favorite weapons

[kılıç_mehmet]

That's it. I'm sick of all this "Masterwork Bastard Sword" bullshit that's going on in the d20 system right now. Katanas deserve much better than that. Much, much better than that.
I should know what I'm talking about. I myself commissioned a genuine katana in Japan for 2,400,000 Yen (that's about $20,000) and have been practicing with it for almost 2 years now. I can even cut slabs of solid steel with my katana.
Japanese smiths spend years working on a single katana and fold it up to a million times to produce the finest blades known to mankind.
Katanas are thrice as sharp as European swords and thrice as hard for that matter too. Anything a longsword can cut through, a katana can cut through better. I'm pretty sure a katana could easily bisect a knight wearing full plate with a simple vertical slash.
Ever wonder why medieval Europe never bothered conquering Japan? That's right, they were too scared to fight the disciplined Samurai and their katanas of destruction. Even in World War II, American soldiers targeted the men with the katanas first because their killing power was feared and respected.
So what am I saying? Katanas are simply the best sword that the world has ever seen, and thus, require better stats in the d20 system. Here is the stat block I propose for Katanas:
(One-Handed Exotic Weapon)
1d12 Damage
19-20 x4 Crit
+2 to hit and damage
Counts as Masterwork
(Two-Handed Exotic Weapon)
2d10 Damage
17-20 x4 Crit
+5 to hit and damage
Counts as Masterwork
Now that seems a lot more representative of the cutting power of Katanas in real life, don't you think?
tl;dr = Katanas need to do more damage in d20, see my new stat block.

[Violet]

???

What the fuck?

Mehmet plays video games? 0.o

[Autumnlicious]

What other class of nerd would claim to commission the construction of an outdated weapon and then brag about it's "new" abilities?

While we're going ga-ga over weapons, may I suggest an excellent catchall to all your supervillain needs?

. Even in World War II, American soldiers targeted the men with the katanas first because their killing power was feared and respected

Give me an Mini-Uzi (light and fast to reload) and I'll own the near field over some yokel with a sword any day.

Any medium-long range weapon finds itself outclassed by even swords when caught in close range.

Short-medium range weapons on the other hand?

Murder.

[Minimalist]

American soldiers targeted the men with the katanas first because their killing power was feared and respected

They killed them first because they were the fucking officers. An M-1 Garand was far superior to a sword.

[Jackalope]

American soldiers targeted the men with the katanas first because their killing power was feared and respected

They killed them first because they were the fucking officers. An M-1 Garand was far superior to a sword.

...and far, far superior to any individual infantry firearm in the Japanese inventory.

A skilled swordsman is something to be feared in close quarters when the ammunition is gone - if they can manage to get that close. Even in that case, the GIs weren't exactly helpless as a Garand with a 10" bayonet makes a pretty fearsome close quarters weapon.

IMHO, what made the Japanese such formidable opponents was their fanatic devotion to duty. I'll note that in the end, even that wasn't enough.

An interesting read on the subject of Japanese swordsmanship and martial artistry: The Book of Five Rings (c. 1645, Miyamoto Musashi). Not as well known as Sun Tzu's "Art of War", but a good read nonetheless.

[Blam!]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman

I don't know if the death of Pat Tillman is intentional or not.

[Autumnlicious]

An interesting read on the subject of Japanese swordsmanship and martial artistry: The Book of Five Rings (c. 1645, Miyamoto Musashi). Not as well known as Sun Tzu's "Art of War", but a good read nonetheless.

I have that book too!

[Cinjin]

PTRS -41 makes Barrett .50 BMG rifles look pathetic.

Yea? Well I’ll see your scrawny 14.5 mm antitank rifle and raise you an Anzio Ironworks 20mm rifle.

O yeah ... well where are you two going to put your big guns when you don't have a planet to put them on.

I'll raise you one DEATH STAR!

[Minimalist]

IMHO, what made the Japanese such formidable opponents was their fanatic devotion to duty.

I read a book one time that was a collection of diaries ( the Japanese were inveterate diarists) of Japanese soldiers who died in the war and whose diaries were found and examined by American intelligence officers. Many of the final entries, particularly by 1944 when it must have really started looking hopeless dealt with suicide. There were an astonishing number of diarists who wrote something like, "the Americans are getting close....it is time to die."

They were so terrorized by their own officers that they were killing themselves without bothering to fight first. The use of artillery and explosive charges scared them that they might be too stunned to kill themselves so they killed themselves (usually with grenades) right off the bat.

Strange shit.

[Jackalope]

An interesting read on the subject of Japanese swordsmanship and martial artistry: The Book of Five Rings (c. 1645, Miyamoto Musashi). Not as well known as Sun Tzu's "Art of War", but a good read nonetheless.

I have that book too!

It's a good one. I did a report on it ~2 years ago for my taekwondo instructor as part of my green belt advancement requirements (I had blown out my knee and did it in lieu of some of the physical requirements). I made what I felt was a good argument regarding it's applicability to modern martial artistry. Although on the surface it's a book about swordsmanship, there are deeper lessons to be learned from it.

---

O yeah ... well where are you two going to put your big guns when you don't have a planet to put them on.

I'll raise you one DEATH STAR!

The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force.

I find your lack of faith disturbing.