The First Ironheart Artificer Division

The First (and only) Ironheart Artificer Division is a unit in the Ironheart military. Originally conceived as a support unit for other divisions to infuse their equipment and heal battlefield wounds magically, the division rose to prominence after a decisive battle in the Second Arcane War in which it single-handedly repelled a Litherian invasion of Neverwinter.   History   During the Second Arcane War, after it became known that the Litherian Empire was using special 'holy divisions' comprised of war clerics in magical armour that were overpowering the Ironheart's own war clerics, the king's generals devised a new template for a military unit comprised entirely of artificers. When deployed with other divisions, they could infuse the soldier's weapons, allowing them to pierce the conventional-weapon-resistant armour of Litheria's holy divisions.   Finding moderate success, the First Ironheart Artificer Division was deployed on the southern front, pushing Litherian soldiers out of Eight Shields and Neverwinter. The Ironheart military leadership, believing the Litherians to be on the run, ordered the battalion, including the artificers, back to Thronehold to assist on the northern front. While the other soldiers set off right away, the artificers remained in Neverwinter for a few days in order to reinforce the city with magical defences.   The Ironheart leaders had misjudged, however. The Litherian forces, bolstered by reinforcements from Krin'garr, returned soon after, believing Neverwinter to be unguarded. The ensuing battle would go down in history as an example of dwarven ingenuity and stubbornness in the face of death.   Allowing the Litherian forces to believe the city was undefended, the artificers retreated into guarded and warded buildings and allowed their automated defences to thin out the enemy units. At first, they grouped together, ambushing units without a wizard to warn the others. After a number of these attacks, the remaining enemy force was grouped in the town centre, near its administrative buildings. Attacking from multiple sides, the Battle Smiths engaged the enemy soldiers face to face, the Alchemists provided medical and spellcasting support, and the Artillerists brought down buildings with enemy soldiers in while fending off nearby enemies with their eldritch cannons.   The exact numbers are unknown, but it's believed that approximately 500 Litherian and Orcish soldiers died in the Battle of Neverwinter, while only 23 dwarves were lost, 19 of them artificers, the rest civilians. For the remainder of the war, and to this day, the First Ironheart Artificer Division was a fully independent unit, taking on assignments no other group was prepared for.   While a number of additional Artificer divisions were formed towards the end of the war, they have since been disbanded and their personnel reassigned to help in the rebuilding effort.    Personnel  

20 Alchemists

60 Artillerists

40 Battle Smiths

50 miscellaneous support personnel, including navigators, horse wranglers, and a divination wizard