[LES] There are entirely too few pike and shot fantasy stories

From roughly 1470 to 1670, the standard warfare in Europe (and to a lesser extent elsewhere) saw mixed use of gunpowder weaponry and melee weaponry, and of unarmored troops and those clad in various types of metal protection - usually plate armor. The most prominent doctrine in field battles of this era was "pike and shot", in which the infantry were divided mainly into two types: "shot" who fired on the enemy with guns (arquebuses, muskets, etc.) and "pike" (who also sometimes included other troop types like halberdiers or swordsmen) who wielded long polearms to ward off enemy cavalry and occasionally execute a shock charge (the "push of pike"). Cavalry after a certain point were entirely equipped with firearms, usually carbines or pistols. On top of these "standard" types every soldier (usually) carried some kind of sword as a sidearm, and individuals could and would bring other mixed weapons (officers traditionally carried certain polearms like half-pikes, some carried two-handed swords, some guys had rifles, some guys had special heavy muskets made, some cavalries hanged on to their lances in combination with their guns, etc.). Field artillery batteries existed but were limited compared to their Napoleonic counterparts thanks to being huge and difficult to move, but were more common in a siege role. A modified form of this style of warfare continued until around 1870, except now everyone had a gun, the pikes were replaced by bayonets, and body armor disappeared except on heavy cavalry. In much of the world such as China, the shift to everyone having a gun didn't even come until well into the 19th century.

I personally think this era was immensely cool. Melee and firearms as peers. All kinds of tricked-out new weapons in both areas. The first true sailing navies with their massive artillery batteries. Plate-armored boarders engaging each other at sea while also blasting each other with cannons. Massive armies [much larger than in medieval times] yet still a primitive and "feudal" organization until much later. Rapidly advancing technology across the board. Printing presses and higher literacy than any prior era but still not really fully literate societies anywhere. The birth of mass media. Occasional rare advanced gadgets like wheellock repeaters, explosive shells, and grenade launchers occasionally showing up. Proto-AFVs with up-armored war wagons lined with gunmen. And all headed up by plate-armored knights with guns. What else could you possibly want?

I always assumed that there HAD to be a huge stock of constructed fantasy worlds with this broad technology and social level. Specifically ones where this would all be relevant to the story and setting rather than all being irrelevant in the face of magicslop. It's not like it's a particularly uncommon setting for historical stories, even if it's underserved compared to the Middle Ages. So I guessed I just wasn't paying enough attention. But after actively trying to search for novels, movies, shows, or games that fit the bill... no? Not really? It's actually extremely hard to find any that aren't "historical fantasy" (e.g. real-world 17th century Europe except witches are real) or just like, Warhammer. They either default to:

1. Steampunk with straight-up sci fi tech everywhere.

2. [Much more common] generic High Medieval world.

The latter really annoys me because these settings also half-ass their medieval aesthetic to begin with. Full plate armor? Baroque fashion? Rapiers? National armies? Every third person being assumed as literate? This shit is all early modern. Putting Fantasy!Anglo-Saxons in plate armor is as anachronistic as giving Shakespeare a car. Some authors just really don't want to take the final step and put in guns. The cowards. Apparently everything else is fine.

"But guns would make it so we can't have armored knights and swordfights and swordfights are cool"

Again: knights with guns. You can have both. Guns were single-shot, most of them were matchlocks (which unlike flintlocks/wheellocks aren't carried around always ready to fire), a lot of people were wearing bullet-resistant armor. The early modern era had MORE and BETTER swords than prior eras. Everyone had a sword, not only soldiers but a considerable number of civilians. Just about every manual you might have seen on swordplay comes from the 15th century or later. "Greatswords" are not in any common use until the 15th century. Ditto war hammers. Ditto a lot of weapons you see in these "medieval fantasy" settings.

In conclusion give your dashing knight protagonist a flintlock carbine in addition to his sword so he can use it to shoot orcs or whatever. The church had a patron saint of artillery and knightly orders dedicated to shooting shit with cannons for a reason.