D&D 5E What’s So Great About Medieval Europe?

[Garthanos]

Also, reliable birth control. But that'd be less a problem in a fantasy world with advanced alchemy.

Ancient Romans IRC circa 300 BC I think it was already had condoms made from pig bladder?

 

[Oofta]

Your not wrong saying "primarily" but the tip of the weapon is definitely used in the katana as well a throat lunge is definitely on the table. View attachment 121830

Not to get into a whole katana vs longsword debate* but the longsword was designed to do that stabbing thing while the katana could do that stabbing thing. In addition, there were different styles of katana throughout the ages.

*in general the longsword was made of higher quality materials and was a better weapon. Quality of both weapons varied widely of course.

 

[Garthanos]

I wish spears were better.

Me too...

Not to get into a whole katana vs longsword debate* but the longsword was designed to do that stabbing thing while the katana could do that stabbing thing. In addition, there were different styles of katana throughout the ages.

*in general the longsword was made of higher quality materials and was a better weapon. Quality of both weapons varied widely of course.

Oh the Quality of the Katanas from what I understand were in practice often around the same as typical of weapons from other places but it took much fancier techniques to get to that point because the materials they started from were just plain bad. Your best weapons in other places probably were better. (Some norse were apparently using imported from the mideast smithing techniques that made their rune signed weapons sought after and was sometimes faked)

 

[Bohandas]

And circling back around to dnd, I would love a dnd setting that, if it must look medieval, also doens't play to ridiculously false ideas about the middle ages. Like, for instance, the idea that everyone was dirty, used makeup and perfume to hide how long since they'd bathed, etc.

Even accepting that people bathed, it must still have been pretty dirty in general. Look at the Black Death. The people who got that were exposed not just to rats but to fleas, and it killed half of Europe. Add to this the fact that during the black death the doctors of the time literally believed that people were getting sick and dying because it smelled so bad.

 

[Fenris-77]

Even accepting that people bathed, it must still have been pretty dirty in general. Look at the Black Death. The people who got that were exposed not just to rats but to fleas, and it killed half of Europe. Add to this the fact that during the black death the doctors of the time literally believed that people were getting sick and dying because it smelled so bad.

People still get fleas in their houses now, just sayin'. It's not an unfailing index of general cleanliness. Also, not all flea bites happen in the home. I'd be willing to wager that a flea will bite you even if you're outside. I made me laugh that you talk about a 'smell' like it somehow pervades the whole medieval era. I'm not sure if that's what you meant or not.

 

[Zardnaar]

Poppycock it is absolutely the only valid analysis. And things have gotten better in a discernable pattern by just about any measure that is based on human experience.

Who gets to decide ideal... ummm yeh the inevitable overpopulation argument is nonsense too population levels out when we can employ birth control and feel comfortable livi
Ok

People still get fleas in their houses now, just sayin'. It's not an unfailing index of general cleanliness. Also, not all flea bites happen in the home. I'd be willing to wager that a flea will bite you even if you're outside. I made me laugh that you talk about a 'smell' like it somehow pervades the whole medieval era. I'm not sure if that's what you meant or not.

From what I can tell the great stink came later. They moved to cities in 18th century.

London had population of around amillion with no functioning sewage system until 1856 iirc.

Hygiene was probably better in the middle ages than 18th and 19th century. More water in rural areas.

I think the black plague killed off public bathing as well.

Hit water bath in modern sense was rare. Most settlements were near the coast or a river/lake.

I've bathed in mountain tarn middle of winter.

 

[Richards]

You want to know what's so great about medieval Europe as the basis for D&D campaigns? You don't always have to resort to hand-to-hand combat, that's what. You see...

MEDIEVAL EUROPE = AVOID PURE MELEE

(At least from an anagram standpoint.)

Johnathan

 

[Garthanos]

The loss of the Aqueducts after Rome pulled out may have reduced hygiene somewhat too... (probably not that is a joke but I am sure living in certain places became a lot less practical)

 

[Bohandas]

People still get fleas in their houses now, just sayin'. It's not an unfailing index of general cleanliness. Also, not all flea bites happen in the home. I'd be willing to wager that a flea will bite you even if you're outside. I made me laugh that you talk about a 'smell' like it somehow pervades the whole medieval era. I'm not sure if that's what you meant or not.

Honestly, I'm not even sure if I totally mean it either. But they thought it was caused by foul smelling vapors and it was everywhere, and it seems to me that for that to be plausible foul smells would have to be at least prevalent, even if not not omnipresent or even as prevalent as the plague itself

EDIT:
On a non plague-related note, people did a lot more manual labor then and the manual labor them was more manual than the manual labor now, and also there was no air conditioning, so evenryon would be more sweaty and therefore even if they bathed just as much, they would still be worse off in that department.

 

[Guest 85555]

Honestly, I'm not even sure if I totally mean it either. But they thought it was caused by foul smelling vapors and it was everywhere, and it seems to me that for that to be plausible foul smells would have to be at least prevalent, even if not not omnipresent or even as prevalent as the plague itself

EDIT:
On a non plague-related note, people did a lot more manual labor then and the manual labor them was more manual than the manual labor now, and also there was no air conditioning, so evenryon would be more sweaty and therefore even if they bathed just as much, they would still be worse off in that department.

Not to toot my own horn, but I did recently interview my old medieval professor on this very subject. Might be of interest to people: THE BLACK DEATH (AND OTHER PLAGUE OUTBREAKS)