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I am not blending anything.
I own lots of old weapons. I have armor and all sorts of period pieces from several different cultures and ages. I am most fixated with old Japanese stuff.
Japan, long ago, was a most interesting place. They had iron, in very limited supply. They were resource poor. Their martial arts, and, even their knights, the Samurai, were all part of using what they had. I own several amazing pieces of armor, made from wicker and bamboo. These are museum pieces. I even have swords, both metal and wood, and, in some ways, the wooden weapons are better then the metal versions. Why? Because it's all they had and they did extraordinary things with them.
To many people forge their samurai image from movies, like for example, The Seven Samurai. It's a great movie... It's a fun movie... But it's a movie.
The Samurai is not remembered for his swords, or his pole arms, or even their amazing armor. No, they are remembered for their fighting skill. Many Samurai fought with what amounts to bits of wicker and bamboo lashed together with rags, armed with sharp wooden poles and wooden swords. They fought with hand and foot, sword and spear, mind and soul. They fought with courage and conviction and a strong set of personal beliefs that kept them going on the battlefield in the face of impossible odds. Fighting each other, or, charging matchlock militia with nothing more then their courage and some battered weapons, they did it all with a sense of style and grace.
This is why translating this to a game is so hard. How do you capture this? I am not trying to capture some popular image or anime crap. Or some movie image or God forbid, some Tom Cruise inspired bit.
Take the popular modern image if you should desire, it is a lot more fun, a good deal more romantic, and probably has a lot more role play potential. Just please, do not accuse me or blending anything. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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