[Saxony Tarn]

Hey Maril, this is ever so greatly appreciated! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Can i (and the rest of us so inclined or in need) print this thread and refer to it like a textbook? i'm thinking of first a friendly sparring match, then later no-holds-barred, no punches pulled argument between two characters, one armed with bastard sword and shield and above-average strength on his side, the other with flamberge shortsword-rapier and main-gauche and all the dexterity of a belly-dancer on her side, that i'm going to have to go over with a microscope for accuracy sooner or later...<P>I suppose i should probably toss in a point about those fancy wavy blades -- Flamberge in Europe, in Asia the Kris -- were thought to inflict worse wounds which wasn't actually true, but as you parried with them and your opponent's sword slid down the troughs and crests it would slow him down, and set up a vibration in his arm if he wasn't hip to it (i made use of that in the sparring match scene -- irked the other combatant no end, but after three arm-quakes he got wise to it and changed his tactics) i've been using the little blurbs in the Museum Replicas catalog for info and will probably get a good book on it but until then this thread is "a gift" (if i can quote the opponent w/ the shield)<P>Here's another silly question i'd like clarified -- a "Two-Handed" sword as described in MR's catalog, and in most of the FRPGs i've played, is one that MUST be used with two hands by any Human wielding it (including massively thewed Cimmerians -- i grew up reading Savage Sword comics & would love to get my hands on some back issues). Hand&halfs (bastardswords) can be used with one or two hands by Humans tall and strong enough to have the leverage, but shorter or weaker wielders can only use them with two hands (i'm thinking of a sword i have as part of a borrowed costume that is "too tall" for me -- i can't balance it in one hand, but the owner probably could, having more arm strength and a few inches more height to carry it properly as well) whereas broad or long swords were to be used with one, options on offhand weapon or shield (as the Vikings were depicted) as their hilts were not large enough to accomodate a two-handed grip, and shortswords especially so (especially by archers who'd exhausted their short-range targets)<P>Someone on another thread mentioned that much of these FRPG combat systems have cracks in their factual foundations (and i have no problem slashing out paragraphs of TSR tome text and refering to my House Rules) so i thought i'd toss this out and see if my game rules could be improved by this as well... largely because i devoted at least two viewings of FotR to taking notes on the equipment such that i could drop my gaming group into the middle of the War of the Ring and feel that i'd put the right kinds of swords in Aragorn's and Boromir's fists (and it took me two viewings to nail the latter down, but by Crom, i got a good enough look to gauge the length of the hilt -- enough for two men and a Hobbit) operating under the assumption that if they were packing Zweihänders, Aragorn would not have been able to pull off the sword-and-torch feat against the wraiths, nor would Boromir have had any use for a shield as he wouldn't have had the free left arm. Fighting without the shield though, he'd have been able to put more power into the swing with two arms, and at least the games i've played reflect that by giving increased damage for such hits when they connect. (i thought i saw him slice two Orcs with one blow toward the end there, but that would be a function of experience as well as skill, stats, and properties of the weapon)<P>Sorry to seem like i'm diverting the discussion, but this gamer is actively looking for anything that can improve the "open-source" house rules. This thread'll go into my reference files -- thanks again!<P>s.t.<P>|_|) <-- it comes in pints, and this one's for you!<P>* another note, for description of equipped characters, from the MR catalog, only two-handers -- like Claymores and Landsknechts' Zweihänders -- were carried on the back -- all other swords were carried off the hip... unless we're dealing with slim little swordswomen or Hobbits and Dwarves, in which case, the aforementioned "too tall for me" sword, I could freely pack on my back with the right harness, since for me it is the equivalent of a two-hander! *