The Outrider Handbook: Structure

With an optimal mission size of six to ten Outriders, there is little room for a detailed hierarchy of ranks. To a mission leader, each Outrider bears their own, unique position on the roster. As such, only four ranks exist in the Company, but they are supplemented by a variety of "roles."

Aspirant
For many, the rank of Aspirant is the only position ever to be attained in the Company. For others, it is remembered as the easiest to attain and the hardest to exceed.

Recruits who have yet to be proven worthy and earn the brand, are named Aspirant, and will remain so until they have completed the fearsome Aspiration trials. These trials are outlined in the Recruitment chapter.

A great deal of our recruits are encountered during cooperative deployments, and may fight alongside us many times before they begin the recruitment process. In order to ensure the Aspiration is fair, Aspirants are typically forbidden from attending missions fewer than two weeks prior to the start of their trials, except in dire conditions.

Aspirants may not wear an Outrider tabard during their trial mission. They are otherwise permitted any necessary equipment.

Grunt
After Aspiration, you are automatically promoted beyond the formal rank of Scout, and whatever Role you adopt bears the same authority as a Grunt.

Find again the list of Roles, below, and consider which of them befits you best.

Blood Guard
Outriders with a talent for leadership, surpassing their talents for combat, are given the rank of Blood Guard. The Blood Guards can be counted upon by the commander to independently manage smaller groups of a large battle.

Blood Guards also run frequent missions against weaker, or artificial, enemies. Outriders may be promoted to Blood Guard if they display an aptitude in training others. There should be no less than three Grunts for every Blood Guard.

Commander
No amount of tactical ability justifies the presence of a non-combatant on the battlefield. The Commander will give orders on the mission in between swings of his or her weapons. They must use the Company’s individual talents efficiently and confidently, including those of the Blood Guards.

Outside of missions, a Commander will receive orders from Horde leadership, and decide which (if any) Outriders to deploy. They will also create the battle plan, or, more often, delegate details to Blood Guards, so they can focus on their administrative responsibilities.

Roles
You will never find an Outrider referred to as a "Grunt". That rank is divided into the majority of Roles, and the Outrider is always addressed by their Role. It is a reflection that your position on the Horde's totem pole is secondary to what you can provide for the Company. Role is more important than Rank.

Warrior
As an Outrider, you may never tire. You must be able to fight in all conditions, against all enemies. You are expected to maintain a versatile collection of equipment, and to be effective with weapons of at least two different ranges. For example, most warriors come to us with a mastery of the axe or sword, and rigorously train in the use of a bow or gun. Above all, you must have a fitting mount for long rides, fast raids, and silent movement.

You must follow orders in combat without hesitation, but you will also come into situations where no orders are given, and here you must act with clarity, independence, and focus, to ensure the mission’s success.

The Role of Warrior is best suited to frontal combatants, who are capable of fighting in heavy armor. In complex situations, the Warriors will act as a defensive force against the enemy, allowing more offense-focused Outriders to fight unimpeded. Seek this Role out if you are gifted with endurance, ferocity, and courage.

Raider
This role is assigned to Outriders who excel in combat. Though all Outriders are expected to be versatile, those who have a specific gift in one style of fighting - most often based in stealth or magically enhanced - will receive the role of Raider. Raiders are the same rank as a Warrior; with a demarcation that they have an abnormally specific use to the Company.

The Raider must be ready to be called upon by an officer to perform a feat beyond the reach of a less specialised, more versatile Outrider. A Warmender who has earned Raider status through offensive magical ability shall bear the role of “Warcaster,” with the same properties.

Daggerfang
A Daggerfang is given the same standard as a Warrior, but will be measurably more competent with their longer-ranged weapon. Rare are those Daggerfangs who shall use magic, for the weapon must also be effective in stealth killing.

These deadly snipers are trained in camouflage, evasion, mobility, and, of course, accuracy. Daggerfangs can be recruited without any prior skill in close-range combat, provided one of two things: The Daggerfang's duty will often take them away from the rest of the Company, into a sniper nest nearby to provide cover. They must be able to act independently, and be prepared to evade or defeat wandering enemies or even full counter-attacks.
 * 1) That they are twice as effective in the sniper role as a Warrior with an equivalent weapon as their longer-ranged weapon.
 * 2) That they have the potential to be trained until they can defend themselves in close range.

Warmender
An Outrider healer must be able to fight as well as a Warrior, so that they do not waste precious mission roster space. They are not concerned with saving the Outriders’ lives, but ensuring that enough Outriders survive to win the next fight.

A Warmender cannot guarantee that you will be stable enough to successfully exfiltrate with the others. In such a case, you are to do as the mission would require of you with honor befitting an Outrider. Minor wounds can be healed once in the security of our base of operations.

Warmenders should be capable in the fast resetting of broken bones, the short-term sustainable staunching of heavy bleeds, and the suppression of pain without numbing the mind.

Warcaster
Magic is immune to the usual constraints of weaponry, as it may be cast at any range. The Role of Warcaster is bestowed upon any Outrider whose primary weapons are spells.

Warcasters are dedicated to offensive or utilitarian magics. Those with reliable capacity for healing should receive the role of Warmender instead.

Upon completing the Aspiration trials, the Outrider will be assigned the role most appropriate to their abilities.

Return to Handbook Contents

The Outrider Company Oath

Chapter 1: Tenets

Chapter 2: Standing Orders

Chapter 3: Structure

Chapter 4: Workings of the Company