FrivYeti/ShogunateMilitaries

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The Five Glorious Militaries

The military of the Shogunate was originally divided into twenty-five massive legions, each divided into dozens of Dragons of careful troops. Each legion was stationed in one of the twenty-five provinces, and answered to the auspices of a daimyo. The Shogun did not originally control any legions directly; the daimyos were considered to be his direct subordinates, and all military forces were directly answerable to them. The Shogun thus managed the Ministries, the daimyos controlled the Militaries, and the balance of power was theoretically maintained.

The flaw in the system did not become significantly apparent until the death of Shogun Shumasi. With no organized force to keep them in line, the daimyos fractured with exceptional speed, and there was no one to rein them in. Soon, prospective shoguns were required to court the favour of dozens of daimyos in order to gather enough military force to hold their thrones, and these fractured alliances rarely lasted for any real length of time. The legions spiralled and expanded, with more and more power dumped into military matters, until the production of the legions dominated the industrial output of every nation.

When Shogun Jukashi came to power, he instituted strict limits on the sizes of the Legions, as well as forming three new legions - the Shogun's Legions. These legions, according to the theory, would give the Shogun the power to rein in one rebellious daimyo, and other daimyos would be less likely to take advantage if they knew that they needed to have enough force to not only overwhelm an opponent, but also a military force three times any of theirs. So far, the system has worked partially; while many of the daimyos continue to skirmish with one another, no outright wars have broken out since the start of the Jukashi dynasty. It remains to be seen whether this state of affairs can continue.

Each legion is led directly by its daimyo (Backing 6), and is composed of fifty Dragons. Dragons are led by chumyos (Backing 5), and are each further subdivided into five Wings. A Wing is controlled by a taimyo (Backing 4), and is made up of eight Talons, with each Talon controlled by a kazei (Backing 3). Exactly what a Talon is made up of depends on which of the five Militaries is involved, but it generally includes at least two to five officers of Backing 2, and ten to fifty officers of Backing 1 leading a variety on non-comissioned troops. Thus, a given legion will have fifty Dragons, two hundred and fifty Wings, and two thousand Talons. The majority of officer ranks, especially those of kazei or above, are held by Dragon-Blooded; in fact, nearly three out of five Exalts in the Shogunate are members of the military.

Exact makeup of the legions vary from legion to legion, depending on the province in which they are found. As a general rule, each Dragon is made of of different Wings of various militaries. In some provinces, daimyos go so far as to divide seperate Talons of troops from different Militaries into a single Wing, but this is less common.

The Overwhelming Hawks Of Mela

The Hawks are the section of the military devoted to the aerial forces of the Shogunate. Typically, although the Shogunate has a thriving air force, making up approximately one-tenth of the Shogunate's armies, they are well-divided amidst the other military troops. A small Wing of airships will support a larger military force, providing scouting benefits, aerial support, and the occasional bombing run and then returning to base. The high value of airships means that most daimyos prefer not to risk them unduly, and prefer conservative combat tactics with their aerial legions.

An airship Talon is made up of a number of ships based on their power. Heavy airships (usually those which are Artifact 6 or NFrivYeti/A) count as a Talon to themselves. Medium airship (Artifact 5) are two to a talon. Light airships (Artifact 3-4) are usually four to a talon. As a general rule, each airship in a talon has one sazei (Backing 2) answering to the group's commander, and their primary aides and backup are ranked as Haizei (Backing 1). The leader of a talon's support crew is a Shonei (Backing 2), and their lead assistants are Sochei (Backing 1). As a general rule, an airship Talon will have two to seven Backing 2 members, eight to twenty-five Backing 1 members, and twice that many members without Backing; the Raptors are the smallest number of troops operating their machines.

As a rule, most provinces have only five Dragons worth of airships. A typical province's Hawks are made up of thirty heavy airships, one hundred and forty medium airships, and four hundred light airships.

The Victorious Mammoths Of Pasiap

The Yeddim are made up of the siege engines and powerful ground-based artifacts of the Shogunate's armies. From catapults to warstriders, they focus their power on fortifications and massive behemoths. With Dragon-Blooded and enlightened mortals leading the way, and teams of support crews and maintenance workers backing them up, the Mammoths provide fire support for the more numerous armies that they interact with.

Generally speaking, the Mammoths are divided into siege engines and heavy weapons. Siege engines cover constructs such as catapults, lightning ballistae, or Essence cannons, while heavy weapons are the artifacts and devices that stand against armies and behemoths, such as warstriders or the rare Thousand-Forged Dragons. Generally, three out of every five Wings are siege engines, with the other two being heavy weapons. In both cases, they subdivide into Superheavy, Heavy, Medium, or Light Talons. A Superheavy Talon is made up of one Artifact 6 or NFrivYeti/A engine, a heavy Talon is made up of two Artifact 4 or 5 engines, a medium Talon is made up of five Artifact 3 engines, and a light Talon is made up of eight Artifact 1 or 2 engines. Mundane siege engines are treated as light for the purposes of this. Each Talon, regardless of its makeup, has a single kazei in command, with one shozei (Backing 2) for each engine, plus one covering support crews for Light or Medium Talons, and two covering support for Heavy or Superheavy Talons.

A typical province has ten Dragons worth of siege equipment, six of them in siege engines and four of heavy weapons. Each province generally has access to fifty superheavy devices (thirty siege engines and twenty heavy weapons) , a hundred and sixty heavy devices (ninty-six siege engines and sixty-four heavy weapons), six hundred medium devices (three hundred and sixty siege engines and two hundred and forty heavy weapons), and twelve hundred light devices (seven hundred and twenty siege engines and and four hundred and eighty heavy weapons).

The Triumphant Lions Of Hesiesh

The bulk of the armies of the Shogunate are made up of the Triumphant, the infantry, archers, and cavalry that march on their enemies, armed with the best equipment the Shogunate can provide, trained in squad tactics and mass combat. The best soldiers of the Shogunate, the Lions are the frontline soldiers and heavy garrisons of the provinces.

The military divisions of the Lions are straightforwards and direct. Every talon is divided into five scales, made up of twenty-five soldiers apiece and commanded by a shozei (Backing 2). Each of those scales is made up of five fangs, which are made up of five soldiers apiece, one or two of which will be a (Backing 1) and the rest of whom will be simple grunts. Regardless of what equipment and tactics a given unit prefers to use, there are always exactly 125 soldiers per talon, plus five shozei and a kazei. Typically, the Lions are divided into Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry, Archery, and Cavalry units. Frequently, army units have a simple armor unit; standard shogunate equipment is ashigaru armor (Artifact 2) and exceptional weapons.

A typical province has twenty-five Dragons worth of Lions, with the exception of Western provinces, which generally only have ten. A standard Dragon holds 5000 troops, in five wings of 1000 troops each, giving most provinces a total of one hundred and twenty-five thousand frontline soldiers. Out of these, eight Dragons each are light or heavy infantry, with six Dragons of archers and three Dragons of cavalry.

The Conquering Sharks Of Danaa'd

Most common in the westernmost provinces, the Conquerers make up the naval forces of the Shogunate, managing both the mundane, less-expensive ships of the Shogunate and the many artifact vessels that ply the rivers, lakes, and oceans of Creation. They guard shipping lanes against pirates, raid the shipping of their enemies (although rarely officially so), and defeat dangerous behemoths and monsters that rise out of the waves.

Like other militaries, the Sharks divide their Talons based on the size of the ships that manage them. Heavy warships are Artifact 5 or 6, and are considered to be solo Talons; they typically have a crew of fifty to a hundred, with four or five sazei (Backing 2) managing around twenty haizei (Backing 1) and twenty-five to seventy-five simple sailors. Medium warships are considered to be Artifact 3 or 4, and are generally three to a Talon; each ship has a single sazei captaining it, with four or five haizei and fifteen to twenty-twenty five sailors each. Light warships are those that are Artifact 2 or 3 (or extremely well-made and large mundane vessels), and are divided five per Talon; again, each has one sazei captain, but they typically only have one or two haizei and five to ten sailors each. Finally, patrol boats are not artifacts; they are simply boats, and are ten per talon. They usually have only three or four sazei co-ordinating, with one hazei and five to ten sailors per boat.

A standard province contains five Dragons worth of Sharks, with the exception of Western provinces, which typically have twenty. Outside of the West, provinces have twenty-five heavy warships, a hundred and fifty medium warships, three hundred and seventy-five light warships, and five hundred patrol boats. Western provinces have four times each of those amounts.

The Vanquishing Serpents Of Sextes Jylis

The task of magical and medical support for the Militaries falls to the Vanquishing Serpents, who are made up of the sorcerers, thaumaturges, and their assistants that have joined the armies. While others prefer to be frontline fighters, the Serpents provide support. Medics use their thaumaturgy to ease wounds and help soldiers return to duty, alchemists give them draughts and potions to improve their fighting tricks, enchanters upgrade and empower their weapons, and exorcists set up wards against both the greater supernatural creatures that the Militaries must face, and against the everyday problems that can beset an army. They manage communications between divisions, and their astrologers find the best times and places for battles to take place.

Unlike others, Talons of Serpents are loosely linked, if at all. In theory, each Talon subdivides into five Scales, each of which is made up of five thaumaturges (Backing 1-2) and their assistants (Backing 0-1). In practice, every scale can end up in a different place, on a different task, making it difficult for Talonlords to properly keep track of their troops. Sorcerers also fall under the auspices of the Serpents, and have a minimum Backing of 2, but are given even more independence; a given sorcerer's duties may not involve any other spellcasters at all, or they may have a half-dozen thamaturgical aides. Any demons or elementals summoned by combat sorcerers are placed into the command chain directly beneath them.

A normal province holds only five Dragons worth of Serpents. This means that most provinces can draw on just over five thousand skilled combat thaumaturges, and around twenty thousand thaumaturgical assistants. Usually, just under a thousand of these are sorcerers, and the majority of them are Dragon-Blooded.