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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ridley's Cohort" data-source="post: 169643" data-attributes="member: 545">The real currency of armies is not gold it is food.  Gold mines do not help unless you have excellent trade routes.  Funny thing is, those very trade routes are usually the things that start the war, so don't count on them once the fighting begins.Through most of the most of medieval Europe, it would almost accurate to say there were no professional armies in the sense we think of today.Armies were "paid" through their obligations to their liege lords.  They owed ~40 days service per year.  So cash was typically not an issue.Due to the weather and practicalities of supplying an army in the field over mediocre roads, there were only 6-7 months of "campaign time" per year -- the period when offensives were practical.Contrary to popular belief, there were very few peasants on the battlefield.  That is not how the medieval system worked; it is the knights job to do the fighting.  Most footsoldiers were typically yeomen, more or less "middle class" in the rural economy, and mostly responsible for their own equipment and training.Of course there were mercenaries, too.  Many of those would undoubtedly be runaway peasants looking for any means of advancement.As for D&D, I think that typical "veteran" squads of soldiers will be a random mix of 1st-3rd level warrior/fighters.  Surviving a couple battles plus training on the side is going to give a level or two based on reasonable xp rewards.Run of the mill officers in the army being 3rd-5th level are not unreasonable.</blockquote>

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