So now Hannibal is gone while I rework him. Based on some of Five's comments about how Banner of Carthage more accurately reflected what happened with the First Punic War and the Mercenary War I've instead gone and done his daddy, ol' Hamilcar. Hamilcar is all about payment and repayment, I hope he's a little better than Hannibal turned out to be.
Hamilcar Barca
Butcher of Mercenaries
Class: Rider
Alternate Classes: None
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Parameters:
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: D
Mana: C
Luck: C
Class Skills
Riding
The ability to ride animals or vehicles with extraordinary skill.
- B+: Rider is able to ride natural beasts of any sort, as well as low-grade or tamed Phantasmal Beasts. He does not possess any Noble Phantasm that would grant him a mounted steed, so must purchase or otherwise acquire a steed. Any animal ridden by Rider finds itself becoming enhanced by one Phantasmal Beast rank, from regular to Monstrous, Monstrous to Magical and Magical to Divine.
Magic Resistance
Differing from mere rejection of prana through basic principles of Resistance, this is the ability to outright cancel magical effects.
- D: Cancel Single-Action Spells. Cannot defend against significant Thaumaturgy at any level, being more akin to the resistance provided by a high-quality amulet of magical rejection.
Personal Skills
Military Tactics
A high level of tactical knowledge used for massed battles rather than combat at an individual level.
- C: Tactical knowledge is great enough that the possessor suffered few, if any, defeats,and overcame great odds more than once, but is not considered comparable to the greatest tactical minds of history. Provides a bonus to your own Anti-Army Noble Phantasms.
Eye of the Mind (True)
Heightened insight that was refined through combat experience.
- C: At this rank the Servant is able to remain calm even when in danger and come up with a strategy to try and defeat his opponents. If it looks unlikely that the Servant is going to win, he can possibly perform an act that tips the odds back into in his favour.
Golden Rule
A measure of the wealth possessed, which is far greater than the average person might hope to achieve.
- C: A large amount of wealth is amassed, enough to live in excessive luxury for the entirety of one’s life. However, the treasures are finite and can be exhausted if spent too wildly. The result of Rider’s access to the coffers of Carthage for financing his campaigns.
Spoils of War
Victorious claims on land can allow the recovery of additional wealth and resources.
- C: The Sierra Modena mines of gold and silver were taken by Rider in an extended campaign that would allow Carthage to continue to make its war reparations to Rome while also rebuilding its fortunes. Once an area of land deemed to be “enemy territory” is successfully cleared and Rider’s forces establish a continued presence in the area, it is possible to make one Luck check per day for that area. If successful then 20% of the original wealth provided by Golden Rule is added to the total wealth provided by Golden Rule.
Banner of Carthage
Death Pays Handsomely
Type: Anti-Army
Rank: B-
Range: ~
Targets: 1-9999
Description: The armies of Carthage were not traditionally large or powerful, given its focus on shipping and trading as the way to power and prestige, rather than military might. In times when large-scale military action became necessary Carthage simply paid for mercenaries to fight for it, and never were these mercenaries so well utilised as during the campaigns of the Punic Wars against the Romans. By promising his mercenaries generous salaries paid in full upon return to Carthage, Rider was able to secure the loyalty of many skilled and varied soldiers, and Banner of Carthage utilises the treasury of Carthage to ensure Rider an army in any conflict he may appear in.
Rider is able to take a Wealth check against any conceptually “combat-suitable” individual he meets, from armed paramilitary soldiers to mall security guards, and if his Wealth check succeeds then that individual will become a member of his armed forces, gaining a degree of magical reinforcement and certain levels of loyalty to Rider himself. Every time a Wealth check succeeds the amount of wealth possessed through Golden Rule is reduced somewhat, and over long campaigns or for more dangerous orders it may be necessary to perform additional Wealth checks against those already under Rider’s employ.
It is entirely possible for Rider to extend his employment offers to entire organisations rather than simply contracting agents individually, but the Wealth checks needed for anyone approached will vary in size based on a multitude of factors, such as level of bravery, greed, existing investment in the war or conflicting loyalty to others.
Due to the resulting conflicts that emerged when Carthage was unable to pay the soldiers after the First Punic War, a full-scale war developed between the mercenaries and the men that they once served. If Golden Rule ever becomes depleted through exhaustion of Rider’s wealth then all mercenaries employed will have their contracts dissolved rapidly once the truth is discovered. At this time the combatants previously employed by Rider will become actively hostile towards him instead, a strong mental compulsion that will encourage them to fight him by any means possible.
The Saw
Indebted Atrocities Paid In Full
Type: Anti-Army
Rank: C
Range: 1-50
Targets: 1-9,999
Description: The culmination of the Truceless War between Carthage and the embittered mercenaries, a war that had seen countless brutalities and atrocities from both sides, causing it to be labelled the most impious war of the era. The battle of the Saw was the end result of Rider successfully breaking the supply lines of the mercenary army, disrupting their siege and eventually chasing them to the point of desperation, where the panicked and undisciplined soldiers retreated into a box canyon with only one entrance, the Saw.
Once the mercenaries had retreated to such a compromised position, Rider’s smaller army was able to besiege the entrance to the canyon and starved the rebels to death. When a delegation negotiated with Rider to surrender and submit to Carthaginian rule, he permitted all but ten to leave the canyon, those ten to become prisoners. Once agreed upon, Rider swiftly arrested the ten men in the mercenary delegation, preventing them from reporting back to the rest of their army. The delegation was tortured and the rest of the army, unsure of what was happening, folded and were easily defeated when they made a desperate attempt to break through the mouth of the Saw. In retaliation for the torture and execution of 700 Carthaginian soldiers earlier in the war, Rider had the remaining 40,000 mercenary soldiers tortured and executed.
The Saw is a manifestation of Rider’s cruelty, a barrier which starves those trapped within. By placing magical sigils around a contained area, Rider is able to establish a barrier that is difficult to break free of, acting as an enchanted wall that actively retaliates when attacked by firing bolts of weaponised prana at the attackers. The number of sigils required to establish the barrier is dependant on the nature of the area they are to contain. Reflective of the nature of the box canyon that Rider’s army locked down, the fewer the exits to the area that is being sealed up, and the more difficult it would be for anyone inside to escape by improvised means such as destroying walls or the like, the fewer sigils required. In addition, the fewer the sigils required, the stronger the actual barrier locking those inside will become. This is Rider’s implacable siege, his deadly vengeance.
Anyone trapped within the confines of The Saw will begin to have their life forces sapped away gradually. After each hour within The Saw, all those who are trapped will have their Endurance reduced by one rank. Once their Endurance falls below Rank E they will perish. This means that those with Endurance lower than E will die within an hour of being trapped. Rider needs to leave at least a single individual to maintain guard over the sigils, and if all of Rider’s guards are killed or retreat far enough from the sigils the barrier will collapse, allowing the trapped enemies to leave. It takes three hours to recover a single rank of Endurance once out of The Saw.
Originally Posted by LJ3
