City Watch
In the High Kingdom of Imesse, many towns, cities and smaller political divisions (briaries, shires, etc.) will use a volunteer or semi-professional military or police unit known generally as a Watch. Watch units are given limited training, very little equipment, and (typically) very little compensation.
A Watch units size is usually the minimum number of men needed to patrol or man the intended sight for a specific number of days during the month. This means that a town with a wall and three gates might require 25 Watchmen to patrol the walls and man the gates over the course of a 24-hour period. Most towns would pay those Watchmen an agreed upon sum to be on duty and available for 5 to 7 days every month, and at the end of their paid duty cycle, another 25-man unit would report and replace them for the same number of days.
Watch standers can usually be expected to be armed with a sword or pike, and smaller hand weapon (knife/hand axe), some armor and a steel helmet. Cloaks or hats (worn over armor or helmets) are often used to make the Watchmen more uniformly noticable. Capable members of a Watch might be issued bows or crossbows when the need presents.
Composition
Manpower
A Watch's size is invariably determined by the circumstances it is expected to operate in. The size or number of walls or fortifications, the total area being patrolled, the extent threat presented to the unit, all determine the size of a Watch. For the purposes of command and control, Watch units of less than 20 men are usually led by a veteran sergeant. Platoon-sized Watches are led by a Watch Corporal or Sergeant. Company sized groups can expect to be led by a full-time and well trained Watch Captain.
Equipment
Far less standardized than most other Imessian military units, a Watch has very little issued to it. Swords, pikes/halberds, helmets, cuirass/pauldrons and whatever distinguishing outer wear is seen as fitting: cloak, hood, hat, etc. In smaller locations or communities, the equipment might be quite old or ill-kept.
Tactics
Watch cycles vary widely, but most can be expected to require 5 to 7 days of duty per month. These duty cycles are almost universally scheduled as consecutive assignments, meaning a Watchmen is on duty 5 to 7 days in a row, and then is free work somewhere else the rest of the month.
Training
Very little training is offered to most Watchmen. Everything you are expected to know you learn on the job from someone who has done it longer than you. In many locations, Watchmen can be expected to be tired, anxious, resentful of the duty and (very often) lazy or inattentive. Often greed or avarice can be a common trait among Watchmen.
Logistics
Recruitment
Watches, like all militia-based units, are made up primarily of volunteers. Expenses are typically met with a stipend or allowance, and a monthly salary can be expected that roughly equals a few pennies for every day on watch.
