The Military Handbook

-The Metropolis Military Handbook-


Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Lord Gatsu for approving this and all those who contributed over to making this text and To Prime Consul Cinder for allowing the refinement of it.
May the dictator not slay you this day.


Chapter 1 : Joining the Military
Chapter 2 : Registration
Chapter 3 : Starting Equipment
Chapter 4 : Ranks and group formation.
Chapter 5 : Saluting
Chapter 6 : Military duties
Chapter 7 : Whipping
Chapter 8 : Taxing
Chapter 9 : Patrolling
Chapter 10 : Reparing Equipement
Chapter 11 : Rank duties and promotion
Chapter 12 : Elite Blackguards
Chapter 13 : The Chain of Command

Chapter 1 : Joining the Military

There are 5 requirements to joining the military
1. Be willing to obey orders
2. Be willling to wear a uniform
3. Register himself
4. Pass several tests
5. Be active majority of the time.



To become a guard the recruit must do several things.
1. Agree to the requirements of being a solider.
2. Pass a test.
3. Study the Military books and be tested on them.
4. Register himself
5. Get equipment and uniform.
6. Get the Rods of Order and Taxes.
7. Different military squads may add their own extra tests

A recruit is only a soldier after he has done all this.

Chapter 2 : Registration

All Members of the Military or Guard must register them selves. Information on guard members is constantly needed along with updates. Put the information inside the appropriate area with your name as the title and the word file in brackets before it.
exp: [File]Bahlin.
This file would go in the appropriate area.All character files need the Following

Name: (enter name)

Rank: (Enter Rank)

Weapons: (Please enter. If You do not, I dont know what weapons you use and I cant get you better ones.)

Seasons of Training: (Your levels. Dont just put 12. 6 Barbarian, 3 wizard, 3 Palemaster. Be specific)

Armour: (Same as weapons)

Skills: (Are you good at missions, are you a skilled rogue, are you a wizard, can you pick locks)

Bio: (Your character story so I can set up some RP with him.)

All files must have the same format as the above.
OOC: Copy and paste the above format if you have to.
These must be updated every 3 levels or when you get a new class or rank.

Chapter 3 : Starting Equipment

All equipment is supplied for by the metropolis. This will have a limitation on it. If it is felt that any guard is fingering the coffers a little to deeply then the Higher ranking officer can deciede to make the guard in question earn their keep in a way that is deeming fitting. (This is not an endless supply of gold in fact those of us who are supplying it are busting our char butts to make this gold and supply ourselves as well)

Equipment-
-Uniforms.
-Blackguard helmet
-5 Heal Kits or a wand - to help yourself or others
-5 Restoration Potions
-Rod of order
-Rod of taxes
-Cloak with pin showing rank.
*The Color of the pin on the cloak denotes Rank.
*Private - Pure White Pin
*Corporal - Silver Pin
*Sergeant - Bright Yellow Pin
*Lieutenant - Blue Pin
*Captain - Red Pin

Do not sell your old equipment.
Return it to your commanding officer or the lords and they shall put it into the vault.
They will then Supply you with new equipment.
Some equipment is only given depenging on the kind of mission. Items such as rings and shields with elemental protection.

Chapter 4 : Ranks and group formation

The Ranks are from lowest to highest

-Private: The newest recruit. The fighting man.

-Corporal: The corporal is the one in command of a group
of 4 men (him included). He is the one who shouts for his men to attention and to salute. Otherwise he makes no command decisions for group. The 4 men are a "squad."

-Sergeant: The Sergeant is the first in the command structure and the closest to the men. He commands a squad. Standard formation for a squad is 1 row of 4 soldiers with the Sergeant infront of them all.

-Lieutenant: Next in the chain of command. Manuevering and battle tactics are needed at this point.
A lieutenant is in change of a company. (2 squads.)
The company is the first level of command to use flags.

-Captain: A captain no longer has time for the personal matters of his men. His focus is on strategy and tactics. The Captain is in charge of a Squadron (2 companies)
Normally the Captain does not engage in combat either.

Chapter 5 : Saluting

You must Salute all higher ranking officers and refer to them as "Sir" or "Ma'am"

Saluting is means of showing respect or obeisance. Only officers are saluted, and the salute is to the commission they carry from the dictator, not the officer themselves.

The salute comes from knights who wore helms. They would raise their visor when facing another knight(in a friedly or competative purpose)to show themselves to the other. They are saying "Here I am. This is me."
Those who understand their worth will truly understand this. Those who don't will not.


The rules of saluting are as follows:


Do Salute-
-When you meet someone outside, salute as soon as you recognize an officer (when about six steps away).
-Salute only on command when in formation(line-up)
-If in a group and an officer approaches, the first soldier to recognize the officer calls the group to attention and all personnel salute.
-The salute is always initiated by the subordinate.
-Accompany the salute with an appropriate greeting. Simply say "Sir!" This is not done when in formation
-If approching a superior officer or a Lord, you salute them and Say "Sir!"
-If the superior officer or Lord is talking you wait till he finishes, then say "Sir!" if you have something to say

Do not Salute
-It is not customary for Private and Corporals to exchange salutes, except in some ceremonial situations.
-Never render a salute with a noticeable object in your mouth or right hand.
-If you are on detail (working) and an officer approaches, salute if you are in charge of the detail. Otherwise, continue to work. If you are spoken to, then come to attention. (this means you do not need to approach a higher ranking person if you are in the middle of something)
-Saluting indoors is forbidden except when formally reporting to a superior officer or during an indoor ceremony.
-Saluting is generally prohibited in field conditions, as it could help an enemy identify officers.

Chapter 6 : Military Duties

What do you do or can you do when you are on duty?

1. Whip people weilding weapons.
2. Whip animals that are not beasts of burden.
3. Whip those using offensive magic.
4. Dispell people who are casting spells, if you can.
5. Report rebel activity.
6. Tax the citizens.
7. Patrol the metropolis.
8. Send new slaved to work or direct them.
9. Arrest Criminals
10. Wage battles and do missions.

All members of the military MUST obey the city laws. They will only be exempt from the first law once they have become esteemed citizens.

1-No weapons are to be held in the city or the surroundings. THIS INCLUDES GUARDS who do not have the Metropolis Rune!
2-No animals, except pack animals, can be in the city or the surroudings
3-No form of combat or violence can occur in the city and the surroundings. This includes magic.
4-No enchantments are allowed in the city or the surroundings.

Chapter 7: Whipping

How to whip:
-If the citizen is weilding a weapon you can whip them.
-If the citizen has been whipped 3 times, then they can be sent to jail for anything if you whip them again.
They can be sent to jail even if they do not have a weapon.
-Even after the citizen is sent to jail and he goes out, he can be sent to jail again at any time.

NEVER EVER WHIP A PERSON WHILE YOU ARE INVISIBLE OR HIPS OR HIDING. THEY CANNOT SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING YOU TYPE SO IT IS NOT ALLOWING FOR RP. (this is a complaint that alot of people have made both metro and zion sides.)

Chapter 8: Taxing
Before you begin taxing citizens, speak to the metropolis recruiter.
Tell him you want to tax people.
Then go an tax people with the rod of taxation.

OOC: If you speak to the metropolis recruiter first, then you get Non-combat XP for taxing people.

Chapter 9: Patrolling
-Speak to the metropolis recruiter and tell him you want to patrol the city.
-Then go to one of the patrol points in the city and patrol the area

OOC: You get Non-combat XP for this

There are patrol points at
-each city gate
-The metropolis high quarters

Chapter 10 : Repairing equipement

All Soldiers should use the magical forge in the metropolis crafting room to keep their equipment in good condition. Simply put your armour, weapon or magical items into the forge to repair.

If you can find a smith to repair your weapons it will be cheaper.

Chapter 11 : Rank Duties and promotion

Promotion is based upon the following.

-How long you have served
-How often you are available (I dont like the idea of having someone in charge and all of a sudden they are not there.)
-How often you have helped others in the military
-You must be able to explain to new recruits the terms for signing up.
-Experience in missions and combat.
-Promotions can only be given by higher ranking guards of Lieutenant rank or higher. No guard can promote someone to an equal rank of their own.

-Along with the above, the main consideration for promotion is SPACE. If there is an opening in the military positions, because someone left or got promoted/demoted, than there is an opportunity for others to take the position.

When you take the test on the military handbook, you do not need to know the dusites of each rank. You will not be tested on it. You only need to know the duties of your rank.

Private

-the Private must learn to obey orders and commands
-enforce the Laws
-know the handbook
-act accordingly
-ensure that his equipment is in good condition
-be able to tell others what is needed of them to join the military.
-Learn to Salute. And Yell, Yes Sir! or No Sir! Not Yes sir. or No sir.
-be tested about information in the handbook and about regulations.

Corporal

-The corporal also has all the duties of the private
-The corporal acts in the place of the SGT. He has a higher rank than the Private
-On missions, Corporals take command.
-They must make sure that their men are in good condition
-possibly deal with private issue of the men
-Report, to the Sergeant, any issues or problems that have occured
-Report undisciplinary action to the Sergeant
-Corporals should know some of the missions and how to deal with them to help the Privates.

Sergent

-Same duties as private and corporal
-Know the missions and give information to privates and corporals to help them.
-Advise them ways of passing missions. Example: you will need on person to tank, another to Lure. If you have a Rogue, make sure he does not get hit. Things like this.
-Sergeants should have a few missions under their belt so they should have a rough idea of how to do things.
-Consider if recruits are worthy
-At this point you start some decision making aswell.
-If you can deal with a problem or issue that has been brought to you, deal with it. If its more than you can handle, pass it on to a leiutenant.
-They must make sure that their men are in good condition. This means that the men are at full health. If they come back from a mission and are hurt, thats understandable, but they are to be treated immediatly! Make sure they are not diseased. Any soldier who is patroling the city should be in optimal form. If they are not, Chastise them.
-Deal out punishments. The Sergeant is responsible for troops who are not following orders. He does not have the right to kick them out, but he disciplines them. If the person is still not following orders the Sergeant passes this information to the captain. The Captain decides then.
-So what Can the Sgt do for punishment? He can beat them up a bit. Order them to some difficult labor. The Sergeant is also the one who will kick out the undisciplined soldier, once the captain decides and approves it.
-Training and drilling. The Sergent is responsible for the training and drilling of the men below him. This means pushing them to go on mission, create training protocol(games might be a good idea or duels)
-He must make sure all the men know how to Salute and when he asks a question they respond with, Yes sir!
It must be a yell. Not, Yes Sir. They must also understand "weapons out!" Train to do this till all men can do it at the same time.
-The Sgt also needs to know how to motivate the men! What will get them going!
-Finally the Sgt. Needs to push the men. Push them to finish missions. Help them get a team to go.
-When a Sgt is present, all men should be lined up in a row. It should be 4 men in a row. When a higher ranking soldier is present the Sgt joins the row at the rows RIGHT.
Other wise the Sgt is at the front of the squad commanding them.
-Orders them to line up.
-The Sergernt commands a SQUAD
-Its is the Sgts duty to maintain order in a squad.
-A standard inspection is composed of
"Bear Arms!" (draw weapons)
"Salute"
"Form up" (get in the line.)
"Move out" (go out on a misssion on a march)
-Make sure all men are registered.

Lieutenant

-Supplying of the men. The Lieutenant is given a sum of money to supply men. He asks them their weapons of choice, armour of choice. He gets them Their helmet and their cloak.
-Confirm training practices of the Sergeant.
-Deal with problems that the Sgt cannot.
-Enforce the laws
-Command a company (2 squads)
-Inspect the company
-He must Number his Sergeants. If for some reason a Lt. is killed in battle, the Sgt. number 1 will take over. If Sgt number 1 dies then Sgt number 2 takes over. If he dies then go back to the 1st units corporal.
-It is the Lt who gives a Comapany order.
-he must account for manuvering and battle tactics of his men.
-The Lt. has a few resonsibilities in regards to people joining. He essentially has the final word on people joining the military.

Captain

A captain no longer has time for the personal matters of his men. His focus is on strategy and tactics.
The Captain is in charge of a Squadron (2 companies)
Normally the Captain does not engage in combat either.
He is engaged with staff officers

-Command a squadron. At this point each company should have a designated marker. So you can command one company to do one thing while you tell the other to do something different.
-Confirm supplying of men and their registration.
-be able to deal with new recruits and tell them what is expected of them
-He no longer deals with matters on a personal level with the men.
-By this point you really better know the hand book.
-No questions will be asked of you at this point
-Deal with punishements. Detemine if someone needs to be kicked out and pass that information to the Sgt. or Lt.
-deal with any issue that the LT cannot deal with.
-At this point if the matter is something that a captain cannot deal with, then it is a very grave matter indeed.
Personal issues, with the exception of permanently dismissing people, are not the captains duty.
-all men should be going to their corporal, Sgt or Lt.
Not the captain! If they are coming to you and skipping the chain of command, have your Sgt reprimend them. There is a reason the chain of command exists.
-The Captain is also in charge of dealing with strategy at battles.
He will be picking the men and people for battles.

Commander and General

The commander is the one of the key staff to a general. He often meets and dispenses advice to the general. By this point in time the Commander should have attained his Metro rune aswell. A comander is in charge of 2 companies.

General: A general has alot of responsibility. Arming, choosing the field of battle and the deployment of the entire military.

The commander and general are closest to the Lords.
The commmanders help set up the battles and choose deployment of forces. They choose which battles will go where and how they are dealt with.

Chapter 12: Elite Blackguards

You may notice that around the city there are unranked blackguards posted. These guards are only commanded by few people. Unless you somehow get special authorization, you cannot command these guards. Doing so may mean your death.
These Blackguards may aid you if you ask them though.

These Blackguards are also to get your co-operation and aid. If they are attacked, aid them by healing them, enchanting them or whipping the attacker.

Chapter 13: The chain of command

-Esteemed citizens are not military but still show them respect.
-You do not need to salute or yell in their presence.
-You do not follow any orders of ANY citizen or esteemed citizen unless that citizen/esteemed citizen is in the military and they are a higher rank or they are a Lord.
-Assist the Esteemed citizen how ever you can.
-No one is exempt from the laws. If there is a change in the laws it will be posted on the military forum. The Leader may allow for certain non faction members to be temporarily exempt from being whipped for weapons. The leader will post this in the treaty section. Any military member not following this order shall be punish accordingly.

Chapter 14 : Meetings

Commanding officers are to have monthly meetings with their Soldiers. They are to check up on their reports and update their files.

Commanding officers will also have meetings with the Lords on a monthly basis to evaluate them, and so they can report matters to Lords.

Sources:
From United States Army Field Manual FM 22-5
The movie "The last Castle"
and modified for Game purposes.