Best Weapons *Without Metal* to Fight a DnD Rust Monster
8,226If you had to fight a magical fantasy creature that can corrode your steel swords, axes, hammers, etc... what would be good alternatives for the adventurer's inventory? Ideally something that hits hard and is robust enough to deal with its natural armor.
In history there are plenty of fascinating designs from indigenous cultures all over the world, so let's take a look at a few of them.
Special thanks to Ace the Super Villain for providing the dungeon background and animating the rust monster in the intro. Check out his bundle of polearm models:
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/military/melee/50-low-poly-polearms
*** Time stamps ***
00:00 – 01:27 Intro
01:27 - 02:34 What does a rust monster do?
02:34 – 03:26 Metals & corrosion
03:26 – 04:42 Bronze weapons yes or no?
04:42 – 05:26 Wood / stone spears
05:26 – 05:50 Disc mace
05:50 – 07:13 Tetsubo / Kanabo, quarterstaff, maul
07:13 – 07:31 Atlatl (spear thrower)
07:31 – 09:15 Maori weapons
09:15 – 13:04 Native American war clubs
13:04 – 15:23 Pacific Island examples
15:23 – 16:48 Organic shields
16:48 – 18:41 Final thoughts / outtakes
*** Sources ***
Research on fire hardened spears
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0174
The King of Māori Weapons- Mere Pounamu (1800’s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_fqs4K-JVo
Taiaha at the Auckland Museum
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collection/object/am_humanhistory-object-578123
Testing a Maori fighting staff (Taiaha)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJNsyPvTjg
Samoan & Fijian
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23960/lot/113/
https://www.new-guinea-tribal-arts.com/fijian-war-clubs/
Native American ball-headed and gunstock war clubs
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gunstock_war_club._Sac_Indian_tribe._c._1760._MNM_La_Rochelle.jpg
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/717553
https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2893B/lots/149
https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2879B/lots/149
https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/apache-beaded-hide-flop-head-club-from-the-estate-of-clem-caldwell-kentucky-3079921
https://www.proxibid.com/Excellent-craftsmanship-on-this-rare-29-long-flop-style-stone-head-club-circa-late-1800-s/lotInformation/65253518
A brief overview of Iroquoian War Clubs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tayd4qgg-LY
Agricultural flail
https://api.aucklandmuseum.com/id/media/v/165610
Russian flail
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://holodnoeorugie.ru/kisten/
Wood, hide, and wicker shields:
Indo-Persian
https://www.faganarms.com/products/fine-indopersian-painted-hide-shield-buckler
African
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/wall-mounted-sculptures/large-ethiopian-hide-shield/id-f_14982562/
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/43883214_a-vintage-african-tribal-black-painted-wicker-shield
New Guinean
https://www.sftribal.com/product/shield-papua-new-guinea/
2300 year old bark shield
https://gizmodo.com/2-300-year-old-bark-shield-showcases-a-previously-unkno-1835005153
Pictures:
https://www.deviantart.com/mcslackerton/art/Rust-Monster-593181082
https://pixabay.com/photos/bookshelf-books-old-books-library-6794324/
https://pixabay.com/photos/castle-towers-sunset-clouds-5785243/
https://pixabay.com/photos/new-zealand-mountain-lake-maori-4259929/
*** Relevant videos ***
Overlooked Weapon of Ancient History: The DISC MACE
https://youtu.be/mgB_20NCfiM
Lemons, Atlatl Darts, Crossbow Bolts vs. Zombie Head
https://youtu.be/3DQ5caU5_iA
The Spike Makes All The Difference...
https://youtu.be/s3fcUIbJRfY
What NOT to Use Against the Undead!
https://youtu.be/2S-xfDEMQnk
Military Flails Didn't Exist? - Lets Take a Closer Look!
https://youtu.be/0PHASxS8Voc
*** Music ***
"Cavern of Wonders" by Hitctrl
https://opengameart.org/content/rpg-the-cavern-of-wonders
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0)
Intro song:
"Illuminate" by Vindsvept
https://vindsvept.bandcamp.com/track/illuminate
Used with artist's permission
Outtakes:
"Little People At Work" by Horrorpen
https://opengameart.org/content/little-people-at-work-loop
CC BY 3.0
Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
https://theslantedroom.github.io/steve.yee/
Used with artist's permission
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Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links:
Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc:
https://www.kultofathena.com/?koa=259
Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords:
http://www.woodenswords.com/?Click=1799
Want to treat your face fluff? I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery:
https://beardsorcery.com/?ref=0UEFtHWvZEmtD
#fantasy #history #weapons