Longswords for Halflings in SRD?

[kenobi65]

But the dwarf, who isn't much taller than the small creatures, whose proportions are very different from other medium creatures, can use (and have their weapons used by) other medium creatures without penalty...

Yeah, but their hands are HUGE!

 

[Moon-Lancer]

ok, their was a problem wielding large daggers, but what’s the problem with a short sword a human wields over a long sword a halfing wields. They are the same are they not? i can fully see why they might have changed wielding a weapon not meant for you as a -2 to stop the 2d6 daggers, but if the weapon is virtually the same stat wise, why the heck does it matter? Their is no imbalance, and thus no point to the penalty.


All you really need to do is add a proviso about hardness not being absolute, but partially affected by the way its wielded, and that seems to fix any exploits. If it cant be exploited, is the -2 really necessary?

i say use coolness over redundent rules that dont add fun to the game.

 

[Vegepygmy]

ok, their was a problem wielding large daggers, but what’s the problem with a short sword a human wields over a long sword a halfing wields. They are the same are they not?

No. As Patryn has already pointed out, one is a slashing one-handed weapon and the other is a piercing light weapon.

Those are important differences; particularly the light/one-handed distinction.

 

[MarkB]

ok, their was a problem wielding large daggers, but what’s the problem with a short sword a human wields over a long sword a halfing wields. They are the same are they not? i can fully see why they might have changed wielding a weapon not meant for you as a -2 to stop the 2d6 daggers, but if the weapon is virtually the same stat wise, why the heck does it matter? Their is no imbalance, and thus no point to the penalty.


All you really need to do is add a proviso about hardness not being absolute, but partially affected by the way its wielded, and that seems to fix any exploits. If it cant be exploited, is the -2 really necessary?

i say use coolness over redundent rules that dont add fun to the game.

Different weapons have different special properties beyond their base stats. Sizing weapons to creatures makes the whole system about ten times more consistent, and I don't think throwing that out really adds any fun to the game.

And if you want to go for an odd-sized option with added coolness, then hey, it's only a -2 penalty. A character could live with that.

 

[Storyteller01]

No. As Patryn has already pointed out, one is a slashing one-handed weapon and the other is a piercing light weapon.

Those are important differences; particularly the light/one-handed distinction.

These are actually minor distinctions, and a play on semantics (directed at the RAW, not anyone posting). They're rather mutable in the context of the game.

A dagger is both slashing and piecing. Real world evidence shows that, like the dagger, the shortsword and longsword did both types of damage. There's no reason the same damage type doesn't apply to all three weapons, regargdless of what you choose.

A wakizashi effectively (and mechanically) is a slashing shortsword.

A Sunblade is a slashing weapon that can be wielded as a piercing weapon.

You can find unique weapons in Dragon Mag and Dungeon that say 'treat this as x weapon that actually does y damage'.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

Different weapons have different special properties beyond their base stats.

If its not giving you anything but flavor, why the -2 then? doesent seem right.

Do you happen to have any good examples of how this could break the game? keep it mind, i wouldent let a large dagger fly, but if the stats are the same, your not getting anything better except the flavor. hardness is strange though, but its a easy fix.

 

[Storyteller01]

Yeah, but their hands are HUGE!

The jokes we can come up with for that one!

Dwarf: 'Hey gorgeous, how'se about you and me take a stroll upstairs?'
Unfortunate Female: 'Why on earth would I want to do that?!'
Dwarf: 'Hey! Take a look at these hands... you know what they say about people with big hands, don'tcha?'

 

[hafrogman]

Dwarf: you know what they say about people with big hands, don'tcha?'

They have to buy big gloves.

 

[Prism]

If its not giving you anything but flavor, why the -2 then? doesent seem right.

Do you happen to have any good examples of how this could break the game? keep it mind, i wouldent let a large dagger fly, but if the stats are the same, your not getting anything better except the flavor. hardness is strange though, but its a easy fix.

The long sword / short sword example isn't game breaking whether or not you apply the -2. I can think of a few things that break the game, but this isn't one

If a human short sword is the same as a halfling long sword then you will have to decide if its ok for the halfling rogue to be proficient with a human sized short sword and use it as a medium weapon for example. This gives the characters more options than their base class normally allows. The dagger example is an extension of this which goes one step further

 

[taliesin15]

No. As Patryn has already pointed out, one is a slashing one-handed weapon and the other is a piercing light weapon.
Those are important differences; particularly the light/one-handed distinction.

Personally, I think that's just another glitch in the system. There are historical, heroic epic and testimony from martial artists I could quote, but look, there's what...just a few inches of difference between the weapons? A sword that is wielded more like a piercing weapon by a 6' human is certainly more likely to be used as a slashing weapon by a 3'-4' halfling. Seems perfectly logical to me.

And it seems perfectly logical that the halfling or gnome wielding a longsword would probably wield it in the way a human would wield a bastard or two-handed sword.

I've yet to see any convincing counter argument on this, and really no actual argument beyond that's how WTC has set it up. Obviously, I'll houserule it my own way, just like the funny business involving spears.