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The little side search into the origins of the rapier led to a rabbit hole about whom, exactly, could wear a sword for social occasions.
In short, you needed to be a gentleman; or noble at all.
Commoners were forbidden.
Yes, the prohibitions on open carry are THAT old!
Since all roads lead to gaming...
Fantasy settings are, normally, based on a medievalesque Europe.
Medieval Europe was feudal.
But, rarely are adventurers nobles.
Sumptuary laws would matter in such a place.
Commoners are not allowed certain arms in most of Europe. There are a couple of specific sword designs that slip through loopholes in these laws; the Germanic gross-messer (large knife) is one such.
Lawrence Watt-Evans' fantasy setting of Ethshar has a prohibition on wizards doing anything to extend the life of a noble. No healing, no curing of diseases, no spells of youth or immortality.
Social status starts to matter a lot when these sort of conditions are applied.
And the players would HATE it!
One of the iterations of William the Landless caused all kinds of headaches for my fellow players because I'd paid for the social status to be a baron. There were things I got to do they weren't because of my noble status. Not least of which was the right to dispense high and low justice!
It got us out of trouble a couple times too. Producing that signet and telling off the local men-at-arms was handy.
But the idea that I could order them around and my commands would be backed by the law really pissed them off.
A different noble character got me in trouble with the GM for dressing down his girlfriend's character for her temerity of calling my character in familiar terms.
Carl had responded to our question, during character creation, if his world used normal, historical, fuedalism with, "yes."
We couldn't have unwashed peasants acting our equal, now, could we?
Lawrence Watt-Evans' fantasy setting of Ethshar has a prohibition on wizards doing anything to extend the life of a noble. No healing, no curing of diseases, no spells of youth or immortality.
ReplyDeleteReally? The most politically powerful and wealthy persons in the realm and NO magic life-health extensions?
Wizards Guild must be both powerful politically and oddly moral to not be tempted by wealth and influence from "happy Noble Customers".
In Tokugawa Japan, only a samurai could carry a katana. It was as much a badge of office as a weapon. For a while commoners were officially forbidden to have weapons, but that was to try to get on top of a wave of banditry that followed the Battle of Sekigahara, when ex-soldiers from the losing side decided that stealing a living was easier than earning one. Real swords were also pretty expensive---they weren't easy to make and took skilled smith-work.
ReplyDeleteThe prohibition on weapons is why several cultures in Asia developed hand to hand techniques, and why in both Asia and Europe variant of staff fighting were a thing. Same reason that the sling stayed around in many areas.
ReplyDeleteAlma Boykin has some interesting discussions of local rules for merchants to defend themselves in her Merchant and Magic series.
Jonathan