Originally Posted by
Athos187
Been working on this mod again and I have come up with a new unit roster system idea that I would like to get some historical feedback on.
In an attempt to make this mod feel more historically accurate and different from all the other medieval mods out there I have come up with a unit system based on the medieval military group called the Lance or Gleve.
This was the medieval equivalent of a modern squad and was generally comprised of a knight, his squire, a man at arms and two to three commoners. Several of these were then grouped under the command of a knight banneret.
So instead of having big blocks of knights or men at arms or peasants I would have only 3 primary units lead by a knight banneret:
1. Dismounted Lance
2. Mounted Lance
3. Missile Lance (Might be wrong but I dont think knights used crossbows or longbows so this unit would be lead by men at arms)
Unit ratio will be:
1 Knight (Heavy Armour)
1 Man at Arms (Medium Armour)
1 Squire (Light Armour)
2 Commoners (No Armour)
*Armour rating is based on first tier, with each tier upgrade seeing better equipped troops
You then have 4 equipment upgrade tiers that incrementally improve the weapons and armour of the men and also update them to show the evolution taking place in weapon and armour crafting technology. Each tier would be based on the recruitment building which will be changed from a barracks to an estate held by the leading knights of the lances. As their estates are enlarged they are able to afford better equipment for their supporting man at arms, squire and commoners. In addition to these mixed unit groups there will also be town and city militia units whose equipment is improved with city settlement upgrades (not sure if they should be recruitable for campaign armies) and royal and noble bodyguard units made up entirely of mounted knights which you will get from palace settlement upgrades.
This will allow a faction like France to have palace settlements and recreate their large heavy cavalry military establishment, Italian factions will have city settlements and rely on urban militias and England will have a special longbow man lance unit that they get from their estates.
Later on towards the IV tier the more professional companies like the swiss mercenaries and the Garde Ecossaise will become available to reflect the trend toward the professional armies that occurred during the late 15th century.
This will lead to less of a rock, paper, scissors unit roster design and more towards a organic battle system based on getting better equipment and training through recruitment building upgrades. To add some complexity to this system I think the higher estate upgrades for the knights should have significant negative public order side effects. So you can have the best equipped troops but there will be more civil wars. Inevitably it will be easier to rule using mostly mercenary armies.
I am thinking 100 men units under a knight banneret would be appropriate but I would like some historical feedback on what the size of each unit should be. Also need some ideas on unit purchase price and maintenance cost.