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War, Knights & the Military in the MCC

Armed conflicts were a big part of the middle ages, with the feudal system, orders of knights, land disputes, revolts, foreign invasions, conquering lords… I wanted to reflect the violence and danger of military life more in my gameplay and figure out a system for handling it. (See “War & Conflict” furthur down for my ROS table.)

Morganna has created two DR careers for the Sims 2, Military & Knighthood. Since these careers have some overlap, I wanted to draft out what the differences are, and how I am going to play these careers in Driftwood!

The Military Career

The Military career has the following ranks:

  1. Scout
  2. Sentry
  3. Pike(wo)man
  4. Archer
  5. Engineer
  6. Sergeant-at-Arms
  7. (Wo)Man-at-Arms
  8. Castellan
  9. Lieutenant General
  10. High Constable

The military career in my game, at its lower levels, represents a company of mercenaries/professional soldiers who are hired by the local lord to help defend the coastline.

Any male sim can join the military - it can be a path for peasants to escape from poverty or for merchant class sims who aren’t inheriting the family business to make their own fortune. Of course, military life is not without its sacrifice, risk, and hardship!

Mercenary Barracks

New recruits live in the military barracks where they receive training, living quarters and where all of their equipment is stored.

Sims serving in the company can marry and have children, but must continue to live at the barracks, separate from their wife and family. Upon marriage, if they choose, they may spend 1 season living with their wife (as a sort of honeymoon) before returning to the barracks. They can send money home. If they wish to live with their family, they can either drop out of the army or pursue a knighthood (see below).

A minimum of 3 sims are needed at the barracks - if the number dwindles below this, make some new sims in CAS. These troops start at level 1, with zero skills.

There must always be a soldier present on the lot of sergeant rank or higher, who is responsible for training the troops & leading the company. This is the Commander. He sleeps in his own office, separate to the rest of the soldiers. If there are no sims eligible for this position, create a new sim in CAS for the role, of a suitable age and skillset.

The mercenary company may hire a peasant or yeoman to act as a cook and/or domestic servant, if desired.

Earning a Knighthood

If a sim reaches level 7 - Man-at-Arms, they are eligible to earn a knighthood. Knights must:

Knights get the following benefits:

Without a knighthood, Castellan is the highest military rank a sim can hold. Note that “Sir” is not an inheritable title - even Gentry class sims will need to earn their stripes on the battlefield to call themselves “Knights”.

The Knighthood Career

The Military career has the following ranks:

  1. Arming Squire
  2. Squire of the Horse
  3. Shield Bearer
  4. Squire
  5. Knight Bachelor
  6. Knight Banneret
  7. Tourney Champion
  8. Royal Standard Bearer
  9. Knight of the Round Table
  10. Marshal of the Realm

The knighthood career represents noble, elite fighters who have sworn loyalty to a local lord (or the king). It overlaps with the military career, but knights are better trained, better educated, and have a higher social standing.

The career is open only to Gentry class sims and above. Unlike the military career, a knight-in-training is not required to live at barracks. Instead, they must join the household of a knight, and serve as his squire. (This can be a family member, but doesn’t have to be.) A knight can have up to 2 squires.

While there are no barracks, it may be nice to create a Knights’ Headquarters community lot to serve as training grounds. This would have similar amenities to the military barracks, but of a higher class. It could also include a place for jousting competitions, and a “classroom” for squires to be taught knightly principles (using the Vocational Controller).

Once a sim reaches level 4 - Squire, they cannot be promoted further until they have:

Then, when have then been promoted to level 5 - Knight Bachelor - they get a “Sir” in front of their name and can, if desired, move into their own place.

Peasant Fighters

Unless times are desperate, peasants do not typically fight - they are more valuable working in agriculture or other types of labor. However, they might be called in to fight in some circumstances - see “War & Conflict” below.

Female Knights

In my world, fighting is a primarily male profession (but there is nothing to stop you from changing this if you adapt these rules for yourself). However, there does exist a female order of knights: The Circle of Shields. This is a female order of soilder-nurses dedicated to the faith.

This order would function differently to male knights, with them all living in one castle communally - similar to a barrack but also similar to a monastic order! This lot would have a chapel and double as a place of healing. (I will flesh this out further if/when I have sims in this role!)

War & Conflicts (ROS)

Most gameplay is assumed to happen during “peace time”, but what about wars and battles? Should knights and military-men not be risking their lives? Most Medieval-themed ROS tables have a chance of a war happening, but I wanted trouble to find my soldiers a little more frequently. After all, the middle ages were a dangerous time with frequent armed conflicts, small or large scale.

Depending on the specific place, time and circumstance, war was conducted by a mixture of knights (who had pledged their loyalty to lords or kings), mercenaries (who were hired by lords/kings) and peasant/serfs (who were drafted by knights or lords - but peasants were more valuable in the fields). Battles would be fought differently based on the scale of the fight and the wealth of those involved. I wanted my random scenarios to reflect this variety, so some involve your military company, some involve specifically knights, and some involve both!

For events where men are sent away for a season or two, you can keep them in the sim bin. Or, alternatively, you could play out the conflict by sending the fighters to a subhood (either a vacation hood, downtown, or shopping district). The soldiers can have a war encampment of some sort with tents, etc. Could utilise the Price of Victory & War Exalted sets!

At the start of each season, roll a D20 and consult the ROS table below.

Dice Roll Event
1 - 10 Nothing happens. Peace continues as normal
11 Fire breaks out in town, and the mercenary company races into town to put it out!

Roll a d12:
1 - Unfortunately, the men did not make it in time! A building was caught in the blaze, and burned down. Bulldoze a random lot. If sims were living here, they are now homeless!
2 - The fire was successfully doused, but one unlucky soldier died in the blaze. Roll for a random sim in the military career, and kill them with fire using Rodney’s Death Creator.

Otherwise, the men succeed in saving the day.
12 Do you have a nomad camp, bandits living in the forests, or other loiterers and outcasts avoiding their taxes and causing trouble? If so, the local lord has had enough, and sends the mercenary company out to deal with the problem. If you do not have any nomads, bandits or other outcasts, consider making a campsite of them for this event. (Or simply skip or reroll).

Roll a d6 for the outcome:
1 - The outcasts are terrified by the approaching soldiers, and flee the province for 1 season. No casualties.
2 - The outcasts fight back, but lose! A random outsider is killed in the scuffle, and the group flee the province for 1d4 seasons.
3 - The outcasts fight back, and win! The soldiers flee from the forests with their tails between their legs. The outcasts remain in town.
4 - The company head out into the woods, but get distracted hunting a wild boar and don’t actually deal with the outcast group. The outcasts remain in town.
5 - The outcasts fight back, and are able to kill one of the soldiers! Roll to determine who is killed. A member of the outcast group is now wanted for murder, however.
6 - The outsiders offer the mercenaries enough coin for them to turn on their lord! The highest-ranking nobleman/gentleman in town is killed by his own men, who are now wanted for treason.
13 Bandits attack the town! It is up to the knights & mercenaries to defend the land.

Roll a d6 for the outcome:
1 - The men are late in rescuing the townspeople, and several people were killed in the raid! Roll for 1d4 civilian deaths.
2 - The province is defended, but there are casualties. Roll for 1d4 soldier deaths.
3 - The bandits are soundly defeated and driven away!
4 - The bandits strike one of the merchant shop/markets in town, making off with all of their goods and dealing irreparable damage to their business. The merchants must sell their business & remaining stock, and have their family funds reduced to $100. The family is broke!
5 - One of the knights fights so valiantly that the bandit chief is inspired! A life of crime is not the path for them after all. He and his men join the mercenary company.
6 - The bandits defeat the troops & take over the settlement! The highest-ranking nobleman/gentleman in town is killed, along with his family. A bandit company seizes his home & land. Remaining knights must swear fealty to him, or be killed.
14 Pirate or viking raiders attack the town! Its up to the knights & mercenaries to defend the land.

Roll a d6 for the outcome:
1 - One brave knight challenges the captain to a duel, and defeats him in single combat. The pirates agree to leave peacefully.
2 - The soldiers are helpless against the pirates, who attack the households living on the coastline. Roll for one civilian death, one civilian abduction, and any families living by the coast have their livestock slain and their funds reduced to $1.
3 - It seems one of the pirates is a woman! One of the knights falls madly in love with her, and convinces her to renounce her criminal ways. Create the pirate in CAS, and have her marry the knight.
4 - The province is defended, but there are casualties. Roll for 1d4 soldier deaths.
5 - The pirates are soundly defeated, and their stolen goods seized! The highest-ranking noble/gentleman/knight in town receives $50,000, which he can split amongst his men if desired.
6 - The conflict marks the beginning of a war with the pirates country of origin! Next season, the monarch declares war overseas (scenario #20).
15 The neighbouring earl has set his sights on your province, and hopes to seize the land for himself! The highest-ranking nobleman/gentleman in town must defend his lands from this greedy Earl.

Roll a d6 for the outcome:
1 - The province is defended, and the greedy Earl quickly defeated.
2 - The province is defended, but one random sim in the military career dies in the battle.
3 - The province is defended, but there are casualties. 1d4 deaths.
4 - The greedy Earl seizes the province! The highest-ranking nobleman/gentleman in town is killed, his family taken prisoner, and the Earl gains his house & land.
5 - A diplomatic solution is reached - the daughter of the highest ranking family in town in promised in marriage to the Earl’s eldest son.
6 - The Earl is defeated, and his family are taken prisoner in order to prevent further attacks. Roll for his family using MCC rules, and add them to your settlement. They may be kept in a prison, or in a nobles household as “wards”.
16 A nearby land dispute has turned violent. Local knights & army men are sent to restore the peace. D12 men leave for the neighbouring lands, including at least 1 knight. They will be gone for 1 season.

Roll a d4 for the outcome:
1 - A diplomatic solution is reached, and peace is restored. Congratulations!
2 - A local noble is driven from their lands as a result of the conflict, and moves to your town. Create this noble & their family using MCC rules.
3 - The conflict escalates, and becomes an all-out Civil War! See event #19.
4 - Peace is restored, but at a cost. Roll for 1 random casualty.
17 The time has come for a Royal Tourney, and 1d4 of the land’s knights are called to compete! If the king lives in your city, the contest is held here. Otherwise, the knight(s) leave for 1 season to fight in the tournament.

Roll a d4 for the outcome:
1 - In a terrible jousting accident, one of the knights loses his life! Rest in peace.
2 - One of the knights is declared champion, and wins d10 x 5000 prize money!
3 - At the tourney, one of the knights wins a noble lady’s favour and her hand in marriage! Create his new wife in CAS, and marry them on the spot. She brings in with her a dowry of $5,000. If none of your knights are single, one will instead bring a merchant-class girl back, as a mistress.
4 - Two of the knights come head-to-head in a test of swordsmanship! So impressed are they with one another’s skill, they become close friends. If only one knight attends the tournament, create a knightly friend for him in CAS and move the new knight to your settlement.
18 The legends are true - a dragon attacks the town! Mercenaries will be no good against this creature, the settlement needs its knights!
If this high fantasy scenario doesn’t suit your world, either re-roll or use the pirate raid event #14.

Roll a d6 for the outcome:
1 - The men defend the settlement and manage to scare the beast away, but it burns down a random building! Use the bulldoze tool on this lot. If sims were living here, they are now homeless!
2 - The dragon takes a young maiden in its talons before flying away! It is up to you what becomes of her.
3 - A daring Knight manages to defeat the dragon in a spectacular duel. For his bravery, he is promoted to nobility.
4 - The dragon is defeated, but there are casualties. 1d4 knight deaths.
5 - A knight steps forward and does the impossible - taming the beast! They gain a rideable dragon from Sun&Moon’s Dazzling Dragons set.
6 - The dragon makes a lair in the settlement, and demands a maiden sacrifice every two seasons. The people of the shire fear it, and some begin worshiping it!

Now, roll a D20. On a 20 - the dragon’s abandoned nest is discovered! A random family stumbles across this, and gains access to dragon eggs from Sun&Moon’s Dazzling Dragons set.
19 Civil War! The Royal Monarch’s claim to the throne is disputed, and many of his nobles have formed an army to dispose him.

D12 knights and mercenaries are drafted to defend the crown. If you don’t have enough in your settlement, their numbers must be bolstered with peasant recruits. They will be gone for 1 season.

For each sim that returns, roll a a D4 and then look at your sim's Body skill. Count up how many body skill points your sim has and then add that to your roll. (Example- if your sim has three body points, D4+3.)
If you roll anything below a 3 your sim has died!

Roll a D20 for the outcome of the war. If it is a 1, the king/queen is killed, and a new ruler takes power! If the monarch is playable and has a family, they are taken prisoner.
20 War overseas! Whatever the origin of the conflict, the king has declared war, and the time has come to sail abroad and bring the fight to the enemy.

All able-bodied knights and mercenaries are drafted, along with 1 adult male from each peasant household. They will be gone for 2 seasons.

For each sim that returns from war, roll a a D4 and then look at your sim's Body skill. Count up how many body skill points your sim has and then add that to your roll. (Example- if your sim has three body points, D4+3.) If you roll anything below a 3 your sim has died!

Roll a D20 for the outcome of the war:

If it is a 1, the war is lost and the enemy country invades. A new ruler takes power!
If the monarch is playable and has a family, they are killed or taken prisoner. Create a new royal family using standard MCC rules, along with 1 noble family.
If you don’t have a royal family yet, create only a new noble family. They now occupy this territory!
If it is a 20, the enemy is defeated and conquered. Of your drafted sims, 1d4 of them are formally knighted, regardless of background. They are war heroes! They are each awarded a manor for their service (standard MCC gentry family setup).

For all other dice rolls, assume the war ended with no clear victor.

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