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<blockquote data-quote="NewJeffCTHome" data-source="post: 2341411" data-attributes="member: 25012">If you are going by historical standards, a nation’s economy will be hurt if their standing military is made up of more than one-half of one percent of the total population.&nbsp; Meaning, in a nation of 1,000,000 persons, a standing army significantly larger than 5,000 will have an adverse effect on the economy if it is maintained for any length of time because the soldiers could be tending farms, working as butchers, bakers &amp; candlestick makers, etc.&nbsp; This is full-time professional soldiers and does not count things like the town watch, any militia, and possible levies of your local peasants.My question is, let us say that this nation of 1,000,000 humans and a standing army of 5,000 is invaded by a massive horde of Evil that far surpass 5,000 in number.&nbsp; The evil can be anything – orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, demons, undead, a massive Mongolian-like Golden Horde, etc – but, let us just say that it is the equivalent of 50,000.What is a realistic number of additional troops this kingdom of 1,000,000 could muster for a big showdown?&nbsp; Obviously, you cannot leave your other borders unguarded and cities and towns must maintain some sort of watch/guard.&nbsp; But, I am sure that many towns and cities have their own militias, the king or queen could empty the treasury to hire mercenaries, etc.&nbsp; And, if need be, they could also bolster their numbers through peasant levies.Let us say that they can realistically get 4,000 of the standing army onto the field of battle and not leave their other borders too weak.&nbsp; The standing army is of good quality.&nbsp; By historical standards, how many militia soldiers would be realistic if you could get 80% of the nation’s militia to the field as well?&nbsp; Would that be another 4,000?&nbsp; Or, should that be like 8,000 or more?&nbsp; Or, am I off base and it is only another 2,000?&nbsp; Obviously, with rare exceptions, militia soldiers are of lower quality than professional soldiers.What about hastily levied peasants and serfs?&nbsp; (Obviously even lower quality than militia…) How many willing adventurers and mercenaries would be about if you stuck to typical DMG guidelines?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="NewJeffCTHome, post: 2341411, member: 25012"] If you are going by historical standards, a nation’s economy will be hurt if their standing military is made up of more than one-half of one percent of the total population. Meaning, in a nation of 1,000,000 persons, a standing army significantly larger than 5,000 will have an adverse effect on the economy if it is maintained for any length of time because the soldiers could be tending farms, working as butchers, bakers & candlestick makers, etc. This is full-time professional soldiers and does not count things like the town watch, any militia, and possible levies of your local peasants. My question is, let us say that this nation of 1,000,000 humans and a standing army of 5,000 is invaded by a massive horde of Evil that far surpass 5,000 in number. The evil can be anything – orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, demons, undead, a massive Mongolian-like Golden Horde, etc – but, let us just say that it is the equivalent of 50,000. What is a realistic number of additional troops this kingdom of 1,000,000 could muster for a big showdown? Obviously, you cannot leave your other borders unguarded and cities and towns must maintain some sort of watch/guard. But, I am sure that many towns and cities have their own militias, the king or queen could empty the treasury to hire mercenaries, etc. And, if need be, they could also bolster their numbers through peasant levies. Let us say that they can realistically get 4,000 of the standing army onto the field of battle and not leave their other borders too weak. The standing army is of good quality. By historical standards, how many militia soldiers would be realistic if you could get 80% of the nation’s militia to the field as well? Would that be another 4,000? Or, should that be like 8,000 or more? Or, am I off base and it is only another 2,000? Obviously, with rare exceptions, militia soldiers are of lower quality than professional soldiers. What about hastily levied peasants and serfs? (Obviously even lower quality than militia…) How many willing adventurers and mercenaries would be about if you stuck to typical DMG guidelines? [/QUOTE]

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