Posts: 1,525 Location: Sydney, Australia
Tue 08 Nov, 2011 1:52 am
in japan, the banmboo spear was, as i understand a quite common impromptu weapon, for peasents and samurai alike,
but really, what matters more with the use of wooden spears is if the people your giving them to are in any way useful.
as for eastern style verses western, that description is exactly the early varangian guardsmans outfit funnily enough
wether your russ, byzantine or steppe your gonna have that combination of clothing,
during the 11th century you get ever increasing numbers of men recruited from western nations like england, nor mandy and scandinavia, but they were initially MOSTLY rus, because the first contingent of guardsmen were from the armies of the russian prince,.
i can imagine quite a few english huskarls migrated to constantinople to join after
hastings.
though admittedly this doesnt help the OP's questions though since the varangian guard was such a melting pot during the late 10th early 11th C, it gives people alot of flexibility in terms of cultural portrayal (general byzantine army kit is acceptable from what ive heard)
as for combat gear, an iron scullcap under a simple 6 panel hat is a good way to go and considering the dark ages is mostly devoid of facial protection chances are the group would allow only limited strikes to the head region.
according to hurstwic there are accounts of hats with iron plates sewn into them. read the page on defensive gear to double check.
speaking of which, now obviously the combat rules of my group dont translate around the world, but in mine, the spear is often a weapon used by advanced fighters because thrusts are the most likely to be redirected to a vital area.
so if you intend on fighting, have a hand weapon like an axe just incase combat rules ddont let you fight with the spear immediately
as for period gear, historic enterprises has EXCELLENT clothing, in terms of tunics, trousers, belts, hats and winnagas (legwraps) and its apparently been approved by the regia anglorum for historuical accuraacy, though they dont do period shoes viking era shoes
instead if you wish to make shoes,
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/...ction.html here is a pretty simple design for a possibly 10th century shoe. (it could be later though)
he also has a page on
shields though hurstwic definately is good enough on its own
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/shield.html
by the way starting as a common man level fighter is a good idea,
it means your kit is simple, it has a lower number of components meaning that you vcan invest more money and effort into each piece, this means that the overall quality of your kit will be superior for a given amount of money and effort.
although may i ask if the OP is intending on making this kit for historical dissplay or if he intends to do combat as well.
if its the latter, depending on your budget, focus.dont bother getting sharp versions of your weapons