Variant Rory goes deep in on the weapons and tactics of history that often inform warfare in TTRPGs and other forms of entertainment.
Welcome Variants, to a new series I like to call “Enhance Ability Histories.” In this series, we will analyze a historical battle and see how it could have changed if there were TTRPG style magic users involved. Now, I know this may get complicated, so we are going to set some ground rules before diving …
Welcome Back, Variants! Following last week’s blast of a post about artillery and indirect fire, I’d like to talk about Box Barrages today. A box barrage is a form of artillery fire that falls around a specific part of the battlefield, with the aim of preventing escape or reinforcement of that area. For a Box …
Alright Variants, let us get into the holiday season with a bang. Today, we are talking about the king of the battlefield as Napoleon called it, artillery. From the catapults, ballista, and trebuchets of antiquity and the Middle Ages to the modern cannons and howitzers, the role of artillery has changed very little over the …
A few weeks ago, we discussed the types of kingdoms that may exist in your fantasy world. Today, let’s branch out a bit and discuss some other governments that could exist in your fantasy world. In our own history, kingdoms tended to be the most common type of governing body in the Medieval period, but …
How did life in your fantasy world begin? How did technology and society progress throughout the years? In some cases, the denizens of your world may have been guided by intelligence from other worlds. Today, I would like to talk about a possible origin for life and society in your fantasy world. The book Chariots …
Well met Variants, and welcome to another War Talk. Today we shall discuss the iconic weapon of the medieval knight, the lance. Since we clarified a few misconceptions about knights before here, let’s do the same with their weapons. Related: Origins of the Knight A lance is really just a fancy spear, and the earliest …
Hello again, Variants! As promised, I have returned for week two of our pike tactics War Talk. Last week we talked about the use of the phalanx in ancient warfare, but that’s not the only time the pike saw widespread use. The second was during the early Renaissance, with the proliferation of gunpowder weapons. …
Welcome to another War Talk! Today we are taking a trip back to a time before the Medieval roots of many TTRPGs and talk about a tactic first popularized in antiquity: the pike phalanx. The phalanx was a formation of spearmen popular among Greek and early Roman city-states prior to the Punic Wars. Phalanxes contained …
Variant Rory discusses the versatile Halberd in today’s entry of “War Talk Wednesday” on the VV Blog!
Variant Rory discusses shock charges in today’s War Talk Wednesday, a regular entry of the VV Blog!
