Weapon - Evensword

[Altrunchen]

Introduction:
I woke up this morning and had this idea. I figured it might make for a fun weapon to try out in D&D.

Description:
The definition of an evensword is that the blade must be as long as the handle. An evensword usually has a 2.5 ft. long blade and a 2.5 ft. long handle. The blade is about 3 inches wide and the handle is about 1.5 inches wide. The purpose for the extra-long handle is to provide the user with more leverage when it is being wielded and therefore more damage. The downside to this is that the weapon becomes rather heavy.

D&D Wiki Article
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Evensword_%283.5e_Equipment%29

Weapon Stats:
Here's a repost of some of the information on the wiki. For a full table see the wiki article link above.

Exotic Two-Handed Melee
Critical: 19-20/x2
Range Increment: —
Type: Slashing or Piercing
Hardness: 10



Size

Cost

Damage

Weight

HP



Small

60 gp
2d6
4.5 lbs.
4



Medium
60 gp
2d8
9 lbs.
8


Large
120 gp
3d8
18 lbs.
16



Strength Requirement: Optional Rule
To wield an evensword, given the amount of metal and therefore the weight needed to make one, a user must possess a certain strength rating in order to use it effectively. For a medium creature this would be 14, 10 for small, 18 for large, and so on. If the creature does not meet this requirement then they suffer a -4 on all attack rolls made with that weapon.

[sengmeng]

The stats are a lot like the fullblade. It's balanced, I guess, against the great sword and the bastard sword, which is what it seems like: a greatbastardsword. I wouldn't hesitate to include it in a campaign, but I wouldn't make the strength requirement any higher than 13, as per the bastard sword. On the other hand, small and large creatures should have different strength requirements for the bastard sword as well.

[Altrunchen]

The stats are a lot like the fullblade. It's balanced, I guess, against the great sword and the bastard sword, which is what it seems like: a greatbastardsword. I wouldn't hesitate to include it in a campaign, but I wouldn't make the strength requirement any higher than 13, as per the bastard sword. On the other hand, small and large creatures should have different strength requirements for the bastard sword as well.

Thank you for the response. I understand your concern about the strength requirement too. The reason the numbers are what they are is because I based them on the ratio of a normal weapon's weight versus the carrying capacity of different strength scores. If the ratio was right (about .166 / 1.66 depending on how you were multiplying) then I figured it'd make sense. But I suppose for inclusion's sake that it could be omitted just so more characters can use it. As always, it's up to the DM.

[sengmeng]

Thank you for the response. I understand your concern about the strength requirement too. The reason the numbers are what they are is because I based them on the ratio of a normal weapon's weight versus the carrying capacity of different strength scores. If the ratio was right (about .166 / 1.66 depending on how you were multiplying) then I figured it'd make sense. But I suppose for inclusion's sake that it could be omitted just so more characters can use it. As always, it's up to the DM.

Yes, but a bastard sword is 6 pounds (1.5x the weight of a longsword) and a greatsword weighs 8 pounds (2x a longsword). A sword only one pound heavier than a greatsword should not be that hard to wield; the evensword could be fully twelve pounds (twice the weight of a bastard sword) and I would still argue that it would be no harder to wield than a bastard sword, you're just doing that amount of work with both hands instead of one.

[Altrunchen]

Yes, but a bastard sword is 6 pounds (1.5x the weight of a longsword) and a greatsword weighs 8 pounds (2x a longsword). A sword only one pound heavier than a greatsword should not be that hard to wield; the evensword could be fully twelve pounds (twice the weight of a bastard sword) and I would still argue that it would be no harder to wield than a bastard sword, you're just doing that amount of work with both hands instead of one.

You make a fair point and I'm sure that there are other people who agree with you. And there's nothing stopping them from just house-ruling the weapon to have no strength requirement really. So at most it could be an additional rule to maybe balance the weapon if need-be. I think I'll even label it as an optional rule. Thanks for the input.