Rejiggering armour for a late darkage tech level. (2nd ed)

[Imperialus]

so I've been playing with the 2nd ed weapons and armour lists to make it better fit my campaign which is set in the late dark ages into the early middle ages, so the tech level is somewhere in between 950ish and 1100. It's no exact but I mean hey, it's D&D. At any rate, here is what I've come up with so far. It's a bit of a wall of text but I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on it. Is there anything I missed? Something I included but doesn't fit? ect.

Normark and Yiggsburg have an approximate technology level matching that of Europe during the late Dark Ages/Early Middle Age. As such some refinement and focusing of the types of weapons and armour available in the PHB is necessary. There are also a number of ‘mundane’ goods that do not exist, but we’ll deal with those as they come up. The following weapons are available to PC’s. Weapons and armour with a * beside them are uncommon or otherwise non native weapons to the area. They may be more difficult to find and are unavailable at character creation. It is important to note that some prices have changed. In the PHB for example it is assumed that some armours such as Ringmail cost more due to the fact that it was obsolete and few armourers would continue to manufacture it. This is not the case in Normark.
Weapons

Battle Axe (A dwarven invention from several centuries ago. Extremely popular among humans.)
Bearded Axe (Stats identical to a Greatsword)
Bow
Flight Arrow
Sheaf Arrow
Shortbow
Longbow
Club
Daggers
Darts
Footman’s Flail* (2h) (Common among hobgoblin infantry)
Hand or Throwing Axe (Francisca or hatchet)
Horseman’s Flail* (Extremely common among the horseman from Gral-Shirath)
Javelin
Knife
Lance
Light Horse Lance* (More closely resembles a spear than a “lance”. Still quite uncommon, though popular to the south. Can be thrown, with a range of 10/15/20)
Medium Horse Lance* (Only beginning to see use in the southern kingdoms)
Glaive
Fauchard
Guisarme
Quarterstaff
Sickle
Sling
Spear (A one handed weapon designed to be used in concert with a shield)
Swords
Broad Sword 100 GP (one of the ‘noble swords’ design has been popular in the north for centuries)
Long Sword 125 GP (one of the ‘noble swords’ A ‘refinement’ of the Broad Sword, more commonly found in the south. It is capable of both S and P damage)
Longknife 30 GP (Same stats as a shortsword only damage type S)
Khopesh* A weapon unique to the elves. It can be wielded by druids.
Warclub (same stats as a footmans mace)
Whip

A Note on Swords: Swords in Normark are a mark of status. A proper sword is made using an extremely laborious process known as pattern welding that can only be accomplished by an exceptionally skilled smith (the entire town of Yiggsburg only has 2 smiths with the skill to create such weapons and no one in Normark is capable of the feat) and typically must be commissioned by an individual weeks or months in advance. As such, these swords are only available at character creation to Paladins and Fighters with the Noble Warrior kit, who can pay the PHB book price for such a weapon rather than the adjusted GP cost seen above, representing its heirloom status. Other characters can only start with a longknife. In exchange for the difficulty in finding swords, they do however offer a non magical +1 to hit and damage. They are also the most common weapon to find magically enchanted.

Despite the name, Longknives are swords by any reasonable definition of the word. They are between 30 and 35 inches long, and double edged, looking almost identical in form to the Long and Broadswords. The difference lies in the manufacturing technique. Rather than pattern welding, they are constructed by smiths of lesser skill using a more conventional quenching/tempering process. The reduced cost of these weapons has made them extremely popular on the battlefield outside of the noble class. The term ‘longknife’ is actually an insult to the weapon, meant to imply that it is little better than something one might use in the kitchen. Those who own longknives though are rightfully proud of them, and would not stoop to calling them such. Many longknives are even decorated with runes or designs etched into the fuller to make up for the lack of a pattern. Elvin Khopesh are another exception. They are typically unavailable for purchase, though druid characters may begin the game having already acquired one at the book price. should it be lost or destroyed however they had better hope they have a good relationship with an elvin clan to garner a replacement. Khopesh also replace the inherent Elvin longsword proficiency.

Armour:
Gambeson: 4GP AC8 (padded armour)
Leather Curiass: 6GP* AC8 (leather armour, typically only seen among goblin skermishers)
Ringmail: 25GP AC7 (Often a homemade enhancement to a Gambeson)
Studded Leather: 50GP AC7 (A more professional enhancement to a Gambeson)
Hide Armour: 15GP* AC6 (Common among Orcish tribes)
Scale: 150GP* AC6 (Common among elves. Druids can wear Scale)
Guards-Mail: 150GP AC5 (Very popular among household troops and successful mercenaries. The lightest ‘professional’ armour)
Segmented Armour: 120GP* AC5 (The armour of most hobgoblin infantry)
Lamellar Armour: 200GP* AC5 (Only constructed by elves. Druids can wear Lamellar)
Mail Halburk 400GP AC4
Double Mail 1000GP AC3
Coat of Plates 3000GP* AC2 (Not typically available in Yiggsburg)
Steel Breastplate 4000-10000GP* AC1 (Only constructed by Dwarves)

Misc notes about the armour:
Both Scale and Lamellar armour are unique in that they are actually constructed from wood that has been specially treated by the elves, a process that leaves the wood covered in a thin lacquer, rendering it almost as hard as steel. The elves are willing to trade their armour to humans, though they keep the secrets of its manufacture to themselves. Many humans call Lamellar armour “Elvin Mail” not realizing that the unique chainmail constructed by the elves (and their drow cousins) does indeed exist, though the art of its manufacture is completely lost amongst the tribes surrounding Yiggsburg and Normark. Only a few suits of actual Elvin Mail exist in the region, and they are considered precious family herlooms of a race whose generations last for centuries. The elves of the region do little to dispel these rumors since it allows them to inflate the price of their wooden armours. Elvin armours almost never come with helmets.

On Mail:
The different types of mail available in Yiggsburg represent the pinnacle of the technology but there are significant differences in construction technique between the various types. Mail construction is a time consuming and in certain locations of the body a highly skilled art form. The armpits for example are very difficult to construct so as to make the mail fit right, as are mail coifs and making the mail fit tightly to an individual’s torso.

Guards-Mail (also known as Common-Mail or Munitions Quality Mail) is the result of an attempt to simplify the manufacture of mail so that it could be mass produced for common soldiers. This was a direct response to the need for increased protection among household soldiers during the wars with Gral-Shirath where they were facing professionally equipped troops, often with little more than a shield and spear. It follows a traditional 4 in 1 construction method identical to higher quality mails but it is designed so that the front and back are not joined by mail except at the top of the shoulders but rather by a strip of leather to which the front and back are sewn. This makes the armour considerably easier to manufacture, as even the youngest apprentice can follow a template to link the rings together and the addition of the leather side pieces makes it much easier to re-size it to fit different individuals. These shirts vary in length from just below the hip, to just above the knee. Oftentimes the individual rings are not even rivited, simply butted together with riveting only done on the shoulders and around the collar bone. In exchange for the ease of manufacture however the armour offers considerably less protection than a mail halburk, particularly around the sides, and arms which are left uncovered baring a short tassle of chain that hangs over the shoulder. Many veteran soldiers who are equipped with this armour have taken to adding additional layers of chain to the shoulders since when fighting in a shield wall, the shoulder and collarbone is the most common target. Common mail typically comes with a simple iron kettle helmet or leather skullcap.

Mail Halburks are constructed entirely of riveted mail and will reach to just below the knee on an average human. The front and back of the ‘skirt’ are slit so that the wearer can more comfortably walk and ride. Each suit should be tailored to fit an individual since a tight fit about the chest and hips will better distribute the weight of the armour. Halburks offer good protection but their cost places them out of reach for most common soldiers and mercenaries. Unlike common mail, halburks also have full sleeves. This is the most common armour found on knights and poorer noblemen. It is generally paired with a kettle helmet or Spangenhelm.

Double Mail is very similar in appearance to mail halburks except that the skirt is typically shorter and the legs are instead protected by a separate pair of mail leggings. More significantly however double mail also has a more advanced manufacturing technique where the rings are linked together in a six in one pattern rather than four in one. This creates a much tighter weave resulting in increased protection. It is generally paired with a Spangenhelm or Nasal Helmet.

A Coat of Plates is the most advanced form of armour that humans have yet developed. It consists of several overlapping steel plates formed to fit the wearers torso and constructed similarly to a suit of brigadine only the plates are much larger. The manufacture of large thin pieces of steel is extremely difficult since it requires very specific temperatures and cooling cycles, a technique that has thus far only been mastered by some few dwarven smiths. A coat of plates is typcially worn over a suit of mail and augmented by other solid steel pieces around the knees and elbows. Very few examples of this type of armour exist around Yiggsburg, with all being imported at great cost from Redderinn A coat of plates can come equipped with a either a Nasal Helm or a Spagenhelm depending on the owners preference.

Steel Breastplates are as yet unheard of in Yiggsburg. They have been invented by the dwarves of the Wyrmspike mountains, and produced in extremely small numbers, but as the citystates have been cut off from the human kingdoms by Gral-Shirath humans are not yet aware of the armours existence.

 

[Wik]

I love this writeup, and I would gladly play in such a campaign. Any game that uses a historical basis as a starting point and then actually follows it up with research is generally awesomesauce.

I'd drop the "you can have a sword if you can come up with a reason" part, because any player can come up with a reason and it denies some of the flavour you've set up (besides, it's pretty easy to commission one only a few sessions in, right?). Likewise, I'd add a few more "elvin" weapons to the mix, because they seem like a major force in the campaign. Perhaps restrict their purchase to only elven and half-elven characters (and, of course, druids)? Also, do elves in your campaign get their +1 bonus to attack rolls with a Khopesh instead of a long sword? If they do get the bonus with the longsword, does that mean they get a whopping +2 bonus (essentially, free specialization)?

Since this is a dark ages campaign, are there stirrups (thus enabling heavy cavalry)? Why not add a dirk to the weapon list? I think some roman-era weapons should probably be on your list, as older designs among the barbarians or goblins or whatever else - gladius, pilums, and the like. Finally, I'd remove the trident from your list, simply because it really is more of an ancient-times weapon and to my knowledge wasn't extensively used in the dark ages (furtermore, even if it historically was, it's not thematically linked, which is just as important for setting purposes when it comes to your players).

 

[Imperialus]

Good point on dropping the "Come up with a reason" part. I think I'll do just that.

A few more elvin weapons are on the to do list. The elves aren't a huge influance on the campaign, it's still largely human centric but a forest with a number of elvin clans in it is all that separates Normark (where the PC's will be starting) from the Hobgoblin empire of Gral-Shirath so they will be early allies. Also swapping out the longsword bonus makes a lot of sense.

Stirrups do exist, but like the coat of plates they are a relatively recent invention largely imported from the south where the terrain is better suited to cavalry anyhow. Also complicating things is the fact that the quality of horseflesh hasn't caught up to the level that D&D assumes it is at. Heavy Warhorses are unheard of, and most cavalry rides on lighter mounts serving as skirmishers and running down routed foes. The light lance is becoming fairly common, but the medium lance is something of an oddity in the north, thusfar only being seen in the retinues a few noblemen who have traveled from the south to aid the northern kingdoms in their war and a heavy lance is probably still more than a century away.

Part of the backstory for the campaign is that the human nations were caught off guard by the appearance, and then expansion of a whole mess of hobgoblins who were driven across the mountains to the north. As such military technology, which had remained fairly static for several centuries suddenly underwent a revolution in response to the new threat but it means that many technological advances haven't yet been fully realized.

 

[Wik]

Imperialus, I love reading your campaign summaries. They show a historical understanding of how events work, and a bit more thought into why things the way they are than I'm used to seeing. Call me a fan.

Your bit about the horseflesh is a good call. As for terrain, I wonder what sort of terrain you have that is so unfavourable towards heavier cavalry? Hills? Heavy forests? Both? If forests are the major problem, I can see some pretty fun solutions - imagine mounted armies setting fire to the forest simply so that when they invade, they can bring their horses.

I take it Normark is a town or city? You mention that only two smiths in Normark could make swords. Might I suggest the following variation?

There are only two smiths in Normark who are ALLOWED to make swords, because only they know the correct practice. They mark the swords with their own personal brand, and it is true that they do make the best swords.

However, many other smiths will make swords, and sell them at a lower price. These swords are either illegal forgeries (and the smiths could be fined were they caught) of legal swords, or they are designed in such a way as to be some other weapon and not legally "swords" - for example, they could have different hilts, notches in the blade, whatever. These "knock offs" are cheaper, and, of course, less reliable, but are common among the middle class folks and poor nobles (and any of those non-noble PCs who want a damned sword!).

 

[Imperialus]

A note on general military tactics is probably an order here too. The predominant military formation on both sides remains either a shieldwall, or schiltron populated almost exclusively by peasant levies and militia (or slave soldiers and auxiliaries in the case of the hobgoblins). Their purpose is not to charge into the fight, indeed their moral would make such an action almost impossible. Rather they are there to serve as a secure line that the professional soldiers can emerge from and retire behind as necessary.

The professional men at arms, knights and nobles, will charge from the larger shieldwall in small units of anything from a dozen to forty typically consisting of a nobleman or chieften and his personal retinue (or adventurers!) and engage each other on the field between the walls attempting to force the enemy back. When the groups manage to reach an enemy line unharried (or victorious) they will typically hurl missiles into the mass or give the wall a small push, attempting to kill as many levee soldiers as possible and damage their morale before drawing a response from another professional unit at which point they engage in a fighting retreat back to their own lines where the cycle repeats.

Bowmen are interspersed within the shieldwalls, providing support and making the approach much more dangerous but archery tactics are still far from the level of sophistication seen in battles like Crecy. The shieldwalls will typically deploy just out of bowshot of each other and archers will focus their attention on the men at arms between the walls. Most of the professional soldiers will also carry a shortbow, javalin or other missile weapon that they can fire rapidly while on the move into the mass of the enemy shieldwall.

All the while, cavalry will attempt to harry the enemy flanks and charge back and forth between the lines serving as a rapid reaction force capable of running down enemy units and stiffening their own lines.

Leaders are expected to lead from the front, commanding sorties against the enemy lines which almost inevitably leads to a high mortality rate among them.

The key to victory in a battle is to cause an enemy shield wall to break, to goad them into a haphazard charge, or to otherwise disrupt their formation. When this happens the defensive benefits of the shield wall are lost and the army is typically run off the field harried the entire way by cavalry. This is why the professional soldiers will focus on hit and run tactics on the enemy line whenever possible since it is hugely damaging to their morale. The death of an important leader can also cause a wavering of the lines which a good general will be quick to exploit.

 

[Imperialus]

Imperialus, I love reading your campaign summaries. They show a historical understanding of how events work, and a bit more thought into why things the way they are than I'm used to seeing. Call me a fan.

Your bit about the horseflesh is a good call. As for terrain, I wonder what sort of terrain you have that is so unfavourable towards heavier cavalry? Hills? Heavy forests? Both? If forests are the major problem, I can see some pretty fun solutions - imagine mounted armies setting fire to the forest simply so that when they invade, they can bring their horses.

The terrain is both. Civilization in the north is fairly spread out, and defined in a large part by the foothills of the Wyrmspike mountains and large tracks of oldgrowth forests. Further to the north in the mountains themselves is a collection of dwarven city states, though contact with the dwarves has been lost due to the expansion of Gral-Shirath. Further to the south there is the Kingdom of Redderinn, which Normark is technically a part of, though it is not congruous in terms of territory. The Free City of Yiggsburg is the largest human city in the region and is based around the Yiggsburg supplement produced for C&C back before Gygax passed away.

I take it Normark is a town or city? You mention that only two smiths in Normark could make swords. Might I suggest the following variation?

There are only two smiths in Normark who are ALLOWED to make swords, because only they know the correct practice. They mark the swords with their own personal brand, and it is true that they do make the best swords.

However, many other smiths will make swords, and sell them at a lower price. These swords are either illegal forgeries (and the smiths could be fined were they caught) of legal swords, or they are designed in such a way as to be some other weapon and not legally "swords" - for example, they could have different hilts, notches in the blade, whatever. These "knock offs" are cheaper, and, of course, less reliable, but are common among the middle class folks and poor nobles (and any of those non-noble PCs who want a damned sword!).

Normark is a town and castle combination with a population of approximatly 2000 within the march itself. Yiggsburg has a population of over 10,000 in the city and surrounding countryside though almost a 3rd of that consists of refugees living in camps outside the city walls. That said, I like the idea of having 'knockoff' swords. I'll have to mull over how to include it.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Swords were always backup weapons, until much later than your world's tech, so why isn't anyone making lots of cheap iron swords? Or bronze swords? (I'd rather have a mace or war hammer IRL myself; well, against armored foes anyway; but most gamers -including game designers- insist that swords are so much better!)

 

[Imperialus]

Swords were always backup weapons, until much later than your world's tech, so why isn't anyone making lots of cheap iron swords? Or bronze swords? (I'd rather have a mace or war hammer IRL myself; well, against armored foes anyway; but most gamers -including game designers- insist that swords are so much better!)

I'm not really sure what you mean by 'backup' weapon. It is true that anyone who could afford a sword pretty much throughout the middle ages would also typically equip themselves with a spear, or axe, or javelin, or lance, or dagger but that hardly relegates the sword to the status of 'backup' weapon. A sword of the period was an amazingly versatile weapon, capable inflicting devastating injuries on an unarmored or lightly armoured enemy. Swords were even capable of dealing with mail, though the armour did offer considerable protection. The links might burst or tear under a blow but the wearer would not likely be injured.

Don't forget either that swords have throughout history and cultures had a huge cultural significance. There are exactly two different types of weapons described in Beowulf for example, spears, and swords. Spears are mentioned more often, but they're typically just described as 'being there'. Swords on the other hand get a lot more attention. Beowulf's reward for the killing of Grendal is a sword, an armoured coat, a a helmet and 8 horses. During the middle section of the poem as the different houses go to war with each other there is another mention of swords being given to valuable retainers in line 1143-44. More particularly the poem also talks about Hrunting. A 'magic' sword given to Beowulf that is described around line 1455

name Hrunting--
it was one above of ancient treasures;
its edge was iron, with poison-twigs patterned,
hardened with battle-blood; never had it in a fight failed
any man, who it in hands brandished,
he who terrifying journeys dared to enter upon,
the domain of foes; it was not the first time
that it courage-work had been obliged to perform.
Indeed he could not have recalled, the kin of Ecgelaf,
mighty in strength, that which he had said before,
drunk on wine, when he lent that the weapon
to a better swordsman, he himself did not dare under
under the waves' turmoil to risk his life,
to carry out bravery; there he forfeited glory,
fame from valour; it was not so for the other,
when he himself for war had equipped.

No other weapon, with the possible exception of atomic weapons has ever, in the history of human kind has as much special significance attached to it as the sword. You never hear of Viking Saga's spending lines and lines describing the attributes of an axe, or Japanese poetry describing the beauty of a Yari despite both weapons being more 'practical'. Indeed the sword was one of the very last melee weapons to leave service in modern armies during WWI (along with the lance) and it is still and important part of many ceremonial uniforms.

So clearly the sword was a hugely important weapon at the time. Much of this was likely due to the difficulty in the manufacture of a sword. Until around the middle of the 11th century sword construction was a massively difficult undertaking that even modern smiths have difficulty replicating using the same techniques as ancient smiths. A sword needed to be both flexible and capable of holding an edge, something that was very difficult to do with the metallurgy of the time.

Temperature had to be carefully controlled, special kinds of charcoal and coke needed to be used to imbue the base iron with just the right carbon content to create a weapon that would hold an edge well, and the sword itself was constructed out of a combination of high and low carbon steel in a combination known as pattern welding where the different types of steel would be twisted together before having a high carbon cutting edge welded on. It was a technique similar to the construction of the Japanese Katana (though the Europeans the technique it almost 400 years before its arrival in Japan) and took years of practice to get done properly. This would result in a pattern on the blade, described on Hrunting above as being of the 'poison-twigs' variety.

Swords also required a large amount of raw iron. If you've ever seen a metalworker extracting pig iron from iron ore using a traditional technique you'll understand how difficult it is. Iron itself was valuable, and a spearhead or even an axe or mace required far less of it than a sword or mail coat.

Last but not least a 'cheap iron' sword would be absolutely useless as a weapon. You would be physically incapable of sharpening it and it would literally bend if struck to hard.

 

[S'mon]

Japanese officers used swords in combat in WW2, and they were sometimes captured and re-used by US marines. They're a good terror weapon at close quarters against unarmoured foes, and slashing wounds can incapacitate faster than stab wounds.

 

[Imperialus]

Japanese officers used swords in combat in WW2, and they were sometimes captured and re-used by US marines. They're a good terror weapon at close quarters against unarmoured foes, and slashing wounds can incapacitate faster than stab wounds.

Good point. My brain is kind of in full on Eurocentric mode right now.