Militia

[Nathaniel Rushton]

My questions without notice:

Can Militia be use the Action that they are mustered or do they have to wait till the next one?
Does anyone use different lengths of training for different units? If so what?
Should Knights be generated so easily? I don't think they should but I don't have any ideas about regulating their creation.

Regards,

Nathaniel
Kaeden@spin.net.au
"Don't think of it as being outnumbered,
think of is as having a very wide shot selection.".

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[Mark A Vandermeulen]

On Thu, 6 May 1999, Nathaniel Rushton wrote:

> My questions without notice:
>
> Can Militia be use the Action that they are mustered or do they have to
wait till the next one?

I assume that what you are refering to is the "Levy" unit (unless you're
talking about Darkstar's gunpowder units). If I remember correctly,
Levies are the ONLY unit that can be used directly upon mustering (or
irregulars if you're in Rjuric). Of course, many DM's have their own house
rules about mustering units. Some have rules requiring longer times for
training before the unit is available. Myself, I like to spend some time
figuring out that the feudal system in Anuire is like, and so I have
divided up the units into two different types, on the one hand are units
that the lesser nobility owe to their leige as part of their feudal
obligation. I rule that these units, once mustered, are only paid for
during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, and are free (but unavailable
for action) during the winter. These units are the Knights and the
Infantry in Anuire. However, they are also limited in number: a realm can
only have as many knight units as it has provinces with population levels
of 2 or above. It can maintain as many of the Infantry as it has total
province levels (i.e. all province levels added up). These troops still
have to be mustered once (representing the granting of feudal rights to a
particular member of the lower nobility).

Any of the other units which are owned represents the growing trend toward
a more centralized army, directly controlled by the regent, and are
mustered and paid for in the normal way (and don't become available unit
the month after they are mustered).

> Does anyone use different lengths of training for different units? If
so what?

I know some people do, but I don't. Your best bet would be to check the
Netbook, which is at
http://www.chariot.net.au/~hoss/birthright/index.html
Probably under "Rules Changes."

> Should Knights be generated so easily? I don't think they should but I
don't have any ideas about regulating their creation.

I agree (as outlined above). Others have developed other rules, for
example, depending upon the terrain type of the province.

Mark VanderMeulen
vander+@pitt.edu

[DKEvermore@aol.co]

In a message dated 5/5/99 9:47:53 AM Central Daylight Time,
kaeden@spin.net.au writes:

> My questions without notice:
>
> Can Militia be use the Action that they are mustered or do they have to
wait
> till the next one?

Most units require one month's time before they are active. Levies are the
exception.

> Does anyone use different lengths of training for different units? If so
> what?

I don't. I don't want the extra bookwork.

> Should Knights be generated so easily? I don't think they should but I
don'
> t have any ideas about regulating their creation.

Knights and other experienced warriors are not really generated so much as
summoned. Knights train (supposedly ;-) their whole lives for war -- it's an
ongoing process. They are there at the ready when the call to arms comes in.
It then only takes a month for them to get their affairs in order, collect
their implements of war, and show up at the mustering post or lords castle.
>
> Regards,
>
> Nathaniel
>

DKE

[Kenneth Gauck]

Musters should wait to take any action other than defence of the province.

There are two schools of thought on knights.
1) Cerilia is feudal and knights stand ready for the liege lord. In this
case knights are easy and inexpensive to muster, but there are few of them.
Limit the allowable musters.
2) Cerilia is non-feudal, knights are limited only by the funds neccesary to
create them. Raising a unit of knights should be more expensive and
possibly take more time to muster. They are in case case mounted
men-at-arms rather than knights proper because knighthood was a social
distinction, not a military one.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@earthlink.net

- -----Original Message-----
From: Nathaniel Rushton
Date: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 10:04 AM


>My questions without notice:
>
>Can Militia be use the Action that they are mustered or do they have to
wait till the next one?
>Does anyone use different lengths of training for different units? If so
what?
>Should Knights be generated so easily? I don't think they should but I
don't have any ideas about regulating their creation.
>
>Regards,
>
>Nathaniel
>Kaeden@spin.net.au
>"Don't think of it as being outnumbered,
> think of is as having a very wide shot selection.".
>
>

[Cobos]

Nathaniel Rushton wrote:

> My questions without notice:
>
> Can Militia be use the Action that they are mustered or do they have to wait till the next one?
> Does anyone use different lengths of training for different units? If so what?
> Should Knights be generated so easily? I don't think they should but I don't have any ideas about regulating their creation.
>

I'm using a heavily modified system for this. In my campaign you can only muster properly in winter season. Autumn is impossible
and so is spring, while you can muster in summertime thought at 2x to 3x the cost. This to increase the value of standing armies
and stop the wild mustering right before an invasion. Also the troops take a long time to arrive in my game:
snipped part from my rules:
Mustered units arrive before the last war move after one round. Example: You muster a unit in the first action of the winter
(that is action 1 in first turn). The unit will then be ready after third war move in action 3. If you muster these units at a
time of year when movement is easy the unit is ready before the first war move of action 3 (so that it is useable all through
action 3, not just the last war move.).

This ensures that the size of the army is a rather heavily tactical decision and also that you can get some rather cool
mobilization effects, that is your enemy can be seen mustering units at winter that he only will use in summer (you can't move in
wintertime)...

About the Knights I use a system of Draft level which means you can in theory have only Knight units in your army, but it will
take you around 2-5 years before you can reach that point, and then you have to keep the entire Knight company as a standing
army, which would be 10x the economic power of my players, so the problem hasn't been all that relevant.

>
> Regards,
>
> Nathaniel
> Kaeden@spin.net.au
> "Don't think of it as being outnumbered,
> think of is as having a very wide shot selection.".
>
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[the Falcon]

> Most units require one month's time before they are active. Levies are the
> exception.

Where in the rules does it say so? I don't think I've seen this
before. It seems very plausible, though...