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Message: <blockquote data-quote="NewJeffCT" data-source="post: 2125114" data-attributes="member: 10784">Good post.  I think somethings stay with cultures out of tradition – the elven long sword and long bow, for example.  However, if the elven kingdom was suddenly threatened by a massive hobgoblin empire featuring a lot of heavily armored mounted hobgoblins with lances, I would suspect that in addition to fighting them with the long bow, the elves with adapt and learn to use the pike as well.Pikes did not suddenly come around with the Swiss in the Late Medieval Era, or from William Wallace.  They were used in ancient times by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great to great effect.  The Macedonian phalanx with pikes was one of the most feared offensive forces in those times.  However, their big weakness was in preparation time.  It literally took hours for thousands of Macedonian pikemen to get in proper formation.  When Rome was rising, they basically defeated the Macedonian pikemen this way.  If I recall, both sides were somewhat surprised, but the more adaptable Roman legionnaire was able to prepare for battle much quicker, and their smaller units were more able to work much more independently than a huge phalanx of pikemen… so, some of the Roman infantry just circled around back of the Macedonians and literally slaughtered them like sheep.  The Macedonians were so forward focused that they could not easily swing their pikes around and face the new threat from behind…to swing a pike around if you are in formation involves dropping the pike, turning around, then picking the pike up and then turning it around.  Not easy to do with Roman legionnaires hacking up your compatriots.Thus, the pike was gone from the battlefields of Europe for a good 1,500 years.  It did not make a comeback until the really heavy fully-plated knight came onto the battlefield with extra long lances.  They wielded longer lances that allowed the knights to get in the first strike against set spear-armed infantry that had normally been able to stand up to older style heavy cavalry with shorter lances.  Thus came the need for longer spears – or pikes.  And, voila, pikes are back on the battlefields of Europe.  The return of the pike the rise of gunpowder weapons around the same time basically led to the demise of the heavy knight.  In the 1,500 or so years in between, the pike was not needed on the battlefields of Europe.That being said, a good general will adapt if they want their troops and their nation to survive.  If Halflings are fighting drow armed with adamantite weapons and armor, they will have to adapt or be destroyed.  It is possible that adapting could mean moving to a safe haven as well.</blockquote>

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