Purpose:

1. Museum Guards/Guides.
2. Guard Thistletop + Bramble-warren
3. Patrol Forest
4. Patrol Village

Command Structure: Sir Robyn is the Steward and over all garrison commander. Drusilla acts as Robyn’s squire, apprentice and corporal, then spends time in the forest with her dogs. Velma has day-to-day control of the Museum and Museum Guards, although they all fall under Robyn’s command in case of an attack / troubles.

I think this probably provides enough defence to start building economic developments within the Bramble Bailey and offer basic security. Museum Guards/Guides: We get 5x Civilian Guards when the museum is complete and there is accommodation for them in the bunk room. Need to check that we have sufficient income from a completed museum to give Velma a raise and fund these guards. These might be commoners or Experts – depending on how Artifex feels about it. We might be able to influence that with a carefully worded advert, as we put the word around. If we can get Experts we can arm them with simple weapons, as a symbol of position and to give minor defensive aid - probably just a truncheon (club) and sling, so we get extra firepower from the high defensive points. We might be able to do that for commoners, with some minor training costs.

Guard Thistletop: 5xGuards (warrior-1) cost 100 gp, although we need to buy gear for them. Currently minor gear (Short Sword, Dagger, Leather Armour, Small Wood Shield, Sling) costs 77gp as we have some equipment collected from various adventures. There is accommodation for them in the Bunk Room. Need to check that we have sufficient income from a completed museum to fund these guards as well as the Museum Guards. If not we need to agree a wage cost with Artifex, until we generate more income.

Active Patrols: Guards will only defend and area, we need soldiers to actually go out and look for, and engage, enemies. Upgrading the military guard to soldiers (Cost 120gp) means we can have simple patrols around the area. However, they are Warrior-1 and not well armed or armoured, so patrols would have to be limited to areas around Thistletop. Drusilla, her dogs and a couple of Soldiers make up a basic patrol unit. This means pulling a couple of Museum guards to ‘stand watch’ at Thistletop. One or two could also be deployed as caravan guards to facilitate Able’s trade plans. Total Investment Cost: 297gp

If we want to improve defence, we must undertake further building work. However, there is no space left on the ground floor, and the basement (and catacombs) are not really a viable option, so we will have to build new. To improve the guards, we need another bunk room and an armoury, which is much cheaper than buying decent gear separately. However, as soon as we have an armoury, we can upgrade the equipment for our existing soldiers (scale mail, a longsword, a heavy wooden shield, and javelins), but retain their lighter equipment for later use.

If we build the Armoury in the ‘notch’ between C11 and C15, we can build a Bunk Room as a second floor above that and C15, that will cost 790gp. That gives us a single high point to defend the bridge as well as gear and accommodation for another 10x troops. That is probably sufficient for our needs. If we decide we need more security and better access control, we can guild a gatehouse, which will give an extra high point, and give us the option to add heavier doors, portcullis etc. This could be done later, or at the same time. A gatehouse costs 630gp. It could be developed by building a guard post (320gp) and upgrading later. A gate house provides us with 5x more civilian guards, but it is unlikely that we will have room for them. Both the gatehouse and the upper barracks could have Guard Posts built on their roofs, which gives defenders a small bonus to perception and initiative.

Thistletop is described as a 'Goblin Stockade' created from scavenged ship's timbers - which implies that the outer wall is the equivalent of a Downtime Rules defensive wall. The two towers are described as '30-foot-tall', implying that they are two storeys, or at least, could be converted to two storeys, fairly easily. If Artifex agrees with my interpretation, it might add a couple of possibilities. 1) we might be able to use the fortification enhancement on the outer walls, making them a fair bit tougher and more fire-resistant. I estimate this will cost between 600 and 1000gp. 2) if the towers are 30 feet tall already, we might be able to get a discount on developing the second barracks.

Personnel: I think a garrison of twenty would be sufficient – However, these extra troops could be added gradually.

• 5x Civilian Guards (Commoner1 or Expert1) with truncheons and slings act as museum guards and guides. Note: We can equip commoners like this, even though they might have attack penalties. (we already have these from the Simple Defence plans)
• 5x Guards (warrior1, with our light gear) to act as the guard for Thistletop and the Bramble Bailey. (cost 100gp)
• 5x Soldiers (Warrior1, with armoury gear) to conduct local area patrols (including any outlaying buildings, such as a hamlet or village) and help guard Able’s caravans. (we already have the personnel from the Simple Defence plans)
• 5x Skirmishers (Warrior3, with armoury gear) who keep the forest clear of threats and help guard Able’s caravans. (cost 360gp) (we could start with guards, upgrade to soldiers and then Skirmishers, if we did want to spend it all at once)

Ideally, I would like to spend another 120gp to upgrade the Guards to soldiers (still with our light gear) just to add a bit more flexibility. at