Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
the Katana just seems really out of place in the weapons list.
why didnt they just call it a falchion?
It's a falchion statement. But no one can pronounce falchion.
the Katana just seems really out of place in the weapons list.
why didnt they just call it a falchion?
I think you should read the "Loyal Readers" section of Dragon Magazine #67 from November 1982. Gary Gygax pretty much all but comes out and says that D&D's default cultural template and set of assumptions is essentially European medieval fantasy.
He mentions that he intended to move the monk class to an appendix and states that adding a samurai class would be "compounding error" and that such classes belong in "an Oriental-based game." He believed that non-European Medieval themed classes and their associated trappings (notably, he mentions arms and armour) should be saved for "...another version of the AD&D game system which is based on Sino-Japanese culture." He even goes so far as to call for "special rules" for when Eastern and Western cultures encounter one another. Clearly, the game's creator intended for the game to feature a firm boundary between East & West.
So, yeah: default D&D was--at least in the mind of its creator--based on Medieval Europe, and he makes it pretty plain in the article mentioned above.
Now, mind you, I'm not arguing that it still should be based on Medieval Europe anymore, but let's be honest with ourselves--the game did have a heavy Euro-Medieval flavor in its early years.
A sort of stone-age sword, yeah. In RuneQuest, the Dragonewts' Klanth was basically the same weapon, described and statted as an 'obsidian-edged broadsword.' The RL Aztec weapon might have been used more like a club, comparable to a morningstar, anklys or a variety of other weapons, but 'bladed' rather than 'spiked.'The Macuahuitl, a slashing weapon that was made by mixing a wooden core with cutting edges made of very sharp obsidian, used somewhat like a sword,
The 'punch-dagger' pattern has seen some use in the west, too. Combined with a shield and additional projections in the quixotic 'lantern shield,' for instance.The Katara, a "punching dual-edged shortsword" very usefull for stabbing and parrying... Some versions even had a shield integrated that provided further protection for the hand and wrist.
And the former is Indian and the latter Chinese, so neither is quite unique, I suppose. But they are pretty odd weapons.The Chakram, a bladed steel ring, it is a throwing weapon ... The Wind and Fire Wheels. Like a melee chakram, but crazier, it has multiple hooks and blades that allow to trip and disarm, but also to parry, it can be used to either pierce or slash.
Everyone knows that a katana:
- Can be wielded one handed with more damage than a longsword, and can be finessed;
- Can be wielded two handed with more damage than a greatsword, and can be finessed;
- Can be dual wielded without penalty by a ninja;
- Has a crit range of 2 - infinity;
- Pierces all armor, except plain cloth, more effectively than other weapons;
- Is made from adamantium fairy farts
- Has a +5 kewl wepun bonus.
Slob, that kid probably never met Brian's cousin.