Copper and Bronze the most common and cheapest metals available in the Imperio, so everything from pots, pans, cups, knives, tools, swords, spearheads, armor, etc. can be made out of copper or bronze simply because is it "cheap" and "common" - even if those who can afford it use iron or steel. Weapons and armor are specifically legal to citizens of the Imperio, so anyone who bothers to have a sword or a spear but isn't a soldier or part of the martial world may well have a bronze sword. They work fine, if bent can usually be hammered back into shape (unlike iron & steel) and if really beat up can be recycled by melting and recasting. So cheap bronze arrow head, spear heads, knives, short swords, hammers, maces, etc. are very common. And bronze doesn't rust but only takes on a green patina if unpolished. So sailors often have bronze weapons to avoid rust. Bronze also "takes" enchantment a bit better than iron or steel.
High Bronze, or Gujan Bronze, is really tin and copper like regular bronze but with some other special ingredients to the alloy, but is favorable in comparison to steel or iron and much better than regular bronze. It holds it edge better and longer than bronze and even some iron and steel, also unlike regular bronze rarely takes on a green patina even if fairly old. Some warriors and martial types favor Gujan Bronze over steel - and usually start long annoying debates about the virtues and flaws of one metal over the other. The main undisputed advantage to Gujan bronze is that it "takes" enchantment much better than steel or iron.
Bronze Iron and Steel are used in all types of metal armor, Gujan Bronze being rather rarer in armor than with weapons. Leather and stiff boiled leather are also common as armor or fitted with metal. The "ideal" Legionary armor is a banded plate (lorica segmentata) but the most common Legion armor is various grades and styles of chain-mail. Iron and steel are preferred but if bronze may be used instead even if inferior in result and quality. Legionary helmets should be a simple metal cap/pot hopefully with nose, cheek and neck plates to increase protection. Helmets are often just a pot with a nose guard and a pointed top, or some times with a a goggle like eye protection. Another approach is a flat top (with interior padding) and a band of metal around the head, sometimes with a nose protector or even a detachable face grill. "Kettle" helms are also popular for militia or regular troops, a pot helm with a wide metal brim. An armor we don't know so well but which is common in the Imperio is Linothorax laminated linen armor. This is many thin layers of linen glued and lacquered together to form a stiff but flexible armor, lighter than metal armor, and which does not rust. And like Gujan Bronze, it "takes" enchantment very well compare to metal or even leather armors. Linothorax refers in part to the shape/coverage of the armor which is almost always in the shape of a sort of cuirass plate that wraps around the chest on one side and laces/ties up on the other, with shoulder bands that tie from back to front, and with a fringe/skirt of stiff strips to give some protection to the upper thighs. Thus, the armor is light and fairly maneuverable even if it doesn't protect the arms or legs. The factors make it the armor of choice for the Lampioneers, as well as the most common armor owned by 'civilians' who are not soldiers, of the martial world, etc.
Firearms are known though we would saw they are rather primitive. The most common is the fire lance or "Pafilo" - essentially a spear with a tube attached that can make a single shot of fire smoke and buckshot at an opponent but is still somewhat useful as a somewhat inferior spear after firing. This is popular among Lampioneers, Legionary skirmishers, and caravan guards as the blast can frighten off many a monster or bandit who isn't necessarily than injured by them. They are also a common mass quantity stockpile for city militia in emergencies since they aren't very difficult to use. Beyond this there are wheel lock pistols, shotgun/blunderbuss' and arquebus. Generally these are the province of aristocrats showing off, or specialists who for some reason favor an expensive and sometimes unreliable weapon since both moisture and magic can cause serious problems for fire arms. The only regular and official force to use firearms much are the Lampioneers and even among them they are uncommon except for the Pafilo. Grenades of a primitive type are not rare but not common, as are rockets and flares of various sorts and sizes.
That's about it on that subject.For now at least.
No comments:
Post a Comment