Saigonnus
Auror
I am playing with an idea about a one-handed dwarvish gunsmith... Not really making progress though.
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Can we please retire the Katana...
- Thread starter Miskatonic
- Start date
Feo Takahari
Auror
OT: So someone actually clicked to download that thing? I've been skipping the message every time--it looked like more trouble than it was worth.
- Thread starter
- #23
Miskatonic
Auror
No six-shooters yet...but I'm writing a novel with fantasy and flintlocks. Will that do?
How about a Pepperbox Revolver?
SeverinR
Vala
one handed gunsmith? No wonder you're not making any progress. Have to use the clamp to hold the gun for every action.
I think fantasy can include black powder, but once you get into reliable auto-loading firearms it pretty much ends the need for up close and personal fighting.
I think if you use a weapon in a story, look it up, review its strengths and weaknesses. Don't just go with the traditional popular sword. Maybe even commit to identifying the exact sword or weapon, instead of a generic sword name.
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/cf/d7/51/cfd7514abe0524bc1825b021b2f412b6.jpg
http://www.thearma.org/SwordTree.jpg
Personally, I think pikes and axes were better against armor and cheaper to obtain.
Spear Axe - Bing Images
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But, but, but... the katana is the only sword I trained with...!
That said, I'm focusing on woman warriors for main characters, and the naginata might work better for my "fighting nun."
That said, I'm focusing on woman warriors for main characters, and the naginata might work better for my "fighting nun."
Tom
Istar
That's Baldhart, right? I have to say, I wish I had a fighting nun character of my own!
She has a smaller, more Eastern friend named Kojima Hanako (meaning: "small island flower child" / surname before given name). Hanako's father was a samurai and her mother was a "Wire Fu" master like that lady in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She was originally meant to have a bokken or katana, but I think the naginata works better.
Baldhart would wield something stupidly heavy, or a broadsword if I stop drawing oversized weapons. I recently discovered some great amazon art, which inspired me to focus on character in part by keeping weapons small and minimally designed.
Baldhart would wield something stupidly heavy, or a broadsword if I stop drawing oversized weapons. I recently discovered some great amazon art, which inspired me to focus on character in part by keeping weapons small and minimally designed.
Saigonnus
Auror
The loss of his hand was during the events that caused him to align with the much abused orcs against the humans he'd always aligned himself with (more out of fear than anything)
The orcs have craftsmen, but no knowledge about gunpowder weapons. They offered to restore his hand if he would help them overcome centuries of oppression.
To get this back on topic a bit, i agree that katanas should be used sparingly, and only in cultures or stories with a vaguely asian flavor. Same with long swords for europeans or axes/hammers for dwarves.
There are so many weapons in world history that one need not fall into the basic stereotypes. Bladed-spears are cool for an alternative... They are sword, staff and spear rolled into one! I recall a were-tiger character that used one and had martial arts... Definitely formidable.
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Mythopoet
Auror
What?? Um... no! Katanas are awesome. You can pry them from my cold dead hands.
Seriously, as far as fantasy cliches go, it's definitely the long sword that pervades epic fantasy.
Yes, Naginata are so freaking cool.
Yes! I always liked pole arms and spear weapons, but after watching a certain anime with a certain character who is just GODLY with his spear...
I have a whole new appreciation for them. :redface:
Seriously, as far as fantasy cliches go, it's definitely the long sword that pervades epic fantasy.
Yes, Naginata are so freaking cool.
Yes! I always liked pole arms and spear weapons, but after watching a certain anime with a certain character who is just GODLY with his spear...
I have a whole new appreciation for them. :redface:
Mythopoet
Auror
But, come on...
There's just
nothing
as stylish
as a katana
even when it's wood.
There's just
nothing
as stylish
as a katana
even when it's wood.
Tom
Istar
I concede that katanas are very stylish, as are all these lovely people.
But Viking warrior women are too awesome for style!
But Viking warrior women are too awesome for style!
Mythopoet
Auror
Damn right even when it's wood.
What show is that? And seriously, what is the Japanese obsession with people standing on pinnacles in front of the moon?
Outlaw Star. Click the picture. I forgot to mention it's a link to the episode, just before Twilight Suzuka (pic'd) chases Gene Starwind (MC) into traffic and is about to get hit by a truck but draws her bokken and…
- Thread starter
- #35
Miskatonic
Auror
But, come on...
There's just
nothing
as stylish
as a katana
even when it's wood.
It's stylish the first 100 times you see it, after that it's a laughable cliche.
Well, if you have samurai characters, a katana is not so much cliche as it is accurate.
Mythopoet
Auror
Man, I'm glad I'm not that jaded. I don't think I could be a writer if I was.
- Thread starter
- #38
Miskatonic
Auror
I'm 33. I've seen enough Katanas in movies, anime, manga, video games, etc., to last a lifetime.
- Thread starter
- #39
Miskatonic
Auror
Well at least the weaponry will be accurate then.
The thing about the katana is its unique fighting style. When you train with a katana, the first basic technique is to draw and cut horizontally (aiming for the throat or the eyes). The scabbard is used to add power to the technique. The second strike in this "combination" is an overhead strike. The curve of the blade is aimed at the top of the opponent's head; the left hand controls the blade so that it's pulled back during the vertical cut. The ideal strike would halve your opponent.
After that, you flick the blood off your sword, then sheathe it quickly. You do that by holding the end of the scabbard in your left hand. You let the unsharpened edge fall onto your hand between index and thumb, then bring the sword back a bit until your skin no longer feels the weapon. Then you thrust it into the scabbard.
The katana is to the east as the handgun is to the west. (See A Fistful of Dollars and Yojimbo. Clint Eastwood is playing the gunfighter version of Toshiro Mifune's ronin.) Cliched? Maybe it seems so, but it's because at one point in history, that was the ultimate weapon. People devoted their lives to being great with such a weapon, whether using it for war or for deadly contests.
I can't get behind you on the "don't write katanas" because that's the only melee weapon I'm trained in. I know how you can sheathe the blade without hurting yourself, and I know WHY the quickdraw attacks are effective and WHY the weapon is normally held in both hands. I know the weight of the blade and the reason why a WHOOSH sound is not a good thing--the perfect swing is silent.
To say katanas are cliched; don't write them... that's like saying elves are cliched; don't write them. I won't write elves--not because I have something against them, but because I think humans are interesting and varied enough and elves are just pointy-eared humans (visually). Maybe that's the katana for you. It's just another sword and it doesn't make sense to use it when you can use a broadsword, long sword, bastard sword, claymore, etc.
Having said all that, I appreciate this discussion. It did make me consider alternatives for my "fighting nun" from the east. (Leaning towards naginata.) But my samurai will still have his katana.
After that, you flick the blood off your sword, then sheathe it quickly. You do that by holding the end of the scabbard in your left hand. You let the unsharpened edge fall onto your hand between index and thumb, then bring the sword back a bit until your skin no longer feels the weapon. Then you thrust it into the scabbard.
The katana is to the east as the handgun is to the west. (See A Fistful of Dollars and Yojimbo. Clint Eastwood is playing the gunfighter version of Toshiro Mifune's ronin.) Cliched? Maybe it seems so, but it's because at one point in history, that was the ultimate weapon. People devoted their lives to being great with such a weapon, whether using it for war or for deadly contests.
I can't get behind you on the "don't write katanas" because that's the only melee weapon I'm trained in. I know how you can sheathe the blade without hurting yourself, and I know WHY the quickdraw attacks are effective and WHY the weapon is normally held in both hands. I know the weight of the blade and the reason why a WHOOSH sound is not a good thing--the perfect swing is silent.
To say katanas are cliched; don't write them... that's like saying elves are cliched; don't write them. I won't write elves--not because I have something against them, but because I think humans are interesting and varied enough and elves are just pointy-eared humans (visually). Maybe that's the katana for you. It's just another sword and it doesn't make sense to use it when you can use a broadsword, long sword, bastard sword, claymore, etc.
Having said all that, I appreciate this discussion. It did make me consider alternatives for my "fighting nun" from the east. (Leaning towards naginata.) But my samurai will still have his katana.
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