Brush War Warlords

Brush War Warlords is a multi-sided campaign focusing on unconventional warfare which features leaders that have characteristics (perks) who can gain experience, and units that are acquired through an income of Points. This campaign originated from a scenario that was created as a test vehicle for the 4.3 Beta test (Mechanized Gladiators).

Iterations

Brush War Warlords 2022-1

Changes and Improvements

This section tracks the most recent changes of the current iteration (from most recent changes at the top), for ease of reference.

• Improved the COMMUNICATIONS Skill and the handling of Drones (now your purchase a Drone Team and drone is present in each battle until the team is destroyed). Drone costs updated to reflect this change.
• Additional improvements to infantry upkeep (added the +25 pts per 100 surviving troops extra expense to exponentially grow upkeep for larger forces, while still allowing the normal upkeep to remain relatively low, rather than having a larger standard upkeep applied to everything - essentially it makes a 1 Point per 2 soldier upkeep, but only for every 100 troops in inventory, otherwise it's half that (1 per 4 for every 99).
• Further improved the SUPPLY Skill, now simplified and allows free recovery of one vehicle if specific criteria is met (which encourages vehicle recovery, and using valuable vehicles to take or hold objectives).
• Changed the vehicle limit per type back to FIVE from FOUR.
• Added a rule for infantry upkeep to help cut down on excessive infantry horde/spam (will not be implemented in 2022-1).
• Further improved the SUPPLY Skill.
• Further revised the DEMOLITION Skill, now free VBIED is military vehicle to allow it to be spotted and engaged by AI. Purchased VBIEDs are the civilian vehicle "stealth bombs".
• Improved the Cost Calculator by adding a few missing MRAPs, and by making it clear which vehicles are MRAPs and their level (L0 to L2; L0 is mine resistant and L2 is most capable MRAP).
• Added a Government Controlled Area to the east side edge of the map.
• Added a surrender rule.
• Corruption (loss of saved Points) increased from 50 to 100%. This is done to make the Supply Skill more attractive, as it now reduces corruption even more.
• Added a condition for a ceasefire (where all remaining Warlords agree to end the campaign in a DRAW, and all non remaining Warlords get a DEFEAT).
• Revised the Point values of some units.
• Improved the MEDICAL and SUPPLY Skills.
• Revised the DEMOLITION Skill.

Background

Brush War Warlords models a fictional war, in a fictional place, between up to six warlords. The emphasis on the campaign is leadership (via the Warlord's abilities), small unit tactics, and resource management with forces purchased from an income of Points gained by capturing and holding objectives. Additionally, the warlords are supporting characters that represent the commander of each side, and gains experience and effectiveness through battle.

Rules

Each battle lasts 90 minutes, and once the battle is finished then Points are earned from a Basic Income, plus a number of Points provided by the objectives that are held. These Points are then used to purchase new units and items for your inventory which are used in the next battle.

If you started the battle with an objective under your control, you do not need to keep units in it, but for an objective to change ownership - you must not only capture it based on Region Ownership conditions, but you must also have a unit in the objective at the end of the battle. If you capture an objective and gained Points from it, but do not have a unit in it at the end of a battle, then you do not gain the objective but you do gain the Points (think of this like you rolled through an objective and looted it). In this case, the objective returns to neutral ownership.

Objective ownership also determines your deployment zone of your faction. When an objective is held, a 500m buffer of territory will belong to that faction, and neighboring objectives will be connected together. The 500m buffer zone around objectives can be increased via Warlord Skill upgrades, and in any areas where two faction's deployment zone extends into the same area, the zones are averaged together.

Campaign Objective (How to Win)

The goal of the campaign is for your Warlord to survive.

Once a faction and its allies have a combined 600 Points or more in objective value at the end of a battle, all other non-allied Warlords are defeated: they are captured and executed and the campaign ends -- control has been established in the region. All surviving Warlords win, and all killed Warlords lose.

When this happens, the winning faction has achieved a MAJOR VICTORY and all their confederated (vassal) factions achieve a MINOR VICTORY, and all non-surviving factions suffer a DEFEAT.

There are three possible normal outcomes for a faction:

• If the faction holds 600 Points of objectives: MAJOR VICTORY
• If the faction becomes a vassal, and its overlord controls 600 Points of objectives: MINOR VICTORY
• If the faction leader is killed, either because they refused to become confederated, repeatedly failed to show up to play, were already confederated and their overlord was conquered, or because they survived until the end of the campaign and lost (another faction achieved 600 Points of objectives): DEFEAT

Additionally special case outcome may also occur:

• If all remaining factions agree to a ceasefire, then the campaign ends in a DRAW for all surviving factions and a DEFEAT for all non-surviving factions

Initial Setup

All factions choose a starting force made up of around 750 Points of equipment. The campaign supports up to six factions.

Each faction has a randomly determined periphery located starting region, containing around 50 Points worth of objectives. Only that faction may deploy within that starting location, and all factions are allowed to deploy in the central common area between the starting regions.

Income, Unit Purchases, and Upkeep

After a battle, units and items are purchased with Points, using the Unit Cost Calculator. Think of the units being purchased as mercenary forces (Points being an abstraction of money and other resources).

Income (Points)

The amount of Points you receive is based on income, which is total of Basic Income + Objective Income.

Each objective has a numeric value that specifies how many Points they are worth. After each battle, the side that holds that objective will gain that many Points in Objective Income.

Additionally, each faction has a Basic Income of 100 Points. So, no matter if you hold any objectives or not, you will receive at least 100 Points after each battle.

NOTE: This means that the more sides that are willing to Confederate with their conquerors, have an intentional inherent advantage, since each Confederated side will receive at least 100 Points of minimum income, no matter what (see Confederated).

Purchases and Restrictions

Between battles each faction will have a Purchase Phase, allowing them to purchase new units with their available Points. The Warlord player (the CO) for that faction uses the Unit Cost Calculator to make all purchase decisions and will send the list to the Campaign Coordinator.

After making purchases, any remaining saved Points are reduced by 100%, due to excess corruption (to discourage excessive Point hording). This corruption loss can be greatly reduced by some Warlord Skill upgrades (all decimals are rounded up).

IMPORTANT: Make sure that each purchase is valid before sending the list to the Campaign Coordinator; all invalid purchases are ignored (the Points are not lost, they are saved for the total to use after the next battle).

The restrictions on unit purchases are:

• You may NOT purchase any unit or item more than 100 Points until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so.
• You may NOT field more than FIVE of any specific vehicle type, unless a Warlord Skill upgrade allows more.
• You may NOT purchase mortars, howitzers or rocket artillery until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so.
• You may NOT purchase UAVs until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so, and once you can do so, only a certain number of UAVs may be fielded at any given time.
• You may NOT purchase VBIEDs until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so, and once you can do so, only a certain number of VBIEDs may be fielded at any given time.
• You may NOT purchase any non-militia truck infantry vehicles (including MRAPs) until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so (you may only purchase PC, IFV or technical truck (militia) infantry vehicles at start).
• You may NOT purchase Medic vehicles until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so.
• You may NOT purchase obstacles or fortifications until a Warlord Skill upgrade allows you to do so.

Losses and Upkeep

After each battle:

• All units lost during a battle are permanently removed from that faction's inventory.
• All damaged vehicles are repaired for free.
• All infantry casualties are replaced as long as the parent vehicle survived, at a cost of 1 Point per casualty (this cost can be reduced by Warlord Skills). If there are not enough Points to pay for casualties, then debt is carried over to the next Purchase Phase.
• All surviving infantry cost 1 Point per every 4 troops as upkeep (this cost can be reduced by Warlord Skills). If there are not enough Points to pay for infantry upkeep, then infantry carrying vehicles will be removed to cover the cost (starting with the cheapest ones first).

• Additionally, for every 50 surviving troops fielded after a battle, +15 Points of extra upkeep is added (example: 200 troops would be +60 Points extra expense). Think of this extra expense as the strain of extra manpower placed on logistics (food, water, pay, etc.), which begin to exponentially add up with a large infantry force.
• Additionally, for each missile team fielded after the battle (as long as their parent vehicle was not destroyed), +15 Points of extra upkeep is added (example: 5 ATGM teams would be +50 Points extra expense). Think of this extra expense as the resupplying of infantry missiles, while vehicles have it factored into the vehicle's high cost.

NOTE: In most cases the basic income should be sufficient to cover infantry casualty cost, and this is the main purpose of basic income, and Objective based income will cover the remainder. Think of the basic income as coverage for infantry replacements, and any remaining Points from that is a bonus to purchasing (this gives an incentive to avoiding mass infantry casualties).

NOTE: Given how the rules work, sometimes you will be paying for infantry casualties that will not return because their carrier vehicle was also lost. This is intentional to make infantry casualties have consequence.

Salvage

Any destroyed ground vehicle worth >= 250 Points in value will remain the map to be used as a reference point, or as a monument. If the SUPPLY Level 3 Skill is obtained, then they can later be recovered by the owning side for a special salvage fee, if it meets the criteria, limit one paid salvaged fee per battle.

Points Gifting to Non-Confederated Warlords (Diplomacy, Tribute etc.)

Warlords may give Points to another non-confederated faction at any time, as a form of diplomacy. Points are the only thing that can be given, other than promises, which are non-binding (make promises and gift Points at your own risk).

Unlike transferring Points to a confederated (vassal) faction which happens immediately, gifting Points to another non-confederated Warlord takes one turn to complete. To gift Points to a non-confederated Warlord, let the Campaign Coordinator know and it is treated like a purchase. The Points are then subtracted from the gifting faction and then added as Points remaining to the recipient faction as income at the end of the next battle.

Diplomacy (Agreements)

In addition to gifting Points, non-confederated Warlords may make non-binding agreements. Agreements can be in the form of promises to not enter certain areas (establishing neutral zones for example), or a truce to not move a certain type of unit into a regions (such as drones, tanks or infantry).

At no time can factions change their disposition with another faction (within Steel Beasts) to Neutral or Allied. The only time a faction changes its disposition with another faction is when it becomes confederated.

Warlords

The Warlord is the faction's leader. The leader does not participate in battle and so cannot be killed, however the Warlord is located in an HQ that can be destroyed which cause a reduction in accumulated Skill.

The Warlord Unit

The Warlord appears in battle and is represented as an M577 command vehicle.

In the first battle, this command vehicle is mobile, and can go wherever it wants, and can even be used to take an objective, but it should generally avoid combat. In all battles after the first, the Warlord vehicle is "deployed" (in a fixed position) and cannot move, and has its deployment restricted to one or your controlled objectives.

Wounded (Vehicle lost)

Your Warlord must be protected at all costs. If the Warlord vehicle is destroyed during a battle, then one of two things happen depending on the situation:

• If the Warlord's objective was NOT lost to the enemy, then the Warlord is wounded and suffers a -1 Skill Level loss from Skills of choice (the Warlord's owner chooses which Skills to subtract 1 Skill Level from).
• If the Warlord's objective was lost to the enemy, then the Warlord is wounded and suffers a -3 Skill Level (which is -1 Rank) loss from Skills of choice (the Warlord's owner chooses which Skills to subtract 3 Skill Levels from). If a Warlord does not have 3 Skill Levels available, remove as many Skill Levels are available.

The exception to both is when a Warlord gets destroyed in the same battle that the faction lost its last objective and became confederated; if this happens there is a no -3 Skill Level loss.

When reducing Skill Levels, any Skill Levels accumulated in the current battle are counted as Skill Levels that can be reduced (this means that if you gained 2 Skill Levels during a battle that you are wounded, then you lose the 2 you gained, and 1 from your current amount. It also means that if your Warlord with 0 Skill Levels is wounded in the first battle then you would gain no Skill Level for that battle).

Note that it is possible, but rare, that you could lose an objective that the Warlord is located in but by the end of the battle your Warlord is not destroyed. If this happens, there are no penalties to the Warlord - he must deploy to a different objective next turn, if any are available.

Killed (Defeated)

A Warlord is never permanently eliminated in battle, only wounded. You continue to use the same Warlord until your faction is completely defeated, causing the Warlord to be killed.

A faction is completely defeated and its Warlord is killed when:

• A faction repeatedly does not show up to play
• The faction is taken over and chooses not to become confederated
• They were already confederated and their Overlord faction is conquered

Confederated (Vassals and Overlords)

If you lose your last objective you may choose to be confederated (vassalized). Either way, your Warlord is no longer a Warlord.

If you choose to be confederated, you will be PERMANENTLY allied to the side that captured your last objective (if several sides captured your last remaining objectives in the same battle, then you may choose). Your Warlord becomes a lieutenant in your Overlord's army; your Warlord HQ must be deployed to an objective belonging to your Overlord faction in every battle, and you will continue to benefit from your Warlord's applicable Skills (the Skill Levels not marked with an "*"), and you will no longer gain an automatic Skill Level per battle. Instead, the lieutenant only gains a single Skill Level in a battle if your Overlord faction gains an objective but does not also lose an objective in a battle. Also, from that point onward, if the side you are allied to (the Overlord faction) wins the campaign then your result can be considered a MINOR VICTORY.

Once confederated, a confederated faction cannot be completely destroyed. They share the fate of their Overlord faction. If the Overlord faction gets confederated, then all their confederated factions get eliminated and all those players would be able to participate in battle of any remaining faction going forward.
In this way, the intentional meta game challenge is to have your faction survive until the end of the campaign - are you a survivor?

A confederated faction...

• Has a Warlord unit in battle, which must be deployed to one of your Overlord's objectives
• Continues to use their Warlord's non "*" marked Skills
• May only gain a total of +1 Skill Level in battle, only when your Overlord faction captures an objective and does not also lose an objective during that battle
• Gains their minimum income and purchases units normally (under the normal restrictions)
• Captures objectives for their Overlord faction (the Overlord faction gets control of it)
• Can be given Points by their Overlord faction (an Overlord faction also request to have an automatic stipend transfer of X number of Points each turn as well)
• Deploys its units in the Overlord's deployment zone
• Shares the fate of its Overlord faction; is eliminated if its Overlord faction becomes confederated or defeated (therefore, a faction can only be confederated once)
• Is eliminated if none of its players show up for battle, causing their Warlord to be killed and all their units removed (their units are not deployed and die in the penalty zone).
• Can voluntarily withdraw from the campaign at any time (causing their Warlord to be killed and all their units eliminated).

If you choose NOT to be confederated, then your Warlord is killed and all your remaining forces are disbanded. You may choose to play on another side going forward, if they will accept your help, but the incentive to confederate is that you may win a MINOR VICTORY if your Overlord faction wins, and you add income to that side. You would choose not to confederate if you no longer want the responsibility of being a CO and making decisions on purchasing units.

Overlord Points Sharing With Confederated Factions

Between battles, Overlords may give Points to their confederated vassals by letting the Campaign Coordinator know. This is handled as an immediate transfer of Points. A Overlord may desire to have an automatic transfer of a certain number of Points to their confederated vassals after each battle (by letting the Campaign Coordinator know), or may choose instead to periodically reward them with Points based on performance.

Surrender

After a battle, a Warlord may decide to surrender to another faction and become confederated if certain conditions are met:

• A faction may not surrender to another faction that already has another confederated faction in it.
• A faction may only surrender to another faction that it lost an objective to during that battle.

When a Warlord surrenders:

• Their faction becomes confederated and they retain all their surviving units and Warlord (as per the normal confederated rules).
• All objectives that the surrendering faction held at the end of the battle, and any objectives that they lost to the faction they surrendered to during that battle all become neutral and will be up for grabs in the next battle.

NOTE: This simulates both sides withdrawing from the area and negotiating a peace agreement, vacating the territory and joining forces with the other side. This also prevents a situation where a faction could surrender to cause another faction to immediately win on points, and many other gamey situations (like secret surrender deals to hand over objectives during the battle).

No Total Capitulations

A Warlord is not allowed to totally capitulate to another faction by vacating all their objectives during a battle. Determined by the Campaign Coordinator and other players not involved in the situation, if a faction is felt to have coordinated in any way so that they allowed all of their objectives to be given up to become confederated while losing as few forces as possible in the process, while also avoiding the surrender rules, then:

• All the capitulated faction's units will be disbanded (destroyed) after the battle.
• Both Warlords will suffer a -1 Skill LEVEL (-3 Skill Points) reduction penalty.

Your forces do not tolerate cowardice and choose to abandon you and both Warlord's reputation suffers! The confederated faction will then proceed to the Purchasing Phase with only their Warlord unit remaining.

Skills

Warlords have Skills which provide bonuses and perks. Some skills provide bonuses during a battle, while others apply outside of battle.

After each battle, each Warlord gains 1 Skill Level and the players decide which Warlord Skill to increase. Also, after the first battle, whenever a faction takes an objective but does not lose any objectives they started the battle with, then their Warlord gains an additional Skill Level. This means that a Warlord can gain a MAXIMUM of 2 Skill Levels per battle.

All Skill upgrades take effect immediately.

Each Warlord Skill has up to three levels, each one providing an increase in effectiveness. Also, unless it specifically states that the skill replaced the previous one, each skill level "stacks" by adding additional abilities on top of lower skill level's effects (FORAGING and LOOTING are two examples of skills that do not stack).

Skill Types and Effects

ARTILLERY

L1: May purchase mortars

L2: May purchase howitzers

L3: May purchase rocket artillery

COMMUNICATIONS

L1: May purchase 2x Drone Teams of any type and defensive Bullitt drones which are not limited in number [see notes 1, 2 & 3]

L2: Drone Team limit increased to 3 [see note 1], and you may now purchase helicopters

L3: 3x airstrikes available in each battle, and all infantry PL units are given Bullitt drones free in every battle

NOTE 1: Drone Teams are not attached to vehicles, and you will receive the drone in every battle until the Drone Team is destroyed

NOTE 2: If you are at your max limit of Drone Teams, any new purchase replaces the cheapest Drone Team in inventory

NOTE 3: When Bullitt drones are purchased, they are given to Rifle Teams (A team) starting with the most expensive vehicles first (L3 Skill gives to to all PL units for free)

DEFENSE

L1: May purchase wire obstacles (deployable in the next battle), and vehicles that can carry concertina wire have it added [see note]

L2: May purchase conventional or advanced non-buried mines (deployable in the next battle)

L3: May purchase conventional or advanced buried mines (deployable in the next battle)

NOTE: Vehicle carried wire is retrieved after each battle and does not remain on the map, you must purchase wire for permanent obstacles

DEMOLITION

L1: 1x VBIED-155mm HE(3x) (military vehicle, MB 240GD) available in each battle, and may purchase 1x civilian vehicle VBIED up to 250lb for your inventory

L2: 1x VBIED-250lb (military vehicle, Ural-4320/Fueler) available in each battle, and may purchase 1x civilian vehicle VBIED up to 500lb for your inventory (replaces L1)

L3: 1x VBIED-500lb (military vehicle, YAD-4442) available in each battle, and may purchase 2x civilian vehicle VBIEDs up to 2000lb for your inventory (replaces L2)

ENGINEER

L1: May purchase bunkers and gun pits (deployable in the next battle)

L2: May purchase trenches (deployable in the next battle)

L3: May purchase AT ditches (deployable in the next battle), mine plows, can remove obstacles from your territory [see note], and you receive 1x BREM-1 ARV and 1x MTU-72 free into inventory (a one time addition) that can be used to dig non-permanent vehicle emplacements and bridge AT ditches

NOTE: Obstacles that you want to remove (deleted) from your territory is communicated to the Campaign Coordinator via map images)

FORAGING

L1: Basic Income is now +30 Points

L2: Basic Income is now +60 Points (replaces L1)

L3: Basic Income is now +90 Points (replaces L2)

LOOTING

L1*: Increase objective based income by +15%

L2*: Increase objective based income by +22% (replaces L1)

L3*: Increase objective based income by +30% (replaces L2)

MEDICAL

L1: The PSG unit is allowed; non-militia infantry now have a PSG (which contains the medic that matches parent infantry unit's quality)

L2: Medic vehicles can be purchased (ELITE quality), PSG units become +1 quality from parent formation, and your infantry casualties now cost 0.8 Points to replace (instead of 1)

L3: 1x Unimog Medic available in each battle, and your infantry casualties now cost 0.6 Points to replace (instead of 0.8)

RECONNAISSANCE

L1*: Your deployment zone around your objectives is increased from 500m to 750m

...if enemy does NOT also have this L1 or higher Skill, it overrides enemy deployment zones but does not enter enemy objectives

...if enemy has this L1 or higher Skill, the deployment zones average out between them

L2*: Your deployment zone around your objectives is increased from 750m to 1,000m

...if enemy does NOT also have this L2 or higher Skill, it overrides enemy deployment zones but does not enter enemy objectives

...if enemy has this L2 or higher Skill, the deployment zones average out between them

L3*: Your deployment zone around your objectives is increased from 1,000m to 1,250m

...if enemy does NOT also have this L3 Skill, it overrides enemy deployment zones but does not enter enemy objectives

...if enemy has this L3 Skill, the deployment zones average out between them

BLACK MARKET

L1: May purchase units or items up to 200 Points in value

L2: May purchase units or items up to 400 Points in value

L3: May purchase units or items up to any Point value, and you may now sell ONE vehicle after each battle for 50% of its value.

NOTE: When selling back vehicles, pay the Black Market Resale Fee and let the Campaign Coordinator know which vehicle is being sold.

RECRUITING

L1*: Each battle, field 1x free untrained infantry squad for each objective you hold (noncumulative)

L2: May purchase non-militia non-MRAP infantry trucks (Ural, Unimog, Pinzgauer, etc.)

L3: May purchase MRAP infantry trucks (Bushmaster, RG-31, Dingo, etc.)

SUPPLY

L1: IFV infantry have GLs and your corruption loss to saved income is now 50% (instead of 100%), and you may permanently give ONE vehicle to each ally [see note 1]

L2: APC and MRAP infantry have GLs and your corruption loss to saved income is now 25% (instead of 50%), all relevant vehicles receive all optional upgrades (add on armor, HMG optics, etc.), and infantry upkeep is now 1 Point per 6 surviving troops (instead of 1 per 4)

L3: Non-militia truck infantry have GLs, corruption loss to saved income is now 12% (instead of 25%), and you may now recover ONE of your destroyed Salvage vehicles after each battle, as long as they are located in a friendly controlled objective at mission end [see note 2]

NOTE 1: Vehicles given to allies cannot be re-given to another faction later, cannot be resold, are not subject to the normal vehicle limits, have carried infantry remain at original owner's capability level, and the recipient faction is limited to fielding ONE gifted vehicle per ally at a time (another one may be given if the previous one is no longer present)

NOTE 2: Previously destroyed vehicles that are classified as Salvage can be recovered in this way by towing them to a controlled objective. Salvaged infantry carrying vehicles will regain their infantry. All destroyed non-Salvage vehicles are removed after the battle (scrapped).

TRAINER

L1: Militia infantry (technical truck troops) are upgraded to CONSCRIPT quality and conscripted infantry (free infantry provided by Skills and Titles) are upgraded to MILITIA quality

L2: Non-militia non-medic vehicle infantry are upgraded to REGULAR quality

L3: Non-militia non-medic vehicle infantry are upgraded to ELITE quality

• Skill levels marked with a "*" do not apply to confederated lieutenants

Warlord Unique Titles

If you desire it, a Warlord will gain up to TWO unique titles throughout the campaign, achieved the first time they accomplish a feat that is in the following list.

These gained titles will remain permanently with the Warlord and that same title cannot be acquired by any other Warlord for the remainder of the campaign.

Each Warlord should look at this list and determine which of these titles they met the criteria of, and whether or not they want it as one of their two unique titles (if you choose to gain your second title then you may no longer gain another title for the rest of the campaign).

"The Liberator" - Gained by the faction that takes a total of > 100 Points of objectives from one single faction in a single battle.

Grants +30 Points of additional basic income each turn.

"The Conqueror" - Gained by the faction that has accumulated > 500 Points of objectives total.

Grants +50 Points of additional basic income each turn.

"The Executioner" - Gained by the faction that destroys another faction's Warlord unit.

Grants 1x free elite bodyguard 3-man rifle team w/RPG-29, GLs, and UAV(I) in each battle.

"The Butcher" - Gained by the faction that lost > 100 personnel in a single battle or > 1000 total personnel in all battles.

Grants 3x free squads of untrained youth militia in each battle.

"The Cautious" - Gained by the faction that went the entire full length battle without suffering a single vehicle loss.

Grants a one time bonus of 250 Points.

"The Destroyer" - Gained by the faction that had 2x the number of total vehicle kills than total losses in a single battle (minimum 10 total vehicle kills).

Grants a one time bonus of +1 Warlord Skill.

"The Pillager" - Gained by the faction that confederated another Warlord faction.

Grants a one time bonus of +2 Warlord Skills.

"The Cruel" - Gained by the faction that defeated and killed another Warlord faction (due to them refusing to confederate).

Grants a one time bonus of +3 Warlord Skills.

Warlord Rank (high score)

A Warlord will increase in rank (shown on their "card"). For every 3x Skill Levels, a Warlord will increase in rank by 1.

There are a total of 13 ranks, which can be considered a high score of sorts. Note that rank can decrease if the Warlord loses Skill levels due to the Warlord's HQ being overrun.

At the end of a campaign, regardless of which side won, the side with the highest rank Warlord is a good indication of who best protected their Warlord.