D&D General Here's What A 5' Square Actually Looks Like

Over on imgur, a user called DoofusDad created a real-life five-foot square to illustrate what it actually looks like.

 

[Coroc]

Very meme-able:

Yea I since the photoshopping already started, I was waiting for the memes

 

[Aaron L]

I've seen terms equivalent to 'great sword' used for swords smaller than the late-medieval 6' Zweihanders, eg Claymore - Wikipedia - 47-55 inches according to wikipedia.

It is weird D&D now has no official 1-handed arming sword type weapon though! Unless that's covered by the shortsword - but a small bastard sword blade was about the same as a big arming sword blade.

Yeah, I guess the archetypal one-handed arming sword would be covered under short sword now, alongside your stereotypical gladius? I've wondered about that myself! I went ahead and added "Arming Sword" to the weapon table as just a longsword without the Versatile property. As you implied, there was a continuum of blade lengths without anything approaching standardization. If you were a really tall guy you'd get a longer sword, and vice versa. The only place I've ever seen any in-period person say anything about blade lengths was an awesome-sounding technical swordmaster talking about rapiers, and that was setting a max limit: Gérard Thibault d'Anvers. This guy sounds like the definition of the Battle Master Archetype and a rad person to base a character on!

And before I check, doesn't claymore actually just mean "great sword" in Scotch Gaelic? Or was that a false etymology... I can never keep that straight. checks link Yup, great sword!

 

[Aaron L]

Yea I since the photoshopping already started, I was waiting for the memes

That is a thing of beauty. Beauty, I tell you.

 

[Ulfgeir]

The sword looks about right imo. When I did HEMA, my sword which was a bit short to be proper longsword, was so if I stood straight and held it under the crossguard, with my arms straight down, with the tip of the blade held up, the tip would be about in the same height as my chin/eyes.

A Longsword is 2-handed and can be used 1-handed. An Armoring-sword (which is what you would use with a a shield) though is strictly 1-handed, and a greatsword is always 2-handed in my experience.

So yes, have no problem with that you can injure someone 1.5 meters away from your body, depending on how far you extend your arms. for example if you want to keep someone at bay and be all defence, have your arms more or less fully extended, and holding the sword so the tip of the blade points in the extension of your arms. Think that was called a Langeshort (My German is not very good).

The style I did in HEMA was based on Ringeck's manuals (both for armoured and unarmoured fighting), and then ring-am-scwert (wrestling with swords), as well as the 1:33-manual for sword-and-buckler. We also tried a little bit of fighting with Messers.

 

[S'mon]

I went ahead and added "Arming Sword" to the weapon table as just a longsword without the Versatile property.

Yeah, me too.

And for higher tech settings like most Pirate campaigns, I add a d8 slashing finesse cutlass and sabre to match the rapier. Finesse as a rapier property itself doesn't make a lot of sense and seems to be a vestige of "rapier = fencing foil/smallsword" type thinking, but whatever.

 

[Aaron L]

Yeah, me too.

And for higher tech settings like most Pirate campaigns, I add a d8 slashing finesse cutlass and sabre to match the rapier. Finesse as a rapier property itself doesn't make a lot of sense and seems to be a vestige of "rapier = fencing foil/smallsword" type thinking, but whatever.

Great minds, and all that... !

 

[Aaron L]

The sword looks about right imo. When I did HEMA, my sword which was a bit short to be proper longsword, was so if I stood straight and held it under the crossguard, with my arms straight down, with the tip of the blade held up, the tip would be about in the same height as my chin/eyes.

A Longsword is 2-handed and can be used 1-handed. An Armoring-sword (which is what you would use with a a shield) though is strictly 1-handed, and a greatsword is always 2-handed in my experience.

So yes, have no problem with that you can injure someone 1.5 meters away from your body, depending on how far you extend your arms. for example if you want to keep someone at bay and be all defence, have your arms more or less fully extended, and holding the sword so the top of the blade points in the extension of your arms.

The style I did in HEMA was based on Ringeck's manuals (both for armoured and unarmoured fighting), and then ring-am-scwert (wrestling with swords), as well as the 1:33-manual for sword-and-buckler. We also tried a little bit of fighting with Messers.

That is some rad stuff. I would love to do HEMA, if only I'd not already had the spine of a 90 year old man by the time I was 19 (according to how the doctor put it.) Now 24 years later and it's only gotten worse. (I would seriously like to find that 90 year old man and trade him back for my own spine!) Ba-dum-dum-bish

 

[Ulfgeir]

That is some rad stuff. I would love to do HEMA, if only I'd not already had the spine of a 90 year old man by the time I was 19 (according to how the doctor put it.) Now 24 years later and it's only gotten worse. (I would seriously like to find that 90 year old man and trade him back for my own spine!) Ba-dum-dum-bish

Had also done other martial arts for 15+ years before doing HEMA. Now I shoot a 72" Longbow with a draw-weight of 52 lbs at 28". I only draw 26" though so have about 48 lbs on my fingertips.

But yeah, having bad knees and a stamina of a person with a con well below 10 doesn't help when fighting, also blind without my contacts lenses.

 

[Aaron L]

Had also done other martial arts for 15+ years before doing HEMA. Now I shoot a 72" Longbow with a draw-weight of 52 lbs at 28". I only draw 26" though so have about 48 lbs on my fingertips.

But yeah, having bad knees and a stamina of a person with a con well below 10 doesn't help when fighting, also blind without my contacts lenses.

Excellent! That is super cool. All I could manage was some Tai Chi when I was younger, a friend of mine taught it. And I fully understand about the low Constitution score, I'd place myself at about a 7, and without my glasses everything beyond a foot becomes a colorful blur. No adventuring for me, I'm afraid, my swords are just for show.

 

[Andamio]

Funny, I’m American and I find meters easier. Decimalized systems are always superior.

Also, again with the ratio of squares to standard units of distance being 1:1.

Feet also make it super awkward when translating rule books, not only for square, but also sizes and weights of characters