What can a magic sword do, that a normal weapon cannot?

[Edena_of_Neith]

The sword.
In various incarnations, one of History's more popular weapons.

Anyone who has seen Apocolypse Now, or who has worked in a slaughterhouse, knows one of the primary ways in which a sword does it's work.

Early swords were made of bronze.
They had a bad tendency to bend, after being used to whack someone. Then, they had to be straightened out (as one might straighten out a bent metal device by hand) so they would be useful once more.

Then they started making swords out of iron.
They made swords out of iron, for over a thousand years.
Iron swords, tended to be blunt.
Against an unarmored person - against weak, soft human flesh - they made excellent meat cleavers.
Against a foe armored in mail, they operated as crushing instruments. So, bigger swords were better. Nothing quite like stoving in the ribs of an opponent to puncture lungs or lacerate the heart, no?
Against a foe in plate armor, such iron swords weren't so effective. They tended to clang right off heavy armor (so, they invented heavy pole arm weapons, and axes, and longbows, to take care of armored foes.)

Later on yet, they bearded iron swords with steel edges, and eventually they made crude steel swords ... then they made very fine steel swords.
Better for chopping people up like one would chop up live meat in a slaughterhouse.

Eventually, it would appear, they gave up on the concept of chopping flesh apart, and concentrated on stabbing through it ... thus we gained the rapier, the foil, and the saber.

Whatever ...

Take a good steel sword, and use it to whack at a hedge.
Probably, it would make a crude but effective hedge-trimmer (electric ones would be better.)
Take a good steel sword, and hit an interior building door with it. You will have a ruined door (but I prefer the golf club used in Caddy Shack, if I must ruin interior doors.)

Now, take your steel sword, and whack a pine tree with it.
You'll make some cuts in the wood, and have a ruined sword for your efforts (better hope that pine tree is not an Ent, too.)

Take your steel sword, and whack an oak tree with it.
You'll scratch the bark. And have a blunted, probably ruined weapon, for the trouble.

Try to hit soft stone, such as limestone. CLANG! Time to resharpen the sword.

Try to hit granite. CLANG. You now have a bent and ruined piece of steel.

Better yet, try to whack a modern I-beam with a steel sword.
You will not even scratch the I-beam, but you will destroy your sword. How quickly you destroy your sword, depends on how quickly you get the message that swords will not damage I-beams.

All of which is applicable to the dungeon experience.
Dungeon floors and walls are often made of hard stone.
Dungeon doors are usually made of hardwood, reinforced by iron.
And opponents are usually armored.
Some opponents, are sheathed in armor as hard, truly, as any I-beam (such as a mature dragon of any type.)

- - -

But LO ... you have a + 1 long sword.
A nice, 3 1/2 foot long weapon, made of superior grade steel (Toledo quality steel or better), which has this enchantment on it that, among other things, lets you whack wraiths, spectres, and other + 1 or better to hit beasties.

+ 1 long swords must be one of the most popular, and common, weapons in D&D.

Well, fine.
But what does the + 1 mean, other than it increases your BAB by 1, and your damage per attack by 1? (Against those guys that do hundreds of points of damage per round, that seems rather insignificant.)

What can a + 1 sword do, against mail, that a normal steel weapon cannot?
What will it do against plate armor?
What about interior decorating and interior doors?
What about pinewood, and oakwood?
What about sandstone, and granite?
What about I-beams, and Dragonarmor?

What is your take on this?

For that matter, what does a + 2 sword do, in addition to what a + 1 sword does?
Where does the + 3 chime in, in importance?
Why are + 4 weapons (like Sting or Glamdring) so special?
What makes a + 5 weapon such a supreme affair? (any fighter worth his salt can dish out an extra 5 points of damage per strike, at higher levels.)

Why is the + so special?

I have my take on this matter. But what is yours?

 

[Destil]

Someone on this board once suggested that a magical arua was why a +1 sword can harm things in ways that a masterwork one can't. The magical arua is able to damage the fundemential magic that supports, say, a golem. So while a +3 it may still bounce back with a ring when you strike a steel I-Beam, a golem will take damage on a somwhat magical level, as the sword destroys the magic that supports it, and because of that the physical body bends, warps and pitts (not the other way around).


This is a nice way to think of things, though the problem it produces is that a golem in an antimagic field can be shredded with a sword that isn't magical (anymore) because it's Supernatural DR is negated.

 

[V_Shane]

My take on magical weapons (as I draw them and dwell on such things while doing it) is that because of thier magical nature, ie... being melded with the magic during the curing process, affects the molecular structure. The magical nature itself "shifts" the weapon subtly through several vibrations of planar exhistance. So basically the weapon itself is on two or more planes of exhistance at the same time. This would enable the sword to be almost flexible and impervious to physical destruction at the same time. The + to me would indicate that the nature of the weapon itself would be able to strike an individual forward in time, kind of like forward trails of movement as opposed to motion trails of past movement. Its a given philosophy in the "Arcane Magic" arena that ones actions both physical and mental are foreshadows that can be seen in ones aura (hence "psychics" telling ones future from auric intentions in the psyche). So to me a +5 Longsword is more in-tune with the foreshadows of intentional action hence being able to increase its ability to strike an opponent on several levels at once and predicting of sorts where they will move next allows for greater accuracy and whacking.

Well thats my take on a psuedo-logical level. Hope it gives some excuses for such a thing

V Shane

 

[chilibean]

For the game, my response would be:

A +1 sword can sunder a normal sword. A normal sword cannot sunder a +1 sword.

About real life:

Your statements about swords getting damaged with use is only partially accurate for the real world. Perhaps your experience with swords is limited to the typically cheap imitations they make and sell now? If so, I would tend to agree with your characterizations with the note that you're talking about cheap swords.

A friend of mine has a wonderful hand forged steel sword that has cleaved into quite a few trees while messing around in his back yard. Granted he paid about 2 grand for that magnificent piece of steel, but if you think hitting a tree with it is going to damage it, you're wrong.

At a local RenFest (the one north west of Houston) they have a sword smith that has demonstrated his blades against the typical 440 stainless crapola samurai swords they sell everywhere for a $100. I've seen him cleave halfway through the cheap ass sword in a single swing (a sharp edge to sharp edge blow), meanwhile leaving only a very minor blemish on his blade. Bear in mind that a typical 440 stainless blade is harder than the typical 60 ksi structural W section they use nowadays in commercial construction.

Anyway, I'm not sure what kinds swords your swinging, but if you paid more than $100 for them, I'd consider getting my money back (if you can).

 

[F5]

I treat magic weapons ans unbreakable, except by an equal or greater magic. This has several effects, that make even the lowly +1 sword a useful thing to have.

You can plunge a +1 sword into a wooden wall and use it as a step. This would ruin a normal sword, probably snapping the blade in half, but the +1 sword can't be broken by simple things like gravity or weight applied t it. It's magic. A +1 hand axe is a useful tool for a laborer, since it will never dull, no matter what non-magical stuff you are trying to chop through. A dwarven miner with a +1 pick can chip through rock that would shatter a normal steel pick.

Even +1 swords are fairly rare in my campaign, so this unbreakable property makes them that much more special. Anyone trying a skill with magical tools (craft, for example) gets a +2 to the roll, in addition to the + of the item.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

These are some GOOD answers.

I want to hear more!
Tell me, folks ... I'll ask again, what makes a magic sword, a magic sword? What can it do that a normal sword cannot? Why is a magic sword, special? (or, is it special?)

 

[William Ronald]

Well, drawing back to previous versions of the Astral Projection spell (1st and 2nd Edition), only magical items or items with a magical aura could be taken on a journey by an astral traveler. This would seem to imply that magic weapons either occupy more than one plane of existence or draw upon an energy that lets them exist on multiple planes.

I do not know if a magical sword would be effective in cutting tree limbs. It is a decision for each DM. If a DM allows this, I would argue that there may some sort of magical energy bonded into the blade that alllows it to cut through materials more easily. (Possibly an extreme manifestation of this would be any blade that would just be an energy weapon.)

 

[D-rock]

A magical sword will never dull or rust under normal circumstances so their would be no maintance involved with it.

 

[D-rock]

At a local RenFest (the one north west of Houston) they have a sword smith that has demonstrated his blades against the typical 440 stainless crapola samurai swords they sell everywhere for a $100. I've seen him cleave halfway through the cheap ass sword in a single swing (a sharp edge to sharp edge blow), meanwhile leaving only a very minor blemish on his blade. Bear in mind that a typical 440 stainless blade is harder than the typical 60 ksi structural W section they use nowadays in commercial construction.

I have to agree. All the commercial swords they sell are nothing more than sharp toys. Especially the katanas. I don't know why some people think a stamped out piece of steel is as good as something that is forged and folded over and over by a master swordmaker.

 

[s/LaSH]

Disregarding the laws of physics: How does this interact with object hardness? (PHB pg136) I can almost imagine ruling that a weapon takes the object's Hardness in damage when it strikes something (weapon hardness itself will prevent the worst of this). And perhaps let the weapon bonus bypass this 'damage reduction' if it's strong enough. Just some thoughts on how this might work in-game...