OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Add some flavour to Eldorai and Kar'zun lore and give Kaida's rebels a fun unit to play with.
Image Credit: Here. 'Iron Golem' by KhezuG. Found on Deviantart.com.
Role: The Obsidians Wardens are allied to Kaida's rebel band. They are also available for hire by other parties. In addition, they also serve as guides for independent Kar'zun clans.
Permission: Can use Firemane tech because I own the company. Permission for all ArmaTech gear and all other subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Links: Kar'zun, Shapers of Kro Var, Kaeshana.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name: Obsidian Wardens
Affiliation: Shadow Knights, Kar'zun.
Classification: Force Warriors, Heavy Infantry.
Description: The Obsidian Wardens are a force of twelve Kar'zun warriors. They are only a small group, but very tough, strong in the Force and very grumpy. They are also immensely old. The group is led by Kan'Thaza. If the fate of his people had been kinder, he would have been groomed to become the high priest of their god. However, the Eldorai's genocidal crusade drove the stone people to the brink of extinction. He and his followers were forced to flee their homeworld Kaeshana.
Kan'thaza is a descendant of the Kar'zun royal family. The last queen of his people, his relative, was smashed to pieces by the Eldorai. However, he has shown no desire to claim what some call his birthright. He rejects such notions as antiquated and is a rather cranky, embittered and grim fellow. Rather than try to claim a broken crown, he became a sellsword. Nonetheless, the Wardens act as guides for their people and try to help Kar'zun where possible. Their old age and immense combat experience makes them very tough in combat. They possess incredible strength and resilience. Moreover, they are extremely strong in the Force. Force-Users are rare among the Kar'zun. The Wardens have a strong affinity for terramancy, telekinesis and defensive powers. This makes them potent tanks on the battlefield.
The Warden work with the Shadow Knights because both despise the leadership of the Eldorai Matriarchy. To the rebels, it is the ancien régime that, from their point of view, abandoned Kaeshana, while to the Wardens it is the régime that signed the death warrant of their race. But the Wardens still pursue their own agenda. They are available for other parties to hire, provided said groups are not seen as inimical to the Kar'zun race. The somewhat kranky stone men and women have occasionally been hired by Firemane, which has given them access to some of the corporation's weapons. The fact that the Shadow Knights' relationship with the human-led megacorporation is tense does not bother the Wardens. Some Wardens also still seek to gather their remaining people, having not lost hope that they can rise again or at least lead a more dignified existence. The fact that the Kar'zun have recently acquired ships of their own and launched colonisation efforts has rekindled their hopes.
Aside from Khan'thaza, key members of the group include Zlak'krava, Karn'navak, Azra'zavak, Vran'zaran. Zlak'krava was involved with the Legion of the Damned, but broke with them when it became clear that they would condemn the Kar'zun still on Kaeshana as well as the Eldorai. However, she is a hard woman. Zlak'krava believes that the calamities the Eldorai endured are karmic punishment for their crimes against her people. As a result, she is not sympathetic to elves who complain about their woes. However, she is ready to work with Forsaken and others who have broken with the old ways and have no connection to the reactionaries.
Karn'navak is the most idealistic of the group. He used to hate the Eldorai and take every chance he got to fight them, but seeing the plight of the Forsaken after the desolation of Kaeshana and their abandonment by their rulers changed him. He distinguishes between the butchers of the past and a generation that had no role in the past atrocities and has suffered great hardship. Needless to say he is not sympathetic to Forsaken who insist Ariane did nothing wrong and call Kar'zun 'Arish'. As he explains it, he does not want more children of either species to suffer and be forced to repeat the cycle. He has started building ties with Kar'zun who escaped Kaeshana after the planet was dragged through the Netherworld.
Vran'zaran is a mercenary type and fond of cracking practical jokes. He is eternally trying to get Khan'thaza to laugh at them. It rarely works. Vran'zaran is the most business-savvy of the group. Khan'thaza has the final say, but Vran'zaran often acts as a negotiator when dealing with outside parties. Moreover, he keeps track of the group's funding and gear. Vran'zaran speaks Basic and Huttesse. He understands Eldarai, but refuses to speak it.
Azra'zavak is the Warden with the most technological know-how. Her parents belonged to a Kar'zun caste of engineers responsible for building many of the machines her species used, including a vast transport network that connected their cities. Indeed, she is quite quick to point out that the Kar'zun launched a ship into space long before the Eldorai. The revelation that the space elves apparently enlisted offworld mercenaries to triumph in the final battle and then covered this up is a validation for her. Azra'zavak is most comfortable with machines and a good engineer. She is gruff and short with Eldorai, but has developed an appreciation for their cousins, especially the Xioquo. She has taken a former Xioquo slave under her wing and is teaching him about modern tech.
Compared to most military units, the Wardens have a more relaxed command structure. It helps that they are a very small unit. Their members are all very old stone men and women who do not need micromanagement and all count as elders among their people. As a result they are rather egalitarian in their daily interactions with one another. The Wardens are very independent-minded. They are offered assignments, pick them if they find them agreeable and then get the job done. To maintain their independence they operate out of their own starship. Aside from honing their martial skills, they also make an effort to recover lost Kar'zun treasures, artefacts and cultural heirlooms. Moreover, they put their skills as artisans, mechanics, armour and weapons smiths to good use. This is another way for them to earn coin.
COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Small
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Equipment:
Armour:
Primary Weapons:
- Microgrenade Launcher. May be mounted on another rifle as an underbarrel weapon.
- ACS-202 Vanquisher Light Repeating Blaster
- ACS-205 Advanced Dual Weapon System
- Stouker Concussion Rifle
- Reaper Plasma Shotgun.
- Bolter / APE Rounds
- Pulse Cannon
- Bowcaster
- MK III Heavy Bolter
- MWC-35c "Staccato Lightning" Repeating Cannon
- BB-23 Heavy Blaster Cannon
- T-7 Ion Disruptor
- Rotary Cannon
- Flame Projector
- Power Hammer
- Force Imbued Greatswords, Maces or Halberds.
- Sarzmigar Mk2
- Sarix
- Sonic Disruptor
- Renegade Heavy Blaster Pistol
- Cylix Bolt Pistol
- MSD-32
- RSIC-11 "Suncrusher" Blaster Pistol
- Grenades, Thermal Imploders, Sonic Imploders.
- Seraph Battle Shield
- ACS-207 Cryo-Ban Gun
- ACS-207 Aerosolblaster
- ACS-208 Wrist Ion Beamer
- Wrist Bolter
The Obsidians Wardens are very disciplined, powerful warriors. Equipped with heavy weapons, swords, maces, mauls and the like, they can do a good deal of damage, especially at close range, where they can also use their size and weight to smash opponents. Moreover, every single Warden is a powerful Force-User. They specialise in Terramancy, Protection Bubble, Force Weapon, Tutaminis, Force Resistance, Force Valour, Telekinesis and Force Stasis. Terramancy can be utilised offensively, defensively or for utility purposes. It grants them skills that can be roughly compared to Earth Shaping, though there is no relation between the Kar'zun and the Shapers of Kro Var. They can cause rock slides, raise earthen walls, spikes, furrows and even summon quakes. Their command of Force Stasis is strong enough to put multiple enemies into brief, non-harmful catatonic states at the same time. This very helpful for crowd control as well as capturing enemies. The combination of terramancy and knowledge of demolitions also makes the Wardens good combat engineers. They are very adept at creating obstacles and conversely identifying and taking advantage of structural weakness of buildings, fortifications and so on.
Their natural toughness, heavy armour and defensive powers make the Wardens good tanks. Thus they can soak up damage, buff allies or generate barriers to protect them from harm. Being an unusual type of creature, Kar'zun are almost impossible to mentally dominate with the Force. The Wardens resist mental attacks with ease. The combination of durability, strength and firepower makes them excellent at crowd control. They are good for clearing out corridors of hostiles or at close quarters combat.
However, they are extremely slow. As Kar'zun age they became tougher, but also slower and more ponderous. The Wardens are very old. This does not affect their mental abilities. Their minds are as sharp as ever, but they simply cannot move fast. This is something an opponent could use against them in battle. More lightly armoured, agile opponents could conceivably outmanoeuvre them and whittle down their defences via ambushes and hit-and-run attacks. This can also put the Wardens at a disadvantage in melee since they favour large, heavy weapons. While their bodies are very tough, their eyes are vulnerable to attacks more than other parts. Due to their racial characteristics, Kar'zun are also vulnerable to sonic and pulse weapons.
Being infantry the Wardens are particularly vulnerable to air strikes and long range bombardment. They are big, obvious targets, and so opponents will see and hear them coming. In short, good targets for snipers and poor at stealth. Powerful land mines are also a good method because they are vulnerable once they're down. Moreover, the entire unit is extremely small, for there are only twelve Wardens. Thus they are easily outnumbered and can be overwhelmed by enemies with superior numbers. Lacking recon elements, they are reliant on support in that department. Mighty glacier is an appropriate trope for them.
Strengths:
- Excellent tanks. They are incredibly strong, tough and experienced in combat.
- Force warriors. Specialise in terramancy, telekinesis and defensive powers. Resist mental attacks with ease.
- Very slow and ponderous. Kar'zun are stone beings. They grow tougher with age, but also slower and the Obsidian Wardens are very cold. More agile opponents could use this to their advantage. Certain types of vehicles are not practical for them due to their size. It also makes them poor at stealth.
- Extremely small in size and lacks support forces such as heavy vehicles and snipers.
The Kar'zun have long memories. They remember a time of glory, when they were mighty and there was a united Kar'zun realm. The conflict between them and the Eldorai shaped the history of Kaeshana, for good or ill. The Kar'zun are a silicon-based race of rock people that originated on Kaeshana along with the Eldorai. They are strong, tough and honourable, but also a wounded people. The rivalry between races was fierce and they warred for centuries, before Star Queen Ariane I, one of the greatest and most ruthless generals of the Eldorai, wrested victory from near-defeat and crushed the Kar'zun.
Relations were poisoned for centuries, for the Star Queen enacted a near-genocidal campaign. By the time she died the Kar'zun were effectively dead as a people. To the Kar'zun she was a war criminal, a genocidal murderer they called Az’varik, the deadly flame. To the Eldorai meanwhile she was a hero, a woman who saved her people and brought them victory over their enemies. Regardless of the morality or lack thereof, her actions ensure that it was Eldorai not Kar’zun who would rule Kaeshana.
Her successors ended the slaughter, but forced the Kar'zun into reservations. Controls waxed and waned over the centuries. Eventually, they were emancipated and given territory of their own during the reign of Star Queen Tirathana VII. The liberal despot was troubled by the past atrocities and believed that a lasting peace could only be achieved through understanding. However, many Kar'zun had left Kaeshana, seeking a better life in the stars. Their skills made them useful mercenaries, traders, metal smiths and stone masons. As those who requested their services almost always discovered, a Kar'zun's word is his bond.
The Obsidians Wardens are one of the Kar'zun groups that chose to pursue a better life elsewhere. They are a bit of a rarity among their people, for they are Force-sensitives. While Force-users are common among the Eldorai, they are exceptionally rare among the Kar'zun. Perhaps less than one in a thousand has any perception of the Force. Those which do are usually made priests regardless of their previous social status and specialise in elemental applications of the Force.
The Obsidian Wardens are descendants of a cadet branch of the old royal family and members of the priesthood. The direct royal line was exterminated by the Eldorai during the sack of the capital of Vak’zahr. The group was founded by Kan'Thaza. If he had been in a more peaceful, less violent age, he would have probably been destined to assume a leading role in the clergy of the Creator God Zak’zakada, using his knowledge and elemental powers to aid his second cousin, the Queen of the Kar'zun. But when the Eldorai sacked Vak’zahr, they eradicated all the Kar'zun they could find. Their last queen, his relative, was killed. Her body was smashed with hammers and burnt to ash. These shocking events left their mark on him.
Kan'thaza was still extremely young. By Kar'zun standards, he was a toddler. He and his allies escaped from Kaeshana, along with a few other exiles. For a while there was unity between the exiles, but then one radical sect emerged which sought to exact vengeance for the atrocities the Eldorai had inflicted on them - by any means necesary. They sought to achieve this goal by invading Kaeshana. However, they would not only punish the Eldorai, but also the Kar'zun still on the planet, believing that they had failed the race.
Kan'thaza and his allies broke away from this group, which, after plotting for an absurd amount of time, tried to invade Kaeshana and drop an asteroid on it. This went poorly for the Legion of the Damned, as they called themselves. Those who'd split from them called themselves the Obsidian Wardens. Acquiring a proper spaceship, they set off into the Galaxy, seeking contact with others of their race while selling their martial skills to the highest bidder.
Over the centuries their numbers were whittled down, though the strength of those who survived this brutal process of attrition only grew. Independent Kar'zun clans wrote stories and ballads about their exploits. They acquired a reputation for never breaking a contract and showing great valour in combat. Combat wise they equipped themselves with tough armour, heavy weapons, war hammers, vibro-maces and similar weapons. Their skill as terramancers made them potent in both offence and defence. Ideal for breaching fortifications or entrenched enemy positions, they were highly capable fighters. But they never forgot the near-destruction of their people. Where possible, they launched attacks on the Eldorai Matriarchy, though they refused to let their desire for vengeance consume them the way it had the Damned.
Today the Wardens are extremely old, extremely tough and extremely bitter. In the aftermath of Kaeshana's destruction and its occupation by the First Order a few years later, they have began to work with the Shadow Knights. Unlike many Eldorai, Archon Naesala Faethyra is not racist towards the stone people, having encountered and worked with them during her time as an exile. The rebels have, officially at least, declared the Kar'zun to be fellow Asurans. However, the Wardens still tend to keep to themselves. Ironically, they are on good terms with the Harbingers of Twilight, a warrior cult of Force Dead Eldorai who worship the Death Goddess Illyria, whom conservative Eldorai regard as the archenemy of the Goddess Ashira. Having experienced persecution due to being seen as 'blasphemous demon-worshippers', the Illyrians are able to feel empathy for the stone people.
The Warden decided to work with the Eldorai rebels because both opposed the Eldorai Matriarchy. To the rebels, it was the ancien régime that, from their point of view, abandoned Kaeshana, while to the Wardens it was the régime that had signed the death warrant of their race. But the Wardens still pursued their own agenda. They were available for other parties to hire, provided said groups were not seen as inimical to the Kar'zun race. The somewhat kranky stone men and women were occasionally hired by Firemane, which gave them access to some of the corporation's weapons. The fact that the Shadow Knights' relationship with the megacorporation was tense did not bother the Wardens.
The Shadow Knights' Archon won some respect by returning Kar'zun heirlooms that had been seized by the Eldorai government after the war's end, been lost during the chaos of the Exodus and discovered by her soldiers during a raid on the base of a pirate lord who had been abducting Eldorai to enslave them. Kaida, who fought alongside loyalist Kar'zun during the Legion of the Damned's failed invasion, is quite supportive of their presence. Detractors say that this is because the Wardens are just as grumpy and stoic as she is.
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