To add lore to theorycraft, there's a goodly portion of lore about Dragoon training regimens from Ishgardian Temple Leves, which I've compiled in the Dragoon Lore thread. I'll copy the relevant in the spoiler below:
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Probably this poor sap who commissions all these levequests, Ser Brucemont of the Knights Dragoon.
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Dragoon Training
Dragoon Drop Rate Wrote:When we make our rounds to the Congregation's training facilities to choose hopefuls for the Knights Dragoon, I have noticed the uptick in lowborn numbers among the new recruits. While it is good to give them the benefit of the doubt as their desperate situation allows them to take more risks than their highborn counterparts, sense it does not make to give candidates quality armor from the start—they have a nasty habit of dropping.
Stay On Target Wrote:House Durendaire did not become known for the most powerful dragoons in Ishgard by blindly following old ways. Unlike many High Houses of that mistrustful theocracy, it seeks new knowledge—such as whether a Lominsan harpoon can be adapted against an airborne beast.
More Than One Way Down Wrote:A dragon's natural armor may seem impenetrable to an untrained eye, but a true dragoon knows well whence the vulnerabilities lie - a darkened spot, a bent plate, or if one is lucky, a barren patch. These days, too many youngbloods sign up for the training to join our noble ranks without showing a shred of decent talent, hence I have decided to thin out the crop through a trial. If the men can identify and destroy the spots on targets wrapped in scaleskin, they may continue their training. If they fail, they are to relinquish their weapon and accept pursuit of a less virtuous craft.
Puppet Show Wrote:We dragoons are a proud sort who often charge into the heat of battle, but that is not to say discretion is without merit. When shadows abound, we sometimes make use of wooden dummies with arms and wings manipulated by gears which resemble dragons from afar, to create an illusion of comrades in the vicinity. However, we lack the material to replicate dragon scales. We seek an experienced adventurer willing to journey to the Churning Mists and skin Dravanians for this purpose.
Someone Put Dung In My Helmet Wrote:The candidates for the Knights Dragoon are always under intense pressure that leaves both their heads and faith pounding by the end of a training session, to which some forget even the most common of sense. One of the youngbloods was daft enough to place his sallet next to a roped and very well-fed chocobo during his training respite. Needless to say, no amount of water or prayer is going to get the unholy smell of droppings and shame scraped out of the metal. He will need a replacement helmet posthaste.
Rage Against the Scream Wrote:As their training forces the Knights Dragoon to respond violently to the screams of dragons, the candidates to join the ranks prefer to use sallets of titanium. Rumor has it that not only is the headpiece as light as a feather, but as the wind blows through the crevices, it mimics such a wail and allows the wearer's hatred to course through their veins tenfold at the mere sound.
Daniffen's Mark Wrote:The Ishgardian legend of Saint Daniffen tells us that the dragoon would oft practice his lancework on the shores of the mighty Coerthas River. To better his aim that it might always be true, he sought only the nimblest of seema to serve as his marks.
Raising the Dragoons Wrote:At last, the final trials for the knights dragoon are upon us, and this year's candidates have proven to be the most propitious in quite a long time—all from fine bloodlines, all burning with acrimony towards their scaly adversaries. They call the trial a "mock battle," yet the only thing mocking about it is that their adversary is not a full-grown wyrm. They will have full reign to demonstrate their skills, thus the birth of a dragoon merits celebratory armor for use in the test.
Sticking It Out Wrote:Elder members of the Knights Dragoon are known to prefer lances smithed from pommel ore, a hard substance that, while difficult to wield, is believed to make the finest, sharpest heads. Unfortunately, the locations of the few remaining veins in Dravania were known only to the Sharlayans who took the information back with them to the Old World fifteen summers ago. If you were to find a vein of decent quality, I would pay much for the material.
Look Before You Leap Wrote:Among the aspiring Knights Dragoon are a talented few who practice jumping attacks in equipment crafted from adamantite, the weight of which will help them to crush a dragon's skull as an eggshell. Alas, one such youth misstepped during his training and landed among the crags, breaking both his legs and armor in the impact. Though his injuries will heal, he requires a new pair of leg guards, and I would entrust none other but a skilled craftsman with the task.
Leek Soup for the Soul Wrote:The dragoons of House Durendaire are on maneuvers, and the deaths already begin to mount. Many are too fatigued to take much nourishment at the end of the day, and so succumb to cold, a fall, a thrust they may otherwise have parried. Steaming bowls of cawl cennin may make all the difference.
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(03-16-2016, 12:54 PM)Raidho Wrote: Now I wonder if there's an official whose job is just to analyze and come up with ways to limit collateral damage from dragoons dragooning. BRB, rolling an alt who is completely done with life.
Probably this poor sap who commissions all these levequests, Ser Brucemont of the Knights Dragoon.
