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    Canonfire :: View topic - Weapons by Country?
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    Weapons by Country?
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 03, 2002
    Posts: 41
    From: Whitehorse

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    Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:15 pm  
    Weapons by Country?

    Hiya!

    Just started a new Greyhawk campaign (5e base, with 1e/HM attitude and expectations). I was curious if anyone has written up a list of "most favored" weapons and armor by country?

    Every weapon doesn't have to be covered, obviously, but something like:

    Wild Coast:
      Favoured Weapons = Light Crossbow, Dagger, Shortsword, Longsword
      Favoured Armor = None or Leather (not Padded) / Studded Leather; Bucklers

    An old RPG called Powers & Perils has a world called Perilous Lands. Each 'culture' has a list of "Cultural Weapons" and I think a notation about most common armor used by army/militia. We found it really useful in helping bring the different cultures to life. It also helps with how easy or expensive buying/fixing some type of armor or weapon.

    Anyway, just wondering if anyone did this or has seen it done somewhere (maybe an issue of Dragon or even Oerth Journel)?

    ^_^

    Paul L. Ming
    GreySage

    Joined: Jul 26, 2010
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    From: LG Dyvers

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    Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:20 pm  

    If you have access to the Greyhawk Wars boxed set, you could extrapolate that information from the army chits for each country. It's not very precise, but it would be a starting point.

    SirXaris
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    Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:34 pm  

    Yeomanry has always been the spear country of the Flanaess. So spear = Yeomanry.
    GreySage

    Joined: Jul 26, 2010
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    From: LG Dyvers

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    Fri Jun 10, 2016 9:58 am  

    Sutemi wrote:
    Yeomanry has always been the spear country of the Flanaess. So spear = Yeomanry.


    Yes, and I always appreciated that the freeholders, with their spear militias, were able to hold off the giant incursions. That made a lot of sense to me.

    Here are a few suggestions based on what I have developed for my own campaign. They are based on canon as much as I could discover.

    Keoland = Basic feudal society much like old England.

    Geoff = Celtic. Javellin-throwing charioteers and Woad Raiders.

    Sterich = Combination of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh culture. Bows, infantry, and noble cavalry.

    Bissel and Gran March = Similar to Keoland, but more cavalry.

    Ket = Much like Turkey. Many light cavalry and a few cavalry archers from western, Baklunish culture, and some medium cavalry and heavy infantry influenced from the nations to their east.

    Veluna and Furyondy = Lots of heavy cavalry and pikemen. Think Medieval France.

    Perrenland = Swiss culture. Lots of heavy infantry. Use schiltrons from Scottish culture. Like a phalanx, but a circle or oval. Archers in the center, lots of pikemen surrounding, then a ring of sword and board infantry on the outer edge for cover.

    Rovers of the Barrens = American Indian horse-riding plains tribes.

    Shield Lands = Like Furyondy/Veluna, but even more reliant upon heavy cavalry and heavy infantry. As if more lightly armored troops aren't worth equipping. Even dishonorable to fight lightly equipped.

    Urnst States = Germanic. Mostly infantry with some light cavalry.

    Nyrond = Greece. Reliance mainly upon phalanx with cavalry support.

    Great Kingdom = Rome. Legionaires as infantry with cavalry support.

    Well, that's a large sample. Hope it gives you some ideas.

    SirXaris
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    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
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    From: Michigan

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    Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:14 am  

    According to the '83 boxed set:

    Almor: crossbow, spear, or polearm (fauchard or glaive most commonly). Longbow or battleaxe in the north.

    Bissel: lance, crossbow, pike, fauchard-fork, flail, and sword.

    Blackmoor: slings, short bows, spears.

    Geoff: bows, pikes

    Gran March: lance, crossbow, sword

    Great Kingdom: Crossbows, archers, pole arms

    Highfolk: longbows

    Irongate: armored crossbowmen, plus 2,000 infantry with spetum or glaive-guisarme

    Keoland: light cavalry with javelins, crossbow, lances. Footmen with pole arms and long spears.

    Ket: pikes and crossbows along with light horse archers and medium lancers

    Nyrond: heavy cavalry, armored footmen, lesser numbers of bowmen and light hillman infantry

    Perrenland's military is 30% pikemen, 20% pole arms, 30% crossbowmen, and 10% battleaxes, flails etc.

    Paynims: horn bows and light curved swords, with 20-30% light lance or flail.

    Ratik: spearmen, light cavalry, men-at-arms, crossbowmen, bow armed woodsmen and sling-equipped hillrunners

    Rel Astra: 100 knights, 500 medium cavalry, 1,000 light horse, 1,000 men-at-arms, about half of whom are crossbowmen

    Rovers: lance, javelin, bows, lariats

    Sterich: swords, halberds

    Sunndi: hillmen wield slings and morningstars, men of the interior prefer crossbows and bardiches

    Tenh: cavalry, shortbow, pole arms

    Tiger Nomads: horn bows, lances

    Tusmit: Similar to Ekbir

    Duchy of Ulek: heavy cavalry, medium cavalry, elvish light cavalry, crossbowmen, billmen, elvish archers

    Ull: huge bows, strange pole arms, great maces

    Veluna: heavy cavalry, medium horse, light cavalry scouts, pikemen, elvish archers

    Wolf Nomads: akin to the Tiger Nomads

    Yeomanry: mostly spearmen and crossbowmen. Mountaineers provide heavy pole armed troops and light slingers. Elvish spear and bow units.

    Zeif: Two-handed swords, Paynim mercenaries
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 03, 2002
    Posts: 41
    From: Whitehorse

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    Fri Jun 10, 2016 12:27 pm  

    Hiya!

    Excellent info guys. :) Thanks! I can definitely use it to, hopefully, my advantage in presenting Greyhawk to one, shall we say, "reserved" player who doesn't think Greyhawk has any 'flare' or 'interesting stuff'. Yeah...I know. Anyway, hopefully this will help.

    PS: I always saw Keoland as more Scottish than English. *shrug* No matter, just one of the beauties of Greyhawk...each DM's campaign is different, but the same. :)
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    ^_^<br /><br />Paul L. Ming<br />
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    Joined: May 12, 2005
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    From: Woonsocket, RI, USA

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    Fri Jun 10, 2016 3:57 pm  

    Thanks for compiling that list, rasgon. I can add to it, using the Mini Figs WORLD OF GREYHAWK territory assignments:

    rasgon wrote:
    According to the '83 boxed set:

    Almor: crossbow, spear, or polearm (fauchard or glaive most commonly). Longbow or battleaxe in the north.

    Bandit Kingdoms: lance, mace, sword

    Bissel: lance, crossbow, pike, fauchard-fork, flail, and sword.

    Blackmoor: slings, short bows, spears.

    Celene: sword, axe, spear, polearm, bow, crossbow, sling

    Dyvers: spear, sword, bow

    Furyondy: lance, sword, axe, polearm, spear, bow, crossbow, sling

    Geoff: bows, pikes

    Gran March: lance, crossbow, sword

    Great Kingdom: Crossbows, archers, pole arms, lance, axe, sword, spear, blowpipe

    Greyhawk: axe, spear, bow, crossbow

    Hardby: sword, flail, axe, spear, polearm, bow

    Highfolk: longbows

    Horned Society: lance

    Ice Barbarians: sword, bow, axe, spear, scything axe

    Irongate: armored crossbowmen, plus 2,000 infantry with spetum or glaive-guisarme

    Iuz: sword, spear, axe, bow, crossbow, hand catapult, polearm

    Keoland: light cavalry with javelins, crossbow, lances. Footmen with pole arms and long spears.

    Ket: pikes and crossbows along with light horse archers and medium lancers

    Nyrond: heavy cavalry, armored footmen, lesser numbers of bowmen and light hillman infantry

    Perrenland's military is 30% pikemen, 20% pole arms, 30% crossbowmen, and 10% battleaxes, flails etc.

    Paynims: horn bows and light curved swords, with 20-30% light lance or flail.

    Pomarj: sword, spear, javelin, lance, bow, poleaxe

    Ratik: spearmen, light cavalry, men-at-arms, crossbowmen, bow armed woodsmen and sling-equipped hillrunners

    Rel Astra: 100 knights, 500 medium cavalry, 1,000 light horse, 1,000 men-at-arms, about half of whom are crossbowmen

    Rovers: lance, javelin, bows, lariats

    Scarlet Brotherhood: spear

    Shield Lands: bow, crossbow, sling, lance, mace, sword, axe, polearm, spear

    Snow Barbarians: sword, bow, axe, spear, scything axe

    Sterich: swords, halberds

    Sunndi: hillmen wield slings and morningstars, men of the interior prefer crossbows and bardiches

    Tenh: cavalry, shortbow, pole arms

    Tiger Nomads: horn bows, lances

    Tusmit: Similar to Ekbir

    Ulek states: sword, axe, spear, polearm, bow, crossbow, sling

    Duchy of Ulek: heavy cavalry, medium cavalry, elvish light cavalry, crossbowmen, billmen, elvish archers

    Ull: huge bows, strange pole arms, great maces

    Valley of the Mage: axe, sword, bow, spear, polearm, lance

    Veluna: heavy cavalry, medium horse, light cavalry scouts, pikemen, elvish archers, spear, lance, axe, sword, crossbow, sling

    Verbobonc: lance, axe, sword

    Wild Coast: sword, spear, javelin, axe, bow

    Wolf Nomads: akin to the Tiger Nomads

    Yeomanry: mostly spearmen and crossbowmen. Mountaineers provide heavy pole armed troops and light slingers. Elvish spear and bow units.

    Zeif: Two-handed swords, Paynim mercenaries
    GreySage

    Joined: Jul 26, 2010
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    From: LG Dyvers

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    Fri Jun 10, 2016 6:34 pm  

    And, for those like me who had no idea what a 'scything axe' or a 'hand catapult' were, I googled them.

    The best Google could come up with for the scything axe is a bunch of images from fantasy games, etc. I couldn't find any information on any real, historical weapon called a scythe axe.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=scythe+axe&biw=1280&bih=845&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi_jY2W957NAhXDJMAKHd-DCCAQsAQIIw

    As for the hand catapult, apparently that is another name for a slingshot. Razz

    SirXaris
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    Sat Jun 11, 2016 8:29 pm  

    Might a scything axe would be the equivalent of a pole axe?

    A hand catapult sounds like a hand crossbow, but I definitely like the imagery of the old wrist rockets some kids down the street had (it had some sort of PVC or plastic frame that slotted over the forearm arm to the elbow; you pulled the slingshot part back with your other hand; I think the frame helped to guard your arm maybe?). Some Google Images: https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&biw=1600&bih=829&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%22wrist+rocket%22+&oq=%22wrist+rocket%22+&gs_l=img.3..0l5j0i30l5.2089.2089.0.2379.1.1.0.0.0.0.139.139.0j1.1.0....0...1c..64.img..0.1.138.ylYPWPr4OSE

    Neither the hand crossbow nor the wrist rocket really capture the idea of the "hand catapult" name, though.

    Hey, didn't Finieous Fingers have some hand catapults in it maybe??
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    Allan Grohe (grodog@gmail.com)
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    Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:18 am  

    The executioner's mace is an exotic weapon associated with Kyuss, his worshipers, and by inference, the ancient Flan nation of Sulm, from which Kyuss was driven.
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:23 am  

    grodog wrote:
    Might a scything axe would be the equivalent of a pole axe?

    Could be a bardiche perhaps, like the one on the left in this pic:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Bardiche.jpg

    Very scythe-like shaped blade on that one, and note the handle length is not what is usually associated with a polearm.
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    Grandmaster Greytalker

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    From: Mt. Smolderac

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    Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:12 am  

    grodog wrote:
    Might a scything axe would be the equivalent of a pole axe?

    A hand catapult sounds like a hand crossbow, but I definitely like the imagery of the old wrist rockets some kids down the street had (it had some sort of PVC or plastic frame that slotted over the forearm arm to the elbow; you pulled the slingshot part back with your other hand; I think the frame helped to guard your arm


    It was more for stability. It was pretty amazing how accurate of a shot I could line up with mine back in the day.

    grodog wrote:
    Neither the hand crossbow nor the wrist rocket really capture the idea of the "hand catapult" name, though.

    Hey, didn't Finieous Fingers have some hand catapults in it maybe??


    Checked my Finieous Treasury and didn't see any hand catapults, but Bored-Flak the Bolt Thrower, Mighty Wizard did have a gun sight mounted on his forefinger for accuracy.

    Can't remember where I saw it. Maybe in an issue of LGJ, but I believe there was mention of a sword something like a falcata being a hallmark of some ancient Flan cultures.
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:04 pm  

    According to Wikipedia a hand catapult is the British English term for a sling shot.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingshot
    Black Hand of Oblivion

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    Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:44 pm  

    C'mon people! You play D&D! You're supposed to "know stuff"! No, really, you are supposed to know stuff. Razz Wink
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    Mon Jul 18, 2016 4:35 pm  
    Bardiche vs. Lochaber Axe

    So, it's been mentioned above that a bardiche is a weapon that may be commonly found in Sunndi inlands.
    ...
    But, I was kind of wondering where a similar weapon, the Scottish Lochaber Axe, might've been found.
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