SCA in T2K

[bobcat]

i've been wondering. what would the society for creative anachronism be up to post-TDM? besides likely being the major power players in some communities(coopers field comes to mind).

more to the point how likely would it be that the song "serious steel" by leslie fish would be an accurate description.

[Targan]

"Have at ye, cowardly knave. Verily, I will smite thee down and..."

*BLAM. BLAM.*

"Argh." Wet gurgling noises. Feeble mewling. Silence.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

"I say Sir Bedwin, take your archers to yon wooded hilltop and snipe the dastardly blackhearts as they approach".

<sounds of arrows being launched>

"Holy shit, this was supposed to be easy, those pricks just have swords you said. We can shoot them before they even get close, you said."
Wet gurgling noises.
"Aww shit, Pete's got stuck in the guts with an arrow!"

[Targan]

Originally Posted by bobcat

more to the point how likely would it be that the song "serious steel" by leslie fish would be an accurate description.

Just listened to Serious Steel on YouTube. Loved it! Especially that line "And admit the truth - this is the chance we've hoped for all our lives!". Still, in the scenarios the song describes I think they performed well mainly due to unit discipline and weight of numbers.

[TiggerCCW UK]

I reckon they'd cope alright if they survived long enough for their skills to become more relevant - in the early stages of the Twilight war there would be a lot of loose firepower rolling about the country and even a well disciplined unit of pike men wouldn't last against a deserting NG unit, for example. Fast forward a few months down the line when things have become a good deal more primative though, and they'll have the upper hand

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Targan

"Have at ye, cowardly knave. Verily, I will smite thee down and..."

*BLAM. BLAM.*

"Argh." Wet gurgling noises. Feeble mewling. Silence.

"Shooter plants M4 rifle butt firmly in the ground and begins to pray" "We thank thee Lord, for thy..."

"Come on then!" "SCA member, who's now missing a limb, kicks over the brave shooter"

"WHAT??!!"

"Have at you!"

"Look, you stupid bastard, your arm's off!"

"No I don't!"

"Well what's that then?!"

"It's just a flesh wound!"

[ArmySGT.]

I think he means all the persons into Medieval Crafts such as Candle makers, weavers, coopers, wheelwrights, tinsmiths, blacksmith.

A damn sight better than computer programmers and 747 mechanics if they survive the famines, plagues, breakdown of infrastructure, and the War itself.

Having a mace, sword, spear, crossbow, or longbow on hand with some familiarity in using it instead of improvising could well serve some well by the fifth year or later as munitions run low or out.

[bobcat]

thats what i was thinking. also almost every member of the SCA that i know have small arms and the training to use them. so by the time they get back from europe they'd be in a good position to do well. also properly made some of that medieval armor will stop the more common small arms.(especially all the hollow points that are so common now days.)

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I think he means all the persons into Medieval Crafts such as Candle makers, weavers, coopers, wheelwrights, tinsmiths, blacksmith.

A damn sight better than computer programmers and 747 mechanics if they survive the famines, plagues, breakdown of infrastructure, and the War itself.

Having a mace, sword, spear, crossbow, or longbow on hand with some familiarity in using it instead of improvising could well serve some well by the fifth year or later as munitions run low or out.

See, that's how to look at a thread like this. Some people could have surprisingly-useful skills.

On sort of a parallel thought, I've sometimes thought there should be a second set of Secondary Skills, with things like sewing, cooking, knife-sharpening, suchlike. What do you guys think?

[Legbreaker]

My thoughts are not to specialise the skills too much. Sharpening a knife for example, while not something most people can do properly, isn't the same as being a mechanic or electrical engineer in complexity.
Perhaps a skill something like "Low tech survival" might be in order, or just apply the V2.2 survival skill.
Everyone though should know the basics of repairing their clothing, cooking food, etc by 2000 - if they didn't they'd probably be already dead.

[ArmySGT.]

Tool Sharpening is very broad on its own. A knife, a block plane, a crosscut saw all need to be sharpened, however not in the same manner.

Distilling makes spirits, solvents, oils, fuel.

Weaving makes cloth, nets, cheese cloth.

A Blacksmith makes rods, bar, chain, wire, hinges, spikes, nails, tools, and components of larger implements.

A cooper makes barrels, casks, tubs, buckets.

Etc. Specialized yes. However there is a broad range in those specializations.

[Legbreaker]

Good points, but these are mainly areas the average PC wouldn't be particularly interested in - they just aren't FUN to roleplay.

Some of those areas could be covered with existing skills - Machinist or Metallurgy for example might cover for Blacksmithing.

[bobcat]

though on occaision there are the players that actually find themselves building a town by accident and find those skill invaluable.

not that i've ever done that(ok somehow every time i play T2K or DnD it happens. what am i doing wrong)

[Legbreaker]

Are they actually doing the work, or supervising/guarding/finding skilled labour?
Either way, skills such as Civil Engineer, Mechanic, Construction, Excavation/mining, Machinist, etc pretty much cover most things.
I'm not saying additional skills are totally out of the question, just that it's worth looking a little closer at the ones that already exist and seeing if they fit beforehand.

[bobcat]

well every tim i turn a smokeing crater into a thriving city(i know its backwards) i find myself doing a bit of everything. keeping the area secure, dealing with the local politics, and doing enough of the designing and construction to to fill get things done quick.

please remember this when voteing for mayor

[Legbreaker]

Somebody who can't stick with a single job at a time and stay focused? Yeah, that's getting my vote!

[Rainbow Six]

Never having heard of said Society, the first time I looked at this post I misread it and thought it was refering to the Society for Creative Anarchism...

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

Never having heard of said Society, the first time I looked at this post I misread it and thought it was refering to the Society for Creative Anarchism...

It stands for that, too.

Odd how the skill sets mix up in the SCA: you might have Chemical Engineers who love brewing and calligraphy, bureaucrats that can whip up an incredible meal over a campfire, computer geeks that are accomplished blacksmiths, and that hirsute loinclothed barbarian might just be a cybernetics professor at a major university....

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Good points, but these are mainly areas the average PC wouldn't be particularly interested in - they just aren't FUN to roleplay.

Some of those areas could be covered with existing skills - Machinist or Metallurgy for example might cover for Blacksmithing.

I think they make as PMulcahy said "A set of Secondary Skills".

"How we gonna eat?" Private 1
"I dunno" Private 2
"We go into a village see, we protect the village with our guns, and the villagers feed us" Young Sergeant
"Sounds to much like extortion, what else" Lieutenant
"I can make fish nets." Specialist.
"Made them all the time before the war"

"Gasps"

[Cpl. Kalkwarf]

Having had some experience them back in the day. They are just like the rest of us. Personality wise. Some more hard corps then the others.

I don't know if they would be off much if any better then the rest. Some of them come off as medieval versions of the 80s gun toting survivalist. Yes some of them are really knowledgeable in near forgotten arts.

Though if one of the more enthusiastic of them shows up with their crew and come off as lords of the area and tries imposing them selves as rulers of the common folk...... well, lets just say I would go "Medieval" on them.

If they show up and are more congenial then yeah I would work with them. And actually support them.

[bobcat]

i have heard a few interesting stories about the SCA during the cold war.

for example an aircraft carrier was being followed by a russian sub. having been ordered not to attack the sub (some admiral was afraid it might start a war) the captain figured he could still screw with the commies a bit. since he had a large number of sailors actively in the SCA he called them all to fighter practice on the flight deck.

from what i hear the navy is heavy with SCA members so it would be an interesting twist in games. for example a navy nuclear engineer thats deadly with a longbow and can make his own arrows or a navy seal that weaves baskets for holding gear or making traps.

[HorseSoldier]

I can't think of any SCA members I've served with, but have known a good number of guys who did American Civil War or other era reenactment. Not sure if those hobbies provide significant skills, though -- although guys who do cavalry reenactment probably gravitated towards new horse Cav units pretty hard.

[weswood]

I've known some Air Force types who were in the SCA. Which now that I think about it is kind of wierd. Members of one of our most technical services playing with swords.

Someone from Cowboy Action Shooting, or Single Action Shooting as it's also known would be interesting. There's a 13-14 year old kid I've seen clips of who can shoot out 10 rounds from 2 revolvers in about 3 seconds. And hit the targets.

[Olefin]

Being an SCA member would definitely benefit you in hand to hand combat with medieval type weapons.

Anybody can pick up a sword but very few people know how to use them properly. An SCA member who really knows how to use a sword, in close in combat against people who have similar weapons, is going to very likely be the one that is still standing.

And obviously being an archer with either the bow or the crossbow gives a huge advantage in being able to actually hit someone with either as opposed to the guy who picks up a bow and thinks he is Robin Hood with no training.

In my campaign my GM took those skills into account - the member we had who was an Apache Indian in real life was very skilled with a thrown hand axe and the bow - so his player was also given those bonuses. And the ability to kill silently with a bow saved our butts several times, let alone save ammo when we went hunting.

My character was basically me - and in the SCA I was damn good with a sword and a quarterstaff - so that carried over into the game, where eventually in Poland I picked up a decent longsword. My GM allowed my character to have the same expertise I had in the longsword - and as a result in several hand to hand encounters (and we had them for sure) that expertise paid off.

The idea of a RenFair kind of community where an SCA group has banded together to use their skills to survive would be a terrific idea for a campaign. Especially considering such a village most likely would have a blacksmith and a bower/fletcher as well.

As for those who think medieval type weapons or training wouldnt be useful - read the High Crusade sometime to get an idea of how a modern armed force could be engaged using such weapons if they can get in close.

As for Civil War and other re-enactors - in Challenge magazine there was an article that mentioned how in NJ a cavalry unit of Civil War re-enactors who are using period weapons and uniforms are part of the State National Guard forces under the Governor in 2001.

And WWII re-enactors would be in the best shape of all - like I mentioned in another post imagine the marauding gang of bikers who come into town to get their butts kicked by the old codger who takes them on with his lovingly maintained and fully armed WWII Stuart tank. Be fun to see the look on a bunch of players when the troops they run into arent equipped with M-16's but instead with German SMG and uniforms from WWII.

[bobcat]

mean time i have recently heard a rumor im gonna need to test in the near future. allegedly certain grades of steel scale and chain armor can withstand small arms fire. naturally i want to test this because if it works i could easily incorporate it into a game(not that i wanna wear something heavier than an IBA unless theres no other option)

[HorseSoldier]

I wouldn't bet much on plate or mail against modern rifle rounds, at least not at practical weights to wear. It's not worth the sacrifice of mobility, unless there is a sketchy flaw in game mechanics.

[Legbreaker]

Chain might stop a bullet, but being as flexible as it is, the wearer is still going to cop a huge amount of hurt. Depending on the round, etc, the chain might even be forced into the body with nearly as much effect as the unimpeded bullet and I imagine the would would certainly at least look a lot nastier!

[Olefin]

Some armor might be useful against shotgun rounds (bird shot for instance). Now if you have defective hand loaded ammo that reduces its power and penetration thats another thing - but thats a might risky bet to be making that you are lucky enough to face guys who have bad ammo.

Now on the other hand if you can combine modern ballistic SWAT type armor with SCA type armor you may have a chance against bullets.