EvanHarpell
First Post
Personally, I see no compelling flavor or mechanical reason for this weapon to be a light blade. I wonder what they were thinking.
No flavor or mechanical reason? I wonder what *you* are thinking. A weapon with slashing ends such as this is not some brute weapon that you simply use to "chop with". Like a staff the momentum from twisting the weapon about is where most of the force comes from. This requires not just the strength to wield the weapon but some sort of grace and coordanation to not lop off your own limbs.
As far as rules go, read the PHB. Page 215 under weapon groups and I quote "If a weapon falls into more than one group, you can use it with powers that require a weapon from any of its groups." End quote.
RAW benefits are there too for using a rapier as opposed to the Doublebladed sword. Swordmages for example, need that hand free for a extra AC bonus, greater than the one the doubleblade gives. Same for the Tempest Fighter build. There are still some loopholes to be found however, if you use the tempest build.