Since the time of it's inception a critical part of the Allergonian Empire has been it's chivalry. There are some 120,000 knightly houses in the Empire ranging in size from lone individuals to extended families with over forty members. Some are landed, others are retained by lords, cities or the Kings of the Empire. What they have in common is that they are required to have arms, armor and a mount and train for war. If pressed the Empire could field up to 240,000 knights. The traditional ideal of a knight as a heavily armored lancer has been the norm for most of the Empire's history and persists even to this day, however a variant of this has also arisen in the last two centuries in the form of the Pistollier.The distinction between Lancers and Pistolliers is a loose one. Many that would be reckoned Pistolliers know their way around a lance and many Lancers will carry a pistol and are decent shots. Even so the two groups do each fight in their own way. Lancers wear full plate, ride huge Destriers in heavy barding and slam into enemy formations. Pistoliers are usually clad in three quarter plate, ride smaller horses and wheel about firing pistols into enemy formations as well as scouting, raiding and charging weakened formations and running down retreating forces. Often Pistolliers come from poorer houses or are younger sons since their gear and mounts are less expensive. Runic armor is less common among pistolliers than is the case with lancers, with maybe one in three of them having partial runic plate and one in six having full runic plate, though the Empire's Dwarvish population means that there is no shortage of solid non-magically enhanced breastplates proofed against pistol shot.Originally pistolliers were armed with Matchlock and Wheellock pistols, which were modestly effective. However the introduction of Flintlock pistols and latter revolvers (most commonly the Pattern-1402 Yorigsov/Ulricson revolver ) as well as breech loading carbines was a major boon to their effectiveness due to their increased rate of fire. This, as well as casualties among lancers without runic armor has lead to an increase in the number of Pistolliers about. Some of them have recently found employment in the new Imperial Army.