Some Excellent Military History Resources

Sorry for another fluff post, but here's a great resource for military history concerning this time period.

There is a great article on the evolution of cavalry towards adopting pistols over lances. Which reminds me that I need to work lances into my weapon system even though they had fallen out of favor. A long multimedia presentation of siege tactics and their evolution through the 16th and 17th centuries is an excellent feature. Tactics and formations nuts can go hog wild over schematics and animations of 17th century troop formations. Finally, an in-depth presentation of the Battle of Breitenfeld showcases a pivotal battle of the 30 Years War and the evolution of field artillery tactics.

More weapons posts coming up soon.

Shields, More Than -1 AC

Through most versions of AD&D, fighting classes are better off grabbing heavy armor and a two handed weapon than trying to go the sword and board route. Since I'm spicing up combat, I'd like to give the shield a little love and help justify why someone would sacrifice greater damage for just a measly -1 AC bonus. Note, neither of these ideas are mine, but they are both great.

Shields Shall Be Splintered. Upon a successful attack, a defender may sacrifice their shield to avoid the damage from a blow.

Shield Wall. A shield wall may be formed by 2 or more combatants wielding shields and single handed 3' weapons. Any combatant with a shield wall ally immediately to his right gains an additional 1 point bonus to their AC.

I like this implementation of a shield wall. A shield is carried in the left hand, so you need your ally to the right to protect you and continue the cohesion of the shield wall.

Note that any weapon that has the Ignores Shields traits is unaffected by both of these shield traits. A shield may not be sacrificed to absorb a blow nor does the shield provide any AC bonus whether in a wall or otherwise.

Thrown Weapons

Similar to the previous post on melee weapons, here's a chart of thrown weapons' statistics.

Note that there is no listing for Traits here, thrown weapons do not benefit from them. The Rate of Fire is the best case limit on how fast these weapons may be thrown. It assumes that the ammunition is on hand and readily accessible, such as a number of javelins stuck in the ground at the side of the thrower. Otherwise, the rate of fire would be dictated by how fast the thrower could grab more ammunition.

Range has two values. The first entry is the distance at which a weapon may be thrown with no penalty to hit; anything beyond that has a -5 to hit. The second value is the maximum range a weapon may be thrown. Another way to think of these ranges is that the first number is the optimal distance for man-to-man combat where accuracy is needed and the second would be for mass combat or indirect fire where accuracy is not as important.

The ranges are a simplification of real world values and are a combination of actual range and effective range for dealing significant injury. Sure, you can throw a dagger more than 30 feet, but that range reflects a combination of difficulty hitting the target square AND with the right blade orientation.

Next up, ranged weapons.

Melee Weapons

Here's a chart of melee weapons along with their stats and characteristics.

And the definitions of each trait:

Armor Penetration. Whether through precision, penetrating power, or blunt force trauma, this weapon grants a +1 to hit foes in medium armor and +2 against heavy armor.
Catches Riders. When used to dismount a rider, automatically succeeds on a successful to-hit (defender may not choose to take damage instead).
Defensive. Grants user a 1 point improvement on Armor Class.
Ignores Shields. This weapon strikes over or around shields, negating their defensive benefits.
Light. Balanced for throwing and may be dual wielded in the off hand.
Long. Ill-suited for melee combat; this weapon may only strike in the first round of a melee. Does not apply when wielding from back ranks.
Pike. Grants +2 on morale checks when resolving charges.
Reach. Reach, followed by a number, is the rank that a weapon may hit from.
Two Handed. Despite being 3' in size, this weapon requires 2 hands to be wielded effectively.

So these weapons cover a lot of ground with many different combinations of size, damage, and traits. One aspect that isn't apparent here is cost and quality. The weapons that are derived from agricultural tools (scythe, pitchfork, pick, and machete) are clearly inferior weapon choices when it comes to comparable weapons' damage, size, and traits. However, being weapons adapted from tools, they are significantly cheaper and only come in lower quality. They represent peasant weapons and are a cheap way to arm fodder and hirelings.

Every weapon should fill a niche. No one weapon is ideal in all situations and they each have strengths and weaknesses. Whereas a great sword has the best damage output, a poleaxe or halberd would be better suited for a mounted, armored opponent.

If anyone spots a weapon that is clearly superior in multiple/all situations, let me know so I can tweak the numbers. If anyone wants to discuss how some weapons are unique, please feel free to chime in. This weapon list is still living and I might decide to add some more exotic weapons from outside mainstream European use. Plus, I also want to tackle thrown weapons and ranged weapons and give them a similar treatment. And I have a few ideas for shield use as well, none of which are original.

EDIT: Pursuant to the comments below and further thought, battle axes inflict 1d10 damage and short spears are not considered Light weapons. Short spears may be thrown but can not be dual wielded.

Making Weapons Matter

Design Goal: Devise a system to differentiate weapons and create additional tactical decisions for combat and characters that rely on melee combat.

Most D&D weapons suck. There are a few clear winners when it comes to choosing weapons and a lot of chaff. Going for a two handed weapon? Greatsword, check. One handed and shield? Bastard sword, check. Cleric restrictions on weapons? Morningstar, check. Take a look at the AD&D weapon list and then count how many weapons there that see almost no use at the game table.

For the EMP game, every weapon will have some functional difference from every other weapon and any weapon which cannot be differentiated from another will be removed. First up, weapon size.

Kobolds in the Early Modern Period

Kobolds are house spirits, small sprites that protect the homes and dwellings of pagan believers. They can take on many forms with some of their favorite being child-like figures or small animals and may also take the form of mundane objects. Most kobolds are relatively harmless and help to protect those who treat them well while playing tricks on those who do not.

Only believers will have the chance to interact with kobolds, otherwise the sprites do not directly reveal themselves but may make their presence known in other ways. Belief in kobolds has survived Christianity in some circles and is most strong in communities that still hold onto pagan practices. In particular, dwarfs and goblins have a strong connection with kobolds.

While most kobolds are flighty sprites, many are aware that fewer mortals display belief in these spirits. These kobolds are much more active within pagan communities and will show a rare focus in utilizing their powers to fiercely protect the way of life for those who believe.

Goblins in the Early Modern Period

Goblins are a dying race. Having coalesced into a people in the deep forests of Europe, they were neighbors of the burgeoning elven society. Yet, it was not the elves who diminished their numbers and forced the forest dwellers underground. Elves considered goblins more as a younger cousin, a mischievous neighbor who, from time to time, needed a sound beating to remember his place. The goblin race didn't start its steady decline until it met humans.

Even from the times when humans inhabited Germania and Gaul in sets of tribes, men made war with goblins. While men and elves would eventually integrate, men and goblins were at constant odds. The dominance of Roman legions and culture did little to change this dynamic. While many 'barbarian' tribes were integrated into Roman society and its military, goblins remained on the fringe and always at odds. The eventual degradation of the Roman Empire was not enough to stem the slow tide of the goblin's decline. It was instead replaced by the zeal of conversion to Christianity which fell hard upon the pagan goblins. Conversions by the sword were typical; goblins would not give up their superstitious religious ways. Crusades through the Baltic regions finally succeeded in routing goblins out of their ancestral forests for good and forcing them to dwell underground to scratch out a living.

Today, goblins have long since lost their place among the great wilderness and are consigned to fringe areas outside of the Empire. Clinging to existence underground, various goblin tribes subsist on a combination of scavenging, limited agriculture, husbandry, and raiding. What few small congregations of goblins remain are typically found in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth hiding among the decentralized country side regions and enjoying a small measure of tolerance. Small pockets are also found under the mountain ranges ringing Europe proper.