So, what I wrote about katanas has basically become the most popular thing I've ever published here, and the comments have been mostly random fan-boys telling me that I'm wrong or just flat out insulting me. What can I say? Sorry you don't share my sense of humour? I...
Let's play a game, shall we? What is the better sword in a fight: longsword, katana, or rapier?My post about katanas has gotten some pretty interesting discussion, and it seems that my point that a rapier would defeat both a katana and a longsword in single combat is...
[EDIT: Apparently I have to be clear about the fact that this is not meant to be serious. I’m sorry you think that an article called “5 Reasons Why Katanas are Stupid” is in-depth academic discourse, but trust me, it isn’t. I just wrote it because I thought it’d be...
So, roleplaying games. The typical RPG has statistics for each player character - in the case of D&D, my system of choice, those stats are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Stats are used to determine a base level for a...
Two fighters size each other up. They strike and parry, back and forth, then their swords lock together dramatically as they hurl snappy one-liners at each other. They shove and circle around, and split apart again, and the fight continues! Except... nah. This is the...
So here's the common trope: there is a master swordsman. This swordsman has a single Sword of Power(TM) and has never been defeated in battle. There can be only one, etc etc. The swordsman will face many opponents with many different kinds of weapons, and emerge...
This is my longsword. It's 51 inches long, 38-inch blade. Leather wrapped hilt, scent-stopper pommel, unusual triple fuller. It's loosely based on the 15th century Oakeshott Type XVIIIb longsword, so it's basically a regular hand-and-a-half sword with an extra long...
More required watching for the interested: how knights moved in plate armour, and some examples of combat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hlIUrd7d1Q This is fascinating to me because, as you can see, a hard strike from a longsword will not even dent plate armour!...
A friend sent me this clip from A Game of Thrones, and asked for my opinion on the swordfighting. Full disclosure: I don't watch the series, I've never read the books, and my knowledge of the whole thing is virtually nil. That being said - let's take a look....