Air combat in medieval fantasy

[CarburetorThompson]

Read a lot of japanese fantasy light novels recently and air combat is real big theme. Gonna make an opinion poll on what’s best

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Broom~

 

[georgelee5786]

Brooms, since it is harder to immobilize them. You can tear wings on birds and dragons easier

 

[LuoirM]

I like to imagine throwing stupidly impossible spin kick because you're basically having free body control in the air and not need a supporting leg (people can't fathom how much a free-flying human means)

But then can you imagine how little force that'll generate without a proper human-evolution supported spin? Or how hard it is for readers to imagine the impact?

Airships are very boring imho.

Gonna vote for "none"

 

[great_sloth]

Gundam

 

[Anemic_Vampire]

I choose dragons. Other creatures seem a little weaker and unreliable in comparison. Magic brooms are cool, but sitting on them for a long period of time wouldn't be comfortable, I guess.

 

[Lloyd]

ff12 style airships

 

[ElijahRyne]

Read a lot of japanese fantasy light novels recently and air combat is real big theme. Gonna make an opinion poll on what’s best

In planes that you would consider fantasy:
Brooms, even if magic is involved, are just prone to accidents. Also, who is fighting on a broom when you have war vehicles, for lack of a better word, ready.
Dragons, and other living entities, are marginally better, but it brings in a load of ethical questions. You can avoid that by using war vehicles.
Self propulsion is better, but way too inefficient, when you can have something else fly for you.
Airships are better, but are not the full might of magic engineering, but still a useful part of war strategy.
Floating cities are more of a base, than an actual war device.
Floating fortresses are better, but slow. You can think of it as similar to your aircraft carriers.
Flying towers are faster than an airship, have greater offensive output, and greater defense.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

My story used winged beastmen, though it's mostly relegated to bombing runs (using magic-activated barrel bombs) and airborne landing operations.

 

[Keene]

Airships
That said I would like to see a story that does mounted formations well, which means making up all the military terminology that would apply to some winged squadron of soldiers. As well as authentic sounding usages of formations that make in-universe sense.

Too often mounted soldiers are delegated to "yeah these are the super strong elite troops" and not much else.

 

[J_Chemist]

My barbarian characters trying to fight the flying cowards:

Big fan of Airships duking it out but otherwise any form of bestial riding would be interesting.

Unless you're in the "Burn The Witch" universe. Then brooms.

 

[Thraben]

Every setting I've seen that has 'aerial combat' in medieval fantasy ALSO incessantly includes fireball spells, guaranteed accuracy magic missiles, lightning bolt or call lightning spells, and other such magic that would be ENTIRELY too effective as anti-air measures for me to take the existence of a magic air force as portrayed seriously.

What does your gryph/hawk/broom rider seriously do when thirty guys drop perfect accuracy lightning bolts, airburst fireballs, and a barrage of homing crossbow bolts at them? They die uselessly. A dragon might fair better, but there are a number of similarly perfect accuracy spells that SPECIFICALLY counter either dragons or magical flight (the type of flight dragons or levitating wizards use), and they still have no functional defense against a group of thirty mages on the ground with Call Lightning prepared.

Yeah, air combat flatly isn't viable in a setting with D&D style magic if you're talking the scale of nations going to war with each other, despite it being one of the THE most viable tactics in the scale of individual adventuring parties vs. individual monsters.

The Anti-Air defense capabilities of organized D&D magic far outweigh the comparatively minor benefits of aerial superiority.

 

[BouncyCactus]

They are mostly relegated to logistic support or aerial mounted scouts for my worlds/shock troops for anti-ground troops. So far, I have not had an Air to Air combat style yet. Aerial jousting is too deadly for any forces to commit, given that aerial mounted troops are the elite of the elites, and no one wanted to risk losing them even if the engagement resulted in victory. So far, the default tactic is that, if you have the number superiority, charge the enemy flying formation, and break their nerves, as most forces would disengage facing superior forces. If no one has the advantage, they will tend to circle each other, keeping them locked in a stalemate and way from everyone else. If one rider broke formation, either due to fatigue, or injury, they would be forced to break off and be an easy target for missiles. Some weapons developed and used by flying calvary would be weighted nests or immobilization spells.

It also depends on what flavor of fantasy we are talking about, but I like the flying animal variety better than mechanical contraption, as they tend to leave the medieval realm and into the early industrial/renaissance realm.

 

[HelloHound]

I've never been wild about air stuff in fantasy but gun to my head I'd prefer a dragon or airship, though I want reasons why and how beforehand

 

[melchi]

Air combat is completely different. I always get frustrated when it gets portrayed as the same as on the ground.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Aren't levitating wizards just your standard superhero shit/ cultivating cunts?

Either way I did picked it.

Also, I did not pick airships because zeppelin. I mean, why go scientific when you can just have the wooden warships levitating and then do Battle of Cape Ecnomus?

Every setting I've seen that has 'aerial combat' in medieval fantasy ALSO incessantly includes fireball spells, guaranteed accuracy magic missiles, lightning bolt or call lightning spells, and other such magic that would be ENTIRELY too effective as anti-air measures for me to take the existence of a magic air force as portrayed seriously.

What does your gryph/hawk/broom rider seriously do when thirty guys drop perfect accuracy lightning bolts, airburst fireballs, and a barrage of homing crossbow bolts at them? They die uselessly. A dragon might fair better, but there are a number of similarly perfect accuracy spells that SPECIFICALLY counter either dragons or magical flight (the type of flight dragons or levitating wizards use), and they still have no functional defense against a group of thirty mages on the ground with Call Lightning prepared.

Yeah, air combat flatly isn't viable in a setting with D&D style magic if you're talking the scale of nations going to war with each other, despite it being one of the THE most viable tactics in the scale of individual adventuring parties vs. individual monsters.

The Anti-Air defense capabilities of organized D&D magic far outweigh the comparatively minor benefits of aerial superiority.

I mean, this is just Muv Luv BETAs all over again. Air superiority of both sides getting shafted, resulting in more and more powerful land troops.