Little do you know, I can store everything in an alternate dimension and equip them all in seconds. I like to call this...my "inventory"

Fast-travel by trebuchet should help.

No wonder The Hound from Game of Thrones is always so angry. That guy never takes his gear off!

After some time in the infantry, and going to Afghanistan, I can visualize this all too well. That, and being in the Canadian infantry has given the added perspective of trying to do it all in deep snow come winter. Layering and armour work against each other. Something people don't think about is weather changes. I have been out on military exercise that included extremely hot sun, rain, and snow. Trying to carry all of the food, bedding, etc with you, as well as your weapon, and having the ability to dress up/dress down for the weather takes a lot of space. When working dismounted we didn't exactly have a horse to carry stuff, which I think is another point, not everyone had a horse back then. A lot of poor sods had to just carry their stuff. Even with a back pack, if you get in a fight, likely you are not going to drop it, you will have to fight with it on, because A: it takes time to take it off unless you have modern quick release straps B: if you have to retreat, and you took it off, you just lost your stuff, and you now die tonight from exposure because you have no bedding, campfire kit, or food. Axes were also quite popular, depending on the area and period as they were cheaper to make, also they double as a tool to help set up camp. When hiking or soldiering it is key to have as much of your stuff multipurpose as possible (eg new Canadian bayonet is also a useful knife, and has a lug in it to use with the scabbard as wire cutters).

An adventurer meets a highwayman coming at him with his sword drawn. Says the adventurer: "Hold on good Sir, might you have a minute for me to put on my plate armour? I should have it somewhere in one of these cabinet-sized saddle bags. And oh, if you wouldn't mind and be so kind as to assist me with the cuirass so we can get to business quickly..." If life but had an inventory screen with an auto-pause function...

you know it would be really interesting to play a game where the inventory was limited, survival was a focus and perhaps even carrying certain weapons/poaching illegal so that you have to be sneaky about it and make a judgement whether the armed men up ahead are law-men or bandits and so do you keep your sword hidden and unaccessible.

Who's going to carry all that stuff... Lydia...

Would you please do more videos about realism in role playing games? This is very helpful!

Alright so for maximume practicality. Main Weapon: Arming sword + Buckler or Longsword on the left hip. Projectile: Recurve in specialty quiver, either on horse or right hip. 10-20 Arrows. Tertiary Weapon/Utility: Knife or dagger on the back of the right hip. Torso and Arms: Quilted jacket. Head: Padded Coif + Wide Brim helmet (protects eyes from sun as a bonus). Legs: Just your normal clothing. Back: Your pack with living essentials. Horse: Bed Roll, Saddle bags with extra food/water (and SPARE BOOTS). Sound about right? A mail shirt in an oil cloth bag on your horse might not be a bad plan either.

This is why I love the Paksenarrion series. Elizabeth Moon really did her research in terms of military life and applied it to this quasi-high-fantasy world she made.

Just one point, I realize you most likely don't wear an axe all day and wouldn't know whether an axe or sword would really be easier to wear all day. As an avid canadian woodsman who has worn an axe and long machete (very similar to a falchion) I would have to say the axe is much easier. It has a mask (sheathe) so it doesn't cut me up, its a 3.5lbs head which is situated on my hip (not belly) so it doesn't jab my ribs and is very non-encumbering. and its length from tip to tip is about 28 inches the entirety of which is smooth and rounded except the blade edge. All in all less cumbersome than a machete/falchion/sword

I've always liked the approach Elder Scrolls games have when it comes to looting fallen enemies, namely that you can take anything (weapons, armor, potions, etc.) that the enemy might have used against you. Obviously, this can screw with game balance due to an overabundance of weapons and armor. Seems like using more realistic encumbrance/carry rules would alleviate this, giving you a valid mechanical reason _not_ to pick up those 8 swords, 7 axes, and incredibly valuable suit of plate armor you found on those bandits you just killed. I would like to see an RPG that distinguishes between carry weight and carry volume, with the former requiring more strength or endurance while the latter is merely a function of how many pockets, sacks, and backpacks you have, perhaps with a sprinkling of how space efficient you are at packing. This makes me wonder how encumbrance would differ between items worn/equipped versus those in your pack. For example, worn armor would obviously use no volume, and I'd think the effect of the weight would be reduced when worn versus when carried in a pack due to being more evenly distributed over your body and closer to your center of mass. The question would be how much. Some items, like gauntlets or boots, might actually [effectively] weigh more when when worn as they would be further from your center of mass than they would be in a backpack, and would specifically weigh down your limbs, slowing you down and tiring you out. Try holding even a light weight in your hand with your arm stretched out for even a few minutes, it's not easy.

Does that shirt show the evolution of Rambo's knives?

The takeaway from this is that the Bag of Holding is a GODSEND!

Slings! the most convenient kind of ranged weapon there is! easily storable and especially in stony countries: free ammo everywhere!

There's a reason that recurve composite bows didn't catch on in Europe. These bows were only really popular in places that are very dry. This type of bow was laminated and had horn on the belly. It was glued together with glue that didn't take moisture well. Europe, being notably wetter mainly used self bows or 2 layer laminated bows. Also, the ancient Japanese use several types of back quivers.

Are you implying that you can't hunt with a rapier?

In the case of missile weapons, let me present another exception in the sling and staff sling. The sling fits in one's pocket, and the staff sling works as a walking stick as well. The staff sling/spear idea presented by lindybeige covers the idea of this, and it has the knife, the spear, and the sling covered in one general item.

The edge of an axe was covered by an axe sheath tied to the head, often made of wood. At least in the viking age. There a good number of finds. Carrying an axe in your belt is no problem at all.

Question: If I had a big wheel of cheese in my backpack, would it block arrows?

I can testify to the drudgery of wearing a full plate harness for too long. I am, in my mind, too old to buy a Halloween costume but I refuse to not dress up. I didn't have work this past Halloween and only one class at school, so I decided in my infinite wisdom to wear my armor, consisting of a gothic plackart and bevor in conjunction with brigandine and boiled leather arm and leg armor over a mail-enforced arming dublet, for a total of 18 hours or so. by god! my waist was killing me were the plackart sat on mu hips, I took the gauntlets off after about an hour because I couldn't do simple tasks, I couldn't drive (for fear of ripping the seat), by the end of the day my shoulders and knees burned whenever I stood up. in short it was awful.

Matt, please correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that bows, especially longbows in particular, were mostly transported unstrung to stop the bowstring from stretching and getting wet or damaged and also to stop the bow getting a "set" so reducing the power of it. Were this the case, it would not be possible to transport it slung across the body anyway. Yet another item to be loaded onto the back of that poor horse :-)

Just right now I'm setting the rules for a role-play, so for me this video was really helpful and came just in time of great need in any guideline. Thanks a lot. :)

This is what I love about this channel and others like it. Thinking about the past in logical, realistic ways. Cheers!

For the polearm : if you go on a journey on foot, wouldn't you take a walking stick ? A spear works fine then ! Even Odin told to always take a spear with you when travelling. A halberd might be a bit more cumbersome. For the axe : either you can take a small hatchet as a tool / secondary weapon attached to your backpack (just like shovels for modern soldiers), or you can secure the edge with a leather protection if you wear is at your belt, althought I don't know how historical would that be.

I got two points. One: Traveling in a medieval world would not require a bedroll and enough food for the journey, a big purse filled with coins will do. You are not going to travel through the endless frigging forest that is 300 kilometers in every direction, those forests were by and large gone in western medieval Europe. Grab any old map of France, the Western part of the old HRE or southern England and what you will find is that there is a village about every 2-5 miles. If you are traveling one foot at a normal pace than you could have breakfast in one village, lunch in one of the next few and dinner in the last. Mind you not all of these villages would have a Tavern or an Inn but no farmer is going to turn away five travelers who want to sleep in a barn, have loads of stories on different countries/strange beats etc etc. and a gold coin for food. Need to go to the capital or a big city? You could probably Hitch a ride on a river barge and sleep in a river port every night. Two: I believe those fancy bow holsters are called Tarqais's

I remember reading of hearing that Zulu warriors would have traveled with very little food as they managed to forage so well. Of course this would require a very specific terrain. And what I understand about documentaries is that English archers would have carried their bows unstrung on their backs inside fabric cover or something with strings on like a rifle sling. Obviously they had other weapons to deal with surprise attacks. I like how Tolkien in LOTR mentioned that the reason why Gimli could travel while wearing mail armor was that he was a Dwarf and therefor lot stronger than human.

While I would agree that I have abused some role playing game mechanics a fair bit, I would also argue that things aren't really as cumbersome as many want to make them out to be. And much of my opinion is based on a long youth spent outdoors working in Canadian rural regions. We weigh ourselves down a lot in the last few decades with modern bits of kit. Camp stove and fuel? > bit of flint or something and your knife. Weeks worth of canned and dried food? > The squirrel and plants you picked up that afternoon along the way. GPS and maps? > Ask the next farmer which way to go. (Thing burn his farm and steal his goats... They have legs, no need to carry them!) What a person carries also depends on how many of them are in the group. Where a 5000 man army needs to carry lots of food and resources with them to make do, a dozen or so people may pass by and collect what they need as they go. Water only gets heavy in a few environments, simply because in most environments you didn't bother carrying much of it at a time. A few cups would be more than enough to get you to the next brook or stream, and unless you're in a really wet environment you would just fill up your water container every time you stepped over a stream. As for carrying pole arms, I would argue they are less cumbersome than you seem to suggest if you are carrying it on your shoulder and supporting it with one hand. Sure, the new guy doing it is going to annoy a few people because he isn't used to just where the back end is as he is moving around, but this is no different than working on a modern construction site: You learn to look out for the 'new guys', dodge when they're doing something stupid, and tear them a new one for being an idiot. They either learn to watch what they're doing with the pole as second nature, or they don't last long in the group. Sling part of your kit in a bag looped around it, and now your spear helps you carry your bedding, while still being fairly quick to unshoulder and let the bag slide down the shaft to the ground if you're surprised by something. When I was a teen I carried a surveyor's rod for some trail work for a summer, and it was easy enough to lug around with all the rest of my kit. It was an old beast of a tool, collapsing down to about 12 feet or so, and heavier than a lot of spears I've handled, but still easy enough to shoulder. I would imagine being able to handle the spear more casually for things like dropping the butt to the ground when you stop would have made it even easier. (And I even led a horse for a bit when one wandered up to us one afternoon, and it was fairly easy to hold both a lead and the rod in one hand, with a good bit of the weight taken by the shoulder. Horse was a little displeased with the arrangement till it figured I wasn't actually going to bonk it in the head however.) A largish shield isn't exceedingly awkward to carry on the back I've found. I've also found that it can double as a lovely umbrella in less than pleasant weather. Personally I kind of think that the "mid-sized" round shields of the later eras possibly represent more of a refinement in fighting styles as they are easier to move and respond with than their larger cousins. A middle ground between the movement and responsiveness of a buckler and the cover/concealment of a far larger round shield. The amount of clothes you really carry doesn't need to be excessive while still staying reasonably clean. You would likely want to dress in layers, but only have changes for the underclothes. And as often seen in modern hiking you will stop for the evening, set up camp, and change. The over clothes get a light brushing as needed, and the old under clothes get washed (Along with yourself) and left to dry over night. In the morning you put the over clothes back on (Some of which also doubled as part of your bedding. Possibly even the underclothes you just washed got used as your pillow if you dried them over a fire or something.) stowed the rest of your kit, and headed off again after breakfast. You aren't exactly in a ready state to be presented to a king, but it is more than good enough to get by for a few weeks at a time without much issue.

You mean my barbarian with an 18 strength can't really walk around with 4 suits of full plate in his backpack?! Sacrilege! Nice video man.

Wouldn't a sling be an ideal weapon for traveling with? Takes up virtually no space, could carry multiples, ammo wouldn't be too tough to find and could be carried relatively easily in bags/pouches. Only downside would be hunting and responding quickly.

I really appreciate this Matt, I run a lot of campaigns where my friends strive for realism. So this was quite nice. Cheers.

"You cannot fast travel while over encumbered."

well, if you've got enough money for full steel plate armor then you may very well be wealthy enough to have multiple horses, and thus more stuff

YoU HAVE PLATE ARMOR!? AND YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN IT YET!? THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

A series of videos on advice on aspects of medieval gear and life would be pretty cool, especially if geared towards roleplayers and writers. There's so many misconceptions accepted as fact in fictional works that it's hard to be authentic.

I think a pretty analagous historical setting to consider are the Conquistadors in the New World. Fairly small groups, by comparison to actual armies of the period, covering a lot of ground and concerned with the aquisition of treasure. Yes the period falls into the gray area of Late Medieval to Early Modern era, but in terms of the weapons primarily used they are essentially the same as roleplaying games in the fantasy mold. They did carry polearms, but primarily swords and bucklers. The armor they had was primarily breastplates and helmets. Just a thought...

what?? I can't carry 15 swords, 8 pole-axes, 4 crossbows and 2 longbows, coupled with 300+ arrows and bolts before I am overencumbered? together with my sneak armour, my close fighting plate armour and my +crit Archer armour? I have been lied to!!

this is why you need a bag of holding +1 ;)

Good to see this. I was visiting the Wallace collection yesterday, and was reflecting what an absolute pain polearms would have been to carry around. They were seriously big and heavy. If you are moving from one place to another with a polearm, that's your job, basically acting as part of the wagon train. On the subject of which, don't forget carts and wagons, which definitely are pictured moving shields and bits of armour from place to place.

Most knights had 3 horses, one for traveling called palfrey with a gait suitable for long distance traveling, a destrier for battle and tournaments that were too valuable for simple travel in case they got injured, and a rounsey for the squire that serves them. Plate armor, weapons, clothing, and provisions can easily be carried between three horses. Either way there were towns nad villages along the roads and when traveling in the deserts people usually do it as part of caravan.

You should add that you simply can't transport a bow with bowstring on - longer than maybe hour ;) And backquiver were quite popular in hunting to be honest - I spent 6 hours in forest yesterday with backquiver without any problem. But quiver on the belt is definetly better in case of the rain for sure - its much easier to shield arrows with your cloths then ;)

Could you use a bow staff as a walking stick, then string it when you need it? Secondarily, about back quivers, would the AC1 idea work, with throwing knives held in the right shoulder quiver? Finally, as you mentioned having people to help you, I'm reminded of something 5th edition DnD does. Nobles get to have three retainers travelling with them, to cook and clean and dress them, as you suggest would be helpful

Another missile weapon in the early medieval period that might be more practical would be the sling or Scottish sling stick. Light, compact, good for hunting. (so long as the woods aren't too dense)

I've noticed that this channel has one of the best, nicest comments sections on KZfaq. It makes me happy.

With respect to axes, presumably they had leather pouchy scabbardy things to cover the head, just as many tool hatchets nowadays have? In a lot of fantasy stories the heroes often wrap up in their cloaks at night (something I've also heard tell of highlanders doing with their big long tartan blanket-toga things). How accurate would that be? Lastly, with respect to holding a polearm and leading a horse at the same time - you can just wrap the reins around your hand then hold the shaft of the weapon and still have a hand free for munching your food or whatever. Admittedly this could go poorly if something makes the horse bolt, but as a modern day example sometimes things can go poorly when holding coffee, or a mobile phone, while driving a car, but people still do it...

13:40 "exception" quickly followed by "mongol"... remotely reminds me of something.

Great video. I recall a line from the GURPS roleplaying game's description of sollerets (articulated plate armor for the feet): "Extremely uncomfortable, except in combat." Cheeky, but it gets the point across!

- Would you carry a staff or walking stick? Might as well carry a polearm, then. - You only need two sets of clothes. One is for sleeping; the other is for everything else. A doubled wool cloak will keep the rain off you quite well and should always be ready to go at the top of your pack or saddlebag. - Fortified foods are your friend. Nuts and dried meat and crackers will give you 100 calories per ounce or more, so a day's rations should only weigh a bit more than a full canteen. - You need some kind of shelter for rain and wind. A canvas tarp might be enough if you're travelling alone, with a bedroll to keep you an inch or two off the ground and your cloak for a blanket. If you're travelling with a companion, that gives you more options for tents and things. In any case, you'll need rope or cord, which is multi-purpose and can also be used to repair things. A patch kit, needle and thread for repairing your clothes and other gear would also come in handy, along with some kind of first aid kit for repairing yourself.

maybe a strange question how had the roman legions handled that travelling problem, when they were on march? i mean they have to carry a lot of equipment, weapons and huge shields. were there auxiliary units, who helped them? horses or other pack animals? a fleet of wagons? how worked their logistics? any ideas

where am I going to carry my 10k+ gold coins now :)

I would like to write some fantasy stories so this is very helpful for me. Having specific details right makes the stuff that is done imaginary on purpose seem more believable. Thanks a bunch.

Great informative video! I'm amazed that you can talk continuously, and coherently with great points 20 minutes with no notes. About the long bow, I've always assumed during travel/march the bow must be unstrung and stored in your back pack or horse. I don't think it's a good idea keeping the bow strung all the time when travelling just in case of a bandit attack or something.

Holsters for Bows did exist in Europe. During medieval times primarily in Hungary. When the renaissance starts almost all Polish cavalry (well it's missile part) turns from using crossbows towards bows, by 1514 and battle of Orsha there is no crossbowmen in Polish military they all changed to bows or guns. I don't know how quivers for bows are called in Hungarian or other languages but in Polish its "łubia" and together with arrows quiver they form "sajdak" or "sahajdak"

The best armor that fits in a small box: Yoroi (Samurai armor) PS: if your poor horse carries the armor, food and the water, who carries the horses water? -I believe a horse requires 10x more than a human...

Hmm, if I were an adventurer with a horse, then my equipment will probably be: On person: - Helmet - Brigandine or mail, with plate greaves and gauntlet (probably not too heavy and restrictive). - Sword and buckler. - Composite bow or crossbow (depending on my strength) and quiver. On horse: - a bec de corbin, or poleaxe type weapon: longer than a sword, shorter than a spear or halberd. For anti-armor use. - a larger shield, say for when I need to take cover from arrow attacks. - a stick. Could serve as a walking stick, quarterstaff and to extend the reach of my poleaxe, turning it to a halberd-like weapon, for anti-cavalry use. There are records of long pikes (like Alexander's sarissa) being transported in 2 halves.

Bedding 2 wool blankets, reindeer hide, pine boughs surrounded by logs in a lean-to fashion and covered with more pine boughs, moss , what have you . Fire with a heat wall to radiate heat toward lean-to. Great points about full plate, typically 45mins or so with assistance to get in and out of full plate. Gambeson with leather armor and/or riveted chainmail with constant supply of oil, two horses perhaps, one as a pack mule, the other battle ready while on the move.

Did people carry multiple blades? I can only think of Sikhs and a few people today that depend on being fast with the knife. The problem with a weapon is that you have to be able to draw it in time. If you get surprised you might have to draw the dagger instead of the sword to save time. Both could be impossible if someone grabs our right hand (or you get bitten there). Thus some people also have a blade that can be drawn with the left hand, or one that they could draw when they are on the back and someone on top of them (e.g. a boot knife).

13:40 MONGOLIANS; THE EXCEPTION!! If anyone watches Hank Green on Crash Course History, you would catch that. Haha!

Videos like this, that compare reality to games, are really great. Alot of folks (including me) have pretty much no knowledge of experience with medieval weaponry or even modern weaponry, and so our only knowledge of them is in the concept of games. I would imagine this is why you are getting alot of strange questions like this.

Even in later periods where they have better technologies the historical accounts of what explorers took with them is immense. The idea of a lone figure getting around in the wild is very romantic. In reality, especially in cold climates the necessities required make for very slow travel. The vast majority of people from these periods wouldn't have travelled more than 100km from their home. This also shows why ships were so invaluable for trade and transport and why cities were built near oceans and rivers.

Wouldn't a long cloak work as bedding?

i hope somebody in Taleworlds watches this video D=

So Link. Arming sword, heater shield, boomerang, tunic and hood for warmth, small but strong recurve bow and quiver, a few small items and rupies that would fit in a small belt bag or hand bag, and a magic ring that protects like armor but is far more comfortable to wear. Even with links boots, gauntlets, and mail he's sometimes depicted with, I think most fighting shape humans could easily run around all day with this setup.

In my role playing group, we have a nice ship for transporting all our loot. We try our best to think about the practical arrangements of moving and carrying equipment, even though it's easy to forget about it sometimes. In our case, knowing magic and thus having the ability to fly and communicate telepathically also really helps for scouting unknown territories without having to move so much stuff.

Melee scrubs. Stop clanking about, play a Wizard

why dont you ever show us your plate armor ?

On the large shield note, I started thinking about roman/hellenic troops, who traditionally (to my limited knowledge), had their infantryman carry most/all of his equipment and living kit. For most legionaries this included some type of really large heavy shield, and metal torso protection (lighter obviously, although their mail shirts were still heavy), so it can't have been too inconvenient to carry around kit (possibly minus food as they had a baggage train) and shield. Travelling around Europe I think would largely depend on solo vs group travel. With a group you can potentially divvy up the living kit into a tent (which houses multiple) and pot (which cooks for multiple). In a military group setting, I think a cart for the companies polearms and large weapons of war would not be out of the question, leaving the kit and sidearms to the individuals. Lastly on the bedding note, a heavy cloak/coat was probably mans best friend in europe, doubling as a blanket and mattress, so 'wearable bedding' I guess. Spare clothes and a bedroll are probably luxury items in a medieval sense (perhaps a merchant/civilian would bother with them). Interesting video though, love the channel.

A note about wearing a bow across your back. with a modern longbow you can unstring one end and slide the unstrung portion of the string down the arm of the bow. doing this keeps the other end from dragging, and would prevent the pressure on the chest you are talking about. important note: i don't know if this would work with a historic bow because I don't own one to try.

thumbs up if you thought the thumbnail was some kind of mech

I was just re-watching this and had a thought, although you've covered it (although not in this context, I think it was mentioned). Weapons laws. I haven't played a pen and paper RPG in 14 or 15 years, but when I did, that was always a good way to suddenly make "weak" enemies serious. Seeing as how RPG skill sets tend to be very specific, those angry youths with cudgels and daggers can suddenly be a serious threat if your man hasn't got plate and a pollaxe anymore. The game I played was a point-buy system, not class based. Knowing they weren't gonna stroll into a city ready for a pitched battle, it made them seriously consider sticking a few precious points into unarmed combat or knife skills.

Thanks for that. I'm a keen roleplayer and that was massively interesting. A lot of it kind of matched up to what I thought but there were things in there that I hadn't considered previously. Really good video.

I wouldn't be surprised if travellers carried a hatchet and a quaterstaff. The hatchet for firewood and the staff for difficult terrain (swamps, gravel; very uneven and slippery ground). Today even when we walk in the countryside we hardly ever see what difficulties ancient travellers faced.

I don't know how much American history you've studied, but the hypotheticals that you mentioned at the end of this video reminded me of an event from the settling of the American West. The traditional, stereotypical settler going west was in a wagon drawn by a couple of horses, oxen, or mules. Before that, the traditional trapper/trader was on foot and leading a mule much like you describe. As I remember, the trapper took his mule, his traps, a knife, some clothing, some trade goods, and a rifle. The settlers packed their wagons with all kinds of household goods including furniture. As the settlers moved westward, they ended up disposing of many of these items that added weight but were not immediately practical for the hard road. The previous paragraph is a lead up to the fact that in one year (maybe 1856) the Mormon emigrants tried a different strategy. The church was having trouble raising the money for every family to have a wagon and team. Instead of trying to outfit every family this way, every party had a few wagons and teams carrying community supplies, and individual families carried their family goods in a handcart. These carts had big wheels and a platform about five or six feet square if I remember correctly. They had long shafts protruding forward and a bar on the front between the shafts. In some ways, they looked like bulky rickshaws. They required some work, but they weren't that much slower that big wagons drawn by livestock. I mention the handcarts because I think they would be an ideal means of carrying things in the scenario that you describe. A small cart like that could be drawn by a single horse or mule or could be pushed by a man as they were by those Mormon emigrants. In that situation, I would make the forward shafts about the right size to use as pikes or staffs. I might even carry a couple of spares that would give me quicker access to use as a weapon and yet still be available for replacing a broken cart shaft or axle. I'd put my extra clothes, bedding, and similar things in the cart. I could put arrows in the cart. If I had the cart being pulled by a horse or mule, I'd keep a bow and a few arrows in a scabbard on the mule's back. I could keep a wood ax in the cart, and I'd probably have some fishing gear there was well. I agree that a sword would be convenient to carry because I wouldn't need an extra hand. The other side of the sword issue is that a sword can't really be used as a walking stick. In the Lewis and Clark Expedition across what became the western United States, Meriwether Lewis was famous for taking long walking journeys ahead of the party carrying an espontoon and pack. If I were journeying with one hand holding the mule's reins, I might want some kind of implement to let me use the other hand for balance. A light staff with a spear tip on the upper end would function as a walking staff but give me the instant availability of a pointy, metal weapon.

Woolen Cloak; Warmth, weather proofing bedding and a defensive ward Armor; gambason or brigandean if anything at all Weapon: small axe, knife, sling and staff Food, water utensils (spoon, bowl, cup, pot of some sort)

To be fair a lot of medieval era RPG’s have what is called the bag of holding which is basically a bag that you can hold a semi infinite amount of things in like a small rooms worth of stuff and it only weighs 10 pounds and that’s a common magic item or relatively common like any adventuring party probably has one and it lets you carry about 5000 pounds of stuff so that solves one issue it also calls the object that you’re looking for to it you just have to know that it’s in there

A real life example is my 24 hour pack. I work in disaster response and we're required to be able to go without support services for 24 hours. So I carry 1-3 MRE's 2 Liters of water, some cold weather gear (40 F) rain gear, PPE, survival stuff etc. Pack weighs about 35 lbs or so depending on loadout. Thank God for waistbelt and chest strap that is a fair amount to carry for any length of time.

Another very good video on the full story of choosing which weapons and gear you carry. Thanks!

Thank you so much. Nowhere beyond Lindeybeige have I found practical, informed information like this.

Great Rambo tee shirt . always insightful breakdowns. for a Yank who may carry a kuhkri in the woods during hunting season besides my rifle; its always interesting to consider the daily kit of men at arms . thanks again for the great show

Longbows were often carried in a canvas sleeve which can have a strap to carry it over the shoulder or across the back like a rifle.

So, in descending order... Level 1 - Sword, dagger, sling, possibly a quarterstaff, buckler, light armors (chainmail, helmet), etc. Level 2 - Axe, larger shield (2 foot diameter targe, ie.), club, short bow, recurve bow, javelins, medium armors (splint armor, brigandine, gambesons), etc. Level 3 - Longbow, large javelins, crossbow, big shields (3 foot diameter), etc. Level 4 - Biggest hand-shields (hoplons/aspis, scutums, etc.), polearms, etc. Level 5 - Pikes???

The author and well-known war romantic Ernst Jünger had an interest anecdote from western front ww1 where a korporal (I think) had the eccentric behaviour of carrying around a large number of weapons. Beyond his rifle he carried a number of pistols, knifes and several grenades. For a while he carried egg-grenades (not the potato mashers) in his pants pockets. While digging around for his pipe he pulled a sprint by accident on one of these, he tangled himself in panic while trying to get it out. The grenade turned out to not explode. Though this korporal was killed in service later.

It's interesting that in Lord of the Rings Tolkien specifically points out that the Fellowship are lightly armed when they set out from Rivendell. He specifically noted Gimli's hauberk and Boromir's shield, and the other companions' weapons.

I agree with Orkar Isber. In many roleplay games (computer/table/live action - doesn’t matter) the main purpose of leaving a town is not to get somewhere else, but to fight and kill. So, in such cases you should compare adventurers not with a pilgrim, but with a soldier on a battlefield. If you do not have suitable armor and weapons you will likely not live long enough to prepare food, have a rest or do any other ordinary hiking things. Another point (maybe as idea for future videos) - need for weapons variety. Swords are pretty effective against human brigands - that’s good. But if you run high risk of encountering giant ogres, or super armored giant tortoises, or small creatures who hunt in large packs, or mages who shoot lightning from distance, etc. - you will need something which is at least more or less effective in all these situations. That is definitely more than one or two weapons. So, if you have to sacrifice movement speed, comfort, extra supplies, change clothes, etc. just to be able to survive in inevitable numerous battles - you will do it. Of course, main unrealistic thing is that humans simply cannot exist in such dangerous world for significant time. But my main point is - adventurers are not travellers, they are fighters who carry only the necessary minimum of things not related to combat.

Sidesword (don't really need a shield), two gambesons (one breathable for hot times, one for colder, use whichever you aren't using as a pillow), hornbow (hunting), double sided axe, lots of knifes, kettle helm, and maille (leave on horse except when you need it). There you go.

Now, I actually really enjoy thinking about this kind of thing in my roleplaying. When I think of a particular character, I enjoy figuring out the logistics of what they're carrying, how they're carrying it, which way they have to reach with which hand for a particular weapon, how the gear they're carrying would restrict or allow certain maneuvers when they're attacked suddenly. When they have to drop gear, keeping track of it, and returning for it later, or having to abandon it. I'm a bit of an odd duck in a few groups for that reason, as most people subscribe to the common weightless, invisible Bag of Holding that no one ever mentions to carry their stuff, with weapons that just magically appear in their hands whenever needed, regardless of how those hands might have been previously occupied. Can't really blame them. It's not like my own endeavors have been all that realistic. I have a character who wears heavy plate and carries a shield around, and their packs would never be large enough to hold everything someone would actually need on a camping trip. But still, I think it can actually make for more fun roleplaying if you account for characters having to fumble a little.

I'm digging the new intro logo Matt! Glad to see you took the community input on your video editing software video.

This why the "Jack" was so popular. Basic protection, flexible and reasonably comfortable.

+scholagladiatoria I assume the reason you did not include the Roman legionary in the list of people who carried their shields all the time is because the Romans usually carried their shields on their backs with special wrapping, & so it was not available for immediate use, whereas the targe could be fairly quickly deployed?

thank you very much matt. i'm sending this out to all my players and posting some links up around the RPG community. great vid :)

Travelling frum Londom to Dublin, on mid 13 hundreads. Maybe running from the plague, or to sell Spaniard/Portuguese literature translations, i'd simply pack my mule with basics of living(bed,foodwear,lamp and what have you), on the other side my merchandise, i'd wear a simple gambezon and maybe if i had the money to buy, or inheritted it, a suit of mail. I'd carry a handy sling on my pocket (most under-rated utencil ever, and a great topic for future videos) for gathering and self defence, a sidesword and a buckler or targe. And my all-trusty situational awareness. Oh, and hope to the gods that the Sawney Bean isn't around :D

The targes you mentioned would be a late-16th, 17th, 18th century thing. There is some contention that depictions of round shields on medieval Scottish grave slabs are in fact bucklers rather than targes. As far as what a medieval Scot would have worn on the road goes...I imagine a medieval Scot on the road would have his side arm with a dagger maybe, wearing an aketon (light protection and warmth), maybe a helmet and maille, as well as a mantle (which could double as bedding), some kind of rucksack with his miscellaneous kit, MAYBE a bow or javelins (but packed away). It seemed common amongst Gaels in Ireland and Scotland to be lightly armoured.

You can carry a re-curve longbow fairly comfortably with the string over your shoulder if it's not strung (with the string on it backward.)

Thank you for making this video! I run roleplaying games using the Pathfinder system, and your advice really helps me create my own rules to make up for all the bull that the system has written. At this point, I'll probably end up making my own system! Daggers and Longswords have the same reach... what is this world coming to...

Quivers were not used in medieval times (from my understanding). Instead, arrows were kept in "arrow bags" which were made from waxed linen, and included a separator at the top to keep the fletchings from rubbing together, and also a top flap to keep out rain, etc. For more on the subject, I'd recommend "Longbow: A Social and Military History" by England's own Robert Hardy.

Great video! Interesting food for thought. Assuming that I was traveling with at least a wheel barrow; above and beyond regular camping gear, I would travel with a well made gambeson with jack chains on the arms, a sleeveless mail shirt, a helmet, thick gloves, a buckler, a small knife, a small hatchet, a sword with a complex hilt like a side sword, a spear and a sling. Heavy in a barrow but feasible I think. A horse cart would be better but you have to feed the horse. A pair of strong goats to pull the cart might be better. They can forage easier even in winter and if you have to help push the cart up hills or through mud, well boo hoo. A block and tackle and stout rope is handy for unsticking carts but would also add to the overall weight of the thing day in day out.

Although considerably earlier, Greek/Macedonian Hoplites and Roman centurions carried quite enormous shields as they marched on campaigns, typically on their back. (I know a much earlier time period, but it is still possible.)

I'm not sure if many people has played or heard of this, but there is a Pen and Paper Role-playing system called The Riddle of Steel that addresses this and various other aspects of realism in it's rules. Encumbrance is enforced to keep things sensible, as just as you said Matt if you have one large object to carry around expect to have less of everything else. The system's combat is also very detailed and overall it's one of the only (if not the only) system that is approved my the Association of Renaissance Martial Arts.

Probably one of the best traveling weapons for most of history was the simple Shepard's Sling: -Light weight -Relatively plentiful ammo -Good for hunting small game -Simple to maintain and repair -Can be carried rather easily, rap it around your belt and possibly even your arm. A question I have though is about bows, specifically the classic self-bow. Couldn't one theoretically just unstrung it and carry it in some type of tube shaped back holster for convenience purposes? Seems that would solve the problem of having to literally carry it in hand leaving you hands free.

Really enjoyed this video. Especially the bit about armor. The one part that I think you should have talked about, full plate (to be put on properly) can not be donned by one's self. The other reason you had a squire. Not just to take care of and transport the plate mail, but also to put you in it.