https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/tcoe/group-patrons#MilitaryForce
Your group serves as a team of soldiers in a larger military force, one dedicated to combat missions or other dangerous tasks. You could be a band of mercenaries, a special forces unit, or a squad of regular infantry. Perhaps you protect a nation’s people from monsters, or you fight secret battles in the wake of a war that has supposedly ended. Or the nation requires military forces to protect the frontier and to lead advancement into new territory.
Types of Military Forces
Military forces represent a variety of organized bands of warriors. They can be the disciplined regiments of a nation’s standing army, a fleet of ships comprising a kingdom’s armada, or a devastating horde of warriors and magical beasts. A given kingdom’s military could be a rigidly ordered force or a blood-soaked throng.
Roll or pick from the Military Force Types table to determine the general type of military patron you serve.
ROLL TABLE TO VTT
Military Force Types
d6 Military Organization
1 Standing Army. A standing army serves as the highly disciplined and structured guardian of a province or an entire nation. Strict tiers of command ensure coordination between branches of the force.
2 Mercenary Company. Hard-bitten veterans of numerous conflicts, mercenaries serve an employer for coin rather than out of loyalty.
3 Expeditionary Force. This military force is far from home, fighting behind enemy lines or striking into wild, unsettled lands. The force must be fast, self-sufficient, and either diplomatic or decisive to assure their survival.
4 Horde. The horde is almost a force of nature, and what it lacks in discipline it makes up in ferocity. It doesn’t have a rigid command structure, instead functioning like a pyramid of smaller armies. Horde commanders owe fealty to stronger leaders above them, all the way up to the warlord.
5 Planar Conscripts. This military force battles for cosmic stakes on far-flung planes of the multiverse or fights against extraplanar invasion on the Material Plane. Warriors include conscripts pressed into service in the Blood War, fodder in the thrall of ruthless yugoloth mercenaries, or members of a glorious celestial host defending against fiendish incursion.
6 Sky Warriors. This military force consists of winged creatures, employs magical flight, or sails airships as a sky navy. Traditional defenses are ineffective against attacks from the air, positioning the sky warriors as a fearsome nation or expensive and coveted mercenaries.
Military Force Perks
With a military force as your group’s patron, you gain the following perks.
A DRAGONBORN MESSENGER OF
THE PURPLE DRAGON KNIGHTS
Armory. You can purchase nonmagical weapons and armor at a 20 percent discount at a facility associated with your military force. You can buy magic items at the DM’s discretion, but you receive no discount.
Chain of Command. You are part of a hierarchy that provides you with orders. If you cause trouble in your own nation, you answer to your officers, not local law enforcement.
Official Access. Your rank in the military force grants you access to places that are off limits to civilians. With your commander’s permission, you can enter dangerous training grounds or military installations, like an army’s regional headquarters or a repository of top-secret intelligence. You can also request that your commander grant you authority to act in their name or provide access to experts or leaders higher in the chain of command.
Orders. You undertake your missions at the direction of a commanding officer, who expects your absolute obedience. These missions have clear and precise goals, leading you on the path of adventure. In rare cases, you’re trusted with open-ended tasks that afford you leeway in interpreting orders.
Salary. Each member of your group earns a regular salary or share of the military force’s spoils. The amount varies depending on your organization and your position within it, but at minimum you enjoy a modest lifestyle. You receive a small salary (as little as 1 sp per day) and food and housing on a military base. Or you receive 1 gp per day but rely on that money for room and board. With higher rank comes higher pay. As an officer, you maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
Military Force Contact
Your primary contact within your hierarchy is your superior officer, the person who gives you orders and is responsible for your success or failure.
Roll or pick from the Commanding Officer table to determine who assigns you missions.
ROLL TABLE TO VTT
Commanding Officer
d6 Officer
1 Tested Veteran. Your commander is a battle-scarred officer who experienced horrors in combat. They rely on something to dull the pain of their memories or wounds, from a favorite writer’s prose to a distracting vice.
2 Taskmaster. This angry officer yells every order, reprimands you for the smallest mistake, and fully expects you to fail at every mission you undertake. This might be tough love or simple brutishness.
3 Protective Officer. A kindly officer is hesitant to send you into danger and constantly reminds you to be careful.
4 Bitter Soldier. Your commander carries deep grudges against your force’s enemies. They leap at any chance to do those foes harm, even if it puts your group in terrible risk.
5 Hopeful Commander. This optimistic officer knows that a new era of peace is just over the horizon. You just need to complete these last few missions, then it should all finally be over.
6 Devout Leader. Your commander is a person of deep faith. They believe that your success or failure lies entirely in divine hands and you are the instruments of that will.
Military Force Envoys
You might join a military force for a wide range of reasons, or the military has reasons for seeking you out. Those with specialized skills contribute to a range of missions, from infiltration and mystical operations to diplomacy and strategy. Perhaps your past deeds or the will of your family pushes you toward military service, regardless of whether you believe you’re suited to such a life.
The Military Force Envoy Roles table suggests a variety of military roles you could fill and the backgrounds frequently associated with each role.
Military Force Envoy Roles
Role Backgrounds
Combatant Criminal, Folk Hero, Outlander, Sailor, Soldier
Tactician Acolyte, Folk Hero, Noble, Outlander, Sage, Soldier
Medic Acolyte, Folk Hero, Hermit, Sage, Soldier
Scout Hermit, Outlander, Sailor, Soldier, Urchin
Provocateur Acolyte, Charlatan, Criminal, Entertainer, Noble
Spy Any
Military Quests
The wide-ranging work of a military unit calls for both power and subtlety. Your missions could run the risk of shattering a fragile peace recently established with a rival nation and plunging multiple nations back into war. Or perhaps your group’s missions pit you against rival combatants during an active engagement, as you influence the war effort. Rival mercenary companies, armed resistance fighters, and monsters drawn to the presence of bloodshed also present familiar threats.
The Military Quests table provides possible missions you’re tasked to accomplish.
ROLL TABLE TO VTT
Military Quests
d6 Quest
1 Strike Force. You undertake a quick, strategic, and devastating attack against an enemy force.
2 Defensive Operations. You must preserve the safety of an important location such as a civilian population center, a supply depot, or strategically critical bridge or seaport.
3 Special Forces. You are assigned to a covert operation behind enemy lines. This is similar to the work of a spy or an assassin but with a broader scope. You engage in equipment sabotage or execute targeted strikes against high-value targets.
4 Reconnaissance. You gather information on enemy troop numbers, placements, movement, or supply caches and routes.
5 Seek and Destroy. You are responsible for hunting down specific high-value and dangerous targets, which include deserters, suspected enemy special forces, or magical war machines run amok.
6 Siege. You are assigned to initiate a siege on an enemy stronghold or help break a siege in progress on an allied fortress.