Misfire Rate of Muskets
August 26, 2024
Seventeenth century muskets typically had a misfire rate of one round in six, and one in four in foul weather.
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Excerpts from books, films, television, and other websites to inspire your role-playing. Also original fiction, game design ideas, and commentary.
It is Year 87(Imperial Calendar)for Xenograg fiction -
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- All Non-Hominids Are Psykers
- Anti-magic
- Any Troops Could Fight a Battle But It Required Trained Veterans to Win a Skirmish
- Armor Was Designed for Protection Against Glancing Blows
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- Being Tough
- Fighting With Two Weapons Improves Defense Not Offense
- Forgetful Gods
- Holiness in the Ancient Middle East
- Magic Armor in the Iliad
- People Are Cheap, Things Are Expensive
- Retinue of Retinues
- Why There Are So Many Dungeons
Latest Posts- A Knight Proven in Battle
- Military Systems Reflect Their Civilian Societies
- Bardic Memory
- The Seven Liberal Arts
- Youth Knew No Restraint, and Despised Prudence
- Spears, Glaves, and Halberds
- An Armored Division Can Have Too Many Tanks
- The Influence of the State Did Not Reach Into the Lives of Individuals
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2026 (24)
May (5)
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2025 (137)
December (10)
- Personal Misfortune or Sickness Was Often Blamed on Witches or Demons
- Beneath the Official Pantheon Was a Layer of Demons
- Fighting Filled the Noble's Need of Something To Do
- Every Time You Step Onto the Training Floor, You Are Being Tested
- Mnhei'sahe
- Converted Map of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, Level 1
- Old Egyptian Blessing
- Motte-and-Bailey Castles
- Where Are All The Tapestries?
- Samurai Mount a Horse From the Right Side
November (9)
- Clear a Path
- Subtle Science and Exact Art of Potion-making
- Not Designed to Keep Something Out
- A Typical Medieval Battle: Loud, Violent, and Disorganized
- Moral Authority
- A Royal Household Was Portable
- Some Lessons Cannot Be Taught
- Perhaps One In Six People Were Technically a Clergyman
- Only the Most Devious and Adept Players Survived
October (7)
September (6)
August (14)
- Magical Weapon Combination
- New Fragment for "Elmö's Obligation"
- Prophecy Is a Guess That Comes True
- I Have an Audience
- Deranged, Murderous Thuggees
- And That I Will Have His Head!
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing #86
- Loosened My Soul and Softened My Piercing Gaze
- White Dragon As Anti-Dragon
- War As a Culture-Shaping Force
- Then What of Our Nightmares?
- Fighting on Horseback Did Not Make a Knight Out of a Soldier
- Even Villages Had a Temple
- Terrain Appreciation
July (12)
- Manslaughtering Hands
- A Warning to Anyone Who Sees It Not to Make the Same Mistake
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing #85
- Very Proper Motive of Revenge
- Anything Swords and Anything Items
- Gifts of the Sumerians
- The Horse Is a Fighter
- Becoming a Techno-mage
- Every Horse Has a Distinctive Personality
- Horse Meat and Milk
- Longer Timescales For Leisurely Roleplay
- RPG Spells Of My Creation
June (11)
- Heathenizing Your RPG Campaign
- Soldier Monks of Japanese Temples
- Walls of Uruk
- Big Power-ups Should Come From Going On a Quest to Get Them
- Viking-Era Silver Neck and Arm Rings
- Samurai Did Not Trust So Much to Their Armor As European Knights Did
- A Real Feudal Battle
- Early Medieval Silver Gilt Bow Brooch
- A Wizard-Hunting Campaign
- Give As Few Orders As Possible
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing #84
May (4)
April (12)
- Modern Secrecy of the Papal Election
- Wisdom As Sanity
- A New Orc Culture Rises From the Ashes of the Old
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 80
- Heroic Temperaments Were Subject to Excesses
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 79
- Magic Swords Use Their Wielders
- Combat Bonuses For (Nonmagical) Weapon Quality
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 78
- The A'Taran-Orc War, Part 2
- The A'Taran-Orc War, Part 1
- On the A'Taran Race
March (20)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 78
- Intentionally Bent Swords in Warrior Graves
- Dwarves Have Magic Powers and Need Fear No Man on Earth
- Alpine Travel Was Difficult
- Orc Cavalry, Hobgoblin Cavalry, or Both?
- Medieval Swords: Slashing Versus Thrusting
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 77
- Impulsivity, Immediacy, and Atavism
- Overall Size of Army Companies
- Chinese Magic Centered on Transactions
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 76
- Medieval Military Baggage Trains
- Partners With a Sentient Universe
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 75
- Dark Basement of the Heroic World: Mines
- A Knight Might Live Little Better Than His Peasants
- Magic Was Both a Force of the Universe and a Set of Practices
- Only a Select Few Were Permitted Out After Dark
- Stones of Light
- Cartoons From 1981 Wizardry CRPG Manual
February (13)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 74
- Premodern Lockpicking Did Not Require Much Skill
- The Riddle of Steel
- Beware the Beast, Man
- Programming d20 Combat: the Core Function
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 73
- Programming d20 Combat: What Has Come Before
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 72
- Where Are All The Battlefields?
- Being Deceived by Appearances
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 71
- Leap Into Heaven
- Don't Think You Are, Know You Are
January (19)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 70
- The Gods Are Pleased With You
- Guns For Xenograg, Part 4: More on Interchangeable Revolving Cylinders
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 69
- Where Are All The Herds?
- A Great Name Commands Automatic Respect
- On Creative Acts
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 68
- Guns For Xenograg, Part 3: On Ray-guns
- Guns For Xenograg, Part 2: the Lethality Problem
- Guns For Xenograg, Part 1: Existing Lore
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 67
- On Medieval Inns
- Camp Followers and Other Noncombatants
- Blood of the Defenders Hallowed This Ground
- Hostage-taking As a Way of Forming Close Familial Bonds
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 66
- Their Own Shinobi
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December (23)
- Where Are All The Granaries?
- Military Leaders Served in the Priestly Role of Sacrificer
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 65
- The Vision To Be Just and the Courage To Be Merciful
- Act Without Attachment
- Troubadours Spread News Through Song
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 64
- Negoro-ji Temple and Its Warrior Monks
- On Killing Students
- Divination Isn't a Very Good Map, But It's an Excellent Set of Headlights
- I Put No Stock in Religion
- A King He Was On Carven Throne
- War Deals Are to be Found on the Borders of Civilization
- All Things Done Before the Naked Stars Are Remembered
- What's Essential Is Invisible to the Eye
- If There's One Thing I Hate, It's Incanting in Latin
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 63
- For Food
- Aim of Initiation
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 62
- Constant Trickeries and Treacheries and Ill-tempered Dangerousness
- Patience Means Restraining Yourself
- It's a Mystery
November (23)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 61
- Why There Are So Many Dead Worlds Out There
- Defensive Wards Came in Different Flavors
- Xenograg With Wrapped Knees
- Such Is the Nature of Magical Constructs
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 60
- Black-figure Band-cup With the Battle of Gods and Giants
- The Whole World Is in Chess
- The Core of Leadership Has Always Been to Set an Example
- More Mouths To Feed
- Ambiguity
- The Montessi Formula
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 59
- Single Solar System As Outer Space Roleplaying Setting
- Golden Hellenistic Greek Ring With an Emerald Entwined in Snakes
- Exceeding Your Limitations
- Without the Eye of Agamotto, We Forfeit
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 58
- ...And Because I Have Poisoned Your Drink
- His First Working
- One Weapon Fighting Against Two
- Where Are All the Windmills?
- Too Much Thought Is a Danger
October (27)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 57
- Cunning Is a Technique Not Well Appreciated by the Young
- What It Is I Have Become
- There Are Some Forces Before Which We Should Not Bend
- Strategic Planning Changed Overnight
- Training Halls Are All Different and All the Same
- Pursuit of the Art Takes Hold of You
- There Is One I Could Call King
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 56
- There Are More and Better Things Than Power
- Eternal Rules For a Cavalry Charge
- Infinite Promise and Goodness
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 55
- Evocative Magical Item Names: Diablo CRPG Series
- How To Navigate the After-Death Journey Safely
- Only a Tiger, Not a Dragon
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 54
- Lifelike Statues Help Bring the Gods to Earth
- Celtic Bronze Daggers With Antenna Hilts
- Heroes Never Go to the Bathroom
- A Quarterstaff Is a Polearm
- Gold Ring Shaped Like a Snake With Ruby Eyes
- Bronze Age Elite Status Came From Being Blessed by the Sun
- No Combat Style Is Complete
- Contracting an Assassin
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 53
- Hellenistic Greek Gold Medallion With a Nereid Riding a Sea Monster
September (18)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 52
- Water Was Great Magic
- Bangsian Fantasy
- Reach Deep Inside and Sacrifice
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 51
- Greek Jeweled Pendant Necklace
- So Particular About the Quality of His Equipment
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 50
- Human On the Outside But Alien On the Inside
- There Are Only Five Weapon Sizes
- Cavalry Logistics: Horseshoes and Nails
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 49
- Swear It On Your Secrets
- Confiscated Gods
- Tempting Gods to Inhabit the Material Plane
- Where Are All the Guilds?
- A Dojo Is a Cherished Place of Learning
- True Technique Through True Training
August (29)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 48
- Magical Attack and Invisibility
- The Great Oath
- Not Steel But Leaded Iron
- The First Rangers
- Grail Lore
- Run an Abridged Version of TTRPG Combat
- Too Valuable To Inter With Deceased Warriors
- I Have No Surviving Enemies
- Durandal
- It Is Always Born in Pain
- Misfire Rate of Muskets
- Recommended External Posts Sidebar Added
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 47
- Your Quality Will Be Known Among Your Enemies
- Wouldn't It Be Much Worse If Life Were Fair
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 46
- Searching For a Successor
- Do You Think We Have No Emotions?
- What Are You Doing This For, Anyway?
- New Magical Item: Gauntlet of Lances
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 45
- Life of the Early Feudal Class Was Rough and Uncomfortable
- Birth of the European Feudal Hierarchy
- The Holy Half-Dead
- 10 Questions to Create Better Dungeons
- Fighting Zombies in a Swamp
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 44
- Origins of European Feudalism
July (41)
- Surrender Yourself to Death
- Discerning the Will of Deity by Inspiration
- I Take Money Out of the Equation
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 43
- Buying Arms and Armor on Credit
- Where Are All the Dams?
- Kata Are Formal Practice Routines
- Dilemmas: Pick or Push
- A Multitude of Amulets and Talismans
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 42
- Be Careful on Holy Ground
- Dwarf Goatherding
- White Dragon As Alpha Predator
- Machine, Heal Thyself
- OSR D&D As a Post-Apocalyptic Setting
- Narrative of Undeath
- How to Write Conflict
- The Authentic Swing
- Story of Red Hair from Conan the Barbarian
- Narrate Combat
- War Is About Men Killing or Men Killed
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 41
- Less Killing
- Where Are All the Eyeglasses?
- Hit Points As a Resource?
- The Iliad as Source Material
- Hireling Loyalty Is a Fun Mini-game
- Castles Are the Dungeons For the Fey and the Gothic
- A Substitute For Lackluster Stakes
- Call Upon the Authority of Your Allies
- Low-level Versus High-level Roleplay
- My Sorcery Is a Martial Art
- Training As a Jedi
- Every Heavy Cavalryman Would Need Several Horses
- Fellow Travelers
- Be Sure to Reward Players For Breaking the Mold
- Because There Are More Spells Out There
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 40
- The Warrior's Highest Ideal
- A Witch Who Had Dealings With the White-fiends
- Modular Armor System in Wizardry CRPG
June (24)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 39
- Throat and Groin
- Some Magic Is Too Powerful to Sustain
- There Are Always Harsh Customs in Hard Lands
- Real Martial Arts Aren't Like That
- We Are Protectors Not Warriors
- The Last Unicorn
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 38
- Not Today
- Not Light in Terms of Protection
- Our Deepest Fear
- Where Are All the Ranches?
- Leaving the Master Behind
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 37
- There Never Is Just One Hobgoblin
- You Died of Your Wounds Later
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 36
- Bow Down Before Your Master!
- Put to Rest the Soul of a Valiant Hero
- Maps Were a Joke
- Where Are All the Holy Grounds?
- Where Are All the Horse Farms?
- Putting Aside the Hurt of the Past
- Clea
May (20)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 35
- Invisible Moons
- Where Are All the Kings?
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 34
- Where Are All the Monasteries?
- More Additions to "Other Fiction"
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 33
- Additions to "Other Fiction"
- Courage of the Heart Is Very Rare
- Classical Greek Armies Grew Out of Classical Greek Societies
- Transcendence, Transformation, and Transactions
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 32
- Some Must Die Or Be Harmed in its Defense
- Where Are All the Vineyards?
- A Six-Demon Bag
- Never Far From a Place of Refuge
- Provisioning a Medieval Army
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 6: Advanced D&D 2nd Edition
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 31
- Where Are All the Mines?
April (21)
- Black Blood of the Earth
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 30
- Danger and I Are Old Companions
- My Fear Is My Concern
- Koku in Dungeons & Dragons: for Daimyō
- You Have No Power Over Me
- Bad Luck To Kill a Wizard
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 29
- Feudal Military Organization Was on the Whole Highly Effective
- Many Defeats and Many Fruitless Victories
- Visualizing Xenograg at His Current Age
- From Mount Olympus to the Himalayas
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 28
- Koku in Dungeons & Dragons: for Samurai
- An Acceptable Balance Between Weapon Weight and Size
- A Hogmanay To Be Remembered
- Plate Armor Should Be Not Just Expensive But Restricted
- I Am a River to My People
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 27
- All Pilgrims Share a Deep Love of Life
- Furniture in Medieval Europe
March (21)
- Hatamoto
- Medieval Food and Drink
- Considerable Logistics of Medieval Knights at War
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 26
- The Surprise Reversed
- Swords Were Thought to Have Miraculous Powers
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 25
- Worldbuilding in Under Two Minutes: Television Cartoon Opening Sequences
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 24
- Fundamental Importance of Foot Soldiers in Battle
- Ready to Unsheathe It Instantly
- Ancient States Did Not Maintain Permanent Embassies
- A Besieging Army Is Vulnerable to Outside Attack
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 5: Rogues
- Origin of the Regiment and Battalion
- Armor Is Unacceptable in Civilian Venues
- Rise of the Japanese Merchant Class
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 23
- Samurai As Generic Term
- Gold Mycenaean Octopus Brooch
- Amputation Threatened Either Death or Lifelong Poverty
February (19)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 22
- The Legend of Skara Brae
- Defensive Magic
- End of Medieval Warfare
- Iron Crown of Lombardy
- Noble Retainers, Common-born Servitors, and Peasant Servants
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 21
- People Are Cheap, Things Are Expensive
- In the Alphabet of Trees They Speak
- Wall of Infinite Elements
- You Are Touched By Darkness
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 20
- Your Men Love You
- Going For the Kill
- The Dice are Not Your Friend
- Shield Proficiency in (OSR) D&D
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 19
- The Battle of Sudden Flame
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 18
January (15)
- A Happy Hunting Ground
- I Kept Dreaming of a World I Thought I'd Never See
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 17
- Separate Spells for Healing Yourself and Healing Others
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 16
- University of Rigel Medical Center at Rhydin
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 15
- Magical Defenders of the Solar System, Redux
- Order Versus Chaos
- Some of the Champions in the War Tales Are Girls
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 14
- Planets of the Rhydin System
- Rhydin Is a Pocket Dimension and Universe
- A Sentient Star
- High Social Status and the Right To Do Violence
2023 (108)
December (15)
- My RPG Character's Bling
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 13
- Fighting With Two Weapons Improves Defense Not Offense
- Fear Is a Superpower
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 12
- Because By Admitting My Weaknesses, I Also Learn My Strengths
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 11
- Whatever It Takes
- Spectacle in the Ancient World
- Using Magical Arms & Armor Mechanic From Chainmail In D&D
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 10
- On D&D Hit Points and Weapon Damage
- Posts Archive Sidebar Added
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 4: Clerics
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 3: Magic-Users, Continued
November (16)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 9
- Guile
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 2: Magic-Users
- Zero-Level Characters, Part 1
- When a Man Lies, He Murders Some Part of the World
- Sixteenth-Century Military Medicine
- It Is Best to Repeat All of Them Exactly and Slavishly Every Time
- When I Get Around To It
- A Year of Dreadful Portent
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 8
- Single Richest Prize of His Swashbuckling Career
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 7
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 6
- Men Who Lived Deeper in the Shadows
- Money in Elizabethan England
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 5
October (16)
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 4
- Such a Vision Will Be Opposed
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 3
- The Finest Judoka in the World
- Requesting a Lesson
- That's Worse Than Murder
- Mughal Emerald Cup
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 2
- TTRPG Blogpost Archive Sharing, Week 1
- New Category: Social Media
- Training For the Martial Way of Life Began Early
- Warriors Fought Their First Battles At a Youthful Age
- The Cosmos Operated Through Regular Rhythms and Periodic Events
- Reveal Themselves in Word and Action
- Only the Most Skilled Sorcerer Alive Would Dare
- Armor Class Penalty For Not Wearing a Helmet
September (14)
- Religion Is Not Something That Gives Comfort
- Cost of Plate Armor in Modern Money
- I Neither Fear Nor Resist Nature's Power
- A Wand Is Gentle With Power
- Banishing Is Essential in Magical Practice
- In Search of Adventure, Prestige, and Fortune
- I Rather Prefer a Dragon
- Crossbowmen Were Considered an Elite Corps
- Gift Exchange Revolves Around Three Obligations
- I Give That You Might Give
- Unacceptable Magic Is Usually Attributed to Foreigners
- Through Magic We Can Explore Mutuality
- Evolution of Spiritual Powers
- Armies Are Like Prize Fighters
August (9)
July (4)
June (3)
May (6)
March (6)
February (7)
January (10)
- The Dream of Taliesin
- A King Expects To Be Followed
- Captains Held Enormous Power Over Their Companies
- Not All Recruits Were Base-born: the Gentleman-rankers
- Any Troops Could Fight a Battle But It Required Trained Veterans to Win a Skirmish
- It Is Never Too Early to Teach a Future King
- Will You Give Me Your Prisoner, Or Must I Take Him?
- Good Men Don't Need Rules
- Elemental Blade of Fire
- Beasts Hold Important Offices in the Cosmic Order
2022 (119)
December (16)
- War Stories Always Forgot the Dust
- Transmuted From One Form Into Another
- Once They Had Been Greater In Number
- Artificial Distinctions In Fantasy Magic
- Humanoids Would Wear Their Personal Wealth
- Magic Use Elicits Strong Reactions
- On the Living and the Dead
- A Warrior Society Does Not Last Long if the Warriors Are Too Eager to Get Killed
- Inscriptions Charged With Occult Force
- Preserving Magical Knowledge For Adepts As Yet Unborn
- The Magical and Musical Arts Are Entwined
- The Plan, Part One: the Monastery of Arra
- The Great Goddess Cherished Only Life Itself
- Non-Mages Are Amateurs Not Cripples
- Faith and Belief Do Not Matter Much in Most Religions
- To Limit Immersion in the Wells of Power
November (10)
- Using Computers To Play Non-Computer Games Better
- Japanese Versus Chinese Martial Arts Styles
- Motivation Is Emotional Investment
- Human Beings Have Affinities with the Physical World
- Power of Reflection
- The Cossack-Sorcerers
- The Worst Ignorance
- There Can Always Be New Beginnings
- Aims of Magic: Malign Magic
- Aims of Magic: Benign Magic
October (11)
- Domination Magic: Dark Side of the Force
- Heroes Always Emerge In A Time Of Dying
- Tricking Monsters To Death
- Sekigahara
- Subject to Divine, Human, and Demonic Manipulation
- Monsters Are Made To Be So
- A Bad Age For a Man
- The Power To Crush Diamonds
- Load and Fire
- A Thousand Arrows In Its Defense
- That Word Has No Meaning Here
September (11)
August (7)
July (7)
June (6)
May (16)
- I See a Red Sash, I Kill the Man Wearing It
- All Non-Hominids Are Psykers
- The Greeks Were the Vikings of the Bronze Age
- Terrifying Initiation Ordeals
- Jinn: Neither Angels Nor Devils
- The American Spiritual Temper Is Unconsciously Calvinist
- The Cost To Be a Knight
- Odic Shields and Shrouds of Concealment
- One Sharp Knife
- Why There Is No Justice in The World
- To Feed and Protect Our Families
- Never Run From Anything Immortal
- A Weapon Against the Dark But Also a Beacon That Summons It
- 'Woke Up' Has Always Been an Anthropomorphism
- Search Functionality Added
- The Air of the Town Makes You Free
April (13)
- No Rules In Mortal Combat
- To Test Your Powers Or Prove Their Own
- Battle-Hardened But Still a Squire
- Why There Are So Many Dungeons
- Double Winners of the Medal of Honor
- The Wand Is a Symbol of the Will
- Blood Sacrifice Was the Central Religous Ritual
- Blogging About Roleplaying
- Athena Was Not Always a War Goddess
- Everyone Is Religious
- Patriarchal Olympian Dominance
- The Reason for the Seasons
- Violent Logic of Feudalism
March (6)
February (6)
January (10)
- Unarmed Combat in Full Armor
- Retinue of Retinues
- Unseen But Nonetheless Real
- Don't Look For Your Opponent
- Use Your Weakness
- Being Willing
- Men-at-Arms Would Continue To Fight Despite Wounds
- Few Deaths While Combat Remained Undecided
- Medieval Battlefield Medicine Was Not Primitive
- A World Where Chaos Was the Reverse Side of Order
2021 (69)
December (7)
- Hard Bargaining Was the Essence of the Lord-Vassal Relationship
- A Magical Sword Is Used to Command, Banish, and Defeat Spirits
- Military Incongruities in the Iliad
- The Iliad and Dungeons & Dragons
- There Is No Block
- Different Fortifications Against Raids Versus Sieges
- Where the Power for Spells Comes From
November (13)
- Trial by Combat Was a Legal Privilege
- The Composite Bow Did Have Limitations
- Castle Life in Winter
- Magical Practice Required Specialist Knowledge
- Iron Did Not Replace Bronze
- The First Martial Arts Schools in Japan
- Fiefs Were Measured By How Much Food They Produced
- The Risk of Literalizing Fantastical Concepts
- Fire Is a Living Thing
- Sandmagic
- Weapons Are Not Everything
- Always a Toll in the Underworld
- A Locus of Strange Energy
October (7)
September (21)
- A Khyber Knife
- Blinkblades
- There Comes a Time
- Our Swords Against Their Swords
- The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Men
- Dreamers, Shapers, Singers, and Makers
- Warmth and Competence
- The Opposite of Impact Is Fluff
- Religion, Socializing, and Gods
- Monster Difficulty Should Increase Slightly Faster Than Characters' Abilities
- Good and Evil Are Moral Extremes
- Druids Can Barely Live in Harmony With Each Other
- The Sorcerer as Terrorist
- Mud Is a Hazard that Is Totally Natural for RPGs
- Magic Is the Opposite of Banality
- The Realm of the Jedi
- Dwarves Before Tolkien and Disney
- A Wildly Unstable Environment
- Dwarves of Belegost
- Ancient War Was More Civilized
- True Masters Are Both Brutal and Refined
June (10)
May (4)
January (1)
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September (11)
2019 (4)
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2008 (99)
November (4)
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May (91)
- Silver and Gold Coinage
- Birth of the Caliphate
- A Weak King Was Not a King
- Money in Ptolemaic Egypt
- Pervasiveness of Warfare In Early States
- The Immense Wealth of the Persian Kings
- Three Checks to Autocracy
- Assyrian Bureaucracy
- Chiefdoms Are Powerful But Fragile
- Personal Honor As Instrument of Social Control
- Confucian Mandate of Heaven
- An Immoral Ruler Undermines His Own Legitimacy
- Princes and their Personal Realms
- Warrior or Hired Killer?
- Imagining the Centaur
- Fire, the First Enshrined Divinity
- The Rapier Was the Blade of Choice
- Assyrians Were Ancient Masters of the Siege
- Gods from the Bicameral Mind
- Money and Manpower Wins Wars
- The Iliad Is Not Just a Glorious Poem
- Not a General's Affair
- The Bow Was the Chief Weapon in Japanese Warfare
- Ritual Sacrifice: Establishing Beneficial Relations With Blood
- On Dragoons
- Versatility of the Napoleonic Army Corps
- Romans Made War As Much Business As Art
- Assyrians: the Pioneers with Iron
- Heavy Infantry With a Vengeance: the Greek Phalanx
- Redefinition of Courage
- Bronze: the Plastic of Its Age
- Oracles Work
- Maintaining the Diversity Within the Divine
- On Man's Side
- Ancient Asiatic Spiritual Traditions
- Sacred Power Spots
- Assyrian Army of the Sargonid Period
- Dueling and the God of Peer Opinion
- Courage, Not Manners, Was the Hallmark of a Gentleman
- Distinction Between Shamans, Magicians, and Priests
- Parthian Feudalism
- There Are Nine Types of Generals
- From Jousting for Glory to Dueling for Honor
- Hunnic Bow and Mongolian Release
- No Match for a Well-Trained Aristocrat
- Militant Clergy
- Transformation of the Hoplite Phalanx
- Advantages of Swords Over Pistols in Dueling
- Only Gentlemen Had Honor
- Theme of a Warrior Culture
- Hoplite Shield Was an Engineering Marvel
- The Subject of Heroic Poetry is the Hero
- Prepared to Die But Not to Kill
- Birth of Cavalry
- Cavalry Replaces Chariots in Chinese Art of War
- Backstabbing Assassins, Not Knights of the Air
- From Hunters to Warriors
- Religious Rituals of War
- Hand-to-Hand Combat Was Rare in Ancient Warfare
- Assaulting Cities is the Oldest Expression of Warfare
- Capacities of Commanders
- Five Skills And Four Desires of Generalship
- The Rights-Based System of Medieval Society
- Eight Kinds of Decadence in Generalship
- Birth of the Alphabet
- Zenith of the Castle
- The Fickle Deity, Pan
- Looking At The Enemy
- Inside the Greek Phalanx
- Regimental Proprietary System
- From Ghazi to Sipahi
- The Challenge of Making Steel
- Before the Fencing Master
- Condottieri Usurpation of the Princely States
- Flirting with Deification
- Insuperable Problems
- Earth and the Heavens
- Shamans and Their Inner Journeys
- The Despised Foot Soldier
- War Became an End in Itself: Assyria
- Early Iron Age Armies
- Stay Awake to Death
- Art of Japanese Spear Fighting
- Steppe Ponies, Not Horses
- Beginning of Science
- The Spiritual Hunt and Spiritual Warfare
- Material Cost Versus Psychological Benefit of Sieges
- Exorcism in Babylonia and Assyria
- War Was Made to Pay for Itself Through Pillage
- Covering a Withdrawal
- Astrolabe, Gift Of The Arabs
2006 (1)
September (1)
2003 (54)
November (1)
April (1)
March (52)
- Alchemy Had an Unscientific Method
- Battle Casualties in the Ancient World
- Archer-Pair in Assyrian and Persian Warfare
- Magic Is Not Supernatural
- Persian Spirit, Skill, and Resourcefulness
- In Every Army There is a Mob Waiting to Escape
- No Last-Minute Maneuvers
- Disease, the Wild Card of History
- A More Varied Diet Means a Healthier Population
- Seljuk Fiefs Were Not Hereditary
- Acquiring Coup d'oeil, the General's Discerning Glance
- For Byzantines, Strategy Was All-Important
- A God of the State Not the People
- Ottoman Nobility: Pashas, Begs, and Beglierbegs
- Successors to the Caliphate in Muslim Spain
- Roman Worldview
- Babylonian Divination
- Damascus
- Patronage Was the Traditional Princely Activity
- Few Pitched Battles But Many Sieges
- Origin of the Rank and Grades of General
- Ancient Fortifications Were Impervious
- Ideology Of Monarchy
- The Way of Life
- An All-Around Mounted Warrior
- King's Armiger
- Magic of Metallurgy
- Akkadian Conception of the Supernatural
- Horsemanship: Prerequisite for a Military Career
- Not Superior to Man
- Shamanic Paraphernalia
- Greek View of the Cosmos
- Divination Practices
- Seeing the Gods
- Three-Fold Root of Monarchy
- Rise and Fall of the Temple
- Justice with Common Sense
- Decline of Medieval Iraq
- Birth of the Persian Empire
- Amir Grades of Rank
- Web of Interdependence
- Military Systems
- Soldiers of Greece and Rome
- Parthian Cavalry
- Outpouring from the Steppe
- Iron Age Logistics
- Javelins versus Chariots
- A Vast Encampment
- Elephants in War
- Deception in War
- Stone Age of Command
- Chariot Tactics
2002 (4)
June (1)
February (1)
January (1)
2001 (2)
December (1)
1999 (4)
November (1)
1998 (12)
November (1)
September (2)
1997 (20)
November (20)
- Invictus
- A Warrior's Creed
- Public Versus Private Sorcery
- Magic at the Inbetween Places
- The Combat of the Thirty
- You and Your Enemy
- Fear Was the Fountainhead of Government Control
- Domain of the Philosopher
- The Purpose of War Is a More Perfect Peace
- How Great Generals Win
- Tactical Capabilities of Medieval Weapon Systems
- An Arsenal of Magic Implements
- Machiavelli on Princedoms
- Perilous Journeys into the Mind
- Your Time Has a Limit Set to It
- Monastic Hospitality for Aristocratic Patrons
- Ten Uses for Cavalry
- Magicians as Intellectuals
- Slavery in the East
- Of Its Kind, the Last
"Men are at war with one another because each man is at war with himself." — Francis Meehan