Broadswords family ("messers") (3.5e Equipment)

Author: Aramir (talk) Date Created: 21/03/2020 Status: Open to suggestions. Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Broadswords family ("messers")

Cost:	—
Damage (Small):
Damage (Medium)1:
Critical:	x2
Weight2:	—
Type3:	Slashing
Hardness:	10

1. See Damage Increases by Size to calculate the damage for a weapon larger than Medium or smaller than Small.
2. Weight figures are for Medium weapons. A Small weapon weighs half as much, and a Large weapon weighs twice as much.
3. When two types are given, the weapon is both types if the entry specifies "and", either type (player's choice at time of attack) if the entry specifies "or", or each end of the double weapon is a different type if the entry specifies "/".
4. The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons, and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than Medium.

So friends, that's my point: personally I'm a scholar of old Messer typologies and a D&D aficionado; since Locke introduced a Messer (simple two-handed melee weapon) a Kriegsmesser (exotic two-handed melee weapon), I think I should also introduce other members of the "Messer family". I mean a family of wide-and-heavy-bladed single-edged swords that could be called "messers", all with a straight or slightly curved blade suited for terrible slicing attacks and brutal chopping. That's our new "family", after my last revisions and updated informations:

1)"Haumesser"(literally “hew knife”, it is also called Hiebmesser or Dagger Messer; simple light melee weapon): weight 1lb, damage 2d2, critical 20x2.

2)"Bauernwehr"(literally "peasant's sidearm", it's a short Messer; simple light melee weapon): weight 2 lbs, damage 2d3, critical 20x2.

3)"Malchus" (it’s a War one-handed Messer, which is a cleaver form of Langes Messer (litteraly “long knife”); this is the martial version of the poor man’s simple Messer, that one presented by Locke; the Malchus is basically a one-handed medieval falchion-type sword, with a wide and thick blade; martial one-handed melee weapon): weight 4 lbs, damage 2d4, critical 20x2.

4)"Grosses Messer"(literally “big knife”, it's a War hand-and-a-half Kriegsmesser or Bastard Messer; exotic one-handed melee weapon, with -2 penalty if used in one hand with Exotic Weapon Proficiency; it means it works a little bit like the "Tachi" created by our collegue Azya on this blog, though there is some difference between the two weapons): weight 6 lbs, damage 2d6, critical 20x2.

5)"Knochenbrecher" (literally "bonebreaker", it's a War two-handed Kriegsmesser or Greatmesser; martial two handed melee weapon): weight 8 lbs, damage 2d8, critical 20x2.

Within the range of middle dimensions, this family of swords is characterized by a powerful double-dice damage (increasing proportionally from 2d2 to 2d8) and by a low critical (always 20x2). Since the lack of a group of brutally functional, heavy-and-wide-bladed backswords in 3.5 edition D&D, this group of 5 weapons fills that niche, introducing a new category of swords that can be called "wide-bladed backswords", "heavy backswords" "bladeswords" or whatever you may suggest!!!

I've reflected a lot about these new weapons, and I want to share my ideas with you. So I hope you will appreciate my contribution. Thank you very much in advance, guys!

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