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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 722377" data-attributes="member: 6533">Hey, I think the Jinn having most of their nomads as Centaurs is an idea that needs implementing.  We needs a demi-human race and the chariots will still let us use traditional anti-cavalry tactics against them without making them totally devastating.  Also, I would like to posit that the Centaur take over of the River of Heaven was a joyous occasion through which the demon possessed prior rulers were destroyed.  The Khan is thus a savior who generously shares much of his power with the elite wizards and clerics who aided his takeover, they are now formed into a beauracracy/church/academy known as the Celestial towers while the Khan's personal followers and administrators/chieftains are known as the Khan's Table Men, referring not to a piece of furniture but rather the unusual rock formation on which they must meet, pledge to the Khan, and feast twice a year.  The family of the Khan are strictly of Centaur blood but the table includes among its number most of the remaining god-blooded members of the deposed order.  Men from whom the Khan's shamans were able to dispell the demonic taint.  They are strictly loyal to the Khan and have been given the secret of riding griffins.That being said.The Jinn have five Tamarchs under the Auspices of the Khan and Heaven.  Each Tamarch is a more or less permanent military formation consisting of ten thousand men, resources to support them, and supporting personnel from the Heavenly Beauracracy and the Table of the Khan.  Three of the Tamarchs have been given their own border to defend.  Another Tamarch occupies and protects the river valley and the fifth Tamarch serves the Khan in his travels.   Each Tamarch is lead by a council consisting of one high officer from the tower, the table, and the ranks, a member of the royal family not in direct line for the throne, a supply officer, a cartographer, and presided over by the apointed general of the Khan.  This system is designed to simultaneously be representative of the diverse interests of the Tamarch, prevent the Tamarch moving to coup, and keep the authority of tactical command cleanly and clearly in the hands of the very competent and clever appointed general.Each tamarch is subdived into 20 wings of 500.  These wings rotate between the five Tamarchs on a regular basis and have a command corp paralleling that of the Tamarch though the royal blood representative is absent and as is the representative of the ranks.  The rotation enforces a loyalty to the khan as opposed to the Tamarch and ensures that each Tamarch has soldiers familiar with the duty of every other Tamarch in its ranks at all times.  Each Tamarch includes in its rank a specialist scouting/intelligence/translation wing, which does not rotate, two engineering/siege wings, a police wing, which only rotates out officers on an individual basis, a wing dedicated to the celestial towers, and a wing of the King's TableThe eight thousand men of the fighting wings are enlisted for 16 years though most spend at least six of those years in garrison duty, training, and serving in less elite formations.  They are rotated to a new Tamarch every two years.  Centaur members of the Wing are allowed to participate in family life as their naturaly nomadic nature and communal attitude towards child-rearing make this less problematic than among more humanoid troops.  Other troops must seek special permission to marry and maintain a family.  Many members of the Tamarch are descendents of prior members.  Each wing consists of two two hundred man fighting units and fifty man special group containing the officer's corp and the units support troops.  One of the two hundred man groups is invariably Centaur and the other consists of humanoids from the various subject or neighboring peoples.  The two hundred man groups are further dubdivided into groups of fifty and then ten.  The Centaur group will generally be evenly split between heavy and medium cavalry.  The Humanoid groups are more various as the Jinn attempt to take account of local specialties or needs, though one will be a light mobile formation with wilderness skills, but at least half of the group will consist of highly disciplined medium infantry trained to fight in a variety of formations, sieges, foritifications, and to ride into battle on the backs of Centaurs or chariots and then dismount.  The special group specializes in the use of chariots, war engines, and unusual mounts and will always include a great many spell casters.  Wings are the basic order of march and will make us of many carriages and servitors such as minor golems, undead, herd animals, and paid workers to care for them.All Centaurs are armed with ranged weapons.  The standard weapon is a composite bow adjusted for Centaur strength.  These are a highly revered part of their equipment.  Medium cavalry is also armed with light lances, lassoes or whips, flails, and hatchetts and armored with light barding such as cotton, leather, or shell and a medium shield.  They are also trained to abandon much of their armor and act as light cavalry and many are expereinced enough to use a buckler and either another weapon of a large flail.  Heavy cavalry is armed with heavy lances, scalloped axes or great clubs, and bolas and armored with medium barding such as chain or scale mail or properly treated hide armor, a surcoat for splendour and weather, and a large shield.  Officers and NCOs are fairly likely to have enchanted weapons and unusual equipment.  Each group will have a pair of signals officers and their command staff.  They are also likely to have a pair with training in magic use at least one of whom will be a cleric, druid, or shaman.  In battle these groups are very often accompanied by a chariot of special troops with stronger magic and unusual equipment.The medium infantry are armed with light bows or slings, generally a mixture, darts, nets, light lances, morning stars, and entrenching tools, not at all the term they would use for it but equivalent to very utilizable hatchets, and armored with large shields and either hide or scale.  They are also accompanied by signals officers and will always have someone trained in divine magic among them.  Many of them will be equipped with alchemical items.  The Jinn are adept at fast fortifications and will have several put up before an anticipated battle, but their primary strength is fast marching and good scouting.  A Tamarch can march much faster than most armies and is also very adept at confusing enemy scouts and spell casters, enabling them to engage the enemy on their own terms and occupy key positions quickly.  They make use of very dispersed marching orders using their fluid organization and the rapidity of griffin couriers/scouts.In battle they work to surround the enemy and baffle him with extensive missle fire, very mobile well supported magic users, confusing formations, and infantry that will quickly deploy in favorable terrain.   They reserve shock assets until the enemy has been sufficiently softened or confused to make a charge a killing blow and the enemies magical resources exhausted.    They are very cautious in the face of enemy magic, as they were much affected by the hordes of undead they faced in conquering the river valley.  They are also very cautious about supply, having learned long ago the importance of it in desert fighting and the advantages of plentiful ammunition.  They dislike sieges, though they also recognize their necessity and love artillery in the field.In the case of an extended war the response will likely consist of a Tamarch, two in an extreme situation, backed up by militia, less elite formations, garrison units, and conscripts.That's what I got for now.</blockquote>

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