Blackstone Kingdom - Konstantin

Alignment: Good, Neutral

Ruler: Queen Tayra[Human Female]-has backstoryConsort:[None]Adviser: Sir Hiruzen[Human Male] -has backstoryLord High General: Nara [Human Male] -has backstoryGrand Diplomat: Lady Josephine[Human Female] -has backstory

Heir: [None]

High Priest: Mercy [Elf Female]

Warstone Wizard Commander: Danzo[Human Male] -has backstory

Magister: Khadgar [Male Human]Lord High Marshal: Hursoick [Dwarf Male]Lawbringer Commander: Kin [Half-Orc Female]

Spy Master: Leliana[Elf Female]Treasurer: Varric[Dwarf Male] -has backstoryWarden Commander: Yorfarn[Dragonborn Male]

Religion: Uthra- God of War and Strategy;

Gov’ Type: constitutional monarchy

Adventuring was frowned upon without an official license, but adventurers could likely lend a tremendous amount of aid to the overstretched Blackstone military. Queen Tayra was known to offer land in exchange for services rendered to her country, so this was a place adventurers wanting to make a name for themselves tended to flock to.Blackstone Legion Wardens , Warstone Wizards, Uthra’s Priests

Trading: Imports Glass, Ivory, Spices

Exports: Armor, Carved Ivory, Swords,Cloth,Coal,Food,Timber

Location: Ashfeld

Population: 1,4 million

Races : Human 75% Half-Elves 10% Elves 6% Dwarf 4% Half-Orc 4% Other 1%

Laws of Kingdon:All persons entering Blackstone must register with the officials of a border garrison

Adventurers must acquire a charter before undertaking any operation as a group

All weapons must be peace-bonded. The only persons exempt from this law are members of chartered adventuring groups and members of mercenary groups that can offer proof of employment.

Harming cats or dogs is forbidden

Blackstone has right to search you or apprehend you on request

Hunting on private land is forbidden

Note the background of NPC needs a lot of work this was last minute creation.

Queen Tayra was born of noble blood descending from the warlord Apollyon. Over course of her reign the Blackstone Kingdom flourished and stayed ahead of their opponents. She’s 6’2” tall, her frame was of a line muscle build with years of training as a Warden. She is both a politician and a strategist as she was educated by Hiruzen. Her skill with a Greatsword was unparalleled in Blackstone Kingdom. Currently she doesn’t have any lover but there are whispering of the Queen fancying lady Josephine

The country was under threat from all sides and struggling to hold onto order. Nobles bickered over land rights, Cartel merchants and a Cult of Dragon tried to gain a trading foothold.

Few years later, the country felt the effects of the Goblin War and the death of King Razek IV. Bandits inhabited the roads and remnants of

orc and goblin armies inhabited the forests. The town of Tilverton was destroyed in a battle against Goblin, leaving the strategically important northeast of the country open to raiders wishing to invade.

Queen Tayra had her hands full dealing with all of these threats. She had the experienced Blackstone Wardens and Warstone Wizards at her disposal. With ease of a warlord blood in her she secured the borders sending the goblin and orcs scattering. Her rulling was fair, but with iron fist, all crimes were judged and even the nobles couldn’t escape her punishment if they wronged the Blackstone Kingdom.

-„The only thing we can do. We Fight or We Die!“

Sir Hiruzenknown as the Professor, he was born in Noble house of Sarutobi. He and Danzo grew up as best friends. He spent his youth studying and as a Warden of Blackstone. After retiring as a Lord High General he was appointed as advisor having wealth of experience, knowledge and skill. He nurtured Queen Tayra from young age teaching her the skill of a Soldier and a leader. At current age he was one of main Advisors for Queen Tayra, as a pacifist until provoked.

His current age is 65, he stands at 163 cm with wrinkles on his face and pure white hair and goatee . He’s always seen with a pipe and he’s trusted greatsword that have seen thousand of battles.

-"To me, Blackstone isn't just an Kingdom. Every year there are a lot of soldiers born and raised in Blackstone… They live, fight to protect this Kingdom and what is precious they would go to their death. Even if we are not related by blood, those of the Kingdom like these are, to me, my most precious, most important… family!"

Nara

Chief strategist of Blackstone, he comes from a noble family that has given one of best strategist of Blackstone for generations. His rising in ranks of Blackstone Legion was astonishing. He has faced many battles at Queen Tayra side. After the war he was given a Lord High General position, holding a record as youngest General.

He has a lazy disposition that conflicts with Tayra making them argue. In war he has a forged a sibling bond with Tayra. Even with his lazing about he has a sharp mind that has helped Blackstone Legion win battles that were almost impossible.

-“…..Troublesome”

Lady Josephine

Is from noble house Montilyets, She is an eminent figure in diplomacy, forging relations with grace, charm and careful favors. Josephine worked for years as chief ambassador giving her understanding of politics. Josephine was a former bard who got into the life with a bunch of other nobles from Blackstone, enticed by the romanticism. However, during the mission, she encountered a rival bard and killed him by accident. When she removed the man's mask, she saw that it had been a former friend of hers. This caused her to renounce the life, and violence in general.

- “The Game is like Wicked Grace played to the death. You must never reveal your cards.”

Varric

‘As Queen Tayra’s party stopped for a day in a town they went looking to resupply. In corner of her eyes she saw a dwarf talking with her soldiers, she silently moved to their position listening to conversation. Hearing the Dwarf playing games with her warstone wizards and and almost selling a ordinary stone as a magic stone to them, she could only laugh. After apprehending the Dwarf she gave him ultimatum, become a Treasurer for the Blackstone Kingdom or die.’

That’s how the story of Varric best treasurer the kingdom has seen started, as it was written in one of his books. He is a Dwarf with chest hair that would make any man jealous, he carries a custom crossbow named Bianca . After becoming a treasurer he expanded the influence of the Kingdom. Even with his serious position he is a laid back with love of alcohol and hookers, and a good friend of Tayra.

-“ One of those things would be impossible. All of them together? That's a miracle.”.

History of Kingdom:

“There are many Legions . The Iron Legion is greatest of them”

The Iron Legion was once thought to be the greatest of all Legions until the Blackstone Legion rose. 7 Warlords have forsaken their name taking names of the devils, gods, deaths, destructions. Their names long forgotten or hidden in vaults of Blackstone Kingdom, only 1 name was know and feared, Apollyon. Of the 7 Warlords 6 of them died leaving Warlord Apollyon alone in her campaign.

The Iron legion while vast and powerful was a pacifist and unorganized. The people and soldiers grew resentful and biter of the rule. So revolts raised trying to overthrow the ruler. The Iron legion replayed with their army crushing and pushing back the rebels until the 7 Wardens joined the rebels in civil war calling themselves Blackstone Legion. The table was turned, the Iron Legion was pushed back and the ruler publicly executed by Apollyon but not without a cost, the payment was 6 of 7 Warlords. As Apollyon Secured the Blackstone Legion as a leading Legion she focused all her might in military and Conquest, all smaller legions were destroyed or joined the Blackstone Legion. The military became and the best organized force. With their border secured and military in full might Apollyon moved her eyes on the civilians, making new cities trade routes and renaming The Blackstone Legion into Blackstone Kingdom with Blackcoast as capital city, thought she kept Blackstone Legion as the name of the army.

Warstone Wizards:

The Warstone Wizards were a group of battle-mages and sorcerers loyal to the Crown of Blackstone They were led by the Royal Mage of Blackstone

All new recruits (most of whom are children) were taken in as Blackstone battlemages. From there, only a select few would be invited to study at the Warstone Wizard Academy and become a Warstone Wizard.If selected, the recruit became the apprentice of an established Warstone Wizard, which was considered to be a high honour. Training took five years, during which time about half of the candidates dropped out due to the high standards required. Once the five years had been completed successfully, the candidate earned the "battlemage" title.

Although new recruits were mostly children, adults occasionally petitioned the Warstone Wizards to be trained. Most requests were met with suspicion, but provided the candidate could show genuine motive, such as demonstrating a new and useful spell, he or she could potentially become an apprentice.

On completion of apprenticeship and earning the "battlemage" title, some candidates requested sabbaticals in order to travel the world and study magic in more detail, aiming to bring back knowledge that would strengthen the organisation.

Vangerdahast

Vangerdahast was perhaps the greatest mage to have ever taken up the mantle of leader of the Warstone Wizards. For decades he controlled the Kingdom of Blackstone, in fact if not in title. While the king would fight the wars and sit on the throne, Vangerdahast would keep the court in order and keep control of the various factions who wished to dethrone the king. He could also to a large extent control the Harpers who reside in the kingdom. He eventually retired and through an arcane ritual transformed himself into a dragon: a dormant guardian until such time as Blackstone needs him again.

CaladneiReplacing Vangerdahast after his retirement, Caladnei proved to be a capable leader, if perhaps renowned for her fiesty and opinionated personality. Unlike the wizard Vangerdahast, she was a sorcerer and also trained in the martial arts.

Danzo

After death of Caladnei Danzo took the postion of Warstone Wizard Commander. As he was a student of Vangerdahast he took to his master paranoia. When he became the Commander he banned the recruiting of adults with few expectations. The children that were taken to become Warstone Wizards were trained to be loyal to

Crown at all time. Even with his underhanded methods of brainwashing he boosted the position and strength of Warstone Wizards.

Warden Order of the Blackstone Legion

The Wardens were the famous military of Blackstone that were renowned for their discipline, skill, and loyalty. Wardens are trained by scripts left from 7 Warlords, it could be said that Wardens were descendants of Warlords. Only way to join Wardens is if you have proved your loyalty and skill on battlefield.

Food and Drink

Arabellan Dry was a wine exported from Arabel .This fine red wine was best served at cellar temperature. It was dry with a slight woodsy undertone with a hint of berry

Elminster's Choice is a popular beer. This dark beer has a thick head and is clouded with yeast. It has a smokey aftertaste

Bitter BlackThis heavy beer tasted best when served at cellar temperatures. Arabellans looked down upon anyone drinking it at a different temperature. Bitter Black had a dark black color with a thick head of deep brown foam

Cities and towns

All population

Blackcoast (Capital), Population55,000. Arabel, Population: 30,606. Dhedluk, Population: 936. Espar Eveningstar, Population: 954. Gladehap Gray Oaks Halfhap Hilp Hultail Immersea, Population: 1,170. Irath, hamlet Kulta Marsember, Population:, 38,000 Minroe, Population: 500 Thunderstone, Population: 1,800. Tilverton, Population: Empty Tyrluk Waymoot, Population: 1,980. Wheloon, Population: 6,661.

Military Organization:

The nobility of Blackstone were composed of the most wealthy and influential households. There was an annual ceremony at the beginning of the summer where each noble house came to Blackstone to meet and see the monarch and discuss their achievements over the previous year, before retiring to their summer residences. Nobles owed the king of Blackstone a certain number of troops, in lieu of their military service, under Blackstone law.

1. Blackstone Legion

The Blackstone Legion are the regular army of Blackstone, the professional standing army that directly serves the Crown in the defense of the Blackstone Kingdom. They are famous throughout [World Name] for their professionalism, skill, valor and loyalty to their Ruler. That professionalism and skill comes in large part from the training they receive, but what many pay little attention to is that it also comes from the discipline of working within a professionally-organized military hierarchy and structure. The Blackstone Legion, or any other military force for that matter, don't develop that high degree of professionalism and discipline from just being a mob of armed men led by a few lords or wardens; it comes from having an entire military culture in which the chain of command is made clear through hierarchical structure and military virtues are instilled through long-held traditions. The military of Blackstone, in its many centuries of devoted defense of the Blackstone Kingdom, has had ample time to develop such military organization and traditions.

1.2

The Blackstone Legion consists entirely of volunteers who are willing to swear an oath of loyalty and service directly to the Crown of Blackstone. There are no conscripted Blackstone Legion; conscription is used only for local militia. Those who wish to join the Blackstone Legion must meet tough standards of physical fitness to simply be accepted, and these standards are enforced through rigorous training. Blackstone Legion has almost equal number of male and female members.

In game terms, all members of the Blackstone Legion will have Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores of at least 12 and the training they receive will give them at least one level of Fighter, although some Blackstone Legion may be multi-classed and/or have levels in prestige classes. Blackstone Legion do not advance in the Warrior NPC class; they are professionally trained soldiers and as such merit Fighter levels. The local militias will be mostly warriors, as most of them will the men-at-arms who serve noble houses unless the noble expends the money to train them.

1.3

One of the most basic ways in which military forces are organized is by rank. Each and every member of the Blackstone Legion has is given a specific rank that determines his relative authority and leadership ability within the Blackstone Legion hierarchy. There are three distinct categories of rank: enlisted men being the lowest, with commissioned officers being above the enlisted and general officers being above the commissioned officers.

Enlisted Ranks:Rank Rough Earth/U.S. equivalent------------------ --------------------------------------------------Blade Private, CorporalFirst Sword Sergeant, Staff SergeantSwordmajor Master Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant, Sergeant Major

Commissioned Officer Ranks:Rank Rough Earth/U.S. equivalent------------------ --------------------------------------------------Swordcaptain LieutenantLionar CaptainOrnrion Major - Lt. ColonelConstal Colonel

General Officer Ranks:Rank Rough Earth/U.S. equivalent------------------ --------------------------------------------------Oversword Brigadier General - Major General (1-2 stars)Lord High Marshal Lieutenant General - General (3-4 stars)Lord High General General of the Army (5-star) + Chairman of the JCS

As one would expect, enlisted men and women make up by far the largest proportion of Blackstone Legion. The body of enlisted men are entirely commoners, and of these most of them will spend their entire careers as blades — common soldiers. The higher enlisted ranks are non-commissioned officer ranks, and there is no guarantee that a blade will ever be promoted. Enlisted promotions only occur as needed when vacancies arise due to retiring, mustering out, or casualties, and such enlisted promotions are offered to those blades that show the most potential for leadership and initiative, and whenever possible who are also literate.

Those who achieve the NCO ranks are usually the career soldiers, or "lifers," who serve until age renders them unfit. These men and women are truly the backbone of the Blackstone Legion; without these dedicated soldiers the Blackstone Legion would not be the professional force they are. Officers issue orders, but it is the NCOs who see to it that things get done — that all the details not mentioned in the orders but required by them get done — and insure that the blades are properly trained and fit.

The commissioned officers are those who personally lead the men in the field. They are responsible for getting their men to where they are supposed to be and implementing the designs and strategies of the general officers. Blackstone Legion officers can be either commoners or nobles, but regardless of social class all start out as swordcaptains. Blackstone Legion commissioned officers must meet all the same standards for physical fitness and combat skill as the enlisted men and in addition must also be literate and display some amount of intelligence or wit.

Normally, commissions are bestowed as needed directly by the Queen and occur either as a result of actions of leadership that catch his personal attention or, more commonly, at the sponsorship of a higher-ranking officer. It is long standing tradition that commissions are only granted as the military hierarchy needs them and are not granted as mere favors to noble families, the reason being to preserve the professional nature of the force. When vacancies are not open, then young nobles desiring military service have to settle for leading the house troops or attempting to hire into a mercenary group.

Once a vacancy occurs for a swordcaptain, a head of a noble house can often make a deal with another noble who is a senior officer to sponsor a commission for a young scion. The officer will then introduce the scion to the Queen and if the Queen is impressed and the scion meets the requirements the commission is granted. High-ranking officers may also sponsor commoners they think are worthy of a commission. The Queen may also grant the commission to a commoner who catches hers attention through some act of valor. These latter cases are most commonly battlefield commissions granted to heroic enlisted men.

Although being of noble station doesn’t give you aid for promotion. Both commoners and nobles are in almost all ranks in Blackstone Legion.

General officers are the field commanders of the Blackstone Legion. They command units in the field, devise strategies and plans, and issue orders to the commissioned officers to carry them out. General officers generally will stay to the rear of the fighting line so that they can better direct the maneuvers of their units and exercise command and control, although they will not hesitate to fight if an enemy turns up in range of their sword and they usually will join the fighting at the climax of the battle once all orders have been issued and all that's left is the fighting. The group of general officers is an exclusive club; one must be a constal before the Queen will promote one to the rank of oversword. All promotions of general officers are done directly by the Queen herself; the Lord High Marshal or Lord High General may as needed give brevet (temporary) promotions but these must be confirmed by the Queen before they are permanent. There are both common and nobble General Officers

1.1.1.1 Privilege of ranks

The truism "rank hath its privileges" is no less true in Blackstone than in any other military structure real or fictional. Perhaps the most basic of these privileges is pay. Although the Blackstone Legion are by no means mercenaries, they are professional soldiers and as such are paid by the crown.

______________________________________________________________________Table 1-2: Blackstone Legion Pay

Rank Pay/Month------------------ ----------------------------------Blade 130 silver/monthFirst Sword 180 silver/monthSwordmajor 240 silver/month

Swordcaptain 360 silver/monthLionar 450 silver/monthOrnrion 540 silver/monthConstal 630 silver/month

Oversword 960 silver/monthLord High Marshal 1080 silver/monthLord High General 1200 silver/month______________________________________________________________________

Officers enjoy a number of other benefits besides higher pay. Each rank of officer will have certain privileges that lesser officers generally do not have, although there may be occasional exceptions. These privileges are usually cumulative, that is, promotion to a higher officer rank simply adds the additional privileges to what the officer already enjoys, rather than replacing them. There are a few exceptions though: for example, once an ornrion or higher is privileged to be given a Commander's Ring, he no longer needs to have his Blackstone Legion ring. The following paragraphs describe the typical privileges that most officers can expect.

Swordcaptains may be given independent commands, typically patrols of company or lance size.

Lionars may promote enlisted personnel at need and are usually the lowest ranking officer to be given Blackstone Legion rings.

Ornrions are authorized to induct into service and take oaths from inductees (with three serving Blackstone Legion of any rank as witnesses) during wartime, to assign enlisted personnel (usually blades) to their headquarters as personal assistants known as orderlies, and are usually the lowest ranking officer to be given Commander's rings.

Constals may sponsor men or women to the Queen for commission as officers and at need offer temporary brevet commissions (subject to approval or revocation by Queen & Lord High Marshal & Lord High General).

General officers (overswords & Lord High Marshal) may promote commissioned officers, to higher non-general officer rank, and have junior commissioned officers as aides-de-camp as well as orderlies in their headquarters.

Only the reigning monarch and Lord High General may grant permanent commissions as officers to people and take their oaths of service (that is, create commissioned officers), and promote officers to general officer rank.

1.1.1.2. Ranks and Class Levels

There is no fixed relationship between rank and class level, since they indicate different things. Rank indicates degree of authority and leadership, while level indicates degree of experience.

Since most Blackstone Legion are blades for their entire career, blades can be of almost any level. A young blade who joined up right after leaving home should be a 1st level fighter upon completion of his training, and how far he advances in level will depend on how much action he sees. The two NCO ranks are by definition more

experienced and will usually have correspondingly higher class levels. First swords are usually at least 4th level, while swordmajors are typically at least 7th level. If a young blade is promoted to First Sword due to battlefield casualties, though, he might be of less than average level for a first sword, and the same applies to early promotions of first swords to swordmajor.

Young nobles who are granted a commission directly after leaving home will also have to train as a Blackstone Legion and will also be a 1st level fighter at the end of that training, but officers who earn commissions through other means (e.g. enlisted who distinguish themselves sufficiently to get commissioned) may have higher levels than the typical officer. Higher ranks of commissioned officer will have higher average levels than lower ranked officers, and may likely have levels in prestige classes such as Blackstone Warden as well.

General officers will almost always have higher levels in classes. They will almost always be of at least 10th character level, and will often if not usually have levels in the Blackstone Warden prestige class as well.

1.1.2. Military Titles and Job Positions

The Blackstone Legions also use more general titles to refer to various leadership positions on the field of battle and in administration. Battlefield titles are entirely dependent on the circumstances of the moment and are never fixed or specifically bestowed upon any soldier on a permanent basis, while administrative positions are appointed by the Crown. It is important to note the distinction between ranks and titles — they are not equivalent concepts. A title or job position may require a certain rank, but a rank never requires a certain job position. That is, you can say that all positions require at least a certain rank, but you can never say that all holders of a certain rank have a specific title or job. It is important to distinguish between a military title and a noble title; they are not synonymous.

Swordlord: A swordlord is simply the seniormost infantry officer within tactically effective communication range (within range of guidon signals or at most a few minutes gallop of a messenger), and may be any commissioned officer but is usually at least a lionar. There is only one swordlord in any given place and situation.

Lancelord: A lancelord is simply the seniormost cavalry officer within tactically effective communication range (within range of guidon signals or at most a few minutes gallop of a messenger), and may be any commissioned officer but is usually at least a lionar. There is only one lancelord in any given place and situation.

Arrowmaster: This title is bestowed on the leader of a force of archers. This title is usually an officer or officer-equivalent (if the archers are militia or lord's men), but could also be applied to a senior enlisted person for a small force of archers. The reason that officers are called 'arrowmasters' instead of 'arrowlords' is that those who serve in archery units are commoners (or, at best, disgraced nobles or nobles going incognito) whereas nobles make up a sizeable proportion of the officer corps.

Lawbringer: a Lawbringer is not really a military title in and of itself; a lawbringer is simply an official appointed by the Queen to enforce Crown laws and regulations in a

specified area. The title of Lawbringer is mentioned here because the majority of the holders of this title happen to also be military general officers. A Lawbringer is empowered to appoint and deputize lesser officers and crown servants to help him in enforcing said laws and regulations, and when a lawbringer is also a military officer he will use the Blackstone Legions in his command in this capacity. The title of Lawbringer is entirely separate from any other military titles and positions the holder may have; for example, that Battlemaster Baron Thomdor is Lawbringer of the Eastern Marches means he is empowered to enforce the civil laws within the Eastern Marches and that is an entirely separate responsibility from his post as commander of the Army of the East despite the fact he uses his army as an instrument to enforce these civil laws and regulations as well as provide for the military security of the region. The Lawbringer of the Port of Marsember is another example of this, as Lord Admiral Ayesunder Truesilver has the power to collect customs duties as well as enforce the civil laws of the port as well as the military authority of the garrison and fleet. An example of a lawbringer that is not a military officer is Maestoon Huntsilver, the Lawbringer of the King's Forest. Maestoon is responsible for the health of the forest and the game within and has the power to enforce the Queen’s regulations on logging and hunting and employs many foresters, rangers and guides to help him, but he has no responsibility for military security nor does he have any military forces under his command. The Queen may grant the title of Lawbringer to anyone she wishes, both commoner and noble.

Boldshield: a boldshield is the enforcing authority of the Queen’s law and will within a district (i.e. a local regional territory within Blackstone). The territory that a Lawbringer is responsible for will usually be divided into several districts and a person appointed the boldshield of that district to take care of the day-to-day enforcement tasks. Boldshields will often, but not necessarily, be Blackstone Legion officers that are garrisoned within the district. One example of a boldshield is the Blackstone Legion officer Ergluth Rowanmantle, who is the boldshield of the Northtrees March district (which is in the foothills of the Thunder Peaks north of the Immerflow.]

Lord Commander: a lord commander is the commander of a major fortress or garrison. A Lord Commander is always a serving Blackstone Legion officer, and is almost always a general officer although if the force is small enough the position may be appointed to a constal. The position is usually an annual appointment by the Queen, although the Queen can (and in some cases does) re-appoint the same person each year. If the officer appointed as lord commander is not already of noble birth, then his social status is the same as that of a town's local lord for the duration of his appointment. Lord Commanders also have heralds as assistants, just as town local lords do. Examples of lord commanders are the commanders of the High Horn and Castle Crag fortresses.

Guidon: the position of guidon is usually given to a blade or, in larger units, a first sword. The guidon is the one who carries the unit's standard — a flag, banner or some other sort of heraldry. It is considered a great honor to be a unit's standard bearer because the standard is the symbol of the unit itself, and some say it is even the heart and soul of a unit. If the standard falls or is captured, it is damaging to the morale of the entire unit. The standard also serves a more practical purpose: it indicates the location of the unit, and where it is to form up or rally, so it is a way to

maintain some semblance of order and control on the battlefield. For this reason, the guidon is always near the commanding officer of the unit.

Orderly: An enlisted soldier assigned to attend and perform various tasks for a senior officer; a soldier who serves as an attendant to a senior officer. Orderlies are usually blades, but a senior officer with several orderlies usually has a first sword as a lead orderly.

Company Swordmajor: this position is filled by an experienced soldier with the rank of swordmajor. He acts as a second-in-command of a company under the swordcaptain, and is also an advisor to the swordcaptain. Swordcaptains are usually unseasoned and young officers, and it falls to the company swordmajor to gently and tactfully guide them in matters of small-unit tactics and leadership. When these young men are wise enough to listen to their company swordmajors, they often turn out to be fine officers. Those swordcaptains who don't listen to the words of their company swordmajor (usually young high-nose nobles) end up dead in combat with regretful frequency along with many of their men.

Drillmaster: this position is one almost always filled by one with the rank of swordmajor, and this senior enlisted position has the task of training the soldiers both in military maneuvers and marches and in weapon use. When not functioning in this capacity, the drillmaster functions as a guard for the headquarters and unit commander.

Campmaster: this position is one almost always filled by one with the rank of swordmajor, and this senior enlisted position has the task of supervising the set-up and tear-down of camps and bivouacs when the unit is on the move. The campmaster's particular concerns are the organization, security and sanitation of the camp. He will insure that the tents and facilities are arranged in manner that will not obstruct the functioning of the camp, schedule round-the-clock watches, and see to it that proper privies and garbage disposal pits are dug to minimize the spread of disease among the soldiers. When not functioning in this capacity, the drillmaster functions as a guard for the headquarters and unit commander.

Quartermaster: the quartermaster is a vital duty that no large military formation can function without. A unit's quartermaster is the one in charge of all matters logistical — supplies, transport and the like — and is in charge of the supply train of wagons that always follow any large unit on the march. It is the quartermaster's duty to make sure that everyone in the unit has the supplies needed to function and fight, from food to tents to weapons and armor. Normally, the quartermaster will hire on (at crown expense of course) a number of civilian drovers, armorers, weaponsmiths, blacksmiths, wagonwrights, canvas-sewers and so forth to provide the need for such skills that any large military unit requires. This does not count the larger number of civilian camp followers (of various and often unseemly callings) that often accompany large units on the march that the quartermaster does not authorize request or pay for, much to the chagrin of some officers. Such an important responsibility would seem to justify an officer rank, and does in many other militaries, but it is a long-held tradition in the Blackstone Legions to assign this task to a senior swordmajor of many years of service so that the officers can concentrate on more combat-oriented matters. The

swordmajors assigned this vital task have perhaps more authority than any other enlisted person save the regimental swordmajor.

Regimental swordmajor: the swordmajor holding this position is the single most senior enlisted person in the regiment. He represents the interests of all the enlisted people to the commander of the regiment and advises him on matters that concern them. The regimental swordmajor also keeps an eye on the morale of the enlisted soldiers and can keep the constal appraised of any potential problems, or solve those problems without needing to involve the officers. The regimental swordmajor is also responsible for overseeing and evaluating the performance of the other swordmajors and can advise the officers about which are ready for more responsibility. Although the drillmaster of the kadrath has the immediate day-to-day responsibility for training the soldiers, it is the regimental swordmajor who is finally responsible to the constal for the training performance and conduct of all the regiment's enlisted personnel.

Aide-de-camp (sometimes called an adjutant): An aide-de-camp is a commissioned officer who serves a general officer as a secretary and confidential assistant. The aide helps the general officer with administrative duties, often handling lesser details for the general officer.

1.1.3. Military Orders

Military Orders are created only by the reigning monarch to honor and commemorate the veterans surviving, and the families of the honorably fallen, of a specific major war campaign. Each such veteran will be awarded a ribbon and medal.

There is currently only one order active within Blackstoner. The Order of the Golden Way was created by King Azoun IV to honor the veterans who participated in and the families of those who fell in the crusade. Azoun also established a number of Hostels of the Golden Way, where the families of those fallen who present the medal of the Order can get needed assistance.

1.1.4. Warden and the Military

Warden are often seen as noble warriors, as soldiers in the service of the Queen. While there is some truth to this, there is no direct correlation between wardenhood in general and membership in the Blackstone Legion. The Queen can warden anyone she wishes and wardening him will not make him a member of the Blackstone Legions. At the same time, one can serve as a Blackstone Legion, even as a commissioned officer, without being a warden or any sort of noble .

Although this is generally true, there is a specific order of Wardens that is directly associated with the Blackstone Legions — the Warden Order of the Blackstone Legion, more commonly known as the Blackstone Legion Wardens. This order of wardenhood is specifically for commissioned and general officers of the Blackstone Legions. These Wardens are the core of the leadership of the Blackstone Legions. This wardenly honor is not gained simply by promotion; like any other wardenhood, it must be granted by the Queen himself with a formal dubbing ceremony. All Blackstone Legion Wardens are officers; no member of the Blackstone Legions can be a Blackstone Legion Warden and an enlisted person at the same time. An enlisted

person may be wardened for exhibiting great valor or honor, but such a wardening always comes with a commission as an officer.

1.1.5. Military Specialties

Most of the Blackstone Legions are simply soldiers of whatever rank (with a primary focus on the Fighter class), but there are also some special types of soldier that are fully integrated into the organization of the Blackstone Legions.

Battlepriests are the clerics that serve right beside the regular soldiers, using their divine magic in combat support and to heal the wounded. Unlike the Warstone Wizards who are a completely separate organization, the battlepriests are fully integrated into the Blackstone Legions and are assigned among the various units. Battlepriests share the same quarters and rations as the soldiers, have ranks and draw the same pay; they are every bit as much Blackstone Legions as the soldiers themselves. As a courtesy to their status as holy men and women, battlepriests are never given the rank of blade. They are always at least First Swords and are often officers, although they are not in the chain of command nor are they given command of units

Peacekeeper are another special kind of Blackstone Legion. The Peacekeeper are an elite force of Blackstone Legions who have demonstrated skill at stealthy movement and survival. Peacekeeper serve a variety of functions. Many Peacekeeper are fully integrated into the unit structure and serve with all units of any size, and often serve as point men or flankers to units as they move so that the unit commander knows what is about him and can avoid ambushes, or in larger units serve as messengers to relay orders to subordinate units and return replies to the unit commander. They are also deployed individually or in small groups on special missions of their own, in which case they are used as messengers, spies or the most elite ones as assassins. As spies, they can be found anywhere in the Blackstone reach and along the Blackcoast. The very best of the Peacekeeper are assigned to a special unit composed entirely of Peacekeeper called the Queen’s Mercy.

1.1.6. Leaving the Blackstone Legion

Members of the Blackstone Legion will leave the service of Queen and Blackstone for a variety of reasons. Some may leave because their family needs them, they grow tired of rigid military discipline, or they feel the call of adventuring for their own profit. Most who enter the Blackstone Legion feel a true dedication to serving the Blackstone Kingdom, though, and will serve until either injury or age render it more difficult for them to lead the arduous life of a soldier. Most Blackstone Legion realize the time has come once they enter middle age, if injury does not force the issue sooner, when they have begun the gradual physical decline of old age yet are not so old that it is too late to make a new life as a civilian. Such a retirement after a long and honorable service is called "mustering out."

In order to ease the transition to a productive civilian life and to give thanks for loyal service and sacrifice, the Blackstone will usually give a lump sum of money that is called mustering-out pay. A Blackstone Legion must either have served at least two full years or have participated in one military campaign involving combat in order to

be eligible for mustering-out pay. This pay is often used by a retiring solder to help equip him for his new civilian livelihood, although those less wise may squander some or all of it. The amount of money a retiring soldier is paid depends on their current rank and how long he or she has served. The mustering out pay is equal to three months pay at the Blackstone Legion' current rank plus five golden lions per full year served. The bonus for time in service does not vary by rank to provide an extra incentive for those having little chance for promotion to remain in the Blackstone Legion.

For those retiring soldiers who wish it, the Crown may grant them a tract of land to work in lieu of some or all of their mustering-out pay. Many soldiers who originally came from a farming background select this option and return to their roots. The soldier may request a tract of land in a location of his choosing, or the Crown may suggest a location of its own preference. Whether this land grant is in lieu of the entire amount of the mustering-out pay or only part of it will depend on the value of the tract of land, the potential danger of the area it is in, and whether the Crown has a specific interest in seeing the area settled and tamed.

A former soldier of the Blackstone Legion is, in addition to whatever mustering-out benefit he receives, allowed to keep his personal weapon and armor and is required to maintain them, for despite the fact that he is no longer actively serving he is still under an obligation to the Crown. The Queen can issue a royal writ to recall retired Blackstone Legion to service at need, and if this happens the retired soldier will be required to supply his own gear so that he is ready to serve as quickly as possible.The retired soldiers need to report any interesting or suspicious findings to Blackstone Spymaster

1.2. Organization of the Blackstone Legion

Like any professional military organization, the Blackstone Legion have a distinct organization of units and subunits. This organization is vital. No group of armed men can effectively wage war as an unorganized mob. Unit structure is what establishes the chain of command and allows the commanding officer to have at least some semblance of control of his forces in battle, and an organized structure of smaller units within larger units allows the commander flexibility in maneuvering and positioning his forces for mutual support. A multi-level hierarchy of larger units composed of smaller units also makes possible organized military action at a variety of scales from tactical up to strategic as necessary. The unit structure also is conducive to military discipline and morale of the soldiers.

The Blackstone Legion have reached its current level of organization through thirteen centuries of development and experience. They are currently organized in a regimental system, with the exception of a few special units, in which the regiment is the basic unit of military organization. All regiments of a given type, on paper at least, have the same organization of subunits and are functionally and administratively independent units, while larger structures of armies composed of multiple regiments are highly fluid and situation-dependent.

When men join the Blackstone Legion they join a specific regiment, usually one in or near their hometown, and generally remain within that regiment for the entirety of

their military career. New recruits train within the same regiment in which they serve after training, in a manner analogous to apprenticeship in a craftsman's guild.

Not every soldier will be from the home of the regiment, though. Transfers between regiments are not unknown, but neither are they commonplace. Such transfers are quite rare for enlisted personnel, and less rare but still uncommon for commissioned officers. Also, regiments will occasionally be rotated to other garrisons away from home, e.g. a Marsember regiment may serve 6 months or a year in Arabel, and men may deliberately join such regiments if no available openings are in local regiments or if they wish to not stay in their home town.

This system is part of what gives the Blackstone Legion their reputation for excellence. The soldiers come to know well and work well with those they serve next to. The other soldiers in their squads and companies, and by extension the regiment itself, become a second family to them that they are loyal to. In fact, their squadmates may indeed be brothers or neighbors from civilian life. These men and woman gain a high level of morale from this close relationship, and come to fight for each other and for their regiment as much as they fight for their Queen.

Each regiment will be composed of entirely one type of force. A light infantry regiment will be composed entirely of light infantrymen, while a heavy cavalry regiment will be composed entirely of heavy cavalrymen. Although the numbers of men in a standard infantry and cavalry regiment are different as are the names of the subunits, the general organization is identical.

Most of Blackstone’s infantry are composed of light infantry and heavy infantry.

Keep in mind that the organizational tables that follow are the standard regulation organization. They represent what a unit should have, in and of itself, when it is fully manned and supplied. In practice they will vary. Attached units and casualties may increase or decrease the actual number of men.

1.2.1. Infantry Units

Infantry are the footmen of the army. Although many infantry have basic skill at riding horses and usually ride on patrols, and officers usually have mounts even when their men march, infantry units fight on their feet. The infantry form the backbone of Blackstoner's land forces. The warstone wizards get the fear and awe and the

cavalry gets the glory, but the infantry is what holds ground and wins wars. The various infantry regiments of Blackstoner can be either light, medium, or heavy regiments.

Light infantry are, as the name might imply, lightly equipped thus quick-moving forces that are favored for guerilla-style fighting. In more set-piece battles, light infantry will often protect the flanks and rear areas of heavier units or groups of archers, maneuver to hrrass the enemy and prod them to move into ground of the commanding officer's choosing, and can even be used as irregular archers at need if enough trained archers are not available. Light infantry will often function as irregular archers when using guerilla tactics.

Light infantry also will often be assigned to patrol the area surrounding their garrison when there are insufficient cavalry to do the job (not every garrison has cavalry assigned, after all). Patrols will be squad or company sized, depending on the area, and on these patrols the men will normally ride ponies or light horses. These mounts are only for transportation, however. If these patrols need to fight, they will do so on foot.

Medium infantry are typically used for massed defensive actions as a main line of defense, although they are still mobile enough to be used for some flanking maneuvers at need.

Heavy infantry are the "shock troops" of Blackstone infantry. They are always heavily armed and armored and are most commonly used in the offensive against large enemy concentrations as a follow-up force to cavalry. Heavy infantry can also provide a strong defense when supported in depth by lighter forces. Because of their heavy equipment, heavy infantry move slower and are less maneuverable so whenever possible they are not deployed without supporting lighter units to guard their flanks and rear.

______________________________________________________________________Table 1-3: Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E)for Infantry Regiments (all types):

Unit Type Abbr. # Men Composition

Squad SQD 12 First Sword leads 10 blades and a Royal Scout.

Company CPY 28 Swordcaptain leads two squads, a swordmajor, a Royal Scout and a guidon. The company swordmajor fills the same role as an Earth platoon sergeant.

Kadrath KDR 92 Lionar leads three companies and has a staff consisting of a guidon, two swordmajors (a drillmaster and a campmaster), two Royal Scouts and two battlepriests.

Battalion BTN 289 Ornrion leads three kadrathen and has a staff consisting of a lionar as an executive officer, three orderlies, a guidon, one swordmajor (a quartermaster), three Royal Scouts and three battlepriests.

Regiment RGT 600 Constal leads two battalions and has a staff consisting of an ornrion as an executive officer, six orderlies, a guidon, a regimental swordmajor, six Royal Scouts and six battlepriests.

RGT __________________/ \__________________ / \ BTN BTN ___________/|\___________ ___________/|\___________ / | \ / | \ KDR KDR KDR KDR KDR KDR __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY CPY/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

Officers (not always knights):Swordcaptains (18 CPY CO's) = 18Lionars (6 KDR CO's and 2 BTN XO's) = 8Ornrions (2 BTN CO's and 1 RGT XO) = 3Constal (RGT CO) = 1-----------------------------------------TOTAL = 30

Standard Equipment

Light InfantryEnlisted: mostly studded leather armor with remainder being plain leather, shields optional, armed with sword and longbow, and sometimes with halberds during defensive actions.Officer: chain shirts or occasionally scalemail or chainmail, armed with sword.

Medium InfantryEnlisted: scalemail or chainmail armor with shields, armed with sword and halberd.Officer: scalemail or chainmail typically, or breastplate if they can afford it, armed with sword.

Heavy InfantryEnlisted: splint or banded mail with shields, armed with halberds and a mixture of swords maces or morningstars.Officer: splint or banded mail with shields, or some form of plate if they can afford it, armed with sword.______________________________________________________________________

The kadrath fulfills a special function in the unit hierarchy. In times of major war when more soldiers are needed than the Blackstone Legion have, they will be supplemented from various sources. Volunteers will join up, town militias and lord's men will be called up (although the lord may also provide funds in lieu of men known as scutage, or shield tax), or in extreme emergency even outright conscription may be used (although it never has yet in Blackstone). Whatever the source, most of

these men will normally not have the level of training that the Blackstone Legion have. These men will be assigned to kadrathen, in which they will receive whatever training from the professional Blackstone Legion there is time for. Each of the three companies of men can be given a number of men up to a size of an entire kadrath to train, so a kadrath with a full complement of trainees will have four times the normal size, which is more than a standard battalion. It is for this reason that the positions of drillmaster and campmaster are allotted to kadrathen and not other units.

The special function of this unit is also indicated by the name — kadrath is etymologically derived from an ancient Jhaamdathan word meaning cadre, which is a nucleus of trained solders around which a larger organization may be built and trained. The plural of kadrath is kadrathen, not kadraths.

1.2.2. Cavalry

Cavalry are soldiers who maneuver and fight on horseback. They are the mobility of any army and the core of its offensive strength. The sight and sound of a cavalry unit at full charge with lances leveled is an awesome, thunderous experience — what Blackstones often call "Waymoot come calling" after the excellent horse farms there — and one that often causes the courage of infantry to fail. It takes a great deal of training and discipline for any infantry unit to stand fast and meet a cavalry charge. Because of their mobility, cavalry are specially suited for patrol and scout missions, and for the hit-and-run guerilla tactics favored now by Blackstone's military leaders.

Blackstone fields primarily light cavalry and uses their mobility to the best advantage. Blackstone does not currently deploy heavy cavalry due to both the expense of such units and the reduction in mobility that heavy equipment would cause, and fields only one elite regiment of medium cavalry. In the viewpoint of Blackstone's leadership, if the key characteristic of cavalry is mobility why burden them with all the weight thus reducing that advantage?

Blackstone's light cavalry is most often used for scouting and patrol duties, while the one medium cavalry regiment — the Royal Cavalry Regiment — has a much more publicly prominent presence. For this reason, the medium cavalry gets the most attention and the light cavalry are often overlooked.

______________________________________________________________________Table 1-4: Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E)for Cavalry Regiments (all types) (as of 1 Mirtul 1369 DR):

Unit Type Abbr. # Men Composition

Ride RDE 8 First Sword leads 6 blades and a Royal Scout.

Lance LNC 21 Swordcaptain leads two rides, a swordmajor, a Royal Scout and a guidon, and is served by a squire. The company swordmajor fills the same role as an Earth platoon sergeant.

Troop TRP 74 Lionar leads three lances and has a staff consisting of a guidon, two swordmajors (a drillmaster and a campmaster), two Royal Scouts, two battlepriests, a blacksmith and assistant,

and is served by a squire.

Squadron SQN 238 Ornrion leads three troops and has a staff consisting of a lionar as an executive officer, two orderlies, a guidon, one swordmajor (a quartermaster), three Royal Scouts, two battlepriests, and a blacksmith and assistant. Both the ornrion and the executive lionar are served by a squire each.

Regiment RGT 500 Constal leads two squadrons and has a staff consisting of an ornrion as an executive officer, four orderlies, a guidon, a regimental swordmajor, six Royal Scouts, six battlepriests, and a blacksmith and assistant. Both the constal and the executive ornrion are served by a squire each.

RGT __________________/ \__________________ / \ SQN SQN ___________/|\___________ ___________/|\___________ / | \ / | \ TRP TRP TRP TRP TRP TRP __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ __/|\__ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC LNC/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Officers:Swordcaptains (18 LNC CO's) = 18Lionars (6 TRP CO's and 2 SQN XO's) = 8Ornrions (2 SQN CO's and 1 RGT XO) = 3Constal (RGT CO) = 1-----------------------------------------TOTAL = 30

Standard Equipment

Light CavalryEnlisted: mostly studded leather armor with remainder being plain leather, shields optional, armed with sword, light lance and longbow. Mounts will be either Golden Trotter, Duskwood Skewbald, or Emberhawk breeds of light warhorse. A rare few enlisted men might afford their own superior mounts such as Dambraii or Raurin light warhorses.Officer: chain shirts or occasionally scalemail or chainmail, armed with sword, light lance and longbow. Mounts will be the same as that of the enlisted men for officers of less wealth, while wealthier officers will ride on Dambraii or Raurin light warhorses or even an occasional Blackstoneean Destrier or Tharurr heavy warhorses.

Medium CavalryEnlisted: scalemail or chainmail armor and barding with shields, armed

with sword, heavy lance, and longbow. Mounts will typically be either Amphailian black charger or Tantan Destrier breeds of heavy warhorse. A rare few enlisted men might afford their own superior mounts such as Blackstoneean Destrier or Tharurr heavy warhorses.Officer: plate armor of some sort, scale or chain barding for the horse, armed with sword, heavy lance and longbow. Mounts will be the same as that of the enlisted men for officers of lesser wealth, while wealthier officers will ride Blackstoneean Destrier or Tharurr heavy warhorses.______________________________________________________________________

Note that cavalry units of troop size and larger are assigned their own blacksmiths to handle the necessary routine shoeing duties for the horses. This is unique to cavalry; in other units, the unit quartermaster will hire this work out to civilian smiths. In cavalry units, blacksmiths are usually first swords and their assistants are blades.

1.2.2.1. The Royal Cavalry Regiment

The most famous cavalry regiment of Blackstone — that is, the one that gets the most attention as a unit — is the Royal Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Suzail. It is constituted as a regiment of medium cavalry, the heaviest fielded by Blackstone and the only regiment of medium cavalry.

The Royal Cavalry Regiment usually works together as a unit in more conventional set-piece functions when it deploys, but it rarely deploys under anyone except a royal. The Royal Cavalry Regiment is always prominent in any Suzailian event of pomp and pageantry, but make no mistake — these cavalry troopers are not just for show; they are highly proficient fighters. Because of its name — the Royal Cavalry Regiment, its fame and its solitary status as the heaviest of Blackstone's cavalry it is often thought that it is the only cavalry regiment fielded by Blackstone, but this is not true.

Unlike other regiments in the Blackstone Legions, the officers of the Royal Cavalry Regiment — all 30 of them — are always by tradition wardens. These knights are typically equipped more like heavy cavalry than medium, although the enlisted R.C.R. soldiers are equipped as standard medium cavalry. Each knight-officer is allowed to have a squire, and that squire is also enlisted as a member of the Blackstone Legions. When it comes time for the squire to become a knight he will also be commissioned as an officer if there is a vacancy, otherwise he will become just a knight that is not a member of the Blackstone Legions.

The Royal Cavalry Regiment is distinctive in one other way as well — the entire regiment uses the Blackstone Destrier breed of heavy warhorse exclusively as a mount, and the mounts of this regiment are the finest to be found anywhere in Blackstone.

Because of the unique and elite nature of the Royal Cavalry Regiment, it is made up of men and women from all over Blackstone and is not made up mostly men from the same region as are most other regiments.

The two squadrons that make up the Royal Cavalry Regiment are called the King’s Cavalry Squadron and the Queen's Cavalry Squadron, respectively. The entire Royal Cavalry Regiment is billeted in Suzail, and when training exercise or need requires deployment only squadron will be deployed at a time while the other remains in garrison at Suzail.

1.2.2.2. Other Cavalry Units

All cavalry units outside of the Royal Cavalry Regiment are constituted as light cavalry, and are rarely seen in full regimental formation. They are usually assigned by regiment to garrisons across Blackstone then sent out in smaller units as patrols both to help keep the roads safe for travel and to keep an eye on travelers using the roads. Everyone in Blackstone is familiar with these patrols, but because these cavalrymen aren't normally seen in regimental formation the common people don't usually think of these men as being part of a regiment. Patrols are usually made up of cavalry lances with perhaps a warstone wizard or two attached.

1.2.4. Archers

Blackstone also fields professionally trained archers in the Blackstone Legions. These archers are specifically trained for two missions: to provide supporting volley fire en masse to large armies in the field (as opposed to more individual arrowshot that is usually provided by light infantry or cavalry), and to provide defense from attacks coming from the air (e.g. a dragon attack). This means that units of archers generally do not get assigned independent missions and are attached to other units (usually infantry) to support them.

Because of the missions of these archer units, they are organized differently than are infantry or cavalry units. Since they are specifically trained for the mission of supporting volley fire, smaller units of archers are not particularly useful. On the other hand, since archers are normally used only in support of infantry or cavalry and do not need to function independently, larger units like the regiment aren't useful for organizing archers either.

To qualify to be a member of an archery unit, a soldier is required to specialize in the use of the bow. Archers will usually have feats involving ranged fire (such as far shot or point blank shot) to the exclusion of most other feats. They are devoted to their chosen weapon to a significantly higher degree than other types of soldiers devote themselves to any single weapon.

______________________________________________________________________Table 1-7: Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) for Archers

Flight FLT 24 Swordcaptain leads a swordmajor, two first swords, and 20 blades.

Battery BTY 100 Lionar leads 4 flights and has a staff consisting of a guidon, a campmaster, and a battlepriest.

_____BTY______ / _/ \_ \ / / \ \FLT FLT FLT FLT

Standard EquipmentEnlisted: mostly studded leather armor with remainder being plain leather, armed with longbow and a sword for self-defense.Officer: chain shirts or occasionally scalemail or chainmail, armed with longbow and sword.______________________________________________________________________

Because of both the supporting nature of the archers and the fact that they are specialists at a specific kind of combat, serving in an archer unit is usually not a career enhancement. Officers who lead batteries usually do not get further promoted to lead larger units made up of other troops. As a consequence of this, nobles are almost never found in the ranks of the professional archers. The men and women of the archers are traditionally almost entirely of common birth, with only the rare exception.

Drillmasters are not assigned to archery batteries because one is already expected to be fully qualified with the longbow before enlisting. Archers who join an archery battery gain their skill with the bow either from continual use since childhood or from devoting themselves to their bow while in the light infantry; some portion of archers are usually transfers from light infantry. Archery batteries are still generally regional in makeup, with archers joining the battery based closest to their home, but because of the specialized skill they are usually more diverse than are infantry or cavalry regiments.

1.3. Overall Composition of the Blackstone Legions

______________________________________________________________________Table 1-8: Overview of Blackstone Legion Manpower

Unit Type # Units Total Men

Infantry: Light Infantry Regiment 15 9,000 Medium Infantry Regiment 4 2,400 Heavy Infantry Regiment 1 600---------------------------------- ---- ---------Total Infantry 20 12,000

Cavalry: Light Cavalry Regiment 4 2,000 Medium Cavalry Regiment (R.C.R) 1 500----------------------------------- ---- ---------Total Cavalry 5 2,500

Others: Mounted Airborne Regiment 2 440 Archer Battery 9 900 Royal Corps of Monster Hunters 1 100

----------------------------------- ---------Total 1,440

=================================== =========Grand Total 15,940*

* Note that this total number does not include any Blackstone Legions serving in army headquarters.______________________________________________________________________

1.3.1.1. Blackcoast

The total Blackstone Legion strength in Blackcoastis 4,420 soldiers, less the number detached to minor garrisons, outposts and wayposts.

BlackcoastGarrisoncommanded by Battlemaster Sthavar, Lord Magister of Blackcoastpart of the Army of the Heartlands

o Royal Cavalry Regiment (medium)o 1st Blackcoast Infantry Regiment (heavy)o 1 light cavalry regimento 1 medium infantry regimento 3 light infantry regimentso 3 archer batterieso Queen’s Mercy (~ 45-48 men), not included in 4,420 total

Minor garrisons or detachments supported out of the BlackcoastGarrison:

o Waymoot: 1 kadrath of infantryJester's Green: 1 troop of cavalry is stationed here and rotated periodically but there are almost always additional Blackstone Legion passing through.

o Calantar's Bridge waypost: 1 squad of infantry.o Eveningstar: 1 company of light infantry currently commanded by

Swordcaptain Flaergan Hondh. One would normally expect the company of men garrisoning Eveningstar to come from a closer major garrison like Arabel, but King Azoun IV has decreed that this garrison be provisioned from Blackcoast due to the frequent royal visits and the friendship he has for the local lord Tessaril Winter.

The routine duty of patrolling and policing Blackcoast is rotated among the various battalions of the Blackcoast Garrison. One battalion is always alert and patrolling the streets at any given time day or night, and the duty battalion is usually rotated just after breakfast, just before dinner, and midnight.