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<blockquote data-quote="Zaruthustran" data-source="post: 531466" data-attributes="member: 1457">Steel weapons can be brittle. It depends on the type of steel and the methods used in forging and tempering. A weapon that is &quot;the opposite of brittle&quot; would not be able to hold an edge; a soft weapon's edge would quickly deform into a blunt shape. Swords in particular tend to shatter in battle--a properly constructed sword will flex but will *not* bend.Test: take a longsword. Place it on a pair of sawhorses, handle on horse, tip on the other. Add weight on the middle of the blade.What happens: the blade will flex as weight is added, until it snaps. The blade will not bend.Witness the opening scene of Fellowship of the Ring, when Elendil's sword Narsil was shattered. The shards of Narsil were shown again in Rivendell (in the scene where Boromir meets Aragorn). That battle is fiction, but it does accurately depict how real swords break.I think Shatter should be useful on most anything that can't be bent 90 degrees.No: Cloth, leather, water, ooze, flesh, food, clay, armor, metal shields, soft plants.Yes: Bladed metal weapons, glass, stone, wood, bone.-z</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Zaruthustran, post: 531466, member: 1457"] Steel weapons can be brittle. It depends on the type of steel and the methods used in forging and tempering. A weapon that is "the opposite of brittle" would not be able to hold an edge; a soft weapon's edge would quickly deform into a blunt shape. Swords in particular tend to shatter in battle--a properly constructed sword will flex but will *not* bend. Test: take a longsword. Place it on a pair of sawhorses, handle on horse, tip on the other. Add weight on the middle of the blade. What happens: the blade will flex as weight is added, until it snaps. The blade will not bend. Witness the opening scene of Fellowship of the Ring, when Elendil's sword Narsil was shattered. The shards of Narsil were shown again in Rivendell (in the scene where Boromir meets Aragorn). That battle is fiction, but it does accurately depict how real swords break. I think Shatter should be useful on most anything that can't be bent 90 degrees. No: Cloth, leather, water, ooze, flesh, food, clay, armor, metal shields, soft plants. Yes: Bladed metal weapons, glass, stone, wood, bone. -z [/QUOTE]

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