King Meinolf

King Meinolf is the de facto sovereign of all Human clans in the world of The Banner Saga, ruling from the capital of Arberrang.

His only mentioned offspring, and heir to the throne, is Prince Ludin.

Recent Events
Before the events of The Banner Saga, King Meinolf decided to reforge his alliance with the Varl. To this end, he dispatches his son, Prince Ludin, together with the Varl King's kendr, Vognir, to the Varl capital of Grofheim in order to seal the pact. The joint human and Varl fleet lands on Strand shortly after Ubin's arrival, in Chapter 1, to continue from there to Grofheim on foot.

Following the news of the massive Dredge invasion and the arrival of the Darkness and the Serpent, the King decided to seal the Arberrang gates to the numerous refugees that seek the protection of its legendary Black Wall. However, when the largest of the caravans (originating from Skogr) reaches the human capital, the King decides to parley with the caravan that harbors numerous leaders:
 * his son & heir (Prince Ludin), whose initially arrogant behavior has changed for the better after his travels with the Skogr caravan,
 * Ludin's mysterious bodyguard and counselor (Yrsa),
 * the Sundr Slayer (Rook or Alette), leader of the Skogr caravan,
 * the unlikely Varl king (Hakon), who assumed the leadership after the demise of both Jorundr and Vognir,
 * the ex-governor of Boersgard (Rugga), who holds sway over the refugee clans from the second largest human city,
 * the leader of a large Horseborn herd (Canary), of seemingly positive disposition.

King Meinolf holds a longtime grudge against Rugga, so he always refuses him entrance to the city. The King's attitude towards Hakon's Varl depends on whether his son, Ludin, was properly protected. The Sundr Slayer is called upon to decide if he/she wants to side with or against the King...

Stats and Abilities
The Skogr caravan has the chance to fight with or against King Meinolf at the end of Chapter 14, in the second part of The Banner Saga. The King is protected by multiple Elite Guards and potentially by King's Archers (Bowmasters, with increased default attack range) as well.

Passive Ability: Kingly Defense
Any Strength damage targeted to the King is Absorbed (similarly to Thick Hide or Shield Mastery) by all his still living Elite Guards, and split between their Armor and Strength stats (similarly to Maul damage). Additionally, the Elite Guards immediately retaliate, attacking the offending unit if it is within their melee range. Finally, the Elite Guards' Passive Ability replenishes +2 Armor to the King at each round, when adjacent to him.

Active Ability: King's Will
All Elite Guards attack simultaneously on command, targeting a random in-range enemy.

This ability costs 1 Willpower and has only one Rank, similarly to Maul.

Strategies

 * The King's Elite Guards are his main power and tool. When they are gone, he is relatively easy to knock out.
 * Armor damage to the King is not absorbed by his Guards, so it is advisable to attack that first, and then deal Strength damage.
 * Apart from his high Break, the King is likely to maintain his (high) Strength until late in the battle, due to his Passive Ability. Do not underestimate him in melee combat!
 * Poison damage is not absorbed by his Guards, it is possible to bypass the need to kill his Guards by utilizing the horseborn Cantref's ability Poison Tipped.