Buddy/Ignore List
The Banished: Exiles of the Gods
"We knelt once. Never again."
Origins of the Banished
Once, this kingdom stood as one of the greatest bastions of faith, a realm where the will of the gods was unquestioned, and divine law shaped every aspect of life. But in their pursuit of true freedom, the rulers of this land committed the ultimate heresy: they rejected the gods themselves. What transpired is lost to time - perhaps they sought to claim divine power for themselves, broke sacred oaths, or turned their backs on the heavens - whatever their defiance, it was answered with a terrible punishment.
The gods erased them from divine sight. No priestess, no oracle, no sacred vision can see their cities, their armies, or even their very existence. Their names were struck from holy records, and divine magic falters in their presence. They are a kingdom of the forsaken, left to carve their own destiny without guidance from the divine.
A Land Unseen
The Banished rule over a shrouded domain, a land where the divine is missing. The sky over their cities seems dimmer, as though the sun itself turns away from them. Their borders are obscured by shifting mists, and outsiders struggle to find them without guidance. Crops fail and drought is common, yet the people push on, finding strength from within, rather than from above.
To those outside their lands, the Banished seem almost mythical—a ghost kingdom spoken of in fearful whispers, a place that should not exist.
Culture & Society: Strength Over Faith
The Banished have built their society on self-reliance, cunning, and defiance. Without divine protection, they have become ruthless survivors, valuing knowledge, strategy, and power above all else.
Kingdom Traits
Special Rules
Military
The Banished field two kingdom brigade types: Banished and Ironbound
Banished - A brigade of disciplined warriors who rely on rigorous training, tactical coordination, and sheer determination rather than divine favor. Lacking the blessings or protections of the gods, they have developed a combat style centered on precision, resilience, and adaptability. Above average to good across the board.
Ironbound - The Ironbound, the core of the Banished military, represents unshakable discipline, relentless training, and mastery of combat arts. They do not break, they do not falter, and they do not need the favor of the gods to stand victorious. Good or better across the board, with very high defense capabilities. Ironboard troops are immune to fear effects and take reduced damage from battle magic. Each Ironbound brigade provides a 5% morale and defense boost to the entire group, up to 25%. Ironbound brigades begin as veterans with 125% morale.
Reinforcements - Two Banished brigades and one Ironbound brigade are received every five turns.
ESO - One Ironbound brigade is received for the completion of a lesser ESO and two for a greater one
All Banished brigades in the kingdom's first group begin as veterans.
The Banished draw upon the lost tribes of the lands for their companions (plus build War Machines):
[*]Hill Giants
[*]Swampmen
[*]Wildlings
[*]Wood Elves
[*]War Machines
"We knelt once. Never again."
Origins of the Banished
Once, this kingdom stood as one of the greatest bastions of faith, a realm where the will of the gods was unquestioned, and divine law shaped every aspect of life. But in their pursuit of true freedom, the rulers of this land committed the ultimate heresy: they rejected the gods themselves. What transpired is lost to time - perhaps they sought to claim divine power for themselves, broke sacred oaths, or turned their backs on the heavens - whatever their defiance, it was answered with a terrible punishment.
The gods erased them from divine sight. No priestess, no oracle, no sacred vision can see their cities, their armies, or even their very existence. Their names were struck from holy records, and divine magic falters in their presence. They are a kingdom of the forsaken, left to carve their own destiny without guidance from the divine.
A Land Unseen
The Banished rule over a shrouded domain, a land where the divine is missing. The sky over their cities seems dimmer, as though the sun itself turns away from them. Their borders are obscured by shifting mists, and outsiders struggle to find them without guidance. Crops fail and drought is common, yet the people push on, finding strength from within, rather than from above.
To those outside their lands, the Banished seem almost mythical—a ghost kingdom spoken of in fearful whispers, a place that should not exist.
Culture & Society: Strength Over Faith
The Banished have built their society on self-reliance, cunning, and defiance. Without divine protection, they have become ruthless survivors, valuing knowledge, strategy, and power above all else.
- No Priests, Only Scholars – The Banished do not pray; they study. Their leaders are strategists and philosophers, seeking knowledge rather than divine favor.
- A Warrior’s Discipline – Every citizen is trained to fight. Without divine healing or blessings, their warriors are hardened, relying on superior tactics and the power of their will.
- Science & Magic Over Faith – Where other kingdoms turn to prayer, the Banished turn to invention.
- The Forsaken Sigil – Every citizen bears a mark, proof of their exile. Some wear it with pride; others see it as a brand of shame.
Kingdom Traits
- Fedual
- Order
- Military Tradition
- Secretive
- Spy Network
- Trackers
- Siege Engineering
Special Rules
- Terrain Adeptness: Advantage in Forest, Marsh and Mountains
- Magical Prowess: Substandard (Tier 5 of 7)
- Spells available earlier than prowess base: Eagle Familar
- The Banished cannot hire a High Priestess nor issue any High Priestess orders
- Banished PCs, groups, artifacts, seapower, and regional reactions cannot be divined by other kingdoms
- The Banished cannot use the Oracle of the Old Gods or the Altar of the Holy Ancients
- Through the use of ancient maps the Banished begin the game with the location of all minor cities
- Special Order: Regional Scouts – Deploys skilled scouts to explore a designated region for population centers or military groups. Through interactions with locals and exploration, scouts work to locate population centers or military groups. Cities and army groups are detected 100% of the time, while towns, villages, and smaller military forces (army or division-sized groups) have a reduced chance of being found. This chance increases as the game progresses, becoming 100% on turn 20. Hidden population centers and invisible or ambushing groups will not be discovered. This order may be issued once per turn per region.
- Special Order: Embed Agent - Directs a level 4 or greater agent to relocate and embed himself in the indicated population center. Once embedded the agent will perform a level 4 recon of the population center each turn. The agent will not be detected by anything less than a level 10 recon of the PC. The agent remains embedded until given any other order, which takes the agent out of the embedded status.
- Special Order: Deploy Blackfume Smoke - Sets off a smoke bomb to obscure (mask) a group of any size. The dense, oil-based smoke is difficult to pierce and long to disperse. The effect is that the indicated group is obscured from any but the most effective recon types (level 10 agent or True Seeing).
- Special Order: Smoke Screen Retreat - Alows a Banished group of division size or smaller to avoid combat under the cover of a smoke screen.
- Due to exceptionally skilled scouts, the Banished will generate a level one recon of any foreign group of army size or larger within a region they have substantial or greater influence
- Due to the lack of divine favor, all Banished population centers produce 5% less food and gold than they otherwise would
- Through the ingenious forges and hearths Banished population centers are able to sustain a comfortable environment during the winter months; gold production is unchanged during the winter (food is still at 25%)
- As each Banished citizen is also a warrior, defense at every Banished population center is boosted by 10%, and the cost of building fortifications is reduced by 10%
- The Banished cannot be a member of the High Council
- All Banished emissaries carry a mark - the Sigil of the Banished - they will always be reported upon entry into a foreign population center unless hidden by some means
Military
The Banished field two kingdom brigade types: Banished and Ironbound
Banished - A brigade of disciplined warriors who rely on rigorous training, tactical coordination, and sheer determination rather than divine favor. Lacking the blessings or protections of the gods, they have developed a combat style centered on precision, resilience, and adaptability. Above average to good across the board.
Ironbound - The Ironbound, the core of the Banished military, represents unshakable discipline, relentless training, and mastery of combat arts. They do not break, they do not falter, and they do not need the favor of the gods to stand victorious. Good or better across the board, with very high defense capabilities. Ironboard troops are immune to fear effects and take reduced damage from battle magic. Each Ironbound brigade provides a 5% morale and defense boost to the entire group, up to 25%. Ironbound brigades begin as veterans with 125% morale.
Reinforcements - Two Banished brigades and one Ironbound brigade are received every five turns.
ESO - One Ironbound brigade is received for the completion of a lesser ESO and two for a greater one
All Banished brigades in the kingdom's first group begin as veterans.
The Banished draw upon the lost tribes of the lands for their companions (plus build War Machines):
[*]Hill Giants
[*]Swampmen
[*]Wildlings
[*]Wood Elves
[*]War Machines
