On Sun, Feb 22, 2004 at 10:35:32AM -0600, Bryan Newell <bryann at bryann.net> wrote: > > > After reading Issola, the regret I have is that the morganti weapon that > > > was transformed was a long dagger, rather than the fencing weapon that > Vlad > > > is used to. He is, of course versed in the use of hand to hand dagger > > > fighting, but his preffered method is foil and dagger. Now Iceflame is > a > > > dagger, but both Blackwand and Pathfinder are full sized swords, and > thus > > > more effective in battle, especially since Great weps AND morganti weps > can > > > kill with the smallest scratch. The dagger used in the left hand is for > > > defence and coup de grace strokes, not for light strokes. > > > > > > From the Issola reading, I get the impression that Lady Teldra is just a > > > bit shorter and much thinner than a machete, more like a thin viking > sax. > > > I just think that she would have prefered a larger home. )) > > > > I got the same basic impression. That particular tidbit has > > always struck a discordant note for me; first, it's very little > > like what you would expect Vlad to use, and second, it's nothing > > like you would expect Teldra herself to prefer. I could *easily* > > perceive Teldra's personality in a slim, decorative and > > deceptively-delicate rapier or similar fencing weapon; it would > > fit her personality to a T and match Vlad's own choice of arms > > as well. > > Issola, hc pg 88 - "It was long for a knife and short for a sword. > Impractical in every way, and was probably not even balanced all that well, > most likely being a bit blade-heavy. This, of course, was useful for > chopping away in battle" > > Issola, hc pg 98 - "It was a narrow blade, very light and useful-feeling in > my hand, about eighteen inches long, and not nearly as blade-heavy as I'd > suspected it would be." > > Issola, hc pg 245 - "It fit my hand like an additional finger, like it > should have been there all along, or maybe it had been there all along and > I'd never been aware of it." I think you missed the hypothetical. > Per fencing.net, the epee is the closest of the three modern fencing weapons > (epee, foil, sabre) to what was actually used in medieval times. Renaissance times. The medieval period was well over before rapiers came into place. > So, an images.google.com search for "epee and dagger" returned the > following: > http://www.imperialweapons.com/swords/iberia/1032-GT.JPG > If you read the specs on the image, the sword has a 37" inch blade, and the > dagger a 17.5" blade, which lines up nicely with Godslayer being used as the > off weapon. Which is exactly what I am pointing out. > Can you imagine how DISTRACTING it would be to fight someone whose > off-weapon was a Great Weapon? It's not like Blackwand, where you just have > to avoid being hit by the one sword, all your attention would be focused on > Godslayer, which isn't the "primary" weapon! I imagine it would get somewhat awkward, but frankly, the sort of people Vlad would need Godslayer against are not likely to be fencing with him. > > However, I think the presence of Lady Teldra in the form of a > > long dagger makes it somewhat more difficult for Vlad to use her > > casually. And I think that's a very good thing for Vlad's moral > > development. He has a Great Weapon now; a certain amount of > > restraint is necessary. Should he resign himself to eating the > > soul of anyone he crossed blades with, at least until Lady Teldra > > wakes up? > I believe that Morrolan has demonstrated that the owners of the Great > Weapons _decide_ when their weapons eat souls. Maybe that is just a trait > of Blackwand, but I got the feeling all Great Weapons worked that way. Why does everyone miss the qualifier? > Plus, as I theorized above, I think in a straight up fight (not an > assassination), most of Vlad's opponents would fall to the sword, not the > dagger (and then he could pick and choose whether to "finish them off" with > Godslayer). This is basically exactly what I said. -- Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) Public Key: http://matthew.infodancer.org/public_key.txt Homepage: http://matthew.infodancer.org/index.jsp Politics: http://www.triggerfinger.org/index.jsp
