User blog:Aramirtheranger/I have had it!

I am sick of people saying that the longbow and crossbow can punch through steel plate armor of the kind that a knight would be wearing (hardened plates that are about 3-4 mm thick).

THEY CAN'T. Before someone pulls out the Battle of Agincourt, as I know our English associate might, full plate armor DID NOT EXIST YET in 1415, only the coat of plates/brigandine. It would be five more years before the invention of this marvelously strong armor (in fact, it can provide some resistance to certain modern firearms ). And even then, most of the real damage was inflicted on the knight's steeds, not the riders themselves. Armor doesn't really restrict movement enough to matter much, but if your horse dies underneath you, you're in deep shit, as Theoden's death illustrates rather well. Most knights were not rich enough to armor their horse in metal as well.

If you want a non-gun weapon that CAN pierce the plates, look to the arbalest, the steel armed big brother of the crossbow which was invented in either the very very very very late Middle Ages or the early-to-mid Renaissance, depending on when you place the change between periods(I use 1492). This thing could fling a steel bolt almost a thousand feet. At typical battle range, that was more than enough power to kill a man in plate, which is why shields made a comeback to a degree.