A sheperd sling could be a great ranged weapon alternative to both bows and crossbows since It's just a piece of rope and the ammunition is easily be sourced. Once the ammunition is placed on the pouch It can be operated with just one arm so the other arm can be used to carry a shield, that's how they were used in medieval battlefields: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_N%C3%A1jera#/media/File:Battle_najera_froissart.jpg
Multi-function weapons and equipment! If you can pack as many functions into each single item you're carrying, then you can wear a smaller total number of items in general. In realistic medieval stuff, that may be limited to some extent, the laws of physics can only be stretched so far after all. But with medieval fantasy, you can bring magic into play and munchkin power-level your equipment to your hearts content...or at least to the limits of what your GM will allow! =^x^=
It´s kind of fun. In some computor games you carries around a wagons load of things, weapon and armour. I kind of wounder where the spear went when i decided to use a great sword. don´t know where the shield went.
You might be interested in the german pen and paper RPG "Das Schwarze Auge" (the black eye). I know some of it is aviable in english di don`t know how much though.
By several accounts, including by one of the priests accompanying his retinue he died going for a bathe and swim in the river so unlikely to have worn any armor at that time.
@@mangalores-x_x I'm aware there are multiple accounts for the cause for Frederick I's death, but some of the accounts list him drowning in armor. We don't really know the exact details. Regardless, don't ford rivers wearing your halberk!
Matt, the lewd fighter trainer. Lindybeige, the rambling wizard trainer. Metatron, the enraged armour merchant. Skall, the annoyed weapons merchant. Shad, the ranting enchanter.
According to ancient Chinese generals, the best weapons for the Dawi/Dwarves are halberds: ”The basic rule of warfare that should be taught is that men of short stature should carry spears and spear-tipped halberd, the tall should carry bows and crossbows, the strong should carry the flags and banners, the courageous should carry the bells and the drums, the weak should serve in logistics, while the wise should be involved in planning." -"Wuzi" by Wu Qi
What’s especially bothersome about the lack of shields and armor in the Lord of the Rings films is the fact that Tolkien explicitly says the characters use shields and wear armor, including Legolas
Tolkien also never once mentions plate armour of any kind iirc but somehow PJ decided every lowly pleb from Gondor would be outfitted in full plate armour that doesn't actually work but looks awful. Reeeeeee
@@Pentagathusosaurus i don't so much mind the plate armour but the uselessness of it was a ridiculous directorial choice. Could have easily hav e been shown as effective and demonstrating how significant the overwhelming numbers of the orcs were to the battle.
@@Pentagathusosaurus actually the soldier of minas tirith would be some of the best men in the kingdom, it was the allied states(southern fiefdoms) that brough up more yeoman like troops. Sad that they didnt include the half elves of dol amroth in the movies.
...and you weren't even wearing a backpack full of rations, camping equipment, potions, rope, iron spikes, and looted treasure. (Let's not even talk about ten-foot poles.)
Medieval and early modern soldiers did not carry much camping gear according to our sources. They would sleep rolled in their heavy woollen cloak or even greatcoat, not in tents. Though here in Greenland, things are different. I would expect the colder parts of Scandinavia and Russia to be as well, though there you have the advantage of trees, which is invaluable.
@@PalleRasmussen Yes, most recreation kits have: Cup, bowl, spoon, knife, flint, tinder (or shavings box), blade sharpener or other weapon maintenance items (Like wax, twine, oil and cloth, etc), gaming set (Usually cup and dice), religious tokens, and some rope/string. Not much more than a double wide belt pouch of items. They seemed to rely heavily on baggage trains and local foraging while on campaign, hence why attacking logistics was so damaging.
@@PalleRasmussen Yes, because they had supply trains (or personal servants) to carry it for them en masse. Small companies or individual adventurers as discussed in this topic may not have such luxuries and may need to handle all of it themselves.
One thing to note for missile weapons is that if you absolutely have to have a ranged weapon, but already have a polearm or otherwise can't effectively carry a bow or crossbow, slings and darts are good alternatives. Projectiles can be carried in small pouches, I've seen plumbata strapped to the insides of Roman shields, and a sling could be wrapped around your arm or on the belt or literally anywhere else easily accessible.
"10' pole, three flasks of oil, 10 iron spikes, a mirror, some wolfsbane, a lump of chalk, five torches, a bed roll, a weeks rations, a waterskin, a lute, my back-up two handed axe..." That was a fun and informative video; however, can I trust it? Bald Head. Black Armour. Matt is obviously a villain or at least a dodgy anti-hero.
A retired lieutenant from the warband of the black knight, now he is selling quality gear to adventurers. His past allegiances are not to be levied against this mans good name.
Can someone tell me how you even move around in a dungeon's tight confines with a 10' pole period? Or large pole arms? (Hey, my character has a full fledged Pike!). And a lot more food and water would need allowed for unless you want to be starving and dehydrated. Then again, in the real world, not many gold coins were 1/10th of a pound. And earlier AD&D had absurbd weapon weights for swords compared to what they actually weighed. If you tried to swing a 10 or 15 lb. sword in an actual fight, you'd get tired really fast. Even the biggest swords you would normally use would be in the lower single digits in pounds. And they also had misconceptions about how limited your movement would be in something like plate armour (plate over chain); It's been shown that modern humans in those sorts of heavier armours could still vault onto a horse (or off of one) and sommersault (thought not a typical combat action.... lol). Armour is built to try NOT to prevent the soldier from doing what he needs to which requires mobility. Also, after looking into it, and looking at modern jute or hemp rope and break strengths (and working strengths), it became obvious that D&D also has rope that is way too heavy (in size and weight).
@@ghandimauler I was looking for some photos of fully laden "adventurers" and ended up on a website called "Go Viking Hiking". There are some great shots of what you need to survive in a Olde Worlde environment for a few days. Also, Shadiversity did a video about adventuring gear that was eye-opening. Finally Bob Worldbuilder has been doing some videos about movement in d&d versus real life. 😍
Slings were very much carried as an individuals weapon way back in the day, perhaps more commonly than many people assume. They were even encountered in urban settings, as in the case of Benvenuto Cellini, who recounts the rapidity at which people pulled out their slings and started throwing, after noticing that one of their 'Kin' was losing in a duel. "There was a great crowd of people present, among whom were many of the adversary's kinsfolk. Seeing that the thing was going ill for their own man, they put hand to their slings, a stone from one of which hit my poor brother in the head. He fell to the ground at once in a dead faint" The Life of Benvenuto Cellini Also, regarding the subject of sound... Slings can be both quiet as hell... or loud as fuck! How loud your particular sling will be depends on multiple variables, tapered or non-tapered release cords, style and thickness of the braid/cord and the length of the tassel at the end of the release cord can all affect whether a sling will be loud or not. You can 'silence' a sling though in the case of slings with longer release cords (Which are meant to be held in the fist rather than by finger... though you can hold these by a finger) by folding over the end of the cord over itself and stitching it shut... in effect creating a tab at the end, this tends to create a silent sling.
@@ObsydianShade hitting a rabbit with a sling is no easy feat.. I’d rather carry a bow and quiver with an axe and dirk on my belt and a long sword on my horse.
Matt Easton as a weapons merchant, but instead of him trying to sell you things or try to become your friend, he just makes 20 minute tangents on any item that you ask about or even look at too long. "Oh that? That's a kriegsmesser! Now, you may have heard that it was illegal to carry swords and this was a way to bypass it. However, we must research THE CONTEXT--" "Can..can I buy it?"
Generally if you want to "carry" a longbow, you'd unstring it, put it in a carry bag, and then carry that across your back. Does mean that you don't have it to hand, but you'd be able to use it when you've made preparations to use it. Problem is you've got a big stick on your back. Now try to crawl through a cave, or climb something. Not a fun experience. If you want a ranged weapon as an adventurer, you've got one good option; a sling.
The cross pollination from all the channels is fantastic. e.g Shad going full Lindybeige, Matt going full Shad, etc etc. It makes it very easy for them all to see how to do a certain type of video if they feel the urge to, and they can just jump straight into it instead of cautiously poking around looking for a way to do it.
Without them playing sesdions are going to be bogged down in logistics, your economy be horrible since your loot carrying capacity will be to small. Your quest may brake because you lightened your load by selling that special item you need now.
@@michaelpettersson4919 it would probably fix the economy because you could hire a wagon team to haul it all back for a fraction of the price of a suit of mail.
@@Zraknul Well, yes, if the GM and in computer games, the developers thought of that. Those wagon teams probably scoured real life battlefields as well and probably "assisted" not yet dead soldiers to speed things up.
Hell yes! :) first item you spend serious money on in any good D&D or CRPG ;) "Boodle bags" are more important than anything except a healing potion also cause loot scavenging of the "murder hobos", AKA Adventurers, is essential lol
I can see it now: "Hey adventurers, I'm Matt Easton of Scologladiatoria Arms & Armor Emporium. And before you browse my wares let me talk to you for a moment about penetration..."
I remember almost dropping Kings of the Wylde on the second page because the protagonist, an experienced adventurer, stated that he hated helmets for a bunch of inane reasons.
To Slowhand credit he had a big shield to protect him still. But I agree some form of head protection is important. Slowhand got hurt pretty bad in his face for not wearing a helmet
There are multiple loads a modern warrior carries: Fighting load - Only what is worn = 37 pounds Fighting light - Worn plus the assault pack = 59 pounds Approach march - Worn plus the rucksack = 73 pounds Everything - Worn plus the rucksack and assault pack = 95 pounds These of course are averages. A much larger or much smaller warrior will carry more and less as well as what the mission is.
It's not really comparable, and weight is far from being the main issue. There are two main issues: 1. Space - the kind of equipment the modern soldiers use, and the way it's stored and distributed over the body, is quite different from what a medieval-like soldier might have to carry. 2. Combat fatigue - the kind of combat modern soldiers do tends to be far, far les tiring than someone fighting in melee, or even shooting with bows. Note that I'm talking exclusively about the fighting part - in the case of modern soldiers, this means shooting firearms, in the case of a medieval warrior, this means swinging a halberd or shooting with a bow. Obviously the weight of modern weapons + ammunition will be much more than that of medieval weapons, and that's a factor in moving around. So, just because modern soldiers can march hours on end, and then fight, with a certain load, don't assume that a medieval warrior might be able to do the same with an equally heavy load that would be appropriate to their world.
One thing I would also consider is the ability to cross rough terrain like rivers, bogs and step inclines. Some tools like ropes and a hatchet are definitely extremely useful in that situation.
@LurchTheBastard - Modern tactical vest pockets and pouches that were originally intended for ammo magazines work great for snacks, shades, lip balm, or sunscreen for land search and rescue technicians. Keep what you need often or quickly within easy reach. Dump the rest in your rucksack. Search managers: "Now add a large caliber handgun and at least 2 full magazines of spare ammo to your kit, because this search area is known to feature lions and tigers and bears." SAR Techs: "Oh, my!"
In tabletop games I'll often have my melee character have a sling tucked into a pocket. You only need one hand to use one of those, and you usually don't need to worry about ammo very much. A small handful of river rocks can keep you shooting for a while if you don't want to carry lead shot in the same pocket you have the sling.
What if I have a horse? And one of those bow "sheaths" for my reflex bow what eastern light cavalry used? What I don't know is where to put the lance if I switch to the bow :D
I'm pretty sure I remember something about spear caps to be placed on top of Japanese yumi bows. Bow becomes spear at need. (Also seems a good way to wreck your bow).
In terms of the basic, "bare minimum" set up Matt showed (brigandine, sword and dagger), one adjustment I'd make is to either strap the dagger onto a belt around the thigh or tucked in a boot, or have a second, separate dagger altogether stored in either of those places. The reason I say this is because of the obvious flaw - namely, how the sword belt has to be worn over the brigandine / armour. And as Matt pointed out, people are likely to be taking their armour off and on numerous times through the day. Which means they would also likely be needing to take their sword belt off and on that many times as well. It would awfully inconvenient to double that frequency (and thus, time) by having to take off the belt, take off the armour, then put the belt on again and vice versa every time adventurer needed to wear or take off their armour.
It is. However, their "pockets" and other items would be all tied/looped around their belt as well. Even if you take the armor off, you will likely want to put the belt back on, anyways. That said, you would definitely want to select belt and other carry specifications to accommodate that (for example, integrated sword belts suck if you ever want to take the sword off, still want a belt, and do not have a spare/casual wear at-hand).
A sling is not easy to use. It's even worse than bow, in term of training. You don't give them to someone that is not already quite proficient in it. If he is, he would be already a hunter or someone specialised in it.
@@pieines7299 You can learn to use a sling in hours, hit a man sized target at 50ft in a few days. But hitting an eye, or a songbird yes, would take years to master. But we are also talking about a professional adventurer alone or in a small group in the wilds for months at a time, plenty of time to learn and practise.
I think having a cutting oriented sword , an anti armour weapon and a dagger would be the optimum set up. It wouldn't encumber you and you have everything you need. If you prefer a one handed sword , you can also go with a shield for extra protection as well.
Blunt Poleaxe. Counts as a walking staff. If encumbrance is a problem you put it down and draw your sword. Alternatively one of them spikey long clubs or a mace-headed polearm.
A short Machete (or cutlass) would probably be a nice middle ground weapon. A big F-off chopping weapon like an axe, a sturdy camp tool, but small and nimble enough to fight with as a slashing weapon. Dagger is great for grappling/sidearm. You still have the concern of range, a sling is a nice tool for that. Small, light, deadly in the right circumstances, and you can throw rocks for hunting small game to save your lead shot.
Add Skall in a green brig and you're only missing a yellow one (more likely golden) for the full Power Brig Rangers force. Perhaps Ian Laspina aka Knyght Errant?
imho buckler is for single hand weapon (short sword or dagger) set that needs more mobility. It is short range dueling weapon. Archers do not fight at close range if they don't have to and they need bigger shield to hide from other archers.
So was I. I'd always thought sword and buckler with a bow was fairly common. However, after a quick look at historical artwork I couldn't find any examples. Saw many examples of archers with swords, but none with bucklers.
I think a archer's loadout has two options: with a long sword, maybe even a war sword as Shad puts it, or with a one handed sidearm, most likely an arming sword, and a buckler. I think Matt didn't mention it cuz that's sort've getting into specifics, though I do wonder if swashbuckling gets in the way of using a longbow somehow. I definitely think Matt believes that the long sword's longer hilt, when the sword is in scabbard, gets in the way of using a shield. There are things that would be obvious to people who wore this kind of stuff often that we, who don't, are completely oblivious to.
@@tokul76 sword and buckler can be worn together on the belt while you use other weapons, they are basically a sidearm set, and archers most definitely have to be worried about having a sidearm in the chance they have to defend themselves in melee. Also, while there are definitely examples of short swords, if we are talking specifically about medieval European weapons, you kind've don't even use the term short sword. That is more or less a thing made up in D&D, and the usage became standard in popular media. The Romans for instance began to abandon the gladius for the spatha. This happened before the migration period, otherwise known as the Viking era. Since that point, pretty much everyone in Europe used full sized swords as sidearms cuz why wouldn't you.
Stephen A in the Rome Total War mod Europa Barbarorum, many archer units had small shields strapped to their arms. It's a good historically accurate mod so I'd expect the use of shields by archers to be common in the ancient world.
As a DM for decades, the one weapon I encouraged players to take, was a handaxe...because it was cheap and very, very *useful* Fighting, dinner, camp duties etc :) also good to see nowadays folk like yourself and Shad showing the spear is usually, the #1 weapon, not the sword for most folk and, brigandine is most likely of all armours
Throughout my world building as a DM, I took a look at historical weapons and armor and how long it took for them to be put on or taken off, and how comfortable it would be to wear them for extended periods of time. But then I realized that in a typical D&D world, there is FAR more danger that there was in the real medieval era. People would either need to wear armor all the time, OR be able to put it on and off extremely quickly. So I figured that "quick donning" armor technology would be a huge focus. Probably more of a focus than sheer protection ability. So would more comfort. Especially in warm or hot climates. There would have to be padding but it would have to be vented or breathable, or cooling in some way. In the real world in 1450 you didn't care much if your gambison was hot and uncomfortable, because you were probably only wearing it for a few hours at a time. But if you knew you had a 50% chance of getting attacked randomly every day as you traveled from one town to another, you are going to want to be in your armor for 10+ hours. You need to be able to do that without dying from heat stroke or becoming exhausted. So usually the armor in my campaigns aren't the same as historical medieval armor. They have similar properties, but the designs are usually different. For example, full harness that opens like a clamshell and has "quick latch" metal latches instead of leather straps and buckles that secure it. And depending on how prevalent magic is in the particular campaign, armor that is imbued with magic to make it more comfortable or easier to put on, would be available for more and sometimes less money. You can imagine that if magic is plentiful, it would be cheaper to just use magic rather than spend the time and effort coming up with and fabricating a complex and reliable metal latch.
6:00 Except when you are Goblin Slayer, then you never take off your armor or even helmet. Clearly, he knows what´s up and is always prepared for an ambush. :)
Slings! They're easy to use, light, easily carried and ammunition lies around everywhere. It bothers me that inspite of how practical they are, I'm the only one who always has one, even when I'm not playing a ranged character.
In Baldur's Gate, I gave everyone a ranged weapon like a bow or a sling if they didn't have the ability. It's good to get a couple of shots in before the enemy closes.
Having been a career soldier and loaded like a pack mule much of the time, I often get my players to load themselves up with the stuff they want to carry. Even experienced backpackers are hard pressed to carry what they need for a two week trek and they are unarmed and unarmored. My adventurers always spend their hard earned treasure on pack animals and "waste" time learning to wrangle them properly. You cannot carry enough to be gone long by yourself. Loved the vid. Great idea.
As an experienced D&D 3.5 player, I absolutely love Heward's Handy Haversack. The bag and all it's contents together magically only ever weigh 5 pounds, even when fully loaded with 120 pounds of gear. It's bigger on the inside, 12 cubic feat of storage in spite of only being the size of an average school backpack. And it costs a mere 2,000 gold pieces. It's consistently my first magic item purchase, even ahead of the little marvel that is Ring of Sustenance.
I wonder if an atlatl and throwing spears/darts would be a good option for adventuring? Consider: The atlatl itself is definitely capable of being used for melee combat as a club or a mace, or even a hook depending on how yours is shaped. Atlatls are intended to be used with one hand, meaning that in an emergency you could use it as a bludgeon with a shield in the other hand, but they are typically long enough that you could also wield them with both hands for added power in a melee. Consider further: Throwing spears and long darts can also be used in melee, even if it isn't their intended purpose. Throwing spears and long darts are intended to be expendable, which means they are reasonably inexpensive and simple in design; furthermore, since they are primarily intended as projectiles, they are light enough that you should be able to carry a few around with you at any time. Finally: When used for their intended purpose, the projectiles are devastating. A throwing spear has a fair amount of heft, and they can be launched with an atlatl to a surprising distance, with a high degree of accuracy and power in the hands of a trained wielder.
I believe atlatls and javelins can have larger heads than most arrows. So it would produce a more deadly wound against large animals and beasts, killing it faster than you could with a bow, but you'd be sacrificing the speed and range of the projectile. Maybe a fair tradeoff if you're hunting monsters, though.
@@InSanic13 Well in many games adventuring characters are well off they are not peasants and also above average Rune Quest is a bit more realistic than DnD
@@mauricewalshe8234 I generally see adventurers as mid-status (or at least starting out that way; obviously, it's possible for them to make it big), and mid-status soldiers in medieval Europe never seemed to really use composite bows or composite--lathed crossbows.
It's really fun looking at this from different cultures! From what we know about Joseon dynasty Korea (about medieval period through late 18th century ish) the average Korean soldier was outfitted with a 1 handed sword, a small yet high powered recurve bow and case of arrows on the belt OR a polearm, and a relatively small and light shield made probably of rattan or something similar! So that bow/shield combo is the compromises for both!
My favorite"load out" I've used at the archery range was my turkish bow (thumb draw) strapped shield in my bow hand with the bow, and a sword at my side. Could shoot almost as fast, and just as accurate as without the shield. Working on making a jazerant to go with that kit as well. Slow process though. Stupid real job having overtime eating up my crafting schedule.
Ever since I've heard of it I like the idea of the medieval 'lance', or group of 4 horsemen who work together. It seems like a more realistic version of the 'party' you find in RPGs. Everyone can ride a horse, everyone's got some amount of armor and some type of melee weapon, at least two people have crossbows. If I wanted to make an RPG I'd probably want to make character creation more like that: pick the general 'role' your party is filling (light cavalry, heavy cavalry, horse archers, foot archers, foot infantry, bodyguards, etc), then everyone gets a basic 'loadout' based on that role, and can customize it a bit to help diversify the party's capabilities.
A lance was less a group of cavalry, as the basic unit around a single man-at-arms. One man-at-arms/knight, one squire, an archer or two, a page/valet/servant, a handful of horses, and a cart/pack animals to schlep their stuff.
@@patrickdusablon2789 I think either of these would be an amazing adventuring party. I love the idea of a "fire team" with a well-defined relationship and goal, but NO ONE I've played with wants to coordinate character creation to that degree. It seems every TTRPG player wants that extra-special unique build that struggles to find a reason to cooperate with a Party; the Edgy Rogue, the Self-Righteous Paladin, the Bad Attitude Fighter, the Gender Unclear Sorcerer, the Autistic Bard-barian, etc. I get enough inter-personal drama in real life, my fantasy is to have a team that works well together and gets along without trying to stab each other in the back or deal with deep personal issues.
@@AM-hf9kk depending on the outfit you're dealing with, you could be dealing with a band of misfits wrapped around a man-at-arms rather than a well-disciplined band of professional soldiers. To make it work in a TTRPG, there might be a need to re-jig things, and put things in context. Maybe the man-at-arms of the lance is the fighter/paladin, but the lance is really a vehicle for getting a mage/sorcerer to the front. Your rogue/rangers are the lance's archers, with a fighter, paladin or cleric as the squire? Just spitballing here.
Matt, what about things like the frankish francisca or russian Djerid throwing javelins carried in three on back quivers. Seem like these would be a good missile weapon without encumbering like a bow would. No one seems to bring these up much in fantasy for whatever reason.
My general rule is: -one 2 handed weapon that's relatively easy to carry, or hang off a mount. -one one handed weapon that can hang off a belt, like a mall sword, mace, or hand axe. -one or two light weapons like a large dagger or a couple of throwing knives. -One other smallish thing, like a buckler, lantern, or hip pouch. If you want a large shield, you trade away the big two handed weapon, or your medium weapon.
@@michaelpettersson4919 You would need an bow or some other ranged weapon if you are adventuring without a horse, otherwise you would literally just get kited by anyone with an ranged weapon if they just run faster than you lol.
One interesting thing I recall reading in a novel- although I can't remember what novel it was for the life of me, was a bunch of guys at night at camp eating, but with their swords close at hand and hear some noise- sounds of battle or an injured sentry perhaps. They stopped and thought for a moment, because they were eating some kind of roasted greasy meat with their hands, to wipe their hands hurriedly on their doublets or gambesons so they would have a surer grip on their sword hilts and wouldn't have their swords slip out of their hands because of the thick slippery grease coating their fingers. I wish I could recall the novel but I can't really. I want to say either one of the Terry Goodkind sword of truth novels or Tad Williams memory, sorrow and thorn, but I can't be sure one way or the other. I just thought it was an interesting tactical dilemma in an imminent combat scenario in a fantasy novel.
I would say my Fighter-Artificer is good. Crossbow, Longsword, and Shield with Half-Plate. He also carries vials of oil and acid on his belt. If he's lucky, he'll get a shot off as he marches into melee combat with his mechanical war-dog to prevent anyone reaching the squishies.
Something I enjoyed about the depiction of Boromir in the LotR movies (especially when you take his deleted scenes, wearing full plate, into account) is that he looked like he was dressed and equipped for an "adventure" - even going so far to carrying what may have been a travel shield rather than the style of shield used by the fully armoured soldiers in Gondor.
I'd recommend to adjust based on the different climate/setting. Historically most soldiers in Mali for example didn't wear any armor, and only the most elite "knights" got stuff like chainmail.
Hehe, happens that I’m writing a short story for my creative writing class. Main character is wearing leather armour while using an arming sword and a dagger (character lost the helm). Already had my instructor ask me “How do you know so much about this?” Channels like yours have given me informative choices when writing or drawing. So thanks! Hehe
@@visualartsbyjr2464 Actually, better than using tanned leather would be boiled rawhide or half-tanned leather(meaning just the surface is tanned, but not the core). The tanning process softens the material, so if you want maximum toughness/hardness for protection, you are better off using leather pieces that haven't been tanned, which is known as rawhide. Half tanned leather might be used instead of pure boiled rawhide because it takes a protective coating better. It's hard to get oils and paints to stick to rawhide's surface.
@@NMahon That's actually what the word Cuirass meant originally. The original item was of boiled or hardened leather (there are multiple versions of the process, involving some kind of glue or oil) that later was made in steel. There are just relatively few survivals in museums and such (because the material is biodegradable). If you look into it, a few have been found in waterlogged situations. books.google.com/books/about/Leather_in_Warfare.html?id=XyLBAQAACAAJ
I always found it strange that my character in Skyrim used to roam the towns, wearing heavy robes and a frightening mask that hides his entire face, and he would go around talking to and trying to adopt small children. And none of the townsfolk seemed to care lol.
My party in Fallout Tactics be like: heavy weapons guy with the Ma Deuce, everyone else carrying a couple hundred rounds of .50cal and some laser rifles.
The whole "you might/prbably/will take your armour off thing was generally fairly well handled in the first edition of pathfinder, the armour penalty on some Skill checks liek swimming, climbing and acrobatics definitely made me remove armour before. There's also a penalty for sleeping with meadium and heavy armour that makes your character fatigued, which is a terrible condition.
When designing my RPG system, an effective encumbrance system was a must to get right. The key is to make sure the system is simple enough for players and GMs to not feel like it's too much of a hassle to track, or else they'll just ignore it. FWIW, watching lots of scholagladiatoria videos greatly informed the weapon system, including considerations of wearability for weapons (swords for example are not at all stand-out weapons from a pure combat effectiveness perspective, but have traits related to their ease of wearing that encourage their use).
@@nevisysbryd7450 Instead of tracking discrete weight totals (lbs, kg, etc) heavy and/or cumbersome items are assigned a load value, which is roughly equal to the item's weight in stone for compact dead-weight, or more for awkward items like polearms, ladders, or several glass vials. You can't carry more load of gear than your strength score (the system is based on old-school D&D so strength ranges from 3 to 18, with 9 to 12 being average.) In addition to load value one is limited by storage space, which is limited to whatever you can carry (a 2-handed weapon or a 1-handed polearm and shield for example), up to 3 holstered items (swords, maces, hand axes, or other side arms) one of which must be a dagger or smaller, what you can wear (clothes, armor, rings, etc), up to 4 very small items in your pockets, a coin purse, and up to 8 different items of cargo (or stacks of the same item) in one's backpack. Many items have no load value, but are still limited you this storage space, or if enough copies of the item are carried it will begin to have a load value. If you need more cargo space you can get sacks which add cargo space at the expense of adding to load carried (small sacks add one cargo slot and are worth 1 load and large sacks add 4 slots and are 3 load). It seems complex when I write it out like that, but when you design a character sheet around it to only include inventory space in accordance with storage space it ends up being pretty workable in play.
@@Hushashabega Ah. Yeah, dense information such as that can be conveyed much more easily via a GUI (which is what the character sheet would be). Thanks!
If you want a 'realistic' encumbrance system you could base it on current military thinking. Soldiers today basically have four 'levels' of gear, the first is what is worn, the second is what is carried into combat, the third is the 'patrol kit' or 'day bag' that is usually taken for extended patrols and is dropped before fighting, and the forth is the 'marching kit', which contains stuff like spare clothes, tents/shelter, etc. and is worn as little as possible, and preferably carried by vehicle (or if you are talking medieval, horse) The beauty of this system is all 4 levels are roughly the same - about 15kg per level for Western armies. So Level 1 is 15kg of armour/protective gear, 2 is 15kg of weapons and ammo, 3 is 15kg patrol kit (extra ammo, thermal clothes, 1 days rations and water, spade, etc) and 4 is 15kg marching kit which is the extra rations, cooking equipment, shelter etc. So just for a hash up of a basic system for medieval game, lets forget about the marching kit and assume this is carried by horse (it usually was back then). Since 15kg is the base amount, for an RPG lets say 10+strength kg per level assuming a game with strength values from 1 to 10 - if the values are higher just adjust in proportion, so strength score from 1 to 100 would be divided by ten. That means a weakling character can carry 10kg of armour, 10kg of weapons, and 10kg in his pack (plus whatever is on his horse) - the pack is NOT accessible in any form of combat, it can be used to replenish arrows/bolts/magic herbs/broken weapons AFTER the fight, but not during it. A max strength guy can carry 20kg of armour, 20kg of weapons, and 20kg in the pack. The beauty of a system like this is it stops players cheesing encumbrance systems by having a ridiculously strong character with plenty of encumbrance points to spare carry ALL the party's essential/noncombat gear and ALL the gold and loot, meaning your weakling 1 strength character has enough carry capacity to wield huge polearms and wear full plate....
3 ปีที่แล้ว +23
There are less cumbersome ranged weapons, like for example the sling.
Really fun video Matt! I'd love to see the actual additional "living and travelling" kit that you'd possibly need to. You mentioned an eating knife for example. Would you carry a bed roll? A pouch or pack with food and water? Would you just drink from the well and accept dysentery etc. How'd you carry that with the fighting equpiment?
He sort of covered that in a much older video on carrying and encumbrance. Whereas this one focused on armament, the other talked about portable shelter, cooking supplies, and how all of that depends on the specific of the adventure in question.
@@ThatsLeoYKnow Yeah, the combination is not something that has been covered very well on youtube, since you need to balance all of those together. Here is Matt's earlier video. th-cam.com/video/llPAuGy6XvQ/w-d-xo.html
I contend that the most important piece of equipment for anyone who plans to travel on foot for an extended period of time is a walking stick, which of course can be made as a piece of dual purpose gear in the form of a quarterstaff. Also, in the question of missile weapons, a sling is dramatically underrated as, it beats out all other missile weapons as it concerns size and weight constraints (and cost) and is quite effective against most monsters that an adventurer is likely to face as they arent typically covered in stiff plates of armor.
@@taylor_green_9 as it turns out there is a reason: the ideal walking stick is one with an iron gripping spike on one end (this spike would not be long enough to make an effective spear point) and either nothing, or a leather pad on the other for surfaces the spike is not good for.
It was interesting to see the shield sling. In D&D 5e, it takes 1 action (6 seconds) to equip/unequip a shield in your hand, so I'm surprised that there actually is a means to do this and that seems like a reasonable amount of time to do it.
Matt, countrary to Shadeversity's opinion I do believe Orcs would employ Chariot Cavalry. - Individual horse does not have to suffer under a heavier than human Orc. - Orcs as realistic Barbarians would love skirmish warfare - something chariots excelled at during bronze age. - Orcs should be able to draw much stronger bows or throw javelins further than humans due to higher strength and longer arms. Good for a skirmish chariot warfare. - Chariots require a good deal of money and resources - perfect for a chieftain or high ranking clan warriors, playing into the Celtic/Germanic tribe-clan structure of society. - Chariots require raw craftsmanship that Orcs are notorious for in several fantasy settings.
i really like the idea of Short sword and dagger being the players primary weapons and the larger 2-handed weapons being a disposable secondary weapon. gives more tactical approach of what to bring into combat or in game talk the start of a mission. very cool.
So I'm a (foam boffer) LARPer and so I literally see the practical ramifications of this every summer. Generally you see exactly this. Archers don't also carry polearms, but often carry a small sword as a back up. Occasionally they will have a small shield strapped to their forearm as will some who fight with two-handed weapons or paired swords. Polearmists often wear a shield on their back for it's passive benefits. The only people who really carry a shield in their hands are dedicated "sword and board" fighters. Being as our weapons are made of foam and much lighter than real weapons you see some "cheesy" strategies, but as far as the physical size of our weapons this all holds true. As for Armor, helmets of leather or steel are common, especially with face masks to ward off arrows. (Foam headed arrows are still unpleasant to the face, I assure you.) The most common is heavy leather over cloth, and chainmail, as well as heavy leather versions of scale armor. (My game requires saddle-grade leather or steel for armor.) Plate is rare as it is tiring to wear especially on hot days. (also expensive) It's not rare to see "plate" made of heavy leather sections instead. So yeah in a Live Action situation encumbrance is a real concern. Even a basic back-up weapon can get in the way.
Matt’s suggested adventure kit is pretty comparable to a 14th century hobelar. That makes good sense because light cavalry and infantry skirmishers had the military role closest to being a fantasy adventurer. They often had to engage in extended marches or patrols while being ready to engage in small unit actions against the enemy at a moment’s notice.
A lot of monsters you'd find in dungeons would probably be around the size of a large dog or so. It might make sense to focus particularly on leg armor maybe?
Speaking of creature size: monsters that do create their own environment would have their tunnels made in a size that is convenient for them. Why does it seem that tiny creatures dig tunnels so convenient for large invaders?
@@randomnobodovsky3692 Late post, but I'll make a stretch of a guess: either the DM forgot that detail OR those tunnels used to be a lair for _something as big._
I find myself associating full plate with the powered armor in _Fallout,_ except instead of requiring a constant supply of miniature nuclear reactors to keep it running, you need to have a massive Fortitude stat in order to tank the constant Stamina Drain. The point is that there’s a timer that starts counting down the minute you start using either of them, you can’t just put them on stop thinking about them.
You could wear a crossbow slung across your back, also you can have a sling hanging from your belt. That's usually my fighter type backup ranged weapon: sling.
I was hoping for reference to the backpacks that everyone seems to have that also don't exist even in the concept art. In fact everyone pretends they don't exist at all until the character suddenly needs something from it, then of course they were wearing the whole time.
Bag of holding works a treat let one character have one problem solved but limit the stuff they can pull from it or they'll try and pull out a live horse had the horse suffocate in the bag taught a lesson that day
I think he hit the nail on the head here. It makes me think of the different kinds of Roman armour. Gives good protection, but you can march and fight in it without too much trouble.
Have a read at “The King’s Cavalier” by Samuel Shellabarger. There is a passage in it when a traveling party is ambushed on the road. But since they not complete morons and have someone scouting ahead, they have time to retreat and do exactly that, unpack the armor they are not wearing while on traveling horses (palfreys, I think they call them), have the servants help them put on their armor (and also arm themselves) and mount the heavy coursers they are, again, smart enough not to wear down by mounting them while traveling. I always liked that passage. The book is good too.
@@PalleRasmussen Love me some Rolemaster but its not that realistic and no one much plays it anymore alas. The most realistic combat was probably in The Riddle of Steel by Jake Norwood who was an early member of the HEMA community and an all around great guy . The main supplement for it was called The Flower of Battle after the fight book of the same name. Getting teh game can be tricky but its sucessor is Blade of the Iron Throne which is solid too. That said you can't go wrong with GURPS which is a terrific RPG.
@@simonacerton3478 I play it, as I find the character creation and development the most detailed of all I have tried, and because I find the combat the most realistic. While I do find the one-attack-lands-in-ten-seconds unrealistic it can be explained away. Meanwhile broadswords have less effect on heavy armour than a war hammer, and combat is F*ing risky as it should be, with Criticals being really dangerous and death never being far away. Both GURPS, 5e and AD&A 2e, and Shadowrun 2e are far less risky. Even MERP is. I have tried none other than those and three homebrews.
@@PalleRasmussen MERP was just first system. Damn its good to see someone else know it lol. Did you play the original Book of Fjvs Rings system back in the day with the d10 base? My group and I lived that combat and progression system
Matt, thank you SO MUCH for this video; I didn't want to request it because this isn't really a gaming channel, but I figured you'd get to it sooner or later. For decades, I've usually been the only person at the table who gives any thought to how characters manage all their personal combat gear. Yes, rule of cool is important, but so is verisimilitude. My armored characters are also typically the only ones who don't go into town dressed for a fight, and this has bitten me in the butt more than once.
This is something that often bothers me in book, games, and movies. For example video games and D&D has your character walking around in full armor with a dozen weapons and movies neglect helmets and only have the characters using swords all the time. I think this is much more realistic, and would like to see this thought process implemented more...maybe if I'm ever a published author 😅
Lord of the Rings (in the books) is one of the few examples that accurately displays concerns of weight and the balance of speed vs protection. The characters set out lightly equipped- Aragorn with his Sword, Boromir carried a sword, a shield and his horn, Legolas had a bow and arrows and also a long knife, Gimli had a two handed Axe and whore alone a mail shirt since dwarves make light of burdens, the hobbits had their barrow blades (Frodo had Sting and his Mithril coat which was hidden) Gandalf had his staff and Glamdring. (and they still needed a baggage pony to carry provisions) When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli arrived at Edoras they were all given Mail shirts and helmets (except Gimli who had a mail coat already) in addition to shields. Lord of the Rings is the prototype for all "party systems" so common to D&D and modern RPGs have gotten away from the core idea- each character is specialized for specific roles (expect hobbits they are just dead weight) One thing in Fantasy type stories is that characters can be equipped at different points in the story with different weapons, the most important thing is that they have the skill to use the tools they can get access to. Also having squires would be a good idea if you ever want someone who is a full time warrior to have. Gates of Fire did a good job of showing how the relationship between a battle squire and a warrior- plus that lets the squire carry ranged weapons to support the melee warrior.
Movies tend to disregard the helmets due to the medium. It's the same reason super-heroes are constantly removing their masks. They want to show the actors' facial expressions. And, for fantasy settings, also to make them stand out more, be easier to identify. What bothers me more is when they give the characters long hair or, in the cases where they do have a helmet, things jutting out... That's, like, no, you don't want things that your opponent can grab and pull on, or something that deflects a weapon into you, rather than away from you.
I'd recommend The Red Knight by Miles Cameron. Follows a mercenary company in a fantasy setting complete with squires, valets and camp followers of various kinds.
On a related question: Is hiding mail under an over garment, like fiction often shows, plausible? Also: You missed a chance to pose with the helmet and everything else on at the end of the video.
Gaius Marius want a word with you. Roman soldiers carried two pila, a large scutum, dolabra, gladius and pugio, and a ton of other stuff in their sarcina. All of it carried by a "bindlestick" named furca. But an "adventurer" can't carry a bow and a pole weapon at the same time? Bows were unstrung and put in a narrow bag. The bag was carried across the back by a strap attached to the bag, one low and one high. We know they did this. And we know English archers often had a pole weapon in addition to their bow. If it's fantasy setting you can invent the rucksack with a frame if you want to.
Oddly enough, I did a fairly "typical for a RPG" load-out for a fighter in a friend's D&D game (armor, longsword, dagger, spear, longbow, and a shield). After playing for a while, I discovered that the idea of carrying all of that was pointless since you can only fight with one of them at any given time, and I ditched the spear and bow to simply focus on sword and shield fighting.
In my Combat LARP, you generally pick one of those 3 options because they are most effective. You usually have a battle line consisting of shield men with (30" to 38") swords and/or axes/maces, mixed with polearms, and archers in the third rank looking for openings. The other common weapons are (4-5ft) two-handed swords and paired one handed weapons, generally those fighters are looking to turn the flank and get behind the battle line. Of course, lacking cavalry, our combat probably defaults to something resembling "Viking Era" raiding battles.
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A sheperd sling could be a great ranged weapon alternative to both bows and crossbows since It's just a piece of rope and the ammunition is easily be sourced. Once the ammunition is placed on the pouch It can be operated with just one arm so the other arm can be used to carry a shield, that's how they were used in medieval battlefields: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_N%C3%A1jera#/media/File:Battle_najera_froissart.jpg
Multi-function weapons and equipment! If you can pack as many functions into each single item you're carrying, then you can wear a smaller total number of items in general. In realistic medieval stuff, that may be limited to some extent, the laws of physics can only be stretched so far after all. But with medieval fantasy, you can bring magic into play and munchkin power-level your equipment to your hearts content...or at least to the limits of what your GM will allow! =^x^=
It´s kind of fun. In some computor games you carries around a wagons load of things, weapon and armour. I kind of wounder where the spear went when i decided to use a great sword. don´t know where the shield went.
Noooooo don't waste the legendary tome!
You might be interested in the german pen and paper RPG "Das Schwarze Auge" (the black eye).
I know some of it is aviable in english di don`t know how much though.
"Imagine that we are in a medieval arms and armor merchants store"
Matt, that's what you do, like literally.
I think he's more of a 18th-19th century antique sword dealer, not so much a medieval one.
He's Solas from Dragon Age inquisition, hiding in London as an antique arms and armor merchant from the other elven gods
Except when he is trying to sell us raid shadow legends
"imagine we are in a medieval arms and armor merchants store"
so pretty much nothing changes
I mean, that is his dayjob.
I'd leave out the word "imagine"
Ye Olde Weapon Shoppe
I just picture a grey scale tint over the video
Matt: You'd probably want to take your armor off while crossing a river
Frederick I Barbarossa: ain't nobody got time for that
By several accounts, including by one of the priests accompanying his retinue he died going for a bathe and swim in the river so unlikely to have worn any armor at that time.
@@mangalores-x_x I'm aware there are multiple accounts for the cause for Frederick I's death, but some of the accounts list him drowning in armor. We don't really know the exact details. Regardless, don't ford rivers wearing your halberk!
Yeah, but Barbarrosa was almost 70 and wasn´t enjoying all this adventuring back than, I would guess.
Was a looking for this comment 😄
Imagine what might have happened if he had simply survived that damn river crossing.
I love the thumbnail and the whole video. Also you would be a perfect "weapons merchant" NPC, someone should totally make that.
Skyrim modders should take notes.
hello there
Well that is very expected person to come by
A little tape on the tips of the ears would turn you into an instant half-elf man-at-arms.
I agree, but the "ye olde medieval fantasy arms and armor and equipment merchant store" is quite a mouthful...
Matt, the lewd fighter trainer.
Lindybeige, the rambling wizard trainer.
Metatron, the enraged armour merchant.
Skall, the annoyed weapons merchant.
Shad, the ranting enchanter.
Beautifully put
YO!!
Official head cannonry
Tod from Tod's Workshop is the armorer in this world, yes?
@@unexpectedparolemadwerewol6565 The artificer, actually, I would say.
@@unexpectedparolemadwerewol6565 Oh ye, He sells crossbows and shanks of all kinds, a perfect contact for the rogues.
According to ancient Chinese generals, the best weapons for the Dawi/Dwarves are halberds: ”The basic rule of warfare that should be taught is that men of short stature should carry spears and spear-tipped halberd, the tall should carry bows and crossbows, the strong should carry the flags and banners, the courageous should carry the bells and the drums, the weak should serve in logistics, while the wise should be involved in planning." -"Wuzi" by Wu Qi
Orks would be excellent archers. Tall, long arms and exceptionally strong.
Beautiful
@@macharim you're making me imagine some d&d long-armed bugbears using japanese bows
@@macharim I'm stealing this for my DND world lmao
@@caelb9764 just look at Lurtz from LOTR for inspiration!
What’s especially bothersome about the lack of shields and armor in the Lord of the Rings films is the fact that Tolkien explicitly says the characters use shields and wear armor, including Legolas
Legolas had a bow, quiver and long white knife at the start, but they ALL used armor and appropriate equipment during the main battles.
Tolkien also never once mentions plate armour of any kind iirc but somehow PJ decided every lowly pleb from Gondor would be outfitted in full plate armour that doesn't actually work but looks awful.
Reeeeeee
@@Pentagathusosaurus i don't so much mind the plate armour but the uselessness of it was a ridiculous directorial choice. Could have easily hav e been shown as effective and demonstrating how significant the overwhelming numbers of the orcs were to the battle.
@@Pentagathusosaurus actually the soldier of minas tirith would be some of the best men in the kingdom, it was the allied states(southern fiefdoms) that brough up more yeoman like troops. Sad that they didnt include the half elves of dol amroth in the movies.
@@cognitivedisability9864 not half elves- men with some elven ancestors
...and you weren't even wearing a backpack full of rations, camping equipment, potions, rope, iron spikes, and looted treasure.
(Let's not even talk about ten-foot poles.)
Medieval and early modern soldiers did not carry much camping gear according to our sources. They would sleep rolled in their heavy woollen cloak or even greatcoat, not in tents.
Though here in Greenland, things are different. I would expect the colder parts of Scandinavia and Russia to be as well, though there you have the advantage of trees, which is invaluable.
@@PalleRasmussen Yes, most recreation kits have: Cup, bowl, spoon, knife, flint, tinder (or shavings box), blade sharpener or other weapon maintenance items (Like wax, twine, oil and cloth, etc), gaming set (Usually cup and dice), religious tokens, and some rope/string. Not much more than a double wide belt pouch of items. They seemed to rely heavily on baggage trains and local foraging while on campaign, hence why attacking logistics was so damaging.
@@PalleRasmussen Yes, because they had supply trains (or personal servants) to carry it for them en masse. Small companies or individual adventurers as discussed in this topic may not have such luxuries and may need to handle all of it themselves.
@@littlekong7685 No awl/pricker to accompany the knife or for general hole-punching?
@@nevisysbryd7450 Not historically. The company armourer/quartermaster would probably have them.
Matt, "Imagine that we are in the medieval fantasy arms and armor merchants store"
Skallagrim wants to know your location
One thing to note for missile weapons is that if you absolutely have to have a ranged weapon, but already have a polearm or otherwise can't effectively carry a bow or crossbow, slings and darts are good alternatives. Projectiles can be carried in small pouches, I've seen plumbata strapped to the insides of Roman shields, and a sling could be wrapped around your arm or on the belt or literally anywhere else easily accessible.
"10' pole, three flasks of oil, 10 iron spikes, a mirror, some wolfsbane, a lump of chalk, five torches, a bed roll, a weeks rations, a waterskin, a lute, my back-up two handed axe..."
That was a fun and informative video; however, can I trust it? Bald Head. Black Armour. Matt is obviously a villain or at least a dodgy anti-hero.
A retired lieutenant from the warband of the black knight, now he is selling quality gear to adventurers. His past allegiances are not to be levied against this mans good name.
Can someone tell me how you even move around in a dungeon's tight confines with a 10' pole period? Or large pole arms? (Hey, my character has a full fledged Pike!). And a lot more food and water would need allowed for unless you want to be starving and dehydrated.
Then again, in the real world, not many gold coins were 1/10th of a pound. And earlier AD&D had absurbd weapon weights for swords compared to what they actually weighed. If you tried to swing a 10 or 15 lb. sword in an actual fight, you'd get tired really fast. Even the biggest swords you would normally use would be in the lower single digits in pounds. And they also had misconceptions about how limited your movement would be in something like plate armour (plate over chain); It's been shown that modern humans in those sorts of heavier armours could still vault onto a horse (or off of one) and sommersault (thought not a typical combat action.... lol). Armour is built to try NOT to prevent the soldier from doing what he needs to which requires mobility.
Also, after looking into it, and looking at modern jute or hemp rope and break strengths (and working strengths), it became obvious that D&D also has rope that is way too heavy (in size and weight).
@@ghandimauler I was looking for some photos of fully laden "adventurers" and ended up on a website called "Go Viking Hiking". There are some great shots of what you need to survive in a Olde Worlde environment for a few days. Also, Shadiversity did a video about adventuring gear that was eye-opening. Finally Bob Worldbuilder has been doing some videos about movement in d&d versus real life. 😍
Look at those ears, he's clearly an Elf in disguise!
DM: This campaign we're playing with full encumbrance rules, so be careful with what weapons and armour you use.
Me: Eh, I'll roll a Monk.
Responds in 18(00) strength :-) and of couse if your a Paladin you have your "batman" who cares your spare weapons in a golf trolley
"But this is a european medieval inspired campaign, so your monk has to be occidental! And no kung fu!"
@@HappyBeezerStudios "You think you can handle that?"
@@HappyBeezerStudios "Sigh.... Crusader it is then...."
If you want a missile weapon, take a sling. They weigh little and their range and damage are underestimated.
and rocks are everywhere
@@ObsydianShade you can just use stones off the floor, they won't be as accurate but itll work in a pinch
And slings are much more silent than any sort of bow.
Slings were very much carried as an individuals weapon way back in the day, perhaps more commonly than many people assume. They were even encountered in urban settings, as in the case of Benvenuto Cellini, who recounts the rapidity at which people pulled out their slings and started throwing, after noticing that one of their 'Kin' was losing in a duel.
"There was a great crowd of people
present, among whom were many of the adversary's kinsfolk. Seeing that the thing was going ill for their own man, they put hand to their slings, a stone from one of which hit my poor brother in the head. He fell to the ground at once in a dead faint" The Life of Benvenuto Cellini
Also, regarding the subject of sound... Slings can be both quiet as hell... or loud as fuck! How loud your particular sling will be depends on multiple variables, tapered or non-tapered release cords, style and thickness of the braid/cord and the length of the tassel at the end of the release cord can all affect whether a sling will be loud or not. You can 'silence' a sling though in the case of slings with longer release cords (Which are meant to be held in the fist rather than by finger... though you can hold these by a finger) by folding over the end of the cord over itself and stitching it shut... in effect creating a tab at the end, this tends to create a silent sling.
@@ObsydianShade hitting a rabbit with a sling is no easy feat.. I’d rather carry a bow and quiver with an axe and dirk on my belt and a long sword on my horse.
I love stuff like this. The normal sword stuff too, of course, but seeing it applied to fantasy is so much fun.
Check out the Lindybeige channel. He has several like this.
Matt Easton as a weapons merchant, but instead of him trying to sell you things or try to become your friend, he just makes 20 minute tangents on any item that you ask about or even look at too long.
"Oh that? That's a kriegsmesser! Now, you may have heard that it was illegal to carry swords and this was a way to bypass it. However, we must research THE CONTEXT--"
"Can..can I buy it?"
"Why yes you can... In the right context!"
you pay for a sword and get a lesson for free
Generally if you want to "carry" a longbow, you'd unstring it, put it in a carry bag, and then carry that across your back. Does mean that you don't have it to hand, but you'd be able to use it when you've made preparations to use it.
Problem is you've got a big stick on your back. Now try to crawl through a cave, or climb something. Not a fun experience. If you want a ranged weapon as an adventurer, you've got one good option; a sling.
Or perhaps a short composite bow, if you have the coin for it.
A sling or shortbow would be better, trouble with shortbows is their relative lack of power. My choice would be sling over one as well.
If you have a staff sling you can throw harder and you can use the staff as a polearm
Also, no crossbow love?
@@JinKee They're bulky, awkward to wear, and have a slow rate of fire (which isn't ideal for adventuring skirmishes).
Matt is finally servicing the Shad-section of this community.
Goodstuff!!
The cross pollination from all the channels is fantastic. e.g Shad going full Lindybeige, Matt going full Shad, etc etc. It makes it very easy for them all to see how to do a certain type of video if they feel the urge to, and they can just jump straight into it instead of cautiously poking around looking for a way to do it.
This is why in most games bags of holding, portable holes etc are such prized items.
Without them playing sesdions are going to be bogged down in logistics, your economy be horrible since your loot carrying capacity will be to small. Your quest may brake because you lightened your load by selling that special item you need now.
@@michaelpettersson4919 it would probably fix the economy because you could hire a wagon team to haul it all back for a fraction of the price of a suit of mail.
@@Zraknul Well, yes, if the GM and in computer games, the developers thought of that. Those wagon teams probably scoured real life battlefields as well and probably "assisted" not yet dead soldiers to speed things up.
Mega storage device type 3
Capacity nearly unlimited!
Hell yes! :) first item you spend serious money on in any good D&D or CRPG ;)
"Boodle bags" are more important than anything except a healing potion
also cause loot scavenging of the "murder hobos", AKA Adventurers, is essential lol
I can see it now:
"Hey adventurers, I'm Matt Easton of Scologladiatoria Arms & Armor Emporium. And before you browse my wares let me talk to you for a moment about penetration..."
But it all depends on the *CONTEXT*
@@imugi-16 Context and encumbrance.
"Matt Easton, from Easton Contemporary Arms"
Skal... “Actually I’m more interested in pommels.”
the elven e pat at the brothel said almost exactly the same thjng!
Am I the only one who pictures Matt in a fantasy setting as the nice twin of Trusty Patches?
Yes I do, I call him Well Mannered Matt.
New idea for my next playthrough. Thanks.
I remember almost dropping Kings of the Wylde on the second page because the protagonist, an experienced adventurer, stated that he hated helmets for a bunch of inane reasons.
To Slowhand credit he had a big shield to protect him still. But I agree some form of head protection is important. Slowhand got hurt pretty bad in his face for not wearing a helmet
You know I’m running a loincloth and Zweihander 😏😏
Ye Olde Glass Cannon
If ye can't impress them with your Bihander
Baffle them with your bollocks
Warband pvp mode eh?
There are multiple loads a modern warrior carries:
Fighting load - Only what is worn = 37 pounds
Fighting light - Worn plus the assault pack = 59 pounds
Approach march - Worn plus the rucksack = 73 pounds
Everything - Worn plus the rucksack and assault pack = 95 pounds
These of course are averages. A much larger or much smaller warrior will carry more and less as well as what the mission is.
It's not really comparable, and weight is far from being the main issue.
There are two main issues:
1. Space - the kind of equipment the modern soldiers use, and the way it's stored and distributed over the body, is quite different from what a medieval-like soldier might have to carry.
2. Combat fatigue - the kind of combat modern soldiers do tends to be far, far les tiring than someone fighting in melee, or even shooting with bows.
Note that I'm talking exclusively about the fighting part - in the case of modern soldiers, this means shooting firearms, in the case of a medieval warrior, this means swinging a halberd or shooting with a bow. Obviously the weight of modern weapons + ammunition will be much more than that of medieval weapons, and that's a factor in moving around.
So, just because modern soldiers can march hours on end, and then fight, with a certain load, don't assume that a medieval warrior might be able to do the same with an equally heavy load that would be appropriate to their world.
One thing I would also consider is the ability to cross rough terrain like rivers, bogs and step inclines. Some tools like ropes and a hatchet are definitely extremely useful in that situation.
Rope! i knew i forgot somethign!
noncombat gear would be on his horse....
Shooter games: here take all the weapons we got!
IRL: "Do I really need to be carrying all this ammo when I could be carrying snacks instead?"
@LurchTheBastard - Modern tactical vest pockets and pouches that were originally intended for ammo magazines work great for snacks, shades, lip balm, or sunscreen for land search and rescue technicians. Keep what you need often or quickly within easy reach. Dump the rest in your rucksack.
Search managers: "Now add a large caliber handgun and at least 2 full magazines of spare ammo to your kit, because this search area is known to feature lions and tigers and bears."
SAR Techs: "Oh, my!"
In tabletop games I'll often have my melee character have a sling tucked into a pocket. You only need one hand to use one of those, and you usually don't need to worry about ammo very much. A small handful of river rocks can keep you shooting for a while if you don't want to carry lead shot in the same pocket you have the sling.
How do you load a sling with one hand?
@@ristoravela652 Palm the string, drop the rock with forefinger and thumb. Let go of the pouch. Ez
10:20 This is why I absolutely adore Narnia and Excalibur. HEROES WEAR HELMETS.
"You can't carry a polearm and a bow"
"Sorry, I already crafted a halberd-bow."
"You what...?"
a halbow?
What if I have a horse? And one of those bow "sheaths" for my reflex bow what eastern light cavalry used? What I don't know is where to put the lance if I switch to the bow :D
Sounds like one of Shad's pet projects.
@@MorbidEel or boerd.
I'm pretty sure I remember something about spear caps to be placed on top of Japanese yumi bows. Bow becomes spear at need. (Also seems a good way to wreck your bow).
In terms of the basic, "bare minimum" set up Matt showed (brigandine, sword and dagger), one adjustment I'd make is to either strap the dagger onto a belt around the thigh or tucked in a boot, or have a second, separate dagger altogether stored in either of those places. The reason I say this is because of the obvious flaw - namely, how the sword belt has to be worn over the brigandine / armour. And as Matt pointed out, people are likely to be taking their armour off and on numerous times through the day. Which means they would also likely be needing to take their sword belt off and on that many times as well. It would awfully inconvenient to double that frequency (and thus, time) by having to take off the belt, take off the armour, then put the belt on again and vice versa every time adventurer needed to wear or take off their armour.
It is. However, their "pockets" and other items would be all tied/looped around their belt as well. Even if you take the armor off, you will likely want to put the belt back on, anyways.
That said, you would definitely want to select belt and other carry specifications to accommodate that (for example, integrated sword belts suck if you ever want to take the sword off, still want a belt, and do not have a spare/casual wear at-hand).
Slings are a really good choice of thing to pack away to have ranged abilities while having other weapons around.
A sling is not easy to use. It's even worse than bow, in term of training. You don't give them to someone that is not already quite proficient in it.
If he is, he would be already a hunter or someone specialised in it.
@@pieines7299 easy to practice though, if you're marching a long distance you will a lot of time to practice and unlimited ammo really
@@pieines7299 You can learn to use a sling in hours, hit a man sized target at 50ft in a few days. But hitting an eye, or a songbird yes, would take years to master. But we are also talking about a professional adventurer alone or in a small group in the wilds for months at a time, plenty of time to learn and practise.
I think having a cutting oriented sword , an anti armour weapon and a dagger would be the optimum set up. It wouldn't encumber you and you have everything you need. If you prefer a one handed sword , you can also go with a shield for extra protection as well.
Blunt Poleaxe. Counts as a walking staff. If encumbrance is a problem you put it down and draw your sword. Alternatively one of them spikey long clubs or a mace-headed polearm.
@@MasoTrumoi a fucking heavy walking staff, that defeat a bit the purpose. But why blunt ?
A short Machete (or cutlass) would probably be a nice middle ground weapon. A big F-off chopping weapon like an axe, a sturdy camp tool, but small and nimble enough to fight with as a slashing weapon. Dagger is great for grappling/sidearm. You still have the concern of range, a sling is a nice tool for that. Small, light, deadly in the right circumstances, and you can throw rocks for hunting small game to save your lead shot.
@@littlekong7685 oh yeah I forgot the sling. Crazy how some string and leather , hell some duct tape , can become such a lethal weapon.
@@afinoxi what's the duct tape for? I can think of better ammo.
You, Shad and Metatron would look like medieval power Rangers with you colored brigantines.
Obviously teasing the next HBO Series "Band of Brigandines" starring Shad, Matt, and Rafe.
Add Skall in a green brig and you're only missing a yellow one (more likely golden) for the full Power Brig Rangers force. Perhaps Ian Laspina aka Knyght Errant?
@@Harrowed2TheMind Nice catch, and I'll check Ian's channel as a rec!
@@Harrowed2TheMind Not yellow, but beige!
I would see Lindybeige in a brigandine coloured like this.
@@Stefannice Genius! Loyd could indeed be the pink... I mean, beige ranger!
I'm surprised he didn't talk about the buckler as an option for an archer.
imho buckler is for single hand weapon (short sword or dagger) set that needs more mobility. It is short range dueling weapon. Archers do not fight at close range if they don't have to and they need bigger shield to hide from other archers.
So was I. I'd always thought sword and buckler with a bow was fairly common. However, after a quick look at historical artwork I couldn't find any examples. Saw many examples of archers with swords, but none with bucklers.
I think a archer's loadout has two options: with a long sword, maybe even a war sword as Shad puts it, or with a one handed sidearm, most likely an arming sword, and a buckler. I think Matt didn't mention it cuz that's sort've getting into specifics, though I do wonder if swashbuckling gets in the way of using a longbow somehow. I definitely think Matt believes that the long sword's longer hilt, when the sword is in scabbard, gets in the way of using a shield. There are things that would be obvious to people who wore this kind of stuff often that we, who don't, are completely oblivious to.
@@tokul76 sword and buckler can be worn together on the belt while you use other weapons, they are basically a sidearm set, and archers most definitely have to be worried about having a sidearm in the chance they have to defend themselves in melee. Also, while there are definitely examples of short swords, if we are talking specifically about medieval European weapons, you kind've don't even use the term short sword. That is more or less a thing made up in D&D, and the usage became standard in popular media. The Romans for instance began to abandon the gladius for the spatha. This happened before the migration period, otherwise known as the Viking era. Since that point, pretty much everyone in Europe used full sized swords as sidearms cuz why wouldn't you.
Stephen A in the Rome Total War mod Europa Barbarorum, many archer units had small shields strapped to their arms. It's a good historically accurate mod so I'd expect the use of shields by archers to be common in the ancient world.
I really think Fandabi Dozi's historical short bow survival system should be a part of this conversation.
As a DM for decades, the one weapon I encouraged players to take, was a handaxe...because it was cheap and very, very *useful*
Fighting, dinner, camp duties etc :)
also good to see nowadays folk like yourself and Shad showing the spear is usually, the #1 weapon, not the sword for most folk
and, brigandine is most likely of all armours
"as a" omg enough cornball
I am a simple man, i see a Raid Shadow Legends ad and i immediately skip it
It would be funny if the entire Raid player base was just TH-camrs playing for sponsorships.
Throughout my world building as a DM, I took a look at historical weapons and armor and how long it took for them to be put on or taken off, and how comfortable it would be to wear them for extended periods of time.
But then I realized that in a typical D&D world, there is FAR more danger that there was in the real medieval era. People would either need to wear armor all the time, OR be able to put it on and off extremely quickly. So I figured that "quick donning" armor technology would be a huge focus. Probably more of a focus than sheer protection ability.
So would more comfort. Especially in warm or hot climates. There would have to be padding but it would have to be vented or breathable, or cooling in some way. In the real world in 1450 you didn't care much if your gambison was hot and uncomfortable, because you were probably only wearing it for a few hours at a time. But if you knew you had a 50% chance of getting attacked randomly every day as you traveled from one town to another, you are going to want to be in your armor for 10+ hours. You need to be able to do that without dying from heat stroke or becoming exhausted.
So usually the armor in my campaigns aren't the same as historical medieval armor. They have similar properties, but the designs are usually different. For example, full harness that opens like a clamshell and has "quick latch" metal latches instead of leather straps and buckles that secure it. And depending on how prevalent magic is in the particular campaign, armor that is imbued with magic to make it more comfortable or easier to put on, would be available for more and sometimes less money. You can imagine that if magic is plentiful, it would be cheaper to just use magic rather than spend the time and effort coming up with and fabricating a complex and reliable metal latch.
6:00 Except when you are Goblin Slayer, then you never take off your armor or even helmet. Clearly, he knows what´s up and is always prepared for an ambush. :)
Slings! They're easy to use, light, easily carried and ammunition lies around everywhere. It bothers me that inspite of how practical they are, I'm the only one who always has one, even when I'm not playing a ranged character.
In Baldur's Gate, I gave everyone a ranged weapon like a bow or a sling if they didn't have the ability. It's good to get a couple of shots in before the enemy closes.
I love slings in pathfinder. Especially on barbarians that add Strength to damage with 0 skills/feats involved.
Having been a career soldier and loaded like a pack mule much of the time, I often get my players to load themselves up with the stuff they want to carry. Even experienced backpackers are hard pressed to carry what they need for a two week trek and they are unarmed and unarmored. My adventurers always spend their hard earned treasure on pack animals and "waste" time learning to wrangle them properly. You cannot carry enough to be gone long by yourself. Loved the vid. Great idea.
As an experienced D&D 3.5 player, I absolutely love Heward's Handy Haversack. The bag and all it's contents together magically only ever weigh 5 pounds, even when fully loaded with 120 pounds of gear. It's bigger on the inside, 12 cubic feat of storage in spite of only being the size of an average school backpack. And it costs a mere 2,000 gold pieces. It's consistently my first magic item purchase, even ahead of the little marvel that is Ring of Sustenance.
I wonder if an atlatl and throwing spears/darts would be a good option for adventuring?
Consider: The atlatl itself is definitely capable of being used for melee combat as a club or a mace, or even a hook depending on how yours is shaped. Atlatls are intended to be used with one hand, meaning that in an emergency you could use it as a bludgeon with a shield in the other hand, but they are typically long enough that you could also wield them with both hands for added power in a melee.
Consider further: Throwing spears and long darts can also be used in melee, even if it isn't their intended purpose. Throwing spears and long darts are intended to be expendable, which means they are reasonably inexpensive and simple in design; furthermore, since they are primarily intended as projectiles, they are light enough that you should be able to carry a few around with you at any time.
Finally: When used for their intended purpose, the projectiles are devastating. A throwing spear has a fair amount of heft, and they can be launched with an atlatl to a surprising distance, with a high degree of accuracy and power in the hands of a trained wielder.
I believe atlatls and javelins can have larger heads than most arrows. So it would produce a more deadly wound against large animals and beasts, killing it faster than you could with a bow, but you'd be sacrificing the speed and range of the projectile. Maybe a fair tradeoff if you're hunting monsters, though.
Don't forget short, horsebows can be worn in a case.
A composite shortbow is going to be pretty expensive, though, and a wooden one might not be powerful enough for an adventurer's needs.
@@InSanic13 Such factors were arguably not as much of a concern for cultures with a strong steppe or rich horse-archer warfare backgrounds, at least.
He literally mentioned them a couple of times
@@InSanic13 Well in many games adventuring characters are well off they are not peasants and also above average Rune Quest is a bit more realistic than DnD
@@mauricewalshe8234 I generally see adventurers as mid-status (or at least starting out that way; obviously, it's possible for them to make it big), and mid-status soldiers in medieval Europe never seemed to really use composite bows or composite--lathed crossbows.
It's really fun looking at this from different cultures! From what we know about Joseon dynasty Korea (about medieval period through late 18th century ish) the average Korean soldier was outfitted with a 1 handed sword, a small yet high powered recurve bow and case of arrows on the belt OR a polearm, and a relatively small and light shield made probably of rattan or something similar! So that bow/shield combo is the compromises for both!
I love shads solution to carrying the bow, nail roped into it that hooks into a ferrule on the back
I'm reminded of a D&D novel where a character left his helmet at the Inn & regretted it when attacked by an angry mob.
Where is the gambeson that Matt is wearing from? Company?
It was tailor made many years ago.
Name of the tailor?
@@scholagladiatoria Looks great, do you know where’s the best place to get a tailored gambeson nowadays?
Check out Shadiversity's brigandine video. He bought something that looks quite similar.
@@vaporz109 Check out Shadiversity's brigandine video. He bought something that looks quite similar.
My favorite"load out" I've used at the archery range was my turkish bow (thumb draw) strapped shield in my bow hand with the bow, and a sword at my side. Could shoot almost as fast, and just as accurate as without the shield. Working on making a jazerant to go with that kit as well. Slow process though. Stupid real job having overtime eating up my crafting schedule.
Thanks for the word "jazerant", had not heard of that variation before [scribbles into a notebook]
Ever since I've heard of it I like the idea of the medieval 'lance', or group of 4 horsemen who work together. It seems like a more realistic version of the 'party' you find in RPGs. Everyone can ride a horse, everyone's got some amount of armor and some type of melee weapon, at least two people have crossbows. If I wanted to make an RPG I'd probably want to make character creation more like that: pick the general 'role' your party is filling (light cavalry, heavy cavalry, horse archers, foot archers, foot infantry, bodyguards, etc), then everyone gets a basic 'loadout' based on that role, and can customize it a bit to help diversify the party's capabilities.
and the problem with that in the games I played was the mount would inevitably be killed, run off, or stolen..every.single.time.
@@zwinmar21 well that's the risk of adventuring so you better risk your horse and life for some fine coin 😉
A lance was less a group of cavalry, as the basic unit around a single man-at-arms. One man-at-arms/knight, one squire, an archer or two, a page/valet/servant, a handful of horses, and a cart/pack animals to schlep their stuff.
@@patrickdusablon2789 I think either of these would be an amazing adventuring party. I love the idea of a "fire team" with a well-defined relationship and goal, but NO ONE I've played with wants to coordinate character creation to that degree. It seems every TTRPG player wants that extra-special unique build that struggles to find a reason to cooperate with a Party; the Edgy Rogue, the Self-Righteous Paladin, the Bad Attitude Fighter, the Gender Unclear Sorcerer, the Autistic Bard-barian, etc. I get enough inter-personal drama in real life, my fantasy is to have a team that works well together and gets along without trying to stab each other in the back or deal with deep personal issues.
@@AM-hf9kk depending on the outfit you're dealing with, you could be dealing with a band of misfits wrapped around a man-at-arms rather than a well-disciplined band of professional soldiers. To make it work in a TTRPG, there might be a need to re-jig things, and put things in context.
Maybe the man-at-arms of the lance is the fighter/paladin, but the lance is really a vehicle for getting a mage/sorcerer to the front. Your rogue/rangers are the lance's archers, with a fighter, paladin or cleric as the squire?
Just spitballing here.
You really can't escape Raid...
But do you know what you can escape from ? *It's real life whilst playing Raid Shadow Legends ! With more than...*
WITH HUNDREDS OF UNIQUE CHAMPIONS AND GRAPHICS THAT LOOK OKAY SOMETIMES
In defence of RAID, they have done more for content creators on TH-cam than TH-cam has done in recent years.
Matt, what about things like the frankish francisca or russian Djerid throwing javelins carried in three on back quivers. Seem like these would be a good missile weapon without encumbering like a bow would. No one seems to bring these up much in fantasy for whatever reason.
Spears are already looked down by games and movies, imagine their throwning counterparts
Spears are generally underrated, I have found over the years.
I found this video really useful. I'm a writer and I want my fantasy to be as realistic as possible.
I’ve always thought about what realistic medieval fantasy characters would look like. Thanks.
My general rule is:
-one 2 handed weapon that's relatively easy to carry, or hang off a mount.
-one one handed weapon that can hang off a belt, like a mall sword, mace, or hand axe.
-one or two light weapons like a large dagger or a couple of throwing knives.
-One other smallish thing, like a buckler, lantern, or hip pouch.
If you want a large shield, you trade away the big two handed weapon, or your medium weapon.
In my opinion everyone should have a ranged weapon. A sling is excellent when it is to complicated to bring a bow.
@@michaelpettersson4919 You would need an bow or some other ranged weapon if you are adventuring without a horse, otherwise you would literally just get kited by anyone with an ranged weapon if they just run faster than you lol.
One interesting thing I recall reading in a novel- although I can't remember what novel it was for the life of me, was a bunch of guys at night at camp eating, but with their swords close at hand and hear some noise- sounds of battle or an injured sentry perhaps. They stopped and thought for a moment, because they were eating some kind of roasted greasy meat with their hands, to wipe their hands hurriedly on their doublets or gambesons so they would have a surer grip on their sword hilts and wouldn't have their swords slip out of their hands because of the thick slippery grease coating their fingers.
I wish I could recall the novel but I can't really. I want to say either one of the Terry Goodkind sword of truth novels or Tad Williams memory, sorrow and thorn, but I can't be sure one way or the other.
I just thought it was an interesting tactical dilemma in an imminent combat scenario in a fantasy novel.
Today I realized that my gnome artificer has a reasonably historical loadout: a musket, a short sword, a dagger, and a shield
I would say my Fighter-Artificer is good. Crossbow, Longsword, and Shield with Half-Plate. He also carries vials of oil and acid on his belt. If he's lucky, he'll get a shot off as he marches into melee combat with his mechanical war-dog to prevent anyone reaching the squishies.
Something I enjoyed about the depiction of Boromir in the LotR movies (especially when you take his deleted scenes, wearing full plate, into account) is that he looked like he was dressed and equipped for an "adventure" - even going so far to carrying what may have been a travel shield rather than the style of shield used by the fully armoured soldiers in Gondor.
Well I’m actually writing a fantasy novel set in medieval Africa, so this channel has been a great resource. Thanks a lot!
Really? That sounds very interesting, I am sure it will turn out well.
I'd recommend to adjust based on the different climate/setting. Historically most soldiers in Mali for example didn't wear any armor, and only the most elite "knights" got stuff like chainmail.
POV: you are medieval John Wick and just came to the Sommelier.
Hehe, happens that I’m writing a short story for my creative writing class. Main character is wearing leather armour while using an arming sword and a dagger (character lost the helm). Already had my instructor ask me “How do you know so much about this?” Channels like yours have given me informative choices when writing or drawing. So thanks! Hehe
Consider something other than leather armour :-)
@@scholagladiatoria not biker jacket leather but hardened vegitan leather breastplate, but I do know where you’re coming from 😊
@@visualartsbyjr2464 Actually, better than using tanned leather would be boiled rawhide or half-tanned leather(meaning just the surface is tanned, but not the core). The tanning process softens the material, so if you want maximum toughness/hardness for protection, you are better off using leather pieces that haven't been tanned, which is known as rawhide. Half tanned leather might be used instead of pure boiled rawhide because it takes a protective coating better. It's hard to get oils and paints to stick to rawhide's surface.
@@visualartsbyjr2464 I'm not sure if hardened leather breastplates were really a thing. Consider a leather brigandine over a gambeson
@@NMahon That's actually what the word Cuirass meant originally. The original item was of boiled or hardened leather (there are multiple versions of the process, involving some kind of glue or oil) that later was made in steel. There are just relatively few survivals in museums and such (because the material is biodegradable).
If you look into it, a few have been found in waterlogged situations. books.google.com/books/about/Leather_in_Warfare.html?id=XyLBAQAACAAJ
I always found it strange that my character in Skyrim used to roam the towns, wearing heavy robes and a frightening mask that hides his entire face, and he would go around talking to and trying to adopt small children. And none of the townsfolk seemed to care lol.
My party in Fallout Tactics be like: heavy weapons guy with the Ma Deuce, everyone else carrying a couple hundred rounds of .50cal and some laser rifles.
Enjoyed that version of Fallout.
The whole "you might/prbably/will take your armour off thing was generally fairly well handled in the first edition of pathfinder, the armour penalty on some Skill checks liek swimming, climbing and acrobatics definitely made me remove armour before. There's also a penalty for sleeping with meadium and heavy armour that makes your character fatigued, which is a terrible condition.
When designing my RPG system, an effective encumbrance system was a must to get right. The key is to make sure the system is simple enough for players and GMs to not feel like it's too much of a hassle to track, or else they'll just ignore it. FWIW, watching lots of scholagladiatoria videos greatly informed the weapon system, including considerations of wearability for weapons (swords for example are not at all stand-out weapons from a pure combat effectiveness perspective, but have traits related to their ease of wearing that encourage their use).
Currently working on one myself. Care to elaborate on how you handled it?
@@nevisysbryd7450 Instead of tracking discrete weight totals (lbs, kg, etc) heavy and/or cumbersome items are assigned a load value, which is roughly equal to the item's weight in stone for compact dead-weight, or more for awkward items like polearms, ladders, or several glass vials. You can't carry more load of gear than your strength score (the system is based on old-school D&D so strength ranges from 3 to 18, with 9 to 12 being average.) In addition to load value one is limited by storage space, which is limited to whatever you can carry (a 2-handed weapon or a 1-handed polearm and shield for example), up to 3 holstered items (swords, maces, hand axes, or other side arms) one of which must be a dagger or smaller, what you can wear (clothes, armor, rings, etc), up to 4 very small items in your pockets, a coin purse, and up to 8 different items of cargo (or stacks of the same item) in one's backpack. Many items have no load value, but are still limited you this storage space, or if enough copies of the item are carried it will begin to have a load value. If you need more cargo space you can get sacks which add cargo space at the expense of adding to load carried (small sacks add one cargo slot and are worth 1 load and large sacks add 4 slots and are 3 load).
It seems complex when I write it out like that, but when you design a character sheet around it to only include inventory space in accordance with storage space it ends up being pretty workable in play.
@@Hushashabega Ah. Yeah, dense information such as that can be conveyed much more easily via a GUI (which is what the character sheet would be).
Thanks!
If you want a 'realistic' encumbrance system you could base it on current military thinking.
Soldiers today basically have four 'levels' of gear, the first is what is worn, the second is what is carried into combat, the third is the 'patrol kit' or 'day bag' that is usually taken for extended patrols and is dropped before fighting, and the forth is the 'marching kit', which contains stuff like spare clothes, tents/shelter, etc. and is worn as little as possible, and preferably carried by vehicle (or if you are talking medieval, horse)
The beauty of this system is all 4 levels are roughly the same - about 15kg per level for Western armies. So Level 1 is 15kg of armour/protective gear, 2 is 15kg of weapons and ammo, 3 is 15kg patrol kit (extra ammo, thermal clothes, 1 days rations and water, spade, etc) and 4 is 15kg marching kit which is the extra rations, cooking equipment, shelter etc.
So just for a hash up of a basic system for medieval game, lets forget about the marching kit and assume this is carried by horse (it usually was back then). Since 15kg is the base amount, for an RPG lets say 10+strength kg per level assuming a game with strength values from 1 to 10 - if the values are higher just adjust in proportion, so strength score from 1 to 100 would be divided by ten.
That means a weakling character can carry 10kg of armour, 10kg of weapons, and 10kg in his pack (plus whatever is on his horse) - the pack is NOT accessible in any form of combat, it can be used to replenish arrows/bolts/magic herbs/broken weapons AFTER the fight, but not during it. A max strength guy can carry 20kg of armour, 20kg of weapons, and 20kg in the pack.
The beauty of a system like this is it stops players cheesing encumbrance systems by having a ridiculously strong character with plenty of encumbrance points to spare carry ALL the party's essential/noncombat gear and ALL the gold and loot, meaning your weakling 1 strength character has enough carry capacity to wield huge polearms and wear full plate....
There are less cumbersome ranged weapons, like for example the sling.
Good weapon if you're well practiced. Add a pouch of lead sling bullets & you're good to go.
Wasn’t a sling lose most of it effectiveness if the opponent was wearing any measure of armor?
@@Specter_1125 There's a good bit of concussive force involved, so no.
@@Specter_1125 Even with armour a sling could break ribs, rupture organs causing internal bleeding, and penetrate cloth armour or wicker shields.
@@Specter_1125 the same can be said of swords.
Any DM who has ever had infantry training or gone long-distance hiking is a stickler for encumbrance rules.
You forgot about the MOST important piece of body protection, the steel codpiece! Come on Easton, how could you forget about that!
Really fun video Matt! I'd love to see the actual additional "living and travelling" kit that you'd possibly need to. You mentioned an eating knife for example. Would you carry a bed roll? A pouch or pack with food and water? Would you just drink from the well and accept dysentery etc. How'd you carry that with the fighting equpiment?
He sort of covered that in a much older video on carrying and encumbrance. Whereas this one focused on armament, the other talked about portable shelter, cooking supplies, and how all of that depends on the specific of the adventure in question.
@@nevisysbryd7450 Yeah, I also remember a video like that but I can't find it. And it would be nice to see the combination of gear needed.
@@ThatsLeoYKnow Yeah, the combination is not something that has been covered very well on youtube, since you need to balance all of those together.
Here is Matt's earlier video.
th-cam.com/video/llPAuGy6XvQ/w-d-xo.html
I contend that the most important piece of equipment for anyone who plans to travel on foot for an extended period of time is a walking stick, which of course can be made as a piece of dual purpose gear in the form of a quarterstaff. Also, in the question of missile weapons, a sling is dramatically underrated as, it beats out all other missile weapons as it concerns size and weight constraints (and cost) and is quite effective against most monsters that an adventurer is likely to face as they arent typically covered in stiff plates of armor.
There's no real reason why that quarterstaff can't be a spear, as long as it's legal. Otherwise, you're quite right
@@taylor_green_9 as it turns out there is a reason: the ideal walking stick is one with an iron gripping spike on one end (this spike would not be long enough to make an effective spear point) and either nothing, or a leather pad on the other for surfaces the spike is not good for.
It was interesting to see the shield sling. In D&D 5e, it takes 1 action (6 seconds) to equip/unequip a shield in your hand, so I'm surprised that there actually is a means to do this and that seems like a reasonable amount of time to do it.
Matt, countrary to Shadeversity's opinion I do believe Orcs would employ Chariot Cavalry.
- Individual horse does not have to suffer under a heavier than human Orc.
- Orcs as realistic Barbarians would love skirmish warfare - something chariots excelled at during bronze age.
- Orcs should be able to draw much stronger bows or throw javelins further than humans due to higher strength and longer arms. Good for a skirmish chariot warfare.
- Chariots require a good deal of money and resources - perfect for a chieftain or high ranking clan warriors, playing into the Celtic/Germanic tribe-clan structure of society.
- Chariots require raw craftsmanship that Orcs are notorious for in several fantasy settings.
Very much NOT how Tolkien described Orks.
@@PalleRasmussen I was in mind of DnD like orcs. Tolkien's orcs are goblin rubbish.
Elvan chainmail to keep the weight down and don’t forget that bag of holding
Very instructive vidéo, I have shared it all over my RPG forum
Good god, feeling the Darth Vader vibes from that gorgeous sallet.
Darth Easton.
i really like the idea of Short sword and dagger being the players primary weapons and the larger 2-handed weapons being a disposable secondary weapon. gives more tactical approach of what to bring into combat or in game talk the start of a mission. very cool.
Lmaooooo I hope one of my "Captain Context" comments was the inspiration to that user name!
So I'm a (foam boffer) LARPer and so I literally see the practical ramifications of this every summer. Generally you see exactly this. Archers don't also carry polearms, but often carry a small sword as a back up. Occasionally they will have a small shield strapped to their forearm as will some who fight with two-handed weapons or paired swords. Polearmists often wear a shield on their back for it's passive benefits. The only people who really carry a shield in their hands are dedicated "sword and board" fighters. Being as our weapons are made of foam and much lighter than real weapons you see some "cheesy" strategies, but as far as the physical size of our weapons this all holds true.
As for Armor, helmets of leather or steel are common, especially with face masks to ward off arrows. (Foam headed arrows are still unpleasant to the face, I assure you.) The most common is heavy leather over cloth, and chainmail, as well as heavy leather versions of scale armor. (My game requires saddle-grade leather or steel for armor.) Plate is rare as it is tiring to wear especially on hot days. (also expensive) It's not rare to see "plate" made of heavy leather sections instead. So yeah in a Live Action situation encumbrance is a real concern. Even a basic back-up weapon can get in the way.
I only now noticed that Mat has pointy ears
Is he an secret Elf this whole time? 👀
Yes
@@scholagladiatoria Aha! I KNEW it!
Matt I like your comment about the weight of shields. Even in LARP, foam shield end up taking a toll when you carry them for 3+ hours.
Skallagrim: what do you mean "put it in my inventory?"
Matt’s suggested adventure kit is pretty comparable to a 14th century hobelar. That makes good sense because light cavalry and infantry skirmishers had the military role closest to being a fantasy adventurer. They often had to engage in extended marches or patrols while being ready to engage in small unit actions against the enemy at a moment’s notice.
A lot of monsters you'd find in dungeons would probably be around the size of a large dog or so. It might make sense to focus particularly on leg armor maybe?
Heikki Hallamaa yeah spike on knee cap works a treat
Speaking of creature size: monsters that do create their own environment would have their tunnels made in a size that is convenient for them. Why does it seem that tiny creatures dig tunnels so convenient for large invaders?
@@randomnobodovsky3692 Late post, but I'll make a stretch of a guess: either the DM forgot that detail OR those tunnels used to be a lair for _something as big._
@@jannemerilainen6988 I always thought it's part of the genre. Just like ventilation one comfortably can crawl in (in different genre).
I find myself associating full plate with the powered armor in _Fallout,_ except instead of requiring a constant supply of miniature nuclear reactors to keep it running, you need to have a massive Fortitude stat in order to tank the constant Stamina Drain.
The point is that there’s a timer that starts counting down the minute you start using either of them, you can’t just put them on stop thinking about them.
Throwing spears in a holster like set up. Also, as others point in out, slings and a few shot would be relatively easy to carry.
Or a nice handful of plumbata!
You could wear a crossbow slung across your back, also you can have a sling hanging from your belt. That's usually my fighter type backup ranged weapon: sling.
I was hoping for reference to the backpacks that everyone seems to have that also don't exist even in the concept art.
In fact everyone pretends they don't exist at all until the character suddenly needs something from it, then of course they were wearing the whole time.
The very expensive invisibility enchanted backpack that let you adventure in style!
@@michaelpettersson4919 is the backpack armored
Bag of holding works a treat let one character have one problem solved but limit the stuff they can pull from it or they'll try and pull out a live horse had the horse suffocate in the bag taught a lesson that day
I think he hit the nail on the head here. It makes me think of the different kinds of Roman armour. Gives good protection, but you can march and fight in it without too much trouble.
Have a read at “The King’s Cavalier” by Samuel Shellabarger. There is a passage in it when a traveling party is ambushed on the road. But since they not complete morons and have someone scouting ahead, they have time to retreat and do exactly that, unpack the armor they are not wearing while on traveling horses (palfreys, I think they call them), have the servants help them put on their armor (and also arm themselves) and mount the heavy coursers they are, again, smart enough not to wear down by mounting them while traveling. I always liked that passage. The book is good too.
The fact that I know you're also a gamer who plays similar games (Like Warband) easily makes you my favorite subscribed content creator
Matt needs to find a group that plays GURPS. I think it's the most realistic take in an RPG combat system.
Rolemaster
@@PalleRasmussen Love me some Rolemaster but its not that realistic and no one much plays it anymore alas. The most realistic combat was probably in The Riddle of Steel by Jake Norwood who was an early member of the HEMA community and an all around great guy . The main supplement for it was called The Flower of Battle after the fight book of the same name. Getting teh game can be tricky but its sucessor is Blade of the Iron Throne which is solid too.
That said you can't go wrong with GURPS which is a terrific RPG.
@@simonacerton3478 I play it, as I find the character creation and development the most detailed of all I have tried, and because I find the combat the most realistic. While I do find the one-attack-lands-in-ten-seconds unrealistic it can be explained away. Meanwhile broadswords have less effect on heavy armour than a war hammer, and combat is F*ing risky as it should be, with Criticals being really dangerous and death never being far away. Both GURPS, 5e and AD&A 2e, and Shadowrun 2e are far less risky. Even MERP is. I have tried none other than those and three homebrews.
@@PalleRasmussen MERP was just first system. Damn its good to see someone else know it lol. Did you play the original Book of Fjvs Rings system back in the day with the d10 base? My group and I lived that combat and progression system
@@thac0twenty377 no, I started with MERP in 86, and quickly transferred to RM.
This thumbnail was really next level! And the video was awesome!
I'm starting to think that the members of the Community of the Sword are getting ready to be isekai'd.
...I want in.
Do you really?
@@josephpeck8723 Depends on the context, really. Some worlds are better than others.
@@StergiosMekras Indeed.
Matt, thank you SO MUCH for this video; I didn't want to request it because this isn't really a gaming channel, but I figured you'd get to it sooner or later. For decades, I've usually been the only person at the table who gives any thought to how characters manage all their personal combat gear. Yes, rule of cool is important, but so is verisimilitude. My armored characters are also typically the only ones who don't go into town dressed for a fight, and this has bitten me in the butt more than once.
This is something that often bothers me in book, games, and movies. For example video games and D&D has your character walking around in full armor with a dozen weapons and movies neglect helmets and only have the characters using swords all the time. I think this is much more realistic, and would like to see this thought process implemented more...maybe if I'm ever a published author 😅
Lord of the Rings (in the books) is one of the few examples that accurately displays concerns of weight and the balance of speed vs protection. The characters set out lightly equipped- Aragorn with his Sword, Boromir carried a sword, a shield and his horn, Legolas had a bow and arrows and also a long knife, Gimli had a two handed Axe and whore alone a mail shirt since dwarves make light of burdens, the hobbits had their barrow blades (Frodo had Sting and his Mithril coat which was hidden) Gandalf had his staff and Glamdring. (and they still needed a baggage pony to carry provisions)
When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli arrived at Edoras they were all given Mail shirts and helmets (except Gimli who had a mail coat already) in addition to shields.
Lord of the Rings is the prototype for all "party systems" so common to D&D and modern RPGs have gotten away from the core idea- each character is specialized for specific roles (expect hobbits they are just dead weight)
One thing in Fantasy type stories is that characters can be equipped at different points in the story with different weapons, the most important thing is that they have the skill to use the tools they can get access to. Also having squires would be a good idea if you ever want someone who is a full time warrior to have.
Gates of Fire did a good job of showing how the relationship between a battle squire and a warrior- plus that lets the squire carry ranged weapons to support the melee warrior.
Movies tend to disregard the helmets due to the medium. It's the same reason super-heroes are constantly removing their masks. They want to show the actors' facial expressions. And, for fantasy settings, also to make them stand out more, be easier to identify.
What bothers me more is when they give the characters long hair or, in the cases where they do have a helmet, things jutting out... That's, like, no, you don't want things that your opponent can grab and pull on, or something that deflects a weapon into you, rather than away from you.
I'd recommend The Red Knight by Miles Cameron. Follows a mercenary company in a fantasy setting complete with squires, valets and camp followers of various kinds.
Anyone: what weapon should I get?
Matt: CONTEXT!
He's not wrong.
On a related question: Is hiding mail under an over garment, like fiction often shows, plausible?
Also: You missed a chance to pose with the helmet and everything else on at the end of the video.
Ask Metatron
Yes there's a lot of records of mail used as hidden armour.
I'm actually building one right now. Look up jazerant, primarily middle eastern, not western european, but really slick looking.
Gaius Marius want a word with you. Roman soldiers carried two pila, a large scutum, dolabra, gladius and pugio, and a ton of other stuff in their sarcina. All of it carried by a "bindlestick" named furca. But an "adventurer" can't carry a bow and a pole weapon at the same time? Bows were unstrung and put in a narrow bag. The bag was carried across the back by a strap attached to the bag, one low and one high. We know they did this. And we know English archers often had a pole weapon in addition to their bow. If it's fantasy setting you can invent the rucksack with a frame if you want to.
Also Roman soldiers would keep their armor on all day even when doing construction to be ready for surprise attacks.
Oddly enough, I did a fairly "typical for a RPG" load-out for a fighter in a friend's D&D game (armor, longsword, dagger, spear, longbow, and a shield). After playing for a while, I discovered that the idea of carrying all of that was pointless since you can only fight with one of them at any given time, and I ditched the spear and bow to simply focus on sword and shield fighting.
In my Combat LARP, you generally pick one of those 3 options because they are most effective. You usually have a battle line consisting of shield men with (30" to 38") swords and/or axes/maces, mixed with polearms, and archers in the third rank looking for openings. The other common weapons are (4-5ft) two-handed swords and paired one handed weapons, generally those fighters are looking to turn the flank and get behind the battle line. Of course, lacking cavalry, our combat probably defaults to something resembling "Viking Era" raiding battles.