Today on classical archaeology dungeons: the site of Tel Kedesh. Do with it what thou wilt.
Ruminations on fiction, roleplaying, and assorted irritants.
Showing posts with label Late Classical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Late Classical. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
The Narrow Tread
I usually go through great pains, when designing dungeons, to make corridors that are at least 5' wide, and often include many that are 10' wide. The logic, of course, is purely gamist and has nothing to do with the considerations of the structure of the buildings. I want fighters to be able to fight.
All that is about to change. Moving through medieval structures in Florence has given me a better appreciation for the size of rooms and stairwells. Indeed, most medieval buildings don't have corridors at all, but rather rooms opening onto other rooms. However, I preserve them for dungeons on the grounds that most of these places are built in a substantially different style to the "modern" world of the setting. That being said, chokepoints conveniently occur at doors and stairwells in medieval buildings.
Now, stairs... I have never imagined a stairwell or a corridor of less than five feet would exist in a medieval building. I had never been inside the winding, twisting, crazy path of the Duomo stairs. They are easily 3' at their widest and continue upwards for 462 steps. The walk is grueling, and the space is suitable only for grappling and stabbing. Even a pike or spear would have a hard time being used in such confined quarters, as the stairs turn and turn and turn on themselves, leaving no room for the butt-end of the weapon to trail or be set.
So you'd better believe that narrow design is having a comeback. Roofs that are too low for standing up (like the excavated crypts and church below the Florence Baptistery, which is a great model for a dungeon), floors that are sharply canted, and all other manner of architectural nightmare should soon find its way into the 10th Age. Farewell to the spacious, simple, rectilinear dungeon design. Hello, ancient and medieval architecture.
All that is about to change. Moving through medieval structures in Florence has given me a better appreciation for the size of rooms and stairwells. Indeed, most medieval buildings don't have corridors at all, but rather rooms opening onto other rooms. However, I preserve them for dungeons on the grounds that most of these places are built in a substantially different style to the "modern" world of the setting. That being said, chokepoints conveniently occur at doors and stairwells in medieval buildings.
Now, stairs... I have never imagined a stairwell or a corridor of less than five feet would exist in a medieval building. I had never been inside the winding, twisting, crazy path of the Duomo stairs. They are easily 3' at their widest and continue upwards for 462 steps. The walk is grueling, and the space is suitable only for grappling and stabbing. Even a pike or spear would have a hard time being used in such confined quarters, as the stairs turn and turn and turn on themselves, leaving no room for the butt-end of the weapon to trail or be set.
So you'd better believe that narrow design is having a comeback. Roofs that are too low for standing up (like the excavated crypts and church below the Florence Baptistery, which is a great model for a dungeon), floors that are sharply canted, and all other manner of architectural nightmare should soon find its way into the 10th Age. Farewell to the spacious, simple, rectilinear dungeon design. Hello, ancient and medieval architecture.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Guards!
This post brought to you by a special request from the Marquis over at the East Coast Guide to Living. The Marquis asks...
"Just exactly what was the role of the local constabulary in apprehending criminals throughout the Middle Ages?"
The answer to this, like any question which addresses the medieval period as a single continuous block, is very complicated and we'll have to take it apart by period. Since I know a bit of Late Classical stuff we can start there, with the Roman version of the constabulary and move forward through time to examine when and were guards got their infamous positions making sure there was peace in any given city or town (hint: very late or very early, but not in between).
The Romans. I have no idea what the Hellenistic world, the Persians, the Babylonians, or the Egyptians did in terms of guards and constables. I do, however, know how the Romans played that game. They had both the vigiles and the Urban Cohorts to act as a sort of police force. These were paramilitary organizations which primarily kept riots and things from taking control of the Republic. The vigiles kept a night watch as well, to prevent or stop robberies and catch runaway slaves. These are as close to the fantasy trope of "guards" as we're going to get for a long time.
The Early Middle Ages. Say farewell to guards. They don't exist. The closest thing there might are maybe some reeves or ealdormen in England, perhaps a local bailiff in Frankia. When something goes wrong, it is the duty of citizens to apprehend the culprit. The reeve or ealdorman (depending on your time period in England) will put offenders up in a croft or manse to be held for judgement if they've committed a crime that the lord has to come and adjudicate or, (ENGLAND ONLY) if they've committed a high crime which requires waiting for the royal assizes to travel through the area and assemble a trial.
Towards the end of this period you have a lot of people pulling "guard duty" or something like it in castles. It's part of the services they owe their lord, including paying for their own armor and poles or truncheons. These guys are overseen by one or more knights. They aren't trained, they're just your average local schmucks except they have a leather jack on now. These guys aren't in cities, just at fortifications. Cities are still utterly guardless.
The High Middle Ages. None here either, though the organization of a night watch occurs in england towards the end of the 13th century. This is a commoner-composed force just like the castle guards. People get chosen to serve for a month and then they have to be a sort of makshift vigiles squad. Knights or serjants of some kind usually accompany them.
The Late Middle Ages. Retinues of princes start developing more police-like duties. However, the true police force (one that investigates, stops, and prevents crimes) doesn't exist for another several centuries. So stop running your watch like a modern police department, you dope! Or keep doing it, that's fine. I have very few "police" like figures at all in the 10th Age, myself.
"Just exactly what was the role of the local constabulary in apprehending criminals throughout the Middle Ages?"
The answer to this, like any question which addresses the medieval period as a single continuous block, is very complicated and we'll have to take it apart by period. Since I know a bit of Late Classical stuff we can start there, with the Roman version of the constabulary and move forward through time to examine when and were guards got their infamous positions making sure there was peace in any given city or town (hint: very late or very early, but not in between).
The Romans. I have no idea what the Hellenistic world, the Persians, the Babylonians, or the Egyptians did in terms of guards and constables. I do, however, know how the Romans played that game. They had both the vigiles and the Urban Cohorts to act as a sort of police force. These were paramilitary organizations which primarily kept riots and things from taking control of the Republic. The vigiles kept a night watch as well, to prevent or stop robberies and catch runaway slaves. These are as close to the fantasy trope of "guards" as we're going to get for a long time.
The Early Middle Ages. Say farewell to guards. They don't exist. The closest thing there might are maybe some reeves or ealdormen in England, perhaps a local bailiff in Frankia. When something goes wrong, it is the duty of citizens to apprehend the culprit. The reeve or ealdorman (depending on your time period in England) will put offenders up in a croft or manse to be held for judgement if they've committed a crime that the lord has to come and adjudicate or, (ENGLAND ONLY) if they've committed a high crime which requires waiting for the royal assizes to travel through the area and assemble a trial.
Towards the end of this period you have a lot of people pulling "guard duty" or something like it in castles. It's part of the services they owe their lord, including paying for their own armor and poles or truncheons. These guys are overseen by one or more knights. They aren't trained, they're just your average local schmucks except they have a leather jack on now. These guys aren't in cities, just at fortifications. Cities are still utterly guardless.
The High Middle Ages. None here either, though the organization of a night watch occurs in england towards the end of the 13th century. This is a commoner-composed force just like the castle guards. People get chosen to serve for a month and then they have to be a sort of makshift vigiles squad. Knights or serjants of some kind usually accompany them.
The Late Middle Ages. Retinues of princes start developing more police-like duties. However, the true police force (one that investigates, stops, and prevents crimes) doesn't exist for another several centuries. So stop running your watch like a modern police department, you dope! Or keep doing it, that's fine. I have very few "police" like figures at all in the 10th Age, myself.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Silver Standard in a Fantasy Setting
Before I launch into a discussion of fantasy economics, I'd just like to apologize for going dark last week. One of my two cats, Bodega Bay, had a stroke and I did not feel up to continuing the blog immediately following her death.
Anyhow!
I have heard the argument, repeatedly, that because D&D uses the gold standard it is somehow not as realistic or representative of the middle ages as certain other RPGs that I could name (Hârn, for one). While it is true that D&D generally does not represent the middle ages very well, I would put forth the argument that this is not because of the gold standard in coinage. Indeed, I have tried to align the 10th Age far more with the historical middle ages myself, and yet I never changed the coinage from gold to silver. For a number of reasons, I don't believe that silver coinage represents anything fundamentally true about the medieval period, and I shall enumerate that belief here.
Anyhow!
I have heard the argument, repeatedly, that because D&D uses the gold standard it is somehow not as realistic or representative of the middle ages as certain other RPGs that I could name (Hârn, for one). While it is true that D&D generally does not represent the middle ages very well, I would put forth the argument that this is not because of the gold standard in coinage. Indeed, I have tried to align the 10th Age far more with the historical middle ages myself, and yet I never changed the coinage from gold to silver. For a number of reasons, I don't believe that silver coinage represents anything fundamentally true about the medieval period, and I shall enumerate that belief here.
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