Subject:
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Re: CASTLE WARS
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.castle
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Date:
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Mon, 5 Jun 2000 18:32:58 GMT
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Viewed:
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713 times
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> Theoretically, there is no right answer, so I will just add to the debate...
>
> 1. Samurai and Ninjas
>
> Reasoning and rationale: (idle ramblings)
>
>
> Highest evolutionary form of honor, devotion, and commitment to their
> Fuedal Lords.
If "honor" won fights, the US would still be part of the British Empire.
After all, the Brits were honorable: they lined up like they "should",
while those sneaky Americans sniped at them and used guerilla warfare
tactics...
> Utter dedication to their masters and strict adherence to a
> code of conduct provided a high degree of order in Samurai soldiers. These
> soldiers were famous for their ferocity and skill in battle. I addition to
> their intense personal discipline, Samurai were also fairly-highly educated
> and cultured. Imagine, an army that can read and think, as well as fight.
Unfortunately, I think that there's a bit of "Oriental mystique" that
creeps into these East v. West discussions. By virtue of being "foreign"
a weapon (for example) becomes twice as cool and three times as damaging
as it really is.
The samurai were generally much more lightly armored than their European
counterparts - and as a result, their weapons were not designed to pierce
heavy armor. European weapons, on the other hand, were designed to bash
through defenses.
The Europeans also have the great advantage of the shield. Having used
one in (mock) combat, I can testify to the fact that having a slab of wood
strapped to your arm is a *huge* help in not being hit.
> An important factor....Armor and Weapons. Samurai on horseback have been
> compared to the Mongols in terms of their skill and ruthless efficiency.
> The advantage of mounted Samurai and Mongols was in their swiftness,
> agility, and consderably less cumbersome armor. Samurai were famous for
> their horseback, archery skills European Knights were frequently killed by
> tumblng from their steeds or rendered helpless by being knocked on their
> back.
This same armor would render them vulnerable to Western long-range
weapons. An English longbow can shoot farther than the Japanese daikyu,
and can wreak havok even on armored opponents. (Just ask the French about
Agincourt!) And that's not to mention what clothyard shafts do to
horses. A dismounted samurai would lose a large amount of his
advantage...
> Katanas (swords), are also a considerable advantage. These are
> elegant, but deadly weapons. The craftsmanship of these weapons is still a
> marvel hundreds of years later. Unlike European swords, more advanced
> metallurgy skills were employed to produce them...the folding of layers of
> steel upon each other produced a very stong but light weapon that was much
> less cumbersome than its European counterparts.
There's an old story about Richard Lionheart and Saladin comparing their
respective swords...Saladin threw a silk scarf up into the air and let it
float across the blade of his sword, which sliced it in half. Richard
took up his sword and hacked the end off of an anvil.
Anyway, katanas are well and good, but they weren't designed to be used
against heavy armor. The sharpest edge in the world is going to be dulled
if you're continually bashing it against metal. And of course, if you
can't *reach* your opponent (because they've got an 8-foot lance compared
to your 3-foot sword) it becomes even less of an advantage.
J
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: CASTLE WARS
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| (...) Lots of great points, it looks like the Ninjas are gonna take a beating, but their gunpowder might save them from complete defeat. See… I told you that every thing in the Castle universe was balanced!!! :) Also, the Fright Knight contingent (...) (24 years ago, 5-Jun-00, to lugnet.castle)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: CASTLE WARS
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| (...) Hey! everybody knows I am Biased towards Ninja theme... Theoretically, there is no right answer, so I will just add to the debate... 1. Samurai and Ninjas Reasoning and rationale: (idle ramblings) Highest evolutionary form of honor, devotion, (...) (24 years ago, 5-Jun-00, to lugnet.castle)
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