#warhammers

Absolutely always yes! Swords are awesome and people should have them 🙂‍↕️

Get a handle on your backstabbing 😁

“The road you’re walking, one of your brothers will slit your throat for you one night.”

An illustration of a knight I designed to feature the colours and coat of arms I designed for Maison Von Vlaanderen, a great house of feudal aristocracy based in “Le Royaume d’Aquitaine” or “The Kingdom of Aquitaine” in my low-fantasy world. Both this illustration and it’s associated faction iconography were designed for a low-fantasy setting of my original conception with technology and material culture roughly equivalent to the late medieval and renaissance periods of European history. Where formations of heavily armoured and mounted knights sporting suits of full plate armour or heavy coats of chainmail fight alongside armies of professional pikemen and matchlock musketeers. Where medieval-style stone castles are gradually being outsourced in favour of both lavish country estates and devoted military fortifications, or “bastions,” due to the technological advancements being made in gunpowder-based siege artillery, and where fledgling nation-states in the form of kingdoms and empires look beyond the great oceans and the frontiers of the known world in search of even greater wealth and territory. In context to the canon lore of my low-fantasy world, “Maison Von Vlaanderen”  or “House Von Vlaanderen” are the hereditary, dynastic Counts of Flandres, one of the constituent duchies and counties of “Le Royaume d’Aquitaine,” or “The Kingdom of Aquitaine.” A fantasy kingdom loosely inspired by The Kingdom of France during the medieval and “Ancien Regime” periods of French and European history, while also taking fictional sources of inspiration from The Kingdom of Bretonnia in Warhammer Fantasy and The Kingdom of The Reach in Game of Thrones. In addition to being the hereditary, dynastic Counts of Flandres, the reigning, dynastic heads of Maison Von Vlaanderen are also the official, hereditary Viceroys to “Nouvelle Aquitaine” or “New Aquitaine,” the principal, overseas colonial possession of Le Royaume d’Aquitaine under Maison Williamson as the longtime, reigning, dynastic house of Aquitanian Monarchs. Amongst The Kingdom of Aquitaine’s constituent dukes and counts born to “the great houses” of feudal nobility and aristocracy, it is the Counts of Flandres from House Von Vlaanderen who have grown extortionately wealthy from both their ancient, maritime trade privileges forged with past Aquitanian Monarchs from Maison Williamson, as well as their letters of marque officially granting them an exclusive monopoly over trade in Nouvelle Aquitaine as it’s hereditary “Viceroys’ or “Colonial Governors.” The dynastic heads of Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary Counts of Flandres have always been the single wealthiest feudal, aristocratic magnates in Le Royaume d’Aquitaine after the Aquitanian monarchs from Maison Williamson themselves. But with the letters of marque recently granted to them by the Aquitanian monarchy, has their already outrageous fortunes only grown exponentially with their exclusive monopoly over the lucrative and profitable trade facilitated in Nouvelle Aquitaine. The fabulous wealth of Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary Counts of Flandres and The Viceroys to Nouvelle Aquitaine has only attracted both the concern and the chagrin, in equal measure, from all the other constituent great houses of Aquitanian nobles and aristocrats, who have collectively petitioned to the Aquitanian monarchs of Maison Williamson to take on protectionist measures to curb the exorbitant profits generated by Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary Viceroys to Nouvelle Aquitaine. In an effort to simultaneously relieve the growing concerns of Le Royaume d’Aquitaine’s noble and aristocratic princeps without permanently damaging his feudal ties with Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary Counts of Flandres, William XXI as the current head of Maison Williamson and the 64th and reigning Roi d’Aquitaine has significantly reduced all tariffs imposed on Nouvelle Aquitaine’s exclusive exports such as silks, spices, sugar, coffee, chocolate, gems, gold, indigo, and tobacco, while also imposing protectionist policies on all foreign imports to Nouvelle Aquitaine. With this policy of trade “reciprocity,” has Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary viceroys to Nouvelle Aquitaine been inherently discouraged from trading Nouvelle Aquitaine’s exported luxuries with foreign powers while having grown increasingly dependent on imports from Le Royaume d’Aquitaine’s constituent duchies and counties to fuel their colonial ventures. In regards to both the hereditary, dynastic military traditions of Maison Von Vlaanderen, as well the regional military culture of The County of Flandres, Gustave Von Vlaanderen as both the reigning Count of Flandres and the hereditary Viceroy of Nouvelle Aquitaine has pioneered the development of “Les Hommes de Guerre” or “Men of War,” specialized military vessels designed to carry more guns and ammunition than traditional seafaring vessels would, as well as the technological innovation of “the broadside cannon” to maximize the firepower of his new, “specialized” naval vessels. Although not possessing as nearly as venerable, or as prestigious a hereditary, dynastic, naval tradition such as those of Maison Gallois as the hereditary Counts of Poitiers, nor benefitting from a regional, military culture of naval professionalism, discipline, and skill at arms like that of The County of Poitiers based in the southern hemisphere of Le Royaume d’Aquitaine. Gustave Von Vlaanderen is irrefutably one the single, most brilliant military theorists of his age concerning the field of naval warfare and combat. Outside Maison Von Vlaanderen’s and The County of Flandres’ notable naval traditions. The feudal, aristocratic levies raised from The County of Flandres reflect the outrageous wealth, taste, and luxury of Maison Von Vlaanderen as the hereditary Counts of Flandres and the Viceroys of Nouvelle Aquitaine. The aristocratic and noble knights sworn into domestic, military homage to Maison Von Vlaanderen as The Counts of Flandres are notorious for generally sporting either some of the most baroque, gilded suits of full plate armour in all of Aquitaine, or Artificer quality coats of chainmail thickly and richly edged with gilded burnings. Often embellishing over their luxurious and sumptuous armours finely crafted surcoats and tabards made from the most premium and exotic silks imported from Nouvelle Aquitaine itself. While the matchlock musketeers levied from The County of Flanders, itself, are regularly issued richly dyed and elegantly crafted uniforms rivaling the quality and standards of those issued to The Royal Army of The Aquitanian Monarchs themselves. Even the poorest and least experienced pikemen serving the hereditary Counts of Flandres have ready access to chainmail hauberks and plate cuirasses, granting them, on average, superior protection and increased survivability compared to the pike-and-shotte infantry regiments of other feudal, aristocratic levies based in Le Royaume d’Aquitaine.

The lighter and even more ubiquitous side of the polearms, the Spears, the Bills (Billhooks, which have some slightly different stats which I've added since they're... very weird things) and Javelins (including the War Dart, which is a special one with a boomerang-like effect on a miss). Everything here that isn't a Billhook uses either Spear or Javelin stats, including the short spears... I was always a bit cheesed off that the DnD Ylkwa stats were different and just slightly worse than the standard spear, even though the Zulu shortspear historically was a rather versatile powerful weapon. At least make it on par with a regular light polearm, sheesh!

from Hermann Historica