An Ecumenical Matter:Skitarii Macroclades

[Xisor]

The Codex: Skitarii outline is pretty clear: macroclades are composed of twelve maniples (typically of four cohorts war cohorts of three maniples).

 

The majority of skitarii are arranged this way.

 

If we look at the typical organisation therein, we saw a maximum arrangement of ~50 skitarii to a maniple. (5-10 van, 5-10 rangers, 5-10 shiv, 5-10 inf, 1-6 ironstriders, 1-3 Onagers (2-6 skitarri), maxing out as 52 skitarii in a full maniple).

 

The Codex also notes that the prime maniple for each forgeworld often garrisons the Titans/Ordinatii.

 

But by extrapolation of this typical arrangement (and assuming it is typical, as the Codex suggests), wouldn't that mean only ~600 skitarii (of combined arms) to support the Titans?

 

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Fortunately, new 40k offers an inroad to this analysis - if we assume a full-strength well-provisioned maniple, what is the typical 'power level' of a Skitarii Macroclade (12 maniples)?

 

If we infer back from that to a points level - how many peltasts and/or secutarii would that actually allow for honourary/mandatory garrison duty?

 

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I've steered clear of the Index for the moment, but just musing in my head, it'd be interesting to consider this in the old Epic Armageddon scheme too. What are typical alternatives to the War Cohort?

 

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Anyone devised much of a headcanon, or found any interesting tidbits that inform this sort of thing from elsewhere?

 

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NB reasoning that Forge Worlds have populations in the many billions, and that the individual forges are fairly feudal, I'd be surprised if we weren't entering into situations where any given in forge world has millions of macroclades on the go at once. Indeed, unless I've missed something, that seems... reasonable.

[lancerusso]

I figure that skitarii troops are relatively elite, and hence a given force world has maybe thousands of macroclades. Defensively, forge worlds would have Astra militarum like armies such as at Ryza who would be using the mass manufactured imperial weapons and vehicles as they come hot off the presses.

 

I've got headcanon that the baroque skitarii and cult mech guns made of wood and brass and more are vintage products made a hundred years ago and left to age in barrels of unguents and nutty water for them to improve their quality with time. Manufactorums for skitarii rad carbine for example might open a new casket of guns every day, but will be sealing some newly furnished ones with clean brass into the same oaken container for them to ferment and pickle and wait for a good lucky year to open the vintage.

 

Thus, skitarii are a legion that are slowly trained and supplied, but many in number. Vast numbers exploring the stars with exploratory fleets, but not half as many as the number of humans pressed into forge world defense. Servitor serve a large am9unt of this too right, which is great when defending and you'll have plenty of near dead humans to interr as servitors