[thejeff]

50 gems worth of gear on chaff leaders? I hope you won't need very many.

If you're worried about actual invasion, meet them with armies of your own. With mages & real thugs.

If you're worried about raiders & indy events, have a couple teleporting thugs ready to take them back.

Sure, hire local commander and a handful of troops to patrol since you don't have PD, but there's no need to go overboard.