Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

[tkdguy]

Yesterday I had this idea about a cavalry regiment for a fictional empire. It would be loosely based on the Household Cavalry with a few changes. The ranks will be the same as the ones presented in the link, along with a few extinct titles such as Captain Lieutenant and Colonel Commandant.

 

I'm thinking of calling this regiment The Imperial Lancers. They are often colloquially (and sometimes disparagingly) called the Red Shanks, after the scarlet pants worn by the soldiers. Yes, I know it's a fashion faux-pas these days, but some units actually did wear red pants. Aside from that, soldiers wear black coats with scarlet cuffs and collars. Officers' coats include epaulettes and braids with frogging. Knee-length black boots and brass pith style helmets complete the look. Of course, officers and senior NCOs are required to grow mustaches.

 

The soldiers are lancers, so they use light lances, as well as cavalry sabers and carbines. I'm thinking of making the carbines air guns rather than gunpowder-based firearms.

 

Their banner is white on the left half and red on the right half. A gold laurel wreath encloses a pair of black crossed swords.

 

More details later.

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

A couple of links:

 

Officer rank insignia

 

Take a look at the historical ranks.

 

Enlisted rank insignia

 

Keep in mind I won't be using these exactly; I plan to replace the crown with an eight-pointed star. These links are a good starting place.

[yamamura]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Nice links and it would be interesting to see period uniforms to see how they have changed through the year.

[Curufea]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Uniforms! What a great idea!

I can't believe I never thought about it as part of my latest world design / campaign setting. And I'd done it previously for my Star Hero game too!

 

It's really another form of culture - the army, regiments, their mottos and insignias. War stories and whatnot. A subculture of the nation they belong too. Occasionally they even have more in common with their enemy's millitary than they do with their own civilian population.

 

Anyhow - nice idea!

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Good stuff. Adds a lot of flavor.

 

I have to say, though, that the term "Household Cavalry" sounds like a group of butlers and maids who use horses for rapid movement.

[yamamura]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Uniforms! What a great idea!

I can't believe I never thought about it as part of my latest world design / campaign setting. And I'd done it previously for my Star Hero game too!

 

It's really another form of culture - the army, regiments, their mottos and insignias. War stories and whatnot. A subculture of the nation they belong too. Occasionally they even have more in common with their enemy's millitary than they do with their own civilian population.

 

Anyhow - nice idea!

 

The novel The Four Feathers is an excellent read for the period and flavour of military culture.

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Good stuff. Adds a lot of flavor.

 

I have to say, though, that the term "Household Cavalry" sounds like a group of butlers and maids who use horses for rapid movement.

 

To be fair, those ancestral mansions are huge! And when His Lordship calls, well, you know....

 

 

But cleaning up would be a nightmare (pun intended)!

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Uniforms! What a great idea!

I can't believe I never thought about it as part of my latest world design / campaign setting. And I'd done it previously for my Star Hero game too!

 

It's really another form of culture - the army, regiments, their mottos and insignias. War stories and whatnot. A subculture of the nation they belong too. Occasionally they even have more in common with their enemy's millitary than they do with their own civilian population.

 

Anyhow - nice idea!

Thanks. If you look closely, the uniforms in Babylon 5 and the new Battlestar Galactica could be modifications of 19th century uniforms.

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

http://www.regiments.org/

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

A few historical uniforms:

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Here are the officer ranks, along with their insignia:

 

Colonel Commandant (equivalent to a Brigadier)

Colonel

Lieutenant Colonel

Major

Captain

Captain-Lieutenant

Lieutenant

Cornet

 

Some notes:

 

The brigade will be led by a Colonel or Colonel Commandant. The rank of Colonel Commandant is equivalent to that of a Brigadier, and is the highest rank for the regiment. If a Colonel Commandant is promoted to General, he is transferred to Headquarters.

 

Captain-Lieutenant is a position rather than a rank. The Colonel nominally commands the first squadron of the regiment, but the senior lieutenant is in charge of the daily activities, if nobody in the squadron holds the rank of Captain. The Captain-Lieutenant recieves a Captain's pay and is treated as one, and he is usually promoted to Captain within a few months.

 

Lieutenant is equivalent to First Lieutenant, and Cornet is equivalent to Second Lieutenant. Ensign is the infantry equivalent of Cornet.

 

Here's the army structure: http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Structure_of_the_British_Army

 

Officers wear their rank insignia on the collar.

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Here are the ranks of the enlisted men and NCOs. Note that this regiment does not use the rank of sergeant. The ranks are as follows, with infantry equivalents in parentheses:

 

Regimental Corporal Major (Regimental Sergeant Major/WO1)

Squadron Corporal Major (Company Sergeant Major/WO2)

Staff Corporal (Staff Sergeant)

Corporal of the Horse (Sergeant)

Lance Corporal of the Horse (Corporal)

Lance Corporal

Trooper (Private)

 

The rank insignia are provided below (note that I've changed the color of the coats a dark green, although that's not final).

[Dauntless]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

I've always thought the periods between the Napoleonic War up through the turn of the 20th century were the most interesting.

 

Just one thing though, I don't think England was ever too fond of lancers. I can't think off the top of my head any famous English lancer units. They preferred either light cavalry like Hussars or Chasseurs, or Heavy Cavalry(Cuirassiers) like the Guard Units (House Guard and Life Guard), or Dragoon-like regiments like the Scots Greys. It was the Polish Uhlans who first really introduced the concept of lances in Cavalry units.

 

But yeah, the uniforms are awesome from that time period. I've often toyed with the idea of doing a Crimean War, Franco-Prussian war, Boer War or Boxer Rebellion campaign. Of course the trick would be finding people interested in playing stuff like that.

[Spence]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

I've always thought the periods between the Napoleonic War up through the turn of the 20th century were the most interesting.

 

 

 

Same here.

[input.jack]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Dauntless, ever hear of "The Charge of the Light Brigade"?

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Dauntless' date=' ever hear of "The Charge of the Light Brigade"? [/quote']

Yes -- and look how good a move that turned out to be. the Crimean War was the first conflict in Europoean history to have soemthing approaching modern press coverage, which was very annoying to the British government -- because things they didn't want the public to know started getting out.

 

I've always theorized that the combination of Napoleonic tactics and social structures and fantasy tropes would be interesting. The Napoelonic Wars themselves would be a great inspiration for a shades-of-grey fantasy campaign, one that pits an old, corrupt and callous social order against a revoltuionary, charismatic, innovative but ruthless leader in a duel to the death. Players would have a difficult time figuring out whose side they should be on.

[Mentor]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Lancer regiments served with distinction at Omdurman and in the Boer War.

 

The 11th Hussars were known as the "Cherrypickers" because of their red trousers. They served in the Penninsular War and onward.

 

 

The 11th Hussars were also famed as the regiment of one Harry Paget Flashman, VC, KCJ.

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

Has anyone done a write-up of Harry Flashman? He'd make a great NPC (or PC, if anyone is willing to play such a character).

 

And there's also the movie.

Royal Flash

[tkdguy]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

 

More Harry Flashman:

 

http://www.pangloss.ca/flashman/Chronology.htm

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Flashman

[Mentor]

Re: Pseudo-Victorian Cavalry Regiment

Has anyone done a write-up of Harry Flashman? He'd make a great NPC (or PC' date=' if anyone is willing to play such a character).And there's also the movie.Royal Flash

My Pulp Hero character is H. Roger Flashman, the grandson of the famed Hector of Afghanistan. Roger (which has its own meaning in the Flashman novels) is everything that he believes the original "Flash Harry" to be, thus a good approximation without being a cad or poltoorn. Thus my recently gained indepth knowledge on Victorian cavalry units. H. Roger FlashmanPlayer: Chuck Gabriel

Val**	Char***	Cost
15**	STR	5
14**	DEX	12
15**	CON	10
11**	BODY	2
13**	INT	3
11**	EGO	2
15**	PRE	5
14**	COM	2
	*
8**	PD	5
4**	ED	1
3**	SPD	6
6**	REC	0
30**	END	0
29**	STUN	2

*6"**RUN02"**SWIM03"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 55

Cost**	Martial Arts Maneuver
1**	Weapon Element: Blades*
5**	Defensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Weapon Strike*
4**	Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike*
4**	Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort*

Martial Arts Cost: 14

Cost**	Skill
3**	Fast Draw 12-*
3**	High Society 12-*
3**	Riding 12-*
3**	Shadowing 12-*
3**	Disguise 12-*
4**	WF: Small Arms, Blades, Clubs, Fist-Loads, Lances, Unarmed Combat*
3**	Tracking 12-*
8**	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Mountain) 12-*
3**	Tactics 12-*
2**	Navigation (Land) 12-*
3**	Linguist*
1**	1) Language: Arabic (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
1**	2) Language: Cantonese (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
0**	3) Language: English (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)*
1**	4) Language: French (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
1**	5) Language: German (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
1**	6) Language: Hindustani (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
1**	7) Language: Punjabi (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
1**	8) Language: Swahili (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)*
20**	+2 Overall*
3**	+1 small arms*
9**	+3 with Martial Maneuvers*

Skills Cost: 77

Cost**	Talent
4**	Mounted Warrior (HTH Combat)*

Talents Cost: 4

Val**	Disadvantages
10**	Psychological Limitation: Wishes to live up to the esteemed reputation of his grandfather, Harry Flashman. (Common, Moderate)*
10**	Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (Common, Moderate)*
10**	Psychological Limitation: Code of Honor (Common, Moderate)*
15**	Hunted: Prussian Military 8- (Mo Pow, Capture)*
10**	Hunted: American newspaper mogul 8- (As Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish)*
5**	Hunted: Various enemies and rivals of the Flashman legend 8- (As Pow, Mildly Punish)*
5**	Social Limitation: Subject to orders from His Majesty's War Department (Occasionally, Minor)*
5**	Distinctive Features: Tall, dark and handsome. Resembles the famous Hector of Afghanistan. (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)*
5**	Rivalry: Professional, Prussian Junker, Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry*

Disadvantage Points: 75

Base Points: 75Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 150

Height: 1.90 m	Hair: Brown
Weight: 100.00 kg	Eyes: Brown

Appearance: Tall, dark and handsome, with sideburns and moustache, Roger is said to be the spitting image of his famed grandsire.Personality: Fearless and honourable, Roger seeks to show that the blood of heroes still flows through the Flashman veins. His letters to "grandpapa" result in warnings not overly expose his young hide to danger. Naturally, Roger is saddened to see the old "Flash Harry" brought low by the onset of dementia which is the only possible explanation for his grandfathers admonitions to lay low and refusal to refer to him as Roger.Quote:Never has defending English civilization and the Flashman family honor seemed to me a burden.Background: English cavalry lieutenant on half pay. Son of the Vicar Harry Flashman Jr., grandson of the famed puissant Sir Harry Flashman, VC, Brigadier general, retired. Following in his family footsteps, he attended Rugby, and went on to Cambridge and the Army. Served in the Sudan, Transvaal, the Peking legation, and as an observer at Kettle Hill. Remembered fondly by such notaries as Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, Flashman III never managed to distinguish himself as did his grandfather.Powers/Tactics: A horseman extraordinaire, Roger Flashman is a master of the blade, being especally fond of the saber. He does well with rifle and revolver as well, but would rather negotiate his way diplomatically.Campaign Use: