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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 7228935" data-attributes="member: 6787503">OK, so more interested in telling the sort of stories that might surround something like a Viking sword and less in exploring the atmosphere evoked by including a Viking sword as an actual item? Just a guess.This is getting a little confusing because it isn't clear what size the practice Viking swords were. I was using a sword's suitability for dual wielding as a litmus test for its inclusion as a short sword. Now, I'm aware that there was some dual wielding of side swords in the Italian school of swordsmanship in the early 16th century, but it saw little to no battlefield use and seems to have been mostly for exhibition purposes and displays of prowess, so I'm quite comfortable requiring a feat for dual wielding swords of that size. In cultures that have fielded dual wielding swordsmen in the past, the swords used were usually quite short, maybe 2 feet at most.Sure, but if you're a human dual wielding Viking swords sized for a halfling, you might have trouble finding purchase for your hands on the hilts.I was associating it with the historical rapier of the Early Modern period. In contrast, the material culture I prefer for my settings is Early/High Middle Ages, which is how I imagine some of the fantasy fiction I enjoy, particularly the works of Tolkien. At first I banned the rapier to accomplish this. Then I realized the typical swords of those eras, the Viking and knightly swords respectively, aren't well represented in D&D by either the short or long swords. At least to my mind, they are too long and heavy for dual wielding, so can't be represented by the short sword. Also, their hilts aren't long enough for two-handed use, so they can't be represented by the long sword. The rapier works well to represent them, however, because it's non-light and non-versatile. It also supports both DEX and STR builds, reflecting the prominence of the sword among medieval weapons, in fantasy fiction at least.</blockquote>

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