Combat, Armaments, and Politeness

[Unoriginal]

This would be where I'd land... town armor, town weapons.

For town weapons, you might go with side swords, knives, or walking sticks that happen to be just a bit heavier than hickory (thanks to a few ounces of powdered lead in the business end). Town armor might be something relatively inoffensive like leathers, or you might go with something like brigandine. A small shield might be in order, especially if it's ornamental on top of being practical.

In a context where it was normal for ordinary citizens to be armed with small arms and be lightly armored, powerful people having guards equipped with with a level of weapon and armor above the norm was common, maybe even expected.

I feel like that would vary from place to place? Like, the rich and powerful do get more leeway, but (for example) it's not like Bezos could spontaneously show up at an airport with a squad of assault-rifle-wielding bodyguards without it being a major issue.

It's proportional, bodyguards are generally expected to be more armed than the typical person in a given context.

So for example, in a context where the ordinary citizen isn't expected to be armed at all, the bodyguards will often have one obviously-carried weapon.

In a context where the ordinary citizen being armed with sidearms is not uncommon at all, the bodyguards will generally have some obvious armor and better weapons.

Now could (in many cases) the PCs arrange things in advance if they're major players? Yeah - send a message ahead and have the people who you want to meet arrange things in advance. But that's different than "nobody would bat an eye if a group of heavily armed soldiers showed up suddenly, as long as they looked important".

It's not a "nobody would bat an eye" situation. People would bat an eye, and it'd be part of the display of status/wealth.

It's just that they're unlikely to react negatively to VIP having an armed escort while traveling in town (unless the PCs are using their role as 'armed guards' to bully their surroundings or they're facing someone who dislike people of that status). It is possible they'd fear the PCs more, but in a "I'll make sure to not piss them off" more than in a "oh no please they're going to hurt me" fashion.