D&D 5E Video of guys in plate mail as reference for you!

[BigVanVader]

This didn't have a handle. The chain literally was the handle.

 

[Cannyjiggit]

If it has a specific name, its not one I know off the top of my head then. Reasonably crude weapon but I imagine quite effective (as long as you don't catch yourself with the swing).

Another thing that many people don't realise with weighty weapons is that you need to keep them moving to be most effective with them. Overcoming inertia or momentum to stop or start a swing takes far more energy than redirecting the arc they are moving along. None of this has anything to do with D&D though which in my opinion does a decent job of representing combat rather than recreating it which would be too much effort and why I didn't like some game systems I played in the past.

 

[Bayonet]

I haven't done Historical European Martial Arts, but when I see the old manuals, I see a lot of the techniques I used to practise in Chinese martial arts. I guess there are only so many ways you can do an effective throw or joint lock, especially when carrying weapons.

Yeah, human biomechanics are the same the world over, which is why most hard sparring martial arts tend to "discover' the same techniques. A Harai Goshi, Double Leg or Kimura work pretty well on resisting opponents, no matter what you call them.

 

[Cannyjiggit]

Yeah, human biomechanics are the same the world over, which is why most hard sparring martial arts tend to "discover' the same techniques. A Harai Goshi, Double Leg or Kimura work pretty well on resisting opponents, no matter what you call them.

The same is true of both combat and weapons. Different cultures have come up with similar solutions to the same problems

 

[BigVanVader]

Yeah, human biomechanics are the same the world over, which is why most hard sparring martial arts tend to "discover' the same techniques. A Harai Goshi, Double Leg or Kimura work pretty well on resisting opponents, no matter what you call them.

Yeah, people have had similar ideas when it comes to hurting each other, eating and providing shelter for themselves. All the two-handed swords around the world('greatswords', katanas, other stuff I'm not thinking of) basically have a few similar movements and stances to them, same with other forms of martial arts/self-defense.

 

[Cannyjiggit]

I can't find the right thing on the internet at the moment but my instructor has an English Longbowmans sword which for all intents and purposes looks exactly like a scimitar. Long, heavy, curved blade with a twisted crossguard to help protect the fingers. Its awkward and heavy (about triple the weight of the Gladius, if not more), difficult to wield but much like the scimitar was designed to be used by men with superior upper body strength that didn't want or expect to be in direct combat for very long at all. One swing and it should all be over, you really wouldn't want to be using this thing for very long at all.

The following pic is about the closest I can find but the twisted parts of the guard are longer in reality to protect fingers on one side (very important for a longbowman) and trap weapons with the other rather than the decorative appearance here

 

[BigVanVader]

You know, I really do think it would be fun to run or play in a really almost-historic D&D game. Like, there are fantasy races, there are wacky wizards, but everything is grounded in as much realism as can be. Sword fights are lethal, armor works like it should, etc etc.

That would be awesome.

 

[Gadget]

Edit: and it isn't "plate mail". It's "plate". [/pedant]


*Yes, a full suit of plate covers more of your body, so offers better protection than, say, a chain hauberk, but in D&D, even non-suit plate is usually "better" than chain.

I have also always heard that the term "chain mail" was a redundancy, as that is what the old term "mail" meant. Though I suppose that the term has been expanded to cover any linked or overlapping armor such as "scale mail".

Also, I understand this was worn with a lot of heavy padding and perhaps even mail to cover flexible areas. Doing the kind of stunts depicted in any kind of warm temperatures would really dehydrate one quickly. Also the sun hitting that shinny metal would heat it up quite a bit in the spring/summer time.

 

[aramis erak]

That was cool and interesting, thanks for sharing.

On the noise, I always thought there was some cloth padding in there to muffle the clanging. Now I wonder if that's even possible. On a battlefield you wouldn't care, but on an adventure or in town I see this as being an issue.

Your gambeson doesn't muffle the sound much at all. It's primarily there to pad you from the armor. Without it, plate is actually less protective than chain. (Likewise, chain without a gambeson results in massive skin damage when hit with intent.)

 

[Umbran]

Yeah, the mix of weapons/armour in D&D doesn't really make sense. You have items from all periods mixed together in a huge melting pot, when actually it was an arms race between armour and weapons.

If you step out of the Eurocentric view, and look more broadly, across cultural lines, the world was a bit more of a melting pot. Heck, we had stone age peoples wandering around during Europe's late-Renaissance.

The book is a toolbox. It doesn't represent a single culture and time period. Nor does it represent all known cultures and time periods. It is merely a collection of some of the most common and/or recognizable stuff from history. It is for the makers of the game world to sort out the historical and regional details.