One of the big challenges with conflict is picturing what it might look like, especially in settings that are in technological transition. The last post covered the new Battlecry! book, and this is a direct follow up to that. So let’s dive into what large-scale combat on Golarion Might look like!
CONTENT WARNING: This post includes links to YouTube videos containing cinematic recreations of historical battles. Violence and Death.
Background
Most people coming into Pathfinder as a game will have a solid idea about what “battle” looks like, based on popular media around the middle ages and early modern war. Think shows like Vikings, movies about the Three Musketeers, or series like Game of Thrones to get some fantasy flavour. The challenge is that all of these shows have relatively firm groundings technologically. Sure, the musketeers carry swords, but armour has gone away and the musket is technically king. Likewise, sure, there’s bombs in Lord of the Rings, but they’re a rare commodity and pre-firearm tech is the norm. Golarion on the other hand, it’s a world in transition with a number of unique pressures that mean it isn’t going to follow a real world technological development pattern. And this means battle is going to look very different.
Ground Warfare
Golarion has firearms. They were a thing in Pathfinder 1st Edition, and are now even more of a thing in 2nd Edition with its stronger dungeonpunk vibe. But they aren’t the dominant power everywhere yet. Despite ease of access to the technology. Why? And why does everyone keep wearing armour? Because monsters are a thing. Monsters, unlike most real world animals, can shrug off a few bullets pretty easily, and close into melee distance faster than a defender or attacker can reload. So there’s still a call for close combat weapons and armour to protect against their attacks. And there’s enough monsters reproducing fast enough to make this an ongoing issue.
Magic is another factor in why things aren’t going to change at the same pace. The difference between “magic” and “artillery” on the battlefield is only really about how close the caster/unit has to be to their target. And magic also turns the battlefield into a dynamic space prone to sudden changes, meaning that the large set piece battles we’re used to seeing are only likely if each side has no magic users. Otherwise it’d be more likely to be battalion or smaller units maneuvering with some significant space between them to prevent every battle from looking like day one of The Somme.
Battle at Sea
Things are CRAZY on the high seas. In addition to the fact that it’s a full 3D battlespace all the time with sub-surface and flying threats, ship design is likely to be a lot different from the standard European patterns people imagine. Why? Because the Age of Sail vessels in popular imagination were ships that evolved for Earth’s relatively safe waters and for highly specialized battles. On Golarion, the line vessels of a navy are likely to look more like fortresses, given the number of threats they’re dealing with.
Example Time
Reading all this is all fine and good, and thanks for making it this far! But in reality, seeing what I’m talking about is a better way to get the point across. So I looked up some battle scenes from movies where the time period is one where technological transition is happening, and the people are waging war with a number of different tools and tactics.
In 1643, the Battle of Rocroi was fought between Spanish and French forces. It’s a solid example of a period where tactics, weapons, and equipment were all changing. This era is known as “pike and shot” and often falls in the crack between the high middle ages and age of sail/Napoleonic eras. This clip is from the 2006 film Alatriste.
Kings and Generals gives a more tactical examination of this battle from the 30 Years War.
Moving back to 1575 in Japan, we have the Battle of Nagashino. What I want to point out here is the use of protective temporary fortifications to protect musket troops. This tactic remained popular in Japan owing to its terrain and other tactical pressures long after it was largely abandoned elsewhere. In Golarion, I think this would be a common tactic. This scene is from the 38th episode of Nobunaga: King of Zipangu.
The Kings and Generals episode of the battle is here:
The final example is a naval one, the Battle of Noryang, from the end of the Imjin War in 1598. This was an epic sea battle between the defending Ming and Joseon forces (China and Korea) against the invading Japanese. What makes this battle unique is the style of vessels used, which are very unlike the types seen in European waters. Golarion’s Inner Sea and many coasts would likely see a lot of tough vessels like these I think. The cinematic parts are from the 2023 film Noryang: Deadly Sea.
Part 1:
Part 2:
And of course, a Kings and Generals breakdown of the actual battle in addition to the larger conflict:
Final Thoughts
Modeling large scale conflict is never easy in technologically transitional spaces. But, little is created in a vacuum and looking outside the more conventional (at least to the English speaking western world) sources can give a lot of good cues on how things could go. It’s also a great excuse to fall down a historical documentary rabbit hole!
