Whitestone Rifle Corps

The Whitestone Rifle Corps, initially called the Riflemen of Whitestone, is the elite guard unit of Whitestone armed with firearms to defend Whitestone Castle and the city rulers, the de Rolo family. It was created in 811 PD by Lord Percival de Rolo, the inventor of firearms. The Rifle Corps stand in contrast to the general city guards, the Pale Guard, and to the secretive Grey Hunters, a historical group whose membership came to be selected out of the Rifle Corps by 836 PD.

Members are trained in the use of muskets, pistols, or carbines, though the group is known for their use of long-range rifles. They are prohibited from carrying firearms outside of patrolling the city walls, castle battlements, or other official guard duties, excluding in emergencies or with special permission from the Chamber of Whitestone. They wear uniforms of dark-stained leather with cloaks over one shoulder. Its captain wears a leather hat with one side pinned up.

Name
Percival wished to call the group the "Whitestone Musketeers", but the name was rejected by his sister Cassandra de Rolo for being too silly. It was instead called the Riflemen of Whitestone, but Captain Kynan Leore highlighted early on that the name incorrectly suggested it was composed entirely of men and remarked that the name could still be changed. By 836 PD, the group was renamed the Whitestone Rifle Corps.

Membership
Months after the group was formed in 811 PD, the corps was comprised of at least eleven men and women, including Captain Kynan Leore. He was named captain in 811 PD (during Campaign 1) and still held the position in 843 PD (during Campaign 3). By 843, membership had grown to at least four or five dozen members.

Trivia

 * Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn includes the Whitestone Rifle Corps as a player background option. The background includes variants for the Pale Guard or the Grey Hunt.
 * Though they are called a "Rifle Corps" and "Riflemen", Exandria appears to only have smoothbore muskets, more accurate to Percival's desired name of "Musketeers". However, "rifle" is often used in common parlance to refer to any long-barreled firearm that has a stock and is shouldered when firing, whether or not the weapon has rifling (spiral grooves within the barrel).