The real history behind medieval RPG leveling! Support my channel by downloading Warpath now in Google Play or pre-register in the AppStore with my link: bit.ly/WInvicta Use my creator code Warpath000 to get gold x200, military x100,000, steel x100,000, crude x100,000, army experience x100,000
In this medieval history documentary we take a look at the realities behind how characters traditionally level up in medieval RPG game settings. We begin by looking at what sort of war gear and medieval soldier equipment was needed for war. This includes not just weapons and armor but tools for maintaining their kit and going about daily life in camp. Some of this does show up in video games or table top RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons but usually have negligible impact.
We then take a look at the cost of medieval war gear. It turns out that upfront, armor was the most costly followed by weapons. However the recurring costs of basic items could quickly catch up over time. If you wanted to get a horse that would be even more expensive with a proper war horse costing several year's worth of salary for your basic longbowman.
With the scope and cost of medieval soldier equipment outlined we next talk about the primary ways spearmen, archers, men-at-arms, and knights would go about equipping themselves. The first main way was inheritance passed down through families. However unlike in fantasy rpg games or books like Game of Thrones this was a quite mundane rather than elaborate process. The next way to get medieval war gear was to have it gifted or loaned to you. This would typically involve a lord giving weapons and armor to their retainer or a city armory dispensing gear to their militia. The next way for medieval soldiers to get war gear was to buy it. We provide an overview of the medieval arms industry and how people would go about making or purchasing weapons and armor. Finally we take a look at the last main way to get war gear which was to scavenge on the battlefield. However this was not always possible as is evidenced by the battle of Visby or the battle of Agincourt where such activities seem to have been cut short. To sum things up we then briefly mention the social mobility wars could provide where people like english longbowan from the hundred years war could become rich men at arms.
I hope this history of what it was like for medieval soldiers to to level up and war gear proves useful to you. I know that for my own dungeons and dragons gameplay its been great to have a reasonable sense of what D&D items should cost.
Bibliography and Suggested Reading
Thom Richardson, The Tower Armory in the 14th Century
Clifford Rogers, Soldier’s Lives Throughout History: The Middle Ages
Alan Williams, the Knight and the Blast Furnace
Investigating the Socio-Economic Origins of English Archers in the Second Half of the Fourteenth Century, Gary Baker
Andrew Ayton, “English Amries in the 14th Century,” Arms, Armies, and Fortifications in the Hundred Years War
John Keegan, The Face of Battle
Anne Curry, The Battle of Agincourt: Sources and Interpretations
#History
#Documentary
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