Bladed Fan

Game Stats

• Range: melee
• Maximum Range (thrown): 15 yds.
• Aimed Range (thrown): 5 yds.
• Base damage: 1d4+1 (slashing)
• Secondary: may be thrown
• Concealable: yes
• Civilian Carry: yes

Description

The bladed fan is a concealed weapon used by women.  It can take a number of different forms, as its purpose is to blend in with local fashion.  In the Harkanian League brisé fans of sandalwood or metal are most common.  Sevillan fashion prefers folding fans with screens of lace or silk.  In the Winterlands paper screens are often used.

Whatever its outward form, all bladed fans have one or more bladed edges and a locking mechanism to keep the fan open during a cut.  The simplest bladed fans simply have a blade on the leading and trailing edges of the guard sticks.  Most brisé fans of this type are bladed on each stick, which enhances the weapon's tracking during cuts.  Clockwork bladed fans may have bladed edges, but also feature spring-loaded bladed tines hidden in each rib which can be deployed at the press of a button.  This is the most common form for bladed folding fans to take, as the screen usually interferes with the weapon's cutting ability.  Clockwork fans may also feature retractable bladed edges to better disguise the weapon's true character.

Bladed fans are usually expensive to make, as they often require three highly skilled artisans to create.  Bladed fans must frequently be elaborately ornamented to fit with their user's costume.  Besides the cost of appropriate artwork, the best bladed fans require blades that are strong, light, and extraordinarily sharp as well as clockwork mechanisms that are robust yet compact and lightweight.  The cost of producing a convincing yet functional bladed fan means that their use is usually restricted to noblewomen and spies.

Use and Characteristics

When used as a melee weapon a bladed fan is held by pressing the thumb and fingers into the areas of the gorge (the area of the fan below the monture, or decorated portion of the fan) between ribs.  The ribs of a bladed fan are always spaced so as to offer a secure grip without pinching.  A metal "gorge guard" is often added as either a decorative element or concealed in the lower arc of the monture to protect the user's fingers from slashes between ribs.  If local fashion allows the gorge may be covered with leather or other sturdy material into which the user can press her fingers, offering a more secure grip.  When held in this fashion the fan can have an angle anywhere from parallel to at right angles with the palm.

In melee a bladed fan can cut from the wrist, elbow, or shoulder just as with a sword.  Clockwork tined fans can also be used to stab, as well as to bind and trap an opponent's blade.  If a fan contains a significant amount of metal it can also be used to parry.  Harkanian-style fans are particularly capable in this regard.

If necessary, a bladed fan can also be thrown a short distance.  The fan is held loosely, as if the user were actually fanning herself, then thrown parallel to the ground with a punching motion accompanied by a flick of the wrist.

Advantages

The primary advantage of a bladed fan is concealment.  As a weapon, however, a fully featured clockwork bladed fan offers a versatile assortment of attacks and defenses.  Harkanian fans of all-metal construction combine features of both daggers and bucklers, making them particularly useful.

Disadvantages

The primary disadvantage of a bladed fan is its short reach and relative fragility.  Powerful blows can damage the delicate clockwork mechanisms in many fans, and if the fan is constructed primarily of wood may destroy it entirely.

Variants

Besides their various clockwork additions, bladed fans may be constructed out of almost anything.  Their blades are most often produced in steel or iron, but bronze is not unknown.  Crystal edges are common, and a few have even had blades reforged from Dolotai steel.

Party Associations

Sylviana de Nedici uses a bladed fan as her primary melee weapon.

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