Hi, researching for a CRPG

[Jeff Highsmith]

Where should I start if I'm trying to understand how late medieval (15th century?) German combat worked? I'm designing a computer game in a setting very similar to late medieval Germany, and I want the combat to obey the spirit of ARMA law, if not the letter. I don't want to simulate realism or the actual breadth of the combat, but I do want to get the basic thrust right.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give.

[Jake_Norwood]

Check out Lindholm's book "Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword," Anglo's book "The Martial Arts of Renaissance Germany," Tobler's "Fighting with the German Longsword," and read the articles on this site--there is literally hundreds of hours worth of material here on the public page. Look for anything that refers to Liechtenauer (in various spellings).

Jake

[Pierre Planas]

Hi

I'm actually going throught the same kind of research for a pen and paper RPG fighting system. If you want to have a feel for authentic combat, i'd advise you to download and take a look at the various videos available on the website or through the forum. Or even better, try to get some kind of practical experience, whether its martial arts, proper WMA, or live action roleplaying fighting.

Depending on what you get to do, the experience you'll get will be more or less authentic, but at least you'll get the basic idea of the rhythm and nature of medieval/renaissance close combat.

Then, to refine that, don't hesitate to read the material available on this site, or advised by the site or other forum members.

I've myself devised a system that seems to work pretty well, meaning that people that don't know a thing about WMA usually say that it feels quite realistic and fluid compared to medieval oriented rpg in general. Doesn't mean it is actually totally authentic, but that's not the purpose of a game. If you have any other question, feel free to mail me at [email]piopatato@yahoo.fr.[/email]

[Jeff Highsmith]

Thanks for the reading advice Mr. Norwood. After I made my post I wandered over to the videos section and pretty much found the answer to my question, but more information is always good.

Mr. Planas, I came to the same conclusion about the videos. As far as experience goes, I took a MMA (Aikido/Judo/Jujitsu/house style) class for 3 years. That helps with some of the principles common to all combat (I knew exactly what the essays refer to here when mentioning moving and deflecting rather than parrying, for example), but not so much with specific techniques (Aikido no doubt grants a lot of insight into Kenjutsu, but that doesn't help much here).

Again, thanks for the responses gentlemen.