Broadsword

“Middenrealmers boast that they invented the long sword. The Horasians won’t let you forget that they invented the foil. The Tulamydes claim the scimitar, which they call a Thalusianer or something like that. But as our sagas prove, we invented the first sword and carried it here from our ancient homeland across the sea.”
— Erlgard Swerfildsdottir, warrior of the Fortress of Prem, 1037 FB

The broadsword, primarily used in Thorwal, is an ancient design that is slightly shorter than a longsword and has a broader blade, though with no cross-guard.

The broadsword’s heavy blade is quite capable of smashing shields into pieces (though Thorwalers prefer to use the orc-nose for that purpose). However, the missing cross-guard makes it unsuited for parrying twohanded weapons.

“I prefer the orc-nose, but that’s a matter of taste.”

— Tjalva Garheltsdottir, Hetja of Prem

“Bards sing the praises of this sword, but there are better choices these days. Broadswords are unbalanced, and the advantages don’t outweigh the disadvantages.”

— Geron Bladebreaker, mercenary

“With enough strength behind it, this sword will do more damage than a Weidenan long sword.”

— Tjalva Garheltsdottir, Hetja of Prem

Technique	Damage	P+T	AT/PA	Reach	Weight	Length	Cost	Complexity
Swords	d6+4	AGI/STR 14	-1/–1	medium	1.5 stn 3 lbs	90 hf/cm 35 inches	180 S	simple

Weapon Advantage: The broadsword can perform the maneuver Shield-Splitter even though this normally cannot be combined with the combat technique Swords.

Weapon Disadvantage: The broadsword receives a -2 penalty on PA against the combat techniques Two-Handed Impact Weapons and Two-Handed Swords.