For all you fans of 2-handers, let me remind you all that a katana deals as much damage as a 2 handed sword, has a lower speed factor which gets the job done quicker and you can even dual wield it with something else for more attacks a turn!
Or use a shield for a lower AC and better protection.
:D :D :D :D

Which in short is a load of crap. A 2H sword is heavier thus it should do more damage. A Katana is by defination a long sword. It is true that most Katanas would be 'weapons of quality' but that is another matter all to gether.

The problem is that too many people have the romance with the eastern fighting style. A properly make Katana is a better weapon than a normal long sword, but you are talking about the 'high quality' ones. D&D in 3E was masterwork weapons to reflect this fact. But the price should also be take into accound that fact that a real katana takes years to make. Let's keep you propective here folks.

And aren't Katana's actually supposed to be 2-handed weapons ? Or at least swords too heavy to dual-wield properly ?

Yes, and it's not surprising that people are taken in by Oriental fighting styles. The grace, the beauty, and yet the utter deadliness.

Contrast this to crude European fighting styles and their unwashed diseased fighters (the pox). :D


P.S, j/k!

I like my crude, lumbering fighting style, thank you very much!

Seriously though...Since starting Tang Soo Do 9 months ago, I have to admit, oriental fighting styles in general tend to be much more graceful than the western fighting traditions...

And having held both a bastard sword and a katana in hand, I would say the katana is a sleeker, more elegant weapon...But a bastard sword just feels nice and heavy in my hands...Ready to cleave someone (or something in two!)

Thus, I stick with what I know best... :D

Hmm, actually I think a bastard sword is not bad. Quite good actually.

Well you know what they say... Anything's good as long as it can chop limbs and/or heads off. :D

I've held (but not used fortunately, I'd probably kill myself if I tried to use a flail) just about every medieval weapon imaginable, and also a few more exotic weapons like katanas.

But for sheer damage, two-handed swords would definitely win over katanas. But then again, they take a quite different approach to wield. You have to be pretty strong to be even able to hold a good two-hander, let alone wield it...

You are all missing the point!
:D :D :D
Darien, anybody.
:D

I think it's the bastard in bastard sword which makes me like it.

Shura - I don't think Darien would be interested in any weapon that gets the job done quicker :D

ahh, but when it is the lady's job that gets done quicker... :D

Oh good lord! :rolleyes:

*thinks to herself that quicker is NEVER better* ;)

[This message has been edited by Darien Noella (edited March 23, 2001).]

Weirdness!

It's ALL weird!

*rereads Shura's opening post and blushes at the image*

Blast yer fine swords. There be nothing better than a good solid crossbow in yer hands, string humming with the tension almost at breaking point. Except perhaps the weight of a good honest forge hammer as ye heft it at a foeman's skull!

Shura is laughing at all you two-handed fans.
And I agree! :D

Truthfully, I think that my favorite medieval weapon is the glaive. Yes, it is an Eastern weapon (I believe it's from Korea). It's simply a bo staff (or a jo staff) with an eight inch dagger blade at the top. Fast enough that the rattan shaft could shatter your skull, and nice for disemboweling as well.

But my favorite bladed weapon is the English Short Sword. It's generally a rapier with a shorter and wider blade.

Don't forget the dual wielding....

Let's not forget about the durability of the weapons.

A common katana is VERY hard to break, due to the hundreds and hundreds (literally) of alternating metal layers. Medieval western weapons, on the other hand, could be shattered if they did not make contact with an armored target correctly.

I'm not speaking of the high-quality weapons in either case. I'm talking about the weapons that a common foot soldier would have used.


[This message has been edited by Playa hata (edited March 24, 2001).]

A katana used by common foot-soldiers?? Forgive my ignorance but I thought they were Samurai only - obviously I need to know more about feudal Japan, or Kara-Tur. Anyway, I don't care for elegance or grace so long as the job gets done. Heck, I'd take a machine gun down a dungeon if I had one.

:D :D :D

"Someone set us up the bomb!"

You are correct in saying they were samurai only. The ashigaru, who were poorer and not as well equipped, did not form permanent units. One could compare them to a European peasant army, and so I don't cound them as the lowest level of foot soldier.

The samurai were the only real standing troops during times of peace (to my knowledge).

Actually, the Samurai were high class warriors. There were relatively few Samurai when compared to the number of regular army. Samurai were like officers. There were also bands of Samurai that could be compared to Spec. Ops. units of the modern world. But one must remember that in feudal Japan, one regiment of troops was comparable to several dozen regiments of modern units when looking at size.

The highest ranking foot soldiers (below Samurai) in the feudal East bore spears and the like. No, (in case anyone is wondering), although I said my favorite Eastern weapon was a glaive, they were not carried by armies. The glaive's shaft was constructed of rattan (similar to bamboo) and could be easily hacked in two by a katana.

Oh yeah, and a katana takes about twelve years to make and has anywhere from twenty to a several hundred thousand layers in it.

Aye, the katana is definately a superior weapon. But for my style, only the rapier or short sword would do. I'd love to learn to fight with a katana. I always watch the class next to mine placticing with katanas while I deftly disarm one of my classmates with a rapier-like weapon.

Hey, don't forget the mace!

It's a very intimidating, but very effective weapon too.

A thick, sturdy shaft and a massive flanged head. Aah....savor it's feel, it's weight in your hands...

Don't you feel powerful as you wield it?

i dont like swords or maces or the like, i can handle them easily but i prefer grace, style, speed and beauty for my weapons.

i like small daggers, switch blades, hunting knives, tantos etc
i like the slahsing motion of knives, the way they feel, i especially like throwing knives, i am accurtae within 10centimeters up to 36 metres.

i like the speed and grace of small weapons, they just feel good in my hands.

though I know that I'm probably in a minority I actually like a good sling, just love to grab hold of a couple of balls and fling em at high speed then listen for the gentle thud as they hit my target square in the eye muhahaha! (or lower if i'm feeling particularly nasty) they are terribly under rated...
and herf, dint your mumsy tell ya not to play with knifes? ;) i must admit that i favour the dagger as well, being a graceful female i feel no need to weild ungainly lumps o metal about :p not that i mind a good strong male who knows how to handle his weapon...

This may seem strange...I live part of the time in africa and I dont have much to do there. I have an extremely large collection of weapons. I practice them on all sorts of things like trees...cacti...my dog j/k. but anywayz what Im trying to get at is this: you can get more power out of using a katana 2 handed than you can out of a big heavy 2H sword. why is this? well, its because, in the words of some old samurai dude "sharpness comes from the user, not the blade" you can use the katana with more finesse than you can w/ the 2H sword, so, with training a katana can slice right through armour that would stop a 2H sword. As for missile weapons...BOW ALL THE WAY! I can hit a 5" diameter circle at 100 paces with a good longbow.

Yea, and try doing armor slashing periodically and you can throw that expensive weapon away since it'll be jagged beyond repair.

As far as I know, the trick was never to go directly at someone in heavy armour (at least not with swords), but to find a place that the armour couldn't protect (like any joints, armpits, neck) and stick the sword in there.

Of course, all this became mostly irrelevant once the crossbow was invented. Before that, a normal bow (except some very powerful variants of the long bow) could not pierce armour of a knight for instance, so you had to battle armoured warriors one on one. Imagine the joy after the invention of a weapon that could kill a knight in full armour from afar...

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited April 01, 2001).]

my weapon of choice would be a yoshiyuki +7 "quick death", with a crystal blade, ruby hilt with emerald stones imbeded in it, and a dragon wrapping around the bottom end of the blade, with no mid blade support, and a diamond seathe with rich medieval engravings of emeralds, with high-quality fur inside

Mine would be dual desert eagles.50
To blow the kneecaps off people who simply stare at me the wrong way.

good idea egg, you can sell it and with the proceeds you can pay a mercenary troop to protect you :)

Call me old fashioned but I like the staff.

Bel! You're in Tang Soo Do? I've been in it for a little over 5 years. I rarely hear of anyone else in it.

By the way, my weapon would probably be a staff or a katana.

i have a real sword, it's not like some yoshiyuki, but it is a bastard sword made of real metal that weighs about 60 pounds, pretty hard to wield, bought it at a renaissance fair about 2 years ago

I'm currently training in Kenjutsu. Not formal as I do not have the time to seek out a dojo due to my impending national service.

I'm learning the basic stances and strikes from a book using a wooden katana. Boy do my blisters and shoulders hurt from a thousand swings a day...and I know I'm still under-training....

Dang it. My posts aren't showing up.

[This message has been edited by Vile (edited April 05, 2001).]

Katana vs Two Handed sword.

I've taken my inspiration from Duncan McCloude on this one. As an ignorant punk, he used a two-handed blade, but as his skill grew, he used the katana. (It ain't easy being cheesy!)

Personally, I like using the saber. There aren't many magic ones out there (unless you have a very forgiving DM), but it adds a certain flair. Dual weild that with a sword breaker, and you can stand very well against most thugs!