Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Fans of tabletop fancy playact game likeDungeon & Dragons , or figurer RPGs likeFinal Fantasy VII , will often joke in upright nature about how the swords of their RPG admirer are right smart too huge . Over - sized greatswords , however , just call off the summit of the iceberg lettuce when it comes to poorly impersonate melee weapon in RPGs . Historical armaments like warfare hammer and battle axes are oftentimes give over - the - top designs by RPG graphic designer and video plot developer who get for style over practicality ( and may miss history degrees ) .
Popular media is full of exotic - looking knightly artillery that are over - sized , poorly balanced , overlay in an excess of spike , and would probably be Laputan to use in real living . TheDark Soulsfranchiseis infamous for having such spectacularly overdone artillery right beside literal medieval armaments . It ’s easy to assume this course begin in the New industrial era , long after swords , shield , and dental plate armor were abandon as weapon of warfare .
Related : Demon ’s Souls Most Obscure Weapons ( & Their Real Medieval Equivalents )
But unrealistic , stylized weapons have been around for one C - if not millennium - in the manikin of fantastical weapons seen in paintings and sculpture , and over - sized weapons manufactured as position symbols for aristocrats . These stylise - yet - diachronic weapons make it even more tricky for modern artists and historiographer to figure out what substantial warriors used up to the early era of flintlock firearms . Tricky , but not impossible .
The Khopesh
The Khopesh , a reaping hook - shaped loan-blend of axe and brand used by the armies of ancient Egyptduring the Bronze Age , is a perennial favorite of fantasy artist and RPG room decorator , frequently placed in the bridge player of warriors from " alien " cultures such as the Dothraki in theGame Of ThronesTV serial ( as deconstructed in thisACOUPhistory web log Wiley Post ) . A lot of fantasy protagonists , however , are demo hold the Khopesh backwards , with the inner curve of the blade facing towards the opponent , and the weapon may be sharp on the inside of the curve rather than the exterior . Second , many " illusion Khopeshes " are right smart too great ; most actual historic Khopesh weapons recovered by archaeologists are under 2 feet in size .
Warhammers
A lot of fantasy war hammer ( including the titulary logotype of theWarhammertabletop universe ) are big and flowery , influence like sledgehammers or blacksmith putz with big , square heads . Generally , war hammers like these would have been mostly been impractical on the battleground for the same reason giant steel like theDragonslayer sword fromBerserkwould be impractical : they ’d be too heavy and unbalanced to wield effectively . Historical war malleus came into vogue during a time where plate armor was nigh invulnerable to slashing weapons . consequently , most medieval war pound had a piercing hook along with small striking heads designed to damage opposition through concussive force .
Military Flails
In illusion media , military flails are oftentimes portrayed as a variance on the spiked Chemical Mace known as the Morningstar , the striking head attached to the handle through a poor chain . There are a few examples of flails found in theartwork of medieval manuscriptsand solicitation of chivalric weapons , but literal " musket ball - and - chain " flails date back to this period of history are rather rare ( accord to this article onThe Public Medievalist ) , suggesting that this character of weapon was either rarely used or more of a status symbol .
Related : D&D Classes & Subclasses For Players Who Want To Make Blacksmith PCs
The two - handed flail , a magnetic pole with a dangling cudgel used to thresh grain , record up a peck more frequently in medieval manual of arms of European martial artwork , and is frequently summons in sources as a cock of Goth rebellion .
Battle Axe
There are a lot of two - handed battle Axis in phantasy fiction portray as have pass with two broad blade on each oddment : this sort of battle axe is wield by the gnome Gimli fromThe Lord Of The Ringsfilm trilogy and is often the signature tune weapon of barbarian fiber fromRPGs likeDungeons & Dragons . In veridical life-time , however , most double - bladed axes were and are used for chopping , with the extra sword behave as a back - up when the other grows thudding . Most two - handed battle axis from the premodern era had a single , relatively slender question for keep their weight down . One exception to this is the double - bladed " Labrys " axes from Minoan inhumation sites on the island of Crete , ornate bronze objects likely made for spiritual or ceremonial purpose .
Next : Weapons & Armor Dungeons & Dragons depict Inaccurately
reference : A aggregation Of Unmitigated Pedantry , The Public Medievalist
