Another thought. Maybe magic longswords should be finesse as well? It makes sense that they are lighter, easier to wield. Certainly an elven longsword would be finesse - but also quite a bit more expensive.
The knight sword (knightly arming sword) is known for its ‘agility’ and probably should gain the finesse property. That would solve a number of troublesome mechanical issues, including how to stat a katana, and why the Elf prefers the longsword.
Greatsword 2d6 slashing if reach, heavy, two-handed, special (1d6 piercing if adjacent)
Longsword 1d8 slashing/piercing, finesse, versatile
Shortsword 1d6 slashing/piercing, finesse, light
Dagger 1d4 slashing/piercing, finesse, light, throw 20/60
Generally, a particular sword will do either slashing or piercing, but some are designed to do both. This way, the ‘longsword’ can handle multiple kinds of swords: knightly arming sword, long sword, viking sword, spatha, katana, etcetera. Meanwhile, the ‘shortsword’ can also handle multiple kinds of swords: gladius, sax, wakizashi, etcetera. This ‘greatsword’ represents the monster twohander sword, that is more like a polearm, and can only hit targets at some distance away. The greatsword is unable to hit targets who are adjacent, thus stepping back before a swing or else resorting to the ‘half-swording’ technique, where one hand grabs the blade midway, then with both hands stabs the adjacent opponent. Often a twohander fighter drops the twohander sword and brandishes a second smaller sword once engaged. Technically, this ‘dagger’ represents a knife. A knife may slice or stab, a dagger is designed mainly to stab.
The lengths of the blade correspond exactly to feet.
• Dagger upto 1 foot
• Shortsword upto 2 feet
• Longsword upto 3 feet
• Greatsword upto 4 feet
Additionally, the hilts can maybe of various lengths, for one-handed grip, two-handed grip, or hand-and-half grip. A greatsword must have a two-handed grip, almost by definition. Typically, a greatsword includes an extremely long grip, including an extended lower part of the blade below the ‘parrying hooks’ to allow for half-swording. Tho hypothetically, a superhumanly strong character might wield it singlehandedly.
Everything works out elegantly if the longsword gains the finesse property. It also makes the longsword slightly more powerful, thus ensuring its ‘plot protection’ to flavor the medievalesque setting, similar to the way the lightsaber gains plot protection to flavor the Star Wars setting.
