Short Sword

Game Stats

• Range: melee
• Base damage: 1d8 (slashing/impaling)
• Secondary: none
• Concealable: no (except under voluminous clothing)
• Civilian Carry: no

Description

The short sword is a one-handed cut-and-thrust sword with a short, broad blade capable of delivering powerful cuts and thrusts at close range.

Use and Characteristics 

A short sword is defined by its short blade, typically 18-22 inches long.  Despite its short length, a short sword is more than simply an overgrown knife.  The blade of a short sword is tempered with the flexibility of a sword, and, like its larger cousin the arming sword, more than capable of dismembering a man in a single blow.

Often mistaken as the "primitive" predecessor to more advanced swords, the short sword is actually a highly specialized tool for fighting at close quarters (in fact, it is the primary weapon of Sevillan men-at-arms even in the seventeenth century).  It features a broad, flat blade that gives it exceptional chopping ability.  The desire to increase cutting ability means that while some short swords weigh less than two pounds, others are just as heavy as arming swords with differently shaped blades.

In battle, the short sword excels at fighting in conjunction with a shield in the tight press of melee.  When fighting shield to shield, a short sword is handy enough to easily strike at the legs of an opponent and still more than long enough to strike around or over the top of a shield.  The short sword is also superior to many other designs in tight corridors, for which reason it is often carried by palace or house guards.

Because it is particularly suited to the crush of melee and use with a shield, most short swords feature sharp points suitable for thrusting.  A swordsman can thrust from behind his shield without exposing his arm, leading many soldiers to prefer this style of fencing.  Some are even forged specifically to emphasize a thrusting style of combat, with strong tapers and stiff blades.

Advantages

The short sword's primary advantage is its combination of power and small size.  It is far more devastating a weapon than a dagger, but can still be used effectively in all but the tightest quarters.

Disadvantages

The short sword's primary disadvantage is its short reach, which forces the swordsman to fight close to his opponent and denies him the use of many more complicated fencing techniques.  Even more than other one-handed swords, a short sword requires a shield to provide a swordsman an effective defense.

Variants

Short swords are produced in high-quality steel (referred to as "steel" colloquially) and low-quality steel (referred to as "iron" colloquially).  Few have crystal edges, as they are generally the swords of common soldiers (although some bodyguards for the very wealthy have been known to carry crystal-edged short swords).  For this reason, few short swords of Dolotai steel blades are known.

The short sword is the most common type of sword cast in bronze.  This is due more to the mechanical properties of bronze blades than lack of skill or imagination on the part of bronzesmiths.  Because bronze does not have the flexibility of steel, a long bronze blade is easily damaged in battle even by the force of its own cuts.  A short sword of bronze, on the other hand, is a stout and reliable weapon that can be used both to cut and to thrust without the swordsman fearing overmuch that he will snap his own blade.

Party Associations

None