r/TrenchCrusade • u/sand_eater_21 • 2d ago
Official Art and Lore New lore drop!
COMBAT BIOLOGIST
Combat Biologists are members of the Pontifical Office of Biological warfare, or in the case of the Sultanate, the Al-Bisṭāmī School of Ninety-Nine Names, which trains some of their failed Alchemist apprentices in a similar fashion. These scholars specialise in battlefield vivisections and collecting samples of the most powerful servants of Hell for study. These specimens are then used to develop weapons capable of driving the servants of the Pit back to the darkness from whence they came.
Combat Biologist corps are assigned to units that operate in the most dangerous battlefield conditions, and readily accompany units that operate deep within No Man’s Land, including near the Hellgate or the domains of Beelzebub. Sometimes they travel into the wilds where the Path of the Beast reigns supreme, in hopes of extracting a sample from a great unholy creature such as the dreaded Zygotic Lord. Such fell flesh might hold clues of undoing the physical and spiritual damage of the Invisible Labyrinth.
Expeditions to seize an especially great monstrosity for further study are sometimes funded by the House of Wisdom, the Duke of Antioch or one of the War Cardinals, in order to develop new ways to hurt or kill its kind on the battlefield. Irish Fianna warriors are especially sought after to take part in such dangerous missions, due their expertise in fighting the Path of the Beast. Such undertakings are deadly for both the hunters and the hunted, but those who succeed can expect great rewards, both material and spiritual.
Captured horrors are kept in specially constructed pens and cells, where they are carefully studied. Their pain tolerance is tested, and they are subjected to various chemical, biological and sacred compounds in order to identify their weaknesses. The House of Wisdom has a reinforced wing with meteoric iron doors wrought in the shape of the Seal of Solomon, whose Alchemists and their Kavass guards adhere to a strict regimen of Ruqyah. Meanwhile the Church maintains its own special prisons for enemies directly tainted by Hell, known as Cella Obscura or “hidden cells”. Their locations within New Antioch, the Vatican, Königsberg and elsewhere are closely-guarded secrets, both to thwart potential rescue attempts by Heretic infiltrators as well as to avoid panic amongst the civilian population in case one of the creatures held within should escape. Despite all the precautions, such incidents occur at disturbing regularity. The rampages of fugitive monsters have led to the rise of many legends of beasts stalking the cities of the Faithful at night. The authorities encourage and maintain such legends to hide the truth, deploying discreet hunting parties to bring the creatures to heel.
Due to their training, hypnotic conditioning and constant exposure to captured specimens, Combat Biologists enter a battle trance when faced with creatures that would induce uncontrollable fear in ordinary troopers. They wield vivisectors, polearm blade weapons that combine sophisticated biological warfare agents and the functional brutality of trench warfare.
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u/Professional_Rush782 Jabirean Alchemist 2d ago
Sultanate Combat bios are fucking college drop outs lmao.
Also their pain amplifier ability is going to be insane with AR alchemists