10 black candles, and a Your faith has always been an important part of you. This
constant sense of dread and impending doom. may have led you to joining the clergy or merely proselytizing
to anyone who would listen. You might follow the creed of
Connections (Occult Group): You maintain connections to an
Cyriss, Menoth, Morrow, or even Thamar, and you may have
active or disbanded occult group that you were either once
been a member of the priesthood or simply a fervent believer.
a member of or that you otherwise had affiliation with. This
Your faith gives you an unwavering resolve in the face of even
might be to the group as a whole or a single member. If you
supernatural dangers and acts as a guiding light in all you do.
are not an active member, this group may be wary of your
presence, but in times of need you can call upon them to aid Starting Resources: You start the game with a book of scripture
you. Assistance from your connection can come in the form (+1 on Lore: [Your Religion] rolls), a symbol of faith appropriate
of information related to the occult, a hidden ritual space, or for your religion, incense or anointed oil, and a perhaps
even materials vital to occult activities, up to and including mistaken belief that your god has your best interests at heart.
kidnapped individuals. If you are not an active member of
Blessing of Faith: You gain boosted Willpower rolls to resist
the group, this assistance frequently comes with a catch. Your
Terror caused by profane and unholy entities such as the undead,
connection may ask you to perform certain favors or errands for
infernals, and magic. In addition to regaining Willpower by
them, like destroying evidence that would reveal the group to
fulfilling your Calling, you regain 1 point of lost Willpower for
the Strangelight Workshop.
each night spent in prayer or attending religious services.
Sensitive: You possess the ability to feel when the arcane,
Connections (Your Religion’s Clergy): You maintain connections
the occult, and the otherworldly are near. In the presence of
in the clergy that you can call upon in times of need, such as
these forces, your skin prickles and your blood runs cold. You
a mid-level priest at a local church, a religious scribe working
can detect magical, ghostly, and otherworldly energy in your
in a monastery, or another servant of your religion. Assistance
Command range, but you do not know the source of such
can come in the form of access to church structures, sanctuary
energy or its precise location.
from pursuers, or aid in treatment of matters physical, mental,
or spiritual.
Noble
Born to a life of privilege and culture, you are well prepared
to traverse the upper echelons of society. While brought up
with the strictest schooling, you also had the spare time and
resources to delve into knowledge normally forbidden to others.
Your connections among the nobility often prove an asset to
your lower-born companions, who rely on you to wield the rules
of etiquette and sophistication like a weapon.
Starting Resources: You start the game with a rapier or sword
cane, a suit of fine clothing (+1 to non-Intimidation social rolls),
100 gc, and a sense of superiority due to the strength of your
link to noble bloodlines.
Birthright: Your noble upbringing affords you special
consideration. Unless you are caught red-handed while
committing a crime, most city watch members assume you’re
permitted to travel where you want and to flout normal social
conventions. When you travel, you can secure accommodations
for yourself by using your family name—provided you aren’t
speaking with someone who hates or distrusts your family line,
like an innkeeper in an enemy nation.
No Quarter PRIME 51
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG
CALLING
The Strangelight Workshop is intended to be a character-driven
game focused on the exploration of mysteries. As a result, one of
the core elements of character creation is a character’s Calling.
A character’s Calling is what drove the character to join the
Strangelight Workshop in the first place, and it is the reason
the character risks life, limb, and sanity in the exploration of
the unknown. This job is not for everyone, and each character’s
motivations are very personal.
At the most basic level, a Calling is a window into your character
and provides a solid hook for you to understand the character
you are playing. A Calling also has an effect on how a character
manages to regain composure following repeated exposure
to dreadful and dangerous supernatural phenomenon, and it
determines what happens to the character when they have been
pushed past their limit by such encounters.
Choosing a Calling
A character can only have one Calling. A character’s initial
Calling is selected during character creation but, based on
significant events over the course of a character’s career
that cause a change in the character’s perspective on the
supernatural world, with Game Master approval the player
may select a new Calling.
A character’s Calling helps determine when the character
regains lost Willpower (see No Quarter Prime 01) and
determines their breaking point.
Example: Josh’s character is the sole survivor of a nasty
investigation involving an infernal soul stalker. Josh decides
he wants to replace his Vendetta Calling with the Survivor
Calling to reflect the trauma of the encounter and how it
affects his point of view. The Game Master approves, so Josh’s
character updates his Calling and uses Survivor to determine
his Willpower recovery and Breaking Point from that point on.
Pursuing Your Calling
By pursuing their Calling, a character gets in touch with the
reasons they are still a part of the Strangelight Workshop and
gains a bonus to the amount of Willpower restored during
down time. The specific activities required to gain this bonus
are unique to each Calling.
Breaking Point
When a character loses their last point of Willpower, that
character hits their breaking point. Each Calling has multiple
ways that breaking points can be expressed. The player chooses
which breaking point a character enacts when the character hits
their breaking point. If a character cannot fulfill the parameters
of their breaking point, that character can act normally but must
immediately add 3 Dread points to the Game Master’s pool.
Hitting the breaking point is stressful and can have long-
term consequences. After the third time a character hits their
breaking point and every three times thereafter, the character
suffers a permanent one-point reduction of their Willpower
point maximum. This represents the ongoing psychological
scars such events have on an individual. Note that this
reduction does not affect the character’s Willpower stat.
Should a character be reduced to a Willpower point maximum
of 0, the character becomes permanently mentally scarred.
This can manifest as mania, catatonia, or any number of other
maladies, but the consequences are the same: that character can
no longer be a part of the Strangelight Workshop and will bear
mental and spiritual scars for the remainder of their days.
Callings
Altruist
Cannot be a starting Calling.
You have grown much since you first joined the Strangelight
Workshop. Through your experiences, you have learned to
set aside past traumas and to protect others from the sorts of
dangers you have faced. Now only your sense of good will
toward others acts as your motivation. While laudable, this will
probably just get you killed faster.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend helping others
at Blackwell Hall or a Strangelight chapterhouse to complete
simple tasks or chores, add +1 to your roll to restore lost
Willpower.
Breaking Points
Good Samaritan: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation aiding the nearest ally who is also
suffering from their breaking point, is incapacitated, or is below
their total vitality.
Emotional Appeal: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation making a Rapport roll in an attempt
to reason with a hostile character with the highest available EP
value, regardless of whether or not you can communicate with
the character.
 Death Wish
Cannot be a starting Calling.
You have lost everything that ever mattered
to you. You’re a hollow shell of the person you
once were. Even revenge seems pointless now.
The only thing you have left is to spend your
remaining days confronting the strange and
unnatural forces that ruined your life in the
hopes that those forces will someday get lucky
and finish the job.

Pursuing Your Calling

For every full hour of downtime you spend away
from others to silently brood, add +1 to your roll
to restore lost Willpower.

Breaking Points
Take Me Instead: When you hit your breaking
point, you must spend your next activation
making boosted Rapport rolls against any
supernatural creature in your Command range
engaged with any other living character. If the
roll is successful, target creature must attempt to
attack you instead of its original target.
Into the Fray: When you hit your breaking point,
you must end your next activation closer to a
source of potential danger than you began it.

Doomsayer
You’ve always been called negative, a killjoy, or
just a plain old pessimist, but you know that in the end you’ll
always be proven right. Engaging with the supernatural is risky
business, and in your mind, nothing gets someone killed faster
than naiveté. Still, the more one can learn about what goes
bump in the night, the greater the chance the common person
might have of going about their quiet lives out of harm’s way. In
the end, you feel that’s the least you can do before the inevitable
oblivion that awaits us all.
Fanatic
What once may have been considered a healthy—if unusual—
curiosity for the paranormal has transformed into a full-blown
obsession. Whether due to constant stress or growing delusions
of grandeur, you have been consumed by the need to be in
contact with the supernatural. Everyone around you grows
increasingly worried about you, and you do not have the heart
to tell them the truth, which is: they should be.

Pursuing Your Calling Pursuing Your Calling

For every full hour of downtime you spend reading about the For every full hour of downtime you spend badgering other
distressing events occurring around the Iron Kingdoms, add +1 characters about the supernatural, add +1 to your roll to restore
to your roll to restore lost Willpower. lost Willpower.

Breaking Points Breaking Points

I Told You So: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation trying to convince another character
that you are right, either about your assessment of the present
situation or about a course of action to address it.
If This Is the End: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation doing one important thing before
you die. This can include drinking whatever alcohol is nearby,
declaring your secret and undying love for another character, or
fulfilling some other equally embarrassing final wish.
I Must Know: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation asking direct questions to the
nearest supernatural entity. If the creature cannot communicate
verbally, you must try to interpret its physical mannerisms as
some form of answer.
Euphoria: When you hit your breaking point, you are overcome
by uncontrollable delight at the thrill of witnessing the
supernatural. You must forfeit your movement or action on your
next activation.

No Quarter PRIME 53
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG
Glory Hound
You’ve always known that true immortality belongs to the
innovators and trailblazers who redefined the borders of human
knowledge. You resolve to be counted among their number and
know that your best path to glory is within the Strangelight
Workshop. With this in mind, you have committed yourself to
being a pioneer of occult research, either in actuality or—at the
very least—in the eyes of others.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend taking part in
actions that could be bragged about later, add +1 to your roll to
restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Autobiography: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation expounding on your greatest
personal accomplishments to any and all characters within
earshot. Greatly exaggerating these accomplishments beyond all
reason is to be expected and encouraged.
Parting Shot: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation attempting to get ahold of the
team’s lumitype and take one final spectragraph of yourself
with the most impressive-looking supernatural creature
within sight.
Infiltrator
You have been tasked by a clandestine employer to infiltrate and
learn as much as you can about the Strangelight Workshop, its
methods, and its secret goals. Through guile and deception, you
have managed to find a place in a Workshop field team, hoping
to survive each mission and report back to your benefactors.
You should devise a plausible cover to explain your interest in
the Strangelight, inventing a backstory as appropriate.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour you spend writing reports and contacting
benefactors, add +1 to your roll to restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Confession: When you hit your breaking point, you must spend
your next activation attempting to confess your true motives
to another member of the team. Make a Willpower roll against
a target number of 16. If the roll succeeds, you only need to
hint at your deception. If the roll fails, you must confess some
truth about your true reasons for being there to the nearest
team member. You may automatically succeed on this roll by
generating d3 Dread points.
The Better Part of Valor: When you hit your breaking point, you
must spend your next activation trying to flee or hide from any
supernatural entities.
54 No Quarter PRIME
Pact Bound
Through incredibly desperate or foolish circumstances, you
have found yourself caught in a pact with dark supernatural
entities. In a last-ditch effort to save what remains of your soul,
you joined the Strangelight Workshop, hoping to find a solution
to your predicament before you become the subject of one of
their next cases.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour you spend researching lore on how to escape
the dark pact threatening your immortal soul, add +1 to your
roll to restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Offering of Knowledge: When you hit your breaking point,
you must spend your next activation offering any equipment,
prototypes, or critical Workshop secrets you know to the nearest
supernatural creature with the highest INT score.
Offering of Blood: When you hit your breaking point, you
must spend your next activation attempting to force an ally
to confront a source of danger in the hopes that the death of
another might spare your own life.
Pantomath
To you, the pursuit of knowledge is the highest calling.
Rather than constrain yourself to mere academics, however,
your passion stems from a visceral desire to unravel the
deeper mysteries of the world. In your mind, anything can be
understood and rationally explained, no matter how bizarre
or extraordinary a situation may initially appear. In times of
great mental stress, these same motivations can cause you to
withdraw into your intellect, leading you to compulsively make
observations at the expense of personal safety.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend researching general
occult lore, add +1 to your roll to restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Annotation: When you hit your breaking point, you must spend
your next activation observing and taking notes, spectragraphs,
or otherwise recording your observations of a supernatural
phenomenon. This may include moving to a better vantage.
I Must Know: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation asking direct questions to the
nearest supernatural entity. If the creature cannot communicate
verbally, you must try to interpret its physical mannerisms as
some form of answer.
 Sentimentalist
Like many who seek a place in the Strangelight Workshop,
you have lost a loved one to the supernatural. Unlike most,
you believe there is a way to get your loved one back. Through
rigorous study and intensive field research of knowledge
available only to Strangelight teams, you believe you are
inching ever closer to being reunited with the one you lost.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend researching occult
lore that may aid in reconnecting with your lost loved one, add
+1 to your roll to restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Wistful Remembrance: When you hit your breaking point,
you must spend your next activation backing away from
conflict or taking cover as you are overwhelmed by mournful
contemplation of a lost loved one. This can include obsessing
over an image or item that once belonged to that person.
Despair: The realization that you will never see your loved one
again is too much to bear. When you hit your breaking point,
you must spend your next activation collapsed in a heap on the
floor. You count as being prone.
Survivor
You suffered at the hands of the supernatural even before you
were aware of its existence. Though similar experiences would
cause most people to shrink from further contact with the
supernatural and the inexplicable, you will not let fear control
you. You know the best way to stay safe is to learn more about
these strange threats and confront them, but if things get too
intense, you’re not above making a break for it.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend planning how to
handle worst-case scenarios on the field, add +1 to your roll to
restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Going Unnoticed: When you hit your breaking point, you
must spend your next activation keeping one other character
between you and any supernatural dangers. If the only available
movement would place you out in the open, you become
stationary instead.
The Better Part of Valor: When you hit your breaking point, you
must spend your next activation trying to flee or hide from any
supernatural entities.
Thrill Seeker
What’s the point of life if you never truly live? This motto
has taken you far and wide across the Iron Kingdoms. Over
the years you have undertaken challenges that others would
consider foolish, all for the sake of a good story. Having tested
yourself against most conventional thrills, you now seek the
supernatural, hoping to gain that rush of adrenaline in new and
unimagined ways.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend partaking in
dangerous or foolhardy activities, add +1 to your roll to restore
lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Into the Fray: When you hit your breaking point, you must end
your next activation closer to a source of potential danger than
you began it.
Trash Talk: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation verbally antagonizing any and all
supernatural entities within earshot, daring them to attack you.
Vendetta
Some say revenge is a dish best served cold, and if that is
so, then your blood must be ice. You lost a loved one to a
supernatural entity or suffered the effect of such a creature
yourself. Whatever the cause, you have a ceaseless need to right
the wrong done to you by preventing it from happening to
anyone else or by helping to imprison whatever occult creatures
cross your path. Under most circumstances, you are able to act
rationally, even when confronted with such beings, but when
exposed to too much you are prone to seeing red and losing
control as you attempt to destroy any specter, shade, or other
similar creature you encounter.
Pursuing Your Calling
For every full hour of downtime you spend learning about
the supernatural focus of your vendetta, add +1 to your roll to
restore lost Willpower.
Breaking Points
Reckless Assault: When you hit your breaking point, you must
spend your next activation conducting an all-out offensive,
using whatever abilities and equipment that might be most
useful, even if holding off on them would prove to be more
tactically sound.
Never Again: You will not allow the tragedy that set you on your
path to occur again. When you hit your breaking point, you
must spend your next activation trying to attack a supernatural
creature with the highest EP value.
No Quarter PRIME 55
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG
PROFESSION
Over the course of its existence, the Strangelight Workshop
has refined its field teams into a number of dedicated roles or
professions. Each team member contributes to an investigation
or operation in a unique way, and over the course of an
investigation, all play a part in the team’s success. If a field team
loses one of its members, the Workshop is reluctant to field
the remaining agents until the missing role is filled. Certain
circumstances prevent the Workshop from filling a role, such
as when a team is operating far from the Workshop’s support
structure or when a particular investigation must be completed
before a new candidate can be secured. Upon the team’s return
to a chapterhouse or to Blackwell Hall, a new recruit is slotted
into the open position as soon as possible.
A traditional field team consists of one member of each
profession, but that isn’t always the case. Certain branch offices
support smaller teams, and there may be specific investigations
suited to these groups, particularly when the Workshop is
gathering initial research or following up on the work of
other agents. Some teams manage to get by with unusual
combinations of the typical professions, and certain extremely
dangerous tasks have necessitated merging teams or adding
unusual specialists to the mix.
In addition to the dedicated members of a field team, the
Strangelight Workshop often brings in outside consultants.
These individuals are typically experts in a field related to
a particular investigation. While not true members of the
Workshop, many consultants have longstanding relationships
with the organization and members of its upper echelon. Such
consultants are often paid by Blackwell Hall for their work,
though in some cases they may be compensated in other ways
or might even volunteer their services. In some circumstances,
a consultant will have more field experience than the team for
which they consult.
After selecting your character’s Background and Calling, choose
your profession. Your profession determines not only your
role in a field team but also the skills and abilities you have the
opportunity to master over the course of your career—should
you survive.
56 No Quarter PRIME
Consultants
With the Game Master's approval a player can play a consultant
to the Strangelight Workshop using traditional character
creation rules. Note that these characters have access to a greater
number of skills and abilities than Strangelight characters, as
well as having Archetypes and related abilities. This can make a
consultant a formidable character in relation to the field agents.
Consultant characters do not start with a Reputation score.
At the Game Master’s discretion, a consultant can gain (and
lose) Reputation to denote their respect and standing with
the Workshop and its leadership. Consultants cannot expend
Reputation to acquire benefits or gear in the same way as
actual members.
A player who chooses to play a consultant should talk with
the Game Master to determine an appropriate Calling and
Breaking Point for the character. Due to a lack of training, when
a consultant suffers Willpower damage, the character suffers
double the normal amount.
Character Advancement
As your character’s XP total grows, you have the opportunity
to enhance their talents and attributes. Character advancement
takes place between game sessions. If a character is awarded
enough XP to gain an advancement, you must select the
advancement before the next game session; you cannot save XP
for later.
Refer to the Character Advancement Table to see what
advancements are available to characters as their XP totals grow.
Workshop Pros
A field agent who survives multiple encounters with the
supernatural becomes a pro. Things that would send a new
recruit running in fear no longer faze such pros, and they have a
wealth of experience to draw upon.
The following benefits are available to characters of any
profession but can only be selected at 24, 50, 100, and 150 XP by
selecting the Workshop Pro Character Advancement.
Cross-Training: Choose any two occupational skills and one
ability from a Profession other than your own. Treat your
selections as if they were options available to your own
Profession. Some abilities are restricted and cannot be taken by
any other Profession, denoted by the ∉ symbol.
Lucky Charm: When you roll a critical success on a skill or attack
roll, you may choose to gain 1 feat point, give another character
1 feat point, or reduce the total current Dread by d3.
Mental Toughness: When you suffer Willpower damage due to
supernatural phenomenon, reduce the amount suffered by 1.
Trustworthy Test Case: Reduce the Reputation cost of all gear
and prototypes by half (rounding up).
 Character Advancement Table
HERO Level EPIC Level
XP Total Character Advancement XP Total Character Advancement
2 +2 occupational skills 100 Epic level and Workshop pro

4 +1 ability or military skill 105 +2 occupational skills

6 +1 stat 110 d6+2 Reputation, Salary increase, or Dread counter

8 +2 occupational skills 115 +1 willpower point

10 +1 willpower point 120 +1 stat

12 Dread counter, Salary increase 125 +2 occupational skills

15 +1 stat 130 +1 ability, connection, or military skill

18 +2 occupational skills 135 +1 stat

21 +1 ability or military skill 140 +1 Dread counter

24 Workshop pro, Salary increase 145 +2 occupational skills

27 +2 occupational skills 150 Workshop pro

30 +1 willpower point
+2 occupational skills – Choose two new occupational skills from
33 +1 ability or military skill
your character’s Background or Profession. Instead of adding a new
36 +1 stat skill, you can increase the rank of an occupational skill your character
already has by 1. If you choose to do this with both new occupational
39 +2 occupational skills skills, you can increase the rank of one skill by 2. Remember the skill
42 +1 ability or military skill rank limits: a Hero character can have skills up to rank 2, a Veteran
character can have skills up to rank 3, and an Epic character can have
45 +1 stat skills up to rank 4.

+1 military skill – Choose a new military skill from your character’s

Veteran Level Background or Profession or increase the rank of a military skill your
character already has by 1.
XP Total Character Advancement
50 Veteran level and Workshop pro +1 ability – Choose a new ability from your character’s Profession.
55 +2 occupational skills
+1 stat – Increase one of your character’s primary or secondary stats
60 Dread counter by 1. You cannot increase a stat beyond its maximum allowable value,
and you cannot increase a secondary stat higher than the primary stat
65 +1 stat
that governs it.
70 +2 occupational skills
+1 willpower point – Increase your character’s maximum Willpower
75 d6+2 Reputation or Salary increase
points by 1.
80 +1 willpower point
Dread counter – Choose one of the skills your character is trained in.
85 +1 stat
Successful rolls involving that skill no longer generate Dread.
90 +2 occupational skills
d6+2 Reputation – Your character immediately gains additional
95 +1 ability, connection, or military skill
Reputation equal to the rolled amount.

Salary increase – Increase your character’s salary by 1 increment.

Workshop pro – You may select a single Workshop Pro benefit.

No Quarter PRIME 57
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

bouncer
The bouncer’s primary role in a Strangelight Workshop team is to protect
the physical bodies of the other agents, but just as often the bouncer serves
as a general pack mule and muscle for the group. Bouncers are expected to
hold back anyone who might try to interfere with the other team members,
such as irate property owners, victims of possession, or angry members
of the Order of Illumination. In this role, they need to be just as capable of
avoiding violence as inflicting it, since they are often required to deescalate
conflicts. They are expected to be physically strong and capable of
intimidating innocent bystanders in order to keep them out of harm’s way.
Bouncers are often the newest members of a team with the least exposure
to the supernatural world, and the higher-ups in the organization view
them as cheap, expendable laborers. Fellow field agents tend to hold
bouncers in a higher regard, thanks to them being some of the only team
members able to deal with mundane threats to life and limb. They often
work closely with the team mechanik, helping organize and carry gear.

Starting Abilities: Ignorance Is Bliss, Sentry, Stand Your Ground

Starting Skills: Hand Weapon 1 and choice of Great Weapon 1 or
Unarmed Combat 1, Detection 1
Starting Assets: Armored greatcoat, club, Strangelight goggles,
25 gc
Starting Salary & Salary Increment: You start the game with a
salary of 25 gc a month and gain a 25 gc bonus for successful
investigations. When you receive a salary increase, increase your
monthly salary and bonus amount by 25 gc.
Skills: Bribery 2, Great Weapon 4, Hand Weapon 4, Interrogation 4,
Negotiation 3, Streetwise 4, Unarmed Combat 4, General Skills 4

58 No Quarter PRIME
Abilities Sentry II
Prerequisites: Sentry, PER 6, prevented a team member from
Barricade ∉ suffering damage or harm ten or more times

Prerequisites: STR 6
You can force even crowds to back off when you hold your
ground. When you are engaged in melee with one or more
characters, as an action you can make a contested STR roll
against the highest available enemy STR. If your roll succeeds,
you push all enemies of equal or smaller size engaged with you
12 feet (2˝) directly away in the order you choose.
Bulwark
Prerequisites: STR 6 and either Hand Weapon 2, Great
Weapon 2, or Unarmed 2
When you make a free strike, gain an additional die on the
damage roll. If you damage the target, it is knocked down.
Head-Butt
Prerequisites: STR 5, Unarmed Combat 2
Once per day, you can benefit from two different Sentry benefits
at the same time.
Stand Your Ground
Prerequisites: None
If you would be moved by a push or slam, you can spend 1 feat
point to not be moved instead and to not be knocked down by
the slam.
Stern Resolve
Prerequisites: You have hit your breaking point at least three
times
When you lose your last point of Willpower and would hit your
breaking point, roll a d6. On a roll of 5 or 6, you immediately
regain 1 point of Willpower. This ability cannot be used again
until you spend at least a full night pursuing your Calling.

Instead of making a normal Unarmed Combat attack, you can

Take Down
spend 1 feat point to make a head-butt attack.
Prerequisites: None
Make an unarmed melee attack roll against a target. If the attack
hits, the target is knocked down and suffers a damage roll with You can use Take Down when you incapacitate another
a POW equal to your current STR. A character with a larger character with an attack and while the incapacitated character
base is not knocked down by a head-butt attack. is in your melee range. The incapacitated character regains 1
vitality point and is no longer incapacitated but is manacled,
Ignorance Is Bliss ∉ tied up, unconscious, or otherwise out of action for the
rest of the encounter. Depending on how the incapacitated
Prerequisites: None
character was taken down, the character may be restrained or
Either due to stubborn skepticism or naïve inexperience, you unconscious following the combat portion of the encounter.
gain +2 Willpower.
Threatening Presence ∉
Sentry ∉ Prerequisites: Intimidation 2
Prerequisites: None
The first time you successfully intimidate or incapacitate a living
You gain +1 to initiative rolls. Additionally, once per round at character on a new investigation, you can gain 1 feat point, gain 1
the start of your activation, select from one of the following Willpower point, or remove 1 Dread from the Game Master’s pool.
bonuses:
Thrill of the Fight
• Crowd Control: Once per turn, on a successful melee
attack made against an enemy, after the attack is resolved Prerequisites: None
you can make an additional attack against another target
When you incapacitate an enemy with a melee attack, regain 1
in melee range.
point of Willpower.
• Escort: While within 12 feet (2˝) of you, friendly
characters gain +1 to DEF and ARM.
• Look Out: You and friendly characters currently in
your Command range gain boosted PER rolls against
characters attempting to sneak or surprise the team.
• Patrol: At the end of your activation, you can move up to
30 feet (5˝).
• Pin Down: You can forfeit action to render a knocked
down target in melee range stationary for 1 round.
∉ = Not Cross-Trainable

No Quarter PRIME 59
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

Caller
The caller is an individual who is able, with the assistance of specialized
equipment, to draw in and communicate with specters and other entities.
The caller’s role on the team is to speak with spirits, trying whenever
possible to glean insight into what is causing them to linger in the
physical world. When required, the caller helps guide a spirit to pass on to
Urcaen. This has the dual benefit of putting a lingering soul to rest while
allowing the passage to be observed and recorded for further study by the
Strangelight Workshop.
Arguably the most specialized and difficult to qualify for a role on a team,
callers are unusual individuals with a strong connection to the spirit
world. All have had direct contact with one or more spirits before joining
the Workshop, and this experience either revealed or catalyzed a latent
sensitivity to the supernatural. Callers can sometimes see or hear things
others cannot, which can be mistaken for madness. Their attitudes to
spirits run the gamut, from those who take pity on lost souls and want to
send them to their final rest to bitter individuals who hate or resent the
spirits for terrifying the living.

Starting Abilities: Commune with Spirits, Reinforce Will,

Struggle of Wills
Starting Skills: Lore (occult) 1, Oratory 1, Rapport 1
Starting Assets: Ghost hood & carrying case, 50 gc
Starting Salary & Salary Increment: You start the game with a
salary of 100 gc a month and gain a 75 gc bonus for successful
investigations. When you receive a salary increase, increase your
monthly salary and bonus amount by 50 gc.
Skills: Deception 4, Etiquette 4, Hand Weapon 2, Oratory 2,
Pistol 2, Rapport 4, Seduction 2, General Skills 4

60 No Quarter PRIME
Abilities
Commune with Spirits ∉
Prerequisites: None
You have the ability to communicate with ethereal spirits,
regardless of language or cultural barriers. Some spirits
may become more powerful and even dangerous after such
communication. While wearing an active ghost hood, by
forfeiting your movement or action you can enter a trance
to interact with spirits. Spirits you commune with can be
spoken with as if they were alive, though their mental states
are unpredictable and their memories are often sketchy and
scattered. While you are communing with a spirit, that spirit
focuses its attention on you.
Commune with Spirits II ∉
Prerequisites: Willpower 13, guided ten or more souls to Urcaen
Gain boosted Rapport rolls when you attempt to help a spirit
move to the other side.
Reinforce Will ∉
Prerequisites: None
Once per round while in combat and wearing an active ghost
hood, you may select one friendly character currently in your
Command range. That character heals d3 points of Willpower.
Reinforce Will II ∉
Prerequisites: Reinforce Will, Veteran Tier
Increase the amount of Willpower healed by Reinforce Will
to d6.
Spirit Flare ∉
Prerequisites: Willpower 12
When you suffer damage from an enemy attack, you can spend
between 1 and 3 points of Willpower. For each point spent, any
incorporeal creatures in your Command range suffer d3 damage.
Spiritual Ally ∉
Prerequisites: Commune with Spirits, Rapport 3, successfully
aided one or more spirits in previous cases
Spirits friendly to you will come to your aid against other,
malevolent entities. These spirits protect you from possession or
supernatural attack.
While you are in a trance, a spirit lingers nearby to protect
you. This can be a spirit you have peacefully encountered in
the past or the spirit of a former companion who watches over
you. Discuss with the Game Master the specific identity of your
spiritual ally or allies.
Your spiritual ally targets any specter, shade, or other
incorporeal dead hostile to you that enters your Command
range. While your spiritual ally is present, such entities roll one
fewer die on attack, spell, and ability rolls that target you.
Stern Resolve
Prerequisites: You have hit your breaking point at least three
times
When you lose your last point of Willpower and would hit your
breaking point, roll a d6. On a roll of 5 or 6, you immediately
regain 1 point of Willpower. This ability cannot be used again
until you spend at least a full night pursuing your Calling.
Struggle of Wills ∉
Prerequisites: None
While wearing an active ghost hood, by spending a combat action
you can try to erode the will of a ghost, target of possession, or
another similar target. Choose any ghost or similar target you
are aware of in your Command range and make a contested
Willpower roll. The loser of the Willpower roll suffers Willpower
damage equal to the difference in the two rolls. Creatures with
an INT of 1 or lower reduced to 0 Willpower are removed from
play. Targets with a higher Willpower are stunned and must
forfeit either movement or action on their next activation or until
they have 1 or more Willpower, whichever comes first.
Whispers from the Darkness
Prerequisites: You do not possess the Spiritual Ally ability, one
or more teammates have died
You think you can still hear the voice of one or more of your
former companions. Their whispers do not come often, but
when they do, it is usually in an effort to protect you and help to
keep you safe.
Once per day, you can add d3 Dread points to the Game
Master’s pool in order to gain one of the following benefits.
• Don’t Give Up: Your dead teammate whispers motivation
to you, inspiring you to stay strong. You immediately
gain 1 feat point.
• Look Out!: At the start of initiative, you hear whispers to
warn you of impending danger. You gain an additional
die on your initiative roll and discard the lowest result.
• Remember What I Told You . . . : A dead companion
whispers guidance about how to perform a specific
task. For one round, you gain 1 skill point in one of the
Starting Skills of the profession of a dead teammate.
• Stay Alive: Your dead teammate encourages you to stay
alive, giving you the motivation to keep fighting. You
regain a number of vitality equal to the Dread rolled to
use this ability.
∉ = Not Cross-Trainable
No Quarter PRIME 61
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

investigator
The investigator’s role in a Strangelight Workshop team is to observe and
record data, interpret information the team uncovers, and act as a guiding
voice to the team’s efforts. Investigators tend to be the most inquisitive
members of a field team and often take on de facto leadership roles. They
are often the core member around which a team is formed—even smaller
Strangelight teams almost always include an investigator.
One of the most important jobs the investigator performs is to document
any observations the team makes via extensive notes and the lumitype.
Images captured with a lumitype are the subject of much study by
Blackwell Hall, and providing new information about the nature of the
afterlife or supernatural entities can make a new investigator’s career.

Starting Abilities: Keen Eye, Logical Explanation, True Grit

Starting Skills: Cryptography 1, Detection 1, Forensic Science 1,
Lore (occult) 1
Starting Assets: Lumitype and 10 blank spectragraphs, notebook,
pen and ink, Strangelight goggles, 50 gc
Starting Salary & Salary Increment: You start the game with a
salary of 100 gc a month and gain a 75 gc bonus for successful
investigations. When you receive a salary increase, increase your
monthly salary and bonus amount by 50 gc.
Skills: Alchemy 4, Command 2, Forensic Science 4,
Hand Weapon 2, Law 2, Negotiation 4, Pistol 3, Rapport 2,
Research 4, Tracking 4, General Skills 4

62 No Quarter PRIME
Abilities
Astute ∉
Prerequisites: Detection 1
You can reroll failed Detection rolls. Each failed roll can be
rerolled only once as a result of Astute.
Headstrong
Prerequisites: INT 6
Your powerful mind is difficult for others to control. The
COST of any spells that would force you to perform an action
increases by 2, and you may make a contested Willpower
roll against the character targeting you in order to resist any
abilities that would force you to perform any action against
your wishes.
Quick Study ∉
Prerequisites: INT 5
You are adept at quickly picking up new skills and talents. You
can use any skill you have observed in practice for at least
fifteen minutes or that has been taught to you by someone
proficient in the skill. For one hour, you treat the skill as if you
had 1 point of training in it. Quick Study can be used only
once per day.
Quick Study II
Prerequisites: Quick Study, INT 6, gained the Quick Study
benefit five or more times
When successfully gaining the benefit from Quick Study,
increase the temporary skill ranks you gain from Quick Study
to 2 at Hero level and 3 at Veteran and Epic. Additionally, you
can use this ability up to twice a day.

Inquiring Mind ∉
Shutterbug ∉
Prerequisites: INT 5, PER 5
Prerequisites: AGL 4, taken more than ten spectragraphs
The first time you discover a clue on a new investigation, you
You are familiar with the intricacies of lumitypes. You can
can regain 1 feat point, regain 1 Willpower point, or remove 1
reload a lumitype as a free action and take a spectragraph as a
Dread from the Game Master’s pool.
quick action.

Keen Eye ∉
Shutterbug II
Prerequisites: None
Prerequisites: Shutterbug, AGL 5
You can add 1 Dread point to the Game Master’s pool to spot
As a full action, you can take advantage of a lumitype’s flash to
a clue missed due to a failed Detection roll. This ability can be
temporarily blind a supernatural or possessed creature. Perform
used a total of three times in a scene. Each additional time you
a ranged attack using POI + Detection. If the attack hits, the
use this ability, the Dread cost increases by 1.
target supernatural creature suffers –2 to attack rolls for one
round.
Logical Explanation ∉
Prerequisites: None True Grit ∉
You can use a quick action to try to rationally explain a current Prerequisites: None
source of horror and make an INT roll against a target number
When you fail a Willpower roll, you can spend 1 feat point to
of 11. On a successful roll, all friendly characters currently in
succeed instead.
your Command range restore 1 point of lost Willpower. Logical
Explanation can be used only once per scene.

Outfox
Prerequisites: INT 6, knocked out or incapacitated by a melee
attack more than once
When an enemy hits you with a melee attack, add 1 Dread
point to the Game Master’s pool and make an INT roll. If your
roll total is higher than the attack roll, the attack misses. After
using this ability, you cannot use it again until you are hit by a
melee attack.

∉ = Not Cross-Trainable

No Quarter PRIME 63
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

jammer
Perhaps the most unique Strangelight profession, the jammer
evolved as a role in teams after numerous casualties resulting
from encounters with hostile spirits and other supernatural
creatures. The jammer is a fighting specialist who confronts specters
head on, outfitted and trained to intercept and incapacitate them. As
with the bouncer, the jammer’s focus is on keeping the team safe and
allowing more academic members to do their jobs. This requires restraint—it
is easier for a jammer to botch an investigation than for any other member of
the team. A ghost obliterated too quickly tells no tales.
Since the caller is the team member who attracts the attention of spirits and
helps make them tangible, they are in special peril, and it is the jammer’s
top priority to protect the caller by wrangling threatening supernatural
entities. The jammer uses specialized equipment that shields the field agent
from incorporeal entities and can physically interact with specters and
other spirits.

Starting Abilities: Fight Through the Horror, Ghost Puncher,

Nerves of Steel, Oh No You Don’t
Starting Skills: Detection 1, Unarmed Combat 1
Starting Assets: Hostile encounter suit, 25 gc
Starting Salary & Salary Increment: You start the game with a
salary of 25 gc a month and gain a 25 gc bonus for successful
investigations. When you receive a salary increase, increase your
monthly salary and bonus amount by 25 gc.
Skills: Hand Weapon 2, Survival 2, Unarmed Combat 4,
General Skills 4

64 No Quarter PRIME
Abilities Self-Sacrifice
Prerequisites: Unarmed 2, at least one companion has been
Bob & Weave grievously injured by a supernatural creature

Prerequisites: Unarmed Combat 2 When a friendly character within 6 feet (1˝) of you is hit with a
melee attack, you can choose to be hit instead.
As a quick action, you can move up to 18 feet (3˝). During this
movement, you gain +3 to DEF against free strikes.
Subdual
Fight Through the Horror ∉ Prerequisites: None

Prerequisites: Jammer You gain boosted grapple rolls made against supernatural or
possessed creatures.
You can spend 1 Willpower point to boost any melee damage
rolls made against supernatural enemies or threats for the turn.
Thrill of the Fight
Fight Through the Horror II Prerequisites: None

Prerequisites: Fight Through the Horror, PRW 6, single-
handedly destroyed at least five supernatural creatures in
combat
Change the benefit of Fight Through the Horror to an additional
die.
Ghost Puncher ∉
When you incapacitate an enemy with a melee attack, regain 1
point of Willpower.
Thrill of the Fight II ∉
Prerequisites: Thrill of the Fight, Unarmed Combat 3,
outnumbered by supernatural creatures in combat three or
more times

Prerequisites: Jammer After incapacitating an enemy with a melee attack, you can
either regain 1 Willpower point or make an additional melee
While engaging a supernatural creature, you gain one
attack.
additional attack or quick action, chosen at the start of your
activation.

Hammer Strike (a.k.a. “Ghost Puncher II”)

Prerequisites: Ghost Puncher, Unarmed 3
You throw caution to the wind, attempting a powerful strike
that leaves you open to reprisal. For the round, double your STR
when determining the P + S of your unarmed attacks. Until the
start of your next round, you suffer –2 DEF.

Nerves of Steel ∉
Prerequisites: Jammer
At the end of each of your activations, you regain 1 point of
Willpower.

Oh No You Don’t! ∉
Prerequisites: None
The Game Master must pay double the Dread points when
activating the Dread abilities of a supernatural creature within
your melee range.

∉ = Not Cross-Trainable

No Quarter PRIME 65
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

mechanik
The mechanik’s role in a Strangelight Workshop team is to operate and
maintain much of the finicky and often hazardous gear the team uses
in the field. This task requires a great deal of technical know-how and a
healthy dose of intuition, luck, and courage. Mechaniks are responsible for
handling the Strangelight projector itself, making them invaluable during
an investigation. Investigations may require other bulky gear for them to
manage and maintain, and they often rely on the assistance of the bouncer.
Mechaniks and investigators are usually the most heavily trained and
experienced members of a given team, in part because they are less often
directly in harm’s way and their protection is vital for the team to endure
and succeed. Mechaniks receive considerable hands-on training by senior
agents regarding the essential Strangelight equipment, learning them
from the inside out. They must become familiar with sometimes-esoteric
tools and the myriad ways experimental gear can fail as well as how to
restore them.

Starting Abilities: Percussive Maintenance, Problem Solver,

Technical Expertise
Starting Skills: Mechanikal Engineering 1, Rope Use 1
Starting Assets: Mechanik’s apron, mechanik’s toolkit,
Strangelight goggles, 40 gc
Starting Salary & Salary Increment: You start the game with a
salary of 80 gc a month and gain a 60 gc bonus for successful
investigations. When you receive a salary increase, increase your
monthly salary and bonus amount by 40 gc.
Skills: Craft (metalworking) 4, Great Weapon 2, Hand Weapon 4,
Lock Picking 2, Mechanikal Engineering 4, Pistol 2, Research 2,
Rifle 2, Rope Use 4, General Skills 4

66 No Quarter PRIME
Abilities Quick Fix ∉
Prerequisite: Mechanikal Engineering 1
Cast Iron ∉ You know how to affect hasty field repairs on damaged
Prerequisite: Mechanikal Engineering 2 equipment. You can spend a full action to repair a disabled
or broken piece of gear or machinery well enough that it will
Years of banging your knuckles, skull, and joints on machines
function for a number of rounds equal to your Mechanikal
during repairs have toughened you up. You gain a +1 ability
Engineering skill level. You can use Quick Fix once per disabled
bonus to ARM.
or broken device.

Demolish ∉
Scavenger
Prerequisite: Mechanik, Mechanikal Engineering 3, Percussive
Prerequisite: Mechanikal Engineering 2
Maintenance
You are skilled at recognizing the most important and
When you increase or decrease the vitality of a construct,
expensive components of any piece of equipment, particularly
machine, or other object with Percussive Maintenance, roll d6+1
in the prototypes deployed by the Strangelight Workshop.
instead of d3+1.
When a piece of Strangelight equipment or a prototype is
destroyed, you can make a Mechanikal Engineering roll
Gearhead’s Touch against a target number of 14. If the roll succeeds, you recover
Prerequisite: PER 4, Mechanikal Engineering 1, rolled on the enough important material to reduce the Reputation cost of a
catastrophic failure table at least three times replacement by half.
When you roll on the catastrophic failure table to determine a
prototype’s catastrophic failure, roll twice and choose the result.
Technical Proficiency ∉
Prerequisite: Mechanikal Engineering 2
Technophile ∉ The first time you repair a broken or damaged device, prototype,
Prerequisite: Mechanik, Mechanikal Engineering 2 or other machine on a new investigation, you can gain 1 feat
point, gain 1 Willpower point, or remove 1 Dread from the
Even if you’ve never seen an item before, you have a pretty
Game Master’s pool.
decent idea of how it works. If you spent a full action studying a
weapon or item that requires a skill you do not possess, you can
make an INT + Mechanikal Engineering roll against a target
Weapon Specialization [’jack wrench]
number of 14. If the roll succeeds, you can use your Mechanikal Prerequisite: Hand Weapon 2
Engineering skill in place of the required skill for the remainder
You are familiar with wielding a heavy mechanik’s wrench as
of the encounter.
an improvised weapon. You ignore the attack roll penalty for
using a ’jack wrench and gain +1 to damage rolls with it.
Technical Expertise ∉
Prerequisite: Mechanik
The Game Master must pay double the amount of Dread in
order to cause equipment you wield to malfunction or fail.
CATS
While not assigned by the quartermaster or considered “official”
equipment, field teams are loath to work without one or more cats
Percussive Maintenance ∉ on hand. Cats seem able to see multiple invisible entities, most
importantly the grymkin called gremlins—and cats hate gremlins.
Prerequisite: Mechanik Due to the havoc gremlins can wreak on the Workshop’s machines,
keeping a few cats around at all times is simply common sense. Cats
If you have adequate tools, you can make a Mechanikal should be named and their personalities denoted so their inevitable
Engineering roll against a target number of 12 to repair or loss will be felt.
sabotage constructs, machines, and other objects within reach.
If the roll succeeds, you can increase or decrease the target’s
vitality by d3+1 points.

Problem Solver ∉
Prerequisite: None
By spending a full action and making a successful Mechanikal
Engineering roll against a target number of 14, you may
remove a single Complication from a scene. You must provide
a narrative reason for the removal, and the Game Master must
∉ = Not Cross-Trainable
approve it.

No Quarter PRIME 67
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

NEW WEAPONS & GEAR Charged Gauntlets

Cost: Special (600 gc, 6 Reputation)
The Strangelight Workshop fabricates numerous devices useful
Skill: Unarmed Combat
for the execution of an investigation. These items are typically
available only to members of the Workshop, though a few do Attack Modifier: 0
end up falling into the hands of others following the death of a
POW: 2
team. The Workshop enjoys secrecy, particularly in relation to
its technological developments. Rune Points: 2
The following are new items unique to the Strangelight Description: Charged gauntlets are a pair of heavy mechanikal
Workshop. In addition to a physical cost, certain items have gloves incorporated into the hostile encounter suit. Able to be
a Reputation cost as well. The Reputation cost reflects the switched on or off, while active and drawing power from the
quartermasters of the Strangelight Workshop being reluctant suit they produce a powerful electrical charge proven capable
to pass out expensive and proprietary technology beyond what of damaging supernatural creatures or giving a living threat a
they consider strictly necessary. If a character must replace a nasty shock.
lost piece of technology, that character’s Reputation goes down
Special Rules: This weapon causes electrical damage and can
in relation to how important or expensive the equipment is.
damage incorporeal characters. Activating or deactivating
charged gauntlets requires a quick action.
Antispectral Ammunition
Cost: Normal ammunition cost +2 gc for 5 rounds A character other than a jammer wearing charged gauntlets
rolls one fewer die on attack and skill rolls while wearing it due
Description: Antispectral ammunition, sometimes called “ghost to lack of training. This is not cumulative with the penalty from
chaser” rounds, are bullets treated with a solution including the hostile encounter suit.
ectoplasm and Ashes of Urcaen in order to make them effective
against incorporeal entities. Fabrication: The material cost of the weapon’s housing is 25 gc.
It takes one week to construct the device. The pertinent Craft
Special Rules: A firearm loaded with antispectral ammunition skill for construction is Craft (metalworking).
can damage incorporeal characters but rolls one fewer damage
die. The weapon’s runeplates require two weeks to inscribe and a
successful INT + Mechanikal Engineering roll against a target
number of 14.
Bouncer’s Baton
Cost: 370 gc, 5 Reputation Charged gauntlets are not normally available outside the
Strangelight Workshop or separate from a hostile encounter suit,
Skill: Hand Weapon but they can sell for up to 600 gc to the right buyer.
Attack Modifier: 0
POW: 2
Rune Points: 2
Description: A simple piece of mechanika developed to assist
bouncers in clearing unwanted individuals from the site of an
investigation, the bouncer’s baton produces a painful, though
not deadly, electrical shock on contact. Most strikes are simply
painful, but the weapon can cause the nervous system of a
living individual to go haywire for a short time. The weapon is
powered by an alchemical capacitor in the grip.
Special Rules: This weapon causes electrical damage. On a critical
hit with this weapon, the target hit is stunned. A stunned target
suffers –2 to skill and attack rolls on its next activation.
Fabrication: The material cost of the weapon’s housing is 18 gc.
It takes one week to construct the device. The pertinent Craft
skill for construction is Craft (metalworking).
The weapon’s runeplates require two weeks to inscribe and a
successful INT + Mechanikal Engineering roll against a target
number of 14.

68 No Quarter PRIME
Hostile Encounter Suit
Cost: 1,350 gc, 12 Reputation
SPD Modifier: 0
DEF Modifier: –1
ARM Modifier: 7
Rune Points: 4
Description: Worn exclusively by jammers, the hostile encounter
suit is a complex piece of equipment developed to aid in
defending against and capturing incorporeal entities. The hood
includes a set of Strangelight goggles, and both gloves contain
charged gauntlets (see above), allowing the wearer to physically
interact with and damage otherwise incorporeal foes. While
powered, the suit inflates with special gas containing a finely
dispersed form of Ashes of Urcaen that receives an arcane
charge from the suit’s capacitor. An arcanodynamic accumulator
set into the back piece powers the armor.
Special Rules: While this armor has power, the wearer cannot
be possessed by supernatural or magical means, and characters
with the Incorporeal ability cannot move through the character.
A character other than a jammer wearing a hostile encounter
suit rolls one fewer die on attack and skill rolls while wearing it
due to lack of training. This is not cumulative with the penalty
from the charged gauntlets.
Replacing the gas canisters must be done once a week and
requires five minutes and the proper tools. Fresh gas canisters
are provided free of charge upon mission assignment, but extras
can be acquired for 2 Reputation apiece.
Activating or deactivating the armor requires a quick action.
Fabrication: The material cost of a hostile encounter suit is
255 gc. It takes one month to construct the armor. The pertinent
Craft skill for construction is Craft (metalworking).
Hostile encounter suit runeplates require four weeks to scribe
and a successful INT + Mechanikal Engineering roll against a
target number of 16.
Known Incorporeal & Disembodied Entities, 2nd Edition
Cost: Free to members of the Strangelight Workshop, 5 gc
wherever fine books are sold
Description: The Strangelight Workshop endeavors to keep
an abridged volume of information on common entities. This
book, now in its second edition, was produced by former
and current agents and includes information gathered by
experienced individuals outside the Workshop like the
esteemed Professor Pendrake of Corvis University. Nicknamed
“the Specternomicon” by field agents, it contains entries on
commonly encountered supernatural fauna.
Special Rules: A character who observes an incorporeal or
supernatural creature for at least one round can spend an action
looking up information in Known Incorporeal & Disembodied
Entities, 2nd Edition. A character who does so automatically
learns the first Lore entry associated with the observed creature.
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 IRON KINGDOMS RPG
Lumitype, Handheld
Cost: 25 gc, 3 Reputation
Description: The handheld lumitype is one of the most
effective pieces of field equipment used by the Strangelight
Workshop. Combining a small Strangelight projector and an
image-capturing system, the lumitype gives agents the ability
to take images, called spectragraphs, of the supernatural
entities they encounter. The Strangelight Workshop also
deploys larger, fixed lumitypes at sites known to have high
levels of spectral activity. Fixed lumitypes are typically
unmanned and shoot at predetermined intervals, using an
automated feed to reload blank spectragraph plates.
Special Rules: A lumitype includes a small Strangelight
projector able to produce a cone of light up to 36 feet (SP 6).
A character can use an action to capture an image with a
lumitype.
Reloading a lumitype with a blank spectragraph is a quick action.
Blank spectragraph plates come in packs of five. Investigators
are issued packs of spectragraphs on mission assignment, but
additional packs can be acquired at a cost of 1 Reputation.
Developing the image on a spectragraph requires a field
alchemy kit and five minutes spent processing the plate
followed by an INT + Alchemy roll against a target number of
10. If the roll fails, the image is distorted or otherwise unusable
at the Game Master’s discretion.
70 No Quarter PRIME
Mechanik’s Apron
Cost: 50 gc
SPD Modifier: 0
DEF Modifier: –1
ARM Modifier: 6
Description: A mechanik’s apron is a heavy leather apron,
sometimes backed with chainmail, designed to protect the
wearer from bits of flying metal, gears, and other mechanikal
components in the event of catastrophic machine failure. A
mechanik’s apron has numerous pockets, pouches, and straps
sewn into it to hold a collection of useful tools.
Sensory Augmentation Hood (“Ghost Hood”)
Cost: 125 gc, 8 Reputation
Description: Used exclusively by callers, the sensory
augmentation hood, or “ghost hood,” grants these spiritually
sensitive individuals the ability to communicate with spectral
entities by cutting off their ability to perceive the outside
world. Ghost hoods also include standard Strangelight goggles
mounted within the hood, though these tend to be less precise
than the bulkier dedicated goggles worn by most field agents.
While activated, the ghost hood prevents the wearer from
effectively hearing or seeing while drastically increasing their
ability to perceive the spirit world.
Special Rules: Wearing the hood while active imposes a –1 die
penalty on all rolls related to ordinary sight or sound but allows
callers to use their special abilities. The hood includes a pair of
Strangelight goggles, but when the hood is active, the googles go
inert and the caller can hear only spirits.
Activating or deactivating the hood requires a quick action.
Spectral Compass
Cost: 50 gc, 5 Reputation
Description: The spectral compass is a handheld device about
three inches in diameter, fabricated with known spiritually
resonant materials and inscribed with occult runes. A needle set
on the compass points in the general direction of potent sources
of spiritual energy.
Special Rules: A character can spend a full action to consult a
spectral compass. A character consulting a spectral compass
gains the Sensitive background ability for one round.
Strangelight Goggles
Cost: 60 gc, 2 Reputation
Description: The special goggles worn by Strangelight
Workshop agents are elaborate, consisting of multiple sets
of alchemically treated lenses within a heavy-duty housing.
Controls allow a field agent to select different combinations of
lenses to filter wavelengths of Strangelight.
Goggles are a key piece of any field agent’s equipment. Without
them, things illuminated by Strangelight are at best blurry
and indistinct, but with the appropriate selection of lenses, the
invisible become visible. Further, goggles help delay the process
of becoming voided, a term used for the effect of long-term
exposure to Strangelight.
Special Rules: In combination with a source of Strangelight,
like a lumitype or projector, a character wearing Strangelight
goggles can see invisible creatures and objects, as well as
spiritual energy. To properly view these, the goggles must be
tuned by adjusting the settings of lenses within them.
Adjusting goggle settings is an action. To achieve a proper
setting, the character must make a PER roll against a target
number equal to the encounter points of the entity being
viewed. Creatures or objects without an encounter point value
are treated as EP 8 for the purpose of such rolls.
A character with Strangelight goggles can see a creature without
a proper setting but roll one fewer die on Detection, ranged
attack, and magic attack rolls targeting the creature.
VOIDING
An unfortunate side effect of long-term exposure to Strangelight,
voiding is an irreversible condition that causes the iris and pupil to
turn white. Within the Strangelight Workshop, voiding is seen as
an unavoidable condition and a marker of experience. Most outside
the Workshop consider voiding an unfortunate disfigurement. Some
experienced researchers believe there may be a supernatural,
spiritual component to voiding as well, but as yet this is speculation
and requires further study.
Strangelight Projector
Cost: 460 gc, 10 Reputation
Rune Points: 3
Description: The Strangelight projector is one of the most
critical pieces of field equipment deployed by the Strangelight
Workshop. A dedicated piece of mechanika, a projector emits
Strangelight wavelengths that, in combination with specially
treated goggles, allow the user to perceive spiritual energy
and otherwise invisible things. Every field team brings at least
a single portable projector into the field, and most also bring
multiple backup projectors that can be mounted on tripods.
Noteworthy fine details are sometimes still not visible to the eye
and will only be revealed after lumitype exposure.
Special Rules: A Strangelight projector produces a cone of
Strangelight up to 60 feet (SP 10). In an affected area, characters
wearing Strangelight goggles can see invisible, incorporeal, or
otherwise magically hidden creatures and objects. Strangelight
allows the viewer to perceive spiritual energy of all kinds,
though without a pair of properly tuned goggles, such energy
appears hazy, indistinct, or faint.
A Strangelight projector is powered by an alchemical capacitor.
It can operate continuously for one hour on a single charge.
Strangelight Prototypes
The prototypes used by the Strangelight Workshop are odd and
largely untested pieces of mechanika that are as dangerous as
they are useful. Quartermaster Cronan Bailey acts reluctant to
allow such devices to fall into the hands of untested field agents,
tested field agents, and basically anyone other than himself and
his assistant, but field tests of such equipment are invaluable
and necessary. Someone always has to take the bullet.
If an investigation requires a particular prototype to succeed,
it will be issued to the field agents without requiring the
expenditure of Reputation. However, a team may attempt to
acquire prototypes beyond what is considered standard for an
assignment. Attempting to haggle with a quartermaster for
a prototype is a contested Negotiation skill roll. If the rolling
character succeeds, the prototype can be acquired for the
requisite Reputation cost. If the roll fails, the quartermaster
will not provide any additional prototypes for the current
investigation. The roll can be attempted only once per team per
investigation.
Most prototypes are only loaned to a field team. Those who
desire to permanently acquire a prototype need to meet a
minimum XP requirement and pay a higher Reputation cost.
Multiphase Subaudible Frequency Generator
Cost: 3 Reputation (On Loan); 6 Reputation, 9 XP (Permanent
Acquisition)
Description: A bulky device covered in a collection of dials,
the multiphase subaudible frequency generator, or “noisebox,”
produces a range of harmonic frequencies believed to be audible
to spirit entities. The prototype is known to have a disquieting
effect on living individuals, causing them to become more
irritable or experience a general sense of dread.
Special Rules: While activated, the device emits subaudible
sound in an area approximately 150 feet (25˝) in diameter.
Shades, specters, and other disembodied dead in the area must
make a successful Willpower roll against a target number of 15
or be compelled to investigate the device. Living characters in
the area suffer a –1 penalty to Willpower rolls.
Disharmonic Static Generation Unit
Cost: 4 Reputation (On Loan); 8 Reputation, 12 XP (Permanent
Acquisition)
Description: A bulky piece of mechanika approximately
thirty inches on a side, the disharmonic static generation unit
produces a low-yield arcane static in a small area that has the
effect of making disembodied spirits uncomfortable. A specter
or spirit can pass into the affected area but to do so seems to be
distracting and painful to the spirit.
Special Rules: While activated, the device emits a field
approximately 30 feet in diameter. Shades, specters, and other
disembodied dead in the area suffer a –2 penalty to skill, attack,
ability, and magic attack rolls.
No Quarter PRIME 71
 IRON KINGDOMS RPG

Spectral Containment Unit Prototype Malfunction

Cost: 5 Reputation (On Loan); 10 Reputation, 15 XP (Permanent
Prototypes can suffer irritating or dangerous breakdowns in the
Acquisition)
field. The Game Master can spend 3 Dread points at any time to
Description: Designed on principles similar to those used to cause a prototype malfunction and force a roll on the prototype
make soul cages, spectral containment units are bulky pieces of malfunction table.
mechanikal equipment designed to capture and house spirits
Additionally, a character who performs an action with a
for long-term containment and study.
prototype and rolls all 1s must immediately roll on the
Special Rules: If a spirit could be made to pass to Urcaen, it prototype malfunction table and resolve the rolled result.
can be housed in a spectral containment unit instead. Barring
prototype failure, the spirit is trapped within the unit until it is PROTOTYPE MALFUNCTION TABLE
released by someone in control of the unit.
2d6 roll Result
Note that a spectral containment unit is still an unreliable
prototype; Game Masters are encouraged to use Dread to cause 2 Delayed Reaction
them to malfunction whenever the release of a violent and 3 Catastrophic Failure
dangerous spirit would prove the most entertaining.
4 Engine Noise

5 Inevitable Malfunction

6–7 Malfunction

8 Mechanikal Failure

9 Too Hot to Handle

10 Ghastly Magnet

11 Surge

12 Wild Discharge

Catastrophic Failure: The prototype begins to whine, emit sparks,

heat up, and violently shake. At the start of the character’s next
Maintenance Phase, the prototype bursts apart in a dramatic
failure, potentially exploding into fragments or firing off wild
bolts of arcane energy.
The prototype is destroyed and is no longer usable. The character
currently in possession of the prototype and d3 characters within 6
feet (1˝) suffer a POW 8 damage roll.
Delayed Reaction: The prototype does nothing for the current
action but make a series of disheartening clunks.
Either at the start of the character’s next Maintenance Phase or
whenever it would be the funniest/most inconvenient, at the Game
Master’s discretion, the prototype powers on and produces all
normal effects.
Engine Noise: The device begins to emit a deafening noise, like a
high-pitched shriek or loud grinding sound.
Characters within 100 yards (50˝) can hear the device. Characters
within 60 feet (10˝) have trouble hearing anything but the device.
This effect lasts for d3 rounds.
Ghastly Magnet: The prototype emits a field of arcane static that
draws the supernatural like a magnet.
For d3+1 rounds, any incorporeal creatures within 120 feet (20˝)
must make a Willpower roll against a target number of 14. If the
roll fails, the creatures must end their activation closer to the
prototype than they began.

72 No Quarter PRIME
Inevitable Malfunction: Something important and fragile
slips out of place, getting in the way of something even more
important and fragile. It’s only a matter of time before the
inevitable failure of the device.
The next time the prototype is used and the roll is a critical, the
action automatically fails and the prototype is destroyed.
Malfunction: The prototype does not function this turn, but it
does emit some alarming sparks and noises and heats up to an
uncomfortable degree.
Mechanikal Failure: A bolt or screw slips loose, causing a critical
component to fall off of the prototype and land at the character’s
feet.
The device does not function until the missing component is
repaired. The character can spend a quick action to make a
Mechanikal Engineering roll against a target number of 10 to
repair the missing component. If the roll is a critical success, the
character makes the machine work despite the missing component,
which must not have been all that important in the first place.
Surge: The prototype functions at extreme capacity for a short
time, tearing itself apart in the process.
Until the end of the user’s next activation, actions performed
with the device gain an additional die. Prototype weapons gain an
additional die to attack and damage rolls. At the end of the user’s
next activation, the prototype is destroyed.
Too Hot to Handle: The prototype heats up to an alarming
degree. Metal surfaces become red hot, and the device starts
spewing clouds of black smoke.
Roll a d6. For that number of rounds, a character in contact with
the prototype must make a PHY roll against a target number of
11 or drop the prototype immediately. If the roll succeeds, the
character suffers 1 point of fire damage but may use the device
normally for that round.
Wild Discharge: The prototype activates with a wild crackle of
arcane energy before falling dormant.
Randomly select a character within 30 feet (5˝) of the device. That
character suffers a POW 10 magic damage roll.
NEW SKILL: RAPPORT
Rapport (Social)
Rapport is the ability to read the emotional state of another,
spot changes in that person’s attitude or demeanor, and respond
accordingly in a social context to affect the other’s mood and
demeanor, usually seeking to calm them or establish a bond.
Untrained Rapport: A character unskilled in Rapport can
attempt to guess the emotions of another but runs a far greater
risk of failure. Increase the target number for unskilled Rapport
rolls by +2.
Rapport Rolls: When your character makes a Rapport attempt,
you make a roll using a stat determined by the Game Master
and add your character’s Rapport level.
The following table offers guidelines for setting Rapport target
numbers, but like many social skills, the exact situation in game
might suggest deviations from these general guidelines.
Target Number Situation
Determining if someone is in a state of shock or
10
calming down an irritated person.
Determining if someone is hostile to you or
12
calming down an angry person.
Determining if someone is not telling you the
14
whole truth or calming down an infuriated person.
The character being spoken to is skilled in
+1 or more
Deception (1 per level of the Deception skill).
No common language with the character being
+4
spoken to.
Assisted Rapport Rolls: One additional character trained in
Rapport can assist in a Rapport skill roll. The character with
the higher Rapport modifier (stat chosen by the Game Master +
Rapport level) makes the roll and adds 1 to the result for each of
the assisting character’s levels in Rapport.
Detect Possession: A character skilled in Rapport can
sometimes tell when the person they are interacting with is
being controlled by a supernatural entity or magic. When your
character makes an attempt to detect possession, make a roll
using a stat determined by the Game Master, usually PER. The
target number of this roll is equal to the Willpower of the source
of the possession.
Game Master Notes: Rapport allows a character to intuit the
emotional state of another, but it isn’t magic. A character skilled
in Deception is able to suppress indications of their current
emotional state. Rapport does not allow a character to infallibly
read someone’s mind, and it is possible for a character to
misinterpret the cues they observe.
Note that the Rapport skill has two components. One is a kind
of “social detection” that allows the character to catch cues and
gain insight into the mental state of the person they are talking
to. The other is a more traditional social skill, wherein the
character says what they need to in order to calm down or elicit
empathy from someone.
CAUSE A SPIRIT TO MOVE ON
Callers in the Strangelight Workshop rely on Rapport to cause spirits
to pass on to Urcaen. This action cannot be performed on a spirit
that is currently hostile to the caller.
To make a spirit pass on, the caller and spirit make a contested
Rapport roll. If the caller’s roll is higher, the spirit suffers damage
to its life spiral or vitality equal to the difference in the two rolls.
A spirit that loses its last vitality point due to this roll passes to
Urcaen, a process that takes only a few moments. If the spirit’s
roll is higher, it suffers no damage and might try to flee, attack, or
perform some other action the Game Master deems appropriate.
No Quarter PRIME 73
 THEME FORCE

Forces of Cryx:

Pirates of the
Scharde Islands
by Matt Goetz & Douglas Seacat

C ryxian pirates sail the Meredius slaying whomever they

wish and seizing any plunder that catches their eye. They
have sent an untold number of ships to the bottom of the sea
and have set countless coastal villages ablaze. While it is the
teeming undead for which the Nightmare Empire is most
notorious, the living pirates of the Scharde Islands are even
more fiendishly cruel, enjoying a degree of savage and chaotic
freedom found nowhere else.
Piracy is rightly feared along the coasts of the Iron Kingdoms.
Lawless raiders are a menace as pervasive as the jagged reefs
and raging storms—and even more deadly. There is a stark
distinction between pirates who answer only to their inner
greed and those who serve the Dragonfather. Increasingly,
Cryxian pirates dominate the Broken Coast, eclipsing all other
threats. Though wild and unpredictable, they have their place
in the plans of the lich lords. The plunder flowing from these
fleets into cities like Blackwater fuel a dark economy, one which
openly profits from suffering, slavery, and death.
Multiple fleets serve Lord Toruk, each distinct in role and
composition. The most respected of living pirates are the
Satyxis who crew the flagships of the Black Fleet. These battle-
maddened warrior women delight in the carnage they create

74 No Quarter PRIME
and which in turn fuels their blood magic. The blackships they
command are capable of harnessing their own winds, and each
boasts an arsenal of formidable weaponry. They carry in their
holds great numbers of helljacks and bonejacks waiting to be
disgorged onto the mainland.
Yet the blackships are few compared to the hundreds of rag-
tag vessels that make up the more chaotic raiding fleets of the
Nightmare Empire, most of which are crewed by brutal human
Scharde Islanders. Survival among Cryx’s squalid towns requires
the ambitious to claw their way to the top over the bodies of
equally desperate rivals, and each pirate is a proven murderer.
Human pirates must also contend with the hulking black ogrun
and blighted trollkin who compete for opportunities to rise in the
fleets. And though each pirate captain is lord of their own vessel,
all answer to Satyxis admirals.
At the pinnacle of this disordered rabble is the Slaughter Fleet.
From the holds of this fleet’s vessels, cannibalistic blighted
trollkin emerge to terrorize the mainland. While often treated as
cannon fodder by Toruk’s generals, the Slaughter Fleet endures,
its greatest warriors too ferocious and resilient to perish before
taking down scores of their enemies.
No Quarter PRIME 75
 THEME FORCE
Origins of the
Pirate Fleets
Even before Toruk’s arrival on the Scharde Islands, the fourteen
pirate kings ruled the seas, all but two fated to become the first
lich lords. Their fiefdoms brought together a diverse array of
criminals and exiles from the ancient kingdoms of Tordor, Thuria,
Khard, and Caspia—those who had either fled the authorities or
been driven into exile. The Scharde people were always a motley
bunch, proud of their violent reputation, their lawless lifestyle,
and the fear they inspired in civilized townships. Most of all,
they savored the freedom of the open seas.
There were some islands even these bloodthirsty pirates feared
and avoided, especially the mist-shrouded island of Satyx, home
to a tribe of horned warrior-women. The Satyxis became a race
distinct from humanity after the dragon Shazkz lost a battle
with Toruk above the island, raining blighted blood upon its
inhabitants that withered the men and changing the women
forever. They became even more bloodthirsty and cruel after
their blighting, taking to raiding and plundering on the seas as
a way of life. While Satyxis were akin to other pirates in some
ways, they lived apart from the rest, willing to slay any who
intruded. Even the most arrogant pirate kings knew better than
to seek their subjugation. It was only to the dragon Toruk that
the Satyxis eventually bowed.
Pirate flag of the Widower and Skarre Ravenmane.
While much would change after the Dragonfather’s arrival—
with the imposition of the lich lords, the escalating prevalence
of undead, and the blighting of the entire region—piracy
persisted and became, if anything, even more widespread. The
lich lords saw the value in allowing Cryx’s living inhabitants
to aspire to better lives by preying on shipping and coastal
towns, which in turn helped fuel an opportunistic economy that
enriched Cryxian cities while harming the Nightmare Empire’s
potential enemies. Piracy also served as an outlet for the more
ambitious and bloodthirsty of the Nightmare Empire’s living
peoples, forging them into ruthless warriors while giving the
illusion of relative freedom.
Supporting the pirate fleets has had the added benefit of
protecting the islands against threats from the sea as well
as creating a ready landing fleet. The lich lords regularly
deploy one flotilla of the raiding fleets to distract its enemies
from the efforts of another. Disposable raiders often serve
as a ruse, attacking ships or coastal towns at random and
causing widespread panic and alarm—all while the nation’s
better-armed, Satyxis-crewed vessels are sent after more vital
objectives. Even early in Cryxian history the Satyxis rose to an
esteemed status by dint of their proven skill at sea and their
ruthlessness in battle. After the fall of the Orgoth, this rough
division between the fleet’s floating cannon fodder and its
valued elite became a part of Cryx’s hierarchy.
The Nightmare Empire was responsible for obliterating
the last stronghold of the tyrants—the great fortress city of
Drer Drakkerung on Garlghast Island. The city had served
as a logistical hub for the Orgoth during their invasion and
occupation of western Immoren, and it was to this place that
they fell back when driven out by the mainland Rebellion.
Seeing an opportunity to seize their knowledge and weapons
for himself in these last hours of their strength, Toruk sent the
bulk of his armed might against the island city, accepting the
risk of their obliteration.
Both sides employed fell magics in this great battle,
and the very earth was torn apart and the sky
burned. The Orgoth sought to take their
foe with them in a final act of
obliteration. While a vast
conflagration consumed the
city, destroying three of the
original lich lords and leaving
several others forever altered,
Toruk considered the cost worth
it. Despite the Orgoths’ efforts to
erase themselves, the use of forensic
necromancy enabled the lich lords
to recover substantial occult lore,
including knowledge of soul
cages, warwitch methods, and
many other necromantic techniques.
Perhaps the greatest mystical knowledge
seized from the tyrants was the secrets of their
longships. From this lore came the development of the
blackships of Cryx, pioneered by the entity that would later
become Lich Lord Terminus, replacing one of those fallen on
Garlghast. It was through his efforts that the shipwrights of
Dreggsmouth were able to begin the production of Cryx’s elite
flagship force: the Black Fleet, the hardened and terrifying core
of the Cryxian navy.
It was not long before the Satyxis, who had already been
crewing the most formidable vessels in the fleet, assumed
command over most blackships. While there are other races
among the officers and crews of these dire vessels, the Black
Fleet became the home of the Satyxis, reflecting their standing
as Cryx’s most valued living denizens.
The Slaughter Fleet is of more recent origins, arising from the
raiding fleets as an extension of the killing prowess of General
Gerlak Slaughterborn. Gerlak united the Bloodgorgers and
many black ogrun under his command, and since that time the
Slaughter Fleet has carved out a special niche as the terrifying
shock troops of the Nightmare Empire. They are sent to indulge
in carnage and feasting to undermine the morale of mainland
armies and navies. Gerlak Slaughterborn is no less disposable
than any other element of the pirate fleet, but he has refused
to be slain despite being cast into countless battles that should
have resulted in his death.
The Ghost Fleet
One group of Cryxian pirates that still stands apart from the rest
is the Ghost Fleet. Led by Cryx’s first citizen, Captain Rengrave of
the accursed Atramentous, the revenants making up the Ghost
Fleet are cursed to an eternal existence bound to their ships, which
are themselves bound to Rengrave. Living Cryxian pirates are
periodically forced to fight alongside their revenant counterparts,
but there is no sense of fellowship between them.
Proximity to ships of the Ghost Fleet makes Cryx’s living pirates
uneasy, to put it mildly. The sight of spectral crews climbing the
rigging of ghostly vessels limned in ever-burning balefire fills even
hardened living pirates with dread. They would much prefer to live
in the present and ignore the inevitability of death. And given the
choice, most would sooner perish cleanly and disappear beneath the
waves than live on in eternal enslavement.
In truth it is rare for the Ghost Fleet to add to its number by stealing
from the crews of Cryx’s other fleets. Perhaps it is some aspect
of Rengrave’s curse that he prefers to seek out those serving on
mainland vessels for impressment into his service, repeating the
cycle begun when Toruk first breathed fire across the decks of his
Dirgenmast vessel.
No Quarter PRIME 77
 THEME FORCE
Training
The Nightmare Empire’s fleets have little in the way of
traditional training, relying instead on firsthand experience.
Even the newest pirate aboard a Cryxian ship will already
know how to fight, a skill learned on the docks of island
ports and in urban fighting pits. Once out to sea, sailors hone
their seamanship by surviving maelstroms and outrunning
privateers, become better fighters by surviving duels, and
improve their marksmanship by gunning down opponents. It
is a cutthroat and hard-hearted method of instruction, but it
reliably culls the weak and indecisive.
Recruits come aboard as sea dogs and fill different roles, often
juggling the duties of able seaman, fighter, carpenter’s assistant,
sail- and rope-maker, and any other job that needs doing. A
pirate who demonstrates proficiency in combat can be assigned
to a more specific role, such as a sharpshooter and topman who
hangs in the rigging to snipe enemy officers, a gunnery crew
member, or a dedicated deck raider who carries out boarding
actions. Ferocity in battle is rewarded with advancement far
more swiftly than skill at menial tasks.
Younger Schardefolk who come aboard as swabbies and powder
monkeys fill the less desirable roles, like cleaning the ship
and carting volatile powder kegs up from the ship’s magazine
during combat. Until they earn their station, younger pirates
often receive beatings to toughen them up and are generally
expected to fend for themselves.
If a ship’s bosun, surgeon, quartermaster, or sailing master
falls in combat, someone aboard must fill the void. In most
cases this falls to the fallen pirate’s mate, a sailor who assists in
the execution of an officer’s duties. Sometimes the role goes to
whoever aboard the ship has enough proficiency to make do.
78 No Quarter PRIME
A well-seasoned sailor who amasses enough knowledge and
infamy may rise to become a captain. Gaining a ship of one’s
own to command might follow the death of the previous captain,
whether through mishap or malice, or as a result of plunder.
When a pirate crew captures a prize ship, it is given to an
individual of the captain’s choice, together with a skeleton crew
of the chosen’s closest fighting comrades. Upon returning to port,
the new captain recruits additional crew from among countless
volunteers in dockside taverns, eager to improve their lot. It is
not uncommon for prospective recruits to fight, sometimes to the
death, as they compete for posts. A prize ship sails as part of a
flotilla under the authority of the captain who captured it, though
all captains heed Admiral Wraithblade, who oversees the raiding
fleet and in turn answers to Skarre Ravenmane.
Blighted trollkin of the Slaughter Fleet approach training
differently. These pirates train their youth, often as young as
ten years old, by taking them along on coastal raids, where they
are expected to earn a kill and to consume its flesh. By the time
these trollkin reach maturity, they may have been in dozens of
such battles and are ready to stand beside the Bloodgorgers of
the Slaughter Fleet. Black ogrun have somewhat different rituals
but begin their raiding at a similarly young age.
Satyxis go to greater lengths to train new members, adhering
to their own rituals and practices. Most Satyxis have an
advantage by the time they join a ship, having been raised
to be ready for this life and learning the skills they need to
survive from their parent. They learn to wield the lacerator
and to be useful on a sailing ship. Those with the gift, inducted
into the rituals of blood magic and worship, are brought into
covens to refine and enhance their arcane capabilities. Senior
blackship officers are stern taskmasters. After a season aboard
such a vessel, a Satyxis is a finer sailor and a more adept killer
than anyone else on the sea.
Tactics of the
Cryxian Fleets
Cryxian pirate fleets rely on swift brutality to shatter the
will of their opposition. The sight of such a crew—a pack of
howling, blood-spattered maniacs supported by ’jacks armed
with gruesome weapons—will unnerve even the most stalwart
soldiers. Raiding parties torch buildings, massacre defenders,
and surge forward like a shrieking tide. Tactics center on
routing panicked enemies through sheer press of numbers and
an enthusiasm for violence. These methods are not subtle, but
they are effective.
Cryx’s enemies cannot predict when or where pirates will strike
next. The fleets attack under cover of darkness, emerging from
storms or fog to assail targets all along the coast, and they
capitalize on the unpredictable weather and currents of the
Meredius. While every coastal power conducts naval patrols to
watch for Cryxian ships, the Nightmare Empire’s fleets exploit
every advantage to circumvent them, sailing in the shadow of
great storms and pressing through conditions that would force
all other ships into the safety of ports. Even if a naval patrol
spots a flotilla of Cryxian raiding ships, it may be simply a
distraction to allow a flotilla of blackships to move on a more
valuable target.
Direct clashes with mainland navies are often avoided, but
when they happen, pirates generally seek to board as quickly
as possible and overrun the foe. In such an attack, the lives of
individual pirates are disposable. They prefer to board with
overwhelming numbers. Officers send subordinates into the fray
with no real concern for their survival, as the bodies of the dead
can always be recycled as thralls following victory. Scharde
pirates attack in an underhanded, unpredictable manner, and
in every battle some of their number are trampled underfoot by
other boarders or ’jacks rushing to engage.
Both Bloodgorgers and Satyxis rely less on this method,
though for different reasons. The sheer brutality of a
Bloodgorger assault combined with their individual physical
prowess has a psychological impact far beyond their numbers,
allowing trollkin crews to demoralize even much larger enemy
forces. Satyxis are less reliant on numbers in part because
each is such a formidable combatant but also because they
fight so seamlessly together. Attacks by Satyxis may seem
chaotic, but they subtly and skillfully coordinate their actions
and therefore suffer fewer casualties than their more reckless
human counterparts.
When Cryxian ships strike a well-defended military port,
surprise is their greatest advantage. Up to a mile from the
coast, crews pitch amphibious helljacks over the gunwale
to scuttle on the sea floor toward the target in advance of
a landing. Once the ’jacks emerge from the surf, the ship
bombards the target with its cannons and launches landing
craft to disgorge mobs of pirates.
If defenders prove too much to handle, Cryxian captains have
no compunction about abandoning embattled crew. Those left
ashore continue the fight as long as they are able, because they
know that their captains will not return for them. Stranded
pirates strive to take out as many defenders as they can before
death comes for them. To be taken alive is a far worse fate.
Thousands of Cryxian pirates have rotted away on coastal
gibbets as a warning to others of their kind.
No Quarter PRIME 79
 THEME FORCE
Life on a Cryxian
Pirate Ship
For most in Cryx’s fleets, home is not on one of the Scharde
Islands. It is instead found on the salt-cured timbers of the
vessels they crew. Cryxian pirates spend the majority of their
lives aboard a ship, with only brief stints in port where they
drink and gamble away any loot taken while at sea. The ship is a
crew’s home, means of sustenance, and floating fortress against
the pirate hunters and fellow Schardefolk who would do them
harm. These pirate ships are equal parts vessel and village,
tailored to suit the preferences of their captains and the men
and women who serve aboard them. Grisly trophies hanging
from gunwales and rigging are common, as are grotesque
figureheads and lewd sayings carved into the timbers of the hull
or stitched on the sails.
The ships in the raiding fleet vary widely in size and
configuration, from swift single-masted sloops to sturdy frigates
captured from mainland navies. Vessels manufactured in the
sundry small ports throughout the Scharde Islands tend to
A large pirate ship may have a sumptuous cabin for
its captain, which displays their wealth, nautical
charts, and any treasure or tools of the trade.
80 No Quarter PRIME
be smaller and more agile, commonly with one or two masts.
Larger and more powerful ships sail out of the shipyards of
Dreggsmouth, including steam-and-sail hybrids powered by
toxic necrotite and the notorious blackships of the Black Fleet.
Although construction of the blackships specifically does follow
certain guidelines, Cryxian ships are not as standardized as
mainland counterparts. Most shipwrights of the Nightmare
Empire do not rely on formal plans when constructing regular
vessels, instead following whatever nautical traditions and
designs evolved among the people of their particular island
or port. Some build fat, heavy vessels with broad canvas and
steam engines, capable of hauling large cargoes of corpses or
captives for sale in Blackwater. Other builders prefer small, swift
catamarans just large enough to hold a modest crew of boarders,
designed to strike quickly and overwhelm the defenders of
a prize ship. The rigging and armaments on Cryxian vessels
are equally dissimilar, ranging from large fixed square sails
propelling cannon-heavy ships to the overlapping triangular
rigging on smaller craft armed only with pots of burning pitch.
A good number of vessels in the raiding fleets do not originate
in the Scharde Islands. These ships tend to be smaller boats
taken as prizes. Built by mainlanders, steam-and-sail hybrids
are coveted by many Cryxian captains for their balance of
size, firepower, and durability. Once a ship falls into Cryxian
hands, it undergoes a gradual a transformation as damaged
components are replaced with locally-made parts, sails are
reconfigured to suit a captain’s preferences, and weaponry
is supplemented with whatever cannons, deck guns, and
harpoons can be bought or plundered. Within a few years the
origins of these appropriated vessels are all but unrecognizable.
The size and armament of a ship often attests to the
crew’s success as pirates. Skilled captains are
often on the lookout for a bigger and
better ship to capture, even if it
means claiming it from another
Scharde Islands crew. With a
larger vessel comes the ability
to take on more challenging
opponents along with greater
opportunities for plunder.
Some of the greatest living
captains of the Scharde Islands
command vessels comparable
to the second- and third-rate
warships of Khador, Ord, and
Cygnar—in fact, many used to sail
under the banners of those kingdoms.
But even these captured warships pale in
comparison to the vessels of the Black Fleet.
Inside the Blackships
The Black Fleet boasts not only the largest and most powerful
of Cryx’s ships, but some of the greatest warships on the
Meredius. New blackships are made infrequently, and their
construction is presently overseen by master shipwright
Kress Soratt of Dreggsmouth, who follows methods laid down
centuries ago by Lich Lord Terminus. These ships are more
than the equal of the most powerful vessels of the mortal
navies. Only modern ironhulls and first-rate ships of the line
can hope to stand against them.
Each blackship is a fusion of dark magic and military
engineering. Constructed using closely guarded secrets stolen
from the Orgoth, a blackship is propelled by its own unnatural
wind and always sails with the weather gauge. This means
blackships have no need of the heavy steam engines employed
by other vessels, making them swift and agile despite their
size, able to strike at speed with maximum maneuverability.
They can also summon storms and unnatural fogs to provide
concealment until the moment of an attack, making battles
against them a difficult proposition even for seasoned crews.
A blackship is equivalent in size to a Cygnaran first-rate ship of
the line, displacing over two thousand tons and housing a crew
of nearly a thousand. Sufficient lumber for construction of a new
blackship is not easy to come by on the Scharde Islands, so most
of the lumber is harvested from blight-stained groves cultivated
on Skell along the Scalesflow River. Because a single blackship
requires dozens of large trees and years of shaping and curing,
shipwrights are careful not to waste so much as a single timber
of the available supply.
Blackships have at least two gun decks and as many as fifty
cannons to a side, which allows them to battle on equal footing
with the heaviest naval vessels. The greatest blackships, like the
flagships that sail with Skarre Ravenmane, may boast dozens
of additional cannons and are nearly half again as large as a
traditional sailing frigate. Despite their size and firepower,
blackships possess both speed and maneuverability, outclassing
ships of equivalent weight. Even a single blackship can wreak
havoc on squadrons of lesser warships. Not quite as durable
under direct fire as Khadoran or Cygnaran ironclads, blackships
tend to use their maneuverability to evade damage rather than
weather it head-on. Blackship assaults rely less on cannon
bombardments than on closing to deliver boarding parties,
seizing prize vessels relatively intact.
The shape of a blackship resembles nothing so much as a
massive hybrid of traditional Orgoth longships and modern
naval ships-of-the-line. The main deck is a wide expanse of
masts, capstans, small deck guns, and rigging. Boarding craft
are stowed on the main deck near launch hoists, lashed down
under oiled canvas until needed for a raid or to abandon ship.
Two tall castles rise above the main deck, the quarterdeck to the
aft and the forecastle to the bow, sometimes two or more floors
Traditional Satyxis Vessels
The Satyxis have their own shipbuilding traditions and remain proud
of their methods. While there are no large Satyxis vessels in the
fleets, the best smaller ships are Satyxis-built. Some of these vessels
are brought aboard blackships to be used for boarding actions or for
landing during coastal raids.
Satyxis prefer sleek and agile vessels with one or two masts, built
with wood and other materials harvested from their own island.
Called dhoze in their tongue, the larger of these ships resemble
Ordic caravels, with triangular lateen-rigged sails allowing them to
sail close to the wind. Each is also equipped with oars so they can
maneuver when becalmed.
The majority of Satyxis vessels hold thirty or fewer sailors, sufficient
for a tight-knit raiding party. They were built to sail short distances
between the islands and the nearby shores of the mainland and to
evade more cumbersome pursuers. It was not uncommon for a party
of Satyxis in a compact vessel to swiftly board and overcome ships
with considerably larger crews. Even when commanding the might
of a blackship, many Satyxis captains prefer to use their firepower
sparingly and surgically, crippling an enemy vessel and thinning the
crew before boarding.
taller than those of a traditional warship. These tall castles allow
the crew of the blackship to attack with a height advantage,
gaining clear sightlines down onto the main deck of a rival ship
as well as the ability to swing down on ratlines to attack behind
a target vessel’s wall of defenders.
The quarterdeck contains officer’s quarters and the captain’s
grand cabin, while the foc’sle of most blackships houses the
ship’s topmost cannons. Essential crew have quarters in the
foc’sle, a privilege afforded to experienced sailors, specialists,
and mechaniks. Blood witches often claim a portion of the
foc’sle as their own, transforming it into a dark ritual space
thick with incense and the smell of freshly spilled blood.
The gun decks are home to the ship’s cannons, with blasting
powder and ammunition stored safely in the magazine within
the central and best-defended area of the ship. Porters carry
ammunition up to the gun decks by hand. The gun decks take
up the largest area of the vessel, so when not in use for battle
these decks also act as overflow housing for crew, who string
hammocks between the timbers. The middle gun deck houses the
ship’s galley, where meals are prepared and served to off-duty
crew, though the space is cramped and most sailors prefer to
eat in the more open space of a gun deck instead. Actual crew
quarters are cramped spaces at the fore of the ship on the middle
or lower gun decks, with hammocks strung four or five high.
Beneath the gun decks, the orlop deck and the hold contain
all of the ship’s supplies as well as quarters for those crew
who need ready access to them, like the ship’s carpenter and
’jack mechaniks. It is usually cold and dark on these lowest
two decks, as they sit below the water line. Provided there are
no leaks, this makes for ideal long-term storage of food. The
orlop deck and hold also house miles of spare cable, rope, and
sailcloth along with timbers and carpentry supplies, plus fresh
water, coal, necrotite, miscellaneous general supplies, inert
bonejacks and helljacks, and if needed, ballast.
No Quarter PRIME 81
 THEME FORCE
Life Among the Fleets
The life of a living Cryxian pirate is an exciting but uncertain
one, filled with violence and opportunities for plunder. For
some, it is an escape from the pathetic blighted villages of the
Scharde Islands. To others, it is an invitation to indulge a desire
for wanton slaughter and amass ill-gotten wealth. An elite few
see it as a way to demonstrate martial prowess and fealty to
both their masters and the Dragonfather they worship.
Whether they sail in the Black Fleet, in the Slaughter Fleet, or
on the diverse ships of the general raiding fleets, these pirates
endure a chaotic existence spent trying to seize what they can,
knowing all the while that a fellow sailor or superior might
cut them down without hesitation or just cause. The possibility
of swift death is greater for some among them, such as the
human Schardefolk. Though blight makes these humans more
aggressive than their mainland counterparts, they must be wary
Pirate Families (or the Lack Thereof)
All aspects of life in Cryx are harsh, cruel, and unforgiving, but one
aspect of the life of living pirates that is different from their undead
counterparts is that they are born, have parents, grow older, and
may eventually have children of their own. Whether as part of their
culture or a side-effect of the blight, most Schardefolk demonstrate
limited familial attachment and nurturing instincts.
Few Schardefolk and no Satyxis select permanent mates—marriage
is a foreign concept in the Nightmare Empire. Casual liaisons are
common among crew within a given flotilla, usually brief and
involving little or no affection. For most, the gang structure takes
the place of family and provides protection during pregnancy and
while raising the young.
A pregnant pirate may leave her ship to hole up in a Cryxian town
or city until ready to return. This is a risk, however, as her position
is not guaranteed on her return. Births on ship are not uncommon,
though pirate vessels are extremely dangerous places to grow to
maturity. Parents often feel an urge to protect their young, though
to a shockingly limited degree compared to most mainlanders.
Orphans fill the back alleys of Blackwater and Dreggsmouth,
forming their own gangs. Children typically separate from parents
in their early teens, though there are crews that include more than
one generation. Youths are given the most menial of tasks, so their
presence provides even the lowest-ranking sailors with someone
even less significant to mistreat.
Satyxis have their own customs, requiring human males for
reproduction. Liaisons with members of the raiding fleet are again
common, though Satyxis are highly selective. Given their influence
in the fleets, few can refuse them and such pairings are never free of
fear and anxiety for the chosen males. It is customary for pregnant
Satyxis to return to Satyx to give birth, though some choose to carry
a child to term on ship. They do not require extra protection during
this time, as other Satyxis look after them, even if formerly rivals.
Bringing harm to a pregnant Satyxis is one of the greatest taboos
in their culture, and punishments for transgressors are legendary.
Males are rarely born to Satyxis, and when it happens they are
stunted and twisted, often stillborn. Those that live through birth
are swiftly put to death, which is considered only natural and right.
Satyxis have strong bonds between mother and daughter, and each
is trained to stand ready to continue the legacy of this proud warrior
people. Even here, familial attachments tend to fade considerably
when the child reaches maturity.
82 No Quarter PRIME
around black ogrun, blighted trollkin, and Satyxis. A poorly
chosen word or perceived affront is sufficient reason for one of
these more deadly races to cut down a human on a whim.
Unlike on many privateer ships of the mainland, where each
crew member can expect a fair share of the spoils and can voice
opinions regarding their goals, there is very little semblance
of democracy aboard a Cryxian vessel. Captains command
ultimate authority over their crews and maintain this authority
through violent suppression of dissenters. But a captain’s
authority lasts only as long as they are the toughest, smartest,
and most proficient killer aboard. For one wishing to usurp
a captain’s position, murder is a common approach. Indeed,
slaying or otherwise facilitating the death of one’s superiors is
the most popular method of advancement among pirates.
While Schardefolk are cutthroats and killers of the blackest sort,
they well understand their vulnerability to others sailing for the
Dragonfather. In order to protect against casual assassination,
sailors band together in gangs. The dangerous environment
they inhabit is akin to a cruel prison, and joining a gang helps
discourage offhanded execution by any but senior officers.
Gangs who lose members are sure to enact bloody reprisal
against the killer, though even this fact does not fully prevent
such killings.
At times, fighting between gangs has led to full-blown riots
as rival gangs escalate from isolated retaliations to outright
warfare. Whole crews among Cryx’s pirate fleet have been lost
in this manner, prompting Admiral Axiara Wraithblade to
demonstrate her displeasure at captains unable to keep their
crews in line. The reef outside her homeport houses the misery
cages containing the corpses of such captains as a reminder.
Most provisions aboard a vessel are acquired during infrequent
stops at ports like Blackwater or plundered from enemy ships
and ports. Between successful raids creature comforts are
rare, and food stores are quickly reduced to unappetizing
pickled shark, hard biscuits, and watery rum. Brutal duels over
possession of a warm coat or flask of strong drink are common.
Victors claim coveted items, while the corpses of losers are
used as fish bait, fed to Bloodgorgers, or recycled as thralls.
When supplies are scarce Cryxian crews do not take long to
resort to cannibalism, particularly aboard Slaughter Fleet
ships. Bloodgorgers do not need scarcity to justify their desire
to consume the flesh of their crewmates; simple boredom or a
particularly strong craving for fresh meat will do.
Life on a non-Satyxis ship is filthy and cramped, and most ships
carry infestations of unpleasant blighted vermin. The stink of
unwashed bodies, rotting corpses, and spilled blood permeates
the vessels, as does the reek of disease and infection among the
crew. Most human crews look more like an unsightly, unhealthy
mob clad in rotting clothes. Only thick scars, gruesome tattoos,
and patches of scaly blight break up the sun-burned skin
covering their malnourished and scurvy-riddled bodies. Only
Satyxis seem immune to this slow rotting. Despite the harsh
conditions of life on the Meredius, the warrior women somehow
maintain a measure of robust health.

Every ship in the pirate fleets faces constant danger while at
sea. Fierce storms frequently churn the Meredius and can crush
a ship on the rocks of a strait or capsize it with a rogue wave.
Great beasts like sea kings, aquatic drakes, hull grinders, and
cove dracodiles inhabit the depths of the Scharde Islands and
Broken Coast, and every year several vessels vanish completely
due to these beasts.
Beyond such dangers, every navy, privateer, and merchant fleet
of the mainland keeps a constant vigil for Cryxian ships, to the
point of putting aside national hostilities to work against these
predators of the sea. If a mainland fleet catches sight of a listing
Cryxian vessel, they sweep in and blow the ship to flinders as a
matter of course. Anyone who survives the barrage is executed
in a hail of rifle fire as they surface from the wreckage.
Mainlanders have reason to fear the Cryxians. Schardefolk are
skilled pirates free from the impulse of mercy. Pirate crews
take pleasure in butchery as they eagerly storm the deck of a
ship or the streets of a coastal town, cutting down every soul
Many vessels among the raiding fleets were not
built in the Scharde Islands but were taken as
prizes; steam-and-sail hybrids are coveted for their
balance of size, firepower, and durability.
who tries to resist them. The few survivors of these raids are
taken captive, mere chattel to feed the necrofactoriums of
Cryx, to become blood sacrifices on Satyxis rituals, or to live
out their short lives as slaves doing hard labor in Cryxian
mines or quarries.
In the quieter times between lashing storms and violent
raids, most pirates fall into routines of work and rest. When
not swabbing gore from the deck or repairing battle damage,
they indulge in other pursuits. Human sailors are often found
gambling, fighting, and drinking. The other races do as well,
though blighted trollkin enjoy fighting and feasting above
any other pursuit. Black ogrun spend some of their downtime
maintaining a ship’s weapons and ’jacks, while Satyxis worship
under the guidance of blood priestesses or hone their martial
prowess in duels. Veteran Satyxis often accumulate favored
spoils from multiple raids and enjoy spending time savoring
such trophies while jealously eyeing those of their rivals.
No Quarter PRIME 83
 THEME FORCE
Units of the
Cryxian Fleets
Black Ogrun
Black ogrun are some of the burliest fighters among the Cryxian
fleets. They tower over their crewmates, and their strength is a
match for the light deckjacks employed by mainlander navies.
This physical advantage allows them to wield weapons that
rival the caliber and destructive potential of swivel guns and to
easily overpower the crews of rival vessels.
Black ogrun have found a particular niche in the fleets as
specialized boarding parties. These dusky mountains of corded
muscle leap from their ships to fall upon their victims with
feral howls, leaving gory seas and unidentifiable corpses as sign
of their passage. Each ogrun is armed with a stout hand-held
cannon capable of launching a wicked tempered-steel harpoon
trailing nearly fifty feet of chain. These weapons are used to
draw victims within hacking range or to pull them overboard
for the sharks to feast upon.
Fewer in number but no less bloodthirsty are the smog belchers,
black ogrun who wield heavy culverin-style cannons saturated
with occult power. From the deck of a Cryxian vessel, smog
belchers lay down a barrage of fire that fills the air with a
lingering cloud of corrupting ash that rots flesh and blisters the
lungs of anyone who breathes it in.
The smog belcher’s weapons are crafted by skilled ironmongers,
black ogrun metalsmiths who fuse their craft with rituals of
blood and dark magic. The blood-forged weapons they create
would be a sufficient reason for any captain to take ironmongers
on as crew, but these ogrun are also skilled in the repair and
maintenance of Cryxian ’jacks, and many have experience in the
workshops of necrotechs.
84 No Quarter PRIME
Blighted Trollkin
Kriels of blighted trollkin live throughout the Scharde Islands,
though Blackrock is where they are most concentrated. The
blight has given them pronounced spurs and curving horns,
enhancing their already formidable ability to commit atrocity.
It is from these kriels that Bloodgorgers and marauders are
drawn to supplement the ranks of Cryx’s pirate fleets. Nearly
all blighted trollkin serve aboard the vessels of the Slaughter
Fleet under General Gerlak Slaughterborn and his second-in-
command Jussika Bloodtongue.
Bloodgorgers are vicious melee warriors who find no greater
joy in life than charging into battle to mangle their enemies
and then devour them while fresh blood steams in the air. They
lead charges that spark terror and chaos among even the most
battle-hardened foes. Bloodgorgers embrace this role with wild
enthusiasm and spend most of their short, brutal lives bathed
in gore. Feasting on the flesh of the dying does more than sate
their appetites; the ritualized gorging also allows these trollkin
to evoke a sacrificial blood power similar to that which fuels
Satyxis and Tharn occult practices. These ends often converge
in gruesome delight, as when a Bloodgorger slowly consumes
a living victim’s fingers and hands while they watch. Moving
from one butchered victim to the next, Bloodgorgers become
more invincible with each abominable rite.
Fighting alongside the Bloodgorgers are the blighted trollkin
marauders. Caring little for their own safety, they swing
braziers on long chains that blaze with fire fed by rendered
body fat and whale oil. Marauders whirl and fling these burning
weapons wherever they will do the most damage, often torching
the decks and rigging of an enemy ship to scorch sailors trapped
among the ropes. They delight in setting fire to homes in the
coastal communities they raid, then waiting for the fleeing
victims within to rush headlong into their waiting arms. They
find the smell of burning meat exquisite and particularly enjoy
the first bite of living flesh that has been blackened and blistered
by their torches.
Schardefolk
Though many Schardefolk do not exhibit the same degree of
blighting as the Satyxis or blighted trollkin they serve beside,
those who sail in the Cryxian fleets typically bear some mark
of the Dragonfather’s blessing in the form of scales, horns, and
bony protrusions growing out of their flesh. These pirates are
notoriously willful and bloodthirsty scoundrels of volatile
temperament, and they exhibit a hardiness engendered in part
by the blight toughening their bodies but much more by their
brutal daily lives and frequent battles. Those without sufficient
fortitude tend to be cut down quickly in bloody combat, their
bodies sold in the meat markets of Blackwater.
Most of the Schardefolk who serve Cryx do so among the pirate
raiding fleets, many as crew in the Slaughter Fleet. Hailing from
Blackwater, White Shark Reef, Gristlebay, and hundreds of other
secluded pirate havens, they sign on due to a mixture of avarice
and devotion. They know that attacks on trade lanes or mainland
villages will please their master, Admiral Axiara Wraithblade, but
they are also mindful of the plunder such raids can fetch.
 THEME FORCE

MODELS

1 Pirate Queen Skarre

Satyxis Warcaster
PIP 34068
2 The Witch Coven of Garlghast
& Egregore
Warcasters & Solo
PIP 34035
7
3 Defiler
Light Warjack
7
PIP 34090
4 Kharybdis
Heavy Warjack
PIP 34137
7
5 Seether
Heavy Warjack 5
PIP 34096
6 Black Ogrun Boarding Party
Unit
PIP 34122
7 The Devil's Shadow Mutineers
Mercenary Privateer Sea Dog Unit
PIP 41104
8 Scharde Dirge Seers
Unit
PIP 34146
9 Aiakos, Scourge of the Meredius
Solo
PIP 34108
10 Satyxis Blood Priestess
6
Solo
PIP 75048

86 No Quarter PRIME
8
8

9 2

10

No Quarter PRIME 87
88 No Quarter PRIME
Scharde Dirge Seers
Among the degenerate human communities of the Scharde
Islands, some individuals are endowed with the innate gifts
of sorcery, shaped and enhanced by the touch of Toruk’s
corruption. Such blight-fueled witches form cabals who seek to
appease their dragon-god through acts of violence and wanton
rituals of obedience. At their height, these sacraments overtake
the minds of the practitioners. Enthralled by the thrumming
of blight in their flesh and blood, they indulge in great feats of
violence and displays of mystical power, showering in the blood
of human sacrifices and screaming prayers to the Dragonfather.
Covens of these witches, known as dirge seers, sometimes join
the Cryxian fleets, guided by their own inscrutable omens. They
are believed to scry their fate in the spilled entrails of dying
men in a manner not unfamiliar to the blood witches of the
Satyxis. They claim that they can hear the words of Toruk in the
death rattle of the mortally wounded soul, that secret truths are
expressed in a dying man’s last gasp. Dirge seers are tolerated
by other Schardefolk because, despite their fervently held beliefs
and sometimes bizarre ritual practices, their innate skill with
magic makes them useful during a raid. Some captains keep a
coven of dirge seers aboard ship in hopes of ascertaining their
own fates, feeding the witches a steady supply of fresh victims
in whose final tortured screams some portents of the future
might come to light.
Satyxis
The Satyxis are the preeminent scourge of the seas. This
fearsome race of blighted warrior women have been granted
speed, strength, and agility by the blood of a slain dragon, and
their culture is steeped in the dark rituals of sacrificial magic
and prophecy. Sworn to fight for the Dragonfather as his deathly
blade upon the seas, they are heartless raiders and rightly to be
feared by all who venture the deeps.
The Satyxis were not always servants of the Nightmare Empire.
Their island home is cloaked in mists and surrounded by
dangerous reefs, lending them an air of mystery that cowed
even the ancient pirate kings. Their sea reavers would fall upon
the few naval explorers able to navigate through the hazards
surrounding their island, ensuring no word of their existence
reached the mainland.
Even before their blighting, their civilization was a matriarchy
built on martial strength. Warriors were expected to be both
skilled and ruthless, demonstrating these qualities in the
frequent battles between the different tribes of Satyx. Men were
relegated to a lower caste, tasked with softer work as craftsmen
and scholars.
One day long ago, Toruk pursued one of his offspring, the
white dragon Shazkz, into the sky over Satyx, where the
two fought a gory battle. As dragon’s blood rained down,
the Satyxis received blighted communion from on high. The
sands of Satyx turned black, trees burned, and the inhabitants
were forever changed. The blight bestowed many gifts upon
the women of the island, granting them heightened strength,
agility, endurance, and ferocity and causing each to grow
a pair of thick, curling horns. The men, however, quickly
withered to uselessness and perished.
Following their transformation, the blood witches of the Satyxis
scried the destiny of their people in the blood of their dead
males. They foresaw the rise of an empire of shadows and death,
with their race ascendant as its greatest living warriors. In the
time that passed between their blighting and the birth of the
Nightmare Empire, the warriors of Satyx prepared themselves
to swear their allegiance to the Dragonfather. When their
prophecy was fulfilled, the Satyxis sailed forth to become the
Dragonfather’s favored daughters.
Thousands of Satyxis now serve aboard the vessels of Cryx’s
fleets. They are the preferred crew for the blackships of the
Black Fleet under the command of Skarre Ravenmane, who is
also their undisputed queen. The vast majority of these Satyxis
are raiders—swift fighters who wield profane magical weapons
called lacerators.
Most members of this fierce seagoing race join raids against
the mainland while still young. During their time on the seas,
certain Satyxis undergo an arcane awakening. Those who feel
the pulse of the tide in their blood and the call of the storm
winds become sea witches, who can command the elemental
forces of the Meredius to aid their sisters. A sea witch swears
herself to a cabal of raiders and often rises to prominence
alongside them. Others discover that their arcane blessing is
attuned to the firearms carried by the crew, and these Satyxis
refine their latent talents as gun mages. Each is expected to
use a portion of her spoils to enlist an ironmonger to forge her
magelocks, and she will also learn to scratch runes into her
ammunition so she can channel her power into each shot.
Those daughters who display the capacity for oracular insight
are instructed in the Satyxis tradition of blood magic. Blood
spilled in sacrifice or war fuels these witches and their arcane
abilities. With their ritual blood razors they can bleed a body
to act as a conduit of their power, or spill that same blood to
empower potent rituals and catch glimpses of future events.
Stooped hags instruct covens of their younger sisters, revealing
the secrets of their shared art to ensure such wisdom is not lost.
An even rarer sight among the fleets are the blood priestesses,
members of a secretive fellowship whose rituals and practices
predate Toruk. They have reconciled the ancient spiritual beliefs
of their people with the blessings of the Dragonfather, and
they lend their mystical support to the admirals and greatest
captains of the fleets.
No Quarter PRIME 89
 THEME FORCE

MODELS

1 Skarre, Admiral of the Black Fleet

Satyxis Battle Engine Warcaster
PIP 34140
2 Bloodgorgers
Blighted Trollkin Unit
PIP 34103 2

3 Jussika Bloodtongue
Blighted Trollkin Bloodgorger 2
Command Attachment
PIP 34145
4 General Gerlak Slaughterborn
Blighted Trollkin Solo
PIP 34059

5 Reaper
Heavy Warjack
PIP 34125
6 Black Ogrun Ironmongers 4
Unit
PIP 34144
1
7 Satyxis Blood Witches
Unit
PIP 34072
8 Satyxis Blood Hag
Blood Witch Command Attachment
12
PIP 34073
9 Satyxis Raiders
Unit
PIP 34142
10 Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
Command Attachment
PIP 34142
11 Scharde Pirates
Unit
PIP 34149 11
12 Scharde Pirate Officer 14 7
Solo
11
PIP 34149
13 Axiara Wraithblade 11 11

Solo
PIP 34141
14 Misery Cage
Solo
PIP 34147
15 Satyxis Blood Priestess
Solo
PIP 34143
16 Satyxis Raider Captain
Solo
PIP 34074

10
9

90 No Quarter PRIME
 17 Captain Aiakos
Warcaster
19 18
PIP 34129
18 Lord Exhumator Scaverous
Warcaster
PIP 34094
2
19 Deathripper
Light Warjack
PIP 34087
17 20 Satyxis Gunslingers
Unit
PIP 34132
20
20
21 Severa Blacktide
3 Satyxis Solo
PIP 34148

20

21

8
7

9 15

7
13
7

9
9

16
5
6

No Quarter PRIME 91
 THEME FORCE

Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

Skarre ravenmane, admiral of the black fleet

Skarre Ravenmane has left a blood-soaked tide behind her, having killed more innocents
in her decades at sea than many plagues. As the ruler of the Satyxis people and holding
dominion over the entire Black Fleet, the Queen of the Broken Coast is the most powerful
and influential living leader in the Nightmare Empire. She has seen the fall and rise of lich
lords and played a key role in their struggles for supremacy.

Great Rack
Takkaryx, Skarre's sword,
can be loosely translated
Demonstrating her power, Skarre conducted a mystical rite whereby she
as "Death's Merchant."
found and summoned the Thymochares from the depths of the Wailing
Sea. What emerged was the wreckage of the most famous ship ever
captained by King Moorcraig, one of the pirate kings who had defied
Toruk and died in his all-consuming flames. The vessel had been lost
before Moorcraig’s fall amid a battle with his similarly ill-fated rival, King
Threnodax. The shattered aft section of this accursed vessel is now borne
aloft by the damned spirits of the ancient dead, who are forever ground
under its hull as it glides across the earth. The grand cabin serves as
Skarre’s private chambers and throne room while she campaigns on the
mainland far from her own blackship, the Widower.

Symbol of Skarre
and the Widower
blackship

Skarre's light
warcaster armor Skarre
is integrated into
traditional Satyxis
clothing, geared
toward the humid
tropical environment
of many Cryxian
islands.

Satyxis Pirates

Intel: Skarre
Birth Year, Place: ~553 AR, Satyx

First Ship Night Terror, a cutter,

infamous for an attack on
Captained: the Ordic town of Alecento
The souls of the slain atop which
the Thymochares drifts
Given the dominant position of Satyxis as officers, captains, and admirals
in all the major pirate fleets, Skarre has assumed the responsibilities of
grand admiral of the Cryxian navy. Though she answers to Terminus, in
practice she has tremendous leeway, and it is by her direct command that
Cryx’s ships terrorize the mainland. Even unruly and independent entities It is whispered that a pair of barnacle-crusted chests are secured
like Gerlak Slaughterborn and Rengrave of the Atramentous obey her within the cabin of the Thymochares. They are said to be sealed
commands, knowing the favor she holds in Toruk’s inner circle. and impossible to pry open, filled with unknown treasures, perhaps
as great as the Witchfire, which was recovered from Moorcraig’s
Achieving such eminence has been not simply a matter of power or influence treasure trove. This broken and benighted ship remains a puzzle
but also deep occult mastery. Through her control over the webs of fate and even Ravenmane has yet to fully solve, though it answers eagerly to
her ruthless application of blood magic, Skarre has proven her right to stand her will, hungering all the while to add the souls of the slain to its
on nearly equal footing with the lich lords. The strength and accuracy of her tormented host.
prophetic visions puts even blood hags and blood priestesses to shame.

92 No Quarter PRIME
 Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

Admiral Axiara Wraithblade

Axiara Wraithblade has accomplished what few others could dream of
Intel: Axiara doing. She has gathered the disorganized rabble of Cryx’s living pirates into
one vast fleet under her merciless command. From fear of her wrath they
Birth Year, Place: ~569 AR, Satyx follow her commands, though the manner in which they execute her orders
is often unpredictable.
First Ship Wavecutter, a larger
Captained: raiding dhoze
As the master of Cryx’s vast raiding fleets, Admiral Wraithblade
is one of the most feared commanders on the Meredius. From her flagship Morbid Angel, she
She delights in the terror she instills in her oversees countless pirate flotillas and
Red silk kerchief
subordinates, and she feeds that fear by killing keeps the self-proclaimed admirals
and ribbons
any who question her orders. In truth, and captains beneath her in line. The
Available at
draconian measures are necessary as the combined fleet that answers to her
Wraithblade Emporium,
5 gold crowns each! fleet under her charge is chaotic and is the largest at Cryx’s disposal, with
undisciplined in the extreme. nearly six hundred dedicated vessels. The
hierarchy of the raiding fleets is fluid, with
gangs of several ships periodically banding
together under ambitious individual raiders and
as prone to battling each other as Cryx’s enemies. Yet all
of these captains fear Axiara and know there are limits to her
tolerance. Those who disobey her summons are marked for death.
Jade bejeweled
brooch
Available at
Wraithblade Emporium,
just 120 gold crowns!

Prior to accepting Skarre’s charge to take over as admiral

of the raiding fleet, Axiara spent almost two decades as
a blackhearted smuggler. She proved her cunning as an
agent of the Nightmare Empire in the most nefarious
mainland ports, particularly the Ordic city of Five Fingers
and the Cygnaran town of Clocker’s Cove. Wherever pirates
and privateers plied their trade, she extended tendrils of
influence through her Wraithblade Emporium, a mercantile
Benefiting from contacts already established by Lich ring of smugglers and fences. In this way she seduced
Lord Malathrax, Axiara facilitated the trade of people, and bribed many mainland criminals into unknowing
information, and goods between Cryx, Ord, and Cygnar, collaboration with Cryx.
learning a great deal about the vulnerabilities of the Iron
Kingdoms and their navies. She was able to keep a low
profile and evade detection thanks in large part to the
lucrative flow of plunder and ample bribes offered to
those who aided her.

Axiara answered Skarre’s call to return to Cryx as the

Nightmare Empire entered a more active phase
of conflict. By 606 AR she had consolidated her
Anathema
hold over the raiding fleets and used them as
Not for sale
a distraction to facilitate Terminus’ schemes.
She personally led a devastating raid on the
Cygnaran fortress of Westwatch to open the Axiara derives the Wraithblade moniker from the blood-
way for the lich lord to march unchecked into consecrated sword she wields. Called Anathema, the
the Thornwood, there to confront his rival weapon is a relic of Satyx, purified by blood priestesses in
Hand crafted Satyx
Asphyxious. a ritual of carnage to infuse it with occult power. When she
hand cannon
Available at cuts down a living opponent by its edge, the spilled blood
Wraithblade Emporium, allows her to become as insubstantial as smoke, letting
175 gold crowns! her penetrate enemy defenses to cut down her chosen foe
(limited time) with ease.

No Quarter PRIME 93
 THEME FORCE

Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

severa blacktide
Happiest amid the maelstrom of battle, her laughter punctuated by the crack of her pistols
as she sows chaos and death, Severa Blacktide is a legendary Satyxis warrior with few
equals. If she were to ever accept the role of captain, she would draw hundreds of her
sisters on the strength of her reputation alone, but she cannot be lashed to such a role.
She finds leadership dull and dislikes giving or obeying orders, choosing instead to indulge
in a pure and hedonistic lifestyle of adventure and killing.

Intel: Severa
~584 AR, on a ship along
Birth Year, Place:
Windwatcher’s Passage
Sunderer, a blackship
First Ship Crewed: lost in a battle with the
Cygnaran Navy, 590 AR The finest Satyxis gunslinger alive, Blacktide is counted
among the premier gun mages in all of western Immoren.
This is made all the more impressive by the raw, instinctual
Satyxis commonly ornament nature of her art. Mainlander gun mages of comparable skill
their horns with captured require years of practice and instruction to perfect their
plunder, including bracelets craft, while the same abilities come to her as second nature.
of gold or silver. She takes particular pleasure in gunning down her mainland
counterparts. Each bullet through a rival gun mage’s skull or
heart is another reminder that Severa Blacktide has yet to
meet her equal—and maybe never will.

Dark steel scaled

greatcoat. Protective
on the battlefield,
dashing from the
prow of a blackship. Severa wears a locket
containing several strands of
her mother's hair, which she
believes brings her luck.

Blacktide enjoys greater liberty and latitude than even other

Satyxis. Others must obey the orders of their captains or the
leaders of their covens, but Severa comes and goes as she
pleases, joining a blackship’s crew just long enough to
execute a raid or attack an enemy vessel. Most captains know
not to expect obedience from her; they are content to let her
claim a berth and a portion of any plunder in exchange for her
unmatched skill with her dual magelock pistols. When a battle
is over, she is as likely to disembark at the next port of call as she is to
stay aboard a while longer. The only Satyxis to whom she affords any
respect or deference are the masters of the fleets—Axiara Wraithblade
and Skarre Ravenmane. Everyone else on the sea is her inferior and Witchlock pistols are equivalent
unworthy of her regard. to mainland magelocks, though
forged through a different process.

94 No Quarter PRIME
Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

general gerlak slaughterborn

Gerlak Slaughterborn is a hulking monster of battle. Leading his notorious Bloodgorgers,
this horribly blighted trollkin has earned his reputation with a century of massacre and
mayhem. Bloodgorgers claim that if piled into the deep, the bodies of his slain would
create a grisly bridge reaching from Garlghast to the mainland. Cryx has found better use
for Gerlak’s death toll: necrotechs follow in his wake and pick among the cleft corpses
like carrion crows. From his detritus rise mechanithralls, brute thralls, and endless other
unliving soldiers of Cryx.

Intel: Gerlak
Birth Year, Place: ~549 AR, Blackrock Runes identify Gerlak

First Ship Unnamed Bloodgorger

Captained: raiding skiff A walking nightmare even among Bloodgorgers, Gerlak
benefits from blight-enhanced regenerative tissues that
have gradually increased his height and bulk, and he can
now walk among the tallest ogrun as their equal in size and
Gerlak's great axe, strength. He shows no sign of aging and displays renowned stamina
Gerlak earned his place as the master of the Scharde
pattern is traditional even among a species noted for its endurance. Gerlak gorges on the meat
Islands’ blighted trollkin by unifying their scattered and
among island kriels and blood of those he cuts down, and each killing blow adds to his power.
warring kriels under his banner. For countless generations,
He wades into the enemy as a reaper of flesh, and his enemies fall like
these tribes had served as fodder in the wars of the
stalks of wheat at harvest.
Dragonfather, yet some of the unhallowed trollkin
rejected Gerlak as their leader. All who refused to Blighted bone
follow him were brutally slain and devoured. Seeking spurs and horn
to elevate his station, he seized control of the
Bloodgorgers, the most degenerate and bloodthirsty Gerlak Slaughterborn is widely recognized as
of his kind. With them firmly in his grip, the one of Cryx’s most respected battle leaders,
remaining tribes swiftly followed. famed for his irrepressible hunger for war.
He now controls all the Scharde Islands’
blighted ogrun and trollkin, from which he
recruits warriors easily emboldened by the
taste of blood.

Spiked chainmail
between plated armor
Memorabilia of
favorite rivals/snacks

The almost musical sound of the skulls trailing

behind Gerlak as they rattle against decking or
rocky soil presages his horrific arrival.

No Quarter PRIME 95
 THEME FORCE

Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

jussika bloodtongue
Feared by all in the port towns of the Broken Coast who know of her
exploits as “the Queen of Blood,” the blighted trollkin Jussika Bloodtongue intel: Jussika
leads hosts of Bloodgorgers and marauders in orgies of slaughter. From her
origins in the pirate port of Blackwater, she has risen to become one of the Birth Year, Place: ~577 AR, Blackrock
most infamous trollkin in the Scharde Islands.
Mutilator, one of Gerlak
First Ship Crewed: Slaughterborn’s former
Jussika Bloodtongue once led the Gore Talons, a mercenary company out of flagships, lost 606 AR
Blackwater. Until his death, Lord Craethan Morvaen, the self-styled pirate
king of Blackwater, used the Gore Talons as his personal enforcers to wipe
out upstart rivals and deliver bloody reprisal to his enemies. Jussika’s gang
of blighted trollkin was notorious not just for violence and cruelty but also Jussika was a cruel tyrant who demanded
for the ability to vanquish seemingly overwhelming opposition. Her much from her underlings. Her rage in battle
mercenaries were known to massacre entire island populations was legendary, but she also possessed a cunning sense
and leave their hacked corpses floating in the surf. of tactics and strategy. She planned clever ambushes and
flanking maneuvers that capitalized on the individual
strengths of her warriors and would not fall to pieces
when the mercenaries—herself included—fell victim
to blood madness in battle.

Jussika is
proficient with a
range of weapons.
Uniform of the
Gore Talons Bag of useful
mercenary company knickknacks

Jussika Bloodtongue is a bloodthirsty

warrior known for hacking apart her foes
and crushing their bodies to pulp underfoot.
Though her vicious cunning serves the
Slaughter Fleet well in preparation for battle,
it is her savagery in combat that sets her apart
Blighted troll from other Bloodgorgers. Even her fellow trollkin
whelp companion have come to fear her. Should a warrior disregard
(pistol kept unloaded) her bellowed commands, she does not hesitate
to take his head as a trophy. The only member of
the Slaughter Fleet who does not fear her is General
Slaughterborn himself. The General sees Jussika as kin and
After Morvaen’s death at the hands of the warcaster Captain Aiakos, the only potential successor on the day of his death.
Jussika desired greater fortune and sought out General Gerlak
Slaughterborn. As Gerlak was the leader of all blighted trollkin
and ogrun of the Scharde Islands, service in his Slaughter Fleet
offered greater opportunities for glory and butchery. Jussika earned
his respect by leading the Gore Talons on a rampage through his
Bloodgorgers, carving their way to meet him. Jussika cut down two of
Gerlak’s greatest champions when they tried to intervene. Impressed by
her ruthlessness and skill, he acknowledged her as a champion in their
place, and eventually made her his second in command.

96 No Quarter PRIME
Legends of the Cryxian Fleets

captain aiakos
Captain Aiakos is one of the rare few warcasters who sails as part of Cryx’s raiding fleets.
Commanding the Nocturnus, he preys on the merchant lanes along Immoren’s western Intel: Aiakos
coast, striking ships from Cygnar, Ord, or Khador with equal ferocity, and amassing
substantial treasure from these ventures. Aiakos receives orders directly from Admiral Birth Year, Place: ~587 AR, Blackwater
Wraithblade, who prefers to send him on tougher missions requiring him to lead larger
Scythe, one of Gerlak
raiding parties. His warcaster abilities allow him to overcome the defenders of important
First Ship Crewed: Slaughterborn’s former
ports and waterways, paving a route for other pirate crews to follow.
flagships, lost 606 AR
Aiakos has risen quickly in status and respect among the murderous thugs and
treacherous raiders of the fleets, as is to be expected of a warcaster. His
relationship with Axiara has been complicated and is still evolving, and
they have fought together on multiple occasions. She has in the past
forced the warcaster to humble himself by performing menial tasks
as a means of keeping his ego in check, though more recently
he has earned the admiral’s grudging respect and has been
entrusted with more vital missions.

Reaver, Aiakos'
favored weapon

In particular, the method whereby

Aiakos acquired the formidable helljack
Kharybdis, and subsequently utilized it to
acquire his ship after tricking and murdering
Lord Craethan Morvaen, greatly increased his standing in
the eyes of Admiral Wraithblade as well as among the fleet
in general. Whereas he was once seen as simply one of
many ruthless pirates, he is today known as a significant
power in his own right. Now when Nocturnus pulls into
port at Blackwater or Dreggsmouth, dozens of bloodthirsty
pirates stand ready to murder one another to earn a
position on the vessel.

Necrotite boiler

With his crew hammered to a sharp edge through a

brutal process of elimination, Aiakos stands ready to
face down any vessel on the Meredius. Where most
other captains prefer to turn and sail for safer waters
when spotting naval vessels, Aiakos is more inclined
to confront even the best-armed adversaries head-on.
He is among the first to leap over the rails and into
melee, followed closely by his helljack and the blood-
maddened Scharde who have joined their fates to his.

Several of Aiakos’ officers have begun to earn a name for themselves

in the fleet, having proven to be talented killers and having survived
numerous clashes led by their impulsive and fearless captain. This
number includes his heavily tattooed and scarred first-mate Nicosto
Balepyre, his black ogrun boarding master Kohog the Drowner, and
Aiakos learned to fight with his favored lookout and sharpshooter, Kryess Crowfeeder.
harpoons in the pits of Blackwater.

No Quarter PRIME 97
 THEME FORCE

Satyxis Crews of Renown

While every crew of the Black Fleet thinks itself a legend and is proud of its stories, some
few are notorious across western Immoren. Several of these crews are considered among the
fiercest and most deadly, striking terror in the hearts of those living all along the Broken Coast.

“By the Dead Sea, a Bloody

“Terror Ahead, Death Behind” “An Omen of Shadow and Mist”
Dawn, and a Watery Grave”

Crew of the Crew of the Crew of the

Widower
The Satyxis who serve aboard Skarre
Ravenmane’s blackship Widower are
among the most proficient killers in and
veteran sailors in the Black Fleet. As the
Queen of the Broken Coast and leader of
all Satyxis, Skarre can be discriminating
in who she allows on her ship, and she
takes aboard only those who have earned
her trust and respect. Among Satyxis,
serving on this ship confers a status akin
to high nobility.
Hellkite
The Hellkite is a swift vessel of the Black
Fleet that ranges ahead of the other
blackships to strike first at the navies
of mainlander nations, hoping to draw
off some of their gunships in fruitless
pursuit so the main fleet can overwhelm
a weakened foe. The Satyxis aboard the
Hellkite are garishly dressed in scraps of
many navies’ uniforms to lure vengeance-
seeking sailors to their deaths.
Ill Tidings
While many vessels in the Black Fleet
excel at overwhelming naval opponents,
the crew of the Ill Tidings has made a
specialty of landings performed under
the cover of night and fog. The vessel
grounds itself on the soft sands of
shore and disgorges an army of Satyxis
raiders and gunslingers to eradicate the
defenders of a port or coastal community.
The Ill Tidings’ crew slaughtered a great
number of the defenders at Point Bourne,
paving the way for other ships to attack.

98 No Quarter PRIME
 “Blood Spilled to the Sea”
Crew of the
Blood Tempest
The Blood Tempest serves as a meat
grinder of sorts for the Black Fleet. The
young and untested Satyxis who make
up the bulk of its crew are thrown
into a crucible of constant and vicious
combat to separate the weak from the
strong. After serving a tour aboard her,
survivors can expect to be sent off to
other vessels, sometimes to serve as
captains or officers. The trials of serving
aboard this blackship help strengthen
bonds between different ships, whose
Satyxis still bear brands and scars
earned from their time as raiders on the
Blood Tempest.
“Leave the Bodies to the Waves”
Crew of the
Morbid Angel
Admiral Axiara Wraithblade’s blackship,
the Morbid Angel, is home to a cunning
and cruel crew of Satyxis raiders, blood
witches, and gunslingers. While not
a part of the Black Fleet, this vessel’s
crew represents an elite cadre of Satyxis
supported by the most capable black
ogrun, blighted trollkin, and human
sailors to be found in the scattered pirate
fleets of Cryx.
“All Carnage Is a Sacrifice to Toruk”
Crew of the
Scourge
The Scourge sails under the command of
Captain Oriaxis and her blood priestess
twin, Lylian. The Satyxis who crew this
blackship are effectively a coven of blood
magic ritualists. Every weapon, scrap of
armor, and plank aboard the vessel is
inscribed with profane runes consecrated
in blood. Many crew have tattoos inked
with the sacrificial blood of fallen sisters.
Even Satyxis who do not possess the
arcane gift contribute to the revels of
slaughter and blood sacrifice that occur
on deck following every battle.
No Quarter PRIME 99
 THEME FORCE

painting THE BLACK FLEET

Steel Horns
SWATCH KEY B: Pig Iron B: ’Jack Bone
B: Base S: Brown Ink + Green Ink S: Umbral Umber
S: Shade H: Cold Steel H: Menoth White Base
h: highlight
Brass Cryx Bane
B: Blighted Gold B: Cryx Bane Highlight
S: Brown Ink S: Cryx Bane Base
H: Brass Balls S: Umbral Umber
+ Thamar Black

Purple Skin
B: Beaten Purple B: Underbelly Blue
S: Coal Black S: Beaten Purple
H: Beaten Purple H: Carnal Pink
+ Underbelly Blue

Red Black
B: Skorne Red SATYXIS RAIDER B: Thamar Black
S: Exile Blue H: Coal Black
H: Khador Red Base H: Underbelly Blue

satyxis Skin tone VARIANTS blighted trollkin Skin

To create the purple skin of the Satyxis, desaturate Beaten Purple by mixing in a bit The blighted trollkin of the Black Fleet are
of Trollblood Highlight. This will soften the purple and make a light color to begin darker than their Northern cousins. Try
the process. You can add Murderous Magenta, Sanguine Base, or Coal Black to creating interesting skin tones by looking at
your palette to create a unique look for your army. reference materials and playing with your
colors. Add a glaze of Skorne Red around the
Ill Tidings Hellkite Blood Tempest spikes and mouth for a more feral look to your
minis.
B: Trollblood Highlight B: Beaten Purple B: Ryn Flesh B: Trollblood Base
+ Bastion Grey + Carnal Pink
S: Beaten Purple S: Coal Black
+ Trollblood Highlight S: Coal Black S: Beaten Purple + Battlefield Brown
H: Sickly Skin H: Beaten Purple H: Carnal Pink H: Trollblood Base
+ Trollblood Highlight + Trollblood Highlight

HORNS GREEN GLOW

Horns can come in a variety of For the green glow on Cryx,
colors. By experimenting and start with a base layer of
changing the colors across Menoth White Highlight. Add a
your collection, you can add drop of Green Ink to Necrotite
some individual personality to Green to make a wash and coat
the models in your force. Use the entire area. Apply a shade
’Jack Bone, Hammerfall Khaki, of Green Ink into the deepest
or Menoth White Base as your recesses. Lay down a highlight
primary color. Shade with with Menoth White Highlight
Umbral Umber, Bastion Grey, where you want the hottest
or Battlefield Brown. Highlight areas. Finally, add punch to
with Morrow White or Menoth the glow effect by adding a
White Highlight. Just remember few drops of Yellow Ink to your
to keep the tips darker than the Necrotite Green/Green Ink mix
base of the horns. and glaze the entire area.

100 No Quarter PRIME

SATYXIS OF RENOWN

the Widower the Hellkite

Skin: Trollblood Base Skin: Beaten Purple
+ Underbelly Blue
Coat: Gravedigger Denim
Brass: Blighted Gold
Red: Khador Red Base
Cloth: Beaten Purple
Gold: Rhulic Gold
Red: Skorne Red

the Ill Tidings the Blood Tempest

Skin: Trollblood Highlight Skin: Ryn Flesh
+ Carnal Pink
Coat: Beaten Purple
+ Trollblood Highlight Green: Iosan Green
White: Sickly Skin Coat: Ironhull Grey
Armor: Radiant Platinum Armor: Solid Gold
+ Blighted Gold

the morbid angel the Scourge

Skin: Beaten Purple Skin: Sickly Skin
+ Trollblood Highlight + Trollblood Highlight
Coat: Skorne Red Armor: Cold Steel
+ Khador Red Base
Orange: Meaty Ochre
Purple: Beaten Purple
+ Ironhull Grey Coat: Coal Black
+ Greatcoat Grey
Armor: Blighted Gold

EFFECTS OF THE DEEP

RUST EFFECT
You can create a weathered surface
by applying a base layer of rust and
then sealing it. Spray two thin layers of
hairspray followed by a thin coat of your
base color. Use a stiff brush and clean
water to remove the base layer and reveal
the rust color. Accentuate the effect by
adding a thin line of Thamar Black to the
top edge of each chip and a line of your
highlight color to the bottom edge.
 THEME FORCE
Weapons & Equipment
The pirate fleets of Cryx utilize an eclectic mix of ill-kept,
salvaged weapons and gear along with potent and beautiful
arcane objects. Much of this disparity is due to the stark contrast
between the predominantly Satyxis crews of the Black Fleet—
marked by smooth efficiency, blood magic traditions, and
martial prowess—and the motley, undisciplined murderers,
scoundrels, and cannibals found crewing the rest of the raiding
fleets, including the Slaughter Fleet.
Much of a crew’s armament and provisions are the product
of plunder and are often worn or displayed as trophies to
demonstrate a sailor’s prowess. Even ratty-coated human
sailors, should they prove to be skilled raiders, might don a
silk shirt or gold jewelry plucked from the bodies of those
slain on the naval and merchant vessels they seize. The Satyxis
craft elegant weapons worked with potent ritual magic, each
one an artful instrument for dealing death, but they too enjoy
taking ornaments from the brass-buttoned dead of Cygnaran,
Ordic, and Khadoran navies. Moreover, the harsh conditions
of the Meredius require that all weapons and gear must either
be able to withstand constant exposure to salt spray or be
easily replaced. This constant cycle of replacing old weapons
with those appropriated from the dead means that crews often
wield a startling assortment of different armaments stolen over
years of bloody raids.
Armor & Battle Dress
The majority of Cryx’s pirate fleets eschew heavy armor. On
the seas it can be a death sentence, dragging the wearer to the
crushing depths of the Meredius. What little armor that is worn
is lightweight and easy to remove. Some choose to forgo armor
altogether, preferring instead to remain mobile and rely on
blight-augmented resilience or agility to escape harm.
Both blighted trollkin and black ogrun benefit from naturally
tough hides. Despite this advantage, many Bloodgorgers and
other blighted trollkin prefer to enter battle fully armored.
These warriors are outfitted in heavy plate mail, often
ornamented with the flayed skins or skulls of favorite victims.
Most Scharde sailors view this preference for heavy armor as
unwise, and drowning probably kills more Bloodgorgers than
injuries in battle. Yet the blighted trollkin continue to wear their
heavy plate on the heaving decks of the Slaughter Fleet’s ships.
Personal Equipment
In most cases, the personal equipment of Cryxian pirates can
be summarized as whatever a sailor can steal and hang onto.
Most crews tend not to enforce strict rules on what a pirate
can or must carry. Nearly all Cryxian pirates have some sort
of small sturdy knife to cut lines that are fouled, and many
like to keep some sort of personal drinking vessel at hand,
be it a drinking horn taken from a blighted beast or a leather
102 No Quarter PRIME
mug worn on the belt, useful for drinking from a ship’s water
barrels or a healthy measure of rum. Some few Satyxis are
known to keep the horns of rival Satyxis as a trophy and
reminder to rivals never to cross them. Beyond these simple
articles, personal items run the gamut. As for clothing, pirates
are clad in a mix of plundered uniforms, stolen jewelry, and
grisly battle trophies taken from the dead.
Misery Cages
Misery cages are a cruel twist on the gibbets commonly used on
the mainland to punish pirates. While a mundane gibbet holds
a living prisoner to waste away, a misery cage wrings arcane
power from the flesh and souls of any locked within, allowing
warcasters to draw upon their essence to fuel their profane
magic. Doing so reduces the body within to crumbling ash, so
the raiding parties of Cryx know to keep a steady supply of
gallows fruit feeding into a misery cage at all times.
Bonejacks & Helljacks
Pirate crews use bonejacks and helljacks in much the same
way that mainlander navies use their warjacks or deckjacks.
Cryxian warjacks serve in a multitude of roles, such as mobile
artillery on the deck of a ship or to neutralize an enemy’s
heavy ’jacks during a boarding action. Willful and violent,
helljacks are most prized for their role in battle, but warcasters
can compel them to contribute to hauling heavy loads or other
simple but necessary tasks.
Cryx’s fleets make extensive use of a range of bonejacks, as
the lighter constructs are easier to maintain on smaller ships
without damaging the decks and can operate longer on a
modest amount of necrotite fuel. Crews particularly value the
flying Scavenger and Shrike bonejacks—the former for its ability
to pick off snipers and topmen in the rigging of an enemy ship,
and the latter for its bladed wings that can cut through rigging
with ease. Many times a vessel has thought itself free from
Cryxian plunderers only to have its sails cut loose by swooping
Shrikes. The hapless sailors aboard the stalled vessel become
easy victims to the pirates.
The raiders of the Black Fleet prefer helljacks capable of staying
upright on the moving deck of a ship, like the Desecrator,
Harrower, and Leviathan. These warjacks’ ability for
amphibious operation make them doubly effective, as a crew
can dump one over the side and let it walk along the seafloor
toward a coastal town in advance of a raid.
Some captains favor the Reaper, particularly those who plan to
engage in boarding actions. The Reaper’s harpoon can pierce
the hull of a vulnerable ship, and its nearly seven-ton weight
makes it as immoveable as a capstan, particularly when it uses
its sickle-like helldriver to anchor itself to a mast or anchor. So
affixed, a Reaper can help draw prey into range of grappling
hooks and the harpoons of black ogrun, then prevent it from
fleeing the captain’s grasp.
 Satyxis Attire & Weaponry

Satyxis gear is durable and

lightweight, to allow for
freedom of movement in battle.

No Quarter PRIME 103

 THEME FORCE
Melee Weapons
Most crews among the Black Fleet and the Slaughter
Fleet employ an eclectic array of close-combat
weapons. These blades are either forged in the
smithies of the Scharde Islands or scavenged from
the dead crews of rival vessels. A crew may use
a wide assortment of cutlasses, boarding axes,
gaffs, pikes, and daggers, with an equally startling
variation in their quality and vintage. Certain
captains wield jewel-studded weapons plundered
from nobility that are worth more than they might
earn in a year’s dedicated raiding.
Bloodgorgers of the Slaughter Fleet prefer brutal
weapons like heavy axes, mauls, and sickles. The
more gruesome the wounds a weapon produces, the
better, particularly if it is useful to chop an enemy
into bite sized pieces. Some blighted trollkin wield
even more unpredictable and dangerous armament
in the form of flaming braziers at the end of long
chains. Blighted marauders lash these weapons
about with abandon, setting ablaze the decks of rival
ships and the ports of the Iron Kingdoms while their
comrades indulge in wanton slaughter.
The weapons carried by Satyxis crews tend to be in
better condition than those of their counterparts.
Many are used in ritual sacrifices in addition to
warfare and thus deserve greater respect than a
Blackwater sea dog’s cutlass.
Aside from the iron and steel they carry, many
sailors possess natural weapons, either innately
or as a benefit of the blight. A Satyxis raider’s
horns, for example, can dent iron plating or split a
man’s skull with ease. Blighted trollkin experience
little resistance as they bite off hunks of flesh, and
black ogrun have sufficient strength to make most
ordinary weapons more than deadly. Even human
crew grow ugly spurs of bone or claws that can be
incorporated into their fighting tactics.
Sea Witch Piercer
Lacerator Whip
104 No Quarter PRIME
Lacerators & Piercers
The Satyxis lacerator is the most recognizable weapon
used among the Black Fleet. Consisting of flexible
interlinked segments with razor edges, a lacerator
combines the best qualities of whip and sword.
Serrated hooks at the tip catch and rip away the
flesh of unarmored targets. Beyond these gruesome
qualities, Satyxis blood witches endow a lacerator
with certain magical properties, keeping the weapon’s
cutting edges preternaturally sharp and causing
excruciating pain to warcasters when the weapon
strikes one of their mentally bonded warjacks.
Satyxis sea witches carry an array of mystically
augmented weapons, with the stylized tridents
called piercers being the most common. These
weapons originated in the fierce intertribal battles
and gladiatorial combat on the island of Satyx.
Piercers bear the same ritualistic blessings as
lacerators and cause similar excruciating feedback
to warcasters when used against their ’jacks.
Blood Razors &
Sacral Blades
Some Satyxis carry weapons consecrated by ritual
to facilitate their use as instruments for performing
blood magic. Most common among them are the
blood razors. Blood razors are sacral blades, similar
to those carried by the devout blood priestesses of
Satyx. Empowered by the bearer’s own will, these
weapons allow a witch to work magic in battle.
Most are practical but ornamented weapons, with
sinuous barbed curves to the blade.
Skarre Ravenmane has borne the most potent
and infamous of sacral blades—Bloodwyrm and
Takkaryx. Both weapons have drunk the blood of
hundreds and seethe with Skarre’s own occult power.
Though she was forced to sacrifice Bloodwyrm at
the Temple of Garrodh to preserve her life during its
collapse, she still wields her favored sword.
 Smog Belcher Culverin

Firearms
Cryxian sailors do not favor firearms as much as their projectiles. Each round shot fired from a smog belcher exudes a
mainlander counterparts, preferring to wade into combat and poisonous and corrosive cloud that withers flesh and rots a ship’s
indulge in more intimate slaughter with axe, gaff, and sword. deck as well as the ’jacks on it.
Still, most humans and black ogrun carry at least a small
pistol for the initial assault against an enemy ship or port.
These sailors carry limited ammunition and rarely engage in
Magelock Pistols
extended firefights. Some Satyxis wield firearms similar to those used by
mainlander gun mages. These weapons tend to favor the
More common among the human sailors of Cryxian fleets
simpler construction used in the pistols of pirate crews, firing
are deck sweepers, crude smoothbore weapons used to lay
a rune-inscribed ball instead of the cased ammunition more
down withering barrages on enemy crews. Effectively a short-
common on the mainland.
barreled blunderbuss, a deck sweeper can be packed with all
manner of langrage, such as bent nails, shrapnel, or surplus Fabrication of these witchlocks requires blood sacrifice and
nuts and bolts. A deck sweeper fires a short-ranged blast that ritual magic. After inscribing the weapon with arcane runes,
can cut down foes without significant damage to the valuable each pistol is tempered in the fresh blood of a human sacrifice
ship on which they stand. by the Satyxis who wields it. While black ogrun ironmongers
or other smiths are often enlisted for the initial forging and
Black ogrun of the Cryxian fleets possess adequate strength
assembly of these weapons, Satyxis gunslingers work closely
to carry light artillery pieces in battle. Most common are the
with them and often handle the finishing ornamentations.
culverin-sized harpoon guns wielded by black ogrun boarding
These weapons are not considered witchlocks until they have
parties. Using iron chain in place of rope, these weapons can
undergone these final rites, and each witchlock is therefore a
yank targets as heavy as deck guns and warjacks over the
custom piece tailored to the preferences of the wielder. Satyxis
gunwale and into the sea.
use a range of calibers, with some tending toward heavier
Smog belchers are a more unusual artillery piece. Manufactured calibers to impart deadlier wounds while others use lighter
by ironmongers using arcane traditions of blood-forged steel, ammunition for its increased range.
smog belcher cannons are cursed objects that fire tainted

Witchlock Pistol

Deck Sweeper

No Quarter PRIME 105

 THEME FORCE

Company of iron Stuart Spengler's Red Tide leaves a wake of

bloody ruin and mayhem as they enact Toruk's will!

Requisition Costs New Cryx Models

This table gives the requisition costs of the new Cryx models
useable in Company of Iron games. Solos Requisition
Axiara Wraithblade 0
The requisition cost of weapon attachments is not cumulative;
use the cost listed regardless of the number of weapon Severa Blacktide –1
attachments added to a unit.
Units Requisition
Tables for all Factions are updated as new models are released
Black Ogrun Ironmongers 0
and can be found at privateerpress.com/rules.
Black Ogrun Smog Belchers 0
Model count adjustment: If your opponent starts the game
with at least twice as many models in their army as you have, Blighted Trollkin Marauders 0
increase your hand size by one. If your opponent has at least
Scharde Dirge Seers 0
three times as many models, increase your hand size by two.
Scharde Pirates 0

Unit attachments Requisition

Jussika Bloodtongue –1

Scharde Pirate Officer 0

commander attachments Requisition

Satyxis Blood Priestess 0

106 No Quarter PRIME

State of War:
Pirate Fleets
To live upon the tempestuous seas of the Meredius, with its
sudden violent storms and hungry marine beasts, is to face death
at every changing of the wind. Yet the fleets of Cryx willingly sail
into the devil’s throat in pursuit of plunder and murder in the
Dragonfather’s name.
The terrain features described below provide thematic options to
use in any narrative game of WARMACHINE and HORDES, and
the scenarios on the following pages indicate the exact quantity
of thematic terrain to use. When not using a scenario, discuss
with your opponent how many pieces of thematic terrain you
wish to use.
Exposed Reef
A low tide can expose reefs of jagged coral that can flay flesh as
readily as shards of broken glass.
Rules: An Exposed Reef terrain feature is rough terrain. If a
living or undead model contacts an Exposed Reef while running
or charging, roll a d6. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the model suffers 1
damage point.
Battlefield Condition: Turbulent Seas
The frequent storms on the Meredius bring punishing gales and heaving seas,
testing the sea legs of even the most skilled crews.
Rules: When a model ends its normal movement, roll a d6 and add the number
of complete rounds that have been played to the result. If the total is equal to
or greater than the model’s SPD stat, it has lost its balance. The model is pushed
d3˝ in a direction determined by the deviation template, then you can choose its
facing. (Used in Pirate Fleets Scenario 2 on p. 109.)
Powder Reserve
Whether filled with traditional blasting powder or volatile
alchemical compounds, powder reserves are a crucial resource
for pirates wielding guns or cannons.
Rules: A Powder Reserve terrain feature is an obstacle represented
by a pile of barrels, a mound of sacks, a 50 mm base, or another
appropriate piece of terrain. Ranged attacks made by models
within 1˝ of a Powder Reserve gain +2 RNG.
Tangled Ropes
Disciplined sailors know to neatly coil and stow their lines.
Snarled piles of spare rope on the deck are unsightly and can
entangle the legs of deckjacks and sailors.
Rules: A Tangled Ropes terrain feature is rough terrain
represented by a 3˝ AOE template. Models without Ghostly or
Flight have a chance to trip when traversing Tangled Ropes.
When a model enters or begins an advance within the template,
roll a D6. On a roll of 6, the model becomes knocked down at the
end of its advance.
Rigging
Rigging is a complex web of rat-lines, shrouds, stays, and
halyards that knits together the sails and spars of a ship. Though
dangerous, scrambling along these lines or swinging from one
perch to another during battle can allow a pirate to catch an
opponent off guard.
Rules: A Rigging terrain feature is represented by a 50 mm base.
Rigging does not stop movement, and models can end an advance
on top a Rigging base. When a model advances into contact with
Rigging, you can place the model anywhere completely within
10˝ of its current location, then roll a d6. On a roll of 5 or 6, the
model becomes knocked down.
Treasure Trove
Pirates sometimes hoard the piles of coins, gems, and other
precious loot taken in raids or found in the wreckage of merchant
ships, perhaps burying it on an uninhabited island.
Rules: A Treasure Trove terrain feature is rough terrain
represented by a 50 mm base. At the start of the game, roll a d6
for each Treasure Trove, then place each die near its Trove. Each
Trove has the number of coins shown on its die. While in contact
with a Treasure Trove, a warrior model gains the Treasure!
special rule:
Treasure! – At any time during this model’s activation, you can
spend one coin from this Treasure Trove. When you do, choose
one of the following incentives. Incentives are RNG CMD and
must target a friendly warrior model. A model can be affected by
only one incentive per turn. When all of its coins have been spent,
remove this Treaure Trove from the game.
• Money Shot – Affected models gain +2 to ranged attack
and ranged damage rolls for one turn.
• Payday – Affected models gain boosted melee attack rolls
and Overtake. Payday lasts for one turn. (When a model
with Overtake destroys one or more enemy models with
a basic melee attack during its Combat Action, after the
attack is resolved it can immediately advance up to 1˝.)
Pirate Fleets
Scenarios
The fleets of Cryx sail the Meredius in a quest for plunder and the
destruction of the Nightmare Empire’s foes. Most pirates have no
idea of the longer-term goals of Cryx’s higher masters, knowing
only that they must go where they are sent but can otherwise kill
and loot as they wish. Sailors in Cryx’s fleets battle in all manner
of conditions, be it on the wave-washed decks of ships, in coastal
ports, or amid the surf of deserted islands.
On the following pages are three narrative scenarios that allow
players to experience the brutal life of the coasts and seas
controlled by the Nightmare Empire’s pirate fleets.
No Quarter PRIME 107
Pirate Fleets Scenario 1
Coastal Raid
Captain Selrex Hexheart smashed her horns into the human’s face,
breaking his skull with a satisfying crunch. She found the sight
agreeable—few things amused her like killing mainlanders from Cygnar.
Several years ago she had been hit by a Cygnaran sniper’s bullet. She
survived—barely—but was robbed her of her ability to speak. Hexheart
keeps a firm grip on her crew through intimidation, cunning, and a
second in command who can interpret her mute language of gestures. At
the moment, Captain’s Mate Heketa Bloodthorn stood at her side, firing
into a line of trembling spearmen trying to hold formation. Captain
Hexheart gestured to her to send a group of raiders to flank the spearmen.
Hexheart rushed toward the defenders without a sound, turning to one
side to slip past their spearpoints. She swung her axe up to catch the
closest defender under the jaw. She turned to fire her hand cannon at
the man to her left, and the heavy ball punched a red hole in his chest.
Hexheart looked up to see her flanking force had arrived to mop up the
rest. Cygnaran screams filled her ears, a sound she resolved to hear again.
Gameplay Overview
One player is the Attacker, a raiding force intent on taking all
the useful goods they can find, including the corpses of fallen
villagers. The other player is the Defender, protecting the
settlement against the sudden raid.
Setup
Before the game begins, players agree between themselves or
randomly determine who will be the Attacker and the Defender.
Place six to nine pieces of terrain of varied types on the table.
Three of these terrain features must be obstructions represented
by buildings. Place these buildings within 6˝ of the center of the
table following normal terrain rules. Then place an extra terrain
feature B2B with each building, using either Tangled Ropes or
Powder Reserves. No terrain feature can be placed within 3˝ of
another terrain feature, with the exception of trench templates.
Army Composition
Each player builds a 50-point army without a warcaster or
warlock, then chooses a friendly solo, unit leader, or officer to be
the commander.
A commander has a Focus or Fury stat of 4.
HORDES commanders gain the Lesser Warlock rule:
Lesser Warlock – This model is not a warlock but has the
following warlock special rules: Battlegroup Commander, Fury
Manipulation, Healing, Spellcaster, and Transferring Damage.
This model must have at least one warbeast in its battlegroup at
the start of the game.
WARMACHINE commanders gain the Battlegroup Controller
rule:
Battlegroup Controller – This model is not a warcaster but has
the following warcaster special rules: Battlegroup Commander,
108 No Quarter PRIME
by Will Pagani
Focus Manipulation, Power Field, and Spellcaster. This model
must have at least one warjack in its battlegroup at the start of
the game.
The Attacker’s commander gains the following rule and spells:
We Can Probably Use That… – This model can gain corpse tokens.
When a friendly model destroys a living enemy model with an
attack while in this model’s command range, this model gains
the destroyed model’s corpse token regardless of the proximity
of other models.
SPELLS COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF
HUNTER'S MARK 2 10 – – TURN YES
Friendly models can charge or make a slam power attack against
target enemy model hit by Hunter’s Mark without being forced
or spending focus. A friendly model charging an enemy model
hit by Hunter’s Mark gains +2˝ of movement. Hunter’s Mark lasts
for one turn.
MOVING SHADOWS 2 SELF CTRL – UP NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, models in its battlegroup
gain Run & Gun. (At the end of its activation, if it destroyed one
or more enemy models with ranged attacks that activation, a
model with Run & Gun can make a full advance.)
The Defender’s commander gains the following spells:
SPELLS COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF
ADMONITION 2 6 – – UP NO
When an enemy model advances and ends its movement within
6˝ of target model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup, the affected
model can immediately advance up to 3˝, then Admonition
expires. The affected model cannot be targeted by free strikes
during this movement.
DEFLECTION 3 SELF CTRL – RND NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction models
gain +2 DEF against ranged and magic attacks. Deflection lasts
for one round.
Deployment
The Defender is the first player. Both players deploy normally.
Special Rules
Root Around: An Attacker model can forfeit its Combat Action
while within 1˝ of a building terrain feature to look inside. Roll a
d6. On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, the model finds nothing. On a 4 or 5, it
gains a supply token. On a 6, if the model is within the command
range of its commander, the commander gains a corpse token.
Victory Conditions
The Attacker wins if they gain 25 supply tokens. Each corpse
token on their commander counts as two supply tokens.
The Defender wins at the end of round 6 or when the Attacker’s
commander is destroyed, removed from play, or removed from
the table for any reason.
Pirate Fleets Scenario 2
Boarding Action
Rain lashed the crew of the Gutter as it careened toward the Ordic
frigate. The boarding party assembled at the gunwale held an
assortment of rusted pistols, broad-mouthed deck sweepers, and a
few harpoon cannons. At the bellowed order of their officer, they
let loose a crackle of gunfire that hissed through the air between the
two ships.
Moments later the Gutter crunched into the frigate’s hull. Duran
Bledsow screamed a battle cry and launched himself from the raiding
vessel onto the Ordic deck, lashing out viciously with his cutlass.
Next to him, a black ogrun’s harpoon pierced a marine’s body and
pinned him to the central mast.
Amid the ringing of steel on steel and the rattle of gunfire, Duran
could barely make out the ragged voice of his captain screaming for
the crew to take the helm of the Ordic ship. Duran fought his way
forward, slashing a sailor across the face before ducking beneath the
wild thrust of a second.
Already the Ordsmen were forming a defensive line between the
Scharde pirates and the rear castle of the ship where the officers
huddled together. A pair of deckjacks, sprightly Buccaneeers with
long gaffs, kept a clear circle in front of them by slashing their
weapons this way and that. One hooked Broke-Tooth Jane with a
wide swing, hurling her body off the deck.
A shrill animal shriek filled the air as one of the Gutter’s own ’jacks
barreled forward, heedless of the pirates it trampled. It was Corialus,
a barnacle-spotted Leviathan with winding tentacles of brass inlaid
on its hull. Corialus smashed into the port-side Buccaneer and
gripped its hull in an oversized claw. Metal screamed under the
pressure as Corialus crushed the Buccaneer like an egg.
Duran and the other pirates loosed their battle cries and pressed
forward, eager for the plunder awaiting them in the frigate’s hold.
Gameplay Overview
One player is the Attacker, a pirate crew boarding and raiding
another ship. The other player is the Defender, desperate to repel
the onslaught. The Attacker must wrest control of the bridge
from the Defender in this daring ship-to-ship attack.
Setup
Before the game begins, players agree between themselves or
randomly determine who will be the Attacker and the Defender.
This scenario is played on a 24˝ × 36˝ battlefield that represents the
top deck of a ship.
The Defender chooses one of the shorter table edges to represent
the bridge of their ship. The opposite side is the Attacker’s table
edge. The bridge extends 10˝ from the Defender’s table edge and
is 1˝ elevated terrain. To represent the ship’s wheel, place a 50 mm
base 5˝ from the Defender’s table edge (measuring to the center of
the base) and centered between the long table edges.
by Will Pagani
To represent the ship’s masts, place two additional 50 mm bases
10˝ and 20˝ from the Attacker’s table edge (measuring to the
center of the base) and centered between the long table edges.
These bases are impassible terrain and block LOS to everything
beyond them.
Place two Rigging terrain features 15˝ from the Attacker’s table
edge, each touching one of the long table edges.
Place an additional six to eight pieces of terrain, using only
Tangled Ropes, Treasure Troves, or Powder Reserves.
The Turbulent Seas battlefield condition is active in this scenario.
Army Composition
Each player builds a 25-point army that does not include large-
or huge-based models, warcaster or warlocks, or cavalry models.
Deployment
The Defender is the first player. Both players deploy their models
within 10˝ of their table edge.
All models lose and cannot gain Advance Deployment .
Special Rules
Crow’s Nest: A model B2B with a mast can forfeit its Normal
Movement to climb into the crow’s nest. When it does, place the
model on the 50 mm mast base. A model in a crow’s nest gains
Cover and is elevated in relation to all models not in a crow’s nest.
A model in a crow’s nest cannot be targeted by melee attacks but
can always have LOS drawn to it. Only one model can be in the
crow’s nest of each mast at a time.
Riding the High Seas: Any model that would be thrown, slammed,
or pushed into contact with a table edge must try to hold on or be
thrown into the ocean. Roll a d6. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the model
is removed from play.
Victory Conditions
The Defender wins at the end of six rounds.
The Attacker wins if they have a model B2B with the 50 mm base
representing the ship’s wheel and there are no enemy models
within 4˝ of the wheel at the end of any turn.
Additionally, a player wins if they have the only remaining
models in play.
No Quarter PRIME 109
Pirate Fleets Scenario 3

Tidal Scavengers by Will Pagani

Red-throated gulls and pale crabs fought over the feast of bloated
corpses that had washed ashore. The bodies of drowned sailors dotted
the stinking mud flats, spilled out of their ruined vessel, which now
listed to one side in the muck with her hull torn open, like the carcass
of a half-rotted whale beached by the low tide.
Captain Gravesoak cared little for the ruined brigantine, and even
less for the bodies of her crew. The heavyset ogrun only wanted
the cargo she had borne—it was the reason he’d hounded the vessel
through the treacherous shoals of Gullbite Straits. Now, all the
lovely plunder that had been nestled away in the brig’s belly lay
spread out on the strand, most in watertight chests that were being
rolled and tumbled by the oncoming waves.
Setup
Choose a side table edge to represent the Waterline. Place five
Treasure Trove terrain features within 24˝ of the Waterline but
not within 8˝ of each other. Then place four Exposed Reef terrain
features within 4˝ of two or more Treasure Troves.
Place an additional four to six terrain features more than 18˝ from
the Waterline.
Army Composition
Each player builds a standard 50-point army.

But gulls and crabs weren’t the only scavengers drawn by the brig’s
demise. By the time Gravesoak’s launches had slid onto the gritty
mud flats, the angular sails of the Cracked Keel had crept into view
around the island’s northern coast. Now, several dozen crew from
that ship struggled toward him through the mud on the far side of the
flotsam, eager to gather the loot for themselves.
“Pick up yer pace, laddies!” Gravesoak rumbled, slapping an open
palm with the gutting hook he held. “Those fly-blown bilge-suckers
from the Keel thinks they’s entitled to our prize.”
His sunburned crew of Schardefolk and black ogrun howled in
response and broke into a squelching jog, filling the air with the
perfume of rotted fish and seaweed. Captain Gravesoak was proud to
see how eager the lads were to spill some scavenger blood, but he had
more practical reasons for urging them on.
Deployment
Both players deploy normally.
All models lose and cannot gain the Ambush special rule.
Special Rules
Each time a player uses the Treasure! rule, they gain one Treasure
Point.
Rolling Tide: Starting on the first player’s second turn, roll a
d3 at the start of each player’s turn. The result is the number of
inches the Waterline moves toward the opposite table edge. Mark
the new Waterline using string, tokens, or some other method.
Any model or terrain feature that the Waterline has passed or is
touching is removed from play.

Chasing down the brig’s final resting place had taken longer than Victory Conditions
he’d expected, and the tide had turned. Already the mud flats were A player wins when they have 15 Treasure Points.
beginning to vanish beneath the creep of the waves. A wave lapped
up under one of the corpses near the water’s edge and pulled it back If no Treasure Troves remain on the table, the player with the
into the sea, a crew of crabs scuttling atop their new vessel. Before most Treasure Points immediately wins.
long, the water would claim all of the cargo he desired, as well as Additionally, a player wins if they have the only remaining
anyone who fell in the battle to come. models in play or if their opponent has no remaining warcaster
or warlock models.
Gameplay Overview
A shipwreck has washed ashore, loaded with valuable cargo,
and it will be yours! Each player’s force is a band of scavengers
trying to retrieve the ship’s treasures before the tide takes it all
back out to sea.

110 No Quarter PRIME

 Cryx Theme Force

Slaughter Fleet Raiders

When the Slaughter Fleet descends on its victims, it disgorges roaring hordes of blighted trollkin and black
ogrun hungry for battle and blood. These inhumanly tough warriors form a vanguard for whole crews of
Scharde sailors. Together they fall upon unsuspecting ports and coastal communities, putting entire populations
to death. The lucky are left to rot on the beach, while the less fortunate fill the bellies of hungry Bloodgorgers.

Army Composition

An army made using this theme force can include only the following Cryx models:
• Cryx warcasters • Scharde models/units
• Non-character warjacks • Aiakos, Scourge of Meredius
• Kharybdis • Axiara Wraithblade
• Black Ogrun models/units • Misery Cage solos
• Blighted Trollkin models/units • Satyxis Blood Priestess solos

Special Rules

• This army can also include one Mercenary solo and one Mercenary unit that will work for Cryx.
These models can be included even if they have the Partisan [Cryx] special rule. Mercenary
units in this army can include attachments.
• If the Devil’s Shadow Mutineers are included in this army, they are considered to be a Cryx unit
instead of a Mercenary unit.
• For every full 20 points of Cryx units in this army, you can add one Cryx command attachment
or Cryx solo to the army free of cost. Free models do not count toward the total point value of
units in the army when calculating this bonus.
• Cryx warjacks in this army gain Gang Fighter. (When making a melee attack targeting an
enemy model in the melee range of another friendly Faction warrior model, a model with Gang
Fighter gains +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls.)
• Your deployment zone is extended 2˝ forward.

No Quarter PRIME 111

 Cryx Theme Force

scourge of the broken coast

Borne on a black tide to bring death and suffering to the mainland, the pirates of Cryx instill terror in
the hearts of those who live on the Broken Coast. Comprised of swift Satyxis and merciless Black Ogrun,
raiding parties join Cryx’s warcasters and their battlegroups in executing their bloody assaults.

Army Composition

An army made using this theme force can include only the following Cryx models:
• Cryx warcasters • Satyxis models/units
• Non-character warjacks • Black Ogrun Ironmonger units
• Barathrum • Misery Cage solos

Special Rules

• This army can also include one Mercenary solo and one Mercenary unit that will work for Cryx.
These models can be included even if they have the Partisan [Cryx] special rule. Mercenary
units in this army can include attachments.
• For every full 20 points of Satyxis models/units in this army, you can add one Satyxis
command attachment or Satyxis solo to the army free of cost. Free models do not count toward
the total point value of Satyxis models/units in the army when calculating this bonus.
• Solos in this army gain Dodge. (A model with Dodge can advance up to 2˝ immediately after
an enemy attack that missed it is resolved unless it was missed while advancing. It cannot be
targeted by free strikes during this movement.)
• One Satyxis Blood Witch unit in this army gains Ambush. (You can choose not to deploy a unit
with Ambush at the start of the game. If it is not deployed normally, you can put it into play at
the end of any of your Control Phases after your first turn. When you do, choose any table edge
except the back of your opponent’s deployment zone. Place all models in the unit with Ambush
in formation completely within 3˝ of the chosen table edge.)