Flamberge and weapon weights

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:44 pm

Just me being nit-picky.
I'm curious to know why 2d4+2 was chosen as damge for a flamberge while 2d6 is chosen for a two-handed sword. And also why flamberge is not included in the weapons list as "Sword, Flamberge". Anyone know?

And then there is the issue with weapon weights. What's funny, is real weapon weights in pounds match more closely to the EV number in many cases than the WGT. number. Particularly for the over 5 lbs. weapons. I'm wondering where those heavy weights came from and if they might ever be changed to reflect real weapons. Weapon weights always seem to be wrong in D&D and now C&C as well. Anyone know?

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 9:52 pm

My Flamberge, with modern steel weighs 8.6 pounds, and its blade is pretty thin compared to "authentic" Flamberge's.

Plus if I remember my metallurgy correctly, the older swords were actually heavier because of the differences in smelting, degree of purity, etc....

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:29 am

I've actually gotten the chance to hold an authentic flamberge in the Graz Armory in Austria. They are not very heavy and the blades are not that much thicker than a claymore or even a bastard sword. In a batter's stance, they would swing quicker than swining a bat. There were about 4 dozen flamberge's to look at and they had blades of many widths, lengths, and thicknesses. The one I got to hold I could hold straight out in one hand and almost swing with one hand as well. But, flamberge's were created more for bodyguard uses and as parade weapons rather than front line fighting like halberds were used for. They required a lot of room to weild.

madirishman · Post by **madirishman** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:00 am

That Graz armory wouldn't have happened to be the one at the Burg Rabenstein, by any chance?

P

--

Patrick Murphy, Ph.D.

Mad Irishman Productions
www.mad-irishman.net

Slainte!

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:28 am

With the EV system, I found that I don't pay attention to weight as much as I used to in certain games.

A flamberge *does* require a lot of room to wield and should have a higher EV than other swords (not having the PHB next to me, I am unable to consult this).

The damage listed though is ok IMO considering it means a minimum of 4 damage per hit as opposed to a minimum of 2 with a two-handed sword.

That minimum damage rating makes a flamberge a killer weapon in the hands of a fighter at 1st level!

Moriarty the Red
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Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:56 am

madirishman wrote:
That Graz armory wouldn't have happened to be the one at the Burg Rabenstein, by any chance?

That doesn't sound familiar. It is part of the Landeszeughaus (Imperial Armoury of Stiria).

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:58 am

moriarty777 wrote:
The damage listed though is ok IMO considering it means a minimum of 4 damage per hit as opposed to a minimum of 2 with a two-handed sword.

I agree a min. of 4 damage is nice. I'm just curious what was it about the flamberge that made it seem different enough from a two-handed sword to warrent different damage.

madirishman · Post by **madirishman** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:06 am

Well, there's (supposedly) an armory in the Burg Rabenstein, which is on the outskirts of Graz. They're both in Styria, on the Mur River.

I only ask because our long-running Ars Magica game was set there (http://rabenstein.mad-irishman.net)

P

--

Patrick Murphy, Ph.D.

Mad Irishman Productions
www.mad-irishman.net

Slainte!

Skylark · Post by **Skylark** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:21 pm

A flamberg's wavy edge may have made the designers think that it increased the length of the cutting surface for the sword, thus increasing the minimum damage.