I went to the
Tournament: Pageantry and Pain rules to stat up Sir Guillaume and Xavier, Chevalier de Troyes. I want the two of them to be on different Lord’s Retinue. Each retinue needs a minimum of a Mounted Knight, Foot Knight, and a Foot squire. These two will be mounted Knights. The retinue begins with 500 coins to spend.
Sir Guillaume The first step is to choose the skill of the Knight. These categories range from lowly page boys up to the Monastic Orders. However, only Paupers, Second Sons, Veterans, or Monastic orders can be knights. Page boys and squires may not be mounted knights.
Paupers have lower start Initiative than Second Sons, but Veterans have a higher Combat Pool, while Monastic Orders have a higher Ferocity than veterans. Of course, as you go up in stats, so does your cost. I only have 500 Coins to start with. Sir Guillaume will be a veteran Knight which will give him solid base stats.
If I choose, I can use the optional upgrade rules based on the Knights region of origin. Guillaume is a name from Southern France, so I spend the coin to make him from Occitania. This allows a +1 Ferocity to Fear. It adds a bit of flavor as Sir Guillaume hails from Aquitaine in Southern France.
Now, I need to provide equipment for Sir Guillaume. As the Mounted knight, the first step is to buy his mount! I can choose anywhere from a carthorse nag to a charger stallion. However, I decide to use a nice Palfrey for riding. Palfrey’s have a Movement of 6 inches and allow a +1 Initiative while mounted. This will help me off-set my armor penalties and perhaps allow me to attack first.
Sir Guillaume’s model is clearly wearing Plate with a Large Shield and Caparison for his mount. That racks up a lot of coin, but matches the model. However, he is well protected from injury. The plate mail armor reduces his Initiative and M while on foot. The large Shield will give a +1 Combat Pool and provide a parry so is well worth the cost.
I choose to arm Sir Guillaume with a lance and a sword. When using the sword, the knight may parry and gains +1 Combat pool. The lance is needed for jousting events.
This brings Sir Guillaume to a total cost of 150 Coins out of my 500. Oh dear! However, Sir Guillaume will be the backbone of my retinue. His final stats are:
Movement: 5 (6 while mounted)
Combat Pool: 4 (+1 for shield, +1 when attacking with sword, 1 Parry from Shield, 1 when using sword)
Initiative: 3 (2 in Plate on foot, 3 Mounted)
Pain: 2
Ferocity: 3 (+1 for fear tests)
Armor: 4+ (3+ Mounted)
Equipment: Plate, Large Shield, Sword, Lance (-2 armor save when charging), palfrey, Caparison
Overall, Sir Guillaume is a hard case! I have 350 Coins to buy the rest of my retinue, and I need a Foot Knight and a Foot Squire.