Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
The Threskeli might favor darts or javelins used with an atlatl, requiring both hands. A buckler can be easily slung or even hung on the belt without interfering with movement too much. When the initial javelin barrage is over, they pull sword and buckler and jump down into close combat. They have a very mobile style that involves moving in and out of the fray and sudden changes of elevation from jumping between rocks.
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Isn't an atl-atl somewhat at odds with the very mobile style? I do think that the Threskeli ought to be mobile, but it seems that an atl-atl is much harder to use on the run than simply throwing a javelin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
Based on the above and my suggestions, Jumping and possibly Acrobatics might also be skills they'd have points in.
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Absolutely, yeah. Them and the Zouavous, who have adopted many of the features of their fighting style.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
With the javelin+atlatl combo, your spares will be in the dirt in front of you or slung in a quiver. The reason for the buckler is that you can ready it fast when the throwing is done and it's time to mix it up.
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While atl-atl and javelins does give you longer range than any enemies with just javelins, that isn't actually conductive to mobility if you have to keep your ammo on the ground. Not to mention that the shield is necessary
while throwing weapons, because it's your best defence against return fire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
Another reason some would favor bucklers; easier to carry, and cheaper if you have to throw them away.
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They are cheaper, yes. Even so, the disadvantage of not being able to carry spare throwing weapons in the shield hand while you skirmish seems rather to damn them in any kind of skirmish warfare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
The ones you mention in a later post look good. You might also find a hatchet-knife like a kukri among the threskeli, as tools more than weapons. The others will probably also have some kind of hatchet or hand axe, for the same reason, but might not have a specifically weaponised version.
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The Sica of the Threskeli exist in versions down to a 6" blade. They also have a tradition of less pointedly curved single-edged tool knives, much like the seax.
I imagine that versions of the 'seax' single-edged knife exist among all the tribes except the Zouavas, who use their double-edged curved daggers for damn near everything.
Hatchets will also be a fairly common tool, but I don't know if any of the tribes will like to use them in warfare. They are less accurate and shorter-reaching than javelins. Any armour-penetrating advantage is moot if most of the opposition never wears armour.
For hand-to-hand, I expect they see some use among the Rammanu and Assurites, at least. Probably less wealthy Threskeli too, though they are probably prone to larger chopping weapons than that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
The peasant probably has some Staff skill to go with his sling; the shepherd's crook is a tool with many uses, and one of them is hitting things.
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Absolutely. Most of the Rammanu will have Sling and Staff as their warlike skills, with specialised warriors being likely to retain Sling and upgrade Staff to Spear. Add a bit of Knife skill for generic peasant utility and they're there.
Maybe some of the more warlike will practise stickfighting in addition to the Staff skill, adding Axe/Mace, Shortsword and Broadsword at some level. Maybe even Optional Specialisations of the skills, that work at full level only with blunt weapons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama
No, it's more like throwing a balanced axe.
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Hmm... yeah. I don't have any axe-throwers there. The Zouavas orginally come from a mountain range where the neighbours to the west use throwing sticks a lot for hunting and the neighbours to the east are fond of throwing darts.
For some reason, all the axe-throwers in real history I can think of were rather more Northern-European. I wonder why that is?
Axe-throwing is fairly impractical as a skirmishing style, of course, being as the 'ammo' is too heavy to carry any number of them. It only makes sense as a prelude to a shock charge.