The Brine Choir's forces
The Brine Choir's units in Messalith: Choristers, Descants, Antiphons and the giant Bourdon. Stats, weapons, behaviour and how a Choir force is made up.
A many-voiced, brine-adapted people from off-world who settled the dying sea long before the exiles. Their Choristers sing to drain Will and break nerve. They fight the Court for Earth and to defend their brine-lake home.
Ruler: the Deep Voice. Soldiers: Choristers.
The Choir wears no crowns: the Court forges those. Their weapons are salt and stone-glass, and their song. Every Choir kind sings in the Choir's turn. For who they are and what they want, see the Brine Choir.
At a glance
| Unit | HP | Aim | Defence | Mobility | Sight | Weapon | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chorister | 8 | 55 | 0 | 4 | 9 | Dirge | 1.85 m |
| Descant | 5 | 60 | 10 | 8 | 9 | Salt Javelin | 1.15 m |
| Antiphon | 10 | 60 | 15 | 6 | 9 | Keening Blade | 1.75 m |
| Bourdon | 16 | 55 | 15 | 4 | 8 | Slab Blade | 3.2 m |
Chorister
The Choir's soldier and the core of every Choir force: slow, tough and hard to shift. Choristers sing the Dirge from a distance. A hit does little damage and drains 10 Will for the rest of the mission, down to a floor of 10, until a Mend lifts it. They sing at the exile with the lowest Will, and they will sing at worse odds than a Warden will shoot. See Will.
| Weapon | Range (best) | Damage | Aim | Cover | Conduction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dirge | 8 (8) | 1-3 | 0 | counts | no | a hit drains 10 Will |
How it fights
- Keeps its distance: it wants the nearest known exile 6-8 tiles away, in cover, and weighs high ground at 10 a level.
- Fires at the exile with the lowest Will, if its best chance is at least 30%. Below that it sets overwatch.
Notes
- Resists a Voice's command on 50% or less (a Voice's crown above Tier I takes 10 off).
- Falls with 1 Choir brine-glass on 30% of kills.
- One Chorister in each pod is drawn as a Cantor, taller (2.05 m). It has the same rules as the rest.
Descant
A small, quick skirmisher, 1.15 metres tall and hard to hit for its size. Descants come in pairs or packs. They open with a volley of salt javelins and then close with glass knives.
| Weapon | Range (best) | Damage | Aim | Cover | Conduction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Javelin | 8 (5) | 3-5 | 0 | counts | no | 2 throws, then the fallback |
| Glass Knife | beside it | 3-4 | +15 | ignores it | no | - |
How it fights
- Throws first, then closes in with its fallback blade once the throws are spent.
- Fires at the shot with the best expected damage, if its best chance is at least 35%. Below that it sets overwatch.
Notes
- Resists a Voice's command on 20% or less (a Voice's crown above Tier I takes 10 off).
- Falls with 1 Choir brine-glass on 20% of kills.
Antiphon
A melee shock trooper in a stone-glass breastplate. Its keening blade carries the song: a hit drains Will exactly as the Dirge does, with the same floor, and a Mend clears it the same way.
| Weapon | Range (best) | Damage | Aim | Cover | Conduction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keening Blade | beside it | 3-5 | +15 | ignores it | no | a hit drains 10 Will |
How it fights
- Closes in: a tile beside a known exile is worth far more to it than cover.
Notes
- Resists a Voice's command on 40% or less (a Voice's crown above Tier I takes 10 off).
- Falls with 1 Choir brine-glass on 45% of kills.
Bourdon
The giant, 3.2 metres tall, in slab armour with a heavy blade. It comes on every siege stage and with any force from a garrison of 5. For all its size it fills one tile.
| Weapon | Range (best) | Damage | Aim | Cover | Conduction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slab Blade | beside it | 5-8 | +10 | ignores it | no | - |
How it fights
- Closes in: a tile beside a known exile is worth far more to it than cover.
Notes
- A Voice's commands never bend it.
- Dread doesn't shake it.
- A giant: Wrench won't drag it and Aloft won't lift it. It still fills one tile.
- Falls with 2 Choir brine-glass on 100% of kills.
How a Choir force splits
Choristers are the core. Descants join in pairs from a force of 4, and as a pack of 3 from 8. An Antiphon joins from 5. Choristers are never fewer than a third of the force: when they would be, the Antiphon steps out first, then the Descants a pair at a time. Raiding parties are too small for a Bourdon. In a pod, the Descants stand nearest the squad, kept together as a pack, and the Choristers deepest.
| Force | Choristers | Descants | Antiphons | Bourdons | With a Bourdon forced in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 / 0 / 0 / 1 |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 / 2 / 0 / 1 |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 / 2 / 1 / 1 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 / 2 / 1 / 1 |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 / 3 / 1 / 1 |
| 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 / 3 / 1 / 1 |
By mission:
| Mission | Garrison | Enemies | Choristers | Descants | Antiphons | Bourdons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defence | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Siege, outer works | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Siege, walls | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Siege, citadel | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Attack | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Defence | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Siege, outer works | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Siege, walls | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Siege, citadel | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Attack | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Defence | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Siege, outer works | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Siege, walls | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, citadel | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Attack | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Defence | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Siege, outer works | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, walls | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, citadel | 4 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Attack | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Defence | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, outer works | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, walls | 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Siege, citadel | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |