Egyptians with Medieval Technology

[William Ronald]

Amulets of natural armor and bracers of protection might be a good route to go for some characters in a desert environment. Other options might be rings or other magic items to resist heat. So, armor with a look similar to that in Stargate-1 may well be equipped with some form of heat resistance.

I suspect light armor would be favored by a society with an Egyptian culture but medieval technology. Heavy armors might be donned just before a major battle, and spell casters who have the ability to control temperature might be very popular with military commanders. (Never underestimate the effects of weather and terrain on battles and military campaigns.)

I think horses would be preferred over chariots, although chariots may still have a ceremonial role.

LoneWolf23, you might want to pick up Necropolis or Green Ronin's Testament for some ideas on the culture. When is Green Ronin's Hamunaptra being released? It might prove very useful, as it is a treatment of Ancient Egypt much like Africa was treated in Atlas Games Nyambe.

 

[TheFan]

Never underestimate the value of armor-independant classes in a tropical environment. Monks, Rogues, and Rangers would be very popular in an Egyptian setting. For monks, there were martial arts styles that bore a remarkable resemblence to kung-fu, only using the khopesh and other local weapons instead of kamas. Rangers are an obvious choice and would probably make up the backbone of their military. Rogues...well...do what rogues do best in any setting.

Also, the Egyptians were big on jewelry. They had more bling than a ghetto homey. Amulets, rings, bracers, crowns, etc. In a fantasy world most of it would be magic, but those wearing magical items might wear extra jewelry on top of it so it's harder to tell what's magic and what isn't. You also could experiment with a regional feat that allows someone to wear extra magic items (much like the Extra Rings feat in Eberron)

 

[Angcuru]

Actually, the chariot is nothing like a knight on horseback, the two are completely different military units. A knight is a highly maneuverable slice&dice unit but cannot be used for prolonged periods of time becuase of fatigue. A chairot consists of a driver with 1 or more horses and a second man with a bow and/or javelins. W/ steel technology, crossbows as well. One of these things would be a much more devestating force on the battlefield than a knight. Plus keep in mind that chariots need wide, flat lands to operate, which is why we never saw them very much in the european theater.

But the thing is that steel technology would never be developed in an Egyptian setting without an outside source of Iron. That kind of environment produces few reliable sources of iron, but lots of copper and tin, hence the bronze.

But how 'bout this: A bronze/iron alloy. Bronze is made of two relatively weak materials combined in a way to make a very strong material. Then you take that molten material and combine it with the similarly strong but brittle iron. You cook it in an open furnace to infuse it with carbon, as in steel, and you get a super-alloy. Considering that bronze is 90% copper 10% tin, this alloy could easily be 90% bronze 10% iron. So a small source of iron could be all that is needed.

Come to think of it, they did eventually do this sort of thing in that region. Damascus steel, baby.

 

[shady]

I'd look at Crocodile's Warlords of Aegyptus line for some inspiration ...

http://secure.nxco.com/fortress/cgi-bin/croc/store/commerce.cgi

 

[Laman Stahros]

But how 'bout this: A bronze/iron alloy. Bronze is made of two relatively weak materials combined in a way to make a very strong material. Then you take that molten material and combine it with the similarly strong but brittle iron. You cook it in an open furnace to infuse it with carbon, as in steel, and you get a super-alloy. Considering that bronze is 90% copper 10% tin, this alloy could easily be 90% bronze 10% iron. So a small source of iron could be all that is needed.

Come to think of it, they did eventually do this sort of thing in that region. Damascus steel, baby.

Okay, I don't want to offend anyone, but ... WTF are you talking about? Damascus steel contains NO bronze, whatsoever! Its made by folding steel over and over. If you combine bronze and iron (or steel) you would get an incredibaly weak metal, not something like damascus steel.

 

[Aaron2]

Ok, planning to use an ancient egyptian-style nation for use in my next Greyhawk campaign, only with the other countries remaining at the same tech levels. So I need to create a version of Egypt armed with medieval-level technology like Plate Armor, Steel Weapons, and the like.

I'd probably stick to simple breastplates+helm+shield for armor. The breastplate lacking any arm or leg armor (as is assumed in the D&D version). As to the chariots, I'd have them being used mainly as ceremonial items with a minor battlefield use as a battle-taxi. The rider would dismount and fight on foot. Light horsemen were common in the region so would play a role as well.

The army could easily match the historic ones with large number of poorly trained levies forming the bulk of the army. The heavy infantry would ride around in their chariots performing hit-and-run raids with bows if the terrain permitted. Otherwise, they would dismount and fight as heavy inf. Meanwhile, light horse would protect the flank and act as skirmishers. The army would be fairly fast overall and rely on their speed in combat.


Aaron

 

[The Grackle]

Chariots are Rad

Egyptians should have chariots b/c it's Cool.

I don't know if there any rules out there for chariot combat but there must be somewhere.

In one game I had a race of dwarves who used chariots against mounted knights. To even things out a little between the heavily armored knights and the lightly armored charioteers, I gave them a cover bonus due to chariot's walls. They also came equipped with a device attached to the axle which would automatically the dwarves' arbalests. The chariots could only travel on favorable terrain and needed a wide area to turn around, but they were pretty effective coming down a road. It was fun stuff.


Edit: Hey! That's not what I meant! Eric's Grandma has got a dirty mind.

 

[Brad Hindman]

I don't know if there any rules out there for chariot combat but there must be somewhere.

Slaine has some fairly detailed rules for chariot combat.

 

[The_Fan]

Okay, I don't want to offend anyone, but ... WTF are you talking about? Damascus steel contains NO bronze, whatsoever! Its made by folding steel over and over. If you combine bronze and iron (or steel) you would get an incredibaly weak metal, not something like damascus steel.

Okay, I don't want to offend anyone, but...WTF are you talking about?

You're thinking of the Japanese Tama-hagane steel. It was made from very low-quality iron sand and was loaded with impurities. The folding process reinforced it to minimize the structural impact of the impurities. European swords were made by a similar process, only instead of folding they started with multiple layers and then hammered them together. This process (called pattern welding) can produce something that looks like damascus steel when you also etch the surface in acid, but that's not true damascus steel.

Damascus steel was really made by an entirely different process. Instead of hammering out the impurities, the iron was mixed with glass and the glass scraped off the surface as it cooled to remove impurities. The ingots of steel (called wootz) that resulted were of such high quality that they could be then heated and hammered into a sword directly without having to be folded or even quenched.

Edit: I have two accounts here?! Stupid underscore...

 

[jgbrowning]

Okay, I don't want to offend anyone, but...WTF are you talking about?

You're thinking of the Japanese Tama-hagane steel...

Okay, I don't want to offend anyone, but...WTF are you talking about?

Both Damascas steel and Tama-hagane steel were made out of fairy poopie. Well, fairy poopie and some wootz crackers... and beer. Don't forget the beer.



joe b.