Armsmen

Summary

Professional soldiers in the service of a noble house, armsmen are a staple in armies all over the Continent. Well-trained and often hardened from numerous engagements with bandits and rebels, armsmen form the disciplined core of any lord's host. Picked from local militia for their talent, strength, and prowess, armsmen are most often found guarding the family, castle, and important properties of their liege. Trained for anywhere from several months to a year, these commoners-turned-soldiers are both reliable and effective in battle. Marching under their lord's colors with spears, pikes, halberds, swords, shields, and a variety of other equipment, armsmen can both hold a battle line and cut a terrifying path through lesser troops. Middling in terms of expense and upkeep, a troop of well-drilled armsmen can stop even the most daunting foes dead in their tracks, given conditions are right. While by no means a match for superior numbers of professional troops, armsmen have a proven record of both valor and bravery in combat with the skills to match. Many men serving in professional hosts of the Free Companies or Versotian Marines often start their life of soldiering as young armsmen, gutting bandits and guarding castles.

Composition

Manpower

Unlike levy or militia troops, the size of a lord's host of armsmen is often dependent on how many professional troops he can afford to house and arm. While most armsmen are drawn from promising local milita, a fair number of vagabonds and drifters can find themselves serving as armsmen, provided they can prove their worth. Wealthy lords can often muster many thousands of armsmen from among his own lands and those of his minor landholders, while destitute lords might be able to scrounge up several hundred at most.

Equipment

Equipped with armor produced by local smithies, the gear of your average armsman, while certainly not fashionable, will protect his appendages and vital organs in battle. Pieces of armor are most often made from quality steel, with mail shirts and gambesons commonplace. All of this equipment, however, is considered the sole property of the liege lord that paid for it. As such, armsmen are expected to clean and maintain their issued armor diligently, lest their lord's quartermaster charge them for damaged or worn equipment. And while the usual pay of armsmen would be considered far from lackluster, expenses for damaged, broken, or lost equipment can result in docked pay and extended service in order to pay for their liege lord's financial loss. It's not uncommon for pieces of armor to be meticulously cleaned and maintained for decades before eventually being moved to a lord's reserve armory, now being fit for militia troops or some lucky peasant.

Weaponry

Similarly to their armor, the weapons of most armsmen are produced at local smithies by professional craftsmen. Spears, pikes, maces, and swords serve as the primary tools of most armsmen. Like their armor, the weapons of these armsmen are the property of their liege lord, and are cared for as such. After years of wear and use, these weapons are also often moved to a lord's reserve armory for use by lesser troops.

Structure

As proper soldiers, troops of armsmen are generally commanded by a veteran of their own number elevated to the position of Captain or a minor knight of their liege lord's court. Under such leadership, often well-versed in the art of war, armsmen can potentially pose a significant threat to opposing forces. Should this individual fall in combat, armsmen often have an appointed depth of command to fall back on to prevent confusion and demoralization.

Tactics

Armsmen are trained in a variety of tactics depending on their role. Those serving as mounted outriders practice the art of raiding and hit-and-run attacks, while those in the infantry troops drill on forming rigid shieldwalls and wedge formations to break through enemy lines. Spending much of their downtime training year-round, armsmen are proficient in their tasks when the time for battle calls.

Training

Initial training for a recruit armsman takes a minimum of several months, beginning with weapon drills and ending with the recruit joining more senior troops in forays against bandits and outlaws. If his overall progress is deemed satisfactory by his captain or whichever knight is appointed over him, the recruit will then begin to receive pay, thus becoming an official man-at-arms for his liege lord. This process, while seemingly simple, can at times be exceptionally arbitrary. Recruits can be dismissed by their captains for a plethora of reasons at a moment's notice, forced to return to their fields and hovels forevermore.

Overall training Level

Semi-professional

Assumed Veterancy

Trained