Short sword
A short sword is simular in construction to a longsword, except, as it's name implies, it is shorter. Generally made with a two foot long blade and a grip made to only fit one hand, short swords are very common weapons and is often referred to as a "common sword." Short swords are primarily thrusting weapons as they do not have the weight to crush armor, but they are effective against unarmored foes when either thrusting or slashing.
Construction
The short sword consists of two major parts: the blade and the hilt.
Blade
Simular to the longsword, a short sword's blade is divided into the forte and foible. The blade, unlike with a longsword, is usually completely sharpened, from the base of the crossguard to the tip. A short sword does not usually have a fuller due to the sword's already small size. A tang extends from the blade through the hilt. The blade is always double-edged, and since short swords are primarily thrusting weapons, the blade tends to be thicker than a longsword's blade.
Hilt
The hilt consists of the crossguard or quillions, grip, and pommel. The crossguard is used for protecting the hand, traping the opponent's blade, or to prevent slipping. The pommel acts as a counter-weight and secures the grip to the blade via the tang.
Other Nouns
A short sword was very common and used by many cultures. The weapons evolved greatly over time and therefore the essentually same weapon has been known by many different names. The currently acceptable nouns in GemStone are: antler sword, braquemar, baselard, chereb, gladius, kris, and wakizashi.
Game Mechanics
Short swords are mid-range weapons that balance power and speed. Not as strong as a longsword, not as fast as a rapier, they fit a nice medium.
| Short Sword | Cloth | Leather | Scale | Chain | Plate | RT | Damage Type | STR/DU | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damage factor | .350 | .240 | .200 | .150 | .125 | 3 | Slashing/Piercing/Crushing | 70/185 | ||||||||||||
| AvD | 40 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 25 | 19 | 13 | 7 | |||
Related Articles
- Forging - Player forged weapons gain a 2%, 4%, or 6% bonus to AvD and DF, depending on the quality.