Thread:TheShade6/@comment-27718380-20160116171918

As I said, the leaders have 50 men (like samurai) in a bodyguard. These are especially elite, and would be roughly equal to a Noldor Lord for the prowess required (Noldor learn more about history than fighting, and these men have spent their whole lives fighting.) These are hand picked from the rest of the infantry, of which there is roughly 3,000. On rare occasions they are picked from the cavalry, which is multipurpose in the sense that they are horse archers until they run out of arrows, then heavy cavalry. Of these there are 2,500. All of the Avari can be called on in dire need, and we must remember there is no sexism here so there is twice the usually available manpower. Roughly therefore 20,000 of these would be available (the population of able-bodied people in the tribe). The armour is mostly lamellar, with a fair few examples of mail on the samurai-esque ones. They are extremely well skilled, with decent armies but as a general rule they haven't got hugely amazing armour but they take the armour of the enemies they slay, so they become better towards the end of the war. 