The Hastia-Angaran Common Army The Hastia-Angaran system was found in the mid-30th millenium, a bountiful system with three habitable worlds. Hastian musicians and artists are known throughout the sector for the great works, and the Hastian Imperial Guard regiments were once legendary soldiers on par with the Mordian Iron Guard. In recent centuries, the system has become a relatively minor world, longing for former glory.

Hastia, the first founded, is home to much of the ruling and administrative classes. Its ruling nobility control the entire star system, to the resentment of the Angarans and Bergen-Horavians. The planet is mostly mountainous in its southern quadrant, with the north home to flat plains and

steppes. Because of their upper class nature, most Hastians speak High Gothic, and consider lower dialects beneath them. Hastians are a cultured and honorable people, though Angarans and Bergen-Horavians often find them snooty and to outright oppressive. Angara was founded second, primarily by military elements from Hastia for use as an outpost. While theoretically its planetary governor has equal power as Hastia’s, he or she is selected by the Hastian governor and thus remains a puppet to Hastian interests. As a military colony, the entirety of the Angaran population is considered for impressment into the planetary defense forces or the Imperial Guard regiments. The world is ringed in fortresses and training camps, and a strong martial tradition runs through Angaran culture. Angarans mostly speak Low Gothic, the language of the common Imperial citizen. Angarans are a hardy, resolute people, though Hastians consider them second-class and Bergen-Horavians think them soft.

Bergen-Horavia was colonized fairly recently, perhaps 500 years ago. In fact, during that period it was founded twice, and then an administrative error erased that a colony had been established, thus the dual naming scheme. The world remains mostly frontier, with only one large hive complex. It also has no planetary governor as of yet, and its interests are unrepresented in Hastia-Angaran politics. The world is incredibly mountainous, with only a few flat plains for larger settlements. Bergen-Horavians speak a local dialect of Low Gothic. They are rugged and independent, but both Hastians and Angarans look down on them as uncultured. Indeed, the Hastia-Angaran Imperial Guard regiment, the the Hastia-Angaran Common Army, is

currently considered one of the least effective Guard regiments in the sector, if not the Segmentum. Due to a combination of supply problems and command incompetence, the Hastia-Angarans are almost never successful in any battle they may join. When they do succeed, it is often with heavy casualties. Their incompetence can be explained by the fact that the officer corps is selected from Hastian academies, where prowess is often measured more by personal connections than by actual strategic knowledge. 79% of the Common Army officers are Hastian. The supply problems can be explained by Hastia-Angara’s relatively small industrial capacity. While the Adeptus Mechanicus has a presence in the Hastia-Angarran system, it is mostly limited to Hastia, with a few factories located on Angara. Even so, the overall industrial development of Hastia-Angara is relatively low compared to most Imperial worlds. This may explain some of the Hastian-Angaran Common Army’s supply problems; because of its inability to produce technology independently, the Common Army depends on shipments from the nearby Forge World of Lucius, which are often attacked or sent to, either by error or by design,

the Death Korps of Krieg. Hastian regiments tend to have better equipment, as the system government tends to redirect resources to its Landwehr and cavalry regiments, but worse leadership, due to the inefficiencies of the Hastian military academies. Angaran and Bergen-Horavian regiments may have slightly better leadership, as the Angaran’s militarism and Bergen-Horavian independence tends to create good officers, but their regiments are often poorly equipped. Compounding the Hastia-Angaran’s other military problems is their relatively small Imperial Guard and PDF force, especially compared to its nearest neighbor, Krieg. While the entirety of Krieg’s population is mobilized for its Death Korps, the Hastia-Angarrans have managed, through bureaucratic incompetence, lack of equipment, and other factors, to conscript just 0.29% of

their population.

The overall ineffectiveness of the Common Army has lead the Departmento Munitorum to often passover it when looking for forces to supply its needs, and thus the Common Army’s troops rarely see combat, the last time being a brief secession on Bergen-Horavia shortly after the planet was colonized. The Hastia-Angaran Common Army is divided primarily into infantry, cavalry, and artillery sections. In addition, the army sports engineering and mounted artillery regiments, often attached to a mainline force. Because of their lack of industrial capacity (and a possible clerical error), the Common Army has no armored units. All regiments are trained on Lucius-pattern lasguns and lascarbines, due to their proximity to that Forge World.

Infantry units come in both standard regiments and the elite Landwehrs. The infantry fight using a variety of tactics, mostly utilizing trench warfare due to their lack of armored support to make quick breakthroughs against well-defended opponents. This leaves Common Army troops often stuck in deadlocks against equally-armed troops, or worse, flattened by rapid artillery bombardments combined with fast armored assaults. Two notable regiments are the Hastia-Angaran Common 16th and the Hastian 19th Landwehr. The 16th Infantry Regiment, led

by Colonel Maximilian von Dietrichstein, fought bravely during the Battle of Cygnus-Alpha I. Surprisingly competent for a Hastian officer, von Dietrichstein has a knack for effective defensive warfare. The Hastian 19th Landwehr is one of the oldest and most prestigious Landwehr regiments, and its colonel, August von Erichsonfeld, is adept at navigating the politics of supply lines. On the battlefield, however, he is less adept, often leading his troops into useless attacks, believing them to be invincible. Cavalry regiments are almost exclusively trained on Hastia and are divided into dragoon, hussar, and uhlan regiments. The dragoons operate as mounted infantry, carrying lascarbines and sabres. Hussars act as heavy cavalry, mostly utilizing sabres with a laspistol or stub revolver as a backup weapon. Uhlans carry lances tipped with a variety of explosives or a simple cutting edge. Hastia-Angaran command believes that its larger supply of cavalry can make up for its lack of armored support; in reality, cavalry units are often wiped out when they attempt to breakthrough heavily defended positions. However, Hastia has a strong tradition of its brightly-uniformed and noble cavalrymen, and so the units are maintained. The 4th Cavalry, “The Red Dragoons,” are such named for their scarlet uniforms. Taught never to retreat in the face of danger, the 4th Cavalry has been rebuilt dozens of times, after all of its men died in battle. While Hastia-Angara has a relatively smaller artillery corps than other Imperial Guard armies, they can nonetheless still field a large number of Earthshaker and other types of artillery batteries to support their troops. The Common Army utilizes Earthshakers both for indirect fire bombardments and direct fire support. Lucius has also been offloading some older, lighter, direct fire guns to the Hastia-Angaran regiments for their purposes. These guns are often set with caisson and limbers for use with horse artillery. Artillerymen do their job with duty and honor, and their commanders’ exploits rarely reach the annals of history beyond how long they

bombarded this place for. It is with regret that we have no records of any sort on the specialties of the Hastia-Angaran artillery regiments over the years, possibly lost to time forever. Finally, the Hastia-Angarans have their engineering corps, primarily used for building trenches and demolishing enemy structures. The engineers is almost always under-equipped and sent into the most dangerous parts of battle: taking down bunkers, ripping up barbed wire, or providing forward fire support, often under heavy fire. The engineering corps is known for being surprisingly competent amongst the Common Army forces, but whether this is due to good management or propensity for attracting ingenious soldiers is uncertain. The drums of war pound across the Uhulis Sector, and the Hastia-Angarans are expected to bring whatever forces they can to bear. Their grim soldiers march to war once again, eager to fight, but not knowing what threats they might face.

The Regiments

Hastia-Angaran Common Army, 4th Cavalry Regiment - “The Red Dragoons” Home World Highborn (Hastia) (3) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Fellowship, Intelligence, or Weapon Skill Skills: Common Lore (Administratum), Inquiry, and Linguistics (High Gothic) Duty and Honor: -10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are not highborn. +10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are highborn. Abundant Resources: +10 to Squad Logistics Rating. The Finest Tutors: Start with Air of Authority or Peer (Nobility) Wounds: -1 to starting Wounds. Commanding Officer: Maverick (2) Starting Talents: Resistance (Fear) Regiment Type: Dragoons (5) Characteristics: +3 Agility, –3 Ballistic Skill Starting Skills: Survival Starting Talents: Catfall Standard Kit: 1 cavalry sabre, 1 Lucius-pattern lascarbine and 4 charge packs, 1 flak jacket and flak helmet, 1 horse, 1 saddle, 2 saddlebags, 1 set of riding tack (reins, harness, etc.) Training Doctrine: Die Hards (3) Starting Aptitude: Toughness Special Equipment Doctrine: Well-Provisioned Riders (3) Standard Kit: Increase number of clips for weapons by 2. Gain an additional grenade of each type. +10 bonus on all Logistics tests to obtain food and parts for maintaining riding beasts. Drawbacks Honour Bound (-4) Pride Over Life: Members of this regiment must pass a Difficult (–10) Willpower Test to refuse any formal challenge or ignore any other major slight to their honour. Gain a -10 Willpower penalty on failure for the remainder of the session per challenge refused. Additional Equipment Additional uniform for dress use (5)

Lascarbine to Best Craftsmanship (10) Flak jacket to Good Craftsmanship (5) Flak helmet to Good Craftsmanship (5) Cavalry sabre to Good Craftsmanship (5) Favoured Weapons Basic: Boltpistol Melee: Cavalry sabre

Hastia-Angaran Common Army, 16th Infantry Regiment Home World Fortress World (Angara) (3) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Ballistic Skill, Willpower, or Toughness Skills: Common Lore (Imperial Guard, Imperium, War), Linguistics (Low Gothic) Hated Enemy: Gain Hatred (Traitors). Must resist attacking Traitors with a -10 Willpower Test. Combat Doctrine: Start with Nerves of Steel or Sprint. Bred for War: Must make a Willpower Test to go against regulations of the Imperial Guard. Wounds: Normal Commanding Officer Melancholic (2) Starting Talent: Air of Authority Regiment Type Siege Infantry (2) Characteristics: +3 Toughness, –3 Intelligence Starting Skills: Tech-Use Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel Standard Kit: One Lucius-pattern M36 lasgun and six charge packs, one suit of Imperial Guard flak armour, one respirator, four empty sandbags and one entrenching tool, two frag grenades and two photon flash grenades Training Doctrines Iron Discipline (2) Starting Aptitude: Willpower Close Order Drill (3) Talents: Combat Formation or Double Team Additional Equipment Medikit (15) Lasgun to Good Craftsmanship (5) Filtration plugs (5) Bayonet (3) Chrono (2) Favoured Weapons Basic: Long las Heavy: Heavy bolter

Hastian Landwehrs, 19th Infantry Regiment Home World Highborn (Hastia) (3) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Fellowship, Intelligence, or Weapon Skill Skills: Common Lore (Administratum), Inquiry, and Linguistics (High Gothic) Duty and Honor: -10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are not highborn. +10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are highborn. Abundant Resources: +10 to Squad Logistics Rating. The Finest Tutors: Start with Air of Authority or Peer (Nobility) Wounds: -1 to starting Wounds. Commanding Officer Sanguine (2) Starting Talents: Die Hard Regiment Type Landwehr (3) Characteristics: +3 Perception, –3 Toughness Starting Skills: Awareness Starting Talents: Combat Sense Standard Kit: One Lucius-pattern lascarbine and four charge packs, one flak vest and flak helmet, two frag grenades and two smoke grenades Training Doctrines Reserves (2) Starting Talents: Vigilant Sharpshooters (4) Starting Aptitude: Ballistic Skill Starting Talents: Deadeye Shot Special Equipment Doctrine Well-Provisioned (3) Standard Kit: Increase number of clips for weapons by 2. Gain an additional grenade of each type. +10 bonus on all Logistics tests to obtain fuel and parts for maintaining vehicles and equipment. Drawbacks Cult of Chivalry (+3) Code of Honour: Must pass a Difficult (–10) Willpower Test before attempting to use the Deceive Skill (even on an enemy); on failure, must either tell the truth or remain silent.. –10 penalty to Scrutiny Tests Opposing the Deceive Skill.

Additional Equipment Add a Favoured Heavy Weapon to the Squad (15) Additional uniform for dress use (5) Lascarbine to Good Craftsmanship (5) Bayonet (3) Chrono (2) Favoured Weapons Basic: Plasma gun Heavy: Heavy bolter

Bergen-Horavian Common Army, 25th Field Artillery Regiment Home World Frontier World (Bergen-Horavia) (4) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Agility, Ballistic Skill, or Perception Life on the Verge: Start with Combat Sense or Quick Draw. Independent Operation: The Comrades of a frontier world character count as being within Cohesion so long as they are within 15 metres of their Player Character. Distrustful of Authority: –20 penalty to Interaction Skill Tests made to interact with unfamiliar figures of authority and impose the same penalty on Interaction Skill Tests made on them by those people. These penalties can be waived at the GM’s discretion, if the frontier world characters are dealing with individuals who have earned their trust. Commanding Officer Phlegmatic (1) Starting Skills: Common Lore (Imperial Guard), Common Lore (War) Regiment Type Artillery (4) Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, –3 Toughness Starting Skills: Operate (Surface) Starting Talents: Bombardier Standard Kit: 1 Lucius-pattern lascarbine and four charge packs, 1 Earthshaker artillery gun per Squad, 1 pair of magnoculars, 1 vox-caster per Squad. Training Doctrines Iron Discipline (3) Starting Aptitude: Willpower Special Equipment Doctrine Scavengers (3) Standard Regimental Kit: The regiment may choose to gain a +10 bonus on any Logistics Test. However, on any test where this bonus is used, if any doubles are rolled (22, 33, 44, etc.) whether the Test was a success or a failure, then the scavenging and stealing attracts unwanted attention from higher authorities within the Imperial Guard or the Departmento Munitorum. Drawbacks Poorly Provisioned (-4) Overworked and Underfed: Poorly provisioned units receive half the usual number of clips or charge packs for their main weapons and half the number of rations that their regiment rules would normally provide. If the regiment includes vehicles, its members suffer a –10 Penalty on all Logistics Tests made to acquire fuel, ammunition, and spare parts for their vehicles. In addition, whenever a member of a Poorly Provisioned regiment successfully acquires

equipment, the Game Master rolls 1d10; on a result of 4 or lower, the equipment that they receive is of Poor Craftsmanship, regardless of what its Craftsmanship would otherwise have been. Additional Equipment Gas mask (8) Anointed maintenance toolkit (8) Flak helmet (8) Lascarbine to Good Craftsmanship (5) Bayonet (3) Favoured Weapons Basic: Boltpistol Vehicle: Earthshaker artillery gun

Hastian Landwehrs 1st Horse Artillery Home World Highborn (Hastia) (3) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Fellowship, Intelligence, or Weapon Skill Skills: Common Lore (Administratum), Inquiry, and Linguistics (High Gothic) Duty and Honor: -10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are not highborn. +10 to Charm, Deceive, and Inquiry tests with characters who are highborn. Abundant Resources: +10 to Squad Logistics Rating. The Finest Tutors: Start with Air of Authority or Peer (Nobility) Wounds: -1 to starting Wounds. Commanding Officer Maverick (2) Starting Talent: Resistance (Fear) Regiment Type Horse Artillery (8) Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, +3 Agility, -3 Willpower Starting Skills: Survival Starting Talents: Bombardier, Catfall Standard Kit: 1 laspistol and four charge packs, 1 cavalry sabre, 1 pair of magnoculars, 1 horse, 1 saddle, 2 saddlebags, 1 set of riding tack (reins, harness, etc.), 1 vox-caster per Squad, 1 set of caisson and limbers per Squad, 1 Earthshaker artillery gun per Squad Training Doctrines Skirmishers (4) Starting Aptitude: Agility Starting Talent: Skilled Rider or Ambush Special: When a member of a Skirmisher regiment hits a Surprised or Unaware target as part of a Strike and Fade Mounted Special Action, increases the distance the Mount can move after the attack by a number of metres equal to the Mount’s Agility Bonus. Special Equipment Doctrine Well-Provisioned Riders (3) Standard Kit: Increase number of clips for weapons by 2. Gain an additional grenade of each type. +10 bonus on all Logistics tests to obtain food and parts for maintaining riding beasts. Drawbacks Incompetent Leadership (-5) Order of Fools: Members of this regiment suffer a –10 penalty to Command Tests made during combat. Members of this regiment must make a Routine (+20) Command or Intimidate Test as part of any Comrade Order that does not already require a Command Test; if the character fails the Test, the Comrade refuses the order due to a learned distrust for authority or fouls it up. The

foolishness of this regiment’s leaders should have a noticeable effect upon the lives of the Player Characters (hurling them needlessly into danger, deploying unwise tactics against the enemy, falling for obvious traps, mistaking enemies for allies or allies for enemies, and other such blunders) at the Game Master’s discretion. Cult of Chivalry (-3) Code of Honour: Must pass a Difficult (–10) Willpower Test before attempting to use the Deceive Skill (even on an enemy); on failure, must either tell the truth or remain silent.. –10 penalty to Scrutiny Tests Opposing the Deceive Skill. Additional Equipment Laspistol to Best Craftsmanship (10) Flak helmet (8) Cavalry sabre to Good Craftsmanship (5) Additional uniform for dress use (5) Tool kit (2) Favoured Weapons Basic: Boltpistol Vehicle: Earthshaker artillery gun

Hastia-Angaran Common Army, Engineering Corps Home World Fortress World (Angara) (3) Characteristics: Any two of +3 to Ballistic Skill, Willpower, or Toughness Skills: Common Lore (Imperial Guard, Imperium, War), Linguistics (Low Gothic) Hated Enemy: Gain Hatred (Traitors). Must resist attacking Traitors with a -10 Willpower Test. Combat Doctrine: Start with Nerves of Steel or Sprint. Bred for War: Must make a Willpower Test to go against regulations of the Imperial Guard. Wounds: Normal Commanding Officer Circumspect (2) Starting Talents: Foresight Regiment Type Mortarmen (4) Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, +3 Toughness, –3 Perception Starting Skills: Tech-Use Starting Talents: Bombardier Standard Kit: 1 auxiliary grenade launcher weapon upgrade, 1 additional krak and frag grenade, 1 suit of light carapace armour, 1 deadspace earpiece, 2 mortars per Squad. Training Doctrines Demolitions (3) Characteristics: +2 Intelligence Starting Skills: Tech-Use, Operate (Surface) Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel Standard Regimental Kit: One respirator and 1 kg demolition charge per Squad Member. Special: Due to their training and experience, characters from a demolitionists regiment gain an additional +10 bonuses to Tech-Use Tests made for the Demolitions special use of the Skill. Sappers (3) Characteristics: +2 Intelligence Starting Skills: Security, Tech-Use, Trade (Technomat) Starting Talents: Technical Knock Standard Regimental Kit: One lascutter per Player Character. Special: Sappers are trained to both build and disassemble fortifications, undermine walls, and similar duties. Characters from this regiment gain a +10 bonus to Tech-Use and Trade (Technomat) Tests to construct or disassemble a structure.

Drawbacks Poorly Provisioned (-4) Overworked and Underfed: Poorly provisioned units receive half the usual number of clips or charge packs for their main weapons and half the number of rations that their regiment rules would normally provide. If the regiment includes vehicles, its members suffer a –10 Penalty on all Logistics Tests made to acquire fuel, ammunition, and spare parts for their vehicles. In addition, whenever a member of a Poorly Provisioned regiment successfully acquires equipment, the Game Master rolls 1d10; on a result of 4 or lower, the equipment that they receive is of Poor Craftsmanship, regardless of what its Craftsmanship would otherwise have been Favoured Weapons Basic: Boltpistol Heavy: Mortar A note from the author: These regiments have been designed to as closely fit the rules of Only War and its supplements as possible. Where necessary, I have made minor changes to better fit the mechanics I wanted the regiment to have. An example would be the 4th Cavalry, where the Well-Provisioned Special Equipment Doctrine has been changed to Well-Provision Riders, changing the fuel and parts bonus to a more cavalry-oriented scheme.