"Sorry, sir, I've got a Halfling killer, a Weirdroot smuggling ring, a gang war, and a noble threatening to have me arrested by my own station. Your missing cat will have to wait until tomorrow."
A watchman of the Empire
A watchman is an individual given military training and tasked with patrolling the urban streets of the cities of the Empire, keeping the Emperor's Peace and making arrests of lawbreakers caught in criminal acts. Similar forces exist in settlements of any size across the nations of the Old World and even in dreaded Norsca.[1a][2a]
A city watch is an organised constabulary; whilst not always honest and partial to the odd bribe, a watch is generally a boon to the town or city it patrols -- stamping out crime not sanctioned by the local thieves' guild but also ensuring order in the teeming streets. Should the settlement come under threat from outside forces, then the watch is a capable defensive force which will hopefully band together for the settlement's defence should the need arise.[5b]
Role[]
"Subject is a Tilean female in her middle years. There are no signs of entry or struggle. The only evidence I can find that points to foul play is a black dart in her lower back. I'd bet my father's wooden teeth that the dart has been envenomed in some way."
- —Johann Luther, Watchman[3a]
Corruption is common within the city and town watch organisations of the Empire's settlements. Up to a third of a watchman's income can come through illicit methods. A few watchmen enlist for duplicitous reasons -- they are supporters of local criminal gangs or simply sadists. However, the majority are not crooked. They are well-meaning, albeit jaded, law enforcers who do not have a clear understanding of the laws they are tasked to uphold.[2a]
A few Imperial cities and towns of means have dedicated civic watch organisations.[2a] But in most municipalities, Imperial or provincial professional soldiers act as watchmen, in addition to garrisoning the town fortifications.[1a][2a] Some regiments are only temporarily assigned to watch duty, while for others the station is permanent.[1a]
In some small towns of the Empire, watchmen also have fire-fighting duties.[1a]
A Day in the Life[]
"Responsible for maintaining law and order, watchmen are empowered to make arrests and fight fires where necessary."
- —Description of the Watchman follower from Total War: Warhammer.[5c]
A watchman's duties depend on where they work and live. Small settlements only employ a few guards, who are expected to answer an alarm at any time. Meanwhile, in major cities an organised watchmen force works in shifts and patrols the streets in groups. In Middenheim, for example, watchmen work ten hours a day, one week on daytime patrols followed by a week on nights. Alternate Festags are days off (with the consequence that criminal activity tends to spike on Festags).[4a]
Should watchmen see a crime in progress, or spot a criminal at large, they will give chase. If the criminal is apprehended they will decide on the punishment.[4a]
Watchmen of larger towns and cities in the Empire are technically part of their Electoral Province's armed forces. They train regularly in combat techniques and may consult priests from the Cults of Sigmar, Ulric, Myrmidia, and Verena on how best to defend themselves whilst dispensing justice. They will also be instructed in what to do in cases of emergency, such as fires or coach crashes.[4a]
Some priests of Verena, the goddess of knowledge and justice, complain about how unfair it is that the watches of the Empire's settlements employs no women or Halflings.[4a]
Methods of Punishment[]
When a criminal is caught the watchman makes a decision on how to proceed. In areas where crime is endemic many watchmen see it as a practical expedience to administer punitive beatings for petty crimes.[4a]
Spot fines may be charged for minor offences. The proceeds from such fines are meant to be added to the town or city's municipal treasury, but more often end up supplementing watchmen's wages. Offenders may also be placed in a pillory, where the local people are invited to subject them to abusive humiliations and assaults by overripe vegetables.[4a]
In cases of serious crimes like murder or rape, the suspects are taken to the local watch house and imprisoned there until an official such as a travelling judge or priest of the Cult of Verena can take a look at the case. It is not the job of the watch to decide on whether serious criminals should be fined, sent to gaol, banished, or executed -- though they will be consulted about evidence they might have obtained on the prisoner's case.[4a]
Guard Houses[]
The largest of settlements in the Old World will have great walls many feet thick and reinforced with pillars of stone. Many of the walls surrounding the great cities of the Empire and castles of Bretonnia have rarely been breached, such is their scale. Riddled with walkways, murder holes, buttresses and ramparts, they are also warded with eldritch icons to protect from the arcane as well as the mundane. However, no matter how grand or solid their foundations, such defences can only be truly effective when there are troops in place to guard them.[5d]
Often attached to the walls they protect, the guard house offers shelter and perhaps a hot drink for those on patrol. Guard houses are effectively small bases and mustering stations for the settlement's guards or watchmen. These may be state troops on defensive duty, older veterans or even young 'uns not quite ready for full investment in the local regiment.[5a]
In Bretonnia, the local watch is garrisoned in the town barracks, where the watch is stationed under normal circumstances and which serves as the knight-messenger's first stop when a muster is called. Bretonnian watchmen are notoriously ill-equipped and trained, being little more than peasants themselves and generally consisting of bullies and bad apples more interested in lining their own pockets than keeping order. However, when war is declared, the watch barracks is expected to supply the better stock for the smallfolk's militias.[5e]
Norscan guard shacks are usually a small, hastily built hut housing half a dozen warriors or so, that the Northmen place just outside the boundaries of their settlements. When they come under attack the guards will sound an alarm, usually by using some sort of horn, before venturing out to fight whatever army awaits them. As with most Norscan warriors, it matters not if they are outnumbered in such instances, for they see any fight as an opportunity to prove themselves to their divine masters, even in death.[5f]
Building watchtowers is a simple yet staple defensive tactic for the Norscans. They do not bother manning them with axe or javelin throwers, since the towers are only placed around settlements for the purpose of spotting approaching enemies, and are not used as platforms from which to launch missiles. When enemies are sighted they are usually spotted early, so any warriors occupying the towers will have time to sound an alarm and descend to confront the attackers face-to-face alongside their brethren.[5g]
Canon Conflict[]
According to the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Core Rulebook, the emperor disbanded all civic watch organisations and replaced them with professional Imperial soldiers drawn from the State Armies, a move that cut down on, but did not eliminate, the extensive corruption present in the city watches. According to the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook, this never happened and the Empire's major settlements are still guarded by their individual city or town watchmen.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 59
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 68
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Children of the Horned Rat (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 67
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Career Compendium (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 223
- 5: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)