 Skyrim Military |
Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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As it seems most aspects of Skyrim and it's inner workings have been
discussed the only thing that comes to mind now is the Skyrim military.
From Wikipedia:
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Nords have a basic knowledge of armed and unarmed combat, as throughout
the long Nordic history of warfare, the ability to defend ones self has
become a necessity in most families. Fighting ability is passed on from
parent to child, and there is usually a family coat of armor and basic
family weapons such as an axe or a shortsword which are passed along as
well. A strong and hardy, as well as independent people, the Nords are
renowned for their innate martial talents. Although not possessing a
professional provincial army or navy, there exist numerous Nordic folk
militias, which band together and organize around most major cultural
centers and trading hubs: large cities often have their own military
forces for defense and offence, and oftentimes groups of fifteen or
twenty small villages or towns will volunteer young men to work
together for mutual protection. Furthermore, the Skyrim branch of the
Imperial Legion is one of the best in the world, taking the Nordic
qualities of strength and endurance and infusing them with great
discipline and organization. When utilizing Imperially prescribed
tactics and formations, Nordic soldiers are some of the most dangerous
adversaries in any province. |
Important points:
- Skyrim does NOT have a united military force, every Hold has it's own
army (though not a professional and paid army like the Imperial Legion).
- Skyrim like all Tamrielic provinces is under the military control of The Empire.
- Conflicts and alliances both occur between the Holds of Skyrim, but
The Empire makes sure Skyrim is neither too united nor too torn apart
by conflict.
- The Empire holds at least one fort in every Skyrim Hold.
- The Bear legion is an elite part of the Skyrim branch of the Imperial Legion and is comprised almost exclusively out of Nords.
- The basic military grouping of any Nordic militia is a warband. A warband is a group (band) of warriors numbering up to 100.
- Nordic militias rarely hold forts like the Imperial Legion (when they
do they are comprised of a simple palisade and rampart). Nordic
warbands are usually stationed in the mayor cities of Skyrim.
- The warbands of each Hold differ from one another in their equipment and weapon type expertise.
Warbands of Skyrim:
The Rift:
- Riften Heavy Infantry (equipped with a one handed war hammer, a medium sized shield and plate armor)
- Rift Archers (equipped with a short composite bow, leather armor and a small round wrist shield)
The Pale:
- Highland Spearman (equipped with a spear, a large tear-shaped shield and a combination of chain mail and fur padded armor)
- Pale Axeman (equipped with throwing axes and hardened leather armor)
Eastmarch:
- Night Raiders (the perfect ambush troops armed with a one handed war axe, a wooden buckler, and almost no armor)
- Huntsmen (skilled crossbowmen equipped with crossbows and a combination of fur and leather armor)
Winter Hold:
- Winterhold Swordsmen (swordsman equipped with broadswords, a tower shield and a unique variation of Nordic mail armor)
- Staff Knights (heavily armored knights equipped with staff-swords and plate mail)
White Hold:
- Great Knights (knights equipped with the best Nordic plate armor and two handed claymores)
- Maulmen (savage warriors wielding huge two handed hammers and wearing a combination of fur and plate mail)
Northshore:
- Heavy Axemen (axmen equipped with two handed battle axes and heavy fur and chain armor)
- Mace Militia (maceman equipped with well crafted maces wearing fur and leather armor)
Haafinheim:
- Silver Armsmen (warriors in Nordic silver plate armor with medium sized shields and a longsword)
- Pollaxe Militia (armed with long pollaxes and wearing Nordic chain mail)
The Reach:
- Reach Lancers (one of the few decent cavalry units in Skyrim these
horseman are equipped with long lances and a combination of hard
leather and chain armor)
- Reachmen Mercenary Cavalry (mercenary horse archers hired from the
local Reachmen tribes, armed with composite short bows and wearing a
unique leather and fur armor)
Falkreath:
- Falkreath light infantry (fast dual-wielding warriors with a war axe
in one hand and a short sword in the other; wearing leather armor)
- Axe Brawlers (fierce shock troops equipped with unique wrist axes and almost no armor)
Please feel free to post comments and suggestions. I might add some
expanded descriptions on the warbands later along with concept drawings.
This post has been edited 3 time(s), it was last edited by Psychotic: 08.01.2007 01:39.
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07.01.2007 21:28 |
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Arbiter
Archduke
Registration Date: 24.10.2005
Posts: 1,918
Location: Croatia the Nether-Bringer
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Wohoo, nice list there. 
But how do warbands compare to it's counterpart in the Empire's armies?
Strength ratio I mean, taking both disciple and equipment into account.
__________________
The Forgotten Ones have returned.
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07.01.2007 21:34 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Arbiter
Wohoo, nice list there.
But how do warbands compare to it's counterpart in the Empire's armies?
Strength ratio I mean, taking both disciple and equipment into account. |
Less disciplined and usually less well equipped, but comprised of
superior warriors and more diverse. The legion relies mainly on heavy
infantry and lacks quick shock troops, while Nords prefer less armor
and more slaughter power.
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08.01.2007 01:33 |
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KuKulzA
King
Registration Date: 07.09.2005
Posts: 7,061
Location: USA / Taiwan
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yeah, the Imperial Legion relies on versatile heavy infantry, light
infantry auxiliaries, and small groups of mounted knights... consider
it a mix between Mideaval and Roman...
as for Nords... Psychotic basically has it down...
although I'd like to add that many coastal towns and ports probably
have Longboats, but the strongest and war-worthy are probably owned by
the lords of places like Solitude, Dawnstar, Windhelm, and Winter Hold.
also Orcs are just as often enemies as they are mercenaries to the Nords... dunno if that's worth including 
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08.01.2007 01:58 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by KuKulzA
yeah, the Imperial Legion relies on versatile heavy infantry, light
infantry auxiliaries, and small groups of mounted knights... consider
it a mix between Mideaval and Roman...
as for Nords... Psychotic basically has it down...
although I'd like to add that many coastal towns and ports probably
have Longboats, but the strongest and war-worthy are probably owned by
the lords of places like Solitude, Dawnstar, Windhelm, and Winter Hold.
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Winterhold and Solitude are the two most well-to-do cities in Skyrim,
so yes I would imagine they have decent naval forces. Also ship
building is a very profitable businesses for in Northshore.
Though longboats are not the most commonly used military ships, that
spot belongs to the Nordic warships. The warships are one of the best
military ships in Tamriel, rivaling the Redguard destroyers in speed
and firepower.
| quote: |
Originally posted by KuKulzA
also Orcs are just as often enemies as they are mercenaries to the Nords... dunno if that's worth including
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Yep, all true.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Psychotic: 08.01.2007 02:09.
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08.01.2007 02:08 |
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Richard
Chieftain of Skyrim
Registration Date: 23.08.2006
Posts: 747
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
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Will the villages have representation from the local hold's warband? Or just the Chief's guard?
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08.01.2007 02:50 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Richard
Will the villages have representation from the local hold's warband? Or just the Chief's guard? |
The villages provide the men that make up the warbands, and the
Chieftains themselves can be in command of those men... of course under
the supreme command of the local Baron-King.
The Chief's guard protects the village both in time of war and peace, they are both guards and warriors.
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08.01.2007 03:17 |
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KuKulzA
King
Registration Date: 07.09.2005
Posts: 7,061
Location: USA / Taiwan
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basically standing armies tend to be small (usually the lord's guards)
but each place can call a militia which can all be banded together into
a Hold's army 
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08.01.2007 03:32 |
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Normally armies of militia are made of simple folk, not full time
armies. I doubt that any of the holds would actually posses enough
financial support to have a full time army.
Also having specific weapons for a Militia army as listed, is just
plain stupid why would they have uniformed weapons? In an army that
would be the worst stratigie ever and also, they wouldn't have the
resources to makes only one type of Weapon. Also the Weapons used by
militia would be like their fore father's sword passed through
generations, etc.
We can't make crossbows, they are imposible.
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08.01.2007 04:40 |
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Richard
Chieftain of Skyrim
Registration Date: 23.08.2006
Posts: 747
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
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Well just use normal bows then for that. I think that some of the
richer holds could have a similar thing to the 'city watch' as in
Cyrodiil. The rest wouldn't have a full on uniform for their men, but
certainly have a special shield.
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08.01.2007 05:06 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by The Old Ye Bard
Normally armies of militia are made of simple folk, not full time
armies. I doubt that any of the holds would actually posses enough
financial support to have a full time army.
Also having specific weapons for a Militia army as listed, is just
plain stupid why would they have uniformed weapons? In an army that
would be the worst stratigie ever and also, they wouldn't have the
resources to makes only one type of Weapon. Also the Weapons used by
militia would be like their fore father's sword passed through
generations, etc.
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I never said that there are full time armies.
The warbands listed are simply the best type of troops every Hold can
offer, they are not the only types of warriors in their Holds. Also the
uniformed equipment does not originate from any military codex, they
originate from the different traditions of every Hold.
For example, the Nords of Eastmarch are skilled with axes and crossbows
because most of the Nords there are either woodsmen or hunters. And
because Nords inherit their family trades they wood also inherit the
tools of that trade... in Eastmarch axes and crossbows. This doesn't
mean that there aren't any swordsmen or spearmen in Eastmarch, it just
means that there are fewer of them and that they are less skilled in
using those weapons. So if you call the people of Eastmarch to arms
most of them will pick up their axes and crossbows as those are the
weapons their fathers left them.
White Hold has troops who posses good armor because some of the best
Nordic armor smiths originate from that Hold... and so on for every
Hold.
| quote: |
Originally posted by The Old Ye Bard
We can't make crossbows, they are imposible.
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They are impossible for the time being... just like custom animations were.
If crossbows do not become a reality by the time this mod is released it will be very easy to replace them with regular bows.
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08.01.2007 05:27 |
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Skot the Sanguine
Knight
Registration Date: 11.10.2006
Posts: 93
Location: New York, USA
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I like the ideas, but ya, crossbows...horse archers...spears. It would
be nice to see. The one thing I feel should be mentioned is that having
such regional specialization doesn't make the most sense in my mind.
Financial specialization by region does make sense, but usually
victorious armies are emulated by their enemies. Demi-uniforms are also
a little odd. Armies might be supplied armor but when people supply
themselves it results in highly varied sets. I hope they will be done
like bandits in this manner.
__________________
That which does not kill me only delays the inevitable.
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09.01.2007 20:06 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Skot the Sanguine
I like the ideas, but ya, crossbows...horse archers...spears. It would
be nice to see. The one thing I feel should be mentioned is that having
such regional specialization doesn't make the most sense in my mind.
Financial specialization by region does make sense, but usually
victorious armies are emulated by their enemies. Demi-uniforms are also
a little odd. Armies might be supplied armor but when people supply
themselves it results in highly varied sets. I hope they will be done
like bandits in this manner. |
The reason for the specializations are explained in the post above, you
will notice that even in the real world militia units were groped by
the types of weapons they possessed.
It's similar for the armor, the demi-uniforms are a result of the
resources and traditions present in every Hold. The more sophisticated
armors (like plate armor) are provided by the local ruler. You will
also notice that only the warbands from the richer Holds posses those
expensive armors.
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09.01.2007 20:20 |
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| quote: |
| the real world militia units were groped by the types of weapons they possessed. |
But the thing is, the entire army of Militia won't just have the two
differnt weapons, some would probably just carry pitchforks, etc in the
real world 
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09.01.2007 20:32 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by The Old Ye Bard
| quote: |
| the real world militia units were groped by the types of weapons they possessed. |
But the thing is, the entire army of Militia won't just have the two
differnt weapons, some would probably just carry pitchforks, etc in the
real world
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An example of how it all works:
- The Baron-King of The Rift sends word to the local Chieftains to
gather all able-bodied men of their towns/villages and march to
location X.
- The Chieftains gather their men, some have spears, some bows, some hammers.
- The Chieftain groups all spear armed warriors in one warband (or as
many as can be formed), all bow armed warriors in a second warband, and
all hammer armed warriors in a third warband.
- The hammer armed warbands are most numerous as the hammer is a rock
quarrying tool (there are many rock quays in The Rift) and over time it
evolved into a nifty weapon.
- The army gathers at location X and all men without armor are provided
with some from the armory of the Baron-King. Every warrior is given an
armor that is most suited to their weapon. Bowmen for example don't
need heavy armors as they don't usually fight in melee combat, so they
are provided with leather armoring (if they don't have any). Hammer
wielding warriors are always in the center of the battle and because of
that reason they are provided with heavy plate armor (which most
individuals can't afford on their own).
That is also pretty much how it worked in the real world.
This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by Psychotic: 09.01.2007 20:54.
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09.01.2007 20:51 |
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Siegfried
Archduke
Registration Date: 07.03.2006
Posts: 2,598
Location: With Your Mom...
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Hmm, I really like it Psych
However I would suggest giving the Pale slightly more ranger type
fighters. Seeing as how the Pale is controlled by White Hold and not
allowed to have a standing military, they would likely have adopted a
stealthier, more covert fighting force. |
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09.01.2007 21:25 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Siegfried
Hmm, I really like it Psych
However I would suggest giving the Pale slightly more ranger type
fighters. Seeing as how the Pale is controlled by White Hold and not
allowed to have a standing military, they would likely have adopted a
stealthier, more covert fighting force. |
Thanks!
I doubt The Pale would be allowed any militias what so ever, the
warbands described are from a time when The Pale was free. If there is
a rebellion of some kind in The Pale I would imagine the locals picking
up the weapons of their forefathers.
The throwing axes are ranged weapons and good against armor.
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09.01.2007 21:42 |
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Siegfried
Archduke
Registration Date: 07.03.2006
Posts: 2,598
Location: With Your Mom...
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Yeah thats fairly good I guess.
The rangers can be incorporated into an underground militia/resistance
group I've got planned that will appear in the White Hold Questline. |
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09.01.2007 21:49 |
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Richard
Chieftain of Skyrim
Registration Date: 23.08.2006
Posts: 747
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
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How would you do the bodypaint?
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10.01.2007 04:32 |
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Psychotic
Jarl of Skyrim
Registration Date: 30.07.2006
Posts: 3,420
Location: Sheogorath's Realm
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Richard
How would you do the bodypaint? |
We're planning on having tattoos at some point and I already know of a
mod that adds body tattoos via a mesh that fits closely around the body
of the player/NPC. Most of the texture for the mesh is invisible except
for the parts where the tattoos/body paint is, I'll just make a new
texture to fit our needs and voila, camo paint!
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10.01.2007 04:36 |
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Liquid Cheese
Elder of Skyrim
Registration Date: 24.07.2006
Posts: 624
Location: England
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Yea, I've played a lot of Total War. Night raiders are Germanian aren't
they? It seems like those sorts of units would fit in nicely.
In medieval England knights would work for lords in exchange for land
and titles, they were fairly loyal and it isn't too disimilar to that. |
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10.01.2007 18:36 |
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Siegfried
Archduke
Registration Date: 07.03.2006
Posts: 2,598
Location: With Your Mom...
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Psychotic
| quote: |
Originally posted by Richard
How would you do the bodypaint? |
We're planning on having tattoos at some point and I already know of a
mod that adds body tattoos via a mesh that fits closely around the body
of the player/NPC. Most of the texture for the mesh is invisible except
for the parts where the tattoos/body paint is, I'll just make a new
texture to fit our needs and voila, camo paint!
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Addikt pulled tattoos off as a shader effect, that might be easier for us to do.
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10.01.2007 21:46 |
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Siegfried
Archduke
Registration Date: 07.03.2006
Posts: 2,598
Location: With Your Mom...
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Not sure, best way I can think of would be to ask around on the official forums.
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11.01.2007 23:32 |
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They use paint from plants for camouflage and rely on the effects of
surprise, fear, and shock. They are of course very skilled and brave,
but their axes are weapons of good quality.