Dragoons

Pladeholder Dwof by Katy Smith

One of the most heavily trained military units that the dwarves field are the Dragoons. They wield specialised arbalests with incredibly high draw weights. The shorter stature but increased musculature of the dwarven frame is ideal for this form of offensive weapon. Increasing the amount of force that can be put behind the heavy steel bolts. Ammunition for these weapons varies from caged explosive bolts to heavy armour piercing bolts. The firing rate that a Dragoon could achieve was usually in the region of 1-2 bolts per minute. Due to the slow rate of fire, precision became paramount. To aid with this, defensive positions with a clear line of sight to the target as well as providing enough cover from incoming projectiles to allow for that clear shot were essential.
Some Dragoons detachments carry heavy tower shields with openable firing slots. These could almost be mistaken as large metal lined doors with viewing slots if not for the odd semicircular shape in the middle of the hole near the top. These are designed to allow the wielder to rest the arbalest up on a mounting rack and align the ironsights of the weapon with free range of movement within a 110 degree arc in front of the shield. When combining these shields in a formation, they form a solid wall. Other military units such as the Shieldmaidens or Royal Vanguard can file in behind this wall to create a phalanx of spears in addition to the firepower; Greatly increasing defenses against direct assaults.
As the tower shields are uniform across the military divisions of a dwarven force, they can each be interlinked with those of other units to form a versatile block of varying capabilities. This also made it difficult for attacking forces to identify the capabilities of these forces without the use of extensive scouting or infiltration before a battle was due to commence.
Dragoons also have access to a shortspear in the event that their main weapon is compromised. Due to the location of Dragoons on the battlefield, these shortspears rarely see combat use unless the tide of battle is not favourable.
In order to move up to wielding the arbalest, the dwarven soldier must prove themselves as a sharpshooter with a regular shortbow then warbow. Dwarves that reach a mastery with the warbow can generally choose if they want to specialise into arbalests or mortar crews.

This is a submission for my first ever Summer Camp in 2024 - I hope you enjoy my writings and I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback!