Aiel

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“'Till shade is gone, till water is gone,

into the Shadow with teeth bared,

screaming defiance with the last breath,

to spit in Sightblinder's eye on the last Day.”

- Aiel oath

 

 

THE WASTE

 

Any study of the Aiel people is by its very nature a study of the land east of the Dragonwall, known as the Aiel Waste.  The people are defined by the land from which they came, and it shapes their beliefs and their lives.  Amongst the Aiel it is known as the Three Fold Land, since they believe it is first a shaping stone to make them; second, a testing ground to prove their worth; and third, a punishment for their sin, although what this sin is seems to have been forgotten over time.

     The Waste itself is a harsh desert, practically waterless and apparently uninhabitable.  Even the Trollocs refer to it as Djevik K'Shar - 'The Dying Ground' (though whether this is because of the conditions in the Waste, or its inhabitants, is unclear). Yet the Aiel manage to survive, and even thrive here. There is no doubting that the rugged Waste has made the Aiel the people that they are today.

 

JI'E'TOH

 

Despite the harshness of the land in which the Aiel dwell, they have developed a highly complex society since they arrived and settled in the Waste.  Central to this society is a complex code of honour and obligation known as ji'e'toh. This code is all encompassing, providing many different paths for an Aiel to gain honour, as well as many different ways for an Aiel to be shamed.

     As an example, the least honour is gained in combat by swiftly killing a foe, since anyone can kill. The most honour is gained by touching an armed living enemy without causing him or her any harm, since this act takes the greatest skill and bravery to successfully pull off.

     Perhaps the most important aspect of ji'e'toh, however, is the concept of obligation (known as toh). Aiel take honour extremely seriously in everything they do, and any obligation, irrespective of how small or how large, must be repaid in full. As evidence of just how important toh is to Aiel society, an Aiel will willingly accept shame if it is necessary to fulfill an obligation.

 

WARRIORS

 

Aiel are famed throughout the known world as fierce warriors - perhaps the most deadly on the entire continent. To the people west of the Dragonwall, known to the Aiel as Wetlanders, and almost universally despised for the decadence and weakness, the Aiel are objects of both fear and awe.

     The Aiel method of warfare is very different to that common amongst Wetlanders. For one, Aiel wear very little armour (leather being as far as they will stretch) in order to allow themselves the freedom of movement they put to such great use in combat. Their weapons of choice are the short spear and buckler, since no Aiel would ever consider wielding a sword.

     Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the Aiel warriors is the way in which they veil their faces before killing. All Aiel warriors, without exception, wear a black veil around their necks, and will pull it up before they begin to fight. It from this habit that the phrase 'acting like a black-faced Aiel' came into being in the lands west of the Dragonwall. It is used to describe anyone that is acting particularly belligerent or violent.

     Each Aiel warrior becomes a member of one of the various warrior societies.  Each of these societies emphasises a particular style of combat, and there is a great deal of (usually friendly) competition between warriors of different societies.  Perhaps the most noteworthy of the Aiel warrior societies is the Maidens of the Spear, a society consisting exclusively of women.

 

SPECIAL RULES

No Swords: Aiel society forbids the use of swords so strictly that most will not even touch such a weapon. Consequently, Aiel may NEVER wield a sword. This is a hard and fast rule that cannot be bent in any way.

 

The Best Among Us: Aiel value fighting skill greatly, following those who show themselves the best warriors. An Aiel warband's Leader will be the Veteran with the highest experience points. If two Heroes have equal experience, then the warrior with the highest Leadership characteristic will be the leader. If there is still a tie, roll off to determine who is the Leader. Note that the leader of a warband can change between battles - Aiel are naturally quite competitive.

 

Gai'shain: See the short section entitled 'Gai'shain' later in this warband for full rules on what to do if the Aiel ever capture an enemy warrior.

 

Choice of Warriors

 

An Aiel warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold marks to recruit your initial warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 10.

 

Veterans: Your warband must include at least one Veteran, and may include up to three.

 

Spears: Your warband may include any number of Spears, up to its maximum size.

 

New Spears: Your warband may include up to four New Spears.

 

Starting experience

 

Veterans start with 15 experience.

 

Henchmen start with 0 experience.

 

 

 

Aiel taken prisoner by other Aiel in battle are referred to as gai'shain. These prisoners are required by ji'e'toh to serve their captors for one year and one day, touching no weapon and doing no violence during this time. To represent this unique treatment of captives, any Aiel captured by another Aiel warband are taken gai'shain. There is no chance for the Aiel who have lost this warrior to retake him (they wouldn't think of it - it would cause shame to the one captured).

     The captors may sell a gai'shain's weapons, but may not keep them. Each gai'shain kept by an Aiel warband increases the maximum size of that band by +1, since the services of the gai'shain make it possible for greater numbers of Aiel to move about. On the down side, however, each gai'shain must be kept in good health, and so adds one to the size of the warband when calculating profits after a battle. For example, an Aiel warband of 10 warriors with 1 gai'shain would count as having 11 warriors when rolling on the income chart. Any warband may send their gai'shain back to their sept rather than keeping them - they loose any benefits for the gai'shain if they do this, but do not have to pay their upkeep either.

     Wetlanders captured by Aiel may be disposed of in the usual fashions (i.e. ransomed, sent back to the sept for money or killed) since they are not practitioners of ji'e'toh and therefore cannot be taken gai'shain. There are two exceptions to this rule: firstly, all captured Cairhienin must be killed (the Aiel have an special hatred for these people, who they call Treekillers). Secondly if you are playing Shaido Aiel, who have rejected tradition completely, you may take any warriors from any enemy warband gai'shain. If you take a Wetlander captive like this, there is nothing to stop their old warband from liberating them (with an appropriate scenario), since Wetlanders are not bound by ji'e'toh.

 

1-3 Veterans

 

90 gold marks to hire

Given the reputation that he average Aiel warrior has, it is hardly surprising that Aiel Veterans are greatly feared.  Having faced many battles and defeated many foes, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. Almost nothing can stand in their way once they have decided on a course of action.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Veteran	5	5	3	4	4	1	4	2	8

 

Weapons/Armour: Aiel Veterans may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Aiel Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Society: All Veterans must have one Society Trait, chosen from the appropriate list. This Trait is included in the cost of the Veteran.

 

Leader: The Leader of an Aiel warband is determined as described in the special rule ‘The Best Among Us’.

Spears

 

60 gold marks to hire

The average Aiel warrior has seen many battles and defeated many foes.  Known collectively as the Spears, the bulk of any Aiel force will be made up of these fine, dedicated and determined warriors.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Spear	5	4	3	4	4	1	4	1	8

 

Weapons/Armour: Spears may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Aiel Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Society: Aiel Spears may take a Society Trait if they wish for an additional +5 gm. Note that all members of a Henchmen group must have the same Society Trait.

 

0-4 New Spears

 

30 gold marks to hire

Even the might Spears of the Aiel were beginners once. Though the New Spears may not have the experience and skill of their superiors, they are just as determined, and quickly pick up the skills they need to survive in a land as harsh as the Waste.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
New Spear	5	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

 

Weapons/Armour: New Spears may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Aiel Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Society: New Spears must take a Society Trait as their final experience upgrade only instead of a skill/stat increase.

 

Aiel special skills

 

AIEL MARTIAL ARTS

The Aiel has patiently mastered the martial arts - in hand-to-hand combat he can fight with his bare hands without any penalties and counts as having two weapons (i.e. +1 Attack). In addition, an Aiel with this skill will cause a critical hit on a To Wound roll of 5-6 instead of just 6.

 

RUNNING SHOT

The Aiel's agility allows him to run and shoot in the same turn, although he suffers an additional -1 to-hit penalty on top of any others.

 

EXCELLENT EYESIGHT

Aiel make superb trackers, and this warrior is a fine example. The Aiel can spot Hidden enemies from twice as far away as other warriors (i.e. twice his Initiative in inches).

 

CAMOUFLAGE EXPERT

This Aiel is adept at concealing himself from an enemy. Any enemy warrior attempting to detect this Aiel when he/she is Hidden must halve his Initiative before measuring the distance.

 

FIRST AID

A warrior with this skill knows how to patch up fallen comrades. After a game, if a warrior with this skill survived, one other Aiel may re-roll his/her result on the Serious Injuries Chart. The second result stands, even if it is worse than the first.

 

BUCKLER EXPERT

A warrior with this skill may make an extra attack in close combat using his/her buckler. For the purposes of this attack, treat the buckler as if it were a dagger.

 

Aiel Veterans must join one of the following Warrior Societies. Aiel Spears may choose one if they wish, paying an additional 5gm for the privilege. Aiel may only ever be a member of one Society (once you have joined a Society, you are a member for life). Membership in these Societies grants special abilities, given below. Note that you may only join a Warrior Society when you are first recruited - Spears cannot pay the 5 gm later in a campaign to gain the benefits of one of these Societies.  The only exceptions to this rule are New Spears, who gain a Society Trait when they reach their final experience upgrade (i.e. when their henchman experience track is completely filled) instead of a new skill/stat increase.  If a New Spear is raised to Hero status before that, then the Society Trait must be chosen at the point they are promoted.

 

STONE DOGS

Stone Dogs are immune to All Alone tests. They form the stoic rear guard of Aiel fighting formations, and are used to fighting without support.

 

RED SHIELDS

Red Shields are the closest the Aiel have to a police force. Roll 2D6 for each enemy hero taken out of action by a Red Shield during the previous game. On a 11-12, the Red Shield automatically captures this warrior (in addition to any other injuries he may have suffered).

 

MAIDENS OF THE SPEAR

The Maidens are an exclusively female Society, known for their martial prowess. All Maidens automatically gain the Excellent Eyesight skill (see above).

 

BLACK EYES

Aiel Black Eyes train in the use of the short bow – the favoured Aiel ranged weapon. When using this weapon, a Black Eye gains +1BS.

 

THUNDER WALKERS

Thunder Walkers learn to use their bucklers in a method similar to the way Wetlanders use shields. When wearing a buckler, a Thunder Walker gains +1 to his armour save.

 

WATER SEEKERS

The survival experts of the Aiel, Water Seekers may re-roll their results on the Serious Injury Chart after a game once. The second roll stands.

 

TRUE BLOODS

All True Bloods gain access to the Academic Skill list. They're the 'educated warriors' of the Aiel.

 

NIGHT SPEARS

Night Spears train to fight at night, and so they may charge enemies that they can't see if they are within 6" instead of the usual 4".

 

KNIFE HANDS

Emphasising unarmed combat techniques over the traditional spear and buckler, Knife Hands suffer no penalties for fighting barehanded. A Knife Hand without any weapons does not get an extra Attack as if he had two weapons - only the Aiel Martial Arts skill can do that.

 

BROTHERS OF THE EAGLE

It is the Brothers of the Eagle who serve as sentries, and so they are especially good at defending a spot. Provided they stood still in their previous turn, they gain +1 Attack if charged.

 

DAWN RUNNERS

Dawn Runners function as messengers, and so automatically gain a +1 Movement bonus (taking their movement value up to 6").

 

MOUNTAIN DANCERS

The Mountain Dancers watch and explore the Dragonwall, and so are at home in rocky terrain. They count as having a free rope and hook (i.e. they can re-roll failed initiative tests when climbing).

 

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