Tip of the Tangoran Army: Ahomean Spearman (Battle Master 5e Fighter re-skin)
by Marc SaindonThe towering walled city-states of Ahomey (Gulf of Tangor) look, from a distance, like giant termite mounds. They are isolated from each other by large stretches of wilderness and are built far enough away from the coast to avoid raids from the sea, although limiting their trade possibilities due to a lack of ports (until recently, as safer conditions from the new Tangor Imperial Fleet make it possible). Still, caravans haul goods back and forth, and the Ahomean have rich mines of all sorts, including iron, which they craft into sophisticated weapons and armors. With these arms and the collective mindset of fire ants focused on attacking, the Ahomean soldier engages the battlefield not as a few random tribesmen, but a professional, well-drilled army that numbers in the thousands. A Thyatian legionnaire would feel right a home in their ranks.
What keeps Ahomey city-states to conquer the rest of Skothar is their own internal rivalry (while there is a Council of Equals among kings and queens to settle disputes, it often ends with bickering as one ruler aspires to be First Among Equals as the hegemon of the league), their lack of naval power (until recent efforts by the Tangor Empire) and a vulnerability to heat on longer expeditions, forcing to switch from their heavier steel armors to lighter, quilt armor (in effect, making the army more capable when defending from a short distance of its city-state).
Maintenance of the large Ahomean armies require keeping many forges, smiths and smelters running at all times, producing a lot of smoke and considerably darkening the city walls over time. Ahomean women also serve in the armies, although in their own units, and typically refer to themselves as "prides of lionesses" rather than the termite metaphor popular among the men.
In adventures, the Ahomean Spearman will be in some sort of mission from his commanding officer, such as serving as a bodyguard to a traveling diplomat or acting in a scouting party to prepare larger operations. He sees combat as a collective effort, and will usually try to organize the group as a "pack" or "pride" if the party lacks a leader, although will follow orders and procedures if such a leadership is already in place. Alignment-wise, he has a tendency towards both the Lawful (respect an honorable foe, use reliable techniques and tactics, work in hierarchies) and the pragmatism of Neutrality (spears with poison tips against a dishonorable foe is not an ethical issue).
Notes:
Fighter: Battle Master
Nok culture
Shaka
(Image from: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/434667801537280741/)