Erik's Quick Reference to Arms

A brief description of the arms and armaments found in Forgotten Kingdoms. This is by no means a complete reference to all medieval armaments found in the world of Faerun but should provide a handy general reference to the weapons one is likely to encounter. I strongly advise you to buy a copy of the 'Arms and Equipment Guide', TSR 2123, Printed 1994. Though no longer in production, it contains much more in depth references to all the arms and armaments listed below as well as retaining excellent pictures and a solid guide to armor as well.

A quick summary of terms:

Parts of the Sword:

• Blade: The sharp metal portion of a weapon.
• Hilt: The handle or grip
• Shear guard: The portion of the hilt that protects the hand from shearing attacks
• Pommel: The base of the hilt, usually weighted to provide a counterbalance.
• Basket Hilt: A normal hilt grip, but with a cover protecting the hand.

Parts of other weapons:

• Haft: The long handle of a weapon, usually wood or steel.
• Head/Flange: The heavy striking portion of a weapon
• Blade: The cutting or chopping blade mounted on a weapon
• Point: The sharpened stabbing implement on a weapon
• Face: The wide blunt striking area on hammers

Side note: Many of these weapons exist in a footman's version and a mounted version, especially the flails, maces, and hammers. The Mounted versions tend to have a shorter handle and overall lesser reach, as having a five foot or better reach with a haft is useless and cumbersome while mounted on a charging warhorse.

The Various Weapons of Forgotten Realms

Axes

• Battle axe: A single axe blade mounted on a long wooden haft, used by footmen.
• Waraxe: Similar to a battleaxe, but adapted more for mounted combat, with a wider head and shorter haft.
• Greataxe: An axe of considerable bulk, with a significantly shorter handle but a massive pair of dual blades opposite one another, usually surmounted by a spike.
• Locbar Axe: A heftier version of the battleaxe, but with a wider blade and a long curved pick mounted on the opposite side of the haft.
• Throwing Axe: A smaller axe, much like a hatchet, but balanced above the handle for throwing. It can be used either as a throwing weapon or a hand axe.

Mace

One of the first variations on the club, the first maces were crude bronze or iron lumps set onto a shaft of hardened wood. Over time, they grew to include everything from steel hafts to spiked rods to remarkably shaped flanges in all manner of shapes.

Flail

Based upon the threshing flail used to separate grain from wheat chaff, the flail is similar to the mace in that is has a heavy striking head and a long wooden haft for grasping, usually between three and four feet in length. The only difference in this weapon is that the head and haft are connected by a chain of varying lengths, creating immense striking power as the head is spun about.

Nunchaku

Commonly known as 'nunchucks', these are a pair of foot long wooden shafts connected by a length of chain. These weapons are commonly banned in most modern cities as they are quite lethal in practiced hands and easily concealed.

Morning Star

Consisting of a haft perhaps a foot in length with a chain twice that long, connected to a melon sized spiked iron ball. Needless to say, a single blow from this weapon could easily brain a man, even in armor.

Scythe

Another example of a peasant weapon put into service, a scythe consists of a long, crooked piece of wood the size of a man, with two handles and a blade nearly three feet in length sticking out at a right angle to the handles. It's used for harvesting wheat in poorter portions of the world, though it makes a strong if awkward weapon.

Whip

A long piece of mesh rope between 15' and 30' in length, the whip relies on wave motion principles to transfer a broad motion of the wrist into a sharp snapping motion at the tip of the whip, turning a wide motion into a sharp short one. The result is that the thin tip of the rope cracks the air at supersonic speeds, snapping through skin and cloth like a knife.

Scourge

The scourge or 'cat-'o'-nine' is a device of horrible torture and pure cruelty. No self-respecting goodly person would wield a scourge, a weapon reserved only for the sick and cruel of heart. These whiplike weapons feature between six and twelve long whip strands on them, though the entire weapon is less than four feet in length. These tough leather strands are usually tied into knots or set with sharp barbs. A simple flick of the wrist would simply rip the skin from the flesh of a human. Though useless against even hardened leather, a cat-o-nine can easily kill a bare-;skinned human, even just from simple agony.

Sickle

A hand version of the scythe, the handle is approximately a foot in length, with a curved three-quarter crescent shaped blade about 18"-24" in diamater.

Lasso

Not exactly a weapon, lassoes were popularized by Hollywood as a classic tool of the cowboy. A length of extremely dense, stiff rope is tied into a special draw loop about three feet in diameter. With proper timing and aim, a wielder can loop the lasso around his target and restrain them or pull them off their feet.

Kama

A variant of the hand sickle adapted for melee combat, a kama is a weapon that is quite widely used in many martial arts. The handle is between 12" - 24" in length, and topped by a crescent blade slightly shorter than the length of the handle itself, attached at a right angle to the haft.

Chakram

Though the Chakram generally sees use as a small throwing weapon, a melee chakram is a unique weapon that likely only saw any real use in a fantasy game. The chakram is a steel hoop about 30" across, slightly ovoid in shape, with a wide grip and extremely sharp edges. It is used primarily as a slashing weapon, the awkward grips making powerful strikes difficult at best.

Swords

The sword is one of the most prolific of all weapons for good reason. It combines reach with a immense versatility in combat, ease of manufacture with simple design, and has been one of the staples of medieval combat since the first days of its creation. Swords are generally divided by size and mass, then by specific design. All swords combine the basics form of a triangular length of sharp steel with a hilt of some kind attached at the base.

Longsword

The most basic of all swords found. Styles vary from culture to culture and even within an era. The most common characteristics of longswords are an overall length between 35" and 47", with up to a 40" blade. Longswords frequently feature two grooves that run the length of the blade, called runnels or blood channels, giving it extra flexibility to keep it from shattering. The hilt is generally designed for one-handed use, so occasionally the sword will have a counterweight installed in the pommel. Longswords can be used either as powerful striking weapons or as a nimble dueling blade.

Bastard Sword

Also known as the hand and a half sword, it is considerable heavier than a standard longsword but lighter and more manageble than the massivegreatsword or claymore. Bastard swords run between 48" and 58" in total length, with a longer handle for improved leverage and to accomodate using both hands if the wielder so desires. The name derives from the fact that it is halfway between a longsword and greatsword. The bastard sword is the preferred weapon of many warriors, providing reach, the ability to wield two handed or singly, good speed, and excellent damage potential.

Broad sword

Contrary to what one might think, the broad sword is in fact a shorter, stouter blade than the longsword. A heavy military blade with a basket hilt, the overall sword length ranges between 36" and 42" in length, making it ideal for cavalry motions or fancy dueling styles. It is typically wielded in one hand.

Claymore

Claymore is a name derived from the Gaelic word for greatsword, claidheamohmor. It is generally considered to be a variant on the greatsword, detailed below. Over the centuries, claymores evolved under the French and European influces into something more closely resembling a broadsword or sabre.

Cutlass

A short, heavy sword, used in one hand with a single sharp edge. The cutlass is a heavy slashing weapon with a reverse curve and a wide, crescent shaped blade, similar to a scimitar. Cutlasses are the infamous weapon of the pirate.

Greatsword

As weapon technology progessed, having superior reach and striking power grew ever more desirable. Thus, the greatsword. With overall lengths exceeding 60" in length and mass growing almost unmanageable by even a strong human male, greatswords are mostly used for cleaving mounted knights and breaking up pike formations.

Falchion

Slightly shorter in length than a longsword, this stout, singled-edged blade is used in one hand. The unusual design of this weapon is in that while the reverse edge is straight and blunt, the cutting edge curves out and broadens towards the tip, giving the blade a cleaver like appearance.

Short sword

There is no technical definition or reference to a 'short sword' in histories of weapons. That said, it is generally considered to be a short, lightweight weapon between 24" and 36" in length, typically used more for quick, thrusting attacks.

Khopesh

An unusual and rather unwieldly weapon from ancient Egypt, Khopesh are rather awkward and unweildly weapons. With a short hilt and a blade shaped like a long crescent, the khopesh is widely believed to be a military adaptation on a common sickle.

Gladius

The first refined version of the 'short sword'. Developed by the Romans, it was standard issue to all Legionaiires. With a straight double edged blade and a reinforced tip, the 24" blade saw common use all over the Roman Empire.

Ninja-to

An eastern version of the short sword. Approximately 24" - 30" in length, it is singled edge, straight, with no reverse curve, wielded by ninjas and those who do not wish to use a larger, more cumbersome blade.

Kris:

A blade usually about 20" - 30" in length, but unique in that the entire length of the weapon follows a sinuous wavelike shape. It is sharp tipped, but primarily a cutting weapon.

Rapier

:

An exceptionally light sword, considered to be a weapon for civilans and particularly the nobility and gentry, as opposed to the heavier weapons of the soldier. The sport of fencing descended from the use of this thin, extremely flexible and fast blade. The rapier may be edged or not, though it is primarily used as a thrusting weapon. It generally features a basket hilt to protect the hand during parrying motions.

Foil

A variant on the rapier, between 36" and 48" in length, adapted specifically for dueling. Nothicker than a man's pinkie finger, it is exceptionally light and flexible with a wide basket hilt to protect the hand. Often, the edges are blunt or duller than one would expect. This is due to the fact that the primary attack option on the foil is limited solely to the direct thrust, and is nearly useless as a cutting weapon. As a dueling weapon, the sword is lightweight and the blade cylindrical in shape, greatly increasing attack speed and flexibility.

Fullblade

Similar to a greatsword, except a slightly more slender blade for its size and somewhat less massive when compared to the greatsword, though slightly longer in overall length.

Sabre

A single-edge sword of fairly average length, the sabre is favoured by cavalry first and by some duelists. Single edged and used in one hand, the sabre maintains an even width along its length, despite the slight reverse curve. Cavalary appreciate a slashing and chopping weapon that is easy to maneuver, allowing the momentum of the horse to do the real damage. Some duelists use the swashbuckling technique in conjunction with the sabre, using a spinning, flashing style of combat.

Scimitar

If one crossed a falchion and a sabre, one would have the scimitar. A shorter, heavy blade, it is generally used in one hand. The entire blade sweeps backwards in an even curve, on it's cutting edge, though the curve is much more pronounced upon the reverse side. This results in a slender lower portion of the blade that widens into a large cleaverlike portion of steel towards the upper edge. The scimitar can be used either as a massive cleaver or a razor sharp cutting weapon.

Katana

A weapon developed for use in Japan between 800 and 1900 CE. Approximately fourty inches in length, the katana is a single-edged weapon with a slight recurve on the cutting edge, the entire blade forged into a single long curved piece, hilt included. The two primary styles of katana, Tachi and samurai, are different in that the tachi is a slightly longer weapon with a large recurve on the blade, used in both hands. The samurai katana is generally used in mounted combat in a single hand.

Nodach

A katana of tremendous size. Used to cut down cavalry.

Polearms/Halberds

There are so many polearms and variations that it is impossible to describe them all here. Suffice it to say that over two dozen distinct variations on the polearm exist. Among these are axe blades, long sharp knife edges, forks, spines, and hooks. All featured a large painful looking instrument mounted on the end of a seven to eleven foot shaft, and became quite popular among historical royal guards for being both immensely effective in crowd control as well as highly decorous weapons of court.

Spears

Spears vary widely from culture to culture and era to era. The simplest of spears are simply long, sharpened wooden stakes. The spear has since evolved with the creation of steel and refinement techniques to include a wide variety of shafts and heads.

Longspear

Typically a long, heavy spear with a long, wide blade and a sturdy haft. The longspear is generally used as a defensive weapon, braced against the instep of the foot soldier and used to take down cavalry. It is known as a 'pike' if used in this manner. Alexander the Great, commander of the Greek armies, had his legions form ranks upon ranks of longspearmen, presenting nothing but a bristling array of spears with nearly 20 feet of reach or better. Longspears are otherwise about seven to nine feet in length and cannot be thrown.

Short spear

Generally much shorter than a longspear, usually little more than four or five feet in length. It's used as a quick, thrusting weapon in close quarters combat. Typically, it has a wide, leaf shaped blade to inflict gaping, bleeding wounds and a pair of flanges on either side to prevent the spear getting trapped in the body or plunging in too deeply.

Javelin

A specialized type of spear, about four to five feet in length, with a singlesharp tip and slender haft. The javelin is specialized for hurling at distance.

Pilum

A Roman adaptation on the spear, the pilum is similar to a javelin, save that it has been adapted with a ball socket near the tip. Upon the impact, this socket bends and snaps, making the pilum unusable by a warrior who would return fire with it.

Lance

A very specialized kind of spear, used exclusively by mounted knights. A lance is the legendary weapon of a paladin or charging knight, being a spear of tremendous length and mass, with a wide pommel guard protecting the knight's body. It is held across the horse's shoulders, so a right handed knight would strike at a foe on his left. Great tournaments were held in medieval Europe, featuring charging knights jousting at one another with these weapons.

Trident

A three headed spear, adapted from a fishing instrument.

Hammers

Hammers are again adapted from peasant weapons to be used in war. The hammer comes in several different styles.

Lucerne Hammer

Technically a type of polearm, this has a flat, fist sized hammer head with a spike on the reverse, mounted on a long pole.

Warhammer

About the size of a normal sledgehammer, 36" long, but typically made with a steel handle and with weight carefully balanced between the two heads.

Maul

A dwarven weapon, the massive maul has a double head, each surface the size of a small melon. To counteract the weight, the handle is significantly shorter and heavier, allowing the stockier dwarven arms to wield them.

Daggers

A dagger is a sharp, usually metal blade between 8" and 24" in total length. It generally comes to a sharp tip and sports sharp edges. A dagger is different from a knife in that it is a weapon for hunting, and double sided. Some daggers are balanced for throwing, while long daggers are made for subtle, deadly strikes.

Stiletto/Poignard

A slender, needle-pointed dagger with blunt or only partially sharpened edges but an exceptionally sharp tip. It's best suited for armor piercing or assassin work, where it finds the heart or vital organs, killing with a single well-aimed blow.

Main Gauche

Used for parrying and pinning weapons, the main gauche dagger features a wide blade, wide shear guard, and a basket hilt, with two smaller blades extending out on the side, to trap and pin an enemy weapon.

Sai

An eastern variation on the dagger, the sai has about a twelve inch blade, sharp and coming to a needlelike tip. Unusual, however, are the two smaller, curved flanges coming up and out from the hilt to form a pear shape. The flanges are also spiked, essentially creating a tiny trident.

Dirk

A dirk is a long, slender dagger that comes to a sharp tip with two keen edges and a special ball mounted in the handle for exceptional balance. A dirk is designed for striking deep into the vitals of a foe, the extra mass adding impetus to an attack.

Kukri

Based on the cleaver principle of the falchion, the kukri resembles nothing so much as a boomerang, heavily balanced towards one end and very sharp. Though the 45 degree forward bend seems awkward, the kukri is in fact a very efficient chopping weapon with surprising mass for a dagger its size.

Staves

Usually little more than hardened wood, a stave can still be exceptionally dangerous if properly wielded.

Tonfa

A tonfa is the formal name for the black police baton used the world over. A piece of stout wood with a handle mounted about a fifth of the way down the length, the tonfa is a very dangerous weapon in the proper hands.

Quarterstaff

One of the simplest and humblest weapons, the quarterstaff is simply a length of stout oak or ash the size of a man and about as thick as a wrist.

Jo stick

A well balanced billy club about eighteen inches in length, balanced towards the end.

Bo staff

Another variant on the quarterstaff, the Bo staff is about 48" long and usually wielded as either a blunted sword or a stave.

Escrima

The Filipino martial art of Escrima is a very old martial art form that uses a dizzying series of attacks based around two sticks about 24" in length. Despite their small size and weight, in the hands of a well-trained Escrimar, they work with surprising efficiency.

Staff-sling

A curious invention, the staff sling combines a quarterstaff with a long, scoop shaped sling mount on one end of it. The great length of the staff greatly increases the range and power of the slingstone, though loading and firing the sling takes much longer than with a conventional slingset.

Ranged Weapons

Describing weapons that are not thrown, but rather fired, using spring tension or centrifugal force to hurl another object at an enemy with deadly force.

Bows

A bow is one of the first advances made by humans that used physics efficiently in war. By putting torque on a piece of wood, one creates potential spring energy, and when released, transmits all that energy into the arrow.

Short Bow

A small bow, not much more than thirty-six inches in overall length. Short bows are the preferred weapons of mounted archers and many fighters in general, as they provide respectable range and damage for their compact size and relative ease of use.

Long Bow

A longbow is a bow made for distance archery and massive anti-troop actions. With significantly more range and strength, a hail of arrows from a battalion of longbowmen can cut down an army of infantry.

Composite Long Bow

Also known as the Welsh long bow, this weapon had as much influence in its day as the innovation of the rifle. Welsh longbowman made the English army feared throughout the entire European World for their legendary skill with this powerful weapon. Welsh Longbows were reputedly able to shoot clear through a mounted knight's leg and horse, pinning him to the mount. The secret of these seven foot bows lay in their construction, with several different types of wood to greatly increase their flexibility.

Crossbow

Crossbows were a natural step from the bow. By mounting the bow horizontally on a long piece of wood, and attaching a soft trigger, the crossbow only requires even the most inept shooter to merely point and pull. Reloading is somewhat difficult, as cocking the crossbow requires quite a bit of strength. However, this increased resistance greatly improves the power of the bolt, though the stubbier, more massive objects have a greatly reduced range. Crossbows come in two basic forms, heavy and light.

Slings

A sling is one of the more popular weapons among the poor and militia. By folding a piece of cloth over to form a saddle, one rests a pebble or lead bullet in the cradle and spins the sling about at high speeds. With practice, a sling can be a very effective weapon and is favored by halflings. Slings can also be highly orante leather affairs, with twined handles and a customized saddle.

Thrown Weapons

A catchall to describe a variety of thrown weapons.

Chakram

A circle of steel approximately a foot in diameter, the chakram is a throwing weapon that requires a great degree of skill to use without inflicting greivous self harm. With sufficient practice, a person can throw a chakram in such a way that it will return to the hand if it misses the target.

Shuriken

The infamous 'ninja star', shurikens can do immense damage if used properly. The shard-shaped blades create gaping, bleeding holes that can quickly kill a man. Therefore, while they do minimal damage, on a critical hit, shurikens will inflict bleeding damage until the wound is bound.

Bolas

A clever weapon used by professional cowboys in Argentina most notably today, the bola consists of three stones tethered together. The stones are spun about to gain momentum, then released with a spin. Centripetal force causes the stones to spin apart. Upon hitting a target, the bola will pin arms, legs, or even garrote a foe.

Throwing Knives

Throwing knives are similar to normal knives, but they are balanced quite specifically for throwing. Some are barely four inches in length overall, while others are as much as eight inches in length.

Throwing Daggers

Similar in principle to throwing knives, though they are somewhat more massive and double-edged. Daggers can be used as melee or throwing weapons in a pinch.

Darts

Comprising everything from quoits to lawn darts to tiny daggers, darts are any kind of small sharp object thrown rapidly at a target. Though they do little real damage, they can help distract a spellcaster or with poison, deliver a silent death.

Piau

Piau are an oriental style of throwing knife. Instead of a normal handle, the elliptical blade is mounted to a small thumb grip or ball with a tassel attached. They can be thrown with a flick of the wrist and the tassel helps stabilize it in flight.

Rocks

The term 'rock' is a catchall phrase to describe a geological phenomena that is the result of volcanic activity in aeons past. Approximately 3.6 billion years ago, our world was primarily molten carbon, silicone, various metals and many other elements, all mixed into a frothy, steaming hot melange of molten goodness. As time passed, these elements gradually cooled and combined into a wide variety of more complex minerals, including the more commonly known forms such as marble, feldspar, obsidian, pumice, and hundreds of other stones and hard gems, which are simply stones compressed to a clear, hard composition. The rock can be used for throwing. It is useful for throwing. Rocks can be thrown at nearly anything. Big rocks hurt more than small rocks. All rocks fall at the same speed (disregarding mass) though heavier masses will generate a more substantial force upon impact than lighter stones (following Newton's laws of motion F = ma, where F is Force, M is mass and A is acceleration, commonly gravity. Rocks fall at the same velocity if you disregard air resistance because gravity affects all masses with equal downward acceleration). If you actually read this, you need more help than an online guide to weapons can give.