Ah, yes. As we near the end of the Eldfall faction focus series, there is only the Empire of Soga to talk about. The purpose of the series was to introduce new players an easy choice to start playing the game with their preferred faction. Who knows we might even dive in the Goblin and Oni factions when the eventual factions come with the release of the Northern Wind Core game. We talk about that too if you readers are interested. Let us know in the comments.
The Empire of Soga?
It’s a fact that the Empire of Soga is the biggest faction in Calad. This has shaped the faction into a nation that has endured a lot of harshness into a Feudal society. The faction is split into warrior clans, with the Soga Clan on top of the Hierarchy.
Riddled with internal conflict, misfortune struck where grief was at it’s highest. The profane forces used this and took hold of the places of mistreated worship. They became overshadowed by tormented spirits and sometimes even worse.
The practices of the disciples of Rishinkyo have an extensive knowledge and training of such tormented spirits and worse. Because of this knowledge, the lands became a bit more hospitable and an alliance was formed with the Kitsune tribes, foxlike humans ruled by a Grand Priestess.
Even so the lands were more peaceful, this does not mean that everything is always at peace. It’s not only knowledge that keeps the bad away and the highly skilled warrior of the Empire of Soga is what keeps the fight with the profane and Oni (demonic ogroids) on the mountain in their own domains. Every winter, they reemerge from hibernation and try to invade the lands of Calad.
The adventurers of the Empire of Soga are battle hardened in close and ranged combat, where flameshapers and Kitsune make sure the magic is used to keep the enemy at bay. There is no real strategy to keep these warriors at bay and one can only prepare for the worst when it comes to dealing with their ferociousness in battle.
How do the Empire of Soga function?
Serving as the last line of defense against demons, they need to be tough to survive. This is exact what the Empire of Soga is. Let’s take a look at the individual models.
The Bushi Attendant
The only reason the Bushi Attendant is on the battlefield, is that it’s cheap and has a good range. It carries a two-handed bow and has a good reach of 20″ without any penalties. Above the 20″, it gets a -6 penalty. Make sure this model is within a penalty-free range and you still have a dangerous model.
It does have a dagger for self-defense, but don’t rely on this weapon. Another overlooked advantage, is the price of the Attendant. You can figure out more models on the field if you calculate correctly.
The Empire of Soga Onitaoshi
What happens when you have a model that knows is good in what it does? It starts bragging. The Taunt skill of this model can only be used in the movement step. When successful, it uses up the reactions of the target. Sweep takes on ever opponent within melee range and fearless makes it immune to panic checks.
She has Advantage, which lets it re-roll dice when failed. She can follow up successful attacks with a STK 1 attack with same specs to make matters worse for hit model.
The Kitsune Spellmaiden
It’s time for the magical part of Empire of Soga with the Kitsune Spellmaiden. This model is perfect when you need animal like (she is part fox afterall) senses and cuteness overload to sort of charm the target model. She has charm I, which, when the opponents model declares a reaction, must make a check first. If this check fails, they can only declare “nothing” as the reaction this round.
With her Acute senses, she increases her Awareness with 3″ and her Dodge is not halved when outside of LOS. She also exchanges INT and AG when doing Perceive and Uncover actions.
Still not enough? With Vigilance, she is immune to surprise attacks with her 360° LOS arc. Did we mention she also shoots fireballs and can set the target model on fire? Last but not least, her spirit drum makes allied models in her awareness immune to moral penalties. Half demon indeed.
The Empire of Soga Clan Champion
The Clan Champions are the reason the Oni haven’t invaded yet. This is a true stat monster in its most positive form. A recoverable throwing spear for massive damage, open to extra upgrades with Resourceful, immune to surprise attacks, Insanely fast, has armor piercing, Fencing and can use his sword. We haven’t even reached his Stratagems yet!
Advance gives all models +1 SPD, Evasion Tactics give +2 AG and Back to Back gives Vigilance. For the warriors that stand side by side with this monster of a model, they get Dash and Fearless.
Why Should you choose the Empire of Soga?
There are two base reasons to choose this as your preferred faction. The first being the least lethal model of the group, the Bushi Attendant. Firing arrows at long range while being cheap per model. This gives the option to chose more models than the opponent and attack from more sides.
The second one, is the Bushi Attendant again. It’s pretty expendable, which makes you focus on the power the others have. You can throw the Attendant under the bus without feeling guilty.
When looking at other reasons, one might see the beautiful models that have a slightly different feel than the rest. Not in a bad way, but more in a way that it shows the long life the faction had in Calad, but also the battles with the ever persistent Oni.
Want more Eldfall Chronicles?
With already an extensive library of models, lore and the upcoming Northern Wind dungeon crawler, there is no single reason why you shouldn’t take a real good gander at the company and it’s games. If you feel you want some, be sure to check out our shop for all the latest models and releases.
Want to see a faction focus on the Goblins and Oni? Be sure to let us know in the comments and we’ll see where our adventurous path leads.
Until next time, brave adventurers of Calad!