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ThinkMinty
2015-10-28, 01:28 AM
So, what kind of swords do y'all think are cool, strange, interesting, silly, or otherwise noteworthy?

I've always thought cavalry sabers are pretty boss, especially the guards.

chainer1216
2015-10-28, 01:42 AM
The Indian Pata is cool, its a gauntlet sword.

The German grosse messer or krieg messer is super cool, its like a European katana.

And the classic falcata is always nice.

RagingBluMunky
2015-10-28, 02:05 AM
Call me crazy, but I've always been fond of the Egyptian khopesh

Deffers
2015-10-28, 02:37 AM
The classic answer is, of course, the Flamberge, for being a giant snakey sword. Zweihanders, being big, are quite interesting too. I have a friend who's 6'2" and she found a zwei that's actually as tall as she is once. Anime swords par excellence.

The Urumi, inasmuch as it's even a sword to begin with, definitely wins the originality prize, what with being a whip sword.

For the cool category, I'd suggest the humble jian. Just a straightsword, double edged-- something about it makes it instantly recognizable, though. And it ain't just the hilt.

TheCountAlucard
2015-10-28, 07:20 AM
For magic swords, my heart goes out to Beloved Adorei.

Kaveman26
2015-10-28, 08:58 AM
My favorite fictional sword is Wirikridor....aka Man Slayer.


Lawrence watt Evans
The Misenchanted Sword

Army scout gets stuck behind enemy lines of a war that has spanned a century.stumbles on a wizards hut and finds that the wizard is empathetic to his plight but mostly wants to be left alone.enemy troops destroy the Wizards home and in retribution he enchants the soldiers sword and he enchants it up heavy. Then he leaves in the middle of the night.

A note informs the soldier to only draw it when needed and not before. Hijinks ensue

The sword when drawn can't be sheathed or dropped until it kills a male of adult age.

When in combat he is amazing and unstoppable...until he kills at which point he must sheath and redraw to deactivate enchantment.

He can't be killed. He can be injured and can age but he can't die. This causes problems.

The sword has a spell of true ownership....if you steal it jump on a ship and sail a thousand miles from land....a tidal wave or tsunami will pick your ship up and bring it back. There was a slight problem with this. The spell requires a gold ring as material component and the wizard used brass which erodes the spell over time.

They figure he has 100 uses of the sword before spell fizzles and selects a new owner. The old owner will be killed in process. No big deal....the war is over and there is no way he will kill 87 people during peace time. Over course he gets promoted from scout to assassin after war....

Again hijinks ensue.

The Fury
2015-10-28, 10:45 AM
I like the Conyers Falchion. The myth surrounding it is that it was used to slay a dragon, the Sockburn Worm. Though modern scholars seem to think that the "dragon" the myth was referring to was actually a Viking captain that arrived in a dragon-headed longship. Plus the falchion itself looks kind of like a big machete.

http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o673/AlaeSwords/fig_6a_Conyers_Falchion_Farbe_zps13ff6139.jpg

Honest Tiefling
2015-10-28, 11:08 AM
Call me crazy, but I've always been fond of the Egyptian khopesh


The classic answer is, of course, the Flamberge, for being a giant snakey sword.

Well, I'm clearly late to this party. My two picks would be these two, simply based on how they look.

Ralanr
2015-10-28, 12:03 PM
Chinese Dao. Cutless. Saber. Falchions. Scimitars. Short-sabers.

Ok, I like all swords really. Except that whip sword from India...A bit much if you ask me.

Amaril
2015-10-28, 12:15 PM
If we're allowed to talk about specific magic swords from fiction, I humbly submit Nightblood, from Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker.

In the world of Warbreaker, magic consists of a technique called Awakening, which is based on infusing inanimate objects with life force and commanding them to do things. The closer an object's material is to being alive, the less energy is required to Awaken it--so wood is easier than cloth, and cloth is easier than stone, for example. The most difficult material to Awaken is metal, so much so that it's only ever been done in one known case, the product being the sword Nightblood. Because of the massive amount of life energy that Nightblood had to be infused with, it gained sentience and the power to communicate telepathically with whoever carries it (this doesn't happen to normal Awakened objects).

Of course, there's a problem. When an object is Awakened, it must be given a command to imbue it with purpose, so the command given to Nightblood was "destroy evil". Unfortunately, while the Awakening process gave Nightblood sentience, even a sentient sword isn't very smart--the result being that Nightblood knows that its purpose is to destroy evil, but doesn't really understand what evil is. So pretty much every time someone comes near its wielder, it starts going "ooh, ooh, is he evil? Can we kill him? Come on, he's totally evil, let's kill him!"

It doesn't help that Nightblood is the single most dangerous weapon in existence. The person who carries it for most of the book, Vasher, has to keep it sheathed pretty much all the time to contain its power. Throughout the story, there are several times when he's separated from it. Every time, he finds it again shortly after, rammed through the chest of the person who took it, sheath and all, with anyone else nearby also dead, and all color drained from their bodies and clothes (color is important to Awakening). Only once is he forced to draw it, revealing that its blade can instantly disintegrate a person's body, or a man-sized section of stone wall, just by touching it. Sadly, wielding Nightblood unsheathed quickly drains the user's own life force, as well as psychically compelling them to attack anyone and anything around them until they sheathe it again.

Red Fel
2015-10-28, 12:32 PM
In terms of historic swords, I would have gone with the jian - the simplicity is so elegant - but instead I'll submit the kilij.

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/deadliestfiction/images/b/b9/Kilij.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/T%C3%9CRK_KILICININ_B%C3%96L%C3%9CMLER%C4%B0-PARTS_OF_TURK%C4%B0SH_K%C4%B0L%C4%B0J.jpg
A one-handed weapon with a curved blade and a smartly weighted leading edge, which results in a weapon that wields like a club and carves like a cleaver. It found use by the Turks after evolving from Turko-Mongol sabers. It is not elegant; it is messy and savage. It was reviewed on the program Deadliest Warrior and considered the most destructive one-handed sword on the show.

And it's got "kill" right in the name. (Interestingly, the name actually comes from the verb "to break." So it's badass even in its native tongue.)

If I had to pick a fictional sword, I'd go with the Twelve Swords of Power from Fred Saberhagen's Book of Swords series. Basically twelve god-level artifacts, each with a unique and completely world-breaking power and nasty side effect.

The Fury
2015-10-28, 02:30 PM
If fictional weapons are OK to mention, I gotta go with Rubilax from Wakfu as well. He's actually a demon in the form of a sword, (well, more like a dagger that can turn into a sword,) that can talk. I gather he was somewhat inspired by Stormbringer, though he's less malevolent and mostly just makes fun of Sadlygrove.

Talion
2015-10-28, 02:40 PM
Since we seem to be including fictional swords, I'd like to mention this little bit of insanity:

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9sege2wUq1qdkja0.jpg

Besides its unusual shape, the Daedric Crescent is a powerful piece of equipment. Besides doing a great deal of base damage, the Crescent also eats away at its target's armor...and paralyzes them. What's truly concerning is that there used to be enough to outfit a large number of Mehrunes Dagon's forces, before the Empire managed to gather them up and destroy them. Seems they missed one though...

Probably the most rare and even outlawed item of all the great prizes is the Daedric Crescent Blade. The Blade was used by Mehrunes Dagon's Daedric forces in the capture of the Imperial Battlespire. These extremely unique Blades were gathered up and destroyed after the Battlespire was recaptured by the Empire. All but one it seems. Though the Empire believes them all to be destroyed, it is rumored that one still remains in existence, somewhere in Tamriel, though none have ever seen it. The Blade lends it's [sic] wielder the ability to do great damage on an enemy and allows him to paralyze and put heavy wear on his enemy's armor. Quite the prize for any mighty warrior, if it does indeed exist.

Deffers
2015-10-28, 03:28 PM
@Talion: Aw jeez! I remember that from Morrowind! They don't make those OP magic artifacts like they used to.

If we're talking Elder Scrolls, I always had a soft spot for Goldbrand, Eltonbrand, and the Nerevarine's flaming saber, whatever that was called.

GungHo
2015-10-28, 03:42 PM
Whip swords (urumi)

Falx


I also like multi-purpose blades like bolos, machetes, and khukuris.

Talion
2015-10-28, 04:18 PM
@Talion: Aw jeez! I remember that from Morrowind! They don't make those OP magic artifacts like they used to.

If we're talking Elder Scrolls, I always had a soft spot for Goldbrand, Eltonbrand, and the Nerevarine's flaming saber, whatever that was called.

They really don't, which is disappointing (like, seriously, holy Azura, that Wraithguard). Granted, a lot of the numbers were really weird, but they didn't stop you from steamrolling over a lot of things. (And your flaming saber is, Trueflame, the sister sword to Hopesfire).

The Fury
2015-10-28, 04:44 PM
I also like multi-purpose blades like bolos, machetes, and khukuris.

Absolutely. They're generally not thought of as weapons and more as tools. Maybe that's why they're something I'd actually like to own in real life-- I'm not likely to ever have to duel someone to the death, (or rather I hope I won't,) but I'll probably have to cut down blackberry vines at some point.

Solaris
2015-10-28, 05:00 PM
I've a soft spot for the kukri. It reminds me of a Nepali kid I used to serve with, who came from a family with a lot of Gurkhas.

I'll also third the liking of the khopesh. It's both exotic and goofy-looking, and I'm a bit of a fan of ancient Egypt.

Then, the katana. You know why? Because it's fun to mock katana fanboys who think it can cut through all the things because it was folded ten thousand times or whatever, instead of that being a means to compensate for feudal Japan's poor iron sources and a technique much of the rest of the world had abandoned centuries before because they improved their metallurgy.
That, and when you ignore the fanboys getting stupid over a Wikipedia article they didn't even bother finish reading, the mystique built up around the katana and the samurai is rather interesting.

My favorite sword, however, is the cicada-wing sword. It's as close as you can really get to the two-bladed sword in reality, and because it has two sword blades it is therefore mathematically twice as cool as another sword.

Talyn
2015-10-28, 05:48 PM
The Navy broad sword. All the awesome cutting power and salty nautical history of the cutlass, plus approximately 1000% more classy.

comicshorse
2015-10-28, 05:57 PM
The tri-blade (from 'The Sword and the Sorcerer')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDvuBY97cD4

In reality I was always liked the Hook Sword

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_sword

Amazon
2015-10-28, 05:58 PM
The Kris sword.

http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/9187/10234789_1.jpg?v=8CD9780961A6BF0

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Kris_nomenclature.jpg

The sword that Everybody hates. LOL.

...I will show myself out.

Knaight
2015-10-28, 06:03 PM
Some of the more refined bronze swords made with weird alloys are really interesting.

snacksmoto
2015-10-28, 07:09 PM
Add another tally for the Egyptian Khopesh. Also the Macuahuitl.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/Ceremonial_Macuahuitl.jpg/800px-Ceremonial_Macuahuitl.jpg

sktarq
2015-10-28, 07:57 PM
I would call the kris a dagger more than a sword. And I love them-the pattern welding on the good ones is enchanting.

Personally I love both the falcatta and the kora (the larger mate to the kukri)

FocusWolf413
2015-10-28, 08:35 PM
I love the Royal Engineers saber. They have such beautiful hilts.

Raimun
2015-10-28, 10:33 PM
Let's see, in no particular order...

Katanas. Heh, yeah. We all know "the true stories" about them. Still, the design is actually functional. I prefer swords that can be used with both one handed and two handed grip. I would imagine european hand and a half-sword would be just as good.

Great swords (all types). The classic D&D-weapon. You can't use Power Attack as well with a long sword.

High Frequency-blades! They can cut mechas with the power of actual, totally real science, which also made the mechas in the first place.

Gunblades. Shut up. They are cool and they actually existed, even if pistol swords were never popular. They still work just fine in fiction.

Sword-chucks, yo.

Water Sword! Wait, no. Scratch that. That thing was lame.

Black blade. The sentient sword of Bladebound Magus that gets better Enhancement Bonus and special abilities as you level up the class. Unbreakable from the get go.

Any sword that heals your wounds as you wound your enemies. There's something extremely satisfying in that... not to mention its handy.

Blades of Chaos/Athena/Exile. The swords chained to Kratos' wrists. Stylish and extremely versatile weapons. You could get creative with them. They are also on fire when you swing them.

The twelve Runefangs of the Empire. Mothers Ruin, Goblin Bane, Legbiter, Crow Feeder, Brain Wounder, Troll Cleaver, Dragon Tooth, Orc Hewer, Stone Breaker, Blood Bringer, Grudge Settler and Beast Slayer. The swords of Elector Counts and great heroes of the Empire. I like the fluff plus they are deadly.

An adamantine sword. The sword that made Rogue obsolete.

Armageddon's Blade. Because fair play is for losers. The sword that made swords obsolete by raining fire made of pure death from the skies on everyone on the battlefield... except your own troops, who are made conveniently immune. Probably gave some stat bonuses as well but they are mostly of academic value.

Edit: Yeah, I listed mostly fictional swords. That's because there aren't that many real life swords I would prefer. Ideally, the sword should combine speed, finesse, reach and power, could thrust and slash and could be used equally well with one hand or two hands. That basically means a katana or an european hand-and-a-half sword, such as some bastard swords and swiss sabers.

JAL_1138
2015-10-28, 11:19 PM
Side-swords / cut-and-thrust. Often called "spada da lato," the Italian name, though many of the niftiest-looking were German.

Swiss sabers from the renaissance. Slight curve if any, versatile blade for slashing or thrusting, sometimes with a hand-and-a-half grip with a rapier-like swept hilt or a heavier basket-hilt. One of the more elegant-looking single-edged swords out there.

I'm a sucker for fancy hilts, basically. May be related to playing so many Bards.

nyjastul69
2015-10-28, 11:42 PM
I'm giving another vote for the khopesh. I didn't think anyone else would vote for it. I was quite incorrect.

The Fury
2015-10-29, 02:01 AM
I'm a sucker for fancy hilts, basically. May be related to playing so many Bards.

I sort of like fancy-hilted swords too. The Scottish basket hilt claymore and the English mortuary sword are both favorites of mine.

Raimun
2015-10-29, 05:37 PM
Swiss sabers from the renaissance. Slight curve if any, versatile blade for slashing or thrusting, sometimes with a hand-and-a-half grip with a rapier-like swept hilt or a heavier basket-hilt. One of the more elegant-looking single-edged swords out there.

Whoa. That looks cool and functional. I'd have mine with a hand-and-a-half hilt, with just the cross guard, without a basket-hilt or rapier-style hand guard. Those would just get in the way.

I thank you for sharing this. I had no idea weapons this cool existed.

JAL_1138
2015-10-29, 07:03 PM
Whoa. That looks cool and functional. I'd have mine with a hand-and-a-half hilt, with just the cross guard, without a basket-hilt or rapier-style hand guard. Those would just get in the way.

I thank you for sharing this. I had no idea weapons this cool existed.

Here's a pic of a historical example.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3c/df/1f/3cdf1fd1b7f36f8f88bfefda7130753a.jpg
Gorgeous weapon. I have no idea why they're not more popular.

Sadly, I'm unable to find a proper museum picture of my other entry, the Renaissance cut-and-thrust/side-sword on my phone; Google Image Search is flooded with replicas, modern takes on them, and pics that won't embed, and the cell phone doesn't make that easy to sift through.

Raimun
2015-10-29, 09:09 PM
Here's a pic of a historical example.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3c/df/1f/3cdf1fd1b7f36f8f88bfefda7130753a.jpg
Gorgeous weapon. I have no idea why they're not more popular.


Thank you. I already looked up swiss sabers and some of them do look like ideal swords. With that I mean the hand-and-a-half-versions. I should add that single-edged swords do have their advantages. You really need only one edge, ie. the one that cuts. And of course the point that stabs.

Man, swiss sabers are awesome.

FocusWolf413
2015-10-29, 09:18 PM
All you need is a wind sword.

Jay R
2015-10-29, 09:40 PM
Terry Pratchett wrote about the Monks of Cool, who spend twenty years as acolytes, studying what is cool. The acolyte is finally tested by being shown a warehouse of all types of clothes. He is asked what would be the most stylish thing to wear. The correct answer is, "Whatever I throw on."

What's the coolest sword? Whatever sword I happen to pick up.

Anonymouswizard
2015-10-29, 09:49 PM
Personally, I love the jian. To me it looks like somebody took the arming sword and thinned out the blade before making it elegant. I'd say that if the arming sword is a triangle the jian is closer to a rectangle with a point on the end, and probably have described it completely wrong.

Not a big fan of the Dao though, I prefer western sabre-style swords.

Second for me would have to be the long sword. Not the short sword/arming sword D&D gives the name to, but the hand-and-a-half, primarily because it's a two handed blade that isn't extremely large.

Although I just don't like the katana, mainly due to the fanvoys, which is a shame because I love samurai and ronin. I think I got turned off when someone tried to claim that because European swords could be made more quickly the katana was obviously better. Now I just imagine a Dao shattering the blade and the samurai using his naginata, which is a cool weapon.

Trying to pick a number three is harder, because every (non-katana) sword is cool.

Raimun
2015-10-29, 09:58 PM
Although I just don't like the katana, mainly due to the fanvoys, which is a shame because I love samurai and ronin. I think I got turned off when someone tried to claim that because European swords could be made more quickly the katana was obviously better.


Make no mistake, katanas are not superior to other similar blades but they are still good and functional swords. But yeah, excessive fan boyism doesn't do anything any favors.

Anonymouswizard
2015-10-29, 10:04 PM
Make no mistake, katanas are not superior to other similar blades but they are still good and functional swords.

Oh, I know, katana were good enough for their role, which was more backup and dueling weapon IIRC. It also doesn't help when someone says that a very traditional European organisation would train his character in kenjustu because 'katana are the best sword', ignoring the fact that they'd go for the arming sword, rapier, or what was eventually settled on, a variety of infantry sabre.

Dire Moose
2015-10-29, 10:56 PM
I'd have to go with the Scottish Claymore myself. Heavy, broad no-nonsense blade with a decent-length grip for leverage. Probably the most effective form of greatsword used in Europe. Of course, I'm biased due to my ancestry being from Scotland, and specifically Clan Wallace. As such, that would be my ancestral weapon and the reason most of my Pathfinder characters use greatswords.

goto124
2015-10-29, 11:05 PM
They're great swords, aren't they?

I'll see myself out.

oball
2015-10-30, 04:19 AM
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I'm gonna go for the gladius. Deadly, efficient, the sword that forged an empire!

As far as fictional swords go, I always liked Dyrnwyn from the Chronicles of Prydain.

Hawkstar
2015-10-30, 07:41 AM
Mine is kinda cheating, but... the Guan-Dao. It's a big curvy sword on a stick!

Fragenstein
2015-10-30, 08:03 AM
Mine is kinda cheating, but... the Guan-Dao. It's a big curvy sword on a stick!

Lots of talk about the Dao, here. Which I'm happy to see, though I'm also more of a fan of the Jian. Most of my training has been with the Nine-ring dao, but I've done conditioning with the Bagua Dao... which is just a nightmare to handle properly.

ThinkMinty
2015-10-30, 08:30 AM
Lots of talk about the Dao, here. Which I'm happy to see, though I'm also more of a fan of the Jian. Most of my training has been with the Nine-ring dao, but I've done conditioning with the Bagua Dao... which is just a nightmare to handle properly.

I like the Bagua Dao myself. Thing's one of the few real "five feet of sword" swords that's an actual sword.

Fragenstein
2015-10-30, 09:11 AM
I like the Bagua Dao myself. Thing's one of the few real "five feet of sword" swords that's an actual sword.

Looks cool -- and I still have mine. Should be capable of splitting a skull or two. But, like I said, I've never been trained to use it as it should be used. Instead, it substituted during my standard broadsword forms as a training tool. Kill yourself using it one-handed, and the regular Dao doesn't seem so heavy any more.

Jay R
2015-10-30, 09:16 AM
It depends on the culture, including how often armor is worn, and metallurgy skills.

The gladius, longsword, zwiehander, rapier, cutlass, and cavalry sabre are all pretty much perfect for their culture and technology. Those are the swords I would want in their respective milieus.

[The same is almost undoubtedly true of the great eastern swords, but I don't know enough about either the culture or the metallurgy of the time to say so.]

wumpus
2015-10-30, 10:37 AM
I've a soft spot for the kukri. It reminds me of a Nepali kid I used to serve with, who came from a family with a lot of Gurkhas.

I'll also third the liking of the khopesh. It's both exotic and goofy-looking, and I'm a bit of a fan of ancient Egypt.


Until the great TWF nerf, the khopesh was by far the prefered weapon of DDO* [dungeons and dragons online]. Some went so far as to call it the "khopesh problem". They were wrong. Oddly enough, kukris were also great off hand weapons, especially if you had improved crit: slashing (virtually mandatory at level 9) and not oversized two weapon fighting (which made sense years ago due to ancient tempest 3 requirements).

Also got to love Lawrence Watt-Evans and The Misenchanted Sword (even if I couldn't remember the plot all that well).

* khopeshs had a higher crit multiplier than other swords. Once power scaled up a bit more than the level 8 cap from launch, the extra power of the crit range clearly overshadowed all other one handed weapons. The kukri had a somewhat similar effect for off-handed weapons, but nowhere near big enough to be all that popular (my ranger *loved* his paralyzing kukri).

Raimun
2015-10-30, 03:43 PM
Oh, I know, katana were good enough for their role, which was more backup and dueling weapon IIRC. It also doesn't help when someone says that a very traditional European organisation would train his character in kenjustu because 'katana are the best sword', ignoring the fact that they'd go for the arming sword, rapier, or what was eventually settled on, a variety of infantry sabre.

I'd go with any type of sword you can use one handed or two handed.

TeChameleon
2015-10-30, 10:38 PM
Yet another vote for the Khophesh, since it's just so weird and nifty looking. Ditto the Urumi and the Hook Swords- both of them are absolutely amazing to watch demonstrated, and both of which I would probably horribly maim myself with if I attempted to use them :smalltongue:

I also have a distinct soft spot for a rather ahistorical, but nifty weapon that I actually own- this one (https://www.reliks.com/products/2169/7.jpg), to be exact. They call it a '15th Century Ring-Hilt Longsword', but, well... they got the Longsword part right, anyhow :smallamused:

nyjastul69
2015-10-31, 07:48 AM
Make no mistake, katanas are not superior to other similar blades but they are still good and functional swords. But yeah, excessive fan boyism doesn't do anything any favors.



That's it. I'm sick of all this "Masterwork Bastard Sword" bullcrap that's going on in the d20 system right now. Katanas deserve much better than that. Much, much better than that...

Dont look at me like that, somebody had to do it. Ok, sorry, I'll see myself out.

ETA: I should probably provide a link (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Katanas_are_Underpowered_in_d20#Original_Post) for those not aware of the meme.

JAL_1138
2015-10-31, 08:13 AM
Yet another vote for the Khophesh, since it's just so weird and nifty looking. Ditto the Urumi and the Hook Swords- both of them are absolutely amazing to watch demonstrated, and both of which I would probably horribly maim myself with if I attempted to use them :smalltongue:

I also have a distinct soft spot for a rather ahistorical, but nifty weapon that I actually own- this one (https://www.reliks.com/products/2169/7.jpg), to be exact. They call it a '15th Century Ring-Hilt Longsword', but, well... they got the Longsword part right, anyhow :smallamused:


What's ahistorical about it? The rings on the crossguard were pretty common in the early renaissance (and continued to be common, but hilts got even more complicated). The grip is not an especially uncommon one for the era, either, except maybe the wire wrap.

EDIT: Though, derp, 15th century = 1400s, not 1500s, and it's early-to-mid 1500s that I'm seeing nigh-identical crossguards, complete with rings. Still, hand-rings like that were showing up in the late middle ages. Late 1400s isn't completely improbable for that sword.

Braininthejar2
2015-10-31, 08:34 AM
favourite - a saber. It's a part of my cultural heritage, and also one sword I'm anything resembling proficient with.

http://bronbiala.ewolbrom.pl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DSC_9026-Kopiowanie.jpg

Another favourite - Hawaiian swords (a variation on the Aztec wooden sword from a couple posts before, but with shark teeth instead of obsidian - lightweight and horrible against unarmoured opponents.

http://www.tikis-tiki.com/media/img/tikimaster/W229-H171-Bffffff/koa_weapons/koa_04949.jpg

Silly? Koncerz. I don't know if it has an English name. It was a stabbing sword used by Polish cavalry. It is very long, with no edges, like a spit with a saber handle. Apparently it was wielded in reverse grip and used for downward ride-by attacks against infantry.

http://swordmaster.org/uploads/2011/euro-swords/koncerz.jpg

JellyPooga
2015-10-31, 10:42 AM
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I'm gonna go for the gladius. Deadly, efficient, the sword that forged an empire!

If Empire-forging is a qualifying factor, shouldn't a shout go out to the humble Bayonet? In its many forms since the inception of massed-ranked firearms, the Bayonet has been a mainstay of every successful army for the past 200 years.

I'm totally behind the Gladius, though. Nothing fancy, just a straight up killing weapon made of a sharp piece of iron strapped to a plain hilt. It's like the discount-brand sword that everyone actually buys and uses compared to the name-brand product that most people avoid for being too expensive!

Togath
2015-10-31, 11:45 AM
Lots of ones I like...
There's hook swords(swords hooked at the end, and with spiky handguards), the langemesser(a Germanic sword that looks a bit like a straightened scimitar), and the jian(a straight bladed Chinese sword with a small crossguard).
Macuahuitl(wooden swords with obsidian teeth) and the estoc(a long two handed sword with no edge, and a very sharp tip) are also ones I like.
I also kinda like plain European arming swords(what the dnd "longsword" is probably meant to be).

bobthehero
2015-10-31, 10:10 PM
I am a big fan of the good ol' arming sword. Its pretty darn cool.

Voxx
2015-11-01, 01:02 AM
The weirdest sword in my opinion is a hook sword. It would be nice to trip someone but people who think you could actually hook two together to extend the reach on an attack in combat are just silly.

TeChameleon
2015-11-01, 02:32 AM
What's ahistorical about it? The rings on the crossguard were pretty common in the early renaissance (and continued to be common, but hilts got even more complicated). The grip is not an especially uncommon one for the era, either, except maybe the wire wrap.

EDIT: Though, derp, 15th century = 1400s, not 1500s, and it's early-to-mid 1500s that I'm seeing nigh-identical crossguards, complete with rings. Still, hand-rings like that were showing up in the late middle ages. Late 1400s isn't completely improbable for that sword.
*shrug*

It isn't anything terribly obtrusive, but the sword itself isn't a true replica- more of a composite of a number of different swords from roughly around that era, and the way it's put together differs enough from the originals that it makes the sword itself noticeably different. That and the bloody pommel is screw-on. How am I supposed to cave in the skulls of my hypothetical opponents when the thing keeps coming loose on me? :smalltongue:

All that being said, I'm not anything even remotely resembling an expert, so I'll freely admit that my somewhat off-the-cuff opinion could be wildly inaccurate. I'm still rather fond of the sword, ahistorical or no- in part purely for the aesthetics- it is a rather good-looking sword, after all- and partly for sentimental reasons; I wore it at my wedding, which was medieval/renaissance-themed (yes, my wife is awesome, thank you very much :smallbiggrin:)

JAL_1138
2015-11-01, 03:03 AM
Ah, I meant more that it's not ahistorical in the sense that nobody'd blink at its general appearance in the general time period, in contrast to, say, something like a Kit Rae "fantasy" sword, rather that it not being a proper historical replica. Sounds like a cool wedding, btw, congrats! :smallsmile:

TeChameleon
2015-11-01, 06:22 PM
Ah, I meant more that it's not ahistorical in the sense that nobody'd blink at its general appearance in the general time period, in contrast to, say, something like a Kit Rae "fantasy" sword, rather that it not being a proper historical replica. Sounds like a cool wedding, btw, congrats! :smallsmile:
Ah, gotcha, no worries. And thanks on the congrats- coming up on our 5th Anniversary in about 6 months, so... so far, so good? Heh. And yes, my wife is still awesome :smallbiggrin:

Anonymouswizard
2015-11-01, 07:18 PM
I'd go with any type of sword you can use one handed or two handed.

Oh, I agree, my problem was I asked off-hand what his character's sword was, and got the response 'a katana, because it's the best sword'.

Not 'a katana because my character was trained by a Japanese swordmaster', not 'a katana because my character think's they're cool', but because they are 'the bestest swords evar!' I could have handled the first two.

My actually response was because he'd been raised as a warrior by the Catholic Church he was far more likely to be trained in arming sword or rapier. This lead to a five minute argument on whether or not a katana's sharpness made it a better sword than every other one before a third player suggested a sabre, which I immediately agreed made sense and shut up.

On the other hand, katana are overpowered in d20. I say the majority of them should be normal bastard swords, save masterwork for the truly great ones.

Togath
2015-11-01, 09:33 PM
On the topic of d20...
Falchions. I've never understood where the "massive scimitar" thing came from in DnD and Pf and such. :smallconfused:

The Fury
2015-11-01, 09:33 PM
Ah, I meant more that it's not ahistorical in the sense that nobody'd blink at its general appearance in the general time period, in contrast to, say, something like a Kit Rae "fantasy" sword, rather that it not being a proper historical replica. Sounds like a cool wedding, btw, congrats! :smallsmile:

Y'know, with that being said, I think I like the look of swords that resemble something that could have been made during a particular time period rather than an exact replica. This one for example--

http://kultofathena.com/images%5CAC17C13_2_l.jpg

I'm pretty sure that hilt design isn't based on a specific surviving 17th century weapon. Though based on what seen of actual museum pieces, something like that would not look out of place in that period.

But yeah... katanas. I won't try to claim that they're not cool, but their fans are just so weird-- especially when it comes to RPGs. It hardly matters if the game is set in a time period where nobody would realistically use any kind of sword, someone will want to be a kenjutsu master so he can use a katana. AKA: the best sword made by anyone in the history of forever. Basically superior to that weak machete your character uses.

Other have mentioned arming swords too, and I admit I'm kind of a fan. Arming swords are generally what I think of as an ordinary sword, yet to me they're kind of special because they're ordinary.

The Oakeshott Type XIV was always a personal favorite. I guess I kind of like how the blade shape is essentially a big triangle.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1054/mytypexivswords01.jpg

For me, this is the kind of sword I usually imagine my characters using. Ones that live in a medieval-ish setting anyway.

(Also, Mr. Chameleon-- congratulations on all your happiness.)


On the topic of d20...
Falchions. I've never understood where the "massive scimitar" thing came from in DnD and Pf and such. :smallconfused:

If I could hazard a guess, maybe they were thinking of the long falchions depicted in the Maciejowski Bible? They weren't really "massive scimitars" either, more like big ol' choppers. Though I admit I'm granting a lot of benefit of the doubt on that one.