# What does China mean to you?



## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

I mean historically; ancient historically. Cathay is one of the more talked about realms of the Warhammer World in Fan Fiction; yet next to nothing is known about it other than a few short snap shots presented here an there; such as parallels drawn between the Dragon Emperor and a Vampire, the breaking of the Bastion by the forces of Chaos, and the mass hiring / paying off of Ogre Mercenaries from the shared border of the mountains of mourn.

Thinking from a production point of view, Cathay is almost entirely well represented by the rules for the Empire; a Dragon (either Lore of Beasts or Karl Franz mount), Celestial Wizards, YinYang Wizards (Shadow/Death and Light/Life), Militia Hordes (Free Companies/Flagellants), Halberdiers, Pikemen, Crossbowmen, Handgunners, Lancers, Guan Do Cavalry (Great Weapon Knights) Zhan Ma Dao Infantry (Greatsword), Triple Armed Ballista/Cannon (Great Cannon), Trebuchet (Mortar), Rocket Launcher (Helstorm).

In the same manner that Death Korps would be possible 

Now; what things do you know, or want to see in Cathayan Background?

For me, I think of;

Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Dynasty Warriors-esque history - for anyone else who has either read the book or played the games, any view on which characters should get Warhammer-ised?)
The Art of War
Communist Plans
Foo Statues
Terracotta Army
Great Wall (The Bastion)
Mongols (The Mangudai Peoples/Hobgoblins)

So, when you think of China, what is your view? This could be near history, (such as communism), or it could be ancient history, or it could be complete myth.

So, this is your chance to fire away for some feedback, if you please guys.


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

i think of food and cheap imports


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## coke123 (Sep 4, 2010)

I can't help but think of this.

But seriously, in a Cathay army? Pretty much everything you mentioned, bar the communist stuff. Doesn't really fit in fantasy, and kinda fails when you consider that Cathay is supposed to have a rather elitist society...

I'd like to see some Nippon stuff as well- it'd be awesome to have samurai and ninjas running around. And chinese dragons. and some cool gunpowder-based stuff.

EDIT: I seem to remember you recently posting about offering to help create a Cathay army for Warhammer Forge- does this mean that this came to fruition? Or are you just asking for kicks?

EDIT2: and tigers. Motherfucking tiger cavalry/chariots.


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## neilbatte (Jan 2, 2008)

I still have some of the early Cathayan stuff in my shed, The Samuria riding large dog like creatures were awesome as were some of the the ninja's.
But the bit that interests me most is the hobgoblin wolf tribes.


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## The Sullen One (Nov 9, 2008)

Well there's scope for a lot of units, from samurai-style heavy cavalry to ninja-like assasins. Problem is the army would need to stand out with something distinctive and most of the stuff you'd have can already be found in other armies, Dragons in high-elf armies for example, or state troops in the Empire.

Additionally do any of us see GW going out on a limb with a brand-new range? Think about what happened to Kislev, while Araby was only ever avaliable in Warmaster.


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

IF Cathay were to be based on ancient China, I think your mostly spot on with your ideas so far. You could easily add in extra bits like your clans and kingdoms within the country, martial artists and other legendary characters from chinese mythology.... The immortals, the Monkey King etc...

Now... You defiantely need your 'Statue' units... they've always been heavy in Chinese myth with your temple dogs, the mentioned Terrocotta Army... which would be a terriffying Elite unit in my mind...

I'm no expert on China, but I always think of Tea and Opium dens.. mostly thanks to modern media... but then you've your epic romances too. Chinese history is littered with tails of forbidden love, Kings building grand monuments for their queens etc. It'd be easy to incorporate some tragic hero types with that kind of background.

China... Fireworks and Dragons. Their famous 'Fire Arrows' were early rockets afterall. 

Also, Alchemy and mystisim... China had alot of excentric mystics experimenting for it with odd believes... fung shoi or however you spell it for one. I remember the story of one Emperor who was fed Jade by his court magicians, in the believe it would replace his flesh and make him immortal... Again, a good starting source for a character or some magic items I think.

Other things... i'd be getting too into Army design with them. I could see them being as something of 'The Eldar of Fantasy', in that they'd have lots of basic troops cheaply armed, but then they'd have groups of elite troopers, the advanced yet ancient technologies, and their 'spirit powered' constructs of the temple guards like the Wraithlords etc.

Background... Watch the Jet Li movies Hero and Forbidden Kingdom. I think they would fit well with a kind of 'flavour' for the world. That and Warlords. All three would give you a great background flavour for Cathay I feel.


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

The Sullen One said:


> Well there's scope for a lot of units, from samurai-style heavy cavalry to ninja-like assasins. Problem is the army would need to stand out with something distinctive and most of the stuff you'd have can already be found in other armies, Dragons in high-elf armies for example, or state troops in the Empire.
> 
> Additionally do any of us see GW going out on a limb with a brand-new range? Think about what happened to Kislev, while Araby was only ever avaliable in Warmaster.


Except Samurai and Ninja are Japanese, not Chinese. 

Also, they didn't support Kislev well enough and it was seen as 'just another flavour of empire' rather then an army in its own right.


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## Aramoro (Oct 7, 2009)

I guess in terms of ancient history China is characterised by Gunpowder and lots and lots of infantry. I like your Ideas about ying/yang wizarding action. Also lots of reason to add in an Imperial Dragon. You could make a War Altar based on Temple Dogs as well.


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