So, I mentioned in the culture forum my handless race the Apsarans, which have wings in place of arms. They have some gripping ability with their feet that allows them to carry things, but I'm thinking anything beyond ten pounds would probably hinder flight. So, based on this what kinds of armor and weapons would they use? Keep in mind that armor would have to be light, allow for mobility and somewhat easy to put on (it's hard to dress yourself with no hands ) and weapons like swords, clubs, axes would not work even if they had hands because their inertia would interfere with the Apsaran's flying. I'm toying with ideas of either light armor made from tree bark or very thick animal skins (maybe reptilian scales?). Other than that, not really sure. Input please
In Christ,
Jordan

I like the idea of reptilian scales for armor. As for a weapon, I don't think it would be possible for them to carry anything like a sword or other 'normal' weapons, like you said. If it were my race I'd give them sharp talons like an eagle. Also they could have a pointy beak like a woodpecker, but that could take away from their human-ness or intelligent feel.

You are one for coming up with sticky concepts, aren't you...wish I were that original.

The first thing that sprang to my mind was some sort of long-bow, cross bow thing with a few modifications. Maybe not practical but it seems to match the essence of a winged race. But of course there's the problem of reloading. Couldn't you have made it a culture without feet?

Perhaps some sort of mounted armor thing on their shoulders that would be a combination of a crossbow type weapon. Extremely light, of course. Or maybe they could fight in tandem with tiny midgets that they hold with their feet, who can shoot arrows downward?

I don't know. You certainly throw us a lot of curves with your races!

eruheran

Some kind of mask with spear points on it. Since they fly, and that's a bird's natural weapon, it makes sense to copy it, right?

Merashath, no beaks or talons. Am researching a couple of ideas for other aspects of their culture and these might help me with weapons and armor.

Eruheran, bows wouldn't really work (their feet aren't that prehensile).

Janin, your idea of spear-tipped masks intrigues me, I might play around with it and see what I come up with.
Thanks all for the ideas and suggestions, and keep them coming.

I was actually thinking of some sort of cross-bow like mounted thing that's actually mounted on their bodies that they could trigger with their feet, somehow.

eruheran

I'm thinking the recoil would throw them off balance. Also, there's the issue of how would such weapons be made?
One idea that I have come up with is that their primary struggles would be against other tribes/nests of Apsarans, in which their first weapons would be ones that work against other fliers. As a result of that thought I've come up with something similar to Merashaths idea of talons, but slightly different. Bone-versions of brass knuckles that they wear on their feet and use to attack each other similar to how dragons fight in the air while flying. These would in fact probably be a very common weapon until they start having to interact with archers on land, at which point different tactics would have to be adapted.

Hmmm...their feet aren't talons like an eagle's, but just like brass knuckles, they can...got it. Cool idea. Of course, you could just weave into their whole culture a distrust for 'land-people' or something or maybe even a pacifistic nature...it's really up to you.

Who would make the 'bone toes'?

eruheran

I think for a handless culture, all of the weapons would need to be simple, body-mounted weapons of some kind. Have you considered integrating the weapons into the armor (e.g. sharp points on helmets/breastplates, boots with claws)? Also, they could drop explosives. Not incredibly original, I know, but one of the few weapons you can just let go of and take care of your enemies.

It also depends on their size. If they're 15 feet long they could just dive bomb their enemies. If they are human size, I like the idea of explosives. Or they could be pacifistic because of this difficulty.

Eruheran, their feet are similar to opossum feet or raccoon feet. The "brass knuckles" are made out of bones and worn like brass knuckles over their feet when they're fighting. Elanhil and Reueldreamseer, no explosives, sorry. No pacifism either. I'm also thinking no armor it goes with the Native American essence a little better than trying to orchestrate how they manage to craft armor light enough to fly in that's still effective.
Their main tactics against humans rely heavily on dropping fire on them from out of bow range (not sure about all of their methods for doing this). They're also fans of ambush tactics against humans.

Well, if you can't have explosives, fire is certainly the next best thing. Would this be boiling oil type fire or flaming arrows type fire or torches or hot coals? What sort of fire are we talking about here?

What part of "not sure about all of their methods for doing this" did you not understand? I'm thinking most likely torches. Though I admit with the onset of school, I haven't had much time to ponder this

Oh, yes, you did say that, didn't you? I guess I assumed that you might have an idea of some method even if you weren't absolutely decided on all of them. I like the idea.

If they can grasp things with their feet, they could even have spears, but swords would still be hard to fight with.

That would require their legs to bend in very uncomfortable ways in order to throw the spears with any kind of force.

Okay, a helmet with something on it would be the best then, in my humble opinion. I don't think the spears would work anyway, because then he would have to carry several.

Are their feet essentially like ours? Legs as well? Or do they have some extra mobility (or maybe less mobility) because they use wings??

eruheran

Ok. Here's what I have so far people.
Apsarans have wings instead of arms, other than that their bodies are human...except for their feet which resemble those of opossums and have some prehensibility. Their main weapons are a version of brass knuckles made out of bones that they attach to their feet and claw at each other with in the air (they're legs are more flexible than ours in their ability to bend towards the head with ease). They wear no armor. Their main tactics against humans and other land dwellers involve dropping torches and other fiery objects from a safe distance. They also rely heavily on ambush when fighting humans. I should be posting all of my stuff about them in the "Races" forum very soon.
In Christ,
Jordan
P.S. - thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Sounds good!

I might be just a little late on the conversation, but it just struck me that knees can be very painful.

And a couple weeks ago, I took my younger sister to see an owl movie. And in this owl movie, they have the equivalent of swords tied on top of the claws. Just thought that was kind of interesting.

I like that idea. They would be hard to de-weapon, and could really hurt somebody. They probably couldn't kill in this manner, though.

I get the image of Apsaran sword-fights in the air holding the swords with their feet, amusing image. But the idea of large foot-held blades that could be used in dive bomb attacks is interesting, although they would likely be made out of either bone or a light wood. I'll have to think about that possibility. Thanks Willow!

What of light spears which they carry beneath them pointed towards their enemies. Flying towards them they quickly spread their wings to suddenly lose velocity and at the last moment release the spear into the heart of their foe. Letting their momentum throw the spear?