Slitherine

Finally got my Rise of Rome and Storm of Arrows supplements today (very impressed, btw), and I have a question about how to figure allies. Do you have to take minimums for allies, and if so, do these minimums only apply if you take that specific troop type?

For instance, I'm looking at a Condotta army, Venice in Italy. Under the Venice table, it says that I am allowed to take 16 stands of Swiss mercenary allies. Does that mean that I could take 2 BG's of Swiss pikemen, each composed of 8 stands? Or, if when I look at the Swiss Allies table on page 60, does it say that I must take 4 stands of xbow and 4 stands of handgunners? If that is the case, then if I'm taking a Swiss ally, does it mean that I must take 8 stands of pike, 4 stands of HG, and 4 stands of xbow, and would have no other options? Or could I take those 16 stands of Swiss pike that I originally wanted?

I guess that besides this specific case, I'm a little confused in general about how to determine exactly what it is that each ally contingent must take in any list.

Thanks for any help on this.

Peter

You do have to take at least the minimum of any troop type which has a minimum. Most ally contingents don't have limits on their totals. The Swiss in a Venetian army are a special case. Take a Florentine army if you want your 16 pikes.