weapon weights?

[Oneway]

from before time (ie Fred) i seem to recall there being a formula along the lines of DC to kgs for weapon weights.

 

i've had no luck in finding tho, any thoughts?

 

a page number (i've only Re-Fred with me) or a quick formula would help.

[Susano]

Re: weapon weights?

 

from before time (ie Fred) i seem to recall there being a formula along the lines of DC to kgs for weapon weights.

 

i've had no luck in finding tho, any thoughts?

 

a page number (i've only Re-Fred with me) or a quick formula would help.

 

There is no formula anymore, as it wasn't valid.

 

Figure most swords and axes are going to be 3-5 pounds. Two-handed swords around 7-10 lbs, pole-arms are 10-12 lbs. Of course, these are rough estimates and guesses as I don't have my reference books with me. I do know, however, that swords are not 20-50 lbs, not matter what the fanboys and old AD&D books may say.

[Oneway]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Figure most swords and axes are going to be 3-5 pounds. Two-handed swords around 7-10 lbs' date=' pole-arms are 10-12 lbs.[/quote']

 

sounds reasonable to me.

 

off hand, do you recall if Hero has put anything in stone on this one(ie a chart), or if it is left to the GMs to come up with weapon weights?

 

(in absense of a chart, i fig i'll just go thru and arbitraily add weights to the weapon chart)

[Susano]

Re: weapon weights?

 

sounds reasonable to me.

 

off hand, do you recall if Hero has put anything in stone on this one(ie a chart), or if it is left to the GMs to come up with weapon weights?

 

(in absense of a chart, i fig i'll just go thru and arbitraily add weights to the weapon chart)

 

Vaguely. I think it was in the old Star Hero books or some such.

[Theron]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Actually polearms run in the same weight range as other great weapons.

 

Here's a good starting point for discussion on the weights of weapons:

 

http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm

 

A quick Google search for Medieval Weapon Weights brings up a number of likewise worthy sites.

[Susano]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Yeah, I think I was overdoing the weights a bit at the top end. I've heard that 10 lbs two-handers were mostly execution and/or arming swords, used for ceremonies. Oh, and I have heard claims that Arnold's sword in the film Conan the Barbarian weighed 100 lbs. I told the guy to go to a hardware store, find a 16 lb pry bar, lift it, and imagine swinging it around. Not going to happen, not matter how strong you are (unless we allow super hero STR).

 

Oh, and no, armor wasn't so heavy that if you fell over, you couldn't get up and/or needed a crane to get onto your horse. And, in fact, infantry in Iraq tend to carry as much, or more, weight then a middle ages knight. Something like 95 lbs of gear, IIRC correctly.

[Old Man]

Re: weapon weights?

 

IIRC the weight/DC formula dates from Cyber Hero, where all powers come from a focus of some kind, and some system was needed to determine how big a given item would be. The system in CH was almost completely broken, though.

[Lethosos]

Re: weapon weights?

 

I actually peffer the Stone system in IronClaw--it actually made sense to rank something in terms of a fraction of a stone. I always equate 1 stone sword to a big two-handed sword. Similarlly, a 1/4 stone sword is a short sword.

 

And for the record, 1 stone = 16 pounds.

[ghost-angel]

Re: weapon weights?

 

The Expanded Object Table in the The Ultimate Brick lists weights for things in kg. It lists a lot of things.

 

Fantasy Weapons are on p147 of that book.

[Steve Long]

Re: weapon weights?

 

The UB chart that ghost-angel references is also in FH itself, as part of the price list beginning on FH 144. The weapons table on FH 164, which is reprinted in the HSEG, also lists the weights of various weapons.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: weapon weights?

 

There are a number of good vendor sites out on the web for historical weapons and armor, along with some other gear. Most of the websites will list the dimensions and weight of the weapons. Look at stuff labeled as "battle ready" for the most realistic numbers... a lot of the wallhanger peices will be either much lighter or heavier than is really practical, whereas the battle ready gear is usually marketed at re-enactors who actually have to use the stuff.

 

here is a site to get you started... http://www.historicalweapons.com

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: weapon weights?

 

I actually peffer the Stone system in IronClaw--it actually made sense to rank something in terms of a fraction of a stone. I always equate 1 stone sword to a big two-handed sword. Similarlly, a 1/4 stone sword is a short sword.

 

And for the record, 1 stone = 16 pounds.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really see the point in adding another math operation to that. Why is 'quarter stone' better than 'four pounds', other than perhaps sounding cooler?

 

(Of course, I know people who would ask what the other three-quarters are made of.)

[Lethosos]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Well, that's your opinion--I just like it because it gives me a better feel for roughly how much something weighs.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Oh' date=' and no, armor wasn't so heavy that if you fell over, you couldn't get up and/or needed a crane to get onto your horse. And, in fact, infantry in Iraq tend to carry as much, or more, weight then a middle ages knight. Something like 95 lbs of gear, IIRC correctly.[/quote']

 

I've read that the amount of weight a typical soldier carries hasn't changed much since Roman times at least. What makes up the weight has shifted from armor to ammo and gadgetry, but still about the same weight.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really see the point in adding another math operation to that. Why is 'quarter stone' better than 'four pounds', other than perhaps sounding cooler?

 

(Of course, I know people who would ask what the other three-quarters are made of.)

Sounding cooler is what it's all about. That's why Steve made it official that powers have kewl names (Fool me twice, shame on me) instead of just a mechanical description (+5 Deduction, only to see through a recurring villain's ploys).

 

I say more power to the quarter stone crowd.

[Curufea]

Re: weapon weights?

 

All those old imperial measurements sound cool. Maybe that's what made the British Empire appear so cool?

[Bismark]

Re: weapon weights?

 

In areas like this, it's the exceptions that prove the rule; there was at least one Mediaeval knight (cannot remember the name) who used a 2-handed sparthe [axe] with a head weighing in at about 19-20 pounds (9 Kg metric) ; this was, however, singled out as exceptional (it was a way to show how obscenely strong the guy using it was). What made things even more impressive was the fact that he used in it actual battles in the 100 Years' War. [As we all know, there is a world of difference between using a heavy weapon for a couple of minutes and using it for extended periods in a battle situation]

 

An earlier example was the Syrian warrior 'Ahaz the Tall' (from early Crusades period), who had a spear/lance that one of the Knights who fought him (himself a pretty big Norman-type) could barely lift, let alone use, it was that heavy [unfortunately, the weight is not given].

 

I have seen 1-handed swords weighing in at 10 lbs/4.5 Kg, but these were practice swords for Mediaeval re-enactment; they were also deliberately awkward of balance. The idea was that when the people who had learned to fight using these things were given properly-balanced and weighted 'battle-ready' swords, they would think they were 'waving a wand around' (to quote a friend of mine who went through that training system).

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: weapon weights?

 

All those old imperial measurements sound cool. Maybe that's what made the British Empire appear so cool?

 

The question, of course, becomes how many times you will have to tell your American gamers how much a stone is before it eventually sinks in.

 

I still can't remember metric conversions.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: weapon weights?

 

The question, of course, becomes how many times you will have to tell your American gamers how much a stone is before it eventually sinks in.

 

I still can't remember metric conversions.

I once had a lot of fun making up a "wanted" poster for the character I played at Faire (as part of an ongoing day long customer interaction gig). It was a hoot. Drawing a sinister likeness of myself was fun

I expected customers to be confused over some of the more "period" criminal charges alleged (Like "Activities and associations of an Egyptian kynde").

I was amused to find that the single most confusing thing on the whole wanted poster was my "Weight of 10 stone or abouts" line.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: weapon weights?

 

I expected customers to be confused over some of the more "period" criminal charges alleged (Like "Activities and associations of an Egyptian kynde").

 

So what is that? Vagrancy?

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: weapon weights?

 

So what is that? Vagrancy?

Pretty much, yeah.

 

More or less means "Hangs out with and acts like a Gypsy"

[Wolfe-Chan]

Re: weapon weights?

 

I actually peffer the Stone system in IronClaw--it actually made sense to rank something in terms of a fraction of a stone. I always equate 1 stone sword to a big two-handed sword. Similarlly, a 1/4 stone sword is a short sword.

 

And for the record, 1 stone = 16 pounds.

 

Actually a stone is 14 lbs. Check out the Wikipedia here

 

Wolfe-Chan

[Wolfe-Chan]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Actually polearms run in the same weight range as other great weapons.

 

Here's a good starting point for discussion on the weights of weapons:

 

http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm

 

A quick Google search for Medieval Weapon Weights brings up a number of likewise worthy sites.

 

 

Thank you for this site! It has made me want to run out and practicing with weapons again! Maybe I will actually do it again and loose all the pounds I am supposed so says my doctor!

[Lucius]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Yeah' date=' I think I was overdoing the weights a bit at the top end. I've heard that 10 lbs two-handers were mostly execution and/or arming swords, used for ceremonies. Oh, and I have heard claims that Arnold's sword in the film [i']Conan the Barbarian[/i] weighed 100 lbs. I told the guy to go to a hardware store, find a 16 lb pry bar, lift it, and imagine swinging it around. Not going to happen, not matter how strong you are (unless we allow super hero STR).

 

Oh, and no, armor wasn't so heavy that if you fell over, you couldn't get up and/or needed a crane to get onto your horse. And, in fact, infantry in Iraq tend to carry as much, or more, weight then a middle ages knight. Something like 95 lbs of gear, IIRC correctly.

 

Thank you. I was looking for that information.

 

Isn't it the case that that's been a constant for some time? I remember hearing that the gear of soldiers has changed over the centuries, but the actual mass carried has been constant since Roman times....

 

By the way, how sure are you of that figure? It seems high to me...

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Air Force Surplus Palindromedary

[Susano]

Re: weapon weights?

 

Thank you. I was looking for that information.

 

Isn't it the case that that's been a constant for some time? I remember hearing that the gear of soldiers has changed over the centuries, but the actual mass carried has been constant since Roman times....

 

By the way, how sure are you of that figure? It seems high to me...

 

Pretty sure. I've heard the number, or one like it, given often. Cpt. Obvious is Army, and he seemed okay with it, although I will admit to having heard numbers ranging from 60-110, with 80-100 typical.