The First and Second City Guards were police forces tasked with maintaining order in the Citadel of Zann'Elth. They were autonomous institutions separate from any state hierarchies, subject only to the Tyrana and her officials.

Structure

Zann'Elth was in a complicated and somewhat paradoxical situation: it had a central government and set of rules, but also respected the autonomy and freedom of noble houses. The Tyrana's government took great care not to infringe upon house freedoms, and a state-controlled police force would be a constant source of friction. However, leaving police work in the hands of houses would be a horrendous idea - squads from rival houses might attack one another, and there would be no one to maintain order then. Instead, the First and Second City Guards were raised as autonomous institutions with the authority to enforce rules, but without an all-too direct link to the Tyrana.

Both city guards were trained by the Zannyr military. Even though many guardsmen, especially those of the First, went through training in Martere, they still had to go through some proper military training. This instilled values of discipline and responsibility in the trainees. Aside from this, the guards were completely autonomous; they had their own officer hierarchy and were each commanded by an Arachness General, who answered solely to the Tyrana.

The First City Guard was constituted out of house guards. Each noble house could freely determine how many soldiers it wished to send to the Guard, and could withdraw them at any time. Most units of the First Guard received only summary military training. As a result of the split loyalties of its units, the First Guard operated as a patchwork of different forces, forming squads exclusively out of members of the same house and using those squads in areas where that house's allies and enemies were absent. There were repeated discipline and obedience problems, but the First Guard was also the smaller elite force, with far better equipped and trained guardsmen. All officers beyond squad leader had to be female, and all guardsmen had to be drow.

The Second City Guard was raised out of the general populace as a larger force to suppress petty crimes. To become a guardsmen, individuals had to be trained at the Academy or prove they were long-time Zannyr citizens; occasionally, "lesser" races such as hobgoblins, orcs, and humans were allowed into its ranks. It also had a special "auxiliary" force of powerful but unintelligent monsters supplying extra brawn including quaggoths, ogres, trolls, and drakes. All officers had to be drow, but males were tolerated quite far up the ladder.

Mode of Operation

The Fist and Second City Guards operated on quite similar principles, and usually coordinated their efforts. Other law enforcement institutions included the Academy's own patrols, the inquisitions for organized crime or political threats, and the military under martial law; only rudimentary enforcement of order was left to the Guards. They utilized patrols to check the streets, just like Academy patrols; these and the First Guard made use of extreme violence in response to minor offenses to discourage any form of unrest or resistance; often, the streets emptied before the passing of a guard unit. There were two types of patrol formations: regular squads consisted of five to twelve warriors, a squad leader, and a junior priestess from the Church of Lolth in command. In more dangerous locations, such as warrens or bazaars where things could get ugly very quickly, patrols consisted of three or four squads in open formation called "arms".

Aside from patrols as squads and arms whenever extra numbers were needed to complement other forces, the Second Guard also made regular use of small, three-man "hands". These circulated through crowded streets without disturbing the traffic, keeping a careful eye out for petty crime or potential brewing trouble. Hands also took up stationary guard positions at important junctions or near stalls selling valuable goods.

History

Tyrana Tzelae founded the First and Second City Guards to maintain order in the capital and jewel of her dominion.

Tyrana Zinafae abolished the Guards, replacing them with the more closely controlled City Watch, commonly known as black-cloaks, after the two Guards were deeply infiltrated by aliphids of Fulin'Delp and suffered other bouts of poor performance and loyalty.