Armoury (TWS2)

Armoury (TWS2)
Chain	Improvement Type
Requires	Buildings: Encampment
Enables	-
Spawned Defence Forces	-
Basic Building Statistics	-10% to the cost of recruiting land units in this province +10% to the replenishment rate in this province +2 armour for all units recruited in this province
Clan Effects	-
See main article; FotS Buildings

Description

The empty scabbard is useless; beautiful lacquer mocks the owner.

This store of arms and armour is an important investment by a clan. By purchasing arms and armour in large quantities, the clan’s warmasters have leverage with their suppliers. Because they are spending a lot of money they can insist on good quality items, and not just take anything and everything that is produced. An armoury, therefore, improves the armour rating of any unit recruited in the province.

It was not unusual for ashigaru to take weapons from the dead after a battle. All kinds of weaponry would end up in use by commoners, including some rather excellent blades that had once belonged to samurai families. However, during the Sengoku Jidai it became obvious that such informal arrangements were not enough when thousands of ashigaru troops had to be equipped. The various clans took pains to issue standardised arms and armour to their troops, for both protection and recognition purposes. Armour was usually painted or stained in clan colours, and prominently displayed the clan mon, or heraldic symbol, on the breastplate. Standardised equipment was only standard to the issuing clan: each clan had its own preferences over such matters as spear length, and even helmet shape! The enormously tall Date clan gold dress helmets were, perhaps, the most extreme items issued.