Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Elemenofi 12-09-05, 12:07 PM	In my campaign, there are three kingdoms. Imagine it like this: Vaad= USA(Currently ruler of the world, most important cities and military) Redhoras= China(Many expect it to be the next superpower, though Vaad still holds it back, large military, though not as good as Vaad's) Fedilon= Russia(Fought a terrible war against Vaad, but Vaad was unable to force them into submission, they are still a sovereign kingdom, but their cities are rusty and thery military in decay) What I want to know, is how to organize the levels of the members of the army. For Vaad, Redhoras and Fedilon I want to build similar armies, with different power. I mean, all the armies will be organized into: Army(fighters and "some" barbarian, includes cavalry and archery), Mage Army(wizards mostly), Monk Army(monks). Ranks: Army: Sargeants, Liutenants, Captains, Majors, Colonel, Liutenant Colonel, Liutenant General, General. Mage Army: Mage, Senior Mage, Master Mage, Grandmaster Mage, Warmage, Master Warmage, Warlock. Monk Army: Apprentice Monk, Monk, Senior Monk, Adept Monk, Master Monk, Grandmaster Mon, Supreme Monk. For each of the kingdoms.... Which experience level would you give to each of these ranks?
Pellanor 12-09-05, 12:13 PM	Heroes of Battle has an entire appendix dedicated to sample armies for stuff like this. You may want to check it out. I've used it a number of times and It's quite handy.
Elemenofi 12-09-05, 12:23 PM	Oh damn! Only the basic three books reach my country. And I can't buy by internet. :( Damn third world. (I live in argentina)
Chobemaster 12-09-05, 12:37 PM	I probably would not assign experience levels as direct comparisons to military rank. NCO's are probably the highest level "fighters" in most real armies. Ability to lead and knowledge of what must be done aren't really linked to BAB, feats, or hitpoints.
Vestigial_Thumb 12-09-05, 12:39 PM	Oh damn! Only the basic three books reach my country. And I can't buy by internet. :( Damn third world. (I live in argentina) My sympathy goes out to you:(, although I'm quite comfy here in Iceland.
Elemenofi 12-09-05, 12:40 PM	You have a point.
Rolof 12-09-05, 12:48 PM	Well, I think the Monster Manual gives alternate statistics for some monsters, Gnolls for instance, I know have a Gnoll King, and Gnoll sergeants, stuff like that. You could read up on a few different races in the MM, and if something stands out as close to what you want, then adapt it to your armies. I think most monsters given the title of sergeant in the MM are about 4th level or so.
Elemenofi 12-09-05, 12:51 PM	Thanks!
KJW 12-09-05, 12:58 PM	Well you could give each army a different specialty, maybe one has a masterful cavalry, while another has renowned archers. Sure each would have these forces, but there would be differences in quality based on culture, state expenditures, terrain of the kingdoms, and preferences of the leadership. I find that the main difference is the level and quality of magic, for your examples Vaad has the resources to have cadres of wizards, aerial cavalry, and other elements to give it a distinct edge in offensive campaigns. Vaad could have floating castles, siege golems, and the like to give it dominance. It also probably has the most disciplined and trained soldiers, though not necessarily the most experienced. Fedilon has ancient fortresses that are warded to be very secure it is these old structures that saved them in the last war with Vaad. Its military is weak, corrupt, and in decay but these ancient fortresses are still as potent as they were ages ago when they were built in greater times. Maybe Fedilon has a few other ancient magical secrets, artifacts, that they can use in an emergency, though at great risk. Redhoras has a large military and some magic, but its magic is limited compared to Vaad. Still Redhoras is quietly building up its magic, and its forces are larger in size and more experienced from recent campaigns fighting 'insert evil humanoids' along its borders. Redhoras is seeking the edge it needs to match Vaad, that right there sounds like a quest to me, for Redhoras to get an artifact and Vaad to stop them from getting it. Just some ideas.
Auburn 12-09-05, 01:17 PM	In general for more modern warfare (say 1850s level on) officers would have probably have Expert[Warfare] levels divided with normal class levels while normal soldiers would be all normal (Fighter, Barbarian) classes. PrC's for any elite troops. Feel free to go away from that though since this kind of combat gets officers more involved in fighting than modern warfare so maybe they don't have expert or only a few expert levels. Also be sure to give troops who fought in the last war an extra level or two.
Elemenofi 12-09-05, 01:32 PM	KJW: Excellent hinking, 10 thanks to you. Auburn: I was planning to give them some more levels, veterans I mean. And I understand what you are trying to say. I'll keep that in mind.
Good Agnostic 12-09-05, 03:07 PM	There are generally two sets of ranks, one for enlisted and one for officers. Enlisted soldiers serve set terms (enlistments) and can re-enlist to continue service. Officers generally receive lifetime commisions ("Commisioned Officer"). Enlisted Ranks (simplified version of U.S. Army): Private Private, Second Class Private, First Class Specialist (non-combat) or Corporal (combat arms) Sergeant Sergeant, First Class Master Sergeant Sergeant Major Sergeant Major of the Army (there is only one) Officer Ranks: Second Lieutenant First Lieutenant Captain Major Lieutenant Colonel Colonel Brigadier General Major General Lieutenant General General In a D&D setting, I would recommend giving enlisted soldiers levels in warrior. Chaplains could be adepts. Non-combat specialists would be experts. For officers, I would give a mix of warrior, aristocrat, and expert. Perhaps melee PC levels. Good luck!
ThePrivateer 12-09-05, 05:20 PM	Remember to figure in the effects of magic on combat. What good is a tight group of soldiers compared to one mage with a fireball? What good is a fortress confronted with an earthquake spell or summoned burrowing creatures? And why wouldn't a cleric be with every squadron, why wouldn't squads of specialized combatants (like the PCs ;) ) be teleported in to behind-the-lines missions? Remember that all of your nations have huge magical resources within their borders. Even if they can only convince one in a thousand mages or clerics to join their army, they have a formidable arcane and divine force on hand.
Gworraent 12-09-05, 06:39 PM	here are the ranks from heroes of battle the ranks are private corporal sergeant lieutenant captian major colonel general the modified names are as followed Chivalric Army foot soldier knight of the lance knight of the trumpet lord of the charge horselord brigadier lord battle commander sovereign lord barbarian horde warrior brave warmaster warchief battlecheiftain clan cheiftain tribal cheiftain horde king tryannical army shield whip master of chains battle commander fealty commander regiment commander division commander army commander elf army( the word after the hypen is the translation) Ache-warrior theniak-watcher sauliak-gaurdian artuliak-implementer shanduriak-choice-maker alanethiak-discerning judge shausekeliak-purest sould mystical army warrior acolyte weaponmaster ordermaster prayermaster warrior-priest batte-brother/sister master of blades high master of the crusade
BRJN 12-09-05, 08:15 PM	This may be stereotyped, but here goes: USArmy tends to have fewer total manpower but higher-level persons in it. Many of them will be multiclassed. There are a lot of Wiz1 and Clr1 mixed in here. The soldiers have the best equipment money can buy, and lots of it. The country itself is RICH and so tax money is not going to run out anytime soon. Russian Army will use human wave tactics vs a better opponent (as WW2 German Army) but prefers to concentrate its abilities in a limited amount of VERY good equipment and trained specialists who use it. A smaller economy means they cannot produce unlimited amounts of the stuff. When faced with human wave attacks, they will look for ranged weapons &c to tear up the waves before it can reach the valuable equipment. Chinese Army uses human wave tactics, figuring that if we bring more soldiers than the enemy brings bullets, we will have the last man standing on the battlefield and therefore must win the victory. Equipment may be good or middling but is the simple stuff that any untrained fellow can pick up and use. (Swords, not wands.) Some of the leadership has discovered that winning one war but depopulating the countryside in so doing means you look like prey to your other neighbors. So they are trying to make or steal some of the good equipment the other Great Powers employ as a matter of course. Each of these descriptions leads to different proportions and emphases. How literal do you want to be?
Elemenofi 12-10-05, 02:44 AM	Nice info, thanks.