The Renaissance
Firearms continued to improve, replacing the bow and crossbow as the primary
missile weapon on the battlefield. The French Army at the end of the Hundred
Years’ War finally defeated the English with a coordinated army of cavalry, pike,
and gunnery. At the same time, the famous Swiss pikemen were learning that
their tightly-packed formations were horribly vulnerable to field artillery.
Despite the best efforts of armorers, hand-held firearms proved to be capable of
downing a knight with a single shot.
The Renaissance was a period of change in warfare. At the beginning of this
era, equipment and tactics were not very different from the late Middle Ages.
Pikes and heavy cavalry were still the most common arms on the European
battlefield. By the end of the 16th century, guns had replaced lances, pikes, and bows as
the weapon of choice for the armies of Europe.
The Renaissance culminated in the Thirty Years’ War and the English Civil War.
In both of these conflicts, firearms proved their superiority over older
weapons. By 1650, the armored knight was a figure of history, and the pike and bow
were vanishing as well.
An AD&D campaign in a Renaissance setting actually travels beyond the original
scope of the game. Characters can no longer rely on heavy armor to protect
them; most of their foes are equipped with firearms that can penetrate the finest
plate armor. The power of a PC party’s massed musket fire makes even 1st-level
characters the equal of an ogre or troll. And the existence of high magic
becomes hard to justify in an Age of Reason.
The military systems developed by the Europeans in this time period would
prove to be invincible to less advanced cultures as European explorers began the
conquest of the world around them. Many neighboring peoples, such as the Turks or
the Cossacks, began to fall behind the European powers during this era. By the
time the Turks had matchlocks, the Europeans had flintlocks; by the time the
Turks had flintlocks, the Europeans had very good flintlocks. The upshot of this
is that a kingdom with Renaissance-level technology is capable of defeating
and dominating larger but less advanced societies.
Needless to say, this represents the most advanced technology available in a
standard AD&D campaign.
The Hundred Years’ War
Battle axe
| 5 gp
|
Brandistock
| 15 gp
|
Bow
|
|
Arrow, flight
| 3 sp/12
|
Arrow, sheaf
| 3 sp/6
|
Arrow, pile
| 3 sp/6
|
Composite short
| 75 gp
|
Composite long
| 100 gp
|
Long
| 75 gp
|
Short
| 30 gp
|
Caltrop
| 2gp/12
|
Crossbow
|
|
Heavy crossbow
| 50 gp
|
Heavy quarrel
| 2 sp
|
Light crossbow
| 35 gp
|
Light quarrel
| 1 sp
|
Pellet bow
| 25 gp
|
Pellet
| 5 cp
|
Dagger
| 2 gp
|
Main-gauche
| 3 gp
|
Parrying dagger
| 5 gp
|
Stiletto
| 8 sp
|
Flail, footman’s
| 15 gp
|
Flail, horseman’s
| 8 gp
|
Hand/throwing axe
| 1 gp
|
Lance, Light
| 6 gp
|
Lance, Medium
| 10 gp
|
Lance, Heavy
| 15 gp
|
Lance, Jousting
| 20 gp
|
Mace, footman’s
| 8 gp
|
Mace, horseman’s
| 5 gp
|
Mancatcher
| 30 gp
|
Maul
| 4 gp
|
Morningstar
| 10 gp
|
Quarterstaff
| --
|
Pick, footman’s
| 8 gp
|
Pick, horseman’s
| 7 gp
|
Polearm
|
|
Awl Pike
| 5 gp
|
Bill
| 7 gp
|
Bill-Guisarme
| 7 gp
|
Glaive-Guisarme
| 10 gp
|
Halberd
| 10 gp
|
Military fork
| 5 gp
|
Partisan
| 10 gp
|
Ranseur
| 6 gp
|
Spetum
| 5 gp
|
Voulge
| 5 gp
|
Spear
| 8 sp
|
Sword
|
|
Bastard Sword
| 25 gp
|
Broadsword
| 10 gp
|
Claymore
| 25 gp
|
Cutlass
| 12 gp
|
Falchion
| 17 gp
|
Long sword
| 15 gp
|
Rapier
| 15 gp
|
Sabre
| 17 gp
|
Short sword
| 10 gp
|
Two-handed sword
| 50 gp
|
Warhammer
| 2 gp
|
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