Dragonarmies

The armies of the Dragon Empire are a multi-headed instrument of war and tyranny that dwarfs all other military organizations in Krynn’s history. Bringing together humans, ogres, goblins, giants, minotaurs, and kobolds under one nefarious banner, the dragonarmies constitute an overwhelming threat to the good races of Ansalon. More terrifying than all the other components
of this army are the fearsome draconians, which are introduced to the world for the purpose of conquest, and the chromatic dragons, who provide crucial air support.

The seeds of this dragonarmy lie in the remote past, with the defeat of the Dark Queen at the hands of Huma Dragonbane and the oath he extracted from her never to return to the mortal plane. Ever since the departure of the evil dragons, and the ignominy of her own failure, Takhisis has been planning for her return to power. After the Cataclysm gave Takhisis her means for revenge—in
the form of the Foundation Stone—her plot began to coil.

One of her key recuits and most willing servants was the cruel and ruthless warlord, Ariakas. Ariakas faces a formidable task when he is commanded by his Dark Queen to form her army. He realizes that she wants her dragons to serve as her secret weapon, and thus he needs to accommodate their needs and desires. He knows about the draconians—created by the malevolent experiments of Wyrllish and Dracart upon the good dragon eggs stolen from the Dragon Isles in 287 AC .

They will be the perfect shock troopers for Takhisis’ army. But Ariakas understands that bringing together such a vast body of evil creatures from disparate races means that it will be necessary to reign in some of their worst tendencies. Ogres and giants tend to destroy wantonly, for example, while humans and goblins need to satisfy their greedy and base natures.

A decade before the War of the Lance began, Ariakas hits upon a plan that will make the conquest of Krynn and the separation of unruly hordes successful. He organizes his armies along the color lines of the dragons at his disposal, assigning an army, legions of draconians, supply units, and ranks of officers, to each of the five distinct chromatic dragon clans. In so doing, Ariakas not only inspires community and brotherhood within each dragonarmy, but breeds competition and ambition. Takhisis is well pleased.

Each dragonarmy is formed into large expeditionary forces known as wings. In most instances, when one refers to the Red Dragonarmy or the Green Dragonarmy, the term is synonymous with the Red Wing and the Green Wing. Each wing encompasses from two to as many as five flights, which in turn may be broken down into two or three brigades of three or more companies. Based on the needs of each wing, the number of troops and their auxiliaries may differ, although the orders of battle detailed
below are typical of all the five dragonarmies.

Dragon Highlords, Highmasters and Officers

Dragonarmy officers are, as a rule, ambitious, driven individuals who have achieved their positions through any possible means, from military prowess to knowing which lieutenant or brigade commander to bribe or blackmail. This atmosphere of rivalry and competition and backstabbing is vital to Ariakas’s strategy, for he chooses only those individuals who have the temerity
and persistence that will win the war for the Queen of Darkness.

Highlord is the highest-ranking office in the dragonarmies. There is one highlord for each army, responsible for overseeing military operations, command, and delivering Takhisis’ will to her troops. Ariakas himself is chief among all the highlords, and was awarded that responsibility and honor by the Dark Queen. His position is not secure, however, for if he were to falter, his place will be swiftly assumed by another. This is the fate of any highlord who fails to meet the expectations of Her Dark Majesty.

Each highlord claims a number of highmasters who answer directly to him or her, and who serve as lieutenants, field commanders, administrators, and personal assistants. Highmasters exert great influence and personal power in their own right; some are former generals or mercenary captains. Their loyalty is not always assured, thus it is a practice among the highlords to keep their highmasters close by—where they can observe their diligence—or far away, so that trusting them is not an issue.

Beneath the highmasters the chain of command is murky. Those who occupy the lower rungs of the army are universally known as dragonarmy officers. Among those who bear this title are brigade commanders, the flying citadels’ wind captains, regional governors, or even petty bureaucrats. Much of the honor of being addressed as an officer in the dragonarmies relies on who the individual has managed to impress, and how long he can survive the cut-throat nature of the dragonarmy climate.

Of special note are the fewmasters, who operate on a provincial level. They are typically placed in charge of a single company of soldiers or other body of troops, and answer directly to a highlord. Fewmasters possess very little influence outside of their immediate posts, but they have the benefit of the highlord’s indulgence. They are assigned to locations of strategic value, though they lack the power to achieve any long-term results. In essence, they do a lot of the dirty work that a highmaster is far too
busy or overqualified to do, and they take the brunt of the highlord’s ire when things go wrong.

Draconian Army

This flight focuses primarily on draconian troops. Because there are no humans, ogres, or goblins in a draconian army, costs are proportionately lower and the brigade commanders can extract the best possible performance from dragons on the field. However, most draconians are also prone to infighting and their ranks tend to unravel if the battle goes badly for them or if the dragons fighting alongside are defeated or flee. In addition, draconian casualties can often be more widely destructive than human or ogre casualties, due to their death throes. At this time, draconian senior officers are rare; most draconian armies are led by humans.

Mercenary Infantry

This is a more standard dragonarmy flight, composed of human mercenaries and draconian troops. The command structure is strengthened to reinforce the organization, and the flight benefits from its spread of shock troops and seasoned human soldiers. The draconians are inspired by the dragons connected to the flight, but this can occasionally cause trouble for the human troops when, at
close range, the dragonfear becomes too much for them. Because of the mixed racial units, each officer is assigned a
sub-commander (usually a baaz or kapak NCO).

Mercenary Cavalry

The strengths of a mounted army are considerable, especially in regions where plains and grasslands are prevalent or where travel across distances is required. Armies of this type are often held in reserve or included in a supporting army for a major engagement, because the training, upkeep, and costs are greater than that of ordinary infantry. Too, the role of the cavalryman in the dragonarmy is not popular, since the effect of dragonfear on horses has the tendency to create widespread havoc. For this reason, a mercenary cavalry brigade is often assigned to areas lacking dragon airpower, or when support dragons are being used in advance of the troops to spread terror and give the cavalry a routed foe.

Ogre Infantry

The ogres have long held a natural advantage on any battlefield, in large part due to their size and strength, but also to the time-honored cunning of their chieftains. Ogre units that originate in Kern are surprisingly skilled at swift raids and strategic strikes, having learned these tactics from the Khurish nomads. Other ogre tribes from Blöde or Daltigoth rely more on sheer force and numbers, with slave units supporting the primary ogre infantry. Human infantry listed below are slave conscripts, kept in thrall by
threats and by the knowledge that their families are being held captive back in the ogre strongholds.

Kobold Infantry

Kobolds are not front-line fighters. As a race, they are cowardly and sadistic, best deployed in skirmishes and ambushes. When pressed into service, a kobold infantry army is directed to make use of slingers and then engage in quick skirmishes before pulling back. They are resistant to human command; thus every kobold brigade and army is led by the wiliest, craftiest, and most ruthless of kobold warriors, who in turn are better able and willing to follow the overall direction of a highmaster or highlord.

Goblin Infantry

A goblin army is composed of hobgoblins and goblins, with the occasional squad of bugbears or even trolls. The hobgoblin/goblin mix is most common and typically the goblin units are either mounted on worg wolves, or paired in archer teams with short bows. Hobgoblins are more militaristic and warlike than their lesser cousins, making them excellent commanders as well as able to execute
direct orders from dragonarmy officers, when required. After the spring of 351 AC, most goblin units used by the collected dragonarmies come from Throt and the western slopes of the Khalkists, and from the Throtl Regulars.

Minotaur Marine

A minotaur assault army is typically organized into an immense strike force of infantry and marine units, which operate from coastal regions in ships or along rivers. In colder climates, such as Harkun Bay near Icewall, minotaur marines use icerigger boats (use longboat stats). Minotaur marine armies are led by minor chieftains from one of the minotaur houses that support the Dragon Empire, and the troops hold to a rigid code of battle honor.