What skill(s) for Umbrellas and Canes?

[Akahige]

What skill(s) should I use for fighting with umbrellas and walking canes? Rapier, Smallsword, and Broadsword seem like the most likely candidates to me. In my experience, umbrellas don't seem to be very well-balanced, and I have no idea about fancy gentlemen's canes.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Akahige

What skill(s) should I use for fighting with umbrellas and walking canes? Rapier, Smallsword, and Broadsword seem like the most likely candidates to me. In my experience, umbrellas don't seem to be very well-balanced, and I have no idea about fancy gentlemen's canes.

I'd go with Smallsword for the walking canes and the sword-canes; as for using an umbrella in combat, I'd probably go with either Saber or Broadsword, wielding it more like a club unless it's being used to thrust at someone.

[Anthony]

For umbrellas, I'd use the rapier skill at significant penalties. For the cane, I would normally use broadsword skill.

[JAW]

well if you hold the cane from the heavier end it'd be balanced like a fencing weapon but do crappy damage. If you crap the lighter end and whack with the heavier one it could ewen go into axe/mace category.

[Kromm]

A reasonably balanced cane is a light club, and uses Broadsword. If it has a knobbed or heavy handle, and you bash people with it, it's a knobbed club that uses Axe/Mace. You could probably justify using a fencing skill in the first case if the cane is sufficiently tip-light -- but don't count on that. A rapier typically has an elaborate hilt, often a heavy forte, and a slight taper to the blade. That puts much of the weight in or near your hand. A cane tends to have a uniform cross section, putting more of the weight further out. I'd be hesitant to apply the assumptions of the "fencing parry" to such a stick.

[JAW]

Well the lack of proper hilt would definitely make the parry harder and/or turn a narrowly missed parry into hit to your hand but I think the balance might be close enough to fencing to hawe the skill apply in case of heavy knob "behind" the grib (maybe with -1 if you're feeling stingy...).

EDIT: crap & grib?? A'm i delevoping lysdexia or sumthing - what they say about the internet must be true - GAAAHH!!!

[Mgellis]

As Kromm says, probably Broadsword. Most canes are about three feet long, which puts them in the category of Broadsword as far as length goes.

As for an umbrella...again, maybe Broadsword because of the length and the tendency to use it as a brute force weapon. One of the collapsable ones would probably use Shortsword.

If you're John Steed, you get an entire martial art based on umbrellas.

If you're talking about a cane sword or umbrella sword, the skill would either be Rapier or Smallsword, depending on length. Since the blades tend to be about 20" and the handle is probably only about 8 or 10 inches at most, I'd say Smallsword is the appropriate skill.

I hope this helps.

Mark

Originally Posted by Akahige

What skill(s) should I use for fighting with umbrellas and walking canes? Rapier, Smallsword, and Broadsword seem like the most likely candidates to me. In my experience, umbrellas don't seem to be very well-balanced, and I have no idea about fancy gentlemen's canes.

[jason taylor]

Some canes had rapiers concealed within them for the purpose of convincing muggers to seek a more amiable occupation. That would of course be "rapier".

[Mgellis]

Or possibly Smallsword. See my previous posting.

Mark

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Some canes had rapiers concealed within them for the purpose of convincing muggers to seek a more amiable occupation. That would of course be "rapier".

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Or possibly Smallsword. See my previous posting.

Mark

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