Yet another Sweboz question!

[Cyclops]

... lots of levy that I disband in their homeland right away after the conquest of the ''objective'' while the medium troops (duguntiz and slagonez) stay a while for garrison...

Yes I like the idea that the young fellows go home and back to their fields, whereas a more "professional" unit might hang around and accumulate experience. The idea of a gold chevron levy unit is uncomfortable in some ways, although really just a tweak in a pretty satisfactory system.

Gilding the lily, I wonder if it is possible to mod xp caps for unts based on whether they are levy, regular and elite? Say 3, 6 and 9 chevrons respectively.

[Duguntz]

That's true! it'd be a good idea, and would give kinda accurate account on Battle prowess of every types of warrior (levy, cor troops and elites) But it must be a lot of modification in the files... I mean, I just don't know how it'd be done as I've 0 exp. in Modding any file of any kind!!! BUT it still would be a nice idea. Also, as a house rule, I place type 1 gov, werever is possible, and everywhere else, as allies, place type 4, train a client ruler and then give him complete control of the city (allow complete local gestion) so they're still ''free'' but i, as their lord, may call the troops they train as I want, in time of need. only problem witrh that is that damn, the AI is so stupid in it's construction... well... it's AI!

[Watchman]

Though it occurs to me that whenever the tribal levy gets called up, it's most of the time going to be more or less the same guys from each region right ? Pretty sure the manpower reserves the Germanic tribal militias tapped weren't exactly deep...

[Duguntz]

Yeah, that't also true, but as there's time between Raids, and even more time laps between invasion, the population increase, thus allowing for a rotation of men... (anyway, in germanic society, every men of age were requiered to fight wether ordered by their jarl! so even if it were the same men every year (as i have a ''season for raiding'') well, it's their lots in life and those who comeback alive bring to their family glory and plunder!

[Macilrille]

Dugunz, I am sorry to disagree, but that view is somewhat antequated and romantic. I have no time to elaborate, but suffice it to say that at the start of the EB Timeframe a warrior aristocracy was already emerging.

Off to Iceland tomorrow :-D

[Watchman]

Also it can be somewhat difficult to get armed and pugnacious peasant-soldiers to go on a campaign or even raid if they don't like the idea - there being an obvious hurdle in *forcing* them. OTOH, from what I know of it your average tribesman wasn't too opposed to the idea... "also soldiers want loot and phat lewts", as it were. Nevermind now any personal or communal grudges and the rest of the junk tribal warriors were motivated by.

[Duguntz]

Dugunz, I am sorry to disagree, but that view is somewhat antequated and romantic. I have no time to elaborate, but suffice it to say that at the start of the EB Timeframe a warrior aristocracy was already emerging.

Off to Iceland tomorrow :-D

Hmmm, you missed my point here! Here, yeah, it's true that every man of age were more or less ALSO the warriors, of their village! even with an warrior class emerging. then, for the rest, I wasn't talking about historical fact, but as my way of roleplaying!

cheers all!!!

[Ca Putt]

I'd personally give Juguntiz a special standing as, especially the chatti ones, are eager to kill thier first enemy and get their Real spear and thus becoming "proven ones" so Imo most realisitc would be to not disband them until they get a chevron from fighting rather than temples and game fields. after that you can train them again as Dugunthiz. Levy spears and Skutjanz are levied troops or troops that just fight to protect house and wife.they have a regular job in the community and are just marginally fond of fighting(except maybe a little raid to gain some gold and glory once in a while ;) )

if you want a 3 level unit you could add the swordsmen as they not only killed a man in battle but have had the opportunity to kill a man armed with a sword(which are far more plentiful gaul than in the village next door). so you could replace Dugunthiz who earned a chevron in combat with gauls(no spearmen do not count) or romans with Herunautoz.

[Cyclops]

Though it occurs to me that whenever the tribal levy gets called up, it's most of the time going to be more or less the same guys from each region right ? Pretty sure the manpower reserves the Germanic tribal militias tapped weren't exactly deep...

Yeah but I imagine they grow up from skirmishers into the levy spearmen and then regular spears (once they get some maturity the boys realise they need to hold onto their spears instead of throwing them away all the time). There's a generational progression, a bit like Hastati/Principes/Triarii.

If we wanted to go nuts, we could build an engine that provided a range of manpower pools, recruitment and training regimes and equipment. You could have core pools for each regime. Barbaroi could have nobles, free and bondsmen. City states could have Aristocracy/Nobiles, citizens, metics and rabble. Hellenic monarchies would have companion/nobles, yeoman and rabble.

There could be seperate pools for mercenaries and allies with far more limited unit types.

You choose your training/equipment regime to match your manpower: if you train nobles as cav they bring their own horses and fight well, but rabble on horseback are expensive and woeful. Noble/companion inf would be elite but not numerous, so line inf from the yeomanry or citizenry would be more cost effective and give bulk.

Regime type would tweak the pools size: Early Roman republic would give more citizens, Late Republic would have more rabble (but that regime could make decent Marian legionaires out of rabble, for a price).

Anyway that would require a complete rebuild, and I feel the recruitment limits in EB2 will go some way to effeftively rendering this complex issue.