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Contents 1 Proposed Canon 1.1 Commanders 1.2 Origin 2 Speculation

Proposed Canon

Warlord is a unit that has Leadership ability^{Erf-b1-p040aErf-b1-p084a}. That special (or natural) ability allows Warlords to lead other units in combat and grant a bonus to units under their command.

Warlords also control their stacks in combat, allowing for directed attacks (or preventing combat, as opposed to an unled stack, which must auto-attack when in contact with non-allied units.^Erf-b1-p040a

Commanders

On some occasions terms Warlord and Commander are used interchangeably.^Erf-b1-p040a

However, Commander is a more general term since Casters are Commanders too^Erf-b1-p084a, but they do not have Leadership ability.

Origin

Infantry units can be promoted to warlord in the capital (although at a high cost)^Erf-b1-p043a or popped, either by a side in one of its cities, or, rarely, as a barbarian in the wild. ^WoT-6051503

Speculation

Chief Warlord is not a separate class, but is a subclass of Warlord. A Chief Warlord provides bonuses that other Warlords do not.

Ruler seems to be a separate class of Unit (Rulers grant units in their stack a bonus^Erf-b1-p115, but it is not clear whether that bonus comes from Leadership ability or as a result of some special rule).