The Yeoman Militia
Download Cert Version 3.23 (Year 4 Update)
The Yeomanry Militia is the backbone of Yeoman Army and society as a whole. As such, nearly all common men and women in the Yeomanry own at least leather armor, a hand weapon, and a bow or crossbow of some kind, and they know how to use them well. Due to the incentives that a person receives for serving in the Yeomanry militia, enlistment is entirely voluntary, and the Yeoman government has never had any trouble meeting their needs for manpower. Because of its voluntary nature, morale is very high and the soldiers are both proud and energetic in their work. Distrust of its neighbors, combined with a strong sense of pride and nationalism, means that the Yeomanry refuses to import mercenaries to defend its people and resources.
Prerequisites
Characters must claim the Yeomanry as their home region. Switching regions from the Yeomanry results in expulsion from the group and all the benefits that come with it.
Proficiency with the longspear, shortspear, halfspear, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow.
Requirements
At any time, a Militia soldier may be required to perform in a military capacity. This may mean being "activated" during regional scenarios and being expected to perform the adventure without any form of paid compensation (other than booty gained during the adventure). This may also mean being drafted into units during times of war.
A Militia soldier must provide and wear a red tabard as a "uniform." This does not carry a gold piece cost. The uniform must be worn when "on duty" unless the particular mission allows for undercover work.
A Militia soldier must provide and be able to use proficiently a hand weapon of some sort.
Enlistment in the militia costs twelve (12) time units (TUs) per year. This TU expenditure must be noted on an AR and signed by a LG judge or Triad member. Upon three years of service (36 TUs), the bearer is entitled to Yeomanry Citizenship, which entails the right to vote and the possibility of land possession. Failure to spend these 12 TUs by the end of a given calendar year leads to suspension of Militia status for the next calendar year.
At the time of recruitment, a PC must specify whether he will be a part of the infantry, marksmen, or cavalry. Meritorious service may result in promotion in any of these particular fields.
Benefits
A Militia soldier may enjoy an "Adventurer's Standard" lifestyle in regional adventures at no cost. It is assumed that the PC utilizes the local barracks or garrison for his daily food and shelter. Check the "none" box for the TU spent in militia service and write "Militia" in the notes section of the AR. If you use the one of the various Craft skills at the end of a regional adventure to generate gold, you MUST pay the lifestyle costs for any TUs spent doing that - the Militia will not allow this on its time.
A Militia soldier is given leather armor and a spear (half, long or short - player choice) free of charge, and, should they be lost or broken, they may be replaced free of charge as well. Abuse of this benefit may result in expulsion from the militia.
Any Yeomanry regional adventure with military significance (as will be clearly stated in the scenario) counts towards the 12 Time Units designated for annual Militia service.
A Militia soldier displaying his insignia is allowed a +1 circumstance bonus on any attempts to alter the mood of a Yeoman NPC (see DMG, p. 149), or when making any Diplomacy or Intimidation checks concerning law-abiding Yeomen. Officers (rank Yeoman or Higher) gain a further +1 bonus for a total of +2.
Hard working and upstanding militia members have the possibility of promotion. Subsequent ranks include Yeoman of the Guard and Serjeant. A Militiaman of lower rank is expected to follow the orders of a higher-ranking officer concerning Militia matters, although members are expected to act in a responsible manner at all times.
Once the three years of service is complete, militia members may "muster out" or continue their military service as a full-fledged member of the Yeoman Army, with further benefits.
Avaliable
- Prestige Classes
- None
- Feats (assuming all other prerequisites are met)
- Infantry: Dual Strike (S&F)
Marksman: Chink in the Armor (S&S)
Cavalry: Knockdown (S&F)
Officer: Giant's Toughness (MotW) - Items
- General:
- Mithral Shirt
- Everburning Torch
- Stone of Alarm
- Suregrip (T&B)
Infantry: Belt of Giant Strength +4
Marksman: Arrows of Sleep.
Cavalry: Horseshoes of Speed.
Promotion
Rank in the Yeoman military is unique in that it is elected. In the early days of liberation of the land from the grip of the nefarious house Malhel, warriors banded together in groups of twelve and elected their leader. Those leaders in turn elected leaders. This structure is still in place in the Yeoman military to the present day.
Yeoman rank structure uses a traditional organizational structure. Each twelve-person unit (called a March in the infantry, a Brace in marksmen, and a Lance in the cavalry) elects a Yeoman to lead them. Twelve Yeomen elect a Serjeant as the leader of the entire group (called a Grossmarch in the infantry, Grossbrace in marksmen, and Grosslance in the cavalry). Captains command entire units, often around a thousand men in size.
Ranked officers only have direct command over their own units; they cannot generally give orders to anyone lower ranking. However, all officers are due respect and a certain degree of obedience from lower ranking soldiers. Whenever soldiers are not with their units, they should generally look to any officer present to call the shots (e.g. military PCs in an adventure scenario).
Troops can also hold a vote to replace the leader if they feel that he is not performing well. This vote can only take place in the barracks and not while currently engaged in action or on active deployment. Troops can vote to elect a new leader if the previous leader is killed, although when there have been serious losses, depleted units may be combined with other units whose elected leader is the valid leader of the entire unit.
Militia Ranks
The Yeoman Militia is commanded by regional Spokesmen and Grosspokesmen on a per-district basis. Upon raising the spear, militia members are awarded the lowest rank in the Militia, that of "Militiaman." They are free to elect the leaders of their units, who are known as "Yeomen of the Militia." Sometimes those Yeomen are allowed to elect their Serjeants, but sometimes that position is assigned by the Spokesmen. Serjeants report to Spokesmen, but some Spokesmen hire a replacement for this duty, who is referred to as a Captain. The Spokesmen report to the Grosspokesman as head commander. In wartime, militia can be levied by the Freeholder (with approval from the Council of Common Grosspokesmen) and placed under the direct command of a Free Captain of Battles for deployment away from the home district.
Militia ranks do not carry over if a militiaman joins the Army after becoming a citizen. If the citizen musters out of the militia and returns to normal life, they are referred to as "Citizen Soldiers of the Yeomanry," aka "Yeomen," and are subject to being mustered in times of war. If mobilized, reservists report using their political rank structure - since Yeomen elect their political leaders in the same way.
Militia Rank Structure Summary
Militiaman
Yeoman of the Militia (12 men)
Serjeant of the Militia (144 men)
Spokesman, or Captain of the Militia (all militia in their electorate)
Grosspokesman (all militia in their district), or Free Captain of Battles if levied
Militia Reserves Rank Structure Summary
Yeoman
Pledgeholder
Freepledgeholder
Spokesman
Grosspokesman
Rules for Promotion
Upon completing a Yeomanry military scenario, a soldier might be eligible for advancement in rank. Each Yeomanry module will CLEARLY state whether the possibility for promotion exists. Ask your DM if there is a question. In order to be considered for militia promotion, a player must follow a number of steps.
The GM and all Yeomanry militia members present at a table must unanimously agree that the PC has performed an action and behaved in a manner that would make them a good leader of men in their unit. There must be at least two other military PCs playing the scenario besides the PC up for advancement. Only one PC can be nominated for advancement per scenario.
The player so nominated must then gather the names and email addresses of all Yeomanry militia players AND THE DM at the table.
The player must then submit a small summary of what happened in the adventure and why he or she should be considered for promotion. Emailing this information to yeomanry-triad@yahoogroups.com.
The Triad will then discuss your promotion and determine whether promotion is granted. You will be notified via email, and a promotion certificate will be sent to you via snail mail.
In order to be considered for promotion, the Yeomanry militia member must have spent a minimum of one year of REAL time as the rank below that being applied for. So in order to be considered for Serjeant, the player must have spent one full year as a Yeoman, and one full year below that as an unranked militiaman.
Note: Please do NOT abuse this privilege. Promotion is something that must be earned. Don't divvy out promotions to PCs just because they are your friends!