monkeypoacher

(begin blog post)

This is Maximilian plate armor, which was developed in the early 16^th century in response to the predominance of pike-and-shot warfare. People roleplay it on LoTC because it lets their character be virtually invulnerable to enemy swords (”your thrust bounces off my gorget”). Its actual battlefield purpose, if there was any, was to stop pikes from penetrating a rider at high velocity during a cavalry charge. It was heavy, impractical for hand-to-hand combat, and very, very expensive. Lighter armor made of cloth and chainmail (with metal helmets and cuirasses to protect vital bits) would have been used by footmen, who didn’t need to worry about a pike flying into their face as they charged toward the enemy.

Meanwhile, the 14^th century saw cannons (towed or even handheld) used in sieges. Since the late 1200s, the Chinese had been using guns in skirmishes with Jurchen and Mongol raiders. The Mongols for their part, after conquering China, probably spread knowledge of gunpowder to Europe, Iran, and Arabia through their conquests. There’s no reason LoTC should ban the development and use of rudimentary firearms. I’d argue our setting is less accurate, and less fun, as a result of the “techlock.” 

I think that synthesizing period-accurate and anachronistic elements to make our fantasy setting more fun is good, and we should do it more often. There is no reason that descendant history has to mirror real-life history. There is no reason we should strive for historical accuracy on a server with immortal elves and magic. If we race to the bottom trying to ban everything that isn’t “medieval” we’ll deprive ourselves of creative freedom. We’ll punish well-intentioned players for trying to roleplay. Repeal techlock pls

doesn’t matter, tythus and telanir don’t want guns, so no amount of logic will give you them

bootlicka