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Cathay Teams

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Jade Linemen

Crane Runners

Celestial Dragon Guard

Foo Statue


Background
Cathay (also known as the 'The Kingdom of the Dragon' and 'The Empire of the Celestial Dragon') is a great Kingdom ruled for centuries by the immortal Dragon Emperor.

The Kingdom of the Dragon borders the Chaos Wastes to the north and Hobgoblin Khanate to the east. The three countries have historically been at war with each other, but Cathay has always remained strong and their lands have flourished behind the Great Bastion to the north.

The population of Cathay is vast and varied, ranging from Humans, Celestial Dragon Monks and Monkey Men. It is also thought that the immortal emperor is a Vampire; the sole survivor of a conflict in Lahmia who fled east. Though this has never been confirmed and such is the Emperor's stranglehold on his people few men would dare talk of such things.

In the heart of Cathay lies the Mountains of Heaven. The mountains are the home to the Celestial Dragon Monks, the Emperor's elite warriors. Trained in seclusion to feel no pain and master the art of combat. Children as young as 5 are sent to the Mountains to live and train as monks till they grow old or their life is taken in battle. The great temples of this region are guarded by giant statues of the Cathayan gods known as Foo Statues, which remain dormant until they are called upon, much like the Ushabti of Khemri.

The Monkey Men originated in the Chaos Wastes to the north, and like Beastmen are the spawn of chaos. Like Beastmen - Monkey Men group together in herds, though unlike their bloodthirsty brethren they are a relatively peaceful race. Monkeymen are most commonly found in the forests around the Mountains of Heaven.

Bloodbowl in Cathay originated from the trade routes; ships from Estalia, Araby and Ulthuan brought news of the great tournaments that were held in the west. Upon hearing news of these grandiose tournaments the Emperor commanded his people to form teams, to challenge the established teams of The Old World and Lustria, and show off Cathays great power to the West.

Teams were made up using a cross section of Cathayan society, mixing the cunning and trickery of Monkey Men with the discipline and power of the Celestial Dragon Monks, the order of his militia and the power of the Foo Statues. To show off his new found interest in the game the Emperor erected great stadiums, the finest in The World, and held a world tournament in Wei-Jin to world acclaim.

Rationale
Despite Cathay covering a huge section of the east in The World there is very little fluff to go on when creating this roster. This is a collection of sorts used to help create this roster and the background above.

There is some old fluff (citation needed) of a Vampire that fled Lahmia after a conflict there and headed east. This is thought to be the immortal Emperor of Cathay.

Another story entitled - The Voyage of Yin-Tuan to Lustria, presented in White Dwarf 280 tells a story of a Cathayan expedition to the Southlands , this makes reference to multiple dynasties, it also makes reference to an elite guard of the emperor that sport tiger pelts.

A book entitled - Beasts in Velvet and Silver Nails. Makes reference to the conflict between Chaos (specifically Tzeentch) and Cathay. It also makes multiple references to the 'Monkey King' of Cathay.

The Estragon's Island campaign (which was published in White Dwarf 297) set around Cathay includes a human character from Cathay known as Ty Chan'Cho.

The 6th edition Warhammer fantasy book is the only in the series to make any reference to Cathay (in terms of background), and talks of conflict between, Cathay the Hobgoblins and the Northmen of the Chaos Wastes.

Warhammer online confirms that Cathayans are a human race, and again confirms the wars between Cathay, Chaos and the Hobgoblins. It also talks of the capital Wei-Jin. The mountains of heaven and the Foo Statues are also described here.

Finally Monkey Men were also referenced in a White Dwarf in a series of questions about the Dogs of War in 6th Ed, the interview made a throw away reference to Monkey Men existing in Cathay which is also supported by a novel.

The Linemen are basically just humans, so keep the standard human stats. Foo Statues are the teams Big Guys, they have Take Root as their nega-trait which represents their ability to turn from stone statue to a living creature. When failing this roll they essentially turn back into stone, Sure Feet was added because they usually move around on four legs, for this reason (like Bull Centaurs) they have Sure Feet. Celestial Dragon Monks have the St access in the team, wearing only tiger pelts for armour their Av is naturally low, however they have trained to feel no pain, so their Av was increased to 8 and they gained thick skull. It also seemed right to make them very defence orientated, basing this on their martial arts background. Side Step and Fend represents their ability to ward off blows and dodge attacks. The Monkey Warriors are agile, running on 4 hands, each able of carrying the ball. They also have a tail, so the skill choice was fairly obvious.

Season 2 (2020 Edition) Changes
In light of Cathay being introduced to total war 3 and certain parts of their background changing I have made some adjustments to this team. Firstly Dragon Monks remain the same, as their background remained the same. I have also kept the Foo statues in because this mirrors the terracotta sentinels introduced in that game in that they are functionally animated statues. I considered changing them to the sentinels in line with that game but felt they would be too big and there is enough background info in old warhammer about foo statues (including models) that I felt their inclusion justifiable.

I have removed monkey Warriors from this team in light of total war retconning them, likely because it is potentially problematic having Monkey men in a Cathay team. In their place I am adding Jade throwers and Catchers as Cathay's background has leant in to them being ranged fighters primarily, with a history of using ranged weapons from the great bastion to fight off Chaos.

The Monkey warriors will be appearing in another team though. More to be revealed soon.

In the Monkey Warriors place I have added Crane Runners, bassed on the lower armour team work orientated Crane Gunners. It felt a good swap due to their simple name swap, and the nature of two people working in tandem, fumblerooskie felt like a good fit, conveying the idea that the game is played a bit different in the west, and also fits their team work theme of dropping the ball on the ground for their team mate to pick up with Sure Hands, making it the safest way to move the ball around. Also due to their higher Ma they can function as a secondary Blitzer, as the team does not have a Blitzer, opting for Celestial Dragon Guard instead which is more akin to a Blocker.

Team design rationale and fluff by Garion
Player Pics drawn by Knut_Rockie and coloured by Garion
Icons by Cowhead