Do giant weapons have reach?

[kris_kapsner]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to this forum.

I have a D&D question regarding very large weapons and reach. I found a feat on line that allows a character to use a larger weapon than normal, two sizes larger at only a -2 to his attack. I'm playing in a swashbuckling adventures campaign and have an Eisen character with a zwiehander (sp) sword made out of drachanesian steel. That special steel allows the weapon to count as one size smaller than it is because of it's light weight. So, this sword which is normally 7 feet long is now 3 size catagories larger than a normal one.

First off, how big would a sword like that be? I haven't seen anything specifying an adjustment like that.

Second, would a sword like that have a reach of 10' or even more? Is there anywhere in any rulebook that specifies that?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Hypersmurf]

First off, how big would a sword like that be? I haven't seen anything specifying an adjustment like that.

Second, would a sword like that have a reach of 10' or even more? Is there anywhere in any rulebook that specifies that?

As a rule of thumb, consider each size category to be a doubling of length.

So if your Medium zweihander is 7 feet long, your Gargantuan zweihander with the online feat and the special material will be 56 feet long.

However, it is not a Reach weapon, and thus it still only allows you to attack within your natural reach: 5 feet for a Medium creature. You cannot attack creatures 10 feet or further away.

You may also have trouble turning in enclosed spaces.

-Hyp.

 

[Pat]

So if your Medium zweihander is 7 feet long, your Gargantuan zweihander with the online feat and the special material will be 56 feet long.

And since a Medium greatsword weighs 8 lbs, and weight octuples each time an object's size increases a category, the Gargantuan zweihander weighs 4,096 lb (more than 2 tons).

Oof.

Paging Thor...

 

[kris_kapsner]

Hmm.

That doesn't make much sense to me. A longsword isn't twice the length of a great sword even though that's basically going from medium to large. I don't think that the size increase would be that great. I thought it would be more like a two or three foot increase in length per size bump up. I guess I was wrong.

As far as the reach. That doesn't make much sense either. A spear that is ten feet long has reach to ten feet. But, a 15' sword doesn't? Ah, the need for house rules grows ever more.

Thank you for the quick respose everyone.

 

[Pat]

Hmm.

That doesn't make much sense to me. A longsword isn't twice the length of a great sword even though that's basically going from medium to large. I don't think that the size increase would be that great. I thought it would be more like a two or three foot increase in length per size bump up. I guess I was wrong.

As far as the reach. That doesn't make much sense either. A spear that is ten feet long has reach to ten feet. But, a 15' sword doesn't? Ah, the need for house rules grows ever more.

Thank you for the quick respose everyone.

You're just thinking about it the wrong way. A Large or a Huge or a Gargantuan weapon isn't just a really big weapon being wielded by a Medium-sized creature. It's a weapon scaled to fit a creature of enormous size. A Gargantuan creature is between 32 and 64 feet tall. If a 6' human can wield a 7' tall weapon, an equivalent weapon in the hands of a 48' giant would be 56' long.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Hmm.

That doesn't make much sense to me.

Well, there are ranges within each size category.

But let's take some iconic examples:

Small: Halfling. 3 feet tall.
Medium: Human. 6 feet tall.
Large: Fire Giant. 12 feet tall.
Huge: Titan. 25 feet tall.

Now, in the Large category, we also have the Ogre (9-10 feet tall) and the Frost Giant (15 feet tall). So the Fire Giant's about the middle of the range.

There aren't any Gargantuan giants in the Monster Manual, but obviously they'd have to be taller than the Huge Titan at 25 feet!

If your Medium Zweihander is a little larger than the Medium human, a Gargantuan Zweihander would have to be a little larger than a Gargantuan giant. The double rule of thumb (which works nicely for Small through Huge) would suggest fifty-something feet, but let's say it's a Zweihander designed for a Garganutuan creature just a hair taller than a Titan. You're still talking a sword nearly 30 feet long.

That doesn't make much sense either.

You're the one talking about using a sword the height of a three-storey house

-Hyp.

 

[kris_kapsner]

Ok, I'm getting the picture.

Thanks.