Post by DM Quietus on Jun 18, 2009 16:38:18 GMT -5
The city guard is set up in a strict hierarchy, with one man (must develop this NPC!) at the top, overseeing the actions of the entire force and directing it as needed. He is generally advised by a council of community leaders, generally involving several faithful of Arctus Suluna. Whenever it comes time to replace the current Head of the Guard, it is this council who appoints the next leader.
Below the head of the guard are several others who have worked their way up through the ranks, and now work to organize patrols in a wider area. The city itself is broken into several sections for this purpose, generally by intended use - low scale residential, marketplace, middle class, upper class, and docks being the primary groupings. There is also a separate group who handles issues with Crossing, though the guards there cycle out regularly, and spend a majority of their time working in their "home" region inside Vaeles. Those doing Crossing detail are trained in mounted combat, and are expected to have ranks in Ride and access to the Spirited Charge feat.
At the lowest level are the guard patrols. Assigned to patrol routes by their Regional Organizer (Better name needed?), guards travel in groups of three, with one of them designated as the group's face - the person who interacts with the public on the patrol's behalf. This individual is always the member of the group with the best social skills, and the Regional Organizer sees to it that every patrol has someone in it with at least one rank in Diplomacy. There is also someone designated as the group's "leader", who makes any split-second decisions necessary. The group's leader is not always the face, but it can be.
Every Guard goes through specific training to make sure that they are competent in the job they need to do. At the most basic level, any Guard on patrol needs to have a single rank in the Heal skill, as well as proficiency with the sap and the light crossbow. Halflings and Gnomes are never accepted as guards, for their reduced damage and lack of intimidation is seen as an undermining factor. This suits them well enough, however, as standard members of either race could really care less about guarding the town. Half-Orcs, despite their intimidating presence and increased muscle, rarely become guards, because the focus required and strict adherence to law don't mesh well with their tendency toward Chaos.
Prerequisites to become a Guard
These are the requirements to fulfill a particular role within the ranks of the Vaeles militia. The city will provide training to those who need it.
Patrol guard : 1 rank in Heal, max ranks in Spot or Profession(Guard), proficiency in Saps and Light Crossbows. Every Guard requires these, and more specialized roles have additional requirements.
Patrol guard face : 1 rank in Diplomacy, and a minimum +1 mod
Patrol guard leader : Chosen based on performance, high intelligence helps.
Crossing guard : Strength 13+, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge, +4 or higher Ride modifier, proficiency with shields, longswords, lances, and longbows, good record with the militia
In the case of the Heal and Diplomacy requirements, higher is always better, but those are set out so that one person in the group, the one with the highest modifier, may take ten. The other two in the patrol with them aid him, taking ten as well, and reaching a minimum total of fifteen - enough to stabilize someone who is bleeding out without a healing kit, or with Diplomacy, improve the attitudes of someone either unfriendly or indifferent by one step. For Ride, the +4 requirement is so that they may auto-pass the check to guide their mount with their knees.
Standard Gear
Like the requirements to take up any particular role, each Guard has certain equipment they are issued. The equipment for any role as a patrol guard is the same. This equipment, if the individual doesn't have their own, is issued to the guard at the beginning of their shift, and returned at the end. A quartermaster keeps track of who has what gear checked out, and inventory is taken after every shift. Every guard is also issued a badge - more a pin than anything - which they keep. It has their identifying number on it, and identifies them as a member of the Vaeles guard, allowing them to bear arms which aren't peace bonded. This badge must be worn in clear view any time they bear arms.
Patrol guard : Studded leather armor, sap, light crossbow, signal whistle.
Patrol guard leader : Healer's Kit
Crossing guard : Studded leather armor, heavy wooden shield, longsword, lance, longbow (with 20 arrows), heavy warhorse
It's worth noting that the gear assigned to a Crossing guard totals to 46 lbs - 55 if you add a waterskin and five days of rations - and a heavy warhorse's light load is 300. Adding in a riding saddle and a bit/bridle brings it to 82 lbs. This means that between additional provisions and the guard himself, there is only 218 lbs of leeway, meaning that the biggest, bulkiest guards can never be Crossing guards - at least, not without obtaining their own, more powerful mounts.
Below the head of the guard are several others who have worked their way up through the ranks, and now work to organize patrols in a wider area. The city itself is broken into several sections for this purpose, generally by intended use - low scale residential, marketplace, middle class, upper class, and docks being the primary groupings. There is also a separate group who handles issues with Crossing, though the guards there cycle out regularly, and spend a majority of their time working in their "home" region inside Vaeles. Those doing Crossing detail are trained in mounted combat, and are expected to have ranks in Ride and access to the Spirited Charge feat.
At the lowest level are the guard patrols. Assigned to patrol routes by their Regional Organizer (Better name needed?), guards travel in groups of three, with one of them designated as the group's face - the person who interacts with the public on the patrol's behalf. This individual is always the member of the group with the best social skills, and the Regional Organizer sees to it that every patrol has someone in it with at least one rank in Diplomacy. There is also someone designated as the group's "leader", who makes any split-second decisions necessary. The group's leader is not always the face, but it can be.
Every Guard goes through specific training to make sure that they are competent in the job they need to do. At the most basic level, any Guard on patrol needs to have a single rank in the Heal skill, as well as proficiency with the sap and the light crossbow. Halflings and Gnomes are never accepted as guards, for their reduced damage and lack of intimidation is seen as an undermining factor. This suits them well enough, however, as standard members of either race could really care less about guarding the town. Half-Orcs, despite their intimidating presence and increased muscle, rarely become guards, because the focus required and strict adherence to law don't mesh well with their tendency toward Chaos.
Prerequisites to become a Guard
These are the requirements to fulfill a particular role within the ranks of the Vaeles militia. The city will provide training to those who need it.
Patrol guard : 1 rank in Heal, max ranks in Spot or Profession(Guard), proficiency in Saps and Light Crossbows. Every Guard requires these, and more specialized roles have additional requirements.
Patrol guard face : 1 rank in Diplomacy, and a minimum +1 mod
Patrol guard leader : Chosen based on performance, high intelligence helps.
Crossing guard : Strength 13+, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge, +4 or higher Ride modifier, proficiency with shields, longswords, lances, and longbows, good record with the militia
In the case of the Heal and Diplomacy requirements, higher is always better, but those are set out so that one person in the group, the one with the highest modifier, may take ten. The other two in the patrol with them aid him, taking ten as well, and reaching a minimum total of fifteen - enough to stabilize someone who is bleeding out without a healing kit, or with Diplomacy, improve the attitudes of someone either unfriendly or indifferent by one step. For Ride, the +4 requirement is so that they may auto-pass the check to guide their mount with their knees.
Standard Gear
Like the requirements to take up any particular role, each Guard has certain equipment they are issued. The equipment for any role as a patrol guard is the same. This equipment, if the individual doesn't have their own, is issued to the guard at the beginning of their shift, and returned at the end. A quartermaster keeps track of who has what gear checked out, and inventory is taken after every shift. Every guard is also issued a badge - more a pin than anything - which they keep. It has their identifying number on it, and identifies them as a member of the Vaeles guard, allowing them to bear arms which aren't peace bonded. This badge must be worn in clear view any time they bear arms.
Patrol guard : Studded leather armor, sap, light crossbow, signal whistle.
Patrol guard leader : Healer's Kit
Crossing guard : Studded leather armor, heavy wooden shield, longsword, lance, longbow (with 20 arrows), heavy warhorse
It's worth noting that the gear assigned to a Crossing guard totals to 46 lbs - 55 if you add a waterskin and five days of rations - and a heavy warhorse's light load is 300. Adding in a riding saddle and a bit/bridle brings it to 82 lbs. This means that between additional provisions and the guard himself, there is only 218 lbs of leeway, meaning that the biggest, bulkiest guards can never be Crossing guards - at least, not without obtaining their own, more powerful mounts.