Freeguild
 | |
| Grand alliance | Order |
| Associated factions | Cities of Sigmar |
| Main grouping | Regiment |
| Races | Predominantly Human |
| Mounts | Demigryph Griffon Steed Warhorse |
The Freeguilds are the brave mortal defenders of the Free Peoples and the Cities of Sigmar. [1e]
The Cities of Sigmar are defended by many different forces such as the Stormcast Eternals, the Ironweld Arsenal and the Collegiate Arcane but much fighting and sacrifice falls to the mere mortals of the many Freeguild Regiments. All such regiments were originally created from twelve tribes that fought alongside Sigmar in the Age of Chaos and followed him when he retreated to the Realm of Azyr where they retained their training, skills and discipline.[1e]
However as the reclamation of the Mortal Realms progressed more and more regiments were created from those cultures that had survived the onslaught of Chaos - although tensions often run high between the original Azyrites and the Reclaimed. All free cities have several Freeguilds, organised into regiments for battle and acting as city watchmen in times of peace. Each are different and have their own customs, cultures, colours and traditions differing greatly from Realm to Realm and city to city. [1e]
Heraldry is equally varied with the oldest designs harking back to the twelve tribes - the Crowned Skull of Penumbra, the Iron Bull of Tarsus and the Sanguine Lady of Flames.[1e]
Contents
Heraldry
Some of the Freeguild heraldry known are:
Structure of the Freeguilds
All of the Free Cities of the God-King's empire boasts a handful of Freeguilds, each organized into distinct regiments under the command of a Freeguild General. Freeguilders always operate as both a standing army and as city watch, sometimes regiments will alternate between active military service and guard service[4a][4b]. These regiments will often develop their own unique styles of combat, based on the environments and surroundings of the cities that employ them.[1e] For example the coastal city of Anvilgard has a number of marine regiments in their employ[1g].
Many Freeguilds develop unique traditions and will outfit themselves in colors unique to their regiments and companies, though there are some cities where all the regiments and companies operate under a single, unified banner and so bear the same colors. The tactics of the Freeguilds vary from realm to realm, kingdom to kingdom, city to city.[1e] For instance the Sons of the Black Bear, who hail from the northern baronies of the Realm of Heavens, operate as a lance of knights[5a], while companies like the Ironsides and Iron Bulls of Tarsus make extensive use of firearms or artillery.[5a][4]
Oftentimes a Freeguild regiment on campaign or expedition will carry a Great Hogshead, an armored barrel full of Aqua Ghyranis, with them. Usually these are carried in wagons that are guarded at all times.[18a]
The bulk of the Freeguilds' forces come in the form of the Freeguild Guard. These Guard companies, who are most often employed as city watchmen and frontline troops, are typically composed of citizens from all walks of life men and women, Azyrite colonists and Reclaimed settlers, old veterans and young greenhorns, volunteers and conscripts, militiamen and career soldiers, noble sons and gutter snipes. All of these varied folk and more are forced to fight side by side within the Guard. The only thing as diverse as the recruits within the regiments are the weapons they carry into battle. Spears, halberds, and swords are commonly found in abundance among the better equipped regiments, but less influential and renowned regiments will have to make due with whatever is at hand. These scrounged together armaments are known as 'militia weapons' and can consist of anything from clubs and simple blades, to wheel-lock handguns.[1e]
The Guard is often supplemented with specialized units of Handgunners and Crossbowmen. Even the worst of horde of Khornate berserkers can be put down by well-placed volleys of leaden shot or bolts.[1e] The Greatswords formations are prestiguous all across the Free Cities of Sigmar's empire and are renowned as some of the best soldiers in the Freeguilds. In fact the Greatswords are recruited from the biggest and strongest veterans within the regiments. These warriors are clad in plate armor and wield massive zweihanders in battle. They are elite shock troops of the armies of the Freeguilds.[1e] But if these brave soldiers are the anvil of the Freeguilds, than the elite cavalry of the Fre Cities are the hammer. These cavalry units often consist of valiant Pistoliers and steadfast Outriders. The Pistoliers are typically young and brash popinjays who go into battle with a brace of pistols and long-barreled firearms, they are often seen patrolling the borders of their home cities in search of new foes to fight. The Outriders are an older, more grizzled class of soldier who are used extensively for reconnaissance missions and other vital duties.[1e]
But the finest warriors of the Freeguilds are the Demigryph Knights. These are noble scions of the noble bloodlines of Azyr, they have been raised since birth in the arts of cavalry combat. These venerable riders wade into battle with Sigmarite tipped greatswords and lances, whilst always rising atop their fierce Demigryphs which are themselves a devastating tool upon the battlefield.[1e]
Recruitment
Some of those who join are volunteers, part of a long family history of service, others see it as path to glory or riches whilst others are conscripted for all city districts are required to provide recruits to replenish the ranks for their regiments. [1e]
The Freeguilds of the Azyrite cities of Nordrath, Grimpeak, and Hallowstar actively recruit the fen-dwellers of the Smoak Fens, for the clansmen are renowned famed as gunsmiths and marksmen. Many of these skilled warriors have risen to fame and glory within the Freeguilds.[19a]
Hierarchy of the Freeguilds
The Freeguilds of the Cities of Sigmar are largely organized into semi-autonomous regiments, often divided into companies. These regiments are employed by the Conclaves and councils for a myriad of tasks, usually policing their cities, traderoutes, and holdings or as the primary fighting force defending the urban centers of Sigmar's empire.[6a][1e]
The command structure of the Freeguilds is inconsistent and seems to vary from city to city, regiment to regiment, company to company. In many cases a Freeguild will be structured as a regiment and commanded by a General, such as the ones in the city of Excelsis[4b], or Captain-Generals, as is the case of the regiments from Nordrath and Glymmsforge.[12][3a].
Below the regimental commanders are Captains and Lieutenants who act as commanders of the various divisions, usually called companies, of a Freeguild[3d][8a]
Occasionally Captains will serve as commanders of an independent Freeguild companies.[11a]
Sergeants are non-commisioned officers ranked below lieutenants and have myriad duties, usually acting as the leaders of squads or similar units. These non-commissioned officers are often placed in command of patrols[4a] and community outreach programs, such as the Bright Wardens initiative to train the citizenry of the districts they patrol in methods to defend themselves.[8a]
Many Freeguild companies and regiments have specialized sergeant ranks. These include Lance-Sergeants, Line Sergeants, and Gunnery Sergeants . Gunnery Sergeants, such as those within the Lady's Justice and similar companies, command artillery units within a company. Line Sergeants play a vital role in relaying orders in the midst of combat.[5a][11a][15a][15c][15d]
Some regiments have unique structures and ranks, such as the Sons of the Black Bear who have officers with the rank of Boyr.[5a]
Equipment
Within many of the Free Cities every Freeguild regiment and company maintains it's own traditions, colors, and uniforms. While in other Free Cities the Freeguilds are unified under the same banners and wear the same uniform no matter how many companies the city has. In either case these soldiers are sporadically equipped with whatever arms and armor is readily available, with those recruits who hail from more affluent backgrounds supplying their own.[1e] The following is a list of strange and unique equipment used by the Freeguilds:
- Trident Dagger: A mechanical dagger developed by the Ironweld Arsenal, a simple press of a button hidden on the guard of this weapon causes it's blade to split into three.[20a]
Roles of Freeguild
The Freeguild Regiments serve as one of the primary military forces of any given City of Sigmar and more often than not they also serve those same cities as mercenary guards, city watchmen, patrolmen on trade routes, and even garrisons for outlying farmsteads. But the Freeguilds have a myriad of duties, both extraordinary and mundane, beyond the typical work of footsloggers. Below is a list of several of the roles and duties assigned to freeguilds across Sigmar's empire.
- City Watch: Many a Freeguild will be employed to serve a Free City as their city watch. Many of these are given extensive garrisons or barracks to call their own.[6a][8a]
- Standing Army: The most common use of the companies and regiments of the Freeguilds, is as a city's professional standing army. These military forces will often be supplemented by artillery from the Ironweld, mages of the Collegiate, and any other forces the city can muster.[6a]
- Marine Regiments: Freeguild regiments trained to fight both on land and at sea, the most notable marine regiments are those of Anvilgard, such as the Rumrunners. Such units often employ Freeguild steam-galleons.[1g]
- Underjacks: Often pulled from the ranks of sellswords and convicts, Underjack regiments serve as one of the first lines of defense against those forces that would assail a Free City from below. They typically clear out, or attempt to at least, infestations of grots and skaven in the lowest sections of the city.[6a]
- Pyre-Gangs: Tasked with quarantining and eliminating the deadwalker epidemics that began in the wake of the Necroquake.[6a]
- Freeguild Fire Marshals: These civic servants are responsible for putting out any fires in their cities, before they become too big of an issue to combat.[8a]
- Freeguild Prison Guards: Many regiments and companies of the Freeguilds are directly assigned to guard, maintain, and operate the prisons of a City of Sigmar.[8a][9a]
- Freeguild Palace Guards: Some regiments and companies have the honor of being assigned the duty of guarding the palaces and government buildings where the Conclaves and ruling councils of a Free City hold government assemblies. Such companies are held in high regard and are given extra privileges.[8a]
- Outpost Garrisons: The Free Cities maintain many outposts, garrisons, forts, watchtowerts, and waystations across their territories and more often than not companies of the Freeguilds will be tasked with maintaining and defending these outposts. Fort Foothold in the Flamescar Plateau and the watchtowers of the Emerald Line in Verdia are among some of the most notable of these fortresses.[11a][16b]
Known Freeguilds
- Blackshore Guard of Lethis who carry many amulets and trinkets to protect themselves from the Nighthaunts of their realm. [1e]
- Blacktalons: A handgunner regiment that has fought under the standard of Hammerhal Ghyra.[1a]
- Bone Desert Bow and Foot: The fourth of the twelve regiments of the Free City of Arbitrium.[15a]
- Bright Wardens: The Freeguild tasked with guarding the 'Brighthall, the seat of the Conclave in Brightspear and acting as watchmen for the city's Lower Tier.[8a]
- Charrwind Rangers: The regiment comprised of the elite, veteran troops of the Free City of Anvilgard. Like all regiments of the city they adorn their uniform with the Kraken's Head sigil of Anvilgard.[16a]
- Bronze Claws: One of the Freeguilds of Excelsis.[4]
- Coldguard: After betraying Excelsis, almost all were either killed in the ensuing battle or imprisoned by the Knights Excelsior, following which the regiment was disbanded. [4]
- Crimson Shields: One of the Freeguild regiments of Brightspear[8b]
- Faithful Blades: One of the oldest regiments of Hammerhal Ghyra. [1a]
- Firewolves: From Excelsis. They were almost destroyed in the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.[4]
- Footmen: This Freeguild company was placed in charge of Fort Foothold, a fort built into the Cupricorn Range. They are known to be intensely unwelcoming.[16b]
- Gallowsmen: Old and storied regiment from the city of Nordrath. [3]
- Glymmsmen: The mauve-and-black uniformed Freeguild of the Free City of Glymmsforge.[5c]
- Gold Gryphons: A famous regiment from the city of Vindicarum which has its roots on the duelling fields of Azyrheim. [1a] [3]
- Goldjackets: The famed line infantry Freeguilds of Hammerhal. [1f][12a]
- Greycaps: The most famous gun regiment of Greywater Fastness. [1b]
- Griffon Spears: A Freeguild of Hammerhal who lost their ancestral banners and chose to amend this dishonor with a suicidal cavalry charge into a greenskin horde.[1f]
- Jerech Blue Skies: The largest and oldest regiment in the service of Hamilcar Bear-Eater when he commanded the Seven Words.[2]
- Holdashi Irregulars: Holdash is a scion city of the Phoenicium. [1c]
- Iron Bulls of Tarsus: One of the oldest regiments of Excelsis.[4]
- Ironsides: A gun company usually contracted by the Ironweld Arsenal.[5a]
- Lady's Justice: The Freeguild company stationed at the the Greenspire watchtower in the Nevergreen Mountains[11a]
- Leatherbacks: A mixed Freeguild company of handgunners and halberdiers, from the Black Marsh Barony in the Realm of Ghur. [5]
- Living City Rangers: The people of Ghyran see them as the best trackers and scouts in the Mortal Realms.[13a]
- Myrmidites: An ancient chivalric order from Azyrheim.[14a]
- Nighthaunt Guard: The tenth regiment of the Free City of Arbitrium.[15a]
- Nordrathi Red and Blacks: A small but flexible cavalry regiment of outriders, pistoliers and conventional armoured cavalry.[3]
- Order of the Furrow: The Order of the Furrow are a chivalric order of Demigryph Knights dedicated to Alarielle.[14a]
- Penultiman Outriders: One of the twelve regiments of the Free City of Arbitrium. Traditionally they were a regiment that favored handguns and blunderbusses, but turned to using pistols after their city was vassalixed by the Empire of Ossia.[15a][15c]
- Red Machetes: One of the Freeguilds of Anvilgard.[21]
- Revenant Spears: One of the Freeguilds of Excelsis.[4]
- Rumrunners: A marine regiment from Anvilgard whose uniform is black and red. [1d]
- Silver Company: A freeguild from Chamon.[5a]
- Sons of the Black Bear: A lance of knights hailing from the northern baronies of Azyr.[5a]
- Sons of Breton: An ancient chivalric order from Azyrheim.[14a]
- Stormblessed: One of the Freeguilds of Excelsis.[4]
- Turnkeys: The freeguild in charge of operating the prison known as the Bleak Stockade in Brightspear.[8a]
- Zephyr Spears: The first and oldest of the twelve regiments of the Free City of Arbitrium.[15a]
Images
Freeguild in the Great Parch
Sources
- 1: Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)
- 2: Hamilcar: Champion of the Gods
- 3: Hallowed Knights: Black Pyramid (novel)
- 4: Legends of the Age of Sigmar: City of Secrets
- 5: Soul Wars (novel)
- 6: Soulbound Core Rulebook
- 6a: Chapter Eight: The Mortal Realms
- 7: Soulbound Cities of Flame
- 8: Soulbound Brightspear City Guide
- 9: Thieves' Paradise (novella)
- 9a: Chapter One
- 10: Gods & Mortals
- 10a: Force of Personality
- 11: Oaths & Conquests
- 11a The Siege of Greenspire
- 12: White Dwarf September 2020
- 12a: Martyr's Blood, pg. 97-99
- 13: Myths & Revenants
- 13a: One, Untended
- 14: Spear of Shadows (novel)
- 14a: Chapter Five: Captain Brondt
- 15: Bonereapers (Novella)
- 16: Anvilgard City Guide
- 17: A Moment of Cruelty (Short Story)
- 18: Soulbound Crucible of Life
- 18a: Part 2: The Green Hell
- 19: Shadespire: The Mirrored City (novel)
- 19a: Chapter Twelve: Long Shot
- 20: Soulbound Tome of Champions
- 20a: Chapter Six: Equipment
- 21: Soulbound: Aqua Nurglis]]
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