
Training: Combat Pit / Ballistics Grounds About: The Wolves have always preferred the active, outdoor life, and have little interest in devising machines to help them avoid effort; thus, they are not particularly talented engineers. However, they picked up a few tricks in the slave mines, and have recently invented their own version of the footman's crossbow. Of course, like all things Wolf, size triumphs over delicacy. This massive, crank-loaded Ballista launches twenty-pound logs with enough force to crash through strong fortifications of impale three men at once. The Ballistaman can be defensive about his weapon of choice; other
Wolves often mockingly describe it as 'an enormous toy for enormous
children.' The ballista has a very specific role on the battlefield: it
reloads slowly, and its wielder depends on the assistance of more agile
defenders to survive. Still, no missile weapon packs a bigger punch.
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Training: Combat Pit / Quarry About: Often Lotus overseers would order large shale slabs broken down into manageable chunks, and this job fell to the Sledgers. Wolf Clan slaves undertook the job with gusto, as it appealed to their natural instincts - hitting something repeatedly until it fell apart. The tool of choice was an oversized hammer, and under Grayback's direction this simple job became the training ground for a secret fighting style based around single, , shattering strikes. Sledgers complain that no one understands the intellectual side of
their discipline - their keen eye for structural weaknesses, and the
mental focus necessary for maximum breaking power.
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Training: Quarry / Ballistics Grounds About: The art of Pitch Slinging evolved as a lifesaving tactic in the mines. As the enslaved Wolves burrowed deeper into the earth, something horrible began to happen: entire mining teams would be discovered dead in the lower tunnels, their bodies unmarked by violence. At first, these deaths were attributed to subterranean demons. Only after a skeptical Lotus overseer demanded to examine these bodies by torchlight - and was disintegrated by the ensuing blast - did the Wolves realize their men had struck pockets of odorless, poisonous gas, and that only their reliance on low-burning lanterns had saved them from the flames. The obvious solution was to detonate these pockets of gas from a
distance. Burning pitch proved the hottest and most reliable substance
for the task. Always eager to demonstrate their bravery, Wolf pitch
slingers took to flinging the fiery sludge with their hands, protected
only by tattered strips of cloth. These slingers are feared in combat,
as much for their cheerful disregard for pain as for the agony that a
fistful of flaming pitch can inflict.
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Training: Wolves' Den About: The relationship of the Wolf Clan to its totem animal is far from symbolic. Certainly, clan members seek to emulate the best qualities of the wolf - strength, endurance, and loyalty - but they also worship the spirit of the Wolf, and believe themselves close kin to these quiet stalkers of the woods. A Pack Master is something like a priest, a ranger and a combat instruction in one. He communes freely with wild wolves, speaking their language, living with them, and establishing their respect. Once a month, the Pack Master leaves his village to run with his pack beneath the full moon, usually returning with his face and hands covered in the dried blood of the kill. The Pack Master shares equally in the wolves' hunts and feasts, counting this the greatest pleasure attainable by a mere human. In battle, the Pack Master fights with bestial strength and courage.
His wolves pose a greater danger, as they stand ready to rip the throats
from any who dare harm their master.
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Training: Quarry / Ballistics Grounds / Combat Pit About: The Berserker is the embodiment of the Wolf warrior's ideal. Sleeping beneath the stars, abstaining from cooked meat and plant food, he yet epitomizes the unique humor and humanity of the Wolf Clan. Berserkers relish the art of storytelling, repeating their brutal tails of wood and jungle to awed listeners around a fire. They also delight in sports, and are the equal of ten men on a Wolfball court. Though bearing the shape of a man, they are said to be already quarter wolf within. Such a warrior is terrible to behold in battle. He invariable assaults his strongest enemy first, reasoning that courage makes a better story than cowardice, even in the event of the hero's death. A fable among the Clan claims that three enraged Berserkers once defeated a company of nearly fifty men, fifteen of whom were trampled in the others' rush to flee.
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