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<blockquote data-quote="Silverglass" data-source="post: 1141447" data-attributes="member: 14071">I think that A'Koss has hit the nail on the head.There is no ubersword from history. The &quot;best&quot; sword from a culture and period was that which was most effective in the type of combat that the culture encountered. As technology and tactics changed weapons changed and evolved.The self-isolation of Japan contributed to the perpetuation of a cultural state and that is what made the Katana the &quot;best&quot; weapon over centuries, something for which there is little parallel in European history. That cultural state also perpetuated a &quot;warrior class&quot; that was better trained and equipped than the common soldier. This was the reason for the fearsome reputaion of the Katana within its culture and is probably the reason for its status as an uber-weapon in films and books. Yes a Samurai was an exceptional warrior, but only within his historic context.The Katana was indeed a &quot;best&quot; weapon, but that was in the context of a model that emphasised mobility and skill over heavy armour (which was just not available when the techniques were developing) so it was used for drawing cuts against unarmoured/lightly armoured opponents where the effects were devestating.Against european plate armour a katana would be much less useful (as is amply evidenced by the move in european history to weapons delivering a more percussive effect in response to the development of heavier armour). The simple fact is that no sword, however sharp, is going to manage a drawing cut through steel plate. But a heavy blunt weapon can cause damage without penetrating and a pointed weapon can penetrate and cause damage.Weapons evolve to beat the defences that they face and to suit the tactics of the wielders, that is a simple fact that cannot be argued historically.For the Japanese weapons I would model them with the D&amp;D weapons that closely correspond to their size but consider giving them a bonus against targets in No/Light Armour or with a natural armour of 4 or less.So a Katana would be an exotic weapon 1d10 19-20/x2 with a +2 competence bonus to damage against lightly armoured targets and could be masterworked.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Silverglass, post: 1141447, member: 14071"] I think that A'Koss has hit the nail on the head. There is no ubersword from history. The "best" sword from a culture and period was that which was most effective in the type of combat that the culture encountered. As technology and tactics changed weapons changed and evolved. The self-isolation of Japan contributed to the perpetuation of a cultural state and that is what made the Katana the "best" weapon over centuries, something for which there is little parallel in European history. That cultural state also perpetuated a "warrior class" that was better trained and equipped than the common soldier. This was the reason for the fearsome reputaion of the Katana within its culture and is probably the reason for its status as an uber-weapon in films and books. Yes a Samurai was an exceptional warrior, but only within his historic context. The Katana was indeed a "best" weapon, but that was in the context of a model that emphasised mobility and skill over heavy armour (which was just not available when the techniques were developing) so it was used for drawing cuts against unarmoured/lightly armoured opponents where the effects were devestating. Against european plate armour a katana would be much less useful (as is amply evidenced by the move in european history to weapons delivering a more percussive effect in response to the development of heavier armour). The simple fact is that no sword, however sharp, is going to manage a drawing cut through steel plate. But a heavy blunt weapon can cause damage without penetrating and a pointed weapon can penetrate and cause damage. Weapons evolve to beat the defences that they face and to suit the tactics of the wielders, that is a simple fact that cannot be argued historically. For the Japanese weapons I would model them with the D&D weapons that closely correspond to their size but consider giving them a bonus against targets in No/Light Armour or with a natural armour of 4 or less. So a Katana would be an exotic weapon 1d10 19-20/x2 with a +2 competence bonus to damage against lightly armoured targets and could be masterworked. [/QUOTE]

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