Hey Veeky Forums

hey Veeky Forums,
why dont we talk about cavalry much in this board? lots of cultures in history have had interesting and distinct forms of cavalry which are famous as being representative of their entire culture. for example:
companions
cataphracts
mamaluks
knights
hussars
chariots
elephants
samurai
keshik

what interesting cavalry types would appear in a fantasy setting Veeky Forums?

heres my contribution: girraffe riders would are picked for their exellecent eyesight as scouts and sentries in the vast plains. the giraffe gives them the best field of view and is able to travel long distances faster. in battle, they are able to attack from behind the front line of shorter troops. they are highly trained and are known for being able to find weak points in the enemy line and rapidly redeploy to push through it by their own initiative. they are equipped with javelins, shields and lances.

because muh dungeons

>girraffe riders
Rad. I like that.

nothing wrong with riding a horse through a dungeon or in a castle ruin.

fuck it, invent some kind of giant gecko that people can ride in duneons. they are short, and can navigate uneven terrain easily.

bump with awesome cavalry pictures

The argument could be made that culturally with the last century being primarily foot based combat we more identify with the man who walks than the man who rides. Additionally considering dungeons were a large part of early ttrpgs where a horse was useless... it speaks for itself.

elephant troops and chariots aren't exactly cavalry persay, and are closer to each other than the rest by far. They're more proto-vehicles by the nature of the multi-person chariot/elephant crew (driver+spearthrower/archer/gunner(s))

Cavalry is rarely adressed in RPG's since it is based around the actions of individuals. The vast mayority of rpg's don't focus on miliraty unit's (which you need to talk about cavalry units), and most adventures spend their timmes indoors or other places and settings where fighting on horseback is little to no advantage.

Not to mention that fighting from horseback needs it's own set of rules, that then need to be balanced against fighting on foot and most players don't bother.

The only time i can remember when cavalry played a mayor pert in our games was a game of Only War, with us being part of a Space!Boer light dragoon regiment, ranging the vast plains of the enemy held agri-world with nothing but our rifles, our horses and the serfs that carried the supplies and led the extra horses.

>Space!Boer light dragoon regiment, ranging the vast plains of the enemy held agri-world with nothing but our rifles, our horses and the serfs that carried the supplies and led the extra horses.

That sounds fucking glorious.

Because mounted combat is a privilege of aristocracy and this place is full of plebians.

You could ride on a horse or even chariot in a giant pyramid or Qin Shi Huang's tomb. Other than that tough luck.

but i play an aristocrat

Calvary is kinda underrepresented in rpgs. Dungeons are part of it, but another part is that calvary work best in a large formation, and use specific tactics that don't gel to well with the general play style for most games.

>why dont we talk about cavalry much in this board?
Wargamers and fans of history talk about it. On top of that, there aren't many popular RPGs that can support cavalry action well.

does 5e even have cavalry rules?

>primarily foot-based combat

Thay aint shootin in the picture, are they?

>girraffe riders
I'd suggest mounted archers. Using a lance from a giraffe sounds really difficult. The javelin sounds good, but why not just use a bow? The average giraffe is faster than a horse and it offers an amazing height advantage for shooting. It would be like using an elephant for hunting, all your targets are easy to see below you.

>Space!Boer light dragoon regiment
Awesome.

heres the real advantage. giraffe archers could stand behind the frontline of heavy infantry, and shoot arrows from above, while the infantry attacks from the front or below. their isnt enough shield coverage for an average heavy infantryman to effectively defend himself.

are giraffes really faster than horses tho?

The problem with cavalry is dungeon crawling (unless you have some really spacious, ridiculously big ruins and dungeon around).
You wouldn't believe how riding a Griphon can be annoying.
Horses are good to carry stuff too.

Altrough small riders with medium sized rides can work I guess.

Not nearly enough people have an appreciation for dragoons. They're pretty much the best soldier type ever.

But much knights which is why we can't have guns in-setting

I was actually starting to write a campaign about raiding a totally not ancient Egyptian ruin. To get there the party would need to cross some dessert and badlands so they would need to be mounted and there would be an emphasis on mounted combat. Goblins riding spiders in the canyons, mounted bandits, dinosaurs so and so.

thoughts?

>last century being primarily foot based combat
Cavalry was huge in China in WW2 and the Soviet union in the 30s and 40s.

Polish-Soviet war of the 30s saw lots of cavalry usage. Pretty influential on Polish and Soviet forces at the start of WW2.

Also WW1 on the eastern front and in Africa.