Excellent post Kafein. I agree with most.
Just one thing: 1h cav can be good, even against other cav. But it's difficult, i admit. Using horse to bodyblock their horse, shield to block the incoming polearm stab, then turning in behind them gets you one or two free slashes at the other cav. But it's not easy and your horse (and shield) are at risk if you do that.
Can't fault the build you propose, but you might want to go 5 shield and 6 weapon mastery instead and get that 1h wpf up a bit more so you'll be just a bit faster with that 1h.
Thank you.
You are right about 1h in cav vs cav situations, it is perfectly doable, but is only a "no-risk" option in certain very rare occasions (in many of which a lance would be of equal interest). Killing the rider and not the horse is usually very hard (but since many lancers are helpless without their beloved champion sarranid, well...). Good lancers will usually hit your horse anyway if you block while trying to stop them, it's a rather big sacrifice in exange of an opportunity of killing one enemy lancer.
Also, I chose to put 6 shield because I wanted to try the steel shield. Maybe simply taking one point from athletics and put it in WM could be better. I tend to equal 1h and pole wpf because I like to use other polearms too, like the pike. You really don't need more than 100 wpf for using the heavy lance afaik.
About shields, I see that you (on your char named Phazh) are often wearing a Huscarl shield on your back when you ride, do you really feel the difference in damage of ranged and likelyhood to be chosen as target ? It seems too expensive to me. Maybe a better option would be putting a very bad shield (though it's not so good-looking) on your back, it can't break and I think the coverage and protection are the same.
On the weapon choice, many 1h are pretty much the same, so choose the one you prefer. The best choices are obvious :
- Sarranid cav sword for the length.
- Military Hammer/Steel pick if you feel like being a trololo wtf douchebag.
But the differences are hidden in details of 1 or 2 lenght, damage and speed rating points. Don't forget that a one handed morningstar can be a devastating weapon with the speed bonus, and you will make less timing errors because the speed is so slow the blow stays longer in it's active phase. Furthermore, it really looks badass. But you'll need a "fighting" 1h too, resulting in more upkeep.
About lances, it can be a little more tricky than what you think. The heavy lance is really an obvious choice. But lances and light lances can have their place in cav battles too. They are simply better against infantry (unless you need the additional range, but even if you have it, you are better choosing another target), and they are also much faster than heavy lances. You can poke and chase other cavalry better, surprise some of them with subtle timing and maneuver. But your chances in frontal "joutes" versu decent lancers are scarse. Lighter lances are much more complicated to use and require much more time to kill, thus the best all-rounder option is the heavy lance, especially for low-maneuver horses and if you don't plan to focus on enemy cavalry (you should not), but don't forget the others.
