destructive force of a european longsword

[Henry]

...thats 85.06% of the total bone-wounding injuries to the LEGS!

makes you re-think medieval combat... well it at least made me re-think medieval combat.

joe b.

Re-think, nothing! It totally destroys the romantic image of the knight, the heroic Roland-esque images of splitting your foes breast to groin, and posing like a hero, but then, this bit of warfare knowledge has been known for years. Shoot a man and kill him, you've taken one man out of the combat; shoot a man in the leg, and you've taken out one, possibly two, combatants: the man, plus the one or two men necessary to carry him off the battlefield.

 

[Celebrim]

Hmmm... The whole splitting someone from groin to breast is highly overrated anyhow. You do it, and the split open like a wet sack and there insides fall all over you, with the result that pretty soon you are a stinking bloody mess from your shoulders down. So, its actually alot easier to strike those romantic heroic poses if you avoid the classic groin up thrust.

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

I remember reading an article by Poul Anderson wear members of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) made some chainmail with coat hanger wire. He said that they could hack at it with sword blades all day and night and never cut through the links. A hard driven spike (pick or claw hammer) might penetrate, but apparently a sword just about never went through armour, not while slashing.

 

[Aaron L]

I know that mailed legs and arms were quite readily chopped off. What were they using for their swords, modern wall hangers? I wouldn't be suprised if a modern replica could't do anything.

 

[Umbran]

Yes, chainmail does keep you from geting lacerated. It does little to keep your bones intact, though...

 

[Zhure]

Well, hell. It appears like i may have yet again entirely missed a rule? that true? could you point me to it in the books?

ah well, im sure i'll still be missing stuff in 10 years..

joe b.

from the PHB, page 97:
"One-Handed: If the weapon’s size category is the same as yours
(such as a human using a rapier), then the weapon is one-handed for you. If you use a one-handed melee weapon two-handed, you can apply one and a half times your Strength bonus to damage (provided you have a bonus). "

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

I know that mailed legs and arms were quite readily chopped off. What were they using for their swords, modern wall hangers? I wouldn't be suprised if a modern replica could't do anything.

I don't mean to be belligerent, but how do you know that mailed limbs were hacked off. I've never read a source that genuinely contradicted this position.

 

[Oni]

chainmail can be sheered with a sword, and not only that it will do little to no damage to a well made one. With the proper backing and on a moving target the chance of this is greatly lowered but you have to remember not all metal is equal. The rockwell hardness of chainmail is much much lower than the avg sword because chainmail had to be able to give and bend and not be brittle. Without being able to give it would transmit too much force to the wearer reducing it protective value.

 

[Aaron L]

Read Oakeshotts Archeaology of Weapons, many descriptions of mailed limbs being severed. Also, Sword in Hand, by the same author.

For more information about swords:

www.swordforum.com
www.thehaca.com

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

Thanks for the references, I've not seen them before.