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Message: <blockquote data-quote="genshou" data-source="post: 2992376" data-attributes="member: 13164">The blade alone of the katana used by a samurai in the feudal era is around 65 cm, a little under a foot shorter than the entire length of a D&D longsword (real-world name: arming sword).  The katana was intended for two-handed use, but some sword arts of Japan involve one-handed techniques.  Its handle is like that of the bastard sword, with enough room to place both hands completely on the handle with enough space between them to generate extra cutting power.  Thus, it is equivalent to a bastard sword; larger than a D&D longsword, smaller than a greatsword (or oh-dachi) and only usable one-handed with special training.While the typical katana blade of feudal Japan measures at just over 2 shaku, it was also being used by shorter people than Europeans.  A katana made for a typical D&D hero would need to be almost 3 shaku in blade length to be appropriately sized.  That would make the mere blade of the weapon nearly as long as an entire D&D longsword.  Also, the mass of a typical katana matches with that of a bastard sword rather than an arming sword.Whether a bastard sword is "better" than a D&D longsword or not is dependent on what the character needs it for, but generally it's better to have the weapon that deals more damage.  In that light, a katana is a better weapon than a D&D longsword.[/threadjack, I hope <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid    :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" /> ]</blockquote>

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