Society of Thule, The

This ancient and secretive order of the Holy Roman Empire was founded by Frederick Barbarossa in 1185. For centuries it has used its money and influence to support any who wish to reform the German nation.

Recently it has begun to take a more direct hand under its latest Grand Master, Count Friedrich von Ströheim. The Count has combined an obsession with the occult and Prussian military efficiency to provide strange and amazing weaponry for his followers.

When he takes to the field himself, the Count wears elaborate Prussian military uniform including the classic spiked “pickelhaube” helmet and (of course) a monocle. The Count lost his left arm in Istanbul when it was shot off by Lord Curr’s elephant gun; the missing limb has now been replaced by a remarkable electro-mechanical prosthesis. By way of armor, von Ströheim relies on a Magneto-Static Waistcoat. His preferred weapons are a classic military sabre and the ultra-modern Mauser C96 machine pistol.

The Count’s personal Artificer is Dr. Kobalt, the twisted genius behind the Tod-truppen. He is short, balding and wears wire-rimmed glasses. Lightly armored in a long, lined black leather coat Kobalt is nevertheless dangerous to face in battle. He carries both an Arc pistol and an Arc generator. In addition to providing constant power for his sidearm, this generator provides the energy to keep the Tod-truppen animated – so he is usually surrounded by them.

Feldwebel Krieg is the Count’s bodyguard. He has no sense of humor or imagination and is completely loyal, both to the Society and to its Grand Master. In battle he wears brigandine armor. His favorite weapon is a flamethrower, but he also carries a pistol and a long thin fighting knife which is used for torture more often than in combat.

The Society’s foot soldiers start out as elite Prussian infantry (Jägers) wearing lined coats and are armed with military rifles and bayonets. If they are lucky, that’s how they finish a battle too. However, if they fall in battle …

The Tod-truppen are basically zombies. The Society’s Jägers go into battle psychically pre-conditioned and fitted with electro-chemical devices that re-animate them pretty much immediately after they go down, called a Revivifier. Provided, as noted above, that they are within the field of an Arc generator. In this animated condition they lose their human memories and skills but, in typical zombie fashion, are very difficult to stop with conventional weapons. A side-effect of the reanimation process is that the Tod-truppen decay much more rapidly than normal corpses, hence their grotesque appearance. This also means that they are rarely good for more than one battle.

Miniatures are supplied unpainted and assembly may be required.