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[Happerry]

Given that our troops are kinda super low quality, here's a revision to raise the base quality level.

Militia Drill Camps
Our current armies are, let us call them 'more enthusiastic then skilled'. Given that the militia aren't too enthusiastic about being spear-fodder, that's a very unfortunate truth. Luckily, skill can be earned by training the militia a bit so they aren't just random people given a spear and a shield and sent into battle. By putting them through a three month training course, we can teach them how to do three things with more acceptable proficiency levels. Those three things are Marching, Forming A Shield Wall, and Not Running Away Or Else. Of course more training would be even better, but the Drill Camps are just there to make the militia not completely horrible. If we want actual professional troops we'll have to do far more then spend three months training them to not be entirely crappy. But they'll still be less crappy then they started with, which means they'll have an advantage against the other empire's militia.

[ConscriptFive]

Looks like we'll be fighting underground in the mountains this turn...

Revision: Maglite Torch Spirits

Fire is a temperamental mistress.  Difficult to ignite or maintain in inclimate conditions, maintaining a torch or lantern can prove a full-time task.  Oh, and don't forget the fuel.  Sure would be a pain to do so in a dank swamp, or windy chasm.

Spirits possess an innate ethereal glow which could be harnessed to provide illumination.  These "torch spirits" are glowing orbs bound to a "Maglite" bracer.  The spirits grow tired and must be rested after several hours, but can be easily coaxed to sleep and awoken by the user.

[Man of Paper]

Militia Drill Camps are Very Easy, not asking for much and not doing anything that'd overly stress or overwork your poor mortal levies.

Maglite Torch Spirits are Very Hard to Theoretical, as they're quite a far cry from the Guide Spirits (essentially revising a diplomatic guidebook into a flashlight). Additionally, from the OP:

your first turn will be a “turn zero” without a combat phase

[Happerry]

My personal preferences are currently for the Drill Camps and the Esoteric Epoxy revisions because I think it'd be best to improve our baseline before we start making things meant to be above that baseline, but if people would prefer a bit more push to getting better troops, here's one.

Light Infantry Training
By taking the best and most experienced of the Spear Militia and giving them superior training and an equipment upgrade it is possible to gain a solid core of semi-professional light infantry to back up our more numerous poorly trained levies. Equipped with a spear and a shield as per normal for Spear Militia, but then also given light leather armor, a brace of javelins, and a half years worth of training in the arts of fighting, marching, hitting targets with javelins, and otherwise needed skills for being light infantry these soldiers might not be heavy infantry, but they can still take on more then their number of militia with a solid chance of success.

[Man of Paper]

I'd give Light Infantry Training an Easy to maybe Normal on account of the equipment and training, though that's impacted by the fact that they're intended to be a supplement and not a total overhaul of your forces.

[Happerry]

My personal preference would be to do the Militia Drill Camps as a revision this turn to raise the floor quality, then do something like Light Infantry Training next turn as a design to get some semi-professional soldiers, but I figured I should at least drop in the write up for if people decided they just wanted said semi-professional soldiers first.

[Taricus]

Eh, we can drop a full design into our troops next turn. I think we can go further with the militia camps though, to the point of it's difficulty hitting normal or easy.

[ConscriptFive]

Revision: Initiate Regimen Review
To become an Initiate, one must adhere to a particular "lifestyle." "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." Still, some of the following practices on the "Mage's Week" are likely unnecessary and deleterious to Initiate performance:
1. Mortification of the Flesh Mondays
2. Testicular Torsion Tuesdays
3. Hump Day
4. Throat-punch Thursdays
5. Redacted.
6. Screaming Saturdays
7. Day of Rest.
A review of this weekly schedule will likely result in Initiated with better mental focus and physical endurance on the battlefield.

[Man of Paper]

I’m gonna have to veto straying too far into le memes territory and try to keep things at least moderately serious. I’m not as willing to spend time writing about, say, CHADs, as other people are.

[Powder Miner]

The Epoxy seems pretty much like a no-brainer, and for the secondary revision I think I agree that an infantry revision would make sense. I agree that a gear overhaul of our infantry makes more sense as a design, but the drills wouldn't hurt as a separate thing (and I think I do prefer focusing a gear design on gear), and it doesn't really look like anyone else has any better ideas (including me, since I've mostly been thinking out lore), so at present I would probably put votes into the Epoxy and the Drill Camps.

[Happerry]

Eh, we can drop a full design into our troops next turn. I think we can go further with the militia camps though, to the point of it's difficulty hitting normal or easy.

So something like this?

Militia Training Camps V2
Our current armies are, let us call them 'more enthusiastic then skilled'. Given that the militia aren't too enthusiastic about being spear-fodder, that's a very unfortunate truth. Luckily, skill can be earned by training the militia a bit so they aren't just random people given a spear and a shield and sent into battle. By putting them through a six month training course, we can teach them how to do three things they already do with more acceptable proficiency levels and teach them to do something new as well. Those first three things are Marching, Forming A Shield Wall, and Not Running Away Or Else, and the new thing is Throwing Javelins At The Enemy, along with giving each Spear Militia a pair of Javelins to carry and throw before the main fight begins. We'll also spend some of the training time putting them through general physical training to make sure that all our Militia are fit and strong enough to serve on the battlefield and desensitizing them (by way of making them stab straw dummies with pig blood packs inside) from the trauma of actually stabbing people.

Honestly though, I kinda still prefer my original write up. It might be easy, but that just increases the odds we get a good roll and makes sure it works.

[Powder Miner]

I do sort of wonder if this is one of those sort of situations where gambling on an Unexpected Boon (not at all implausible to do with a Very Easy) might be more helpful than throwing in marginally helpful features (like the blood dummies thing) for the sake of raising the difficulty.

[Taricus]

If we can get more in base then it's definitely worthwhile. But I'll agree the pig's blood is a little much. That, and working with medieval tech... that blood's just gonna coagulate in those bags. The javelins are good though and add an extra dimension to our starting infantry.

[Happerry]

Militia Training Camps V3
Our current armies are, let us call them 'more enthusiastic then skilled'. Given that the militia aren't too enthusiastic about being spear-fodder, that's a very unfortunate truth. Luckily, skill can be earned by training the militia a bit so they aren't just random people given a spear and a shield and sent into battle. By putting them through a six month training course, we can teach them how to do three things they already do with more acceptable proficiency levels and teach them to do something new as well. Those first three things are Marching, Forming A Shield Wall, and Not Running Away Or Else, and the new thing is Throwing Javelins At The Enemy, along with giving each Spear Militia a pair of Javelins to carry and throw before the main fight begins. We'll also spend some of the training time putting them through general physical training to make sure that all our Militia are fit and strong enough to serve on the battlefield.

So basically just take that last sentence off then, like this? I'm still somewhat inclined towards the first version though, just for the assuredness of a Very Easy, with the intention of doing a design level version of the Light Infantry Training once we've raised the floor of the quality level to get some actual professional light infantry without risking over-reaching by trying to directly turn our teaming masses of peasants handed a spear into proper infantry directly and in turn one.

[Taricus]

I'd hold off on the light infantry training until we know what other races we're working with. Synergise that sort of thing and all. That, and I want to get onto recruiting steppe nomads as our military design next turn.