@@GUNNER67akaKeltIt is the correct answer, but it's never fun. Someone asked me the best sword in history, so I showed him the work of Patrick Barta at Templ. He didn't want to hear how it depended on so many things, he wanted a fun answer. (Next day I told him it depended.) Even so, I'm awfully tired of "Well, it all depends, it's what works for you, it's not good for all things, just another tool in the box, and you have to kinda do what works, and what works is what works for you, there is no normal it's whatever works...." no matter how true it might be in the grand scheme of things.
@@greyvr4336 Truth or fun. Some prefer truth. Some prefer fun. The problem is the fun people come back and talk shit when they find out what they were told wasn't true. Sometimes it seems like they get their 'fun' only from pointing out that the person was incorrect, and that's only fun for one side, not the other. Which comes back around to the answer, 'It depends."
@@GUNNER67akaKeltCan be both. If you want to live in tired tropes that might be true but have bored generations to tears I certainly won't raise more then a post to stop you,
Re: Climbing a ladder with a pavise. Years ago I ran a historically accurate RPG campaign. At one stage the players had to fend off an attack by an enemy assault force and I said that they were all carrying shields and swords. One player with a very strong engineering background argued against this saying that it was impossible to climb with a shield, let alone with both hand full. This went back and forth until I actually went outside his house and demonstrated how it could be done by climbing a 20 foot ladder with said weapons in hand, in fact we observed that by climbing and leaning into the ladder it is almost impossible to NOT cover yourself with the shield.
My first thought at that point in the video was "can you climb the ladder by hooking the rungs with the corner between the sword pommel and your hand/wrist", is this roughly how you did it?
It may be possible to have the shield in hand, and as long as it provides actual cover it might not be a bad idea. Depending on the type of shield and the way it's gripped, I could picture it being cumbersome enough that simply strapping it and carrying it across the chest or the back would be much easier. Don't think I'd want my weapon in the other hand while I was climbing, though. I'd want it sheathed for quick access once I'm close to the top.
Fun thought experiment. I'd love to hear Zac's responses to the same idea under mounted scenarios, such as mounted charge, mounted close combat against unmounted opponents, mounted close combat vs mounted opponents, etc
If you were a immortal in the highlander world and had to face other immortals who had different types of swords from all different eras What sword would you choose to carry
I would personally carry An Oakeshott Type XVIIIc Alexandria sword if I was a immortal in the highlander world, it’s a strong sword and a great cutter and a good size to keep the opponent at distance.
This is a fabulous idea for a video, I want to add about 100 scenarios to the list. Naval scenarios! Traveling incognito, but expecting serious fighting! Scouting/skulldugery behind enemy lines! Skirmishing in a small squad! Bodyguard for a young child walking the narrow streets of Venice! Fleeing a rout into woodlands on foot, pursued by mounted Mongol archers! Time traveler from the 16th century facing off against a small unit of 11th century Norsemen! Do more of these, I love kit hypotheticals.
Naval scenarios - what time period and what is your role? a standart sailor during early sailing period - a saber - thats what they invented. with a small hatchet as a backup. if its later during 17th century+ then guns. muscet and several pistol with a hatchet as a backup traveling incognito - what time period, who is traveling, and disguised/incognito-ed as who? - basically small stabby weapons that you can hide. daggers, knifes. if your disguise is allowed weapons - then those. if its peasent - hatchet, hammers, shovel or other basic tools. and fighting against whom? steriotypical peasents turned highway-bandids? - any one handed slashing sword, shield and armor. if its assessins or hired mercenaries - run. Scouting/skulldugery behind enemy lines - what time period? but knifes, small swords, hatchets. anything small that can easely kill and you can run away and sneak with. or a bow! Skirmishing in a small squad - again, what time period? and skirmishing against who? but mostly large shield and spear. if your enemy is cavelry then pikes Bodyguard for a young child walking the narrow streets of Venice - cool scenario - who is the child and who is the expected enemy? noble child against normal basic disgruntled peasents or townspeaple? then full plate armor for me, heavy clothing for the child and a humongous shield and a mace or truncheon. we dont want to kill peasents that are armed with rotten fruits, basic clubs and cubble stones, now do we? if the enemy is deliberatly trying to kill the child - small shield and stabby sword. kill them befor they get to the child. Fleeing a rout into woodlands on foot - fleeing from whom? what kind of woodland? but basically - no polearms or large weapons, cuz trees. maybe bows. but shield and axe or machette pursued by mounted Mongol archers - my own horse, heavy armor and full body kite shield with a saber. if i'm not on a horse - poleaxe or halberd or spear. Time traveler from the 16th century facing off against a small unit of 11th century Norsemen - claymore and full plate
Cinquedea deserves some love for formal dress. Especially since long blades were probably restricted in formal court settings unless you were part of the royal retinue or received some special dispensation
That was a great video actually - fun to see Matt react on the spot, having such a reputation for thoughtful and prepared videos (which are great btw).
As a fantasy roleplayer, here’s my question to Matt: From Early Medieval to Early Renaissance, disregarding firearms, what would your adventuring kit be in a standard fantasy world? Armor (head, body limbs), primary weapon, shield (yes/no, what type if any), backup weapon, any missile weapon?
Brilliant lads! This is such a fun format. I’d absolutely love to see it become a series. Brain games are always fun, and this is a great way to look at our precious arms and armour in another light. Kudos!
challenge settings: 1 in a dungeon maze 2 attacking a ship as a pirate, but cutlass or musket are not allowed 3 facing against a Klingon and an Romulan, equip yourself and a companion, only melee weapons before 1800 allowed (I assume they have their typical melee weapons with them)
1. In a maze, I choose a short sword so I have room (just like Theseus against the Minotaur). 2. Pirate: Venetian boarding sword. (An obscure but very cool looking sword) 3. Pre-1800 melee. Rapier.
I'm still not Matt, but 1: Bar flail and an Alehouse dagger. I've used these in LARPs for tunnel fighting, the flail 'folds' to fit the space and the dagger protects as well as a small buckler. 2: No cutlass, so I can't go Pringle Green. Boarding axe, dirk and a belt full of Barkers...... Oh, hang on. You said attacking a ship, not boarding one. Tomahawk, a big bag of grenades and a couple of cased slow matches. Maybe also bottles full of a mixture of over proof rum and Stockholm tar with a rag wick 3: Brigandines and Barbutes, a Poleaxe for one (bat'leth hit hard) and a longsword for the other.....A couple of large heavy knives each, like Bollocks or Bowies
Pretty much agree except for defending against ladders. I would choose an ax with a spike on top. It gives you the ability to thrust that Matt likes but I would mainly target the hands of those climbing the ladder first. Even with heavy gauntlets a good smash or two to the hands, especially when braced against a ladder rung, is going to hurt and might make them let go.
We had the same thought on the ogre! Harpoons if you have enough people to restrain it, pollaxe otherwise. The one I might disagree on is the battlements, although it depends on the details of the battlements and if there are any other defenders with me. Provided there were other defenders, I would go for a combination of swords, spears, and two-handed flails in the manner of the Hussites. Battlements minimize or negate a _lot_ of the problems of flails while making them quite potent at snapping at people below you.
first, primarily stabbing weapons because there isn't much room to swing, and a large shield since if you can find a choke point like a doorway it would make it very hard for enemies to get around you.
1 - open ground, duel, matched weapon - longsword, for the same reason Matt chose sabre... it's the weapon i have the most experience with, and therefore the best chance of survival 2a - defending a castle, from the rampart, against hand weapons - the sensible answer is a bow or projectile weapon of some sort but perhaps that's against the spirit of things, so i'll say spear. Maybe a hybrid answer is appropriate... give me a big barrel of throwable spears. 2b - when they're climbing up the ladders - probably a warhammer with a spike on the top so i can sweep, hook and poke. would like a shield if possible (Matt says pavise - that's very clever) 3 - i'm climbing up the ladder and attacking the castle - i'm gonna need one handed stuff for sure. i want a shield of some description to protect me against strikes from above, and i need a weapon that i can carry in my shield hand to keep it ready. i hate to be vague but a "short sword" in the vein of a viking sword is what i'm going to want for that. i'll also be carrying a sheathed arming sword and as many other one handed axes, daggers etc as i can bear the weight of... or afford 4 - a sidearm while travelling for personal defence in medieval europe - i'm going to interpret that as /late/ medieval and say sidesword. it's in the name, if i'm wandering around then i want a spada at my lato for sure. longsword would be a little too cumbersome for EDC so it's edged out here 5 - looking good at a formal event - well, that's a sidesword again, but this time with a complex hilt. i'd be happy with a true rapier also as a later period sword could be even fancier 6 - fantasy, fighting an ogre - it's got to be a polearm - the general answer is a poleaxe as it can cut, stab and hammer, however, it depends on the size of the ogre. if they're more than like 9 feet tall, i want something longer than a poleaxe. or, fantasy - i'll learn some spells and deal with it from afar :) was very interesting to hear Matt go totally opposite on my reasoning - forget maximising distance and go with the adaptability of a poleaxe lol note, i made a choice and justified it before watching Matt's answer, but in some cases I have edited my initial response slightly to include context from the video
Great vid! Love your reasoning! I'd go type XIV and a viking shield for pretty much everything, but a Goedendag for fighting the folks on ladders and a mahusive glave for the trolls.
as a Pole, in the fifth question I almost expected the answer "Karabella", especially after I heard about the passion for sabers :-D Polish karabellas were often very decorated, together with the noble robe and the rest of the costume typical of a Polish nobleman, they often dazzled even rich visitors from the west. This is, of course, a slightly later period than the times of Henry the Eighth, but there was no time frame in this question 😀
" *as a Pole [...] Karabella* " You sure you are a Pole? Regardless, it's "karabela". And I wholeheartedly agree that's the most stylish weapon ever! ;-)
@@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight Szabla means a saber. Karabela is a type of saber. A simple small crosshilt, "eagle's beak" style of a grip, fairly curved, often with a hatchet point.
I want to see that formal dress rapier and dagger outfit. Matt needs to also have a powdered wig with a cavalier hat. And lots snd lots of lead-based makeup
#6 - Single combat against large fantasy opponent: Armour and a short weapon is the absolute worst combo against a very large, incredibly strong enemy. If something like an ogre or troll hits you you'll be turned into a crushed tomato can. And if you try to block an attack you'll end up with two broken arms and/or a shattered weapon. Your only chance is to stay mobile and stab it a lot, hopefully in the face/eyes, and do lots of voiding. That or use a short bow and pepper it with arrows while kiting it. Assuming suspension of physics that stops such things existing, they would be a nightmare opponent for humans. Things like a ballista would be the best way to deal with them.
Siege defense: Roman liquid fire hand siphon. Siege attack: Axe of some kind, preferably capable of hooking and whatnot. Fantasy: I think I'd want a bow, but if the quarters are guaranteed to be tight, a two-handed sword. Scenario: Naval action, boarding ship to ship. Scenario: Forlorn Hope trying to force a breach in a wall caused by mining.
New nightmare. I'm holding a wall during a siege. Ladders are set. An armoured man climbs over the wall in front of me. It's Matt with a dagger, and he is dagger crazy.
I tried to come up with 6 scenarios, but it turned into 7. 1. Equip a band of 20 stone age warriors to fight a similar-sized group. Neither side is armoured, you can choose weapons from any real-world stone age culture. 2. Greece in the period from the Peleponnesian Wars to Alexander. You're not in the phalanx or cavalry, but what we can loosely called a skirmisher: your duties are to scout, harass and so on. You can can choose any available melee and/or ranged weapons and armour, but you need to carry everything. 3. Arm a cavalry force to fight against Julius Caesar (not Crassus, that's already been done for real). The Romans don't have allied cavalry, just their own. 4. Fighting against vampires who are armed with rapiers, and werewolves with teeth and claws - both are unarmoured, but only vulnerable to solid silver melee weapons. Yours can be custom made. 5. Boarding actions as an 18th-century pirate. 6. Melee weapons and possibly armour for World War I trench warfare. Can be historical or custom built from what you might have to hand. 7. Switching things round, fighting on open ground against a late mediaeval knight with his choice of arms and armour. But you don't get weapons, instead you can turn into any extant animal.
My picks: Open ground duel: Metal fan. I doubt my opponent will know how to use it. Defending the ramparts: I think a boar spear because I want to use leverage to remove them from the ladder. Climbing the ramparts: Large shield as Matt said, and I think a Tomahawk so I can hook, pull and also hit around my shield or their shield. Civilian travel: A short messer and buckler because I'm best with short swords. Fancy party: I dislike bumping into things so I'll go with a fancy main gauche and an expensive fan. Against an Ogre I'd prefer to engage at long range with a crossbow. At short range I'd like a pavis and a crow's beak poleax as Matt said.
A lot of fun and edcational hearing you and your friend's conversation. Really enjoyed it. Thanks, but I forgot about my cocktail as I was so engrossed. Well, back to my drink, I'll be tuning in later.
Very fun video! Here is a possible hypothetical for you Matt. It is 1901, a mad scientist has selected you to test his time machine, you will be transported back in time to early 1400s Europe. Your potential foes range from lightly armoured brigands to plate armoured knights. To aid you in this journey you are to select one model of European sword dating from 1780-1901. Which sword do you take?
Here's a scenario I've been thinking about lately. If you wanted to carry a dedicated melee sidearm, in a modern military context. By dedicated melee weapon, I mean NOT a multi-purpose tool that can be used as a weapon (like a knife or hatchet,) and I do not mean a bayonet that you can use to turn your rifle into a melee weapon. A single object you are carrying along with your rifle that has the sole purpose of being a melee weapon.
More of these please! I would ask what would you arm yourself, with a primary, secondary, shield (if wanted) or third weapon (Such as rondel), and armour (late 14thC, you are mid class man at arms level) tasked with 10 compatriots, jwho are armed as they please, to hold a 15 metres wide street from an incoming wall breach of a city? What if you could choose what everyone else was armed with as well individually and had 2 days to train them?
I see your rapier and rise a schiavona. There are many portraits of northern Italian gentlemen (so in their best gear) where the rapier is replaced by a schiavona.
Thumbs up for the Medieval Cinematic Universe crossovers. For #2 I'd take an axe or hammer. After dispatching the foe, you could then go to work on the ladder and try to break their rungs or hooks.
1:39 a Dagger 2:42 a big ole Canon 4:59 a shield and a sword 7:14 a Kriegsmesser, because that would be legal to carry haha - and always a dagger 9:05 I would not attend such a thing, and I would be too poor anyways 10:15 quick acting poison darts, and lots of them with lots of very strong poison
I have two questions. 1. Modern day, year 2024. Any MELEE weapon that's available and that you can legally own and carry, that would be useful for self defence and wouldn't raise suspicions. I like the topic of modern melee weapons. 2. Early modern period, what we can describe as the Age of Sail. You are a shipwreck survivor on an island with lots of wildlife as well as an indigenious population that's hostile to you and would attack you on sight. You'll spend at least the next couple of years on this island and this very weapon is the only item you have when you survive being shipwrecked.
After playing my one medieval game for a long time I reckon the best weapon to defend against enemies climbing up siege ladders is a really big hammer or a dagger and you get them right as they reach the top. If you peer over the side there’s a chance you get hit by a projectile.
Questions for another video: 1. In an 15th century fantasy setting, you're fighting an oriental ogre. In addition to being eight feet (about 2.5 meters) tall, and unbelievably strong, they're also highly intelligent and have magical abilities, such as the ability to turn invisible at will. What weapon and armor combination would you choose? 2. In the above scenario, what weapon and armor combination would you choose if you were the ogre fighting a human adventurer? 3. In a 15th century fantasy setting, what weapon and armor combination would you choose for your human army if you had to face Tolkien's elves of Rivendell? 4. Back to the real world, if you were a 17th century pirate captain, planning for boarding actions againts everything from merchant sailors with improvised weapons to repelling boarding actions by the British Royal Navy, what hand weapons would you choose for yourself and your crew? (Firearms are outside the scope of this question.)
2. Does the invisibility include the equipment I'm wearing and holding? If not, I'd fight naked with bare fists to take full advantage of my invisibility.
@@pRahvi0 It's been a while since I read the oriental legends but, if I recall correctly, the invisibility covers armor, weapons and equipment, but doesn't include inaudibility so clanking armor is out.
v Foes coming up a ladder: Got to be a forked long pole to push the ladder back & over! Saves all the exposure & time & effort trying to reload your crossbow & take shots without getting an arrow in your throat from the attackers covering bowmen/crossbowmen. Failing that a ruddy great lump of stone or two to knock several off the ladder as it goes down., Oli poured down, even cold, will make climbing the ladder very dangerous simply to cling on & step up, It could then be set alight too. Quicklime if it's to hand & the wind isn't blowing it back into your face. Late C15th-Also grenades-black powder in clay pots, including shrapnel. Lob then over towards the base of the ladder & at least you'll devestate most waiting to come up & several starting-you might also break up the bottom of the ladder itself😊 Scatter a load of caltrops along the base of the wall too. They can't fight you if they never get up the top of the ladder!
Open ground, unarmored duel, matched weapons: I'll go with pool noodles, maybe a water pistol, since it wasn't specified that somebody had to die in this duel.
1. Sabers (same weapons, unarmored one on one). Myself: smallsword. 2. Pavise and arming sword (defending castle ramparts). Myself: Spear. 3. Medium armor and heavier shield and spear and dagger (assaulting ramparts). Myself: Sword and buckler. 4. Cut and thrust one handed long bladed sword and buckler (traveling in a carriage in medieval age). Myself: Sword and buckler. 5. Jewel encrusted Rapier and dagger (at court). Myself: I would not be at court. 6. Poleaxe (Ogre). Myself: I don't believe in Ogres.
Hey, is there a good video on this channel on pavise shield comparisons? No... some that mention them... Should be! Matt, do a video on the pavise and it's many types! (Also, what would you paint on yours?)
A scenario I'd be interested in your take on would be: you're going to be in a duel, you cannot wear armor, but you don't know whether the other person will be wearing any armor or what type if so, or what weapon they will be using?
If we're doing hypotheticals, just for fun I'm gonna go full "mall ninja" and ask what historical weapon you would choose in a zombie apocalypse scenario (aside from firearms, obviously.)
"Against a monster I'd take a pole axe!" Matt, I am so disappointed. Everyone knows the best weapons against monsters is the Falchion! After all, the only surviving weapon to actually have slain a dragon is the Conyers Falchion, which Sir John Conyers used to slay the Sockburn Wyrm.
1:open ground duel - I pick (bare knuckles) in unarmed combat to the death as F facing someone with sword be it sabre or another blade. If I have to use a weapon then English Staff as I know most people are not familiar with Staff & pole arms these days like myself. 2:Atop a siege/defending a siege- you want a weapon that can thrust, pull, push & rake cut so Halberd, guisarme or a Bill though the latter has no push to cut. Corseque or a septum would not be bad but Halberd or guisarme is likely king atop a siege with a man catcher or 2 along the offended wall. Man catchers are great as you can pin 1 guy in place & the other can't come up behind him as 2 blokes atop have him pinned with a spear or another polearm at their neck! Your love & bias of swords blinds you to reason Matt. 3: assaulting a siege I agree on most matt as a dagger would be a good pick- personally a short sword-long dagger like a anelace, Swissdagen gladius, Cutlass or Bilbao would be my choice as some cut but mainly thrust while paired with a shield in preferably Brig & plate. Short & manageable would be best but I'd still like some cut with reach enough to prod near the top of the ladder. 4:Personal defence - a Pistols & if not guns then a few Saunion or soliferrum that are solid iron javelins-spears that can be carried in a quiver. ranged weapons exist matt & I'd rather a large dagger over a sword for personal defence as it is quicker to hand. 5:looking good/style- I pick 4 barrelled Gun mace walking cane like henry 7th & other nobles had as the height of heavy violent masculinity to enforce odder of the lands laws.
6 against ogre, a troll or any large mythical beast then javelins or very high poundage crossbow as trying to take down a mammoth or elephant sized creature with any melee weapon is radio rental Matt. I ain't an fantasy adventure with protagonist plot armour or a daily trained knight so a pole arm I know would be of use but not wise for me or you Matt as just fairly ordinary blokes. Fight smart & not with courage or honour for you will live longer to hopefully see your twilight years!
That ogre question makes me want to quibble a bit. A greatsword might be a good choice in that situation. A pollaxe isn't a bad choice at all, but the greatsword is almost a synthesis between that and the benefits of a spear. I'm not sure I'd go with a rapier as a fancy-dress sword, either. The hilts are beautiful of course, but the length (Matt said _forty-five_ inches?!?) seems terribly impractical for a party. Plenty of sabers have pretty hilts but don't require a 3-foot radius to turn around.
Great video. I was thinking about my choices will you were explaining yours. How would a knight gear up himself before the battle starts if he cant know in advance if he will stay mounted or if the horse only serves to bring him close to the battle?
Best guess, or if you really don't know, assume you'll be on foot at some point anyway. Even if you didn't intend to be! The English and quite often French knights habitually fought on foot during the 100 years war.
Scenario: Open field, facing a hundred goblins (or other child-sized, disorganized opponents) armed with knives, you have about 20m between you and the closest one
Without armor I’m a dead man no matter the weapon. Assuming I can have the most maximal armor possible, I think I’d go for some type of two handed sword. Seems like that would do the most damage in the shortest amount of time, hopefully saving me from succumbing to sheer exhaustion before I can finish them off. 100 of anything is a lot. I’d probably need a knife or dagger for the ones that inevitably start crawling all over me. 😂
I've always thought a brown bear was the best IRL analog for an ogre-y/troll-y creature, but with an aggressive male chimpanzee behavior and physiology. No sane person would want to go one-on-one against this sort of thing, but if I did need to I'd want a stout long-bladed polearm like a glaive. I'd want to be able to easily perform deep cuts to tendons, while having a blade long and sturdy enough to reach the vitals of huge a large opponent. I'd almost certainly die unless I wasn't doing this alone, and preferably had a pack of mastiffs to harry it.
For a fantasy realm scenario, I would choose no weapon at all, just some powerful spells and a bag of mana potions. I might also consider shapeshifting into a dragon and scorching my enemies from the air. The enemy would stand no chance in Hell.
Question specific to Zachary but Matt can answer too. The Zombie Apocalypse starts and the mode of transport you have access to is a horse. What armour and (none gun) weapons do you take with you on your horse?
Was there ever a historical precedent of a sieging forve building a ladder that twists? The basic idea is to cover one side of the ladder against attack and you climb up on the underside of the ladder until you reach the top and twist onto the top side. Less people get shot off or hit on the way up
Q7: post apocalyptic world, need an all around weapon, but also ocasional tool. I'm thinking of an axe for my choice or a samurai sword. Curious to your pick of course. Thank you.
Fantasy setting I would go with haliberd, but poleax is excellent choice. Though with the right training the whip sword from India with 9 blades should do some heavy damage to an unarmoured opponent
I actually agree with the last choice, but it would be a poleHAMMER, in my case, since I'm not an experienced axe user. I might also want a nice point at the bases of the shaft, too, so I can attack with both ends. As for traveling in the Middle Ages, I'll stick to a staff, thanks: it's completely inconspicuous and I actually have *some* training with it.
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You can almost hear a Skallagrimmian "It depends!" radiate across the vastness of the aether in resonance.
This is generally the answer to many, many, many things.
@@GUNNER67akaKeltIt is the correct answer, but it's never fun. Someone asked me the best sword in history, so I showed him the work of Patrick Barta at Templ. He didn't want to hear how it depended on so many things, he wanted a fun answer. (Next day I told him it depended.)
Even so, I'm awfully tired of "Well, it all depends, it's what works for you, it's not good for all things, just another tool in the box, and you have to kinda do what works, and what works is what works for you, there is no normal it's whatever works...." no matter how true it might be in the grand scheme of things.
@@greyvr4336 Truth or fun. Some prefer truth. Some prefer fun. The problem is the fun people come back and talk shit when they find out what they were told wasn't true. Sometimes it seems like they get their 'fun' only from pointing out that the person was incorrect, and that's only fun for one side, not the other. Which comes back around to the answer, 'It depends."
@@GUNNER67akaKeltCan be both. If you want to live in tired tropes that might be true but have bored generations to tears I certainly won't raise more then a post to stop you,
@@greyvr4336 Cool.
Re: Climbing a ladder with a pavise. Years ago I ran a historically accurate RPG campaign. At one stage the players had to fend off an attack by an enemy assault force and I said that they were all carrying shields and swords.
One player with a very strong engineering background argued against this saying that it was impossible to climb with a shield, let alone with both hand full. This went back and forth until I actually went outside his house and demonstrated how it could be done by climbing a 20 foot ladder with said weapons in hand, in fact we observed that by climbing and leaning into the ladder it is almost impossible to NOT cover yourself with the shield.
My first thought at that point in the video was "can you climb the ladder by hooking the rungs with the corner between the sword pommel and your hand/wrist", is this roughly how you did it?
It may be possible to have the shield in hand, and as long as it provides actual cover it might not be a bad idea. Depending on the type of shield and the way it's gripped, I could picture it being cumbersome enough that simply strapping it and carrying it across the chest or the back would be much easier. Don't think I'd want my weapon in the other hand while I was climbing, though. I'd want it sheathed for quick access once I'm close to the top.
Please post a video demonstration lol
Sabers? Heck no, duel with matched weapons, I say Nerf bats. I don't wanna bleed!
Well, then it's going to be a loooooong duel if it's to the death... :)
@@Waggadudewagga Just to exhaustion :D
But that's a modern "weapon". I would prefer a quarterstaff.
Lmao
Cardboard wrapping paper tubes? Wet noodles?
Fun thought experiment. I'd love to hear Zac's responses to the same idea under mounted scenarios, such as mounted charge, mounted close combat against unmounted opponents, mounted close combat vs mounted opponents, etc
If you were a immortal in the highlander world and had to face other immortals who had different types of swords from all different eras What sword would you choose to carry
That right there is a question worthy of a whole video.. or even a video series.
The correct answer is a 12 gauge shotgun. There can be only one... Blam! Blam!
@@scholagladiatoria Go for it Matt! Highlander is such an interesting concept.
I know if it were me it'd be montante
I would personally carry An Oakeshott Type XVIIIc Alexandria sword if I was a immortal in the highlander world, it’s a strong sword and a great cutter and a good size to keep the opponent at distance.
This is a fabulous idea for a video, I want to add about 100 scenarios to the list. Naval scenarios! Traveling incognito, but expecting serious fighting! Scouting/skulldugery behind enemy lines! Skirmishing in a small squad! Bodyguard for a young child walking the narrow streets of Venice! Fleeing a rout into woodlands on foot, pursued by mounted Mongol archers! Time traveler from the 16th century facing off against a small unit of 11th century Norsemen! Do more of these, I love kit hypotheticals.
Naval scenarios - what time period and what is your role? a standart sailor during early sailing period - a saber - thats what they invented. with a small hatchet as a backup. if its later during 17th century+ then guns. muscet and several pistol with a hatchet as a backup
traveling incognito - what time period, who is traveling, and disguised/incognito-ed as who? - basically small stabby weapons that you can hide. daggers, knifes. if your disguise is allowed weapons - then those. if its peasent - hatchet, hammers, shovel or other basic tools. and fighting against whom? steriotypical peasents turned highway-bandids? - any one handed slashing sword, shield and armor. if its assessins or hired mercenaries - run.
Scouting/skulldugery behind enemy lines - what time period? but knifes, small swords, hatchets. anything small that can easely kill and you can run away and sneak with. or a bow!
Skirmishing in a small squad - again, what time period? and skirmishing against who? but mostly large shield and spear. if your enemy is cavelry then pikes
Bodyguard for a young child walking the narrow streets of Venice - cool scenario - who is the child and who is the expected enemy? noble child against normal basic disgruntled peasents or townspeaple? then full plate armor for me, heavy clothing for the child and a humongous shield and a mace or truncheon. we dont want to kill peasents that are armed with rotten fruits, basic clubs and cubble stones, now do we? if the enemy is deliberatly trying to kill the child - small shield and stabby sword. kill them befor they get to the child.
Fleeing a rout into woodlands on foot - fleeing from whom? what kind of woodland? but basically - no polearms or large weapons, cuz trees. maybe bows. but shield and axe or machette
pursued by mounted Mongol archers - my own horse, heavy armor and full body kite shield with a saber. if i'm not on a horse - poleaxe or halberd or spear.
Time traveler from the 16th century facing off against a small unit of 11th century Norsemen - claymore and full plate
One of the most concise videos of Matt Easton.
"You'd need a really large turning circle to get around the canapés" 🤣🤣🤣
I really hope there are more in this series! It was fun and interesting. n_n
Defending the castle as they come up the ladder preferred weapon: My set of kettle bells and gravity.
Cinquedea deserves some love for formal dress. Especially since long blades were probably restricted in formal court settings unless you were part of the royal retinue or received some special dispensation
This was a great video, thanks for doing it!
That was a great video actually - fun to see Matt react on the spot, having such a reputation for thoughtful and prepared videos (which are great btw).
Shotgun !!!
& termites, for the ladder 🪜
As a fantasy roleplayer, here’s my question to Matt: From Early Medieval to Early Renaissance, disregarding firearms, what would your adventuring kit be in a standard fantasy world? Armor (head, body limbs), primary weapon, shield (yes/no, what type if any), backup weapon, any missile weapon?
Contexts! 🎉
Ninja'd. 🥷 Congrats. 👍 Contexts! 🎉 indeed. 😁
Brilliant lads! This is such a fun format. I’d absolutely love to see it become a series.
Brain games are always fun, and this is a great way to look at our precious arms and armour in another light. Kudos!
Nice to see Zac on your channel again!
This was fantastic! Loved it
challenge settings:
1 in a dungeon maze
2 attacking a ship as a pirate, but cutlass or musket are not allowed
3 facing against a Klingon and an Romulan, equip yourself and a companion, only melee weapons before 1800 allowed (I assume they have their typical melee weapons with them)
1. In a maze, I choose a short sword so I have room (just like Theseus against the Minotaur).
2. Pirate: Venetian boarding sword. (An obscure but very cool looking sword)
3. Pre-1800 melee. Rapier.
I'm still not Matt, but
1: Bar flail and an Alehouse dagger. I've used these in LARPs for tunnel fighting, the flail 'folds' to fit the space and the dagger protects as well as a small buckler.
2: No cutlass, so I can't go Pringle Green. Boarding axe, dirk and a belt full of Barkers...... Oh, hang on. You said attacking a ship, not boarding one. Tomahawk, a big bag of grenades and a couple of cased slow matches. Maybe also bottles full of a mixture of over proof rum and Stockholm tar with a rag wick
3: Brigandines and Barbutes, a Poleaxe for one (bat'leth hit hard) and a longsword for the other.....A couple of large heavy knives each, like Bollocks or Bowies
This video was a very fun watch
Pretty much agree except for defending against ladders. I would choose an ax with a spike on top. It gives you the ability to thrust that Matt likes but I would mainly target the hands of those climbing the ladder first. Even with heavy gauntlets a good smash or two to the hands, especially when braced against a ladder rung, is going to hurt and might make them let go.
I agree about the hands.
And with an axe you could also target the ladder itself instead of waitng for them to climb it.
We had the same thought on the ogre! Harpoons if you have enough people to restrain it, pollaxe otherwise.
The one I might disagree on is the battlements, although it depends on the details of the battlements and if there are any other defenders with me. Provided there were other defenders, I would go for a combination of swords, spears, and two-handed flails in the manner of the Hussites. Battlements minimize or negate a _lot_ of the problems of flails while making them quite potent at snapping at people below you.
Could you do a video on those smaller packages and carry methods that you mentioned?
I have a good one. Fantasy medieval; What do you take into a cave to fight a variety of size monsters in varying degrees of enclosed space.
first, primarily stabbing weapons because there isn't much room to swing, and a large shield since if you can find a choke point like a doorway it would make it very hard for enemies to get around you.
A bunch of hatchets for throwing and a buckler
flame-thrower, i.e. Greek fire.
1 - open ground, duel, matched weapon - longsword, for the same reason Matt chose sabre... it's the weapon i have the most experience with, and therefore the best chance of survival
2a - defending a castle, from the rampart, against hand weapons - the sensible answer is a bow or projectile weapon of some sort but perhaps that's against the spirit of things, so i'll say spear. Maybe a hybrid answer is appropriate... give me a big barrel of throwable spears.
2b - when they're climbing up the ladders - probably a warhammer with a spike on the top so i can sweep, hook and poke. would like a shield if possible (Matt says pavise - that's very clever)
3 - i'm climbing up the ladder and attacking the castle - i'm gonna need one handed stuff for sure. i want a shield of some description to protect me against strikes from above, and i need a weapon that i can carry in my shield hand to keep it ready. i hate to be vague but a "short sword" in the vein of a viking sword is what i'm going to want for that. i'll also be carrying a sheathed arming sword and as many other one handed axes, daggers etc as i can bear the weight of... or afford
4 - a sidearm while travelling for personal defence in medieval europe - i'm going to interpret that as /late/ medieval and say sidesword. it's in the name, if i'm wandering around then i want a spada at my lato for sure. longsword would be a little too cumbersome for EDC so it's edged out here
5 - looking good at a formal event - well, that's a sidesword again, but this time with a complex hilt. i'd be happy with a true rapier also as a later period sword could be even fancier
6 - fantasy, fighting an ogre - it's got to be a polearm - the general answer is a poleaxe as it can cut, stab and hammer, however, it depends on the size of the ogre. if they're more than like 9 feet tall, i want something longer than a poleaxe. or, fantasy - i'll learn some spells and deal with it from afar :) was very interesting to hear Matt go totally opposite on my reasoning - forget maximising distance and go with the adaptability of a poleaxe lol
note, i made a choice and justified it before watching Matt's answer, but in some cases I have edited my initial response slightly to include context from the video
Great vid!
Love your reasoning!
I'd go type XIV and a viking shield for pretty much everything, but a Goedendag for fighting the folks on ladders and a mahusive glave for the trolls.
as a Pole, in the fifth question I almost expected the answer "Karabella", especially after I heard about the passion for sabers :-D Polish karabellas were often very decorated, together with the noble robe and the rest of the costume typical of a Polish nobleman, they often dazzled even rich visitors from the west. This is, of course, a slightly later period than the times of Henry the Eighth, but there was no time frame in this question 😀
There are far too many beautiful Polish sabers.
" *as a Pole [...] Karabella* "
You sure you are a Pole? Regardless, it's "karabela". And I wholeheartedly agree that's the most stylish weapon ever! ;-)
What is the difference between a szabla and a karabella?
@@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight Szabla means a saber. Karabela is a type of saber. A simple small crosshilt, "eagle's beak" style of a grip, fairly curved, often with a hatchet point.
I want to see that formal dress rapier and dagger outfit. Matt needs to also have a powdered wig with a cavalier hat. And lots snd lots of lead-based makeup
What a great set of questions and answers!
#6 - Single combat against large fantasy opponent: Armour and a short weapon is the absolute worst combo against a very large, incredibly strong enemy. If something like an ogre or troll hits you you'll be turned into a crushed tomato can. And if you try to block an attack you'll end up with two broken arms and/or a shattered weapon.
Your only chance is to stay mobile and stab it a lot, hopefully in the face/eyes, and do lots of voiding. That or use a short bow and pepper it with arrows while kiting it. Assuming suspension of physics that stops such things existing, they would be a nightmare opponent for humans. Things like a ballista would be the best way to deal with them.
the perfect format for Matt - tap into his vast knowledge, but also keep him on target. he does tend to get down into the weeds
Siege defense: Roman liquid fire hand siphon.
Siege attack: Axe of some kind, preferably capable of hooking and whatnot.
Fantasy: I think I'd want a bow, but if the quarters are guaranteed to be tight, a two-handed sword.
Scenario: Naval action, boarding ship to ship.
Scenario: Forlorn Hope trying to force a breach in a wall caused by mining.
Excellent video, great idea Zach!
Very interesting and amusing! Thank you for making and sharing. 👍
Great video, more scenarios would be good to hear.
Contextual context contexting should DEFINITELY become a video series 🎉
New nightmare. I'm holding a wall during a siege. Ladders are set. An armoured man climbs over the wall in front of me. It's Matt with a dagger, and he is dagger crazy.
Great video lads! Really fun thought experiment would like to see more like it
I tried to come up with 6 scenarios, but it turned into 7.
1. Equip a band of 20 stone age warriors to fight a similar-sized group. Neither side is armoured, you can choose weapons from any real-world stone age culture.
2. Greece in the period from the Peleponnesian Wars to Alexander. You're not in the phalanx or cavalry, but what we can loosely called a skirmisher: your duties are to scout, harass and so on. You can can choose any available melee and/or ranged weapons and armour, but you need to carry everything.
3. Arm a cavalry force to fight against Julius Caesar (not Crassus, that's already been done for real). The Romans don't have allied cavalry, just their own.
4. Fighting against vampires who are armed with rapiers, and werewolves with teeth and claws - both are unarmoured, but only vulnerable to solid silver melee weapons. Yours can be custom made.
5. Boarding actions as an 18th-century pirate.
6. Melee weapons and possibly armour for World War I trench warfare. Can be historical or custom built from what you might have to hand.
7. Switching things round, fighting on open ground against a late mediaeval knight with his choice of arms and armour. But you don't get weapons, instead you can turn into any extant animal.
Those scenarios are fun, you guys should make it a series.
With that said, I'd choose a beltfed in most of those.
Love this, so much fun and very interesting.
More of these would be interesting to hear.
That was fun, thank you gentlemen.
My picks:
Open ground duel: Metal fan. I doubt my opponent will know how to use it.
Defending the ramparts: I think a boar spear because I want to use leverage to remove them from the ladder.
Climbing the ramparts: Large shield as Matt said, and I think a Tomahawk so I can hook, pull and also hit around my shield or their shield.
Civilian travel: A short messer and buckler because I'm best with short swords.
Fancy party: I dislike bumping into things so I'll go with a fancy main gauche and an expensive fan.
Against an Ogre I'd prefer to engage at long range with a crossbow. At short range I'd like a pavis and a crow's beak poleax as Matt said.
A lot of fun and edcational hearing you and your friend's conversation. Really enjoyed it. Thanks, but I forgot about my cocktail as I was so engrossed.
Well, back to my drink, I'll be tuning in later.
I love this! So very cool, and these were all great questions and answers. Cheers, Gents!
Hard fail on the fancy rapier. The classiest, most appropriate period weapon for a fancy event, is clearly the bollocks dagger.
"Look, Scholargladitoria knocked a punchbowl off the table. The Queen is glaring at him."
Very fun video! Here is a possible hypothetical for you Matt.
It is 1901, a mad scientist has selected you to test his time machine, you will be transported back in time to early 1400s Europe. Your potential foes range from lightly armoured brigands to plate armoured knights.
To aid you in this journey you are to select one model of European sword dating from 1780-1901. Which sword do you take?
Here's a scenario I've been thinking about lately. If you wanted to carry a dedicated melee sidearm, in a modern military context. By dedicated melee weapon, I mean NOT a multi-purpose tool that can be used as a weapon (like a knife or hatchet,) and I do not mean a bayonet that you can use to turn your rifle into a melee weapon. A single object you are carrying along with your rifle that has the sole purpose of being a melee weapon.
Fun video, would enjoy more content like this
More of these please! I would ask what would you arm yourself, with a primary, secondary, shield (if wanted) or third weapon (Such as rondel), and armour (late 14thC, you are mid class man at arms level) tasked with 10 compatriots, jwho are armed as they please, to hold a 15 metres wide street from an incoming wall breach of a city? What if you could choose what everyone else was armed with as well individually and had 2 days to train them?
I see your rapier and rise a schiavona.
There are many portraits of northern Italian gentlemen (so in their best gear) where the rapier is replaced by a schiavona.
This is great!
More of these please!
Also, what are Zack’s answers!?
That was super fun. Do more.
Love how the title is "(...) in different context" haha
Thumbs up for the Medieval Cinematic Universe crossovers. For #2 I'd take an axe or hammer. After dispatching the foe, you could then go to work on the ladder and try to break their rungs or hooks.
1:39 a Dagger
2:42 a big ole Canon
4:59 a shield and a sword
7:14 a Kriegsmesser, because that would be legal to carry haha - and always a dagger
9:05 I would not attend such a thing, and I would be too poor anyways
10:15 quick acting poison darts, and lots of them with lots of very strong poison
I have two questions. 1. Modern day, year 2024. Any MELEE weapon that's available and that you can legally own and carry, that would be useful for self defence and wouldn't raise suspicions. I like the topic of modern melee weapons. 2. Early modern period, what we can describe as the Age of Sail. You are a shipwreck survivor on an island with lots of wildlife as well as an indigenious population that's hostile to you and would attack you on sight. You'll spend at least the next couple of years on this island and this very weapon is the only item you have when you survive being shipwrecked.
I'm not Matt but if I was,
1: This is England, so none
2: Boarding Axe
@@stonedog5547Is this really as bad in England? I'm not from there and where I live people normally carry telescopic batons for self defence.
After playing my one medieval game for a long time I reckon the best weapon to defend against enemies climbing up siege ladders is a really big hammer or a dagger and you get them right as they reach the top. If you peer over the side there’s a chance you get hit by a projectile.
I really enjoyed this segment, I reminded of an Alan partridge interview.
Quite fun and informative, especially for a weapons dilettante such as myself.
Questions for another video:
1. In an 15th century fantasy setting, you're fighting an oriental ogre. In addition to being eight feet (about 2.5 meters) tall, and unbelievably strong, they're also highly intelligent and have magical abilities, such as the ability to turn invisible at will. What weapon and armor combination would you choose?
2. In the above scenario, what weapon and armor combination would you choose if you were the ogre fighting a human adventurer?
3. In a 15th century fantasy setting, what weapon and armor combination would you choose for your human army if you had to face Tolkien's elves of Rivendell?
4. Back to the real world, if you were a 17th century pirate captain, planning for boarding actions againts everything from merchant sailors with improvised weapons to repelling boarding actions by the British Royal Navy, what hand weapons would you choose for yourself and your crew? (Firearms are outside the scope of this question.)
2. Does the invisibility include the equipment I'm wearing and holding? If not, I'd fight naked with bare fists to take full advantage of my invisibility.
@@pRahvi0
It's been a while since I read the oriental legends but, if I recall correctly, the invisibility covers armor, weapons and equipment, but doesn't include inaudibility so clanking armor is out.
Last question was the best!
Captain Context comes around the corner waving a sabre at me, what is my weapon of choice? I reckon I'll do 'im with a dane axe.
Fantastic list! All I am missing is the Pavese and the poleax. More exotic and fantasy lists, please!
v Foes coming up a ladder: Got to be a forked long pole to push the ladder back & over! Saves all the exposure & time & effort trying to reload your crossbow & take shots without getting an arrow in your throat from the attackers covering bowmen/crossbowmen. Failing that a ruddy great lump of stone or two to knock several off the ladder as it goes down., Oli poured down, even cold, will make climbing the ladder very dangerous simply to cling on & step up, It could then be set alight too. Quicklime if it's to hand & the wind isn't blowing it back into your face.
Late C15th-Also grenades-black powder in clay pots, including shrapnel. Lob then over towards the base of the ladder & at least you'll devestate most waiting to come up & several starting-you might also break up the bottom of the ladder itself😊
Scatter a load of caltrops along the base of the wall too.
They can't fight you if they never get up the top of the ladder!
Open ground, unarmored duel, matched weapons: I'll go with pool noodles, maybe a water pistol, since it wasn't specified that somebody had to die in this duel.
1. Sabers (same weapons, unarmored one on one). Myself: smallsword.
2. Pavise and arming sword (defending castle ramparts). Myself: Spear.
3. Medium armor and heavier shield and spear and dagger (assaulting ramparts). Myself: Sword and buckler.
4. Cut and thrust one handed long bladed sword and buckler (traveling in a carriage in medieval age). Myself: Sword and buckler.
5. Jewel encrusted Rapier and dagger (at court). Myself: I would not be at court. 6. Poleaxe (Ogre). Myself: I don't believe in Ogres.
LOL #6. But the Ogres in a fantasy setting believe in you. ;)
1. Longsword
2. Arqebuus and Sword and Buckler
3. Foot combat plate armour, a Dagger and a Polearm
4. Longsword
5. A greatsword
I live with a couple ogres, I can assure you they're real.
Hey, is there a good video on this channel on pavise shield comparisons? No... some that mention them... Should be!
Matt, do a video on the pavise and it's many types! (Also, what would you paint on yours?)
Fun one! Please do again soon.
in the wisdom of a certain lads words; it depends
A scenario I'd be interested in your take on would be: you're going to be in a duel, you cannot wear armor, but you don't know whether the other person will be wearing any armor or what type if so, or what weapon they will be using?
Me: "Longsword, the type commonly called a "bastard sword." For EVERYTHING."
Cool video idea. It's simple and fun
This is the best video idea
If you were a cavalry officer in the Indian mutiny facing Khandas , Tulwars and Firangis what type of sword would you carry ?
If we're doing hypotheticals, just for fun I'm gonna go full "mall ninja" and ask what historical weapon you would choose in a zombie apocalypse scenario (aside from firearms, obviously.)
I would defend the ladder with buckets of hot oil. Good luck even making it to the top.
"Against a monster I'd take a pole axe!" Matt, I am so disappointed. Everyone knows the best weapons against monsters is the Falchion!
After all, the only surviving weapon to actually have slain a dragon is the Conyers Falchion, which Sir John Conyers used to slay the Sockburn Wyrm.
1:open ground duel - I pick (bare knuckles) in unarmed combat to the death as F facing someone with sword be it sabre or another blade.
If I have to use a weapon then English Staff as I know most people are not familiar with Staff & pole arms these days like myself.
2:Atop a siege/defending a siege- you want a weapon that can thrust, pull, push & rake cut so Halberd, guisarme or a Bill though the latter has no push to cut.
Corseque or a septum would not be bad but Halberd or guisarme is likely king atop a siege with a man catcher or 2 along the offended wall.
Man catchers are great as you can pin 1 guy in place & the other can't come up behind him as 2 blokes atop have him pinned with a spear or another polearm at their neck!
Your love & bias of swords blinds you to reason Matt.
3: assaulting a siege I agree on most matt as a dagger would be a good pick- personally a short sword-long dagger like a anelace, Swissdagen gladius, Cutlass or Bilbao would be my choice as some cut but mainly thrust while paired with a shield in preferably Brig & plate.
Short & manageable would be best but I'd still like some cut with reach enough to prod near the top of the ladder.
4:Personal defence - a Pistols & if not guns then a few Saunion or soliferrum that are solid iron javelins-spears that can be carried in a quiver.
ranged weapons exist matt & I'd rather a large dagger over a sword for personal defence as it is quicker to hand.
5:looking good/style- I pick 4 barrelled Gun mace walking cane like henry 7th & other nobles had as the height of heavy violent masculinity to enforce odder of the lands laws.
6 against ogre, a troll or any large mythical beast then javelins or very high poundage crossbow as trying to take down a mammoth or elephant sized creature with any melee weapon is radio rental Matt.
I ain't an fantasy adventure with protagonist plot armour or a daily trained knight so a pole arm I know would be of use but not wise for me or you Matt as just fairly ordinary blokes.
Fight smart & not with courage or honour for you will live longer to hopefully see your twilight years!
That ogre question makes me want to quibble a bit. A greatsword might be a good choice in that situation. A pollaxe isn't a bad choice at all, but the greatsword is almost a synthesis between that and the benefits of a spear. I'm not sure I'd go with a rapier as a fancy-dress sword, either. The hilts are beautiful of course, but the length (Matt said _forty-five_ inches?!?) seems terribly impractical for a party. Plenty of sabers have pretty hilts but don't require a 3-foot radius to turn around.
Great video. I was thinking about my choices will you were explaining yours.
How would a knight gear up himself before the battle starts if he cant know in advance if he will stay mounted or if the horse only serves to bring him close to the battle?
Best guess, or if you really don't know, assume you'll be on foot at some point anyway. Even if you didn't intend to be!
The English and quite often French knights habitually fought on foot during the 100 years war.
I loved this!
“matched weapons” *puts away FN FAL*
Scenario: Open field, facing a hundred goblins (or other child-sized, disorganized opponents) armed with knives, you have about 20m between you and the closest one
Without armor I’m a dead man no matter the weapon. Assuming I can have the most maximal armor possible, I think I’d go for some type of two handed sword. Seems like that would do the most damage in the shortest amount of time, hopefully saving me from succumbing to sheer exhaustion before I can finish them off. 100 of anything is a lot. I’d probably need a knife or dagger for the ones that inevitably start crawling all over me. 😂
I've always thought a brown bear was the best IRL analog for an ogre-y/troll-y creature, but with an aggressive male chimpanzee behavior and physiology. No sane person would want to go one-on-one against this sort of thing, but if I did need to I'd want a stout long-bladed polearm like a glaive. I'd want to be able to easily perform deep cuts to tendons, while having a blade long and sturdy enough to reach the vitals of huge a large opponent. I'd almost certainly die unless I wasn't doing this alone, and preferably had a pack of mastiffs to harry it.
For a fantasy realm scenario, I would choose no weapon at all, just some powerful spells and a bag of mana potions. I might also consider shapeshifting into a dragon and scorching my enemies from the air. The enemy would stand no chance in Hell.
The falcion of the middle Middle Ages is definitely useful in multiple situations.
i need Zac and Matt and a chariot
Question specific to Zachary but Matt can answer too. The Zombie Apocalypse starts and the mode of transport you have access to is a horse. What armour and (none gun) weapons do you take with you on your horse?
Was there ever a historical precedent of a sieging forve building a ladder that twists? The basic idea is to cover one side of the ladder against attack and you climb up on the underside of the ladder until you reach the top and twist onto the top side. Less people get shot off or hit on the way up
Q7: post apocalyptic world, need an all around weapon, but also ocasional tool. I'm thinking of an axe for my choice or a samurai sword.
Curious to your pick of course.
Thank you.
Fantasy setting I would go with haliberd, but poleax is excellent choice. Though with the right training the whip sword from India with 9 blades should do some heavy damage to an unarmoured opponent
I actually agree with the last choice, but it would be a poleHAMMER, in my case, since I'm not an experienced axe user. I might also want a nice point at the bases of the shaft, too, so I can attack with both ends.
As for traveling in the Middle Ages, I'll stick to a staff, thanks: it's completely inconspicuous and I actually have *some* training with it.
I think against the Ogre/Troll, having a chu ko nu with venomed tips for multiple distant/safe shots.
Against the ogre, a Dane axe.
Love it!
More please 😁
Against a monster like ogres, it would probably be good to have armor with spikes, which were supposedly used to protect against bears.