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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xeriar" data-source="post: 847791" data-attributes="member: 4116">Depends on the city, and what kind of guard you mean, whether or not they have to deal with bandits, etc.As well as the kind of government, both local and otherwise.A city that is relatively safe and secure, with little worries of bandits or crime in general, could have as few as 20 or so full-time guardsmen.More than 400 (about 3%) would be severe crime, problems with bandits, an authoritarian state, etc.There might also be a fire brigade of some sort which could count.Typically what happens is the 'guard' is a trained militia that can be raised when needed - they normally otherwise contribute to the economy, except for duty depending on culture.   This can actually be quite a significant portion of the population if need be.  If a city was worried about invasion, this would be a more likely case.The full timers are there to deal with the occasional jerks, of course, as well as other inevitable issues in such a population.  Part-time guards are for riot control and invasion.</blockquote>