- Location
- The Shambhala Of Hardcoredom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Manor with different squad assignments
Guards? Guards! -- Altdorf City Watch
- Thread starter DrearyBear
- Start date
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QQ, I am starting to work on the writeup, and for the arms and armor how much detail would you guys like? Individual kit load outs? A coupe of top level options to choose from ect?
- Location
- Near Freiburg in South-West Germany
IMO a few top level options should be enough, I don't think we are in a position yet to be very specific with equipment. Just being able to give everyone good boots, a (used) breastplate, head covering, a polearm of some sort, a nightstick, and a piece of clothing of roughly the same colour, would be better than anticipated. Maybe a notebook for those who can read and write?
Once we have money and contacts with either the state armouries or traders who can deliver in bulk we can worry about standardising on halberds of a specific make and model, new armor, actual uniforms, and additional or specialised equipment.
Sertorius
Rebellious Legate
- Location
- Roma Invicta
Arming each watchman individually might be a bit of a stretch, since it would require a lot of work on your part.
Maybe just use some presets for a whole squad and add better gear in the form of expensive/magical/rare items on a case by case basis?
- Location
- Near Freiburg in South-West Germany
Good idea, even used breastplate was probably a bit optimistic of me. A gambeson is probably a more reasonable option.
For weapons a nightstick is just a hardwood stick with a grip, so that shouldn't be hard to get (you can make two to three out of a broken spear shaft or similar), for the pole arms a longer stick with some piece of metal at the end is probably the best we can hope for. I do hope we can get decent boots though, those would do wonders for morale and endurance.
Wishlist for the future:
A proper belt or harness with holsters and bags to carry everything comfortably.
Lanterns for patrols at night.
A specific make and model of halberd as pole arm instead the random assortment we probably have to use early on.
Spiffy hats. With a metal skull cap or helmet underneath for protection.
Even better boots.
Steel breastplate over a gambeson as standard for normal patrols, but also extras for arm and leg protection if trouble is expected.
It would be nice if each squad had someone with a bow, a few arrows, and the training to use them just to have some ranged support, but that is something which has to wait until a lot of other issues are fixed first and we can invest into training.
A pistol for each Sargent.
Actual uniforms. Looking like a proper official unit would do wonders for unit cohesion and the respect from the civilians.
A notebook and pen for everyone. After everyone has learned to read and write, of course.
That gives me an idea:
Can we incentivise our troopers? The pay is probably the lowest we can get away with, so it might be in the budget to give those who posses a skill we want a tiny extra amount each week. Being able to read and write would be such a skill. It would give them an incentive to learn on their own, without us having to do anything.
I think we can't do pistols & range weapons for them since we're Ulrician
- Location
- Near Freiburg in South-West Germany
Doesn't that only limit us, not the rest of the watch?
Just in the case of reading and writing, finding a tutor and having the liquid capital to invest in this service is no mean take for your ragged watchmen.
Wrapping up the new chapter, but just wanted to respond to a couple of questions in the thread.
Yes. You can indeed increase the salary, and indeed may need to do so in the future to keep exceptional guardsmen. However, you are very very thin on income right now. First step here would be to get some more coin coming in.
It's interesting. Ulrican's are fully integrated into the Empire's Armies, and as a whole are used to fighting with cross bowers and hand gunners. Manuel certainly would have had plenty of exposure to, and maybe even friends who used them. From what I understand however, units from Middenland and other Ulrican strongholds are unlikely to use such weapons themselves.
So from the purposes of the quest, I would say it may be possible to have your soldiers use them, but it almost certainly would add to your personal stress. To be implicitly allowing/supporting their use goes after your own core values.
Yes. You can indeed increase the salary, and indeed may need to do so in the future to keep exceptional guardsmen. However, you are very very thin on income right now. First step here would be to get some more coin coming in.
It's interesting. Ulrican's are fully integrated into the Empire's Armies, and as a whole are used to fighting with cross bowers and hand gunners. Manuel certainly would have had plenty of exposure to, and maybe even friends who used them. From what I understand however, units from Middenland and other Ulrican strongholds are unlikely to use such weapons themselves.
So from the purposes of the quest, I would say it may be possible to have your soldiers use them, but it almost certainly would add to your personal stress. To be implicitly allowing/supporting their use goes after your own core values.
Ok, so what about more Martial oriented range wepons like bollas or capture nets, will those also give us stress?
My understanding is that every ranged weapons is under scrutiny by the Ulricans for being cowardly and wrong.
You know, if that's the case then what about throwing our or liberated enemy "Melee weapons" like swords and spears back at their allies "Goblin Slayer style" since those aren't range weapons'.
And while were talking about it, what's our faiths stance on stealth, assassination and asymmetrical(Guerrilla) warfare?
Sertorius
Rebellious Legate
- Location
- Roma Invicta
Crossbows are the preferred weapon of the average mercenary or watchman.
Easy to use, effective against almost anything we can reasonably expect to fight. One can learn to use it after a few days of training and become proficient in a matter of weeks. Whereas a bowman takes years of experience to be effective. If one never shot a bow before, he's not going to learn it anytime soon.
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That is only the case for Warbows with draw weight of 100+ pounds. Lighter bows that don't require that level of conditioning should be easier. Besides my post was about Ulrican religious limitations on ranged weapons.
Ulrican limitations are primarily around skill, and formatting a warrior culture. The reason that crossbows and gunpowder weapons are precisely the reasons that @Sertorius highlighted them as being ideal for the standard mercenary:
Ulrican's value conflict not just as a matter of efficacy, but a matter of sacred duty, a recreation of Ulric's own fights against the forces of darkness. A bow is fine precisely because it takes years of practice to master, hundreds of hours of practice that enhance ones connection with their god through communal gathering and self mastery.
However, things like bolos ect to incapacitate wrongdoers are unlikely to raise Ulrican sensibilities. For one, they require a great deal of skill to operate. Additionally, they are not weapons of conflicts, but tools of law enforcement and thus largely separate from Ulric's proscriptions.
I think it's interesting to imagine how such a religion would adapt to new circumstances and inventions. When Catholic Missionaries arrived in the new world they famously classified capybaras and alligators as "fish" for the purposes of Lent as the animals spent most of their time in the water. Is is possible that Ulrican's could grow to accept something like a sniper rifle if it required sufficient practice and skill? It certainly would cause some religious debate.
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As for asymmetrical warfare, it's about as coherent as you would expect from a major religion. From the WFRP 4e Rulebook:
I think thats more loopholes than any actual practical advice. How flexible do you think Manuel should be?
Ulrican's value conflict not just as a matter of efficacy, but a matter of sacred duty, a recreation of Ulric's own fights against the forces of darkness. A bow is fine precisely because it takes years of practice to master, hundreds of hours of practice that enhance ones connection with their god through communal gathering and self mastery.
However, things like bolos ect to incapacitate wrongdoers are unlikely to raise Ulrican sensibilities. For one, they require a great deal of skill to operate. Additionally, they are not weapons of conflicts, but tools of law enforcement and thus largely separate from Ulric's proscriptions.
I think it's interesting to imagine how such a religion would adapt to new circumstances and inventions. When Catholic Missionaries arrived in the new world they famously classified capybaras and alligators as "fish" for the purposes of Lent as the animals spent most of their time in the water. Is is possible that Ulrican's could grow to accept something like a sniper rifle if it required sufficient practice and skill? It certainly would cause some religious debate.
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As for asymmetrical warfare, it's about as coherent as you would expect from a major religion. From the WFRP 4e Rulebook:
I think thats more loopholes than any actual practical advice. How flexible do you think Manuel should be?
To throw the enemies own weapon at some is never frown upon nor is throwing your weapon if your in a pinch and it is needed, however, to base your figthingstyle on ranged weapons is definitely looked down at and decisively un-Ulrican.
As I understand it, they (and Ulric) has no problem with Guerilla warfare, however it is more a Taalite thing.
Stealth? Also no problem as long as you frame it as an attempt to ambush you enemy to do a surprise charge and meet him in glorious melee combat.
Assassination though... you mean like a human Khain follower? No, just straight up no.
Remember, we're a followers of the God whose greatest champions and priests are near berserkers in heavy plate armour, wielding two handed weapons.
Assassinations is very un-Ulrican.
I find the phrase "tools of law enforcement" to be pretty interesting here, because it's a reminder that the duties of the Watch are not conducting warfare. In fact, though I'm not sure that Altdorf uses the term, one might characterize them as "protectors of the peace".
I think that when Manuel is trying to reconcile his Ulrician beliefs, he would do well to remember that though the Watch sometimes use the tools of warfare and engages in violence, their goal is not to win battles. The ideal scenario is that suspects peacefully submit to their authority for fair judgment. A criminal is not a foe to be fought honorably, they are a citizen being brought to judgement (sometimes forcibly). An Ulrician Watch officer should think of it in terms of, "What is permissible if I was trying to impose order on an army camp and discipline troops," more than "what is permissible to fight enemies on the battlefield".