Corsanctum/Guide to recruitment and operations

This is a brief set of notes that subjects of Corsanctum may want to think about during military actions. Being organised and efficient with time and gold resources is essential if we are to field a dynamic and effective army. We are not the richest of realms so we must do all we can to economise.

Remember if you ever have any questions the Marshal or Vice Marshal will be more than happy to answer them. Suggestions or questions about strategy can be directed to the Military Council.

Recruitment

Gold requests

There is usually gold availble to help troop leaders with recruitment as long as the ask when requests are being taken. It should be policy to include the gold and bonds already held and how much backpay is owed in any request.

Choosing a unit

Archers are the cheapest units we have available and usually suffer very few casualties, they are also particularly effective against monsters. Infantry are the standard units of any army and do the majority of the hard graft on the field. Cavalry have a particularly dangerous charge but are a little more fragile in the melee than infantry and are much more expensive. It is important to balance cost and effectiveness and to look at what units other troop leaders are fielding. Those with low incomes may want to consider archers but those able to support infantry should consider their importance in battle.

Whatever you choose it is important not to recruit beyond your means. Always keep enough spare gold to be able to pay your men for the week ahead, don't use everything you have on recruitment.

You may also like to consider the Repair and training costs for units. It is probably that everyone will have some spare hours for training at one time or another so making it as efficient as possible is always beneficial.

It is more effective to recruit units from centres with high weapon and armour quality than those with high training. Units can always be trained further and they are less expensive but equipment can never be improved. Archers rarely enter the melee and so it is of little importance to kit them out with good armour. What is more important is range - those with long range have less chance of moving forward in battle putting them in less danger and giving them another volley before the melee begins.

Repair

During a refit if you only need to repair, the smithies in The Well of Mimer and Freke's Deep are just as effective as those in Mimer and you can save a day of travel by using them rather than going all the way back to the city.

If you need to recruit as well, do so before you repair as new recruits often bring new, undamaged equipment.

Paraphernalia

Certain paraphernalia are just as important for a functioning unit as your fighting troops.

Scouts

It should be a routine duty for all nobles to scout surrounding regions regularly and post their scout reports to the entire realm. It is essential that the military staff know where any rogue forces are and whether they are moving for effective force deployment. Scouts also have the added benefit of being able to shorten your travel times. They automatically travel ahead of your unit and can often find shortcuts. It is recommended that every troop leader employs at least three scouts. Scouts can be recruited from The Well or Mimer and Freke's Deep.

Healers

Quite simply, healers rapidly increase the time it takes for any wounded men you have to recover. While archer units are usually quite adequately served by 1 healer, large infantry or cavalry units should consider employing 2 healers. Healers can be hired from Mimer and The Well of Mimer.

Banners

Bannermen display your crest on the battlefield, making it easier for infantry and cavalry to orientate themselves. Whilt they are unnecessary for archer units it is recommended that others carry 1 banner per 20 men. Though if short on money they are not completely essential. Bannermen can be hired from Mimer and The Well of Mimer.

See Paying Paraphernalia for the most efficient way to pay your extra staff.

Travel

Many of the distances in Corsanctum are longer than half a days march and so presetting your travel can often save time. When returning fron Mimer to Mimiravair for example, if you instruct your men to carry straight on through The Well you can save half a days tavel as you should travel through The Well far ennough to be close enough to Mimiravair to arrive there the next half day. Whereas if you were to stop in The Well it would likely take you another full day to make the 12-15 hour journey to Mimiravair (and even if you do you will likely be so tired as to not be able to be active for a full 12 hours once you get there).

If you are half a day behind the rest of the army using a present can help you catch up. For example if the army is ordered to make a full day move (two turn move) from Mimiravair to Eisenik but you have not yet arrived in Mimiavair, if you preset Eisenik you should arrive at the same time.

Reporting times

As the roads are so bad in most of our southern regions it often takes multiple days to traverse them. It makes it alot easier for the Marshals to organise attacks when they know how much progress each noble has made as it often varies. It should be general practice to report to the army your status on such journeys.

Delays

When you need to delay your travel to allow other members to catch up there are a few tricks you can use. You can simply field camp for half of the time you have left but if that is not enough - for example if you want to make sure you do not advance at all you can then set your men some training exercises and this should tire them enough not to want to march anymore.

Unit Settings

It is important to pay attention to the unit settings ordered by the Marshal as it is often the key to success in any battle to have units acting as one. If you do not follow the unit settings you often risk having your unit wiped out which is an unacceptable waste of gold.