User blog:SPARTAN 119/Samurai vs Pirate

=Combatants=

Samurai
The samurai were a Japanese aristocratic warrior class that existed from about the 10th century onwards. From the late 12th century onwards, Samurai warlords, known by the title shogun were the de facto rulers of the Japan, with the emperor serving only as spiritual leader. The samurai were known for living by the code of bushido, which emphasized loyalty, duty and honor above all else, even in the face of death. The samurai class was abolished in 1860s, during the modernization of Japan during the Meiji Restoration.

Pirate
The term "pirate" refers to one who attacks ships on the high seas with the intent of hijacking the vessel and/or stealing its cargo. The "golden age" of piracy was from the late 1600s to the early 1700s, in part due to a large number of unemployed ex-navy sailors from wars that had taken place in Europe previously. In general, pirates of the era were either Europeans, particularly English or French, or in the case of the Barbary Coast pirates, Arabs.

=Weapons=

Katana (Samurai)
The katana is the classic "samurai sword", with an extremely sharp curved single-edged blade forged from layers of hard, medium and soft steel to provide the optimum combination of strength and flexibility.

Cutlass (Pirate)
A cutlass is a short sabre-type sword with curved, broad blade. The weapon was a popular weapon for sailors and pirates, being easily usable in the close quarters of the interior of a ship, and proving useful both for slashing through flesh and bone, and for more mundane tasks such as cutting thick ropes.

119's Edge
The Samurai's katana for its superior cutting ability and length.

Yari (Samurai)
The yari is straight-bladed spear with a blade on top anywhere from less than one to three feet in length. The pole can be up over six meters in length. The yari often had a crossbar under the blade. After the introduction of firearms to Japan, yari were often used in combination of firearms, with the yari covering the gunners as they reloaded.

Boarding Pike (Pirate)
The boarding pike is a shortened pike used on ships in boarding actions in the 16th- early 19th centuries. The weapon was typically used for defensive actions.

119's Edge
The Samurai's Yari, for its superior reach.

Yumi (Samurai)
The yumi is a large Japanese longbow, sometimes being longer than the user is tall. The weapon is made from a composite of wood, bamboo, and leather.

Flintlock Pistol (Pirate)
The flintlock pistol is a smoothbore pistol that uses a mechanical striker to create spark from a a flint when the trigger is pulled, setting of the gunpowder in the weapon. Flintlocks were known for being inaccurate, and thus, most effective at close ranges, often ten feet or less.

119's Edge
The samurai's Yumi for its longer range and greater accuracy.

Ozutsu (Samurai)
The Ozutsu is a large, hand-cannon type matchlock weapon that could be loaded with a variety of ammunition, including lead balls and arrows. The weapon was intended to for use at close range, like an a modern shotgun.

Blunderbuss (Pirate)
The term "blunderbuss" refers to a flintlock firearm with a bell-shaped muzzle to make loading powder and projectiles easier. The blunderbuss was typically loaded with multiple projectiles to crate a shotgun-like spread capable of causing devastating damage at close range. The weapon is capable of being loaded with anything from musket balls to nails.

119's Edge
The pirates blunderbuss for its more reliable flintlock mechanism and a shoulder stock that allows it to be easily fired from the shoulder or the hip.

Tanegashima Musket (Samurai)
Named for the island on which muskets were first introduced to Japan by the Portuguese, the Tanegashima is a matchlock. Like all matchlock weapons, it proved most effective at relatively close ranges, when fired volleys, with musketeers covered by polearms. Oda Nobunaga used this tactic to his advantage at the Battle of Nanashino.

Flintlock Musket (Pirate)
The Flintlock Musket is an 17th-18th century smoothbore firearm operated by a mechanical striker that strikes a flint, creating a spark that triggers the powder in the weapon, firing the ball. Because of the smoothbore design, the flintlock, like most early firearms, was inaccurate at distance, and was often fired in volleys to increase the probability of a hit.

119's Edge
The pirate's flintlock musket for its more reliable firing mechanism. =X-Factors=