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Ask me about swords.

Guy

Inkling
Coincidentally, I'm writing a story in which some characters have to take on a T.rex-type critter, though I was using a small army rather than two people. But what I had mine do was go for the animal's hamstrings. For your story, what could theoretically work would be for your swordsman to use a cutlass, a good cutting sword widely used by sailors, privateers, pirates, etc. and go for the hamstrings while the sorceress does whatever it is you're going to have her do. While cutting the hamstrings won't kill the thing, it would immobilize it, making it easy to outrun if you can't kill it.
 
For a freelance monster slayer character I have I want a good versatile sword. Something that's not the traditional heroic broadsword, but, since it's a modern setting, avoiding the Katana as well. I've been looking at the Bastard swords as something that would be versatile, deadly and intimidating. He doesn't usually carry a shield, so something that could be used one or two handed is great. Any other historical swords you could suggest or is the bastard a good choice?
 
Is a sword really what you want? Swords were relatively light weapons compared to axes-- maybe for cutting up monsters you need more penetrating power. If you look at shows like Buffy and Angel when they geared up to behead or generally chop up a demon they were more likely to go axe.

Malik's gran epee article that we're all reading tells what a bastard-length sword can do, but that seems to be designed to crunch people through armor; it might not be the best choice for foes that are more likely to have only tough hide but superhuman vitality under it. Plus, it's so long you can't conceal it or draw it quickly, let alone use it in something like a tight sewer or tomb, real problems for a contemporary slayer.

So, a broadsword might be better after all, or an axe. Then again, it depends on which monsters he's facing, and what spells or Specialized Materials he can get on the weapon. Up close, nothing beats a shotgun loaded with the right beast-bane. :)
 

TheRedPrince

Minstrel
I would like to ask: What type of sword is the sword of Altaire from the Assassins creed franchise? I've scoured the internet for the answer but can't find it..
 

Malik

Auror
From looking at it, I can tell you that its closest historical equivalent would probably be an Oakeshotte Type XII. It's an arming sword, the knightly equivalent of a sidearm. That said, the blade is wrong for a sword of that geometry; the Altair has a diamond cross-section with zero taper instead of a fullered or semi-fullered blade with an ovoid cross-section and a distal taper. The fuller, cross-section, and taper lighten areas of the blade to balance it and make it "faster" in the hand.

Just by looking at it, I can tell you that in real life, the Altair blade would be a dog. It would feel heavy with an extreme forward balance, very difficult to feint with and really tough to defend yourself with. You couldn't give that sword to a man who knew anything about swords.

EDIT: I could see a very funny scene where a sword like that is given to the hero.

"I want you to have this."
"Gee, a -- um, hmm -- a sword. Kinda. Thanks."
"My father bore this sword in the great campaigns of (insert name with lots of apostrophes here)"
"Wow. And he lived?"
"Bear it with honor."
"Sure."

But hey. Fantasy. Go nuts.
 
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Malik

Auror
Here's a long Type XII. This is probably what the artists were going for. It's a one-handed arming sword, 38 inches long with 32" of blade and a center of gravity about 6" forward of the guard.

2010066glam1.jpg


Note the fuller, and the size of the pommel for a counterweight. I've handled this sword and it dances in the hand. It also has a slight forward balance, which makes it a heavy smash and cutter with considerable forward momentum, but you can maneuver the tip quickly by moving the handle in the opposite direction. Very tough to do with a diamond cross-section blade.

This, as I understand it, is Altair:

sword_of_altair_by_leaperoffaith-d3ci2li.png


It would feel like it would weigh a ton in your hand, and in real life, it would handle like a length of pipe.

And again, it's an arming sword, a backup sword to wear around town or to use when your real warsword gets broken or dinged up.

I hope this helps.
 

TheRedPrince

Minstrel
Ok cool. I have a replica of the altair sword and it is really light to swing and is balanced really well but I didn't know if there was an actual sword like it or if some designer drew it up and thought it was cool hahaha. And the replica is just that, I didn't imagine it to be accurate in the weight and such if it were real. Thanks man :)
 

TheRedPrince

Minstrel
My MC is a spell sword/battle mage, what ever name you like. He's supposed to pretty much only use one hand for his sword. Would the long type XII be a sword that could do any significant damage and is it possible/easyish to wield one handed?
 

Guy

Inkling
Would the long type XII be a sword that could do any significant damage and is it possible/easyish to wield one handed?
Yes and yes. How easy would it be? There are a number of variables that come into play. Blade length, thickness, taper, hilt construction and personal preference. They were quite popular for a long time, though, and designed for one handed use, so I'd say yeah, easyish to use.
 

Malik

Auror
A Type XII with a proper edge? Yow. It would be like getting thrown onto a running table saw. It wouldn't reliably split or pierce riveted mail but it would deliver enough damage against a man in mail to fracture bones and cause contusions; you could beat him up with it enough that he would eventually decide to stop fighting you. But then, that's most of what armored combat really was.

Generally the arming sword had a very sharp edge that would have been extremely delicate, so it wasn't used against an armored foe or for any kind of "fencing" where you'd be doing, say, beat parries and hard enveloping maneuvers a la The Princess Bride. You'd destroy the edge after a few seconds. You could throw an armor-cleaving edge on it, of course, but it wouldn't have the carry of, say, a bigger warsword or bastardsword so I don't know why you would do that.

It was designed for one-handed use. The true Type XII didn't have room for a second hand; your off hand would hold a shield, a dagger, or would be inside a mail glove for parrying. Yes, really.
 

Malik

Auror
As for "easy," I think the reason that mages aren't "allowed" to use swords in many magical systems in games and fantasy milieus -- generally -- has to do with the fact that using a sword well takes a tremendous amount of study. As much as learning magic; I don't know where someone would find the time to become proficient at both to the point where he could bet his life on either.

Swinging the sword isn't the problem. It's having thousands of hours behind the blade sparring and studying; being able to anticipate, feint, attack, defend, develop and exploit both space and time (seriously, that's a thing), build a unique and complex fight that your opponent hasn't seen before, do sneaky tricks (and see them coming!), and adapt your style to your opponent and the surroundings. You also need to know regional styles well enough to recognize them, you need to know hand-fighting and blade retention, you have to know kinetics ("when I hit him here, his head goes this way"), and most of all, you have to have one this all enough that you can remain comfortable and calculating when someone who is fully capable of murdering you is coming at you with something sharp. That's several years of hard study.

EDIT: And this isn't for "fencing," either. You have to know all of this stuff well enough that you can do it expertly and reflexively; you might have to do all of the above in the span of a few seconds.

If you don't have all that under your belt, and you draw any sword in the world -- no matter how great or magical -- on a guy who knows all of the above, you will die. In the span of a few seconds.

So yeah. It's not hard to swing a sword effectively; at least, not if you make it your life's work.
 
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Gryphos

Auror
Ayup, I'd quite like to know about sword sticks or cane swords, smallswords that could be drawn from a cane. I know they really were more decorative, representing the shift from swords to canes as a gentleman's status symbol of choice. But could they feasibly have any practical use, perhaps as a weapon for constables to carry around? Or maybe they would hold some kind of advantage in an actual fight as the cane part could be used in the off-hand to parry?
 

Guy

Inkling
They were an attempt at a concealed weapon. The narrow blades inflicted narrow puncture wounds that may or may not kill, but they generally had poor stopping power. I liken them to .22s - they can certainly kill, but they probably won't stop an attacker. The wound they inflict can take hours or days to kill. If you read accounts of duels with small swords or rapier, you'll see several examples of duelists taking hits and remaining active. Their blade design doesn't lend them to chopping or cleaving. I've read an account where a man swung at his sword (either a rapier or small sword, I don't remember which) opponent's head. The only damage he inflicted was to split the skin. The blow actually bent his blade on the opponent's skull. So for constables, who have no need to conceal their weapons, I see no use for it. Sword canes were for a time and place where men did not openly bear arms. They concealed them, and about the only way you can conceal a sword is inside a cane or staff.
 

TheokinsJ

Troubadour
Just wondering- How long would it take to make a sword? I understand this is the same as asking 'how long is a piece of string?', but say for your average, standard longsword? I know that engravings in the hilt, the use of precious metals and decoration all add additional time to the making of it, but for an average, simple longsword, how many days/weeks would it take to make?
 

Malik

Auror
You will often see this on a sign in a true craftsman's shop, and I believe it was just as true a thousand years ago as it is today:

ao115_FastGoodCheap_OpenEdition-_massive.jpg


If the metal was ready-formed into a blank and he just needed to grind it into shape, put the hardware on it, and sharpen it? Maybe a week. However, if he was also a smith and he had to make his own steel --

[video=youtube_share;3gSU4kx_fqc]http://youtu.be/3gSU4kx_fqc[/video]

-- and if then he had to weld the steel onto the iron spine and hammer and grind it all into shape, it could be another week or two.

This is if he was working from scratch. Most swordsmiths would have an oil-filled barrel of various finished blades ready-to-go that they could just put furniture (handle, crossbar, pommel) on and sharpen fairly quickly; say, in a day or so. There would also be various blanks in different states of readiness.
 

Gryphos

Auror
So for constables, who have no need to conceal their weapons, I see no use for it.

Well, I suppose it could prove useful to constables in that it offers a non-lethal alternative, that of just beating someone over the head with the cane. Kind of a two-in-one sword and truncheon.
 
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