average lifetime of military equipment

[AndrewTall]

I think the designers saw the problem to a degree - which is why if a levy got wiped the province dropped a level, but they didn't build in a cap on the maximum number of units you can raise.

To get that to really work you would need to track the actual population and a subset thereof being the number of potential warriors (i.e. surplus young men). That would have added to complexity badly - remember this is before we all had computers and the like to track this sort of stuff.

I'd suggest that you need to put an annual cap on raising units aside from mercenaries, possibly a longer period for slow breeding races. Or if you use the province growth rules recently posted by Evan Sørgjerd's (http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/ind...rovince_Growth) and 'use up' some of the growth points in a province when you raise troops so putting an automatic cap on the number that can be raised without reducing the province level.

[dalor]

My method to limit unusually large armies was to
simply say a province could only support one unit per
province level and left it alone at that.

The players then actually kept track of the various
units home provinces. If a unit was destroyed then a
new unit could be raised from the province, but only
after a period of time...can`t remember the number I
used.

If they wanted more units than that, they had to hire
mercenaries...and woe to the ruler that had too many
of those compared to his native forces.


--- AndrewTall <brnetboard@BIRTHRIGHT.NET> wrote:

> This post was generated by the Birthright.net
> message forum.
> You can view the entire thread at:
>
http://www.birthright.net/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=3742
>
> AndrewTall wrote:
> I think the designers saw the problem to a degree -
> which is why if a levy got wiped the province
> dropped a level, but they didn`t build in a cap on
> the maximum number of units you can raise.
>
> To get that to really work you would need to track
> the actual population and a subset thereof being the
> number of potential warriors (i.e. surplus young
> men). That would have added to complexity badly -
> remember this is before we all had computers and the
> like to track this sort of stuff.
>
> I`d suggest that you need to put an annual cap on
> raising units aside from mercenaries, possibly a
> longer period for slow breeding races. Or if you
> use the province growth rules recently posted by
> Evan Sørgjerd`s
>
(http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/index.php/House_Rules_Province_Growth)
> and `use up` some of the growth points in a province
> when you raise troops so putting an automatic cap on
> the number that can be raised without reducing the
> province level.
>
>

>
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[Sir Tiamat]

I think the designers saw the problem to a degree - which is why if a levy got wiped the province dropped a level, but they didn't build in a cap on the maximum number of units you can raise.

To get that to really work you would need to track the actual population and a subset thereof being the number of potential warriors (i.e. surplus young men). That would have added to complexity badly - remember this is before we all had computers and the like to track this sort of stuff.

I'd suggest that you need to put an annual cap on raising units aside from mercenaries, possibly a longer period for slow breeding races. Or if you use the province growth rules recently posted by Evan Sørgjerd's (http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/ind...rovince_Growth) and 'use up' some of the growth points in a province when you raise troops so putting an automatic cap on the number that can be raised without reducing the province level.

I am actually working on this, as part of my project to build units from the individual level…

(http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/ind...by Sir Tiamat))

Under availability of manpower… But it is still a draft

[The Swordgaunt]

My method to limit unusually large armies was to
simply say a province could only support one unit per
province level and left it alone at that.

The players then actually kept track of the various
units home provinces. If a unit was destroyed then a
new unit could be raised from the province, but only
after a period of time...can`t remember the number I
used.

I've used the same rule, with a few add-ons.

Levies/Pressgangs:
In addittion to the regular troops, a province can support one unit of peasantry per level. These will be rabble, and their anihilation will affect the population level.

Gentlemen Cavalry:
By a "Call to Arms" (described in an earlier post), landed nobility and their retinue can be mustered. The loss of such a unit can lead to the losss of the "Rose of Nobility", and decreased loyalty of a province/Realm

[ShadowMoon]

In my campaign:

Muster takes time, like 1GB per season + 1GB per Law/Castle Level (or Guild/Temple Level /2).
Maximum units mustered in a province equal the province level.
Levies are addition to maximum units per province.
Levies reduce effective province level. If disbanded it takes one month to restore the level. If destroyed, level decrease is permanent.
Unit can be in Reserve only in it's home province.
Unit can be in Garrison only in Forts/Castles.
It takes one month to change unit status from Reserve to Garrison and from Garrison to Active.
Mercenaries are not always available; Province check (modified by regent's reputation, regional situation, etc.) shows what mercenary troops, if any, are available for hire.

[Gman]

So in summary - you need a base cost percentage.

This is modified by the disipline of the unit - slovenly units will cause more wear and tear. + loss of equipment (sold, misplaced).

Also modified by Duties of the unit. Garrison - continuous active duty.

Also moderated by Blacksmith/ repair facilities.

[kgauck]

City Works by Legends and Lairs includes a section on city guard training. Their ranks go from rabble, to poor, average, good, and elite. They asume, quite rightly, I think, that no one will invest in equipment for men they don't bother to train.

Rabble guards get a club and padded armor. They are Commoner 1.
Poor guards get studded leather and longspear as well as a club. They are Warrior 1.
Average guards get scale armor and a longsword with a large wooden shield and a light crossbow. They are also Warrior 1.
Good guards get the same as average, except their longswords are silvered and they get the Weapon Focus (Longsword) feat. They are Warrior 2.
Elite guards get silvered halberds, light mace, the light crossbow, and banded mail. They are Fighter 2.

I have a bunch of quibbles with this setup, but the thing I like here, is that it links training an equipment. Its unlikely that you'll have a slovenly unit with high quality gear. If you raise a rabble they are armed like a rabble. Once a unit is trained they will continue to maintain their gear, because their gear is for their own benefit.

[Sir Tiamat]

City Works by Legends and Lairs includes a section on city guard training. Their ranks go from rabble, to poor, average, good, and elite. They asume, quite rightly, I think, that no one will invest in equipment for men they don't bother to train.

Rabble guards get a club and padded armor. They are Commoner 1.
Poor guards get studded leather and longspear as well as a club. They are Warrior 1.
Average guards get scale armor and a longsword with a large wooden shield and a light crossbow. They are also Warrior 1.
Good guards get the same as average, except their longswords are silvered and they get the Weapon Focus (Longsword) feat. They are Warrior 2.
Elite guards get silvered halberds, light mace, the light crossbow, and banded mail. They are Fighter 2.

I have a bunch of quibbles with this setup, but the thing I like here, is that it links training an equipment. Its unlikely that you'll have a slovenly unit with high quality gear. If you raise a rabble they are armed like a rabble. Once a unit is trained they will continue to maintain their gear, because their gear is for their own benefit.

In my houserules higher level chars get more expensive gear:a warrior lvl 1 gets 100 gp, while a fighter lvl 2 would get 500 gp