Parrying Dagger

Game Stats

• Range: melee
• Damage: 1d4-1 (impaling)
• Secondary: +5 to parry
• Concealable: yes
• Civilian Carry: yes

Description

The parrying dagger takes its name from the fact that it is often paired with a rapier, and taught with that weapon.  Despite the name, parrying daggers are effective weapons on their own.  Designed primarily for stabbing, parrying daggers have relatively narrow blades of 10-12 inches.  They usually have wide or curved crossguards to assist in binding and trapping an opponent's blade.

Use and Characteristics

The parrying dagger is characterized physically by its large crossguard and a stiff, relatively narrow blade.  It is capable of cutting, but the large crossguard and relatively light blade make this difficult.  A parrying dagger's most effective attack is a simple stab.  Drawn from the scabbard and held like an icepick, it can quickly oppose an enemy blade or stab an attacker.  This makes it a popular weapon for civilian dress, where attacks may come without warning and a small blade that can readily be brought into action is an asset.

Parrying daggers have wide crossguards that are sometimes curved forward.  These increase the weapon's defensive capabilities, and can be used to bind and trap an opponent's blade between the dagger blade and the crossguard.  Once an enemy's blade has been trapped he can be disarmed (by a very skilled fencer) or simply dispatched with a weapon held in the other hand.

This defensive function is the parrying dagger's most famous, but it is no more important than its close-range offensive utility.  Parrying daggers are often paired with rapiers not only so that the fencer may reserve his rapier for attacking, but also because they are an effective sidearm against opponents who are able to avoid the rapier to get close.  It is not uncommon for fencers to purchase a rapier and parrying dagger as a matched set.

Advantages

The parrying dagger is quick to draw and versatile in attack and defense.  It is especially handy in very close quarters.

Disadvantages

Despite its ability to trap and bind better than many other weapons, the parrying dagger is not a wise choice of weapon alone against longer weapons such as swords.  It also inflicts a less devastating wound than larger daggers.

Variants

Like most blades in Harkania and Sevilla parrying daggers are produced in high-quality steel (referred to as "steel" colloquially) and low-quality steel (referred to as "iron" colloquially).  Because they have relatively short blades and are not expected to withstand the stresses of powerful edge blows, they are also produced in bronze in some parts of the world.  Parrying daggers are not slashing weapons, but a keen edge does increase their stabbing power.  For this reason some parrying daggers are produced with crystal edges, and a few have even been reforged from Dolotai steel for the ultra-wealthy.

Another variation of the parrying dagger is the so-called clockwork parrying dagger.  A clockwork parrying dagger has a pair of spring-loaded blades built into the blade which snap open at the press of a button.  The extra blades provide additional options for binding an opponent's weapon and can assist in disarming him.  A clockwork parrying dagger's mechanism is not complicated, and a well-made one is no less capable of stabbing when closed than a regular parrying dagger.  Poorly made or poorly maintained clockwork parrying daggers may not open smoothly or close completely, making the weapon less effective when closed.

Party Associations

Monica Jasmine uses a clockwork parrying dagger, paired with her rapier as a sidearm.

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