@VoiDAh, alright then. So for a vague outline of a character, would it be okay to say he is from a mostly assimilated Norse/Varangian noble family that despite holding some high title is not THAT wealthy. As a result he joined the Dragoons gaining experience and a promotion to Lance Corporal?

<Snipped quote by Andreyich>

Generally nobility would seek commissions as an officer -- few of the gentry would suffer the ignominy of serving at the same level as the "common" class, unless they were in abject poverty. If you want to go that route, your character would likely want to keep the fact that he is nobility a secret.

A titled norse/varangian family is perfectly fine, though.

@VoiD a colour sgt would be more like a sergeant major in modern terms.

Also does that means the empire has no significant Pacific naval presence? What with sailing around the horn of africa.

@VoiD
Ah, side question? What happened to Greek fire? I just thought it would be badass for napoleonic battlefields to have someone just pop out with a flamethrower or grenadiers lobbing napalm bombs

@VoiD There is a magic option in the CS - this means that Dragoons can also hold magic ranks alongside their military rank? Graduates of the academy are free to assimilate themselves into normal military units?

@VoiD
I'm having troubles finding suitable titles for my lad, would it be acceptable for me to say when his family moved to Constantinople they kept the Norse/Varangian title of "Lendmann?"

<Snipped quote by Andreyich>

You could, but it would be pretty meaningless to the Empire's court - the Norse were seen as barbarians to even the Frankish kingdoms at the time, so you can imagine their noble titles weren't held in the highest esteem in the Empire. Perhaps this resource will help you?

<Snipped quote by BingTheWing>

Yes. Recall that the vast majority of magic takes the form of physical "sigils", due to its complexity and exhaustive nature. So normally any form of magic in warfare takes the form of meticulously-created traps. You won't find an all-powerful mage slinging massive lightning bolts across the battlefield - even the Magister Maximus would be hard-pressed to use a minor working more than two or three times a day without the use of sigil-craft.

Typically a single regiment may have 1-3 mages of various ability in its ranks. Magic is uncommon even among the nobility, who are partially bred for magical-talent.

EDIT: While I'm not against it, they would have to lie about their age, and personally I'd prefer if the age of a character doesn't go below 14 without a really good/interesting reason.

@VoiD Posted my CS in characters. Will delete or change as needed.

@Brocktree
Since your character is already an officer/high ranking he'd also probably have served quite a lot too, so want discuss possible common history between our characters?