@DesksAndDorks someone has to take care of the horses, might as well be that cousin of yours mom said you should help finding a job. As you've said on one of your exemples, knightly families were kind like mob families.
Knights are so good to RP. Both a dandy fop and a trained killer. Expects to be respected by everyone. Every peasant they've ever talked to before has been their property. 8th generation to lease this same swath of land from the king. Has a code of honor they are spiritually obligated to perform but actually they can't live up to the demands and nobody else in society even bothers. It's tragic, it's farcical, it's social commentary, it's Lawful Good baby!
I'll sign that consent form for a game with murder, torture, body horror, and assault without a second thought, but I draw the line at nauseating puns!
Your presence is enough my friend! It's a hard time for a lot of folks but getting notified or commenting like this really does help a ton so I appreciate it.
You don't have to, but it actually does. Even if people don't buy/back every notify link that we get makes it more likely, kickstarter recommends it to new folks. I'm not gonna say I don't want money (I do), but it really does help. (Edited to add this) Also, as someone who has lived hand to mouth before, I recognize that I am immensely privileged to be doing this and I don't expect anything from yall. You watching the stuff I make is genuinely a lot to me.
Love your videos! I have been really enjoying listening to these videos and exploring the low fantasy integration that I love bringing to my games. A small thing for this video since I married a medievalist and have been thoroughly corrected over the years, one of if not the most important part of being a knight would be their horse. It was the symbol of their power and was a key part of knightdom and why so much of their training revolved around them. But given the limitations most tabletop combat horses tend to be hard to fit in. As you said, the devastating power of knights was nearly uncontested for most of the medieval period until the pike and shotte era finally curbed their status. Second small thing, the Knights Hospitaller managed to survive the Ottomans and were only unseated from Malta by Napoleon of all people but survived nonetheless. My father was a corporal in their ranks as they are now basically a Catholics-only Red Cross organization. Just a fascinating thing how of all the military orders they managed to survive and maintain their roles as healers to this day.
Are there plans for your company to eventually make a historical fiction or low fantasy with realistic history depictions tabletop RPG? I think that would be loads of fun
As of right now, we have a 2025 release that isn't specifically low fantasy (the system should allow for a lot of expression), but HEAVILY uses low fantasy concepts and political intrigue for roleplaying. That's about all I can say now, but it's going to be a doozy if the playtest feedback is any indication.
(that Greenwich armour was a practical armour, i haven't encountered a "non-practiacal" set of armour. The closest thing to Parade in this period is the tournament. for which you need practical armour. Secondly. I think plate was a lot more common than youre letting on. Especially for the knightly class. Plate harness neing issued to retainer knights is well documented. Although i do appreciate the shout out to my boys in full maille. Very cool video
I tried to make that distinction clear (idk if it came through) because I'd read most parade armor was still functional. Also yes plate was more common but that good full plate was so hard to come by! I'm glad you're enjoying the content!
@@DesksAndDorksConsider adding clarifications like "in the late 13th century, full plate harnesses were rare and hard to come by" because battles like Crecy & Poitiers in the mid 14th Century showed us countless knights and men-at-arms in full plate harnesses.
On the safety tools, I find it really useful to have a quick paper with things allowed and not allowed at my table. I, as the DM, decreed that SA just doesn't exist in my world. It's not a thing. Boom, easy. My players insisted, and we all agreed, that they don't want to have children in peril or in places of danger. Not because it upsets them, but because they can't stop killing them or getting them killed. 😅 So yeah, that's now one of our safety tools. As for knights in my world, I love playing knights as Paladins of the Crown. They're enforcers, lawmen, noble leaders. I think of them like the county sheriff and deputies. They follow the law of the land and make sure everyone else does too.
About the military orders, would the Templars or Teutonic Knights have been tonsured? In movies and art they always seem to have a full head of hair, but why wouldn’t they have had the same haircut as monks of other rules? Ransom culture is such an untapped source of adventure hooks. Imagine the player characters having to guard a knight’s ransom on the way to being delivered, or being part of a raiding party to steal that ransom for themselves. Or the taxes laid to raise a ransom have provoked a peasants’ revolt that now has to be dealt with, preferably without massacring lots of people, or the characters themselves are in danger of losing house and home to those taxes. Or maybe the reason we need to go slay the gold-guarding dragon or loot the wizard’s tower is because we need the money to pay Uncle FitzLeon’s ransom. Maybe the dowry that the beautiful princess brings to her marriage is needed to pay a ransom, but the princess has other ideas. And on and on.
I'd have to look into tonsuring. My guess is it wasn't a requirement for the military wings of the order (it would have been hard to enforce grooming standards like that logistically), but I can't say for certainty. Also, I know! I love and have run ransom plot lines before, and they are great fun.
Somewhat related, but I'm working on a shadowdark mass combat supplement and this brought up some questions I hadn't found a good answer for. 1. Were knights *the* heavy cavalry of their time, or were there some kind of heavy cavalry equivalent that weren't knight? I have them as separate units, but considering your point that a knights retinue would contain plenty of skilled and similarly armed and armored men-at-arms, I'm thinking it might be more appropriate to roll them together into a single unit. 2. Would unlanded knights be paid a salary or stipend by their leige to accommodate their lack of revenue generation? If so, how much would be reasonable to expect be given? 3. Is there a general rule or metric that can be followed for determining what a reasonable number of knights a given noble might have under their command?
I wish I had this for the q+a! 1. Knights were the heavy cavalry. There were higher cav units and some armored or mounted men at arms but for Europe. There were obviously some retinues that worked like mixed units but those were not quite a unit. 2. Unwanted knights would have been paid but calling it a salary might be a bit of a misnomer. Likely they would have been up front some amount then given cuts of plunder and most likely a place to stay as well as help maintaining their equipment. 3. There isn't a general rule or metric but a good thing to consider is that armies march on their stomachs. A force of 30-50 knights and their retinues would have represented a SIGNIFICANT military force. But that means those animals and people need to be fed and cared for which is a significant drain on resources. Large armies don't happen much in the middle ages. Hope this helps!
I highly recommend reading the Ill Made Knight by Christian Cameron if you really enjoy historical fiction. Does an excellent job portraying history and historical views and behaviors imo
The difficulty with that topic is, what is a barbarian? To the Greeks, the Persians were barbarians. The Romans called the Britons and the Sarmatians both barbarians, even though the two had nothing in common beside being not-Roman. To the Chinese and Japanese, all of us Europeans were barbarians.
I've heard barbarian refers to bearded men, because that was out of fashion in Rome and Greece, but for my money, I don't remember where, so I can't attest to the veracity. It might just be that everyone not in your culture is a filthy savage.
Obviously the best thing to do is to have a monarchlless society where the code of chivalry extends to the common folk. Every man a king, every man protected by the Knight.
...why would you want a monarchless society yet still have powerful martial aristocrats above you..? The entire point of a king is that he is responsible for ensuring his vassals don't abuse their powers, just like they keep him in check. I think you fundamentally misunderstand the feudal structure if you think such a society is remotely sustainable.
I'm not sure if you're talking to me or the other commenter. However I don't think a monarch-less society (or in our case a society without some form.of centralized government with checks and balances) is attainable or desirable. I was insinuating that in general rights seem to have moved closer to the middle of social strata than in the past.
Yeah, constables, henchmen, marshals, lots of knights worked on the stables of other, more important knights.
It's actually hilarious how many knights were legit just stable knights.
@DesksAndDorks someone has to take care of the horses, might as well be that cousin of yours mom said you should help finding a job. As you've said on one of your exemples, knightly families were kind like mob families.
@blvalverde scarily like organized crime families!
Knights are so good to RP. Both a dandy fop and a trained killer. Expects to be respected by everyone. Every peasant they've ever talked to before has been their property. 8th generation to lease this same swath of land from the king. Has a code of honor they are spiritually obligated to perform but actually they can't live up to the demands and nobody else in society even bothers.
It's tragic, it's farcical, it's social commentary, it's Lawful Good baby!
This may be one of the most succinct posts I've seen on why knights are fun. This is great stuff.
Oh gods, the puns. Its Knight Time! Ugh, the agony.
I love it!
The puns will continue until morale improves
I'll sign that consent form for a game with murder, torture, body horror, and assault without a second thought, but I draw the line at nauseating puns!
I am sorry dear Creator of good Content, but i can't ser aside any money right now, so i will do my best with the youtube pleasantries
Your presence is enough my friend! It's a hard time for a lot of folks but getting notified or commenting like this really does help a ton so I appreciate it.
I dont believe you, but okay @@DesksAndDorks
@@DesksAndDorkssame for me
You don't have to, but it actually does. Even if people don't buy/back every notify link that we get makes it more likely, kickstarter recommends it to new folks.
I'm not gonna say I don't want money (I do), but it really does help.
(Edited to add this)
Also, as someone who has lived hand to mouth before, I recognize that I am immensely privileged to be doing this and I don't expect anything from yall. You watching the stuff I make is genuinely a lot to me.
3:57 Later plate armour had plate for a lower head. Often they were A LOT bigger then the real one.
Love your videos! I have been really enjoying listening to these videos and exploring the low fantasy integration that I love bringing to my games.
A small thing for this video since I married a medievalist and have been thoroughly corrected over the years, one of if not the most important part of being a knight would be their horse. It was the symbol of their power and was a key part of knightdom and why so much of their training revolved around them. But given the limitations most tabletop combat horses tend to be hard to fit in. As you said, the devastating power of knights was nearly uncontested for most of the medieval period until the pike and shotte era finally curbed their status.
Second small thing, the Knights Hospitaller managed to survive the Ottomans and were only unseated from Malta by Napoleon of all people but survived nonetheless. My father was a corporal in their ranks as they are now basically a Catholics-only Red Cross organization. Just a fascinating thing how of all the military orders they managed to survive and maintain their roles as healers to this day.
Ugghhhh the horse is such a glaring omission on my part and would have been worthy of an entire section. I appreciate you pointing that out!
Are there plans for your company to eventually make a historical fiction or low fantasy with realistic history depictions tabletop RPG? I think that would be loads of fun
As of right now, we have a 2025 release that isn't specifically low fantasy (the system should allow for a lot of expression), but HEAVILY uses low fantasy concepts and political intrigue for roleplaying.
That's about all I can say now, but it's going to be a doozy if the playtest feedback is any indication.
A pretty neat video and source of inspiration.
(that Greenwich armour was a practical armour, i haven't encountered a "non-practiacal" set of armour. The closest thing to Parade in this period is the tournament. for which you need practical armour.
Secondly. I think plate was a lot more common than youre letting on. Especially for the knightly class. Plate harness neing issued to retainer knights is well documented. Although i do appreciate the shout out to my boys in full maille.
Very cool video
I tried to make that distinction clear (idk if it came through) because I'd read most parade armor was still functional.
Also yes plate was more common but that good full plate was so hard to come by! I'm glad you're enjoying the content!
@@DesksAndDorksConsider adding clarifications like "in the late 13th century, full plate harnesses were rare and hard to come by" because battles like Crecy & Poitiers in the mid 14th Century showed us countless knights and men-at-arms in full plate harnesses.
On the safety tools, I find it really useful to have a quick paper with things allowed and not allowed at my table. I, as the DM, decreed that SA just doesn't exist in my world. It's not a thing. Boom, easy. My players insisted, and we all agreed, that they don't want to have children in peril or in places of danger. Not because it upsets them, but because they can't stop killing them or getting them killed. 😅 So yeah, that's now one of our safety tools.
As for knights in my world, I love playing knights as Paladins of the Crown. They're enforcers, lawmen, noble leaders. I think of them like the county sheriff and deputies. They follow the law of the land and make sure everyone else does too.
That's something I've done a few times as well usually as part of my lines veils. Also paladins of any kind are so good!
About the military orders, would the Templars or Teutonic Knights have been tonsured? In movies and art they always seem to have a full head of hair, but why wouldn’t they have had the same haircut as monks of other rules?
Ransom culture is such an untapped source of adventure hooks. Imagine the player characters having to guard a knight’s ransom on the way to being delivered, or being part of a raiding party to steal that ransom for themselves. Or the taxes laid to raise a ransom have provoked a peasants’ revolt that now has to be dealt with, preferably without massacring lots of people, or the characters themselves are in danger of losing house and home to those taxes. Or maybe the reason we need to go slay the gold-guarding dragon or loot the wizard’s tower is because we need the money to pay Uncle FitzLeon’s ransom. Maybe the dowry that the beautiful princess brings to her marriage is needed to pay a ransom, but the princess has other ideas. And on and on.
I'd have to look into tonsuring. My guess is it wasn't a requirement for the military wings of the order (it would have been hard to enforce grooming standards like that logistically), but I can't say for certainty.
Also, I know! I love and have run ransom plot lines before, and they are great fun.
Somewhat related, but I'm working on a shadowdark mass combat supplement and this brought up some questions I hadn't found a good answer for.
1. Were knights *the* heavy cavalry of their time, or were there some kind of heavy cavalry equivalent that weren't knight? I have them as separate units, but considering your point that a knights retinue would contain plenty of skilled and similarly armed and armored men-at-arms, I'm thinking it might be more appropriate to roll them together into a single unit.
2. Would unlanded knights be paid a salary or stipend by their leige to accommodate their lack of revenue generation? If so, how much would be reasonable to expect be given?
3. Is there a general rule or metric that can be followed for determining what a reasonable number of knights a given noble might have under their command?
I wish I had this for the q+a!
1. Knights were the heavy cavalry. There were higher cav units and some armored or mounted men at arms but for Europe. There were obviously some retinues that worked like mixed units but those were not quite a unit.
2. Unwanted knights would have been paid but calling it a salary might be a bit of a misnomer. Likely they would have been up front some amount then given cuts of plunder and most likely a place to stay as well as help maintaining their equipment.
3. There isn't a general rule or metric but a good thing to consider is that armies march on their stomachs. A force of 30-50 knights and their retinues would have represented a SIGNIFICANT military force. But that means those animals and people need to be fed and cared for which is a significant drain on resources. Large armies don't happen much in the middle ages.
Hope this helps!
FOR THE ALGORITHM!
I salute you for your service brave soul.
I highly recommend reading the Ill Made Knight by Christian Cameron if you really enjoy historical fiction. Does an excellent job portraying history and historical views and behaviors imo
I have not heard of that one, but I will give it a try!
@DesksAndDorks he's awesome. He even uploads videos of himself medieval fencing on RUclips. Very much something you'd enjoy
I love watching hema practioners at a high level compete. Some of it is so awesome.
Hell yeah
🤘
This is going to be good! Do one for barbarians!
Aye aye capn!
The difficulty with that topic is, what is a barbarian? To the Greeks, the Persians were barbarians. The Romans called the Britons and the Sarmatians both barbarians, even though the two had nothing in common beside being not-Roman. To the Chinese and Japanese, all of us Europeans were barbarians.
I think that difficulty is what would make it so interesting to do as a video
I've heard barbarian refers to bearded men, because that was out of fashion in Rome and Greece, but for my money, I don't remember where, so I can't attest to the veracity. It might just be that everyone not in your culture is a filthy savage.
Correct. It's actually one of the reasons vikings are often described as dirty despite having good hygiene practices.
"chilvary" is dead indeed
I cannot believe I punted that spelling.
Obviously the best thing to do is to have a monarchlless society where the code of chivalry extends to the common folk. Every man a king, every man protected by the Knight.
As history has expanded, we've gotten that, but it isn't hard to see why members of the entrenched knight class wouldn't want such a thing.
...why would you want a monarchless society yet still have powerful martial aristocrats above you..? The entire point of a king is that he is responsible for ensuring his vassals don't abuse their powers, just like they keep him in check. I think you fundamentally misunderstand the feudal structure if you think such a society is remotely sustainable.
I'm not sure if you're talking to me or the other commenter. However I don't think a monarch-less society (or in our case a society without some form.of centralized government with checks and balances) is attainable or desirable. I was insinuating that in general rights seem to have moved closer to the middle of social strata than in the past.
@@DesksAndDorks Not you bro, the commentor.
ah yes, the knights hospitlers..............................
Hospitallers*
🥳 🫂 👍
🙇♂️