Warfare, like most things in The Unformed Lands, is subject to the constraints of technology and the existence of magic. The level of technology and the existence of magic plays a major role in determining tactics, strategy and of course available weapons. This entry is based upon the current technology level and politcal setup on .
The Unformed Lands has a wide variety of tech levels of weaponry. Gunpowder works, and most mirs can produce at least black powder. Smokeless powder and automatic weapons exist, and distribution and production is similar to Earth in that some societies can make them cheaply while others can't make them at all. Guns are mostly used in mirs where magic doesn't work.
Guns are generally not very effective for major warfare outside mirs. Magic is to powerful. Guns are useful against bandits and most creatures, so caravans are armed. The expense and lack of availablity in all mirs also means that travellers often carry non-gunpowder weapons. The use of swords, bows and crossbows are also common for most areas. Pikes and similar pre-gunpowder weapons are common among less developed mirs.
In the Unformed Lands one of the unusual weapons is the battle suit. Battlesuits are formed in mage domains from the raw materials of mirs and the energy of the Unformed Lands. Battlesuits only work mage domains and The Unformed Lands. A battlesuit is a form of mecha for rules purposes. Battlesuits are the only way other than direct magical attack to defeat the ruling mage of a mage domain. Suits offer protection almost equal to their creators magical power. As such, a poweful mage can make a suit that can't be defeated easily by a weaker mage.
Cannons and similar artillary are rare. There is generally very little significant warfare within mirs, and magic can be used to hurl objects at the walls of mirs.
Motorized vehicle, wether jeeps or tanks are non-existant. Such vehicle require to much infrastructure for most mirs and are of limited use in between mirs.
In this world of basically open desert or steppe, raiders can appear from outside the borders of civilized mirs. Patrols are common, and are needed to prevent raiders from slipping through the network of mirs and mage domains towards more settled areas. Mirs and mage domains that are away from the borders are generally not troubled by barbarian raiders. Travelers and caravans in The Unformed Lands can be attacked by bandits though. Mirs are generally so densely settled that there is no room for highway robbers.
Like the originial Roman Empire, or Russia, expanding borders in The Unformed Lands provides more security. Expanding borders, frequent settlements and forts provides strategic depth and provided a very peaceful rear area for industrial and agricultural development. Patrols on the borders of civilized clusters of mirs keeps raiders from sneaking deep into the empires.
Land warfare in The Unformed Lands is divided into at least two forms. There is warfare that takes place within mirs and warfare that occurs in the Unformed Lands or in mage domains.
In the Unformed Lands, troops move overland no faster than pre-railroad speeds, in other words they either walk or ride horses. Ten or so miles a day for an army of any size is a good speed for most armies in The Unformed Lands. A small number of flying brooms and carpets and similar magical items are around for use outside the mirs, however, since they are very costly to make, rare and mostly owned by wizards, they are of no real use in moving significant numbers of troops.
Battles within the Unformed Lands are often magically assisted.
Movement within the Mirs can be faster for higher civilizations. Good roads, horse drawn or electric railroads and some canals provide relatively easy transport, especially for bulk supplies.
Fortifications for mirs and the Unformed Lands range from the simple to the complex. They range from simple wooden walls to large stone walled cities. Most reflect the existance of gun powder hand weapons which have existed for many generations. Most cities cities have at least a wall with gatehouses. Most of these are of stone, but due to where they are located and the age of the city, and the threat level and the cost, they might be of wood. Medieval European style castles do exist, however they are mostly only built anywhere other than the borderlands or frontier areas.
Magic based units also exist. Weapons are usually enhanced swords or magical wands. Mages will have access to the usual spells such as sleep, fireball, lightning bolt and telekinetic attacks.
Naval warfare is basically non-existant. There are no large bodies of water, or even permanent rivers in The Unformed Lands. In the mirs, open water is generally small ponds for fish farming.
Aerial units add literally another dimension to combat. Air warfare really only exists in The Unformed Lands. Mirs aren't normally large enough to support an industrial base for mechanical flight, and magical units won't work in or above a mir.
Units range from flying broom mounted troops to creature mounted troops. Creature based units have a very high maintainence cost and therefore are few and far between (think how much food a dragon can eat each day). Regardless of how much such units cost, they can be very important at times. Since such units can move at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, just the fact that the unit exists can cost the opposing force a huge amount of money, troops and supplies to counter them. The major powers and large merchant houses keep their aerial units active by using them for recon, messages and important mail carriers. Of course it costs to use these units, but since it's the fastest way of getting information from one mir to another, and the quickest way to find out what is happening around where you live, it's worth it.
Flying units equipped flying carpets and broomsticks can be of great use. Such aerial units can act like modern day fighters and to a lesser extent bombers. This gives a whole new meaning to the term carpet bombing. Magical item based flying units can use bows, cross bows, wands and cast spells in both an offensive and defensive role.
The closest thing to Special Forces troops are adventuers and raiding parties. The major limitation on special ops units is cultural. There is no real percieved need for such a military unit, and the type of warfare in The Unformed Lands doesn't fit very well.