The Khmer
An Army List for 'Hordes of the Things'
by Karl Heinz Ranitzsch

Khmer is the old name of the people of the country of Kambodscha ( or Kampuchea ) in South East Asia. They had a thriving empire in the middle ages and built the famous temples of Angkor Wat.

Basic Khmer Army

1 King or General
* on Elephant - Behemoth General @ 4AP or
* in Chariot - Hero General @ 4AP or
* on Horse - Rider General @ 2AP or
* on Rhinoceros - Knight General @ 2AP
* on Foot - Blade General @ 2AP
1 Prince - Hero @ 4AP or Sneaker @ 3AP
1-3 Elephants - Behemoths @ 4AP
0-1 Catapult carried by Elephant - Artillery @ 3AP
0-2 Maiden Guard - Spears @2AP
0-2 Guard soldiers - Blades @2AP
2-8 Warriors - Warband @2AP
2-8 Archers or Crossbowmen - Shooters @2AP
0-2 Forest Hunters - Lurkers @ 1AP

These elements are the components of a quasi-historical Khmer army in HOTT terms.

The only fantasy item is the Rhino-mounted general. One of the Kings of old used to ride a tame Rhinoceros. Once , when he went to visit his mistress Muk Reaho, he tied the Rhino to a tree. The beast got bored, broke the line and run away, causing much devastation. The King cursed the Rhino to carry
his saddle forever. Hence the modern hump-backed appearance of the Rhinoceros.

Appropiate enemies would be Thais, Vietnamese, Chinese or another Khmer army. Civil wars commonly occur in the stories, usually an evil Noble usurps the throne of the rightful king. Years later, the King's son appears in disguise and succeeds in claiming back his throne.

Thai and Vietnames armies differ little from Khmer ones. In the tales, China usually interferes in Khmer life by sending envoys or spies rather than armies.

Fantasy Elements - Good

Prince Prohmkel - Flying hero @ 6AP
Apsaras (Angel Fairies) - Flyers @ 2AP
Indra - God @ 4AP or Flyer @ 2AP
Ramsay Sak - Magician @ 4AP
Guardian Spirits - Flyers @ 2AP
Were-Crocodiles - Water Lurkers @ 1AP
Buddhist Monk - Cleric @ 3AP

Prince Prohmkel is another of the dispossessed princes. When he was due to be born, a prophecy warned the evil King about it and all pregnant women were executed. When Prohmkels mother was burned on the funerary pyre, her womb split opened and the baby rolled out. Prohmkel survived, but was severely burned on arms and legs. Even when he grew up, he could only crawl and not hold things in his hands. One day in the forest, he met a hermit who healed him and gave him a white horse on which he flew back to claim his throne.

Apsaras are the fairy-like angels of Hindu legend.

The Hindu god Indra appears in various shapes on Earth: as a blue light, a shower of flowers, beautiful young man, an old crone, a large vulture (hence the Flyer classification) or two cocks, one black, one white.

Ramsay Sak "Open-hair girl" is a beautiful young woman. She has long, splendid hair. Whenever she combs her hair, she can cast powerful spells such as raising storms or turning the Sea to land

Guardian spirits protect villages from evil. They are not very effective, fleeing, for example, from a Yeak, and not returning until the hero prince has killed the monster.

Were-crocodiles can change shape into human beings. They often appear as Buddhist monks. Were-Crocodiles often help fishermen or travellers and defend them from wild crocodiles. Buddhist monks use them as riding animals. Unfortunately, they are not very bright. When threatened by a wild crocodile, they tend to swallow their riders to protect him in their stomach. The riders rarely survive the experience. Afterwards the crocodile is terribly sorry.

Fantasy Elements - Good or Evil

Brahmin - Magician @ 4AP
Nagas - Water Lurkers @ 1AP
User of Magic Crystal - Flyer @ 2AP

These elements could appear on either side of a good/evil battle.

Indian Brahmin magicians are often described as evil mages, but there are also examples of good ones.

Nagas are beautiful mermaids with a snake's rather than a fish's tail. They tend to lure young men into the water, not to eat them, but to marry them (and live happily ever after, presumably).

Magic Crystals allow their user to fly.

Fantasy Elements - Evil

Yeak - Behemoth @ 4AP
Aton - Water Lurker or Behemoth @ 4AP
Travelling Theatre - Sneaker @ 3AP
Forest spirits - Lurker @ 1AP

Yeak (Sanskrit: Yaksha) in Khmer Legends are ogre demons (often female). Yeak are depicted as a ferocious figure in armour, with a pointed helmet on his head, a wide mouth, long canines, swollen eyes and slanting eyebrows, holding a long stick in his hand. But Yeak can change shape to a human figure.

Aton is a huge crocodile, big enough to swallow ships. He is captured by Ramsay Sak when she turns the sea into land. His body turned into a mountain.

An evil king once sent out a travelling theatre troupe to kidnap the queen of a rival king.

The many tales about water monsters and travel aboard ship make this an interesting setting for a "Fleets of the Things" force. See: http://www-sequence.stanford.edu/~mcosta/FLEETS.html

Some relevant web sites:
http://home.att.net/~balrog2/
http://www.multimania.com/vinaro/index.html
http://www3.sympatico.ca/savary/bas_storyen.htm

My Khmer 15mm figures:
http://home.t-online.de/home/kh.ranitzsch/gallery/h_east_asia.html#khmer

The primary reference for this list was "Sagen und Legenden der Khmer"; Leipzig 1988, ISBN 3-378-000252-2

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