Swords of the bastard kind

[demon_jr]

At first, I was intrigued by the Bastard Sword, but I do not see the advantages of using it over a greatsword or a one-handed bladed weapon. The only reason I would choose a Bastard sword would be for character flavor and role-playing reasons.

The bastard sword gives you only 2 extra points of damage over the longsword and has the same threat range. The longsword can be wielded two-handed as well by the right sized character.

If it is damage you are after, then the greatsword offers more damage, at least 2 points (2d6) over the 1 point (1d10) of the bastard sword.

Plus you have to spend a feat to become fully proficient with the bastard sword.

This is just my opinion, of my course.

 

[Witness]

Originally posted by demon_jr:

At first, I was intrigued by the Bastard Sword, but I do not see the advantages of using it over a greatsword or a one-handed bladed weapon.

The big advantage is Two-Weapon Fighting. My 1st character in 3e was a Ranger with Exotic weapon Prof: Bastard Sword. He did the most damage one can do with a 1-handed weapon, and with a shortsword in his other hand, suffered only a -2 penalty to attacks.

 

[Hypersmurf]

But now its all clear, it can be considered either a large martial weapon or a medium exotic weapon.

Not quite. In a way it behaves like a Large martial weapon, but it's still Medium - for purposes of sundering, disarming, etc, it doesn't get the bonuses that a true Large weapon does.

-Hyp.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

At first, I was intrigued by the Bastard Sword, but I do not see the advantages of using it over a greatsword or a one-handed bladed weapon. The only reason I would choose a Bastard sword would be for character flavor and role-playing reasons.

The bastard sword gives you only 2 extra points of damage over the longsword and has the same threat range. The longsword can be wielded two-handed as well by the right sized character.

If it is damage you are after, then the greatsword offers more damage, at least 2 points (2d6) over the 1 point (1d10) of the bastard sword.

Plus you have to spend a feat to become fully proficient with the bastard sword.

This is just my opinion, of my course.

1 word: flexibility.

Bastard swod + buckler gives you the ability to switch between one handed w buckler and 2 handed without buckler any time you want. A +5 buckler could make a really big difference on AC, but when you don't need to use it, you can get a little boost in damage.

You can do the same thing with a longsword, but you are sacrificing a little damage for a feat, and fighters get enough feats to use one for this. At least IMHO.

Not a big reason, but its there.

--Optional Spikey