Did we get our first look at the new Forgotten Realms...?

[MortalPlague]

Didn't care for their Orc either. But the thing that really caught my attention was the fact that he didn't bother to follow his own directions. Of the half dozen illustrations for a town guard or soldier only one had a real weapon, and none had any armor at all. (In this case I'm not counting what are probably magic staffs as 'real' weapons. YMMV.)

Actually, he was asking people to draw town guards for a culture whose people looked like that:

Look at the example shown and either make a town guard or soldier that fits within this culture

So he's just providing the examples.

Also, I quite liked the orcs. They're not hyper-muscular, but they look like mean brutes.

 

[YRUSirius]

I like the man and the witch-looking woman in the first image! They're cool.

But but...why must the weapons be ridiculously large? How many people have said that we don't want huge weapons? It's a constant refrain.

That double-bladed axe is just stupid-big.

Battleaxes are SMALL and LIGHT. They're made for chopping flesh, which is much easier than chopping wood.
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The reason they're fearsomely pointy at the top and bottom of the blade is because they're trying to take out as much metal as possible to reduce the weight.

If weight is such a concern, why would you have two huge blades on the same weapon.

COME ON MAN.

I don't even think huge weapons look that much cooler than realistic sized weapons. It's just a cliche at this point imo.

Labrys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Some Minoan labrys have been found which are taller than a human and which might have been used during sacrifices. The sacrifices would likely have been of bulls."

Well, Minoan people might not have used the labrys as a weapon in fights, but hey, that's the fantasy part, mkay?

-YRUSirius

 

[Knight Templar]

Labrys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Some Minoan labrys have been found which are taller than a human and which might have been used during sacrifices. The sacrifices would likely have been of bulls."

Well, Minoan people might not have used the labrys as a weapon in fights, but hey, that's the fantasy part, mkay?

-YRUSirius

Kiling a bull in one stroke requires more oomph than killing a man. The same argument could be made for a dragon. I much prefer the Roman name for the weapon:

to the Romans, it was known as a bipennis.

 

[Libramarian]

The labrys is also used to represent lesbianism and feminism,[16] and female or matriarchal power.

Lol wat.

 

[ferratus]

Minoan civilization was thought to be a gynarchy for awhile, until further archeological evidence cast serious (to put it mildly) doubts on all the speculation going on. Hence the Labrys as a symbol of feminism.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Actually, he was asking people to draw town guards for a culture whose people looked like that:

So he's just providing the examples.

Also, I quite liked the orcs. They're not hyper-muscular, but they look like mean brutes.

I don't care what culture they're from, a soldier who doesn't have weapons and armor is a dead man. That's my objection, not how they're dressed generally (which I think is pretty cool in that respect). And it was also possible, sometimes, to tell a soldier's culture by his armor and weapons, too. (Few would mistake a Roman legion for a Greek phalanx.)

 

[TarionzCousin]

The art style reminds me a lot of the Faiths and Pantheons or one of the Specialty priest books.

I forget which, but it had drawings of a priest/priestess from each of the major FR gods and goddesses.

I loved that book for the art.

That book is Forgotten Realms Adventures.



Am I missing something? The art has two-handed axes, not a "battle axe" like the pictures of real axes. They're not the same thing.

I am more worried about the drawings of the people wielding obvious "boffer" weapons. Is this indicative of how subdual damage will be done in 5E?

 

[Libramarian]

Am I missing something? The art has two-handed axes, not a "battle axe" like the pictures of real axes. They're not the same thing.

I am more worried about the drawings of the people wielding obvious "boffer" weapons. Is this indicative of how subdual damage will be done in 5E?

I jumped the gun a little bit assuming it is a weapon and not a wood-chopping or ceremonal bull-slaying axe.

Looking at the picture it's pretty ambiguous who he is and what he's aiming to do with it. He is kind of angry-looking though.

I do hope we don't have double-bitted war axes. Not even for two-handed use.

To my understanding the point of 2 blades would be if you're using it as a tool, and when one side dulls you can just turn it over and use the other side. It halves the frequency at which you have to stop working and sharpen your axe. It's not a practical feature for warfare.

A 2-hand battle-axe just has a larger blade and a longer handle like a dane axe or bardiche.
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It's a fantasy game, I know. I wouldn't use a realism argument like realistic = better. It's an aesthetic choice. I prefer realistic-looking weapons aesthetically, because I think overlarge fantasy weapons at this point are a cliche with no real impact anymore anyways. I'm not some kind of weapon expert or medieval reenactor either. I really just think they look better.

I also think the club things are not very cool-looking. The one on the left kinda looks like a plunger.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I also think the club things are not very cool-looking. The one on the left kinda looks like a plunger.

In the epic battle of toilet plungers versus foam boffer sticks, who will be the ultimate victor?



Edit: I looked for a "nerdy LARP" image to post here and found this woman's pics. She wins!

Nerdy-Girlz.com - a set on Flickr

 

[Henry]

Huge Double-bladed axes have been so long a staple of the fantasy art genre that taking them out totally would look funny to me -- despite that I know they were rarely if ever actually used by actual serious warriors.

And I agree to disagree on the whole "they don't look as cool as the real deal" -- they are DEFINITELY cooler than the real deal, just like a Barret M82 looks a lot cooler than an M16 - though you don't find the rank and file all walking around with M82's. "Right tool for the job" and all that.