User blog comment:Elgb333/Post-Halloween Historical Horrorshow! Pirate Girls vs Harpe Brothers/@comment-379205-20151106060456

119's "Yarrr We Set Sail For... The Mississippi?..." Edges

Melee Weapons: The Tomahawk is a deadly weapon is close combat, capable of delivering deadly strikes more quickly than most swords, and can also be used as a throwing axe, however, the cutlass is similarly capable of relatively fast, deadly strikes at close quarters. and has a large surface with which both to strike and parry. Finally, the cutlass can be used to thrust, and thrusting attacks are most likely to kill in a single strike. Edge: Pirate Girls

Mid-Range: The flintlock pistols could be deadly at short range, and the girls carried six of these weapons, allowing for rapid fire and dual wielding. On the other hand, flintlocks were notoriously inaccurate at longer ranges. On the other hand, the Harpe Brothers's Native American bow for its far longer range, comparable rate of fire- the bow could be reloaded about as quickly as a new flintlock could be drawn. Not to mention, they brothers can quickly reload as many times as they have arrows, while Anne and Mary are limited six shots, and finally, the bow is completely silent, and would allow the brothers to ambush the pirate girls from the dunes, sea cliffs, or forests that would overlook the beach. That said, one the other hand, the Harpe Brothers may not be as good with the bows as the pirate girls are with their flintlocks. Still, I will give a Narrow Edge to the Harpe Brothers for their Native American Bow.

Long Range: The Pirate girls have two weapons to the Harpe Brother's one, but this match is far from over in spite of that! The blunderbuss packed a punch at close range, and could be loaded with practically anything that fit down the barrel in an emergency, but it was limited to a range of about 20 yards, the same as their pistols. The grenados have deadly explosive firepower, also have their weaknessses. For one, I doubt it would be possible to throw one much further than you could fire a flintlock. Also, you would need a slow match to effectively light one, which could be extinguished if either of the ladies fell into water or possibly even very wet sand- not at all unlikely on a beach. Finally, there is the issue that early black powder grenades had a smaller bursting radius, and that fuse, if thrown immediately, would give the target time to escape, or even throw the grenade back. Finally, lighting or "cooking" the grenade left the user vulnerable to enemy fire, especially on a beach with little cover (though I'm assuming they'll be able to move inland a bit, which might have dunes or trees to take cover behind. The Kentucky rifle, on the other hand, was the sniper rifle of its day, and far outranged muskets, blunderbusses, pistols, and any other hand-held firearm which existed previously thanks to its rifled barrel. Not to mention, as frontiersmen and former militiamen, the Harpe brothers would likely be skilled shots with their rifles. If they both have a rifle and see the pirate girls from far enough away, they could end it with a well-placed shot a piece. Edge: the Harpe Brother's Kentucky rifle.

X-Factors: As far the factors listed, I'll agree with you in terms of training the Harpe Brothers take an edge, while the pirate girls take the edge in terms of experience. As for tactics, again, the pirate girls get the edge, but perhaps not as much as you gave it- the Harpes would be experienced with Native American guerilla tactics. As for logistics, I'll give the edge to the pirate girls.

Overall Winner: As badass as the pirate girls undoubtedly were, the Harpe brothers have one thing that would give them an advantage in what would have otherwise been a fight between two hardened criminals with similar combat capabilities (the Harpes having more training, and the pirate ladies having more experience): technology, namely the rifle, which would allow them for far greater accuracy and gave a skilled user the ability to hit a target at over 200 (perhaps even 300) yards. The Harpe brothers, being ex-militia, frontiersmen, and outlaws, would likely be skilled shots with rifles, and given their experience fighting with the Native Americans, would likely understand their ambush tactics, and possibly be competent shots with a bow. Lets hope they manage to pick off Anne and Mary with their rifles or bows, because it they took them alive, even wounded, I don't want to know what they would do to them...