The Armour Archive

Dear all,

Sometimes we get in situations like in this picture.

http://www.knightscrossing.org/pics/photos/nib05_2.jpg

It is cool, but it sucks in all kinds of ways when you are trying to swing a shot. Any ideas? How do you all behave in "the press"?

Cheers

Seeing as I'm mostly sword and shield atm, I don't think I'd throw at all, unless a clear and safe opportunity presented itself. I would focus more on staying alive, and keeping the spearmen behind me covered so they can do their magic.

Of course, those of you who are more experienced, please correct if I'm wrong.

Hmm, this is a bit tighter than that. Imagine you are pushing through this tunnel. There your weapons are pushed up against your body, you can neither see nor really breathe. The spearmen can only push a spear into the knot and hope to poke something which is a target.

Were we wrong to get into this situation in the first place?

First: It is just so cool that we get to fight in real castles!!

Second: Block Push and Thrusting tips

Just my .02 cents
Thorald

Very tough. You really cant swing anything, basically you end up having to thrust blind for a bit and hope something sticks. Just have to be careful doing it.

Otherwise its push and hope your guys can make a hole to open air.

thats where my scramasax really comes into it's own... 2' long 2" rattan. Able to be drawn and used in the press.

heheh nuts and guts babe!

Animal Weretiger wrote:heheh nuts and guts babe!

Yea! No butts, no cuts, no coconuts!

We used to fight in the magazine tunnels of Fort Howard and it was both fascinating and dangerous. Limited visibility made spear work challenging, and one guy got some teeth knocked out.

I bet the brick is murder on weapons too.

Bring your sword arm low and to your side and thrust through the holes open between the bottom of your shield's curve and the shieldman beside you. Thrust up and into the same holes open on the opposite shield wall.

In the picture everyone is concentrating upwards toward the top of the arch when that happens you concentrate on fighting from below. As soon as shields start to drop to meet your thrusts the spear men should be able to gack from above.

Skutai wrote:I bet the brick is murder on weapons too.

Sadly, 'tis more the other way round. We are no longer allowed to fight in the rooms of Edzell Castle, for example, as our weapons and armour were damaging the medieval fabric of the building.

Thanks for the ideas so far...

On the outside? Set up a speedbump of about 5 S&S, if you can, with 3 grounded, in a V pointed at the opening, first man probably even with the doorway. Then, you have a semi-circle of everyone else killing anything that comes near them.

Inside? Exit the hallway, of course! Don't stop!

Master Athestan,

have there actual issues been raised about the tunnel? So far, I've only heard about the U-turn in the path to the castle ...

To me, the castle battles at Nibelungen War have been one of the greateast "a-ha!" experiences about castle design and how it actually works. So I'd hate to loose them.

As you mention, there are problems/issues of course. I remember one battle from last year where I sat in the tunnel after a leg shot, my pavise pulled over me and Baron Agilmar in front. I was slamming my sword into him wondering why he wouldn't die. Well, he just wasn't able to do any visual acknowledgement, squished between the others like a sardine. And with all the noise in the tunnel it took some time for deaf ol' me to identify his yelling. We sorted things out afterwards and everybody was fine. Maybe that's all that's needed - to point out during the fighter briefing that "unclear" scenarios can happen and that one should give one's opponent the benefit of the doubt. The non-political war background of last year helped as well.

Still hoping that we'll be back there next year,

William
*cannon fodder*