Warmaidens

A new faction of recruitable, veiled warrior-women sellswords, and a new start in case you want to be a Warmaiden Swordsister, too.

Warmaidens are one part honorable amazon, one part battlefield valkyrie, one part death-cultist with a blood-fetish.

Whatever they actually are, they sell their swords and lives for a price, risking it all, risking life; throwing themselves again and again into the arms of their one true love: the bladed dance of death.

WHY DO I WANT THIS

* Because you’re tired of getting facestomped out in the wastes, and need to hire some seriously-skilled girlpower to facestomp the facestompers right back. At least long enough to get from point A to point B without the cannibals finding you an easy snack.
* Because you’ve never been the Kenshi version of Wonder Woman, queen of the recruitable Amazons before, and you want to give it a shot.
* Because the Mercenary Guild shouldn’t be the only faction with sellsword bodyguards for hire on short-term contracts.
* Because you like red.

WHAT THIS DO

* Adds a new Warmaidens faction of badass warrior amazons, and sprinkles them throughout the world. Except the Holy Nation, because they don’t like Shek, the jerks.
* Faction is limited to females: Greenlander, Scorchlander, and Shek. Patches can be made for other female races on request.
* Adds a Warmaiden HQ, just outside of Admag.
* Adds a new Warmaiden alternate start.
* With an existing character, you can also approach Ionica at the outpost to become a member.
* Adds custom Warmaiden uniforms, which change by tier (darkening from brighter to darker red, then black). This is all recolored/retextured copies of assets that already exist in the game.
* Warmaidens are recruitable as mercenaries/bodyguards. For players of their own faction, Warmaidens will essentially band together and protect their own for free.
* When Warmaidens are alone (squad size of 1) they will also offer to sell their services, or even join a group if you meet their price. These solo Warmaidens will also offer to join another Warmaiden’s group for free. (Until you hit a squad size of 9, and then they figure you don’t need that kind of help anymore.)
* A Warmaiden squad leader (Deathbride) will also offer bodyguard services for the entire squad, not just singly. Dialogue has been made clear on this point, which involves hiring multiple bodyguards versus a single Warmaiden.

Warmaiden combat stats are set on a general baseline:

Swordsisters = 40
Bladedancers = 60
Deathbride = 80

Solo Warmaidens have a chance to be found in bars in the United cities, Shek Empire, and even in a few waystations and the Hub. The closer you get to Shek or Admag, the more likelihood of finding an entire squad with a Deathbride in the bar. They are also roving around the map, although since the Holy Nation hates them, they avoid those areas entirely. They should be recruitable on the map, too. Warmaidens will also heal neutrals they run across. The largest concentration of Warmaidens can be found just outside of Admag, at their outpost. You should be able to recruit them for your services there. This is where the Warmaiden start begins.

WHO THEY ARE

Coexisting with the Mercenary Guild, and fulfilling similar contracts, while allied with the Shek Empire, the Warmaidens are an almost religious or monastic group of highly-trained warriors, who follow a certain code.

For we come veiled as maidens to war,
Sisters of the sword,
Betrothed to the battlefield,
Blood-red robes staining ever darker,
Our blades dancing,
And none shall see our face,
For we are brides of death.

This has led to the three tiers or rankings of the Warmaidens.

Swordsisters – The first ranking, wearing robes of heartsblood red, so as to hide all of the blood from the battlefield, the Swordsisters are the most heavily armored, as the fighting philosophy of the Warmaidens has them eschewing armor more and more as they increase their skill.

Bladedancers – They have learned to thrive on the battlefield, reveling in the war dance, and their clothes have darkened in red, from many battles. They shed some of the armor of a Swordsister, inviting death, while resisting it, honing their edge.

Deathbride – They have died many times and have been reborn. They wear black, the color of rags soaked by a lifetime of battle-blood, the color of a bride before Death. While retaining the veil they also add a very large hat to hide their faces ever-more, while shedding most of their remaining armor to the winds, begging to be called to the embrace of Death.

It is precisely because they do not fear death, and invite it, that they are so feared themselves.

And why their mercenary services are so highly-valued by those looking to make it across the wastes in one piece.

ABOUT THE WARMAIDEN START

More details about that in the FAQ. See this answer here: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/discussion/1637815823/3774483849432801094/#c3774483849433320063

OPTIONAL PATCH MODS:

Warmaidens: Moonlander Patch
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1649628709

Warmaidens: No Limit Recruitment
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1649668423

Warmaidens: Stronger Warmaidens
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1650764634

Warmaidens: Reactive World Patch (Required if you run Reactive World to prevent quests from breaking)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1658247295