Off the Shelf: Fencing Manuals

From time to time adventurers may find themselves in libraries and other places where books can be found. Some players will want to know exactly what's on those shelves, so with that in mind, Off the Shelf consists of lists of book titles for the referee to use in rolling or choosing exactly what the adventurers find.

Fencing manuals are reference works for teaching the use of the sword and other weapons. The manuals are often extensively illustrated with engraved plates. Fencing manuals are most often found in fencing schools or in the private libraries of nobles. Roll 1D6 for the number of manuals, then roll 1D20 for the individual titles. Duplicate rolls may be treated as additional copies of the same volume or re-rolled at the referee's discretion.

1. L’Espée de Combat, ou l'Usage de la Tire des Armes by François Dancie

2. Scola overo Teatro by Nicoletto Giganti

3. Neuer Diskurs Kunst des Fechtens by Joachim Koppen

4. The Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science by Joseph Swetnam

5. The Private Schoole of Defence by George Hale

6. Gran Simulacro by Ridolfo Capo Ferro

7. Discours de la theorie de la practique et de l’excellence des armes by André Desbourdes

8. Sienz e Practica d’Arme by Salvator Fabris

9. Trattato in materia de scherma by Marco Docciolini

10. Paradoxes of Defence by George Silver

11. Libro de las Grandeza de la Espada by Don Luis de Narvaez

12. Regole do molti cavagliereschi esserciti by Frederico Ghisliero

13. De veris principiis artis dimicatoiae tractatus brevis by Heinrich von Gunterrodt

14. Traicté contenant les secrets du premier livre sur l’espée seule, mère de toutes armes, qui sont espée dague, cappe, targue, bouclier, rondelle, l’espée deux mains & deux espées, avec ses pourtraictures, ayans les armes au poing por se deffendre & offencer à un mesme temps des coups qu’on peut tirer, tant en assillant qu’en deffendent, fort utile & profitable por adextrer la noblesse, & suposts de Mars: redigé par art, ordre & practique by Henry de Sainct Didier

15. Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l’Arme, si da offesa come da difesa by Giacomo di Grassi

16. De libro que tratta dela philosiphia de las armas by Jeronimo De Carranza

17. Trattato di scientia d’arme, con un dialogo di filosofia by Camillo Agrippa

18. Descorso sopra I’arte della scherma by Camillo Palladini

19. Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens by Joachim Meyer

20. Opera Nova by Achile Marozzo

And now, when a Spanish swordsman says he "has studied his Agrippa," you know what's on his nightstand.