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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1349065" data-attributes="member: 15043">I think it depends greatly on the campaign,and what the DM wants to accomplish.  In my homebrew campaign world, the following holds true."ARMIESThe armies of the Empire, as well as most of the other human realms, maintain a static core group of elite soldiers at all times.  In the Empire's case, this is the Imperial Guard.  These core troops are combined arms, in that they include melee fighters, archers, spellcasters, and specialized clerics.However, an arrow, if properly placed, can drop the mightiest warrior or wizard if he is unlucky.  As such, when major war looms, the Empire's nobility enact a levy, calling forth every 20th man from each village to serve.  These troops are mustered at the baronial seats, before joining the forming Imperial armies to march to war.  Frequently, these levys will also pull out minor spellcasters as well... mages and sorcerers that are out of work, or feeling adventurous.Highly experienced personnel (such as 8th level or higher PCs) tend to be formed into smaller, more focused units for scouting, reconniasance, and quick, devastating strikes against the enemy leadership, material, or supplies.On the battlefield, assuming both sides have roughly equal spellcasters, there remains a place for the common pikeman to push forward, as spellcasters, unless one side is weaker or grows tired, tend to cancel each other's offense.   It is not until one side is near breaking that frequently the victor's offensive spells begin to break through as their opponents lose concentration trying to fend off an advance, or panic and flee.  Then the magic comes on its own, and here is where the vast majority of armies take their losses.The soldier and the mage are symbiotic... the mage allows for heavy firepower when he can get through, while the soldier keeps the mage protected from other mundane sources of injury or death.  Should one or the other fail, the entire army faces collapse and destruction."</blockquote>

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