The Rumor Mill - Week 11

Gather 'round and watch (pun intended) for week 11 of The Rumor Mill, which contains rumors about the Fellport Watch. The Reserves train weekly, forging the volunteer citizen militia into a reasonably competent fighting force. The full-time Watchfolk train intensively in techniques for crowd control, siege resistance, scam identification, conflict de-escalation, and boarding party repulsion. Watchfolk serve for 8-10 hours per day, then either return home ("Part-Timers") or to assigned barracks built into Fellport's walls ("Lifers").

Let's find out what people say about these mostly-unappreciated city defenders.

1d8	Rumor	True?
1	Watch members typically train with axes, glaives, halberds, pikes, and spears.	Yes1
2	All Watchfolk typically run the Cliff Walk at dawn every day.	Maybe2
3	Joining the Watch and bucking for leadership roles are an easy path to a Lordship.	No3
4	The Watch uniform consists of scale mail, crossbow, battle axe, spear, and shield.	Maybe4
5	The Watch pays full-time smiths, but they occasionally hire freelancers to help.	Yes5
6	People can hire Watchfolk for caravan or ship security, and do so regularly.	Maybe6
7	Wizards and clerics typically don't join the Watch. They're too valuable elsewhere.	No7
8	The city walls hold stocks of alchemist's fire, caltrops, and arrows of grounding.	Yes8

1 - Polearms and spears help repel wall climbers and boarding parties, and axes will cut through ladders and ropes in a siege.
2 - Most recruits run the Cliff Walk at some point daily as part of basic training, downhill first if they're being punished.
3 - A few recruit-to-nobility stories circulate to give the rest of the Watch hope, but even the privileged know it's far from easy.
4 - The uniform is technically a tabard with the city's crescent and two towers design, but this is a common equipment load.
5 - Watch weapons and armor demand consistency in design, but it's very steady drudge work for decent pay if you can get it.
6 - Members of the Watch can take leave and act as temporary mercenaries, but only the Council assigns squads outside the city.
7 - The Watch maintains a recruitment presence at the College, and the Divinity Sanctum trades healing for security patrols.
8 - The Watch especially covets grounding arrows, as Fellport has no air defenses outside of ballistae and crossbows.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.