Top 10 odd D&D weapons

[genshou]

Thats precisely where you are wrong.

Maybe this will help:

http://www.thearma.org/essays/How_Were_Swords_Made.htm

BD

Ok, I read the entire article. Please tell me how that had anything to do with my post.

 

[big dummy]

Ok, I read the entire article. Please tell me how that had anything to do with my post.

Ok, given how fleixible and strong a sword has to be, and how a sword is made (pounding it into shape, forge welding the steel) how exactly are they going to make a channel for mercury in it to where it won't immediately break? How thick do you think the walls of the channel would have to be?

BD

 

[big dummy]

Wait, how are you supposed to hurt yourself with armor spikes? You're wearing armor--the spikes go outward.

Well, judging by the drawings and paintings I see in D&D books...

If it's D&D Armor you almost always have at the very least your face exposed... often most or some of your midrift (even more if you are a girl, you will basically be wearing no armor at all on your torso except some kind of armored bra... apparently in D&D the breasts and groin are the only vulnerable parts of any female)

BD

 

[genshou]

Iron isn't any heavier than steel. Bronze is about the same or a little less, (depending on the actualy type of Bronze) For that matter swords were never made of "pure" (or wrought) iron anyway, it wouldn't hold an edge. The difference between steel and iron is a small amount of carbon. Anything between .15% and 2% is essentially steel. (Anything over 2% is cast-iron, which was also never used to make weapons as it was too brittle)

If you really think I'm underestimating the weight of the weapons, why don't you do some research yourself. And like I said, try going through a basic sword drill with a 6 or 8 pound object.

BD

Hmm. Perhaps you should take your own advice. Iron does weigh more than steel (though only by a very small amount). Bronze is heavier than iron (8.3 g/cubic cm), not lighter.

 

[genshou]

Ok, given how fleixible and strong a sword has to be, and how a sword is made (pounding it into shape, forge welding the steel) how exactly are they going to make a channel for mercury in it to where it won't immediately break? How thick do you think the walls of the channel would have to be?

BD

And that's why it's in a D&D book. Methods for crafting would certainly be different in such a world, wouldn't they?

 

[big dummy]

Hmm. Perhaps you should take your own advice. Iron does weigh more than steel (though only by a very small amount). Bronze is heavier than iron (8.3 g/cubic cm), not lighter.

According to this table of weight density and specific gravity...

http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_metals.htm

Iron is shown as being 7850 KG / cubic meter

Cast Iron is even less 6800 -7800 KG

Steel is .... 7850 (identical to Iron.)

Bronze 7400 -8900 (a little more or a little less depending on the specific alloy)

Thats for the Tin-Copper bronze alloy typically used in Medieval period and before.

BD

 

[big dummy]

And that's why it's in a D&D book. Methods for crafting would certainly be different in such a world, wouldn't they?

Well, I guess if you posit an imaginary indestructable metal like adamantium you could make a sword out of that with a little channel in it for mercury that could bend and wouldn't break on impact, but that still doesn't make it a practical weapon..

I mean yeah in D&D all things are possible, you can have a sword that turns into a snake that bites people or shoots lightning or anything you can think of. The weapons under discussion in this thread were (I thought) more mundane items which humans could actually make without magic. As someone already said, nobody is questioning magic weapons.

BD

 

[genshou]

Well, judging by the drawings and paintings I see in D&D books...

If it's D&D Armor you almost always have at the very least your face exposed... often most or some of your midrift (even more if you are a girl, you will basically be wearing no armor at all on your torso except some kind of armored bra... apparently in D&D the breasts and groin are the only vulnerable parts of any female)

BD

Most of the armour seen in D&D books covers at least as much as a breastplate. While much of the concept art doesn't show armour covering as much as it truly would (mostly around the limbs), that doesn't mean the armour in anyone's game has to be that way. My "creepy elf chick" PC wears a full suit of hide armour.

Look at the armour pictures in the Player's Handbook equipment chapter.

 

[Sledge]

the point big dummy, is that they DIDN'T refer to it as crazy. There are multiple articles on the ARMA site, as well as discussion on the forums that not only indicates that for a two handed sword 8 pounds is within the normal range, but that the weapons you keep referring to at the 5-6 pound range are meant to be held with ONE or TWO hands alternatively.
I will reiterate this once again, the weapon stats in D&D can be compared to weight and usage. An 8 pound sword is a two handed sword. Those ones that qualify as hand and a half are the d&d bastard swords. They are frequently wielded two handed or one handed. Weigh around 5-6 pounds. The lighter weapons (2-4 pounds) are the long swords which represent the heavier end of the one handed weapons, and down to the short swords and rapiers with represent the lightest weight swords. Why is it that you insist that the greatsword really represents swords that can be used with one hand? If the great sword should weigh 6 pounds and be usable one handed, just call it the bastard sword. Other wise you have to put the bastard sword down to 4 pounds and not needing EWP. The long swords will have to drop to 2 pounds and the short swords and rapiers can be 0 pounds. Sounds a little crazy to me.
Perhaps there is a better way to resolve this. Will you concede at least that the 3e greatsword is the same weapon as the 2e two-handed sword?

And spathology is a term and field invented by ARMA. The very nature of it is out of its usage in ARMA. Remember there aren't a lot of 600 year old instruction books on swords. None of the articles I've seen online state that swords were never 8 pounds. In fact the consensus I've seen is that there was a huge spectrum of sword weights from under 2 pounds to just over 8 pounds, that are considered combat weapons. There are of course much larger ceremonial weapons as well.

 

[genshou]

According to this table of weight density and specific gravity...

http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_metals.htm

Iron is shown as being 7850 KG / cubic meter

Cast Iron is even less 6800 -7800 KG

Steel is .... 7850 (identical to Iron.)

Bronze 7400 -8900 (a little more or a little less depending on the specific alloy)

Thats for the Tin-Copper bronze alloy typically used in Medieval period and before.

BD

http://216.25.30.233/DataSheets/Densities of Materials Sorted by Density.htm is also a good reference site.

The variance in bronze is because you're using the full range of the alloy. At ~11% tin its density is 8.1 g/cubic cm. I'm not an expert on ancient bronze weaponry, so I'd appreciate some input on what the tin content was at various periods in the Bronze Age. I seem to recall that the amount of tin varied due to availability.