serrated blades

[Sanackranib]

serrated edges

the serrated blade does extra damage because it tears the wound (anybody ever seen a cut from a bottle) this causes it to bleed more thus +1 damage. as stated by someone earlier serrated edges don't cut as deep thus no improved crit. I too have sold cutlery. and I own heinkils. each blade works better for specific porposes (as also was stated)

 

[LGodamus]

even on piercing weapons a wavy nor a serrated blade would add any damage ....it is a very common misconception, but that has been disproven by historians. with the kris the method with which you are using it is what is causing the damage not the wavy blade itself..in fact if you were to use a modern military combat knife you would probably be inflicting more damage.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I have a Cold Steel (tm) Vaquero Grande knife that is serrated. Let me tell you, you would NOT want me to cut you with that thing. One slash and it will tear through flesh, metal or wood like nobody's business. It does indeed tear instead of cut, so one might be less effective against plate mail, but sheesh. The thing scares me when I use it. It doesn't so much slice as it does leave a big gaping whole in stuff.

 

[Drakmar]

one of the era's that I studied european swords from was 1375. The standard way to sharpen a sword was to use a file. not a whetstone. you would file the blade on a consistent angle towards you. The aim of this was so that when you draw the sword across the enemies chain armour, it would tear the links out. A benefit was that it also created a nastier wound.. but mainly it cut through the chain with greater ease.

 

[s/LaSH]

The question then becomes, What size of serration is useful in combat against armour, and what size is a structural flaw?

... and then passes right out of my zone of knowledge. (Well, I do know that even the finest blade cuts because it's serrated on a molecular level, and that aztec obsidian weapons actually had molecular edges, but that's about it.)

 

[MEG Hal]

Well, for one thing you'll note that my statement was before you metioned that this was on stabbing, not on slashing weapons.

You have a number of blades. Do you actually spend significant amounts of time whakcking them against other blades, and actually sticking them into bodies and whacking them against bones under combat conditions?

Ahhhhhh that was a bit critical, but as far as whacking them against other blades we had some dull ones we would do exactly that. As for bones and flesh etc.....I assume that was rhetorical. I am not attacking anyone just posting an opinion like everyone else and I have not seen any actual combat reports that prove or disprove what anyone is saying here...but that would be interesting.

 

[Angcuru]

I am not attacking anyone just posting an opinion like everyone else and I have not seen any actual combat reports that prove or disprove what anyone is saying here...but that would be interesting.

Hell, then, let's have a slashy/stabby party! My place next Full Moon on a Tuesday at 9 o'clock A.M. while it's raining! BYOB! Bring Your Own Blade! I'll hijack a few cows so we can test out our theories on what does what to what. If you can't bring a blade, DON'T WORRY! I'm sure one of us could spot you one. Alright, see ya then!

 

[LGodamus]

meh

 

[haiiro]

who else uses serrated blades from the quintissential fighter?

I don't have QF, but I do have AEG's Mercenaries -- and it too contains rules for serrated slashing weapons. In Mercenaries, the threat range of a serrated weapon is increased by one. What effect does it have in QF?

 

[Squire James]

In a "realistic" game, I don't think a serrated blade makes enough of a difference to bump up damage or crits any. The difference between a serrated longsword and a regular one, for instance, is a lot less than the difference between a longsword and a short sword. In game terms, the difference between a short sword and a long sword is about 1 damage per hit (and some auxiliary effects of the S to M weapon size).

In a "spikey helmets are good" game, I can see serrated swords being exotic weapons that have +1 crit range OR a promotion to the next higher damage die (the latter being a more potent advantage, as any greatsword wielder could tell you). Increasing crit multiplier should be reserved for more drastic processes, like hollowing out the blade and partially filling it with mercury. Or turning the weapon into an axe. Then you'll need to consider madness such as serrated mercurial greatswords (of course, the DM could rule that all mercurial greatswords are already serrated, so the standard stats apply)!

Even in the second case, I would come up with some reason why everyone isn't toting around serrated blades (if everyone IS, then the serrated ones are the NORMAL weapons and should keep the old statistics... and straight blades would get the "coolness bonus")! Maybe the serrations get caught in the scabbard a lot, and it requires a standard action to draw one (or a move action if you have Quick Draw). As a related example, mercurial swords are simply another name for "githyanki silver swords" in my campaign, so it takes a lot of guts to adopt one for normal use. Given that mercury is also called "quicksilver", relating this substance to a race known to carry "silver swords" is not difficult.