Weapons for a Wuxia style 'Swashbuckler'?

[RossN]

For a Forgotten Realms set game I'm trying to make a swordsman from Kara-Tur (speciffically from the pseudo-Chinese Shou Lung). I suppose going with a Monk would be the obvious choice but I much prefer to go with him as a Rogue, an agile and deadly Swashbuckler for preference. However my only exposure to actual Chinese swords is via Wuxia films so I'm not really sure what weapon to go for - assuming it is possible to reskin a weapon in the first place.

Assuming there isn't a convienient Chinese analog to the rapier (and I'm guessing not), what sort of sword should I be looking for? In game terms it would pretty much have to be a Finnese weapon of course.

[DragonSorcererX]

Assuming there isn't a convienient Chinese analog to the rapier (and I'm guessing not), what sort of sword should I be looking for? In game terms it would pretty much have to be a Finnese weapon of course.

The DMG says that there isn't, so, go with the two liuyedao (scimitars)! (Your focus is the Sneak Attack, so, the weapon doesn't matter much)

[DivisibleByZero]

There were short swords in every culture, pretty much ever.

[Grod_The_Giant]

You're looking for a jian, I believe.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Jian_%28sword%29.jpg

[RossN]

You're looking for a jian, I believe.

A beautiful sword but unfortunately IIRC the jian counts as Longsword and therefore not a Finesse weapon.

[Gastronomie]

The Ryu-You-Tou (Japanese), or Liuyedao (Chinese name). Check it out (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Chinese_saber.jpg).

[Grod_The_Giant]

A beautiful sword but unfortunately IIRC the jian counts as Longsword and therefore not a Finesse weapon.
Uh, say again? A jian is one-handed, a longsword hand-and-a-half. A jian has a blade typically under three feet; a longsword is more like three to four feet.

[Theodoxus]

Not sure it really matters. Get a rapier, call it whatever Kara-turian sounding name you want, and done. For your purposes, just dealing a d8 is sufficient.

(Though, I'd personally go rogue3/monkx and just use short swords (both monk and finesse - best of both worlds!) Monks and Rogues synergize well if you're only dipping one or the other - less so if you're trying to keep them balanced.)

[gkathellar]

There are two main Chinese swords:

The dao (literally means "knife") is a broad-bladed saber used primarily for chopping and hacking, and incorporating many broad circular movements. It was the principal war-sword of Chinese history, and is highly energetic - the dao's weight and balance really give you the feeling that it wants to cut things. It's a reasonable analog to the European military saber, in practice. For D&D purposes, I recommend a longsword or scimitar.
The jian is a nimble straight sword used primarily for thrusting and slashing, close in some respects to the European smallsword and in others to the dueling saber. It was generally seen as a gentleman or officer's weapon, because it required a great deal of training to acquire proficiency (some accounts refer to it as "the sword of a thousand days" for the length of time required to learn its use). For D&D purposes, I would use a rapier or shortsword.



A beautiful sword but unfortunately IIRC the jian counts as Longsword and therefore not a Finesse weapon.

As someone who has actually used a jian, I feel qualified to say this is wrong, regardless of what the DMG says about cultural adaptation, for several reasons.

The jian is a swift, patient sword, and requires enormous fine control and finesse. One of the first training exercises my sifu had me do for it involved moving my sword-hand in a circle while keeping the point of the blade absolutely still.
Longsword usage is totally different from jian, which is much more similar to smallsword or saber fencing than anything else. Of course, D&D misuses the term longsword to describe what would have been called an "arming sword" IRL, but that's also a very different weapon from the jian.
Finesse is a dumb abstraction in general. IRL, muscle is muscle, and every weapon, every weapon, requires both the strength and speed that muscle can help to provide.

[The Shadowdove]

http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t497/TheShadowdove/Mobile%20Uploads/Screenshot_20160825-063621_zpstie6qnvh.png (http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/TheShadowdove/media/Mobile%20Uploads/Screenshot_20160825-063621_zpstie6qnvh.png.html)

[gkathellar]

That's a useful list, but wuxia is from China. That list is Japanese.

[Gastronomie]

What makes it more funny that "Bo" is not the name of a weapon. It's literally a Japanese word that means "stick".

I mean, like, your weapon is a "stick".

[NNescio]

What makes it more funny that "Bo" is not the name of a weapon. It's literally a Japanese word that means "stick".

I mean, like, your weapon is a "stick".

What about the hoe? And the nonexistent "ninja blade"?

(Gosh, I'm getting reminded of Rune Factory.)

[NecroDancer]

For a Forgotten Realms set game I'm trying to make a swordsman from Kara-Tur (speciffically from the pseudo-Chinese Shou Lung). I suppose going with a Monk would be the obvious choice but I much prefer to go with him as a Rogue, an agile and deadly Swashbuckler for preference. However my only exposure to actual Chinese swords is via Wuxia films so I'm not really sure what weapon to go for - assuming it is possible to reskin a weapon in the first place.

Assuming there isn't a convienient Chinese analog to the rapier (and I'm guessing not), what sort of sword should I be looking for? In game terms it would pretty much have to be a Finnese weapon of course.

I'm borrowing your character idea

[Gastronomie]

What about the hoe? And the nonexistent "ninja blade"?

(Gosh, I'm getting reminded of Rune Factory.)...The hoe? The hell is a "hoe"? I googled it up but the only thing I got was the English word that means "slutty woman", and I'm pretty damn sure that's not it.

I don't know "hoe" as a Japanese word.

While I'm not an expert about Ninjas, what I do know is that they did not wear those black costumes or anything like that. They’re spies. They wear normal farmers’ clothing, or disguise themselves as merchants. Anything to try to blend into the crowd.

One thing I really remember about living in America was the ninja Halloween costumes, which shows what abominations are born when Orientalism meets Capitalism. Like, this guy (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4d/20/5a/4d205a18d5bd60eb9f56ee7aaee7d068.jpg) is... I mean, look, I don't know what in the world he is, but one thing for sure he's not a ninja. This guy is a power ranger. (http://d2ydh70d4b5xgv.cloudfront.net/images/4/b/new-wolf-ninja-halloween-costume-boys-med-8-10-3362f77573833f4d34ce9821f9c6ef59.jpg) And this guy is probably a terrorist wielding a katana. (https://images.esellerpro.com/2152/I/428/24/lrgEB-4044_2013_1600.jpg)

[N810]

Lots of alternate weapons over here,
https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/5e_Weapons
Personally I find the hooked swords quite interesting.

[NNescio]

...The hoe? The hell is a "hoe"? I googled it up but the only thing I got was the English word that means "slutty woman", and I'm pretty damn sure that's not it.

I don't know "hoe" as a Japanese word.

鍬（くわ）. He had it listed under the weapons section as a type of warpick. Supposedly it's also an Okinawan weapon, but even if it were, it's just a, well, hoe. For farming.



While I'm not an expert about Ninjas, what I do know is that they did not wear those black costumes or anything like that. They’re spies. They wear normal farmers’ clothing, or disguise themselves as merchants. Anything to try to blend into the crowd.

One thing I really remember about living in America was the ninja Halloween costumes, which shows what abominations are born when Orientalism meets Capitalism. Like, this guy (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4d/20/5a/4d205a18d5bd60eb9f56ee7aaee7d068.jpg) is... I mean, look, I don't know what in the world he is, but one thing for sure he's not a ninja. This guy is a power ranger. (http://d2ydh70d4b5xgv.cloudfront.net/images/4/b/new-wolf-ninja-halloween-costume-boys-med-8-10-3362f77573833f4d34ce9821f9c6ef59.jpg) And this guy is probably a terrorist wielding a katana. (https://images.esellerpro.com/2152/I/428/24/lrgEB-4044_2013_1600.jpg)

I'm under the impression that the stereotypical 'ninja costume' was worn by kabuki stagehands (and some talento shows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfdQY0A3n0o) still have them) against a black background, and that audiences were expected to ignore them, so having a ninja dressed up as a stagehand can be surprising for the audience.

The West also has some sort of myth about Japanese ninja wielding "ninja swords" (ninja-tō), which are supposedly shortened katana with straighter edges or something. Granted, the Iga-ryū Ninja Museum sort of started the whole thing (along with other nonsense like exaggerated fake walls and such).

(Seriously, actual ninja wouldn't even want to use any weapons that could be associated with them. I assume they just use whichever bladed instrument they come across, especially things that can double as carpentry or gardening tools.)

[Toofey]

Ugh, the Jian is like the picture of the finesse weapon if there ever was one, not only is it smaller than the longsword* it has a lighter more flexible blade and is made to be used with finesse as opposed to most european swords which are meant to be swung with force.

while also not a finesse weapon culturally the bo may be appropriate as someone else mentioned. Trickster characters from Chinese mythology and folk tale often use the Bo like the celestial Monkey, or Fehung Wong. (a real person but in this context I refer to the character he morphed into in folktales/movies)

*the longsword as we conceive of it in D&D basically didn't exist. The real things were either shorter and more like a broad sword (were in fact broadswords) or were 2 handed (like most of the swords referred to as long swords) when dming I always explain this away as the "Longsword"(tm) being an elvin design.

[gkathellar]

Ugh, the Jian is like the picture of the finesse weapon if there ever was one, not only is it smaller than the longsword* it has a lighter more flexible blade and is made to be used with finesse as opposed to most european swords which are meant to be swung with force.

While the jian is a very delicate weapon, it's important not to overstate the point, or to malign European swordsmanship as simple, indelicate, or clumsy. Modern performance jian, as used in competitive Wushu and a lot of degraded forms of Chinese martial arts, are made from "spring steel," and are very light and flexible. An actual war sword, made from combat steel, could be surprisingly heavy, and using correctly (i.e. softly and subtly) requires a huge amount of strength and endurance. Moreover, the jian is controlled primarily with the wrist and arm - as opposed to many western dueling swords, some movements of which use as little as the rear three fingers.

And every sword needs force behind it, or you're just doing some kind of Olympic-style competitive tapping.