Sword (weapon)

Swords are bladed melee weapons designed for slashing, thrusting, or both, typically consisting of a long metal blade and a hilt with a protective guard. They vary widely in shape, weight and length, but for game purposes, all swords can be represented by the amount of damage done, the number of hands needed and their resilience. This produces five specified blade "types," described as short swords, long swords, broad swords, bastard swords and two-handed swords. The category doesn't include scimitars. Swords can only be used in melee.

Arguments about the “true” weight, size, naming conventions or battlefield effectiveness of swords in the real world often miss the point when applied to game design, where clarity and balance take precedence over historical fidelity. While scholars and enthusiasts may debate whether a bastard sword is more accurately termed a hand-and-a-half sword, or whether a Roman gladius should be classed as a short sword or a broad sword, such distinctions tend to clutter rather than clarify gameplay. Simplified, discrete categories are needed so that weapons can be compared, chosen and resolved quickly during play. The rules don’t attempt to model the full complexity of metallurgy, grip design, or martial context, but instead offer an abstracted system that preserves tactical flavour without bogging down the game in scholarly nuance. In that sense, the listed sword types are functional terms — not definitive classifications, but gameplay tools.

Combat

In choosing the type of sword wanted, one must consider the benefit of a two-handed weapon where it disallows the use of a shield or the ability to employ a main-gauche. A bastard sword offers a little better average damage than the long sword, while the two-handed sword hits the hardest; but both are heavy, which begs questions about the character's encumbrance. Long swords hit harder than short swords, but they take more action points to draw. The broad sword also causes a little more damage on average than the long sword, but it breaks more easily if fumbled. Each of these elements offers a give-and-take where the specific weapon is concerned.

Swords

Type	Damage	Hands	Breaks	Weight (lbs.)	Length (in.)
bastard	2-8	two	1 in 5	10	45
broad	2-8	one	1 in 4	7½	24
long	1-8	one	1 in 6	6	39
short	1-6	one	1 in 6	3½	27
two-handed	1-10	two	1 in 5	25	54