Checkerseekerdoors

You never ruled on my proposal for the soldier class NPC to iron out the wrinkles in the rules that make it nearly impossible for non adventures to attain higher levels of skill

Soldier: npc class
THACO AS PER WARRIOR chart ie. thaco and thac1 are both 20 at lev 0
WEAPONS 2 1/5 positive levels, no specialization, few if any will ever make it to 5th level as a simple soldier.
NPW/ 10 PTS TO START
10/PTS PER LEVEL STARTIN LEV 1,
1 nwp/year of age beyond 18/ every body learns or refines skills during life even if they don't become better fighters. Learning new survival tricks, scraps of language from prisoners etc.
These two nwp additions are not cumulative. example after 3 years should a soldier get a level, they get 10 nwp minus the 3 nwp previously received for age at which time the age counter starts fresh at 0

NEW PROGRESSION LIST
lev xp >0 -750 XP
1-1 -500 XP THACO STAYS THE SAME BUT NO LONGER MOWABLE AS PER 0 LEV RULE
1 0 XP
2 2000 ETC AS PER WARRIOR

special experience rules
20 xp/month basic training up to 120 xp max
10 xp/month -non war zone garrison until hits 1-1 level
20 xp/month garrison war zone
30 xp/month with maneuvers and/or combat
5 xp/for each combat encounter
xp/earned from kills shared by the army, a pittance at best

Should a common soldier have access to significant one on one tutoring they can gain 10xp per month for every level the teacher is superior to them. A better teacher makes for better students.

This allows any soldier to attain lev 1-1 from training and time served, lev 1 from time served and kills, but to go beyond 1 will take many years of service and or substantial battle experience that peace time soldiers would never see. Without combat, a 0 could take as much as 25 months to get to 1-1, all militia would likely stay at 0 due to lack of time served and chance of surviving battle with no training.

Without the real stress and experience of battle (or expensive tutors the average flunky could not afford) simple garrison duty in peace does not allow a soldier to achieve lev 1.
A war time garrison would take another 25 months to go from 1-1 to 1. Within the 2 sub levels of experience any soldier who shows great initiative, uncommon luck or ability gets a save at 0 experience (not sure what the save should be yet) making this save lets the soldier become a warrior with the extra weapons selection/specialization and nwp points

For example our troops were supposedly trained before we hired them
120 xp
about 9 in war zone (higher state of readiness, more drill, more tension and need to learn)
2 of those months a real battle was fought at the walls.( 7 months x 20 xp= 140, 2 months x30 xp=60 sub + 2x5 xp for 2 battles =210+basic training 330xp.
So our troops on average are -420xp and 1-1 level

The 5 evlish scouts (no level given to us so I assume minimum)
120 +
9x30= 270 months with manuvers and battles
4x5 battles (there may be more battles than I know about if they kill the occassion monster or orc while on patrol + their experience earned
so in the range of -340 and level 1-1

The Rildian company up north has been in the field at least 1 1/2 years
18 x30 +120 would be 660 + their 5xp battle bonus any of them that have survived should be level 1 warriors by now

Our workers definately started at -750 yet they have been getting some training and many took xbows to the walls during battle, so have probably have 1/2 basic training 60+2x 5 battle bonus.

It seems to work as a way of explaining the creation of quality soldiers from the rabble as well as differentiating the trained rabble from untrained levies.