Dwarf vs Gargantuan Great Axe
- Thread starter Arnix
- Start date
Seems our math was off on the item.
I looked up the weight of a telephone pole (similar to a caber) and it would weigh approx 150 pounds.
The metal of the head would start at about 1.5 feet (to seat the handle) and taper off at the end to a point, with a width of close to 10 feet and approx 6 feet tall. To do simple math, I would make the thickness a 1.5 feet, but half width (picture foled metal). So we have a 6x5x1.5 slab of steel, or 72"x60"x18". I picked up a steel weight calculator. This leads to a 10.002926058624 ton slab of metal. Seeing that the pole was simple wood, it would not be able to support this weight, it would have to be steel reinforced. I will ignore that portion for simplicity, but keep it in mind for argument sake.
Thus we now have a 20' gargantuan great axe with a head of 10' wide and 6 feet tall with a weight of 150 pounds + 10.0029 tons.
Seems our 400-800 pound swas a tad pit light.
I looked up the weight of a telephone pole (similar to a caber) and it would weigh approx 150 pounds.
The metal of the head would start at about 1.5 feet (to seat the handle) and taper off at the end to a point, with a width of close to 10 feet and approx 6 feet tall. To do simple math, I would make the thickness a 1.5 feet, but half width (picture foled metal). So we have a 6x5x1.5 slab of steel, or 72"x60"x18". I picked up a steel weight calculator. This leads to a 10.002926058624 ton slab of metal. Seeing that the pole was simple wood, it would not be able to support this weight, it would have to be steel reinforced. I will ignore that portion for simplicity, but keep it in mind for argument sake.
Thus we now have a 20' gargantuan great axe with a head of 10' wide and 6 feet tall with a weight of 150 pounds + 10.0029 tons.
Seems our 400-800 pound swas a tad pit light.
Endur
First Post
Axe Mass
All I want for Axe Mass ...
Sorry, different topic.
How much does an axe weigh?
Well, lets start with our typical Great Axe ... it weighs 20 lbs.
This axe belonged to a Huge Giant, so the giant was between 18 feet to 24 feet tall. Either three or four times the size of a human.
If the Giant was three times the size of a human, then the axe would weigh 3x3x3 x 20 lbs. or 540 lbs.
If the Giant was four times the size of a human, then the axe would weigh 4x4x4 x 20 lbs. or 1280 lbs.
Now, that's assuming you can use the same materials to construct the weapon and that the weapon will follow the same proportions. Which is fine for a fantasy game, but in reality the weapon would probably have smaller proportions and would have to be built of even denser materials, thus making its mass even greater.
All I want for Axe Mass ...
Sorry, different topic.
How much does an axe weigh?
Well, lets start with our typical Great Axe ... it weighs 20 lbs.
This axe belonged to a Huge Giant, so the giant was between 18 feet to 24 feet tall. Either three or four times the size of a human.
If the Giant was three times the size of a human, then the axe would weigh 3x3x3 x 20 lbs. or 540 lbs.
If the Giant was four times the size of a human, then the axe would weigh 4x4x4 x 20 lbs. or 1280 lbs.
Now, that's assuming you can use the same materials to construct the weapon and that the weapon will follow the same proportions. Which is fine for a fantasy game, but in reality the weapon would probably have smaller proportions and would have to be built of even denser materials, thus making its mass even greater.
I realize everyone has been getting all mathmatical but ...
I am fairly certain I read somewhere that the actual size of a weapon is the weapons size downgraded two steps.
So a Large weapon is really size Small (about as big as a Halfling or Gnome.)
That would make a Gargantuan axe size Large (I think.) Just FYI.
Maybe that can help someone.
I am fairly certain I read somewhere that the actual size of a weapon is the weapons size downgraded two steps.
So a Large weapon is really size Small (about as big as a Halfling or Gnome.)
That would make a Gargantuan axe size Large (I think.) Just FYI.
Maybe that can help someone.
1337 h4xor
First Post
Arnix said:
the original estimate seems fine simply because a giant would not be able to weild a 20,000 pound axe. Also for an axe that size there could be no wood portion as even if it were reinforced it would be unable to bear the load of such a huge axehead.
from someone who competes in competitions involving cabers and other akward objects it's entire;y about leverage and balance. You could be strong as hell but if you dont have enough dex to properly balance the load you will just drop it.
having said that i would encourage both endurance checks and balance checks.
jgbrowning
Hero
Arnix, "the standard telephone pole is 35 feet long, and can weigh in excess of three tons."
if it weighed 150lbs. i could bench press the silly things.
and a caber "In determining how long vs. how thick a caber to select, there are no set standards, except that at the turn of the century, the AAU declared a standard caber size as pine, 16 feet, 4" diameter small end, 8" diameter large end."
joe b.
if it weighed 150lbs. i could bench press the silly things.
and a caber "In determining how long vs. how thick a caber to select, there are no set standards, except that at the turn of the century, the AAU declared a standard caber size as pine, 16 feet, 4" diameter small end, 8" diameter large end."
joe b.
I completely agree that the math on the Axe makes it impossible to wield. I also agree that I would not list it as such a large weight in a game, as nothing that I have seen listed could lift that weight.
I do like one of the previous posts that listed the axe at 1280 pounds. That seems more than fair, and in line with the weight allowance of a huge creature.
Caliber, I think you are off on your sizes. A great sword (large) is not 3 feet long (size small). It is actually closer to 6 feet long. I think the size is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 size smaller than the listed size. Otherwise longswords, size medium, would be tiny in reality, which they are not (closer to 3 feet in length).
I do like one of the previous posts that listed the axe at 1280 pounds. That seems more than fair, and in line with the weight allowance of a huge creature.
Caliber, I think you are off on your sizes. A great sword (large) is not 3 feet long (size small). It is actually closer to 6 feet long. I think the size is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 size smaller than the listed size. Otherwise longswords, size medium, would be tiny in reality, which they are not (closer to 3 feet in length).
drnuncheon
Explorer
Arnix said:
Height is not the only part of the 'size' equation, though - weight is equally important. That's why an under 4-foot-tall dwarf is still Medium-size, while a gnome that's just an inch shorter is Small - the dwarf weighs more than twice what the gnome does.
Even using the ridiculously inflated PHB weapon weights, a greatsword is only 15 lbs, so it's nowhere near the size of a Large creature or even a Medium one, despite its length.
Also, the weapon size is more to do with balance & how theyc an be used than it does with length - a greataxe or a falchion is probably a 3-4 feet long and is size Large, while a heavy lance is 10 feet long and size Medium.
I think, however, that what Caliber is remembering is that unarmed strikes are considered weapons of 2 sizes smaller than the creature - so a bare-handed human is considered to be using Tiny weapons. That's the only rule I recall that sounds like that.
That said, I'd say that the weapon weight should go up by x8 for each size category, since each size category is roughly double the size before. It's a ballpark figure, but that's really all you need. In the case of the greataxe, it'd be 20x8x8 or 1280 lbs - just like some previous suggestions.
J
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