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Qadiri Sepoys
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
GENERAL INFORMATION
Trooper:
Special Troopers:
Sergeants: (Firemane senior NCOs, 1 per squad of 10)
Officers: (Firemane officers at company and above levels)
Carried by Yazgid AFVs.
Officers and sergeants have translators built into their helmets.
COMBAT INFORMATION
[*]Description:
Firemane’s arrival on Tygara came as a great shock to the native cultures there. However, once the shock had worn off and the Xioquo were defeated, both Firemane and the Qadiri especially began to see opportunities.
Firemane’s troops, whilst well equipped and trained, have never been large in number. An alternative source of manpower (and womanpower) was desirable. These troops could garrison, patrol, even hold positions easily, and if they were cheap they could be easily replaced.
For the Qadiri the basic cessation of large scale fighting between nations left a large number of soldiers without employment. Further, the technology, pay and opportunities in the stars were better than anything they could get at home.
Therefore, a ‘Native Auxiliary Corps’ was founded and begun to recruit Qadiri soldiers into Firemane’s service. Very soon though they came to be called the ‘Sepoys’, a Kajwar word meaning ‘soldier’. Firemane was always careful only to group soldiers from like nations and cultures together, even sometimes transplanting whole companies from old to new service.
Both male and female Qadiri have been recruited, though females are the more numerous. This is how the Qadiri have traditionally fought and so it is not considered strange for them.
To command and drill each squad Firemane offered a special offer where experienced rankers could accept promotion to Sergeant in the Sepoys. This posting would be for 3 years, and those who performed well could transfer back to the regular forces or advance to officer rank in the Sepoys. It empowered the lower ranks and gave them incentive to drill and have their unit perform well in action.
Officers were likewise promoted from Firemane and transferred in. Many Dahomians, used to this same style of fighting, took up this offer.
The final composition of the Sepoys ended up being theoretically 15 squads of 10 making a company, with 10 companies making a battalion. Several battalions made a regiment which was purely organisational and based on a region of Tygara that it drew recruits from. So for instance a unit might be called the 4th Battalion, Krolian Regiment. Larger formations are currently not used with pure sepoys, though they are integrated into Firemane’s brigade structure, often with a battalion of Sepoys supporting the rest of the unit.
In reality, attrition through combat and disease reduce the average company strength to 90-100 troops.
[SIZE=11pt]In battle the Sepoys are delivered in Yazgid AFVs, but where possible they move into difficult terrain. The Sepoys are not suited for frontal attacks or taking on enemy armour, but they are good at defending, delaying the enemy and garrisoning.[/SIZE]
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create an army for Firemane to utilise from the natives of Tygara. These will function in much the same way that the colonial troops served in the World Wars as combat troops for their colonial masters. As a lower-tech force they lack the hard hitting power of modern units but have certain unique skills.
- Image Credit: Here. From 2015 Iranian Army exercise. Photographer unknown.
- Links: Qadiri. Tygara. Firemane.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Unit Name: ‘The Tygaran Qadiri Auxiliary Service Corps’ officially. Informally known as the ‘Sepoys’ or ‘Native Auxiliaries’.
- Affiliation: Firemane.
- Classification: Light motorised infantry.
- Equipment:
Trooper:
- Blaster rifles/pistols
- Stormtrooper armour (modern equivalent without sealed bodysuit).
- Gas mask and rebreather – protects against regular gas and toxins with twenty minutes air.
- Frag grenades (modern equivalent).
- Earpiece communicators with built-in translator.
- Standard military rations.
Special Troopers:
- Lance Missile Launcher. 1 per squad of 10.
- ARGH Flamethrower or Rotary Blaster Cannon (modern equivalent). 1 per squad of 10.
- All trooper equipment.
Sergeants: (Firemane senior NCOs, 1 per squad of 10)
- Mk2 Bolter.
- Thermal Detonators x 2.
- Blaster pistol.
- Sentinel Armour.
Officers: (Firemane officers at company and above levels)
- As Sergeant except with magnetic revolver instead of bolter.
Carried by Yazgid AFVs.
Officers and sergeants have translators built into their helmets.
COMBAT INFORMATION
- Availability: Common. With the pay, tech and aura of mysteries of the stars, the Sepoys never have trouble finding recruits.
- Deployment: Mass. The Sepoys are deployed in large units compared with Firemane.
- Unit Experience: Trained
- Strengths & Weaknesses:
Light. The Sepoys are used to light infantry tactics and specialise in fighting in broken terrain such as hills, forests and towns. - Marksmen. The Sepoys emphasise discipline and aimed fire over blazing away. They are excellent at blending into cover and opening fire in such a way as to pin down and stall an enemy.
- Numbers. The Sepoys are a cheap and reliable source of numbers, and with their basic equipment they can be deployed quickly and easily. They are excellent for holding garrisons and fortifications for this reason.
- Morale. As many of the Sepoys are freed slaves or those who are seeking a better life in the stars they are enthusiastic and have high morale.
- Equipment. The Sepoys are only equipped with relatively basic weapons and equipment. They lack heavy armour, powerful weapons or integrated heavy support.
- Primitive. The Sepoys have only very recently been jumped several hundreds of years into the future with their technology. Thus, despite their high morale and willingness to serve they lack experience in modern war and are prone to be spooked by new technological terrors.
- Respect. Rightly or wrongly, many in Firemane see the Sepoys as unequal to themselves. They are often given the unglamorous roles (like garrison duty) or the bait and forlorn hope roles (like scouting to make contact with the enemy).
- Language. Though each soldier is issued an earpiece communicator there are circumstances where this is lost or damaged. Most Sepoys cannot speak Basic. Likewise, many of their human officers cannot speak any dialect of Qadiri, causing some issues of command.
[*]Description:
Firemane’s arrival on Tygara came as a great shock to the native cultures there. However, once the shock had worn off and the Xioquo were defeated, both Firemane and the Qadiri especially began to see opportunities.
Firemane’s troops, whilst well equipped and trained, have never been large in number. An alternative source of manpower (and womanpower) was desirable. These troops could garrison, patrol, even hold positions easily, and if they were cheap they could be easily replaced.
For the Qadiri the basic cessation of large scale fighting between nations left a large number of soldiers without employment. Further, the technology, pay and opportunities in the stars were better than anything they could get at home.
Therefore, a ‘Native Auxiliary Corps’ was founded and begun to recruit Qadiri soldiers into Firemane’s service. Very soon though they came to be called the ‘Sepoys’, a Kajwar word meaning ‘soldier’. Firemane was always careful only to group soldiers from like nations and cultures together, even sometimes transplanting whole companies from old to new service.
Both male and female Qadiri have been recruited, though females are the more numerous. This is how the Qadiri have traditionally fought and so it is not considered strange for them.
To command and drill each squad Firemane offered a special offer where experienced rankers could accept promotion to Sergeant in the Sepoys. This posting would be for 3 years, and those who performed well could transfer back to the regular forces or advance to officer rank in the Sepoys. It empowered the lower ranks and gave them incentive to drill and have their unit perform well in action.
Officers were likewise promoted from Firemane and transferred in. Many Dahomians, used to this same style of fighting, took up this offer.
The final composition of the Sepoys ended up being theoretically 15 squads of 10 making a company, with 10 companies making a battalion. Several battalions made a regiment which was purely organisational and based on a region of Tygara that it drew recruits from. So for instance a unit might be called the 4th Battalion, Krolian Regiment. Larger formations are currently not used with pure sepoys, though they are integrated into Firemane’s brigade structure, often with a battalion of Sepoys supporting the rest of the unit.
In reality, attrition through combat and disease reduce the average company strength to 90-100 troops.
[SIZE=11pt]In battle the Sepoys are delivered in Yazgid AFVs, but where possible they move into difficult terrain. The Sepoys are not suited for frontal attacks or taking on enemy armour, but they are good at defending, delaying the enemy and garrisoning.[/SIZE]
