Japanes Sword Additions and Corrections

[mmu1]

BTW: If 12th and 13th century European weapon and armor technologies were so hot, how did the Mongols kick so much European butt?

Because they were a bunch of locusts with a good grasp of mobile warfare... And it's not as if the Chinese did any better against them.
If you have two civilizations, a "normal" one and another supporting itself by constant theft and murder, the latter is probably going to win a war... But chances are, there won't be much of it left in a few hundred years.

Any Mongol universities, scholarly texts, great temples, etc. come to mind? If their "technologies" and civilization were so hot, why were "we" flying planes when they were still at the same technological level as 500 or 600 years ago?

 

[AdamBank]

Originally posted by mmu1 Because they were a bunch of locusts with a good grasp of mobile warfare... And it's not as if the Chinese did any better against them ...

Perhaps that's the explanation, then; the Golden Horde's "Latest Greatest Invention" was the military logistics genius that was Gengis Khan--or more likely the Khan's right hand man, Subotai.

 

[Shadowrun Man]

Well I like the 2d4 damage dice (my original proposition of 3d4 was a bit of overkill), if you roll max on the damage roll it still comes out to 8. I see no problem with that, besides the better average there is no real damage bonus not including any of the enhancements and stuff (well I gues it could be broken, but how many 1st level characters have access to a 400-600gp weapon beside the samuria base class). The weapons cost more then makes up for the better stats of the Katana in my mind, but some don't, but that is no big deal.

 

[Narkaious]

know this is kinda dead but i thought i could put in some things.

Actual katanas while worn by samurai in battle were not frequently drawn for the simple fact that they cost so much. Instead if swords became nessasary samurai carried a very brutal wooden sword, cannot remember name anyways, more people died by these wooden swords than ever defiled a katana blade

just my 2 cents

 

[Aaron2]

Actual katanas while worn by samurai in battle were not frequently drawn for the simple fact that they cost so much. Instead if swords became nessasary samurai carried a very brutal wooden sword, cannot remember name anyways, more people died by these wooden swords than ever defiled a katana blade.

Fascinating. So you have detailed casualty lists recording the cause of death of every battle fatality throughout all of Japanese history. Maybe you can post it for us.


Aaron

 

[pyk]

Personnally, I think the whole bit about weapon weights being wrong in D&D and which weapons were better and all that is all a bunch of crap. And, it has no bearing on the game of D&D as a whole. The designers of the game can, and apparently did, make up whatever weight of the weapons, armor, gear, etc. they felt like at the time. Don't like it, feel free to change it.

As for the RL talk about how weapons were back in whatever century, who had better, whatever, this is all quite interesting stuff. That's why I was reading it this thread.

But, as for my game, the players don't care if the longsword is 3 pounds or 4 pounds. Neither do I. Isn't this what's it's all about?

 

[Xeriar]

But, as for my game, the players don't care if the longsword is 3 pounds or 4 pounds. Neither do I. Isn't this what's it's all about?

It depends on your game.

There is something to be said for realism. Boiled, hardened leather is stiff as a rock, for example - actually more protective than chain, even, but chain was preferred because it offered more mobility.

In D&D this is the exact opposite - hardened leather is somehow more flexible than chain links, but protects less

So, your mileage may vary.

 

[Uruk]

Wow, this has been a pretty interesting read. I think I'll make katanas 6d2 19-20/X2 and just throw a handful of change up into the air. Alternatively I might make them 10d10 20/X20 and on a miss they cause the earth to split apart underneath the opponent and on a critical they cut your opponent in half, but they don't discover it till a round later.

PS. I blame Highlander and anime for making katanas cool.

 

[Aaron2]

Wow, this has been a pretty interesting read. I think I'll make katanas 6d2 19-20/X2 and just throw a handful of change up into the air. Alternatively I might make them 10d10 20/X20 and on a miss they cause the earth to split apart underneath the opponent and on a critical they cut your opponent in half, but they don't discover it till a round later.

It doesn't matter what stats it has since no true samurai would ever defile his katana blade by actually using it to kill something.


Aaron

 

[Tsyr]

Anubis, you keep telling people to go out and get some experience, and that will prove you right.

I've been fighting with swords in the SCA and independantly for several years now. I consider myself in fair, if not exceptional, shape. I have trained in several different styles, including a focus on both katana styles (Traditional kenjitsu, not aikido or any of the others), and european broadsword and shield. I own a wall of swords, most of them 'real' swords (Paul Chen, Windlass, or better. Only a couple junkers, mostly movie prop replicas for the hell of it). I have everything from european broadswords to two handers to bastard swords, axes, maces, two pole arms, chinese swords, japanese weapons, and some more exotic still. I have this mystical experience you speak of.

You are wrong.

If a broadsword seems to unbalanced and awkward and seems to weight a lot more than it should, there are three posibilities:

1) You are too weak to use the sword

2) The sword is a piece of junk and balanced poorly or made of the wrong materials in the wrong places

3) You don't know what you are doing when you are trying to use it.

Between skilled oponents, broadsword combat is every bit as furious and skilled as it is in kenjitsu.

And as someone who has tried to use a katana in one hand, let me tell you: It just does not compare to using a broadsword. At all. Period. The blade is too long, too heavy, and improperly balanced for one handed use. It can be done, yes, but it is not suited for one handed combat. This is why kenjitsu teaches two handed forms, not one handed. This is why a shield was not part of the standard equipment for anyone who used a katana. And there is a reason musashi is famous for being able to dual wield a katana and a wakizashi, and it is NOT because it was easy to do.

And to Enkhidu: Regarding forging out of braided steel wire: It works, but it doesn't produce a comparable result to damascas or folded steel, unless you fold it many times, in which case you aren't really saving any effort. Particularly if you made the cable yourself, or had it made for you, as opposed to scavanging it from a telephone company junk bin or something.

Most of my forge work is knives, I've never tried a sword (My forge isn't big enough, I'm not good enough)... But I've tried the wire thing. It was one of the more enjoyable things I picked up from The Complete Bladesmith (To any fellow amature smiths, or any aspiring ones, I heartily recommend this book).

And now I sign off before my lack of sleep makes my spelling any more horrid.