Just started a new Greyhawk campaign (5e base, with 1e/HM attitude and expectations). I was curious if anyone has written up a list of "most favored" weapons and armor by country?
Every weapon doesn't have to be covered, obviously, but something like:
An old RPG called Powers & Perils has a world called Perilous Lands. Each 'culture' has a list of "Cultural Weapons" and I think a notation about most common armor used by army/militia. We found it really useful in helping bring the different cultures to life. It also helps with how easy or expensive buying/fixing some type of armor or weapon.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone did this or has seen it done somewhere (maybe an issue of Dragon or even Oerth Journel)?
If you have access to the Greyhawk Wars boxed set, you could extrapolate that information from the army chits for each country. It's not very precise, but it would be a starting point.
Yeomanry has always been the spear country of the Flanaess. So spear = Yeomanry.
Yes, and I always appreciated that the freeholders, with their spear militias, were able to hold off the giant incursions. That made a lot of sense to me.
Here are a few suggestions based on what I have developed for my own campaign. They are based on canon as much as I could discover.
Keoland = Basic feudal society much like old England.
Geoff = Celtic. Javellin-throwing charioteers and Woad Raiders.
Sterich = Combination of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh culture. Bows, infantry, and noble cavalry.
Bissel and Gran March = Similar to Keoland, but more cavalry.
Ket = Much like Turkey. Many light cavalry and a few cavalry archers from western, Baklunish culture, and some medium cavalry and heavy infantry influenced from the nations to their east.
Veluna and Furyondy = Lots of heavy cavalry and pikemen. Think Medieval France.
Perrenland = Swiss culture. Lots of heavy infantry. Use schiltrons from Scottish culture. Like a phalanx, but a circle or oval. Archers in the center, lots of pikemen surrounding, then a ring of sword and board infantry on the outer edge for cover.
Rovers of the Barrens = American Indian horse-riding plains tribes.
Shield Lands = Like Furyondy/Veluna, but even more reliant upon heavy cavalry and heavy infantry. As if more lightly armored troops aren't worth equipping. Even dishonorable to fight lightly equipped.
Urnst States = Germanic. Mostly infantry with some light cavalry.
Nyrond = Greece. Reliance mainly upon phalanx with cavalry support.
Great Kingdom = Rome. Legionaires as infantry with cavalry support.
Well, that's a large sample. Hope it gives you some ideas.
Excellent info guys. :) Thanks! I can definitely use it to, hopefully, my advantage in presenting Greyhawk to one, shall we say, "reserved" player who doesn't think Greyhawk has any 'flare' or 'interesting stuff'. Yeah...I know. Anyway, hopefully this will help.
PS: I always saw Keoland as more Scottish than English. *shrug* No matter, just one of the beauties of Greyhawk...each DM's campaign is different, but the same. :) _________________ ^_^<br /><br />Paul L. Ming<br />
And, for those like me who had no idea what a 'scything axe' or a 'hand catapult' were, I googled them.
The best Google could come up with for the scything axe is a bunch of images from fantasy games, etc. I couldn't find any information on any real, historical weapon called a scythe axe.
Neither the hand crossbow nor the wrist rocket really capture the idea of the "hand catapult" name, though.
Hey, didn't Finieous Fingers have some hand catapults in it maybe?? _________________ Allan Grohe<br />https://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html<br />https://grodog.blogspot.com/
The executioner's mace is an exotic weapon associated with Kyuss, his worshipers, and by inference, the ancient Flan nation of Sulm, from which Kyuss was driven.
Very scythe-like shaped blade on that one, and note the handle length is not what is usually associated with a polearm. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
Might a scything axe would be the equivalent of a pole axe?
A hand catapult sounds like a hand crossbow, but I definitely like the imagery of the old wrist rockets some kids down the street had (it had some sort of PVC or plastic frame that slotted over the forearm arm to the elbow; you pulled the slingshot part back with your other hand; I think the frame helped to guard your arm
It was more for stability. It was pretty amazing how accurate of a shot I could line up with mine back in the day.
grodog wrote:
Neither the hand crossbow nor the wrist rocket really capture the idea of the "hand catapult" name, though.
Hey, didn't Finieous Fingers have some hand catapults in it maybe??
Checked my Finieous Treasury and didn't see any hand catapults, but Bored-Flak the Bolt Thrower, Mighty Wizard did have a gun sight mounted on his forefinger for accuracy.
Can't remember where I saw it. Maybe in an issue of LGJ, but I believe there was mention of a sword something like a falcata being a hallmark of some ancient Flan cultures.
C'mon people! You play D&D! You're supposed to "know stuff"! No, really, you are supposed to know stuff. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
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