Doing unit descriptions for core kinda fueled my imagination to do the same thing for the rest of narthena military forces - and since zalem was the one i always pit as big enemy but never bothered to talk about, I started to working on fleshing out these buggers. Before i wanted to redo their ranged weapons and with some of their troops i already sketched waiting to be lined, i give ya a few examples of their cold weaponry. Zalem as a military force relies highly on zerging their enemies to death and will avoid close quarters combat when their numbers cant be used to its fullest extent - in urban combat, they will either try to lure enemy into the open or to surround them. Despite this choice of tactic, Zalem troops are everything but a cannonfodder and will use any possible way to avoid loosing their numbers before they can clash against the enemy - the fact that a drachling, the main race in zalem, are hardly ever taller than 1,50m/5 ft, they are well aware of their size disadvantage comparred to their enemies. Thus, long reach weaponry is a must - pole arms and two-handed sword in all their variations being their weapon of choice, although their one handed weapons are also very well known for their sting, most of them being specialized in piercing or circumventing enemy armor with blunt force. High number of weapons and armor in use are actually family heirlooms, some for centuries which shows how high the survivabillity of zalem soldiers is - and also explaining how these pieces can sometime show high artisan skill.
As for armor, im kinda inclined to give them high armor on one side only, while the off hand side is either protected by shield or due to stance - the reason being that being mobile is important for survivabillity, and thus its better not to be encumbered by the heavy armor - other reason being the cost of such armor.