Many people believe it is that easy when it comes to swordsmanship. You can see it in writing where characters are stabbing others with amazing precision and no resistance. As if blocking and dodging are illegal. There are many moves with all weapons and you should know the basics when you use them. I’m not talking about being able to physically do them, but visualize them. A fight scene needs to be thought out if you want it deep, extended, and interesting. If you don’t want that then here is what you do:
“Hero stabs villain and goes to bang the damsel out of her dress.”
So, what should you do to improve your medieval weapon knowledge? Research. These are weapons that have been around for centuries and the most complicated weapon you might find are crossbows and siege weapons. Even those have enough information out there for a 7th grade boy to make a basic crossbow for his Technology Education class. I don’t recommend fiddling with it in math class and accidentally having it pointed at the teacher.
Your research tools are:
- Pictures to study the shape and form of the weapon. For example, some swords are better at slashing than stabbing. Lances can stab, but have no edges. The length of a chain on a mourning star. These are important facts that you should know before arming your hero.
- Books to tell you about the weapon’s limitations and strengths. What is the range of a recurve bow? How do you reload a crossbow? How do swordsmen draw their weapons from their sheathes? Is a rapier able to parry a saber? Just read up on your weapons of choice, especially for main characters.
- Videos of weapon practice and sparring while give you an idea of how the weapon is used by the warrior. You will see the range of the swing and how the weight of the weapon effects a person’s movement. Don’t watch one video. Try to find people of various skills and body types using the same weapon.
- If you have the opportunity to learn then take it. Free fencing lessons at a local community building or cheap archery lessons could be used. Hands on use will teach you so much more than only studying. This isn’t an option for everyone, which is why #5 makes a decent substitute.
- Goofing off by pretending to act out your own fight scenes. Laugh if you want, but slowly moving your arms through the moves will help you see the exchange. I do this all the time. Luke Callindor uses two sabers, so I have to see how a block spinning into a slash works with every enemy. Most times, I figure it out easily while other times, Luke crashes into a shield. You will look silly doing this, but it’s worth it to make a detailed fight scene.
All of those tools are important and you must also remember that combat is not just offense. There is defense to be considered. Parrying (blocking) and dodging are very important because it is the only way a character stays alive. Otherwise, your fights scenes always boil down to first strike kills or a embarrassing series of misses until somebody connects. Use the combination of offense and defense to make the fight more interesting. Have a parry followed by a strike that is dodged and then another attack that is parried before a kick to the chin send the combatant to the ground.
Let’s talk a bit about character type and weapon. Unless you’re going for physical enhancement, the body type of a character decides the weapon and fighting style. If I gave Nimby the halfling thief a battle-axe, he wouldn’t be able to use his agility and stealth. This goes for armors too. Stealthy characters should not have heavy, loud armor. A good rule is to think of the fighting style first. If your character is a speed fighter then you need light, quick weapons. If they’re strength then you can go heavy and bashing. A defensive character would need a shield and could use heavier armor. A fully offensive character would need lighter armor and lightweight weapons.
A final note on combat scenes: Even if you’re not putting the move into the writing, think of it. Part of the combat might remain in your head, but you need it to pull the other parts together. These are the areas where you see ‘a series of parries and strikes’ or ‘he dodged every move’. Try to think of the actions and movements of the characters during this times. It allows you to get the location of them in the setting, their level of fatigue, and their mentality after being on the losing side for a bit.
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Legends of Windemere 
again another good post on this subject… I might go so far as to say that Nimby being a Halfling might struggle to even pick up a battle axe they are extremely heavy and it would be close to a Halflings body weight. I always get a chuckle when a Scimitar is used for stabbing these are cleaving/slashing weapons and are very different than say a Bastard Sword and not just in that one is wood and one is metal, the mechanics of fighting are different. Sword wielding cultures also had entire philosophies built around their weapons, The Samurai are a good example…understanding the philosophy also aids in understanding how the weapon is used… for example a blade like the tanto used in seppuku would probably never use such a blade for any other purpose… bushido is the code of the samurai…so if you are using samurai swords it should be done with Bushido in mind…
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also the weapon chosen tells a lot about the character’s personal philosophies… A short bladed weapon is probably used by someone who enjoys the kill an assassin for example who may get a rush by being up close and personal at the time of the kill.
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Good point. I would add knowledge of limitations to short weapons. A character might be small and too weak for a big weapon. They are aware and play to their strengths.
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Great example with the scimitar. Luke uses sabers, which operate similarly. They can stab, but more of a slasher. Samurai makes me realize I missed a topic. Weapon maintenance.
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such a topic might be good for a post of it’s own as this is something a lot of Authors overlook. blades chip in combat… this is rarely said in books… all of a sudden the sword just breaks or shatters… but rarely are the small injuries the weapon received are covered…if you examine a medieval sword you will see all kinds of nicks and chips in the blade…
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Cleaning the blade is another issue. Guess I have a post for tomorrow.
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yup like you said about Nimby… it just wouldn’t make sense for a character to pick a weapon they would physically struggle with… on the practice floor a different matter in actual combat they should have chosen a weapon they can wield with ease
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Perfectly said
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I have a book on Medieval combat weapons / styles that I use as a reference for all of my combat scenes (yeah, sometimes we over here in Dragoloth stop running our mouths and actually pick up a sword once in a while). Personally, I love the fantasy novels where one person picks up a broadsword and the other person picks up, like, a dirk and then they duke it out via Princess Bride swordfight. OR what is even better when the weapon of choice for a hero (especially if he is something of a dandy) is closer to a fencing sword than anything else. Some writers will do this despite the era being totally wrong, or despite the fact that a fencing sword on the battle field would probably be less effective than a butter knife.
But it makes for such style and smooth, choreographed swordfights! >.>
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I find it strange to say era in fantasy books. Not to be nitpicky, but the worlds aren’t Earth, so there really isn’t an era. I think this irks me because I hear people using Earth history as a criticism for fictional worlds. That means I can criticize a historical drama for not having enough dragons. 😛
The fencing blade in combat is a strange one. I can only see it work depending on the style, skill, and species of the fighter. A quick elf could have a style that revolves around dodging and precision stabs to chinks in the armor.
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‘Era’ perhaps wasn’t the optimum word. 😉 And I admit, even though the style of Dragoloth is a very rustic, medieval one that doesn’t stop me from letting them flaunting around in lace (and in Pharun’s case, heeled baroque style shoes) every now and then. Mostly it irks me when a fantasy world chooses a style (or collection of styles) and does not stick with them, rather they incorporate random outside things with no rhyme or reason because they needed it for the moment.
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I like the ones where each race seems to embody a different Earth culture to some extent. Though, the dwarves being Norse is getting old.
I never got a sense of medieval Europe (standard fantasy) from Dragoloth. It really hit me as original and its own place. Probably why Pharun’s shoes never struck me as odd.
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I agree about the dwarves. Maybe it’s the impressive beards?
Well, thank you! I’m happy you see it that way. It means I’m doing something right 😉
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Could be. Their love of axes and ale could be it too. Not sure what the elves are supposed to be. The generalized elite?
I’ve been meaning to ask, but do you see boosts in sales whenever you do a cover change?
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There are very few Elvish cultures that I can tolerate. The ones from Dragonlance make me cringe for the most part. But I think in general their cultures are based off the typical Norse / Irish.
I actually do – every time the cover improves, I get more downloads and more sales in general. That’s why I’m hoping a new look will *really* get the pendulum swinging.
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Elves always seem to be the same. I’m glad I didn’t go with the perfection, elitist thing. I would have hated them and wiped 90% of the entire race off the face of Windemere during a later series.
I think it will be great. I don’t believe I can do any better with my cover art because they’re amazing. I just love the Prodigy of Rainbow Tower cover.
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A very insightfull read, thank you for sharing!
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You’re welcome. I think I have to do a part 2 tomorrow after research on weapon maintenance. Forgot that.
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Thanks for sharing. I am really going to Have to do my research to write a murder mystery. I have chosen a weapon, and a method. There won’t be any swords, but the physics involved is important.
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You’re welcome. I can see how it would be handy in murder mysteries. Not as in-depth, but you need to know how the murder weapon works.
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especially a knife
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Don’t hold the blade. Simple instructions.
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any blade really
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Has Andra seen this title yet?
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I don’t know. I love the line though. It was one of the most common quotes in my college fencing club when we got new members. Fun memories.
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Such a great post, Charles! It helped to understand I was going in the right way…I just have to adjust the aim!!!!!
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Good to hear. Although, I’m curious about what you’re doing with this information.
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I’m going to force my partner to fight with toy weapon in first place and then it motivates me to read the books I have sitting in my pc about weapons and sieges and fights!
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Nice tactic. Hope your partner enjoys the fun.
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I hope that too! 😀
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Fantastic points.
Fantastic advice.
Fantastic post.
🙂
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Thank you. I need to do a short post on maintenance of weapons and armor too. Probably mention the female armor issue.
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I can’t wait to read it when you do!
I’m waiting for the point when something I’m writing will make me angry enough (directly) about the armor thing to make a post about it. I don’t know if I could do it without ranting though. XD
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Sometimes you just have to rant if you’re passionate about it.
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