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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jul 2013 : 02:04:39
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The forgotten realms is all about swords and sorcery, sometimes more extravagantly flashy than other settings. So in the spirit of first word in the genre, I'd like us all to share tales of awesome weaponry wielded deftly by nonhumans.
For example the ogre mage. In the novel Bloodwalk the Ogre-Mage Mahgra wields a rune engraved glaive (or perhaps a slightly more eastern style making it a naginata or guan-dao). An ogre sized naginata made from wood and steel would be about 12 feet long and would weigh at least 16 lbs (in d&d encumbrance lbs are usually added to polearms just to account for their unwieldyness, so it would probably weigh about 20 lbs).
In comparision, according to legend, the first glaive was invented by Guan Yu, a chinese general about the size of an ogre. His Green Dragon Crescent Blade was said to weigh over 100 lbs! Attaining mastery of such a brutal bludgeon of a weapon requires great strength, but also expert handling of the weapons center of balance.
In medieval times, the glaive was considered among masters of defence as the best weapon among the set of then available polearms (quarterstaff, half pike, bill, halberd, voulge, and partisan). A typical glaive is balanced almost exactly in the center of the length of the pole thanks to the weight of the swordblade and the bludgeon on its end. A glaive, guan dao or naginata can be spun and turned to allow for a large reach for stabbing, slashing, hooking or battering strikes. Some glaive are reinforced with steel to give the weapon a better chance at deflecting steel weapon strikes with the wooden shaft, enhancing the weapons defensive capabilities. Most incorprated the (albeit smaller) hook of a guisarme to aid in dismounting cavalry.
In the early renaissance expert halberiers and glaive wielders were considerd on par with swordsmasters of their times, thanks to these weapons improvements in design over the years. The glaive has several advantages over the sword. The glaive has reach, more leverage in comparison to the hilt of the small sword, enabling more efficient cuts; increased total weight of the weapon gives power to strikes and cuts and the weight at the end of the pole and the pole itself can be used both offensively and defensively. Swords, on the other hand, can be used to attack faster, have longer cutting edges (and therefore more striking surface and less area to grab), and were able to be more precisely controlled in the hands of an experienced swordsman.
An ogres lack of agility, something that could be ofset by rigurous training, is more than made up for in his strength. A master ogre glaive wielder could easily clear whole swathes of a battlefield, threatening soldiers from the safety of the reach of a 100 lbs weapon capable of homerunning a typical human being with its bludgeoning end or cleaving cleanly through steel, shield, rider and horse with its curved blade. Perhaps a spell of petrification on a wooden haft would make more sense for a ogre to have, since ogre tribes dont readily have access to forges. A stone glave, rune carved by shaman to deflect steel could add that defensive edge early renaissance glaivemasters had. Add a fire enchantment and I think I know why warfare on toril tends to stay local. Its utterly nightmarish to face monstrous weaponmasters!
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My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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Monstrous Weaponmasters
