Other factions

Other factions – factions or nations that do not necessarily have direct impact regarding Dracula, but still worth mentioning.



Empire of France
Napoleon is the Emperor of France, currently fighting half of Europe. France does not have much of an impact on Dracula, but a French army may pay the vampire prince a visit someday. Frenchmen are eager and hardy, but Napoelon also has Swiss, Polish, Italian, and Saxon allies.



British Empire
The largest empire in history, the British remain on their island, somewhat leaving the European coalition alone to face Napoleon, for now, but have engaged the French Navy. The British have colonies in the Americas, Africa and India, but lost in the War of Independence in the last century. British soldiers have a reputation for extreme discipline. The British do not have an impact on Dracula's realm, for now.



Imperial Russia
Having consolidated supremacy towards most of their naighbours, the Russians during the 19th century have fought Napoleon, Cossacks, opolcheniye, Turks, Persians, and Japanese. Although a superpower, Imperial Russia is in some decline, and does not play much of a role thus far regarding Dracula.
Imperial Russia has a modernized military, but their infantry and militia, like other East Europeans, sometimes bring berdiches into battle, as both a weapon and a stand for a gun.
Russian militia during this role-play's extended and mixed time period are often referred to as opolcheniye, a kind of elective (viborniye) and municipal (gorodskiye) militia, or chosen by the people (narodnoe).



Kingdom of Sweden
During the Deluge, Swedes raided and pillaged large portions of Poland, committing more damage than Nazi Germany during WW2. The Swedes also invaded parts of Russia. In this role-play, the Swedes have not stopped their invasions, and some may even end up in Romania, experienced in raiding in Poland, so now the Nords will turn their attention to Dracula's realm! Like the other major European countries, Sweden has a modern military.
A notable force of the Swedes are the hakkapeliitta, curiously, being fast but armoured cavalry from Finland. Their horses were the ancestors of the Finnhorse.



Poland
Having withstood several invasions by several different nations over the past few centuries, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fractured apart by the end of the 1700s. Their most iconic and notable force were the Winged Hussars: heavily-armoured but fast-moving cavalry, whose backplates had towering feathered wings, which made the wearer a little more aerodynamic, as well as produce a whirring sound during galloping. Each Winged Hussar was armed with a lance up to six metres in length, a sword, and two pistols, and sometimes a battleaxe, mace, war hammer, composite bow, or a koncerz.

Polish peasants were notable for going into battle with war scythes, even charging Russian artillery. Indeed, it takes a lot of courage to charge cannons with just a scythe, and win!

Now that Napoleon has entered Poland, the Poles views the French Emperor as their liberator, but this does not have much impact on Romania, though Transylvanians did fight the Poles, something neither side will forget.



Steppe peoples
Tartars, Kazaks and Kalmuks are a few of the Asiatic steppe peoples, some of whom are descendants of Mongols who settled in Eastern Europe from the Middle Ages, some of whom could be found fighting for Poland, Lithuania, Imperial Russia, Ukraine, or the Crimean Khanate before it was annexed by Imperial Russia. A large minority also serve the Ottoman Empire.

They usually fight old-fashioned, wielding firelock guns passed down from father to son over generations, as well as composite bows and curved swords, but they are master horsemen and archers. Steppe nobles sometimes wear traditional lamellar or mail armour if they wish, and may even ride armoured warhorses as well.



Gypsies
wandering, semi-nomadic people, gypsies (usually Roma) are popularly depicted as living and travelling in wagons pulled by horses, and associated with crystal balls, fortunetelling, curses, and dark magic. They are excellent thieves and spies, and have an uncanny ability to seemingly sneak passed the law effortlessly. Although they are not remarkable as warriors, Roma have the stomach for assassination and knife-fighting.



Lisowczycy (singular lisowczyk)
Meaning “lost men”, lisowczycy (pronounced “lis-ov-chi-kih”) are Polish mercenary horsearchers, essentially mounted shock troops who rely on extreme speed and manoeuvrability in battle. Each lisowczyk wears Tartar clothing but no armour, however, are armed with sabres, war hammers, and sometimes maces or battleaxes, to better counter armoured enemies. Notoriously merciless, brutal, cruel and bloodthirsty, but superbly trained in archery, horsemanship and hand-to-hand combat. They were compared to cholera, alluding to their bad reputation. They served as mercenaries but tended to plunder anything they could set their eyes on, even their own employer's lands!

Historically, the lisowczycy found employment in their native homeland, as well as Russia and Germany, but were soon cut-off from their employers due to complaints about their bad behaviour. They sought to find employment in France in the 17th century, but the French King rejected the offer. By the arrival of the 1700s, all the lisowczycy ended up in disbandment or were hunted and executed by local militias, bringing their reign of terror to an end. In this role-play, the survivors continued their legacy.



Cossacks
A free warrior people, cruel but skilled on foot and horseback, proficient with guns, composite bows, and swords, on foot and horseback. A Cossack leader is called an ataman. They can usually be found in Russia, eastern Poland, and Ukraine, but Romanians, Poles and Lithuanians in the past sometimes fled their homes to live as Cossacks. Cossacks at times impale heads on the ends of their lances, to prove or show-off their kills.



Ukraine
Essentially a lesser version of Russia, but have kept their own cultural identity. Having survived extreme oppression and enslavement by Tartars, especially those of the Crimean Khanate, Ukrainians are tough, hardy, brutal, and brave people, but known to commit atrocities and cruelty, relentlessly raiding and harassing whatever enemy they face, and then brutally finishing-off stragglers or villagers they deem as enemies. Ukrainians usually fight as common old-fashioned musketeers and tenacious light cavalry, and their citizenry exhibit a stomach for war and atrocities.



Gorals
Hailing from southern Poland, Gorals live in the north-west sections of the Carpathian Mountains. Iconically equipped with axes they use for fighting and working. Like highlanders of other nations, Gorals tend to be hardy, brave, tough, and casual drinkers.



Slovaks
Some Slovakian villagers and woodsmen live along the western parts of the Carpathian Mountains. Slovakia is currently part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and so also part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Slovaks tend to support the Austrian monarchy, and were bitter rebels against the Hapsburgs, but remained rather behind-the-scenes for the most part.



Serbs
Some Serbian villagers and woodsmen inhabit the Southern Carpathians. The Serbs migrated away from Ottoman rule into German-speaking lands twice, formed a kingdom twice, and now are partaking in a national revolution against Ottoman control. Serbs have had a reputation for being excellent hussars and mercenaries since the Renaissance, and are good fighters and rebels, as would be expected from the Slavic peoples.



Elven clans
Elves inhabit the various forests; they are old-fashioned natural-born woodsmen and mostly are archers despite the modern world, but fast and precise. They are popularly depicted as Tolkien-esque, exhibiting long hair, lithe bodies, long ears, and a graceful nature, often wearing long loose-fitting robes. To compensate their lack of firelock weapons and modern soldiery, Elves use arrows tipped with poison, grenades, flares, or incendiary or smoke bombs.



Dwarven clans
Dwarfs inhabit the mountain ranges, in this case the Carpathian Mountains, and some Dwarven clans may even border with Castle Dracula. They tend to be stocky and physically powerful, but rather slow due to being short and short-legged. They are popularly depicted as stubborn and heavily bearded, wielding battleaxes or war hammers, and wearing lots of plate armour but Germanic helmets. They usually live underground, and are natural-born miners. Some of them wield crossbows, with bolts tipped with grenades, flares, or incendiary or smoke bombs.



Vargr tribes
Tribes of lycanthropes sometimes roam the countrysides and outskirts. The most feared type of lycanthrope is the Vargr, which means “destroyer”, referring to a kind of werewolf that has lost the ability to transform back into a human. Such literal werewolves are permanently locked in their monster form, and have been so for many generations, becoming a race of oversized bipedal wolves.

Vargrs are huge and powerful, up to seven feet tall, primitive but brutal. They hunt even bears; human prey would be an afterthought. Despite their big size, Vargrs are stealthy and can assemble ambushes easily. They fight as animals do, but may use anything they can get their paws on as weapons.



The Ancestors
Enigmatic beings, standing up to nine feet tall, they resemble giant, muscular, skinless humans, but are absent of eyelids, cheeks, lips and noses. So, their eyes are always open, they are constantly bleeding, their teeth and gums are always visible, and have mechanical parts riveted into their bones and bodies. They almost look like cyborgs, just without computerized components, only mechanical parts. No-one knows where they come from; they seemingly wander the world randomly in groups, attacking and killing anything that moves.

They refer to themselves as “The Ancestors” but no-one knows why. Regardless, Ancestors are frightening monsters to face, and some of them have grown into strange vehicles of flesh and machinery. They sometimes have firelock guns merged into their arms, and their handheld firearms are made entirely from metal. Considering all of this, Ancestors are a very frightening foe to face; they do not exhibit tactics or sense, and tend to charge pell-mell, but they may break from confusion.



The Primogen
Mysterious beings, consisting of glass-like skeletons inside immense, bulky suits of mechanical armour up to eight feet tall and weighing well over a tonne. They cannot speak any language, but can hiss, shake parts of their armour, and beam rays of light out their visors or armour to form images or symbols, which seems to be how they communicate.

Wielding medieval weapons such as two-handed morning stars, poleaxes, great swords, and halberds, and sometimes all-metal guns, Primogenitors are very slow-moving due to wearing the heaviest and thickest armours weighing up to over a tonne, and unable to swim. Their armour is of such excellent steel and thickness that they are bullet-proof; they literally need to be wrestled off their feet and a gun barrel rammed into the gaps or openings of their armour to be shot. They are, essentially, walking tanks.

Primogenitors are so-called Primogen or Primogenitors by the Ancestors, who always fight them when the opportunity arrives, but very few humans have seen such a rare event happen. Since the Ancestors call these mechanical beings Primogen or Primogenitors, so does the human world. No-one knows where they come from, and Primogenitors seemingly wander the world randomly in small groups or alone, but they only fight if provoked or attacked. Since they cannot speak any language, what they truly are, will forever be a mystery.