Fighting Medieval Style

[Rhun]

Cool stuff! Thanks for posting this stuff guys!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Gives a different perspective on combat than gaming rules generally emulate.

I know its a tangent to this cool thread, but that's one of the things I like most about HERO, actually.

Martial arts are broken down into distinct moves that you purchase individually...and if you pay the cost, can be used with a weapon.

So, for instance, you can build a capoirist who has all of his nifty moves (simulatable in many game systems) who can also use them with shackles or manacles- something integral to the style but not easily modeled in most game systems.

Which means in a Fantasy HERO campaign, you could actually have your PC freely mixing Harnischfechten fencing and ringen in full armor.

I suspect I could do much the same with M&M (and its fantasy version, W&W), and others could do that with GURPS.

Anyone aware of other RPGs out there that can do this?

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I know its a tangent to this cool thread, but that's one of the things I like most about HERO, actually.

Martial arts are broken down into distinct moves that you purchase individually...and if you pay the cost, can be used with a weapon.

So, for instance, you can build a capoirist who has all of his nifty moves (simulatable in many game systems) who can also use them with shackles or manacles- something integral to the style but not easily modeled in most game systems.

Which means in a Fantasy HERO campaign, you could actually have your PC freely mixing Harnischfechten fencing and ringen in full armor.

I suspect I could do much the same with M&M (and its fantasy version, W&W), and others could do that with GURPS.

Anyone aware of other RPGs out there that can do this?

I dunno much about HERO, but I know SR - at least, SR4 - has martial arts that you can take as qualities on starting a character, with a pretty damn long list of 'em.

 

[Galloglaich]

I know its a tangent to this cool thread, but that's one of the things I like most about HERO, actually.

Martial arts are broken down into distinct moves that you purchase individually...and if you pay the cost, can be used with a weapon.

So, for instance, you can build a capoirist who has all of his nifty moves (simulatable in many game systems) who can also use them with shackles or manacles- something integral to the style but not easily modeled in most game systems.

Which means in a Fantasy HERO campaign, you could actually have your PC freely mixing Harnischfechten fencing and ringen in full armor.

I suspect I could do much the same with M&M (and its fantasy version, W&W), and others could do that with GURPS.

Anyone aware of other RPGs out there that can do this?

Ahem.... cough.

G.

 

[Ulrick]

I, a grad-student in medieval History, approve.

Thank you for posting!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I dunno much about HERO, but I know SR - at least, SR4 - has martial arts that you can take as qualities on starting a character, with a pretty damn long list of 'em.

SR4? I'm not familiar with that abbrv.

Ahem.... cough.

Yea?

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

Very cool stuff
well when you think about, say in Greek times, you often see folk (in art, books etc) supposedly going for the knees with a shortsword, or saying that's why they wore greaves as protection from sword slashes.
meh, that's silly, the opponent would smash your head with his shield because the length of blade is such you have to get too damn close, to slash them on the shin or knee in many fights!

Spears would have been used to stab under the shield into the lower legs, hence the use of greaves. Folk think you have ot only stikie mortal blows but no, the point is to survive, and crippling your opponent, thus he dies from blood loss or whatever, is effective.

Teacher I knew long time ago in the Scottish Borders, explained that back in the 1600 to 1700s, there was a fencing trick called a "Lockerbie Lick", where they'd slash above the eyebrow of the opponent, so they'd be blinded by flowing blood.
More conteporary, a head butt is often called a "Glasgow Kiss".
So you can imagine in a D&D setting, various combat tricks/styles would have names associated with them, by champions, regions, races etc.

Hm, "Dwarven Nut Punch"...works for me!!

 

[aurance]

Yea?

Galloglaich is pointing out the game in his sig, I think.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

SR4? I'm not familiar with that abbrv.

Shadowrun 4th Edition?

Yea?

Maybe he was referring to the link in his signature...?

 

[Galloglaich]

Very cool stuff
well when you think about, say in Greek times, you often see folk (in art, books etc) supposedly going for the knees with a shortsword, or saying that's why they wore greaves as protection from sword slashes.
meh, that's silly, the opponent would smash your head with his shield because the length of blade is such you have to get too damn close, to slash them on the shin or knee in many fights!

Spears would have been used to stab under the shield into the lower legs, hence the use of greaves. Folk think you have ot only stikie mortal blows but no, the point is to survive, and crippling your opponent, thus he dies from blood loss or whatever, is effective.

In a very early Greek context, you may have a point (no pun intended), since Spears were by far the most ubiquitous weapons on the battlefield. We really don't know all that much about the details of how the Bronze Age Greeks fought, other than what can be gleaned from vases and epic poems.

For the later Iron Age Greeks and the Romans though we do have various histories starting with Herodotus, and detailed military manuals like Vegetius.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Re_Militari
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_infantry_tactics

In a Medieval or Renaissance context though we really don't have to guess at all- the fighting systems are well documented in fencing manuals dating back to at least the 13th Century there are dozens of these manuals extant, which go into very specific detail about how people fought.

There is also a huge abundance of Medieval and Renaissance art and literature, far more than we have for the Greeks, and the Icelandic sagas before that.

For the "Dark Ages" / Northern European Iron Age we have the Icelandic Sagas. Here the tactic of cutting peoples legs off were so common that many swords were given names like "leg biter" and "foot cutter", as were the names of certain famous Vikings who survived such incidents such as Onund Treeleg from Grettirs Saga[url]. Of course few survived such an injury.

After getting ready, they went to the island.
“There was a fine field not far from the sea, where the holmganga was to be. There the place of the holmganga was marked by stones placed in a ring around it. Ljót came thither with his men, prepared for the holmganga with shield and sword. He was very large and strong, and when he arrived on the field at the holmgang-place the Berserk frenzy came upon him, and he howled fiercely and bit his shield.
“Egil made ready for the holmganga, having his old shield, and girt with the sword Nadr, with Dragvandil in his hand. He went inside the marks of the duelling-place (i.e., the squares marked out round the cloak), but Ljót was not ready. Egil raised his sword and sang.
“After the song Ljót came forward and pronounced the law of the holmganga, that he who stepped beyond the mark-stones which are set around the place of holmaganga should ever afterwards be called nithing (coward).
“Then they rushed at each other, and Egil struck at Ljót, who covered himself with the shield, while Egil dealt blow after blow so that Ljót could not strike him. He drew back to get room to wield his sword, but Egil went equally fast alter him and smote most violently. Ljót went out beyond the mark-stones and to and fro on the field. Thus went the first attack. Then Ljót asked to be allowed to rest, which Egil granted. . . .1
“Egil bid Ljót to make himself ready. ‘I want this fought out.’ Ljót started to his feet, and Egil ran forward and at once struck at him. He went so close to him that he stepped back, and his shield did not cover him. Then Egil smote him above the knee, and cut off his leg. Ljót fell, and at once died”

Teacher I knew long time ago in the Scottish Borders, explained that back in the 1600 to 1700s, there was a fencing trick called a "Lockerbie Lick", where they'd slash above the eyebrow of the opponent, so they'd be blinded by flowing blood.

Sounds like a good trick, but if you can cut his head, why not split his skull?

More conteporary, a head butt is often called a "Glasgow Kiss".
So you can imagine in a D&D setting, various combat tricks/styles would have names associated with them, by champions, regions, races etc.

Hm, "Dwarven Nut Punch"...works for me!!

This is essentially the kind of stuff we did put in the Codex, only we relied on historical techniques for our sources. But you could rename them whatever you liked (or base them on fantasy races or cultures etc.)

G.