Access Origin - Out of Character

Arms & Armour

   Summary

Arms and armour in the multiverse is as diverse as the races and ethnicities that inhabit it (most medieval weaponry can be assumed to exist), though most popular amongst the common folk are short bows and spears for personal defence in rural areas, with short blades favoured in more urban settings. Forces backed by royalty or governments tend to favour combined arms, making them far less predictable. Brigandine and chainmail are widely accepted as the standard armour of most forces, as plate is simply too heavy and too restrictive, though breastplates are popular.

The recent invention of firearm s gives the common man even more protection, though these inventions are extremely expensive and commonly only held by nobility or extremely skilled tradesmen. In spite of this, their nature has not revolutionized warfare: magic and enchanting has rendered them to be considered a "better crossbow," and military forces do not tend to widely employ them, though many police forces have began to favour them.

Some racial weapons are well known, namely the Leo'igash and their weapons, the Igash. These are exceedingly large spears made of ancient ironwood and with a blade of platinum so large that it is nearly a short blade in and of itself. Though these weapons are not exceedingly different than a normal spear, they are seen as a noble weapon and anyone in the multiverse has heard legends of them.

Enchanted weaponry and armour is somewhat rare and usually very expensive, though even a common man can possess a sword with a simple enchantment such as those that resist rust and wear, though it would nonetheless be expensive for them.

   Human Arms & Armour

Humans are widely known for their prominence as mages and not their martial history, though they have nonetheless produced prominent armour that is still in use this day.

Bladeshield: A bladeshield is a shield that usually has a section of its edge keenly honed to a blade's sharpness, allowing a skilled user to attack freely with it. They are a strong symbol of human martial prowess, as many royal guards will use them. They are never large and bulky, some as small as a buckler.

Kingsmail: Kingsmail is a chainmail of human make, woven so intricately together that it protects its user against a great deal of damage. Its impediment of movement is considerable, though it is still nowhere near as difficult to move in as plate, and it is considered largely to be a replacement for plate armour in times of war. As with bladeshields, it is a symbol of human martial prowess, often worn by royal guards.

   Lanan Arms & Armour

Lanan production is often reliant on technology over magic, and they are often seen as very reliable and enduring in spite of their lack of enchantment.

Firearms: The most famous and most recent of Lanan inventions, firearms have advanced rapidly as a means for the common man to defend himself. Though there are some forces that use firearms proficiently (most notably many police and guard forces), they have yet to upsurp the bow. Most recently lever-action repeating rifles and pistols have made these even more powerful and useful.

Semishield: The semishield is an awkwardly named piece of equipment that functions very much like a regular shield, though its primary use is that it can automatically retract or deploy, making it much less awkward to carry about in comparison to a traditional shield. These are rarely larger than a small shield and, due to the nature of their design, often circular. The disadvantage to these is obvious: they tend to be less durable and harder to maintain unless the user is familiar with Lanan technology, meaning they are most common with civilians looking for an easy way to defend themselves on the road.

Silverchain: Silverchain is so named due to the extremely polished sheen Lanan smiths give it. The size of the chain rings is what differentiates silverchain from other types of chainmail: they are so small that, to the eye, they look like little more than a tiny droplet of metal. In spite of this silverchain is made to be extremely light and leave the user unencumbered, though it still roughly matches chainmail in terms of protective qualities. It is expensive and thus most commonly seen as treasured items of nobles, who wear it as much for defense as for the fact it is extremely fashionable.

Thinblades: The thinblade is the only item that the Lanan have produced that requires an enchantment for its existence. It is little more than a straight, slender blade, intended for usage in a single hand. However, its edges are left at such a sharpness that it is notorious for its ability to cut even steel and ironwood with sufficient force. They are always enchanted to keep their edge, and are usually reinforced by further enchantments to resist breaking when used for parrying.

Wristblades: Wristblades are a strangely ancient Lanan invention, always being revised and restructured to be even more reliable and powerful. They are slender devices attached to the wrist that produce a blade on command, which can be retracted with ease. Most of these blades go above the hand and are used for slashing and punching, though some intentionally made for assassination go underneath the hand and are used purely for stabbing. Some of the most intricate ones fold out to give the user a grip and a pair of blades on either side of their hand, perfect for slashing and punching. Some of those ones intended for assassination extend with such force that they can pierce armour easily.

   Leo'igash Arms & Armour

Honourblade: The Honourblade is not a notable weapon for any particular reason beyond the cultural value it seems to hold with the Leo'igash. All warriors are awarded one when they finish their training, and they are little more than extremely well made, carefully curved daggers. Only the Leo'igash legitimately possess these items, and nearly any one of their species will go to great lengths to recover a lost or stolen Honourblade.

Igash: The Igash is a spear unlike many other spears, mostly because they are noted to take several years to produce, their shafts made of hardened, ancient ironwood and their blades of platinum. It is quite accurate to call the spearhead a blade, as many are so large that they are the equivalent of a shortsword, and they are used as much as spears as poleaxes.

   Dralov Arms & Armour

Dralov have years to practice their martial skills and thus seem inclined to some of the oddest weaponry, having little need for armour. Very few beyond the Dralov are capable of using these weapons proficiently.

Double Blade: Double blades are not explicitly in the realm of dralov, though they are not widely used anywhere else. Their names are indicative of their appearance, a shaft of wood connecting two typically straight blades. Though these are manufactured by some human and lanan smiths, dralov double blades are believed to be the best balanced, an important quality.

Blade Chain:

Morphblade:

   Zessey Arms & Armour

Due to their natures, Zessey rarely produce anything in the way of relics, though very rarely they will produce a single item for someone they owe a great debt to.

Forceblade:

   Ancient Arms & Armour

Ancient weaponry is powerful, so much so that it is heavily restricted by governments and rarely falls outside military hands. Anything that has survived the death of the Ancients themselves is usually indestructible by mundane means and will never rust or wear.

Casters: Casters are one of the most powerful relics of the Ancients, looking similar to Lanolin firearms but with a much larger barrel. They are often loaded either by a hinged breech or by pressing the shell through a metal opening at the top of the weapon that retracts. The weapon itself is rarely larger than a bulky pistol, and often features a wooden handle and ordinate decoration about the barrel. Casters are indestructible even by most magical means and the secret of their construction is as of yet unknown. Their ammunition is given its own section below.

Caster Shells: Caster shells are large cylinders (they very closely resemble shotgun shells), with a colour-coded scheme to indicate the type of effect it will produce. The power of the shell is indicated by grey stripes along the surface of the shell. The more stripes, the more powerful. Each shell also has a brass rim for the hammer to strike.

As opposed to firing metal, they fire directed magical energy, often with devastating results. It is notable that shells can be detonated without a caster, though this simply releases their energy to the environment without direction. A single shell can cause a small explosion, whereas multiple shells can demolish buildings with ease. Shells can still be produced at great cost, but Ancient shells are still considered more reliable and powerful. The types of shells are listed below:

   Black: Fires a cylindrical burst that is purely black, which seems to itself draw light and heat from the environment. Anything in its path simply ceases to exist wherever the black energy has touched it. Weak shells may extend a couple of feet and may not even have enough energy to eat through considerable amounts of matter, whereas stronger shells can go off dozens of yards without signs of faltering.

   White: Fires a cylindrical burst of invisible force. Weak shells are capable of knocking men backward several feet, whereas powerful shells can send even stone flying.

   Red: