Promo2009

Colonel Raylen Durandus of the Imperial Postal Service is the Promo 2009 Flintloque miniature. This miniature is special, it is only supplied free with orders placed with Alternative Armies or its agents from 17th November 2009 until 7th January 2010. One Colonel Durandus is supplied per order regardless of order value. After this date the mold containing all imprints of this miniature will be destroyed and it shall no longer exist. This makes this unique miniature all the more special.

The insert supplied with the miniature gives you all the information you need to get Colonel Durandus on the table as part of your Flintloque and or Slaughterloo games. From his own background to the Postal Service itself along with special rules for both game systems and a uniform guide and more. This page has most of this information on it below.  So read on and learn more. Messengers of the Imperial Postal Service lead a dangerous and exciting life...where will yours deliver their sealed dispatches to?

WHAT IS THE IMPERIAL POSTAL SERVICE

Every Army on Valon has a general staff, it is essential to the effective running of any military campaign involving tens of thousands of soldiers. These troops need feed, clothed, armed and more than anything else they need orders. Orders are the stuff of battle, with them victory, without them certain defeat.

In the Ferach Empire the business of delivering the most important of orders, or dispatches as they are called, falls to the Imperial Postal Service. The IPS carries the dispatches from the hand of the Emperor Mordred himself to Marshal’s commanding entire Corps in every theatre of the Mordredian Wars. These journeys are carried out at high speed and at high risk for messengers with the Emperors dispatches are prized targets to the enemies of the Empire. Mordred knows full well that the task of being a messenger is often deadly and as a result he personally picks the officers who will become the deliverers of his messages in the field. Only those Elves (sometimes other allied races but very rarely) of exception talent, the ability to stay alive, are chosen. An envoy of the Emperor arrives at the officers quarters and makes them an offer none have so far refused; threat or promise none know.

The Imperial Postal Service is controlled from Lyonesse capital of Armorica and heart of the Ferach Empire. A small staff in one marble lined office (The Jolly Factory as Messengers joke to each other under their breath) direct its activities and handle its uniforms and armoury. Messengers report here when able to be assigned their dispatches (though they travel with the Emperor when he is abroad) and to be given their equipment. IPS Messengers carry a very eclectic range of weapons and are all expert soldiers who are extremely dangerous to cross swords with. Debonair in polite society but also quite capable of winning any tavern brawl messengers such as Colonel Raylen Durandus rarely fail to deliver.

There are currently some fifty plus IPS Messengers all over Urop and beyond, some on missions that will take weeks or months to complete. It is a life of high adventure indeed in the Imperial Postal Service!

IMPERIAL POSTAL SERVICE - UNIFORM SCHEME
The uniform worn by the messengers of the IPS varies by location but in general it is as follows.
Use this guide when painting your Messengers.

Elf Flesh Tone Pale Skin
Tunic Dark Blue
Breeches Grey
Headwear and Boots Black or Dark Blue
Facings (collar, cuffs, plumes) Imperial Green
Equipment and Strapping White
Musket Furniture Dark Brown
Metal Work (Musket Barrel) Gun Metal


Here are the character descriptions and special rules unique to Colonel Raylen Durandus of the Imperial Postal Service.

Use these in your Flintloque and Slaughterloo games where applicable. Apart from these special rules the Colonel acts as normal in play.

Colonel Raylen Durandus
There are few like Raylen Durandus he is a legend in the Grande Armee du Norde, a messenger of the Imperial Postal Service who has carried dispatches among the marshals of the Armee leading up to and after the Moskova disaster and the Retreat. Strikingly hansom, brave and hugely talented Durandus served with the 73eme Light Infantry before his hand picked promotion. He favours travelling on foot and the firepower of a grenade launching carbine to see off the Zombies that plague his missions. He has the ear of the Emperor and has ever yet failed to get his dispatch to the officer it was intended for...unless of course you count those recipients he found dead, frozen and mutilated.

In Flintloque the Colonel is treated as a Legendary / Light Infantry / Elite Ferach Elf armed with a Grenade Launching Carbine (5 Standard Grenades) a Ferach Duelling Pistol and a Knife along with his postal bag. With this status and these weapons along with the following special skills etc he costs 112 Points.

Colonel Durandus is an exception solider who has killed dozens of enemies in all manner of ways. As a result he has the following magicke / skills / traits / flaws to his character.

Wylde Magicke - Frighten (potent)
Skills - Emperors Seal / Stealth / Astonishing Reactions / Alert
Traits - Steady Elf Hands / Graceful Steps
Flaws - Mailman

Here are the rules for the italicised unique skill and unique flaw.

Unique Flaw - Mailman
This special flaw applies only to Messengers of any postal service if taken and reduces the points cost of the character by -7 Points. During play the primary mission of the messenger is never forgotten by the character, the dispatches must get through. As a result the character may never be Section Leader and may not take part in an Command Point paid Coordinated Actions or such. Also the character does not gain any section bonuses for Musicians or Standard Bearers as they are focused on their task to too great a degree.

Unique Skill - Emperors Seal
This special skill applies only to those who encounter the Emperor or the highest echelons of command such as Messengers. This skill costs 11 Points. The Emperors Seal is a gilt medal only given by Mordred himself to those who carry his correspondence to Marshals and all the others the Imperial Postal Service delivers to. Upon seeing this medal any Elf will obey the orders of the Messenger on pain of torture or death. This means that all Ferach Elves within 15cm of the character may roll upon receiving a Shaken Token during the turn. On a result of 1-2 the Shaken Token is removed. This may apply to any number of characters any number of times though only once per turn per character. This INCLUDES the bearing character as well.

Messenger Special Flintloque Rules

When a Messenger is in play it alters the game to a degree as any special character does. A messenger will be part of a section, typically a guest whom the section are escorting to his important target, but he may never be Section Leader or become Section Leader. Messengers must have the Mailman and Emperors Seal unique flaw and skill.

The scenario will most likely include a reason for the Messenger to be on the field, this will dictate his actions in play. The mailbag carried by a messenger is his most vital possession, he WILL NOT part with it. It does impede melee resulting in a -2 to all melee rolls the character makes. If a melee is lost by the character roll D10 on a result of 1-3 the mailbag is taken by the enemy; it must be retrieved OR the scenario is automatically lost regardless of other criteria. It can only be got back by killing the figure who took it.


These following rules cover only the character of Colonel Raylen Durandus of the Imperial Postal Service.

Rules for the actual organisation of the Postal Service can be applied for if desired to Alternative Armies.

Use these rules in your Slaughterloo games when using Raylen Durandus.

Raylen Durandus (Special) (35 Points)
There may only be one of this character per Army and he may only be used in Ferach Empire armies not those of the Grand Alliance, the Undead or any others. Colonel Durandus inspires great feelings of being valued in the senior officers he delivers the Emperors dispatches to. As a result of this he confers the following alterations before play begins.

Colonel Durandus need not be represented on the tabletop but if he is then place him in base to base contact with your C-in-C. He cannot be killed in play but if the C-In-C loses the battle then roll 1D6 on a result of 5 or 6 he leaves the C-In-C and reports back to the Emperor of his failure. This loses the benefits of the Colonel to the C-In-C’s forces. Colonel Durandus reduces the cost in points of the C-In-C and one General under that C-In-C’s direct control by -10% when creating your divisions. These points can be used elsewhere for other troops of artefacts etc. Points are NOT recalculated if the Colonel is lost. During play the Colonel adds a +1 to the Morale Rating of any friendly Units within 45cm.


FURTHER ADVENTURES

There is more to the Promo 2009 Miniature than this insert and the great miniature itself. Alternative Armies has a Death in the Snow scenario involving Raylen Durandus entitled ‘The Postman Always Kabooms Twice’ which was used in the testing of the book 5026 Flintloque 3rd Edition - Death in the Snow.