​Battlefield Role: Heavy Infantry
Weapons: A Longsword and, in case of a riot or battle, a shield.
Outfit: Steel open helmet. Plate armour over a padded gambeson.
Skill level: Proficiency at sword fighting and crowd control.
Affiliation: Every region of Arandolia has them.
Doctrine: Athena's Way of the Warrioress
Strengths: Strong sense of duty and morality. They aim to serve the populace and keep law and order, but shall war come to them, they are ready and willing to defend their hometowns from anything.
Weaknesses: They are stationary to the cities that they vowed to defend. City guard regiments may sally out of the walls and assault nearby foes, but they can't leave to extended campaigns.
City Guards
City guards are the medieval arandolian equivalent of the police, acting primarily as law enforcement, but also trained and ready to defend their cities from siege assaults and raids just as well.
Most of them are actually veteran Swordmaidens who retired from the active military and came back to their hometowns, getting a job that is not all that different from their military service. Now stationary in a single place, the relatively calm and stable life of a city guard enables them to get married and start a family of their own.
Many say this ends up softening up this once battle-hardened warrioresses, but truth be told, having a family to protect and care for only makes them even more determined to give their very best on their new jobs. After all, a safe city is a good city for their children to be raised, and they are the ones entitled to make their cities safe and free of crime.
Depending on their respective city's wealth and size, the City Guard can be better or worse outfitted than the average. Big and prosperous trading hubs obviously have higher law enforcement budgets, so their city guards are often equipped with no less than full plate armour and beautifully adorned uniforms. On the other hand, smaller countryside city centers do not have nearly as much available coin to spare, drafting less city guard regiments who are often equipped with not much more than chain mail over their own plain clothing.
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But no matter how well-equipped (or not) they are, the City Guards of any settlement are always dedicated and proud women who take their jobs very seriously. They tend to befriend the population of the neighborhoods they are assigned to patrol and watch over, being respected and admired by most of the civilians they protect. By the end of the day, the City Guards are part of the local population too, so they know how important their work is for the safekeeping of law and order.
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In times of war, though, these veterans are more than glad and expected to pick up arms to defend their cities as the final bastion of hope for their families and friends. They might yet not be the heaviest and best trained troops you may find on an arandolian battlefield, but as you'll only ever find them defending their homes and protecting their beloved ones, the City Guards can be very dangerous enemies. The sheer resolve and determination in their hearts drive them to stand and fight against even the direst odds, without ever faultering until their families are completely out of danger.