Warmonger Genie [Tasked]

A warmonger is squat and heavy, about 5 feet tall and upward of 200 pounds, with a hairy body whose every strand drips blood. Its height, shorter than most genies, is a constant source of rage. In battle it wears the heaviest armor available and loads itself with sashes, medals, gem clusters, and badges of rank and order that advertise its courage and skill.

Warmongers are solid fighters but extraordinary leaders. They usually watch from horseback at the back of their army or from a hilltop above the field. Troops under one gain +2 to morale while it lives, and if it falls in battle, any soldier who learns of its death suffers a further -2 morale penalty. In melee it favors mounted weapons such as maces, picks, and scimitars, and its strength adds +4 to weapon damage.

Twice daily each it can use suggestion, enchanted weapon, and cloak of bravery, and both fear and remove fear are available whenever it likes.

These genies plan campaigns and counsel generals in the wars of genie emirs and caliphs, and they are always at the head of soldiers or mercenaries. They live among their troops and revere their lords, yet their loyalty is to the war itself: they will keep fighting even if their lord orders a halt. They do retreat when it pays, regrouping to strike on better ground.

Usually a warmonger is hired or summoned for a set job, such as holding a key pass or leading a conquest, but it rarely stops where it was told. So long as pressing on would not stretch supplies too thin, exhaust the men, or look plainly unwise, it lobbies its lord to keep going, arguing that fighting now spares fighting later. It flatters skillfully too, assuring its patron that his wise rule will bless any land he takes.

Privately, warmongers think politicians are fools blind to the glory of soldiering. Many see themselves as deep thinkers, and treating one as a philosopher can win its respect.

A warmonger has no ecology of its own; it devours others. Its army forages from every region it crosses and is allowed plunder to keep spirits high. Long campaigns over the same ground strip it of grain, livestock, mounts, water, and food, and civilians starve behind the marching columns.

Beyond tactics and strategy, these genies are shrewd administrators and politicians. They know how to breed fear and mistrust until a whole nation becomes an armed camp, then seize every lever of power for the military and press each citizen into the war effort.