Hiring Soldiers

[GM Craig]

In case it comes up...

Garrison
Garrison soldiers are permanent employees of a lord, and have a loyalty to their employer. They live at his expense and in return perform whatever military duties they are ordered to do. These include defending castles or manors, standing guard at key fords or bridges, escorting important people or goods, patrolling, searching and, of course, fighting on command. They train regularly. Due to their guaranteed steady employment their primary cost is in maintenance and equipment.
- Mounted Sergeant. A mounted soldier, armed as a knight but usually more lightly armored.
    Key Skills: Lance, Sword, Horsemanship.
    Cost: £3
- Sergeant. A foot soldier, armored.
    Key Skills: Spear, Sword.
    Cost: £2
- Man-at-Arms. A foot soldier, lightly armored.
    Key Skill: Spear.
    Cost: £1
- Archer or Crossbowman. Missile troop, unarmored.
    Key Skill: Bow or Crossbow.
    Cost: £1

Mercenary
Mercenaries have no permanent employer, are available for short terms, and generally on short notice. They have their own equipment, and perform whatever duty their employer commands. There is no cost to finding Mercenaries, but they are more expensive than garrison troops because of the uncertainty of their employment.
The price shown is for 30 days of service.

- Mounted Sergeant. Cost: £1
- Sergeant. Cost: 120d. (£0.5)
- Man-at-Arms. Cost: 120d. (£0.5)
- Archer or Crossbowman. Cost: 60d. (£0.25)
- Knifeman. Unarmoured, badly armed infantry, willing to do anything to get ahead, such as climb ladders to assault a castle. Key Skill: Dagger. Cost: 30d. (£0.125)

[Cedwyn]

What would be considered a good retinue to leave behind?

[GM Craig]

Tough call. You don't have enough men to meet your feudal obligation, so you don't really have men to spare. Or are you looking to hire extras?

Your wife will be able to handle the defence, and can press the peasantry into a levy if required.

[Cedwyn]

How many men do I have? And, what is my feudal obligation?

[GM Craig]

100 is your expectation. So far, you've only been able to put 40 on the field.

[Cedwyn]

Do I even have 100 mean I could bring? I get the feeling that letter is saying I should.

[GM Craig]

You could press more of your peasants into service. They won't be happy about it, but you have obligations.

[Geoffrey]

Are the Garrison costs monthly as well?

[GM Craig]

No, those are annual.

[GM Craig]

Just a note - your levy is composed of peasants. These are serf farmers pressed into service, and make for very poor soldiers. You would not use them as troops or guards around the manor, for example. In massed formations, peasants can be dangerous, but they are not trained soldiers.

You can press more of your people into service if the needs demands, but the peasants will not be happy about it. Well, peasants are not happy about much, but if you push them too far, they could attempt a revolt.

The same holds true for the amount your manor earns. This is based on averages. You could always squeeze your manor for more - increase taxes, take a greater share of what the serfs produce, and increase your manor resources in this way. This would also make the peasants more unhappy, but the prevailing sentiment is that the needs of the manor outweigh the needs of the serfs that live on it.

So there's a couple of ways of increasing the troops you can provide for the levy - press more into service, or squeeze the serfs for more coin to hire mercenaries. or both, if you want.