In that case I know what I must do!
@EarthScorpion
I know that you've done a lot of work changing things around so that Exalted actually makes sense as a living breathing world (The triremes vs Junk argument from a while back comes to mind). So I was wondering what warfare is like in kerisgame/your version of exalted? How does the existence of thaumaturgy, dragonblooded dynasties, demons, artifacts etc effect war in creation? How does the return of the solars/ creation of the Infernals and Abyssals effect the way war is waged? How does war in Malfeas and in the abyss differ from war in creation? Etc Etc.
@Imrix but shouldn't things like making deals with the local courts/ offerings to the local spirits be the default? I understand that not everywhere necessarily has access to martial arts, but some of these things seem like should be omnipresent. According to Games of Divinity, outside the Realm's sphere of influence, the various terrestrial gods are basically running rampant and competing for control of creation. Most gods are demanding tribute and obedience from the humans in the area they rule. So any given village should be under the protection of a god, if only so that they can keep providing prayer. So a battle between two villages is really a battle between two villages under the control of a god or elemental or whatever. The Realm obviously doesn't work like this, but they have access to better than bronze age technology, sorcery and dragonblooded. They really shouldn't be fighting like bronze age warriors either.
Now, I will admit I'm still working my way through the books, so I'm probably getting something wrong/missing something. If so please tell me, because I am trying to learn.
First of all, you're asking ES waaay too many questions at once.
Consider that the sheer number of different sources of supernatural might mean they can and will have vastly different effects on warfare in areas where they have supremacy. A Solar training a nation's troops to be Tiger Warriors will dominate in his field, but an island nation with a bargain with a strong local spirit court will have Water Elementals on their side to give their island sanctuary and a massive edge in the naval arena. An Abyssal raising a force of ghosts, zombies and necrotech monstrocities would alter warfare very differently in his area (needing to rely on Shadowlands to move around etc) than a city that has access to a Factory-Cathedral and large stores of the Magical Materials.
As for most of the Treshold being under the "protection of various spirits": most gods or elementals may very well demand tribute from weak or ignorant villagers, but that does not mean they can, or even particularly care for, defending those same villagers when danger comes knocking on their doorstep.
Consider a river god who demands a virgin from a village every year in tribute. When a raiding party arrives and the villagers call for aid, he might make the river impassible to the raiders, or lay some curse on them, or may even materialize and decide to beat their faces in personally. This all depends on the exact powers and personality of the river god. He could also not care because the villagers already gave him a virgin this year in return for him not flooding his village, and if there is'nt a virgin waiting for him next year, he'll just take it out on the village, but he won't actually defend their village.
Actually getting the active assistance of gods or elementals in any reliable fashion is difficult, especially for mortals (gods and elementals are'nt actually obligated to defend anyone, and their actions depend entirely on the personality of the specific god or elemental in question). Courts of them will rarely even notice if this or that village need their assistance, and could very well be appeased by the enemies of those who thought to be under their protection in various ways (for example, in the above example, the raiding party might offer the river god another virgin in return for not blocking their passage, and thus the village gets no protection, or they make some other arrangement with him).
Remember: gods can easily demand worship without actually being able to do much in battle. A god or elemental can demand a mortal population appease it or their harvests will fail due to a curse, but if he materializes to fight a bandit he'll get his shit kicked in from half a dozen mortals with sledgehamemrs.
Various sources of supernatural might are also not compatible: A village can try and get the protection of the ghosts of their ancestors or of a local god, but hardly both at once (as the god will want the prayer they offer their ancestors, and their ancestors will similary want it for themselves).
In short, the source, nature and (reliable or not so much) availability of supernatural might is what dictates what changes from real-life warfare a society needs to adapt to be competitive, and in some cases said changes are simply not viable if a society does not have access to the needed sources of supernatural might.
