ITT: Veeky Forums makes a Pike & Shot Fantasy setting

> Elven men are notoriously protective of their women, keeping them inside their fortified manors at all times, on the rare occasion one leaves, they do so wrapped in billowing robes with an escort of at least one male, but usually as many as three.
> Rumours and legends abound of their beauty, and while many swear back and forth that they look nothing like the men, too few non-elves have seen one in the flesh to be certain.

>only their honoured Everqueen is allowed to walk both unescorted and unhidden in the royal court
>she is of a thousand honourary titles and some say beauty unmatched and few refute that

>Halflings, living in secluded valleys and being relatively insular as a species, were mostly ignored by the major powers on the continent.
>Until however, someone found that a traditional halfling crop that grows only in these vallesy, called Black Peach, decomposes into an incredibly high-yield variation of gunpowder. Despite handling relatively well, Black Peach Powder burns at near-supersonic speeds, launching shot farther and faster than conventional black powder.
>Now halfling valleys are under pressure from all sides as the powers that be vie for the military advantage they give, and the halflings are starting to snap back.

>The vast majority of trade is overland due to the dangers of the ocean, great caravans criss-cross the continent bearing with them the goods of distant lands
>banditry, breakage and politics all cut harshly into profits
>a trade arms race of sorts has begun as merchant princes, entrepreneurs and all manner of guilds try and improve their networks and improve the volume of goods they can transport and seek a better way of doing business, all families, guilds and trading companies feel they are on the cusp of a breakthrough
>this competition manifests in many ways,from sponsored acts of banditry, bureaucratic innovation to wild attempts at new methods of transport
>Notable among these attempts are unreliable forays into mass teleportation, the ongoing restoration of ancient highways, attempts to tame the Ocean Infernos, landships dragged by legions of slaves and the training of flocks of gulls to carry shipments to far off lands, the flock shepherded by a "Gulltender" vulture

> A great many practitioners of the arcane have a tongue suited for trade, honed by runic barter with cosmos, and have little difficulty doing business with worldly merchants. In some regions, the line between a sorcerer and a trader is thin, and in a select few, it doesn't exist entirely.

Looking at the real-world age of the Pike & Shot with the names scrubbed out would be a far more compelling way to create a setting than shoving shit in that is explicitly fantasy.

>Kings wield absolute power while nobles are still relevant enough to scheme and plot
>The urban center (ie, city) is becoming the focus of the national identity - and for that matter, the concept of "nations" are starting to coalesce
>Guilds and manufactories dominate vibrant city life as the rustic countryside, while lessened in importance, remains the backbone of any nation
>The New World offers boundless opportunities for exploration, conquest and colonization
>The heavily-armored knight still exists alongside professional, gun-wielding soldiers
>Religion is now as much a political statement as it is a source of salvation

Shit man, DnD's basically the Age of Pike & Shot already.

ITT: People with a shit tier understanding of history try to use what few "facts" they know to create a fantasy setting.

ITT: Faggot complains that a fantastical setting deviates from the history it's inspired by

There's a great difference between deviating from history, which is something any good setting should do, and not having any understanding of the history which is supposedly inspiring you.

Take this moron for example and his bleating about a "Prussian mindset". The "Prussia" he's thinking about didn't even exist in the Age of Pike & Shot let alone any supposed Prussian military prowess. The Elector of Brandenburg was little more than a pawn between Sweden and Poland and his "army", meaning the mercenaries he hired seasonally, were no better and very often worse than the mercenaries hired by other princes.

While gets many things right, his contention that kings wielded absolute power is both laughable and pathetic.

If you're going to use history to inspire your setting, use actual history and not "common knowledge", stereotypes, and whatever "facts" you "think" you "remember". It's your setting, so you should care enough not to half-ass it.

So Warhammer fantasy? The empire is pike and shot with heavy shock cav due to a lack of pike blocks they fight against and technomagic. The empire on the board at their core is tercios with special cannons and reiters; no other race is pike and shot though.

Alright you go me I messed up and didnt realise the prussian mindset wasn't developed until around the begining of the late 18th century big whoop.

why dont you give something to the thread instead of just criticizing people who are contributing.

Swords or rapiers?

Swords might be the most practical weapon in terms of actual battlefield combat, but damned if rapiers don’t just look so slick and feel so right.

>why dont you give something to the thread instead of just criticizing people who are contributing.

He’s not worth it. Just let it go.

swords and rapiers are mixed for the large parts, of course Orcs favour swords closer to greatswords and elves their magic curved swords

Dwarves favor ALL the pikes

>why dont you give something to the thread instead of just criticizing people who are contributing.

I did give something to the thread. I told them to ignore you and your "ideas".

A quick examination of the period, even just doing something simple as reading a few Wiki entries, would show anyone that the "story" of the Age of Shot & Pike is the fall of Spain from a world-girdling superpower to a bankrupt 2nd tier power thanks to dynastic concerns, internal political squabbling, imperial overreach, and economic failures caused by the flood of silver from the New World.

Using Spain's decades-long fall from superpower to an also-ran would make for a great background. Spain was eclipsed politically, economically, and eventually militarily. Spain's tercios begin the period as the premier military system on the continent. By the periods end, they've been beaten hollow by more advanced tactical formations which Spain didn't or couldn't emulate.

The fall of Spain saw the rise of the modern nation-state. Holland defeated Spain after a struggle of more than 80 years. Portugal became an independent kingdom again. Catalonia seceded for nearly 20 years, France became more unified, Sweden became a major power, the foundations of the "Prussia" you stupidly bleated about were laid, and Poland seemingly grows in power.

The period is one which is rich in inspiration for wars, exploration, politics, religions, philosophy, the sciences, and so much more. All you need to do is do a little reading instead of herping and derping about "facts" you "think" you "know".

A truly incredible amount of attempted genocides.

Sapin was one facet of a mulititude of nations forming and ex0anding. You might also say the the “story” of the pike and shot period was the rise of France as a major European power, or the conclusion of the English civil war, or the rise of colonialism, or the emergence of the enlightenment, or the beginning decline of the Ottomans.

What you are doing is taking your own narrow view of the period, applying it universally and criticizing others for not having the same view.

In conclusion, fuck off.

>Sapin was one facet of a mulititude of nations forming and ex0anding.

Spain was a nation in decline, not a nation being formed.

>>You might also say the the “story” of the pike and shot period was the rise of France as a major European power

Which I explicitly mentioned.

>>or the conclusion of the English civil war

Which I implied.

>>or the rise of colonialism, or the emergence of the enlightenment

Which I also explicitly mentioned.

>>What you are doing is taking your own narrow view of the period

Any general history of the period has the decline of Spain and the Hapsburgs front and center because those events were front and center during the period.

>>criticizing others for not having the same view

I didn't criticize morons like and for not having the same "view". I criticized them for having no understanding of the period under discussion.

>>In conclusion, fuck off.

And you can go wash the sand out of your vagina.

Being told you're ignorant of the period under discussion isn't an insult when you're actually ignorant of the period under discussion. It's a merely the truth.

have you considered not being a cunt?

>muh I just choose not to mention all the other thing but achtually I did because I aluded to them

You are not showing any of that great period knowledge you claim.

>Being told you're ignorant of the period under discussion isn't an insult when you're actually ignorant of the period under discussion. It's a merely the truth.

But it doesn’t add anything either.

If you want to see a more nuanced discussion, contribute with your own knowledge rather than call others out on their lack of knowledge. You’re like a first grade teacher preferring to tell the kids they’re ididots for not knowing what he knows rather than actually teach them.

>sand out of your vagina

Would have worked better if I had a vagina. As is it’s just nonsensical.

>You are not showing any of that great period knowledge you claim.

The board's character limit is the reason for that, user. You can only type so much so you can only explain so much.

>>If you want to see a more nuanced discussion, contribute with your own knowledge rather than call others out on their lack of knowledge.

Sure. Not!Spain, it's example, it's activities, it's problems, and it's decline are central to the setting. Pick a race or mixture of races, it doesn't matter. All that matters is the setting's superpower is in decline thanks to imperial overreach coupled with a failing economy.

Not!Spain is still powerful enough to fuck with places like Not!Savoy or the Not!Palatinate. Not!Spain has been fighting a decades long war in Not!Holland which it is slowly losing. That war means up and coming nations like Not!UK and Not!France are waver between being active enemies, passive enemies, or simply neutral towards Not!Spain. Supposed allies of Not!Spain like the Not!HRE and Not!Naples are more of a burden than any help. They need constant subsidies and their local problems often adversely effect Not!Spain's efforts elsewhere.

Not!Spain's many enemies and nominal friends emulate it in various ways. Not!Spain's explorations meant it won the lottery twice by conquering primitive kingdoms far away and despoiling them of megatons of gold and silver. Those events sparked explorations by many of the other "Nots" who hoped to win the lottery too.

As a rich, powerful, somewhat unified, superpower on the border, Not!Spain meant Not!France began centralizing too if only to be able to better resist Not!Spain. Any time Not!France and Not!Everyone else has a chance to emulate Not!Spain while also poking Not!Spain in the eye they take it. Not!Spain is viewed by suspicion even by it's supposed allies.

There's your overall political situation. Do you need more?

>have you considered not being a cunt?

Why? Do you believe you're worth not being cuntish towards?

By the way, where is your input into the setting? Other than whining about others supposedly not providing any that is.

This is why you have no friends.

Jesus christ this thread went off the rails fast

>rural peasantry, as far as they're worth mentioning, rarely have an easy life in this world
>though the land in much of the world is fertile, they often have little chance to focus on their work between the interruptions of bandits, magicians kidnapping their virgins, the machinations of trade powers and slavering beasts from the woods
>it is because of this many villages prioritise defense over near enough everything else, you'll be hard pressed to find a village which doesn't have a regularly drilled militia and a healthy distrust of out landers
>not to say they're miserable, their dire lives give them a great appreciation of music and song and any chance they get to celebrate they take, inviting and giving generously to those they can trust and pour libations and offering toasts to gods and men they a few hours before had at gunpoint and wouldn't speak of, to those ages dead whose deeds shall never be forgotten
>if you are ever properly accepted into a community, treasure it, for belonging is a rare thing

>Let's shove elves and orcs and goblins in it!

You're the cancer killing fantasy

>muh orginiality

nothing wrong with the classics

How hard is life when you're such a massive faggot?
Did mommy not love you enough?

In times of conflict, most rulers call upon not only their own levied armies and knights, but also the various bands of mercenaries.
The quality of these bands varies, some being little better than hired street thugs, others being fully self-supporting small armies of trained professionals nearly as well equipped as the armies of smaller nations.
(Think Landsknechts)

Listen mate, I'm none of these people, but you really are taking the wrong approach. You literally just described the politics of the Pike and Shot period. That is not a fantasy setting inspired by the Age of Pike and Shot. That's just the Age of Pike and Shot. Which is very very interesting, mind you, but not what this thread is for. Venetian Dwarves, Ottoman Elves, and seas that catch fire intermittently are what this thread is about. And a very cool NON-HISTORICAL, FANTASY setting IMO.

An army made up mainly of human slaves, exacted as tribute (or changelinged?) from conquered lands. The Sultan has probably been the same guy for the entire history of the kingdom. Control of the silk trade. They insist that they invented coffee and tobacco even though both of these come from a completely different continent and were introduced to the elves by humans.

>a mountain heavy country, under "protection" by the elven empire, rebelled
>the population is mostly forcibly resettled humans and local dwarves
>it's been years enough that the population started to intermingle and both sides resent rule
>rebellion rages out, overthrows and is declared a new government
>the leader of the revolution is a half-dwarf military innovator
>greatest innovation is the use of goat-riding shooters
>hail of bullets just before a massive, overwhelming charge

Is this meant to be Greece? My knowledge of the Ottoman empire in the Pike and Shot period isn't great, but wasn't the Greek revolt much later, in the 1800s?

Nope, it's meant to be partially the Dutch Revolt, partially Scotland during the War of the Three Kingdoms, and partially just random bollocks tying it all together.

>French king's dont exist.

That didn't really get going until Louis XIV, and he's at the tail end of it.

The French left the medieval age with the strongest kings on the continent, and they ended the pike and shot era with the bloody fucking sun king, if you're making a not! France, and trying to make them different from not! Spain and not! England. Then focusing on France's generally stronger Kings sounds ideal.

Yeah, pretty much. Not to the extent of full Sun King, but Francis I was definitely more of an autocrat than Charles V was.

>Dwarves inhabit both mountains and foothills abd from their use canals to spread their kin (and their trades) throughout the land though they are divided greatly since the death of their high king this divide in furthered by the fact of no legitimate claimants and a general disagreement on how to do things
>some Favor the old gnomish Idea of a republik while other Favor the election of guild leaders as elected leaders some further still elect communal representatives to lead them.
>Also humans have an aggrandised history of creating glorious empire in days long past but few have survived this strange new age of pike and shot