#tigermen

The Highborn tigers

This team hailing from southwest Ind consists of borderline supernatural men. Unlike the other teams of the region, these men are taken from the families of very wealthy (some monetarily some spiritually) worshippers of She'ar Khawn. Once every few generations, the sons of the 20 most noble Indish families will be forced to embark on a journey. They are sent to the dense woods and jungles of Ind to reach the great temple of She’ar Khawn and to learn to fend for themselves using their devotion alone, without their wealth or status. If they survive, they have proven that She’ar Khawn is with them. Within the deep woods lurk the Tigermen, a rare breed of beastmen who have been purified of chaos. They are able to sense the devotion (or lack therof) that each noble pilgrims have towards them and the Eight-Armed Tiger God. If they sense even an ounce of doubt in one of the pilgrims, then the unfortunate doubter will be chased relentlessly back home and lose their social status, or destroyed by the denizens of the jungles.

Those who are seen as worthy devotees are taken to the temple to be trained by the Tigermen. For months within the walls of the temple, the surviving pilgrims will undergo a physical, mental and spiritual transformation process which leaves them no longer the posh nobles they once were but a new being essentially. They are taught to use the powerful weaponry of the tigers, sent on dangerous missions to kill any poachers or chaos cultists in the jungles, taught the rules of blood bowl and all take part in religious purification rituals daily. Over the span of those months they are slowly imbued with amber magic and essentially become avatars of Ghur itself. They are no longer pampered privileged aristocrats but heroes in the eyes of their gods.

Once this rigorous process is done, the noble families are invited to the temple to watch this once in a generation graduation event. A proper Blood Bowl match between the surviving pilgrims and their Tigermen Gurus. Usually the match ends with the victory of the pilgrims but every once in a while the Tigermen win the game. But it doesn’t matter as once the game is over they return back to their cities. Their social status in tact.

The armor granted to them by their gurus are the standard issue human team armor we see with the Reikland Reavers, Bright Crusaders, or Middenhiem Maulers. However this armor is a striking black color, with orange stripes to honor She’ar Khawn whilst the clothes under the armor are made from an expensive purple fabric traded between only the wealthiest from Ind and Cathay. Donning their armor, uniforms, cleats, and helmets when they arrival home they are met with applause, cheers, and blessings from everyone who eagerly awaited their safe return. Once they are back the NAF hires them and they can finally play in matches.