This is from the new Regent Guide version, but I think it is of enough interest to post here as well:
Roesone – Sample army
Baroness Marlae Roesone has just ended a short, but costly, war with Diemed. Now her army is in shambles and needs to be rebuilt. It seems the perfect time to also reassess the security needs of her entire realm.
Fortifications are first; she has a castle (4) in Caercas and a castle (3) in Bellam. In addition she has some forts [law] in several provinces; Fairfield lvl 3, Ghoried lvl 2, and Edlin, Duerlin and Abbatuor lvl 1. She decides to upgrade Caercas castle to lvl 5 and to turn the Fairfield fort into a castle (4). That leaves southern Roesone exposed, but she can’t afford castles all over, and this setup gives a strong defense against Ghoere and Osoerde – the most likely aggressors – while relying on Medoere and Ilien to protect the western flank against Diemed. It will cost 20 GBs for the Caercas castle, 30 GBs to turn the Fairfield fort into a castle, and 20 GBs more to increase the castle’s level to 4. That’s a total of 70GBs, spread over a number of turns. Fairfield will take the longest, so the Baroness might decide to rush construction here, reducing time needed, but increasing the cost even further. Assuming garrison status the total upkeep will be 6 GBs for the castles and 2,5 GBs for the forts; for a grand total of 8,5 GBs per season.
Roesone’s three-caravel navy is also taken care of; two are placed on reserve, while the third is retained on garrison – the navy is too weak to make any difference, and Marlae has no immediate plans for expanding it, yet for prestige reasons she won’t disband it. Lacking a coastal port province (Abbatuor is only level 3), the ships sail up the Spider River and anchor in Caercas (as medium ships they can do that). The two reserve ships fail their morale check, lose 1 XP, and drop from skilled to green. Total upkeep is (0,5*2)/4 + 0,5/2 = 0,5 GBs. Half a GB isn’t much, but neither is the navy…
Roesone has two very experienced knight units. They are very good, but hideously expensive (active upkeep of 5 GBs each). By making them reserves, total upkeep is only 2,5 GBs. Because of their high morale, neither unit loses any XP. She opts to put them in Caercas where they will be better protected should a sudden invasion occur; she can’t afford to have them destroyed before they can act.
Next is the garrison units. She already has some units, but their numbers were diminished as a result of the war, so she has to muster some new ones to compensate. In the end she settles for a total garrison of 1 scouts, 1 armsmen, 2 dragoons, 4 regulars, 2 pikes, and 4 archers. To achieve this she musters 1 dragoon, 3 regulars and 1 archers – another 12 GBs. Some of the existing units have quite a bit of experience, but Marlae decides only to pay extra upkeep for the elite armsmen and scouts. The other experienced units will lose 1 XP per season until they become veteran.
Upkeep for units is (1,5+2,5+2*2+4*1+2*1+4*1)/2 = 9 GBs. The armsmen and dragoons are placed in Caercas, two each of regulars and archers end up in Bellam, and the rest of the unit go to Fairfield. If fiancés permit Marlae would like for the dragoons to be active, as a sort of rapid-response unit (possibly commanded by her personally).
The army could well have been bigger, but the total upkeep is now 8,5+0,5+9 = 18 GBs, which is less then half of Marlae’s income, but she has a lot of investments to do, so this will have to do – for now.
Next are officers. Marlae is a competent field commander, but nothing special. Her skills run towards diplomacy. Fortunately her twin brother Caemed is a strong general and excellent knight; he is also her lieutenant and heir (until she marries and gets children). In short a very important man. She puts him as garrison commander in Bellam, since that is the most exposed (and lest loyal) province in Roesone. She also has two competent field commanders Castellan Ser Traese Noelon and Ser-Captain Tael Brosuine; both are skilled and loyal men who have served her father, Baron Teried for many years. Traese commands the Fairfield garrison while Tael ends up in Abbatuor (mostly to have a henchman there that can support espionage actions taken against the SASI – but that’s another story).
Several of Roesone’s vassals (Bellam, Durelin, Edlin, Fairfield, and Ghoried) can bring units to a fight, especially Count Ghoried, with his guild-bloated income, has quite the powerful private army. The vassals also maintain minor manor forts in their respective provinces, which add somewhat to Roesone’s defense. And the Count of Fairfield is a competent leader, so can be made a general in a pinch (the same goes for Count Bellamie, but his loyalty is suspect, which makes him unsuitable). As long as Marlae can keep her vassals loyal these units will provide a free boost to her army should she need it. It, however, one or more of her vassals turn traitorous she could have a real problem with a civil war on her hands.
One thing Roesone does enjoy is a skilled and sizable militia. The first levy called is veteran militia (instead of skilled militia) and the second is skilled militia (instead of levy). Marlae also has treaties empowering her to decide when the levy is called, and treaties that ensure her vassals contribute their manor holdings to hers when the levy is called. That’s potentially 20 or so veteran militia and 20 more skilled militia! Enough to stop anything but a major invasion…IF Marlae can keep her vassals loyal and cooperating that is…
Mercenaries could be an option for Roesone, but it will be many years before finances are good enough to allow any mass hiring of sell-swords. Only by loaning money (from the SRT for example) can Roesone hire mercenaries in any amount. This will be done only in an emergency, if it looks like Roesone will be defeated in a major war for example.
That’s it. Roesone is several years away from having adequate defenses, and even more years before the army is anywhere near being big enough to be anything but a defensive force. Until that time Marlae is completely dependent on her vassals helping out – which means they will most likely be pushing for even more influence…and Marlae can forget about revoking the tax exemption on manors anytime soon!
