The Copper Cavalry

Composition

Manpower

Usually eight men make up this armed guard, but around fifteen or twenty are employed to watch over a caravan or armed militia, though most factory owners have thirty or so in their employ.

Equipment

Many Copper Cavalry men are equipped with a clock work or mana work prosthetics, such as a ticker to replace a weak heart, a special ear to give the bearer the hearing of a bat, or the run of the mill replacement limb.

Weaponry

Though conventional firearms are still used, many cavalry men have prosthetics that are weapons in themselves--flamethrowers, grenade launchers, an arm with a hidden firing mechanism, and even prosthetics that shoot a concentrated blast of lethal mana. Not all cavalry men have these types, as most fear even thinking about striking at a "clock work soldier."

Vehicles

Calvary men make use of a luxury in other parts of the world, a steam powered chariot, to transport their employer as quick and safe as possible--though the more enterprising bunch provide their cavalry men with mana fueled vehicles.

Structure

A normal sized cavalry usually consists of a squad leader, a tachtician--who also serves as second in command--two scouts, one heavy, and three grunts, though some units have a munitions expert, who's in charge of inspecting and maintaining weapons and gear. This formation can change based on the needs of their employer, and larger groups either have more than one person fulfilling the above mentioned roles, or have new roles assigned, such as point sergeant, and supply specialist.

Tactics

As a bodyguard, they are always close to their employer, surrounding them like an armed guard, though if the employer wishes, their Copper Cavalry can be more covert, hiding amongst a crowd, or in the shadows. Copper Cavalry men are also used for infiltration missions or rescue missions when dealing with rival companies, using guerilla, or more subtle methods to get the job done. These can be especially bloody in Verte-Paysage, bringing a new meaning to hostile takeover.

Training

Members who've never had a prosthetic attached before must spend a month getting used to, and learning the intricacies of their replacement body part, and afterwards they learn combat tactics involving the more lethal prosthetics, as well as advanced military training.

Logistics

Upkeep

The prosthetics are provided by their employer, and as such they are responsible for repairing parts beyond The Copper Cavalrys means, and even replacing broken hardware, though given how expensive these can be, the employer may enforce stict penalties depending on the nature and severity of the damage.

Recruitment

Usually a cavalry consists of soldiers two or three years experience, though disabled soldiers are more likely to get hired, as the idea of replacing a lost limb is very appealing.

History

Copper Cavalries started popping up after Verte-Paysage's Territory War in 1857, a war which prompted an industrial revolution in Scyllica, as arms dealers and ambitious "industrial barons" worked to provide the nation of free cities with the hardest hitting and fastest killing weaponry. Clock work--and soon after mana work--prosthetics, but many soldiers who used these weapons soon lost them, as they were considered military property. Seeing some potential in these despairing soldiers, many Great Barons and business men began to hire them as body guards, promising them prosthetics to replace their lost limbs. Factory owners that make these kind of prosthetics have proven to be the most reliable in hiring Copper Cavalry men, as the cost is high to maintain these prosthetics, let alone buy one.

Historical loyalties

Whoever can pay for their clock work/mana work prosthetics, or those who gave them those prosthetics in the first place, are the ones that a Copper Calvary owe their loyalty too--especially when there's a contract involved.

Type

Mechanized

Founding

1861

Overall training Level

Semi-trained

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced