Gear > Weapons & Armor
War Hammers
Silasil:
I have to disagree with the view on "big red". Though it looks funny when I wield it, my main weapon is my great sword. (I am 5'9" and my sword is 5'3"). But one on one i can give people headaches with close to a 10 foot reach with my stabbing tip(drives florentines crazy hehehe). I group battles however yes I definately need a shield man though I prefer a good florentine. I wear chain mail leather and plate mail covring all but my head and there are very few in the area that use red weapons, so my greatest fear is the lovley Lady Grey (my God she's fast!) For those that don't know of her that would be an archer(in my view THE archer). The main reason I am asking about the various weapons is like Dominus said, what makes us look good brings intrest, if we have a good supply of realm weapons that look cool when used (even if largly ineffective) it will attract attention. Any way that's my thoughts and I still have no clue how to build the blasted thing.
Harek:
Well, Silas, here's the conclusion I've reached: if a fighter who knows what he's doing is using a shield (and any blue weapon) and comes up against a red-weapon wielder one-on-one, he'll rush in. One of the disadvantages of almost any red weapon is that you'll be killed 9 times out of 10 in really close quarters, when somebody gets "inside" so to speak.
And Güntar, I think I need to clarify my statement: I think there are some advantages to an axe over a sword, but I don't necessarily think that overall the advantage goes to the axe.
Having said that, I'll give a few examples (hopefully w/o ruining my ability to win an occasional fight, as I mentioned above):
- an axe can often reach a few inches further around a shield than a sword (due to the axe-head extending from the shaft)
- an axe can be used to hook shields or weapons and pull them "out of line"
Guntar von Keitz:
Silasil, as you pointed out, you have lots of armor and I think that is absolutely fundamental to being being a good red weapon user that survives the first contact. You have to count on a blue hit or two getting through and losing an arm or a leg ruins your ability almost instantly (dying, of course, ruins it instantly). HAH
I have yet to manage a thrusting tip on a great sword that will last and that will not slow down/bulk-up the sword so much as lesson its effectiveness. Perhaps you've managed this... BTW--Aratari weapon checkers are very picky (rightly so) about thrusting tip safety. Another project... Oh yes, realistic and nice-looking weapons really catch the eye of rookies so that is a good reason to make them available.
As for missile weapons, especially arrows, they DO often ruin your fun--and we have some serious archers in Aratari! However, at Rag I mostly arched with my great sword strapped to my back--a very effective combination that I picked up from Grandpa Graymael.
[ August 02, 2001: Message edited by: Güntar von Keitz ]
Guntar von Keitz:
All good points Hárekr. A veteran shieldman with blue weapon will rush a red weapon user (and most everything else for that matter). That is why using a red weapon effectively *requires* good footwork and the armor (as I previously stated). Over the last year, I've really come to appreciate some of the strikes that you can pull off with a greatsword that go to its reach and ability to strike down and to the legs of a shieldman from his/her right/weapon side (whereas legshots with blue weapons are usually only effective to his/her left/[below] shield side). Also, reteating and armhunting with a great sword can be amazingly effective and if they have armor--so much the better. Still, as Hárekr noed, if you get caught flat-footed or in a press of people, you are at the disadvantage for sure. That's when it helps to have a friend along...
Thorondor of Arnor:
I made a nice mace out of either 3/4" or 1" PVC pipe & camping pad. It has 5 layers of foam on the striking end and it gives a pretty solid hit. I teired the foam up 3 layers, then 4 layers, then the 5th layer covering the striking surface and some foam disks at the end to add more weight to the end. It is pretty fast for a red, although the total length of it is only around 38"-40". The weight of it is kept down by using only the camping foam, not any other foams or tape. DAP was used to hold the foam together & white gymnastics/sports tape held the foam together while the dap finished drying.
Hope this helps some...
~Thorondor of Arnor
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