Mercenaries (4E)

Mercenaries are the most heterogeneous faction of all. True Mercenaries or small sub-factions like the Sutek can be found here.

The true mechanical advantage of Mercenaries is that they and only they can be played in other faction's decks as reinforcements, coming into play without a faction penalty.

You can easily play successful pure mercenary decks, too, though, using for example Kerebus, Taisia, Shah'syss or Menhetiri.

The Chosen (4E)

The Chosen are a Daemonic race specific to the 4E realm of Thessyria. Once Thessyria was a proud empire ruled by benevolent kings. But prosperity led to hubris which opened the way for a parasitic race to worm its way into the ruling elite, which celebrated itself by hiding behind elaborate masks.

Too late the Daemons were discovered, too many of them already had come through to this realm and now they summoned their powerful brethren from beyond and used blood magic to empower themselves.

The Chosen are an advanced faction for experienced players, using a unique mechanic sacrificing your own characters for effect.

Nothrog (4E)

Once dominated by their most brawny brethren, Thessyria has opened up new opportunities for the greenskin leaders who prefer a more brainy approach, like the Goblin Siegemaster Scyrax or Set'rokh, daughter of Sethusk, Master of Strategies in Uthanak's army.

Free Kingdoms (4E)

Liberty is the foundation that keeps the Free Kingdoms united. While Sir Robert has once again taken up arms to defend the downtrodden, it is the rogues like Keziah, Logan Ebonwoulfe or the dual-wielding Talin Tzin who thrive.

Reduced in numbers, the Free Kingdoms armies, too, have found new allies, most notably Niobe, Queen of the Glades and Guardian of the banished gods of Thessyria.

The Isle of the gods and the surrounding archipelagos have become a safe (?) haven for the last free humans in Thessyria, many of whom have turned buccaneer like Captain Alera.

Elves (4E)

Still cursed with just too brief a life span the necromantic Accordlands Elves encounter their equally stricken cousins, the Vaneris.

These Aquatic Elves fled the Daemonic invasion of their home woods and found refuge in the deep waters. Now their magic is devoted to keeping them alive in this hostile environment.

Dwarves (4E)

The Dwarves still mourn their dead King Xod, but Prince Alaric has stepped into his fathers shoes and led his people through the strange lands of Thessyria.

Here they find cousins who take them in, but all is not right - dark secrets stand behind the survival of the Thessyrian Dwarves in light of the Daemonic invasion.

Deverenians (4E)

The Empire of Deverenia has likely lost the most in the war that shattered the Accordlands. The Emperor has perished and the power of the Storm is scattered.

Those Deverenians who have been forced through the portals make do best as they can, and formerly unknown leaders, mentally stable or not, have taken over the reign.

Nothrog

Although their ancestors may have been orcs, ogres, and goblins, the terrible Nothrog are anything but primitive. The finest tacticians and group fighters in the Accord, they have seized control of the city of Baraxton - the hub of civilization and once the capital of human civilization - for their own. Nothrog serve their nation in independent legions, fighting together only when they must overpower a superior enemy. Fierce but divided, when legions of Nothrog gather for a war, the outcome is always the same: their enemy is overrun, crushed, and enslaved.

Elves

The enigmatic Elves, cold and distant, care little for lives other than their own. Once they were bound by oaths that prohibited their arcane studies, but these vows have now expired - and with their freedom returned their bloodlust and xenophobia. In their workshops in the somber Myreth forest, they research necromancy once again. To avenge an enchantment that forbade their sorcery for 100 years, they have begun a war against the human kingdoms, tearing through their unwary guard and stealing away thousands of human soldiers... who have now become undead servants of the Elves.

Dwarves

There are two sources of evil in the Lands of the Accord: the storm and the Abyss. In the ancient days, the Storm was defeated and driven away by an alliance of all the races living in the Lands of the Accord. The Dwarves marched beneath the mountains to stand vigilant against the Abyss, while the other races swore to keep the land safe from the Storm. That history has been forgotten by the kingdoms above the ground. Now the Dwarves have returned, saying the evil below is too powerful for them to defeat, but the surface dwellers see only another threat rising from beneath the mountains.

Deverenian Empire & the Free Kingdoms

The Nations of Man are divided into two distinct groups, the monolithic DeverenianEmpire and the holdfasts of the Free Kingdoms. Should they ever unite even the Nothrog armies would be dwarfed by their might, but their schism runs deep.


The mountains of Deverenia are dark, blackened and scorched by the passage of the Blood Moon. The Deverenian palaces rise like gothic cathedrals against a storm-covered sky, and their armies march in formation; armor and steel beneath the lightning sigil of their mighty Emperor.


The Free Kingdoms are the last remnants of several once-powerful human civilizations, now crushed and driven out of their homelands. The area of the Free Kingdoms that was once known as the land of Andover has been ravaged by the Elves, Nothrog invasions, Deverenian conquest and the shattering of the land in the wake of the Blood Moon. The refugees have seized upon empty lands left behind by war victims, and the Free Kingdoms - a united force of nobles, merchants, soldiers and peasantry - has been born from Andover's ashes.

Nothrog

Artwork by William O'Connor

Although their ancestors may have been orcs, ogres and goblins, the terrible Nothrog are anything but primitive. The finest tacticians and group fighters in the Accord, they have seized control of the Southern Lands and taken the city of Baraxton ­ the hub of civilization and once the capital of the human civilization ­ for their own. Nothrog serve their nation in independent legions, fighting together only when they must overpower a superior enemy. Fierce and divisionary, when legions of Nothrog gather for a war, the outcome is always the same: their enemy is crushed, enslaved, and turned to their use.

Nothrog are the creators of most siege engines. They developed legions and strategies before any other race, and they have tactics far beyond the military understanding of the other races of the Accord. With the seizure of Baraxton, the Nothrog have become a truly powerful force, and have the strength to back up their demands politically, economically, and with their powerful military.

They are led by a single Nothrog Lord known as Nassiral Hate. An albino ­ and therefore, a sorcerer ­ Nassiral has the powers of sorcery and magic. More importantly, he has the strength of will and charisma to bring warring legions together and force them to comply with his wishes. That alone makes him a terrible force to be reckoned with, and one that many of the other races of the Accord wish to be rid of. Yet on his skeletal throne in Baraxton, Nassiral has only one thought about the other races; he is only concerned with how to rule them.

The Nothrog specialize in group tactics, using every soldier at their disposal to present a unified force. They are known to use siege engines and unusual equipment, keeping their military secrets to themselves. Their sorcerers and clerics are rare, but dangerous ­ good at healing as well as offense, they make an ideal support unit for the Nothrog legions. Still, on the whole, most Nothrog tend to be thieves and warriors ­ scouts and soldiers, ready to give their lives for the legion that has been mother and father to them.

Mercenaries

Artwork by Llyn Hunter

"No soldier can stand alone."

Many bands of mercenaries make their living in the Lands of the Accord, surviving on the rich trade of war and steel. The Dark Horsemen are no different ­ but they are the most powerful of the mercenary guilds. Capable and unafraid, they will serve the highest bidder, but are not unwilling to join the fray for their own benefit if the opportunity should arise. At their side is a reclusive sorcerer who has made his life's study in the conjuration and creation of massive, freakish beasts, controlling them and releasing them into the enemy's territory. His creations wander through the nations of the Accord, causing destruction and death wherever they are found. Other beasts, uncontrolled, roam the Accord in order to feed on the dead or gather treasures from those who have fallen.

The mercenaries are the most diverse faction, ranging from heroes to beasts, all with one purpose: to make their own way. Those who hire the mercenaries come from all the Lands of the Accord. If one is a merc, he can expect to be well rewarded for his labors.