Royal Army

The rank and file of the army can be divided into the following formations and units according to size.

Brigade, ~15,000 soldiers, Formation

Regiment (Officialis), ~1,000 - ~5,000 soldiers, Formation

Company, 100-500 soldiers, Formation

Regiment, as fielded, (<100), Unit

Squadron/Squad/Unit, as fielded, (<50), Unit

As one can see, there can be great variation in figure and there is often confusion on sizes. Regiments appear twice due to the propagation of the term by private units fielded by various guilds in warfare. While it is true that historically some guilds did support full regiments, those regiments were smaller, and the current distinction is necessary as the term ‘guild regiments’ has lead to companies being referred to as whole regiments. Similarly, the strict term for a unit smaller than a hundred men is a squadron, regardless of size, but in the modern day unit has become the more popular term.

There are three types of recognised units in the Royal Army, Crown companies, private regiments and levy companies. Levy companies are raised by a lord under their permissions as set out in their letters patent, Crown companies are raised by the monarch directly, and private regiments are fielded independent of the above. Private regiments do require assent from the Crown to be formed, although this only applies as a rough shod rule, otherwise the private guards of many noble houses may qualify. Many lords field private regiments in addition to their normal levies as a means of garnering favour or influence.

The ranks of the Royal Army can be divided into two sections, the ‘noble’ and the ‘common’ ranks. Noble ranks cannot be held by commoners, thus a work around is devised whereby suitable candidates are often given life titles. These tend to be titular, but they are often recreated for like positions, (i.e. the County of Desmenton for a Marshal of the field). While a lot of ranks require nobility, many common ranks are also held by nobles. In these cases they will often prefer their noble styling over rank when determining forms of address.

Rex Imperator (Noble)

A role always held by the monarch. The Kings and now Queens of Palingvyre are always trained in military tactics. That being said they are but one person, so the ability to oversee such a vast force is rather impractical.

Lord Marshal (Noble)

The Lord Marshal truly holds the most military power, as such, they must be unquestionably loyal and an expert in military affairs. They are generally selected from among the nobility, but equally will have to be a veteran of combat and campaign. As such, they often are recruited from the lower ranks and it is one of the few Lords of Office, (along with the Lord Altum Leges), that is frequently taken by an ennobled individual as opposed to one of noble birth. The current Lord Marshal is Lady Irene Gattly.

Marshal of the Field (Noble)

Below the Lord Marshal are the Marshals of the Field. These individuals are the first of the noble ranks that regularly appear on the field of battle, although rarely on the front line. There have traditionally been five Marshals of the Field and each is associated with a title, these are, in order of command precedence:

The County of Walmsea, the County of Brecvale, the Barony of Wigrove, Grovsner Hall, and the County of Desmenton

All of these titles are titular, offering no actual grant of land.

Warrant General (Noble)

The Warrant Generals are titles assumed by the Warranty Barons. These titles are hereditary, although it is no secret there is a lot of pressure on a Warranty Baron to perform or face removal. There are always eight Warrant Generals.

General (Noble/Common)

Next we come to generals. This is the first rank typically associated with the common folk, generals are the tacticians and strategists of the Royal Army. There is no limit on how many generals there can be in a command of the army. General is also the last rank that requires royal assent to appoint.

Nobilis Imperio (Noble) / Court Marshal (Common)

Nobilis Imperio, (or ‘noble in command’), is not a rank in of itself, but more of a common observation of operating practice. This being, where a noble fields their levy, they will often expect, (and receive), obedience from their troops and lower ranks, particularly levy companies. This is far more common with levy companies, with Crown companies often adhering to the codified command structure. The same concept applies to court marshals, whom are appointed to lead on behalf of their nobles, although are more likely to face disobedience.

Brigadier General (Common)

Brigadier generals lead brigades, the second largest formation in the Royal Army. They are the first of several of the common ranks that are intrinsically tied to a particular size of force, as such, when commanding smaller forces they will default to the lower rank of address as ‘brigadier colonel’.

Colonel (Common)

Colonels lead regiments in the Royal Army. Like the brigadier generals above, this rank is tied to the troops commanded, so they will become a ‘sergeant colonel’ if there insufficient numbers to make up their full formation. That being said, while brigades have to be considerable formations, regiments are a lot more varied in their size, so it is rarer a colonel needs to derogate from their rank.

Sergeant (Common) 

Sergeants are responsible for companies in the Royal Army. Unlike the above, it is not tied to any size of formation and sergeants do not derogate from their titles when commanding smaller squadrons.

Captain (Common)

The lowest of any ranking soldier, captains are often directly elected by their troops as opposed to appointed. This tends to mean that there is something of a meritocracy at the very bottom of the chain within the cream can rise to the top. Unlike the above, captains have no distinguishing badge, instead merely bearing that of their unit.