The Imperial Army is the massive and powerful land-based military force of the Jade Empire.
Background[]
Founded at some point (presumably early) in the Jade Empire's history, the Imperial Army has existed for centuries. It attacked the Spirit Monks' at the Temple at Dirge and the Emperor Sun Hai and his two brothers led its soldiers in the assault. After Sun Li disappeared and Death's Hand rose to power as one of the Emperor's must trusted advisors and leader of the Order of the Lotus Monks, the Imperial Army's role began to change. The Emperor oversaw the end of the drought and the return of peace and prosperity to the land, but behind the scenes, ominous things were happening. The Order of the Lotus Monks was reformed as the Lotus Assassins, and the Imperial Army found itself increasingly sidelined as mysterious, sentient clay golems began to replace human foot soldiers and the Lotus Assassins quickly emerged as the new favored warriors of the Emperor.
Conscription[]
Not all members of the Army served in the ranks by choice. The Imperial Army made use of conscripts, soldiers who were involuntarily called to serve Empire and Emperor. Some of these men were brought in abruptly, like Chen Yi, a peasant who was literally handed the blood-stained uniform of a soldier the Lotus Assassins had just killed and told he was in the Army. Unsurprisingly, many of these conscripts were poorly-trained and poorly-motivated. The Imperial Army did not even bother issuing weapons to many of them; the conscripts posted outside the gate to Old Tien's Landing had to fight intruders hand-to-hand.
Ranks[]
The Imperial Army is known to have the following ranks included in its hierarchy:
- General
- Captain
- Lieutenant
- Sergeant
Operations[]
During the events of the Last Spirit Monk's quest to reach Sun Li the Glorious Strategist, the Imperial Army served a supporting role to the Lotus Assassins and Death's Hand.
- At Old Tien's Landing, a mixed force of conscripts and regulars supplemented the Lotus Assassin force as they searched the ruins for gems and a fragment of the Spirit Monk's amulet. Soldiers also accompanied Inquisitor Lim and a handful of Lotus Assassins into Lord Yun's forest north of the town to confront the Spirit Monk.
- In the Imperial City, where the Army's soldiers did little more than basic guard duty, soldiers were ordered to be ready to arrest the person the Lotus Assassins called "The Scourge of the South", the Last Spirit Monk. The Assassins did not provide many specifics on how to do this or even what the "Scourge" looked like or was actually named, leading to considerable confusion among the soldiers.
Members[]
- Sun Li the Glorious Strategist - former leader
- General Stone Kao - retired
- Captain Sen- Imperial City guard captain
- Iron Soldier - former, dishonorably discharged
- Chen Yi - conscript
- Imperial City guard captain (unnamed)
- Imperial City guard (multiple NPCs)
- Imperial soldier (multiple NPCs)
- Conscript (multiple NPC's)