02-01-2011, 09:06 AM | #31 | |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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- one blade of less than 12 inches - one blade of less than 24 inches - any number of blades each less than 28 inches (these are "samurai") - any number of blades of any length As the difference between 24 and 28 is not immediately apparent one carries two blades to show it. For the same reason members of the ultimate class tend to carry a tachi rather than a katana. (Which may be an identical blade worn differently) |
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02-01-2011, 09:10 AM | #32 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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02-01-2011, 09:30 AM | #33 | |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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02-01-2011, 10:13 AM | #34 | |
Careful Wisher
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Oregon, WI
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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Broadswords weigh more, and, as someone pointed out, are frequently not your primary weapon due to the lack of penetration. A lot of cheaper weapons will do a comparable amount of damage, and some of them do more, but keep the versatility there. Consider using Defensive Attack with an axe, for example. And if you've got both hands on a single handed weapon like an axe you can (in my campaigns) squeak an additional bit of damage out when you decide to commit yourself to a massive blow. I generally warn PC's about using longer weapons in close quarters, or situations where they know I'm going to punish them for their choices. A two-handed sword on the deck of a ship with a lot of cables/ropes/wooden things all around is just begging for a low roll to hit snagging on something. Shortsword/cutlass might not have this issue. My characters normally use a shortsword in circumstances where they may fight in tight quarters, or may need this as a defensive option. Pirate campaigns, for example, feature shortswords (cutlasses) for a reason. Shoot the enemy, pike the enemy. If they get close, pull your cutlass and defend yourself in close. -P.
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02-01-2011, 10:27 AM | #35 | |
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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Chinese military swords changed from the double bladed "jian" (although the earlier ones would be "broadswords" in GURPS terms, not "jians") to "dao" in the Tang Dynasty (again, these "daos" would be "backswords", not the GURPS "dao"; welcome to the world of Chinese historical linguistics). The kind of falchion like GURPS daos appeared in the Song Dynasty, which is also around when the GURPS jian came into being (with slight differences, but probably not enough to qualify for different stats). My guess for the reasons behind the switch from straight double bladed swords to backswords were probably a combination of influence from the Turkic nomads and the increasing proportion of cavalry in the Tang military. The Song Dynasty and their many designs for dao (the many variants would be the equivalent of GURPS broadsword, bastard sword, dao and horsecutter) probably came about because of the increased chopping power the falchion design offered, which was much needed in fighting against the heavy cavalry of the Khitan and Manchurians (before they were called Manchurians). As for the legality of katanas in Japan, the law restricting ownership of daisho to samurais was first legislated in 1588 during the sengoku period by the notorious Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but wasn't really enforced until the Edo period. Even then, the shogunate didn't go out of their way to confiscate weapons from peasants. As long as they didn't carry their katanas in public they were fine. |
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02-01-2011, 10:32 AM | #36 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Charlotte, North Caroline, United States of America, Earth?
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
Pg 117, GURPS Martial Arts, Long Weapons in Close Combat.
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02-01-2011, 10:43 AM | #37 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
The mechanics of adding energy at that point are absolutely atrocious, it's not at all a good way to try and apply force. If there is an advantage, it's because a sliding cut is generally more effective against materials you can cut in the first place (i.e. targets with soft or no armor), though it's not clear how applicable that is to a sword blow.
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02-01-2011, 11:02 AM | #38 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
Thanks. Since the question was about "tight places or formations", I had other pictures in my mind, besides close combat.
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02-01-2011, 11:11 AM | #39 | |||||
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Charlotte, North Caroline, United States of America, Earth?
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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Again, if Curved swords were so widely effective, then why do we not see a wider adoption of them? Why is the most common blade design the straight blade?
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02-01-2011, 11:26 AM | #40 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: shortsword vs broadsword
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Tips reach your opponent faster (hence the point of the rapier) than a cut. Tips are better at penetrating armor (by attacking chinks) than cuts do. Tips can attack vitals better than cuts do. You argue that if curved swords cut better, everyone would use them, and thus, that can't be true since Europeans and Chinese used straight swords. Setting aside your assumption that everyone adopts weapons based solely on efficiency, Europeans and Chinese didn't design straight swords because they cut better, they designed them because they thrust better. Most "chopping" swords and knives I've seen have some kind of curve to them: It's hardly controversial to argue that they're superior for cutting. What I find strange is that you're trying to suggest that people used straight swords primarily for cutting, and that a weapons ability to cutting would determine whether or not it would be adopted. EDIT: As for earlier blades, the Romans had thrusting swords and greatly believed in the thrust. No doubt the early europeans used similar weapons because they were influenced by roman tradition, and also because (I suspect) straight blades are easier to craft than curved blades). It also occurs to me that your argument, turned around, doesn't make any sense either. If curved blades aren't better for some things, then why did those cultures go out of their way to make them?
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