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The House of War is the science of clarity in the service of Strife
The Mages of the House of War are students of all those spells that can be used in the crush of battle. In the awful tumult of melee, the Mage of War sees the intricacies of tactics; in the abstraction of a battlemap, the Mage of War feels the drumbeats, the sword-clash, the mighty blast laden within, communes with and wields the fearsome spirit of War itself. Mages of War are adept in the uses of Fire, the element of Clarity and Strife. Humans, drawn up in ranks, bloodthirsty and well-armed, follow the Mage of War.
Gender: Male and female
Height: 5 - 6 feet tall
Weight: 100 - 240 pounds
Features: Humans show marked diversity in coloration.Their skin ranges from pale white to bronze, tan, and blue-black. Their hair may be black, brown, grey, red, blond, ash, white and silver. Their eyes may be brown, blue, grey, green, or hazel.
Attire: Armor and weapons of all types, sandals or boots, tunics in red, rust, brown, or purple. They often carry concealed weapons.
Ability: Because of their superior fighting skills, humans gain a +1 advantage in the first round of any battle.
Foes: Humans fear only the inscrutable gargoyles and their unpredictable masters, the Mages of Justice.
Favored Materials: Steel, bronze, wood, coal, magnesium, leather, wool, skulls, parchment, pelts and skins.
Culture: Mercenary humans have a sense for where war will next rage, and they gather to create frontier towns at the disputed borders of great kingdoms. They are usually “awarded” this territory by the victor at war's end (largely because the humans are so well fortified as to be immovable). Many is the victor who was later defeated by the humans he ceded lands to. Humans are treacherous and frequently fight among themselves. Some groups contain no men, and some no women, but the majority travel in mixed groups. It is a meritocracy of stealth, tactics and violence where human life is the currency. Some humans remain in their ancestral lands and command great armies. It is feared that in their ruthlessness they will eventually destroy all the other nations. Mages of War may also be called: Battlemage, Strategist, Pyromancer.
Motifs and Totems: Wolf, boar, lion, tiger, skull and fire-breathing dragon.
Arts: Sewing, heraldry, smithing, leatherwork, tactics and strategy.
Props: Weapons, armor, settlements, complex tattoos, battlements, siege towers, blood, fire, burns, scars, eye-patches, slings and bandages.
Homeland: Plumes of smoke rise over the castles, keeps and settlements of men. Trapped between tall stone walls, rivers run brown with rust and wells are clogged with sludge. The foothills are torn up and the remnants of dusty coal seams are visible. Having spent their own raw materials, they seek ever more.
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