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Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Codex Martialis : of the A ncient World Par t II : Ar mo r an d Mi ss il e We ap on s

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Codex Martialis: Weapons of the Ancient World Part 2 , Ar mor an d Weapo ns Versi on 1 .6 4 Codex Ma rtia lis Copyr ig ht 2 00 8, 2 0 09 , 20 1 0, 2 01 1, 20 1 2,20 13 J ean He nri Cha nd ler

0Credits Codex Ma rtia lis W eapons of th e An ci ent Wo rld : Jean He nri Chandler Art ists: Jean He nri Cha nd ler , Reyna rd R ochon , Ram on Esteve z Proofr ead ers: Mi chael Cur l Special Thanks to: Fabri ce C og not of De Tail le et d 'Esto c for ad vice , suppor t and sporad ic fa ct-che cki ng Ian P lum b for h osting th e Co de x Martia lis we bsite an d co n tinu in g to prov id e a dvice an d suppo rt wit ho ut which I nev e r w oul d have publish ed anyt hi ng i ndepe nd ent ly. Vi ctor Ch ernyavskiy http:// vizael.blo gspot.com/ for seve r al ph otos of arm or Michael Cur l fo r C hin ese F ire La nce Paul M . Am brose Antiques http:// www .am brosea ntiqu es.com/ for seve ral phot os o f a ntique fi rearms Ali na B oyden F or he lp wit h weapons an d ar mor o f t he Isla mic wo rl d a nd g ene ral te ch ni cal assistance Len ny Z immerma nn for pr oo frea di ng an d be in g a fash io n mode l Mic hael Ede lson fro m the Ne w York H isto r ica l Fe nc ing Asso cia tio n w ww .new yorklongsw ord.com fo r pe r miss ion to use his photos and c ite the re sults o f h is fie ld te sts w ith ma il and te x tile ar mo r. Jake No rwo od for co ntinu ed i nspiration an d fri en dship . Lynx Swo rd St udy G roup lyn xswor d.co m (Canada) an d Gaukler Medieval Wares http ://w ww .me die valwar es.com fo r providin g ima ges of re-e nact ors in h istor ical ly a ccurat e r e plica armo r. Steve Thu rston, Rosa Mun di (UK) ht tp://w ww .d ur .ac.uk/ b.m.h od gson/r osamun di/ for imag es o f re-ena cto rs i n hist o rica lly accurate r epli ca ar mor an d k it . Ing o fr om Fe der echte r (Germany) http://ww w.fe der fe cht er .de / for prov id in g imag es. Matt Easto n of S cho la G lad iator ia for var io us corr ectio ns, photos of h is ar ch ery explo its, an d let tin g me use his clu bs for um as a sou nd in g boar d an d va rio us m emb ers o f Scho la G lad iator ia for um for d ive rse for ms o f assistan ce an d a dv ice

An d t o a ll th e C ode x Mart ialis fa ns an d suppo rters who ha ve co ntact ed me from Bosto n, New Orlea ns, Miam i, Sa n Francisco , Aust in , Madr id , Barcelo na, Di jo n, Sar di nia , Ga l way, G dansk , Pra gue , Pilse n, Tabo r, Brist ol , Lo nd on , Trond heim , Au gsbu rg , Stut tgar t, Neu Ulm , Be rne , Base l, Pert h, Cope n hage n, Go the bu rg , on d uty in Afg han istan and e veryw her e else aroun d th e wor ld w here t hey lik e a g oo d gami ng n ig ht wit h a few g oo d fr ien ds an d a co uple of bee rs.

“I love to see a lord when he is the first to advance on horseback, armed and fearless, thus encouraging his men to valiant service; then, when the fray has begun, each must be ready to follo w him willingly, because no one is held in esteem until he has given and received blows. We shall see clubs and , gaily col oured and shields shattered and spoiled, at the beginning of the battle, and many vassals all together receiving great blo ws, by reason of which many horses will wander riderless, belonging to the killed and wounded. Once he has started fighting, no noble thinks of anything but breaking heads and arms — better a dead man than a live one who is useless. I tell you, neither in eating, drinking, nor sleeping do I find what I feel when I hear the shout "At Them" from both sides, and the neighing of riderless horses in the confusion, or the call "Help! Help!," or when 1 see great and small fall on the grass of the ditches, or when I espy dead men who still have pennoned lances in their ribs.” Be rtran de Born, A Poem o f Chivalry,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Eras: Neolithic (before 3000 BC) Pre-histori c (3000- 1500 BC), Classical Bronze Age (1500 BC – 1000 BC), Classical Iron Age (1000 BC – 400 AD), Dark Age s / M igration Era (400 A D – 800 AD), M ediev al (800 AD – 1350 AD), Renaissan ce (1350 AD – 1550 AD ), Enlighten men t / Baroque (1550 A D – 1700 AD) , Early M odern (1700 AD – 1800 A D)

These eras are designated for game pur poses, the actual historical eras were different and actually varied considerably from region to region.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Credits ...... 2 Part I: Armor ...... 8 Armor Works ...... 9 Glossary of some Armor Terms ...... 10 Aketon ...... 10 Arming ...... 10 Arming Jack ...... 10 Bechterets ...... 11 ...... 11 Bracer ...... 11 ...... 11 Byrnie ...... 12 à pied ...... 12 Coat Armor ...... 12 ...... 12 ...... 12 ...... 12 Corslet ...... 12 ...... 13 Cuir Bouilli ...... 13 ...... 14 Dō ...... 14 Dō-maru ...... 14 Doubled Mail ...... 14 Doublet ...... 14 Fauld ...... 14 ...... 14 ...... 15 ...... 15 ...... 15 Gothic Harness ...... 15 Half-Armor ...... 15 Harness ...... 16 Haubergeon ...... 16 ...... 16 Helm ...... 16 ...... 16 Jack ...... 17 Jazeraint ...... 17 Jerkin ...... 17 Katzen-Brust Armor ...... 17 Khazaghand ...... 17 Koza ne ...... 18 Lamellar ...... 18 Lames...... 18

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Linothorax ...... 19 Munitions Grade ...... 19 Mail ...... 19 Maximilian Harness ...... 20 Ō-Yoroi ...... 20 Panoply ...... 20 ...... 20 Plackart ...... 20 ...... 20 Pourpoint ...... 20 Pteruges ...... 21 ...... 21 Three Quarters Harness ...... 21 Scale Armor ...... 21 Sur coat ...... 21 Toudei-Gusoku ...... 21 ...... 22 White Harness ...... 22 Types of Historical Armor ...... 23 Armor ...... 23 Leather Armor ...... 23 Scale, Lamellar and Brigandine ...... 25 Mail Armor ...... 25 Plate Armor ...... 26 Alternative Armor Materials ...... 27 ...... 27 Buffalo hide ...... 27 Horn...... 27 Bronze and Brass (“Latten”) ...... 27 Tempered ...... 28 Munitions Grade ...... 28 Sidebar: What about Spider Silk? ...... 28 Considerations about Armor ...... 30 Situational Awareness and armor ...... 30 Sleeping in armor ...... 30 Armor and noise ...... 30 Armor and the weather ...... 30 Armor and Hygiene ...... 30 Armor Table Key (for all tables in this section) ...... 32 Hardness DR ...... 32 HP ...... 32 Min Strength ...... 32 Armor Components List ...... 33 Partial or Half Armor ...... 3 5 Medium Armor ...... 38 Khazaghand panoply ...... 40 Full Armor ...... 43

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Part II: Missile Weapons ...... 52 Rules to remember for Missile Weapons ...... 53 Use your range chart...... 53 Armor Bypass ...... 53 Ready Bonus ...... 53 Aimed, Supported Shots ...... 53 Plunging shots ...... 53 ...... 53 Reloading and Prep-Time ...... 53 Cover and Concealment ...... 53 Tactical Move ment ...... 53 Table II.1 Simple Missile Weapons ...... 54 Rock ...... 55 Throwing Stick ...... 55 Throwing ...... 55 Throwing Club...... 55 Throwing hammer ...... 55 Thrown Mace ...... 55 Throwing ...... 55 War- ...... 55 Plumbata ...... 56 Hur lbat ...... 56 , Hand ...... 56 Crossbow, Light ...... 57 Crossbow, Heavy ...... 57 Javelin, Light ...... 57 Javelin ...... 57 Half-Spear, Thrown...... 57 Spear, Thrown ...... 57 Table II.2 Martial Missile Weapons...... 58 Swiss ...... 58 Javelin, Thong (Weavers Beam) ...... 58 Soliferrum...... 59 Pilum ...... 59 Heavy Pilum ...... 59 Short Bow ...... 59 Recur ve Bow ...... 59 Crossbow, Slur bow ...... 60 Crossbow, Repeating ...... 60 ...... 61 Staff-Sling ...... 62 Table II.2a: Height advantage of thrown missile weapons ...... 63 Table II.3 Exotic Missile Weapons ...... 64 Thrown Dagger, Small ...... 64 Thrown Dagger, Large ...... 64 Axe, Throwing ...... 64 Francisca Axe ...... 64

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Hatchet or Hand Axe, Thrown ...... 65 Atlatl ...... 65 Crossbow, Windlass ...... 65 Crossbow, ...... 66 Crossbow, Heavy Arbalest ...... 66 Crossbow, Gastrophetes ...... 67 Bow ...... 67 Flatbow ...... 67 English Warbow ...... 67 Indian Steel Bow ...... 68 Heavy ...... 69 Sling ...... 70 Table Notes ...... 70 Readying Missile Weapons ...... 70 Self-Bows and Indirect Fire ...... 71 Missile Range ...... 71 Sidebar: Fire- ...... 71 A Note on Thrown Weapon Ranges ...... 71 Table II.4 Missile To Hit and Armor Bypass Modifications by Range Increment: ...... 72 Table II.5 Special Am munition ...... 73 Cover and Missile Weapons ...... 73 Using missile weapons with the Martial Pool ...... 73 Piercing Critical Hits and Missile Weapons (Optional) ...... 73 Strength, endurance and shooting bows ...... 73 Table II.6 Re moving impaled ...... 74 Critical Damage from Missiles (Optional) ...... 74 Shooting in Volleys ...... 75 Missile weapons and weather ...... 75 Broken Strings (Optional) ...... 75 Part III: ...... 76 Sidebar: ...... 78 Firearms List ...... 78 Chinese Fire-Lance...... 78 Chinese Fire-Spear ...... 79 Pistala ...... 81 and ...... 85 Firing Mechanisms ...... 87 Touch-Hole ...... 87 Using Weapons ...... 88 A word on using Firearms in your Campaign ...... 91 Alternate Materials...... 92 Range ...... 92 Special ...... 92 OPEN GAME LICENSE ...... 104

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Part I: Armor

Al brecht Durer’ s ‘Study of a Knight’, 1490 AD. Thi s knight i s wearing a fluted gothic or “Maximilian’ harness, and carrying a , a roundel or ballock-dagger, and a lance.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Arm or Wo rks Let’s try a little tho ught experiment .

Think for a moment of armor not as an ancient technology , but as a high-tech invent ion of the near future. Imagin e a band o f ki ller assassins from some cyberpunk no vel protected by a thin layer of b ullet-proof tempered spr ing steel so cun nin gly ta ilore d to the ir bo dies that th ey have complete freedom of mo vement. Imagine these guys armed with razor sharp s words a nd kn ives , charg ing int o a ro om and slic ing up the ir v ictims.

Think of mail not as an archaic uniform for T V ba d guys o f yesteryear, but as a futur istic steel mesh which protects our Cy berpu nk hero a gainst any b la de, e xactly the same way as shark-protection su its protect almost miraculously against the teeth of 10 foot Bu l l Sharks. Think of mail as a human-proof suit . Imag ine our cyberpunk assassin attacking a group o f armed men, safe from their des perate cuts and thrusts while sh e slices them to pieces wit h h er razor sharp , protected by a 13 pou nd r ivete d mail sh irt and a stee l h elmet.

Armor worn in 1470 was sim ilar to the ty pe o f stee l as is fo und in bal listic vests today. In fact in most cases it was made to a higher . Then, as now, metal armor was worn in conjunction with te xtil es to improve bal listic performance, because then , as no w, armor was used as pr otection aga inst gu ns. T he only real differ ence is that back then armor was also designe d to protect aga inst cuts and thrusts and slices and crushing blo ws as well as fr om small bits of fast fly in g metal .

The myths about armor are too numerous to list, and too tedious to recount here. Rather, I would pre fer to focus on the happy fact that they are now being debunke d, alo ng with the ge neral notion that our ancestors were stu pid eno ugh to wear gear that wasn’t o f any use. Wit h the rise of t he web , an un precedented trove of excell ent data has become available to those who are interested to know the historical reality. Th anks to academicians like Alan Will iams, the Ewart Oakeshott of armor, systematic tests have been done… and thanks to Goo gle you can read the results o nline.

When I was a kid, the best information you coul d really find abo ut armor was from TSR, or maybe from the venerab le tome of Charles Ffo ulkes . Today we can see vide os of real armor be in g worn by men and women runnin g, jumpin g, do ing pushu ps and vau ltin g ont o horses. We can se e it tested a gainst swords, lon gb ows and firearms. We can see people f ight ing in it and how easily they move. We can watch detaile d tutorials showing how armor was made, how thick it real ly was, ho w much it weig hed , and all the surpr isin g dif ferences between the real h istorical gear an d the fake R en-fa ire stuff . Today we ha ve d irect access to the amazing elegan ce and sophistication of the real thin g .

All yo u really ne ed to kno w to start appreciating th e historical reality o f armor is that it worked . It work ed well at its most important function : it protected you f rom harm. Most armor wasn’t designed t o stop a ‘glancing blo w’, it was there to neutr alize the attac k, that is why people wore the stuff and spent so much time and effort and money to acquire it. The best way to deal with armor was typically to go around it , because through most of history armor was usually worn the way it is by we ll equippe d sold iers today: to pr otect the torso and the head. Durin g that perio d bet ween the 1 3th and 16t h Ce nturies whe n head to toe panoplies of armor wer e fairly ubiquitous the on ly real way to deal with armor was by using armor-piercin g weapo ns. The design sophis tication of armor reached a peak in t time which mo de rn engineers have frankly yet to achie ve . The trut h is our ancestors were not backward , far be hin d us… whe n it comes to armor they were ahead of us in many way s.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Glossary of some Armor Terms the heavy a rmor wor n over it . Arm in g dou blets w ere almost Aketon always worn as un der-armo r. An oth er sim ilar garm en t was Also kno wn as a n ak eton , a ct on (an Irish varia nt), au qe ton , call ed the pourpo int , whi ch was a type u nd er-coa t wit h hack eton , ha quet on , wamba is, wmb esium , o r wa ms*, the inte grat ed la ces used to atta ch arm or, part icular ly thi gh armor . aketon is a type of te xtile ar mor s imila r t o t he Gambeson and The pou rpoi nt was late r mad e t hi cker as an un der-arm or an d Coat Arm or w it h w hi ch it o ver laps qu ite a bi t. It ge ne rally over laps with th e ar min g do u blet . refe rs to a short sle eve d pad ded jack et or coat w ith v er tica l qu ilt in g, ext en di ng ro ug hly t o t he waist, w hi ch is made t o be worn und er armo r. The nam e aketo n apparent ly der ives from the Spa nish al coto n (de riv ed fro m Arabic al-qut um, "co tt on"), proba bly r eferr in g t o t he bat tin g used to fil l t he spaces betw ee n th e clo th layers, or possibly to the fustian cloth sometimes use d t o make th e arm or itse lf.

Like the gambes on, the aketon came in ‘hea vy’ (s tand- alone) or light (under-ar mor) vers ions , each of w hich offered s ome protec tion aga ins t cuts and thrus ts , particu larly fro m low -inert ia mis s ile w eapons like arr ows and cross bow bolts . An aketon could be w orn under metal armor to pro vide s hock absorption w hich w as critica l to Late 16th Century Jack of plate with a cut-thrust sword, Royal Armouries at Leeds. Note the pattern of the stitching. mak ing mos t mail or plate-ar mor e ffec ti ve . The s econdary but s till important purpos e of an aketon w as to reduce Arming Jack pinching and chafing fro m w earing plate or mail armor w hich can otherw is e be uncomfor table to the poin t o f Also ca lle d a ‘jack o f p late ’, an armi ng-ja ck is a type o f mixe d res trict ing mo ve ment (part icu larly pla te ar mor). textile an d me tal armor i nte nd ed as stan d-al on e pro te ction. It is essential ly a form of “p oor ma n’s bri gand in e” consist in g of a The aketon cou ld als o be w orn over hea vier ar mo r (w hich canvas or l in en ja cket o r do ublet int o which small ov erl apping helped protect the ar mor its elf fro m incre men tal da mage) iron plat es hav e bee n se wn be twee n t wo layers of clot h, also and w hen us ed in this w ay or as s tand-alone armor w as typically in co rporat in g some ki nd of padd in g st itche d i n a tre llis often patterned w ith heraldic s tandards or colors , or pattern . appliqué s ymbo ls . Aketons w orn over ar mor w ere als o called a jupon or gupon, and this type later e vol ved into This type of a rmor was popula r with comm on so ld iers, dur in g Coat A rmor. Super ior qualit y aketons may ha ve b een the R ena issance a nd E nli g hten ment pe rio d. As w ith br ig andi ne made o f s ilk, though mos t w ere made of or fus t ian. the m etal p lates w ere oft en s cave nge d se ctions o f ca pture d Stand-alone var iants in s ome places (Ire land and the plate harn ess cut up into smal l pieces . This armor was Hebreides ) had an outer layer of leather or doe-s kin which relat ive ly effect ive but th e armor i tself was suscept ible to bein g may ha ve been treated w ith to ma ke t hem damage d i ncr eme ntal ly as the clot h was cut up. The Mong ols w aterproof. There are als o re ferences in the Icela ndic used a type o f armo r very sim ilar t o th is ca lle d ku yak in (Vik ing) Sagas to ‘enchanted’ armor made o f rein deer Medieva l Russia, t he Japanese e qu ival ent was th e Tatam i Do . hides w hich may ha ve been a reference to an aketon w ith doe s kin co ver ing.

The aketon began to be replaced as under-armor around the 15th Century by the A rming D ou blet .

Arming Doublet Count er to the name , th is is not a me rely v est or a d ou ble t but essent ial ly a form of Aketon o r Gambeson stre ng the ned most comm only w ith som e mail patches ca lle d g oussets , as well as leat her pie ces, somet imes small plates, o r ch ains partially or comp lete ly cove ri ng the sle eves, arm pits, abd omen , or g roi n to prov ide e xtra cove rage for th e gap s in Two of the many forms of Bechterets armor

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Bechterets Bracer Aka Behtere ts, Bakhar ets. Th e ter m may come fr om th e Farsi Armo r for t he fo rearm , usual ly stiff, ca n be in t he fo rm o f an ir on (Persian) ze re h baktar or zi rah bak htar which m eans ‘for eig n or bron ze pla te o r severa l ‘splints ’, or iro n ba nds. Bracers cou ld armor ’. Has two mea nin gs. Bechte rets was a gene ral t erm also be ma de o f leat he r or ot he r or gani c mate ria ls such a s horn for “ half Armo r” used in Russia an d various Slav ic an d Baltic or bone . A bra cer was typical ly wor n by an ar cher t o prote ct cou ntr ies whi ch cou ld mea n a ny armo r com bi ni ng tw o or against th e snap o f t he bowstr in g whe n lo osin g a n ar row . more ele ments , su ch as te xtile a nd mai l, mail an d plat e, scale and ma il , la mellar a nd mail et c. It can a lso specifica lly r efer to a specifi c type of “Plate d Ma il” or “Mail an d Plate” ar mor whi ch was i n com mon use in R ussia, Easter n Eur ope, Ce ntral and S out h As ia an d th e Mi dd le East from early M edi eval times t hro ug h t he E nl ig hten ment peri od . T here we re t hree types recog ni zed i n Russia d uri ng t his t ime span:

Beht erets aka Be ch tere ts, Bachte rets et c., (R ussian: Бехтере ц), fro m Persia n beht er — smal l h ori zo ntal p l ates arrang ed in vert ica l ro ws witho ut gaps, jo in ed by ri ngs , and embe dd ed i n Mail From the left, Replica of Brigandine jack, outside view; Inside view of antique Yushman (Russian : Юшман), fr om Persian jawshan —- l ong Italian Brigandine armor from 1470 AD, Royal Armoury at Leeds. hor izo ntal plat es embe dd ed i n chainma il an d resem bli ng cru der lami nar armo r such as Roma n Lo ri ca Se gme ntata and Brigandine Japanese Mô gami d ô. A com bi nation me tal / text il e armor w hi ch bega n to appear in Kalantar (R ussian: Калантарь) — square o r ro und p l ates the late 1 4th Ce ntu ry, co nsisting of a larg e num ber of re l ative ly embe dd ed i n cha inma il , v ery sim ilar to ese Tatam i-d o. small plates, r ivet ed t o a heavy cl oth or leat her backin g, an d The maj or di ffere nce is that kalantar a re not se wn to a cloth sandwich ed wit hi n a tex til e cove r usual ly in co rporat in g at least back in g as -d o are and th e mai l use d is o f a better some paddi ng. The out er layer o f a bri gan di ne armo r co uld be qua lity. of various co lo rs and fa bri cs, ran gi ng from ve lve t to leat her , it cou ld a lso be d isgu ised as civ ilia n clot hi ng , or may feature heral di c d esig ns, wri ting, sl oga ns o r symbols.

Bechterets style armor from the Philippines, used by Moro tribesmen. From the US Museum archi ves.

Becht erets co ul d be effe ctive arm or , d epen din g o n th e qu ality it cou ld be very effe ctiv e. It was a litt le heav ier and Bri gandine from Spain, 1480 AD. Thi s one i s made of leather wi th somewhat mo re bulky tha n ord inary mai l, g ene ral ly speaki ng . numerous hori zontal plates. Perhaps thi s i s the type of armor whi ch made earl y RPG desi gners think of ‘studded l eather’. Photo by Victo r Bevor Che rnyav skiy A d ishe d plat e o f me tal ar mor s haped to pr ote ct t he t h roat Brigan di ne was popu lar both with kn ig hts an d co mmon so ldi ers. and low er par t o f the fa ce , usual ly wo rn in con jun ct ion w i th a Frequent ly bri gan di ne a rmor was at tached w ith a t rio o f riv ets helm et s uch as a sall et .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns call ed ‘nails ’, a nd bri gand in e ha rness can be re cog ni ze d i n perio d a rtwo rk by gro ups o f thr ee riv ets.

The Japanese ha d a type of armor v ery simila r to bri gan din e call ed Tsuzum i Dô , which is iro n lamellar en close d in te xtil e armor , the o nly maj or fu nct io nal di ffere nce fr om E urop ean type bri gan di ne is t he Japanese arm or has more emphasi s on shoul de r pro te ction in t he fo rm of la rge plat es (sod e)

Byrnie A Byrnie is a short sle eve d meta l armore d shi rt or v est, reac hi ng from t he ne ck to the waist , usual ly prote ct in g the shoul de rs, t he to rso, a nd the a bdome n (both fro nt an d back). Most comm on ly a byrn ie re fers specifica lly to a Mail Corselet, thou g h t he term ca n a lso apply in peri od l itera tur e t o s cale , lamellar, o r e ven an ir on breast pla te. T he term was also used i n histo ri cal d ocume nts in a more broa d sense to r efer A warrior wearing a mail haubergeon and coif under a kettlehelm, with mail chausses and poleyns al so vi sible, from an illustration by Villard de to a ny form of arm or . Honnecourt (ci rca 1230 AD) Cap à pied Chausses Lit eral ly means ‘hea d to to e’ in Fre nch, refers to ful l ar mor Leg ar mor for t he ca lves or t hi ghs, sim ila r to tassets exce pt that cov eri ng the en tir e body , classifie d as ‘Heavy Arm or’ i n this these e nve lop t he t hi gh like tro users. Usual ly re fers t o mail o r rules system. Cap à pi ed mai l arm or be gan to appear in the plate armor , g ir din g ea ch l eg i nd ividua lly , as opposed to a ‘skirt ’ 12th Cen tury , Cap à pied ‘tra nsitiona l armor ’ be gan to appear format su ch as tassets (see Tassets). in th e 1 3th, a nd White Harness in t he 1 5th Cen tury . Cap a pied arm or g rad ually be gan to be phase d o ut i n th e 16th Coif Centu ry in fav or of Ha lf Armo r and Th ree Quar ters Harn ess, and th en eve ntua lly th e Cu irass an d he lmet . Mail hoo d cove rin g t he top , ba ck an d si des of the hea d, t he neck a nd t hroat , an d part of th e co lla r bo nes, l eavi ng t h e face Coat Armor exposed. This is yet an oth er form of t ext ile a rmor which appeare d in the late 1 4th cen tury , special ize d for wea rin g over he avier armor simi lar to th e Jupo n (see Aketon). This is usual ly in the form o f a short , sle eve less garme nt which rea ch es to th e hips or m id-th ig hs, which wou ld fit tight ly ov er a cui rass, byr ni e or bri gan di ne , oft en we ll d eco rate d wit h hera ld ic desi gns, this was essential ly a more prote ct ive form o f . When worn as a so le pr ote ction , t his type of arm or was en ha nce d with slee ves an d a gr eater ov eral l l en gth maki ng it ove rlap with t he Aketo n an d the Gambeson , and t his ar mor sometimes also in corp orate d m etal or h orn plates w hi ch over laps with th e Arm in g Jack .

Coat of P lates A peascod breast-plate with laminated plackart, made to improve flexibility and mobility. 16th Century Ano the r ‘har d on th e insi de / soft o n t he o utsid e’ armo r very similar to th e Briga ndi ne, wit h w hi ch t his type ov erlaps, the only rea l d iffer en ce being the si ze o f t he i nd ividua l pla tes. Corslet This armor consists of a hea vy padde d coat l ike an ake to n or Also somet imes spelle d ‘corse let ’ an d in clu des breast-plates. gambeson , o n t o whi ch a se ries of la rge ca reful ly sha ped An armo re d vest, usually re fe rs to fle xi bl e metal arm or such as metal plat es are ri vete d, in t urn hi dd en by anot her laye r of mail , sca le, or lam ella r, but can also refer to a breast plat e (see textile armo r. Th is is th e type of t he so-call ed “Wis by C oat” Cuirass) o r mi xe d te xtile / m etal ar mor su ch as a br iga nd ine or named after t he armor fou nd at t he famo us Medi eval a jaze rant . D uri ng th e Baro qu e per io d th is te rm was som etimes battl efield ex cavate d at W isby on th e isle o f G otla nd , Swe den . used to re fer t o Ha lf-Armor (see Hal f-Harn ess).

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The simpl e breast plat e (w ith no ba ck) becam e popu lar with consist in g of n umer ous small ov erlappi ng plates , these were some tro ops in th e 1 6th -17t h Cent ury beca use it was l ig hter popular in Pola nd an d Ita ly an d wer e m ore o fte n har den e d. and l es bu lky tha n a full cu irass. In Japan a riv ete d br east plate (ma de of lames ri vete d to get her) was ca ll ed a o keg awa dô , an d a so li d breast plate was ca lle d a h oto ke dô

From the left, a bronze ‘Musciule Cuirass’ from , an iron cuirass made of several laminated bands of iron, probably Swiss, , and a sophisticated peascod Cuirass, 16th or , probably -proof.

Cuirass A type of r igi d metal to rso ar mor , usual ly mad e o f iro n (or more rar ely brass or br on ze), consist in g of a breast plate and back plate . Som eth in g lik e a cu irass ex iste d i n t he Clas sical perio d o f a ntiqu ity. It is not u nde rstoo d by mo der n scho lars how th e Bro nze mus cle cuirass a ctua lly work ed, o r if it w as a battl efield a rmor d esig n or simp ly mea nt for cerem on ie s or parades, sin ce mo der n tests ind icat e the bron ze is too t hin . We proba bly do n’t fu lly un derstand t his armor yet , th ere may A German half-armor featuring a peascod cuirass, 1580 AD. Notice three have bee n a tex tile compon ent or some oth er fa ct or o f the dents, two on the wearers left side and one on the right, probably from Bronz e. or balls, or lance strikes. It is not unusual to see dents or bullet holes in surviving armor. Photo by Victor Chernyav skiy Rig id ir on torso armo r appeare d in Eur ope ci rca 1 35 0-1 36 0 AD which mo der n tests have d emo nstrate d to be h i ghly The Cuirass was one of t he last forms of a rmor (ot her t h an the effect ive pr ote ction. The wo rd cui rass comes fr om Fre nch helm et) to be phase d out , an d remai ne d in use amo ng some th cui r - leat her . The wor d was proba bly fi rst applied to Cuir tr oops t hro ug h t he 1 9 Cent ury a nd i nto t he 2 0th. Bouil li chest a nd ba ckplat es wor n ove r mail an d u nde r , be for e coats of p lates. The wo rd stu ck. By t he 15th Cuir Bouilli Centu ry a typical cui rass was about 1.9mm – 2 .5mm t hi ck Cuir B ou ill i is boi le d l eath er , usually boil ed i n wa ter t hou gh steel. By the 16th Ce ntury th e terms cu irass and co rselet possibly also in or o il . The latter te chni qu es are more seem to hav e m eant ro ug hly t he same t hi ng - br eastpl ate, dang ero us but d o not se em to mak e a mor e effe ctive m ateria l. back plat e a nd fa ult (skirt) . Eith er way the bo ile d lea the r is much har de r and also more bri ttle . Whi le st il l w et i t is in a mal leab le stat e i t can be s haped Harde ne d / temper ed st eel an d bul let-pro of cu irasses be gan to create plates , g reav es et c. (a lso var io us mun dan e pe rsonal to appear as ear ly as t he late 1 4th Ce nt ury an d gra d ually items such as water bott les). Cuir Bou ill i can also be made be came m ore popu lar, but th ey we re expe nsive an d remai ned from ot her types o f a nima l hi de su ch as Wat er B uffalo hi de , relat ive ly rar e t hro ug h t he mi d 16th Cent ury. After th e 15 50 ’s whi ch was a popular sour ce of mat eria l for arm or in As ia. Cuir cui rasses wer e l ess like ly to be temp ere d stee l, an d mo re iron Bouil li was used in par ts of Asia a nd t he Mi dd le East t o make was increasin gly use d as armor qua lity grad ual ly de cli ne d. By Lamellar arm or , an d was also use d bri efly in E urope du ri ng t he the 1 7th Cen tury ve ry thi ck (up to 6mm) iro n were Mid dl e Ages as a stiffen in g compon ent wor n ove r mai l armor . being issue d to ca valry , pro ofed aga inst fir e. For mo re in format io n a bou t Cu ir Bo il li see t he sect io n Types of Histori cal Armo r The peasco d shape becam e popular in t he 1 6th Cen t ury, provin g very e ffe ct ive at de fl ect in g spear points and mu sket balls . Some Cui rass wer e also made o f an ima co nstru ct ion ,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Cuisses certa inty of a har d fig ht. It’s n ot som eth in g you ’d want t o wear all day if you d id n’t have to. Thig h armor, usua lly in t he form o f a mail o r plate ar mor cov eri ng of t he top o f th e t hi ghs, co ul d also be s cale , spl ints (vertical plat es), ba nds (hor iz onta l plates), cui r bo ui ll i , or Doublet qu ilte d pad di ng sim ilar to an ak eton or ga mbes on . A pad ded A type of sl eev eless v est simi lar t o a Corsele t, bu t usua lly made cuisse is referre d t o in a cad emia as a ‘gamo bo ised cu i sse’. primari ly of te xtiles, somet imes i n co nj un ction with mai l, l ames, The nam e cu isses proba bly der ives fr om Cuir Boui lli, w hi ch scale a nd / or meta l plat es o r ban ds. Th is te rm can als o re fe r were use d for a br ie f perio d as stiffe ners over mai l armo r on to a coa t, fo r example an arm ing dou bl et is actually a jacke t the th ig hs as wel l as th e t orso an d o the r parts o f t he body . with sle eves , see Armi ng Do ublet.

Dō Fauld Gener ic Japan ese te rm for a breast pla te or cu irass mad e o f Ove rlappin g o r lami nate d pi eces of plat e armo r con ne cted t o eith er llar , scal e, or r ivet ed plat e arm or . the botto m of a br east plate or cu irass, surr oun di ng t h e hips and upper le gs in t he fo rm of a skirt . Cuirasses, Half-Armo r, Dō-maru Three Quarte rs Harness an d iro n Corslets began t o feature fr om the R enaissan ce peri od t hro ug h the A specia l fo rm of lamellar armo r use d in Japan, usua lly m ade Enli gh ten ment . of la cquer ed ra whi de o r leat her (o r more ra rely ba m boo) lames laced w ith si lk straps, mad e in to armo r pie ces co ve rin g the sh oul de rs and torso bu t with no sl eeves or l eg pr ote ct ion . This type of arm or was n ormal ly issued to l owe r ran kin g soldi ers. The Japanese gen eral ly used a di ffe ren t type of lamellar than was fo un d in many ot her parts of th e wor ld , with much small er, th in ner lames ca ll ed Kozane, a nd eac h type leath er , w oo d o r i ron w ere typica lly la cque re d, which cu t d own on ma int ena nce cons ide rably.

On t he ot her ha nd t he ex tensi ve la cin g was di fficult t o cl ean, and was not id eal for sustained batt le fie ld co nd it ions . It cou ld get dir ty, ge t wet a nd r etai n moist ure , and coul d be come infeste d wit h li ce . The la ces th emselv es were also fair ly easy to cut espe cia lly wit h th e type of v ery sharp slashin g weapo ns popular in Japan. The D ō Maru was l ater deve lope d int o t he ‘m od ern ’ Toud ei-Gusok u types of ar mor dur in g th e 1 5th-1 6th Ce ntury which i ncorporat ed co nsid er ably less la ci ng. Modern gambeson replica, this would be a 14th Century type. Many were made to open on the side. Doubled Mail "Another Turk now climbed and sta rted walking on the same wall Gambeson between the two bastions. He was c arrying his swo rd and shield. There A form of text il e armo r consist in g o f a qu ilted / padd ed jacke t came out to meet him fro m the tower, at the door of which stood a knight, similar to t he Aketo n, e xcept for hav in g a lon ger t uni c ext end in g a Frank wea ring dou ble-linked mail and carryin g a spear in his hand , but past the waist to the mid-t hi gh . The earl iest ev ide n ce of not eqquipped with a shield. The Turk, swo rd in hand, encountered him. was in the 1 2th Cen tury in Eur ope, an d t hey wer e The Frank smote him with the spear, but the Turk warded off the point of the n orma l armor wor n u nd er mai l. Te xtile arm or s are the spear with his shield and, notwithstanding the spear, advanced noto rio usly short l ive d an d the art before t hat tim e l acke d towa rds the frank. The latter took to flight and turned his back, leaning detai l, but it’s quit e possibl e that t he gam beso n dates back to forward, like one who wanted to kneel, in order to protect hiss head. The the M ig ration Pe rio d or ea rli er . Th e Ancie nt Gr eeks a nd t he Turk dealt him a number of blows which had no effect whatsoever, and Byzantin es wer e both kn own to use te xtile arm or (see went on wal king until he entered the tower." Usama ibn Munqidh- Kitab al-I'tibar circa 1190 AD Lin oth orax) .

Also kn own as ‘Kin gs Mail ’, this is an 8 in 2 patte rn o f mail , essential ly dou bl in g t he nu mbe r o f ri ngs co nne cte d to e ach othe r r in g. Al le ged to be t wice as stron g , (alm ost) tw ice as heavy as regula r mail, an d pro bably thr ee t imes as expen sive, this is specia l arm or to be wo rn by a wealt hy ma n fa ci ng the

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Articula ted iron gauntlets, probably 16th Century

Gauntlet Metal g lov es desi gne d as armor to prot ect the ha nds. Vari ous types in cl ud e ha lf-ga unt lets w hi ch pro te ct o nly the back of th e ha nds , part ially a rticu late d m itte n ga unt lets w hi ch are shaped som ewha t lik e mit tens , or ful ly articu l ated gaun tlets pr ote cting eac h in div id ual fi ng er. Articu late d p late gaun tlets ar e some o f the m ost d iffi cul t (and e xpen sive) pieces o f armo r to create, i n Re naissan ce Eu rope t hey were From the left: gilded “Hal f Armor” probabl y armor, made for the ofte n used as a test “masterpie ce ” for aspir in g armor er s to Duke of Epernon, French 1606 AD; A very tough battlefiel d “Half armor” for establ ish themse lves as Maste rs. , Swi ss, 15t h Century. Photo s by Victo r Chernyavskiy

When th ey cou ld a ffo rd t hem , gaun tle ts were popula r with Half-Armor polearm tr oops such as hal ber di ers or bil lme n whose ha nds were particu larly vul nera bl e, an d w ou ld be wo rn as late as the Can have two mea ni ngs. Usually re fers to plate arm or in whi ch 17th Cen tury ev en when most ot her types of armo r had been the bott om hal f (the le g armor essen tial ly) has bee n rem o ved to disca rde d . provide gr eater mo bi lity at the exp ense of prot ect io n. Thi s type of armor bega n to appear in th e 15th Ce ntury an d became Greave increasi ngly popu lar towa rd th e en d of t he 1 6th as the use of armor in g ene ral began to grad ual ly decli ne, an d rema i ned i n Leg a rmor for the sh ins , kne es and calv es, o fte n i n th e form use t hro ug h the 18th. of o ne-p ie ce shape d metal pla te w hi ch cou ld be be nt aro und the ca lf an d held in pla ce secu rely. Durin g th e Bronz e Ag e and ear ly Ir on Age grea ves wer e wide ly used by heavy i nfa ntry inclu di ng Gr eek Hopl ites , bu t had la rg ely disappeare d by the Migra tio n era . Dur in g the 13th-1 4th Cen tury AD articu l ated greav es reappeared , o ften lin ked t o iro n cu isses. Lami n ated knee prote ct ion bega n t o appear in th e m id 1 4th Ce ntu ry and remai ned p opular thr ou gh t he m id 1 6th w hen le g armo r was among t he first type whi ch bega n to be dis card ed, be cau se it was perceiv ed to l imi t m obil ity.

From the left: Very simple Half Armor for cavalry, English or German circa 17th Gorget Century. Consisting of cuirass, pauldrons, helmet and faulds; Hal f- A type o f prot ect ive armo r li ke a broa d col lar , w hi ch co vers Armor in so-called ‘anima’ laminated constructi on made in imi tati on of Roman armor, wi th helmet, probabl y Italian, 1570 AD. Thi s type of and pr ote cts t he thr oat , t he co llar bones and upper ch est. armor became fashionable for a period in late I tal y. The g org et was o ne of t he m ost lo ng lastin g types o f ar mor and cont in ued t o be use d by ca valry sol die rs into W orl d War Half Arm or was closely rela te d to Thre e Quar ters Harnes s w ith II. whi ch it ov erlaps. T his t erm can also re fer to arm or whi ch has had t he ba ck plat es rem ove d from parts o f t he legs , bi cep s, and Gothic Harness sometimes t he t orso. Many Got hi c Har ness fal l in to t he latter A li gh ter type o f plate a rmor dev elop ed i n th e Ho ly Ro man cate gory . Empire (gr eater Ger many) dur in g t he 1 5th Cent ury.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Harness Helm This is the t echn ica l term for a ‘sui t’ o f art iculat ed P late Has two mean in gs. Can mea n a he lmet (see helmet ) or a Armo r. Armo r ot her t han pla te w hi ch cov ere d th e whole bo dy specific type of ful l-faced h elm , (also o r he aume), was typica lly referr ed to as a Panoply. armor for the hea d, cover in g t he e ntire head i nclu din g t h e fa ce. Great h elms w ere used fr om th e 1 2th t hro ug h t he 14th C entu ry, Haubergeon they began to be repla ce d i n th e 1 3th by viso re d he lmets . Great helms w ere oft en wor n ov er a smal ler he lmet su ch as a Coat of armo r, usual ly mai l, rea ch in g to th e mi d bi ceps and basci net or a cerve ll ier e un der neat h; t he gr eat he lm wo uld be the upper -t hi ghs . worn d ur in g t he lan ce char ge the n remo ved for han d-t o-ha nd com bat, so meti mes he ld in pla ce by a strap on t he back of t he torso a rmor .

From the left: An exquisi te Ottoman helmet, dating back to the 16t h Century. Thi s gold inlayed masterpiece would have been made for a very hi gh offi cial. An I talian Barbutte, 15t h Century, i n semi-excavated condition, French vi sored armet with bevor and gorget probabl y 16t h Century

Mail Hauberk with coif. Note reinforced section of mail in the center of chest.

Hauberk Coat of a rmor , usually Mail, r eac hin g t o th e e lbows an d the knees. T he Ha u berk or Hau be rik be gan to appear in the late th 10th an d ear ly 11th Ce ntury , and had become commo n by the From the left: German visored with bevor, 15 Century; European visored cavalry helmet with gorget, possibly French, 16th Century; Heavily patinated th 12 . It was the fun damen tal gar ment o f cap-a-pi ed mail Bronze Hallstadt (Celtic) or Illyrian Helmet circa 6th Century BC armor un til t he adv ent o f Coat of Plates in th e 1 3th Ce ntu r y.

From the left: A great helm, English or French, 13th Century; A 14th Century From the left: A gilded open-faced helmet shaped like a lions head, from a late pig-faced (visored) , probably French. This type became a very 15th Century (functional) parade armor, Germany. Photo by Victor popular ’transitional’ design between the earlier great helm and the more Che rnyav skiy; Greek ‘Corinthian’ Helmet, Bronze 6 t h Century BC sophisticated types which followed. The bascinet was originally an open- faced helmet worn beneath a great helm. Helmet Ori gi nal ly this re ferr ed t o an un der-h elm o r a helm et whi ch d id not cov er t he e ntire fa ce (see Helm) late r th e ter m ca me to represen t any type of armore d hea d co ver in g. In Cl assical

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns times, a helm et was often desi gn ed t o have par tial face protectio n in t he form of che ck pie ces and si de pla tes. Helme ts of th is type were rev ive d du ri ng t he me di eval pe rio d as the ba rbutte .

These offe red go od bu t no t tota l prot ect io n fo r th e face. Basic classical Roma n caval ry oft en a dd ed a full fa ce mas k to protect agai nst missiles and spear strik es, bu t the fa ce mask was close t o the face, r estri cte d breat hi ng an d d id not pro tect against fu ll for ce str ikes fr om ha nd weapons , th ey were mainly int en de d to prot ect aga inst m issiles an d gla n cin g blo ws. Du ri ng th e M ig ration pe ri od full h elm ets w ere less commo n, being repla ce d by t he simple r con e shape d nasaled helm o r spang en helm type he lmets (see Ir on Helm et)

By the 1 1th Cent ury Me di eval gr eat he lms whi ch cov ere d the entire face an d h ead wer e w orn d uri ng cava lry e nga gem ents but oft en remo ve d d uri ng close com bat so t he fi gh ter coul d see bett er (see Helm). Dur in g the la te Me die val and Rena issance pe rio d mo re soph isticate d he lmets e vol ved from simpler ‘sma ll ’ he lmets su ch as bascin ets, arm ets, bur go nets Katzenbrust armor, from a painting dated 1435 AD or to w hi ch a o r a bevo r had bee n add ed. The visor (o r th e h elme t itse lf) co ul d be l owe red d uri ng a ch arge Katzen-Brust Armor or when un der m issile at tack or fi re, th en ra ised a gai n fo r close com bat or ri di ng i f ne cessary. A type o f w hi te harn ess from th e Ho ly Ro man Empire (essential ly Germa ny) in t he early 15th Cent ury featu rin g a box- Jack shaped or ‘glo u bous ’ breast plate . A somew hat ge ner ic t erm re fer ri ng to a semi-r ig id arm ore d Khazaghand shirt or coat . Cou ld be e ith er a s leev eless v est or a ja cket with ful l sl eev es. This ter m o ver laps wit h je rki n, d ou blet , coat “Salah Al din (Saladin) stood in his place until a part of the army joined him. armor a nd co rselet, am on g ot hers , t his te rm is ge ner ic but He then said, "Put on your arm or". The majority of those did so while I ofte n re fers t o armo r with som e ki nd o f te xtile compo nent remained standing by his side. After a while he said again, ' Ho w m any times whi ch may or may not a lso have some m etal compon e nts, do I have to say "Put on your A rmo r?' ' I said 'Oh my Lo rd, surely thou does desi gne d to a ct as stand-alo ne arm or rat her t han un der- not mean me? ' 'Surel y' s aid he. I replied 'By All ah, surely I cannot put on armor . This ter m can also speci fi cal ly r efer to an Arm in g J ack. anything more. We a re in the early pa rt of the night, and my quilted jerkin (kuzaghand) is furnished with two coats of mail, one on top of the other. As Jazeraint soon as I see the enemy I shall put it on.' Salah al Din did not reply, and we set off. ‘ Also jaz erant, jaze rain ja zera nq, jazera n, ga zera nt, ga zer anc, gazera n. This is a va ria nt o f, or an oth er na me for M i dd le In the morning we found ou rselves near Dumayr. S alah- al Din (S aladin) Eastern Khaza gha nd arm or . This varian t may incorpo rate said to me 'Shall we not dismount and eat something? I a m hungry a nd have Scale Arm or w ith in t he t wo t ext ile layers rat her t han mail . been up all night.' I replied 'I shall do wh at thou orderest.' So we This type of armo r a nd th e t erm jaze rant we re use d i n Eur ope dismounted, and no sooner than we had set foot on the g round, when he said as wel l as in t he M i dd le East. 'Where is thy jerkin?' Upon my orde r, my attendant produced it. Taking it out from it's leather bag, I took my knife and ripped it at the breast and Jerkin disclosed the side of the two coats of mail. The jerkin enclosed a F rankish coat of m ail extending to the bottom of it, with an other coat on top reaching Gener ic te rm for an armo red coat or vest , sim ilar to a do u ble t, as far as the middle. Both were equipped with the proper linings, felt pads, a corse let , or a ja ck . Cou ld r epresen t eit he r a vest o r an rough silk, and rabbits hair. ' actua l jack et.

Usama i bn Munqidh- Kitab al-I'tibar circa 1190 AD (note thi s description with two coats of mail represents and exceptionally heavy khazaghand, the normal version would onl y have on coat of mail)

Khazag han d or kh uzaga nd is a combinat ion ma il / text il e armor used in t he Mi dd le East a nd C entra l Asia from the 1 1th C entu ry AD unt il t he 1 9th Ce ntu ry, in which Mail is san dwich ed be twee n

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns two layers of tex tiles and padd in g in th e form o f fur , fe lt , and / or ra w si lk .

From the left, Lamellar Armor, 16th or 17th Century

t h Ottoman Khazagand, ci rca mid-16 Century AD Lamellar The co nstru ct ion is simila r to t hat o f a mail Hauberg eon worn Armo r consisting of smal l plates (lames) la ce d to get her i n over a l ig ht Gambeson w it h a li ght Ake ton or J upon o n to p of over lapping paral lel ro ws. Ma ny d iffer ent mate rials wer e use d that. Th e lo ng sle eves o f Khazag han d armo r oft en cov ered to make lamellar , t he lam es co ul d be o f bro nze , l atten , the ha nds wit h somet hin g li ke mitt ens, an d wer e fre qu ently laquere d leat he r, la cquer ed wat er buffalo hi de, cu ir bouil li , made o f very g ood qua lity mate rials i nclu di ng a silk o uter hor n, ir on or ste el. T he laces we re usual ly silk or some oth er layer which may be embr oi dere d or d ecorate d wit h sloga n s or very str on g cor d. names, a nd dyed in ma ny colo rs. Th e ov eral l qual ity of a Khazag han d coat depen de d o n th e qual ity o f t he ma il u sed, Lamellar is an e ffe ct ive and re latively simple type o f armor the best w ere mad e fro m ‘Fere ng i’ (Eu ropean) mai l. whi ch ca n eas ily be mass prod uced, easi ly r epaire d a nd easily adjust ed to fit th e bo dy of a di ffere nt wear er . The lon ge vity of Kozane the desi gn is t estamen t to its val ue a nd cost -e ffect ive nes s, th is extre mely an cie nt armo r was used from at least t he 5th C entu ry Means ‘scal es’. This is th e Japa nese versi on of Lames used BC thro ug h th e 1 9th Ce ntury AD , for mo re t han t wo t ho usand in t he Japanese type of Lamella r arm or, small re ctan gu l ar or years. obl on g shape d pie ces o f har d mat eria l pie rce d w it h mu l tiple hol es for lacin g tog eth er. There were many d iffer ent type s of The arm or i tself is som ewha t vu ln erable to damag e h o wever kozan e. Be fo re t he Se ngok u Jidai in the 16th C en tury especial ly u nd er r epeate d blo ws, a nd a pie rcin g weap o n ca n Kozane wer e typica lly ma de of leat her , , or w ater also (rare ly) fi nd its way bet wee n lam es to cause a catast rophi c bu ffal o ra whid e, or more rar ely iro n. Som etim es alte rna tin g penetrat io n. T he Byzant in es Ott omans an d Sarma tian heavy patterns of raw hi de an d iro n koza ne wer e a lso used. cavalry use d to w ear lam ella r over mail , a type of arm or whi ch the Byzant ines call ed “K li bani on ” (see Kliba ni on). For more Aft er 1 50 0 th ey were mo re commo nly made o f ir on . All informat ion o n Lam ella r see the sectio n Types of Histori cal materia ls we re a lso cove re d i n heavy ma de of pine Armo r which ma de the ko zon e m uch mo re resistan t to wea ther and r ust and a dd ed some fu rth er stre ngt h. S omet imes w hol e Lames sections o f lam ella r we re lacqu ere d after be in g l aced toge the r, creat in g a sol id boar d. The i nd ividua l plat es or pi eces, us ually rectan gula r, o val or obl on g shape d a nd p un che d wit h a seri es of h oles , w hi ch make up th e pr in cipl e compo nen t o f lame llar armo r. Lames co uld be made o f l eath er, cu ir bo ull i, raw hi de, ho rn , bam bo o, bronz e, latten , , brass, ste el, or iro n. Lames coul d be put toge the r to make a corse let , or alte rnate ly, i nd ividua l metal plates whi ch make up articu late d armor pie ces on knees, elbows, sho ul ders or th ig hs i n plat e arm or har nesses. The Japanese call ed lames kozan e (‘s cales’) a nd wo ul d ty pical ly lacque r th em which i ncr eased str en gth an d mad e th e m ateria l less suscept ible to th e effe cts o f weat her an d moist ure .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

In mak in g mai l armo r, iro n is pul le d th rou g h a ho le int o wires , the iro n wire is the n ben t in to smal l cir cu lar l inks w hi ch ar e ‘wo ven ’ to get her typi cal ly in a fo ur-in -o ne or si x-in -on e pattern . Some li nks may be so li d for ged, a ll li nks w hi ch are no t so lid are rivet ed to get her w ith tiny me tal riv ets in a met icul ou s and painstakin g pr ocess r equi rin g ma ny h un dre ds o f h ours of work . This is know n to day as ‘rive ted ma il ’ to d isting uish w ith ‘butt ed mail ’ whi ch is mad e in mo der n times by ho bbyists and at Rena issance Fair e w orksh ops by si mply crimpi ng i ro n w ire toge the r. Ther e is no histo ri cal evi de nce h owev er t hat ‘butt ed mail ’ was ever actual ly used o n any batt le fie ld in or near , pr ior to t he 18 th Cent ury. Al l ma il armo r fou nd with in Modern reconstruction of a Greek of the 3rd or 4th Century BC this co nte xt was apparen tly riv ete d or a com bina tio n.

Linothorax There is some use of a type of bu tte d mai l i n Japan ese armor , This is a type of harde ne d text il e armor w orn by Greek and (spiral li nke d l ike a key-cha in) pr imari ly i n small se ctions Eastern Me dit erra nean so ld iers d uri ng t he Classica l per iod , betw ee n plat es i n t he sid es o f t he torso o r o n gau ntlets. B ut t his as well as (in sli ght ly di ffe ren t variat io ns) by Byzantine was not very e ffectiv e prot ect io n compare d to Eu rope an or soldi ers t hro ug h t he M id dl e Ages . A Lin oth orax co nsiste d o f Central Asia n mai l, a nd was in fa ct lat er r eplaced by r ivete d several (1 5-20) layers of har de ned l ine n for med i nt o a mail afte r exposur e to Eur opeans du ri ng th e 16th Ce ntu ry. corse let , and o fte n en han ce d wit h scal e armor . The l i nen itself was har de ne d wit h v in egar . Real r ivet ed ma il, wor n with pad di ng a bove or belo w, offer s very effect ive prot ect io n a gainst cuts, go od prot ect io n a gainst Munitions Grade thrusts , an d is very fl exi bl e, offe rin g litt le resistan ce t o moveme nt , but it is a bit hea vy, w ith most o f t he w eight fall in g In creasi ng ly thr ou gh out the Me die val pe rio d an d int o the on th e shou ld ers an d the hips (it must be w orn w it h a be l t to fi t Rena issance , cheape r qual ity armo r or weapo ns were properly) but does not wei gh as m uch as most m ode rn ‘butt ed manufa ct ure d for armi es, t ow n g uar ds, etc., u ntil very mail ’ on e may fin d at a Re n Fair e ev ent. Th e pri ncip le grad ual ly hand ma de mi lita ry equ ipmen t had disappe ared draw back o f mail was rea lly that it is d iffi cu lt and v er y time altog eth er . Mu nit ions gra de kit was a lso desi gne d to fi t “o ff consu min g (th ere for e expe nsiv e) to make . For more the ra ck” as opposed to arm or w hi ch is tai lor ed t o an informat ion o n Mail see t he sect io n Types o f H istor ica l Ar mor ind iv id ual wear er .

Mail Mail is an an cie nt type of body armo r apparently i nve nte d by the La Tene Cu ltur e “Celts” or possibly by th e S cyth ian s, or the Il lyrians som ew here aro un d 4 00 AD . T he o ld est mail cur rent ly kn own t o aca dem ia was foun d at a 4th C en tury Celtic C hi efta ins bu rial-sit e in R omania . Maximilian Harness wi th a whimsi cal moustache on the vi sor, earl y 16t h Century. Photo by Maci ej Szczepańczyk

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Maximilian Harness com bat an d are also hi gh ly expose d to d esce nd in g missi les so pauldr ons wer e a n importa nt a nd popu lar pie ce of arm or kit. Essential ly a more sophisticate d versi on of Got hi c Harn ess, named after Emper or Max imi lian I o f th e H oly Roma n Empire .

Maxim ilia n armor usua lly feat ure d eit he r an armet or a “close helm et” with a ‘be ll ows’ viso r. Th e a rmor itse lf was chara cte riz ed by ang le d, para lle l flut in g often cov eri ng most of t he har ness (bu t n ever th e g reav es), an d e tchi ng , w ork. The cuirass o fte n featur ed a narr ow waist, an d th e saba tons (foot prot ect io n) were typica lly squar ed. T his type of armor is commo nly mad e of t empere d stee l an d in corp orates flu tin g (rid ges) in th e armor plat e, bot h feat ures al low in g th inn er and lig hte r armo r to be used fo r th e same or s uperi or stre n gth , thou g h on har ness of this type cer tain areas such as the helm et an d t he cui rass wou ld be t hi cke ne d fo r prot ection from a rba lests and fi rearms . Har ness of t his type is also extre mely wel l crafted for ma neu vera bi lity of th e w earer and well shape d to de fl ect ar qu ebus balls, spearh eads an d other weapons. Modern re-enactors wearing gambesons and iron plackarts. Photo courtesy of Ital ian "al la t edesca" (a la ge rman) a rmo ur - is an It alian Rosa Mundi UK of 1 50 0-1 51 5 w ith flut in g an d Max imi lan style cui rass and k nee-l on g tassets often wor n w ith be ll ows vis ore d Plackart sallet . Th is ki nd of armo ur is consi der ed by Oakes hott as a kin d of Schott-S onn en ber g Styl e armo ur ma de by Ital ian s for Also pla car d, pla ncka rt or p lacat e. A compon ent of plat e armor , the Germa n ma rket . usually ir on , shape d t o cov er t he abdom en . It was pop ular in the 1 5th an d early 1 6th Ce ntu ries . In itia lly br east pla tes or Ō-Yoroi cui rass were mad e of seve ral lam inat ed o r riv ete d plates, event ual ly th is ev olv ed in to t wo p ieces i .e . t he breast plate This is a n e laborate har ness o f Japan ese style la ced lam ellar whi ch was ove rlapped by th e plackart , th us providi ng goo d inclu di ng a corse let cove rin g the a bdo men (do) , s kirts protectio n w hi le stil l al low in g some m ovem ent . In some cases (haidat e), sho ul der pie ces (so de), brace rs an d gre aves the breast plat e was co vere d i n ve lve t, si lk or som e ot he r cl oth (suneate), ma de of la cque red i ron lam es and riv ete d la mes whi le th e pla ckart r emai ned u ncove re d iro n. as well as lar ger s haped iro n plates (also typi cal ly lacqu e red) worn w ith te xtile un de r-ar mor an d a full h elm et wit h an iron In som e types of har ness th e pla ckart was riv ete d so as t o allo w facemask . The co rsele t is ‘c’ shape d and op ens on t he r igh t moveme nt , in o the rs it was fi xe d in pla ce an d becam e part of a hand si de , th e open in g in t ur n co vere d by a pie ce o f ar mor singl e plat e, particu larly in Mi lanese har ness. In th e 1 5th call ed a watabi. This type o f armo r was on ly wor n by no bles , Centu ry it be came a popular armo r for comm on sol die rs, along it is a fair ly ‘o ld fashi one d’ type o f armo r which ex iste d back with helmets, gor gets or bev ors, pol eyns, an d partia l vam braces to the 12th Cen tury an d be gan t o be phase d out by the 1 4th in protecting th e elbows . favor of the li gh ter Dō Maru or the more sophist icat ed Tou dei- Gusoku Poleyns Armo re d kn ee pads or kn ee guar ds, can be mad e o f art iculate d Panoply iron pla tes or qui lte d padd in g or bot h. Poley ns were som etimes Gener ic te ch ni cal term for a complet e o ut fitt in g of a rmor and inte grat ed w ith cuisses or more ra rely , grea ves. / or weapo ns for a typi cal warri or o f a g ive n era an d pla ce in the w orl d. It can a lso re fer specifica lly t o armor that co vers Pourpoint more t han t he tors o, us ually i ncorpora tin g a he lm or helmet, torso prot ect io n, an d some a dd itio nal pi eces of ar mor Yet anoth er form o f text ile ar mor , th is being specifica lly und er- protecting th e lim bs. armor fea tur in g bu ck les, la ces, an d / or straps to con n ect to pieces o f arm or, especia lly to ho ld up the le g an d th ig h armor . Pauldrons A pourp oin t was oft en ma de at l east partly o f leat he r an d may also feat ure se ctions of ma il i n the a rmpits, arms , gr oi n and Sho ul der armor . Oft en re fers specifica lly to a rticu l ated othe r v ul nera bl e spots s imi lar to a n Arm in g D ou ble t. shoul de r plates . S omet imes t hey can be very larg e or exag gerat ed as if o ft en th e case i n Japanese arm or (calle d sode). The sho ul ders ar e h it fre qu ent ly i n ha nd to h and

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Pteruges The cov erag e o f T hre e Qua rters har ness var ies, th e de fault is assumed to hav e cuirass, g or get , he lmet , paul dro ns, art iculate d The fri nge or skirt of lea the r o r l in en straps w hi ch ha ng from vambra ces, a nd tassets. Compo nen ts such as ga unt l ets or the waist of a n ar more d co rsele t or epau lett e-lik e str ips worn poleyns ca n be a dd ed pie cemea l us in g th e co dex Armo r on t he sho uld ers, or on t he back o f a he lmet to prot ect the compo nents system. The t erm Hal f Arm or an d Thre e Qu arters neck . These wer e use d in a ncie nt Rome an d Gre ece du rin g Harness w ere so mew hat inte rchan gea ble i n per io d, the exa ct the Classi cal per io d but fell o ut o f use in Eur ope i n the cov erag e varied, so t his type of a rmor over laps wit h Half Armo r Migra tio n era , tho ug h they co ntinu ed to be used by the in the Co dex Rul es. Byzantin es and in som e parts of Centra l Asia an d the M i dd le East.

Tassets Armo r t o pro tect t he th ig hs, usual ly i n t he for m o f over lap ping plates ext en din g from a br east-pla te o r cui rass, li ke a k in d o f ‘skirt ’ of ir on, su ch as can be see n o n the Thr ee Qu arter Harness.

Three Quarters Harness This is a type of arm or i nclu din g Helmet , Cuirass, Pauld r ons, and Tassets, as we ll as somet imes Vam braces, w hi ch be came popu lar both wit h ca valry an d pik e an d pole arm Replica leather scal e armor made i n a roman style wie ld ing in fant ry be gi nn in g i n th e lat e 1 6th Cen tury , and th remai ned i n use thr ou gh th e 1 8 . Scale Armor Armo r consist ing of sma ll bro nze , la tte n, iro n, hor n, or l eathe r scales riv ete d or sew n o nto a ba cki ng of l eath er , heavy textile such as l ine n or canvas , or som e o the r fabri c. Th is is a v ery o ld type of a rmor which persist ed thr ou gh the Me di eval pe ri o d, bu t it was nev er very pop ular i n Nort her n or W estern Eu rope . T he Romans ha d two types of Scal e armor h owe ver , one call ed Lor ica S quamata was name d a fter fish s cales , an d was w orn by cavalry an d certa in o the r specia list tr oops. The oth er call ed Lor ica P lumata , after a birds pl umag e, was act ual ly a l ayered armor cons istin g o f bro nze or brass scales be nt 9 0 de gre es and pierced, and w ire d int o a backi ng o f very fi ne Mai l armor . This type was only wor n by o ffi ce rs and h ig h rank in g specia lis t such as Aqui ll ifers a nd Sign ifiers .

Sur coat Also call ed a ta bard , a type of apr on or vest wo rn ov er ar mor to protect aga inst heat in g dur in g t he sum mer , t o prot ect ir on armor from mu d an d rai n, an d to display t he co lors an d h eral di c dev ices of the wea rer . Th e w earing of sur coats bega n in t he 11th-1 2th ce ntu ry possibly as a r esult o f e xperi en ces dur i ng the From the left, Three Quarters Harness for common caval ry sol dier Crusades. Sur coats be gan to become rare by the ear l y 15th featuring burgonet helmet, cuirass, gorget, pauldrons, and tasssets, Probably Engli sh, late 16t h or earl y 17t h Century; Three Quarters Armor Centu ry as Wh ite Har ness be came mor e pop ular . for an ari stocrat with armet helmet, fully arti culated , gauntl ets, tassets and poleyns, late 16t h Century, French (appears to be missi ng Toudei-Gusoku it’ s faulds) A som ewha t gen eri c term mea nin g ‘mo de rn armors ’, t his is Three quar ters har ness was ori gi nally typi cal mu nit io ns gr ade essential ly a strong er , li ght er mor e fo rm fi tti ng type of armor kit issued to pikem en an d cavalry , but ev ent ual ly became whi ch be gan t o appear in the 1 5th Cent ury. Yo u cou ld t hi nk of it popular w ith Ar isto crats, ma ny fan cy panopl ies surv ive with as a more stream lin ed, li ght er v ersi on of a n Ō-Y oro i o r a more elaborate scro ll work , gol d plat e, bl ui ng a nd et ch in g. So me is elaborate ve rsio n o f a Dō Maru. T ou dei-Guso ku oft en also o f very h ig h qua lity armo r feat uri ng ‘pr oo fed’ cuirasse s. incorpora ted elem ents o f Europ ean armo r, i nclu di ng r ivete d mail , Europea n gl ou bus or Peascod type breast plates,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Europea n style bri gan di ne , an d / o r mo di fie d E urop ean steel (or i ron w hi ch is usual ly gray). Wearing un cove re d whit e (usually Port ug uese) he lmets , bu t also i nco rpora tin g harness all owe d th e own er to d emo nstrate t hat he wa s well tradi tio nal Japanese style lace d lacqu ere d lamellar a nd te xtil e nig h inv ul nera bl e. It was a form of osten tation a nd i ntim i dation . armor . Som e o f these arm ors w ere ‘pr oo fed’ a ga inst White harn ess became fashi ona ble amo ng t he arist ocr acy in Ar que bus ba lls much li ke Eur opean armo r was in the same the 1 5th Cen tury , prin cipal ly be cause t he qua lity o f the armor era. Gen eral ly speakin g, To ude i-G osuk u armors we re m ade itself was becomi ng m ore impressi ve t han a ny surcoat , or oth er with less lacin g, a nd mor e sol id or ri vete d pla tes, a nd / or cov eri ng co ul d be . At th e same tim e ‘bl ue d’ a nd ‘br onze d ’ Europea n styl e r ive te d ma il . armor was als o popu lar , part icula rly am on g m ercenar ies.

Vambrace Yushman Armo r fo r th e fo rearms, or art iculat ed arm or for t he e ntir e This is a not her te rm for mai l an d p late armor , se e Bakt here ts. arms fr om s hou ld er to wr ist. The t erm d eriv es from t he Pe rsian jawshan.

White Harness This was a euphemism for u nco ver ed stee l plate ha r ness (armor) worn w ith out a surcout o r tabar d, an d ‘w hit e’ i.e. polishe d steel as opposed to blue d or br on zed o r lacqu ered

Elements of A rmor

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Types of Historical Armor dur in g th e Hellen istic peri od 50 0 years late r th ey wo re the Textile Armor lin oth orax , w hi ch was pro ba bly use d by t he Byza ntin es Textil e ar mor is a di fficult con cept fo r most people to con tin uo usly from C lassical t imes th rou gh t he M id dl e Ages . und erstan d to day. T o ki nd of visual iz e it , l ig ht t ext ile a r mor Due to th e lack of l ite rary sour ces and t he in nate t en de ncy of norma lly w orn ben eath har de r arm or lik e ma il is r ou g hly to d eter iora te mu ch mo re rapi dly than iro n or br o nze we compara ble t o an ov en mi tt. Hea vy text ile ar mor o f th e t ype have l ess dir ect evi de nce of t ext ile a rmor be ing us ed i n worn stan d-a lon e, wo ul d be ro ug hly compara bl e t o a n old Nort he rn Eu rope unt il r ou ghly t he 11th Ce ntu ry whe n it became fashio ne d base ball catchers chest-pr ote cto r. recogn iza bl e in artw ork .

Textil e armo rs have pr oba bly ex iste d as lon g as cl oth in g h as. We d o kn ow fr om m ode rn tests h owe ver tha t mai l armor The Azt ecs and In cas used padd ed tex tile armor t hey cal led doesn ’t fun ct ion wel l with out a clo th back in g, so t ext ile armor ichcah ui pi ll i, both as stan d-a lon e k it a nd as u nd er-a r mor proba bly was use d i n Nort her n Eu rope at least as l ong a s mail worn ben eath har de r mat eria ls, a nd w hen t he Span ish (cir ca 4th Ce nt ury BC) and qu ite like ly mu ch earl ier t ha n that Conquista dors arr ive d in t he New W orl d th ey were a lre ady giv en t he Hallsta dt / Il lyria n an d Ur nfi eld cul tur es sophist icat ed weari ng essentia lly t he same t hin g, which t hey ca lle d an textile w eavi ng t echn olo gy which go es back int o th e early Aket on o r Gambeso n. On t he o the r sid e of t he w orl d i n In dia Bronz e Ag e. Text ile arm or was also popular i n Centra l, they cal le d it pe ti. Sout her n, an d Easte rn Asia , i n Nor th Afri ca a nd the Mi d dl e East, goi ng back int o pre-histo ri c times . The Me die val Eu ro peans Textil e ar mor was k now n t o t he Ancien t Gr eeks. Th ey v ery call ed t hem by various nam es: j upon , gam beso n, a keton , rece nt ly du g up a pie ce o f My cen ean t ext ile armo r at Patr as, armin g coat , armi ng d ou bl et, ja ck .

From the left: a high-quality sword repli ca cuts about half way through a twenty layer linen jack, failing to penetrate; three arrows from a 70 lb draw bow bounce off a 20 layer linen jack from 20’ away, failing the penetrate. Photos courtesy of Mi chael Edel son

Mode rn t ests have s omew hat r estore d t he r eputat ion of the The do wnsi de o f all te xtile armo r is that it ’s fair ly e asy to low ly padd ed coa t. It seems t hat 20 layers o f l in en can s top ‘ablate ’ or in cr emen tally da mage , especially w ith a slicin g a kni fe t hr ust, a s wor d cut , o r an a rro w from a 7 0 l b bow weapon , it is h ot a nd bulky, h eavy, an d i t soaks up mo isture . shot from 2 0 fee t away . Of co urse 20 layers of l ine n is The upside is it is ch eap, effe ctive, and l ig ht wei gh t compa red to pretty thi ck (imag in e wear in g 20 sh irts) and w earing e no ugh iron , an d be in g fabr i c it ‘breat hes’ at least some what. padde d arm or t o prot ect you rself from sw ords a nd arro ws wou ld leav e you lo oki ng a bit l ike the Mi ch elin t ire man . But Textil e armor i n the M edieval per io d was usually mad e of line n, that is a l ook you will re cog ni ze qu ite o fte n i n art from the or fust ian w hi ch is a heavy clot h made wit h a cot ton weft and a 13th 14Th Ce ntury . lin en warp, or later fr om woo l an d cott on thr eads . Silk was an optimal mate rial being v ery str on g (see Alte rnative Mater i als). There were also hard ene d t ext ile a rmors , th e ar che typical variety be in g t he fam ous Gr eek li not hroa x, w hi ch was Leather Armor apparently quit e effe ctive an d re latively l ightw eight . The “Leath er arm or” is pro bably th e most popu lar l ig ht ar mor in precise se cret o f its co nstru ction has be en l ost thro ug h the role playin g games , but th ere is v ery l itt le evi de nce t hat it was ages but mo de rn re const ru ctions have bee n pr omisi ng . wid ely used i n a Europea n Medieva l co ntex t as such. The re was

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns more use o f stand-al one leat her arm or use d ho wev er in Central Asia, Ch ina , and a fe w oth er places , perhaps most Using leat her or raw-hi de as a compon ent of lame lla r h owever nota bly by the Mo ng ols. Mo de rn t ests hav e n ot r evea led seems to have be en som ewha t mo re e ffectiv e an d was more leath er arm or whe the r ha rd ene d o r soft, to be v ery e ffect ive wid ely used particu lar ly in Asia and t he Mi dd le East. Thi s was at stoppin g cuts o r th rusts from han d w eapons or pi ercin g by proba bly used a t l east some what i n E urope , bu t lam ellar armor arrows a nd ja vel ins . was neve r popu lar t her e. Mi dd le Eastern an d Asia n Cu i r Boil li was usually made of th i ck water bu ffa lo raw hi de , an d the Leat her was also pret ty expe nsive in Me die val an d Iro n Ag e ind iv id ual lames or scal es woul d also somet imes be la cquere d, Europe , an d lea the r o f suffi cie nt t hi ckn ess and / or as was comm only the case in Japan . Th is furt her en han ced its hard ness to provide prot ect io n is more bulky and effect ive ness. cum bersom e tha n te xtile or iro n (co ntra ry to th e dep ict io n in most RPGs) thou gh mu ch l ig hte r tha n th e latt er. It is Ano the r way i n which l eath er was use d i n armo r w as as possible t hat someth in g new w il l be lea rne d in t he n ear waterpro ofin g prote ction fo r text ile arm ors such as gambesons. fut ure but it seems at th is poin t that leat her was fa irly Duri ng t he Me di eval per io d, i t was apparently a co mmon margi nal prote ct ion as stan d-a lo ne a rmor an d not wid ely practice in th e H ebri des isla nds to in corp orate a laye r o f do e– used e xcept as a compon ent of som e o the r type o f arm or, skin ove r a gambeso n and t hen cov er that w ith pit ch, cre atin g a inclu di ng t he famo us Cu ir Bou lli. water -proo f layer . Doe ski n is soft an d th is wou ld n ot be thi ck eno ug h to prov id e m uch i f a ny armo r e nha ncemen t, but water The most sig ni fi cant use of Cu ir Bo ui ll i i n E ur ope was a s a proofin g is a valuable featur e particula rly in a wet e nv iro n ment . stiffene r for mai l arm or d ur in g th e secon d ha lf of t he 1 3th It is possi bl e t his is a lso t he natur e o f t he famo us “m agi cal” Centu ry. G reav es, cu irasses, cu isses, an d vam bra ces of C uir rein de er-hi de arm or me ntione d i n the Icela nd ic sagas in a Bouil li w ere br iefly popular , wo rn ov er mai l to e nha nce Vik in g cont ext , part icular ly sin ce these He br id ians were protectio n aga inst blu nt trauma. One o the r val ue o f Cuir desce nda nts of Viki ng sett lers th emselv es. Bouil li was t hat it co ul d be stampe d wit h patt erns, an d it was ofte n used t o display he ral di c dev ices, slo gans, an d often It is u nkn own ho w widesprea d th is pract ice was, it cou l d hav e beau tiful d ecorations dur in g t he re lativ ely br ief per iod w hen bee n comm on al l ove r Europ e or Centra l Asia , or it co ul d have it was i n use. bee n just a lo cal custom.

French illustrati on, from a late 15t h Century manuscript. Soldiers weari ng brigandine harness over mail, with gauntlets, and helmets. One guy near the center wi th a fal chion i s weari ng a plackart. Note al so the weapons, fal chions and at least one scary looking short-handled a glai ve with the haft broken off to about two feet. There are several examples of period art showing similar weapons.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

made en tir ely of inte rlo ck in g iro n ri ngs. Mail armo r was a Scale, Lamellar and Brigandine desi gn u nlik e anyth in g which had com e be for e, w hi ch p ushed armor t echn olo gy i n E urope ahea d of t he rest of the worl d , The n ext step from te xtile a nd l eathe r ar mor we re var ious establ ishi ng a l ead that was ne ver rea lly l ost o ver the ne xt tw o com bi natio ns o f m etal plates or s cales wit h a te xtile ba ckin g, thousa nd years. or san dwiched betw een tw o layers o f t ext ile armo r, or l aced toge the r i n o ver lapping ro ws. Lame lla r consiste d of hard plates of ir on , bro nze , latte n, ho rn , cui r-bo ull i leat her , rawhide , or ev en lacquere d bam bo o, tigh tly laced to get h er in vario us over lappin g patterns . This was effect ive ar mor, particular ly go od de fense agai nst arr ows, mak in g i t on e o f the most popular types of a rmor in the Asia n steppe , i n the Mid dl e East , a nd i n Pe rsia a nd So ut h Asia , an d Japan .

But it was somewhat suscept ible to cuts sever in g the l aces whi ch is per haps why it neve r gain ed mu ch gr oun d in Eur ope wher e t oe-to -toe sho ck com bat was the pre ferr ed met ho d o f fig ht in g an d horse arche ry was rar e. Lam ellar r emai ne d i n use i n As ia for a lmost 2,00 0 yea rs, being use ful as l igh t armor as well as for heav ier mor e comp lete pan opli es. The ori gina l ‘kn ig hts i n shi ni ng armor ’ were Sar oma tian , clad i n w hat t he Byzant ines wou ld lat er cal l ‘kl iba nio n’: lame llar armo r w orn ov er mail w ith splin ts and scale arm or prot ect io n co ver in g th e ent ire rest o f th e bo dy Repeated cuts from several high-quality sword repli cas fail to penetrate (and t he body o f t he h orse). mail, onl y ni cking a few links (the one broken link i s from another test wi th a poleaxe). Photos courtesy of Mi chael Edel son. Note the rivets on the mail Scal e arm or cons isted of small metal scal es or p lates sew n or armor. rivet ed t o a text il e or l eath er back in g. Th is was also fairly We have lear ne d a gr eat d eal a bo ut mai l armo r i n very rece nt effect ive ar mor o f ancie nt li nea ge , useful prot ectio n aga inst times. Un til t he 19 90s , t he ge nera l pu bl ic an d i nd ee d most missiles, but eas ier to damag e t han lamellar a nd it had people i n Aca demia be lie ve d mail was relat ive ly in effe ctive. It larg ely be en r eplaced by oth er types by Me di eval t imes (at seems strang e no w t hat n obody qu estio ned why pe o ple in least in Eur ope a nd t he Near East). anci ent times spen t so mu ch mon ey and en dur ed so much discomfort t o wear ine ffectiv e armo r, but t he lack of cu riosity Final ly armor of har d plates wit h te xtile cov eri ng a nd ba ckin g, abou t all aspects of Eur opean mart ial cult ure , fr om martial arts bri gan di ne , coat o f plates et a l, pr oba bly start ed natu rall y as to swor ds, has be en a fair ly co nstant fact or t hro ug ho ut t h e 20t h soldi ers be gan to har de n the ir text il e armors by ad din g Centu ry. availa ble p lates o f meta l or oth er ha rd su bstan ces su ch as whal ebone , hor n, Cu ir-Boi lli , latt en , ra whide et c., and This particula r myth r emain ed uncha lle ng ed by ear ly re- insert in g them int o text il e jacks . The coat o f plates an d its enact ors a nd amate ur m edieva lists w ho en joye d mak in g an d successor, th e bri gan di ne , pro ved to be t he most su cces sful usin g ‘butt ed’ mail , which we n ow kn ow d id n ot act ual ly exist as types of laye re d armo r, ri vali ng plate a rmor for pro te ctiv e histor ica l a rmor i n E urope . This is be cause bu tte d ma il (mail value but at a fractio n of t he cost . made by simply cri mpin g w ire to get her wit h pl iers) while relat ive ly easy to make is essentia lly useless as armor It was also a con ven ie nt way to re use captur ed arm or w hi ch , protectio n. S o this plays int o the o ld RPG cl iché tha t mail is being in div id ually ta ilo re d, cou ld n ot o fte n be w or n by any one ‘li gh t’ armo r t hat offers me dio cr e pro tectio n, o r as se en on othe r than its ori gi nal o wne r. Ra the r tha n reshape a cui rass thousa nds of films and TV sh ows, part of t he un iform o f villa ins (whi ch usua lly re qui re d a forg e), it cou ld be cut up in to pi eces who ca n easily be dispatche d from a g ent le dra w cut a cro ss the whi ch wo ul d t hen be r ivet ed in to yo ur pa dde d jack . Arm or o f maile d stomach... the e qu ival ent cli ch é has un fort unat ely been this type was used in E urope , Cent ral Asia , an d Japan from spread by aca dem ics r epeati ng the cana rd t hat ar mor is the Me di eval pe ri od o nwar d, a nd remai ne d popula r wit h all desi gne d t o stop a ‘g lan cin g bl ow ’ but a det ermi ne d strike classes of sol di ers, from la ndsk ne chts an d ashi garu to wou ld g et thr ou gh . kni ghts a nd samura i It is no w cl ear tha t all o f th e mail ar mor fou nd i n Eu rope whi ch Mail Armor has be en exam ine d a nd / or x-raye d ( in the case o f ar mor in Some t ime aro un d five h un dre d years B.C ., somebo dy excava te d co nd it ion) has tur ne d ou t to be r ive ted or a somewh ere in C entra l E urope r eally th ou ght outs ide th e box, com bi natio n of riv ete d and sol id lin ks. Mod ern t ests, such as in g to a quan tum leap in arm or dev elopment – a shirt those con du ct ed by th e R oyal Armo ury at Lee ds, UK, have

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns proven that it was near ly impossi ble to cut or sl ice t hro ugh sophistication a nd i n ma ny cases artist ic beauty of th e armor rivet ed ma il w ith a han d weapo n lik e a swor d or an a xe. This produ ce d in it ially i n Mila n, a nd t hen later i n severa l other is apparently why armor-pi ercin g weapo ns bega n to be cen ters i n Germa ny, an d t o a lesser exte nt i n Fla nde rs, S wed en inve nte d ri ght aro un d the same time mai l a rmor bega n to and Cata lon ia, was at t he same le vel of superla tiv e quality . reac h ‘cap-a-pie d’ (h ead t o toe) cove rag e starting i n th e 11th Personal self pr ote ction as an art istic maste rpie ce . Centu ry AD. The best quali ty armor be in g produ ce d in Eu rope by th e 15th Ano the r myth about mai l armor w hi ch was en tre nche d by Centu ry was v ery w ell con fo rme d t o t he body of th e w ea rer, to butt ed ma il , is tha t mail was very hea vy. Butt ed ma il ha s to whi ch it was of course i nd ividua lly ta il ore d (l ike any hi gh be mad e very t hi ck (as much as 1 0 – 12 gau ge d epen di n g on fashio n). Mov eme nt was not h ig hly restr ict ed, no th in g li ke the the mater ial) or it will come apar t un der its own w eight and lum ber in g cla nki ng cari cat ures on e sees in film o r TV, i n fact deve lop a spontane ous ‘mo th-eate n’ l ook . Riv ete d mail does even th e ar mor on e typi cal ly sees in Re naissance Fa ire s and not su ffer from th is pro bl em an d t her efore li nks are m ade popular re-e nact or e vents part icular ly in t he US is ty pical ly much th in ner ( 18-2 0 ga ug e, less than 1mm) w ire . A mo der n cru de ly made and i ll-fitt in g, at best t he equi vale nt of t hir d rate repro du ction riv ete d hau be rk wei ghs about 1 3 l bs. muni tio ns harn ess by Re naissance stan dar ds.

Mail ar mor was ext reme ly effe ctive , th ou gh it co ul d be In a qua lity 15th or early 16th Cent ury ha rness, th e we ig ht was defeate d by special a rmor-pie rcin g w eapons. By t he 15th very we ll distr ibute d, it was ma de o f i ncreasin gly t hi n m etal to Centu ry, arm or-p ier ci ng weapo ns such as hal be rds an d poll- lig hte n t he harness, fi rst o f ir on but late r tempe re d steel, axes had be come ubiquit ous, as ha d h ig h-ene rgy mi ssile sometimes flut in g ad ded furt he r stren gth . As a result wei ght weapons l ike th e ar que bus, ar bal est, composi te bo w and kept go in g d ow n, wit h some G oth ic a nd Maxi mil ian h arness lon gbow . So met hin g be tter was ne ede d . wei gh in g as lit tle as 40 l bs.

This was not the en d o f th e story o f mai l h owe ver . It remai ned in w id e use as stand-al one a rmor a nd as enha ncemen ts to arm or pan opli es (such as in th e ar mor protecting t he un dera rms) and also as civ il ian bo dy ar mor worn beneat h cl oth in g. Per haps the u ltimat e pro of of the gen ius of t his in ven tio n came i n th e 19 9 0’s, w he n var ious Corporations bega n to in vestigate crea tin g stab pr oo f ar mor for US priso n g uards an d Brit ish Pol ice (since a kni fe w il l pass thro ug h Kev lar fa ir ly easily). They tr ied do zens of di ffe rent materia ls an d com bi nations a nd patter ns o f a rmor , ret ur nin g to age o ld co ncepts like sca les, lames, a nd me tal pla tes. Event ual ly they fo un d the only t hin g whi ch al low ed for a decent amo unt o f movem ent an d act ually stopped k nife thrusts was mail , w hi ch is n ow a co mpone nt o f almos t all mode rn kn ife -pro of body armo r be in g pro du ce d to day.

Plate Armor Plate armor is th e best kn own E uropea n armor , w hi ch be gan to appear in the 14th Ce ntu ry. It seems to hav e evo lve d from coat o f plates, g rad ually th e un der lyin g plates wer e riv eted toge the r, an d t he clot h was remo ved unt il j ust th e pl ates remai ned. Som e ear ly breast plat es look a bit like riv eted lamellar (with t he m etal plat es di re ctly r ivet ed t o o ne an ot her) event ual ly they wer e made o f one-pie ce o f dis hed i ro n, and much later t han t hat, e vent ual ly care fu lly shaped temp ered steel lik e m od ern slope d armo r on a ta nk.

The Eu ropea n armo rers star ted somew hat t enta tiv ely, bu t as “transit io nal” p late harn ess gave way t o ful ly articu l ated panoplies in the lat e 1 4th Ce ntu ry, t he sop histicat ion of the Europea n armo rers craft rea ch ed a p inna cl e tha t was A formidable corselet for infantry, 15t h Century, probabl y German, of the unmat ch ed anyw her e else in t he wo rl d. Just as masterpi eces ‘black and white’ styl e often associated wi th landsknechts. of art an d poetry we re create d i n the Rena issance , the

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The bi ggest d owns ide o f plat e arm or in fa ct may hav e been requir in g t hem to be t hi cker , (a nd th ere for e l ead in g t o l ess heat . Durin g th e Imper ial per io d the R omans cr e ated armor cove rage be in g wo rn) but t hey co ntinu ed t o be t hou gh t armore d caval ry in im itation of Ira nia n Cataphra cts w ho were usefu l eno ug h by mil itary comma nd ers that Cui r assers proba bly t he predecessor o f the Me di eval Eu ropean kn i ght . (armore d cavalry wit h ste el br east plat es an d h e lmets) These Roman sol di ers w ere ca lle d “Cl ibinari” , m ean in g “ oven con tin ue d to be use d th rou gh t he 1 9th Ce nt ury. men” , since the arm or was so hot . Sol id i ron does not ‘br eath e’ e ven as we ll as th e thi ck est fabri c, an d you r bo dy Even i n WW I and WW II body armo r di d make some cur i ous re- can o ver heat rapid ly, w hi ch is apparent ly what happen e d to appearances an d was re-eval uate d severa l times by v arious possibly t housan ds o f fig hte rs at t he hu ge Batt le o f To wto n in mili tary fo rces. Th eir co nclusi on was t hat w hi le it co uld be Eng lan d i n 1 46 1 du rin g t he Wa r o f t he Roses. Fig ht i ng a made effe ctive , it cost a for tun e to do so . lon ger an d mor e desperat e fi ght than t hey anticipat ed, many men di ed o f heatstr oke i n t he mi d dle o f sn ow flur ries . It may be more a ccurate to say that armo r di d not so much be come o bsole te , as t oo expe nsive to be pra ctical for in di vid ual The dow nfa ll of armo r how eve r came not from heat -str oke but soldi ers in th e new type of mo der n in dustr ial army. As armies the st roke o f a can no n ball an d t he cras h o f m usket fir e, increase d in si ze from 3,00 0-4, 0 00 m en , to 2 0 ,0 00 , to 5 0,00 0, especial ly the form er, and due t o the lavish cost o f such and t he n i n sh ort or der armi es 1 00 ,0 0 0 o r 2 50,00 0 or more expensi ve perso nal k it in a tim e w hen th e size o f arm ies was were be com in g comm on . Th ere was n o way t o mass-pr odu ce increasi ng e xpon ent ially . Armor was made ‘pro ofed’ a ga inst top qua lity t empere d stee l, let a lon e tempe red st eel armor first crossbo ws and ar balests, an d lat er eve n musket balls, hand-ma de t o fit the i nd ividua l bod ies of m il lio ns o f t roops. but t her e was no way t o proo f armo r agai nst ca nno n, a nd it With th e adve nt of ca nno n and lat er , hi gh-expl osives , armor was the can non , start in g with t he earl iest sho rt-ran ge d h and- di dn ’t co nfe r the ki nd o f de fin it ive adva ntag e it on ce did cul ver ins used by th e H ussites in th e 15th to break up anyway, in the l on g r un perso nal a rmor wasn ’t cost e ffect ive German cavalry char ges, for which armor co ul d gi ve no (but i n anot her form , as the an d the arm ore d fi ght in g answer . veh icle, it was eve ntua lly r eborn) . In t he a ge of m assed ind ustria l warfa re , i nd iv id ual pe rsona l bo dy armo r fell by th e But eve n tha t story may not be as simpl e as it sou nds. wayside for a t ime , but to day as armies have on ce aga in gott en Cuirasses were ma de bul let pro of, eve n aga inst musk ets, smaller we can see it re-appearing aga in . Alter native Armor Materials The stan dar d ma ter ials in armo r liste d he re a re leat he r, l i nen te xtile , a nd ir on . But ot he r mat eria ls w ere use d hist or ical ly, an d if you li ke you ca n use ar mor w ith th ese a lte rnate mat eria l s in your campaig n.

have be en mad e from th e Aur ochs, a n ow ext in ct type o f Buffa lo Silk nativ e t o E ur ope t hro ug h th e M edieva l pe rio d. Used for lacin g i n Japanese a rmor, sil k was also use d thro ug ho ut th e Asia a nd t he M id dle East for t ext ile a rmor , Horn and mo re rar ely in E ur ope. Th is is more e xpensi ve t han Horn was in corp orate d int o armor as scales or lames by the lin en , how mu ch more d epen ds wher e you buy it . In Mon gols , amon g o the rs. Oft en al ter nating sca les o f h or n and Central or East Asia pr ice = X2 over or di nary l ine n base d rawhide wo ul d be used. Hor n was a lso used in Me die val textile armo r, i n Byzant ium o r t he Mi dd le East, X5. In Europe as a stiffe ner insi de gambesons. An other similar Eastern E urope t he pri ce is X1 0, a nd in most o f Wester n materia l was var ious types of w hale bo ne or ba lee n which ha d Europe X2 0 (th e ex cept ion wo ul d be in a place li ke say, similar prope rties. Ven ice w he re t he re was a brisk trad e go ing o n w it h t h e Ori ent , i n w hi ch case use th e Byzant ine pr i ce). T he ben efi t Bronze and Brass (“Latten”) is + 1 D R a nd hal f the Armo r Ch eck Pena lty (r oun d do wn ) Bronz e comes i n va rio us all oys, n ot a ll ar e su itable for armor , since few er layers a re re qu ire d. but t he best are compara ble t o iro n. It is a bi t heav ier t ha n iro n thou gh, w hi ch is a fai rly majo r dra wba ck. The R omans Buffalo hide neve rth eless use d brass cavalry he lmets we ll int o t he perio d This is a super ior al ter nativ e t o leat her . Most ‘leat her ’ whe n th ey had iro n weapo ns and a rmor, possibly be caus e they armor use d h istor ica lly was apparent ly act ually t hi ck to ug h end ure d w eath er bet ter. In th e Me di eval peri od a var i ety of rawhide , som etim es mad e from buffalo skin , for examp l e copper all oys were use d, most fa ll ing un der th e ge ner ic t erm of Chin ese water buffal o wit h much Cent ral an d East Asian ‘latt en ’. Usually th is refe rre d to a brass alloy mad e fro m copper armor . This costs mor e (X5 C ost) than leat her but con fer s and calam in e, and beate n int o she ets (as oppose d to be in g +1 D R. It is possibl e that some hi de arm or i n Eu rope ma y cast). Latte n was used to de corat e arm or, h elme ts, s hie lds,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns and weapo ns, an d also as a metal stiffe ner i nsid e coa ts of plates, gam beso ns, arm in g coats an d th e li ke, a nd t o creat e bra cers , spli nts a nd ot her smal l pi eces o f a rmor .

Tempered Steel Tempered ste el is the u ltimate mate ria l fo r metal a rmor . Because o f its super io r tou gh ness, fle xi bi lity an d resi li en ce compare d to i ron , it ca n be made mu ch t hi nne r, an d ther efo re l ig hter , whil e actua lly be in g stron ge r than t h e equ iva lent ir on armo r. Ev ery ki nd o f i ro n arm or was a ls o made wit h t empere d ste el fr om t he early Medieva l pe rio d onwar d. Tho ugh it was always a rare a nd e xpensi v e alter nativ e, it becam e in creas ing ly com mon in t he 1 5t h Centu ry, the n de cl ine d agai n in th e seco nd ha lf o f the 1 6t h as armies gre w la rge r an d su ch e xpensiv e arm or co ul d n o lon ger be just ified. Fine -l ink ed tempe re d steel mai l shirt s were popula r w ith you ng Ita lia n ar istocrats o n t he str eet s of R enaissan ce Fl ore nce a nd M ila n, as proo f aga ins t sudd en ambush.

It had an ev en gr eater e ffect w ith battl efield armor , form in g t he basis of the ex ce ll ent Max imi lian har ness an d most o f t he 15th Cen tury mast erpie ce armor panopl ie s made fo r the Ki ngs an d Lo rds of E urope. Whe n steel i s substit ute d for ir on , DR is +2 , w eight is 75% , ar mor -che ck Cavalry Armor from the 30 Years War (17th Century), Three Quarters Harness, is re du ce d by o ne . C ost is X5, so a 1 00 0 gp arm o r Gauntlets, and Helmets. harness be co mes a 5,00 0 gp armor harn ess. Note t ha t some armor in cl ud in g Maxi mil ian Ha rness, F ield Har ness, Side bar: W hat a bo ut Sp ider S ilk ? and Ki ngs Ha rness ar e alr eady assume d t o be ma de o f Spide r Silk was n ot use d h istor ica lly, but it has bee n tempere d stee l an d t his is al ready fact ore d i nto the ir stat s demo nstrate d to be possibl e to use . Thou gh e xtrem ely labor (and cost). inte nsive , it is possi ble to cr eate te xtiles from th is rema rkabl e substan ce. An e xperi ment was con du ct ed i n th e earl y 19th The big gest d ow nsid e of temper ed hi gh-ca rbon stee l i s Centu ry where si lk was careful ly unwo un d fr om te ns of that it was the m ost di fficul t mater ial t o wor k with an d thousa nds of go ld en or b w eave r spid ers, and a fantast ic gol de n requir ed a lot o f tim e from t he we ll e qu ipped shop of a tapestry was crea ted . Master armor er to creat e. This effe ct ively ma de it t h e most e xpensiv e ma ter ial to use by a w id e ma rg in . A se con d ele ven foot lo ng tapestry was cr eate d in Mada gascar in 2 0 09 from the si lk o f ov er a m ill io n spide rs. Spi der silk is Munitions Grade potent ially stro ng er tha n steel a nd many times stron ge r than ord inary si lk which is th e r eason fo r t he m od ern i nter est in t he Not an a lter native mater ial but simp ly an alter nativ e materia l. So in a fa ntasy settin g w her e gia nt spiders or some constr u ction . Typica lly ma de ‘o ne size fits al l’. Made fo r othe r mag ica l mea ns (by exo tic creat ures su ch as d warves armies, to wn g uar ds and etc. Cost is 1/3 the cost of perhaps, or by slave labor) of ex tractin g th e silk in la borio us ord inary armo r. DR is -1 , Bypass is -1, and Ar mor Che ck i s processes cou ld be a chie ved , spi der s ilk m ig ht mak e a n i deal +1 . “super text il e” fo r arm or .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Photo of four men outfi tted as heavil y-armed Japanese , 1880 AD. Weapons incl ude from the left, Yumi bow, , Tanto kni fe, , Waki zashi, , ; armor includes tatami-do, mail hauberk (kusari katabi ra or kusari gosuko) and coi f, and do-maru. Thi s kit i s vi rtuall y identi cal to weapons and armor used in the 16t h – 17t h Century. It i s uncertain i f these men are actually samurai or not but the kit i s authenti c.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Con sidera tions abou t A rm or a long time in arm or or ev en fi g hting for an ext en ded pe rio d Situational Awareness and armor wou ld lead to e xha ustio n, especia lly i n h ot wea the r and Armo r, and especial ly he lmets , affe ct si tuat iona l awa ren ess. especial ly i f insu fficien t wat er is avai lable . T his fact or a l one The Arm or Che ck penal ty for a giv en armo r panoply applie s to decid ed t he cou rse of many fam ous bat tles , such as at the skills re late d to m oveme nt , but for senso ry relat ed ski lls, like Horns o f Hatti n du rin g th e Crusades per io d in th e 12th listen in g or spott in g, t he gen eral rul e of th umb is a - 2 pe nalty Centu ry, am on g ma ny o the rs. for any arm or fea tur in g a helmet , -4 penalty for any ar mor featu ri ng a helmet w hi ch partia lly cove rs the face an d e ars, Ano the r ma jor effe ct of weat her on armo r is m oistu re . S it tin g and -6 for a G reat H elm , a full fa ce h elm et or a he lmet with a in t he ra in in yo ur arm or is a very goo d way t o r uin it . Iro n face mask. S in ce m edium and h eavy arm or ar e assume d to rusts, stee l r usts even m ore . Leat her a nd rawhid e can inclu de a fu ll h elm et, P layers who wis h to su bstit ute a n o pen be come w eaken ed by saturat io n in wate r, te xtile armor will face d h elm et (-2 spot ch eck pe nalty) for a n ormal ful ly dou bl e or trip le in we ig ht w hen soake d. These are al l factors protectiv e one may d o so at a bypass penalty (a redu ctio n of whi ch sh ou ld be consi der ed w he n fal li ng in a ri ver o r ca ugh t the bypass value of th eir arm or) of -1. This was actual ly d one out in t he open i n the ra in et c. Arm or is a very valua ble a sset fre qu ent ly by warr iors i n peri od , you can see it in a rtwo rk and in t he CM system, p layers sho ul d hav e to spe nd som e t ime many surviv in g armor pan opli es with fu ll body prot ect io n but takin g care of the ir k it if th ey want it to work fo r t h em. open faced h elm ets. Lacqu eri ng or bl ui ng ar mor , w hi ch was fr eque ntly don e in anci ent tim es al l over th e wor ld , does mo derat e t his effe ct t o Visor ed helm ets and helm ets wit h be vors d esig ne d to be some e xte nt, but n ot comp lete ly. pushed up or dow n, may be w orn i n an ‘open ’ or ‘cl o sed’ mode , w hi ch has the sam e effe ct o n a tempo rary basis . In Armor and Hygiene othe r wor ds, a party membe r co ul d open th eir v isor or r aise Armo r can ge t fil thy pre tty qu ick ly u nd er batt lefie ld con dit i ons, their he lmet w hi le searchi ng t hro ug h a for est gla de , w hi ch and t his is a particu lar ly bad pr oblem wit h te xtile arm ors. The wou ld r educe th e penal ty for spot ch ecks to -4 at th e exp ense most comm on way to clea n it was by boi li ng , which ha d the of dr opping t heir bypass by one point, t hen w hen t hey are adde d bene fi t of k il lin g l ice. Text il e armor w hi ch is worn attacke d slam d own t he v isor whi ch w oul d raise t he spot and con tin uo usly fo r a l on g peri od of time will qu ick ly begi n to listen ski ll check pe nalty t o -6 but raise th e bypass back t o it ’s smell an d soon aft er will ro t. Ther e is an anecdot e from ori gina l val ue. An cie nt G ree ce whe re Al exan der an d h is army rem ove d t heir lin oth orax an d bu rne d th em be cause th ey w ere so fu nky. Sleeping in armor Sleep ing i n armor , especially ful l bo dy armor, is ex tre mely uncomforta bl e and w il l leav e the w eare r in a nea r ex hau sted state. One goo d r ule of t hum b is tha t the a rmor by pass penalty is t he e quiva len t of th e amou nt o f n on-l etha l (fat i gue) damage a playe r w il l su ffe r from a n ig ht of sleepi ng i n t heir armor .

Armor and noise Armo r makes a l ot o f noise . Meta l arm or especia lly , but even leath er a rmor cr eaks an d r ustles . Te xtile a rmor is t he cl o sest thi ng to qu iet a rmor , but it ’s still nois ier to wear than or di nary clo thi ng (th ink o f wear in g a la rge dow n parka) .

Armor and the weather It’ s hard to kill a full y armored warrior, but i t can be one. Here common Armo r do es make you v ery ho t but I do n’t have t he h ea rt to infantry attempt to fini sh off a wounded knight and hi s mount. Note intr od uce t hat leve l of real ism i nto th e game , i t’s also one soldier uses a dagger to find a gap in the armor while two of the potent ially to o mu ch book-ke epin g IM O. But it was a real others attack with the blunt back-ends of their axes. fact or a nd if you want to in clu de it fe el fre e to d o so: ru n nin g

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Armor Components These are t he var ious pi eces w hi ch can be ad de d to Part i al or Bypass is incr eased in i ncr eme nts o f a hal f a poin t o r m ore . Medium armo r to enha nce cov era ge or prote ct ion . The The maxim um Bypass value which ca n be gai ne d by any purpose o f t hese i nd ividua l pi eces is t o giv e playe rs the com bi natio n o f Compo nen ts and Par tial Arm or is 6, for opportu nity to custom ize t he ir armo r somew hat (fo r exa mple Medium Armo r is also 8 . So for examp le a person wear in g an whe n add in g pie ces of k it take n fr om van qu ishe d oppon e nts) Iro n Helm et with an i ron lamellar d ou ble t wou ld have a D R of with out hav in g to get into hi t-lo catio ns an d in di vidual bo dy 7 and a bypass of 5. An iro n he lmet wo rn with me d ium parts. Therefore th e system is essentially abstra cte d, and clo thi ng wou ld ra te a DR o f 4 an d a bypass of Note that must be use d w ith som e co mmon se nse. If you run into Medium arm or al rea dy com es wit h a he lmet so yo u ca n’t add someth in g w her e t he num bers do n’t ad d up , A) l et us k now anoth er , but you cou ld a dd a pai r of gau ntlets or bracer s for rig ht away (w e w il l fi x it qui ckly) a nd B) d on ’t use it tha t wa y. example .

Most o f t he armor compon ents liste d her e ar e helm et s or As stan d-a lon e arm or some for m of l im b prote ct ion. He lmets ca n be a dd e d to If wo rn as stand-alo ne armo r, t hese armo r comp one nts use Partial Armor to creat e ‘custom ’ Me di um Arm or . Oth er pi eces the sta nd-alo ne DR val ue liste d, an d a Bypass v alue such as co ute rs or ga unt lets ca n also be ad de d to me d ium equ iva lent t o th eir Bypass Bonus, ro un de d do wn. For armor to boost D R or Bypass. example a pe rson wear in g an iro n h elm et an d n oth ing else wou ld ha ve a DR of 8 and a bypass of 1. S omeo ne wea ri ng a Worn wit h Part ial or Me di um Arm or more Mad Max styl e pi ecemeal kit consist in g o f say, a n iron When wea ri ng an armo r Compone nt with Partia l or Me d ium (bypass 1), an ir on gor get ( 1 ), iro n ha lf gau n tlets Armo r, eac h Co mpone nt which has a h ig her DR t han the (0.5) , ir on pol eyns (0.5), an d leat he r bra cers (0 .5) wo ul d have ori gina l a rmor raises the DR by 1, for a ma xi mum a DR of 8 and a Bypass of 3 . (Any half valu es are ro un ded improve ment of +2 DR over t he o ri gina l val ue o f the Part i al or dow n). Medium Armor i n qu estio n for al l Compone nts com bi ned. So for exampl e a h elme t wo rn wit h me di um clo th in g wo ul d r aise Compone nts ca n o nly be wor n i n a ma nne r r efl ectiv e of DR fr om 1 t o 2 . Ad din g a mai l coi f and ir on bracers w oul d commo n sense , yo u ca nno t wear two se ts of gau ntlets for raise it a not her po int t o 3 . Add in g pol eyns to this example , th ou gh you can wea r a coi f un de r a gor get , and you com bi natio n wo ul d have n o fur the r effe ct on DR sin ce it’s can act ual ly wear a great h elm ov er an ir on cap but th is will alrea dy gon e up 2 po ints, t ho ug h it wou ld still ra ise the not hav e a ny e ffe ct i n t he Co dex r ules . bypass anoth er ½ .

Co mponen t* Cost Stand-A lone By pass Bonus Ar mor Speed W eight DR Check Le athe r Cap 5 CP 2-3 + ½ - - 1 lb Iron Cap / Ce rve llie re 2 SP 6 ½ -1 - 2 lb Iron Ke ttle ha t 3 SP 6 +1 -1 - 3 lb Iron He lme t 5 SP 8-10 +1 -1 - 3-5 lb Iron Fu ll He lme t o r He lm 20-50 SP 8 +1 ½ -1 o r -2 - 4-6 lb Ste e l He lme t o r He lm 60-100 SP 10-12 +1 ½ -1 o r -2 - 3-5 lb Iron Face M as k (fa ce ) 10 SP 6 + ½ - - 2 lb Iron Be vor ( face ) 5 SP 8 + ½ - - 2 lb Iron Gre ave s ( shins) 2 SP 8 + ½ -1 -5’ 3 lb Iron Sh in Splin ts 1 SP 7 + ½ -1 -5’ 2 lb Iron Po le yns (kne e s) pa ir 3 SP 8 + ½ -1 -5’ 1 lb Iron Cou te r (e lbows) pa ir 3 SP 7 + ½ - - 1 lb Le athe r Brace rs (fo re ar m) pa ir 2 CP 3 + 1 - - 1 lb Splint Bra ce rs (fo re ar m) pa ir 5 CP 4 +1 - - 2 lb Iron Br ace rs (fore ar m) pa ir 2 SP 8 + 1 - - 2 lb Iron Ha lf- Gaun tle ts pa ir 7 SP 6 + ½ -1 - 1 lb Iron Gaun tle ts [air 15 SP 6 +1 -2 - 1 lb Iron P lacka r t (abdo me n ) 5 SP 6 +1 -1 -5’ 5 lb Ar ming Cap 1 CP 2 + ½ - - 1 lb M ail Co if 2 SP 6 +1 - - 3 lb Iron Gor ge t ( th roa t) 1 SP 6 +1 - - 3 lb *Bro nze o r Bra ss can be substituted fo r iron here *DR bonus is limited to a maximum o f DR 10 ** Bonus granted fo r armo r w ith a DR lower than 8

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Armor Tabl e Key (for all tables in this section) Cost gambeson has a DR of 4 as armo r, but i f some on e tr ies to cut Cost is of course , somew hat arbitrary , since armor list ed the arm or up i nstead of t he perso n un de r it , the D R is o nl y 2. here e xiste d in various dist in ct eras some times ce ntu ri es This DR appli es r egar dl ess of t he atta ck type use d. and th ousan ds of mil es apart. The costs here are but it wou ld be closer to real ity to list t he val ue i n silv er coi ns HP rathe r tha n g old. Of co urse even th ere is a bi g di ffe ren ce in This is the amo unt o f dama ge in H it Poi nts the arm or can value be twe en a si lve r coi n th e siz e o f a dime an d a sil v er take be for e be ing r en der ed fun ctional ly useless. coi n t he si ze of a co oki e… t he pr ices her e ar e some what balan ce d. Custom ize as yo u se e fit for your o wn campai g n. Min Strength DR This is the mi nim um str en gth re qu ire d to wear a giv en type o f If you a re no t usin g t he "Attack Types vs. Armor" Optio n al armor . rule is stil l liste d in th e Cor e Ru les Optional R ules sect io n, the o nly DR val ue t hat you n eed is the ‘main ’ val ue w hi ch is Layered armor in Bol d. If you ar e usi ng t he “ Atta ck types vs. Arm o r” It was not ge nera lly possible to have v ery heavy arm o r on optio nal ru le , the first (Bol de d) valu e applies to Pier ce / every part of yo ur body e qua lly, so it was comm on h istor i cally Blud geo n atta cks, th e secon d val ue represe nts th e DR v s. to wea r arm or w ith d iffer ent layers o f di ffe ren t mate ria ls. One Cutti ng atta cks, an d th e th ird valu e to S lashi ng atta ck s. mig ht fo r exampl e wear a breast plate o ver a l ig hter un der- armor of te xtile or lam ellar. To bet ter simu late t his in the Bypass Codex , w e list tw o armo r valu es for som e types of Me d ium This is t he To H it pe nalty for an attacker to get aro un d t he and Heavy armo r in th e fol lo win g tables. armor , so tha t yo u su ffer no DR o n yo ur dama ge ro ll . On t hese ent ries , you will n otice t wo ro ws one i n bla ck and Armor Check one in gray. The first ro w represe nts the stron gest part of the armor , wit h a hi gh er DR but a l owe r bypass number The Ar mor C heck penal ty is also th e Max De x, so a n Ar m or represen tin g t he lim ite d cov era ge, th e se con d r ow ( in g ray) Check Pe nalty of -3 mea ns the Max imum D exte rity bon us represen ts th e ‘seco nda ry’ par t o f t he armor w hi ch us ually whi ch ca n apply to de fense is 3 . Te ch ni cal ly you co ul d say has less prote ct ive valu e (lo wer D R) but m ore co vera ge (t hus the a bsolu te val ue . Whe n combin in g co mpone nts, part i al a hi gh er bypass num ber) . Th ere will also be a des cript io n i n armor and me di um armo r the ent ry on the armo r explai ni ng w hat the tw o layers act ually are. Speed This is yo ur ma xim um m ovem ent speed when wear in g t he Both of t hese val ues shou ld be list ed o n your Chara cter liste d type o f ar mor . sheet . Your oppo nen ts can ch oose to t ry to bypass just the strong est part of you r armor , i n which case use t he first Weight bypass value but stil l apply th e DR fo r t he se con dary ar mor, Weig ht i n pou nds . Not rea lly re leva nt t o th e game ru le s, or t hey can atte mpt t o bypass all t he armor you ar e w earing in just liste d fo r in format io n. whi ch case use the secon d bypass value and if t hey still hit, ther e is n o D R. Hardness DR If you pre fer n ot to use th is rule , simply use an averag e of the This is th e DR of the armo r fo r res istin g da mage when t he DR an d Bypass values list ed. armor itself is at tack ed. Th is is some thi ng of an ‘achi ll es hee l’ for ce rtai n types of armo r. So for exampl e, a hea vy

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Armor Components List

Leather Cap Visor ed Basci net , Great Bascinet , Pig-Fa ce d Bascin et, This is just a t hi ck leat her cap of som eth in g l ike sa dd le Corin thia n (Gre ek) Helm, Imper ial Gal li c (Roma n) He lm et leath er , somet imes re in for ce d w ith some i ro n or br onze with face mask, a nd t he Barbute He lm. ban ds maki ng a k in d of a frame . T his type o f ‘poor m ans’ helm et pr ovides sim ilar prot ect io n to a la rge fur hat w hi ch A fu ll h elme t offers an ex tra + 2 ½ Bypass, a visored he lm et were also o fte n wor n by sol die rs (particu larly ca valry men) offers + 2 , a part ial face h elm et l ike a Ro man Imper ial Ga ll ic lack in g in bett er arm or fr om th e ear ly Iro n Age t hro ug h the or an Ita lia n Barbutte o ffers + 1 ½ poi nts, as do 19th Cent ury part icular ly i n Ce ntra l Asia an d Eastern Eu r ope. Enli gh ten ment e ra Cavalry helm ets wit h partial fa ce g uar ds An d also possibly t he famo us ‘p hri gia n cap’ wor n by i nfa ntry and lo bster ta ils for th e ba ck of the ne ck . Viso red he lme ts in Anat ol ia i n t he Bro nze Age . T reat a ny ve ry stro ng , l arge cost mo re (up t o 1 50 gp) but are m u ch less obstr uctiv e to substant ial hat as si gn ifica ntly the same as t his leat her ca p. visio n an d mov eme nt t han Gr eat He lms (Ar mor Che ck is -1 instea d of -2. Iron Cap This is a small helmet su ch as a cerve ll iere o r a basci net , Iron Face Mask fair ly tight -fitt in g prot ect io n for t he t op, back an d si des o f the Face masks were wor n in many parts of th e wor ld fro m head bu t n ot th e fa ce . In t he M edieva l per iod , a smal l h elmet anci ent R oman cavalry to 1 6th Cen tury Japanese arm or to like t his wo ul d oft en be wor n ben eath a gr eat he lm (see Iro n the Sa xo n Su tto n Ho o h elm et from the 9th C ent ury B C. Full Helmet) , both as an a d dit iona l layer of pr ote ction an d as They are not id eal pr ote ction be cause they restri ct someth in g to w ear for han d to han d comba t aft er t he cha rge , breat hi ng a nd are cl ose to th e fa ce ma kin g it v ul nera ble to whe n t he lar ge r ful l he lm wo ul d typi cal ly be remo ve d. blu nt impact, but they ca n be a l ife-save r whe n facin g a swarm o f a rro ws. Iron Kettle Hat Roman cava lry used to wear facemasks mad e o f si lver with In clu des all M edieva l ‘tin hat ’ type helme ts, late r vers ions creepy e xpressions desi gne d to t err ify t heir oppone nts, a nd such as a combed m ori on w ere bett er ma de an d shaped but the same e ffect was clear ly soug ht by Japanese facemasks amount t o t he same th ing for gam e pu rposes. many of whi ch were ma de to resem bl e demo ns. You may or may not want to assig n a morale e ffe ct (or an Iron Helmet enha ncemen t to int imi date r ol ls, fo r exampl e) for In clu des but not li mite d t o the fol low in g types of he lm ets: ind iv id uals weari ng decorat ive fa cemasks and / or fu ll-fa ce sallet , arm et, bas ci net , Phry gia n (g reek) he lm, Cor int hian helm ets desi gne d fo r int imi dation . (Greek) h elm , Imper ial Ga ll ic ( Roman) he lmet , nasale d h elmet and span gen he lm wit h ch eek p ie ces. Th ese w ere a ste p up Bevor from t he Iro n Cap in tha t they pro vide d be tter cov era ge and A bevo r is a shaped metal plate whi ch fits ove r th e ne ck were usua lly st ron ge r an d bette r shape d. and th e lo wer part o f the face. Som e he lmets such as the sallet ar e desi gne d t o be wor n w ith a bevo r. T he be v or provides go od pro te ctio n to t he t hroat a nd t he fa ce but these ar eas are not as e xposed as the sho ul ders o r th e t op of the head so th e Bypass bo nus is smal l.

Iron These are k in d of m etal sh eath es which prot ect the k ne es and l ower le gs. Greav es have bee n use d sin ce th e Bron ze Ag e, a nd compr ised a commo n part o f t he G reek hop lit es panoply we ll i nto the Ir on Ag e. They la rge ly d isappeared in Europe du ri ng t he Mi gration Era but whe n art icula ted pla te armor be gan t o appear i n th e M id dle Ages g reav es German sallet Helmets, circa 1500 AD retur ne d, usua lly in corp orate d int o ar ticula ted l eg an d k n ee defense . Iron Full He lmet Iron Poleyns In clu des but not li mite d t o th e fol low in g types of he lm ets: Great he lm, C lose h elm , Visore d Sal let , Visore d Ar met,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

These are articu late d iro n kne e guar ds made o f at least three pieces , a part ial thi g h cove rin g , a part ial sh in co ver in g, and a Iron Gauntlets knee pie ce . Art iculat ed iro n g lov es to pr ote ct t he han d. Masterw o rk gaun tlets re du ce t he Arm or Che ck pena lty t o -1 . Leather Bracers Also cal le d a vam bra ce , a bra cer is some th in g l ike a r eally Iron Plackart broa d bra ce let t hat covers t he fo rearms to pr ote ct th em from Plackarts wer e ri gi d plates which prote cte d th e abd ome n, cuts a nd strik es. Lea the r bracers o ffer so me lim ite d ofte n in co nju nctio n with (an d eve ntua lly as a compon e nt protectio n aga inst gla ncin g cuts but w on ’t h ol d up to a full cut of) a cuirass or br east plate. They wer e oft en wo rn as from a swor d o r t hrust from a spear. Leath er bra cers ( or a ind iv id ual p ieces by or di nary i nfa ntryme n su ch as pikem en single bracer) wer e also fre qu ent ly wor n by ar ch ers to pro tect and archers , a nd re main ed popu lar int o the 1 7th Cent ury. the fo rearm from th e slap o f t he bowstr in g. Arming Cap Splinted Bracers A pad de d cap w orn beneat h a helm et o r al one as a Bracers mad e fr om ve rtical plat es or spli nts of me tal , typi cally margi nal prot ect io n for t he hea d. latten o r iro n, l ink ed to get her w it h leat her an d r ive ts o r m ail. Iron Bracers A ma il h oo d (see coi f in th e Gl ossary) Soli d iro n bra cers ar e m uch mo re effe ctiv e t han leat her and can be cou nte d on to defle ct swor d cu ts and the l ike . They Iron Gorget usually fit wel l a nd don ’t slow t he wea rer d own v ery m uch. A Go rge t ma de o f iro n. Gor gets were o ften wo rn by caval ry as late as the 19th Centu ry even w he n no oth er armo r w as Iron Half-Gauntlets worn , as t he n eck was o ne o f t he m ost popula r tar gets for a The han ds are some o f t he most e xposed parts o f a fi gh ters saber cu t in a caval ry e ncou nter . bo dy. Hal f Gaun tle ts prote ct th e ba ck o f the han d but n ot the fin gers . Ha lf gau ntlets we re n ot un commo nly ma de with rid ges or spikes t o be use d fo r pu nchi ng l ike brass-knu ck l es.

Mount St. Mi chel , Normandy, France, Photo ci rca 1890

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Partial or Half Armor This is bo dy armor w hi ch provides e ith er partia l or l imi t ed cove rage as stan d-al on e armor , but i n many cases wou ld be com bi ned wit h arm or compo nen ts or o the r partia l armo r to create a pa noply sui table for com bat . Partia l Armo r does n ot norma lly i nclu de a he lmet or un de r-garme nt un less oth e rwise stat ed. Part ial or Hal f armo r can be co mbine d w it h Armor Compone nts o r w it h o the r Part ial Armor , wit hi n t he l imits of commo n se nse. Yo u can not wea r t wo cuirasses for e xample, altho ug h it is possible to wear tw o mail byrn ies or a mail byrni e un der a cuirass, t ho ug h the Arm or Che ck Pena lties stack. For m ore i nfo rmation on t hese var ious types o f a rmor , se e th e r ele vant sectio n in t he gl ossary.

Armor Cost DR B ypass A rmor Max Speed Weight Hardness HP Min Pie rce / Cut / Check Dex D R Str Sla sh Medium Clo thi ng * 1 / 2 / 1 4 -1 +4 30 * 1 2 - Heavy Cl oth in g * 2 / 4 / 2 4 -2 +3 25 * 1 4 - Felt C oat 1 SP 3 / 6 / 2 4 -2 +3 30 2 lb 1 3 - Buff Coat 3 SP 3 / 6 / 3 4 -2 +3 30 5 lb 2 5 - Li ght Coat Armor 5 SP 2 / 4 / 2 3 -1 +4 30 3 lb 1 8 - Heavy Coat Armo r 7 SP 3 / 6 / 3 3 -2 +3 30 5 lb 2 10 - Li ght Aket on 3 SP 2 / 4 / 2 5 -1 +4 30 5 lb 1 8 - Li ght Gam beson 5 SP 3 / 6 / 3 6 -2 +3 30 7 lb 2 10 - Heavy Gam beso n 7 SP 4 / 8 / 4 6 -3 +2 30 10 lb 2 12 - Armi ng Do ublet 10 SP 3 / 6 / 3 3 -1 +4 30 10 lb 3 12 - Leat her Do ublet 1 SP 2 / 4 / 2 2 -1 +4 30 8 lb 2 6 - Heavy Leat her Do ublet 2 SP 3 / 6 / 3 2 -3 +2 30 12 lb 3 10 - Leat her Lam ellar Jack 5 SP 4 / 8 / 4 2 -1 +4 30 5 lb 2 5 - Cuir Bou illi Lame lla r Jack 6 SP 4 / 8 / 12 2 -2 +3 30 6 lb 3 5 - Dō-mar u (rawhide& horn) 8 SP 5 / 10 / 10 3 -2 +3 30 10 lb 3 10 6 Dō-mar u (Iron) 10 SP 6 / 12 / 12 3 -3 +2 30 20 lb 4 5 - Armi ng Ja ck 6 SP 5 / 10 / 15 3 -3 +2 30 15 lb 2 10 6 Li ght Ma il Corsle t 12 SP 5 / 10 / 15 3 -1 +4 30 7 lb 5 4 - Scal e Co rslet 8 SP 4 / 8 / 12 3 -2 +3 30 18 lb 2 4 6 Lor ica Pluma ta 20 SP 6 / 12 / 18 3 -2 +3 30 25 lb 4 6 7 Iro n Lame llar Ja ck 7 SP 6 / 12 / 12 3 -3 +2 30 20 lb 3 10 6 Brigan di ne Do ublet 12 SP 7 / 14 / 14 3 -2 +3 30 15 lb 4 10 4 Iro n C uirass 15 SP 9 / 18 / 27 3 -3 +2 30 25 lb 8 15 7 Mail Shirt (Byrni e) 18 SP 8 / 16 / 24 3 -2 +3 30 10 lb 6 5 4 Heavy Cu irass 16 SP 10 / 20 / 30 3 -4 +1 25 30 lb 10 15 7 Peascod Cu irass 18 SP 12 / 24 / 36 3 -3 +2 30 15 lb 10 15 7 Peascod Cu irass, Pr oofed 30 SP 14 / 28 / 42 3 -3 +2 30 15 lb 12 15 7 Heavy Iro n C uirass 20 SP 12 / 24 / 36 3 -4 +1 25 35 lb 12 15 8

Medium Clothing primit ive type of gam beso n, i t offers fai rly go od prot ectio n but Or dina ry street cl oth es for win ter co nsistin g o f tw o or m o re the armo r itself is v uln era ble t o destr uct io n. layers (un der an d o ute r clot hi ng) do prov ide so me protectio n a gai nst in jur ies fro m w eapons. Buff Coat This is a spe cial type o f t ext ile armo r mad e o f so ca lle d “ Buff Heavy Clothing Leat her” (bu ffa lo ra whid e) ove r pad din g, in th e form o f a l ong Out do or or tra vel li ng clot hes fo r winter in clu di ng a coat or coat with slee ves. Th ese wer e wor n in th e 17th cent ury. heavy jack et prov ides fa irly sig ni fi cant prot ectio n. Light Coat Armor Felt Coat Not a coa t at all but rath er a slee vel ess padde d do ublet of 5- A coat mad e o f thi ck fe lt , w hi ch ca n be wo rn as un d er- 10 layers of li ne n, fust ian , o r canvas , qu ilte d wit h s ome armor or as sta nd-al one armo r. Th is is essentia lly a ve ry paddi ng lik e h orse-hai r or woo l. Primar ily i nte nd ed for us e as und er -armo r, ma kes t he w earing o f a ma il byrn ie or iron

35

188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns corse let mu ch mor e com forta bl e a nd en han ces t he worn in conj un ct ion w it h plate har ness (in li eux o f a effect ive ness of the arm or consi dera bly (+1 to DR o f any gambeson or aket on). Me di um or fu ll armo r w hi ch metal a rmor) . T hese can also be wo rn over a byrn ie or a incorpora tes a gambeson ca n be fitt ed o ut with an ar ming cui rass, w hi ch has th e same effe ct pl us it pr ovides e xt ra dou bl et as a n al ter nativ e for an extra cost o f 55 gp , this protectio n for the meta l arm or (t his a cts as DR vs. a ny wou ld con fer an ad dit io nal + 1 Bypass (no DR bon us). attempt to dama ge th e un der lyin g armo r) tho ug h the co at armor itself is vul nera bl e. The R omans pro ba bly w o re Light Gambeson someth in g like t his be neat h the ir lor ica ha mata (mail) and Ano the r t ext ile arm or sim ila r t o t he a keto n, i n t he form of a lori ca se gmen tata armor, m od ern Roma n re-e nact ors call lon g qui lte d coat w ith lon g sle eves an d ex ten di ng t o the the e qui vale nt tex til e a rmor a ‘su barma lis’. knees, made of severa l laye rs of li nen wit h som e ki nd of fill er materia l li ke horse ha ir o r fe lt . Very go od qua lity gambe sons Heavy Coat Armor wou ld be made o f sil k (th ese w oul d ra te a n ad di tio nal + 1 DR). A heavy slee vel ess padded dou bl et co nsisting o f 10-30 Like an a keto n, a gambeson co ul d be wor n u nd er or over mail layers of li nen pl us paddi ng su ch as felt , hemp or hor se or plat e arm or (o r both) co nferr in g a +1 DR to a ny ar mor hair . Contrary to t he name t his is a sleeve less vest not an whi ch does no t alrea dy in corpo rate a gam beson in the actua l coat. T his type is m eant as stan dalo ne ar m or descr iption . If wor n over arm or which alrea dy in cl ud es a usually fo r comm on so ld iers , can be fa ir ly e ffe ct i ve gambeson u nd ern eath , t he DR a nd t he Armo r Che ck pe nalty protectio n. If wo rn over a cu irass o r byrni e (as i t some tim es are bot h cu mula tiv e. was) it co nfers +1 to th e DR but Ar mor C heck pena lties stack. Heavy Gambeson A t hi cker gam beso n wit h up to be twe en 2 0-30 layers of l i nen Light Aketon in t he most v ul nera bl e ar eas, an d a bo ut 10 layers in the A short sle eve d qu ilt ed / pad ded garme nt rea chi ng t o the areas which n ee d to fl ex. Fai rly stiff a nd hea vy, som et hin g waist. (S ee Ak eto n in th e Glossary for mor e) like a base bal l cat chers chest prot ect or , ex cept lo ng er and with sl eev es. These w ere a v ery popular type o f ar mor particular ly in the 1 4th Cent ury, bo th as stan d-a l one protectio n a nd t o be wo rn ov er ma il.

Leather Doublet A vest of rela tiv ely t hi ck but so ft leat her , l ike a mo der n leath er ja cket . Pro vides mar gi nal prot ect io n.

Heavy Leather Doublet This is a dou bl et o r corsle t o f stiff, qu ite t hi ck leat her like saddl e leat her . It is fair ly ri gi d and r estri cts mov e ment similar ly to a n ir on cu irass, but is mu ch li gh ter. It is n ot very efficie nt arm or an d o ffers o nly lim ite d pr ote ction , t her e is l ittl e evi den ce o f this type of armo r be in g used i n Eur ope, but it’s bett er t han no thi ng . (Leat he r arm or o f t his type may have sometimes been use d in Ce ntral Asia)

Leather Lamellar Jack A lam ellar v est mad e o f t hi ck l eath er pi eces li ke sa dd le leath er , stru ng to get her on h eavy la ces. Pro vides ad equa te i f not ex ce lle nt pr ote ct ion . This soldier from a 16th Century painting wears an arming doublet over a mail shirt, with chains reinforcing his sleeves. Dō-maru Arming Doublet This is a hard ene d l eath er lam ella r co rsele t used in Japa n. It is made of ve ry small p ie ces o f e ith er leat her (or rawhid e) and Termin olo gy is a l itt le tri cky here , while ‘C oat Arm or’ is ju st hor n, or iro n, w hi ch has bee n lacqu ere d , laced to get her with a vest, t he ‘Armi ng dou bl et ’ is act ual ly a lo ng sl eeve d co at strong silk la ces, a nd made i nto re ctan gula r pie ces . T hese with som e sect io ns of mai l emb edde d to pro tect we ak comprise d a chest se ct ion w hi ch wraps aro un d t he torso and spots in the a rmor wor n ove r it . Th is makes very e ffe ct i ve larg e epaule ttes (sode) to prot ect t he sho ul ders . Techn i cally und er -armo r for p late harn ess, grant in g +1 Bypass when all Dō -mar u m eans is a Dō ( corse let) cl osed up o n t he r i ght ,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns whi ch is whe re t he Dō -maru is lace d up. But th is al so Brigandine Doublet represen ts a class of li ght a rmor used in Japan by ord ina ry A sle eve less vest of bri gand in e arm or , consist in g o f t wo la yers foot sol di ers fro m t he 1 1th C ent ury int o t he 1 9t h. of text il e armor with ove rlappi ng meta l plates sandwich e d in betw ee n. Qu ite e ffect ive pro tectio n. Arming Jack This is a sort o f poo r-ma ns br iga nd ine armor co nsisting of Iron Cuirass small metal plates sewn i nsid e two layers of te xtile arm or. Iro n br east plate wit h a back-plat e. Se e Cuirass in the It was use d by co mmon fo otsol di ers i n lat e Me di ev al glossary. thro ug h Re naissance E urop e. Mail Byrnie Scale Corslet A mai l Byrn ie was a corse let or vest of ma il , cov eri ng the This is a ja ck o f scal e arm or (meta l scal es sewn or r ivet ed torso, a bd ome n, sh oul de rs, an d somet imes a small par t of onto a tex til e ba cki ng), usually at least some what pad de d. the upper arms . Ma il Byrn ies in a ntiqu ity o fte n featu r ed a The Roma ns call ed t his type of arm or Lori ca S quama ta secon d layer pr ote cting th e sho ul ders in th e form of a mail (‘fish sca le a rmor ’), w hi ch is n ot to be con d w it h Lor i ca col lar or sho ul der pie ce . Mai l isn ’t real ly effe ct ive wit hout Plumata. some ki nd of pa dd in g wo rn un der neat h so i t’s assume d that mail he re w ill be w orn w ith a l ig ht coat armo r or aket on. For Light Mail Corselet more i nformation see t he e ntry on Ma il in th e Ar mor Gl ossary, This is a type o f Ma il ar mor coat mad e o f th in ner gau ge and also see Mail Ha ber geo n a nd Mail Hau berk) . wire , si gn ifican tly l ig hte r an d less bul ky than or di nary ma il, but also less effect ive pro te ction . Somet imes li gh t mail Heavy Iron Cuirass was made o f t emper ed steel w hi ch w oul d be fa r m o re Heavi er t han a n or di nary cui rass, typica lly bu lle t proo f, t hese effect ive (a nd m ore expens ive , an d ve ry rare… see Speci al bega n to appear i n th e 1 6th Cent ury, an d w ere use d by h eavy Materia ls) . cavalry t hr oug h Wo rl d War I. Th e shape o f a h eavy cui rass cou ld be of the ‘g lo ubus’ type , th e box-shaped type, or Lorica Plumata relat ive ly form -fitti ng . Lor ica Pluma ta (‘birds fea the rs armor’) is a special type of com bi natio n s cale an d ma il a rmor use d by t he Roma ns, in Peascod Cuirass whi ch ea ch in div id ual scal e is be nt 90 d egr ees an d wir ed A cuirass wit h speci fi c type of shape feat uri ng v ert ica l ce ntral into a back in g o f li ght mail . This is ve ry tim e-co nsumi ng rid ge , cal le d the ta pu l, w hi ch spli t the m id dl e of t he br east armor to mak e and was use d as prestig e armor for plate l ike slope d arm or on a tank . This type was v ery g ood aristocrats, offi cia ls, a nd sta ndar d bear ers (Aquil ifer a nd protectio n fr om bot h missil es an d lan ce strik es. Sig ni fie r). T he s cales of Lo ri ca Pluma ta we re v ery sma ll, histor ica lly o fte n made of brass, br on ze, or sil ver plat ed The Japan ese ad opted the peasco d cui rass from Po rtu g uese iron , some times in var io us patterns . This is a ve ry go od soldi ers, in many cases i ncorporat in g for eign ma de cuira sses qua lity li gh t arm or mad e at g reat expe nse. into t he ir o wn ‘mo der n armor ’ panopl ies (Tou dei-Guso ku), and a lso copyin g t he desi gn . They cal led th e peascod br east Iron Lamellar Doublet plate spe cifi cally Hat omune dô or ‘pigeon breas t ar mor’ This is a sleevel ess vest of ir on lam ellar armor . Prov id es goo d pr ote ction a gai nst cuts an d low i nert ia m issile weapons lik e a rrows , a nd cheap an d easy to manu factur e.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Medium Armor This is com bi nation armo r consist in g o f di ffere nt types of armor wo rn as a panop ly, eno ug h t o cov er t he hea d a nd most o f the bo dy. Norma lly Me di um Armor in cl ud es torso pr ote ction i n th e fo rm o f a coat, co rsele t or jack , a h elme t o f so me kin d , and some k in d of at least partia l lim b prot ectio n. Ge ner ally speakin g the a dd ition o f t he h elme t wit h l ig hter ar mo r boosts the e ffe ct ive D R her e by 1 po int . These ca n be tho ug ht o f as a ‘package ’ o f com bine d Hal f-Arm or an d Armor Com ponents . Bypass is from 5-7. For m ore in forma tio n o n th ese var i ous types of ar mor , see t he relevant se ct ion in the g los sary. It shoul d be n ote d t hat by C ode x rul es Me di um Ar mor d oes not r equir e M edium Armor Pro fi ci en cy Feat un less i t r educes th e moveme nt rate (i .e . t he l isted mo ve rate is less t han 3 0)

Ty pe Cost DR Bypass A rmor Max Speed Weight Hardness HP Min Pie rce/ Cut / Check Dex D R Str Sla sh Gambeson & Helmet 8 SP 8 / 16 / 24 2 -3 +2 30 8 lb 1 10 10 -Ga mbe so n 4 / 8 / 4 6 2 10 Leat her Armor & He lmet 10 SP 8 / 16 / 24 2 -3 +2 30 10 lb 1 10 10 -L eat he r 4 / 8 / 4 5 2 6 Cuir Boi lli Armo r & H elm et 12 SP 8 / 16 / 24 2 -4 +1 30 10 lb 3 12 5 -Cu ir B oi lli 4 / 8 / 12 5 3 6 Cuir Boi lli Lamellar Panoply 15 SP 8 / 16 / 24 2 -3 +2 30 12 lb 3 6 5 -La me lla r 4 / 8 / 12 6 2 5 Dō-mar u Pan oply ( Leat her) 6 SP 5 / 10 / 10 5 -3 +2 30 15 lb 3 5 - Dō-mar u Pan oply ( Iro n) 18 SP 6 / 12 / 12 5 -3 +2 25 20 lb 4 10 7 Brigan di ne & Gambeson 17 SP 6 / 12 / 18 4 -3 +1 30 20 lb 4 5 6 -Gamb es o n 4 / 8 / 4 6 2 10 Lor ica Se gme ntata 10 SP 7 / 14 / 21 5 -3 +2 30 15 lb 7 6 8 Li ght Ma il Hau ber ge on 15 SP 5 / 10 / 15 5 -1 +4 30 10 lb 5 3 6 Tatami Do 10 SP 5 / 10 / 15 6 -2 +3 25 15 lb 4 4 5 Brigan di ne & Mai l 60 SP 10 / 20 / 30 4 -3 +2 25 30 lb 6 4 10 -Ma il - 8 / 16 / 24 6 6 5 Bakharets Pa noply 40 SP 9 / 18 / 27 6 -3 +2 25 25 lb 5 6 12 -Ma il 7 / 14 / 21 7 6 5 Mail Hau be rge on 20 SP 8 / 16 / 24 5 -2 +3 25 12 lb 6 5 8 Mail Hau be rk 30 SP 8 / 16 / 24 7 -3 +2 25 15 lb 6 5 10 Khazag han d pan oply 80 SP 9 / 18 / 27 5 -2 +3 30 35 lb 6 5 10 -L ig ht Ak et on 2 / 4 / 2 7 2 8 Double d Mail Ha uberk 100 SP 10 / 20 / 30 7 -5 0 15 30 lb 8 7 12 Half Armor 50 SP 10 / 20 / 30 6 -2 +3 30 25 lb 10 10 10 Half Armor “ Of Pro of” 100 SP 12/ 24 / 36 6 -2 +3 30 25 lb 12 12 10 Three Quart ers Ha rness 100 SP 10 / 20 / 30 7 -3 +2 25 35 lb 10 10 10 Heavy Th ree Quart ers Pla te 120 SP 14 / 28 / 42 7 -4 - 20 60 lb 12 10 12 Ō-Yo roi 150 SP 7 / 14 / 21 * 5* -5 +1 15 45 lb 4 10 8 - B u tted Mail 3 / 6 / 9 7* 1 1 Toude i-Gusok u 100 SP 8 / 16 / 24 6 -3 +2 25 30 lb 5 8 6 - Tex ti le Armo r 5 / 10 / 5 7 2 8 * +1 DR, +2 Bypass vs. Missiles even si lk in few er (8-1 5) layers. (DR 4 armor ch eck -2 , speed Gambeson & Helm 30 , cost 5 0 SP) This is a simp le helm et (see Iron Helm et), wor n w ith a h eavy gambeson . This heavy gambeson is typica lly a qui lte d coat The first row repr esents the prot ect ive va lues of th e H elmet , made o f 1 0-30 layers of lin en an d stu ffe d w ith horse hair or with DR 2 , t he se co nd valu e r epresen ts the prot ect ive va lue of felt . The thi ck ness varie d on eac h part of th e bo dy, more the Gam beso n. S ee Armo r Tabl e Key, Layere d armors for more exposed areas bein g th ick er with mor e layers, an d the re were abou t how t his works . usually ho les i n t he armp its to ena bl e mo veme nt. Somet i mes ther e was a n o uter layer o f doeski n t o mak e it wat erpr oof. Leather Armor & Helm Fanci er gam beso ns co ul d be mad e o f be tter gra de l in e n or This is a suit o f armo r mad e of heavy l eath er sim ilar t o saddl e leath er , an d softer leat her simi lar t o a l eath er ja cke t. Tor so and

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns lowe r l imb prote ct ion was in th e form o f hard er leat her , ben eath w hi ch a l eath er coa t was worn . This type of ar mor was not fr eque ntly wor n i n E urope but do es appear i n Ce ntral and East Asian st eppes whe re l eath er was r elat ive ly ch eap and i ron rela tiv ely scar ce , Mo ng ol l ig ht cavalry t r oops apparently som etim es w ore l eath er a rmor.

The first row repr esents t he prote ct ive quali ty o f t he helmet, the se co nd ro w r epresen ts th e pro te ctiv e qua lity of the leath er armor al one . See Armo r Table Key, Layere d armor s for more about h ow th is w orks.

Cuir Boilli Armor This is a rmor consist in g o f pla tes o f st iff, har de ne d l eath er. A breast plate , sho ul der pi eces , articu late d gr eaves and vambra ces of ha rd l eath er plates. Th is type of armor was rare i n E urope but may hav e ha d som e use in tou rnam ents Replica Brigandine doublet worn with a gambeson. Note the typical pattern of dur in g th e Mi dd le Ag es and Rena issance. A fe w partial three rivets. panoplies o f Cui r Boi lli a rmor have bee n preserv ed from , it is unkn own i f th is was tourname nt armo r or parade ar mor Brigandine & Gambeson or a ctua lly used as prima ry perso nal prote ct ion for civilia n o r This is simply a brigand in e vest (see Brigan din e Dou blet) worn mili tary use . On e o f t he a dvan tages of this type or a rm or is over a h eavy gambeson (see Gambeson and He lm) , a nd a full that it co ul d be stamped w ith sl oga ns, patte rns, or sh apes helm et. T his is me di um wei gh t, reaso nably l ig ht a rmor whi ch such as Fl eur d e Lis or a fami ly crest et c. provides goo d covera ge an d pr etty go od ov eral l pr ote ction .

Cuir Bo ull i is no t fan tastic armor bu t it d oes pro vid e The first ro w represe nts th e prot ect ive qua lity of t he H elmet or somewhat bett er pr ote ction aga inst bl unt atta cks an d sl ices the Br iga nd in e an d t he Gambeson , t he se co nd ro w r epr esents than m ost te xtile ar mors, th ou gh a rg uably in fe rio r prot ection the pro te ctiv e qual ity o f th e Gambeson a lon e. See Armor Table against pie rcin g a nd choppin g attacks. Key, Layere d arm ors for mo re abo ut h ow th is w orks.

The fi rst row r epresen ts the prot ectiv e qua li ty of th e Helmet, the se co nd val ue represe nts t he pr ote ctive qua lity of the This is t he ban de d ir on a rmor wo rn by th e R oman le gio ns, leath er armo r al on e. consist in g o f a chest p ie ce of ir on p lates lace d tog eth er. It cov ers on ly the ch est, a bd omen , an d sh oul de rs. The Japanese Cuir Boilli Lamellar had a sim ilar type of arm or ca lle d Okegawa Dô. Lamellar was by far the most commo n for m of leat he r armor. This was t he most ubiqui tous a nd ar gua bly t he most effe ctiv e Light Mail Haubergeon form o f leat her arm or use d hist ori cal ly. Fairly flex ible and This is a type o f mai l arm or coat mad e o f t hi nn er gau g e wire , relat ive ly g oo d pr ote ction . Plus it floats . sign ifi can tly li ght er an d less bulky tha n ord ina ry mail, but also less effe ct ive pro tectio n. S omet imes li gh t mail was m ade of The first r ow repr esents the pro te ctiv e quali ty of the H elmet tempere d ste el whi ch wo ul d be far m ore effe ctive (an d more or th e Bri gan din e ov er t he Gam beson , t he secon d row expensi ve, an d very rare… see Specia l Mat eria ls) . represen ts the prote ctive quali ty of the Gambeson alo ne . See Armo r Tabl e Key, Layere d armors fo r mor e about ho w this works. Tatami Do This is a type of Japanese armor which is a composite o f t extile , Dō-maru lig ht ma il an d small iro n plates . These ar e small metal This is the same as a Dō -maru ja ck of silk la ce d lacqu ered recta ng ular plat es or lame l ink ed w ith ma il r ings ov er a padde d rawhide an d hor n or iro n lamellar ex cept it is a more clo th back in g or (m ore comm on ly) rive ted di re ctly to the p adde d compl ete panoply i nclu di ng la rge sh ou lde r pieces (sode) back in g. Th is was usual ly mun itions gra de arm or us ed by skirts (hai date) , an d bra cers a nd gr eaves (sun eate) t o pro tect Japanese i nfa ntry. Sim ilar armo r was also fou nd in K ore a and more o f th e body. Th e Do -Mar u is be tter fit tin g tha n th e more , a nd was i n use by Wa co pirates operat in g t hro ug ho ut t he archa ic type o f O-Yoro i arm or a nd mo re su ita ble for in fa ntry. Pacific R im a nd i n the Ph il ippines. For m ore i nfo rmation see th e entry i n t he g lossary.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Brigandine & Mail This is a briga nd ine vest w orn ov er a mail ha ube rk and a l igh t gambeson . The first ro w repr esents th e prote ct ive qua lit y of Mail Hauberk the Helmet or th e Br igan di ne ov er t he Gambeson , t he second Essential ly a big ger vers ion of a Hau be rgo n, th is is a knee row represe nts the prot ectiv e qua lity of t he Gambeson alo ne. len gth mai l coat w ith slee ves at l east to t he elbows . Usually sl it alon g the si des or fron t and back i n or der to a llo w the r i der to sit i n a sad dle . This i nclu des a l ig ht gam beson .

Khazaghand panoply A Khaza gha nd aka ‘Jazera int ’ is the Ara b / Ce ntral Asia n v ariant of a mai l Hau ber ge on , of lo ng sl eeves w ith int egral p add ing bot h above a nd be low th e mai l bui lt i nto the a rmor . Th e cloth is usually si lk a nd the ve rsion l isted he re wou ld in cl ud e a hi gh qua lity hau be rk, e ith er of fore ig n ‘ferr en gi ’ ori gi n or fr om a top qua lity Musl im a rmor er.

Some Kaza ghan ds in co rporate d i nfe ri or qual ity mail , th ese may cost as lo w as hal f t he n ormal pri ce (i f th e buyer can det e rmin e the qual ity of th e mail he is buyin g) bu t the prot ect ive v alue is reduce d to 6/ 1 2/1 8.

The Kha zag han d repr esent ed he re w ou ld consist of fi ne qua lity mail Hau ber geo n wit h sev eral laye rs o f si lk bot h a bov e an d below the mai l qu ilt ed w ith a t hi n pad di ng o f ra bbits fur , r aw silk or fe lt. The te xtile compon ent o f these arm ors was thi nn er and less bulky than a sta ndar d Eur opean A k eto n o r Gam beso n while being equal o r superi or i n qual ity, mak in g th ese hi g hly de sirabl e

th panoplies which wer e sometim es importe d int o Eur ope and From the left: pl ated mail armor from Central Asia, possibl y Persian, 17 Century; plated-mail Russi an, 17t h Centrury. Both styles had al ready used by E uropea n sold iers o r kni gh ts. Som e Khaza ghan d exi sted for several centuries by that point. actua lly i nco rporat ed t wo Ha ber ge ons or a Ha be rg eon and a Byrnie , these wo uld be equiva le nt to a Do uble d Mai l Ha ube rk. Bakharets For mor e i nformat ion on th e Khaza gha nd che ck t he Gl ossary Aka Plate d Mai l, Ban de d Mail, Behter ets, Bachtare ts. Th is is entry. a type of armor of i nte grat ed mai l and small m etal pla tes, used i n Eastern E urope , th e Mi dd le East, a nd i n Cent ral and The fi rst row r epresen ts the prot ect ive valu es of th e He l met, o r Sout h As ia. It close ly over laps wit h th e simi lar Yush man the Khaza gha nd , th e seco nd r ow repr esents th e prot ect ive armor . An oth er commo n ter m fo r it is ‘mail a nd plat e’ ar mor. value of th e Lig ht Gam beso n usua lly w orn be neat h it . See The ext ra plates may have be en ad de d to t he ma il due t o the Armo r Tabl es Key, Layered armors for m ore a bo ut ho w th is relat ive ly poor qual ity of ir on in most of th ese ar eas comp ared works. to Centra l Eur opean ir on (So uth Asia bein g an ex cept io n to this). Ther e are var ious forms of Bak harets (see Bakhare ts in Doubled Mail Hauberk the Glossary) This is simply a Hau berk of D ou ble d Ma il o r Kin gs Mai l (8 in 2 weave or 6 i n 1 w eave) . It is co nsid erably heav ier but a lso more In the arm or ta bl e, th e first ro w r epresen ts th e pro te ctiv e effect ive t han o rd inary 4 in 1 ma il . No rmally w orn o nly by qua lity o f t he H elm et o r th e Bakha rets, the secon d row cavalry o r d uri ng a si ege , t his is no t easy armor to run a ro und in represen ts the pro te ctiv e qual ity of t he Ma il a lon e. T his Mail let alo ne march in . Bu t it de fi nit ely co ul d save yo ur li fe . is sli ght ly weake r t han Wester n Eur opean Mai l. Mail Haubergeon A Hau ber ge on o r Haberg eo n is a mail sh irt sim ilar to a Byrnie with i ncreme ntal ly (maybe 1 0-1 5%) mor e cov erag e: sle eves come mi d- way dow n t he upper ar ms, a nd the shi rt i tself passes to the mid-thi g h leve l. Th is versio n in cl ud es a ligh t aketon o r pad de d jack.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

A Half-Armor made for Loui s De Conde, 16t h Century Half-Armor Also somet imes r eferre d to as ‘Ha lf Har ness’, t his m e ans armor which in cl ud es a helmet a nd g org et, breast plat e or cui rass, paul dro ns to pr ote ct t he sh oul de r, a nd a rticu l ated vambra ces to prote ct the arms, a nd fau lds t o prot ect the hips, bu t t here is lit tle or no th ig h pr ote ction (som etim es short tassets). ‘Bronzed’ and blued armor were widely used in the 15th Century, as seen here in this depiction of the storming of a town. Three Quarters Harness Simi lar to Hal f Har ness, th is is plate a rmor , w orn wit h a h elmet , sometimes mun itions gra de i.e. ‘o ne s ize fits al l’, som etimes custom -ma de for weal thy ar isto crats. This a rmor co ve rs the head , t orso, s hou ld ers, ar ms, an d t hi ghs d own to t he k ne es but not th e low er le gs.

Three Quarters harness of Pirre Bruner French, 1590 AD , 17th Century German Three Quarters Harness with Totenkopf helmet. None of the old emphasis on style here, just deadly efficiency.

Heavy Three Quarters Plate This is a h eavi er, some what cru de versi on of Thr ee Qu arters Harness w hi ch be gan to appear in the 1 7th Ce ntu ry, an d was desi gne d to be li teral ly bu ll et-pr oo f. This h eavi er armo r was usually made o f iro n, an d m uch thi ck er t han ear li er 15th C entu ry

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns armor . T his r emai ned i n lim ite d use by some heavy ca valry weaker t han West ern E uropea n Mai l. Se e Armor Tabl e Key, and (more rar ely) pikeme n, (typica lly offi cers , bo dygua rd s, or Layere d arm ors for mo re about h ow th is w orks. standar d bea rers) th rou gh t he 18th Ce ntu ry. By this tim e the abil ity to make stee l armor ha d be en nea rly lost an d to Toudei-Gusoku compe nsate t his i ron armo r was so th ick tha t it was A type o f Japan ese armo r, fr om a some what ge ner ic term sign ifi can tly hea vie r than a ful l panoply was in t he ea rly 16th meani ng ‘m od ern armo r’, t his is essen tial ly a st ron ger , lig hte r Centu ry. Tha t is w hy armo r o f th is type was us ually only worn more form fitt in g type o f armor which began to appear i n Japan by cavalry . in th e 15th Ce ntu ry. Mor e streaml ine d tha n th e ol der Ō-Y oroi, it was essentia lly a n e nha nced vers ion o f a Dō Maru, som etimes Ō-Yoroi incorpora tin g e leme nts o f Eu ropean a rmor . Th is in clu de d This is an elabo rate ha rness of Japan ese laced lam ellar rivet ed mai l, E uropea n type glo ubus or Peasco d breast plates, armor i nclu di ng a corselet cove rin g th e abdom en (d o), sk irts, Europea n style br iga nd ine , and m od ifi ed E uropea n (usually shoul de r pieces (sode), bra cers an d grea ves, ma de of Portug uese) he lmets . lacque re d ir on lames, a nd lar ger iro n plates (also typi cally lacque re d) wor n w ith t ext ile un der-arm or an d a ful l h elmet Tradit iona l Japanese e leme nts such as lace d la cquere d with a n ir on face mask. This type o f armor was only w or n by lamellar an d text il e armor were a lso in cl ud ed, but on e of th e nobles, it is a fa irly ‘o ld fash ion ed’ type o f arm or w hi ch chara cte ristics o f To ud ei-Gusok u is tha t l ess lacin g was used, existe d ba ck to the 1 2th Cent ury and began to be phased out rivet in g be in g used inst ead. Som e o f these arm ors wer e by t he 1 4th. ‘proo fe d’ a gai nst ar qu ebus ba lls mu ch li ke E uropea n arm or was in t he same e ra. S ome ot her var iatio ns i nclu de d r ive te d ban ds The des ig n of Ō-Yoro i is some what od d i n t hat th e corsl et is or str ips o f ste el plate arra ng ed i n hor iz onta l or vert ica l ro ws. ‘c’ shaped an d do es not co ver t he ri ght si de , an add it i onal section cove rs the r ig ht si de. T his is be cause the Ō-Yor oi is The first ro w represe nts th e prot ect ive qua lity of t he H elmet or desi gne d for ho rse- ar ch ers. Du e to t he lar ge S od e (shou lde r the Riv ete d or La ced-Lamellar , th e secon d ro w rep resen ts the pieces) an d ot her compo nen ts of Ō-Yo roi , it is particu larly protectiv e qual ity of tex til e armo r wo rn un der t he ma in pa noply. effect ive a gainst missi les, (+ 2 Bypass, +1 DR against all This text ile arm or is usual ly made of si lk which is more e ffect ive missiles) but ve ry cum berso me on th e gr oun d . than Eur opean l ine n, cott en or fustian based text il e armor . See Armo r Table Key, Layered armors for mor e about ho w this The first r ow repr esents the pro te ctiv e quali ty of the H elmet works. or t he Laced-Lam ellar, th e secon d r ow represe nts the protectiv e qua lity o f but te d Mail an d mail-an d-p late ar mor whi ch is used to cov er weake r spots. T his Ma il is ma d e o f very thi n wire i n a 4 in 1 weav e, an d is not rive te d. It is much

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Full Armor Full armor consists of complete cap-a-pied panoplies covering every part of the body from the toes to the fingertips, although some types have a few gaps in coverage. Bypass is from 8-15

A detailed study of a top quality full Maximillian harness, circa 1520 AD, front and back. Note the backs of the thighs are not protected. This is armor for fighting on foot. Note the fluting. This armor would be ‘of proof’, probably sufficient to protect against a .357 magnum pistol. Weight would be around 50 lbs.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Ty pe Cost DR P / C / S B ypass A rmor Max Speed Weight Hardness HP Min Check Dex D R Str Mail Panoply 120 SP 10 / 20 / 30 6 -3 +2 20 40 lb 6 6 5 -Si ngl e Lay e r Mai l 8 / 16 / 24 10 Heavy Backht erets 60 SP 9/ 1 8 / 27 6 -5 0 20 45 lb 7 10 10 -Ma il 7/ 1 4 /21 10 Kliba nio n 20 SP 10 / 20 / 30 5 -4 +1 20 40 lb 8 8 12 -Ma il 7 / 14 / 21 7 6 5 Brigan di ne Panoply 80 SP 11 / 22 / 33 5 -4 +1 20 55 lb 5 7 10 -Ma il 8 / 16 / 24 10 Partial Plate Har ness 100 SP 10 / 20 / 30 6 -4 +1 15 70 lb 10 8 12 -Ma il 8 / 16 / 24 9 Plate Ha rness 150 SP 10 / 20 / 30 7 -4 +1 15 65 lb 10 10 12 -Ma il 8 / 16 / 24 10 Goth ic (Lig ht) Ha rness 200 SP 9 / 18 / 27 6 -3 +2 25 40 lb 9 10 10 -T hi nne r 6 / 12 / 18 9 Goth ic Har ness o f Pr oo f 400 SP 11 / 22 / 33 6 -3 +2 25 40 lb 11 10 10 -T hi nne r 7 / 14 / 21 9 Mila nese Harn ess 250 SP 12 / 24 / 36 8 -4 +1 15 75 lb 10 12 12 -Ma il 8 / 16 / 24 15 Mila nese Harn ess of Pro of 500 SP 14/ 28 / 42 8 -4 +1 15 80 lb 12 12 12 -Ma il 8 / 16 / 24 15 Maxim ilia n Harn ess 1,000 SP 10 / 20 / 30 7 -3 +2 25 45 lb 10 10 10 -T hi nne r 7 / 14 / 21 12 Maxim ilia n Harn ess of 2,000 SP 12 / 24 / 36 7 -3 +2 25 50 lb 12 10 10 Proof -T hi nne r 9 / 18 / 27 12 Field Ha rness (Pro ofed) 3,000 SP 14/ 28 / 42 8 -4 +1 20 50 lb 12 10 10 -T hi nne r 10 / 20 / 30 14 Kings Harn ess (Proo fed) 8,000 SP 15 / 30 / 45 10 -3 +2 20 45 lb 12 10 10 -T hi nne r 10 / 20 / 30 15

Mail Panoply A 12th Century Hungarian knight on Crusade in the Holy Land, photo by This is a ma il hau ber k w orn ove r a lig ht gam beson , wit h a Deak József mail co if, ma il chausses (l eggin gs) an d ma il (mitt en ) gaun tlets , an d a he lmet or he lm, an d an a keto n w orn ov e r the mai l. The va rio us pieces over lap somew hat which provides ext ra prot ect io n. Th e ha uberk is o fte n re in for ce d with a seco nd pi ece o f mail e ith er on th e ch est and / o r shoul de rs.

Cap-a-pie d (fu ll cove rag e) Mail panop ly first appeare d aroun d t he 1 1th Cent ury AD , peake d in t he 12th Ce ntu ry, and r emai ne d i n use th rou gh th e 1 4th. Th is type o f arm o r was oft en used d uri ng th e first Cr usade . It was commo n to also wear a jupo n or aket on o ver the mail armo r, a s represen ted h ere . The helmets wor n with this armo r ofte n inclu de d a partia l helmet wit h a fa cemask , or a lte rnate ly i n a cava lry cont ext a great -h elm wo rn ove r a bascine t o r a cerv el lie re . The fi rst row represe nts t he h elm et an d t h e thi cker parts o f the ar mor w her e the re are usual ly tw o layers of mai l plus th e aketo n. The se co nd r ow repr esent s a sin gle laye r of mai l over t he li gh t gambeson .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

on fo ot. Normal ly a type of panoply worn by heavy ca valry (calle d i or Cli bi nari by the Ro mans and Persi ans, this type of armo r had it ’s or ig ina l o ri gi ns with the S cyth i ans and Sarma tians , an d be came wel l esta blis hed by the Parthians an d late r by the Sassani ds of Persia. Used by Byzantin e sol die rs fr om at l east the 8th Ce ntu ry (possibly much ear li er) t hro ug h t he 1 4th, simi lar a rmor was also wo r n by Otto man Turks , Persians, Mam elu kes and o the r Centra l Asian and Mi dd le Easte rn Cavalry for ces. Heavy Cataphra ct ar mor goes back as fa r as t he 3r d Cen tury BC th ou gh its a ctual precise composit io n in that per io d is di ffi cult to d eter min e .

Turkish Mail and Plate armor, a formidable heavy panoply, with horse armor Heavy Backhterets panoply This is a ful l cap -a-pi ed pan oply of heavy Back hter ets ‘mai l and plat e’ ar mor , wo rn wit h pad din g u nd ern eath, an d typically in clu di ng ove rlappin g layers in sev eral ar eas. Heavi er tha n or di nary Backh ter ets, t his type of arm or wa s popular wit h t he hea vy ca valry of th e Ottoma ns, Mu gha ls, and Mamelukes , by t he Byza ntines a nd also in R ussia an d certa in parts of Easte rn E urope . This was effectiv e tho ug h fair ly h eavy ar mor , norma lly wo rn on ly by h eavy caval ry.

There is quit e a bit of var iation wit hi n th is class of a rmor . Speci fi c types can be anyth in g from fair ly simple ‘mirror ’ armor to ela bora te pa nopl ies o f tight ly i nte grate d mail an d plate arm or sim ilar to lame llar (as depi cte d her e), so D R cou ld vary from 7 to 9 . Byzantine Cataphract on an armored warhorse. Note lamellar over mail.

Thou gh t his type o f armo r cou ld be w orn by footso ld ier s fig ht in g as heavy i nfa ntry, it was n ormal ly in ten de d fo r heavy cava lry su ch as t he Ottoma n S ipah i.

The fi rst row repr esents th e prote ctive val ues of t h e Helme t, or t he Ba ckh tere ts, t he se co nd row represe nts t h e protectiv e val ue of t he Li ght Mai l wo rn be neat h it . S e e Layere d arm ors for mo re about h ow th is w orks. Klibanion This is a Byzantine te rm fo r a type of armor w orn from t h e time o f late Antiquity thr ou gh t he Me die val peri od , consist in g of a lame llar corse let wo rn ov er a mail ha uber k and a li gh t gam beso n, with a fu ll he lmet plus bra cer s Sassanid King Khosrau II equipped as a 6th Century AD Cataphract image by protecting th e fo rearm an d ov erlappi ng plat es, shi n splint s http://www.livius.org or g reav es to pr ote ct t he lo wer le gs. This is hea vy bu t effect ive a rmor , sui table for fi ght in g on horse ba ck but n o t

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The first ro w represe nts th e prot ect ive qua lity o f t h e (bevo r, coi f or go rg et) prote ction , which can be ad de d to Helme t an d t he lamellar ove r mai l, th e secon d r o w improve the Bypass penalty. Hi gh ly effe ctive prot ection represen ts th e pro te ctiv e qua lity of th e Ma il alo ne . Thi s thou g h t her e wer e som e gaps in cov erag e. Mail is sli ght ly weaker t han Wester n Eur opean Mai l. S e e Armo r Table Key, Layere d armors for m ore about ho w t hi s The first ro w represe nts the prot ect ive va lues of t he Helmet, works. or t he Pla te a rmor , t he seco nd ro w r epresen ts th e pro te ctiv e value o f t he Ma il wor n be neat h it . Se e Layered armo rs for more about h ow th is w orks.

Brigandine armor worn over mail, including greaves and tassets from a 14th Century painting. Brigandine Panoply This is a harness of br igan di ne an d plate armo r, wo rn ov e r mail , popular in t he 1 4th Cent ury. A full h elm et, a bri gan di ne jack , a ma il hau be rk, a l ig ht gambeson , an d articulat ed arm (vambraces) a nd partia l leg (gr eaves wit h poleyns) made of plate arm or or mor e br iga nd ine (plate s A modern re-enactor in an accurate representation of late 14th Century style rivet ed to cl oth or leat he r ba ck in g), a nd iro n hal f ga unt let s plate harness with a pig-faced (visored) bascinet helmet. Note how closely it also in cl ud es thigh (cuisses or tassets). This type of fitted the armor is, which is more characteristic real historical kit than what armor fi rst appeared i n the ear ly 14t h ce ntu ry and you typically see in a Ren Faire. Photo courtesy of Lynx Sword Study group. remai ned in use t hro ug h t he 15 th , o rig ina lly w orn by kni ghts it was also ad opted by mercenar ies and commo n Plate Harness foot -sol di ers. For mo re about bri gan di ne see th e ent ry in This is a compl ete ‘cap -a-p ied’ ar ticu late d plate har ness of a the Glossary of Armor Terms . fair ly simple des ign , of a type w hi ch fi rst appeare d some t ime aroun d 1 35 0-1 36 0 in Ce ntra l Eur ope and sprea d qu i ckly The fi rst row repr esents th e prote ctive val ues of t h e thro ug ho ut t he co ntinen t. Th is type o f plat e armo r o ffers Helme t, or t he Bri gan di ne ov er th e Mail , th e seco nd r o w excell ent pro tectio n but is rela tiv ely heavy compare d to the represen ts the pr ote ct ive va lu e o f th e Ma il w orn beneat h more sop histicate d types o f plat e harness w hi ch appeare d i n it. See Layered arm ors for mo re a bo ut ho w th is wo rks. the 1 5th an d 1 6th Cent ury. Th is particular type o f ar mor remai ned in use by me n at arms and mer ce nari es as Partial Plate Harness muni tio ns gra de ar mor t hr ou gh t he 16 th Ce ntu ry. Th e only The ear li est form of plate armor w hi ch appeared i n t h e areas not cove re d by armo r wer e the back of t he t hi ghs and early t o m id 1 4th Ce ntu ry an d r emain ed i n use th rou g h t h e parts of the inn er th ig h aro un d the gro in (t hou gh som e wore mid dle of t he 1 5th. This is a li gh t mail ha u ber geo n wor n an arm ore d co dpie ce) . Neck pro te ction is from a mai l coi f. over a li gh t gam beso n, with a he lmet , a cu irass, articulat ed vam bra ces and gr eaves ove r that , worn w ith a It was not un commo n for plate arm or i n th is era to be ful l helm or lat er, a v isore d he lmet, an d iro n hal f-gau ntle ts. bro nze d, blue d , an d / or lacquere d . The re is a great de al of It does no t i nclu de th ig h ( cu isses or tassets) or ne ck surviv in g a rtwo rk depi ct in g pla te har ness i n various co lors .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

This armo r us ually in cl ud es a l ig ht gam beson an d o fte n s ome The fi rst row repr esents th e prote ctive val ues of th e mail , eithe r a l ig ht hau ber ge on o r some in di vidual pie ce s of Helme t, or th e Plat e arm or , t he seco nd r ow represe nts t h e mail sew n d ire ctly o nto t he gambeson o r armi ng coat whi ch is protectiv e va lue o f t he Mai l wor n ben eath it . S ee Layere d worn u nd ern eath t he har ness (see Armin g Dou bl et). armors for mo re a bo ut ho w this wo rks. Goth ic har ness may be munitio ns grade but mor e oft en t han not was custom ma de fo r a specific i nd ividua l.

The first ro w represe nts the prot ect ive va lues of t he Helmet, Cuirass, Pa uld ro ns, a nd Vam bra ces, t he se co nd row represen ts the prote ctive val ue of t he th in ner parts of the armor such as on the t hi ghs an d the back . See Layered armors for mo re a bo ut ho w this wo rks.

Gothi c styl e Harness, probabl y German late 15t h Century

Gothic (Light) Harness This is a li gh ter fo rm of p late a rmor d eve lope d i n Ge rman y dur in g th e 15t h Cent ury, first appearing ar ou nd 14 40 AD and rema in in g in use t hro ug h th e 1 6th Cent ury. The arm o r takes adva ntag e o f care fu l shapi ng of th e plates t o enha nce the pr ote ctive qual ity of t he me tal i tself, w hi l e ‘Milanese’ style harness, 15th Century desi gne d to be as erg mi c and mana gea ble as possible , all to emphasi ze co mbat mo veme nt . Milanese (Heavy) Harness “Mila nese” Har ness was dev elope d in Ita ly, lik e go thi c Goth ic har ness is well su ite d the dy nami c, fast mo vin g harness d uri ng the 15th C ent ury, specifica lly aro un d 1 43 0 AD style of G erman fen cing in the 15th C ent ury. It ’s much remai nin g popu lar we ll int o t he 16th Cen tury . D uri ng the lig hte r tha n earl ier types of pla te armo r; some su rvivin g Rena issance , as today, Mi lan was the fash io n cen te r of Goth ic har ness panop lies we ig h as litt le as 4 0 l bs. It doe s Europe , on ly in t his peri od t he most popula r desi gns we r e in sacrifice som e pro tectio n how eve r, the plates th ou gh wel l steel rat her t han silk . Mi lan was on e of Eu rope ’s pri mary shaped ar e t hi nne r, on ly t he fr ont hal f of th e t hi ghs o r cen ters of a rmor pro du ct ion t hr ou gho ut t he Re naissan ce and bi ceps are pr ote cte d by plates , t hou gh th ere is comple t e Mila n prod uced a rmor in e very style for cust omers i n Fra nce , neck an d gr oin pro tectio n. In some Goth ic har ness onl y Germany, Spai n a nd as far away as Eng lan d. the fro nt hal f of the cui rass is use d. (For th is reaso n t hi s type of har ness is s omet imes call ed ‘hal f harn ess’ w hi ch i s This type represe nts a h eavi er ki nd of har ness which was not to be con fuse d wit h ha lf arm or. S ee th e g lossary entr y popular i n Ita ly in t his per io d. M ila nese har ness typi cally for Half Arm or.) inclu de d an ent ire ma il hau ber geo n w orn un der the p l ate,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns makin g it ext ra stro ng, an d i t was also fr equen tly ma de o f steel rat her than ir on , often at least part ly tempere d stee l Maximilian Harness (the stats are liste d for un temper ed stee l, for t empere d Tech ni cally Max imi lia n Harn ess as such appeared aro und steel har ness ad just DR an d pr ice a ccor di ng ly). 15 00 AD , but simi lar arm or was seen as ea rly as the 14 70s, and th is type of armor remai ne d in use th rou gh t he 17th It is not kn own w hy hea vie r arm or was pr eferre d in Ita ly, Centu ry th ou gh it was o nly w id ely pop ular in Weste rn Eur ope some have spe cula ted that t he pro li ferat io n of earl y for about 50 years. This is essentia lly an en han ce d or fir earms and very powe rful crossbo ws in use by ur ban ‘de lu xe ’ ve rsio n o f Go th ic har ness, named aft er t he arm or o f mili tias we re pr oba bly a ma jor fa ctor , oth ers hav e cite d the fam ous Ho ly Roma n Empero r Maxi mil ian I who fo un ded dang ero us gr oups of ban di ts who a lso fav ore d t he sam e the Lan dskne ch ts amon g oth er n ota ble accompl ishm ents weapons an d mad e trav el in certa in ar eas risky. As wit h and ha d an in tense int erest in t he t echn ica l aspect s of got hi c ha rness, th is type of armo r is m ore care fu lly shape d warfar e. and bet ter made tha n o rd inary Pla te Ha rness. Like Got hi c harness “ Mila nese” har ness may be mu nit io ns-g rade bu t Maxim ilia n a rmor was ma de o f v ery hi gh quali ty temp ered more comm on ly is an ind ividua lly-tail ore d, master work - steel an d feat ure d severa l nota bl e desi gn featur es, a baffl e qua lity pa noply. visor he lmet , e xte nsive flut in g o r r id ges on the armo r p late itself (whi ch a llo we d the arm or to be mad e eve n thi nn er t han The fi rst row repr esents th e prote ctive val ues of t h e ord inary Got hi c harn ess), roun de d wide toe d sabato ns equally Helme t, C uirass, Pau ld rons , an d Vambraces , t he se con d suitable for cava lry o r fo ot com bat . row represe nts the prot ect ive val ue o f the th in ner parts of the a rmor such as on t he th ig hs an d t he ba ck. S e e This was very str on g, l ig ht we ig ht ar mor o f t he top qu ality, Layere d arm ors for mo re about h ow th is w orks. believ ed by many i n th e tim e peri od t o be th e u ltimat e ‘sw eet- spot’ for arm or, s uffi cie ntly pr ote ctive t o be effe ctively bull et proof a gai nst anyth in g but a heavy m usket yet st ill li gh t and well fitte d e nou g h to ene rg eti cal ly fi gh t on fo ot o r on horse back . This is very cl ose fi tti ng arm or which w oul d always be custom desi gn ed fo r a sin gle in di vidual . To a dapt such a rmor to a not her pe rson wou ld re qu ire th e assistance of an armor er an d t he use of a for ge. (an d th is co ul d o nl y be don e for an i nd ividua l of r ou ghly th e same siz e a nd w eig ht ).

The first ro w represe nts the prot ect ive va lues of t he Helmet, Cuirass, Pa uld ro ns, a nd Vam bra ces, t he se co nd row represen ts the prote ctive val ue of t he th in ner parts of the armor such as on the t hi ghs an d the back . See Layered armors for mo re a bo ut ho w this wo rks.

Maximilian style Harness, 16th Century German. Note extensive fluting and squared off for fighting on foot..

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Warfare in the Renaissance was extremely brutal. The triumph of Death, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1562 AD

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Personal and horse- of Kaiser Maximillian I, circa 1520 AD (Maximilian Harness)

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

This is very close fitt in g armor which wo ul d always be cus tom desi gne d for a sin gle in di vidua l. To adapt such arm o r to anoth er pe rson wo ul d r equir e t he assistan ce of an arm orer . (and th is coul d o nly be don e for an in di vidual of rou gh ly the same size an d we ig ht).

The first ro w represe nts the prot ect ive va lues of t he Helmet, Cuirass, Pa uld ro ns, a nd Vam bra ces, t he se co nd row represen ts the prote ctive val ue of t he th in ner parts of the armor such as on the t hi ghs an d the back . See Layered armors for mo re a bo ut ho w this wo rks. Kings Harness This is the top qual ity ha rness a Master armo rer cou ld m ake, very closely fitt ed t o an in div id ual w eare r. T his is masterp iece qua lity e xpert ly tail ore d plat e ha rness mad e o f temp ered steel a nd no rmal ly o f qui te th in m etal . Care ful ly shape d to the i nd ividua l own ers bo dy, featu ri ng ve ry sophisticated articulat io n, th is armor fi ts wel l an d does not sev ere ly in hi bit the wear er fr om move ment .

This type of armor wo ul d typical ly be mad e wit h ela bo rate scrol l w ork , go ld and sil ver plating , bl ui ng. This repres ents the ve ry fi nest har ness whi ch was extrao rd inar ily rar e but availa ble , for the ri ght pri ce, as early as t he late 14th C en tury and remai ne d in lim ite d use t hro ug h t he 1 7th Ce ntu ry. By the 16th Cen tury armo r o f th is qual ity was typi cally bul let-proo fed. 16t h Century Field Harness Field Harness This is very close fitt in g armor which wo ul d always be cus tom desi gne d for a sin gle in di vidua l. To adapt such arm o r to This is custom plat e armor of a very h ig h quali ty, w hi ch be gan anoth er perso n w ou ld r equi re t he assistan ce o f a ma ster to appear in the mi d-16th C ent ury an d rema ine d i n use into armore r (an d t his co ul d o nly be do ne fo r an i nd ividua l o f close the late 17t h. Th is armor was made in a var iety o f r egi onal to t he same si ze an d wei gh t). styles, mostly by t he Mi lan ese, su itable for Fre nch, D u tch , Spanish , E ng lish , Port ugu ese, H un garia n or P olis h fashi on s. The first ro w represe nts the prot ect ive va lues of t he Helmet, In t his era fu ll a rmor was becomi ng in cr easin gly ra re but was Cuirass, Pa uld ro ns, a nd Vam bra ces, t he se co nd row still wor n o n t he batt le fie ld by hi gh rank in g n obil ity, fie ld represen ts the prote ctive val ue of t he th in ner parts of the comma nde rs and also sometim es by elit e heavy cava lr y or armor such as on the t hi ghs an d the back . See Layered heavy in fant ry. armors for mo re a bo ut ho w this wo rks.

Alhambra palace , Granada, Spain

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Part II: Mis sile W e apo ns

A modern re-enactor outfitted as an armored mounted crossbowman, wearing mail armor under a gambeson, iron poleyns, a sallet helmet and a bevor, armed with a ballock dagger, an arming sword, and a heavy crossbow. Image courtesy of Steve Thurston, Rosa Mundi

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Rules to remember for Missile Weapons Keep the following rules in mind when using Missile Weapons. gun wha le o f a boat or a fe nce ra il o r an a imi ng stake. This is very useful fo r Marksme n or Gun ners so keep it Use your range chart. in min d if yo u ar e one! Missile weapo ns vary in e ffect ive ness w ide ly based on rang e. Ta ble II.4 is your frie nd . Plunging shots Bows and vane d dar ts to not suffer a ny of the lon g- Armor Bypass rang e penalt ies to Penetrat io n or Damage fr om the Missile weapo ns can on ly bypass Arm or at C lose (M ele e) rang e char t (Table II.4). or S hor t Ran ge. B ut on a Cri tical hi t (nat ura l 20) the shoote r has t he choi ce to e ith er bypass or take t he extra Volley Fire crit damag e. Using the Vol ley Fire MF all ows bo ws and thr own weapons to be m uch m ore e ffect ive . Ready Bonus Most missile weapo ns have t wo r eady bon uses liste d, Reloading and Prep-Time one is fo r ha vin g t he weapon prepare d (i .e . l oade d or i n- Preparin g weapo ns i n adva nce or usi ng help (an hand) t he o the r is fo r act ual ly aimi ng before a sh ot. assistant to l oad an ex tra weapo n) h elps! With a bow t his may m ean a n ar row kno cke d vs . an arrow pul le d ba ck, w ith a crossbo w or a gu n it may Cover and Concealment mean co cke d vs. p oin ted at a ta rge t. That first shot can be a rea lly impor tant o ne an d th e Rea dy Bonus makes it Remem ber Co ver prov id es o ne Active De fense Fre e D ice more effe ctive . per 2 5% covera ge . But yo u have to ha ve p oin ts l eft to use t his. Aimed, Supported Shots Tactical Movement and cr ossbows ge t a very valuable Free Di ce w hen supportin g th eir w eapon o n a win dow ledge o r the You can also mov e 10 0% behi nd cov er by usin g a n MP for mov eme nt eit her before o r a fter you sh oot.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Table II.1 Simple Missile Weapons Simp le M issile Co st We ight Ready Ra nge Max Pre p AP Ba sic Atta ck STR Plunging W eapons Bo nus Increment Ra nge Time Da mage Type Bo nus Shot Rock , n (T) **** - 1 lb 0 10’ 60’ 0 - 1-4 B Y Y Throwi ng St ick ( S) - 3 lb 0 5’ 50’ 0 - 1-2 B Y N Throwi ng W ood ( S) - 2 lb 0 10’ 100’ 0 - 1-3 B Y N Throwi ng C lub ( S) - 4 lb 0 5’ 80’ 0 - 1-4 B Y N Throwi ng Ha mm er ( S) - - 0 10’ 60’ 0 - 1-6 B Y N Thrown Mac e (S) - - 0 5’ 20’ 0 - 1-8 B Y N Throwi ng Da gg er (T) 1 SP 1 lb 0 5’ 20’* 1 - 1-3 P Y N War- Da rt ( S) 1 lb 0 20’ 180’ 0 - 1-2 P (Y ) Y War -Da rt , Pl umba ta (S) 2 SP 2 lb 0 40’ 240’ 0 +2 1-3 P (Y ) Y Hurlbat (S) 5 SP 2 lb 0 10’ 30’ 0 +2 1-6 C o r P (Y ) N Cro s sbow , Ha nd (S) 100 SP 2 lb +2/ +4 5’** 20’* 3 - 1-4 P N N Cro s sbow , La tc he t (M) 50 SP 3 lb +2/+4 10’** 50’* 1 - 1-6 P N N Cro s sbow , Li g ht (M) 8 SP 4 lb +2/ +4 10’** 60’* 2 - 1-6 P N N Cro s sbow , H eav y ( M) 12 SP 5 lb +2/ +4 15’** 80’* 3 +2 1-8 P N N Javel in, L ig ht ( M) 2 SP 1 lb 0 20’** 120’ 0 - 1-6 P (Y ) N Javel in (M) 3 SP 2 lb 0 15’ 90’ 0 +2 1-6 P (Y ) N Half-Sp ea r, T hrow n ( M) - 3 lb 0 5’ 20’ 0 +1 1-8 P (Y ) N Spea r, T hrow n - 4 lb 0 5’ 30’ 0 +2 1-8 P (Y ) N

Explanat ion o f the Cha rt C ol umns: Cost = T his is a ve ry rou gh estimat e base d on sta ndar d OGL / SRD co in va lu es, filt ere d th ro ug h hist ori cal pr ices ba sed on the pri ce o f arms and armo r in S ilv er Kreu zer (typica lly 7 grams of silv er) in 1 5th Cent ury Germa ny. In di ffe ren t parts of the wo rl d the val ue wo ul d be at a di ffere nt rate, armo r was much mor e expens ive i n the ear ly Medieva l peri od fo r example . Th is cost is l iste d only for ease of i nte gration w it h stan dar d OG L or Pat hfin der © or ot her OG L gam es. Weig ht = An est imate o f the w eight i n po un ds. Ready Bonus = T his is a t o-hit bon us for a weap on which is ‘rea dy’ vs. one t hat is activ ely prepar ed. For examp le a bo w with a n arr ow n ock ed is ready , a bo w act ive ly aime d i n th e targ ets di re ctio n before sh oot in g is prepare d (and re ceiv es the bon us a fter t he slash) Rang e In cr ement = The Ran ge Increme nt r epresents h ow far eac h ran ge ba nd is for t hat part icular weapon . So fo r example fo r a P lum bata, t he ra ng e in crem ents ar e: 4 0’ ( close) , 80 ’ (sh ort), 1 20 ’ (m edium), 1 6 0’ (lon g), 2 00 ’ (v ery lo ng), and 2 40 ’ (extr eme). For most weapons th e maxim um rang e is equa l to 6 tim es the ran ge in cr emen t, but th is is not always true . Some w eapons hav e a short er maxi mum r ange an d o nly go out to 3 or 4 ran ge ba nds , oth ers ha ve an exte nde d Long o r Extr eme ran ge ba nd w hi ch may be far l o nge r than th eir ra ng e in crem ent . This represents th e di ffe ren ce betw ee n h ow far t he m issile can go and stil l be l etha l, vs. h ow far i t ca n be aim ed accura tely at a n i nd iv id ual target . Weapons w ith a low ran ge in cr emen t but a lon g extr eme rang e can oft en stil l be effe ctive wit h t he Voll ey Firin g MF. (see Codex Ma rtia lis, Cor e Ru les) Max Range = Ma xim um ra ng e o f th e w eapon . Th e d efault is 6 t imes t he ran ge i ncreme nt for th e weap on , but some weapons can not be used beyon d Me di um rang e, o the rs h ave a n e xte nd ed ‘lon g ’ or ‘e xtrem e’ ra nge cate gory (see a bov e). Prep Time = The n umber of MP re qui re d to prepare anot her shot . Weapons wit h 0 Prep time ca n be shot o nce per MP, but o nly if th ey are al ready he ld i n t he o ff han d . Norma lly on ly 3 ja vel ins can be he ld in o ne han d fo r e xample . W e apons with pr ep time of 1 or m ore r equi re e xtra MP to r eload . So for e xample a Bo w takes 1 MP t o shoo t, 1 to r eloa d , 1 t o shoot again , costing 3 MP fo r two sh ots. A Hea vy Crossbow w ith a Prep t ime o f 3 can e ffectiv ely sho ot on e bolt pe r r oun d, wher eas an Ar balest ca n e ffe ct ive ly on ly sho ot o nce ev er y othe r ro un d. An al ter nativ e to th is is t o make Pr ep tim e equal the nu mbe r of ro un ds r equi red t o prepar e the n ext shot . AP = Armo r p ier ci ng bon us Basic Damag e = Damage cause d by t he weapo n wit h a su ccessful h it . Atta ck Type = T his m eans bo th Attack Type for t he type o f damage cause d as wel l as Primary Attack Type. STR Bo nus = Stre ng th Bon us appli es at melee , cl ose, an d short ran ge on ly. Plung in g Shot = T his is a n ew cate go ry fo r m issile weapo n s. Weapons capable of p lun gi ng shots ( lik e bows a nd so m e war- darts) have tw o prop erties: 1) They ca n s hoo t in such a h ig h a rc t hat they o bviat e hor iz o ntal cover l ike wa lls. 2) Due to the ir bal listic ar c an d / o r th e aer odyna mi c qual itie s of th e pro jectile t hey d o no t lose spe ed at lo ng ra ng e, and th ere for e su ffer no pena lty t o damag e or armor-pi erci ng at lon g or ex trem e ra ng e ( 5 or more ra ng e in crem ents).

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The dow nsi de of plu ng in g shot is that ov erh ead cove r pro tects agai nst fal lin g arro ws, an d these weapo ns can not be used at 5 o r m ore ran ge i ncreme nts unl ess th ere is en ou gh ro o m ov erh ead to sho ot in an ar c.

* Flat trajecto ry only (max 4 range increments). ** +4 To Hit if readied be fo rehand (or Co cked and loaded). *** All bow s ca n fire up to double maximum range a s indirect fire, see below: **** Fist sized, hard, heavy ro ck (granite , obsidian) ***** 10’ radius required fo r throwing

Rock Throwing C lub Proba bly the most an cie nt weapo n know n to man, r ock s Some a ncien t th row in g sticks we re ma de o f hard woo d w i th a make goo d missile w eapons and w ere use d not j ust in wei ght ed o r cu rve d en d to one si de to impart mom ent u m so but to goo d effect i n ope n fie ld com bat by such the stick stays straigh t and do es not w obbl e in m id-fli g ht. A redou btable wa rri ors as th e Sw iss Confede rates an d t h e heavi er , more asymmetr ica l weapon inte nd ed for h un tin g Bohem ian H ussites, amon g ma ny ot hers. Many Me die val larg er gam e or fo r war fare . Th e so-cal le d ‘sk ul l cr u sher and R ena issance ar mies ha d pro fessio nal r ock thr owe rs, thro wing stick’ fa lls in to th is cate gory , as does the fa mous as odd as that sou nds. Try t o ima gi ne so mebody lik e a Maasai orinka. baseba ll pi tcher th row in g r ocks ma de of mater ial li k e obsi dian o r gran ite . Throwing hammer Proba bly a d ir ect des cen dant of th e th row in g clu b, th is can The ro ck d epicted her e is a 3- 5 l b r ock (d epen di ng o n also represe nt e it her a war hammer or a n or di nary hard ness) and d oes D 6 da mage . Ea ch 5 pou nd s bla cksmit hs or carpen ters hammer which has bee n t hr own, add itional we ig ht is an ot her step up in dama ge so at 1 0 lbs 1-8 , 15 l bs 1-1 0 , 2 0 l bs 2-1 2, 25 lbs 2-16 , 3 0 l bs 3-1 8 altho ug h te ch ni cally a thr owing hammer w oul d be far more effect ive as a missile. Early versi ons had sto ne stri kin g and e tc.... R ocks can be very dan ger ous! Ma x ran ge a ls o heads , (see Stone Tomahaw k, Code x Martial is Weapon s of decreases by ha lf wit h eac h step as wel l (r ou nd do wn) , s o the An cie nt World Book 1) . Th is type o f weapo n e xiste d i n a 10 l b ro ck wo ul d have a max ra ng e of 30 ’, a 1 5 l b rock wou ld hav e a rang e of 15 ’, an d 2 0l bs or more has a ran g e Europe on ly i n d im e choes o f t he past , may be t he inspira tion for Tho r’s Hammer an d fo r certa in Olympic games. A cr ude of 5’. But i f yo u ar e t hro win g y our ro ck fr om a he ig h t but qui te effe ctive weapo n at sho rt ran ge . advanta ge , your rang e impr oves (see Tabl e II.2a heig h t advanta ge for throw n missile weapons). R ocks make ver y effect ive an ti-sie ge weapo ns. Thrown Mace An o rd inary ma ce w hi ch has be en t hro wn at t he ta rg et. This Throwing Stick was a comm on tactic, particu larly by cava lry on th e Stepp es. These ar e typi cal ly th ick sticks desi gne d to be th row n at a target , typica lly for hun tin g . They were typical ly mad e Throwing Dagger rou gh ly the th ick ness of the t hro wers wr ist, ro ug hl y A da gge r d esig ned fo r thr owing . These a re mu ch easie r to symmetrica l, an d somet imes wit h poi nte d en ds. T h e thro w point first eve n at a distan ce, but te nd to be li gh ter and thro wing stick ov erlaps co nsid era bly wit h th e Thro win g more symmet ri cally bala nced, maki ng th em l ess dan ge rous Wood an d t he Throwing Cl ub. than a ‘rea l’ dag ger .

Throwing Wood War-Dart The te rm t hr owing wo od was coi ne d by S ir Ri char d B urto n A dart a bo ut 2 4” lo ng , somet hi ng l ike a mo der n law n-dart , in h is ‘boo k of th e swor d’. It is t her efo re a mo de rn t er m with va nes simila r to a larg e arro w tho ug h typical ly mad e of whi ch refers to a su b-type o f th row in g stick. S ome , li k e woo d, leat he r o r me tal, an d feat ur ing a har den ed stee l p oint . the fam ous Abo ri gi ne boom eran g, t he E gyptian lysan, an d Used by many armies fr om antiqu ity int o th e Enl ig hte n ment the Ce ltic t eut ona we re shape d for a lo nge r, faster , perio d, especia lly i n certai n pla ces such as Ire lan d an d the smoothe r fl ig ht tha n th e simple h unt in g weapon depi cte d Pyrennes Mou ntai ns. here . They wer e still primar ily int en ded for hu nting bu t cou ld have some utility as a real weapo n (such as th e so- “The exercise o f the loaded javelins, ca lled martiobarbuli, must not be call ed ‘war -boome ran g’) . It is an anci ent w eapon to be omitted. We fo rmerly had two legions in Illyricum, consisting of six thousand men each, which from their extraordinary dexterity and skill in sure, a boo mera ng – like t hro win g woo d was fou nd in t h e the use o f the se weapons were distinguished by the same appellation. Carpathian mo un tains i n Polan d dat in g back to 3 0,00 0 They suppo rted fo r a long time the weight o f all the wars and BC. distinguished themselves so remarkably that the Emperors and on their a cce ssion hono red them w ith the title s o f Jovian a nd

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

He rculean and pre fe rred them be fore all the o ther legions. Every der ive d fro m the an ci ent La tin "Balista" (which , in its own soldie r ca rrie s five o f the se javelins in the hollow o f his shield. And turn , der ives fr om t he a ncien t Gr eek wor d "Bal lein" w hi ch i s to thus the soldie rs seem to supply the pla ce o f arche rs, for they wound bo th the men and horse s o f the enemy be fo re they come thro w... you can fin d it in t he wor d "Balistic").. w ithin rea ch o f the common missile weapons.” -Vegitius, De Rei Militari, 4th Century AD Thou gh very small i nde ed, (some examples ca n almost fi t on your han d), like m ost Rena issance o r medieva l cr ossbows, Plumbata these Balestr ino ha d a m uch heav ier dra w w eight tha n t heir Apparent ly or ig ina lly i nve nte d by t he An ci ent Gree ks, t hi s mode rn equiva len t. T hat is be cause wit h a sh ort pr od a nd a weapon had be come th e Roma n ve rsio n of a war-dar t by narro w spannin g d istan ce, yo u ne ed a lo t of pow er to mo ve a the Imperia l era . Like its lar ge r cousi n th e pil um, it ha d a dart at a suffi ci ent spee d t o ser ious ly in jur e a huma n bein g. lon g armor -pie rcin g point an d a lead we ig ht. Typically fr o m So to span these , you have to t urn a screw , which you will thre e to fi ve of t hese wo ul d be carr ied on th e i nsid e o f t h e notice as someth in g like a butte rfly w ing nu t on the sur vivin g shield o f a R oman Legio nnai re . Appare ntly t hese can be antiques su ch as t he o ne pi ctur ed a bo ve. T hese w eapons thro wn very far in de ed. T hey w ere consi der ed th e l on ges t show up i n au ct ion sites fr om t ime to tim e, almost al ways rang ed weapo n i n t he Roma n arse nal at t he time, out - with a sim ilar des ign featur in g t he same type o f span nin g rang in g bows an d sl ings . Only ce rtai n Le gio ns appeare d t o dev ice . use these , and th ey seem to have go ne in an d ou t of fashio n but a re w ell do cu men ted du ri ng t he 3rd-4 th Cent ur y There are r umors in t he hist ori cal r eco rd t hat these w ere used AD. as assassinatio n weap ons, which is a ra the r titillat in g i de a. In spite of th e more pow erful pro ds how eve r, many mo der n Hurlbat scho lars consi der th e Balestri no a mer e t oy. Th ey make the argum ent that a rea l assassin wo ul d n ot use such a rela tively A special type o f t hro wing ‘hammer ’ a ct ually so met hin g weak, an d (sin ce most s urviving Bal estrino bows are like an axe -shape d bla de wit h sha rp poi nty e dg es i n al l expensi ve weapons made w ith rar e mat eria ls and dir ect io ns. Very simi lar to some Afr ica n Thro wing kn ive s workma nship) instea d of somet hi ng cheape r and more except for the ov eral l shape. The whol e t hin g was mad e o f effect ive . Like say, a stiletto or a pistol sin ce th ese a singl e pie ce of m etal , it was a han dy weapo n for stri kin g appeared co ntempora ne ously w it h firea rms. A reason able out at close rang e, it was small , accu rate an d u nl ike a argum ent to be s ure . thro wing kn ife heavy e no ug h to ca use some har m, an d almost gua rant eed t o ca use some dama ge due t o all o f But in R enaissan ce Italy, assassinations wer e not just the the sharp surfa ces. These we re used i n Eur ope from cir ca vocat io n of th e kin d of low-l eve l professi onal crim ina ls we 14 00 - 1 60 0, tho ug h t he bas ic i dea goes back m uch typically t hin k of to day, but also th e ho bby of h ig h ran kin g furt her t o t he Fran cis ca e tc. Arist ocra ts, patri cia n bu rg hers and e ven m emb ers of the Colle ge of Car dina ls al l o f whom che erful ly assassinated one anoth er fa irly ro utinely particu larly i n the 1 6t h and 17t h Centu ries . And these p eople lik ed the ir weapons t o be beau tiful a nd w ell made . J ust lik e th eir jew ele d r in gs with hi dde n poiso n compar tmen ts, and t he ir silv er i nl ayed stilett os.

Small cr ossbows an d pisto ls both cr eate d a mi nor ou tr age and a mini-l ega l cris is when t hey first appeare d, d ue to the An Italian “Balestrino” crossbow, circa 1450 AD dang er o f assassinatio ns. Pisto ls are m uch mor e effe ctiv e as weapons, bu t th ey wer e also v ery lo ud a nd crea ted a tel l tale Crossbow, Hand plume of sm oke , i nstant ly mark in g t he assaila nt. A crossbow This is a small but qui te powe rfu l cr ossbow w ith about a like t his co ul d be con cea le d wit hi n the clot hi ng , th en used 20 0-30 0 lb d raw we ig ht (r equir in g a me cha ni cal de vice t o with som e hope o f effe ctiv eness, con cea le d agai n br iefly, and span) which can be sh ot on e han de d and can be disca rde d at th e first opportu nity , al l w it hout d rawing any somewhat easi ly co ncea le d. For th is reason such und ue at ten tio n. It is also possibl e t hat t hese type s of weapons a re often consi de red suspect by t he aut hor it ies. weapons were use d wit h po ison , lik e t he C hi nese repea tin g crossbow. There may have be en ma ny types of ‘seri ous’ han d crossbows du ri ng pre-i nd ustria l tim es (in ad dit io n to t oys Rega rd less of t heir act ual histo ri cal use , i t is plau sible or weap ons for hu nting very smal l ga me) but one speci fi c eno ug h to use weapons of this types for assassins in Rol e type whi ch di d act ually e xist h istori cal ly has be en ca ll ed a Playing Games. “Balestr ino” , m eani ng sma ll "Bal estra", "Bal estra" is t h e Ital ian na me o f th e Crossbow . The name is possibl y

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Crossbow, Light bows fo r in dir ect shots and we re not typi cal ly used to shoot over t he h eads of fri en dly tro ops in th e fro nt ra nks or over An o rd inary crossbow o f a type which was ve ry comm on i n walls du rin g a sie ge i n v oll eys th e way bows w ere . Inst ead Medieva l Eu rope , an d a lso i n ma ny ot her parts o f t h e they wer e used to i nd ividua lly targ et speci fi c ene mies . worl d fro m t he M id dl e East to Vi etnam . The dra w w eight i s betw ee n 80 an d 1 20 l bs. Su ita ble for h unt in g small The Knot telarmbr üste comm only featu re d a th ick woo den game, th ey ca n a lso take d own large r gam e o r peop l e prod ma de o f d iffer ent types o f wo od (m ost co mmon ly yew) especial ly w hen used with po ison darts as t hey o fte n we r e with stri ngs tha t we re v uln era ble to m oistu re, a nd un li ke a in Asia . An exampl e of t his w eapon is t he Skån e loc kbo w bow t hey coul d easi ly be u nstru ng. For th is reason t hey were fou nd i n so uth ern S can di navia dur in g t he Me di eval per io d . typically ca rri ed with a leat her sheat h over bot h the prod Crossbow Latchet (bow) a nd the stri ng , a nd the quarr els o r bol ts wer e carr ie d i n a special type of woo den qui ver cove red i n fu r. Thou g h of This is yet anot her u nusua l type of crossbo w which mode rate po wer , is weap on qu ickly a ch ieve d a n i mpor tant th th appeared i n the la te 1 6 or 17 Cen tury an d was know n role i n warfa re a nd it ha d a d isrupt ive social effe ct as well , to hav e been use d in severa l pla ces, nota bly by bo rd e r be cause it was som ew hat effe ctiv e a gai nst arm or . Reiv ers i n t he B rit ish Isles. It is a cr ossbow with a bui lt i n spannin g de vice , simi lar to a goats fo ot , which make s Javelin, Light spannin g t he weapo n very fast an d easy. Th ey we r e expensi ve, an d te nd ed to be small , but th e simpl icity o f This is a smaller, li gh ter Jav elin whi ch ca n be th row n lo nge r spannin g t he weap on made i t useful fr om ho rseba ck. distan ces, some times th ese wer e va ne d lik e darts.

Crossbow, Heavy Javelin This is the type of heavy cr ossbow call ed a A jave li n is a relativ ely li gh t spear speciali ze d for t hro win g. Knütte larmbrüst e or Knot telarm brüste by t he Germa ns, This was arguably the most comm on weapo n on the whi ch fi rst appeared in Eur ope aro un d t he 7th or 8t h battl efields o f bot h Eu rope a nd Asia fr om t he Br on ze Ag e Centu ry AD an d rema in ed in use for bo th hun tin g an d thro ug h the la te Me die val per iod. Jave li ns thro wn in di vid ually warfar e, t hro ug h th e 1 6th. Tho ug h n ot as power fu l as th e can be cau ght an d thr own ba ck , bu t javel ins thr ow n in vo l leys composit e an d stee l pro d types whi ch came late r, t he y can be ext reme ly devastating , especia lly to t roops lackin g had a nota ble e ffect o n the battl efield . shields o r heavy a rmor . Jav elins were use d fr om char i ots, from h orse back , a nd by i nfa ntry. A mod erat ely power fu l crossbo w rou gh ly equiva le nt to a mode rn hu nt ing crossbow wit h a draw we ig ht of ro ug hl y Half-Spear, Thrown 15 0 – 2 00 lbs, t his weapo n lau nche d fai rly heavy quar rels A ha lf spear (se e Cod ex Ma rtia lis Weapo ns of the Ancient with a variety o f di ffere nt types of h eads for h unt in g o r Worl d Part 1 : Me lee Weapo ns) that has been t hro wn . warfar e. Qua rre ls were s hort er an d sto uter than a rro ws, and l ess aerody nami c. T hey typica lly featur ed just t w o Spear, Thrown leath er or vanes rat her tha n feat hers . An or di nary d ual-purpose spear w hi ch has be en thr own . At Crossbows ar e re latively a ccurat e an d ca n be held i n short ra ng e a t hro wn spear has gr eater pene tration than one read iness alm ost in de fi nit ely, bu t are less suita bl e t han used in a th rust.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The 13t h Centurry Byzantine Monestary at Suemella, Turkey Table II.2 Martial Missile Weapons W eapons Co st We ight Ready Ra nge Max Pre p AP Ba sic Atta ck STR Plunging Bo nus Increment Ra nge Time Da mage Type Bo nus sho t Swi ss A rrow ( S) 3 SP 0.5 lb 0 15’ 120’ 1 +2 1-4 P (Y ) Y Javel in, Pil um ( M) 5 SP 1 lb 0 15’ 90’ 0 +2 1-6 P (Y ) N Javel in, H eav y P il um (M) 8 SP 2 lb 0 10’ 60’ 0 +4 1-6 P (Y ) N Javel in, T hon g ( M) 2 SP 3 lb 0 15’ 90’ 1 +2 1-8 P Y N So life rrum ( M) 10 SP 6 lb 0 5’ 30’ 0 +6 1-6 P Y N Sho rt B ow ( M) 7 SP 1 lb +1/ +3 20’ 180’ 1 - 1-6 P N Y Rec urve Bo w ( M) 150 gp 2 lb +1/ +3 25’ (400’)*** 1 +2 1-6 P Y Y Cro s sbow , Slurbow 90 gp 5 lb +1/ +3 30’** 80’* 2 - 1-6 B N N Cro s sbow , R epe ati n g 50 gp 8 lb +2 20’ 250’ 0 - 1-3 P N N Cro s sbow , Sti rrup ( M) 100 gp 5 lb +2/ +4 40’** 180’* 3 +2 1-8 P N N Lo ng B ow 75 gp 2 lb +1/ +3 25’ (360’)*** 1 +2 1-8 P Y Y Staff Sl i ng 3 gp 4 lb - / - 5’ 200’ 1 - 1-6* B (Y ) Y For e xplanat io n of th e C hart Col umns see table I.2 S imple Missile Weapo ns above . * Flat trajecto ry only (max 4 range increments). ** +4 To Hit if readied be fo rehand (or Co cked and loaded). *** All bow s ca n fire up to double maximum range a s indirect fire, see below: **** Fist sized, hard, heavy ro ck (granite , obsidian) ***** 10’ radius required fo r throwing

Swiss Arrow Javelin, Thong (Weavers Beam) A “S wiss Arro w” is not ne cessari ly Sw iss and is no t rea ll y This is an ancie nt type of jav eli n which is made with a strap an arro w, it’s basica lly a war-dart o r a small jave li n which or th on g in t he m id dl e cal le d an ankyle , o r an ament u m, has a notch i n it for t he use o f an ame ntum (see Jave lin , whi ch g oes ar ound the wr ist a nd can be wou nd aro un d t he Thong, below) w hi ch g ives i t better ran ge, as w ell a s haft of t he jave li n. In thr owing , t his impar ts a spin w hi ch (typically) va nes like an arro w. Weapo ns o f t his type we r e stabil izes th e w eapon a nd vastly impro ves a ccuracy . The wid ely use d in Eur ope fr om Classica l tim es thr ou gh t h e Romans cal le d t his weapon a ‘ve rit um’ but it is far ol d er Rena issance , an d ar e re co rd ed in histo ri cal recor ds, than Rom e, g oi ng ba ck to pr e-histo ri c t imes . In fa ct lite ratur e a nd art work from Irela nd t o t he Ukrai ne . weapons of th is type were use d fro m char iots by t he anci ent E gyptians a nd Babyl on ians.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Next to th e arm or-pier ci ng pil um type th is was pr oba bl y di ffi cu lt to remo ve fr om sh ields o nce t hey had pier ce d a the most pop ular type o f jave li ns an d a lso for small e r shield. darts (see Swiss Arr ow, a bov e). Jave li ns were la ter use d with de tachable am ent ums which w ou ld un co il whe n t h e This was no t th e prima ry purpose o f t his w eapon how ev er, weapon was lau nche d, rema in in g in th e t hr owers ha nd . whi ch was to kil l. Th e pil um is an arm or-pier ci ng jave li n, shields we re t he most comm on form of perso nal pr ote ction Soliferrum used in An tiqu ity, a nd d isabl in g a sh ie ld remo ved most of the pr ote ction a typi cal so ld ier ha d. B ut t his weapon cou ld This is a soli d iro n jave lin , a specia l arm or-pier ci ng weapo n also thr ou gh armo r and he lmets , not to me ntion with a lon g pedig ree . It was apparently i nve nte d by t h e skulls an d r ibs , an d was j ust as har d t o pul l o ut o f you r l eg anci ent Celts as far ba ck as th e Ha llstad t per io d, bu t as it was to re move fr om your s hie ld (a nd a lot m o re disappeare d in m uch of E urope dur in g th e late Iro n Ag e painful). except withi n t he Iberia n Pen insu la. Ce lit iber ian an d Lusita nia n forces use d it with su ccess agai nst th e R oman s “As to the mi ssile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed dur in g campai gns in th e 1st an d 2nd Ce ntu ry BC. with a triangular sharp i ron, eleven inches (279 mm) or a foot l ong, and were called piles. When once fi xed in the shield it was impossible to The weapo n reappears i n th e h istori cal re cor d 1 40 0 year s draw them out, and when thrown wi th force and skill, they penetrated later in t he Mi dd le Ages, as a favo rit e o f the mu ch feare d the cui rass wi thout di ffi culty” Alm ogava r me rcenar ies o f t he Pyrenn ies regio n, an d u nd e r “They had li kewi se two other javelins, the largest of whi ch was their famous lea der Ro ge r De Fle ur t hey re-int ro du ce d t h e composed of a staff fi ve feet and a hal f long and a tri angular head of weapon to Gre ece and Byzant ium (point first). Thi s iron nine inches (229 mm) l ong. This was formerl y called the pilum, but weapon has very lim ite d rang e bu t has ou tstand in g a rmor- now i t i s known by the name of spi culum. The soldiers were parti cularl y piercin g chara cter istics which th e Almo gavars fo un d exerci sed in the use of thi s weapon, because when thrown with force and skill it often penetrated the shields of the foot and the cui rasses of usefu l a gai nst heav ily a rmor ed kn ig hts. the horse” Publius Flavius Vegetius Rena tus, De Re Militari 450 AD

The pil um was t he pr imary batt lefie ld weapon of th e R om an Legio ns for rou gh ly 5 00 years, du ri ng t he per io d of t he height o f t he ir po wer . In battl e t hey w ere i deal ly t hro wn in thre e v ol leys j ust be for e t he char ge .

Heavy Pilum This is simply the heav ier v ersio n of t he pil um, w eight ed eith er by a r emova bl e l ead we ig ht n ear t he base of the ir on part of t he sha ft , or by a hea vie r ov eral l constr uct io n. When ava ila ble , it was the last o f th e thr ee pil um vo lley , it had shor ter ran ge but bette r pe netra tio n.

Short Bow This is th e o rd inary , ubiquit ous type o f bow , use d for hun tin g or warfa re , but not e xtrao rd inar ily po wer fu l. It is the e qui vale nt of a mod er n hun tin g bow. Bows of mode rate po wer wer e stil l use d i n com bat i n ant iqui ty, but were n ot pr imary batt le fie ld w eapons.

Recurve Bow This is a type of bow w hi ch ori gi nate d on t he Cen tral Asi an Pilum, left, and heavy pilum, right. From Legio XV, Graz Austria, photo by steppes proba bly as far ba ck as t he secon d m ill en nium B C. Mathias Kabel The recurv e bo w has a chara cte ristic ‘do uble -h umped’ or w shape an d desig ne d t o be span ne d i n t he opposite si de of Pilum the cu rve ( hen ce , re-cu rve) . Re cur ves are mad e o f at lea st The pilu m was a special type o f armor-pi ercin g jav eli n some composi te mate rials such as hor n or bone a nd used by t he Ro mans. It is fa irly we ll kno wn that pil u m di ffe ren t types of woo d an d si new on t he ba ck, oft en were ev ent ual ly modi fie d to break or ben d upon impa ct, s o cov ere d ov er with bir ch ba rk or ev en leat her to pr ovide that t hey cou ld no t be t hro wn ba ck, a nd that th ey we r e some prote ct ion fr om t he e leme nts. Re cu rves w ere far

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns more po wer fu l t han or di nary bows while also sma ll eno ug h Crossbow, Re peating to be shot from h orse back . This is a l ig ht crossbo w w ith a bu ilt in co ck in g-leve r an d an inte gra l maga zin e conta in in g up t o te n quarr els. The se weapons were use d by t he Chi nese fr om t he Bro nze Age into th e 1 9th Ce ntu ry, an d t his t echno lo gy was al so apparently k no wn to th e a ncien t G reeks .

They we re als o n ot e xtre mely po wer fu l, an d beca use o f t he magazi ne -loa di ng desi gn , th is weapon used quarr els with no flet ch in gs, mak in g th em re latively ina ccurate ex cept at short ra ng e, tho ug h t he weapon coul d sh oot darts a lo ng way. Th ey wer e i n fa ct desi gn ed for use en-masse, an d t he quar rels wer e fre que ntly coat ed with po ison to ma ke t he m more dan ger ous . Un lik e most crossbo ws th is weapo n w as ofte n use d for in di rect sho oting in hi gh arcs , w ith a lar ge num ber o f quarr els or da rts lau nche d (a rate as hig h as 10 Matt Easton of Schola Gladiatoria UK, takes aim wi th hi s replica shots per m inu te was possi ble) a nd ho ld in g a ma gazi ne of Hungarian recurve, of 65 lb draw. up top ten da rts, th ese cou ld be qu ite da ng ero us. Th ey were o fte n used d uri ng sie ges . Vari ous tri bes o f th e Centra l Asia n Steppes gra dua ll y perfe cte d th is comple x weapon o ver th e ce ntu ries , nota bl y It is wort h k eepin g in m in d t hat t his w eapon do es have to the Parth ians (inve nto r of th e ‘Parth ian shot ’), t h e be span ned aft er eac h sh ot , i t’s a clockwo rk ma ch ine g un Scyth ians, the Sarmat ians, the T urks, the Hu ns, t h e as oft en portraye d on TV. Magyars and th e Bul gars, amon g o the rs. Th e M ong ol s later de vel oped a mor e pow erful versi on cal le d a Composite Bow in th is d ocumen t, th ou gh in Aca dem ia t h e term re cu rve o fte n applies to al l weapo ns of t his g ene ral type. T he re cur ve bo w was particu larly vu lne rable t o moistur e with its gl ue d and lashe d to get her orga ni c materia ls, an d on th e steppe bot h bo w and ar rows we r e stored i n a dual-purpose sh eath ca ll ed a goryt os.

Crossbow, Slur bow This is a special type o f crossbo w w hi ch sh oots lea d bul lets or s haped ston es, simila r to sli ng ston es. It i s essential ly a smaller v ersio n of ma ny more an ci ent form s of to rsio n sprin g ‘a rtille ry’ (sie ge w eapons) use d by t h e Romans a nd Gre eks an d the ir various riva ls i n Ant i qui ty. The slu rbo w appears i n th e lat e Me di eval pe ri od as a hun tin g weapon , w hi ch has t he be ne fit of stun ni ng o r crush in g small gam e rath er tha n pun ctur in g the m. It wa s not pr imari ly i nte nd ed as a weapo n o f wa r t hou gh it co ul d cause seri ous in jur ies. From the left, two European heavy crossbows with foot sti rrups and a belt hook, heavy crossbow with foot stirrup and a windlass. Crossbow, Stirrup Duri ng th e 13th Centu ry Mon gol invasi on o f Europ e the Europea n heavy cr ossbo w creat ed a profou nd impr ession on th e Mo ng ols. T hey me ntione d i t severa l times in th eir surviv in g re co rds an d r eport ed t hat it was t he cause of many casualt ies. T he an d Turks als o lear ne d to fe ar this ne w weapo n, na min g it qaws Ferengi, or "Fran ki sh Chinese bow .” Th ey soon ad opted it for t hemse lves pr imar ily for war far e.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

This new crossbow was the S teig büg elarmbr ust, t h e special fli ght bolts a nd ‘whistli ng bolts ’ (ga dfli es) wer e used ‘stirr up crossbo w’, w ith which th e Crusa der arm ies fa ce d whi ch cause d relat ive ly little dama ge but we re use ful for well-t rain ed a nd hi gh ly mobil e Ara b an d Tur kish horse- harassment o f enemy tro ops to a distance of up to 3 00 cavalry a rme d w ith th eir formi da ble re cur ve bo ws. T ha t meters. (Damag e D 4) this cou ld a ctua lly d on e with su ccess, most n otably by Ri char d Ce ou r De Leo n dur in g t he Se co nd Crusad e, i s On t he plus -sid e, like early firea rms, a crossbo w on ce testament to t he effe ctiven ess of the weapon , which load ed co ul d be kept in r ead in ess ind efin itely . Of a ll t he iron i cally u til iz ed t he same composi te-bo w te ch nol ogy o f Medieva l and Rena issance rang ed weapons , the crossbo w Ara bi c re cur ves to make m ore po wer fu l type of composi t e argua bly had t he best effe ct ive ran ge fo r a d ire ct s hot , a nd crossbow pro ds. T hese n ew w eapons w ere used in earl y ther efo re mad e the best ‘snipe r’ w eapon . Unlik e a cul ver in Europea n a rba lests begin ni ng i n t he ear ly 13th Cen tury . or a matchl ock ar que bus, a crossbo w di d n ot re qu ire a lit whi ch wo ul d gi ve away th e shoo ters posit ion . The se The Ste ig büge larmbrust was a medium s ize d, powe rfu l fact ors com bine d to mak e th e cr ossbow t he most pop ul ar weapon , wit h a draw we ig ht of r ou ghly betwe en 2 00 – 35 0 and ubi qui tous hi gh-po were d m issile w eapon in Cen tr al lbs (a 14th Cent ury do cume nt fr om the Te uto ni c ord e r Europe th rou g h t he Me die val a nd ear ly R ena issance refe rs specifica lly to a 3 30 l b dra w weapo n). Prods we r e perio ds. usually ma de of comp osite ma ter ials i nclu di ng di ffere n t types of wo od , w hale bo ne or ba lee n, and goa t or bu ll s Longbow hor n. Th ou gh so mew hat ra re in itia lly, t hese be came an "…and he should proceed like those prudent archers who, aware of the increasi ngly commo n mil itary weapon i n the 13th Cent ur y strength of their bow when the target they are aiming at seems too and remai ne d i n use t hro ug h t he 16 th, l on g after bein g distant, set their sights much higher than their designated target, not in ecl ipsed by t he mor e power fu l arba lest crossbo w, t h e order to reach to such a height with their arrow but rather to be able, with lon gbow an d t he firea rm. the aid of such a high aim, to strike their target." N iccoló Machiavelli, the Prince , 1513 AD

Due t o t heir pow er spann in g (cockin g) was di fficult , One of t he th ree or four most iconi c weap ons of t he requir in g a foot stirr up mo unt ed ont o th e pro d o f t h e Medieva l perio d , the Lon gbow was also on e of t he ve ry fe w weapon , oft en a ugm ent ed with a belt h ook . Simp l e pre-i nd ustria l Eur opean weapons w hi ch sur viv ed t he mechani cal de vi ces su ch as a goa ts-foot (Geissfuss) o r t h e Vi ctor ian e ra wit h its reputat ion ful ly inta ct, pro ba bly du e in woo den leve r (Wi ppe) were a lso no t un comm on . Thes e larg e part t o t he propa gan diz in g ski ll of W il lia m aide d i n r epeate d spann in g an d re-spann in g o f t h e Shakespeare one of t he few art ists who tr uly tra nsce nd ed weapon i n batt le. the cul tura l gap betw een t he Rena issance a nd t he In dustr ial Ag e. The lo ng bo w has a lso em er ged fr om t he On the ba ttl efi eld crossbows w ou ld id eal ly be d eploye d cur rent per io d o f int ense re-exam inat io n o f ma ny o f t he behin d a pavise shie ld , a wall , or a wag on . With t w o myths and legen ds of Medieva l weapon ry unscat he d, an d if people wo rki ng t oge the r, one w eapon w ou ld be spanne d anythi ng , i t’s rep utation has been en han ce d by m ode rn whi le th e oth er was depl oyed. By this metho d a traine d testin g a nd scien tific ana lysis. crossbowman with a n assistant coul d ma nag e as many a s 6 or 7 shots per mi nut e vs. 2 -3 shots for an i nd iv id ual The e ffica cy of th e Lon gbow is no myt h, it was a fo rmi dable marksman work in g alon e. In a fast-mov in g cl ose com ba t weapon . Ar cheo lo gi cal evi de nce i nd icat es t he desi gn type situat ion th e crossbo w was essentia lly a one-sh ot an d ori gina ted i n t he Bro nze Age , a nd was in di gen ous t o t he disca rd weapo n, t he same as early firear ms. British Isl es an d S can di navia . It di d not beco me a promin ent w eapon u ntil the ear ly Medieva l peri od , whe n it The cr ossbow had t hr ee maj or d iffer en ces i n use from a swift ly be came th e most importa nt ran ge d weapo n in bow . First and most infa mously , a relatively slow rat e of Eng lan d u ntil t he late 15th Cent ury, an d rema in ed in wide shots, e qu ival ent t o ear ly fir earms. Also like the earl y use i n the Br itish Isles t hr ou gh th e 16 th. fir earms, it sh ot in some thi ng m ore l ike a strait l ine an d was not as useful for i nd ire ct sh ots, nor coul d it be sh o t over t he hea ds of fr ie nd ly troops or ove r walls or t h e free boa rds of sh ips in hi gh ar cs the way a bo w co ul d. Thi s was both an a dvanta ge (to sho rt ran ge accura cy) as well as a l imita tio n (t o ta ct ica l v ersatility).

The smal l, hea vy bolts of th e most powe rful cr ossbows di d not fly we ll aft er the e ner gy from th e weapon ha d dissipate d, but th e ini tial e ner gy was hig her t han that o f an arro w an d th ey had a so mew hat l on ger ‘d ire ct ’ ran ge , in t he n eigh bor ho od of 80 mete rs. Fo r lo ng er ra nge shot s

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famously t he Fre nch d uri ng t he 10 0 years war at Cre cy, Poitie rs, an d Agi ncou rt). Th e lo ng bo w was also an importan t asset in naval a nd lan d ba ttl es agai nst the Scot s, the Spanis h, th e Dut ch , and ev ery othe r enemy o f Eng lan d. It soon e vol ved int o an eve n more feare d weapo n, t he Engl ish Warbow.

English so ldier (le ft) using a sta ff-sling to throw a po t o f quicklime while another prepare s a fire -arrow in the battle o f Sandwich, 1219 AD

Staff-Sling This is a sl in g m ou nte d on a sta ff. Sta ndar d dama ge in t h e An strings a longbow, painting i s ci rca 16h Century, arti st tabl e r epresen ts t hro win g a la rg e r ock, but th ese w ere mo re unknown typically use d to thr ow firepo ts, qui ckl ime , o r gre nad es (se e Firearms) The lon g bow d iffer ed from or di nary bo ws in that it wa s stiffer, lo ng er , an d was gen eral ly speakin g use d t o sho o t larg er heav ier arr ows. Th e bow itse lf was of fai rly simp l e constr u ction , typi cally made from yew stav es, so meti mes a secon d pie ce of wo od w oul d be i nsert ed i nto a slot cut o u t at the compressio n poi nt , e nha ncin g th e stiffness o f t h e bow .

The We lsh used t he lo ng bow to g oo d e ffect dur in g t he i r lon g but u ltimat ely futile g uer il la stru gg le aga inst t h e con qu est o f th eir lan d complet ed by Ed ward I i n th e 1 3t h Centu ry. Afte r su bd ui ng Wales, t he E ng lish Mo nar ch s recr ui ted We lsh archers as soldie rs, and n ot lo ng aft e r bega n to trai n the ir ow n subj ects in t he use of th e weapon, as well as en co urag in g mar ksmanship co ntests an d gen eral ly raisi ng t he prest ige of t he cu ltu re o f ar che ry, whi ch t hey ast utely re co gn ize d as a stra teg ic asset.

The En gl ish ma de e ffectiv e use of t heir n ew cad re o f The “Paladin in Hell” as a deranged peasant matron: “Mad meg”, a train ed ar che rs, in fl uen ci ng t heir tactical d octri ne in t h e character from Flemish folklore, wielding a longsword and wearing a breast plate while on her famous raid to pillage hell, from a Pieter Brugel cen tur ies to com e. The lo ng bo w archer forme d a crit i cal the Elder painting, 1562 AD part of th e h ig hly effe ctive E ng lish i nfan try-heav y com bined-arms u nits of t he 1 4th Cen tury , lea din g to a series of dramat ic v i ctor ies aga inst many oppon ents (mos t

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Table II.2a: Height advantage of thrown missile weapons One o f the r easons de fens ive fortifi cat ions we re p ut on to p of h il ls is that t hro win g th in gs at peopl e far be lo w yo u is much more fun an d e ffectiv e t han ha vin g th in gs t hrow n a t yo u fr om a bov e. Heigh t con fe rs a ma jo r a dvanta ge w ith missi le s of all types, part icular ly t hr own w eapons lik e spears, ja vel ins an d r ocks . Heig ht ov er ta rge t* To Hit Rang e Cate go ry Max Damage: Bow , Ax e, Damage: R ock , Spear , Dar t, Rang e Crossbow , H url bat et c. Javel in , S li ng 10 -25’ - - +2 0’ +1 +1 26-50’ -1 +5 ’ +5 0’ +1 +D6 51 + -2 +1 0’ +1 00 ’ +2 +2D 6 * the height over the target must be included in considering the total distance to the target for determining range category.

Crossbows from a 15th Century painting, image courtesy “Gunpowder Ma”. Note the smaller size of the cranequin weapon, and the discarded cranequin itself on the ground next tot the red-clad archers knee, the cut-thrust sword, and the fur covered wooden quiver with three bolts.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Table II.3 E xotic Missile Weapons Exotic Missi le W eapo ns Co st Weight Ready Range Max Pre p AP Ba sic Atta ck STR Plunging Bonus Increment Ra nge Time Da mage Type Bo nus sho t Thrown Da gg er, Smal l (T) - 1 lb 0 5’ 20’* 0 - 1-4 P (Y ) N Thrown Da gg er, La rge (T) 0 2 lb 0 5’ 10’* 0 - 1-6 P (Y ) N Chak rum / Q uoi t (T) 5 gp 1 lb 0 10’ 60’ 0 - 1-6 S (Y ) N Axe, Thro wi ng ( S) 8 gp 2 lb 0 15’ 45’ 0 - 1-8 C (Y ) N Fran si ca Axe , Throw n (S) 10 gp 2 lb 0 20’ 60’ 0 - 1-8 C (Y ) N Hatc he t o r Ha nd Ax e (S) - - 0 5’ 30’ 0 - 1-6 C (Y ) N Atlat l ( M) 5 gp 5 lb +1 10’ 80’ 1 +2 1-6 P (Y ) N Cro s sbow , Wi ndla ss ( L) 350 gp 12 lb +2/+4 60*** 400’* 5 +4 2-12 P N N Cro s sbow , A rbal es t (M) 300 gp 7 lb +2/+4 60’ 300’* 4 +4 1-10 P N N Cro s sbow , H eav y A rbal es t ( M) 400 gp 8 lb +2/+4 60’ 360’* 4 +4 1-12 P N N Cro s sbow , Ga st rophet es ( L) 150 gp 10 lb +2/+4 30’ 250’* 3 +2 1-10 P N N Flat Bo w ( L) 80 gp 6 lb +1/+3 20’ (150’)*** 1 +2 1-6 P Y Y Yumi B ow (L) 120 gp 7 lb +1/+3 40’ (300’)*** 1 +1 1-6 P Y Y Heavy C omp os ite B ow (M) 350 gp 6 lb +1/+2 30’ (600’)*** 2 +4 1-6 P Y Y Engli s h Wa rbow (L) 100 gp 8 lb +1/+3 25’ (500’)*** 2 +4 1-8 P Y Y Ind ian St eel B ow (M) 500 gp 12 lb +1/+3 25’ (100’)*** 2 +4 1-10 P Y Y Sli ng ( S) - - 0 30’***** (400) 0 - 1-4 B (Y ) N Las s o - - 0 10’ 30’ 2 - - ****** N For e xplanat io n of th e C hart Col umns see Ta bl e I.1 Simpl e Missil e W eapons

* Flat trajectory only (max 4 range increments). *** All bows can fire up to double maximum range as indirect fire, see below: ***** 10’ radius required for throwing ****** Grapple at a distance +6 Chakrum / Quoit Thrown Dagger, Small The Chakrum is an anci ent , un ique weapo n of t he Pun j ab An o rd inary dag ger is har d to t hr ow accu rate ly so that t he region o f what is now Nort her n In dia an d Pakistan, made point w il l tou ch in t he tar get rat her t han t he pomm el or t he famous by t he Sik hs, who used th em a gainst th e M ug h al th side of t he weapo n. T his is m uch eas ier t o a ch ieve with a Empire an d aga inst th e Brit ish Empir e we ll i nto t he 1 9 weapon like a t hr owing k ni fe w hi ch is desi gn ed a nd Centu ry, apparent ly wit h go od e ffect , as the S ikhs w e re balan ce d t o be th row n. The t rad eoff w ith th row in g kn ives is some of th e tou gh est opponen ts face d by eit he r gro u p. that a n or dina ry dag ger is heav ie r an d d oes m ore dama ge . This is a flatten ed, ho ll ow meta l disk , sharpen ed o n the edg es, s omew hat s imila r t o a mo der n Fr isbe e style t oy Thrown Dagger, Large call ed an a ero bi e. Th e w eapons w ere car rie d wor n o n a tur ban, co uld be flu ng w it h a fing er t o arc in to atta cke rs Same as a smal l t hro wn da gg er , only big ger . from th e si de , w hi ch mad e t hem m ore e ffe ct ive at causi ng wou nds.

Axe, Throwing This is an axe specifica lly bala nced for thr ow ing , Many hand-ax es an d batt le -axes we re bala nced i n this way.

"...each man carried a swo rd and shield and an axe. Now the iron head of this weapon was thick and exceedingly sharp on both sides while the wooden handle was very sho rt. And they a re accustomed alw ays to throw these axes at one signal in the first and thus shatter the shields of the enemy and kill the men." The Wa rs o f Justinian Pro copius, circa 500 AD

Francisca Axe Much as t he Sax be came t he eth nonym of th e Sa xo ns, a special type o f thr ow in g axe popu lar amon g a lar ge con fe dera cy o f various No rth ern tr ibes ca lle d the Fran ks Si kh warriors with Chakrum and , 1844 AD, arti st unknown lent t hat part icular gro up its nam e. Th e Fran cisca w as wid ely use d by the Fra nks d uri ng the Mer oving ian dynasties

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns of t he 5th – 7th Ce ntu ries , t hou gh the w eapon pr e-date d t he Frankish Co nfede racy an d was also use d by t he Van dal s, the Lombar ds, Visi got hs, and o the r t ri bal g roups.

The Fran cisca was apparent ly an e ffect ive weapo n, t he uni qu e fea tur e be in g a ro und ed off ba ck-en d and a flar ed bla de, g iving t he weapon an ae ro dynami c appearan ce a nd apparently causi ng it to fly t hro ug h the ai r bett er. Peri od reports descri be t he weapo ns bein g used en-masse i n t he openi ng a ttack , bo un ci ng off th e g ro un d to s lam i n to opponen ts shie lds , w ith th e w il d Fra nkish warr io rs all ege d ly stepping o nto t he weapo ns haft still em be d ded in an enem ies sh ield t o hack h im dow n wit h a not her. The Francisca desi gn r emains popu lar fo r the sport o f mode rn axe-t hr owing , which to day is usually d one at stumps or targets rat her t han s hie lds an d pe ople .

Hatchet or Hand Axe, Thrown An o rd inary han d-a xe or hat ch et w hi ch is not spe ci fi cal ly balan ce d fo r t hro wing, thr own at a targ et.

Atlatl Aka spear -th row er , est oli ca (Spa nish) , prop ulseu r (Fre nch), and w oome ra or mi ru (En gl ish ve rsio ns of t he mo st The “English Winder”, Windlas Crossbow circa 14th Century commo n Austra lian terms). On e o f th e most an ci e nt weapons k now n to man, t he at latl has bee n i n use sin ce rou gh ly the upper Paleo lit hi c, or appro ximat ely 1 7,0 00 Crossbow, Windlass years ago , pre -dating the bow by a bo ut 5,00 0 yea rs. The This was a lar ge , v ery pow erful si ege crossbo w w hi ch atlatl is a type of ‘spear’ th row er w hi ch th rows a li gh t ja vel in incorpora ted a comple x system for spanni ng i nvo lv ing t he or dar t l ong d istances. Essent ial ly a stick with a han dle on use of cord a nd pul ley (Sei lrolle), or a win dlass (Wind e). one e nd an d a hook or sock et on t he ot her , which when These were k now n in Cen tral E urope as the “E ng li sh thro wn i n a fl ippin g mot io n propels a l ig ht spear mu ch Wind er” an d appear ed i n t he 1 4th Cent ury. faster and farth er tha n it co ul d be t hro wn by han d alo ne . Thou gh it is not clear where they wer e i nve nte d t hey w e re The wo rd a tlat l (pron oun ce d at-lata l or atal-atal) com es popular t hro ug ho ut Eu rope an d appear w id ely i n peri od a rt. from t he Nah uatl lan gua ge o f t he Azte c, who we re st ill These lar ge weapo ns were ma de w ith e xtre mely pow erful usin g them w hen e ncou nter ed by th e Spanish i n the 1 6th composit e pro ds up to 15 0 0 l b draw , a nd wer e qu i te Centu ry. Ma xim um ra nge is up t o 40 0 met ers, fo r aim ed dead ly, but t hey wer e compl icat ed an d sl ow to span , a nd shots e ffect ive ra ng e is closer t o 20 met ers. very lar ge an d cum bersom e to wield. As a resu lt whi le th ey remai ned popula r for si ege war fare they saw less an d l e ss The atlatl was used for h unt in g larg e game , and ha d go od use on th e ope n bat tle fi eld. They w ere gra dua lly phase d- penetrat io n especial ly up close . Li ke ma ny oth er pr e- out in the 1 5th Ce ntu ry in fav ou r o f t he ar bal est an d t he ind ustria l weapo ns, the at latl has seen a rev ival i n int ere st fir earm. by moder n ent husiasts and t hro win g clu bs have sprung up aroun d t he wor ld (see We b R esour ces at th e e nd of th is do cume nt for mor e i nformat ion) . T he at latl is also stil l used for hu nting seals by at least one Inu it t ri be in Alaska, and by Abori gi nes in Austral ia fo r hu nting small gam e.

The Austra lian wo ome ra also d ou ble d as a shi eld, to car ry foo d (wet ve geta ble matte r which co ul d be used for dri nki ng) a nd as a cutti ng impl eme nt us in g a sto ne or m et al point .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Ar balest iers w ere s oug ht a fte r i nfa ntry tr oops paid as mu ch as long bo wme n or gu nn ers, a nd were typica lly re cr uit ed from zo nes w here use of t he weapo n was we ll establish ed in t he l oca l cul tur e, notably seve ral of th e Ital ian city-stat es such as Genoa an d Pisa, as wel l as various to wns in Fland ers, B ohe mia a nd Sw itz erla nd (where th e t radi tio n of the Crossbo w was immorta liz ed i n the l ege nd o f Wil lia m Tell).

The grand daddy of the crossbow famil y. A heavy arbalest with a steel prod, probabl y German or Czech, ci rca 15t h Century. Si milar weapons Detail of a fine quality Hunting arbalest (crossbow) with a composite prod were used by the Burgundians, the Swiss, the I talians, and the Dutch, and silver engravings featuring Diana, Swiss 1420 AD among others. Note the si ze and shape of the bolts in the foreground. Al so note the lack of a foot stirrup, indi cating thi s i s a weapon spanned with a cranequin onl y.

Crossbow, Arbalest Crossbow, Heavy Arbalest Begi nni ng i n t he late 1 4th Cent ury, a new type o f very hea vy One o f th e fou r heavy -h itte rs of the R ena issance. Al so crossbow cal led an a rba lest be gan to appear in Cen tr al know n as the schwer stahlarmbrust or as the stache l or Europe . These we re sma lle r w eapons t han th e ea rl i er ‘stin ger ’, th is weapon r eprese nts the 15th -1 6th Ce ntury heavy crossbow wit h a very po wer fu l composit e pro d (t he versio n o f th e ar balest , a mu ch mor e powe rful , but smal l er bow part of a cr ossbow) an d a draw wei gh t of be twe en 4 00 weapon t han t he earl ier heavy crossbow , with a m o re – 70 0 l bs (the typi cal examp le he re is about a 5 00 lb dra w efficie nt desi gn mak in g t he it s uita ble for m ou nte d use , a nd weapon) . ther efo re popu lar for hu nt ing . T he m ost sig ni fi ca nt improve ment ove r the earl ier a rba lest was th e in tro du ction These had t he lo ng est dir ect-sh ot ran ge of t he Me di ev al of a very power fu l for ge d spring-stee l prod n early ha lf an battl efield at t his po int , capabl e o f accu rate ai med shots at inch thi ck , t he ‘str in g’ ha d mea nw hi le gra dual ly ev olv ed i n to people up to 1 00 met ers away . U nli ke a bow how eve r, it a heavy cable mad e of sin ew and o the r natu ral fiber s. was not very effectiv e for i nd ire ct shots . Weapons of th is There was also a composit e prod v ersio n of rou gh ly equ al power also re qu ire d i ncr easin gly comple x an d pow erful power which came o ut a rou nd t he same t ime a nd may ha ve spannin g dev ice cal le d a cranequi n and u nl ike th e hea vy perfor med bett er in e xtrem ely co ld w eath er. crossbow, th is was n ot a weapon j ust anybody co ul d qui ck ly learn t o use . Both th e weapo n and t he rat chet w in der w e re These weapo ns cou ld be up t o 1 50 0 l bs draw (th ou gh t he expensi ve and an a ccid ent i n spannin g ca n cause ser io us weapon represe nte d here is an ar balest of rou g hly 1 2 00 inj uri es, a nd ma int ena nce of th e weapo n was t ri cky. It w as lbs dra w we ig ht). Spa nni ng these weapons r equir ed a very effe ctive how ever an d was fea re d by t hose who ha d to special ra ck -an d-pi ni on w in di ng dev ice cal le d a cra ne qu in face i t. similar to t he ja ck yo u use t o chan ge a t ire on you r car, call ed th e “G erman w in der” i n Ce ntra l E urope. The se The compos ite pro ds (bows) and str in gs of th ese weapo ns dev ices ma de ev en t he heavi est cr ossbows su itable for were sus ceptibl e to ex cessive moist ure , an d for t his r eason cavalry , sin ce t he re was n o l on ger a ny nee d for a fo ot- were k ept cover ed in wa xe d lea the r sheat hes w hen not in stirrup . use.

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Draw wei ght is no t the on ly means by whi ch th e power o f a but i t is a powerful an d simple weapo n capable o f pier ci ng bow is measure d, t he o the r fa ctors being l en gth of t he bo w armor or bri nin g do wn just a bou t a ny k ind o f game . and h ow fa r it is pu lle d ba ck before sh oot in g. Th e hea vy prods on th ese crossbows wer e smaller t han th ose on Yumi Bow heavy crossbo ws (and mu ch smalle r tha n an o rd inary bo w) This was the un ique type o f bow use d i n Feu dal Japan, a and t hey w ere spann ed a fra ct ion of the dista nce, re qui ri ng lon g bow (ove r 6 ’ lo ng) ma de of lami nate d co nstru ction shorte r pro je ctiles (quarr els or bo lts) re du ci ng th eir with mat eria ls inclu di ng wo od , bam boo , and some tim es potent ial en ergy some what . hor n o r sin ew , w hi ch was o f m od erate powe r, stro nge r t han a short bow but n ot as power fu l as a Europea n Lo ng bo w or But make no mistake , th e Rena issance ar bal est was a real a Central Asia n re cu rve . Th e Yumi may be rela ted to t he beast, far mo re po wer fu l t han a ny mo der n crossbo w Flatbo w. Th is weapo n had an un usual s hape i n t hat t he comme rcial ly availa bl e to day, it was actua lly consi der ed grip of t he bow was not cente re d but rat he r lo cate d mo re more e ffe ct ive t han th e early ar que bus an d ot h er towar d t he top of th e weapon . Th is was so t hat it co ul d be con tempora ry fi rearms o f its t ime , u ntil th e arr ival of t he more easi ly shot fr om ho rseba ck. Th e cu ltu re o f Japane se musket. M od ern tests wit h weapo ns of th is type are done arch ery emphasiz ed a ccura cy and th e Yumi was an on a r ifle ran ge rath er tha n a n a rchery ran ge . accurate w eapon , capable o f rapid pre cise sh ots. Peri od records in di cate t hat m ost of the casua lties in Japane se On ly a ha nd fu l o f e xperts ar ou nd the wo rl d to day can for ge warfar e were cause d by t he Yumi bow . steel pro ds as powerful as the ar bal ests of the la te Rena issance , an d th e te chn ol ogy for creati ng t he ea rl ier orga ni c composite pr ods has bee n lost , so sad ly n ot Flatbow eno ug h testin g has be en do ne o n this weapo n yet for us to The Flat bo w was yet a not her type o f bow, apparent ly an know pr ecisely h ow it per form ed, w e ca n on ly ma ke archa ic t ho ug h by no mea ns obsol ete desig n use d in guesses base d o n per io d d ocume ntation, but the re is no vario us parts o f t he eart h. T hese weapons wer e fou nd with dou bt th is was a feare d weapon. T he a rba lest r eac he d i ts Nort h Am eri can tr ibes such as the Lak ota Sio ux an d the zen ith for mil itary use by t he mi d dle of t he 16th Cent ury. It Semi nol es, by t he Saami pe ople o f Fin lan d, a nd by the had be co me a very expensiv e and d iffi cu lt weapon t o make, An daman islan ders i n t he In dian Ocean . T he d eign and was more comple x to mai ntai n tha n ea rly fir earm s, apparently dates ba ck to at l east 2,00 0 BC and may ha ve whi ch also ha d th e a dvan tage o f ma kin g a lou d ban g. bee n widely u bi quit ous du ri ng t he Neol ith ic a ge . So me flat bows ar e not very pow erful a nd w ere only used for Fortu nately for poste rity th e ar balest r emain ed pop ul ar hun tin g smal l game, t hese can be treat ed as size L sho rt- among ar istocrats for h unt in g lo ng aft er it ha d be en bow in C od ex r ules . Th e type repr esent ed her e is a ecl ipsed o n t he ba ttle fi eld by han dgu ns so a sig ni fi ca nt strong er versi on suita bl e for war far e o r larg e-game h unt in g, num ber o f very powe rful ant iques rema in from th e 17t h and usually use d with ston e arro wheads which prov ed 18th Ce ntu ry, in clu di ng many ex qu isit e masterpi eces ma de remarka bly effe ctive agai nst Con quista do rs and Ame ri can with rare w oo ds, iv ory, pre ci ous meta ls, an d artist ic settlers . scrol lwo rk a nd et chin gs of breat htaki ng beauty . Flatbo ws co ul d be ma de o f ash, elm , or mapl e, o r eve n ve ry Crossbow, Gastrophetes dense h ick ory, some Nat ive Am eri can tr ibes made bows o ut of specia l wo ods such as osage oran ge . Some tim es This was a type of siege crossbow use d by the Gre eks and flat bows wer e la mina ted , wit h or wit hou t si ne w the Roma ns. An in gen io usly simple d esig n whi ch consisted rein fo rce men t o n th e back which co uld en han ce st ren gt h, of a larg e, powe rful composi te bow to o stro ng fo r a man to and co ul d be o f fo rmi dable dra w str en gth up to 7 0-8 0 lbs . draw , mo unt ed on a larg e sto ck w hi ch cu lmi nate d i nto a sort of hal f-circle i nto whi ch th e marksman place d h is Some mo de rn ar ch ery en th usiasts cla im that th is desi gn stomach, pus hin g t he fr ont of th e weapo n dow n in t he featu ri ng a recta ng ular shape d stave is of the most effi ci e nt gro un d, w hi ch push ed th e mechanism back o ne step at a self bow desi gns, a nd is th e basis for an Am eri can desi gn time up a to ot hed tra ck . call ed the “semi -ind ian bow” dev eloped in the 1 93 0 s. Wheth er t he desi gn is mor e or less effi ci ent than ot h er A hi gh er powe re d Gastrophet es was call ed t he Scorpi o, types of bows, it does have t he a dvan tage that it can be used for sn iper atta cks d ur in g seiges, but th is term w as made from l ess exot ic w oo ds than t he yew hear two od also use d conte mporan eous ly by th e R omans for a type of prefer re d for t he En glis h lon g bow . torsio n sprin g bal lista . (Ballistae w il l be cov ere d in a not h er do cume nt dea li ng w ith art il lery.) English Warbow The Gastrophe tes was a big w eapon , mor e suita ble for As the cult ure (an d cult) o f the lon gbow matu re d in out doo rs tha n i nsid e a bu il di ng or the passages of a cry pt, Eng lan d, so to di d the weap on itself. The long bo w be ca me

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns increasi ngly powe rful , lead in g t o t he creati on o f w hat we weapons w hi ch wer e mad e o f a composite of st eel , w oo d, now ca ll th e En glis h Warbo w, a weapo n tun ed t o the and ho rn . extre me l imits o f h uman capabi li ty. It was kno wn i n so me othe r parts of Eur ope su ch as Bur gu ndy a nd Flan ders , but it Some wer e apparen tly ma de wit h Wo otz st eel . The was a quin tessent ially En gl ish weapo n. It was a fair ly metall ur gy o f t hese w eapons had to be phe nom enal , a nd simple yew bo w, often mad e with a pie ce of har dwo od the Ind ians w ere amo ng th e t op ferr ous m etal lur gists on insert ed at t he compr ession po int in t he cen ter , with the pla net so they w ere a likely can di date t o make th is typically up to 1 10-12 5 l b dra w, not a w eight m ost men can unusua l weapo n w ork , which they seem to hav e do ne . pull ba ck t o t he ir ear. S ome exampl es re co ver ed fr om t he famous w re ck o f th e Tu dor warship Ma ry Rose may ha ve Many of these w eapons wer e of very h ig h qua lity with bee n stro ng er t han t hat , possibly as powe rfu l as 1 5 0 – 1 80 exquisi te d ecorat ions . In th e city of B ri , no rth of lbs draw o r m ore . Hydera bad , steel bows an d oth er weapo ns were ma de with a particular form of de cora tio n ca lle d 'bidr i'. On ce t he bo w had be en fo rme d, th e ste el s urfa ce was tr eate d wit h copp er sulfat e, whi ch tur ne d the sur face bla ck. It was then i ncised with a sharp bla de i n patterns , an d silve r and go ld w e re hammer ed i nto t he i ncised cha nne ls. Sev eral an tiqu es surviv e whi ch ar e of ex quisit e bea uty.

English yew Warbow, photo taken by James Cram Due t o th e var io us catastr ophes w hi ch befe ll In dia sta rting with th e Mu gha l i nvasio ns in t he 16t h Cent ury, deta il ed A bow wit h 11 0-1 25 lb dra w re quir es years o f tra ini ng to evi den ce of ho w th e stee l bow was use d i n actio n is use, typica lly as many as 7-8 years to train a de quate l y, somewhat sparse. In t he Agn ipurana the use of “ste el” is whi ch also mean t bui ld in g up t he po wer fu l back , le g, specifica lly me ntio ne d as a materia l fo r bo ws. It states th at shoul de r and arm m uscl es requir ed to draw an d accu rate ly a steel bo w “m ust hav e a smal l g rip ,” an d t hat “th e mi dd le shoot th e weapo n. For th is reason , a Stre ngt h scor e of at portio n is said to resem ble t he eye brow o f a lady.” In least 14 is re qu ire d to use th is w eapon . anoth er se ction it me ntions t hat a stee l bow sh ou ld be “in lai d with gol d .” M ore s ign ifica ntly the st eel bo w al so Like t he lo ng bo w be for e it , the En gl ish Warbow was used appears in Mu ghal pa int in gs depi cti ng war sce nes with with rela tiv ely h eavy yard-lo ng a rro ws, bot h for d ire ct a nd arch ers r id in g horse back w hi le usin g st eel bows, an d is al so ind ire ct sho ts, but its prin cipl e mil itary val ue was for t he mention ed in Ott oman a nd Pe rsian recor ds fr om t he 1 6th latter . E ng lish yeome n w ere trai ne d to shoo t e n-masse at and 1 7th Ce ntr ur ies. larg e targe ts such as hu ge col ore d sheets la id o ut upon t he gro un d, as fa r as 200 met ers a way. This weapon wou ld have bee n used by a hi gh ra nki ng aristocrat. These bo ws d id not have a very go od rang e but A trai ne d Eng lish yeoma n archer cou ld ma nage 7 or 8 they shot ve ry heavy arro ws, somet imes made al l or part ly arrows pe r m in ute , an impr essive rate w hi ch easi ly of stee l, desi gn ed for ar mor-pie rcin g. Th ou gh ori gi nal ly surpassed both th e ar balest a nd th e ar qu ebus, t he deve lope d in In dia , th e steel bow sprea d th rou gh out Pers i a, principle r ivals o f this weap on in E urope . And tha t was ho w the Ott oman E mpire a nd ot her re gio ns of Cent ral a nd Sou th it was used, t his bruta lly powe rful bow wou ld be sh ot by Asia, an d th e fact that it was adapt ed by th e Mu gha ls is an well trai ne d (and one wou ld imag ine , rat her bu rly) arche rs ind ica tio n of its e ffe ct ive ness. at a stea dy (hi gh) rate somet hi ng l ike a mor tar barra ge dur in g an int ense peri od o f several mi nut es or more w hi ch There was anot her type of stee l bo w (not d epicted h er e) was usual ly su fficien t t o break most en emy arm ies un d er whi ch was simpler , o f po orer quali ty (mun itions g rad e) the ri gh t cir cu mstances. whi ch was issued t o or di nary tro ops. The pr in ciple be ne fit of t his one was t hat it co ul d be kept in a rsenals a lmo st The bi gg est disad vanta ges of t he lo ng bo w wer e that i t w as ind efin itely wit ho ut losin g its e ffe ct ive ness (which was n ot too lar ge t o use very e ffect ive ly from horse ba ck (tho ug h it the case for ‘n orma l’ bows). cou ld be a nd o ccasiona lly was d one), an d it r equir ed yea rs of t rain in g t o sh oot effe ctively . Bu t t his was a lso a kin d of Strate gi c adva nta ge beca use it mea nt t he weapo n cou ld not be qu ick ly adapted by enemi es even aft er its effi ca cy had been d emo nstrate d a t t he ir expe nse.

Indian Steel Bow This was an i nte resting dev elopm ent of t he bo w, ma de entirely o f temper ed ste el, apparently ev olv ed from ea rl ier

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

This was a pow erful weapo n, w ith a draw w eig ht compara ble to an Eng lis h War bow , m ore d iffi cu lt t o dra w but a lso mo re po wer fu l pou nd fo r pou nd . M on gol warr io rs wou ld often car ry tw o bows , a heavy bo w for lo ng ran ge (ind ire ct) shoot in g, an d a li ght er bo w for close- ran ge An I ndian Steel bow, decorated and inlayed wi th sil ver and gold, from shoot ing (th is wo ul d be a n ormal re cu rve bo w, which has a t h the 19 Century. shorte r Prep Time) .

A thi rd type was a very small steel bow some peopl e ha ve With th ese two w eapon th e Mon go l ho rse archer cou ld call ed a ‘cup id ’ bow w hi ch was apparent ly used fro m attack fr om far or nea r, with dire ct s hots at poi nt-bla nk horse back . I have n’t yet be en a bl e to d eterm in e i f t his w as rang e or in dir ect lik e an ar til lery barra ge . The com bi nation an effectiv e weapo n or n ot so it ’s not yet be en ad de d to of th is weapon wit h the ir ex ce lle nt ho rsemansh i p, this bo ok. battl efield int elli gen ce an d discipli ne all owe d the Mo ng ol hor des to co nquer a wider re gio n o f th e g lo be t han t he Heavy Composite Bow Roman Empir e an d un der Gh en gh iz K han a nd Tim ur t he This represe nts t he M edieval Composit e bow of t he Lame , to slau ght er tens of mil li ons o f pe ople a nd era se Mon gols a nd th e later weapo n used by the Ottoma ns i n t he doz ens o f g reat cit ies an d e ntire k in gdo ms fro m th e fa ce of 15th-1 7th Cent uri es, as well as some other e xamples of ve ry the eart h fo reve r. power ful Compos ite re cu rve bows used i n various places thro ug ho ut Centra l Asia . The Mon go ls argua bly perfect ed The Mo ng ol type recurv e was e xceptio nal ly di fficult to the Co mposite bo w some where a rou nd th e 12th C ent ur y, make, typi cal ly it t ook m ont hs to dry o ne o ut a fter it h ad dur in g the pi nnacle o f the ir mi litary pow er un der G hen gh iz bee n put t oge the r an d g lue d . Like t he E ng lish War bo w, th is Khan. T his was a deve lopme nt o f t he ea rli er r ecurv e, ma de weapon also re qu ire d years of tra ini ng an d co nsid erable more powe rful (and mo re d iffi cul t t o use). streng th t o dra w. Th ere for e a mi nimu m Str en gth score of 13 is r equir ed t o use t his weapo n. Un lik e th e Lo ng bo w or the War bo w th e M ong ol C omposite use d re latively lig ht arrows inte nd ed fo r l on g ra nge, it is in fa ct t he lon ge st rang ed missil e weapon i n th is book.

A specia l type of sli de co ul d also be used w ith t his bow to enable s hoo tin g eve n smal ler arr ows l ike da rts w hi ch enha nced th e ra ng e o f t his bow eve n furt he r (see Speci al Ammu nit ion) . The Mon go ls also used specia l signa li ng arrows which made d iffer ent types of whistling so un ds whe n shot , and typi cal ly carr ie d a varie ty of d iffer e nt

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns specialty arr ows in th eir qu ive rs or goryt os (a combi nation The de cl in e of the s lin g may hav e been si mply a matter of qu iver / bow sheat h). less bor ed sh epher ds bein g ar oun d w ho gre w up usi ng them . The slin g is lo ng-ra nge d , it ’s pretty easy to throw a stone a l on g, lo ng way wit h one… but it is not accu ra te except in t he han ds of a ski ll ed e xpert , an d th e ki nd of sk ill nee ded t o be an expe rt can tak e a l ife time t o a cqui re.

Can you spot the sling in thi s earl y 15t h Century French Illustration?

The an cie nt G reeks emp loye d sli ng ers effe ctively usin g l e ad bul lets , sometim es stamped wit h slogans or i nsul ts (quit e a few hav e be en d iscov ere d by archeo lo gists). Lea d bu lle ts have a far great er ra ng e, a ccura cy an d h itti ng-pow er t h an A Mongolian woman in traditional attire takes aim with a composite shaped stones o r cera mi c bu ll ets (whi ch ar e shaped l i ke bow. Mongol armies i ncluded some women warriors, a tradi tion which goes way back on the Steppe among many tribes. foot bal ls), which i n tur n have a fa r great er rang e a nd accuracy tha n o rd inary riv er pe bbles , w hi ch i n t urn hav e a The Ott omans d eve loped a sim ilar , sli ght ly smaller w eapon far gr eater rang e an d accura cy tha n ran dom ja gg ed pi eces to th e Mo ng ol r ecurve which also gai ne d a fea rso me of ro ck. One ot her si gni fi can t feat ure of a slin g is that th ey reputat ion i n the ha nds of t he ir Spahia ca valry . This requir e an open field to be thro wn , they ca nno t be safe ly weapon was consi der ed a pote ntia l th reat to eve n armor ed loose d over t he hea ds of fr ie nd ly tr oops t he way bo ws ca n . troops an d was e ffect ive en ou gh to r emai n i n use a lo ngsi de fir earms for mo re tha n t wo Cent ur ies. Table N otes

Ar che rs in Asia used a di ffere nt type o f g rip t o dra w ba ck Prep Time their bo ws, wit h t he th um b hol di ng th e str in g instea d of This is the num ber of MP re quir ed t o prepare an oth er sh ot. fore fi ng ers as i n t he W est. Th is te ch ni que re qu ir ed the u se Weapons wit h 0 Prep time ca n be sh ot o nce per MP, but of a th umb-rin g t o prot ect you r ha nd, typical ly a cyli nd er of only i f th ey are alr eady he ld in t he o ff han d. Norma lly o nly 3 jade was used. The arr ows an d bo w were bot h pri ncipal ly javel ins ca n be h eld in on e han d fo r exampl e. Weapo ns made o f bi rch w ood , which was bot h sui table a nd pl ent iful with prep time o f 1 o r m ore re qu ire ex tra MP to re loa d. So on th e Steppe . The arr ow was also h eld on t he ri gh t side of for e xample a Bow takes 1 MP to s hoot , 1 to re loa d, 1 to the bow rath er tha n t he l eft as w it h E uropea n bo ws. shoot a gain , costing 3 MP for tw o sho ts. Archers can increase avai lable ammo for rapi d fi re by putt in g arro ws Sling into t he gro un d (this is w hat th e lo ng bo w archers d id) . A Heavy Crossbow wit h a Prep time o f 3 can e ffe ct ive ly sho ot A d ecept ive ly simple w eapon , easy to make , easy to use, one bo lt per ro un d, whereas a n Arba lest can effe ctively on ly qu ite di fficult t o use effe ctiv ely. Slin gers w ere a va lued shoot on ce eve ry other ro un d. (A mor e tra di tio n al compo nent o f ma ny Classi cal era a rmies an d sl in gs alter nativ e t o t his is to make Pr ep time equal the n umber of con tin ue d to be use d i nterm itt ent ly for Ce ntu ries a fter t he roun ds re qui re d t o pr epare th e next sh ot.) Classical pe rio d . S ome spe cia l classes of skirm ishe rs troops i nclu din g (Gre ek) an d (R oman) Velites w e re Readying Missile Weapons sometimes special ize d as slin gers , th ou gh javel ins w e re more commo n weapo ns. Accor din g to sur viv in g re cor d s, Readyi ng a missil e weapo n before fi ri ng can co nfe r an sling ers we re usua lly re cru ite d from certa in pla ces such as add itional ‘to-h it ’ bo nus beca use it simp li fies t he pro cess of Rho des, Sar din ia or th e Balaer ic Isles , where lo cal attacki ng . her dsmen ha d a cul tur e of usi ng th is w eapon e ffe ct ive ly.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Bow an d C rossbow Atta ck Bo nus a nd Init iative B onus Sidebar: Fire-Arrows Bows, mea nin g self bows as opposed to cr ossbows , may be What histor ica l fi lm or BBC / S ci F i-Chann el fa ntasy seri es prepared i n adva nce fo r use i n a fi gh t. If a bow has an wou ld be complet e w it hou t a brea thtak in g scene o f fir e- arrow no cke d, t he bo nus is + 1 To Hit an d + 1 to In it. If a arrows streak in g across the nig ht sky. Th is cl iché t rope h as bow is rea die d, i .e . p ull ed ba ck to fi re , t he bonus is +3 / + 3. worn gro oves in t he min ds of many fans o f fantasy and Bows can on ly be read ie d fo r a number of r oun ds equal to histor ica l fi ct ion , to th e point t hat one ca n automa tical ly 2 times th e STR bon us of th e wie ld er . Crossbows gain +2 sense whe n it is comi ng a nd k now i t is bu t the pr ecurs or To Hit / Init iativ e when l oad ed before com bat , and +4 To bu ild in g to t he tri umpha nt cr esce nd o of i ng en ious ly Hit / In itiat ive when a ime d at a ta rge t for at least o ne r ou nd improv ised tr ebuchets fli ng in g bat ht ubs o f napalm o ver t he before fir in g. Unl ike bows, crossbo ws can rema in cock ed castle wal ls. ind efin itely . Fire-a rro ws were used h istor ica lly but on e shou ld ke ep a Crossbow Spann in g D evi ces coup le o f facts in m in d about th em. Add in g bits o f clo th A mu ltit ud e of de vices were in ven ted hist ori cal ly to assist in and flamma ble oi l to a n or di nary arro w d oes ba d t hin gs to spannin g th e ev er mo re po wer ful cr ossbow , a nd t hey w e re its balan ce an d aero dynami cs, typi cally en ou gh flammable increasi ngly ne cessary for th eir use . By n ecessity , t he se materia l to keep an arro w burn in g for mo re tha n a fe w dev ices had t o be at least some what ta ilo re d to t he specific secon ds o f fl ig ht will do uble or tr iple th e w eight an d r ui n t he weapon th ey w ere d esig ne d for . balan ce , an d that w ill a ffect ra ng e and pow er accor di ng l y. This is w hy special arro wheads wer e ma de for fi re-arro ws. Devi ce Effe ct Cost Goats foot -2 prep time 20 gp The best way to make a fire arr ow bu rn is w ith an Wippe -1 prep time 10 gp acce lera nt lik e naptha or pit ch , o r d istille d spir its. The se Belt a nd Pul ly +1 prep time 1 gp hig hly fla mmable su bstan ces while avai lable h istori cal l y, Wind lass (see wind lass crossbo w) 5 gp were no t qu ite as u bi qu ito us i n a ncien t t imes as Hol lywo od Latchet (see lat ch et cr ossbow) * mig ht lea d you to be lie ve. Th ere was n o naptha gas station qui n (see ar balest crossbo w) 50 gp wher e you co uld loa d up o n fifty or six ty gal lons t o fill yo ur batht u bs before fli ng in g them past the mo on fr om your Self-Bows and Indirect Fire home -mad e tre bu ch et. Sel f bows can fire at up t o dou bl e t heir max imum ran ge as ind ire ct / area fire , ran ge is co nsid ere d Extr eme . This In fa ct naptha was o nly to be had at al l in certa in parts of requir es t he Voll ey Fir in g MF. the wor ld (i .e . in the M id dle East) whe re it was fa ir ly rar e, and pitch, resi n, p ine tar etc. w hi le m ore commo n i n Eu ro pe Missile Weapon Range were a lso fa irly va lua ble comm od ities not usual ly ju st sittin g aro un d ev eryw here by th e d umpster ful l. T he mo st Rang e is someth in g you sho ul d pay attention to w ith a ny commo n form of lamp o il fr om ant iqui ty thr ou gh the Mi dd le missile weapo n . If you l ook at ta ble II.4 , you wil l not ice th at Ag es was a type of inedi ble o liv e oil , which do es not bu rn close o r short ra ng e are go od pla ces to be shoot in g fro m. spectacular ly we ll . T his be gan to be repla ce d dur in g t he You gai n a bon us to damage a nd / or t o-hit . Me le e ran ge is Enli gh ten ment / Baro qu e era by whal e oil , which li t the not i deal for bo ws whi ch su ffer a penal ty but t hro wn streets a nd in ns o f Eur ope wit h a stinky smoky lig ht w ell weapons size S or smalle r such as axes, thr ow n dag ge rs, or into t he In dustr ial R evo lut io n… bu t was also less tha n id e al darts d o n ot su ffer t his pe nalty , an d n eit her d o pisto ls or for creati ng gian t e xplosi ons or fire bal ls. pistol cr ossbows. Som e weapons have a very lo ng ran ge but the ir ran ge i ncreme nt is lo w, makin g t hem suffer a big The bo ttom li ne is, while fi re-a rro ws are possible , th ey penalty fo r lo ng ra ng e shots . At l on g ran ge t hey a re requir e care ful preparat ion an d some expe rie nce to ma ke basica lly o nly use ful fo r vo lley sho oting . Un less you are a and use effe ctively , as well as fairly rare substa nces whi ch superb shot! at the very least sh ou ld re qu ire so me pla nn ing o n th e pa rt of your playe rs to acqui re, and some t ime t o prepare on t he You may also n otice t hat some Missil e Weapons have a part o f yo ur anta gon ists o r NPCs. maximum ran ge lo nge r t han si x t imes t heir ra nge cat egor y. This is a n exte nsio n of ext reme ran ge . It’s what th e m ode rn mili tary cal ls ‘maxi mum ran ge ’, w ell past the poin t of aim ed A Note on Thrown Weapon Ranges shots, i t’s h ow fa r th e proj ectil e rema ins da ng ero us, ev en To keep it in pe rspect ive , top Olympi c ja vel in t hr owe rs well beyon d t he ran ge a t w hi ch you co ul d a ctua lly a im at manage a rang e of about 2 40 feet , that ’s a 40’ ran ge anythi ng . For exampl e, a Heavy Composi te Bow s hoo tin g at increme nt i n th e gam e. That ’s th row in g fo r d istance on l y, a target 4 00 ’ away is still co nsid ere d at “ Exre me ra nge ” p er not accura cy. the ran ge table .

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Max Range and Range Increments Some weapo ns have a fi nal ran ge cate gory lo ng er tha n a Aimed, Supported Shot rang e in cr emen t. T his r epresents a dis crepan cy betwe en If you hav e a crossbo w or a firear m, you ga in a Free Dice if ‘effe ctive ran ge’ (aime d s hots) an d ‘max imum ran ge ’ (h o w you can r est the w eapon o n an aim in g stake, a wal l, t he far t he proj ectil e can act ual ly g o dow nran ge an d still rema in cro ok of a tr ee , or ot he r simila r supporting sur face to potent ially l etha l i n terms o f impa ct). Wi th t he Vol ley-F i re steady t he weapo n while aim in g. MF whi ch al lows you to use area fi re , ev en v ery d ista nt targets ca n be h it when firi ng e n-masse . Table II.4 Missile To Hit and Armor Bypass Modifications by Range Increment: Ranges Melee (0) Clo se (1) Sho rt (2) Med (3) Long (4) Ve ry Long (5) Ex treme (6) Da mage +2 +2 0 - - -1 -2 To Hit -2* +2 0 0 -2 -4 -6 AP +4 +2 0 -2 -4 No AP Bonus No AP Bonus *Doe s no t apply to pisto ls or thrown weapons such a s axes, , hamme rs, hurlbat etc., they receive +2 TH instead.

This Table is very important when using Missile Weapons, re member that r ange effects penetration and damage dram atically. Keep in mind the range increment when using them!

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Table II.5 Special A mmunition Special A mmuniti o n Co st Wt Ra nge To Hit AP Da mage Light Bolt 1 sp 10= 1lb - - - - Light Hunting Bolt 2 sp 10 = 1lb ½ - -1* +1 Light a rmor Piercing Bolt 1 gp 10 = 1lb - - +1 - ‘Ga dfly’ / Bremsen Bolt* 5 sp 10 = 1lb X2 to Max Range only -1 -2 Step Down Heavy Bolt 2 sp 4=1lb - - - +1 Heavy Hunting Bolt 5 sp 4=1lb ½ - -1 +2 Heavy Armo r Piercing Bolt 1 gp 4=1lb - - +2 - Arrow 1 sp 20=1lb - - - - Hunting Arrow 2 sp 20=1lb ½ - -1* +2 Fow ling Arrow 2 sp 20=1lb - +2 -2* - Long Range Mongol arrow 2 sp 20= ½ lb + 10’ / + 100’ - - Step down (1-4) Flight Arrow 2 sp 30= ½ lb +5’ / +100’ - - Step down (1-6) Armor Pie rcing Arrow 5 sp 20=1lb - - +2 - Pe bble Ro ck - 25=1lb ½ - - - Stone Bullet (sma ll) 1 sp 20=1lb - - +1 - Stone Bullet (La rge ) 2 sp 15=1lb ½ - - +1 Lead Bullet (sma ll) 3 sp 5=1lb - - +1 +1 Lead Bullet (la rge ) 5 sp 2=1lb ½ - +2 +1 * The bremsen bolt makes a whistling sound which can affect morale. If you use a ll four d ice yo u ar e run ni ng flat out but can 't attack . Cover and Missile Weapons You ca n also m ove ar ou nd in a m ele e th e same way o f course , and fr om m ele e to ran ge d fir e rang es e tc. Cover con fers Fre e Dice fo r Active De fense . This can be betw ee n 1-4 Free Di ce , 1 d ie (for e very attack) for 2 5% co ver, It is also possibl e to Feint usi ng missi le weapo ns. Just point in g 2 die for 50% cover , a nd et c. T he equiva le nt is + 2 for Passive a weapon at som eon e ca n keep t he ir h ead dow n (ca use a Bluff Defe nse per 25% of cov er. Act ive D efe nse makes m uch che ck to for ce th em to expe nd a n MP on Activ e Defe nse).... bett er use of cov er, but you don ’t g et th e be nefit un less you anoth er way t o fe in t is to feign vu lne rabili ty, stick yo ur h e ad ou t spend at l east one MP of you r own . to l ure a s hot , (or p ut a h elm et o n a stick) an d get t hem to loose an arro w at you in effe ctiv ely.... t o simu late this a llo w th e player Using missile weapons with the Martial Pool to spend 1MP to mak e a bl uff che ck, i f t hey succe e d th eir If yo u have rea d t hro ug h t he C ode x so far you pr oba bly ha ve a opponen t beli eves t hem to be fu lly or partly e xposed a nd w il l decent g rasp of how to use t he Mart ial Poo l in melee . You loose an arr ow or fire a s hot . may not hav e th ou ght m uch about usin g your MP w it h a bow or som e jave li ns. Piercing Critical Hits and Missile Weapons (Optio nal) A n orma l h it fro m a m issile weapo n is co nsid ere d t o have The MP works essent ially the same way w ith ran ged punct ure d an d passed thro ug h or bou nce d o ff. A crit ica l h it by a weapons. If yo u hav e played pai nt ball yo u kn ow o ne o f the missile weapo n has an add it iona l effe ct. Th e de fen de r w ho has key dynami cs is suppression, pe ople h id e be hi nd cov er, t hen bee n h it with a pie rcin g cr itical hit or a blu dge on cri tical h i t from emer ge to tak e shots . People und er fire or pote ntia l fire will a slin g, fi rearm or crossbow bu ll et must co nte nd wit h th e beha ve m uch mo re caut io usly, pe ople ta kin g a sh ot wit hout impali ng pro je ctile stil l in t he ir bo dy. Th is effect can al so be themse lves being u nd er t hrea t (such as whe n t he ir ene my is cause d by a ‘do uble cr itical ’ fr om a me lee w eapon . ‘pin ned dow n’) ca n ta ke more t ime to aim et c. Remova l Using you r Mar tial Pool , if yo u ar e u nde r t hreat of a ttack s by On ce a m issile w eapon su ccessfu lly impal es a targe t, it m ust be othe r missiles , you use mo re d ice fo r Activ e Defense (to du ck remov ed. Remo vin g the missil e may cause ext ra dam age. A behin d cover e tc.) if yo u aren 't fa ci ng t his thr eat, yo u can use Charact er wit h t he H eal sk ill ca n rem ove an ar row or oth er more di ce to a ttack wit h or move . Like when you r en e my is impale d m issile witho ut caus in g e xtra dama ge i f t hey ma ke t he pinne d dow n beca use you r pal is sh oot in g at h im (i f t hey have DC che ck. Cons ult th e table be lo w: used al l th eir po ol for Act ive D efense , they ar e in effect ‘pin ned dow n’) . Strength, endurance and shooting bows So yo u can a lso use di ce to s cur ry from co ver to cover . E ach Shooting a grade bow , let alone a tru ly pow erful bow die you e xpen d from you r pool all ows you to move your like an Englis h Warbow or a Mongol Co mpos ite bow norma l rat e, so for exampl e i f yo ur mov e rat e is 3 0' yo u coul d requires a great deal of s trength, and players w ho s hoot shoot , use two di ce to m ove 6 0', th en o ne d ice for Activ e thes e w eapons s hould have s ome fin ite limit as to how many Defe nse w he n you g et sh ot at as you arr ive at yo ur nex t t ree. arrows they can loos e before their ar m beco mes numb and

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns w eak. In my ow n campaign I limit th is to one s hot per of res t, this is recharged. You can cons ider this an optional point o f Strength, a fter w hich I’ll s tart making the m roll Will rule. s aving throw s each round to keep s hooting. A fter a pe riod

Table I I .6 Remov ing impaled missiles

A ction DC Damage caused by fai lure Remo ve s pear or ja ve lin 20 1-10 Remo ve barbed ja velin 25 2-12 Remo ve arrow or cros s bow bolt 15 1-10 Remo ve barbed arrow or cros s bow bolt 20 2-12 Remo ve bu lle t or s ling s tone 25 1-10

If an impale d missil e w eapon is le ft insi de th e bo dy o f a victim ther e is a 5% cum ulat ive chan ce pe r day that th e vict im wil l con tract gan gr ene . Once ga ngr ene is co ntra cte d th e victim wil l lose 1 poin t of const itut io n per day. Ea ch day they may attempt t o mak e 3 fort itu de savin g t hr ows (DC 20) . The disease will pro gress un less the victim mak es 3 conse cutiv e fort itu de savin g t hr ows o r d ies , or u ntil som eon e casts a Cure Disease spell upo n t hem . Impale ment by a m issile wea pon also e ffect ive ly i ncapa citat es t he victim . Any v iol ent such as e nga gi ng in com bat , r un nin g , clim bi ng , j um ping , dod gi ng , et c., r equi res t hat the Impa led i nd ividua l m ust m ake a Reflex sav in g thr ow (DC 1 5) or su ffer an a dd it iona l D1 0 of damage for ea ch attempt .

Critical Damage from Missiles ( Optional) As an optio nal ru le , to make Missi le weapo ns ‘scar ier ’, you can r ule t hat at close or sh ort ra ng e all m issile w eapons cause D1 0 Crit damag e on any cr it ical hit , rat her t han the more typica l D 6 fo r m ost w hi ch cause pier ci ng damage . Parthian Shot (Optional) The Parthia n shot is a met ho d by which a horse-ar ch er can shoot at pursi ng targ ets w hil e t urn in g h is or he r h orse a w ay at ful l ga ll op. In game pu rposes, t his inv olv es a Ri de C heck with a DC o f 25 . If s uccessfu l dur in g t he t urn at a ta rg et i n short ra ng e or less, t he s hot is at + 4 Dama ge in a dd itio n to the nor mal bo nus for ran ge. The te ch ni qu e was co mmo n i n Central Asia, i nve nte d by the Part hians o f Pers ia.

At mi nim um, t he Part hia n shot j ust means sho oting back ward Parthian shot by an Ottoman Spihai , horse – Archer. over t he ba ck o f you r horse , but the i dea l versi on o f the Parthian S hot is to char ge towar d yo ur en emy g iving the impression you int en d t o ru n t hem ove r, the n w he el ar ou n d at Mounted Ride Checks ( Optional) the very last seco nd (i deal ly rig ht out o f spear range) and Carrying a bo w or any missi le weap on o n ho rseba ck is tr i cky, char ge a way, firi ng a s hot at t he m ost h ig h G part o f th e t urn , shoot ing one effectiv ely whil e ri di ng e ven m ore so . Whe n ever imparting g reate r vel ocity to your arr ow. This techn ique was a rid e che ck is re qu ire d (d ue t o ta ctical move ment of the also wide ly used du rin g t he feign ed r etr eat, a favo rit e and mount (tu rn ing su dde nly), d eal in g w ith te rrai n ( jumpi n g a hig hly e ffe ct ive tactic in Cent ral As ia. fen ce) or per for min g som e ot he r type o f a ction whi le car r ying a missile weapo n, y ou can apply a p enal ty fr om t he t able below .

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plus -2 for sh oot in g from horse back w ith the Mo unt ed Ar chery To Hit Penalty while mounted Feat) th eir TH pe nalty is re du ce d to -4 but on ly t en of the Instea d of t he de fau lt val ue in t he S RD, use t his table based twenty arr ows may attack. on t he w eapons si ze . Sma lle r weap ons are easie r to ha ndl e on horse ba ck (espe cia lly whe n it comes to fi rearms or bo ws) You can make bypass attempts when sh oot in g in v oll ey, this Ride check and To Hit penalty for missile weapons: represen ts th e nat ura l te nd en cy o f a ce rtai n n umber of the missiles t o land i n unarm ore d lo cations a nd to so me ext ent , Weapon Rid e To Hit To Hit To Hit the fact or o f ai m ev en at lon g ra ng e. Vo ll ey fi re is how many Size Check Throw n Bow Crossbow weapons in cl ud in g re cu rve bows, lon g bows, an d jav eli ns Weapon or Fi rearm were typica lly empl oyed in ba ttle h istor ica lly, an d for e x actly T -1 0 - -1 the same r easons as i n t he gam e. S -1 0 -2 -2 M -1 -1 -4 -4 Missile weapons and weather L -2 -2 -8 -6 Note that the Japanese Yumi bow and the Flatbow, due to their unusual Bows an d crossbows ar e v uln era ble to ba d weat her . Th is is construction, count as a si ze M bow for purposes of thi s penalty. especial ly tru e to th ose which hav e comp osite bowstav e s or prods, (so li d w ood or st eel bows / pro ds are less pro n e to feat disi nte gration w hen w et). Bowst rin gs of al l bo ws are also The Mo unt ed Ar chery feat improv es the abili ty to use all especial ly vu lne rable t o rai n or eve n damp ness. It is a g ood missile weap ons fr om ho rseba ck, it ha lves th e To Hit pe nalty idea th ere for e t o u nstri ng a bow when th e w eath er is very bad (roun d d own) , and co nfe rs a Free Dice on al l ri de ski ll ch ecks and pr ote ct t he stri ng . T his can be easie r sai d t han do ne with made when usi ng a m issile w eapon . some w eapons. Sho rtbows, Flat bows, Yumi bows, Lon gbows and Eng lish Warbo ws can be stru ng or u n-st run g fair ly ea sily. Shooting in Vo lle ys Recurv es an d Heavy Composite Bows are mu ch mo re d iffi cul t to str in g, hea vy crossbo ws an d ar bal ests are ex tre mely Vol ley shoot in g is a way to reduce the To Hit penal ties for di ffi cu lt wi th out specia l too ls. rang e and va rio us oth er fa cto rs, by having sev eral ar chers aim at the same area targ et, some th in g like m ortar fire. This Arr ows can a lso be easily dama ge d by wea the r. On the can on ly be d one w ith bows, jave li ns, darts , o r ot he r w eapons steppe both bow an d arro ws were carr ied in a special case capabl e o f lon g ra ng e i nd ire ct area fi re , it is not effe ctive with call ed a go rytos, which go es back to t he Bron ze Ag e. crossbows e xcept for t he Chi nese repeat in g cr ossbow . Crossbows ha d special l eath er cov ers fo r th e pro d (bo w) part of t he weapo n an d t he bolts were usua lly carr ie d i n a hard To co nd uct vo lley fi re , at least e ig ht w eapons m ust be woo den case w hi ch for some reaso n was o fte n cov ere d in fur . shoot ing o r (in the case of fi rearms) fi rin g in t he same ro und , thou g h they do no t hav e to sho ot simu ltan eous ly. If the Rathe r tha n make up a rul e for w eapons to be dama ge d by arch ers i n quest ion are capable of sho oting m ore tha n once weath er, I t hink it ’s bett er to just use comm on sense , but it is in t he ro un d t hey may co unt ‘do uble’ or ‘tripl e’ for pu rpose s of a fact or bot h GM a nd playe rs shou ld rema in awa re o f if you cou nting as vo lley fire (so con ce ivab ly thr ee h orse men are t ryin g t o p lay a real istic game . thro wing th ree ja vel ins eac h in a rou nd w ou ld qual ify). To qua lify as voll ey fir e, as a genera l ru le all e ig ht or more Broken Strings ( Optional) weapons must be ta rge tin g o ne o r mor e i nd ividua ls wit hi n the same te n foo t diam eter (but just use commo n se nse). Ano the r pro bl em wit h bows of a ll types is t he ever pre sent threat o f a broke n bo wstri ng , (i n go od weat her o r bad) . As an When v oll ey fir e is establ ishe d , the To H it penal ty fo r all optio nal ru le , any time som eon e usi ng a bow or crossbo w of fact ors is re du ced to n o more t han -4, but t he to tal n umber of any type rolls a fum bl e (natu ral o ne on a die t hat cou nts, i.e . attacks ma de is re du ce d by hal f. S o for e xample , t en Mo ngo l not on e of mu lt iple d ice on a mut li-MP rol l) the n it means the arch ers shoot tw o arrows eac h at the same gr oup of 3 kn i ghts bowstr in g has broke n or be come dama ge d, an d t he wea pon 15 0’ away, for a tota l o f twe nty arr ows, i nstead o f ea ch o f wil l not be fu nct io nal un til t his is r epair ed (or repla ce d). them su fferi ng a – 8 TH on eac h sho t (-6 for E xtr eme ra nge

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Part III: s This section i ntr od uces fir earms and gunp owder bombs as missile weapons for use wit h th e Cod ex Mart ial is comba t system. You may or may not want to int rod uce gunpo wder or firearms to yo ur campaig n, th ey ca n be fun , (n ot t o mention lou d an d e xciting) , an d th e tr ut h is, p late ar mor , pikes , hal ber ds, fla ils, a rba lests, a nd ma ny ot her forms of k it evol ve d alon gsid e fir earms. But th ey can also be some what d est abil iz in g. The ol d saw that “th ere are few pro ble ms whi ch cannot be solv ed by a suita ble appli cation o f hi gh exp losiv es” ca n prove be som ewha t true i n an RPG wit h in novat ive an d devi ous players g ive n easy a ccess to lar ge quant ities o f gu npow d er. In rea l life t his was balan ce d to a la rge e xten t by t he volat ili ty and h ig hly dan ger ous nat ure o f early forms of bla ck-po wder which oft en l ed to t he u ntim ely deat h of am bit io us ent husiasts, but o ne do esn’t wa nt ent ire parties to be blow n up due to a little ba d lu ck. In t he Cod ex Univ erse Serpe ntine Powde r (gunpo wde r) is an exot ic al chemi cal su bstan ce w hose secret is co ntro ll ed by vario us Guil ds and pow er ful S tates. Powder is rare and ve ry mysterious , fir earms eve n more so. The pri ces liste d her e refle ct th is, histo ri cal pri ces (especia lly for powde r) wou ld be low er , but feel free t o a dj ust as yo u se e fit for yo ur own game.

16th Century Gunner carrying an Arquebus. Note: cut-thrust sword, loops of extra match-cord, prepared charges hanging from bandolier, powder-horn, aiming stake or linstock, and what appears to be a peascod cuirass worn under his shirt, which is slashed in the manner of a Lansknecht or a Reislauffer. I’m not sure what the tassels are for.

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Table I II .1 Basic Firearms Firearm Tech Cost Weig Ready Ra nge Max Pre p AP Ba sic Misfire leve l* ht B onus Increment Ra nge Time Da m ** Chine se Fire -Lan ce (ba mboo ) 1300 200 8 lb +2/+4 5’ 30’ 6 - 3D4 9 Chine se Fire -Spe ar 1300 250 7 lb +2/+4 5’ 30’ 6 - 2D4 9 Fire -Lan ce (Br onz e ) 1350 400 10 lb +2/+4 5’ 30’ 6 +1 3D6 8 HandGon ne , S ma ll bo re 1350 350 5 lb +1/+1 15’ 80’ 4 +2 2D6 7 HandGon ne , La rge bore 1350 500 7 lb +1/+1 15’ 100’ 4 +2 2D8 7 Hand Cu lve rin 1350 800 15 lb +2/+3 10’ 200’ 4 +3 4D6 7 Culve rin 1350 1000 20 lb +3/+4 10’ 300’ 4 +4 5D6 7 Pistala 1420 400 4 lb +1/_1 10’ 60’ 4 +2 D10 6 M atch Arq ue bus 1450 700 8 lb +1/+3 15’ 160’ 4 +1 D12 6 M atch lock Arq ue bus à Croc 1450 1,000 15 lb +2/+4 20’ 250’ 5 +3 2D8 6 M atch lock M uske t (Kab yle ) 1500 900 10 lb +1/+4 40’ 600’ 4 +4 D12 6 Whe e llock Horse P is to l 1500 1300 3 lb +1/+2 10’ 60’ 4 +1 2D6 5 Whe e llock Pisto l 1500 1300 2 lb 0/+1 5’ 40’ 4 +1 D10 5 Whe e llock Blu nde rbus 1550 1,800 10 lb +4/+5 10’ 60’ 3 - 5D4 4 Whe e llock He avy M uske t 1550 2,300 20 lb +2/+4 40’ 400’ 5 +6 2D6 5 Whe e llock Carb ine 1550 2,300 6 lb +1/+3 20’ 80’ 4 +1 D10 5 Whe e llock Pe trone l 1550 2,100 5 lb +1/+2 15’ 60’ 4 +1 D10 5 Snaphaunce A rque bus 1550 1250 9 lb +1/+3 15’ 160’ 5 +1 D12 4 Snaphaunce Ca rbine 1550 1,800 6 lb +1/+3 20’ 80’ 4 +3 D10 4 Snaphaunce M uske t (Ka byle ) 1550 2,000 12 lb +2/+5 40’ 600’ 5 +4 D12 5 Whe e llock M uske toon 1600 2,200 9 lb +3/+4 10’ 80’ 4 +2 4D4 5 Whe e llock M uske t 1600 2,300 10 lb +2/+3 30’ 500’ 5 +4 D12 5 Whe e lock Hand M or ta r 1650 3,300 8 lb +4/+4 20’ 100’ 6 - 2D8* 7 B lunde rbus 1650 3,000** 10 lb +4/+5 10’ 50’ 4 - 5D4 2 Flintlock Ca rbine 1650 3,000** 6 lb +1/+3 20’ 80’ 4 +3 D10 3 Flintlock Pe tro ne l 1650 2,700** 5 lb +1/+2 15’ 60’ 4 +2 D10 3 Flintlock M uske t 1650 3,500** 10 lb +2/+3 30’ 500’ 4 +4 D12 3 Flintlock P is tol 1650 1,500** 2 lb 0/+1 5’ 40’ 4 +1 D10 3 Flintllock Hor se Pis to l 1650 1,750** 3 lb +1/+2 10’ 60’ 4 +1 2D6 3 * Ha nd Morta rs fire hand- s or firepots a s proje ctile s, damage is in a bla st radius a ccording to the payload. ** Price s fo r flintlock weapons are halved a fter Te ch Level equivalent to 1700 AD is rea ched *** te ch level in European co ntext. Some weapons show up a little early in certain a reas, date listed indica te s w hen the weapon had become somewhat common. Co st in gp. Ready bonus show s TH bonus fo r immedia te fire v s. prepa red to shoot in advance a s with standard missile weapons.

For ra ng e in crem ents a nd ra ng e r ul es, se e t he missi le we apon r ul es. For M isfi re, see Usin g G unpo wder W eapons, Misfi re Check . Ke ep i n m in d most fi rearms ge t +2 TH, +2 Damag e an d + 2 AP at sho rt ran ge (insi de o ne ran ge in cr emen t).

Piercin g crit ical hits and M issile W eap ons . I f you ar e us ing this opt ional ru le fro m the Codex, any crit ical hit by a firear m means a bullet has been embedded. Re mo ving the bullet is equiva lent to re mo ving a s ling bu llet or s tone (DC 20, Da mage 1d10). I f you are us ing Dyna mic Cr it ica ls , firear ms beco me part icu lar ly

Table III.2 Bombs and Grenades Weapon Tech Cost Wt B last Ra nge Max Pre p AP Ba sic Misfire Level Radius* Increment Ra nge Time Da m Firepot 950 160 gp 2 lb 0’ / 5’ 5’ 30’ 2 - 2D6 6 Ha nd Grenade 1450 200 gp 3 lb 0’ / 5’ 5’ 30’ 2 +1 2D8 5 Smoke po t 1200 80 gp 3 lb n/a 5’ 30’ 2 - - 4 Pe tard, Small (5 lbs) 1450 800 gp 5 lbs 5’ /15’ 5’ 0’ 3 - 4D6 3 Pow derkeg, Small (10 lbs) 1400 1,600 gp 10bs 10’/ 25’ 5’ 20’ 3 - 6D6 3 Pow derkeg, La rge (100 lbs) 1400 16,000 gp 115 lbs 15’ / 100’ - - 3 - 10D6 3 *Bla st Radius. Anyone inside the first (sma ller) range take s full Damage, anyone inside the se cond range takes half damage.

All Firear ms ha ve no Str Bonus and are Attack Type P

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Sidebar: Reiter Knights Alt ho ug h it is a popular myth that fi rearms made t he kni ght o bsol ete , for a lon g peri od th ey co-ex isted , in fa ct th e ‘kni gh t in shini ng ar mor” , i .e . plate ha rness, appeare d after fir earm s. One type of k ni ght me rg ed t hese tw o co ncepts, cal le d the R eite r. Reit er act ual ly means just ‘r id er ’ or ‘k ni ght ’ in Ge rman but du rin g th e late R enaissan ce peri od i t came to r efer to a special class of fully a rmor ed kni gh ts mostly from Germa ny, who carr ied as many as six m ou nte d o n t heir sad dles , whi ch th ey used as primary weapons i nstead of lan ces, w it h swor ds as sidearms. In fact pist ol-arme d R eit er kn ig hts o ften foug ht w ith and agai nst trad itiona lly (la nce) arm ed kn ig hts in many ba ttles.

Firearms List flamet hr owe r i nto a sh ot gun as t he bu rn rate o f t he pow d er Chinese Fire-Lance increase d. Until t he 15 th Ce ntury , th e Chi nese w ere by far th e mos t Most of w hat we kn ow about t he fire la nce co mes from t he advan ce d i n th e wor ld in G unpo wder w eapons, which we r e Huo long jing “Fire D rago n Man ual” , a 1 4th Cent ury Mi ng after all a Ch in ese i nve ntion . Pr oba bly th e first si gn ifica n t Dynasty docum ent wr itte n by an d Li u . This fir earm, t he fi re -lan ce ca n be t hou gh t of a com bi natio n manual descri bes d iffere nt types of gu npow d er one -shot flame th row er an d . It is essential ly a composit io ns, i nclu di ng 'ma gi c g unpo wder', 'po ison tube on a stick fil le d with va rio us fo rms of gunp owder an d gunpo wder', or 'bl ind in g a nd bur nin g gu npow der '. It h ad explosi ve resin. Wh en fire d it a cts lik e a ro cket, ex cep t descr iptions o f the C hi nese h ol low cast ir on gre nad e bo mb that yo u poin t t he ex haust at th e ta rge t. (see firepot), shrapn el bo mbs (see hand gre nad e) , a nd bom bs with po isono us con co ct ions , as well as vario us Early versi ons wer e made w ith bamboo ba rre ls, which forms o f m ili tary ro cke ts, la nd min es, naval m in es, an d t he were o bv ious ly subj ect t o fai lu re (tho ug h no t as much a s fir e lan ce and fir e-spear , and an ea rly type of fl int-l ock used you mig ht assume), la ter fire-la nces were ma de o f cas t for mi nes a nd boo by traps. bro nze bar rels a nd we re fair ly re lia bl e, tho ug h t he y remai ned comp lex t o prepare for sh oot in g, ma inly due t o The fi re -lan ce was used by the C hi nese possibly as early as the prim itiv e pr oto-g unpo wder the n in -use . the 1 0th Cen tury , th ere are som e re cor ds of t he ir use by the 11th, but th ey di d not be come widespread unt il 1 2 60 AD, This weapo n is beli eve d to be a di rect an cestor of bot h t h e whe n i ts use was d ocumen te d by both peasant rebels a nd fir earm an d t he ro cket fo r o bv ious reasons . S hrapne l an d regular army uni ts o f t he So ng dynasty ( in clu di ng by proje ctiles w ou ld be st uffe d d ow n th e t ube as we ll, an d cavalry) . It se ems h owe ver that th e M on gols a dapte d t he m increasi ngly these be came mor e impo rtant part o f t h e very early an d w ere us in g the m at th e batt le o f Mo hi in damage , essent ial ly transformi ng t he w eapon from a

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Hun gary and , alon g wit h war -ro cke ts, at the sie ge of Pes t that same year in 1 24 1. They were wide ly used in sie g e warfar e, an d as a cheap but effe ctive d efe nsive weapon , remai ned popula r for t he de fense of cities whe re t he y were still fo un d in arse nals thr ou gh th e en d of th e Min g Dynasty in th e 17t h Ce ntu ry.

Demons wielding a fire-lance and a grenade, from a . There is something particularly scary about demons with grenades.

Tech Level: fr om 98 0 AD in Chi na, w idesprea d by 12 60 AD, These weapo ns spread grad ual ly int o Cen tral Asia an d in lim ite d use in E urope by 1 34 7 AD . towar d Eu rope . Th ey wer e adapte d by th e Mo ng ols i n t h e 13th Ce nt ury an d we re kn ow n to t he Pe rsians an d Chinese Fire-Spear th Byzantin es by t he 14 . Th e Byzant ines cal le d th e weapo n The fire spear (ra the r synonymo us with fir e la nce) is a small khe irosi pho nta, an d ma de lim ite d bu t e ffect ive use o f t he i r fir e lan ce tu be strapped t o a spear, so that o nce can fig ht own ve rsion o f it for siege warfa re and as a short ran g e in me lee be for e an d aft er us ing it . Thi nk o f it as a spear naval w eapon, as sort o f a sin gl e-sh ot ‘pa nze rfaust ’ with ben efits. versio n of t he ir in famo us ‘Gre ek Fire ’ w hi ch was a type of flamet hr owe r (and w il l appear in t he fort hcomi ng S ie g e Tech Leve l: i n use fr om 1 10 0 AD i n Chi na, w id espread by Weapon do cum ent) . 12 60 AD, u nkn own i n E ur ope. Pistol From t he Cz ech píšťala (flut e o r pipe , r efe rri ng to th e sha pe of an early Hussit e han d go nne - see Pistala) . Popular with cavalry , mi lita ry comma nd ers, an d anyo ne e lse w ho cou ld th Byzantine version called a kheirosiphonta, probably mid-14 Century affo rd th em. Fire Lan ces w ere repo rte d i n an Ottoma n do cume nt a s being use d by Ser bai n for ces in a siege in 1 34 7 , and we r e still be in g use d by E uropea n arm ies at th e sie ge of Ma lt a in 1 58 5 , so it seems they w ere consi de re d to hav e som e util ity beyo nd that of a more co nve ntional firearm such a s a musket o r ar quebus.

An all-steel flintlock pistol, 18th Century On a personal n ote , while t his weapon may soun d lik e a bi t of a gimm ick , I’v e see n some videos o f demo nstrations o f Norma lly sev eral wou ld be ca rri ed if possi bl e sin ce it i n use a nd lik e m ost ear ly fir earms, it is a lot mo r e reloa di ng t ime was proh ibitive. P istols ha ve t he ad di tio n al impressive t han I expe ct ed it to be . It has a short ran g e advanta ge tha t t hey can be con ceal ed fa irly easily . but it w il l hur t yo u bad ly wit hi n t hat ran ge

Engraved Japanese pistol, circa early 17th Century

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Given th e ra ng e at which pist ols w ere used an d t he ir sl o w rate of fire , t he pistol was som eth in g of a ‘fire an d for get ’ weapon on t he pr e-in dustr ial batt lefie ld . Th ou gh it wa s idea l to carry m ult iple pisto ls, t hey w ere in cre di bl y expensi ve. If severa l wer e availa bl e, as one wa s dischar ged, it wo ul d be r eplaced by ano the r. Early 17th Century Snaphaunce pistol, German

Some ca valry d uri ng t he apo calyptic Thir ty Years War Thou gh in ven ted as ea rly as t he 1 45 0s, th e pisto l cha ng ed rout ine ly carr ie d 4-6 pistols i n ho lsters on th eir sad dl es. relat ive ly litt le ov er th e ce ntu ries . Differ ent ca li be rs Pirates dur in g the so cal le d Gol den Age o f Piracy als o be came popular dur in g di ffere nt eras, ve ry small bu lle ts th carr ied as many as t hey cou ld fit on th eir bod ies. P istol s were in vo gue i n Fran ce du ri ng t he 1 7 Ce ntury , but were valua bl e prest ige it ems and hi g hly sou gh t aft e r event ual ly the lar ger cal ibe rs ret urn ed. The only r eal ly articles of perso nal d efe nse. major chan ge was in t he fir in g mechan ism, which ev olv ed from tr icky mat chl ocks in the ear li est versio ns, to increasi ngly r elia ble w hee llo ck an d snaphau nce lo cks, a nd ultimately t he flin tlo ck . Oth er tha n that , it was essent ial ly the same basi c weapo n for nea rly 5 00 years . Ot h er inn ovati ons l ike do uble-bar rels , shot gu n (blu nde rbu s) barre ls, a nd co mbinat ion weapo ns o f var ious so rts (pistol – Turkish Flintlock pistol, 18th Century dag gers, pisto l-sh ields, pistol-ax es et c.) were al so attempte d o ver t he y ears, with varyi ng d egrees of su ccess .

Tech lev el: In E urope fr om t he early 15 00s , i ncreasin g ly commo n by t he mi d t o late 1 50 0s. Pri mit ive vers ions as early as th e 1 42 0s. Ott oman Empire by t he la te 1 6th Wheelock pistol, possibly Czech, 16th Century Centu ry, Mi d dle East a nd Nor th Afri ca by th e ear ly 1 7th. Remai ne d popu lar i n use unt il th e m id 1 9th-Cent ury. Pistols were e ffe ct ive ki ll ing w eapons, capabl e of putti ng a man dow n wit h a singl e shot. Popular for perso nal Horse Pistol. protectio n an d on t he batt lefie ld , th eir let hali ty le d som e A lar ger P istol desi gne d for cavalry , w hi ch is not as easi ly heavy caval ry to use pisto ls as a pr imary weapon (se e con cea le d, be in g a bo ut t he size o f a s hort swor d. This h as Sid ebar : Rie tter kni gh ts) . As a pe rsonal d efe nse weapon , a be tter ra ng e t han an or di nary p istol . a pistol co ul d basi cal ly buy you a li fe , a man is char gin g with a swo rd , on e car efully aim ed sh ot an d ‘blam ’, n o more t hreat . Th is made t hem very popula r with t hose r ich or lu cky e no ugh t o a ffor d o ne .

German flintlock Horse Pistol, 1742 AD

1759 Light flintlock pistol, British

Because t hey were fair ly ina ccurate, pistols we re typica ll y used at very close ran ge . The a rmor-pie rcin g capa bi lity o f Bronze flintlock Horse-pistol, Albania, 18th Century. This is a smaller a pistol was also lim ite d so when used in war fare aga ins t caliber weapon. heavy cavalry it was r ecommen de d t o sh oot at a lmos t tou ch ing dista nce, at t he r id ers fa ce o r th ig h, whe re t h e armor was th in nest, o r at a n unpro te cte d part o f t h e horse . In the Cod ex ru les th is wo ul d co unt as a bypass attempt at s hort or poi nt blan k ra nge (keep in m in d, poi n t blan k ra ng e also con fers + 2 AP an d Dama ge, se e Co r e Rul es, Table II.4 ). A pistol or ‘puffer’, from Augsburg Germany circa 1580. Octagonal then round smooth bore barrel in 12 mm caliber (roughly 41 caliber). A cavalry soldier might carry 4 to 6 pistols of this type.

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magnu m rev olve r, a nd wh en used prope rly th ese weapo ns proved t o be e ffe ct ive at br eaki ng up cava lry cha rges .

Some of the ear liest batt les i n w hi ch th ey prov ed useful in Europe were du ri ng t he H ussite wars w he n th e Cze ch Hussites used t hem to v ery go od e ffect from t heir tabor war-wa go ns agai nst German heavy ca valry . Hand go nn es Polish horse pistol, 17th Century, silver inlay. like a ll early fir earms w ere tri cky to use a nd re qui re d so me und erstan di ng o f ‘gu npow der cu ltur e’ t o use w ith a ny Oft en carr ie d by ca valry , typica lly a cava lry sol die r l ike a degree o f safety, an d this was the maj or impe dime nt to Reit er k ni ght wou ld car ry 4 – 6 p istols i n h olste rs on t he i r their early spread. saddl es. In a close-combat s ituat io n th is wo uld be a fi r e and d iscar d (or fire an d re-ho lster) weap on , as reloa din g takes a l on g t ime . Re ite r kn ig hts carr ie d pisto ls as a primary weapo n, oth er ca valry su ch as Pol ish H ussars carr ied pisto ls as a ba ck up weapo n for use a fte r t he lan ce but before th e sw or d.

The business end of a beautiful handgonne found in Danzig, circa 1400. The mouth of the smaller face is the touch-hole of the weapon. Handgonne The first Eur opean firearm , th is is basi cally a small ha nd- cann on m oun te d on a st ick, pro bably a d ire ct d esce nda n t of ear ly Chin ese firearms su ch as the fir e-lan ce . Thes e reac he d the Ara b wor ld before t hey we re kno wn i n Eur op e Handgonnes assaulting a castle, with a longbow and a large in and may hav e been used by th e Mame lukes in 12 60 AD the background. (1468 (Burney MS 169, British Museum) against th e Mon go ls. This weapo n cou ld be e ffe ct ive at ve ry shor t ra nge (maybe The weap on is fi re d by t ou ch in g a slo w-ma tch o r a g lo win g 20 or 3 0 yards). But lik e t he a rba lest, th e l on gbow , an d t he hot ir on w ire t o a tou ch-h ole , with out any ki nd o f recurve bo w, it seem ed t o re qu ire a ce rtai n cult ural fact or mechani cal me cha nism or ‘l ock ’. Many wer e ma de wit h to use , deal in g wit h ea rly gunp owder weapo ns was tr icky hooks for ho oki ng ov er th e edges of wa gons or wa lls t o and da nge ro us. Thou gh t he Hussit es used th em to ve ry steady t he recoi l (t hese wer e also kn ow n as ‘h ook-go nn es’ goo d e ffect i n t he early 14 00s , few oth er a rmies wer e able and w ere the predecessor to the arque bus). The di vidin g to make goo d use of fi rearms in E urope be fo re r ou gh ly lin e be twee n a han dg on ne an d a han d-cu lve rin can be 14 50 when t hey bega n t o be adapte d by th e Hu nga ria ns somewhat blur re d, culv eri ns bein g co nsid ere d larg e r (using Cze ch form er Hussite me rcenar ies). weapons fo r purposes of th is docume nt. Han gon ne s lack in g ho oks are usual ly he ld w it h th e pole un de r th e ar m Tech lev el: Th ese da te from cir ca 1 35 0 in Eur ope, in l imit ed whi le firi ng . use possibly as early as 1260 i n China (cont emporan eo us to t he widesprea d use of t he fi rela nce).

A rather crude, early (Mid-14th Century) handgonne, probably French

The ear li est ha nd go nes w ere fi re d by to uchi ng a n ig nite r o f Czech ‘pistala’ handgonne, with a hook, Prague circa 1450 some kin d, (a slo w mat ch , a pie ce o f ho t ir on , a punt o f bur ni ng cl oth) dir ect ly to t he pow de r ins ide the bar rel. Pistala Later th is was cha ng ed to a to uch-ho le bo red i nto th e si d e The pistala was a sh orte r ve rsion of the han d-go nn e or of th e gu n bar rel. Han dgo nn es look pri mit ive but mo der n hand-cul ver in , oft en with a lon ge r barr el an d usual ly tests have prov en t hat th ey co ul d be quit e effe ctive a t incorpora tin g a t ou ch ho le an d some times a hoo k. It w as short ran ge i f used prope rly. The mu zz le ene rgy o f a 15t h inve nte d by th e Bo hem ian H ussites, who w ere amon g t he Centu ry ha nd culv eri n was ro ug hly e quiva len t o f a .35 7 first to e ffectiv ely use firear ms in Eur ope on a lar ge sca le

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns dur in g the H ussite wa rs of th e 1 42 0s-14 40s . The Pistal a (or píšťala , mea nin g ‘fl ute ’) was a bout th ree or fou r fe e t lon g, w ith w hat was usually an ele gant ly wro ug ht, we ll- mount ed gun barr el fire d by a tou ch h ole . The shoo tin g stick was held un der t he arm whi le firi ng . The shorte r siz e and r elat ive ly er go nom ic design mad e t hese eas ier t o hand le tha n larg er early fi rearms , hen ce th e l owe r m isfi r e ratin g. T he pista la t en ded to g et s hort er ove r t ime a nd i s believ ed by many to be th e di re ct ancestor o f the pisto l (hen ce th e e tymol og ical sim ilar ity).

Early touch-hole hacke-butt, or ‘proto-arquebus’, German or Swiss, 1465 AD. Small but powerful, proabably 15-20mm. Arquebus Also ha cke bu tt, hack bus , hack en bush , har quebus etc. This ear ly fi rearm was a d istin ct step up fr om t h e hand go nn e. Like m ost ear ly firearms in novat io ns, it wa s an inve ntion o f the Ch in ese. Mou nte d on a l ike a crossbow i nstead of a stick l ike a spear , th is was desi gne d Landsknecht using a short arquebus or , from a document 1500 to be h eld aga inst the sho ul der or un der th e arm whe n AD fir in g, wit h a serpen tin e mat ch lock me cha nism a t minim um fo r m uch easie r an d smoot her fir in g. Perhaps most important , th e cu ltu re of usi ng t his weapo n, whi le not as easy to dev elop as some mo der n wr ite rs Thou gh it has a short effe ctiv e ran ge (arou nd 5 0 meters ) assume, was tra nsfer rable, you di dn ’t ha ve to gr ow up for tar get in g in div id uals, i t had l ong max imu m rang e for a usin g an arquebus, tr oops cou ld be trai ne d to use it medi eval weapo n, in that th e bul lets r emai ne d d ead ly at a effect ive ly in a predi cta ble amo unt o f time . The ar que bus distan ce w ell beyo nd whe re t hey co ul d be accurat ely qu ick ly becam e v ery popu lar t hro ug ho ut t he wo rl d, aimed. The ar quebus was used for dir ect fi re l ike t h e everyo ne used th em. Alo ng w ith th e pik e, th e ar quebus is crossbow, i t was not as accu rate or as ha rd-h itti ng as t h e one of t he pr in cipl e reasons a rmi es bega n t o get mu ch most pow erful ar balests , but cou ld r eac h fur the r. bi gge r du rin g th e Rena issance .

It also made a rea lly l ou d ban g l ike a thu nd er clap, which The Ottoma ns wer e th e first to make r eally lon g barre l s, soldi ers and comma nd ers like d (and t he h orses of e nem y whi ch so on l ed t o ear ly matchlo ck m uskets. Bu t th ey stuck cavalry di dn ’t). T hou g h no t in expe nsive , it was re lativ ely with t he match-lo cks a nd ev ent ual ly g ot le ft be hi nd . cheap a nd easy to manu fa ctur e compare d to cr ossbows i n particular , an d di d n ot r equir e t he e xot ic mater ials o f Tech leve l: Da tes fr om 1 38 7 i n Chi na, ci rca 14 50 in lon gbows or co mposite re cu rves . Europe , rema ine d in use t hro ug h the 17th Cent ury when it was grad ually r eplaced by the p istol , musket , carbin e, musketo on an d blu nde rbus. The Japanese a cquir ed t he arqu ebus in the 1 50 0’s from th e Port ug uese an d r eal ly took to it . Th ey con tin ue d usin g it th rou gh t he 1 9th C ent ur y.

Arquebus à croc Heavy Arque bus w ith a sw ive l mo unt or a hoo k, used on t he sides o f wag ons or walls , t oo big to car ry n ormal ly. Te ch Stock and firing mechanism of an arsenal - made matchlock arquebus, German 1620 AD leve l fro m t he ear ly 1450 ’s in Eur ope.

Scetch of a Dutch snaphaunce Arquebus, 17th Century 18th Century “Richards” Blunderbus with brass barrel and fittings

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English Flintlock Blunderbus, 18th Century

Blunderbuss Stock of a Kabyle style flintlock musket, Berber 18th Century. Essential ly a very po wer fu l, pr imit ive s hot gu n, e ffectiv e bu t short -ran ge d. The wide be ll shape d barr el on som e ear li e r Kabyle Musket blu nd er buss w ere to ma ke it easier to loa d. Bl un der buss The Otto mans w ere th e first to use rea lly lon g-bar reled were o ften mad e w it h a brass barre l. Tech lev el: Fro m t h e fir earms, pio nee rin g th e musket , but t hey wer e slow to Late 1 50 0 ’s th ro ug h t he 1 9th Cent ury adapt the mo re sophist icat ed w hee ll ock o r fl int lo ck fi ri ng mechanisms and r etai ne d the use of mat ch-l ocks for a lo ng time a fter they had be com e o bsole te, fo ll owe d by a type of This is in-betwe en a blu nd er bus and a n act ual m usket. It snaphaun ce ca lle d a m ouk hala or ag uje ta. has lo ng er ra ng e t han th e forme r but bette r sh ort ran g e accuracy t han t he latte r. It l ooks l ike a m usket w it h an The Ott oman type of muske t had a mu ch lo ng er bar rel t h an extra t hi ck bar rel, somet imes very t hi ck (2”-3 ”). Like t h e a European muske t (many were made specifica lly to be Blun der bus , t he barr els w ere often mad e o f brass. Thi s lon g eno ug h to re load from ca melback wit h the butt o n the weapon can fire eithe r a ba ll or sho t but usua lly t he la tter . gro un d) which had the ad de d ben efit o f mak in g a m o re Tech l evel: Lat e 15 0 0’s. accurate w eapon an d conse que ntly a lo ng er e ffe ct i ve rang e. These w eapons wer e the pr imary fi rearms of t he Musket feare d Ott oman Jan issary co rps, ma de up o f for eig n-bo rn This was ori gi nally a v ery lo ng-ba rre led a rque bus, m uch slaves raised to be sold iers . They were kno wn for th eir more a ccurat e but also bulk ier a nd heav ier. T hes e accuracy an d hit tin g powe r. weapons had mu ch lo ng er ran ge a nd far bette r arm o r penetrat io n tha n t he ar qu ebus or the han d cu lver in, an d they we re use d alo ngsi de t he ar qu ebus for ma ny years, specifica lly as an armor-pi ercin g weapo n. G rad ually t h e musket got smal ler an d ha nd ier a nd repla ce d t h e arqu ebus al l tog eth er .

Stock of an Afghan musket, mid 19th century The h eavy constr uctio n o f lon g barr el of early m usket s made th em rathe r unw ie ldy particu larly at short ran ge , This basic l on g-barr ele d musket d esig n remai ne d popul ar and th ey re qui re d a rest to sho ot fr om, but t hey also ma d e thro ug ho ut Cent ral Asia and the M id dl e East fo r hu nd re ds a pretty g ood clu b to bea t some one ove r th e h ead wit h of yea rs. Afg han Gha zi tri besm en used a sim ila r w eapon ( came late r, some what beyon d th e time frame o f call ed a Je zza il wel l i nto th e 1 9th Ce ntu ry, it was t he ir ma in this do cum ent) . weapon d uri ng t he ann ih ilat io n of th e Brit ish Army i n the Khyber Pass in 1 8 42. Later m uskets w ere smal ler , an d w ith be tter p owder , eve n more po wer fu l. Mat chlo cks r emai ned i n w id e use for ra n k and fil e tr oops thr ou gh the 1 8th Cent ury due to t heir l o w cost an d simpli city , but wheel-l ock or mat ch lock musket s were t he m ost desi rable.

Tech le vel : From 1 44 0 wit h the Otto mans, ear ly 15 00 ’s in Spain, mi d 15 00s in the rest of Eu rope , 1 5 60 ’s in Japan , Dutch wheellock petronel, 17th Century early 16 0 0’s in Ch ina . Petronel/ Short A petro ne l was a very sho rt muske t or ar qu ebus desi gn ed for use from horse back ; a shor t-barr ele d ri fl e wit h a stock whi ch cou ld be dis char ge d wit h one han d in ne cessary. In game terms being small er they are easi er to fire fro m horse back (see Missile W eapons, Mo unt ed Archery).

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requir e a hi gh er l eve l o f gu npow der sk ill to use safely. Te ch leve l: from th e early 1 40 0s

Dutch Wheelock carbine, early 17th Century

Hand Carbine A h eavi er Ha nd go nne with a lo ng er barre l, d esig ne d fo r A car bi ne is an ar qu ebus or muske t which has be en power ful h ig h-v elocity sho t. Unl ike so me han dgo nn es, stepped do wn in si ze to make i t easie r to han dle on cul ver ines wer e ma de w it h a t ou ch-h ole dr il le d t hro ug h t h e horse back . Ef fe ctively the g un-bar rel o f a car bi ne is abo ut side wall of th e g un a nd a flas h pan atta ched to t he bar rel. midway betw een a pistol a nd an ar qu ebus. The car bi ne The had a l eathe r cove r, and lat er o n a hin ge d first appeare d i n the 16th ce ntu ry and w ere ma de w ith t he metal l id fit te d, t o keep t he pr imin g pow de r dry u nt il t h e more comp lex type o f t ri gge r i gn ition , snapha un ce or moment of firi ng an d to pre vent pre matur e fi ri ng . Thes e whee ll ock o r fl int-l ock . The ca rbine gave a cava lrym an featu res w ere carr ie d o n o ver to su bse que nt fir earms (se e great er ra ng e, s uffi cie nt t o be effectiv e as mo unt ed Firin g Mechan isms). marksmen som ew hat ak in to horse ar ch ers, whereas t he pistol was strict ly a short rang e weapon w ith n ot mu ch more ran ge tha n a la nce.

Hand being fired from a stand, "Belli Fortis", manuscript, by Konrad Kyeser, 1400. Note the gunners messer handle. Culverin The h eavi est firearm in th is do cu men t, it is a hea vy hand go nn e whi ch blurs the line some what betw ee n artil le ry and fir earms. These weapons were somet imes mo unt ed on boats or i n temporary or perma nen t emplace men ts dur in g sie ges. Art ill ery an d cann on proper will be co ver ed in a not her do cume nt alo ng w ith sie ge weap ons.

The culv eri n is on e of those weapons r equir in g a to uch ho le A wel lmade Swedish or Baltic-German hand-culverin found in the Baltic to be ig nit ed with a mat ch cord , a pun t, or a pie ce o f r ed Sea, dated to 1350 AD hot i ro n. Pr imit ive weapons l ike this r equi re a h ig her lev el of g unpo wde r skil l to use safely tha n mor e sophist icat ed Hand culv eri ns have to be steadie d agai nst someth in g o r match lo ck or whee llo ck weapo ns. mount ed, as w ith Han dgo nn es many are ma de wit h h ook s or swive l mou nts. Ra ng e and pe netra tio n wer e prett y Tech leve l: fr om th e ear ly 13 50s in E urope , 1 300 ’s in goo d. Th e Han d Cul ver in is on e of t hose w eapon s China . requir in g a to uch ho le t o be ig nit ed wit h a match cord , a punt, o r a piece of re d ho t iro n. Primit ive w eapons lik e thi s

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An elegantly pugnacious looking Hand- from Augsburg Germany, probably 16th Century. Unfortunately the firing mechanism is not visible from this side.

Relat ive ly few surv iving speci mens of th is i nte resting fir earm surv ive to day, possibly ind icat in g that it was no t a very popular w eapon , perhaps be cause it was so tri cky and dang ero us to use. Bu t i t was used an d ha nd mor tars w e re even fou nd in t he New Wor ld . Re fe ren ces to a ha nd mo rt ar Wand of fireballs…? A hand-mortar from Berne, Switzerland, circa 17th Century being tra nsfer re d in Maryla nd are foun d in t he re cor d of The Proce edin gs of the Co un ci l of Maryla nd i n 16 9 8. Ano the r accou nt i n the jou rna l of Ale xan der H enry te lls of a hand morta r being loa ded wit h a po un d o f pow der , 30 The Han d Mor tar is essent ial ly the Rena issance versi on o f balls , a nd fire d in an actio n a gai nst Sio ux war rio rs i n 18 0 8. a grena de la un ch er. Des ign ed t o thr ow fused gre nad es, they act ual ly look a l ot l ike a Viet nam era M-79 Gr ena d e laun ch er , an d t he ir use was ve ry simi lar , e xcept mo r e Grenades and bombs simple and qu ite a bit mor e dan ger ous to use, bein g "One of the Turks climbed, under our very eyes, and started muzz le loa din g rath er t han br eac h-loa di ng. Th e firs t walking towards the tower, in the face of death, until he refe ren ces to a han d morta r occu r in a 1 47 2 work e ntitle d approached the tower and hurles a bottle of naptha on Valturius , w her e an in ce nd iary gr ena de pr ototype ma y have been pro du ce d. those who were on top of it. The naptha flashed like a meteor falling upon those hard stones, while the men w ho The 'han d mor tar' saw at l east some w id espread m il itar y were there threw themselves on the ground for fear of being use in th e late 16 00s an d 17 0 0s. The fi ri ng me cha nis m burnt. The Turk then came back to us." cou ld e ith er fl int lo ck, mat chl ock o r w hee ll ock , tho ug h Usama ibn Munqidh- Kitab al-I'tibar circa 1190 AD fli ntlock was th e m ost comm on aft er the 16th Cen tury . Firepot The ba rre l, oft en ma de o f brass which is safe r to work wit h A simpl e ceram ic, canvas, lea the r o r paper pot fil led with (less like ly to cause a spark w hen yo u d on ’t wa nt i t to) wa s serpentine pow de r or alt erna tely , Gree k Fire (n ot cove red in short , often bet wee n 2 i nches (5 cm) to 4 i nches (1 0 cm ) this do cum ent) . Conta ins a pound o f serpent ine pow d er. lon g, an d had a lar ge bore to a cco mmo date th e gre nad e. Timeli ne from th e 9th Cent ury in Byzantium , 10th Ce ntu ry China Aft er pr imi ng the firear m an d a dd in g th e gunp owder , t h e shoote r wo ul d li ght a g rena de fuse , place t he g rena de i n Hand Grenade the mu zzl e of t he mor tar, t he n fi re it at th e en emy. Simi lar to a Firepot o nly made o f cast ir on, thi ck g lass or Howev er , ca tastroph ic a cci dents co ul d easi ly occu r i f t h e brass, which crea tes much more da ng ero us shrapnel with weapon m isfir ed a nd t he l it g rena de r emain ed in t h e some armo r – pi ercin g a bi lity . C onta ins a po un d of barre l. Th e pr oje ct ile for t his is a han d-gre nad e o r a serpentine p owder . G rena des wer e k now n from th e 1 5th fir epot. Centu ry, but wi desprea d use o f t he e xplosi ve gre nad e is n ot record ed in E urope unt il t he ear ly to mi d 1 5 00 's un d er Francis I o f Fra nce. Te ch le vel : from 1 46 7 i n E urope , 1 4th Centu ry i n C hina .

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Details of a wheellock hunting pistol, possibly French, circa 1620 AD

Ottoman Musket, 17th Century, engraved in gold

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Smoke pot A fi repot t hat do es not exp lo de but makes a larg e smok e Matchlock scree n, simi lar to th e OG L Drui d spell Obscuri ng Mist . Used in w eapons w hi ch have a pr imi ng hol e bore d i nto t he Contai ns a 1 l b mi xtu re o f St . Pete rs salt (salte pet re ak a barre l, an d (usual ly) a priming pan atta ch ed. The primi ng potassium nit rate) an d ot her su bstances. Va rian t smok e pan woul d have a leat her o r later a metal cove r to keep the bom bs ca n be p urchase d w hi ch make d iffere nt co lors . F o r powde r d ry and fr om fa ll ing ou t. W he n rea dy to fir e t he p an example when copper fi li ngs ar e mi xed in it will crea t e wou ld be un co ver ed. A se ction of slow mat ch cl ipped to a gree n smok e, wit h i ron fili ngs it w il l make re d smoke . leve r ca ll ed a serpen tin e r otates t he match t o stri ke t he These can be used to bli nd a targ et, to pro vide co ver , t o powde r-hol e or pri min g pan when pu lle d , act ing as a simple assist in escape , for sig nal in g, a nd for various ot her type s trig ge r. of mischi ef (or just for fun). Petard A small prin cipa lly use d t o blo w up gates and wa ll s whe n brea ch in g fort ifica tio ns. The term has a Fre nch ori gin a nd da tes back to the si xtee nt h ce ntury . In a typi cal impleme ntat ion , i t was co mmon ly eit he r a co ni cal o r recta ng ular meta l o bje ct co ntai ni ng 5 o r 6 pou nds o f serpentine pow de r, a ctiva te d wit h a slow ma tch use d as a fuse . To be ‘hoist ed by on es own pe tard ’ mea ns to be blo wn up (h oiste d i nto th e ai r) by on es ow n bom b, in a n o t uncommo n a cci dent (see Mis fir e Ta ble III.3). Powderkeg A bar rel fi lle d w ith bla ck pow de r, w it h a ho le i n whi ch a fuse (slow mat ch) can be inse rte d. Firing Mechanisms Early depiction of a serpentine lock, from 1411 (Codex Vindobana 3069, Touch-Hole Austrian National Library, Vienna) Befor e t he Matchl ock , early fi rearms were d ischarg ed by Matchlo cks came in a va riety of d esig ns o f in creasi ng means of a touch-ho le , to which a hand h eld match , punt , compl exity , u ltimately lea din g t hro ug h a k in d o f me cha ni cal or eve n ho t ir on ro d was to uche d. Th is is the secon d mos t evol ution t o th e w hee llo ck . Most mat chlo cks ha d so me dang ero us way to use a fi rearm but o ne can g et use d to it . kin d of sprin g in corpo rate d into t he ‘serpe ntine ’, o ne ear ly (The most dan ge rous met hod use d wit h ea rly han d-gon ne s type had a cat ch w hi ch wou ld snap th e lo ck close d when before t ou ch h oles wer e inv ent ed, on e stuck a match o r the t ri gge r or firi ng lev er was pu lle d . Th is all owe d for a some othe r ig nit er i nto th e act ual ba rre l of t he weapo n t o certa in d egr ee of pre cisi on but co ul d put out th e match. fir e it). This was th e type w hi ch was in tro du ce d i nto Japan in t he 16th Cent ury, w id ely copi ed an d remai ne d in wide use th e re thro ug h the 18th Cen tury .

That some what flawe d desi gn was r eplaced in E urope by anoth er m echan ism wit h a li ght sprin g w hi ch he ld the lo ck ope n; pr essure on th e tr ig ge r g rad ually lo wer ed the mat ch to the prim in g pan for i gni tio n, t hen snapped i t out o f the way whe n re leased, w hi ch posed no r isk of ext in gu ishi ng the ma tch a nd was easi er t o co ntro l. Th is type be came w ell establ ishe d in Eu rope starting i n t he lat e 1 6th Ce ntu ry.

Due to t heir simpli city , rela tiv ely lo w expense a nd comparat ive ease o f manu fact uri ng , matchl ocks rema in ed in widesprea d use lo ng after th e wheel lo ck, snapha un ce Late 15th Century matchlock arquebus wi th serpentine. You can see the serpentine mechani sm pretty cl earl y here, i n use more match and fli ntlock had appear ed. Most re gu lar i nfa ntry w ere st ill cord would be used. Note the priming pan and iron cover whi ch i s in usin g mat ch-l ocks i n E urop e unt il th e 18th Ce ntury . the open posi tion.

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Tech lev el: De vel oped circa 1 45 0 in Eur ope, 1 38 7 i n opens the prim ing pan , which is kept close d whe n n ot China fir in g.

Most Fli ntlo cks also had a safety mechan ism of som e ki nd whi ch mak es the desi gn l ess prone to a ‘flas h in t he pa n’, helps keep the pow de r dry and makes it l ess likely to spi ll, and t he refore makes t he gu n mo re reliable a nd safer to use. The fli ntlock was also act ually a simpler des ig n th an the snapha un ce or t he whe ellock an d u ltima tely cost l e ss to manufa ct ure . The price l isted h ere re fl ects an ear ly availa bil ity in the ear ly 1 7th C ent ury, i f you we re p layin g i n a mid -1 7th to 1 9th Cent ury campai gn , th e price wo ul d be Wheellock, French circa 1550 AD reduce d by ha lf. Tech Leve l: De vel oped cir ca 1 61 0, used thro ug h the 19th Cen tury . Wheellock Aka w hee l-lo ck, a wh ee llo ck was t he nex t maj o r Using Gunpowder Weapons deve lopme nt in fi rearms techn ol ogy a fter th e mat ch lo ck and t he first se lf-i gn iting fi rearm . Th e me cha nism is so- Misfire Check call ed beca use a sparking a gent , (usual ly iro n pyrite fo r One o f the rea li ties of usi ng pre-i nd ustria l gu npow d er this type of l ock) is use d on a ro tating steel w hee l w it h a weapons of a ny kin d, is t hat they w ere pro ne to fail ur e for a spring load ed se rpent ine or co ck (tr ig ger) to pro vid e wid e var iety of reasons , from t he pow der to t he ma ke o f t he ign ition . A bi g step up fr om th e mat chl ock sin ce you di dn ’t weapon itse lf, or t he loa di ng t echn ique . Al l early firear ms have to keep a mat ch li t to fire t he gu n, th ere for e t he gu n fail ed o n a pretty ro ut ine basis, some fai led a lmost as oft en was less vul nera bl e to rai n, a nd the g unn er m uch l ess as they w orke d a nd bore a consi dera bl e r isk o f ser io us obv ious (n o smoke , li ght , o r smell to gi ve him away) . But i t inj uri es o r deat h to th e op erato r. was a compl ex an d e xpensi ve de vice . The co dex g ives you t hree ways t o han dl e t his in yo ur gam e. The whee llo ck ma de it feasible for the fi rst tim e to co nceal a fir earm un der clot hin g , an d by elimi nating the smelly, 1) Ign ore th is unp leasant real ity an d treat firearms lik e a ny smoky open mat ch, ma de fi rearms ge nera lly mo re r eliabl e othe r m issile w eapon (and i gn ore t he Misfire ta ble) and mo re e ffi cie nt. As w ith th e lat er ar qu ebuses, pri min g powde r was p lace d in a pr imi ng pa n, which usual ly ha d t o 2) On t he opposit e ext reme , be very rea list ic, and a ny time be manua lly open ed before firi ng . a gu nshot is att empte d, co mpare t he T o H it die ro ll to t he value on th e mis fir e col umn for that weapo n. If the Tech Lev el: Deve lope d in E urop e arou nd AD 1 50 0 , it wa s ‘nat ural ’ d ie ro ll is e qua l to or low er tha n that num ber , you used al on gsid e the ma tchlo ck an d was gra dua ll y got a m isfi re so r ol l on th e M isfi re table belo w. supersede d by the snapha un ce (15 6 0) and the fli ntlock (c. 16 10) . By t he 1 8th cen tury t he wheel-l ock ha d larg ely 3) The comprom ise ru le, whe n you fir e a Gun or use a disappeare d. bom b of s ome k in d, any tim e yo u r oll a natu ral 1 on any of your dic e, ( in clu di ng if you use mu lti di ce attacks) you mu st Snaphaunce immediate ly make a M isfi re C he ck. Rol l a D 2 0, you m ay A snaphau nce (also snaphan ce) is a mor e adva nced typ e add a ny Masterw ork bo nus for yo ur fir earm o r for t he of wh ee llo ck w ith a cover ed flash pan tha t open s powde r. If you ‘to ok 1 0’ when prepar in g your w eapon , you automat ica lly be for e fi rin g, makin g it less vul nera bl e t o may roll tw o d ice a nd k eep the hi gh er resu lt for your Misfi re weath er. As wit h th e w hee ll ock the snaphau nce typica ll y che ck di e r ol l. A die ro ll equal to or lo wer tha n t he misfi re used a p iece o f iro n pyrite as an ig nit er. The d esig n i s ratin g o f th e weapo n in di cat es a Misfi re . Any Misfi re even mo re comple x than t he w hee ll ock an d te nde d to be requir es ro ll in g o n t he Mis fir e Table (Table II.3) . You m ay expensi ve. Te ch Leve l: De veloped cir ca 1 56 0, use d add your G unpow de r S kil l bo nus to your die r oll . thro ug h the 18th Cen tury . Firearms Attack Bonus and Initiative Bonus Flintlock Al l firea rms w hi ch hav e a n actua l l ock ga in To H it / Ini tiat i ve This is t he m ost sophist icat ed type o f l ock wit h a fi rin g bon us w hen cock ed befo re fi rin g , an d an ot her T o H it / mechanism on a whe el fl ick in g a fl int lik e a mo der n Ini tiat ive bon us whe n aime d at a target for at l east one ci garett e li gh ter , simila r to a snaphaun ce , ex cept tha t i t roun d before fir in g. U nli ke bows, fi rearms ca n rema in was a simple r d esig n a nd in cl ud ed a me cha nism cal le d a co cke d in defin ite ly. Use of an aiming-stake , or when fri zze n w hi ch bot h acts as th e str iker an d a utomat ica ll y steadyin g th e weap on o n a wal l, a windo w sil l, wago n et c.,

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns raises th is val ue to +4 . F or t his reason , m ost pro fessio nal gun ners car ri ed aim in g stakes .

Berber Miquelet (snaphaunce) musket, early 18th Century

British ‘’ Flintlock musket, mid 19th Century

Ta ble II I.3 Misf ire Ta ble (add Gunpow der Skill to d ie r oll, Bad w eather = +2 on roll) Die R es ult 1 Ex plosion 1d1 0 da ma ge , We apon de str oye d* 2 Ex plosion 1d8 da mage , We apon de stro ye d* 3 Ex plosion 1d6 da mage , We apon de stro ye d* 4 Ex plosion 1d4 da mage , We apon da mage d* 5 Ex plosion 1d2 da mage , We apon da mage d* 6 Ex plosion , We a pon da mage d* 7 Ex plosion , We a pon da mage d* 8 M isfire , We apon de stro ye d 9 M isfire , We apon de stro ye d. 10 M isfire , We apon da mage d 11 M isfire , We apon da mage d 12 M isfire 13 M isfire 14 M isfire 15 M isfire 16 M isfire 17 M isfire 18 Half-F ire (we apon fun ction s bu t cause s half da mage ) 19 Half-F ire (we apon fun ction s bu t cause s half da mage ) 20+ Half-F ire (we apon fun ction s bu t cause s half da mage ) * in the event o f an explosion Grenades, bombs, powderkegs e tc. simply do their no rmal damage and a re always de stroyed. Da maged firearms are unusable until repaired, require s a Pro fe ssion: Gunsmith skill che ck, DC is dete rmined by rolling 4d6

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Ta ble II I.4 Eq ui pment Item Cost Gun Pow der, one ounce 10 gp Gun Pow der, one pound 160 gp Gun Pow der, Mas terw ork, one ounce 20 gp Gun Pow der, Mas terw ork, one pound 320 gp , one foot 1 gp Lead Ball, S ma ll 5 s p Lead Ball, Large 10 s p Grapes hot, one load 15 s p Iron ball 5 gp Springel, S ma ll 10 s p Springel, Large 1 gp Cleaning Rod 5 s p Flint 5 s p Lins tock 3 gp Aiming s take 1 gp

Gun powder descr iption o f how t o make fire cra ckers. "that chi ldr en's toy This is your basi c bla ck pow der . On e ou nce is sufficien t t o which is made i n many parts o f t he w orld" . Albertus Mag nus dischar ge a fir earm , two o un ces fo r larg e han dg on nes o r descr ibed it as ‘flyin g pow der ’ i n anot he r bo ok i n 1 28 0. F rom hand-cul ver ins. In m ost pla ces, g unpow de r was t reate d a s then o n, t he ge ni e co ul d not be pu t back i n the bott le . someth in g o f a “ weapo n o f mass dest ru ction” , ( which it is). Gunpow der ca n be pot ent ial ly very desta bi liz in g t o a gam e The mi d 1 3th Ce ntu ry is also w he n re cor ds i nd icat ed t he use if fre ely a vaila bl e in quant ity, so w e have also made t h e of firearms i n Chi na and by the Mam elu kes in E gypt (in cost v ery h ig h, but fee l free to chang e t he cost to su it yo u r com bat agai nst the M ong ols) bo th starting i n the 12 60s. own Campaig n se tti ng . Rog er Bacon may hav e lea rne d about Saltpet er from Ar abi c sources he was corr espond in g w ith in Spai n. G unpo wder Saltpete r (aka “St . Pe ters sal t” aka potassium n itrat e) wa s form ulas publishe d in t he ne xt 1 50 years gra dual ly cha n ged , discover ed in Ch ina somet ime i n th e 1st Cen tury AD, an d reducin g t he fo rmula to 3 i ngr edien ts (saltpete r, sul fur and bega n t o be used i n w eapons (firepo ts) by t he 8th or 9t h char coa l) and wit h an ever in cr easin g proport io n o f saltp eter Centu ry at the latest (proba bly mu ch ear li er). Appare ntly for th e m ost part . its expl osive pote ntia l was discove red d uri ng an alch emi cal expe rime nt se eking to mak e a po tio n o f The nex t real ly major step i n the e vol ution o f Gunpo wder was lon gev ity. Th e ev ent was note d i n a Taoist t ext i n t he mi d the int rod u ctio n o f va ri ous types o f ‘co rne d ’ pow der in the 9th Ce ntu ry AD. late 1 4th Ce ntu ry which d ue t o be in g mo isten ed in al coho l and t he n push ed th rou gh a mes h an d dr ied o ut i n ev enly “Some have heated together , realgar, and saltpeter with honey; sized pe ll ets, di d n ot ha ve to be mix ed imme diat ely pri o r to smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, use an d bu rne d very eve nly. Th is was vast ly mo re relia ble, and even the whole house where they were working burned down.” and for conv eni en ce sake is w hat is repr esente d her e. Ea rlie r -Zhenyuan yaolüe circa 850 AD forms o f pow der w il l separate o ut o ver t ime o r when sha ken, and do not burn as fast, th ou gh the re is some evi de nce that Vari ous form ula e for pyro techn ic pow ders variousl y early fir earms wer e ‘tu ne d’ to t he ol der types of pow der and descr ibed as “w hit e snow ” or “ flyi ng pow er” w ere ma d e perfor m w ell wit h t hem . with potassium nit rate compo un ds, w it h a formu la close t o actua l gu npow der appearing in Chi na in t he 1 1th Cent ur y Gun powder, masterwork and used in weapo ns (see Fire Lan ce). Th e first recor d o f gunpo wder i n Eur ope are from a boo k cal le d De Se cr eti s This is gu n pow der of bett er qual ity, so yo u g et + 1 on Operi bus Artis et Nat urae" of 12 48 , in w hi ch th e auth or, a Gunpow der r ol ls. monk name d Ro ge r Baco n giv es the fo rmu la fo r gunpo wder d isgu ised i n a n a nagram . Slow match, one foot This is cl oth r ope w hi ch has bee n soake d in Sa ltpet er. One This sort o f se cre cy was com mon practice in al chemi cal foot of slow mat ch wil l bur n for a n h ou r an d is su ita ble for texts, in fact many o f Rog er Ba cons ciph ers ha ve yet t o be mult iple sho ts. Mat ch-cord is obv io usly useful for a var ie ty of cracked ev en t oday . Bacon fi rst publish ed th e formu la i n applicat ions besi des fir ing weapo ns. Usua lly a 6” pie ce is un-en crypte d format i n 1 2 68 in th e Opus Ma jus, i n a attach ed to a fi rearm .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Lead Ball, Small cou ld use t he spear bla de as a weapo n (tr eat as a hal f sp ear). Your basi c bu lle t. D oes not come w ith pow de r! Like most ea rly mo der n mi lita ry equipme nt t he li nstock h ad a Lead Ball, Large secon d fun ction ; 16 th cent ury exampl es had measu rem ents Larg er bull et fo r bi g gu ns. in i nches an d a protra cto r en grav ed on t he blad e to a llo w the gun captain to che ck th e a ng le fo r a rtille ry pla ceme nt. Grape Shot, one load A pack et o f smal ler lea d ba lls. Used pr imari ly fo r Aiming Stake Musketo ons an d th e Blu nd er buss, can also be used wit h Most ar qu ebusiers a nd muske tee rs ca rri ed a fou r foot ai ming any other fir earm. If used in a pistol , arque bus, ha nd- stake, somew hat simi lar to a l insto ck , which coul d be dr iven gon ne , culv eri n, or m usket, it r educes the ran ge i ncreme n t into the gro un d an d use d as a rest to aim the gu n. If you by half an d th e max rang e by 75%, an d subt ract -2 fr o m have a cr ossbow or a fi rearm , you gain a Fre e Di ce i f you can any AP bon us (0 mi nim um) but gai n + 2 t o Hi t an d caus e rest t he weapon o n an aim in g stake , a wal l, t he cr ook of a an e xtra D6 dama ge . tree , a boats g unw hal e or ot her sim ilar support in g sur face to steady t he weapo n while aim in g. Iron ball, Small Cast iro n or ste el ba lls a re used i n t he culv eri ns an d Berdyche vario us ca nn ons not cover ed i n t his do cum ent, as wel l a s The Russians use d to use a Ber dych e (the Spart h Ax e in in M uskets a nd Arque buses as special armo r-pi er cin g WOTAW Part 1) as an aim in g stake , with t he dua l-pu r pose ammuni tio n. T his is a li ght er but har der h itti ng pro je ctil e ben efit of a lways being rea dy to ha ck so meo ne t o pi eces if with be tter p enet ration . -1 o n Mis fir e table rol l. Da mage , your fi rearm fa ile d to g et them . +2 AP . A word on using Firearms in your Cam paign Springel, Small Here ar e a fe w t hin gs to k eep i n min d regar di ng the use of This is a type o f dart or a rro w sim ilar to a mo der n sabot o r Firearms. fle ch ette r ou nd , which was stil l used as an alt erna te for m of amm un ition we ll int o t he 17th Ce ntury . A small Spri nge l Tech le vel is suitable for an a rque bus, han dg onn e, or blu nd er buss. Max ra ng e is 50% , AP is + 2 In the d escr iptio n of ea ch weapo n in th is d ocumen t a Tech Leve l is i nd icat ed. T his is so you ca n de ci de w hi ch w eapons Springel, Large to i nclu de in yo ur campai gn . Fo r e xample , i n a Vik in g Ag e campaig n, yo u co ul d hav e firepots , but no oth er g unpo wder Same as a smal l spri ng el, o nly used fo r la rge r w eapon s weapons (act ually firepo ts wou ld use Gr eek fire o r Napth a or (large ha nd go nne o r cu lver in) + 2 AP some simi lar su bstan ce) w hi ch co ul d be used by Byzant i nes, Ara bs, or possi bly by Vik in gs who had fo ug ht for the Cleaning rod Byzantin es i n the Varan gia n guar d . A brass rod w ith a li ttle slo t for i nsert in g a piece o f cl oth , the i nd ispensabl e de vice use d to cl ean al l fi rearm s In a campa ign set in Eur ope in the H ig h M id dle ag es (14th betw ee n uses. If you do n ot hav e a cl ean ing ro d, su btra ct Centu ry) you co ul d alr eady hav e some ea rly fi rea rms; -2 (cu mula tiv e for ea ch shot) fr om a ll misfire ro lls whe n inclu di ng a fe w han d go nn es, han d culv eri nes, an d gr en ades usin g any firea rm. (a campaig n set i n Ch ina wo ul d ha ve these as ear ly as the 13th cent ury, as woul d a Chin ese or Mon go l army inva din g Flints Europe i n t his per io d). Ar quebusses do n ’t appear unt il the Small pie ce of fli nt use d to aut omatical ly fi re you r powde r Rena issance (an d t hen on ly wit h mat ch lock or at the most with al l fl int lo cks. whee ll ock firi ng me cha nisms), bu t i t’s wort h remem be rin g, neit her d oes ful l plate armo r, a rba lests, zwe iha nd ers, rapi ers, Linstock or nu mero us other w eapons w hi ch a re commo n i n many A me tre -l on g staff w it h a for k at on e e nd to ho ld a sl o w RPGs. Muskets an d fli ntlock weapons don ’t ar riv e unt il into match . De riv es from th e D ut ch lo ntsto k, "mat ch stick". the Bar oque / E nl ig hten ment per io d an d t his is a di ffere nt era than t he typi cal M edieva l RPG, but i deal fo r mor e o f a Three These w ere used by can non crews ( cann ons ar e n o t Muskete ers S wash bu ckl in g o r Pi rate sett in g. cov ere d in t his do cu ment) but also by arqu ebusie rs and any troops usin g match tri gg ere d fi rearms . Li nstocks ha d Of co urse th is is n ot a ri gi d r ule , only a g ui delin e. You ca n mix serpentine jaws to g rip t he slo w match an d a sharp poi n t and mat ch as yo u please , t here is no reaso n why s ome at the base to stick i n the gro un d. In em erg en cies g un ner s relat ive ly sophist icat ed an d o rga niz ed cult ure (a big Em pire like Byzantium or Ch ina , a po wer fu l h uman City-State such as

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Flore nce or Veni ce for e xample , or say, or an imag inar y system. Keep a menta l not e o f th e ran ge mo di fi er o f the Dwarf or G nome ki ng dom) mi gh t not ha ve d iscov ere d weapon and use th e ra ng e ta bl e (Tabl e II.4 Missil e To Hit and fir earms ear lie r tha n th eir neig hbo rs di d. The Te ch lev el o f Armo r Bypass Modi fi catio ns by Ran ge Incr emen t) to each weapo n is in cl ud ed so you ca n ke ep i n mi nd ro ug hl y dete rmi ne t he e ffects of distan ce . Th e e ffe ct ive ness of most whi ch e ra t hey be lo ng to . pre-i nd ustria l fi rearms var ie d drastical ly wit h ran ge , bo t h in terms o f a ccura cy an d a rmor pen etrat ion an d damag e. Most Smoke and noise of t hese firearms a re a ct ually less accu rate (as represe nted Keep in m in d t hat a lit match makes smo ke, li gh t an d a here by ran ge cate gory) tha n ot her co ntempo rary mi ssile distinctiv e smell . This is an importa nt consi de ratio n fo r weapons such as crossbows. En ergy also falls o ff qu ick l y: At anyone usin g mat ch lo ck w eapons or mor e prim itiv e point - ra nge , most firearms ca n be a thr eat to ev en the fir earms, as wel l as g rena des (w hi ch always ha d fuses i n strong est arm or , but mo re than a hu nd red met ers or so (any the pre -in dust rial per io d). Black pow de r weapons create a type oth er t han a muske t) are rela tiv ely i ne ffe ct ive a ga inst consi de rable amo unt of smo ke w hen fi red, mar kin g t h e armore d targ ets. area where th e g unn er is. W hen mul tiple shots ar e fire d (eith er by th e same gun ner o r mul tiple gu nne rs) they may By consul tin g t he fir earms table yo u will not ice that most have th eir visi on o bstru cte d , but th is can a lso be use d a s fir earms ha d a poo r ran ge in cr emen t, t his was an i nd ica tion cov er. You can treat th is as simila r to a n o bscuri ng mis t of the ir n otor io usly bad accu racy at anyth ing beyo nd short spell, with ea ch shot creat in g a ‘mist’ i n a five fo ot rad iu s rang e, so adj ust To hit mo di fie rs accord in gly. Crossbo ws are for 1 r oun d . actua lly m ore accurate t han early firea rms.

Firin g any gu n, par ticula rly ear ly firear ms co vere d in t hi s Special Ammunition do cume nt creates a ve ry lou d n oise w hi ch w il l li kely ha v e By the mid 1 6th Cent ury, iro n or stee l bu ll ets were r out i nely an effe ct on ma ny types of a nima ls and less i nte lli ge n t used w hen gu nne rs were like ly to fa ce arm ore d tro ops, monsters capable o f fear . Repeate d fir earms use also wil l particular ly musketee rs expect in g to face heavy cava lry w hi ch make it har d for th e g un ner or a nyon e aro un d t hem t o tend ed to ha ve t he best armo r. T his ammu nit io n confe rs a hear anyt hi ng . Keep in m in d bows ca n be used for a re a sign ifi can t ar mor pie rcin g bon us. fir e ov er obsta cl es, w he reas most fi rearms can not (wit h the e xceptio n o f g rena des). F inal ly weat her has a maj o r impact o n black pow der , especial ly wit h anyth in g mo r e primit ive t han a mat chlo ck, h ow you han dl e th is precisely is up to you bu t a rainsto rm can be rea l ba d news fo r someon e pla nn ing t o use fir earms..

Alternate Materials A combination pistol / axe, origin unknown to this author, possibly Italian, Copper all oys, su ch as bro nze or brass we re a ctua ll y est. circa 17th Century. consi de re d be tter for cer tai n types of ear ly fi rearm s be cause t hey we re fa r less li kely to cr eate an a cci den tal Using firearms as hand weapons. spark and brass gun bar rels we re usual ly less brit tle t han Nume ro us exot ic com binat ion weapons (pisto l – dag g ers, early ir on gu nbar rels (an d th ere for e less l ike ly to crack o r pistol shie lds , arque bus-a xes etc.) wer e made w it h Firea rms, explo de in use). Som e o f t he w eapons liste d h ere , these will be cov ere d in ano the r do cum ent , as will plug inclu di ng the blu nde rbuss, musk etoo n, an d ha nd-mor ta r bayone ts an d etc. are assumed to be of br on ze o r brass co nstru ct ion . Fo r a bro nze or brass-mad e Arque bus or p istol yo u may want t o Or dina ry fir earms make for fair ly goo d weapo ns howe ve r. A allow a -1 to t he misfir e num be r (makin g th em l ess pron e pistol o r a horse pistol ca n be t reate d as a Clu b, a Blu nd er bus to a ccid ents). or a Carbin e can be co nsid ere d a Heavy Mace, a ll ot her l ong barre le d fi rearms may be t reate d as a Great Clu b or a Range Gunsto ck War Club, a ccor di ng t o GM pre fer en ce. Many As wit h ot her missi le w eapons, it is impor tant t o kee p perio d firea rms we re a ctua lly ma de wit h a n eye towa rd bein g track of the ran ge whe n usin g firea rms with t he C od e x usefu l as clu bs.

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An early 17th century Dutch prepares to initiate a firing drill with a match-lock Musket. From a period manuscript.

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Statistics on Armor and Firearms Here are some statist ics fr om 'Kni gh t a nd th e B last Fu rna ce': Chapter 9, p. 9 42 – 94 8. Data on mo der n fir earms is from this wiki http ://en .w ikipe dia .o rg/ wik i/Mu zzl e_e ner gy

Energy required for penetration of armor by 15th- 16th Century firearm A rmor type Th ickness Joules Joules required required for steel from lead ball ball Wr ought-iron plate 1.9mm 900J 1500J Good quality te mpered s teel ar mo r (15th – 16th Centur y) 2mm 1800J 3000J Iron Cuiras s er’s breas tplate (17th Century) 4mm 1200J 2000J

There wer e also up to 6mm t hi ck i ron cu irasses in th e 17t h Ce ntury a nd spe cial lami nate cu irasses mad e fr om 2mm o f steel a nd 3mm of i ron (5mm t hi ck ove rall) . Th ese w ere a pparently very effe ctive but I do n't have any data on t hem yet.

Plate arm or in it ’s h eyday i n t he 1 5th -1 6th Ce ntu ry ran ge d fro m a bou t 1 .8 to 3 mm depen di ng on w here o n t he a rm or i t was ( an d h elm ets wer e th ick er t han l im b armor or ba ck arm or) and wheth er th e armo r was temper ed or flu ted or not . Bu t most a rmor i n th e 15th to the mi dd le of th e 1 6t h Cent ury was towa rd the lo wer en d of that ran ge , aro un d 1 .6 to 2mm thi ck , which is pre tty t hi n.

Muzzle Energy of Historical and Modern Firearm s W eapon Pow der Muzz le energy Huss ite 15th Century handgonne / hand Serpentine pow der 500- 1000J culver in* Early 16th Century arquebus * Serpentine pow der 1300J Early 16th Century arquebus * Corned pow der 1750J Late 16th Century mus ket* Serpentine pow der 2300J Late 16th Century mus ket* Corned pow der 3000J Modern .375 Magnum re vo lver w ith 6” barrel (Modern pow der) 750 J Modern .44 Magnu m re vo lver (Modern pow der) 1400 J Ak-47 (7.62 x 39 mm) (Modern pow der) 2070 J FN-FAL (7.62 x 51 mm) (Modern pow der) 3799 J M2 .50 Ca l BM G (Modern pow der) 15000 J * the power of these weapons varies considerably depending on the length and bore of the barrel and the type of ammunition used.

One of th e i nter estin g t hi ngs about all th is to me is h ow p ower fu l 1 6t h Cent ury m uskets g ot, they were comparable in m uzz le ener gy to an Ak-4 7. Of cou rse bu lle ts from mod er n fir ea rms also retain th eir e ner gy much lon ger t han Muske t or Arque bus balls do , th ere wo ul d be a mu ch more rapi d dr op i n en erg y from t he ol der fir earms at 50 ’, 1 00 ’, 2 00 ’ et c., a nd m od ern bu llets also pene trate bet ter . Bu t th e stats on the armo r make i t pretty clear that most d ecent quali ty armor fr om th e R e naissance was proba bly a de quat e prot ectio n a gainst a .35 7 ma gn u m, an d t he stats ma ke me wo nd er if a g oo d 1 5t h Cen tur y harness cou ld stop an Ak -4 7 bul let ...

This seems to suppor t th e opi nio n o f Char les Ffo ulk es th at plate arm or was capa ble of resisting the fi rearms o f t h e 15 th a nd early 16t h Ce ntu ry. It's on ly i n t he latter ha lf of th e 16t h cen tury t hat a rmor was ser ious ly th reate ne d by firearms , and th en only by heavy musk ets usin g stee l shot . Th is is why Muskets we re or ig ina lly consi der ed a rmor-pie rcin g wea pons, use d alon gsid e smalle r arquebus for a lo ng t ime before t he t wo weapons ki nd o f mer ge d tog eth er (the m usket g ot smaller a nd grad ual ly rep laced th e ar que bus).

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Comparison o f hi gh-e ner gy missi le weapo ns o f the 15th Ce ntury

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Swedish General Gustavus Adolphus Skirmshes with the Tartars near Warsaw 1656 by Johann Phillip Lemke

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Primary So ur ces-Classi cal The H istor ies Her odo tus Ana basis / The 1 0 ,0 00 X enop hon Pelopon nesia n Wars T hu cyd ides Galli c Wa rs J ul ius Ca esar The Wars of Justinia n an d The Se cr et Histo ry Pro copi us The Jew ish Wa r Joseph us The G erman ia a nd The Agr i cola Tacitus The 12 Caesars Suet on ius De R e Mil itar i Pu blius Flav ius Ve get ius Re natus The S ecret Hist ory, Pro copi us, Peng ui n C lassics, ISBN: 01 40 45 52 8 0

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Primary So ur ces- Me di eval / Rena issance The Al exia d, Ana Comn ena , Pe ng ui n C lassics, ISBN: 01 40 45 52 72 Beowu lf Seam us H eaney The Sa ga of Gr ettir t he St ron g, An onymo us, B ernar d Scud der (Translat or), Pen gu in Classics (No vem ber 2 00 9) ISB N: 01 40 44 7 73 3 Njals Sa ga, Ano nymous, Pen gu in Classics , ISB N: 0 1 40 44 76 95 Laxda la Saga , An onymo us Vols unga Sa ga, Ano nymous Ragna rs Sa ga, Ano nymous Hrolf Kra kis Saga , An onymo us Saga of Er ic t he Re d, Ano nymous Egi ls Sa ga, Ano nymous An Arab-Syr ian Gent lema n a nd Warr ior i n the Per io d of th e Crusad es: Mem oirs of Usamah Ibn-Mu n qi dh , Usamah Ibn-Mu nqidh, ISBN: 06 91 02 2 69 0 Il -Prin cip e (“Th e Pr in ce”) Nicco lò Ma chia vel li, C reate Spa ce (2 01 0), ISBN: 9 78-1 44 1 41 28 98 The Sa ga of Cor mac th e Skal d, For got ten Boo ks 2 0 08 , IB SN: 97 8-1 60 50 67 22 3

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The An gl o Sa xo n C hro ni cle, Var io us aut ho rs, Re d a nd Bla ck Publis hers, ISBN: 9 78-1-9 3 49 41-5 0 -8 The S tory of t he Mo ng ols W hom We Call th e Tar tars, Friar Giovan ni DiP lano Carpi ni , Bran do n Pu bl ishi ng Company (19 96) , ISBN: 0-8 28 3-2 01 7-9 Chron icles of t he C rusad es, Jea n de Jo in vil le , D ig irea ds.co m publis hin g (20 1 0), ISB N: 97 8-1-4 209-34 8 7-8 Medieva l Russias Epi cs, Chr on icles, an d Ta les (i nclu des n umero us e xcerpts from t he R ussian Pr imary C hro ni cl e), M eri dian Books, (19 7 4) ISBN: 0-4 52-0 1 08 6-1 Chin ese M il itary Te xts: The Art o f War , Thi rty-S ix Stra tage ms, H uol on gj in g, Wu jin g Zo ngyao , Sev en Mi lita ry Classics , Ji Xia o X in Shu (Paperba ck), Boo ks LLC ( 20 10) , ISB N: 9 7 8-11 55 6 63 01 2 The Co n quest o f New Spai n B erna l D iaz The 10 01 Ni ghts , aka The Bo ok of A Th ousan d Ni gh ts an d a Ni ght aka The Arabian Nig hts Sir R ichar d B urto n (t ransl ator / compi ler)

Primary So ur ces, HEM A an d Ma rtial Arts: The Ma rtia l Arts o f Rena issance E urope, Sydn ey An glo , Yal e Un iversi ty Press ( 20 00) ISB N 0 30 00 83 5 21 The Art o f C ombat : A Ge rman Mart ial Arts Trea tise of 15 7 0, J oachim Meye r (J effery For gen g, Trans lator) , Pal grav e Macmi lla n (200 6), ISBN: 1 40 39 70 9 20 The M edieva l Art o f Swo rdsmans hip: A Fa csimi le & Tra nsl ation o f Eur ope’s Old est Perso nal Com bat Tr eatise , Royal Armo ur ies MS I.33 (R oyal Arm our ies Mon og raph), J effery F org en g, Tr anslator , C hiva lry bo okshe lf 2 0 02 , ISB N: 1 891 44 83 8 2 Book of Fiv e Rin gs, M iyamoto Musash i, S hambhala (1 99 4 ) ISB N: 0 8 77 73 99 8 6 The Bo ok of t he Swo rd, Sir R i char d B urto n, Do ver Pu bl icat i ons (J uly 1 , 19 87) ISBN: 04 8 62 54 34 8

Popular Mil itary History Arms a nd Armo ur of t he Me die val Kni gh t by Dav id E dg e a nd Jo hn M iles Padd ock , ISB N: 97 8-0 51 71 03 1 97 Medieva l War fare S our ce Book : Warfa re in Weste rn Chr ist end om Da vid Ni co lle Warfare i n t he Classi cal W orl d, Jo hn Gi bson Wary, Uni versi ty of Okla homa Press, ( Octo ber 1 9 95) ISB N: 08 06 12 7 94 5 Lon g bow - A So cia l a nd M ilitary H istory Har dy, Ro be rt, Patri ck Steph ens Lim ite d , Gr eat Brita in , ori gi nally pri nte d 19 7 6 The Cr ooke d St ick : A Hist ory of th e Lo ng bow* Hu gh D. H . Soar, West hol me P ublshi ng LLC, (2 0 04) ISB N: 9 7 8-1-59 4 16-0 90-5 The Gr eat Warbow Matt hew St ri ckla nd , T he Histo ry Press ( 20 05) , ISB N: 9 78-07 50 93 1 67 0

Osprey M ili tary Boo ks The S wiss at War 1 30 0-1 50 0 (M en-At-Arms Ser ies, 94) Do uglas Mi lle r, Ospery Press, (No vem ber 19 79) ISB N: 08 50 45 33 48 Lan dskne chts (Men-At-Arms Se ries , 58) , D ou glas Mil ler , Osprey Press, (Mar ch 31 , 1 99 4) ISBN: 0 85 04 52 5 89 Vik in g H ersir 79 3-10 6 6 AD, M ike Harr ison , Osprey Press, ( July 2 9, 1 9 93) , ISBN: 1 85 53 2 31 84 The H ussite Wars 14 19-36 , Steph en Tur nbul l, Osprey Pre ss, 2 00 4, ISBN: 1 8 41 76 66 5 8 Samurai 15 50-1 6 00 *, Ant hony J Byrant , Osprey Pr ess 1 9 94 , ISB N: 9 78 1 85 5 32 3 45 2 Eng lish Lon gbowman 13 30-1 5 15 , C liv e Bart let t, Osprey Pr ess 19 9 5, ISBN: 97 8 1 8 55 32 49 1 6

* boo ks w ith an aster ix ne xt to th em wer e used for resear ch for th is d ocume nt bu t fou nd some what la ck in g by t he a utho r a nd are not h ig hly re comme nd ed as a reso ur ce.

Web resou rces : Ove rview of Japanese Armor: http:/ /ww w.myarm oury .com /feat ure_ jpn_arm our .html World Atlatl organization: http ://w ww.wor lda tlat l.o rg/ The English Warbow society: http ://w ww.en gl ishwar bo wso cie ty.com/ The Kn ig ht an d t he Blast F urna ce o n goo gl e bo oks: http:// bo oks.goo gl e.com/ bo oks?id =GpVbns qAzx IC&d q=th e+kn ig ht +an d+t he +blast+fur nace&pri ntse c= fro nt cove r&s our ce =bn &hl =en &ei=KBCMS 8nuB 42 Vt gex mZDDDw &sa=X& oi =boo k_resul t&ct=r esult &resn um =4& ved = 0CBYQ6 AEw Aw#v =o nepage &q =&f =fa lse

Charles Ffo ulk es The Armo rer an d His C raft i n onl in e sca n: http:// www .scr i bd .com/d oc/ 1 90 25 40 5/Ffou lkes-C-The -Armour er-an d-H is-Cra ft-Rea d-in -Fu llscr ee n

Recommen de d F ilms The D elu ge (Potop), (2 00 4) based o n the n ove l by H enryk Sien kie wicz With Fir e a nd Sw ord, (1 99 9) J erzy Ho ffma n, based on t he nove l by H enryk S ien kie wicz Colon el Wol ody jowski, (1 96 9) Jerzy Ho ffma n, based o n t h e n ove l by H enryk S ienk iew i cz

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

The Ol d Fa iry Tal e: Wh en th e Sun Was a g od (aka Stara Ba sn) (20 0 3) Pathfi nd er ( Ofelas) ( 19 87) (the o ri gina l F in nish ve rsion , no t th e Hol lywo od remak e) Krzyzacy NTSC "Kni ghts of t he Teut on ic Ord er" ( 19 60) Alex ande r Fo rd Yojim bo , ( 19 61) Ak ira Kir osawa The S eve n Samura i, (1 95 4) Ak ira K irosawa The Name o f t he R ose ( 19 86) The D uelists (1 97 7) Rob Roy, (1 99 5) The Vik in gs, (195 8) Flesh a nd Blo od (1 98 5) The Last Val ley ( 19 70) Beowu lf an d G ren de l ( 20 05)

Recommen de d F ict io n Fantasy Nov els The Dyi ng Ear th, Jack Van ce Lyonesse , Jack Van ce The Co min g of Co nan th e Ci mmer ian : T he Or ig ina l Ad ven t ures of th e G reatest Sw or d a nd So rcery H ero o f Al l T ime! R obe rt E Howar d Bard Keith Taylo r The S wor ds of La nkhma r, 1 9 68 Frit z Le iber Hammer an d Cr oss, Ha rry Ha rriso n The Bla ck Diam on ds Clar k Ashto n Smit h

Histori cal Nove ls The Name o f t he R ose Um bert o Eco The Wa lki ng Drum Lou is L’Amo ur The D elu ge , Hen ryk S ie nkie wicz With Fir e a nd Sw ord, He nryk Sie nki ewi cz Colon el Wol ody jowski, He nryk Sie nki ewi cz The Ad ven tur er 1 95 0 Mika Waltar i The Wa nde rer M ika Wa ltari The Lo ng 1 9 69 Frans G. Ben gtsson The Mas qu e o f th e Red Dea th Ed gar All en Poe The H ouse o f Ni co lo Dor othy Du nnet t

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Bandits waylay travelers in a medieval illustration

A villa ger dressed as a ‘Krampus’, during Winter Solstace celebrations in Switzerland

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

Codex Cheat sheet, Page 1

Ini tiat ive If y o u had t ime to prepa re i n advance , y ou gai n yo ur R ea ch o r Re ady bo nus to Ini tia tiv e. If y ou hav e a l o ng er we apo n t ha n yo ur oppo ne nt (o r a prepar ed mi ss il e w eap on wi t h a l o ng er ran ge i ncreme nt) yo u g et a F ree Dic e f or y o ur i ni tia tiv e die-rol l. Free D ice You ma y roll a n ex tra di ce w hi ch do es no t co me from y o ur Mar tia l P ool ( MP) and ke ep t he hig hes t val ue .

Basic Com bat Atta cks Roll up to a s ma ny dic e as y o u hav e in y o ur MP a nd ke ep t he hig he st numbe r, di sc ardi ng the res t. Bypass Armor You ma y Bypa s s A rm or by a nno unci ng in adva nc e and ta ki ng a B ypas s P e nal ty depe ndi ng on the A rm o r C ov era ge . Act ive De fe nse Defe nd wi th di e ro ll from MP yo ur W eap on Defe nse bo nus , yo u may us e a s ma ny di ce a s yo u ha ve i n yo ur MP Passive Defense N o d ie rol l, y our opp on e nt m us t roll hi g he r t han yo ur P as siv e Defe ns e v al ue . Shi elds Alway s ge t a ‘Free Di ce ’ w it h ev ery A ct ive Defe nse . Bind Any t ime yo u ge t a ti e d ie rol l ( on a di ce t ha t co unt s) yo u g et a Bind. A bi nd le ts y ou a tta ck t he oppo ne nt s weap o n or shie ld if i t was used i n at tack or a cti ve defe ns e, or se ize y our opp onent s w eapo n, a nd it t ri g ge rs m an y diffe rent Ma rt ial Fea ts ( se e be low) Count eratta ck Any t ime yo u roll a nat ural 20 on a ct ive defe nse o r y our oppo n ent ro ll s a nat ural 1 , ( on a die tha t c ount s) , yo u ma y im medi ate ly co unte ra tta ck . This can a ls o t ri gg er c erta in M ar tia l F eat s . Al so k now n as a ‘na tu ra l’ c o unte ra tta ck . Critical Hi t Cau sed by a na tura l 20 o n a die t ha t co u nt s. If y ou a re us ing yo ur P ri mary A tta ck t ype fo r t hat we apo n, dam ag e is o ne di e per MP spe nt on t he a tt ack . If yo u ar e not usi ng yo ur P ri ma ry Att ack type , dama ge i s o ne ex t ra d ie . If y o u ge t a C riti cal hi t w it h a Pie rci ng w eap on, y ou ma y ‘Twi s t the Blad e’ a nd throw in up to y o ur re mai ni ng MP f or e xt ra da ma ge . C ri t Da ma ge i s D6 fo r pierc e / bl udg eo n, D8 f or C hop , D10 fo r s las h. Grapple from a Distan ce If y o ur w eapo n ha s a Grappl e Bo nus y o u may a tte mpt to t rip o r disa rm y o ur opp o ne nt wi th yo ur w eapo n afte r a ny hit wit ho ut be ing at grapp le ran ge .

Rang es an d Movem ent Onset Ra ng e Use Reac h T o H it B onus. S ubs equent at tac ks ta ke y ou a ut om ati call y t o Me le e Ra ng e unl es s y ou Mai nta in Ra ng e. Mele e Ran ge Use Spe ed To Hi t Bo nus. Grapple Rang e Mov ing t o Grappl e trig ge rs a n At tack of Opp ort unit y (A oO) . At Grapple Ran g e yo u g et no T o H it bo nus fo r w eap ons si ze M or lar ge r, a nd no Weap on Def en se bo nus. Y ou m ay ex ec ut e Grappl e At ta cks, Trips a nd Di sa rm s f ro m t hi s ra ng e. Atta ck o f Opport un ity ( Ao O) If y o u hav e MP rem ai ni ng, yo u ma y at tac k d urin g y our oppo nents i ni tia tiv e if t hey e nt e r grapple , o r spe nd mo re t ha n 2 MP mo vi ng w hil e i n co mbat ran ge (i ncl udi ng c ha ngi ng ran ge s , p er be low). If yo u ha ve no MP y ou can ’t d o a ny A oO. Movem ent Cos ts 1 MP to c ha ng e ra nge (O ns et t o M ele e o r ba ck e tc .). M ovi ng c o st s 1 MP p er ba se m ove me nt va lu e (30 ’, 20 ’ e tc .)

Missile Weapons Aim in g If y o u hav e ti me t o ai m yo u get t he Ready Bo n us fo r t he weap o n. F irst va lue is fo r a nock ed a rrow , s ec ond ai med . Cover Eac h 25% of cov er p rov ide s one Free Dic e f or Activ e Def ense o r +2 fo r Pa s siv e Def ense . Fumbl e A na t ura l 1 m ea ns a brok en bow st ri ng o r a m isf ire ( and a roll on the mi sfi re tab le fo r g unp owde r w eap ons) Crits A c ri ti cal hit m ea ns t he mi ss il e is i mpal ed a nd m us t b e re mo ved . Table II.4 Missile To Hit an d Arm or Bypass Mo di fi cations by Ran ge In cr ement : Ra nge s Melee (0) Clo se (1) Sho rt (2) Med (3) Long (4) Ve ry Long (5) Ex treme (6) Damage +2 +2 0 - - -1 -2 To Hit -2* +2 0 0 -2 -4 -6 AP +4 +2 0 -2 -4 No AP Bonus No AP Bonus *Does not apply to pistols or thrown weapons such as axes, daggers, hammers, hurlbat etc., they receive +2 TH instead.

Feats Dod ge De si gnat e a n opp one nt o n yo ur init iat ive . +1 Ac tiv e and Pa ss ive Defe nse v s. t ha t oppo ne nt f or t he ro u nd. Dodge is a pre- req ui si te fo r num erous o the r F eat s and M ar tia l F eat s . Comba t Expe rti se Gai n a F ree Dic e f or Ac tiv e Defe ns e, C oun te rat ta ck, or At tac k of Opport unit y if y o u d on’t a tta ck o n yo u r ow n init t his ro und . Comba t R efl exe s Gai n a F ree Dic e f or At tac ks of Opp ortunity only . Sta ck s w it h Co mbat Exp erti se a nd ot he r Fea ts a nd MF. Mobi li ty Gai n a F ree Dic e f or m ov em ent a nd c ha ng ing ra n ge (o nl y) f or e a ch ro und . Martial Feats (MF) Con t ra T emp o Mak e a si ng le -die spoi li ng a tta ck befo re yo ur oppo ne nt a tta ck s y ou, da ma ge s tepp ed d own o ne di e . Co unte rs trok e Spe cia l A oO i mmed iat el y af te r b ei ng a tta ck ed by y o ur de si gnate d Dodg e tar g et . Gai n a F re e Dic e if ‘nat ural ’ co unt era ttack . Di sta nce Fi ghti n g Fre e Di ce fo r Act ive Def ense if y ou a re a t onse t ra nge a nd can m ove awa y 5 ’ (c os ts no ex tra MP) Fei nt Use bl uff chec k to dra w off o ne or m o re MP from oppo ne nt s po ol . Mi es te rhau Mak e a n at tac k w it h at l ea st tw o d ic e. T hi s die rol l c ount s as y o ur defe nse a gai nst t hi s sa me ta rge t f or t hei r nex t at tac k. Muti erin Mak e a fo llo wup a tta ck aga i ns t yo ur oppo ne nt s la st Ac tiv e Defe nse die-ro ll . N ew at tack must be a diffe re nt t ype (P to C e tc .) Ringe n Gai n Free Dic e fo r a ll Grapp le c he ck s, abili ty t o mak e t rip at tac k wit ho ut t rig ge ri ng A oO Side st ep Mak e a step aw ay from y our opp onen t i ns tead of an A oO. This c an me an c ha ngi ng ran ge or sta yi ng o ut of ra ng e. Slip -T hrust Gai n a F ree Dic e w it h a sp ear , po lea rm o r s im ila r weap on fo r o ns et at tac ks onl y.

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OPEN GA ME LI CENSE Ve rsio n 1 .0 a The follow ing te xt is the property of Wizards of the Coas t, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coas t, Inc (“ Wizards ”). All Rights Res erved. 1. 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(e) “Product Id entity ” means product and product line names , logos and identify ing marks inc luding trade dres s ; artifac ts , creatures , characters , s tories , s torylines , plots , themat ic e le ments , dialogue, incidents , language, artw ork, s ymbols , des igns , depict ions , likene ss es , for mats , pos es , concepts , themes and graphic, p hotographic and other vis ual or audio representations ; names and des criptions of characters , s pells , enchantments , personalities , tea ms , pers onas , likenes s es and s pecial abilit ies ; places , lo cations , en viron ments , creatures , equip ment, magical or s upernatural abilit ies or e ffec ts , logos , s ymbo ls , or graphic des igns ; and any other trade mark or regis tered trade mark clea rly ident ified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity , and w hich specifically e xc ludes the Open Game Content; (f ) “Trade mark” means the logos , names , mark, s ign, mo tto, des igns that are us ed by a Contributor to identify its elf or its products or the ass ociated products contributed to the Open Ga me L icens e by the Contributor (g) “Us e”, “Us ed” or “Us ing” means to us e, Dis tribute, copy, ed it, for mat , mod ify , trans late and otherw is e create Derivat ive Mater ial of Open Ga me Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licens ee in ter ms of this agree ment. 2. The Licens e: This Licens e applies to any Open Ga me Content that contains a notice indicat ing that the Open Game Content may only be Us ed under and in terms o f this Licens e. You mus t a ffix s uch a notice to any Open Ga me Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted fro m th is Licens e except as des cribed by the Licens e its elf. No other terms or condit ions may be applied to any Open Ga me Content dis tr ibuted us ing th is Licens e. 3. O ffer and Acceptance: By Us ing the Open Ga me Co ntent You indica te Your accep tance o f the ter ms o f th is Licens e. 4. Grant and Cons ideration: In cons ideration for agr eeing to us e this Licens e, the Contr ibutors grant You a perpetual, w orldw ide, royalty- free, non-e xc lus ive licens e w ith the exact ter ms o f th is Licens e to Us e, the Open Ga me Content. 5. Repres entation o f Authority to Contr ibute: I f You ar e contribut ing or ig inal mater ial as Open Ga me Content, You repres ent that Your Contribut ions are Your original creat ion and/or You have s ufficient r ights to grant the rights con veyed by this Licens e. 6. Not ice o f Licens e Copyright : You mus t update the C OPYRI GHT NO TICE port ion o f this L icens e to inc lude the exac t te xt o f the COPYR IGH T NO TICE o f any Open Ga me Content You are copying, mod ifying or d is tr ibuting, and You mus t add the tit le, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NO TIC E of any orig inal Open Ga me Content you Dis tribute. 7. Us e of Product Identity: You agree not to Us e any Product Identity, inc luding as an indica tion as to co mpat ibilit y, e xcept as expres s ly licens ed in another, independent Agree ment w ith the ow ner of each ele ment o f that Product Identity . 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You may us e any authorized vers ion o f th is Licens e to copy, mod ify and dis tribute any Open Ga me Content or igina lly d is trib uted under any vers ion o f th is Licens e. 10. Copy o f this L icens e: You MUST include a copy o f t his Licens e w ith e very copy o f the Open Ga me Content You dis tr ibute. 11. Us e of Contr ibutor Cred its: You may no t market or ad vert is e the Open Ga me Content us ing the na me o f any Contributor unles s You have w ritten per mis s ion fro m the Contr ibuto r to do s o.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

12. Inability to Co mp ly : I f it is impos s ible for You to co mp ly w ith any o f the ter ms o f th is Licens e w ith res pect to s ome or all o f the Open Ga me Content due to s tatute, judic ial order , or go vern menta l regulat ion then You may not Us e any Open Game Materia l s o a ffec ted. 13. Ter mination : Th is Licens e w ill ter minate auto mat ically if You fa il to co mply w ith all ter ms herein and fail to cure s uch breach w ithin 30 days o f beco ming aw are of the breach . A ll s ublicens es s hall s ur vive the ter minat ion o f this L ic ens e. 14. Refor ma t ion: I f any pro vis ion o f th is Licens e is held to be unenforceable , s uch pro vis ion s hall be re for med only to the exten t neces s ary to make it en for ceable. 15. COPYR IGH T N OT ICE Open Ga me L icens e v 1.0a Copyr ight 2000, Wizards o f the Coas t, Inc . Sys tem Re ference Docu ment. Copyrigh t 2000. Wiza rds of the Coas t, Inc; Authors Jonathan Tw eet, Monte Cook, Skip Willia ms , bas ed on mater ia l by E. Gary Gyga x and Da ve Arnes on.

Codex Mar tia lis . Copyright 2008, 2009 Jean Chandler; Author: Jean Chandler . NOTIC E OF O GC and PR ODUCT IDEN TI TY This ent ire docu ment is cons idered O GC

Vi ki ng –Age ring-fortress or ‘trelleborg’, Frykat, Denmark

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

From the English Coroners Rolls: Used with permission, excerpted by Matt Easton Schola Gladiatoria, UK

Be it r emem ber ed, t hat about t he mont h of May prev ious , it be fell a t Acon , in th e Holy La nd , that a ce rtai n Sa racen , a mali cious traito r, w ho kne w the Fre nch lan gua ge , came to t he Cou rt of Sir E dwar d, an d assumed t he character o f one o f the d omestics t her e, as tho ug h he ha d be en on e of h is h ouse ho ld ; a nd acco rd i ngly , one day approache d him , saying t hat he w ishe d t o sp eak w ith him i n private o n a matte r for h is own ben efit a nd we lfa re . W here upon , S ir Ed war d, w ho was t oo trust in g a nd ga ve an un rea sonabl e de gre e of cr edit to th is tra ito r, re ce ive d him i n his chamber , no ot her person r emai nin g th ere . Ac cordingly, this wretch, having shut the door of the cha mber, appro ached Sir Edw ar d, as though about to speak to him, and instantly, dra wing a poisoned dagger, attempted to slay him, giving him four most dangerous, and almost deadly, w ounds. Edward however, manfully exerting himself, with a strong hand threw the malefactor to the ground, and with the traitor's own dagger cut him to pieces , blessed b e God! and so slew him. Afterwards , it beca me k nown that the Soldan had sent him to slay Sir E dward ; just as the Old Man of the Mountains had been wont to do, who, in the time of Richard, King of , caused t he Marquis de Munferat to be assassinated, at Tyre in the Holy Land, by two of his retainers, as related in the history of King Richard before-mentioned.

From: 'C hro ni cles of t he Mayors a nd S her iffs: 1 27 2-3 ', Chr oni cl es o f t he Mayors an d S he ri ffs of Lon don : 1 18 8-1 27 4 (186 3), pp. 15 9-16 6 .

Will iam Hu ghl ot was atta ched t o mak e a nswer , as we ll to t he C ommo nalty of t he C ity of Lon don , as to J oh n Rot e, Ald erman o f t he same city, i n a plea o f t respass and cont empt: w ho mad e plaint by Jo hn R eche , C ommo n Co unt or of t he said city, t h at th e sai d Will iam, o n t he Sat ur day last past, wen t t o the h ouse o f Jo hn Elyn gham , bar be r, i n t he Parish o f St. Du nstan West, i n Flet estret e, i n the subur b of Lon don , an d, aga inst the w il l of th e same J o hn Elyn gham , by fo rce o f a rms e nte red t he same; an d the r e upo n the same Jo hn ma de assau lt, an d wit h his kn ife, ca lle d a " dag ger ," str uck him , a nd wo un de d, beat , a nd malt reate d h im.

Where upon , the w ife of th e sai d Jo hn Ely ng ham, see in g he r h usban d so ma ltrea te d a nd beaten , an d pe rce iv in g t he a foresa id Jo hn Rote passing al on g t he Ki ng 's h ig hway towar ds t he Ch ur ch of S t. Du nstan a fo resaid , with g reat ou tcry ca lle d alo ud fo r h im to come and he lp her h usban d , w hom t he same W ill iam was t ryin g to slay. W here fo re, t he said Al derma n, by reaso n of th e office w hi ch he held, w her eby he was boun d to th e utmost o f his p ower t o keep an d ma inta in th e pea ce , as bein g an offi ce r o f th e K ing , we nt the re; and upon seeing the said William so assaulting John Elyngham aforesaid, he notified him that he was an Alderman of the City, and an officer of our Lord t he King, and commanded him to desist from his violent and evil conduct, and surrender himself to the peac e of our Lord the King. Upon which, the same William, though well knowing that he was an Alderman and an o fficer in the City of our Lord the King, refused to yield himself up, but with the same knife made assault upon t he Alderman himself, and would have struck hi m therewith; whereupon, the Alderman seized his hand in wh ich he held the knife, and forced him to put it ba ck into the sheath; and then further, the said William, persisting in his malice, drew his sword upon the Alderman, and would have slain him with it, had not the Alderman manfully defended himself.

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns

An d upon th is, J ohn Wi lman , who was o ne of t he constabl es of Fl etestr ete , hear in g t he affray a for esaid , we nt the re , and seei ng t hat this W il liam was t ryin g to slay t he sa id Ald erman w ith his s wor d, so draw n, w ent up to h im, an d attempt ed to arr est h im; but he refused to su bmit to su ch arr est, an d a gain draw in g his da gge r, w oun de d the consta bl e w it h it; as wel l in cont empt o f o ur Lor d t he King , as to th e dis hon our o f the Mayo r, Ald erme n, an d Sheri ffs etc.

From: 'M emor ials : 13 87 ', M emor ials of Lon do n a nd Lon do n Li fe: In th e 13 th , 14 th an d 15t h ce nt uri es (1 86 8), pp. 4 90-5 00 .

3 Fe br uary, 4 2 El izabeth .—Tr ue Bil l that , a t t he Str on d in t he par ish of S t. Clem ent Dan es w ith out t he Bars o f t he Ne w Templ e a nd i n the h ig hway t her e, o n t he sai d day, James Bell late of London yoman assaulted William Richards, then being in God's and the Queen's peace, and drawing his d agger threw it at him, so that the weapon gave the said William Richards on the right knee a mortal wound, of which he died on the 16th of March then next following. Puttin g hi mself 'Gui lty,' he asked for th e bo ok, cou ld n ot re ad a nd was r eman de d by t he Cou rt be fo re ju d gmen t. G. D . R ., . . . ., 42 Eliz .

From: 'M id dl esex Sessio ns Rol ls: 1 60 0', Mi dd lesex cou nty records : Vo lume 1: 1 5 50-1 60 3 (18 8 6), pp. 25 7-2 66 .

13 J uly, 2 Ja mes I.—True Bi ll that , at Fyn nesburye co. Mi d d . on th e sai d day, J ohn G ibbr ishe an d W ill iam Hum frey , bot h late of Lon do n yom en , assau lte d H enry R umbyl oe a hea dburr ow e, when he was in t he ex ecution o f his offi ce , a nd with a d agge r str uck him and dr ew bloo d fr om him . The said J oh n a nd Wi llia m w ere fin ed a hu nd red sh il lin gs by t he cour t.— Also , a Tr ue Bil l a g ainst t he same Joh n a nd Wi ll iam, for assau lting Thomas Err etag e a t Fynn esburye o n t he sai d day, and w it h a da gg er st rik in g a nd dr awin g bl oo d from him . Co nfessing t he in di ctm ent , Jo hn an d W ill iam wer e ea ch fine d a hun dr ed shi ll in gs G. D . R., . . . ., 2 Jam es I.

From: 'M id dl esex Sessio ns Rol ls: 1 60 4', Mi dd lesex cou nty records : Vo lume 2: 1 6 03-2 5 ( 18 87) , pp. 5-10 .

4 Nov emb er , 33 El iza bet h.—Cor one r's In qu isit ion-post-mor tem, take n a t S t. Clem ent 's Da nes w it hou t t he ba r of th e New Templ e co . Mid d., on v iew o f t he body o f Th omas Co xon , th en an d t he re lyin g dea d: Wit h Ve rd ict t hat , o n the 2n d inst . bet wee n t he ho urs ni ne and ten a .m. t he a fo resai d Th omas Co xon an d a certa in D anie ll Carter la te of Westm inster yeo man wer e a bo ut to g o to get her betw ee n "t he two e gates" near Wh ite hal l, w hen Th omas C oxon assault ed Dan iell Ca rter v iol ent ly, g iving h im on th e face se vera l wou nds wit h a dag ger , whe re upon Dani el Carte r sai d "Wh at mea nest t ho u to st rik e me? I have n oth in ge to d oe wit h th ee," an d did his utmost to w ith draw from t he same Th omas, an d w hi lst fo ll owe d by his assailant w ith a dra wn swor d di d ret reat befor e him t o t he angl e of a wall beyon d which he cou ld n ot go ; a nd t hat a ft er r eceiv in g di vers wo un ds from h is e nemy, Dan iel Cart er i n self-de fe nce drew his sw ord , when Tho mas Cox on ran i n upon t he poin t of Dan ie l's sw or d a nd so, aga inst th e same Dan iel's wish , rece ive d i n t he left part o f his bo dy a mo rtal blow , of w hi ch he di ed o n t he 3r d inst .—Th omas's su rname is spelt Crox on as o fte n as Coxon i n th is proli x w rit in g. G . D . R., 3 De c., 3 4 E li z.

From: 'M id dl esex Sessio ns Rol ls: 1 59 1', Mi dd lesex cou nty records : Vo lume 1: 1 5 50-1 60 3 (18 8 6), pp. 19 1-2 02 .

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188.6.65.233 Cod ex Mart ial is Weapo ns o f t he An cie nt Wor ld : Par t 2 Arm or a nd M issile Weapo ns Codex Marti alis Wea pons of the A ncie nt W orl d

Part 2, A rmor and Mis sle We a pons

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188.6.65.233