Gate Duty Guards

Background

When the Townsfolks separated from the Nomads and created The Towns, first they built the Churches and then they built the large stone walls to keep each Town safe from the evils beyond them.
Guards were established, alongside the Clerics, to ensure the physical well-being of the Townsfolk. A hierarchy of Guards was set up, with the Arms of The Protector at the top. Those who sat within the Guards had different formations and duties.

Formation

The Gate-Duty Guards are set by the Guards for each specific town and consist of four men per gate working in 8-hour shifts. These men each have a very specific role within the formation. All roles are responsible for their own areas but ultimately report to Role 4.

Role 1

They check incoming traffic, specifically looking for the identity and motivation of the people entering this Town.

Role 2

They check incoming traffic, specifically looking for weaponry and assessing the danger level of people entering.

Role 3

They monitor outgoing traffic to record who is travelling to where, when, why and what cargo they're carrying.

Role 4

They support the other three roles, acting as the muscle behind the checks, ensuring everything happens in an orderly fashion.

Each gate uses the following setup:

Outside The Town

Role 1

Role 2

Role 4

Role 3

Inside The Town

Guard House

Equipment

Every man within the guards is equipped with a suit of armour and a sword. They are also supplied with a table, a chair, and a book to record the comings and goings. Built into every guard house is a lockable room which can be used to detain any unsavoury characters.

Tactics

Tactics are employed for dealing with people who refuse to follow procedure, either those who refuse to answer questions or those who start trouble. If the intimidation of the person fulfilling Role 4 doesn't work, the others step in, converging on the troublemaker, subduing

them using force and detaining them in the lockable room in the guard house.
If there are more troublemakers than can easily be detained, the Guards performing Wall Patrol are likely to step in and help.

Social Impact

The Guards who take Gate Duty sit within the Clerics section of the social hierarchy, putting them technically above the Men of Authority. However in actuality, while they have the power to stop and search these Men as a group when they are on duty, as individuals they rank lower and may be looked down on by them.

While Gate Duty is understood as necessary for keeping out any dangers and maintaining the safety of the Townsfolk, there are still those who, understandably, dislike being stopped as they come and go (although not many do). It makes leaving or entering a Town a stressful and somewhat anxiety-ridden undertaking and deters many from doing so unless they really must.

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