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TROS black powder guns?

Started by Eamon Voss, March 31, 2003, 12:35:54 PM

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Eamon Voss

Quote from: Thor OlavsrudThat's why, in the Napoleonic Wars, officers would almost always wear silk clothing, since silk was much easier to remove from the wounds.

Another Mongolian original!  The Mongolians wore silk under the furs and wools to make it easier to remove arrows and make the wound easier to clean.

Ahem... I am a big fan of Mongols...
Realism in a melee game is not a matter of critical hit charts, but rather the ability to impart upon the player the dynamism of combat.

Nick the Nevermet

Quote from: Eamon Voss
I love TROS already.  But I am not so enamored of the world.  So I will probably create my own new world.  If I did want to set it in Wyerth, it would be easy enough to introduce guns.  They have the metallurgical skills to use the stuff.  

Oh, I agree... I was just curious what people were going to do.
I'll be curious to see anything you post about your own TROS setting.

Quote from: Eamon Voss
I thought it kind of neat.  We always have this idea that it is 'advanced civilizations' that invent the kewl stuff.  What if this were not the case?  Heck, the Turks and Mongols used awesome bows that were wieldier than the longbow and have more power.  And even though the Mongols created the 300 year Yuan dynasty in China, developed the first postal system, opened up trade routes between Asia and Europe, made reading and writing mandatory for soldiers, and were the first to have freedom of religion, we still think of them as destructive barbarians who never did anything.

I agree the Mongols and Genghis got a reputation they didn't wholly deserve.  The thing that got me wasn't "oh goodness, the eurasian barbarians have guns!" as much as they have them, nobody else does, and it was mentioned as an aside and not an important thing.  While I can understand unreliable, early firearms not being of major import, it caught me offguard.

Eamon Voss

Quote from: Nick PagnuccoOh, I agree... I was just curious what people were going to do.  I'll be curious to see anything you post about your own TROS setting.

Thanks!  I plan to get the website for it up sometime today, probably tonight.  


QuoteI agree the Mongols and Genghis got a reputation they didn't wholly deserve.

Well... some of their reputation they did deserve.  They weren't the nicest of people.  But then again, what they did was pretty much the norm of their time (and our time).  Genocide is not new.  Neither is torture (which they taught to the Russians during their 250 year domination).  But as far as I know they committed genocide for purely strategic reasons (Tatars and Kwarazim come to mind) rather than because of inter-tribal or inter-religious conflict.  Not that it being a strategic reason makes it any better of course...

QuoteThe thing that got me wasn't "oh goodness, the eurasian barbarians have guns!" as much as they have them, nobody else does, and it was mentioned as an aside and not an important thing.  While I can understand unreliable, early firearms not being of major import, it caught me offguard.

Good point.  It does make you wonder.
Realism in a melee game is not a matter of critical hit charts, but rather the ability to impart upon the player the dynamism of combat.

Sneaky Git

Quote from: Thor OlavsrudMuskets did create awful wounds, because the shape of the bullets meant they rarely exited the body, often lodging on and breaking bones. But those wounds rarely killed. The real killer was wool!

When the bullet struck, wool clothing the victim was wearing would disintegrate, entering the wound and becoming next to impossible to remove. The wounds invariably turned septic, especially since the tools a surgeon would use to try to remove a bullet (if attempted at all) were also dirty.

That's why, in the Napoleonic Wars, officers would almost always wear silk clothing, since silk was much easier to remove from the wounds.

I know it's a little off-topic, but Mongol arrow riders wore long silk shirts as a defense against arrows.  Arrow would pierce the skin without piercing the shirt, enabling an easier removal process.  At that was 12-13th century CE.

Very Cool.

[edit text]Damn.  Really ought to read the whole thread prior to posting.  Kudos to you Eamon.[/edit text]


Chris
Molon labe.
"Come and get them."

- Leonidas of Sparta, in response to Xerxes' demand that the Spartans lay down their arms.

Mike Holmes

Uh, the Mongols weren't totally backwards, and in fact had some really interesting military innovations.

But let's not go down the road about them being "not so bad". They were bad. As bad as bad gets. You think genocide is bad? They did lot's worse than that. Hard to believe? I don't even want to tell the examples that I'm aware of. Let's just say that if you really want to be squicked out, read up on it.

Mike
Member of Indie Netgaming
-Get your indie game fix online.

Eamon Voss

Quote from: Mike HolmesBut let's not go down the road about them being "not so bad". They were bad. As bad as bad gets. You think genocide is bad? They did lot's worse than that. Hard to believe? I don't even want to tell the examples that I'm aware of. Let's just say that if you really want to be squicked out, read up on it.

You are right.  The Mongols were bad.  Really bad.  So was Europe and China and the rest of the world.  The Mongols just happened to give 'it' to people who either normally gave 'it' to others.  Every brutal action the Mongols performed, you can find corrollaries of similiar actions performed in the same century by those who condemn(ed) the Mongols.

The one thing I have to say about the Mongols is that they generally don't make a good addition to role-playing games, especially the Riddle of Steel.  Unless, of course, you are playing Mongols or forces that know Mongol tactics and weapons (Post Ayn Julat Mameluks, Cossacks  etc)
Realism in a melee game is not a matter of critical hit charts, but rather the ability to impart upon the player the dynamism of combat.

arxhon

QuoteThe one thing I have to say about the Mongols is that they generally don't make a good addition to role-playing games

Could you elaborate on that please? I'm really interested to know why you say that.

murazor

Quote from: Nick PagnuccoWho do you think would have guns, and how would they get used?  Are people planning on introducing them to the campaign, or edit the world that guns exist?

I don't plan to use Weyrth. It's close enough to the real world that I'd rather use a historical setting or another world entirely, with ICE's Shadow World being my preferred fantasy setting.
For my (still pending) first test of TROS, I had an idea to set a scenario at the time of the St Bartholomew massacre in Paris in 1572 - inspired by the Dumas story Queen Margot.

Eamon Voss

Quote from: arxhon
QuoteThe one thing I have to say about the Mongols is that they generally don't make a good addition to role-playing games
Could you elaborate on that please? I'm really interested to know why you say that.

I write something up and post it to a different thread.  We could be in for a long discussion.
Realism in a melee game is not a matter of critical hit charts, but rather the ability to impart upon the player the dynamism of combat.