Which should I do?

[Lord Xaedien]

I am creating a "bodyguard" for my character, but I want her primary focus to be dealing damage. This is for a campaign settig known as Iron Kingdoms, so she is actually a Human in Steam Armor. her strength score will be 28, and she will be considered a large creature.

My DM has a special weapon for his campaign that he wants her to use. It is a medium sized greatsword. This is a one handed weapon for this character, and I do not have the dex to dual wield. Should I just use this with a shield, or should I wield the weapon two handed? If the bonuses from using a shield are really really good, I have no problem using it. She is a paladin/Annointed Knight, and I have quite a few feat slots left to work with, as she is 13th level. Basically I dont really know how to be effective with one blade, I normally dual wield or attack form afar... or use a blade that is two handed!

[marjan]

Well if your strength is that high than it doesn't matter if you wield longsword or greatsword, so you should wield it in two hands. Just in case maybe you should carry a buckler in case you need extra AC quickly.

[Josh Inno]

Cary a buckler? Maybe. Use it on a regular basis? No. That'd give you a -1 to all your attack rolls when wielding the greatsword two handed.

[Fax Celestis]

MAKE SURE SHE HAS POWER ATTACK.

That being said, if you're really running a cohort the way I think you are, knowing Iron Kingdoms, she shouldn't have any problem at all killing stuff.

[marjan]

If your int is at least 13 you should take Improved Disarm. With large size and two-handed weapon this works great. Most of the time melee enemies will be forced to pick their weapons up or draw a new one which will reduce chance that you will get hit (unless they have quick draw and ten copies of the same weapon).

[OzymandiasVolt]

As an aside, there's also this rule:

Inappropriately Sized Weapons

A creature can’t make optimum use of a weapon that isn’t properly sized for it. A cumulative -2 penalty applies on attack rolls for each size category of difference between the size of its intended wielder and the size of its actual wielder. If the creature isn’t proficient with the weapon a -4 nonproficiency penalty also applies.

Which means a large creature wielding a medium greatsword in one hand takes a -2 penalty because it's intended for a medium creature but is being wielded by a large one.

[ZekeArgo]

As an aside, there's also this rule:


Which means a large creature wielding a medium greatsword in one hand takes a -2 penalty because it's intended for a medium creature but is being wielded by a large one.

God I hate that new system. "It doesn't matter if a medium sized two handed sword is the same as a large sized one hander, penalties!"

Really, what on earth is the difference between a Medium Greatsword and a Large Longsword?

[Khantalas]

Really, what on earth is the difference between a Medium Greatsword and a Large Longsword?

Honestly? I'd say its proportions. The grip-blade ration. The width of the blade. Weight-size comparisons.

One is meant to be a greatsword, and is built using those proportions. The other is meant to be a longsword, and is built using those. Even though their mass and edge may give them the same amount of force at each blow, an ogre will have a hard time using a medium greatsword one-handed because it wasn't meant to be wielded that way.

Most of this information comes from a friend that studied art for a while.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Well, I've tried beating on a friend with a child-sized wooden sword (he was armed and perfectly able to defend himself, of course) and toy shield from a ren faire, and both were quite awkward to hold because the grips were too small. It's probably the same for an ogre wielding a human-sized greatsword in one hand.

[ZekeArgo]

Honestly? I'd say its proportions. The grip-blade ration. The width of the blade. Weight-size comparisons.

One is meant to be a greatsword, and is built using those proportions. The other is meant to be a longsword, and is built using those. Even though their mass and edge may give them the same amount of force at each blow, an ogre will have a hard time using a medium greatsword one-handed because it wasn't meant to be wielded that way.

Most of this information comes from a friend that studied art for a while.

Possibly true, but it also goes against a lot that is established in fantasy (Noted by a previous poster: Hobbits wielding daggers/shortswords as longswords as a prime example). I'm just not a fan of anything that arbitrarily penalizes players if they don't happen to be the "right size". Also why I like the old sizing magic items rule.

[Matthew]

It wouldn't be an awful lot of work to rebuild the hilt furniture. It's more than a matter of size, though. A lot depends on the relative proportions of the user. A Long Sword made for a Dwarf is going to be less suitable for use by a Human, for instance.
Is a Large Spear really more difficult to use than a Long Spear? It depends how much thicker the haft actually is and how much larger the Spear Head. The same goes for a great many weapons.
Hard and fast rules are all well and good, but I see no problem ruling that Medium Dagger X is servicable as a Small Short Sword with no penalties.

[hewhosaysfish]

Really, what on earth is the difference between a Medium Greatsword and a Large Longsword?

Just imagine a human-scale SUV in comparison to a Mini built for a Ogre, if such a thing existed.
Same function, same operation, same purpsoe, same mass, same volume.
Interchangeable?