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Description
Some foot soldiers I drew for a thread on spacebattles

(excerpt)

The common foot-soldiers of the Brotherhood are not what most Drow would consider men at all. Tacticors, as they are called, were not born from the union of a woman and man as natural infants. Rather, they are given form within forged tanks of crystal and metal, grown from the blood of an Elder Brother or even Iondar himself. The crystals are filled with a carefully calculated amount of a processed material referred to as "Primeva" made from the flesh of plants and animals. After the material is gathered within the crystal pods, and Elder Brother will implant a portion of their blood, imbued with their own magical essence. The crystal pods will then receive a constant inflow of energy from thick wires connecting to the city's Mana Grid for many months. In time, the Primeva will begin to show signs of life, within a couple of years a fully grown physical replica of the Elder Brother who implanted their power into the pod will form. In this way, the Brotherhood (and Paridor-Dal'raeven in general) maintains and expands its numbers as needed without the assistance of any females of their own. Freshly born Tacticors have no knowledge of their own, and must be trained for quite some time to become functional. However, the process of magical implantation used to create them also leads to a psychic connection with their Elder Brother, making it possible to quickly share knowledge and senses between minds. This not only makes educating the Tacticors easier, but also renders them physically unable to disobey the orders of their Elders.

Tacticors are typically armed with swords, shields, spears, knives, bows, and maces. Tacticors armed with swords & shields wear heavy mail or full plate armor, complete with distinctive helmets that obscure the entire head with two pinholes over the eyes to allow for vision and four vents over the mouth and nose for breathing. The helm is functional and shaped like a rounded bucket, giving the Tacticor the visage of a ghastly skull for a head. Tacticors wielding bows, knives, and maces are lightly armored with mail and boiled leather from the underworld beasts found around Paridon'Dal'raeven, but keep the helmet to maintain solidarity within the ranks. The nature of their creation leaves them with little time to develop magical talent, and their rapid growth does not allow for significant development of what the Elders refer to as a "Personal Mana Grid" that most Drow develop over the course of their childhood. Thus, the Tacticors have very limited magical abilities. The most talented among them can start small fires or freeze a mug of water, but little beyond that. The most that the vast majority can manage is to create a werelight to guide their paths through the dark tunnels of the underworld. More importantly, a Tacticor does not benefit from the physical benefits of having one's own Mana supply- namely enhanced growth and longevity. As their 'Grid' is not sufficient to support the strength and dexterity afforded to them by their Drow blood, Tacticors are slightly stunted and short compared to naturally born Drow, even for males. Moreover, they do not live for nearly as long. A Tacticor may only live for a few years if they do not receive regular injections of Mana from their Elder, and even then will never live for more than about a century.

What they lack in the grace and magical power Drow are infamous for, Tacticors more than make up in sheer determination. A typical Drow will always look out for their own interests first and foremost, withdrawing into the shadows if a battle doesn't appear to be going their way. A Tacticor, being psychically linked to their Elder and all of his other Tacticors at all times and indoctrinated from birth to show complete loyalty to the Brotherhood, will never break or run away. When other Drow indulge in politics, socialization, entertainment, or other amusements, a Tacticor spends virtually his entire life either training for war or actively participating in it. Due to this, the average Tacticor is shorter than the average Drow but much more muscular. Additionally, Tacticors are trained in both small and large unit tactics. They participate in frequent drills and mock battles in both the caverns surrounding Paridon-Dal'raeven and within the urban confines of the city itself. Tacticors will generally attempt to fight in large formations outside of the city when space allows for it, such as Shield Walls, Phalanxes, or Schiltrom circles. When travelling, Tacticors prefer to march in lockstep with their brothers, and almost always travel in very large groups.

When in cities or tight quarters, Tacticors shift from large formations into ten man squads. Since all Tacticors from the same Elder are psychically linked, they have little need for officers, instead deferring to either the judgement of their Elder or the general consensus of the collective. This makes them slow to react to emerging situations, but very conscious of the 'big picture' in any given battle. Indeed, it is very easy for Tacticors to coordinate ambushes and set traps in the dark corridors of a Drow city or one of the smaller cavern complexes.

Description
Some foot soldiers I drew for a thread on spacebattles

(excerpt)

The common foot-soldiers of the Brotherhood are not what most Drow would consider men at all. Tacticors, as they are called, were not born from the union of a woman and man as natural infants. Rather, they are given form within forged tanks of crystal and metal, grown from the blood of an Elder Brother or even Iondar himself. The crystals are filled with a carefully calculated amount of a processed material referred to as "Primeva" made from the flesh of plants and animals. After the material is gathered within the crystal pods, and Elder Brother will implant a portion of their blood, imbued with their own magical essence. The crystal pods will then receive a constant inflow of energy from thick wires connecting to the city's Mana Grid for many months. In time, the Primeva will begin to show signs of life, within a couple of years a fully grown physical replica of the Elder Brother who implanted their power into the pod will form. In this way, the Brotherhood (and Paridor-Dal'raeven in general) maintains and expands its numbers as needed without the assistance of any females of their own. Freshly born Tacticors have no knowledge of their own, and must be trained for quite some time to become functional. However, the process of magical implantation used to create them also leads to a psychic connection with their Elder Brother, making it possible to quickly share knowledge and senses between minds. This not only makes educating the Tacticors easier, but also renders them physically unable to disobey the orders of their Elders.

Tacticors are typically armed with swords, shields, spears, knives, bows, and maces. Tacticors armed with swords & shields wear heavy mail or full plate armor, complete with distinctive helmets that obscure the entire head with two pinholes over the eyes to allow for vision and four vents over the mouth and nose for breathing. The helm is functional and shaped like a rounded bucket, giving the Tacticor the visage of a ghastly skull for a head. Tacticors wielding bows, knives, and maces are lightly armored with mail and boiled leather from the underworld beasts found around Paridon'Dal'raeven, but keep the helmet to maintain solidarity within the ranks. The nature of their creation leaves them with little time to develop magical talent, and their rapid growth does not allow for significant development of what the Elders refer to as a "Personal Mana Grid" that most Drow develop over the course of their childhood. Thus, the Tacticors have very limited magical abilities. The most talented among them can start small fires or freeze a mug of water, but little beyond that. The most that the vast majority can manage is to create a werelight to guide their paths through the dark tunnels of the underworld. More importantly, a Tacticor does not benefit from the physical benefits of having one's own Mana supply- namely enhanced growth and longevity. As their 'Grid' is not sufficient to support the strength and dexterity afforded to them by their Drow blood, Tacticors are slightly stunted and short compared to naturally born Drow, even for males. Moreover, they do not live for nearly as long. A Tacticor may only live for a few years if they do not receive regular injections of Mana from their Elder, and even then will never live for more than about a century.

What they lack in the grace and magical power Drow are infamous for, Tacticors more than make up in sheer determination. A typical Drow will always look out for their own interests first and foremost, withdrawing into the shadows if a battle doesn't appear to be going their way. A Tacticor, being psychically linked to their Elder and all of his other Tacticors at all times and indoctrinated from birth to show complete loyalty to the Brotherhood, will never break or run away. When other Drow indulge in politics, socialization, entertainment, or other amusements, a Tacticor spends virtually his entire life either training for war or actively participating in it. Due to this, the average Tacticor is shorter than the average Drow but much more muscular. Additionally, Tacticors are trained in both small and large unit tactics. They participate in frequent drills and mock battles in both the caverns surrounding Paridon-Dal'raeven and within the urban confines of the city itself. Tacticors will generally attempt to fight in large formations outside of the city when space allows for it, such as Shield Walls, Phalanxes, or Schiltrom circles. When travelling, Tacticors prefer to march in lockstep with their brothers, and almost always travel in very large groups.

When in cities or tight quarters, Tacticors shift from large formations into ten man squads. Since all Tacticors from the same Elder are psychically linked, they have little need for officers, instead deferring to either the judgement of their Elder or the general consensus of the collective. This makes them slow to react to emerging situations, but very conscious of the 'big picture' in any given battle. Indeed, it is very easy for Tacticors to coordinate ambushes and set traps in the dark corridors of a Drow city or one of the smaller cavern complexes.