NPC Sembian Army 02

* ***Armor Class** 18 (chain shirt, shield) **Hit Points** 40 (6d8 + 12) **Speed** 30 ft.*

* **Skills** Athletics +5, Perception +4
* **Senses** passive Perception 14
* **Languages**  Common
* **Challenge** 4 (1,150 XP)
* **Shield Wall**. The Sembian infantry officer adds 2 to its AC if at least one of their allies is within 5 feet and the ally is wielding a shield and isn’t incapacitated.
* **Sentinel.** When the Officer hits a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature’s speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn. Creatures provoke attacks of opportunity from the Officer even if they use the Disengage action before leaving the Officer’s reach.

### **Actions**

* **Multiattack**. The Infantry Officer makes two melee attacks with its longsword.
* **Longsword**. *Melee Weapon Attack:* +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage.
* **Heavy Crossbow**. *Ranged Weapon Attack:* +4 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) piercing damage.
* **Leadership** (*recharges after a short or long rest*). For 1 minute, the Officer can utter a command or warning whenever a non-hostile creature that it can see within 30 feet of it makes an attack roll or saving throw. The creature can add a d4 to its roll, provided it can hear and understand the Officer. A creature can benefit from only one Leadership die at a time. This effect ends if the Officer is incapacitated.

### **Reactions**

* **Bodyguard.** If a creature within 5 feet of the infantry officer is hit by an attack roll, the Officer may use its reaction to force the attacking creature to re-roll their attack, potentially causing it to miss (a kind of retroactive roll with disadvantage). To use this ability, the officer must be able to see both the creature and its attacker..

### **Forging New Martial Traditions**

 The similarity between Purple Dragon "Lionars" and Sembian Infantry Lieutenants ("Lieutenant-01") was striking though not surprising: after the defeat of the Shadovar, the Sembians had used the neighboring Cormyrean template to rebuild their own military. With Sembian coin incentivizing many of Cormyr's finest to train their neighbors (and even become Sembian), the expatriates left no lessons out.

 As for the infantry lieutenants of this new army, they retained several of the tactical leadership skills of their western neighbors as is obvious on the Leadership action and Bodyguard reaction. Where Sembia began to diverge was de-emphasizing the "Gods, King, Country" battle cry and emphasizing the small-unit tactics that keep their fellow soldiers alive.

 Evidence of this shift in doctrine can be seen in what some might call a lower Charisma, but a higher objective intelligence. This uptick in intelligence was found to give significant tactical advantage when applied to reading terrain, working with weather, arranging patrol and defensive patterns and so on. Indeed, Sembia has given Cormyr an unpleasant surprise with the effectiveness of their new martial doctrine in the ongoing low-intensity conflict in the southern Dragon Coast.

 Lieutenants are the lowest rank of commissioned officers and the majority of the combat-oriented lieutenants can be found as Deputy Commanders or Commanders of infantry companies (about 171 soldiers in a complete unit, including themselves).

### **Building a Marital Culture**

 Unlike the merchant plutocracy of the rest of Sembia, after finally sloughing off the rule of the Shadovar, their newly formed military has been given a great deal of freedom from the plutocratic influences that hampered them before. This has allowed the growth of a truly professional military culture, which is quickly becoming a point of pride in Sembia, and paving the way for a new Sembian pride through the region.

 While comparative upstarts against the storied Purple Dragons, the honor and courage of the Sembian Army is being proven time and again against the very anvil that helped form them.