LordGhee

Re: Sailing from Venice to Cairo Galley a ship propelled with oars. Galleasses later galleys that where big a combanation of the sailing ship and galley the spanish used them had four in the Armada. Captain Kidd (early 1700) the pirate hadl the adventure built to use oars as an auxiliary system. since a ship loaded with men to row did not carry much cargo and the rowers could fight galleys became the fighting type since Jason and the argonaunts until the sailing ship tech could carry more guns (1580 plus) Lord Ghee

Re: Sailing from Venice to Cairo From W.L. Rodgers page 110:in the 13th centry the ordinary galleys were 128 loong and 17 feet wide and a deep draft of 4 to 4.5 feet . . . displaced about 130 to 145 tons ( if I remember the nina of clolumbus fame was 300tons). . . . 60 oars to a side and a crew of 120 rowers 40 to 50 soldiers, sailors and officers. From W.L. Rodgers page 112: Anther type of galley was the “Tarida†of about the same length as the “galea sottila†or ordinary galley but about twice as wide. Such ships had two mast and 150 rowers. Not all taride had fighters’ tops but many were so fitted. They served to transport troops, horses, provisions, and siege machines and were slower than ordinary galleys. In battle they formed the second line or reserve. The merchant galleys (Galee di Mercanzia) were built for commerce but might be requisitioned for war. They were nearly 170 feet long and 19 to 23 feet wide with few oars.. . . . . . .They had a crew of 166 men, including rowers, seamen and pilots . .. . . . From W.L. Rodgers page 115: By the end of the fourteenth century the Venetian government owned The merchant galleys and rented them to the merchants at public auction fro sums which varied according to ages and risks. Sometimes when the dangers where very great the state paid the merchants for undertaking the voyage instead of asking for charter money. There were five annual “mude,†or squadron voyages out of Venice, to Flanders and England, to Languedoc, to Alexandria, to Syria, and to Rumania (Constantinople and the Black Sea)…….Each mude started with 3 or 4 ships. . . . Galleys are used where the sea’s are easier, the Med, the Baltic (until the 19th centry) lakes in china. Where is Languedoc ?? is that in France? Some info Lord Ghee

Re: We're Gonna Need Guns Hey the laser, yep they are using a laser to burn bombs in the gulf now it is mounted on a hummer and it is a big box see strageypage.com gallery. shades of the Andromeda Strain ( see the movie). Lord Ghee

Re: We're Gonna Need Guns New gun stuff? Him. . . . . how about The russians built a new seris of inf rifles that fire the secound round before the first left the barrel so the secound round is very accurate and the rifle barrel impulses back in a cool way. Report of guided 50cal rounds (laser?). The million rounds a second system. The round are in the barrel stacked one on anther so the barrel in the mag. The rounds are fired electronicly and the speed in up at million rounds a sec. The pistol has four barrel and holds 10 rds each and is the size of a 45. so those geeky multi barrel future guns in sf movies are not that far off . shotguns have teargas, flame, flash bang, bean bag rounds for years Safety locks do not work like every one wants yet (dna machting). Camera on guns. not there yet but years to a good one (look around or over things and soon after that my lt can see what it sees.) Lasers build into the gun it self. Lord Ghee

Re: Sailing from Venice to Cairo Repeat after me W. L Rodgers is the aurthority. " Admiral William Rodgers published (from jacket) a sweeping history of account of naval warfare reaching from the navies of the early roman empire to the Anglo Spanish war of 1585 - 1604 (the Armada)....... Naval Warfar Under Oars 4th to 16th centruries and the frist volume Greek and Roman Naval Warfare are the starting point for any reseach on the subject of Oared warfare. Venice is a large portion to the book as the Battle of Lepanto is one of ten chapters. Thease books publish in the late 1930's hold up as a standard. Rodgers reconstruts the ships and has military stores listed from a number of navies. his reconstructions have held up. When the Greek Navy rebuilt the Trireme The proformance numbers were what was predicted. The builders think that they could improve the numbers. This is the place to start. Sailing to cairo was done once a year and the speed for the ships was 9 to 12 Knots max with 3 to 6 knot the average (4.75 mph to 9.5 mph) this is not coverd in the book but I will look it up in orther sources if i can. Lord Ghee

Re: Translating Magic Resistance Sir, I think it was on killershrikes site that converted D&D3rd ed to Hero! that an over all limitation was given to all magic which resulted in a "saving roll" or "activation roll" . hope this helps - killer"s work is a great help. Lord Ghee

In my new Fantasy campain a spell is need to locate a race in an area so that anther race can find it (with bad intent). A friend suggested a detect usable on orthers sight with sticky with a mega scale so that any one in the area can see the race glow and the sticky so the footprints glow and can be followed. The spell last the night. This has some advantages, a dispell will only dispell the target unless it is an area effect. The special effect of the footprints glowing the night and the charaters glowing will be amusing (for everyone else). is this the right track? commits. Thanks Lord Ghee

Swords the staple of fanasty stories since the beginging. What do you all think makes a good if not great magical sword. Some examples (they all where very sharp and strong.) Sword of omens from Thunder Cats did not see it much but I do remember that it could come when called and gave far sight. The sword of Barbarossa it never missed. Excalibur always brought victory and the scabbard protection, Glamdring warned of orcs and strengthen hearts. I am building a artifact sword need some ideals please. Lord Ghee

Re: Damage Evaluation Animals do attk subs go here : http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=bear_sub1.htm

Re: How do you get players to role play in genre? You can not! yes you can lead a horse to water . . . . .. What you might do is shift the campain tone to more what your players are willing to play or get new players. harsh as most of the time the game is a circle of friends. Try an invasion of (select one ) Norse gods, Aliens, furture dudes , past dudes or the guys from alternite demionsions. This is being posted as I beat my head against the wall about my new Fanasty Hero campain and the derection it is going in. In most gaming circles there is the game master and the players his strength is that he is running. The GM has the right to fun also. Do not let any hold the group hostage not the GM or the players. Try dicussion then get new players or change your style, simple, burtal. One option is also the what do you do now (just repeat this after each player tells you something) forceing them to role play to get to the action ect. If you some times cannot make a group work ( you and them have fun) and a good gamemaster will walk ( or start playing ). hope this helps Lord Ghee

Re: Sci-fi the 60's way: Strategic Space Command WoW talk about a blast from the past. when I was ten I had one of thease models. I always thought it looked like the Khan ship, I heard later that the modelers for ST used some of this models parts for it. Thought the bay for the scouct landing craft was to much space though. thanks for the flash back. Lord Ghee

Dear tkdguy , I would very much like to help you reward your players properly. Please give us a list of who and what they are. Your world in a short general way, and how it is organized. And the adventure they are on. Do they read this list and what did they just do and how long have they been playing their characters? I am sure that the many five gentleman that read this forum can help figure ways to torture excuse me to reward your players. Lord Ghee

From history and memory States, Cities, Areas, Famous leaders (Bismarck, Wellington (oops bomber) Famous warriors, (lots of Naval warriors like nelson or Andre Doria.) Battles (usually ones your side won), Animals Predators examples fish (trigger, sturgeon) cats (tiger, panther, lion) Lots name on the theme of victory, Glory, Honor, Justice, Discovery. The Japanese had a destroyer class named after wind (divine wind, wind before a storm ect) remember the Eskimos have 20 plus names for snow, Mythical figure or things griffin, Apollo, Important dates (the October revolution,) Well know things that the people like (snoopy and Woodstock our space ships) Made up names Sea cow, The First ship launched would be the lead ship of that class and set the tone Example the rebels launch the revolution followed by the rebellion, revolt, mutiny, insurrection and uprising. In a space game I played in I got to name the escort vessel I commanded, The Tempest of the Storm class escort ships and my fellow players promptly named our shuttle the teapot.

niffy site hey got a post coming but take a look at this site to create a kingdom http://www.rpglibrary.org/utils/meddemog/ hope it helps Lord Ghee

lasers are here Lasers had that problem in the early eighties as pointed out by some articules in scienitific american then. As we post here the USA has a prtotype laseer armed plane (747) that in any weather will shoot down IRBMs. It has accoring to a USA Today papers articule of a few years ago a 200mile range and 40 shots! The lazing chamber is 2/3 the lenght of the plane. three techoligines came to gether to enable this weapon. One, defroming mirrors that where developed for telescopes this alowed the beam to be focus to the sizes of a basket ball (giving killing engery) at range. Two, Super computers which allowed the focus to be calcated quickly enough and three the chemcal laser which was powerful enough for the job. The frist prduction laser plane for the airforce will be deployed next year (6 are planned). Now I notice that if this works on a plane then it will work on a ship, speaking of ships the navy has deployed a laser phanlax replacement that can shoot down incoming antiship missles at twice the range in all weathers, this system is on a least two ships and a bud on one has stated it is great as it takes 1/2 the space of the gun and is in service more. The thing to notice about the af plane is that a 200 mile range means low earth orbit is history and pity the poor soul that is spotted at 100miles and is shot. lasers north of El Paso Tx at white sands test range have been blowing holes in everything from missles to planes for 20 years. A airforce general in testomny to congress figures it just time (years, decades) until we srink the laser so it will fit on a fighter plane. the era of lasers is upon us. Lord Ghee

Macedonian saddles In the early 80â€s I read a British modeling magazine a friend of mine owned with an article on the reconstruction of a Macedonian saddle. The article explains how the author a history professor had gotten the design off tomb statures, mosaics and drawings. The saddle had a high back and two horns that came over the top of the rider’s thighs from the pommel. After getting a saddler to make a Macedonian saddle the author a historian took the saddle to the local jousting club. With out telling the jousters what kind of saddle it was, he asked them to joust with it. The riders after using it felt that the horns and back locked the rider in place just fine. Once they had developed a confidence with this “new†saddle the jousters jousted just fine. What you could not do is what stirrups allow one to do, get on the horse easier, rise up and lean over with the weight on one foot which allowed one to stab the ground with ones sword. Most cavalry used javelins in the Ancient period probably for the reach to get at infantry lying on the ground. The author felt that the reports of Macedonian cavalry using shock action were correct. It is to my regret that I did not get the name of the magazine or the author. Lord Ghee.

Funny thing is treb in my game almost twenty years ago in his hero form of ranger fought a balrog twice, I will see if I can dig it up and modernize it. and he was wearing a villa nova basket ball shirt:) heheeheeh I bet J.S, from your gaem will read this. Lord Ghee WoW as I type treb I remember this; My fanasty Europe game treb as old tom, scribe and much more. Scene treb as old tom and bard shannon have just drowed a prisest of the balrog in a fountain at the balrogs lair no less. enter balrog behind old tom. shannon drops behind fountain making stealt roll by alot old tom is surprised due to blown per roll. balrog : what is this? (in black speach) abeat you ve dare to kill one of my priest! Old tom in black speach: Sir just think of it as evoultion in action. game master and group fall over shannon and old tom make off and take good advantage of balrog distration:) Treb is a good judge of Balrogs.

some old post reposted Hee are some old post reposted (with out permission) that are good commits on this thread from the old boards. go to the old boards there are some good stuff on them. SusanoMember posted 07-27-2001 08:21 AM quote: Originally posted by Ghostnight:As a side note modern research has disproved many of the myths concerning heavy armors(such as full plate) such as how restrictive it was, how encumbering it turned out to be and how difficult it was to don quickly. There are some who theorize that it took nearly an hour more because of ceremony than because of difficulty. When I fought in the SCA and wore armor, I could be fully armored in about 15 minutes. This is what I dressed in:sweat pants, athletic cup, gambison (padded jacket), biker's boots, gorget (neck armor made from steel plates riveted to leather), steel leg armor (cuisses [thighs], polyens [knees], lower leg was exposed), single leather greave (shin armor) on shield [leading] leg), leather vambrace and rebrace (arm harness) soaked in wax (i.e. cour-boulli) with an articulated steel elbow, plastic breastplate and backplate (covered in suede leather), and a steel bascinet (helmet). Oh, and a shield. This was about 15 minutes of buckling. I could put all of it on myself, and required no help to take any of it off (a major concern). If the breastplate was steel, I would have been fully protected in the manner of most 14th-15th C men-at-arms. Note -all this gear weighed about 40 pounds, but I could easily do a handstand if I wanted to. PatternGhostMember posted 08-06-2001 03:05 AM quote: Originally posted by Phil Fleischmann:He was not badly hurt, but there was no way he was getting back up again without help or without removing his armor. "This is why," said the demo guy, "plate armor was often nothing more than a metal coffin." On the field of battle, if you've fallen and you can't get up, an enemy can pretty much dispatch you at his leisure. Then the demo guy was wrong. Full plate weighed in at anywhere from 45-60 lbs. Weight that's evenly distributed. I ran around most of my military career with more than that much weight strapped on me, most of it on my back, and I had no problems whatsoever with mobility. There's a common misconception about the weight of armor used in actual combat. Heavier suits were used for jousts, to minimize the risk of injury. Nobody's stupid enough to put on something that's going to get them killed in a real fight if they happen to trip. In fact, there are many cases of knights documented as vaulting on to horseback from a flat-footed position. Period arms manuals describe rigorous excercise routines that mirror a lot of concepts that are still considered "new" to a lot of modern strength atheltes. An extra 45-60 lbs. of well-made armor isn't that much of an impediment. Also, if it was impossible to get up when in armor, there wouldn't have been extensive grappling systems in said manuals, because wrestling is an activity you'd want to avoid at all costs. Many historical knights were notorious for their wrestling skills. In game terms, I'd penalize for long term END loss, and for PER rolls, but not for DCV or movement. DEX/DCV penalties are a DnD holdover balancing tactic which aren't needed. (Except, of course, if you're talking about fine manipulation stuff.) If you want a tank, you buy a strong guy with good CON/END and put him in armor. If you want a zippy guy who can dance around him, buy up in DEX and wear light armor so you don't tire out. Strong guy in armor with a sword and shield versus quick guy in light armor with sword and shield: Depending on relative skill, the faster guy will have the advantage b/c he won't tire and slow down. Eventually, he'll get past the armor. Links: Valentine Armouries: Makers of historically accurate armor.The Historical Armed Combat Association: Info on historical Western Martial Arts, including scans of actual period manuals of defence [This message has been edited by PatternGhost (edited 08-06-2001).] [This message has been edited by PatternGhost (edited 08-06-2001).] [This message has been edited by PatternGhost (edited 08-06-2001).] Markdocunregistered posted 08-07-2001 06:55 AM Let's clear out the misconceptions here. Plate and mail (more accurately called transitional plate) started popping up in the late 1200's with more and more plate pieces being added as time went on. You could go back to the early/mid 1200's if you want to include the "coats of plate" which were common in period illustrations from Germany and Northen Italy. This kind of armour was very hot and heavy - up to 60-70 lbs - since it was typically full chain mail over heavy padded (or possibly leather) armour, with coats of plates or plate pieces on top of that. The sort or armour that SCA people wear is typically a mish-mash of styles most closely resembling that worn through the 1300's and early 1400's (think 100 years war). This is what is most accurately considered transitional plate, as the various individual pieces of plate started to be linked together using hinges, sliding rivets and buckles. Weight actually decreased slightly (down into the 40-50 pound range) as the associated undergarments lost a lot of weight - heavy chain mail suits were replaced with lighter chain, incomplete mail, or even dispensed with entirely in favour of padded gambesons, with chain just covering the armpit and groin. Bear in mind, SCA armour is typically lighter than real armour of this period, since a major preoccupation at the time was the protection of the "holes" in the plate" and so knights typically wore chain beneath their plate and often heavier padding beneath the chain than is the case in the SCA. Of course, their opponents were armed with sharpened pieces of steel, not wood and they were intent on killing one another! In the late 1400's and early 1500's we come into the era of full plate (white harness, full harness, etc). This is the era of the condotteri and the English Wars of the Roses, which might be what Mike was thinking of when he referred to the English civil war. This era saw the introduction of firearms, and suits of plate that were fully articulated, with all the various sections being rivetted, buckled or hinged. As a result the chain armour was finally dispensed with and the armour actually lightened in weight, but improved in protection as metallurgy improved. That meant the bits most likely to be hit (the breastplate, front of the helm, foreams and shins) were increased in thickness, but offset by reductions in thickness in less vulnerable spots. Armours from these periods may go as low as 35 pounds. Last of all, jousting armour - this is something quite different. Even in the early days, specialised jouting armour started to appear but by the time jousting was big and had assumed the form we recognise today, with knights in plate armour and two courses seperated by a fence, the armour used for jousting had nothing in common with battle armour except that it was made of metal. Often the rider's lance arm was fixed in place, with only very limited movement, the helmet was incredibly heavy and usually bolted to the chest so that it could not turn or bend, and the front of the armour covered with extra plates bolted on, sometimes over an inch thick. The whole point was to turn jousting into a spectator sport, with little risk to the participants - it had nothing to do with fighting. This is the kind of armour that if you fell over in, you could not get back up and suits could weigh up to 120 pounds. Finally rememebr that through this whole period there was nothing resembling a "standard" suit of armour. Even munition armours which were mass "produced" were still turned out one at a time, by hand and could be be put together differently, so weight and protection varied wildly. Also, all of this really only applies to the knights of Middle Germany, France, England and Northern Italy. In other places armour development folowed a quite different route. And let's not have any of this "fall down, can't get up" stuff. It did actually happen sometimes, but was usually the result of heat prostration (which still fells modern soldiers wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets) - not the weight of the armour. cheers,Mark Susano, patterghost and Mark thanks for the post. Lord Ghee

Some notes on Armour. In the Museum Replicas Limited catalog on my desk is this Information. Chain Mail shirt, which covers from the elbows to top of thigh (33†long). Regular chain 23 lbs. Their hero mail (small links) 33lbs - this seems to be like most real chain as the spanish chain form 1500's in the UTEP Museum. Flattened steel. 45 1/2 lbs this is a lot like double mail. A buddy of mine got the reg chain and it looked great but neither of else would consider it for a fight alone. Maybe over a leather gambeson. Leather Brigandine (with small steel plates) also know as a coat of plates. 6lbs My experience with real leather (this one is a light suede) is that it weight in more than the chain. Most leather amour is like a good motorcycle jacket. Coat of plates one with metal plates added. This style of Armour is generally one of the heaviest. German Gothic Cuirass and Tassets 17 lbs. 18 gauge steel – again this is light. But historically plate was lighter than equal amount of later chain. Roman Lorcia Segmentata- banded plate first century AD. 17lbs, again I think this is light but I have seen one of these suits and the weather took a baseball bat swing with little effect. Chain was really popular from when the Celts invented it around 300bc until plate got spread around after 1450. The Romans decide to adopt chain for the average legionaries with the leaders (wealthy) using plate in the Greek style. The barbarians added chain pants, gloves and sleeves. Double mail started showing up around 1200ad. Chain is really flexable the best type to move in. Plate is hard to bend in. Solders in Iraqi where 60 lbs so how they moved is how people in Armour move. Note – in a lifeguard class I took in collage the very pretty instructor offer to do any thing any one wanted if they could swim across the eight-lane pool wearing a 25lb weight vest. A lineman with the UTEP football team tried it. His weight 250 so he had the best mass to vest ratio --- gulg glug. I had to pull him up. When the rest of the team found out about this many tried, many almost died. Notes from the wars of the ancient Greeks by Victor Davis Hanson. 1 Drachma = one daily wage in 5th century BC. The cost of a war horse 500-6000 DRS. The cost of a Hoplite panoply 100 to 300 DRS The cost of a Slave 500 DRs. So the cost of Hoplite Armour and weapons is like the cost of a car. Lord Ghee

Duh! Sorry about the spelling. Note to self, thread titles have no spell checker. Lord Ghee

Dear Sirs, Like to start up the gunpowder thread again so here is a gunpowder timeline, which I plan to post here for your edification. But the first two hundred years took ten pages I decide to post a shorter line that deals with the black powder weapons. I deleted the important people listing, and most battle descriptions this is still long. 1250AD – Roger Bacon and others discover gunpowder around this time. Many keep it secret but it effeteness is limited by the impure ingredients. 1300 AD Somewhere in Northern Italy a person notices that if you take a tube and tie it to a board as a platform, cram in gunpowder (made with the new purer saltpeter) and put in an object, light it with fire and boom; the object is propelled with great force. The status of warfare at the time in France, England, central Germany and Italy is that heavy cavalry rules the battlefield. The knight the main user of the heavy cavalry style is armored in double chain with knee and elbow plates. Infantry generally carries the large shield and long spear. Most of the time infantry is not around as it is easier (and their job) to let the nobles fight. Light troops are generally armed with bow (75lbs draw) crossbow (200lbs draw) or javelin (Spanish style). Their ranges are 200m for the bow, 250 for the cross bow and 50m for the javelin. Edward I of England adds longbows (100lb draw) to his army. The longbow range of 300m and rate of fire give the English one hundred years of battlefield successes. The Mongols for the past 60 years have been showing the world why the gent that grab a bow and jumped on the horse was so bright. Over most of the world the main troop type is the horse bowman except in Europe and the new world where horses are not due to be imported for 250 years. Siege warfare is carried out with the aid of the trebuchet and catapults. Which results in the height of castle building. The Mongols learning from the Chinese that trebuchet can be built big, build them to hurl up to 2000lb stones. These stones crush the walls at Baghdad and the assassin’s castles breaking the group. The Trebuchet range is 400m. Note there are many websites and a great PBS show on building and using Trebuchet. 1338AD – The first listing of thunder jars in France followed in England and Germany by 1342AD. The state of gun technology as of the middle of the 1300’s show change. The guns start off as wood tubes that are hollowed out tied to a log and filled with powder and things to shoot (balls of stone and spears). The big problem in guns is the gun bursting (blowing up). This is due to many factors like: overcharging with too much powder, fatigue due to use, poor workmanship. The wood guns quickly get wrapped in leather and rope probably to fix burst guns, then to strengthen them to keep them from bursting. Later wire is used to wrap the gun. Then around the mid 13th century somebody figures if wire is good then a metal tube is better. Early guns are small to us to day and used in sieges for they must be put together at the site where the powder mixed and there is a source of fire. The problem with powder is the saltpeter as it gets dusty or absorbs water from the air and is render useless quickly. The first use of guns in war is in Sicily in the mid 1300. They are all individually made and different sizes, which makes it a skilled profession (as shown by their pay). The Gunners are quickly accepted into the artillery (as in catapults and trebuchets) guilds. Guns in general fire a softball size stone about 600m+. The 600m + range of these weapons is the reason they are accepted quickly as they out range any catapult, ballista and Trebuchet (400m+). These guns have a very slow rate of fire. This is due in part to having to let the piece cool so it will not cook off. Guns in general have a very limited life do to weak metal tubes bursting. They are mention at many sieges and towards the end of the 1300s start to show up in numbers. Armies need a least a few to clear out the enemy’s guns so the rest of the artillery can deploy or be stopped from deploying. 1346 AD. – The Battle of Crecy in France with the French losing to the British with their longbows. There is a report on two small cannons at the battle, and they are used to no reported effect. During the day of the battle the Genoese crossbow men (4000) suffer through a rain. Their crossbow get wet and since the bows are wood and animal parts have less range and effect than normal. The English have bow cases and weathered the rain with no bad effects. The Italians remembered being out range and shot down and start looking to improve their weapon. By 1400 AD guns have developed into two types. Handgunns and what will be called cannons. Handgunns have been used for a few decades mainly in sieges. These weapons are big, crewed by couple of gunners and they fire a shot the sizes of a mans fist. The recoil is severe and pictures show a hook at the end of a gun that holds the wall to brace it. Guns are still manly used in sieges, as a source of fire is needed. Black powder is made at factories and can carry now for limited time. Old powder is still a problem, as it gets unstable and or useable. The main reason that these weapons are used is range. Repeat range. Early cannon range 400m+ and handguns 200m+. This out ranges bows and catapults of all types. Rate of fire is in the minutes to reload with only a few rounds used. The guns still heat up quickly and cook offs still happen. Rate of fire is limited to a few rounds a day still but guns are not bursting as much. The touchhole is the firing mechanism. This will misfire half to one quarter of the time. (Most of the time the firer can retouch and fire the piece.). Cannon have developed into two types, the cannon used for range and the bombard, which is a larger in diameter gun with a short barrel used to hurl very large stones to smash walls. This type shows up in the 1430’s and a bombard race starts in Germany with every country joining at some point; the end result is Ivan the Great of Russia ordering the casting of a bombard that can hurl a 5,000 lb stone. It is so big it is not moved from the foundry in Russia until the modern era. The Italians have developed the steel crossbow (500lb draws and 300m range.) Early in the century it is cocked with a pulley and rope. Later a wind less is added by mid century on heavier models with a 700lb + draws and up to 400m range. The steel crossbow is not affected by weather as examples have been immersing in water for hours, pulled out and used with out any effect to range or power. The Italian’s remember the rain at Cercy. The French, leaders in amour protection have started to adopt the coat of plates (easily the most mistranslated piece of lore). This armour is made usually of two leather (other fabrics where used) layers with metal plates the sizes of playing cards sandwich between them. The palates where rivet or sown in. This gave very good protection unless a point found the gap between the plates. 1411 AD. First drawing of a matchlock mechanism will not be in general military use unit the late 1400. 1415 AD Battle of Agincourt. The English fight the French. The English win again. Here are some notes. The cannon with the French never make it out of the armies rear. There is a company of heavy crossbows (all crossbow at this battle are steel) of about 300 that had kept their shields (the pavis) and moved into the woods on the British left flank. Using teamwork, advancing by fire and cover beat the archers in there during the battle. Realizing that the French have loss the battle these men retire. The new armour coat of plates remains popular due to the protection it gives but stories of arrows penetrating it abound. The Hit Rate of missile fire in battle has been in general to be figured that only (see Hughes book Firepower) one in a hundred shots (gun, rifle or arrow) hits in a battle. If that is the case then the 5000 British archers each started with 40 arrows and were supplied with 40 more arrows during the battle, fire over 400,000 arrows that day. With a hit rate of one in a hundred you get 4000 hits, say 2000 more knights where then killed in the hand-to-hand fighting then you get 6,000 casualties. In the record the French army was organized in 3 groups called battles. Each battle was about 7,000. Only the first two battles fought. This gives a casualty rate of 50 percent for the first two battles of the French army. This is consider by most analyst and the U.S.Army to render a unit ineffective. From the records this is about right. The English lose about 1,600 men. 1425AD Jan Ziska in bohemia leads the peasants in a revolt that last 20 plus years. He uses wagons as movable forts with lots of missile troops in and behind them. Every one in Europe hears of his successes and how the Handgunns are very effective. Their use during battles is remarkable; the problem of fire is solved by the use of the wagons forts In the year of 1435AD the metal workers of Mainz get together to build the first suit of plate armour. This project has over 1500 armourers working on it and is to show the leadership of this Germany city in metalworking. It is priced at over 100,000marks. This is equivalent to a billion dollars of today’s money. It is so expensive that the group gives it to King Charles of Spain who is at the time is the riches king in Europe with an income of over 500,000 marks. They get an immediate order for four suits of plate from him at a much reduce cost. At the first siege that he wears it many Nobles are suitable impressed and orders come in (4 suits then 8, then 12 ect). This suit of plate becomes the standard that every soldier wants. In order to prove the quality of the merchandise armour start to proof their product by shooting the breastplate (after purchase) with a crossbow at 30 ft or later with a pistol shot after the crossbow is no longer used. This is the start of the proof mark. This armour is capable of stopping most blows with swords, arrows and crossbow blots (heavy included). Many examples in history abound. Unfortunately handgunns and cannon (of course) are the threat for the energy is still transferred to the wearer. Japanese armour makers (circa 1600AD) are driven to distraction for they can make plate that stops arrows but the bullet crushes it or the Armour stops bullets and the arrow pierces it. By 1540 the Spanish and Venice armies fighting the Turks are all in Plate vs. the Turks in chain. 1450 Battle of Formigny the French using cannon to start the battle win against the English longbow. The cannon start causing casualties and the English advance. The new white companies which are the first professional year round soldiers (cavalry) in hundreds of years. Professionally ride down the advancing English who lose most of the 4000 longbow at the battle. These troops are a gift that the French kings mistress has given him. This gift starts a trend and armies become more and more professional. Handguns are now the size that one man uses. The guns are a tube on a stick that is held under the arm. One man can aim and fire it but siege use is still the main use do to a need for a fire. 1452AD Battle of Castillion, The French have driven the British out of France except at Calais, but do not rule wisely. The people of Aquitaine revolted and the British send an army under the Earl of Shrewsbury to help them. The French send an army under the marshal of France and the Bureau brothers commanding the siege elements to the area where the army sieges Castillion. The French set up a camp with an irregular wall. The French have 600 guns (about 300+ handgunns). The Earl marches to the relief of the town. As he approach the town the British defeat a force of lancers who move to the camp. The Earl learns (wrongly) that the French are leaving and try to catch the army on the march and attacks the camp. The guns cut down the English like the longbows did the French with the wall channeling the troops into kill zones. The Earl is killed and the army destroyed. The revolt ends. 1453 AD The Siege and taking of Constantinople happens. The Turks on the fourth attempt in 70 years, siege the city. After 50 days of bombardment with the biggest gun in Europe at the time take the city in the 5th assault. The gun fires a 600lb stone ball that is thrown 1000m or more that crush whole towers and wall segments. The guns fires up to 10 rounds a day with 5 seaming to be the average rate. The gun on the last shot ordered after a long day firing burst killing the builder. Urban the builder went to the sultan after every other king in Europe turned him down. At this Siege Trebuchet, catapults and guns are used together and after this guns take over siege work totally by the end of the century. The guns by 1460’s are down to firing a baseball size stone. Handgunners are ½ of the missile troops with garrison and siege work their mainstay. Crossbowmen are team with pike; the pike shelter the crossbows from enemy cavalry on the battlefield. The Pavis has gone out of use probably due to a handgun shot able to smash it turning it to fragments. The cavalry all are mostly in Plate and records of handgun shot hitting and knocking men off horseback with the plate smashed but the man alive (unconscious). This event is considered by many to end the middle Ages. 1475 AD About this time in Italy the slow match is invented this allows the s lock to be added to the handgun. This allows the guns to start to be used in the field and in battles. Misfires are reduced as the primer pan is added. The caliber is reduce to around 50cal (big blue marble size) this is called the Harquebus. This handgun is under 5 feet and short range (300m) but is carried easy and fired fast (once a minute by a good gunner). The war of the roses is getting going in England with very few guns the longbow is the major English Infantry weapon. Handguns are added to the English army slowly only pushed out in the late 1500’s. Most Cavalry is Plate equipped in Italy, followed by France, Spain England, Germany then rest of Europe this takes 100 years. 1470 there is evidence of iron balls being used by the French. Though expensive Iron shot transfers twice the energy to the wall that is being bombarded. 1494 AD Charles the VIII of France allows his cannon to be place on wheels carriages. These cannon are used in the invasion of Italy 1494. This makes them useful in field battles and with the new Iron shot he makes quick work of castles and city walls. 1499 AD The first use of the word Moschetto (musket) 1500 AD. Spain in defeat start adding cannon with wheels and raises professional troops. Infantry is pike armed and has 25% Missile troops usually ½ crossbow and ½ Harquebus. Notes. Guns up until 1700 seem to have two limits, after 200 rounds the gunner starts thinking about melting the gun down because of fatigue, bursting becomes a threat. 10rds rapid (in one text of the 1620s 3 to 4 hours time and the gun gets to hot.) seems to heat the gun up to much. Gunners will cool them any way they can (water preferred but wine and other fluids in a pinch will do) but the insides retain heat very well. Heated guns can cook off rounds and in the heated state are weakened and have a greater risk to burst. Notice that the great gun had fire 250rds or more over 50 days and fired many shots (10 plus) that day there by earning the double chance of a burst, first from long-term use and from the heat of the rapid fire. This is the first 200 years of guns in war . In the first 50 years you need to make the powder on site. It dose not carry well and loses effect. Guns generally will fail to fire half the time. But the gunner can retouch (fire) the gun. Remember early guns are wood tube strengthen. Later metal guns are made by a smith who hammers bands of metal around a wood core. The bands are melted together and the core burnt out. Guns retain heat and guns that are to hot can if wood: start on fire, burst on firing like a bomb or just split. Generlay the max fire out put is around ten rounds fired in a day. Loading guns take a long time. You have to spoon in the powder and pack it after waiting for it to cool or at least the sparks die. Ammo is stone, and this has to be carved. One advantage of stone is that it shatters on a hard surface and fragments can kill. One disadvantage of stone is that it shatters on a hard surface and dose not carry all of it energy to the wall it is trying to knock down. Guns are all different sizes so the stone ammo will be only made for and fire in one gun. Suggested damage done. In Champions guns are smashing weapons early on. Normal dice attacks Wood guns -500meters-8 to 10 dice. Early metal guns 8 to 11 dice. 600m Range is increase with the discovery that when a smaller chamber in the tube end is used you get greater range. 1400 wall handgunn 10 dice. 250m 1450 handgun 9 dice but greater range (350m+) do to better fit of shot (truer cores) and powder. 1453 great gun of Urban, 14dice one hex area effect with explosive effect on striking hard surface. 1000m+ range Skill levels help when loading in that a better seal will fire the ball further, properly packed powder will fire with fewer misfires. Now some of your are thinking what about a hex row area effect, well it was not discovered until the 1630’s that cannon shot bounces. This grazing effect was not used until the 1700’s. You shoot the gun at less than a mans height and it bounces along until it runs out of energy being a danger the whole way. Before this you lob shot onto people and it only bounces a few meters. now for some early guns stats.

Alright Green, I assume you listen and learn. that you are busy playing to learn the system. So what have you learned and discovered. How are you running your combat? My final advice was just use it all end mods, strengh mods, dex mods and lenght of weapon rules and play. so How you doing:cool: sincerely Lord Ghee

how I create a campain How do I start a campaign? Well I developed a strategy that has worked well for me quite by accident. One day back in 91 I was sitting in my den waiting with my long time buddy C. Siros waiting for the rest of our group to show up for a movie. I had just arrived back into town and was renewing some friendships and trying to decide on a game to run. Now I had run space opera in collage and D&D then champions came out. Well our group took to this system. I ran a super game for 3 years, Justice Inc game and a Fan sty Hero Game for 4 years. I had not been able to run a game for a couple of years and I was looking for something. Now I had a thought. Lord Ghee: Siros Siros: Yea. Lord Ghee: Has anyone ever run a game for you. Siros. What? Lord Ghee: Has anyone ever set up a campaign with what you wanted to do or your character as the center. This actually got my lanky friend attention Siros: No Lord Ghee: well what do you want to be? There was a long pause, some contemplation and beer sipping. Siros: I want to be a god. (Big smile) Now this surprised me. I did not know that my friend held such pretensions So I bowed my head to consider. Head bowed I quickly thought – that would be bad. Then I reflected on the book on my lap. In search of the Trojan Wars (I was rereading it). Trojan war (like this would help) Achilles and Herkculies. Gods and demigods. Hey that is the answer. Lord Ghee: now I cannot do a god but how about a demigod? Siros: Sure. He is moving! He is getting paper and pencil right now he is starting a character! Lord Ghee: How about Ciros of Mycenae son of Hercules. Siros: Sure. And that was how my Mycenae campaign was born. Since then I have started every campaign since then with that question to some one. I want to be Jedidia Matthews of Mars (read John Carter of Mars) I want to be a Blood Guard. (The Empire game) I want to be a football hero (the burst Bronson game –read flash Gordon) My answer: I want to be a star ship Captain. (Ah what a crew – spice addicts and smugglers, gun runner and spies, psychos and criminals on the run –but it was my ship and a star to guide her byJ)

Dear Green, What is the tech in your game. what is the society based on. (tolkien, japan where MA and heavy fighters romed, England, Arthurian, robinhood). Is combat the point of your game. what in a board genarl way are the party doing (drop the ring, mage, painting in the moutain. fleeing family going to war find the items person trade route. Need a little info to help you balance the fights> Lord Ghee

In my fantasy empire game I for the frist time allowed player to play anything at 150 points, I got a prince, sargent (heavy fighter) mage, bird man, sage, and a Blood guard (MA) ect the MA due to Phy lim fought in the front and did very well. Lord Ghee