Warlords of Karrnath

Source: The Forge of War

Adamant Fang (Vedykar): Trained in both traditional and woodland warfare, its members are among Karrnath’s almost nonexistent light cavalry.

Blackened Sky (Karrlakton): Champions of industry, the Order of the Blackened Sky makes substantial use of alchemical and mechanical weapons; in recent years, it has also become one of Karrnath’s greatest defenders against monstrous incursions from the Mournland.

Conquering Fist (Vulyar/Korth): This is a relatively new knightly order that has not yet gained the respect of others of its sort. During the war, the Conquering Fist was based in Vulyar, and often led a charge into enemy territory. After the expulsion of the Emerald Claw, Kaius relocated the Conquering Fist to Korth, and has been advocating them as the new patriotic heart of the Karrnathi military.

Emerald Claw (Korth): This group (discussed above) is made up of Karrnathi patriots who have since been declared traitors; they are secretly servants of the Blood of Vol .

Inviolate Way (Rekkenmark): Restrictive even for a knightly order, the Inviolate Way accepts only applicants of noble blood who are members of the Order of Rekkenmark (Five Nations 106); it is responsible for assisting, serving, and protecting nobles, royals, and warlords.

Onyx Skull (Atur): The first knightly order to truly embrace the presence of the undead, it provides many of the officers who oversee undead units, and is responsible for the creation of the bone knight prestige class.

Source: Politics of Karrnath

While all Karrnathi soldiers wear a standardized uniform, each soldier also wears an insignia indicating under which warlord they serve. The Karrnathi military, more so than other national armies, is composed from the ground up, with units of soldiers typically composed of a single warlord's forces. This factionalization certainly has its costs, but also comes with organizational benefits, leaning into the strong distributed martial traditions of Karrnath.

The Army

The Karrnathi army, on a soldier per soldier basis, is the strongest in Khorvaire. Youth train with the use of weaponry from a young age, first sparring with sticks before moving onto more sophisticated forms of weaponry that are often passed down within a family. Karrnath's primary weakness is its lack of industrial base and logistical support, two factors that would likely have lead to Breland's victory if the war continued. The loss of the Mroran mines and the frequency of bad harvests meant that Karrnathi efficiency and supply lines were constantly stretched to the limit.

While Karrnath does not have a long tradition of arcane magic like Aundair, Kaius quickly realized the importance of evocation in the early days of the war and established several academies dedicated to training war mages. Lacking the academic sophistication of their peers in other nations, Karrnathi war mages made up for it with deadly accuracy and spell selection, choosing the right blast or burst for the job to circumvent enemy defenses. Karrnath especially invested in Siege Staffs, magical staffs carrying potent third level spells that even relatively inexperienced spellcasters could use. One such spell is Warmage's Fireball, a variant on the traditional fireball spell that trades damage for increased area of effect.

The Navy

The Karrnathi Navy is based out of Karrlakton, and was integral to defending Karrnath from invasions. Seperated from the other five nations by water, any invasion attempt must reckon with Karrnath's navy. The aundairian incursion of the western reaches of Karrnath certainly exposed weaknesses, but the Cyrans never succeeded in pushing through the long aquatic border. Fighting in and around Scion's Sound was fierce, as the waterways determined who could easily move supplies and troops around and who couldn't. Furthermore, naval routes opened up new angles of attack that simply weren't available through land-based marches.

Drago Thul (CoS, exiled to Stormreach)

Renn ir'Tanar (ECS) - daughter Mordalyn left to join up with Drago Thul, (cousin?) Rolund is near Taer Syraen

Charl ir'Loran (ECS) - Ancestor legendary swordsman who trained Jarot

Yorin Thauram (Five Nations)

Gruden ir'Erdei (Five Nations, First Warlord, Rekkenmark)

Prothan ir'Vemel (Five Nations, Bone Knight, True believer in Kaius)