The Kharadron Overlords are peerless traders and dauntless explorers, sailing through the skies on marvels of technology, armed with powerful weapons unlike anything else found in the Mortal Realms. They search for aether-gold, the key to their unusual engines and the most prized commodity in the Kharadron empire.
The Kharadron Overlords rule the skies, masters of a trading empire built by grand fleets of cloud-faring vessels. Crewed by ambitious duardin who value profit above all, these wonders of artifice boast enough raw firepower to level fortresses and cripple nations – when diplomacy is found wanting, of course. Kharadron technology is fuelled by aether‑gold, and their daily lives are built around amassing as much of that arcane substance as possible. Even now, as the long-absent ancestor god Grungni reveals himself to unite the duardin races, the question remains: how can the Kharadron profit most?
Codewrights know every artycle, every amendment, and every footnote of the Kharadron Code by heart, and have a canny eye for profitable legal improvisation. These skyfaring lawyers are valued by crew and captains alike for their ability to cite obscure sections of the Code that might expedite their airfleet’s current objectives – and for their skill at concocting helpful ‘clarifications’ on the fly.
Considering the country’s location and involvement in major European conflicts for centuries, Polish officers came from a society that valued a proud military tradition. After the end of World War I, having freshly wrested its independence from neighboring powers, Poland was in a state of almost constant conflict. Most of the officers in Poland’s military were experienced and capable leaders.
Despite facing the double invasion of their homeland in 1939 by both Germany and the Soviet Union, the vastly outnumbered Polish military fought with bravery and tenacity. The Polish army in 1939 was large, well-officered and relatively well-equipped. It fought hard, but was entirely outmanoeuvred by fast-moving German armoured thrusts supported by all arms in a new dynamic style of war that a largely foot-slogging Polish army could not match. When the Soviets joined the fight and also invaded Poland, bisecting the country, it was too much for an already over-extended army short of armour and air support to hold out against – the end was inevitable.
The jewel in the crown of the fleet, the Arkanaut Ironclad is a majestic airship. Bristling with weaponry, its deep cargo holds can be laden with aether-gold or it can be loaded to the gunwales with Arkanaut Companies or Grundstok Thunderers.
When it comes to feet on the ground, the Arkanaut Companies form the Kharadron Overlords’ main fighting forces. Descending swiftly via a Frigate’s grav-ladders or suspension ropes, an Arkanaut Company can deploy rapidly into the fray.
The Grundstok Thunderers are militarised formations employed by the fleet to help defend it.
Endrinriggers are members of the Endrineers Guild, and report to a ship’s Captain as well as the fleet’s Endrinmaster. They bear rapid-fire rivet guns and aethermatic saws for conducting airborne repairs, flying to wherever they are needed in order to patch up damage to a ship.
Many Endrinmasters take to the skies in mastercrafted dirigible suits, their aether-turbines allowing them to zoom through the air towards skyvessels in need of repair even as an in-built weapons array blasts their enemies into pieces.