D&D General How the heck do you fight a medieval war in winter?

[jgsugden]

With no magic: You'd try to use periods of better weather to put small groups near the enemy strongholds where they could hide and wait. Then, using the bad weather for cover, they'd attempt to sabotage critical infrastructure and resources. The goal would be to have the winter do the damage - all you're doing is taking away their weather defenses.

Alternatively, they'd work well away from the enemy strongholds to do things that would cripple the enemy in the spring, such as redirecting a river to cut off a water source once the weather changes.

With a little magic (low level spells): The sabotage becomes much easier when you have even low levels of magic. A familiar can sneak into an enemy stronghold and start a fire in the kitchen. Protect a rogue from the cold and give it invisibility and it can sneak in and do even more damage. Spying with abilities like Gaze of Two Minds is also very easy ...

 

[Tonguez]

Autumn is for harvest, Winter is for resting, Spring is for work, Summer is the time for War

 

[Lanefan]

Depending on the place and climate, there'll be times of year that wars can generally be fought and times they can't.

In a typical temperate or northern climate you'd normally find a safe place with supplies and take the winter off. Once the thaw-and-flood part of spring has passed, you'd start up again*, continuing until the rains and-or snows set in during the fall*.

* - assuming you don't need to take time out to see to planting and harvest.

In a monsoonal climate you'd wage war when it's dry and largely pack it in during the rainy season, other than stationary wars or sieges.

In a desert or Mediterranean climate you could - and they did - go year-round.

The above all assumes large armies. Small strike groups (or adventuring parties!) are far less encumbered by the weather unless it gets extreme.

 

[tetrasodium]

Im not sure if it was raised as an option example but the 1600s siege on the Dutch East India trading company 's fort provincia &fort zeelandia(semi interlinked rolling siege).it makes a great example because it has such detailed records and they sprawl from a sneak water attack at high tide on a foggy day across a support village kinda thing followed by a simple fort and an advanced star fort. Cannons were involved but for various reasons they weren't equally available to both armies, stealth attacks, poor food stores for the attackers then later for the defenders, & health issues . How local civilians and different flavors of surrenderint/fleeing forces were treated is also covered

I'm almost certainly leaving some important bits out... The whole thing went went across a year or two (at east) and has a lot of well recorded events that make it great for a d&d analog that can go ve inspiration for different tech levels of defense and offense along with different levels of preparedness and local infrastructure.

Rather than trying to go into a way too long thing better suited to a history book, here is a half-hour video covering it

Edit: I think geographically it took place between what is now China and Taiwan

 

[Bedrockgames]

Everyone but @kigmatzomat @humble minion is stuck in thinking a northern European or Northern US climate.
Where I live you would fight a medieval war in winter, because in summer you would die without magic if you were wearing platemail. And any heavy armor would make you damned near useless after a few minutes.

What is the AC of a North Face jacket?

 

[GreatestHonor]

What is the AC of a North Face jacket?

At most, 11 + your Dexterity modifier

 

[LordEntrails]

What is the AC of a North Face jacket?

AC6, but that's with THAC0

 

[Zardnaar]

One of the most terrifying aspect of the Vikings for central Europeans was that they sometimes would.

They were less reliant on crops.

Generally you didn't irl. Fighting during harvest tine was also ridking mass starvation.

Kingdoms with millions of people would struggle to field 20k men due to logistics, money and needing labor to pay taxes and produce food.

Run out of money you risk lose control of your troops. Catalina Company comes to mind.

Hiring mercenaries theoretically eg the Swiss or Genoa crossbow men was popular.

Early medieval Generally armies were smaller and the fate of the kingdom could be decided by 5000 men give or take.

Larger armies were centralized states with plentiful food ir things like Mongols who were happy to live off horses blood, milk and what they could plunder.

Even then you would leave on campaign but might lose 2/3 horses due to logistics and horses were expensive opportunity cost.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

Ok new question

What is the lowest level magic that can be used en massed to change the rules?

 

[Zardnaar]

Ok new question

What is the lowest level magic that can be used en massed to change the rules?

Cantrip that plows the earth. Faster than animal power.

Plant growth as well. Would have to check calories but think it's similar to rice if you cast it on wheat.

China could get two crops of rice per year vs Europe.

Rome had Egypt and Byzantiun had it until 7th century. It's loss changed the diet of ERE.

Access to food dictated war season. Also see Sparta and Athens.