Full Profile Part Two
The Malazan Alliance Abridged Profile
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| The Malazan World. Map by Adam Whitehead |
Alliances
The "Bonehunter Alliance": The Bonehunter Alliance was the group of factions assembled by the Malazan Adjunct, Tavore Paran to defeat the Forkrul Assail at the end of the series. This force included the Malazan Bonehunters, The Letherii under Prince Brys Beddict, the Bolkondo and Saphii under Queen Abrastal, the T'lan Imass under Tool, the K'Chain Che' Malle of Acyl Nest, and a group of undead Jaghut led by Hood.
Factions Overview
The Malazan Empire-Brood's Host Alliance: The Malazan-Brood alliance refers to the partnership between the Malazan Army of Dujek Onearm and Caladan Brood/Anomander Rake's forces to defeat the Pannion Domin. It also includes the White-Face Barghast, Moranth, and Silverfox's T'lan Imass.
The "Bonehunter Alliance": The Bonehunter Alliance was the group of factions assembled by the Malazan Adjunct, Tavore Paran to defeat the Forkrul Assail at the end of the series. This force included the Malazan Bonehunters, The Letherii under Prince Brys Beddict, the Bolkondo and Saphii under Queen Abrastal, the T'lan Imass under Tool, the K'Chain Che' Malle of Acyl Nest, and a group of undead Jaghut led by Hood.
Factions Overview
The Malazan Empire: The dominant faction within this alliance, in most cases responsible for coordinating the others, although they have little direct control over them. A mostly human, expansionist empire that controls the better part of three continents. Known for the contrast between their relatively egalitarian views on race, gender, and class, with the authoritarian rule of the current Empress, Laseen. They possess an extremely competent professional military known for their flexibility, discipline, and skilled officer corps.
The Moranth: The Malazan's foremost ally, the Moranth are insect-like humanoids. They are divided into castes based on their societal role and signified by their chitinous armor's color.
Tiste Andii: The "dark elves" of the setting, seven-foot-tall humanoids with ebony-skin, and the ability to see in the dark. They are virtually immortal, with many Andii remembering their flight from their native dimension of Kurald Galaian to the Malazan world some 300 millennia ago. Due to their long lives and being disowned by their creator deity, Andii suffer from various psychological problems, notably depression and apathy. As a result, their culture stresses the value of self-sacrifice in others' service to give themselves a purpose. They are famed mercenaries.
The Barghast: An intensely warlike, humanoid race of clannish nomads. They are closely related to humans but slightly taller and bulkier. They fight as mercenaries for several other factions here, but the largest independent group is the White Face, a loosely allied group of more than two dozen Barghast clans. The leadership of the White Face is a tenuous thing. They are prone to infighting, sometimes leading to the massacre of rivals and their families.
The Letherii Empire: The dominant human power of the North American-esque continent of Lether. They are an aggressively militarist and expansionist nation, with a culture based on relentless economic progress. Their society is starkly divided between wealthy traders, merchants, and nobles and the legions of debt slaves known as indebted. Following their invasion by and subsequent alliance with the Malazans, however, they are undergoing societal reforms.
The Bolkondo and Saphiland Kingdoms: Two small, allied, human kingdoms that are neighbors of the Letherii. Rely on political maneuvering to avoid conquest by their larger neighbors.
The Shake: Humans with Tiste Andii ancestry that gives them access to genetic memories from the Andii's past.
The T'lan Imass: Neanderthal-like proto-humans who granted themselves immortality to exterminate the race that enslaved them. The process left them stronger, faster, and much more durable than regular humans. Still, their immortality did not come with eternal youth, and they now resemble mummified corpses—longstanding allies of the Malazans.
The K'Chain Che'Malle: An ancient race of reptilians, formerly very technologically advanced, but now stagnant. They have a societal structure similar to ants, with a single reproducing female known as the Matron responsible continuing and directing their species. Each Che'Malle spawned by the Matron is a unique breed, with a specific purpose that they've been bioengineered to fulfill. They communicate through scent glands, which project their thoughts and feelings to other Che' Malle's minds.
PRIMARY UNITS
Medium Infantry
Also known as Malazan Regulars, they are the backbone of the Malazan military. Highly trained men and women who rely on small-unit formation fighting. They are equipped with bows, iron-headed pikes, spears, and swords, and largely armored in bronze with tower shields.
The Grey Swords
A holy order of mercenaries, divided into units of infantry and cavalry. The cavalry comes equipped with recurve bows, lances, and lassos, while the infantry has crossbows, longswords, and knives. Protected by chainmail, and large, bronze-plated shields. They are known as masters of holding a defensive position. At one point, a group of them survived being literally buried under their attackers, yet were still able to fight their way out from underneath the mountain of bodies. Their veteran forces were mostly killed during the Siege of Capustan (less than a hundred of these now remain). The vast majority of their force is made up of recent recruits.
Trake's Legion
A ragtag militia of about eighty veterans that survived the Siege of Capustan, led by the Mortal Sword (a military champion) of the war god, Trake. Poorly disciplined, but capable of tremendous slaughter when they have backs to the wall. Their allegiance to Trake allows them to merge together into a giant, T-Rex sized Tiger.
Barghast Warriors
Ferocious fighters who overwhelm their enemies through sheer size and strength. Very skilled on an individual level, but lacking in coordinated tactics beyond large rushes. They are very effective at bogging down cavalry. Armed with crude throwing axes, lances, long-handled fighting axes, hook-swords, and knives
Tiste Andii Warriors
All incredibly experienced fighters, with the best of them having hundreds of millennia of experience as mercenaries. Their weapons are crossbows, iron bladed longswords, and knives, with iron helmets, shields, and chainmail for defense. Many Andii are also sorcerers, with the ability to call upon their racial Warren of Kurald Galain. This gives them various powers, including bolts of combustive energy, invisibility, flight, and the ability to grant temporary night vision to non-Andii. A small number of these Andii mages serve as elite assassins. An even smaller number can shapeshift into small-building sized dragons, which can disintegrate humans with their sorcerous breath.
Letherii Infantry
The various forms of infantry that make up the largely professional army of Lether. Well trained and equipped, with their metallurgy in particular being of a superior quality. Letherii Steel is nigh unbreakable, virtually weightless, and can harm magical beings like wraiths. Their armies revolve around heavy and medium infantry, which rely on disciplined shield walls. They are supported by units of skirmishers, agile infighters, artillery, and occasionally, poorly trained miltia.
The Evertine Legion
The elite of the Bolkando military. Apparently have never lost a battle and serve as the elite line infantry of the Bonehunter Alliance. Armed with shortswords, cutlasses, and knives. Armor is iron scale under chainmail surcoats, accompanied by shields, gauntlets, greaves, and lobster-tailed helmets with hinged cheek and nose guards.
The Defenders of the Shore
A Shake/Letherii militia force. On average, poorly equipped, but surprisingly well disciplined. Fight like the Roman Maniple system in that the militia is divided into units by fighting skill, rotating through the various groups so that each is tempered in the experience of battle without exhausting themselves.
LINEBREAKERS
Malazan Heavies
The heavy infantry of Malazan armies. Drafted from the largest and strongest of recruits, these soldiers are counted as those who lead the push or hold the line against the fiercest enemies. At one point, they held off an attack from K'Chain Nah'ruk warriors, nine-foot-tall, 300-pound lizardmen, who were cybernetically enhanced and strong enough to lift ordinary humans off the ground with a single swing of their weapons. Armed with crossbows, spears, weighted longswords, and all manner of knives. Armored in scale, chain vambraces, gauntlets, and visored helmets with cheek guards. They all carry kite shields.
Malazan Marines
The Malzan's shock troops. Designed to hit hard, fast, and get out. They're less armored than the Medium or Heavy infantry, but more versatile than either, being potent skirmishers and guerilla fighters. Armed with crossbows, long and short swords, and a variety of knives. Armored in chainmail and leather. Some may carry a shield made from softened wood to catch and hold enemy weapons.
Teblor Warriors
A race of 8-9 foot tall giants, hailing from culture than reveres violence. Twice as wide and five times as heavy as humans, they are also much faster, stronger, and tougher. They can shoulder charge through reinforced gates of military fortifications, keep pace with horses over short distances, and have impressive healing factors. This ables them to survive being impaled with multiple arrows and knives and be completely healed within a day. They also have an extra set of lungs, are immune to disease, have low-level magic immunity, and can live to over 400 years old. Their typical weapons are swords made from bloodwood, a material treated to be stronger than steel.
T'lan Imass Warriors
Superhumanly strong, fast, and durable undead. Have a ridiculous amount of combat experience, courtesy being immortal and fighting numerous wars over the past 300 millennia. Strong enough to snap the necks of muskoxen with their bare hands, crush human bones in their grips, and are at least equivalent to creatures that can crossbow-time in speed. No armor, but very durable. Their undead nature allows them to press on unless vital bones are broken (most notably, leg bones). Their bones are very thick, having hardened to the consistency of stone. This makes them nearly impossible to break via human-wielded melee weapons. Weapons that deal a very localized force, like crossbow bolts, can shatter them, however, as can superhumanly strong creatures like Teblor. Less localized blunt force is less effective. A mortal Imass once survived a blow that would have broken every bone in a human's body. That same Imass also survived an attack that lodged him in a cliffside once undead. They are also highly resistant to magical attacks. They can turn their bodies to dust to travel through the earth at their feet, or on the wind at high speeds. The former allows them to ambush enemies by appearing from the ground beneath them. The only known way to kill them is by submerging them completely in water, which causes them to dissolve. T'lan Imass wield weapons made from flint enhanced via their Warren of Tellann, allowing them to cut through iron and magical shielding as easily as human flesh. Accompanied by thousands of undead Dire Wolves called T'lan Ay.
Ve'Gath
The primary soldier breed of the K'Chain Che'Malle. Twelve feet tall and probably weighing in at 1,000+ pounds, they smash through enemies through sheer strength and determination. They can send humans flying through the air with their attacks. Even other monstrous infantry like the Nah'ruk have been trampled trying to resist them. They're armed with short-handled halberds, battle-axes, falchions, and armored in machine-like plating covering their upper bodies, forearms, and thighs, with grilled visors that protect their faces. They also carry towers shields made from one of their fortresses' scrapped armor, which can deflect shots from energy weapons powerful enough to disintegrate the entire upper body of an armored human when it struck him in the chest.
RAPID RELIEF
Malazan Cavalry
The Malazans typically recruit their cavalry from the tribal groups of nomadic horse warriors that have fought with or against their empire. The most notable examples are the Wickans and Seti. The Wickans are portrayed as the more skilled and versatile of the two peoples, capable of lightning-fast raids and precise flanking attacks. Some Wickan tribes even use wardogs and may employ semi-heavy armor to catch enemies off-guard. The Seti are more numerous, and their tactics tend more towards harassment of enemy settlements and their logistical capabilities. More minor examples are the Khundryl Burned Tears and Mathok's Cavalry. The Burned Tears are a warrior cult dedicated to the memory of a particularly renowned Wickan warleader, while Mathok's Cavalry is four thousand light cavalry veterans recruited into the Malazan military following the end of the Whirlwind Rebellion. Mathok's Cavalry benefits from the leadership of Ganoes Paran, who can teleport the entire force to surprise and flank enemy armies. These horse warriors are collectively armed with just about every weapon you could stereotypically associate with them: bows, lances, javelins, cavalry sabers and longknives.
Malazan Skirmishers
Hordes of crossbow-armed skirmishers who range ahead of their army to punish the enemy with countless crossbow bolts. Armed with standard-issue Malazan assault crossbows; heavy weapons constructed entirely from iron, with a thick cord the width of a man's thumb, and x-head bolts. These weapons are designed to punch through defenses and are capable of going straight through wooden shields and leather armor. Trained Malazan soldiers can reload their weapons in four seconds. While some skirmishers may be professional soldiers, the Malazans may decide to really get the crossbow bolts flying, and mass recruits skirmisher militia from one of their civilian centers. These skirmishers are poorly disciplined and inaccurate but compensate through sheer numbers.
Bluerose Lancers
The light cavalry of the Letherii province of Bluerose. Specialize in raids and riding down other light cavalry. Armed with lancers and armored with small round shields and helmets. Sometimes accompanied by wardogs.
K'ell Hunters
The "light" cavalry of the K'Chain Che'Malle. The same height as the Ve'Gath, although built for speed rather than strength. They're faster than cantering horses over long distances. Over shorter ones, they appear as "blurs" to normal humans. Their weapons are two, long, iron blades fused to their arms, which, combined with their strength, can cut humans or even horses in half with a single swing. K'ell are typically deployed as scouts, flankers, or to run down fleeing enemies. They're also potent as line-breaking cavalry. Through sheer speed and strength, they can shred an entire company of human soldiers in moments. If facing a more determined spear or shield-wall, they will simply leap over enemy lines to crash down amid formations with their sheer weight and sharp talons. Their armor is scaly skin and metal and leather harnesses that wrap across their shoulders, chests, and sternums. K'ell possess a special adrenal gland that lets them push on without food, water, or rest for far longer than a human can.
SHOCK AND AWE
Moranth
The primary weapon of Moranth are the Moranth Munitions, alchemical explosives. They come in a variety of designs. For more information on these weapons, see the sapper profile below. The Moranth's typical battle tactics involve beginning a battle with an aerial bombardment via quorls, their giant, dragonfly mounts. Then comes a mass deployment from air-to-ground, with advancing, tightly packed infantry formations from which the rear ranks throw munitions into the enemy. The two primary combat castes of the Moranth are the black and gold (regular and elite infantry, respectively). In melee, they are superb line infantry fighting with spears and swords and come armored in chitinous plate. There's also the Blue Moranth, seafarers who command the Moranth navy. Their ships are equipped with their own version of Greek Fire and collapsable siege towers for assaulting seabound fortresses or cities.
Siege Weapons
The various pieces of artillery used by the Malazans: ballistae, mangonels, onagers, and scorpions. These seem similar to their real-world medieval and ancient counterparts. The most notable exception is that sappers may create custom artillery pieces equipped with incendiary ammunition from Moranth Munitions.
Thrones of War
The warships used by a mercenary company in the employ of the Malazans. Each ship is actually two galleons linked together by a connecting bridge. They can hold 400 troops at a time, and are equipped with rams and ballistae. They can be transported via Warren. There are 31 of these ships.
Skykeeps
The flying mountain fortresses of the K'Chain race. There are two present here: Moon's Spawn and Ampelas Uprooted. Both contain cities within their rock exteriors. Moon's Spawn is a Nah'ruk skykeep, once abandoned and now the home to the Tiste Andii. They use it as a home base and a massive artillery platform for their Archmage, Anomander Rake, to rain magic down on his enemies. Ampelas Uprooted is a Che'Mallle skykeep, and still under the command of that race. Far larger than Moon's Spawn, Ampelas also has built-in weaponry in the form of its lightning cannon. This weapon fires a massive spear of energy that is powerful enough to destroy a tenement block in a single strike or bore through a mountain's side. Beyond that, both skykeeps can simply bulldoze through any defenses with the unstoppable force of billions of tons of flying rock.
SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Malazan Mages
The magical support of Malazan armies. Can be divided into several power levels:
The Letherii Empire: The dominant human power of the North American-esque continent of Lether. They are an aggressively militarist and expansionist nation, with a culture based on relentless economic progress. Their society is starkly divided between wealthy traders, merchants, and nobles and the legions of debt slaves known as indebted. Following their invasion by and subsequent alliance with the Malazans, however, they are undergoing societal reforms.
The Bolkondo and Saphiland Kingdoms: Two small, allied, human kingdoms that are neighbors of the Letherii. Rely on political maneuvering to avoid conquest by their larger neighbors.
The Shake: Humans with Tiste Andii ancestry that gives them access to genetic memories from the Andii's past.
The T'lan Imass: Neanderthal-like proto-humans who granted themselves immortality to exterminate the race that enslaved them. The process left them stronger, faster, and much more durable than regular humans. Still, their immortality did not come with eternal youth, and they now resemble mummified corpses—longstanding allies of the Malazans.
The K'Chain Che'Malle: An ancient race of reptilians, formerly very technologically advanced, but now stagnant. They have a societal structure similar to ants, with a single reproducing female known as the Matron responsible continuing and directing their species. Each Che'Malle spawned by the Matron is a unique breed, with a specific purpose that they've been bioengineered to fulfill. They communicate through scent glands, which project their thoughts and feelings to other Che' Malle's minds.
Magic
Magic in the Malazan setting operates through the use of Warrens, realms separate from the main planet on which the series take place. Mages open rifts to these realms and channel the energy funneled through them into their bodies. Each Warren is aspected to a specific "element" of the universe and the metaphysical concepts that go along with that element. For example, Ruse, the Warren of the sea, allows mages to not only manipulate water but also ideas that one would associate with the ocean. These include crushing pressure and a feeling of breathlessness. Most humans can command one Warren, which typically requires minimal body movements or incantations. While each Warren has individual specializations, they also have universal abilities. Offensively, mages can project the raw energy of a Warren, with even minor mages capable of killing a regular human with one shot. Warrens are also used for transportation, capable of shortening inter-continental travel times to mere hours, provided mages are capable of visualizing their destination. The Malazans utilize their own Warren, the Imperial Warren, which doesn't seemingly confer any special abilities but is accessible to all mages associated with the Empire. Even more importantly, it's (relatively) safe to travel within. Mages can also serve in maintaining communications over long distances, operating like human radios.
Most human accessible Warrens are call Paths. These are:
- Mockra, the Path of the Mind: Mental and emotional manipulation. It is mainly used to twist others' emotions against them, although it can also be used to read minds.
- Rashan, the path Path of Darkness: Manipulation of darkness. Used to cloak users, although it doesn't turn them fully invisible.
- Thyr, the Path of Light: Generation of light and heat.
- Meanas, the Path of Shadow and Illusion: Blends darkness and light together to create illusions that are capable of perfectly replicating sight and sound. If the victim believes these illusions are real, they will actually become real. However, the more complex the illusions are, the higher the odds the victim has of realizing it's a fake, and it ceases to have any effect. Meanas can also be used for more basic shadow manipulation, such as form crude weapons like spears or nooses from hardened shadow.
- Denul, the Path of Healing: Self-explanatory. Can range from treating minor injuries to reattaching entire limbs and regrowing organs depending on how good the mage is.
- Telas, the Path of Fire: Makes waves of fire.
- Hood's Path, the Path of Death: Involves the summoning and binding of souls and the dead. Particularly powerful mages can even summon small armies of zombies or rip people's souls from their bodies.
- D'riss, the Path of Stone: Used for petrification and the ability to "walk" through stone.
- Tennes, the Path of the Land: Earth manipulation. It can be used to soften the ground beneath someone's feet, create spontaneous pits, and summon pillars of earth to strike down flyers. Can cause landslides on the high-end.
- Serc, the Path of the Sky: The manipulation of air currents and pressures. Mostly used for transportation purposes via flying, but is also a very potent combat Warren. Skilled Serc mages can rapidly increase the pressure around someone's body, causing them to explode, or manipulate the weather to summon localized hurricanes or whirlwinds.
- Ruse, the Path of the Sea: See my explanation of Ruse above. Manipulating water's a given, but it also allows mages to summon the vast pressure of the depths to crush enemies, cause them to feel like their choking, or just straight up teleport water into their lungs. Except for teleporting water however, those are all high-end feats and powerful, human Ruse mages are nearly non-existent within the setting.
- Aral Gamelon, the Demon Warren: Gives users the ability to summon (although more like kidnap) natives of another dimension that humans refer to as demons. However, calling them aliens is more accurate. These are typically used for their abilities as monstrous melee fighters, being much stronger and faster than humans.
- The Chaos Warren: Possibly the primordial source of the concept of magic in the Malazan setting, the Warren of Chaos forms the miasmic paths between the Warrens while subtlety bleeding into them. Some mages may choose to tap into the power of Chaos directly. However, only the extremely desperate or extremely crazy would willingly do so. While Chaos in Malazan is not actively malicious as it is in Warhammer, prolonged exposure to it will eat away at a person's body and mind. Despite the physical and mental toll accessing Chaos has on mages, it gives them a temporary boost of power at the cost of making their magic wilder and harder to control.
Medium Infantry
Also known as Malazan Regulars, they are the backbone of the Malazan military. Highly trained men and women who rely on small-unit formation fighting. They are equipped with bows, iron-headed pikes, spears, and swords, and largely armored in bronze with tower shields.
The Grey Swords
A holy order of mercenaries, divided into units of infantry and cavalry. The cavalry comes equipped with recurve bows, lances, and lassos, while the infantry has crossbows, longswords, and knives. Protected by chainmail, and large, bronze-plated shields. They are known as masters of holding a defensive position. At one point, a group of them survived being literally buried under their attackers, yet were still able to fight their way out from underneath the mountain of bodies. Their veteran forces were mostly killed during the Siege of Capustan (less than a hundred of these now remain). The vast majority of their force is made up of recent recruits.
Trake's Legion
A ragtag militia of about eighty veterans that survived the Siege of Capustan, led by the Mortal Sword (a military champion) of the war god, Trake. Poorly disciplined, but capable of tremendous slaughter when they have backs to the wall. Their allegiance to Trake allows them to merge together into a giant, T-Rex sized Tiger.
Barghast Warriors
Ferocious fighters who overwhelm their enemies through sheer size and strength. Very skilled on an individual level, but lacking in coordinated tactics beyond large rushes. They are very effective at bogging down cavalry. Armed with crude throwing axes, lances, long-handled fighting axes, hook-swords, and knives
Tiste Andii Warriors
All incredibly experienced fighters, with the best of them having hundreds of millennia of experience as mercenaries. Their weapons are crossbows, iron bladed longswords, and knives, with iron helmets, shields, and chainmail for defense. Many Andii are also sorcerers, with the ability to call upon their racial Warren of Kurald Galain. This gives them various powers, including bolts of combustive energy, invisibility, flight, and the ability to grant temporary night vision to non-Andii. A small number of these Andii mages serve as elite assassins. An even smaller number can shapeshift into small-building sized dragons, which can disintegrate humans with their sorcerous breath.
Letherii Infantry
The various forms of infantry that make up the largely professional army of Lether. Well trained and equipped, with their metallurgy in particular being of a superior quality. Letherii Steel is nigh unbreakable, virtually weightless, and can harm magical beings like wraiths. Their armies revolve around heavy and medium infantry, which rely on disciplined shield walls. They are supported by units of skirmishers, agile infighters, artillery, and occasionally, poorly trained miltia.
The Evertine Legion
The elite of the Bolkando military. Apparently have never lost a battle and serve as the elite line infantry of the Bonehunter Alliance. Armed with shortswords, cutlasses, and knives. Armor is iron scale under chainmail surcoats, accompanied by shields, gauntlets, greaves, and lobster-tailed helmets with hinged cheek and nose guards.
The Defenders of the Shore
A Shake/Letherii militia force. On average, poorly equipped, but surprisingly well disciplined. Fight like the Roman Maniple system in that the militia is divided into units by fighting skill, rotating through the various groups so that each is tempered in the experience of battle without exhausting themselves.
LINEBREAKERS
Malazan Heavies
The heavy infantry of Malazan armies. Drafted from the largest and strongest of recruits, these soldiers are counted as those who lead the push or hold the line against the fiercest enemies. At one point, they held off an attack from K'Chain Nah'ruk warriors, nine-foot-tall, 300-pound lizardmen, who were cybernetically enhanced and strong enough to lift ordinary humans off the ground with a single swing of their weapons. Armed with crossbows, spears, weighted longswords, and all manner of knives. Armored in scale, chain vambraces, gauntlets, and visored helmets with cheek guards. They all carry kite shields.
Malazan Marines
The Malzan's shock troops. Designed to hit hard, fast, and get out. They're less armored than the Medium or Heavy infantry, but more versatile than either, being potent skirmishers and guerilla fighters. Armed with crossbows, long and short swords, and a variety of knives. Armored in chainmail and leather. Some may carry a shield made from softened wood to catch and hold enemy weapons.
Teblor Warriors
A race of 8-9 foot tall giants, hailing from culture than reveres violence. Twice as wide and five times as heavy as humans, they are also much faster, stronger, and tougher. They can shoulder charge through reinforced gates of military fortifications, keep pace with horses over short distances, and have impressive healing factors. This ables them to survive being impaled with multiple arrows and knives and be completely healed within a day. They also have an extra set of lungs, are immune to disease, have low-level magic immunity, and can live to over 400 years old. Their typical weapons are swords made from bloodwood, a material treated to be stronger than steel.
T'lan Imass Warriors
Superhumanly strong, fast, and durable undead. Have a ridiculous amount of combat experience, courtesy being immortal and fighting numerous wars over the past 300 millennia. Strong enough to snap the necks of muskoxen with their bare hands, crush human bones in their grips, and are at least equivalent to creatures that can crossbow-time in speed. No armor, but very durable. Their undead nature allows them to press on unless vital bones are broken (most notably, leg bones). Their bones are very thick, having hardened to the consistency of stone. This makes them nearly impossible to break via human-wielded melee weapons. Weapons that deal a very localized force, like crossbow bolts, can shatter them, however, as can superhumanly strong creatures like Teblor. Less localized blunt force is less effective. A mortal Imass once survived a blow that would have broken every bone in a human's body. That same Imass also survived an attack that lodged him in a cliffside once undead. They are also highly resistant to magical attacks. They can turn their bodies to dust to travel through the earth at their feet, or on the wind at high speeds. The former allows them to ambush enemies by appearing from the ground beneath them. The only known way to kill them is by submerging them completely in water, which causes them to dissolve. T'lan Imass wield weapons made from flint enhanced via their Warren of Tellann, allowing them to cut through iron and magical shielding as easily as human flesh. Accompanied by thousands of undead Dire Wolves called T'lan Ay.
Ve'Gath
The primary soldier breed of the K'Chain Che'Malle. Twelve feet tall and probably weighing in at 1,000+ pounds, they smash through enemies through sheer strength and determination. They can send humans flying through the air with their attacks. Even other monstrous infantry like the Nah'ruk have been trampled trying to resist them. They're armed with short-handled halberds, battle-axes, falchions, and armored in machine-like plating covering their upper bodies, forearms, and thighs, with grilled visors that protect their faces. They also carry towers shields made from one of their fortresses' scrapped armor, which can deflect shots from energy weapons powerful enough to disintegrate the entire upper body of an armored human when it struck him in the chest.
RAPID RELIEF
Malazan Cavalry
The Malazans typically recruit their cavalry from the tribal groups of nomadic horse warriors that have fought with or against their empire. The most notable examples are the Wickans and Seti. The Wickans are portrayed as the more skilled and versatile of the two peoples, capable of lightning-fast raids and precise flanking attacks. Some Wickan tribes even use wardogs and may employ semi-heavy armor to catch enemies off-guard. The Seti are more numerous, and their tactics tend more towards harassment of enemy settlements and their logistical capabilities. More minor examples are the Khundryl Burned Tears and Mathok's Cavalry. The Burned Tears are a warrior cult dedicated to the memory of a particularly renowned Wickan warleader, while Mathok's Cavalry is four thousand light cavalry veterans recruited into the Malazan military following the end of the Whirlwind Rebellion. Mathok's Cavalry benefits from the leadership of Ganoes Paran, who can teleport the entire force to surprise and flank enemy armies. These horse warriors are collectively armed with just about every weapon you could stereotypically associate with them: bows, lances, javelins, cavalry sabers and longknives.
Malazan Skirmishers
Hordes of crossbow-armed skirmishers who range ahead of their army to punish the enemy with countless crossbow bolts. Armed with standard-issue Malazan assault crossbows; heavy weapons constructed entirely from iron, with a thick cord the width of a man's thumb, and x-head bolts. These weapons are designed to punch through defenses and are capable of going straight through wooden shields and leather armor. Trained Malazan soldiers can reload their weapons in four seconds. While some skirmishers may be professional soldiers, the Malazans may decide to really get the crossbow bolts flying, and mass recruits skirmisher militia from one of their civilian centers. These skirmishers are poorly disciplined and inaccurate but compensate through sheer numbers.
Bluerose Lancers
The light cavalry of the Letherii province of Bluerose. Specialize in raids and riding down other light cavalry. Armed with lancers and armored with small round shields and helmets. Sometimes accompanied by wardogs.
K'ell Hunters
The "light" cavalry of the K'Chain Che'Malle. The same height as the Ve'Gath, although built for speed rather than strength. They're faster than cantering horses over long distances. Over shorter ones, they appear as "blurs" to normal humans. Their weapons are two, long, iron blades fused to their arms, which, combined with their strength, can cut humans or even horses in half with a single swing. K'ell are typically deployed as scouts, flankers, or to run down fleeing enemies. They're also potent as line-breaking cavalry. Through sheer speed and strength, they can shred an entire company of human soldiers in moments. If facing a more determined spear or shield-wall, they will simply leap over enemy lines to crash down amid formations with their sheer weight and sharp talons. Their armor is scaly skin and metal and leather harnesses that wrap across their shoulders, chests, and sternums. K'ell possess a special adrenal gland that lets them push on without food, water, or rest for far longer than a human can.
SHOCK AND AWE
Moranth
The primary weapon of Moranth are the Moranth Munitions, alchemical explosives. They come in a variety of designs. For more information on these weapons, see the sapper profile below. The Moranth's typical battle tactics involve beginning a battle with an aerial bombardment via quorls, their giant, dragonfly mounts. Then comes a mass deployment from air-to-ground, with advancing, tightly packed infantry formations from which the rear ranks throw munitions into the enemy. The two primary combat castes of the Moranth are the black and gold (regular and elite infantry, respectively). In melee, they are superb line infantry fighting with spears and swords and come armored in chitinous plate. There's also the Blue Moranth, seafarers who command the Moranth navy. Their ships are equipped with their own version of Greek Fire and collapsable siege towers for assaulting seabound fortresses or cities.
Siege Weapons
The various pieces of artillery used by the Malazans: ballistae, mangonels, onagers, and scorpions. These seem similar to their real-world medieval and ancient counterparts. The most notable exception is that sappers may create custom artillery pieces equipped with incendiary ammunition from Moranth Munitions.
Thrones of War
The warships used by a mercenary company in the employ of the Malazans. Each ship is actually two galleons linked together by a connecting bridge. They can hold 400 troops at a time, and are equipped with rams and ballistae. They can be transported via Warren. There are 31 of these ships.
Skykeeps
The flying mountain fortresses of the K'Chain race. There are two present here: Moon's Spawn and Ampelas Uprooted. Both contain cities within their rock exteriors. Moon's Spawn is a Nah'ruk skykeep, once abandoned and now the home to the Tiste Andii. They use it as a home base and a massive artillery platform for their Archmage, Anomander Rake, to rain magic down on his enemies. Ampelas Uprooted is a Che'Mallle skykeep, and still under the command of that race. Far larger than Moon's Spawn, Ampelas also has built-in weaponry in the form of its lightning cannon. This weapon fires a massive spear of energy that is powerful enough to destroy a tenement block in a single strike or bore through a mountain's side. Beyond that, both skykeeps can simply bulldoze through any defenses with the unstoppable force of billions of tons of flying rock.
SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Malazan Mages
The magical support of Malazan armies. Can be divided into several power levels:
- Shamans, warlocks, witches, and various other spellcasters not formally called mages. Have little offensive power, but may possess more diverse and esoteric abilities than mages. These include curses, summoning spirits, predicting the future, among others.
- Squad mages are the most common spellcasters in the Malazan army. As their name implies, they operate on an individual level within squads of non-magical soldiers, and their magic usually affects small groups of people. The Malazans have hundreds of them.
- Cadre mages form mage cadres, groupings of around half-a-dozen talented mages. They would be good squad-level mages on their own, but combined are something deadlier still. By joining their power together, they form the magical artillery of Malazan armies, and at their most impactful, can affect entire battlefields. However, powerful cadres are rare at this point in the series. Collectively there are probably a few dozen cadre mages overall in the Malazan military, meaning only a handful of mage cadres overall.
- High Mages are the mightiest mages in the whole Malazan Empire, typically holding positions of command in addition to their personal, magical power. The very strongest are army-killers who are more than a match for entire cadres of lesser mages. Very rare, there is probably less than a dozen recognized High Mages at the beginning of the series.
Wickan Warlocks
Wickan spellcasters who rely not only on Warrens, but call upon ancient spirits of the land. These spirits allow them to summon dust storms, read enemy movements through the ground, or summon undead, swarms of insects, or even the spirits directly to attack enemies.
Letherii Mages
Combat spellcasters of the Empire of Lether. They use degraded versions of Warrens known as Holds, which grants them magic with lots of raw power, but little versatility or subtlety. Their opening move in most military commands is to gather their power together via ritualized sorcery to attack enemies from beyond the horizon. The power of one of these rituals was enough to destroy four Tiste Edur villages in a roughly ten-mile radius, striking them from the other side of a mountain range. The resulting explosion was powerful enough to send a shockwave back over the mountain range with enough force to knock people over. These rituals require preparation however, and the magic unleashed is difficult to control. Outside of rituals, they have battle sorcery that strikes in rolling waves, capable of killing hundreds of soldiers in a single pass. These mages are relatively rare by the end of the series.
Sappers
Sappers are an elite group of Malazan Marines who deploy Moranth munitions in combat and demolition. They are typically used to blast holes in enemy formations, but can also be used to lay traps throughout the battlefield, or in sieges. Most munitions are deployed via crossbows or simply thrown by hand.The types of munitions are as follows:
- Sharpers: Anti-personel shrapnel grenades
- Cussers: Big explosions. Just one has a kill radius of about 75 feet and can knock over small buildings. They have to be either deployed through specialized crossbows or a variety of booby traps and cannot be safely thrown like most munitions,
- Burners: Explodes in a huge fireball, large enough to cover an entire medieval city street in flames.
- Cracker: A type of munition explicitly designed for building demolition via being hammered into the structure
- Smoker: Creates a thick cloud of smoke
- Melter: Releases a powerful acid
Claws are Empress Laseen's personal group of assassins, serving as a covert wing of the Malazan military and the ultimate extensions of the Empress' will. Prior to the arrival of the Malazan army, Claws are sent to kill enemy leaders and mages. Many Claw are mages themselves and can use magic to assassinate their targets. They're an armed variety of weapons: knives, miniature wrist-mounted crossbows, shuriken, and garrotes. These are typically poisoned.
Mott Irregulars
A makeshift force of woodland guerillas who famously defeated the Malazan and Moranth elite in the Mott Campaign. They're experts at maneuvering and fighting in their chosen terrain and specialize in eliminating enemy mage, especially those who utilize "dark magic," who they hate with a passion. Armed with makeshift weaponry, some Irregulars are also powerful warlocks. Two dozen of the Irregulars are members of the Bole Clan, Irregulars with supernatural blood in their veins, giving them superstrength.
Bridgeburners
A famous company of Malazan soldiers currently numbering 39 members. Made up of Heavies, Marines, Sappers and Mages, their exploits are legendary, and their most notable members can be found in the heroes' section. They are the Empire's very best strike force, used to launch surgical attacks on the enemy. If they're killed, they may return accompanied by their former members (thousands of them) as vengeful ghosts.
HEROES AND LEADERSHIP
Empress Laseen
The current leader of the Malazan Empire, Laseen is a manipulative schemer with an insatiable hunger for power. As a former assassin and head of the Empire's secret police, she is skilled in psyops and the murder of enemy leaders. However, her ambition often overextends her reach, and she is widely hated by the Empire's citizens for her authoritarianism and her military personnel for plunging her Empire into countless wars.
Warlord Caladan Brood
The leader of Brood's Host alongside Anomander Rake, Brood is an Elder God with hundreds of millennia of combat experience, and capable of out-generalling some of the best military minds of the Malazans. However, most of his victories are off-screen, and his military skill comes off as more implied than demonstrated. He wields Burn's Hammer, an incredibly powerful weapon capable of leveling mountain ranges with a single swing. However, he prefers to only use the hammer as a last resort.
Anomander Rake
Caladan Brood's companion, Rake, is the leader and near godlike figure to the Tiste Andii. He is a patient and cunning leader, willing to wait centuries to see a plan come together. This patience serves his people well, for Rake knows that they are a stagnant race, and their lives can't be wasted in rash action. Rake is a ludicrously powerful sorcerer, his aura of power alone enough to force armies back through magical pressure. His combat magic is equally impressive, able to match several High Mages at the same time. He wields Dragnipur, a magical bastard sword that traps its victims' souls within a Warren where they are forced to pull around the giant cart that holds the Gate of Darkness.
Adjunct Tavore Paran
Tavore is the leader of the Malazan Bonehunters, a Malazan army that went rogue to stop a threat to the entire world. A military prodigy, Tavore is the world's foremost expert on Malazan military history. Her tactics are not particularly great, and she frequently suffers from high casualties in her battles. Regardless, what makes her a very capable commander is her ability to ally with the right people to fulfill her goals. While Tavore is a deeply compassionate person, she hides this behind a mask of unbreakable determination. She will always keep pushing forward to achieve her strategic aims, no matter the cost to her or her army. She wields a sword coated in the magic-negating substance known as Otateral.
High Fist Dujek Onearm
The most prominent High Fist (highest-ranking general) in the Malazan Empire. His most exceptional ability is to inspire a sense of security, stability, and sanity around his soldiers who've gladly sacrificed their lives and loyalty to the Empire for him. Tactically, he prefers to keep his armies mobile through massed quorl deployments.
High Fist Ganoes Paran
A considerably younger and less experienced High Fist than Dujek, but with his own tricks. Ganoes is Master of the Deck of Dragons, giving him mastery over Warren portals surpassing any mage. Utilizing handcrafted cards, he can trap people in pocket dimensions, teleport thousands of his soldiers to positions around the battlefield, and even effect beings drawn on the cards like a voodoo doll.
Kallor
Brood's second in command, Kallor is an immortal warlord cursed by the gods with eternal life, but not eternal youth. Despite his frail appearance, Kallor is a spectacular swordsman. He has a brilliant military mind honed by over a hundred millennia of fighting and an instinctive knowledge of tactics and strategy. However, he is also arrogant and spiteful and ultimately chose to betray the Malazans and Brood. Whether he makes the same choices in this tournament remains to be seen.
Korlat
Korlat is Rake's second-in-command and a capable assassin-mage with the ability to shapeshift into a dragon.
Prince Brys Beddict
The prince of Lether. Brys is a superb swordsman (capable of incapacitating a foe by slicing his muscles, tendons, and ligaments with surgical precision mid-battle). He is a courageous battlefield leader, capable of coordinating a large offensive with several other commanders, if not a particularly notable tactician.
Queen Abrastal
The fiery, hedonistic queen of the Bolkondo. Abrastal is a cunning political operator who personally commanders the Evertine Legion in battle.
Prince Yedan Derryg, the Watch
The highly driven and stoic prince of the Shake. He is "fused" to a semi-sentient sword known as a Hust Blade. Designed to kill dragons, this blade functions essentially as a magical lightsaber. It cuts through almost everything that comes against it, including other weapons, heavy armor, and the hides of supernaturally durable monsters. It laughs maniacally as it pulls Yedan along with it via a will of its own. With his Hust Blade, Yedan is a literal one-person army having his speed and stamina greatly increased. During one of the final battles of the series, he racked up a 1,000 person body-count after days of fighting. Yedan is a competent battlefield commander who leads from the front to awe enemies and allies alike with his sheer combat skill. He deploys his forces in terrain that benefits their typically smaller numbers.
Mortal Sword Gesler and Shield Anvil Stormy
The bickering, stubborn military leaders of the K'Chain Che'Malle. Stormy and Gesler are Malazan soldiers who were kidnapped by the Che'Malle to serve as their mortal champions. They possess a link to the K'Chain hive mind allowing them to command their troops telepathically. This gives their Che'Malle superior coordination and morale. Their troops won't break unless they do. They have superhuman physicals, including skin as hard as stone and superhuman strength to ragdoll ordinary humans.
First Sword Onos T'oolan
The First Sword (military champion) of the T'lan Imass. An insanely capable warrior, capable of cutting through small armies by himself and slicing K'ell Hunters in half with a single swing. He's not a particularly great tactician or strategist but is capable of binding the T'lan Imass to his will through sheer, spiritual power. His status as First Sword grants him several other special abilities; he can smother other forms of magic by projecting his Warren for miles around and can even transport and cloak armies in the hundreds of thousands, allowing them to pass through enemy territory undetected.
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