Siangham real!

[wingsandsword]

I think we're losing track of the question. It's not:

"are there metal pointy sticks in the real world"

to which the answer is an unsurprising "yes", but:

"is there a pointy stick called a siangham in the real world, and if so, who uses it"

to which the answer is "don't know, but it wikipedia thinks it's Malaysian and 1e Oriental Adventures thinks it's real"

Aside from an unsourced Wikipedia page (I like Wikipedia a lot, it's a nice place to start, but I know better than to completely rely on it), and RPG books, can anybody dig up a reference in an actual non-RPG oriented martial arts text about the siangham? I've got a bookshelf full of books on martial arts, but those are all on Japanese/Okinawan arts so I can't really find anything about a supposedly malaysian weapon in there.

Why did they choose an obscure (or fictitious but real-sounding) weapon for part of something like a core-rules weapon and class feature (monk weapon proficiency)? If they really wanted an exotic stabbing weapon couldn't they have found something more familiar to the player base?

 

[Teemu]

I found this: http://www.shaolin-society.co.uk/weapons/fire.php#siangkam

 

[Huw]

I found this: http://www.shaolin-society.co.uk/weapons/fire.php#siangkam

Interesting. Wish they'd list sources. The Chinese Ermei ci it mentions means, I think, "Ermei thorns", Ermei being one of the Shaolin mountains.

I found this line in an article from Imagine magazine issue 25 from 1985, written by Graeme Davis:

The Siangkiam are a pair of short batons, similar to the Jo stick but with pointed ends to allow an additional stabbing attack

So, we've got Siangham, Siangkam and now Siangkiam

 

[davidschwartznz]

I found this: http://www.shaolin-society.co.uk/weapons/fire.php#siangkam

But note the illo is straight out of Oriental Adventures - not a legitimate source.

 

[Tetsubo]

I just checked in Stone's -Glossary...- and I couldn't find it... take that for what you will...

 

[Aaron L]

Why did they choose an obscure (or fictitious but real-sounding) weapon for part of something like a core-rules weapon and class feature (monk weapon proficiency)? If they really wanted an exotic stabbing weapon couldn't they have found something more familiar to the player base?

While you're at it, ask why they too several real world weapons and turned them into something completely different than what they actually are, simply to fill a niche? Falchion, I'm looking at you; if they wanted a two handed scimitar, why not name the weapon "great scimitar" and be done with it, instead of turning a real-life one-handed chopping sword into a two-handed slicing weapon?

 

[Huw]

But note the illo is straight out of Oriental Adventures - not a legitimate source.

I thought it looked and sounded familiar! Well spotted.

 

[Huw]

Does anyone here know Korean?　Mine's pretty weak. Si-in-kam potentially means "arrow blade sword", but I can't find any reference to this. I got that looking through my dictionaries for characters which would fit.

Here's the hangul and hanja. Hope your browsers can read it:

시인검

矢刃剣

 

[Wolf72]

I think we're losing track of the question. It's not:

"are there metal pointy sticks in the real world"

to which the answer is an unsurprising "yes", but:

"is there a pointy stick called a siangham in the real world, and if so, who uses it"

to which the answer is "don't know, but it wikipedia thinks it's Malaysian and 1e Oriental Adventures thinks it's real"

Right! ... and from the looks of it, we know it's a feasible weapon ... just nothing historical yet

 

[DogBackward]

Inconclusive, but interesting. Thanks. The jutte is a nice weapon. It's a close relation of the sai and is the basis of modern police batons.

I believe you're thinking of the tonfa. The jutte was used by japanese law enforcement at one time, but isn't actually related to the modern police baton at all. It's like a short rake you use to snag the other guy's stuff.