Forums - Chronicles of Elyria

8/12/2017 12:54:54 PMIndian serrated swords

markof

Member
Rank 12
1519 Posts
July 2015

Lets talk about impressive and wicked swords.

Those serrated sword are variations of non serrated weapons, some are really elaborate, others only add serration but they all maintain the same usage and family.

Indian swords were hilted or not, straight bladed or not but were often finely decorated.

Elyrian transposition

The Dras's Mergoin would use those wicked blades to their full potential. Any wound inflicted by such blades would be nasty, nastier than a normal wound, if you add that the putrid coating for the biological warfare you understand the Mergoin's saying, "if it bleeds it is already dead but it does not know it yet". I totally see them using a dual sword style as their objective is to wound the enemy and let the infection do all the work, so they'd need to pressure the opponent under a lot of attacks forcing it to defend, lend a blow then retreat.

8/12/2017 1:06:20 PM #1

Flashman

Member
Rank 7
2608 Posts
April 2016

My understanding is that a lot of serrated blades we see from history were decorative in nature. There are some famous straight bladed two-handed swords from Europe that also have partly serrated blades, and they were definitely decorative. Also that first one you've got there is clearly designed to look like a snake in addition to the serration. Style over substance, basically. In practice, if you were to use one, all those serrations would do is either get caught in your opponent, leaving you vulnerable while you tried to extract it, or probably more likely caught on your opponent in some way; their gear, etc.

Also... could you imagine trying to sharpen a serrated blade? What a pain in the neck :)

FWIW, I was KS Backer #21 and wanted nothing but the best for this game.

8/12/2017 1:38:19 PM #2

1mmaculateDeception

Member
Rank 7
1099 Posts
June 2017

Serrated blades would have made for a truly ghastly sight during an execution and that was generally the point of a public execution. Make everyone else not do what the person being executed did.

8/12/2017 2:08:24 PM #3

CaptainSeli

Member
Rank 7
1059 Posts
February 2016

I like these swords, and think the Elyrian version for the Dras is an awesome idea.

I don't feel like we need to be that concerned with what serrated swords in RL were used for. Its not all about the realism. Its also about the fun and look of the game! The fact that the Dras could inflict nasty putrid wounds with these terrifying swords! That would make people think twice about attacking an armed Dras for sure. The serration could hold the toxic bile, slime, or muck easier than a straight edge would.

As for sharpening them, I'd image it would be similar to sharpening a hand saw blade! Just need more specialized tools!

8/12/2017 4:41:22 PM #4

CruxLore

Member
27 Posts
August 2017

Serration would be wonderful for execution and ceremonial events - though flawed in what appears to be a medieval fantasy game. The serrations would be kind of wasted on armour, though perhaps it could be used to enhance the puncturing power of halberds.

Maybe a torture device, as you slowly drag a talon like blade through a prisoner's arms and then slowly roll back on the serrations on the crescent of the blade. Kind of like a sadistic embalming tool for the living.

8/18/2017 11:52:37 PM #5

Xiasmus

Member
3 Posts
August 2017

Serration was more often about appearance and concept, and overall it did not have as significant an impact on the utility of the weapon, but when used it was more likely to widen the wound and cause more incidental injury. The serrations on a saw are there to promote the motion of the blade in a given direction, and to anchor a cut. In a melee weapon serrations might sometimes cause it to lodge, which is a limitation.