City militiaman and officer By Imperator-Zor Watch

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These guys are not from a warlike culture. Their kingdom was forged in no small part by the sword in the distant past and they have to defend themselves against bandits and the occasional incursion from one of the neighboring principalities, but their governing philosophies speak poorly of warfare and especially those that would glory in it. War is occasionally necessary to bring order and security, but it is a painful and miserable thing that it is to be avoided. The Monarch has the royal guard with it's thousand men, but most of the realm's manpower comes from the militias. Each county and city is required to maintain a militia that it can muster in time of need. Militia service is voluntary and consists of some rough and ready training in arms. Families which provide a someone militia pay 25% lower taxes for the next ten years. All a recruit need to do is show up, be between the ages of 16 to 50 and be in half decent health. Then he'll get a cheap helmet and some very basic torso armor with the county or city insignia on it and either a halberd or crossbow from a civil armor and he'll have to patrol the streets and roads one day a fortnight for the next few years. Only a smattering of trainers are retained full time. The high ranking merchants and landed nobles will often assign one of their lesser sons to serve as officers and light cavalry in the army while the high ranking family members focus on important things like trade and agriculture. They can afford basic mirror plate. When war is declared or there is otherwise a pressing need, militia units are mustered with the rank and file being paid a modest wage while on campaign from the King's Coffers.



The resulting forces meet the basic requirements for iron age warfare and the fact that their kingdom is the largest realm in their neck of the woods means they can always muster a fair number of these guys to throw at their enemies.

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