Renderra Family/Combat Strategies

While originally a peaceful people, the Renderra have adapted into a world filled with violence, by following traditions set by the areas surrounding them. Their combative strategies have evolved over the ages, and this page will document said changes through time.

The First Age


The First Age Renderra, or Arrenda, were very simple fighters. They used improvised weapons, typically copper, bronze, or iron, in combat. They fought mostly with spears, whether thrown or thrusted, and experimented with runes. Eventually, crude bows and slingshots were invented and used, with athame knives used to skin the animal, and prepare the meat.

Nobody fought in this age, notably, so the Renderra didn't wear armour, often just wearing heavy, raw hides when hunting larger animals, and simple clothes at other times.

Smithing hammers, make-shift hatchets, and chisels were used during this time, leading to future development as needed.

Second Age
With empires of the Gods expanding, the Arender had began to perfect their smithing skills. Their spears became less crude, fastened to the wood with metal spikes, and tied heavily with green cloth. The Arender began to use basic leather armour early on in the age, as well as modifing knives to longer lengths to create dirks more suited for combat with animals, or if nessacery, humanoids. It became commonplace that an Arender would always carry some form of weapon for defense, whether it was a dagger, sword, bow, or a rune pouch.

It was here the down to earth family began to play with magic in depth, especially earth-magic based spells and binds.

If a Tribal Arender had to fight another group, it was commonplace for a mage to open fire to begin, while the others charged into battle behind, usually from the top of a hill to take advantage of their height for intimidation. Ram's horns began to be fastened to helmets for this use, to also make the height of the wearer seem taller.

Sometimes, a brave Arender would charge into battle nude, aside from their sword and large roundshield, as a sort of bragging right should they survive.

Magi commonly wore simple Druidic Robes, while Rangers and melee combatants wore hides.

Third Age
This intimidation factor radiated across all forms of Renderra combat strategy during this age. Not only were horned helmets common place, but it was the belief of the family that wearing the skins and bones of slain animals would gift their stength in combat. It was thus fairly common to see an Arender roam in a heavy, fur cloak, even during the heat of summer.

Early Third Age
The piety of the Renderra took form in Woad leaves, ground into a paste and used to paint the face. This effect left the skin cyan, the same shade of Guthix's skin, and thus, a tribute to him as they defended whatever land they had.

Renderra Melee Warriors began to use chainmail early in the age, typically over some form of cowhide leather for added protection. Towershields and Hastae began to be implemented, as well as more orderly formations such as the Phalanx, Wedge, and Cavalry, however, the long-implmented "Hill-top Charge" was still a favourite.

Arender Archers began to wear metal, open face helmets to allow for protection and visibility, while also using obscure strategies, such as tying feathers to the top of the longbow, as a make-shift wind-guage. Dirks were used for pinches in close range combat, while the addition of horses led to Chariot-Mounted cavalry being common.

Arender Magi were also trained in Druidic arts, making a split for one teaching or the other at age 14. Magi now armour made from treebark,  with heavy staffs or wands being common, as well as keeping with the iron athame of tradition. Earth Magic was not used alone. Renderra began to experiment with imbueing nature into their spells, leading to some unrefined and unpredictable effects.

Druids, meanwhile, began to speak to other races for aid in battle. Moss Giants could sometimes be seen fighting alongside Arender, as well as Ents and Dryads being summoned to aid in battle. Ents and Moss Giants were terribly horrific on the battlefield, ripping apart entire squads on their own. Dryads were faster, and flung their own form of earth magic to defend their summoners.

Middle Third Age
Battle had heated to a dangerous point, as Arender craftsmen began to take and design enemy armour. Those mingled with soceity feigned being smiths, but the others remained steafast at living in near inhospitable mountains. The smiths had soon found designs for "Platemail." Heavy, expensive armour that was of little use to a long march, but was quickly implemented into Arender and other Guthixian designs.

Rangers began to wear pauldrons and vital area chest coverings, to prevent an opposing arrow from piercing their hearts. It was also a test for the scaled armour designs implemented soon after.

Magi and War Druids both began to plate some of their wood with metal, using it sparingly to keep their bodies mostly uncovered for magic casting. Leather cowls became standard, to allow protection as well as focus and visibility.

The Lighter Arender Melee group remained in heavy, thick leathers, and occasional chainmail. The only major change to the group was the styling of wings on the helmets, which will be signifigant later.

The Arender reverse engineered platemail into scaled armour. They punched pin holes into 1mm thick plates of steel, sewing them into leather armour, and wearing it over chainmail. Heavy Renderra troops emerged, carrying broadswords, war hammers, halberds, and battle axes. These troops became so feared, it was said the Gods themselves had to drive the Arender tribes back. It was from this, and the emergence of the Aren family, that the civil side of the Arender remerged with the Barbaric side, forming the "Renderra."

It was common place to wear the skinned heads of animals on the pauldrons, common ones being lions, bears, and wolves.

Late Third Age
With battle beginning to boil over, the Cheiftain, and soon to be Patriarch, Constantino Renderra suggested a full retreat to the Soulwoods, a rather undesirable plot of land riddled with trees axes of the time could not chop. This created a very tactical location to wait out the worst of the wars, the construction aided by Dwarves the tribe kept in touch with.

The Wings on the helmets began to come to great importance as a symbol, while also maintaining the height boost the horns once acheived. As the Falcon Knights formed, Falcon wings became a key model to the tribe.

Melee fighters slowly began to implement a solid breastplate over the front of their leather, but not much else was developed for war during this time, due to a lack of combat until far later in the age.

Magic, on the other hand, accelerated rapidly. It was found near the end of the third age that when healing magic was used with an elemental spell, if could force life to grow within the spell for destructive, and natural, spells.

Fire, on the otherhand, began to draw more from the soul and passion, creating a green, near inextiguishable flame.

Fourth and Fifth Age
Fourth Age Renderra began to retire the use of War Druids, as many of the more pious settled into a more peaceful lifestyle.

However, Combative expansion did not end, but as the Renderra felt their armour was good enough, they began to work on other things, namely their shields and arsenal.

Metal brackets were eventually added to most heavy combatant's shields, allowing up the three Javelin to be carried on a towershield. Lighter-weight soldiers began to do similar with tomahawks, and throwing knives.

Slowly, as wealth grew for the family, they began to use more and more platemail, adapting it to be more mobile, eventually reaching the Fifth Age "Gothic" style.

Rangers began to use more and more exotic hide, as well. Though cow leather is still most common.

Magi remained mostly unchanged, aside from becoming less common with the dwindling rune supply, though still as powerful as ever.

As the Renderra settled to a more noble lifestyle, their time of battle began to dwindle, until common, generic strategies emerged in their guard, the family themselves trained in secret, developing much more in the department of melee weaponry, and ranged secrets. Magi were often sent to train far away, as were young boys and girls aspiring to be Knights.

During the Fifth age, not much has changed. Many secret designs remain unseen in battle, some based on old designs from the Third Age revisited with modern touches.