|
|
|
Hosts of Gondor: Ranks
|
The following rank structure is used in the Hosts of Gondor. New recruits begin as Footmen and may remain at that rank until such time as they prove worthy of promotion, no matter their length of time in the service of Gondor. Men will not be promoted on seniority but on their ability to command and carry out orders. (This means good RP)
MAN-AT-ARMS - First Rank (No special insignia)
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS - Second Rank (One silver cabled bar insignia)
LIEUTENANT - Third Rank (Three silver cabled bar insignia)
CAPTAIN - Fourth Rank (Four silver cabled bar insignia)
CAPTAIN OF GONDOR - Fifth Rank (Five silver cabled bar insignia)
Lords who serve in the Guard do not wear the silver and black rank bars but instead bear gold and black cabled rank bars upon thier tabards.
If one makes a particularly good impression, one can hope to achieve a position within the much honored Minas Tirith Citadel Guard to serve the Steward himself. These men are hand picked by Lord Denethor for his personal body guards, Citadel Watch, and many other duties. At this time there are no ranks among the Citadel Guard except to be an Commanding Officer or not. There are four Divisions each with an Commanding Officer and these Divisions share duties and will accompany the Steward whenever he leaves the safety of the Citadel. An unranked Citadel Guard is given respect from and can issue orders to any soldier in the Hosts of Gondor up to the rank of Lieutenant. Commanding Officers in the Citadel Guard may issue orders to any Soldier in the Hosts of Gondor reguardless of rank including Lieutenants and Captains. (Except for Captains who are also Lords, or Captains of Gondor.)
|
Units
|
FOOTMEN - Every soldier in the Hosts of Gondor starts out his military career in one of the many companies of footmen. Among the most prestigious companies of footmen in the Hosts of Gondor are the Company of the Silver Ship, the Company of the Raven, the Company of the White Tree, and the Reserve Company of the White Raven. All have produced highly decorated men and have been placed under the command of the Steward's most compitent officers. Each company consists of approximately 300 infantry men and 200 archers, with each group expected to know the battlefield duties of the other well enough to serve in either capacity in battle.
Right now, enrollment in the Hosts of Gondor is limited to the Company of the Silver Ship for players whose characters will be serving on active duty in the Hosts of Gondor (see +MTHELP HOSTS-REGULATIONS for information regarding changing companies within the Hosts of Gondor). Upon promotion to Man-at-Arms, transfer into the White Tree is possible. Players who wish to serve the Hosts of Gondor in the capacity of reserves are enrolled in the Company of the White Raven. For IC information about these companies and their current officers, see the IC bulletin board in the Hosts Barracks in Minas Tirith.
WHITE TREE - Infantry. Oldest and most highly-decorated of the various infantry companies, the White Tree is traditionally assigned the most demanding of duties. Greater glory, alas, often carries a high mortality rate. See FOOTMEN for more information.
SILVER SHIP - Infantry. Where every soldier in the Hosts of Gondor starts out. One of the oldest companies still in service, the Silver Ship company was created shortly after the White Tree. Almost all of the soldiers that serve Gondor have passed through this ranks. The Silver Ship has taken part in all the major battles since its creation and it is one of the most highly decorated units of the hosts. See FOOTMEN for more information.
SILVER GUARD - Infantry and Mounted. The Silver Guard are leased to Guilds and Noble Houses in Northern Gondor for caravan escort, body guards, and guarding manors or keeps. See SILVER-GUARD for more information.
SILVER HORSEMEN - Mounted. The Outriders are a light cavalry unit used primarily for battle field scouting and to lend highly mobile support to the Hosts of Gondor.
To become a member of the Silver Guard, one must first serve in the Hosts of Gondor and demonstrate an honorable character. Soldiers who meet these criteria are allowed to transfer to the Silver Guard once they have volunteered for the service.
While the Silver Guard has traditionally been used as caravan escort, body guard, and guarding manors or keeps of the Northern Noble Houses, some of the more militaristic guildmasters and Lords have used them to good effect on the battlefield.
Silver Guardsmen are given a much greater opportunity for travel and extra-cultural RP than the average soldier in the Hosts of Gondor, though they are much fewer in number. In order to keep the ratio of Silver Guardsmen to soldiers in the Hosts of Gondor in an acceptable proportion, right now, only players who have been an active part of the Hosts of Gondor or other experienced players are allowed to play Silver Guardsmen.
ERRAND RIDERS - Mounted. The Errand Riders are the special messengers of the White Tower and are used for special missions both domestic and abroad. The ultimate honor a messenger can be given is to be selected for service in the ranks of the Errand Riders. See ERRAND-RIDERS for more information.
While the Silver Guard, Errand Riders, and Outriders are considered ICly to be special units, there are no rank differences in authority between their equivalent ranks. A Man-at-Arms in the Infantry (a footman), a Man-at-Arms in the Silver Guard, a Man-at-Arms serving as an Errand Rider, or a Man-at-Arms in the Outriders are all considered to be of equal rank. See HOSTS-RANKS for more information on the ranks in the Hosts of Gondor.
Citadel Guardsmen are not considered to be of the same rank as soldiers in the Hosts of Gondor. More information on ranks and the Citadel Guard can be found in CITADEL GUARDSMEN.
CITADEL GUARDSMEN are not considered to be of the same rank as soldiers in the Hosts of Gondor.
The Citadel Guard are expected to above all and always follow the will of the Steward, Denethor. Their duties include guarding the person of the Steward, policing the city of Minas Tirith (upholding the laws of the city and of Gondor), acting as the primary companies of guard for each of the gates in Minas Tirith and administering the passwords that are used to pass through the tiers of the city, acting as military police (assisting the officers of the Hosts of Gondor in maintaining discipline within the ranks), guarding the persons of foreign emissaries on Gnodorian soil, acting as Denethors Ministers or Emissaries as needed, and any other duties which the Steward may assign.
If one makes a particularly good impression, one can hope to achieve a position within the much honored Minas Tirith Citadel Guard to serve the Steward himself. These men are hand picked by Lord Denethor for his personal body guards, Citadel Watch, and many other duties. There are four Divisions each with an Commanding Officer and these Divisions share duties and will accompany the Steward whenever he leaves the safety of the Citadel. An unranked Citadel Guard is given respect from and can issue orders to any soldier in the Hosts of Gondor up to the rank of Lieutenant. Commanding Officers in the Citadel Guard may issue orders to any Soldier in the Hosts of Gondor reguardless of rank including Lieutenants and Captains. (Except for Captains who are also Lords, or Captains of Gondor.)
|
|
|
Duties
|
|
Those who take the Oath to serve Gondor, be they in Minas Tirith, Pelargir or Dol Amroth, do so swear to serve and protect their land, Steward, and culture to preserve this last known refuge of those decended of Numenor until such time as the one True King may return. This service is often for life and the duties in reality vary a good deal from fighting with steel against our traditional enemies, Mordor and Harad, (Or anyone so influensed to serve the evil Eye of Sauron's corruption) to escorting citizens on the road or aiding in times of natural dissaster. Men of Gondor are prideful, highly honor bound people who's purposes strive always to preserve the blood, even thinned, of Numenor. Daily duties include walking patrols, standing watch at one of the many walls or fortresses, and keeping careful watch out for.
|
|
Uniforms and Gear
|
The uniform of the Hosts of Gondor is composed of a black tabard with the silver embroidarded crest of Minas Tirith, the White Tree. This is worn over armour, long sleeved shirt, pants with broad belt and high polished boots, all in black. Rank cables angle from the left edge of the tabard throat down to the arm opening. Other awards or insignia are worn on the right shoulder. Privates and Sergeants wear studded leather armour, while higher officers carry better up to black chain mail if available. Lords may wear the black or brightly polished and gleaming silvery mail. Helms for all are steel domes mounted with blackest Raven wings upreaching from the sides and slightly swept back.
GEAR
Everyone who is sworn into the Host of Gondor or any other military position within Gondor is equipted with gear. ICly unless you come from a landed family (Lords) you would not likely have any gear of your own. We RP gear and put into our descs but are not issued combat system coded gear objects until you fulfill and maintain all of the requirements for that gear. Read +ghelp for more information but this consists of being combat approved, registered and staying up with connect time. If you fall out of the +top/culture range required we might request your gear back. ICly it is the proporty of your Steward/Gondor and OOCly is belongs to the culture, not the players. The usual equiptment is armour, shield and helm, with longsword or spear. Sometimes bows are also suplimented but all weapons depend most on what our +trainers teach in. All gear is recieved ICly from your trainer and you will be lent gear for training if you've none of your own.
CITADEL GUARD
Although very similar to the uniform of the Hosts of Gondor, the elite Citadel Guard bear the livery of Elendil (the White Tree surrounded by Seven Stars) along with Mithril raven winged helms instead of steel. Instead of rank bars they have the emblem of the Citadel, a lone Tower insignia over a silver shield. Commanding Officers of each of the Four Divisions of the Citadel Guard bear the same insignia on a gold shield and additionally have a small starburst pattern on the fore of thier helm. All men of the Citadel Guard are hand picked by the Steward from the finest fighters of the Relm and are outfitted in the best of Chain Mail and often carry swords of the highest craftmanship presented by Denethor himself.
|
|
Training
|
You may request weapon's training to fight using the combat system's code if you have taken and passed your combat test and registered in a weapon you can get trained and geared in. We will loan you gear if you have not your own or have not yet met the requirements to earn it so don't fret... RP! :)
Other trainers in Gondor can be approached for training and puppets might be arranged if you need training in an approved weapon that is only trained by a trainer not in your city ICly. (ie: spear, for example) You may train once every 7 to 10 RL days. For more information see 'help combat'.
|
|
|
Joining
|
Many players come to Gondor in order to serve after the fashion of inspiring characters like Boromir, Faramir and Beregond. Whether you wish to be part of Boromir's own tower guard -- the hosts -- or a Ranger of Ithilien like Faramir, you will begin as a Soldier sworn to Gondor. After playing for a time as a Soldier and earning your first promotion, you will be able to choose which path to take: the brave army that guards the White City of Minas Tirith, or the stalwart Rangers who patrol the Marches of Ithilien.
Before you can begin as a Soldier, you should have read your files, especially +GHELP NEWBIE, +GHELP THEME, and +MTHELP, and have a description and history approved.
All jobs in Gondor are to be earned through Role Play. Above all, take your time... get settled in in and RPing with us a bit before you settle on a job. A position as a soldier in the Hosts of Gondor is one that our citizens respect, so we need to be sure you're going to uphold the expectations before we swear you in.
|
|
Regulations
|
These are some of the things that your character will know about the regulatons that guide the officers of the Hosts:
-Transfers of personnel between Host compaanies (such as the Silver Ship and the White Tree companies) is allowed with the approval of both commanding officers, regardless of the transferring Hostman's rank. See +MTHELP HOSTS-TRANSFERS for the procedure to use to obtain this approval.
-Hostmen of the rank of Man-at-Arms or higgher may request transfer to other branches of the Gondorian military, such as the Scouts (see +IHELP) or Navy (see +NHELP). See +MTHELP HOSTS-TRANSFERS for the procedure to use.
-Hostmen of the rank of Man-at-Arms or higgher may request transfer to the special units of the Hosts (such as the Silver Horse, Errand Riders, or Silver Guard -- see +MTHELP HOSTS-UNITS for details on these units). See +MTHELP HOSTS-TRANSFERS for the procedure to use.
-Hostmen below the rank of Captain may nott request transfer to the Citadel Guard. Captains requesting transfer to the Citadel Guard must be approved for the service by Denethor himself (or in the absence of a PC Denethor, GAD will review and approve/deny the transfer request). See +MTHELP HOSTS-TRANSFERS for the transfer procedure.
-Respect will be shown at all times to alll officers. A Soldier is not required to salute a Man-at-Arms, but any officer who has attained the rank of Master-at-Arms or above should always receive a salute from those of lesser rank (unless an 'emergency' order has temporarily superceded this regulation).
-Obedience will be given to all officers aat all times. A Soldier and a Man-at-Arms are considered to be so close to each other in rank that orders from a Man-at-Arms to a Soldier should be rare, but they still must be obeyed.
-Any conduct unbecoming of a sworn member of the Hosts, Rangers, and Navy, including but not limited to public drunkenness, brawling, and harassment of citizens, shall result in the following minimal repercussions:
Upon first offense: The member shall be reprimanded and assigned a service task appropriate to the misdeed (read: something demeaning).
Upon second offense: The member shall be demoted one rank. If the member is already at the lowest rank in his organization, he shall go without pay for the period of one month.
Upon third offense: The member shall be dishonorably discharged from his organization.
These are the minimal actions to be taken by the member's superior officer. At the discretion of the superior, the punishments may be increased to fit the severity of the misdeed.
-The salute given by the Soldiers of Gondoor shall consist of raising the right fist to the heart. In formal situations, a small bow of the head should also accompany it.
These are some of the things that you might like to know about how we handle the OOC administration of the Hosts:
-Promotions (see +MTHELP HOSTS-RANKS), Awaards (see +MTHELP HOSTS-HONORS), and Transfers (see +MTHELP HOSTS-ICREGS) should be handled in the most IC manner possible: via RP when practical, or through IC +mails (GAD must be included in the promotion from Lieutenant to Captain, as the LAs reserve the right to review this promotion due to the additional OOC responsibilities of the position as a Captain in the Hosts of Gondor).
-Members of the Hosts will be +titled accoording to a standardized scheme: , , Hosts of Gondor;
-All new players will be initially assigneed to the Silver Ship Company (for convenience only) -- they may ICly apply for transfer to another company at any time. Transfers for OOC reasons should include notations as to the additional OOC considerations that should affect the approval of the transfer.
|
Transfers
|
A Hostman may transfer to another military unit in Gondor, whether it be another company, the Navy, or the Rangers of Ithilien. The process for a transfer is as follows:
1) The Hostman must have reached the rank of Man-At-Arms to transfer to the Navy, the Scouts of Ithilien, or any other special unit. (See +MTHELP HOSTS-UNITS, +GHELP NAVY or +IHELP for more information on these units). Transfers between companies in the Hosts is allowed at any rank.
2) The Hostman declares to his commanding officer his desire for a transfer to the unit of his choice.
3) If he approves, the commanding officer will coordinate with the commanding officer of the destination unit.
4) If and when the transfer is approved, the Hostman will be relieved of his current duties and assigned to his new post.
|
Honours
|
Since time immemorial the Lords of Gondor have granted the valiant honours. What follows is a list of the honours given to those of the Soldiery of Gondor who display excellent service:
Service Bars -- Each soldier in the Hosts of Gondor is entitled to wear one service bar upon his left breast for each year he has served the Steward. Many soldiers only wear these on special occaisions, though. Service bars are plain horizontal silver bars, approximately one inch in length (gold bars may replace each group of ten silver bars).
Order of the Elendili -- Given for bravery in battle, the Order of the Elendili may be awarded by any soldier of the rank of Lieutenant or higher. The blue cloth ribbon of this award supports a silver metal eagle wing (for the first award) or a gold eagle metal wing (for those who have won the award multiple times).
Order of the Silmaril -- Given for exemplary service to the Hosts of Gondor and Minas Tirith itself, the Order of the Silmaril may be awarded by any soldier of the rank of Lieutenant or higher. The order of the Silmaril is represented on the uniform by a silver and blue cloth ribbon with a stylized square of silver metal attached (for the first award) or a stylized gold square (for those who have won the award multiple times).
The Crescent of Isildur -- Given for bravery in battle and/or exceptional service to Minas Tirith and the Steward when afield, the Crescent of Isildur is awarded by those of the rank of lieutenant or higher. The representation of this award is a silver, blue, and black ribbon which supports a silver representation of the Sickle Moon. In the unlikely event that this award would be received twice, the metal of the moon's representation is changed to gold.
Order of the White Tree -- Given for exemplary service over long periods of time, the Order of the White Tree can only be awarded by those of the rank of Captain or higher. This award is represented by a pin in the likeness of the White Tree of Gondor cast in silver and gold.
The Sun of Anarion -- Given for valour in the face of overwhelming odds or for deeds of some renown, the Sun of Anarion is only awarded by those of the rank of Captain of Gondor or higher. The representation of this award on the uniform is a pin cast of gold in the shape of a seven-pointed sun, each point tipped in black onyx.
The Numenorean Badge -- Given for deeds of great renown, for valour in the face of impossible odds, or for conduct that typifies all the qualities that Gondorians hold dear. More often than not, this award is given poshumously, but in any case, only the Steward of Gondor may give this award. The Numenorean Badge is represented on the uniform by a silver, blue, black, gold, and green ribbon from which hangs a thin mithril bar which suspends a five pointed star of adamant.
|
Guards of the Citadel
An elite military unit of Gondor which guarded the Citadel of Minas Tirith and the White Tree and participated in official functions. There were at least three companies of the Guards, each of which had its own storehouse. Beregond belonged to the Third Company; Pippin's Company is not named.
The Guards wore Númenórean sea-helms made of mithril and black surcoats bearing the livery of Elendil. The Guards were the only ones in Gondor to bear this livery in the time of the Stewards.
The traditional Captain-general of the Guards was the heir of the Steward, and in the time of the Kings the Captain was probably the heir to the throne.
Also called the Guard of the Tower of Gondor.
|
|
|
