I recently got the Savage Worlds book, and I'm working on a setting; a somewhat realistic 16th century world starts colonizing a fantastic (witches and cryptids, not dragons and fireballs) area that has its own tribes, kingdoms, and politics. Pretty much European and Turkish colonists expand their empires to fight over a magical !notAfrica. I am really excited about the setting, but I'm stuck a crossroads.
I want to portray simplified versions of real military styles and armies for the purpose of verisimilitude (and to sate my autisms), without drowning my players in 25 pages of subtly different swords. I read a book on renaissance warfare a few years ago that I enjoyed but I'm struggling to google my way into what satisfies me as sufficiently diverse. I also have some qualms with the wording in the weapon section, using dndisms like longsword = arming sword.
So, /tg/, what would you consider the ideal short list of semi-realistic weapons and armors to cover 16th century Europe (but not england) and Turkey?
In case any Savage World experts or interested parties would like a gander, here's a book I downloaded that gives what appear to be solid rules for making up equipment. Any excuse to toss the AP 2 glorious nippon katana out and replace it with something interesting.
Savage Worlds is utter garbage.
The bennies make short sessions a fucking nightmare because the players never fail a roll. Thanks to the wild die they fail a fuckton less anyway. I usually only have time for 2 to 3 hour sessions. People also forget their bennies meaning they have to mark up their character sheets to keep track. The card initiative is pretty cool but it's another thing you have to remember.
Now, all that can be put down to me being a semi-poorfag and a lazy shit, and also having not much free time to play.
But there's more.
The range system is autistic as fuck if you aren't using miniatures. I am sick to death of converting 24 inches to feet, especially when the game says it's 2 yards instead of 5 feet. Just give the goddamn ranges in inches.
Shotguns are completely overpowered, they only miss if you roll a 1 and deal a fuckton of damage which is made worse by exploding dice. They should have been +1 to hit and 2d8 damage. I know 3d6 lets them do the 3d6/2d6/1d6 shit for long ranges but a straight damage penalty would have worked fine.
The guns in the book are also retarded with a G3 dealing less damage than an AK-47.
Armor piercing is a fucking bitch to remember and is over-used.
The katana is weeaboo wet-dream crap.
The skills are shitty and overspecific as fuck. Fighting Notice Stealth and Shooting are basically the only skills that matter.
The full auto takes goddamn forever to roll for in large battles.
Bennies make the characters unstoppable gods of death.
All non-wildcards get one wounds so even fighting larger creatures is just hit-or-miss, there's no meaty boss fights without arbitrary wild card shit.
I can go on. But OP you are really better off dropping Savage Worlds and picking up GURPS.
>>47201292
Well, that was a lot of words to explain why you're a faggot, anon, and that was very brave of you to understand yourself so well, but this isn't about exploring your personal demons, so next time, try to stay on the fucking topic, okay?
>>47201292
You're entitled to your opinions on the setting, anon, but do you have any thoughts on the question posed? I'd love to hear what 16th century weapons and armor you think are iconic and important enough to include in my setting.
>>47201292
>Shotguns are completely overpowered, they only miss if you roll a 1 and deal a fuckton of damage which is made worse by exploding dice. They should have been +1 to hit and 2d8 damage. I know 3d6 lets them do the 3d6/2d6/1d6 shit for long ranges but a straight damage penalty would have worked fine.
>The guns in the book are also retarded with a G3 dealing less damage than an AK-47.
>Armor piercing is a fucking bitch to remember and is over-used.
>The katana is weeaboo wet-dream crap.
>The skills are shitty and overspecific as fuck. Fighting Notice Stealth and Shooting are basically the only skills that matter.
>The full auto takes goddamn forever to roll for in large battles.
These are basically fixed by >>47201059
Tho, personally I just reduce SW down to as basic as I can. Rip out skills (edges that reference skills give their bonus where the skill would be applicable, but you don't spend skill points; the skill is just the same die as the stat), fuse body and strength, key all attacks off of agility and all damage rolls off of the fused strength/body rolls, among others.
>>47201383
opinions on the system, my mistake.
>swords
Rapier, good at parrying, light and effective
Zweihander: Big fucking sword. bad at parrying, good for breaking pikes
Longsword: hand and a half sword, good one handed or two handed
Backsword: A solid sidearm, we'll slide curved swords into this category since backswords eventually evolve into cutlasses and sabres in later centuries
>Spears/Polearms
I mentioned no english so Billhooks and the like won't apply
Pike: Long as fuck, practically worthless up close
Halberd: Not as long, good in close or at reach
Lance: When mounted, nothing is better. Otherwise not much to say
Spear/staff: potentially included for completion
>Axes and Hammers
Big Axe, little Axe: Someone will want to use these even if they aren't really applicable to the period. Probably just need one that can go 1h or 2h
Mace: While actually relevant to the setting, 1h and 2h versions are likely all you need. AP vs rigid armor works
Flail: fuck yo shield
>Guns
Wheellocks are likely the way to go. Include matchlocks as a significantly less reliable but cheaper alternative. Pistols and Muskets, probably ignore the blunderbuss/shotgun analogue since it kind of breaks the theme of the setting.
>Bows and Crossbows
Crossbows should have AP and be more expensive than guns. Bows included for completion (someone will want one)
>Armor
Jupon/Quilted/Gambeson: Cloth armor, possibly made of silk if from !notChina. Silk probably offers extra protection from arrows
Cuir Bouilli: Boiled leather plates, cheaper than steel
Chain Hauberk: long coat that protects your thighs on up, hood optional
Plate Greaves, Vambraces, Corselet, Gorget: Individual pieces for legs, arms, chest, and neck respectively
Brigidine over maille: cheaper alternative to a plate Corselet that won't slow you down or weigh quite so much.
Sallet: Half helm, combines well with a gorget
Burgonet: big fuckoff enclosed helm. Visor optional
I know that in SW you can't stack armor, so the basic idea of realistic layers would be to partially negate called shots so that someone doesn't stab you in the armpit and negate your entire fucking shit. How else would you want to incentivise players to wear realistic layers, if they so choose?
Obviously you can wear a gambeson or brigidine by itself, but should I just auto include the potential mail layer (as above) or give the players the option of adding and customizing suits of armor to their expected dangers/weight restrictions/ preferences? Keeping it simple vs realistic is difficult
