Uniforms and Identification.
Equipment
Archer/Crossbowman: leather armour, dagger, short sword, long bow or heavy crossbow,
hatchet.
Pikeman: leather armour, buckler, short sword, dagger, 12ft pike.
Man-at-Arms: plate mail, battle axe or bastard sword, dagger.
Sergeant: plate mail, battle axe or bastard sword, dagger, one medium war horse,
unarmoured.
Squire: leather armour, shield, bastard sword, dagger, 12ft pike, one light war horse,
unarmoured.
Knights and Priests: plate armour; shield, lance, and depending on skills, horseman's
mace, war
hammer, bastard or two-handed sword, dagger. Knights and priests always have three heavy
war horses and a set of plate barding.
Simbasta: Simbasta are entitled to their ancestral weapons (spears or javelins, cowhide
shield).
Clothing and Identification
Lay brethren and novice priests normally wear a brown surcoat. Sergeant and squires also
wear a patch sewn on the upper left of the chest displaying a white shield with a black
lion rampant. Knights wear a white tabard with a large lion rampant; their mounts normally
have matching trappings. Priests wear black robes or surcoats and, around their neck, a
silver chain with a lion-shaped medallion. Etched inside the medallion is either a heart
supporting a flame, a hammer, or a star indicating the priest's branch. Heldannic shields
are white with the black lion rampant. Simbasta wear their normal ethnic clothing plus
blankets or furs in the colder climes of the metropolitan Heldannic Territories.
Armor and weaponry appearance varies with the geographic location of the garrison. Troops
always carry some markings to identify their original garrisons. For infantry, they
consist of two or three ribbons tied on the soldier's sword-bearing arm. These inch-wide
ribbons display two colours in a specific pattern. Cavalry markings appear on pennoncelles
flying at the tip of the knights' lances.
Vaward, Main Battle, and Rearward always display a large standard, at least six foot
square in size, which remains unfurled during the entire length of a campaign. A
three-foot-square banner marks the position of a Chapter commander. Companies and lances
follow a Knight Bachelor's pennon. A single tail pennon is generally attributed to a
secular knight, while a priest would carry a double-tail pennon. Pennons are two feet long
and a foot wide. It is a sign of honour for a soldier to carry a banner or a pennon. Only
Sergeants-at-Arms normally carry army standards.
Troops of various types may constitute a garrison, however, they are generally reassigned
to Chapters prior to a battle so they can be used more effectively. For example, retinues
from several different garrisons each include cavalry, infantry, and archers. Cavalry may
be regrouped in one single Chapter in the Main Battle, while the infantry and archers are
regrouped into several Chapters in the Vaward and Rearward. The use of garrison markings
and banners becomes crucial to control fighting units before and during battle.