Dear Commander.
In an effort to make my daughter Yolanda useful, I have sent her out to gather some pictures from some of my old staff training areas. Possibly some of them would be useful to you for events for your men, and their training partners.
Find enclosed a copy of Yolanda’s work.The Training Tower.The Training Tower is a group co-ordination and focus activity. The tower is largely abandoned now, save for the occasional passing patrol. The interior is left unlocked and accessible to the public without needing permission to be sought.
The initial briefing is as follows:
Those people to be put in training are split into teams of approximately equal numbers. One person of a non-combatant nature will act as a “hostage”, the rest into the “attacking” and “defending” force.
All those present are given a walkthrough of the tower – the entrance, the main lobby and the rear gardens. The participants are to be questioned on the potential dangers of the areas, and questions posed as to what possible tactics would be used by those seeking to defend the area, and those seeking to attack it.
This is the entrance area to the position. Note a highly thin and exposed passage and doorway.
This is the central lobby. As you can see it is a large and expansive area, with capability for defenders to secrete themselves out of line of sight.
This is the rear area, where the hostage awaits rescue.
The overall aims are:
1) The defenders must protect their bastion and repel the invaders. The hostage must not be harmed.
2) The attackers must retrieve the hostage from the training yard. One random defender will hold a key. This key unlocks the hostage’s locks. Only when this key is looted may they get the prisoner and escort them out. The hostage may not travel any quicker than walking speed.
3) The hostage may not move until they are rescued (and OOCly, handed the key to open their locks). Once freed, they may follow the attackers to safety, at walking pace only.
All injuries sustained by combatants are naturally dealt with the expertise of trained soldiers and hence, all participants should be able to carry on with training after a quick break of no more than a few minutes.
After the training session, all members come together outside. They discuss how the event went from the perspective of both attackers and defenders, and also how it differed from their prior plans. Once discussions have been made, the attackers and defenders swap roles and replay the training mission.
This session should focus most on planning and tactics. All participants should have a clear plan before preceding and should be noted not on simply their success, but how the individuals stuck to their plan, and if necessary how they adapted it to unexpected events.
Lizard CullThis exercise is ideal for recruits both new and old. It combines weapons training, healing, building strength, and has a competitive edge.
Supplies are always handy, so the session commences with taking the participants to the catacombs of Despise, north of Britain. The upper levels are home to Lizardmen; not a challenge to a hardy warrior, but nonetheless a keen training ground to new adventurers or tradesmen gathering their resources.
The Lizard Cull exercise is a competition to gather the most leather possible in a set time period, normally 30 minutes, but this can be fluid as to the needs of the commanding officer.
The troops are split into two teams, as indicated by a coloured garment, such as a robe, cloak or sash. During the event, the commanding officers, or a designated non-combatant, waits outside with two pack mules. The teams return to this point as necessary to load up their mule with leather. Depending on the length of time on the training session, more than one mule may be needed per team.
At the end of the event, the amount of hide is counted up and the winning team declared.
The losing team are responsible for escorting the mules back to the storehouse in Cove. The winning team may be awarded also some prize, such as free ale in the tavern, or a portal home to save the walk.
All treasures found on the exercise are the property of the trainee. All gold found on the exercise is split half to the finder and half to the militia coffers.
The Devil’s PassIn the lands of Ilshenar, there lies a route that lives as a whisper and a story to scare small children. The deadly Pass of Karnagh.
To get to the pass is treacherous enough. One must take themselves to the holy shrine of Valour, and from there head east. Following the mountainside will bring you face to face with many dangers, from the brute Cyclops, to the magical and dangerous Elder Gazers.
The Devil’s Pass is not for the fainthearted.
Once at the pass, the route is largely clear. The evil within lies not too far away though, in the foreboding, Ruins of Karnaugh.
From here, the challenge is up to the commanding officer. On some occasions, the test is simply to have the men safely get through the ruins, and make it from one end of the pass to another. If a firmer test is needed, then they may be tasked to take a position or series of positions inside and hold them for five minutes at a time. It is fair to say, it is a test of the commanding officer him or herself to lead this exercise well.
To pass this challenge is something a soldier can be proud of. For their own safety, it may be considered to use weapons and equipment of a magical nature for this exercise. To underestimate the gravity of this mission is dangerous.
As always, this is a test of discipline, focus and clear leadership.
PaintballThis session has proven itself to be more of a fun game than a training session but many miss the point. One who can hold their head whilst all about them chaos reigns, will be a mighty adversary in battle. Dealing with pressure and the unpredictable is key.
This game can be every person for themselves, or in teams, with coloured robes to indicate who is in which team.
The pack of every participant is checked to ensure that it is empty before being handed their robe if needed. Every person is then given 20 potions of an explosive nature before being taken inside the paintball cave and asked to take a position as far away from the nearest person as possible.
Once every person is in position, and ready for battle, then the paintball begins. It is a case of people launching their stun potions to all around them, in an effort to knock out their competitors. The last person standing, or the team with the last person standing, is victorious.
Nothing other than the potions of explosion are allowed, so hiding in a corner is not permissible for example.
This will test the combatants ability to handle chaos, and nothing can be more chaotic than a battle situation.
To add to the fun, it is traditional that the winner be given a chance to get a headache of their own, and the standard prize is that of a barrel of ale, or fine wine, as suits their taste. However, it has been known that the winner instead takes the poor losers to the alehouse, and buys the first round for all.
Mistas HuntMistas is an old town, in the south of Ilshenar near the sacred shrine of Honesty. Nowadays the denizens have long gone, and all that is left are some Jukan criminals who use the area as a base.
This is an opportunity for teams to go out and do some dangerous hunting with competition the key.
To prove their success, they are to retrieve two things from the Jukans: special bows, and arcane gems.
Each gem that a team member finds, gains them one point. Every bow is worth five points. At the end of the allotted time period, the points are counted up and the winning team announced.
The gems and bows are largely mysterious in their application, but they do have some small value on the open market and hence can bring in some gold to the militia coffers.
The battle for TruthNow, way back when, I had my men work in the Yew area, so had access to the Court of Truth for training purposes. Since the desolation of Yew many years ago, the court has been largely unused – sad, but such is history.
The court does however have some interesting ramparts to the rear which make an excellent training ground and the basis for a good battle training event.
The teams are split into two, ideal for between 4 and 8 people per team. As per normal, team members are given some form of coloured clothing to help identify them.
The aim is to gain control of a central part of the area, as indicated in the picture my daughter took, below.
The commanding officer should take a position in this area, and if any team harm him or her then they will be deducted 5 points.
Teams score 2 points for every complete minute that over half the team are in that zone, and less than half of the opposing team are.
The teams start from two areas either side of the battle point, as pictured below.
In each area, a healer waits to prepare any wounded combatants to re-enter battle. When revived, they must collect their belongings, return to the healer and hand them their robe. On doing so they may instantly return to battle.
At the end of the session, each team gains one point per robe the other team handed in.
If only one healer is available, they should move between the two points as quickly as possible. If the healer is ever injured, then the team responsible lose 10 points.
At the end of the battle, the losing team must all submit to a forfeit as chosen by the winning team. Forfeits include:
- All losers must put on female clothing, and parade through Cove whilst sweeping the floor clean and generally cleaning up.
- All losers must in turn walk in front of the line of victorious combatants, and tell them how great the winners are, and how rubbish they themselves are.
- All losers can for one full day, be referred to as “loser” instead of their real name, by all members of the winning team.
BagballSouth of the City of Chivalry lies the bagball stadium. This is a popular sport, find the rules printed below:
A game which has its roots in the town of Spiritwood, known as 'Bagball' has begun being played across Britannia. Several guilds now have their own official bagball teams, resplendant in their unique colours, with their own legions of fans who follow their team's progress throughout the realm.
The game is played on a pitch approximately 23 paces long, 15 paces wide. It has a half-way line marked as well as two goal posts approximately 3 paces located at each end of the pitch.
The game is played by two teams, each team comprising of four players.
The 'ball' is a bag containing a large number of logs, so many that it is impossible to carry, but it is possible to drag and throw the bag short distances.
The game starts with both teams on opposite sides of the pitch, near their own goal. The ball is placed at the centre of the half-way line, and both teams are then given the signal, after which play begins and both teams lunge toward the centre line, hoping to keep the bag on the opposition's side of the pitch as much as possible.
Goals are scored by throwing the bag over the oppositions goal-line, having first thrown it on the line itself. This gives the opportunity for players to clear the bag before it is thrown over for a goal.
A referee should be nominated, someone neutral to both teams, to confirm goals, judge foul-play, and decide when play begins and ends.
Battling the ChampionsThere are a range of areas throughout the lands that are known to have fabulous creatures and dangers – few are more reknowned than the infamous, “Champion Spawns”. These are spread throughout Felluca, with some in Ilshenar and one in the new lands of Tokuno.
These are high level training sessions, and the ones in Felluca are for only the most hardy of soldiers.
For large and well-trained groups only, this may present the ultimate challenge for your men – not just combating fearsome creatures, but also criminals and outcasts too.
Taking part in one of these without the most appropriate of equipment is extremely dangerous.
For Valour!Far to the south lies a remote island, and at the centre, the holy shrine of Valour.
This location was used by my men when the Court of Truth was closed for the trial of the Kaldorian commander, Lenar Isawa. It follows a similar format to the Battle for Truth training exercise.
What this location holds that the court doesn’t, is wildlife. Not only do the soldiers have trees and plants to navigate, but also wandering alligators and snakes to avoid.
The men are sent in as two teams, through separate portals, to different parts of the island.
They must battle their way to the centre and hold the shrine of Valour for 5 minutes.
As soon as one team holds the shrine, or the other team are all knocked out, then the winning team is declared.
This may be a quicker event, so a “best of three” format has been used.
Kill the TyrantThis exercise sees the men tasked to enter a dangerous hideout and slay the evil tyrant king that lies within. Of course, there is no real tyrant, so the teams are split into two – one as the attacking force and the other as the bandits.
The attacking team mass here, just inside the cave entrance.
The defending team take their positions anywhere in this room, with the bandit king on the throne.
The role of the king should be played by the strongest and a well-respected soldier. The king may not be slain until all of his soldiers are. This is a serious handicap and makes the king a fearsome figure.
This is a fun event, and requires some amazing team play by the attackers, as it is clearly put in favour of the defenders.
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