  Fantasy
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Fantasy! It comes in all flavors and subgenres. In the realm of the imagination, boundaries become meaningless. I'll be pointing out different styles and offering advice on key elements of fantasy writing. Enjoy  --John~Ashen |
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Weaponry : Non-Swords
While swords are perhaps the most common and most romantic of weaponry, they are not the only useful tools for combat. This week, I think we should take a quick overview of the other popular weapons available. If some aspect of the following tickles your fancy, email me and I might pursue that topic in depth. 
Pole Arms
A pole arm is basically any weapon on the end of a stick. They are elongated poles, so you can do your business from a safe distance. Heavy to carry around, they are ideal for striking over shields (from behind the safety of your comrades' shields, or over the enemy shield wall).
 Pikes have a spike or two on the end of a pole. They are mainly defensive weapons, good at knocking riders from horses. They also have engineering uses, like detaching gate chains or knocking over scaling ladders.
Spears have a sharpened blade affixed to the tip. They are offensive weapons, meant to directly damage what they poke. The Spartans used them as melee weapons in long fights (see the movie Troy when Brad Pitt fights Eric Bana). The spear can also be a ranged weapon, if you feel you must throw it. They're heavy, though, so your fighter will probably reclaim a thrown spear rather than carry around ten of them or try to carve a new one each time.
Others? Look up halberds, scythes, man-catchers, and two-handed axes.
Bashers
Bash weapons are basically blunt sticks. They are the preferred weapons of policemen and guards, since they can do their jobs effectively without dealing killing blows.
Clubs are the most simple bash weapon possible. Any big stick will qualify. The best clubs are shaped like thick baseball bats. The dumbest of humanoids can use them (goblins), though their ease of construction makes them low-value items.
Maces do a little more damage than clubs. A simple mace is a club with nails or barbs sticking out of contact end. More costly maces have spiked iron balls on the end of the wooden or iron shaft. Since they do more damage than clubs, they make especially good deterrents to fighting at all.
Others? Bo staffs and jo sticks.
Bows
Bows are ranged weapons made from a stick of springy wood pulled into an arc by a high-tension string (often a length of animal guts). The simple philosophy is to kill your opponents from a safe distance.
Shortbows are the most common variety. You can carry it over a shoulder, it uses normal-sized arrows, and it doesn't take much strength to shoot. Horsemen use this variety, as does anyone who uses it as a second weapon. The modern equivalent is a pistol.
Longbows are taller and more costly. They use longer arrows with more elaborate fletching, plus they take more strength to pull back the string and shoot. Castle defenders, career hunters, and army bowmen use these, often storing them in oiled cloth to protect them from weather damage. The modern equivalent is a rifle.
Crossbows are small and heavy machines. They use thick metal bolts instead of arrows. These bolts are placed on the bows which are fired like pistols. First you have to pull the high-tension wire behind the bolt, so it takes a longer time between shots. Though the effective aiming range is short, the damage from bolts is massive. Police and guards use them as capture weapons. No one wants to risk certain death when confronted with crossbows. The modern equivalent is a shotgun.
Flails
Flails are probably the rarest of melee (close-combat) weapons. They are generally limp weapons which attempt to circumvent shields.
Whips are long cords or chains which curl around any defense to lash at the enemy. Its damage is relatively minor, though. One variation attaches several small, sharp stones to the end. Called the cat o' nine tails, it lacerates enemy flesh, as seen graphicly in the movie The Passion of the Christ.
Wooden flails are made of several sturdy wooden tubes, connected by a cord that runs internally. While not as limber as a whip, there is considerably more thunk when the timber snaps around someone's shield and pops them upside the head.
Morning stars are usually a mounted weapon. It is a stick with a chain that has a metal ball (sometimes spiked) on the end of it. If it manages to go around the shield, the ball does massive damage. If not, it will likely break the shield or bat it away altogether.
Nunchaku is a pair of hard sticks connected by a short cord. We all know them as nun-chucks as used in the Bruce Lee movies. They take a lot of training but have a lot of versatility once mastered : the ability to swing it unexpectedly with either hand, to disarm the opponent, or to parry a strike.
Et cetera
There are lots more fantasy weapons out there. I haven't even mentioned axes, darts, blowguns, throwing stars, and so many more real historical weapons. Of course I can't even start on the fantastic weapons that authors have invented over the years.
If you want to mention something I've left out, go ahead. I could go into depth on that next time.
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bizaromike  comments: Use of fencing swords evolved because the tiny blades could slip between the joints in a knight's armor. The discovery of gunpowder led to two ways to pierce armor, and armor became outdated.
Juan Luna comments:} Please remember the quality of the steel. Indeed, when Christian warriors encountered Damascus steel (Black blades) during the Crusades, no matter what skill or technique they had, their swords were shattered by the stronger brand. This scenario will end an engagement as surely as anything rehearsed or practised.
billwilcox comments: It is far easier to imagine how your hero slashes his way to victory than it is to actually experience what it is like for yourself. I've always had a romantic inclination toward fencing, but you have put that thought right out of my mind...lol. It always amazes me how the experts can make it look SO easy.
Response: Pursue your romantic inclinations, folks! Fencing is a great sport because you can be competitive quickly, plus you get an author's benefit of knowing how to describe the moves!
SilverValkyre loves YOU! comments: I think in a lot of instances, the scabbard for a heavy blade is carried on the back over one shoulder or the other and that is the reason they start with it over their head. Also gravity works.
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Fantasy: June 07, 2006 Issue [#1087]
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