I'm about to start up a Pathfinder campaign and in the process of doing so I am having to re-enact a war that is pre-campaign. Rather than just go and say 'Well, this happened and this happened and there were losses on both sides', I'm actually trying to recreate the battles so that whenever I have a player who says 'I fought in this war', I'll be able to go through the notebook to that battle and say 'Ah, so you probably served under <commander's name> and this battle was <success/failure/tie>.'
Anyways, the question I'm asking is that I have rolled up a number of locations from Thorpes to Metropolis' and I am wondering the following:
1) How many city guards would be in any of these locations? Is there a certain die roll amount or a percent?
2) How much of a military presence would these cities be if they were run by a High-Military Power? How much would there be if it was just a normal Romanesque society (non-forts, just normal cities that only held a normal amount of military forces, not a large army)?
That's pretty much about all I'm wondering. Thanks.
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I wouldn't be able to answer you, but bear in mind one thing : in wartime the military is probably supplemented by a lot of patriots, volunteers, mercenaries, and levies, a lot of whom return to the civilian life at the end. Some of these guys are press ganged too.
Also the role of seasons : unless you run a very high magic game, the city still needs its soldiers in the fields come harvesttime.
Your PCs could well be like them. Also, your PCs might be defectors. Or they could have chosen to defect as the war ended, keeping unlawfully their weapons (starting equipment).
Food for thought.
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whenever I have a player who says 'I fought in this war',
Are you sure that this is going to come upoften ? Otherwise, don't put too much work in it.
1) How many city guards would be in any of these locations? Is there a certain die roll amount or a percent?
2) How much of a military presence would these cities be if they were run by a High-Military Power? How much would there be if it was just a normal Romanesque society (non-forts, just normal cities that only held a normal amount of military forces, not a large army)?That's pretty much about all I'm wondering. Thanks.
maybe wikipedia(Roman empire) or yahoo answers can help you.
The smallest thorpes might not even have a "city guard", unless they are close to the war front/the border, only a sheriff and his deputies. Bigger thorps, and any city, will have walls, with guards patrolling on that wall.A city's military presence would extend to nearby farmlands and chokepoints, such as bridges or a mountain pass. If the empire is ruled by a tyrant, there would be a bigger military presence, in and around cities.
I don't have a great answer, but in the real world professional city watches are relatively new. In medieval Europe the city guard often amounted to the local militia, in which most or every able-bodied man was expected to serve. A lot of this involved patrolling after the local curfew and trying to seize anyone found outside on the presumption they were up to no good.
There might be occasional full-time watchmen for very critical roles, but most likely those would be employed by a lord who ruled the city or come from the household guards of local nobles.
Not that Golarion is medieval Europe, of course.
The Pathfinder baseline is that in a given typical settlement, full-time military personnel (including city guards, constables, etc.) make up 1% of the adult population, while another 5% are militia or conscript soldiers who can be quickly called up in times of emergency.
I actually intend for Fighters to have taken part in that war, considering the campaign will take place a few months after the war's end. I'm planning for certain that the Human Empire will be invaded by the Hobgoblin Empire and that martial law will be declared by the local Hobgoblin forces that their Empire leaves behind to ensure that Humans do not get any idea of rising up against them again.
*nods to Samnell* Still, its a good idea to implement, considering there will be Nobles involved. This Empire is going to be carved up and placed in the hands of stooges (some Human, some not) who worked with the Hobgoblins or even thought that martial law can't be that bad.
And thank you John Mangrum, that gave me the exact answer I was needing. I'll begin putting it into effect as soon as I'm done typing this. If anybody else has any further thoughts on the subject (perhaps rolling how many Gladiators, as this Human Empire is fond of Gladiators, are additionally involved in the military or any other ideas). Thanks.