Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Zephyr on soldiers (aka sword and shield):

A novice believes his sword of the utmost importance, and his shield there to show his family's colors. All scoff at such foolishness, but the older student thinking his shield a sign from the Maker that he cannot be struck down, is little wiser. A warrior coming away from battle with his shield dented and ripped may be praised for bravery. A warrior coming away with his shield merely scratched should be praised for skill.

Remember that every metal shield was beaten into shape, and may be beaten out of it. Even a blow that does not tear a hole drives impact through your arm and shoulder, where shock and pain will wear down even the strongest warrior. In a duel against a single opponent, you may seek a quick advantage in taking a blow directly to the shield in order to strike one in return; if you are protecting another, you may have no choice. In all other cases—against one opponent or many—it is better to hide the movement of your hips and shoulders behind your shield, forcing enemies to focus on it rather than on you.

This is also true when fighting an opponent so armed. Your goal is not the shield, but the man behind it. Circling or locking shields may gain you an advantageous position. Failing that, rain blows upon his defenses until he tires and his guard grows sloppy. If you are neither skilled enough to slip past him nor fit enough to wear him down, you will most likely die.

Zephyr on duelists (aka single weapon and no off-hand):

I have faced duelists, common foot soldiers, and skirmishers; when we strip away the titles and tricks, they are simply men who want to see their enemies dead, but need a hand free to manage it. Duelists favor a thinner target over the offensive strength of a main gauche. foot soldiers need a hand to guide their war dogs and a lighter weapon to take advantage of the openings their dogs leave, while skirmishers rely on stealth and speed too much to use a heavy shield.

When engaging with such an opponent, respect his speed. His hands and feet will move a great deal; ignore them. Watch his hips and shoulders instead. First deny what advantage he has in his allies or environment, unless you have trained equally in such matters. Once you control his weapon, overwhelm him. He has no shield, and you need not fear a second blade.

If forced to fight in such a manner, you must decide whether you will fight as a duelist, one-handed, or as a chevalier. If the former, drop your back leg away to tighten your center target, as you have no shield to cover your body or second weapon to bring into range; focus on a quick attack and give ground freely when you cannot find an advantage. If the latter, rely on your vambrace and gauntlet as a shield, and try to wrench your opponent's weapon away. My left arm bears the scars of such efforts, but my opponents bear worse. Better still: do not lose your shield at all, but battles are not a place of perfection.

Zephyr on mages (or other such casters):

Mages are not demons or monsters. They are men and women like any other, except for their skill with a weapon few are given. I say this to be clear that I do not think all mages should be put to the sword, as some believe. However, every mage walks through life with a blade drawn and ready, whether they wish it or not. Those who insist that mages are harmless must ask how the mages who fling fire when attacked learned how to kill so well. We all know well that no skill comes without practice.

If you fight a mage, you must close with him, regardless of the danger, or risk being overwhelmed. A mage's strike rarely hits with the force of a trained soldiers blade, but often carries unnatural energies: fire that boils a man inside his armor, lightning that steals the strength from his limbs, and so forth. To hold back is to give him time to alter the battlefield to his advantage in some fashion, whether he summons a wall of ice, a demonic ally, or magical flames to strengthen the blades of his guards. We know that the warrior who controls the battlfield is most often the victor. You must keep him reacting to you and continue your attack.

Mages rarely wear heavy armor, but their magic can shield them as effectively as our own plate. I have said many times to watch the hips and arms of your opponent instead of the hands, but with the mage, the hands and arms may be your only clue. If his body is protected from your blade, attempt to tangle his arms or bear him to the ground. It is not elegant or honorable, but there is no honor when fighting a mage. There is only survival.

Zephyr on archers:

To fight an enemy with a bow or crossbow is simple, although not always easy.

A guard with a crossbow must crank his weapon after each shot. If there is only one such enemy, seek cover and give him cause to waste his shot, and then close upon him before he may fire again. If there are many, close to their flank so you face one guard directly, using him as a second shield, and no other guard has a clean shot at your unprotected back. Do not move to the middle of their ranks and rely upon them hesitating to risk hitting one another.

A soldier with a shortbow is a little more dangerous. Attack him as you would an enemy with a crossbow, but accept that he will likely fire again. Approach with your shield up, even if you must sacrifice speed. Few soldiers are true masters of the bow; those who do not fumble their draw in fear will fire a shot quickly, so it is more likely to glance off your armor or shield than punch through.

Few soldiers have the skill or strength to make good use of the longbow. Respect those who do. Against such an enemy, cover is the only defense. Move quickly across his field of vision, forcing him to compensate for your movement. Do not charge directly unless your allies can distract him. A fully drawn longbow can drive an arrow through a soldier's plate at a hundred yards.

A fight between an archer and a soldier is a test of cunning versus patience. We are too often patient—heavily armored as we are—and faced with lightly armored foes who would harass us. While archers frustrate me as they do most chevaliers, it is good that we fight them, so we remember how to be cunning, how to break an opponent's patience.

Zephyr on two handed warriors:

A warrior wielding a great blade strikes terror into common soldiers, but he is no greater danger than any other opponent. A skilled warrior is struck down by a maul or battleaxe in one of three cases: in the first, he is taken unawares in the heat of battle; in the second, he cannot evade the blow because of the nature of the battlefield or his own injuries; and in the third and most common case, he is struck down because he reacts poorly.

We do not train enough against two-handed weapons because we disdain them ourselves. I think this is a mistake, and in time to come, I hope it is corrected. I have seen too many skilled warriors die because they have seen a great maul coming down at them and raise a shield to block instead of deflect. I have seen men lose their composure due to fear or anger and engage such a warrior directly, thinking they can risk a blow to their body as they would from a light sword or a dagger. In the heat of battle, even the trained mind will think such things. Those who cannot overcome such thoughts die.

You must watch the weapon, but only to gauge its length. Otherwise, as in all fights, the opponent's hips and shoulders will tell his intent. The great weapons are dangerous only when moving or poised overhead to strike down. You must give ground, but only against the true threat. If he advances but is not truly prepared to strike, you must rush in, cut him, and withdraw to your guard before his blow is ready. It may take ten cuts to kill him. Even after the ninth, he may cleave your head from your body if you do not respect the distance he can cover.

If using such a weapon yourself, mark your distance and do not allow yourself to react to an opponent outside your reach. You cannot recover your guard as quickly as you can with a sword and shield. Keep your weapon moving and measure your blows. A stuttered step on your strike can fool many opponents into thinking you out of range and then rushing their defense. In this manner, you may kill most who stand against you. Fighting in such a manner, you may feel more like a butcher than a hero, but the living may console themselves while the dead cannot.

Zephyr on guardsmen (aka polearms)

The soldier that underestimates a polearm be that a spear, halberd or lance is a dead one. Weapons like those have range and power over other types of weapons. A warrior is struck down by one of these weapons when they either underestimate the range of the polearm, overestimate their own skill or guard, or believe that these weapons are reserved only for regimental use.

A polearm has a great swing arc and such range that if you cannot close the distance with them you will die. If you fear to get close they will attempt to keep you away and harry you with light blows and quick thrusts to wear down your guard, unless they can simply go for the kill. Unlike archers who's range you must respect or great weapon fighters who's range you must be wary of, a polearm user is only dangerous if they can keep you at range, rush in and get under his guard, that close he can do nothing but backpedal leaving him open for your strikes. Do not attempt to lop of the head of a spear or poleaxe it may seem like a viable course of action but it leaves your guard completely open and a spear thrusts faster than you can swing. In the case of poleaxes or halberds aim to deflect the blows or avoid them all together each swing has great recovery giving you plenty of time to close the distance, circling around may give you a slight advantage as well as using your shield to push the blade away from you, remember your goal is to get in close as fast as possible.

when using such a weapon, stutter your step and use your superior range to your advantage, faints can help lure opponents into your strikes. avoid falling for such tricks yourself however, as recovering from a polearms swing is far harder than recovering from a sword. Mark your distance and do not allow yourself to react to an opponent outside your reach, Keep your weapon moving and measure your blows remember one false move and your opponent can slip under your guard. If possible lure your opponent into fighting you in a corridor or with allies flanking you forcing them to come at you head on, if such things are impossible give ground freely your weapon is slow so retreat to set up better situation, quick thrusts can kill easier than a mighty swing and are much less likely to end up with a blade in your gut.

Zephyr on gladiators (aka dual wielders)

dual weapons contrary to popular belief are unweildly and difficult to use, no man can claim mastery as any "master" could be easily outclassed by most adepts at any other weapon style. non the less the warrior who underestimates his foe is a dead one. while no warrior would balk at the idea of carrying a spare weapon, the warrior who carries it in his off hand is another thing entirely.

A gladiator is unable to swing both weapons at once without ruining his balance, any warrior who does so is a fool and will likely die, proper dual wielding requires the user to use one weapon offensively and one defensively, in which case one may as well use a shield. In order to use the second weapon after the first one must complete the first swing in its entirety before swinging with the second in order to maintain their stance. The main advantage of using two weapons is the gladiator can use one as a holding weapon after contact is made and use the other to attack the open area of the opponent. depending on the length of the weapons the gladiator may lose power and control, longer and heavier weapons will be harder to use leaving the wielder open to counter attack. A single weapon or a weapon and shield will give you a more controlled center of gravity than two weapons, a dual wielder is unable to break his stance to kick or use his legs offensively, and although two weapons do give more offensive opportunities, they are easier to knock from your grip.

When fighting with this style be sure that your off hand weapon is much lighter and smaller than your main, be that a form of dagger or sai, while your main can be any other single handed blade, you will want to be nimble and light on your feet, not hampered down by heavy plate. you will want to jump in and out of you opponents reach giving him cause to waste his blows in ways that you can either parry with you offhand or avoid entirely. The gladiator who fails to do this will die, watch your opponents hips and shoulders they will give away your opponents movements, since you have two weapons stay on the offence advancing and giving ground freely allow your opponent to come to you and rain blows upon his guard, give him cause to drop his guard or wear him down.

Zephyr on maces and flails

the armored foe fears the blunt weapon, slashing weapons such as swords and daggers will slide off of his plate and while axes and mauls may give an armored warrior pause a mace or flail will cave in his plate as if it where paper. The adept who fears the mace but knows that the man behind it is just another warrior has the best chance at living.

maces are effective against plate and bone alike however their large recovery time and relatively short range are their natural shortcomings,