>>I think the entire project of creating a Tarshite force of shock troops, >>preferably cavalry, was part of Moirades' schemes which involved the >>conquest of Boldhome and his becoming King of Dragon Pass. Fazzur's >>brother was a direct supporter of Moirades when Terasarin was killed by >>Moonbeam. Fazzur himself appears to have served with Lunar forces in the >>Provinces, on the cavalry side.
> Which is why Tarsh has proper cavalry at all. The three counters
> represent the lancers and cataphracts raised. They aren't as good
> as the Heartland ones though because they haven't the long traditions.
> Traditional Tarsh shock troops are the Huscarls.
I don't quite agree. Yarandros, great-grandson of Arim, aka the Charge-Crazy, rode into battle. I can only assume that he didn't charge alone. Him having companions like Derik Pol Joni, founder of a nomadic tribe of Orlanthi riders, gives further indication that there was a cavalry tradition in Tarsh. At least parts of Tarsh.
>>Which might explain why the Native Furthest cavalry is so crappy compared >>to that of the Sartar City Militia - Fazzur drew on their personnel for >>the nucleus. If you look at the geography, the Tarshite cavalry should >>outnumber that of the Sartarites by 2:1. (Not counting the Barbarian >>Horde.)
> That is why I argue that the cavalry in the Sartar City Militia are
> in fact mounted infantry. Sartar is no place for cavalry horses but
> mountain ponies will be common and ideal for moving a warband quickly
> along trails a normal horse would struggle with.
Mounted weaponthanes, not full-time lancers, but medium-armed sword troops, enough to charge the flanks or rear of infantry, and of course to take enemy cavalry head on, but also ready to dismount and form up a shield wall. A counterpart to the Lunar dragoons, really.
> The population of Tarsh isn't going to support a much bigger army than
> the one in WBRM. Furthest is a city of about 20 thousand and has 2,000
> infantry and 1,500 cavalry. Everywhere else has less than 5,000 people.
> Probably a total population of 40-50 thousand supporting 7,500 soldiers.
> TiF gives a list of units totaling 19,000* but more than half of those
> are part timers.
Tarsh has roundabout 300,000 inhabitants, almost twice the size of Sartar. Fielding a lowly 7000 infantry and 1500 cavalry makes that less than 4 % of the population. Extremely low for a barbarian kingdom.
IMO the Dragon Pass muster usually is post-Dragonkill. Tarsh will have lost some troops there.
> Even allowing for outside financing that's a very high proportion.
> Few countries have ever supported more than 10% of the population
> in arms for more than the duration of an emergency.
> * I've excluded the Sun Domers as their 1,000 strong unit directly
> relates to the city of Ever New Glory with a population of 6,000.
Tarsh is in a state of conquest, and sufficiently barbarian to field 8% of its population for campaigns. They also use captured slaves on their maize plantations (including the function as fertilizer).
>>> The army beseiging WW is different - whichever >>> direction their supplies come from they have to go along that road. >>> Looks like one of Tatius's first jobs is to rebuild the road so >>> he can move troops and supplies. I think he'd probably take it >>> as far as Smithstone. From the impressions I'm getting of Tatius >>> he'd probably get followers of Hwarin Dalthippa from the CoM to >>> do the job.
>>This is after Jorkandros Blinder botched taking Whitewall by force >>and Bat.
> Yes, early 1620. Tatius finds his army of reinforcements takes a
> long time to get there and realises supplies are going to be a
> problem.
Yes. Including fortified camps along the trail after the incident which eliminated the Kultain tribe (in 1619, see Questlines 2).
>>> So that's a nice scenario. A lunar force protecting the priestesses >>> building a replacement road by magic. The Orlanthi trying to >>> disrupt the operation. It should probably be impossible for the >>> Orlanthi to do more than delay the road's completion. >>Possibly even forcing them to take an alternative route (through >>Locaem rather than former Kultain lands). I would expect the road>>from Wilmskirk to Roadend (and beyond) to have some magical >>resistance against the special roadbuilding magic of Hwarin.
> There's probably some resistence anyway. The new road will need a
> lot of stone and the old road is a good source of stone already cut.
> Still the details can be left to the individual GM and players.
I see some potential there for work undoing itself when they try to change the route of the road...
>>> Yes, I see variations in demand for slaves being a significant factor >>> in how hard the Lunars crack down on rebels and tax avoiders.
>>Now that would be a fun scenario for hillbilly Heortlings to learn >>about. (And then start a plot to send false stock market reports to >>the Lunars in Sartar to lessen the pressure.) Tricksters and sneaky >>bastards to the front...
> It's going to be more sages I think. It will involve faking documents
> written in New Pelorian probably coded.
Yes, but the yokels get to organize this, and place the documents in Lunar hands.
>>>From my understanding of Leagues and Associations the Royal House >>> will be a League within an Association which includes Leagues >>> from other parts of the Empire. Unless Moirades is trying to >>> create a purely Tarshite Association but I think he will want >>> some connections in Glamour. >>I am certain that Moirades maintains close connections in Glamour, >>if only to counteract the Sylilan ambitions to control the Provinces. >>I guess it must smart that he did not inherit the post of Provincial >>Overseer from his father, despite his success at becoming King of >>Dragon Pass, and there will be a full regiment of Lobbyists working>>to keep the Sylilans out of occupied Far Point and Sartar, and, if >>possible, out of Kethaela as well.
> That's if he is head of the Association. I don't think he is, that
> will be someone in one of the Heartland leagues. If the Association's
> priorities have shifted there may not be as much lobbying as he wants.
Even if he is not the head of the Association, he is the leader of at least one important branch of the enterprise, possibly more than one. At least as influential as TurEel in Champions of the Red Moon.
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