"First blood, ye fool! First blood! And here ye've gone 'n run 'im through!"
Duelling with Pistols
The complex legal system of Duelling is used by the nobles of the Empire and other such fools to settle disputes of honour.[1a][2a]
The Empire[]
Fought with swords or pistols,[1a][3a] duels are methods of settling grievances or holding trial by combat.[1a][1b][3a] When a noble has to engage in a duel, they typically send a professional duellist as their surrogate instead.[1a] Similarly, judicial champions represent the law in trials of combat.[1b]
Duelling with pistols is becoming increasingly popular, particularly with impetuous, blue-blooded students at the University of Altdorf.[3a] Pistol duels usually take place at dawn, with each party firing at the other after walking ten paces. The pistol duel is of course very deadly, not only because of the exchange of gunfire at close range, but also because duelling pistols are temperamental weapons, prone to explosive malfunction at the most inopportune times.[2a] As such, more traditionally-minded nobles, particularly those of older generations, hold pistol duelling in low esteem, considering it both dishonourable and reckless.[3a]
Even for the title of Supreme Patriarch, a non-lethal duel is held within the Obsidian Hall at Altdorf, between the Patriarchs that lead the Colleges of Magic.[10a]
Bretonnia[]
"You seek combat, Bretonnian? Worthy duellists, yes, but still a joy to kill!"
In the realm of Bretonnia, duels are fought to maintain discipline and honour amongst rival Knights. These clashes commonly take place as Trials by Combat.[4]
When battling against more ordered and civilised nations, a Bretonnian army will occasionally present their opponents with the honour of single combat. Two champions will meet upon the battlefield, and he who stands at the end of their duel will be declared victorious. The loser's army will withdraw, ceding right of lawful conquest to the victor. These duels often function to prevent further bloodshed on both sides, or to break prolonged and gruelling stalemates.[5]
Tilea[]
"Oh? You think to fight me in the style of a Tilean streetfighter?’ -- ‘The trick is to employ the cape as not only shield but weapon. Catch your enemy’s blade in its folds, if you can, but there is many another trick. -- ‘Strike the hand of some handsome noble and watch them recoil from so minor a blow, dropping dagger or sword from fingers stung by so little a thing.’ -- ‘Then one can always cast one’s cloak about the enemy. He will panic, trying to fend off your cloak, and exposing himself for one instant to the steel in your hand."
In Tilea, when a debt can't be paid a challenge can be given to the debtor. The rules of Miraglianese debt-duelling allow for someone to step in on another’s behalf.[6a]
Tilean families, from rich to poor, are famous for their numerous vendetta. Many resolve their feuds with the use of duellists. Many of these people are armed with the dagger and the cloak, such as the infamous Vespero's Vendetta.[8a]
The Tileans are fanatics for this maniac art. Many of them fancied themselves masters of the sword, true artists of the duel. But a Tilean did not like to leave anything to chance. He would plot and plan, laying schemes within schemes to ensure that events would transpire toward the end he sought. It was the same with the duellists. Their skill with the blade might indeed be remarkable, but they always liked extra insurance. Some would coat their weapons in garlic or some other blood poison so that the merest scratch would finish their enemy. Others preferred to make certain that theirs would be the swifter blade. Such men were easily lured into the use of Crimson Shade, an exotic herb that would speed up their reflexes and reactions.[9a]
Estalia[]
Followers of the Figueroa style, known as Diestro, fight and duel across Estalia. Some, bored with their homeland, seek excitement elsewhere, favouring Tilea and Bretonnia. The bravest travel northeast to the Empire to test their rapiers against worthy opponents, and to see a land in the front line of the struggle against Chaos.[11a]
The knights of Bretonnia and Diestros of Estalia have been known to harbour rivalries. They have very little understanding of one another's fighting styles, and this incomprehension has been responsible for much of the existing tension between the realms.[12a]
Sources[]
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (5th Edition)
- 5: Kurt Helborg: Duty and Honour (Novella)
- 7: Total War: Warhammer II
- 9: Brunner the Bounty Hunter: Omnibus (Novel) by C.L. Werner