@TheEdVerse What were the military forces of ancient Netheril like? Were they pure spellcasters – because of their pride surrounding magic – or did they have other kinds of troops as well? Favorite tactics? What ranks might they have had?
— William Strong (@William21Strong) March 9, 2020
1)
The ancient Netherese were NOT monolithic. The cities they created were very different from each other, intentionally so, and so were their military forces. Some used their “underclass” of workers, some captured and enslaved, some built the equivalent of.. 2)
…battlebots, some captured, bred, and modified-for-more-fearsome-natural-weapons beasts (the equivalent of up-gunned wardogs), and so on.
Many gamers immediately want to know rank structures, because they're thinking in terms of professional standing armies…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020
3)
…(career soldiers). That might fit a handful of Netherese cities, but not most of them. They were interested in new tech and magic innovations, changing their lives. Fighting was a fleeting necessary nuisance when someone/something got in their way or 4)
…inconvenienced/defied them.
So they were like all sorts of different military forces, from howling mobs with a few flying artificers above them hurling spells, to monster-equivalents of war elephants with junior mages aplenty riding them hurling spells, to…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020
5)
…elite warrior bodyguards forming human wedges protecting "battlemasters" armed with arsenals of rods, staves, wands, and rings they unleash in all directions, to flying wyvern mage-cavalry, and on and on. ;}
In other words, a DM can hurl ANYTHING at PCs. ;}#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020
That’s fascinating – and exciting with all the possibilities. Thank you so much! You're very welcome! Have fun creating new augmented monsters and wild battle spells! (And remember, some Netherese archwizards won't care much what happens to their own underlings, so may blast them or transform them into beasts to fight.)#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 9, 2020