Orlois Military

Military Might

Orlois is an outlier in the Marcelle and Aorlis on the whole, because they have a sophisticated military system that is based in part on feudalism but influenced by their Jotun heritage. They posses a standard military training regime, as well as the Orloisian Glima martial art. The Orloisians excel at amphibious landings, a holdover from their days as raiders and pirates. The military professionals here work hard to maintain their modern edge.

Weapons

Common Orloisian troops prefer the spear, mace, and the battle ax, while high-profile warriors are more partial to the arming sword and the two-handed, bearded great ax. Orloisians are also known to wield throwing spears, chopping spears, hooked spears, slings, throwing axes, crossbows, langsaexs, saexs, and daggers. A rare weapon that is more common here than elsewhere in the Empire is the staff sword, aka the short glaive, a descendant of the Jotun slashing short spear. Another curious holdover from earlier times is that modern arming swords built here are fitted with trilobate pommels or ringed pommels.

Armor

For armor, Orloisan common troops wear padded gambesons, maille hauberks, heater shields, and spangenhelms. Higher profile warriors wear padded gambesons, maille hauberks, coats of plates, and boiled leather greaves and bracers. For head protections, they don spangenhelms with nasals, cheek plates, integrated maille aventails, and padded coifs beneath.

Hierarchy

The Orloisan army is well respected both at sea and on land. It has the standard military hierarchy with an earl marshal for the country; a marshal for each army; a captain for each unit; and assorted lieutenants for internal divisions. Discipline and morale are good to high.

Army

Orlois can field an army of 18,000 to 20,000 troops, and her cavalry is about 20% heavy lancers and 15% light skirmishers; her infantry is 25% heavy spear and ax, 20% light mace and ax; and her archers are 20% heavy crossbow.

Navy

This country’s standing navy is 30 to 40 heavily armed, fortified ships, each with a crew of 80 as well as 800 marines, and their home ports are Helmdjarr City and Ashenby Town. The navy also includes 20 to 30 heavy transport ships, each with one or two cranes, and about 20 sailors each. Almost all Orloison troops are cross-trained as marines.

Specialists

Burlam has modern siege capacities, both in terms of siege engineers and technology. They usually take +10% pioneers, +10% siege engineers, and +5% scouts. Orlois rarely hires mercenaries, nor is their terrain conducive to war wagons. They have a monopoly on baresarks, aka Orloisian berserkers, who make up about +10% of any force. Not as common are shield maidens, who make up less than +5%.

Horses

Since Orlois entered the modern age, they have been steadily importing horses and building their breeding program. While they have developed no specific breeds yet, they do produce the full equine range (destriers, coursers, palfreys, cobs, etc.)