[Dragaera] Speculation on weapons and sorcery

[Ken Koester]

dovekie wrote:

> It is my understanding that these were made of lead and stamped with
>
>words. The example I remember was used by a certain king of Macedon,
>and said "From Philip."
>
>  
>
Rather like Louis XIV's cannon:  "ultima ratio regnis", or Latin to that 
effect.

>I have also been told (though not by a reputable source) that slings
>and bows do not evolve together -- the argument being that a
>civilization which has one has no need of the other.
>
>  
>
There was a SciAm article about slings a decade or two ago.  As near as 
I can remember, slings had an advantage over ordinary bows:  they had 
more range & more accuracy at range & didn't require as much strength.  
But when compound bows & longbows appeared, slings became outclassed, 
and the superior penetrating power of a metal-tipped arrow made itself 
tell.  I can't tell from =Dragon= whether javelin shooters are compound 
or not, though some sort of bow they almost surely seem to be.

It is not at all surprising to me that we do not see much in the way of 
missile fire in =Dragon=; the battle story is told almost entirely from 
the viewpoint of Cropper company, and mixing firepower and shock in a 
combined arms sort of way in the Western ancient world was very rare 
before the age of gunpowder (it might be possible to argue it was rare 
until WWI or II, for that matter).  I don't think the Romans, for 
example, ever added slingers or archers to a legion's TO&E; they 
employed these--when they did at all--as auxillaries, generally 
non-citizens, & usually on the wings of the battlefield formation.  A 
legion might volley its javelins, but after that it was strictly the 
gladius & shield & the effect of a disciplined mass of metal-encased men 
moving irresistably across the battlefield.  (Cropper's company seems to 
fight in more open order, but given that Dragaerans are a good 7 ft 
tall, probably with swords to match, that is not unreasonable.)  In any 
case, it is possible that Sethra has missile units elsewhere on the 
battlefield that we never see.  Or perhaps Dragaerans simply don't 
bother with them very much, although they do have them & do employ them 
on occasion.

Snarkhunter