Low Tech Favorite Weapon

[FuelDrop]

What is your favorite weapon from Low Tech and why?

My personal favorite is the spear. It's cheap, works for throwing and melee, can deal impaling or cutting (tip slash), can be used as a staff for defensive bonuses and to deal crushing damage, can be used one handed with a shield or two handed, has reach, is balanced for parrying... the humble spear is truly a worthy weapon in skilled hands, with its primary disadvantage being that it's rather inconvenient to carry around day to day, unlike a sword which can easily be worn on the hip.

[Sorenant]

My inner min-maxer loves Dueling Halberd and Katana, and my spirit advisor, George Silver, is nagging me to say Backsword, but it's hard to pick one weapon I really like.
That said, the first weapon that came to mind is Hatchet, it's a cheap axe that can work as both weapon and tool, pretty neato.

As for the Spear, it's a great weapon indeed. I wish it could poke at reach 2 when used with one hand, feels odd a katana can swing at reach 2 and a longsword can stab at this range but a spear can't. Also, IIRC parry bonus for using spear as staff is just +1, but I honestly can't remember where I read that,

[AlexanderHowl]

I generally use a staff with hooks (one cutting and one crushing) and prongs (+$100 and +0.5 lbs). The extra utility for the Staff skill is well worth the extra expense.

[whswhs]

The quarterstaff. It's not purely a weapon, being helpful as a source of mobility. It's pretty effective when it IS used as a weapon. And in particular it gives you a great bonus to parry, and thus to defend yourself. And besides, when I was a kid I was impressed by Robin Hood's duel with Little John. . . .

[FuelDrop]

I love me some polearms, Sorenant, and the hatchet is absolutely beautiful, but honestly I can't really get behind a sword in a TL 3-4 setting. They're just way too expensive for the benefits they give, often eating up more than half of your default starting cash for just a basic sword when a dueling halberd or a pollaxe offers so much more as a main weapon.

I could definitely see a cheap sword as a sidearm, or just a walking around weapon, but not really as a primary.

That said, my campaigns tend to use the "Blunt Trauma and Edged Weapons" rules from page 102, which really limits how much use the swing attack with a sword is.

[Tomsdad]

earlier stuff a spear, nice duelling halberd later on



But swords, swords are just nice things! (long sword is my fave)