So far I can say that each faction seen in its completeness will more or less have the same options of playing the game! Of course the different factions have certain strong and weaknesses, but you could even manage to build up a strong melee warband with a usually shooty faction! We decided to balance the factions so that a player can take his choice of warband based on the faction which interests him the most but without loosing certain aspects of possible strategies! In our opinion it would be odd if someone for example likes the background and the models of the Wyldfolk of Annyr but is unsatisfied with playing a shooty warband! The Wyldfolk of Annyr are definetely the shootiest faction in the game so far, but wel, just leave your bows at home, get some Cromlech Guard, druids, etc. and watch them slaying their enemies in melee!

Let me give you a short example of the different playing styles:

- Banebrood: The Brood faction is fast-paced and brutal in melee. On top of that they spread diseases. The Reavers are cannibalistic marauders, not as fast as their mutated brothers but with regenerating abilites and strong melee skills, being more resistent in battle.

- Halodynes: The city-states are the militia and are suited for melee and will be suited a little for shooting later. The have high DEF and ARM skills. The temple cults are the most powerful mages and have melee protectors such as the Sons of War and the Cerberus. The amazons are fast and both skilled in melee and shooting.

- Mortans: Highly armored troops form the core of any legion warband. The technostratum have access to war-machines. The magestratum will ahve mages and undead, being able to ressurect fallen warriors etc.

- Nordgaard: The dwarves are skilled mostly in melee using defensive tactics but do also have access to shooters like the Fimbul Toughborns. The Skannfyrd are their human allies, mostly consisting of a berserker culture. They are of course faster than the dwarves and feature mostly melee warriros with destructive offensive melee tactics and abilities.

- Troglodytes: The trolloth are brutal offensive melee guys, able to breach most defensive models/units. The shadow trolls are ethereal beings able to cast spells and possessing attacks that ignore armor. The gnolls are sneaky and need a very tactical gameplay.

Wyldfolk of Annyr: The most shooty army in the game until now. The tribal guys are more focussed on melee though while the fiannor focus on shooting more. Both of them rely on speed and are not well armored, so should avoid offensive melee models. The tuathan are a bit more offensive and more tough in melee.... so far...

 jonolikespie wrote:
Looks a hell of a lot like warmachine.

Some potential pledgers have asked for a list of factions and a short description. since KS has no more space for us to post this, I am posting here and we will make a link to it.

Godslayer is set in a mythical world based on classical and ancient Mediterranean and Asian cultures. We naturally draw a lot from history and mythology of Greece Rome Persia ancient Celts and ancient Germans. Later factions will expand on our first 6 factions. While our background setting does include factions based on these cultures, the world itself is a dark and exotic world of sword and sorcery in an age of bronze and blood.

I am listing here a short fluff plus general description of each faction and sub-faction, plus a code signifying their most common style of play:
OFFMEL - Offensive melee
DEFMEL - Defensive melee
HORDE - Horde
ELITE – Elite melee
SHOOTY – Missile heavy
MAG - Magicy
VM - Versatile mix
MON - Monster
LG - Light Guerilla

Banebrood – An evil faction controlled by the cosmic force of Destruction. All Banebrood are cursed with an innate subconscious link to the force of feral fury known as the Urghast. Ripples in the Urghast stir the Banebrood to crazed brutality, heralded by the dissonant thunder of bestial howls which echo down through the valleys like the overture to a symphony of slaughter.
These fiends are hell-bent on destroying all of civilization. Fast and furious, they are also carriers of foul diseases. Unmatched in speed and hitting power, the Banebrood are a horror to behold on the tabletop battlefields.
Beastspawn – Beastmen with many different forms, like buffalo-head, stag-head etc. (OFFMEL!)
Reavers – Barbarian cannibal, mutants based on ancient Germanic tribes (HORDE, VM)

Halodynes – An old culture inspired by ancient Greeks, worshipping the gods of Mortals. The Halodynes represent a grand and noble civilization sliding gradually into a decline. This proud and sophisticated culture of city-states and temple-cults re-civilized three continents,
Their pantheistic worship is so intrinsic to the culture that Halodyne society could be likened to the weave of cloth; for through the political might of the secular city-states is woven the religious power of the twelve temple-cults. The Halodynes believe themselves a superior, noble race chosen by the gods to lead mankind.
The phalanxes of the Halodynes have held the darkness at bay for thousands of years; but now with their very existence threatened, a new generation of shining heroes has stepped forth to restore civilization in a dark and brutal world of barbarism.
City-States: Historical Greek style armies with Hoplites and mythological themes (VM, DEFMEL)
Temple-Cults: Temple Warriors, Priestesses, Oracles, Cerberos, Animated Statues etc (ELITES VM OFFMEL)
Amazons: Cavalry sub-faction based on mythical Amazons and historical Scythians (LG SHOOTY)

Mortan Empire – a dark, powerful empire based on Ancient Romans –they reject the gods and embraced ancestor worship. Gripping the lands of Ghorn in its cold, gauntleted fist, the Mortan Empire is the mightiest nation on the continent, having assimilated dozens of conquered realms. This expansionist, human culture is at once magnificent and morbid, enlightened and superstitious, with the glory of its accomplishments eclipsed only by the malevolence of its methods. The winged-skull emblem of the empire - the Calva Alata - is said to symbolize mortal transcendence of death through necromancy, but it also rather personifies the image of Mortan culture - macabre imperialism.
The empire's sinister use of assassination, alchemical weapons, necromancy and overwhelming military might certainly undermines its image as compassionate philanthropist (which it claims to be), but the truth is probably that the Mortan Empire is neither a paragon of goodness nor irredeemably evil, but rather a multi-faceted, sprawling edifice of amoral decadence defying, black-and-white classifications.
Supporting the steel clad cohorts are auxiliaries in the form of necromancers, undead and alchemists equipped with acid, fire and poison.
Legions: Legionnaires, Praetorians, etc inspired by imperial Roman legions (DEFMEL)
Technostratum: War-machines, Alchemists and units with fire, acid, gas, smoke, and Naphtha weapons. (SHOOTY)
Magistratum: Necromancers, undead legions, undead monsters (MAG, DEFMEL)

Nordgaard – An ancient Viking-style culture of Humans and Dwarves united by worship of the ancient gods of the earth element. Steel and stone, flesh and bone, where the earth still speaks and the mountains reach from the fjords to the very sky; Nordgaard is a realm steeped in myth, a land which the Jotuns once called their own. Dwarf and Mortal now share this land with a culture fused as one, for common threat was the fire which forged this union in ancient days of yore. The Eternal Kingdom the nation is named, for Nordgaard stands as the oldest realm among the lands of Ghorn.
Ancient beyond reckoning, the peoples of Nordgaard represent a hybrid melding of Earth-god worshipper cultures, based upon the two divine brothers. Few can match the daring, ferocity and ruthlessness of the Northlanders.
Clans: Viking style Dwarves and allied giants (DEFMEL)
Guilds: Elite units of Dwarves, such as scouts, warrior brotherhoods rune-warriors etc. (ELITE, DEFMEL SHOOTY)
Skannfyrd: Viking style humans and Ogres, Valkyries and Berzerkers (OFFMEL)

Troglodytes – Creatures of Elemental Shadow, based on Mongolian style. Shadow is guardian of the cosmic scales, lying between and beyond the four cardinal elements of Earth, Fire, Ice and Air. It is diametrically opposed to none of them, yet feared by all of them.
Of all the elements, Shadow is regarded as the greatest and its children the mightiest, being as they are almost immune to the powers of the other four planes. Troglodytes are consequently ubiquitous, able to survive in all climates
The Troglodytes maintain elemental balance by punishing the other elemental races with their crashing armies of feudal warriors, and by constantly culling the cultures of mankind. It is a grim task, but the Troglodytes are grim people ideally suited to violence on the grandest scale. Armed with crashing weapons and equipped with armor of iron, the troglodytes march forth.
Trolloth: Brutal but intelligent Trolls wearing heavy armor and living in feudal warrior society (OFFMEL, DEFMEL)
Shadow Trolls: ethereal Trolls with magic (MAG VM)
Gnolls: Goblin-style culture with horde warbands of cheap troops (HORDE. LG)

Wyldfolk – A culture of nature-worshippers loosely based on Celtic cultures. The Wyldfolk live in harmony with nature, taming its ferocious beasts for allies and building their communities in treacherous wilderness. Dressed in colorful clan tartans, and marching to the rousing tones of bagpipes, Wyldfolk are distinctive even from a distance, but these are just the warriors they mean to be seen; for preceding the armies like a shadow are countless scouts, rangers and hunters camouflaged in natural colors, as invisible as the wind. The men adorn their bodies with intricate tattoos, and on the eve of battle, apply war-paint of woad in solemn ritual. All Wyldfolk share a fierce and deep-rooted mindset of independence.
The Wyldfolk are expert in hit-and-run guerrilla warfare, but also excel in close combat due to their wild nature.
Tribal: Warriors, bards, druids and elite Cromlech guard. (OFMEL , LG)
Fiannor: Nomadic Wyldfolk mostly cavalry, scouts and archer models (SHOOTY)
Tuathan: Extreme nature worshippers who have dedicated the souls to the circle of life (VM)

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:
Would be interesting to include some of the indian nations in Godslayer... there are quite some continents left.