Arcane Legions

The infantrymen of the Grand Army of the Crusade are among the best soldiers of Himiko’s army. They sometimes resent the presence of a Japanese woman in the position of command, but any doubts about her ability to lead are quickly dismissed by her demonstrated skills and the unparalleled string of victories she has amassed. The Emperor Wu has placed the greatest army ever assembled into her care; the rank and file of the Grand Army’s conventional troops can place themselves likewise.

The soldiers of the Wu dynasty are not like soldiers of previous Han armies. They march into battle content in their service, with the knowledge of what their future might be striding beside them in the form of terracotta soldiers. This serenity makes them philosophical in camp and combat. The greatest danger to the Han infantrymen has often been the unparalleled march west the Grand Army has undertaken. Many soldiers, tired of the endless marching, throw themselves carelessly into battle, thinking that even death would be a welcome change from the march.

In combat the Han infantryman is the equal to any other human soldier on the field. They are particularly violent when facing the Xiongnu but do not fare so well against the undead legions of Egypt or the heavy legionaries of Rome. A man can face a man, they reason … but a monster—well, the Lord Commander of the Grand Army has her own monsters for that.