Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Enkhidu" data-source="post: 1007599" data-attributes="member: 351">Anubis, you have a good grasp on the basics of sword design - yes, the fact that your katana has a center of gravity very close to the grip does make it faster. However, have you ever thought about why european swords were not built this way?Its not like Occidental weaponsmiths didn't have the abilty to make swords that had balance points well into the grip (the better rapiers have centers of gravity only a inch or so from the quillons). In fact, balancing a sword is often as simple as adding a few ounces to the pommel. But, believe it or not, many occidental swords were forged with a heavy point for a reason.That reason is power.Katanas were built to cut through bamboo, flesh, and bone, using speed and an extremely sharp edge to win the day. Occidental blades (long and bastard swords) made during the same period were designed to strike heavily armored surfaces, crease those surfaces, and damage the flesh underneath (by breaking bones, causing internal injuries, etc). If you were to use a katana - of any grade - on a 14 or 16 guage steel armored foe, you'd break the blade in less than a dozen strikes, either because it's extremely brittle edge shattered on contact, or because the blade bit into the metal and snapped due to torque. A comparable (in quality) occidental blade, would instead dent and crease the armor, breaking bones through the steel.Against unarmored foes, the quick strikes of a katana were king, but against the kind of armor we see in standard D&D, it would be nearly useless. Its just wasn't the right tool for the job.</blockquote>

Verification