Background
When the Council came North to Etonia, there was little need for protection from the forest. The few bandits would leave for warmer and wealthier lands the first chance they got. No pirates sailed this far North with the Bay of Claws in the way. On the other hand, cooperation was needed for survival, and extra hands were crucial. The Council provided hands. After the Rose War, they made passage North available to their supporters and two loyal military units. One of those units stood with the Council at the Wall of Thessali. The experience of that war had proven the importance of small flexible squads led by experienced, professional commanders. In case enemies followed them from the South, the Council recruited soldiers from the units to be the Etonia City Watch. The rest settled in new farmsteads and built new shops. Guards served two or three years, but to keep the force's experience high and consistent, the best leaders were hired as career soldiers. From this pool of soldiers, captains were selected.
Getting the Title
By the time you realized you had been tested for the title of Captain, you were broken and exhausted. The Council looked for the most loyal and resilient soldiers that on the edge of losing everything, could pick themselves up, make a new plan, and implement it. After the Rose War, they had many brave soldiers to fill initial positions. Locals and veteran members of the City Watch distinguished themselves over the years. Guards were sent with colonists to new forest villages. The opening of the Everst Silver Mine, expanding trade, and the growing population of the city brought a long list of missions for the Captains. The first Expeditionary force was set up to protect the Forest Roads until construction was complete. The second Expeditionary force escorted the people and supplies to the new forest villages. As refugees arrived from deeper in the forest and hostile creatures threatened the villages, a 3rd Expeditionary Force was recruited.
Captains and Their Missions
Name
Mission/Assignment
Size of Unit
Unit Name
Ontomo
Village Protection
6
Pale Gear Watch
Rodgers
Village Protection
4
Montsilt Watch
Merrick
Village Protection
4
Ander's End Riders
Van Iler
Mine Protection
6
Everst Garrison
Martin
Etonia Wall and Dock Security
60
Etonia City Watch
Athevra Woods
Are those unit statistics tied to a specific mass battle system? If so, which one?
George Sanders
The unit sizes were what I figured would be needed to do that job while also figuring there aren't hordes of people available. So the narrative was the dominate thing driving the statistics. I'm running sessions in 5e too. Swarms are a fun way to manage units of 4-6 Guards/NPCs. I've handed them over to PCs sometimes to command. I used the entire Etonia Watch in a large battle along side the PCs and just highlighted the parts the PC were engaged with so could use the smaller swarms again. The PCs could see other things happening that sometimes I rolled for. They could also team up with a unit of guards across the battlefield to stop an assault or corner an assassin, etc.
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