What’s the point of using the conscripts? Compared to mercenaries they are both more expensive and in short supply. Moreover the system lacks any rule about replenishing them (besides population growth, but it is not really a replenishing method). I feel that it encourages overreliance on mercenaries that does not really fit the era that the game is based on (i know that fantasy ain’t history but Auran Empire is obviously based on late Rome/early medieval Byzantium) in which professional (or semi-professional farmers/soldiers) armies were still a used and viable option.
As this is my first post I want to clarify that I do like the ACKS and if my question may sound rough or too critical it is probably because I lack fluency in English.
There are no rules for replenishing conscripts only because in the timeframe of a typical ACKS game it usually doesn’t matter too much. Conscripts in playtesting were usually used during “oh shit” moments when a major war with some existential threat loomed. The various realms had already had their starting armies in place and the conscripts were on top of that.
If you are running a game that lasts over a longer period of time, you can replenish conscripts at a rate of 0.8 x 0.2 x 1/18 = .009 conscripts per family per year.
0.8 is the number of surplus children available for non-farm labor on each family
0.2 is the percentage of surplus children that are available for military service
1/18 is the amount that hit 18 each year
For simplicity, you can replenish conscripts at ~ 1/100 families per year. The first time you call up conscripts you’re getting a broader set of 18-24 year olds, and then thereafter you call up each year’s 18 year olds.