Post/Author/DateTime	Post
elementalawe 04-04-05, 08:23 PM	According to the original DandD 3rd edit. PHB or according to the DandD 3.5 PHB, in the description chapter of both of those books, the equipment and weapons of a PC can have any customized physical material look that the PC wants. Does that mean I or any other player can have a character who has a long sword with a dull blade that doesn't slash easily and with that long sword having a handle grip that is large enough for two hands?
Nuntius128 04-04-05, 08:24 PM	Sure could. I don't know why you'd want a dull Longsword, though? I think you'd take a penalty to damage.
rayan4d2 04-04-05, 08:30 PM	As per the rules, a longsword's hilt is already long enough for 2 hands.
Draco Strang 04-04-05, 08:31 PM	Sure could. I don't know why you'd want a dull Longsword, though? I think you'd take a penalty to damage. Actually, swords that we today call "broadswords" didn't have razor sharp edges. They were pretty wedge-shaped on edge, but weren't capable of splitting hairs, for the most part. This was mostly due to the fact that when used by knights to hammer on the armor of other knights, they didn't want their swords chipping and fracturing. A duller edge could handle more abuse. Of course, if you're slicing through leather and human flesh, a really sharp blade is what you want. That's one of the big reasons that "arming" swords were popular with knights...a not so sharp edge, and a pretty pointy point. Good for exploiting weaknesses in plate armor (i.e. the joints), but you could still whack away at the guy's helmet without fear of your blade busting. To go even farther than this, maces and picks were brought into play, as they could smite plate armor with nigh-on impunity.
elementalawe 04-04-05, 08:49 PM	I thank those who have given me the answers to what I was suspecting, but I wasn't sure. Now, I can be a cleric of Ezra in Ravenloft. Her favorite weapon is the longsword and I can now make the longsword my favorite weapon if I'm playing as a cleric of Ezra in Ravenloft.
lordsathien 04-04-05, 11:09 PM	I don't have my book on hand, but you only get the proficiency as well as Weapon Focus (longsword) only if Ezra offers War as a Domain and you take it.
Illithid Tentacles 04-05-05, 01:00 AM	By the RAW, you can already hold weapons of your size in both hands. As far as the edge, the others who have said that a sword's edge wasn't razor sharp are right. A razor sharp sword would be nicked easily (think about how easily a disposable razor blade gets nicked just cutting whiskers. Now imagine that it's a lot larger and you're trying to use it to cut stuff that's a LOT harder) and need constant repair. A midieval sword would be about as sharp as the spine of a comb. That might not seem very dangerous, but imagine a large man swinging a three foot hunk of metal with an edge that sharp at you. It WILL cut through flesh, and can sever a limb or head with a few good swings. Really sharp edges were reserved for skinning/hunting/eating knives and, during a good portion of the Reniassance and for a bit after that, the first six to eight inches or so past the point of a rapier or epee.
Watchman 04-05-05, 01:35 PM	There's a difference between what counted as "sharp" for an average combat sword and actually"dull", namely that the former chops bits off you and the latter... doesn't. Still, getting all that leverage concentrated on such a narrow impact area is going to hurt a lot and ought to stand a good chance of breaking a bone or two. But if some wit *really* wants an edge-less longsword, let him have it. Treat as Longsword in all other respects save damage, which is about equal to Light Mace... Bigger dull-edged swords will naturally hurt like bigger blunt objects, Bastard Sword as a Heavy Mace and so on owing to more mass and leverage. It should be readily obvious this isn't quite as good as the appropriate blunt-instrument weapons themselves, which is intentional - swords rely on having an edge for their primary killing power. Taking the edge away will naturally result in a sub-par weapon.