​Battlefield Role: Armour-Piercing Ranged Infantry
Weapons: A standardized crossbow made almost entirely of steal. A satchel full of bodkin-tipped bolts for disabling armoured enemies.
Outfit: Brigandine armour, padded pants and a Helmet.
Skill level: Standard ranged combat training. Basic close-quarters self-defense training.
Affiliation: The Kaiserin Southlands
Doctrine: Hera's Way of the Righteous
Strengths: Being entirely made of steel, their crossbows are rather compact and yet very powerful for its size and weight.
Weaknesses: As they are recruited from the peasantry, there isn't much investment in unnecessary training and gear.
Kaiserin Crossbowmaidens
The weaponsmiths of Owl Valley might not be as talented as the ones from Eulenfeld or Iridia, but that doesn't mean they don't excel in their craft. Reforms in the Kaiserin Armed Forces conducted by Lady Samantha Kaiserin demanded a new and powerful ranged weapon that should be also somewhat light in weight and easy to handle. Thus was created the Stahlfeder Crossbow Design, which replaces most of the wooden frame of the crossbow for tempered steel, making it sturdier and yet lighter at the same time.
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All the extra steel parts renders the crossbow quite expensive to be crafted, but metal don't rot if well maintained and the weapon gains in durability when compared to other designs made of wooden frames. The enhanced structural resilience of the steel also enabled the weaponsmiths to attach arms with stronger tensile strength, making the weapon pack a strong punch for its short size when compared to the competition.
The women recruited to handle those weapons, on the other hand, aren't as honed as the weapon itself. The Southlander Amazon nobility see no honour in wielding crossbows in battle, so it is the peasantry who form the ranks of the Crossbowmaiden Regiments.
Although they are relatively well-equipped with brigandine armour, they are ill-trained and ill-paid. Their paychecks are still better than what any Southlander peasant would earn working the fields and the outfit is quite nice, but none of them will die for their commanders. If any confrontation comes to melee, they will rout at the slightest sight of danger.