An army of how many ?

[Mendahin]

Hello everyone.

I'am launching a Council of thieves campaign. So, knowing my players by heart, i'am 100% sure that they will ask me how much men are there in the Dottari force and how much Hellknights are garisoned in the city.

Can you bring me some light on these matters ?

Excuse me for my puny english as it is not my native tongue ^^

Thanks in advance.

[daemonprince]

Mendahin wrote:

Hello everyone.

I'am launching a Council of thieves campaign. So, knowing my players by heart, i'am 100% sure that they will ask me how much men are there in the Dottari force and how much Hellknights are garisoned in the city.

Can you bring me some light on these matters ?

Excuse me for my puny english as it is not my native tongue ^^

Thanks in advance.

The quick answer is as many as you need.

Judging by the size of Westcrown, there likely are an awful lot of dottari to patrol a city of that size.

The Hellknights aren't actually based in the city but in a citadel outside the city. In the final book, they detail a Hellknight outpost in the city, but it seems like its there more as a reaction to growing trouble in the city rather than a permanent garrison.

[Khelavraa]

Mendahin wrote:

Hello everyone.

I'am launching a Council of thieves campaign. So, knowing my players by heart, i'am 100% sure that they will ask me how much men are there in the Dottari force and how much Hellknights are garisoned in the city.

Can you bring me some light on these matters ?

Excuse me for my puny english as it is not my native tongue ^^

Thanks in advance.

The best way would be to give it a ratio. Modern PDs look at having between 1.8 to 2.5 full time officers per 1000 population according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (http://www.theiacp.org/).

Westcrown has a population of over 114000. (11400/1000)x2.5= 285 more or less officers.

I would imagine a higher ratio would be needed in earlier times - due to slower transportation (requiring higher ratios to cover various neighborhoods) and such... Also bear in mind that Cheliax is a tyrannical dictatorship.

With that in mind you would want to triple that number (885). At the upper most give them a ratio of 1 per 100 population (1140 +) to account for the fact they (in essence) represent the army in Westcrown.

Hell Knights are more like the Gestapo and should be a scary force - But the headquarters they have in Westcrown is laughably small. Granted they have Citadel Rivad some small distance from Westcrown but they have no way to quickly respond to problems in Westcrown from there.

[GeraintElberion]

You're making a crucial miscalculation.

The PCs will not know the answer to this question.

The chances of such figures being released to the population of Westcrown are tiny.

The Hellknights would never tell either.

So, tell your players the truth: "Your character does not know the answer to that question. To solve the mystery you may have to break into some heavily fortified places or kidnap and charm some very, very important people."

[Scharlata]

Khelavraa wrote:

... Hell Knights are more like the Gestapo and should be a scary force - But the headquarters they have in Westcrown is laughably small. ...

Yupp.

Spoiler:

At first, it is told that they number about a dozen in House Taranik but later there are more forces in town; see also: "The Heretic's Ghost and Hell's Defectors". So make it at least 3 dozen hellknights present at any time in Westcrown plus Gonville and Jinkoo.

At least someone spelled it out what they really are. As a german I had some concerns about using that terminology at first but keeping it in mind helps to portrait them as fearsome and unforgiving.

Btw, I kept the hellknight's mercilessness class feature from the hellknight prestige class in Part 3 of the AP. It scared the "hell" out of my chaotic PCs

Spoiler:

in Part 6 Hell's Defectors

.