Nortwalk Irregulars
The Commander sniffed, 'They are a motley group.'
The Captain said, 'We will get the job done'.
Nortwalk Irregulars are an mix of medium and light foot spread over five companies. They are polemen, as fits their North Country roots. They fight with spear, halberd, staff (metal tipped), and pike. Many of them will be expert marks with a sling. There are irregularly armored, some wtih metal breast plates with leather buff coats others with chain and a few with plate and chain plundered from others off the field. Each member of the unit wears a color, a red and blue checked piece of cloth, either on their arm, as a kercheff, or on their kilts.
The men of Nortwalk have a hard life as herders and farmers. The land is unforgiving, alternately rocky or bog like. The hills spawn Orcs, Goblins, bears, and bandits. And while a noble or two might have a holding in the Nortwalk, they do not live there or protect the people. The weather is cold, wet, or hot, depending on the hour of the day... let alone the season. There is not a lot to be had in these parts. A clan needs to work hard to support its people. To earn extra money, clans members will often spend a season off as a mercenary.
They are a daring bunch. Their pride holds them fast, giving them courage so they will no embarass their clan or the Nortwalk. They train on and off all year around. It is a practicality, so everyone can fight off creatures, bandits, or other raiders. Their senior members are their officers. They learned by doing and watching other mercenaries. Since they have been doing this for several generations now, they have become quite proficient.
The irregulars are an odd bunch. One would expect no discipline from them. They argue with each other. They scoff at lords. They make fun of everyone. Once in battle, the rough bunch of rowdies (future soccer holligans) become a fairly coherient military unit, with firm lines and good order.
They are also a very mercenary organization. Their Captain will often be haggling extra coin from the Commanders, if the irregulars are asked to do something 'irregular' or extra special. And they want payment upfront. Before the unit is going to do something dangerous, a band of 8 of them will escort the extra coin they are earning home.
Since they have homes and clans, they have something to really fight for. They are known to come, fight impossible odds, take their coin, buy some supplies, and head home... only to come back next season. This makes many commanders happy, as they know these mercenary scum will 'go away' after the campaign.
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? Responses (7)
5/5-Mercenaries who are not totally *evil*
Sounds like a bunch of dirty Scots to me, and I should know, I am a dirty Scot.
An okey submission. Not the high-end of mercenary troops, they are still a reliable addition for a commander to consider to hire. Good work.
They're real people, and while none of them would be vetrans they'd probably be quite decent.
Great idea, they do appear to be as a scotsman military group would be like. Even their mentality is great. 'We might be rowdy, raunchy, and brash but we get the job done.' type of mentality goes along great with imagery of scruffing by during the planting seasons to support the family.
