devdiary 13 new faction — barrowkin - Battle-Modders/mod-reforged GitHub Wiki
Dev Diary #13 - 29-Mar-2026
Uberbagel & LordMidas
In ages past, the Ancient Empire spread all across the known land. For reasons unknown, it eventually crumbled and various feudal kingdoms rose to fill the fractures. In time, these noble realms ventured further north and encountered a hardened group of people whom they never quite could subdue or assimilate. They call them "barbarians" in the old scriptures and while it seems likely they are to some extent forebears of the northmen of our time, their culture appears to have been quite sophisticated and complex. Like their witless presumed descendants, they had a fierce warrior culture, revering battlefield heroics and martial prowess above all else. Their culture appears to have been highly ritualistic and important characters were buried with heavy ornamentation including jewelry, ritual tattoos, runes and other eccentricities. Histories claim their seers and shamans communed with the ancestors, soliciting their knowledge and strength in battle and providing spiritual direction to the clans. Even now, their remains can be found all across the frozen north, burial mounds filled with corpses and treasure in equal measure. Rumors carry tales of imposing figures clad in runes and heavy jewelry, watching with eternal vigilance, calling upon their slumbering brethren should the need arise. Plundering these burial grounds can be very lucrative, but not without mortal danger. Sustained in undeath by oath or duty, vengeance or greed, the Barrowkin protect these sites against any and all interlopers.
Despite their well-known hatred for the undead, whom they call "The Untoward", the barbarians of today, strangely, do not seem to harbor ill sentiments against the Barrowkin. Instead they appear to look towards them with something best described as simultaneous fear, respect, longing and pity.
Barrowkin are a tough faction and are meant to provide a unique challenge and copious rewards for established and experienced companies. Being in their presence drains the very warmth from your bones, making you feeble while sustaining them. It would be a grave mistake to think of the Barrowkin as mindless wiedergangers. They fight as if a soul still pilots their flesh. There is something particulary unnatural about them, a wrongness not carried by other undead. Approach them with the utmost caution, for many a man has lost his life frozen in the mind-numbing presence of the Barrowkin.
- Barrowkin are rumored to affect the minds of those around them, receiving less damage from enemies per morale state the enemy is below Steady.
- They have the "Frostbound" effect which absorbs Hitpoints and Fatigue each turn from adjacent living enemies. This effect triggers for each adjacent Barrowkin.
- They are undead so they are not affected by fatigue, morale, nighttime penalties, bleeding or poison.
- Receive extra damage from fire.
- Are only found in locations (i.e. do not have roaming parties). Each location has a Barrow Seer. Their locations provide a large amount of treasure.
- Barrowkin gear is mostly ceremonial in nature. Their armor is ornamented in a primitive style and is weak, making it useless for use in mercenary work. Therefore, their armors and helmets are not lootable by the player. Their weapons are also decorated, but are functional, so they can be looted and used by the player.
We have added two unique music tracks for Barrowkin battles. They also come with a swathe of new artwork.
Showcase of Barrowkin units
Remarkably similar to their modern day descendents, the lowest social class of the Barrowkin is the Thrall. They fight with a one-handed axe or cleaver and rarely a shield.
Drengr are the standard warriors of the Barrowkin forces. In addition to the weapons of the Thrall, they can come equipped with a battleaxe or long bladed haft best described as a "pole cleaver".
Huskarls represent the elite forces of the Barrowkin. Their arsenal includes the aforementioned battleaxe, a greataxe or a one-handed sword and shield. They're terrifying to approach and have the "Unnerving Presence" effect, which triggers a mental morale check for living enemies who end their turn adjacent to them.
Often the focus of a burial ground's reverence, Barrowkin Heroes are the pinnacle of the civilization's warrior culture. They are often buried with a greataxe, but the greatest heroes of the lost civilization wield great rune-inscribed greatswords or bardiche-style axes. These heroes are champions and their weapons are named. Like Huskarls, they also have the "Unnerving Presence" effect.
Each Barrowkin location has one Barrow Seer in it and his presence is fundamental to how the battles with the Barrowkin play out. These seers sing a deathly "Barrow Chant" which affects the minds of living enemies. Those affected by the Barrow Chant cannot achieve Confident morale and deal less damage per morale state they are below Confident. The seer also has the "Ancestral Summons" skill which allows him to raise a buried Barrowkin from the barrows (the locations are littered with such barrows) to join the fight. Killing the Barrow Seer greatly disturbs the Barrowkin, and his death gives each Barrowkin present on the battlefield an individual 50% chance to become Restless. Restless Barrowkin gain increased attributes and the Overwhelm perk.
A Barrow Seer using Ancestral Summons to raise two buried Barrowkin from their barrows
There are three tiers of Barrowkin locations. All Barrowkin locations have one Barrow Seer present. All Barrowkin locations are full of lucrative loot and the Crypt and Fane are guaranteed to contrain at least one named item.
The lowest tier location. These represent mounds of graves or the burial grounds of an elite warrior and his clan. This location always has at least one Huskarl present (who represents the warrior this burial ground is dedicated to) with the rest being mostly Thralls and Drengr.
The second tier location. These represent halls of famous heroes and their clans, friends or other warriors who fought by their side. This location always has at least one Hero present (who represents the hero this crypt is dedicated to) with the rest being mostly Drengr and a few Thralls and Huskarls.
The third tier location. Fanes are only found in mountains. These represent great halls carved into the mountain itself and are the burial place of a truly legendary hero and his cohort. This location always has at least one champion hero present (who represnts the hero this fane is dedicated to) with the rest being mostly Drengr, Huskarls and a few heroes and Thralls.
Barrowkin locations - Left: Barrows, Top: Fane, Right: Crypt
We have added a new craftable potion which can be used to gain some advantage in the fights against the Barrowkin. This potion makes use of some existing vanilla ingredients but also some new ingredients we have added. More details on this in the next dev diary!