Broadsword

[Dogbrain]

Ta two-handed, curved slashing sword - falchion

That one always makes me shake my head, because the falchion is a one-handed weapon. The two-handed European curved blade swords were called Grossmesser.

 

[Squire James]

Personally I'd make it 2d4 crit range 20/x3 it's a broader sword so I'd equate that to be a wee bit more like an axe in a sense.

So now you have a weapon (mostly) superior to a battleaxe. Thousands of dwarves are ticked off at you now (either because their favorite weapons are inferior, or because they have to change favorite weapons).

Given that fantasy RPG's make poor simulators of the historical Middle Ages, I have to go with my internal visualization of what a broadsword is. I view a broadsword as a longsword with a slightly broader blade to make it harder to sunder. I'd leave its damage and crit stats the same as a longsword, but give it 3 more HP and add 5 gp to its price.

 

[Eridanis]

Adonis - Please check your email.

 

[nikolai]

The real question that should be asked is: what would the inclusion of the hypothetical weapon known as the broadsword add to the game? Right now, D&D categorizes "swords" into some fairly broad categories... ...What is being described as a "broadsword", to my mind, should fit in the "one-handed, straight-bladed slashing sword" category, and hence, I wouldn't see a real need to include a new weapon designated as the "broadsword"

I see where you're coming from. On the other hand, adding it gives more options for players, and more flavour to the game if there are more mechanically distinct weapons to chose from. Why not have broadswords, cutlasses, epees, sabers and so on? I realise the current rules are very minimalist in this regard, but something inside me just thinks lots of weapons that have different rules to govern them is neat.

I can see the game works without them at very little loss though. I suppose it comes down to taste and how you want to balance variety and simplicity. Current mechanics don't give much room for differentiating weapons either.

 

[Woas]

...maybe there could be a dwarven race that has the broadsword as their favored weapon... hmm..

I'm fine with one handed 2d4 19-20/x2 slashing.

What if the broadsword was like a short-bastard sword?

two handed (hand an a half) 2d4 19-20/x2 slashing with just martial weapon prof.
one handed 2d4 19-20/x2 slashing with exotic (broadsword) weapon prof.

 

[Henry]

Ladies and Gentlemen, let's please retract the insults and personal flames. The info is cool to see, but there's no reason to get worked up over nomenclature in a game.

Adonis, I'll e-mail you shortly.

 

[nikolai]

I view a broadsword as a longsword with a slightly broader blade to make it harder to sunder. I'd leave its damage and crit stats the same as a longsword, but give it 3 more HP and add 5 gp to its price.

Doesn't this bring about a similar problem? Assuming a certain level of wealth (which PCs and their enemies will obtain very early), why should anyone use a longsword? If broadswords are better in terms of hp for a negligible price increase, haven't longswords just been designed out the game.

I'm not suggesting that there solution to this, there may not be one. There may be limits within the system to adding new weapons. I'm just pointing out the problem.

 

[Henry]

Ladies and Gentlemen, let's please retract the insults and personal flames. The info is cool to see, but there's no reason to get worked up over nomenclature in a game.

Adonis, I'll e-mail you shortly.

 

[Reynard]

Funny (but true) Story:

I was at the Ren Faire in upsate New York last summer witha friend, who regularly worked at the Angel Sword (www.angelsword.com) booth. Daniel Watson, the founder and Master Smith of Angel Sword let me in ona little secret.

See, I asked him the question "So what exactly is a broadsword? All I know about swords I learned from D&D." he laughed and told me that he was friends with gygax and the guys back in the seventies and when they needed someone to tell them what kinds of weapons made sense for D&D, they asked him (being an aspiring medievalist and smith). Well, he told me that he pretty much made up stuff off the top of his head because he was not quite as well versed back then as he is today.

So there you have it. All of us geeks that get the history wrong because all we know is D&D can blame a man who now makes his living creating beautiful, *funtional* swords, for real.

 

[Dirigible]

Y'know the thing about weapons in RPGs, I've jsut come to a realisation about? I don't give a Scarlett O'Hara.

I don't care if the weapon I imagine as a longsword was different in history or never existed. Ditto for broadsword. Shortsword. Rapier. Main-Gauch. Staff. Halberd. Battleaxe. Handaxe. Whip. Taiaha. Tuhiel. Clandarsh.

I am Jack's lack of concern for ths issue.

I look at the Armoury for my homebrew system, and I see:

1) Weapons that are there for historical reasons. Not real world history - RPG history. The longsword. Weapon of choice for fighters since 1st edition, if not earlier. Shotputs. Vardatches.
2) Weapons that are there to fit a gap in the rules - the greatfalchion, for instance. I had stats for a greatsword, a greatscimitar, but none for the two-handed version of the falchion. So, I made 'em up. Same for the battlehammer - a weapon that falls between warhammer and greathammer in size.
3) Weapons that I saw in a pic or on a model, and though "I must have that!". The clandarsh. The bastard scimitar.
4) Weapons that exist for the sheer perversty of it. The longflail. Spadesword. Demilune. Linebreaker spears.

I'm not playing Riddle of Historical Accurasy, here (please don't construe this as an attack on Riddle of Steel). It works for me, is happy.

Everyone brings their own interests and professions to the game. Linguists work out more realistic language structures and leanging rules for their games. Physicists institute accelerating falling damage. Medieval weapons enthusiasts argue over the existance or non-existance of a particular varierty of pointy metal body rearranger.

So, yeah. I really don't like the thought of someone sneering at me because I have longswords in my games. Even if that person is on the internet and therefore, irrelevant.