Is 3' really a broad sword. I thought a broadsword was like huge and all Braveheart-like and stuff.

3' is like "Sting"

A broadsword is more like the "Foe Hammer" or the "Goblin Cleaver"

/am a dork

Phil Herup
/am a dork

Meh, I thought the same thing when I read the headline.

There can only be one.

Apperently the broadsword isn't as big as we thought. Damn D&D and other Fantasy crap leading us astray (did the same thing by making people think a Morningstar had a chain between the head and pole). Anyway, five minutes of google later:

Scottish Basket Hilt Broadsword
BLADE LENGTH: 33 1/2
HANDLE LENGTH: 6
OVERALL LENGTH: 39 1/2
WEIGHT: 5lb 6oz

Bohemian Broadsword
Overall length: 44 inches
Blade length: 36 inches

Crecy Broadsword
Overall Length: 29 1/4"
Handle Length: 6 1/2"
Blade Length: 22"

Chinese Broadsword
Total Length approx: 33 inches
Handle Length approx: 6 inches.

etc...

That'll teach him to honk

Arrrr!

Avast!

Nashua NH? He's probably one of those dumb-ass LARPERS

should be hero tag

I hope there can be only one. It's not safe on the damm roads anymore.

For those of you wandering why a broadsword is only 3-ft long, the answer is in the name; why not just look up the meaning of the word "broad"?

Clue: it's not just another word for "woman", you dummies.

He may or may not be a bad driver, but he certainly has class.

D&D did not lead any of you astray. You just werent paying attention. A broad sword is a 1 handed weapon for a medium sized character. A 2 handed sword is what Brave heard had.

Yeah, I am a geek.

END COMMUNICATION

dukefluke: "Clue: it's not just another word for "woman", you dummies."

It's not?? I was thinking he was waving a nice pink jewel encrusted sword with a few pink streamers hanging of the handle.

Phil Herup: I thought a broadsword was like huge and all Braveheart-like and stuff.

You're probably confusing it with the bastard sword. Although, really, Lord Zardoz is correct, Gibson was using a proper "2 hander". Still, the bastard sword was considered long enough that 2 hands were generally used to swing it. Bad for close quarters.

/geeky

Why, that's just terrible. I don't know how many times I've told those guys... never call chicks "broads."

Bhruic - isn't it more likely that HRH Mel McGibson, Beloved of Christ, The Road Warrior and Brit Killer would have been using a Claymore?

dukefluke

Aye, it would.

/not scottish in any way, but I like the accent

Well I was going to comment on how terribly written that article was, but since all the D&D geeks have popped in here:

Man I wish that guy's car (dragon?) had steel belted TIRES OF THE DEFENDER +4! Then the guy with the broadsword would need a much higher hit roll to properly skewer them!

/yes I was once one of you

Why a sword? Because it's funnier than a gun and just plain cool. People have become accustomed to the sight of guns but somehow act shocked when the see someone with a sword.

If you read the artice and look at what the man was charged with you will get an idea of just how few laws there are regulating the carrying and usage of swords. Lots of laws for knives, tons for guns, but VERY few for swords.

In most of the USA as long as you arent threatening someone, in a school or courthouse, or in an establishment selling alcohol you can pretty much wear a sword wherever you want.

Try it some time. It's a blast. Kids love it. Adults either think you are cool or freak out and stay away from you. Either way it's loads of fun. :)

Damn D&D and other Fantasy crap leading us astray (did the same thing by making people think a Morningstar had a chain between the head and pole).

Actually, the Morningstar is the spiked ball, and it was more commonly used as a flailing weapon. What you're thinking of is a Morningstar Mace, which places the spiked ball onto a shaft.

What pisses me off is that they convinced millions of people that brodswords were inferior to longswords. Yeesh...

2005-05-06 05:35:31 AM Bucknutz

Well aware of them. If you are anywhere near eastern TN you may wish to attend the may tournament this weekend. It's a blast. Looks like they have gone with a Roman theme this year.

http://www.thorsmountain.org/TMEvent/MayTourney.htm

http://www.thorsmountain.org/TMEvent/MayTourneyhandout.pdf

Hacker_X

I was thinking that very thing. You pull out a glock in front of a bunch of gang members, and they'll just be like, "What, biatch?"

But if you pull out a Katana or, in this case, a broadsword, They'll all be like, "HOLY shiatE, HE'S farkING NUTS! RUN AWAY!"

I dunno. If you have a sword you just seem a lot more badass and crazy.

"Girls only want boyfriends who have skills... you know, like driving skills, broadsword skills, computer hacking skills..."

ExanimateAzrael - "But if you pull out a Katana or, in this case, a broadsword, They'll all be like, "HOLY shiatE, HE'S farkING NUTS! RUN AWAY!""

That's assuming they haven't seen what happened to the swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Criminal threatening? So, if I have a stick, and say "I should hit you with this stick!" The Man is gonna come take me away?

n > 1

/can't be

dukefluke

That's assuming they haven't seen what happened to the swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The man makes a good point.

*golf claps*

DeVane:

Criminal threatening? So, if I have a stick, and say "I should hit you with this stick!" The Man is gonna come take me away?


yup

Going to get incredibly pedantic here. The term broadsword is used to refer to a usually double but occasionally single-edged cutting sword, sometimes with a complex hilt in the style of the Scots broadsword, about 3 feet to 3.5 feet total length including hilt and weighing around 3 lbs. The classic "knightly" sword that's shown in the upcoming Kingdom of Heaven flick would be about 32" in the blade and perhaps 40 inches or so overall, and weigh about 2.5 to 3 lbs.
/make swords, study 'em, pretty much certifiable as a sword nut...
//and still haven't seen any RPG with accurate stats.

Devane: You question "Criminal Threatening", but not "Criminal Mischief"... strange.

I mean, Criminal MISCHIEF for crying out loud! WTF?!

Is this the bloke?

Chunder

You question "Criminal Threatening", but not "Criminal Mischief"... strange.

I mean, Criminal MISCHIEF for crying out loud! WTF?!

Here are some alternatives that I think would sound a whole lot better:

-Criminal Hooliganery
-Criminal Shenaniganery
-Criminal Tomfoolery
-Criminal Whippersnappery
-Criminal Hijinks
-Criminal Merrymaking
-Criminal Knavery
-Criminal Rapscallionery
-Criminal Scalawaging
-Criminal Ne'er-Do-Welling
-Criminal Villainy (my personal favorite)

Unfortunately, you cant drive, talk on yuor cell phone, and wield a 2-handed broadsword at the same time.

/uless your a level 5 ranger

Unfortunately, you cant drive, talk on yuor cell phone, and wield a 2-handed broadsword at the same time.

/uless your a level 5 ranger

YOU can't.

/smug

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

/obligatory

did he happen to look like this?

21st century jousting! It's harder because you have to swing with your left arm.

"Just kill the one with the sword first."
"Ah," Reagan says, raising his waxed and penciled eye-brows, and cocking his pompadour in Shaftoe's direction. "Smarrrt-- You target them because they're the officers, right?"
"No, farkhead!" Shaftoe yells. "You kill 'em because they've got farking swords! You ever had anyone running at you waving a farking sword?""

/reads too much Stephenson
//Didn't read the article
///Quote probably doesn't apply

I believe this is a traffic sign in Tokyo...

I know why he used a sword . . .

. . . because Lightning Bolts don't work on tires.

Shiftless Actualy, I know several larpers who play in the Keene area... two of which are from Nash-vegas.

And on the broadsword to the tire move, hamstringing giants, duh. What else can you do to something that's 80 feet tall?

Also, cant remember if this is real or just dumb people talking, I thought double edged weapons were ilegal in the state of New Hampshire? Seem to remember some trouble at a Ren Fair right over the border in Maine once with some New Hampshirites claiming they were selling ilegal wares.

/D&D Geek
//thinks a Khopesh would be more impressive for obscure D&D references...

NKThrasher
maybe it was a NH legal Backsword.
with tameshigiri certified goodness

I thought what Gibson had in Braveheart was a Claymore, not a broadsword?

By the way, a bastard sword is called a "hand and a half sword" This means you have the choice of using it one or two handed.

Damn D&D and other Fantasy crap leading us astray (did the same thing by making people think a Morningstar had a chain between the head and pole).

the morningstar is a mace with a spiked ball no chain, the flail has the ball attached to the chain and handle

/once a D&D guy now plays WOW

Toshiro Mifune's Letter Opener

-Criminal Ne'er-Do-Welling

Shouldn't it be Ne'er-Doing-Wellery?

SiON42X - Thank you for being a proper geek. You've learned to seperate the D&D crap from the real deal.
I too was going to pipe in about the claymore. Hand and a half/bastard sword is pretty much a 2 handed longsword, thats all.

Yeah, swords scare people....I think mostly because a gun is so sterile, you don't have to be too close, person hit has a small hole, you don't need to watch them bleed out.

But for up close and personal, a sword has it. You're gonna hack someone and the stench of offal will greet your nose, blood will spray and it's gonna be messy.

/sword freak
//Maybe that's why I like slashes
///Slash slash
////Not the herion Slash though, he sucks