# What are the stats for a standard katana?



## kirinke (Jun 28, 2004)

what are the statistics for a standard katana? cost, damage etc
I can't find it anywhere in the dmg/phb.
Could someone give me those stats? if you can't could you at least give me the weapon's 'normal' equivalent?


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## Carnifex (Jun 28, 2004)

A katana is treated as a masterwork bastard sword.


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## kirinke (Jun 28, 2004)

ah. thankies!


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## jgbrowning (Jun 28, 2004)

Everyone knows katanas do 4d12 damage with a crit range of 15-20 at x4.


Geezzz.......


joe b.


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## maddman75 (Jun 28, 2004)

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> Everyone knows katanas do 4d12 damage with a crit range of 15-20 at x4.
> 
> 
> Geezzz.......
> ...




Nonsese - that's only the 3.5 'nerfed' version.  Real katanas do instant death versus anything, cut through plate armor like its butter, and make the wielder instantly gain twelve points of Charisma.


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## Westwind (Jun 28, 2004)

Bah, people who played in 2e using Skills and Powers knew true power lay in the No-Dachi (in essence, a large katana).  There was a power that bumped the damage die up to the next highest.  No-dachis did d20 vs. large creatures, and unless you had one of those d30s (I did, my DM didn't), the next highest die was the d100.


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## Dark Jezter (Jun 28, 2004)

Katanas can cut through armor!  And still slice a tomato!


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## wizardneedsfood (Jun 28, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Katanas can cut through armor!  And still slice a tomato!




At the same instant. Yes, they can be in two places at once kids. It slices, it dices, and it helps you skip class.


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## Galethorn (Jun 28, 2004)

Every _cool_ kid has a *Quantum Katana* made of...uhh...diamond-coated tungsten...with an edge made of...uhhh...Anti-matter...

Does 10d12 Force damage, critical 1-20/x10, and the target must succeed a fortitude save (DC 10 x damage dealt), or die. If they succeed, they take the cube of the base damage...


But anyway, a normal katana is a masterwork bastard sword.


Oh, by the way, the Quantum Katana, in the hands of a character with 22 strength, does a maximum of 2,001,636,000 damage if the target somehow succeeds the fortitude save (DC 12,600). Minimum of 4,112 if they succeed the minimum DC of 160.


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## Kai Lord (Jun 28, 2004)

All this talk of katanas is moot.  _Everybody_ knows that Excalibur when wielded by Storm Shadow is the most powerful blade in the universe.


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## Sejs (Jun 28, 2004)

Nah, they don't make you be in two places at once - a katana just automatically gives anyone wielding it a lesser version of the "One Strike, Two Cuts" ability.  

That only works when one target is a fruit and the other is a metal container.


Grape and a snuff box?  Okay!

Apple and a breast plate?  Sure thing!

Lime and an aluminum klein bottle?  You betcha!


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## Scarbonac (Jun 28, 2004)

Dude! 

Katanas are finesseable, they ignore hardness below 50, do 5d30, x10 critical and crit on anything over a 9 (cutting through I-beams & engine-blocks like  they're made of tissue-paper) and deflect energy-blasts, bullets & meteors!


They're excellent for when you want to flip out and kill a whole town!


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## PA (Jun 28, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> All this talk of katanas is moot.  _Everybody_ knows that Excalibur when wielded by Storm Shadow is the most powerful blade in the universe.




Not Sommerswerd?


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## Dark Jezter (Jun 28, 2004)

On a related note, I wonder where the myth of "katanas as the ultimate sword" got started.  I know that a lot of WWII vets brought them home as war trophies along with exaggerated stories about how they could cut through machine gun barrels, but at some point it became widely-accepted among people who don't know much about swords that katanas were impossibly sharp and strong.

Me, I'm guessing that super-katanas were popularized by anime.  I've seen a lot of anime TV shows and movies where one or more of the characters has a super-katana and knows how to use it.


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## Scarbonac (Jun 28, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> On a related note, I wonder where the myth of "katanas as the ultimate sword" got started.  I know that a lot of WWII vets brought them home as war trophies along with exaggerated stories about how they could cut through machine gun barrels, but at some point it became widely-accepted among people who don't know much about swords that katanas were impossibly sharp and strong.
> 
> Me, I'm guessing that super-katanas were popularized by anime.  I've seen a lot of anime TV shows and movies where one or more of the characters has a super-katana and knows how to use it.





While that's true, there are lots of animes where Western swords are used instead of Japanese blades and they're pretty uber, as well.

Plus we get to see katanas and Westernized blades get broken with a fair amount of frequency in anime.

It's worth noting that in that elderly anime, _Lupin III_, Goemon's katana cut through people, guns, planes _and_ also got broken and replaced.

The katana has _beaucoup_ folkways and mysticism about it from Japan itself that's seperate from Modern Popular Culture that has built up over the centuries, so who's to say, eh?


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## hong (Jun 28, 2004)

PA said:
			
		

> Not Sommerswerd?



 ... which is a katana. Duh.


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## PA (Jun 28, 2004)

hong said:
			
		

> ... which is a katana. Duh.




Hong... don't make me kill you before you reach your 10,000th post.


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## Aaron L (Jun 28, 2004)

Kai Lord said:
			
		

> All this talk of katanas is moot.  _Everybody_ knows that Excalibur when wielded by Storm Shadow is the most powerful blade in the universe.





Man, that just made my day!


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## Darklone (Jun 28, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> On a related note, I wonder where the myth of "katanas as the ultimate sword" got started.  I know that a lot of WWII vets brought them home as war trophies along with exaggerated stories about how they could cut through machine gun barrels, but at some point it became widely-accepted among people who don't know much about swords that katanas were impossibly sharp and strong.
> 
> Me, I'm guessing that super-katanas were popularized by anime.  I've seen a lot of anime TV shows and movies where one or more of the characters has a super-katana and knows how to use it.



I'm not that old, but I think I can safely say that the myth of superior katanas is lots older than animes.

As mentioned, katanas are in fact masterwork bastard swords... which fits nicely due to handling and all the rest.

For style reasons, some people like to use a houserule with katanas as exotic onehanded or martial twohanded weapons (similar to the bastard) but with 1d8 slashing damage and 18-20/*2 crit range.


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## Inconsequenti-AL (Jun 28, 2004)

NOTHING beats ninjas with Katanas.* Not even a bear with a machine gun.

* - Except a lone ninja with a different colour pyjama suit.


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## Cergorach (Jun 28, 2004)

Inconsequenti-AL said:
			
		

> NOTHING beats ninjas with Katanas.* Not even a bear with a machine gun.
> 
> * - Except a lone ninja with a different colour pyjama suit.



Ninjas aren't supposed to be wielding katanas... Was called something like ninja-to or something, has a straight blade instead of a curved blade.

But everyone knows that dual katana wielding dark elves wearing long coats are the bomb! ;-)


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## Zakter (Jun 28, 2004)

Cergorach said:
			
		

> Ninjas aren't supposed to be wielding katanas... Was called something like ninja-to or something, has a straight blade instead of a curved blade.
> 
> But everyone knows that dual katana wielding dark elves wearing long coats are the bomb! ;-)




Nothing beats Lion-o wielding the Eye of Thundera


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## PA (Jun 28, 2004)

Inconsequenti-AL said:
			
		

> NOTHING beats ninjas with Katanas




A pirate with a parrot?


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## Sejs (Jun 28, 2004)

Does the parrot have a katana?


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## Emiricol (Jun 28, 2004)

I  just read some well-informed and interestind discussion on this on another forum.  The short version I gathered from that board is this:

 Ninja did not use straight-bladed weapons (myth).  

 Katana mystique stems from a few factors.  For one, they were the weapon identified with Samurai - even though they were usually a weapon of last resort, only the Samurai class could carry one without being Ginsu'd.  For another, the folding we hear so much about was primarily because the Japanese have crappy metals - the folding removed impurities and made the metal useable.  Late 1800s/early 1900s writers also wrote about the Katana, Bushido and all things "traditional" with a growing nostalgia and revisionist inclination.

 Anyway, the katana is primarily a slashing weapon.  It could slice through bone and flesh easily.  Against metal, less effective - no 1-handed sword is ideal against armor (some two-handed ones use a stabbing technique to get through armor). It was not ideal as a piercing weapon due to the curvature of the blade (length and curve varied GREATLY by period, by the way), but of course a warrior wouldn't waste a good killing shot if the opportunity presented itself.

 As to hardness and sharpness, the blade could not be too hard or it would shatter easily.  Myths of testing sharpness by dropping a cloth or scarf on it are pure fantasy - no weapon that sharp would keep its edge unless it was far too hard (and brittle!) to survive combat.

 The katana was the best sword in the context it was used in.  Certainly they were wonderful weapons.  The weapon would have evolved quickly had it ever had extended use against the armors common in Europe.  It did in fact evolve in Japan as well, with different eras producing weapons of varying curvature and length.

 /end summary.

 THIS is D&D man.  Make it a 2d10 1H martial keen vorporal weapon if you want   But, uh, yeah.  MW bastard sword is about right in game terms in my opinion, and the book I think even says this.


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## Calico_Jack73 (Jun 28, 2004)

Zakter said:
			
		

> Nothing beats Lion-o wielding the Eye of Thundera




Get it right, it was called the "Sword of Omens" and it gave him "Sight Beyond Sight".


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## Sejs (Jun 28, 2004)

The sword was the Sword of Omens, the gem in its crosspiece was the Eye of Thundera, and it was the gem that gave him sight beyond sight.

So you're both right.

^_^


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## Remathilis (Jun 28, 2004)

2d8 energy damage, crit 19-20. Weight 1 Kg. Medium/One-Handed Weapn. A character proficient in it gains an additional d8 every 4 levels (max 6d8). They can also deflect blaster bolts with the right fea...


Oh wait. Thats a Lightsaber. My bad.


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## daTim (Jun 28, 2004)

While reading this thread, I head-butt my dog so hard that we both screamed.


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## sledged (Jun 28, 2004)

Zakter said:
			
		

> Nothing beats Lion-o wielding the Eye of Thundera



 You must not remember episode #43 "Excalibur"

 I spent way to much of the 80s watching TV.


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## PA (Jun 28, 2004)

Sejs said:
			
		

> Does the parrot have a katana?




Not often, since they get free Weapon Focus (Cutlass).


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## jgbrowning (Jun 28, 2004)

daTim said:
			
		

> While reading this thread, I head-butt my dog so hard that we both screamed.




Um.. did you forget your medications...... 

joe b.


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## Lonely Tylenol (Jun 29, 2004)

> Me, I'm guessing that super-katanas were popularized by anime. I've seen a lot of anime TV shows and movies where one or more of the characters has a super-katana and knows how to use it.




In Ranma 1/2, there's a character who can cut trees and stones in half with a wooden sword...which is actually a joke on the whole uber-katana thing.


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## The Mad Kaiser (Jun 29, 2004)

sledged said:
			
		

> You must not remember episode #43 "Excalibur"
> 
> I spent way to much of the 80s watching TV.




And you are both forgeting episode #38 _The Thunder-Cutter_ where a  samurai named Hachi-Man wields the mighty katana "Thunder-Cutter" against Lion-O. The Sword of Omens and the Thunder-Cutter refuse to battle each other, resulting in a draw. They both team up later to stop a ninja who attacks with sleep powder and a shadowy dagger.

I miss good cartoons!


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## Sejs (Jun 29, 2004)

> In Ranma 1/2, there's a character who can cut trees and stones in half with a wooden sword...which is actually a joke on the whole uber-katana thing.



  Heh, I always just saw that as it being their way of saying "Hey look, Kuno's a badass.. just in his own, limited way."

Take away his boken and he's a marshmallow.



...well, actually he's a marshmallow anyway, but then he'd be a marshmallow without a weapon.


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## kirinke (Jun 29, 2004)

Whoot! all this from a simple question... I'm good  
*cracks up laughing.


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## Prince of Happiness (Jun 29, 2004)

Don't forget that they also confer a +12 synergy bonus to sleight-of-hand checks if you're going to conceal one in a trenchcoat!


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## Lonely Tylenol (Jun 29, 2004)

sorry, double post


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## Drifter Bob (Jun 29, 2004)

Emiricol said:
			
		

> I  just read some well-informed and interestind discussion on this on another forum.  The short version I gathered from that board is this:
> 
> Ninja did not use straight-bladed weapons (myth).
> (snip)
> ...




This was a pretty good overview of the Kataana, but while we were at it, on the slim chance that anyone might be curious, it could be worth noting that the actual Bastard Sword (i.e. the weapon which during the period of time it was actually in use, was referred to as a Bastard Sword by the people who used it) was basically a lighter, pointier version of the Longsword, which emphasized thrusting a bit over cutting (basically to deal with heavy armor).  The Bastard Sword had a stiff, sharply tapering blade with a hexagonal or diamond cross section with chisel like edges which could cope with metal armor without breaking.  Bastard swords also often featured elaborate guards including such features as side rings, finger rings.

In DnD, where only one type of attack seems to be allowed, a Bastard Sword should probably be considered a thrusting weapon, incidentally, though in reality it was used for both thrusting and cutting.  

Oakeshotte types XVa and XVIa are typical bastard swords.

Some bastard swords:

A famous bastard sword with one finger ring, from the collection at Alexandria
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/e/deodand23/historical_ringsw.jpg

Some surviving bastard swords
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/photo/1020.html
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_3Z2PB_3z2pb-A.jpg
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_bastard.bmp
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_C.G.716a.jpg
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_ew12-7.jpg
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_ew12-1.jpg

Note the hexagonal blade cross sectoin on this particularly ornate blade
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_16320_a.jpg
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_16320_b.jpg

The simpler Italian Spadona are considered archetypes of the Bastard Sword
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/alb... Spadona in Collezione Marzoli, Brescia 1.jpg

I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that the term Longsword, (in the late medieval period when such weapons were used), referred to that hand-and-a-half weapon which is basically what is called a bastard sword in rpg's.  Confused?  

Both Greatswords and Bastard swords were considered sub-variants of the longsword.  A longsword was a hand and a half weapon, but basically designed for two handed use.  Surviving examples from the 15th century and earlier vary in overall length from as little as 42" to as long as 56", with blade lengths from 30" to 39".  The average longsword was about 50" or just over four feet long.

Oakeshott types XIIa and XVIIIb are typical longswords.

Here is a modern reproduction of an English Longsword
http://www.armor.com/2000/catalog/gallery/images/194gall3.jpg

And here are some surviving originals
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/aa_antique/normal_13996_a.jpg
http://www.myarmoury.com/albums/albums/userpics/normal_83178.jpg

A Greatsword was basically the same weapon more optimized for cutting over thrusting, with a flatter blade cross section, and a wider, less tapering blade, often ending in a rounded or spatulate point.

Oakeshotte types XIIIa and XX are typical greatswords.

The weapon called a Longsword in most every RPG (in emulation of the original research done by EGG or whoever) is more accurately called an Arming Sword.

The Edward III sword is probably the archetypal arming sword:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/e/deodand23/steel/arming.jpg

You can read about Oakeshottes typology here:

http://www.algonet.se/~enda/oakeshott_eng.htm

It should also be noted that not only was the longsword longer and more versatile than the Katana in that it could thrust as well as cut, being a dual edged weapon it could also make dangerous false edge cuts, which could be executed in rapid series of alternating 'twitch' cuts which were taught by the German longsword masters such as Liechtenaur, Meyer and others.  This made the weapon effectively much faster in combat.

DB


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## ssampier (Jun 29, 2004)

Darklone said:
			
		

> For style reasons, some people like to use a houserule with katanas as exotic onehanded or martial twohanded weapons (similar to the bastard) but with 1d8 slashing damage and 18-20/*2 crit range.




I like this rule. I have Asian-obsessed relatives that think the katana was "all that". *rolls eyes*


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## wizardneedsfood (Jun 29, 2004)

Katana were _primarily_ two-handed weapons. The standard style for using a katana was focused on 7 or maybe 8 cuts. The main idea was one-hit, one-kill. 

As for the bastard swords, what we called bastard swords were really hand and a half swords. And historical longswords were two-handed fencing weapons.


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## daTim (Jun 29, 2004)

http://www.realultimatepower.net/

Your source for any ninja and or katana related ideas.


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## Aaron L (Jun 29, 2004)

ssampier said:
			
		

> I like this rule. I have Asian-obsessed relatives that think the katana was "all that". *rolls eyes*




Tell your relatives that a well made pattern welded Viking sword was at _least_ as well made as any katana, several hundred years before katana had developed from the straight Chinese swords that the Japanese copied them from.  That should send them into convulsions, as well as being true.


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## Dinkeldog (Jun 29, 2004)

Rules thread.


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## Darklone (Jun 29, 2004)

Aaron L said:
			
		

> Tell your relatives that a well made pattern welded Viking sword was at _least_ as well made as any katana, several hundred years before katana had developed from the straight Chinese swords that the Japanese copied them from.  That should send them into convulsions, as well as being true.



Nearly the same quality. Katanas suffered from the bad steel quality in Japan, so the thousandfold folding and other stuff from your typical katana myth was necessary to achieve comparable steel quality to western blades. 

Still, some katanas show exceptional quality. Most katana fans simply forget that European swords can show the same quality


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## sledged (Jun 29, 2004)

The Mad Kaiser said:
			
		

> And you are both forgeting episode #38 _The Thunder-Cutter_ where a samurai named Hachi-Man wields the mighty katana "Thunder-Cutter" against Lion-O. The Sword of Omens and the Thunder-Cutter refuse to battle each other, resulting in a draw.



  Excalibur kicked the Sword of Omens' tail, and it would make Thunder-Cutter its "female canine".

 Did anyone else think that Thundercats, Silverhawks, and Tigersharks were the same with different animal themes? And yet I'd gladly own them all on DVD.


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## Kae'Yoss (Jun 29, 2004)

Would you *please* watch your tone? It's "lovechildsword", or one-and-a-half-handed sword, I don't want to hear the other word again (Eric's Grandmother probably just has a seizure because of you guys)


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## wizardneedsfood (Jun 29, 2004)

KaeYoss said:
			
		

> Would you *please* watch your tone? It's "lovechildsword", or one-and-a-half-handed sword, I don't want to hear the other word again (Eric's Grandmother probably just has a seizure because of you guys)





Thanks, that made my day, seriously.


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## noeuphoria (Jul 16, 2004)

Aren't we forgetting aboud Cloud's sword in FF7?  It seems like that would be more uber than a katana.  Assuming of course, one could wield it, since it looks like someone just cut a big sword-shaped object from 6" thick steel.


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## Black Knight Irios (Jul 16, 2004)

Ah, someone mentions FF7, then we should not forget Sephiroth's Uber-Katana, I think it was called Muramasa or Masamune, I wonder.
Or Rurouni Kenshin, featuring Sanosuke with his Zanbato. Or those who like Beat'em Ups Siegfried from Soulblade/Soulcalibur I+II but it's almost the same as Cloud's in FF7.
So what was that all about? -Ah stats of a Katana. To say it simple it it the non-plus-ultra in all things you can imagine!
Or the equivalent to a masterwork b*st*rdsword, that costs 400GP. Even more expensive than a masterwork b*st*rdsword, there must be something special about it!


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## Epametheus (Jul 16, 2004)

Oh, boy. Let's see here..

Cloud's buster sword is a weapon that'd be nigh-unusable in real life.  My group statted it out for D&D as Large Exotic Slashing Weapon, 2d6 damage, 18-20/x2 threat range, 25 pound or so weight, requires a 17+ str to weild, still imposes -1 to attack rolls if you're proficient with it (-5 to attack rolls if you aren't).

Sephy had Masamune, and Cloud could buy a Muramasa sword (which was also a katana) at Yuffie's home town.  Both swords appear in just about every FF game, and are named after a pair of famous Japanese smiths.

Sanosuke's Zanbato was a rather bizarre take on a real weapon; the historic zanbato was just a katana with another two feet or so of blade added to it (going by size, Sephy's Masamune sword is a zanbato), and not the gigantic thing that Sano swung around.

Siegfreid/Nightmare from Soul Calibur is fighting with a bulked-up zweihander -- an already-big sword made bigger.


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## Darklone (Jul 17, 2004)

Clouds Buster sword: Get the half-giant race from the XPH and he can use it


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## rbingham2000 (Jul 17, 2004)

Mainly, I'd have the Katana be just a masterwork bastard sword myself. They could be wielded one-handed, sure, but they're at their best when wielded two-handed.

Katanas that display the mythical qualities lots of people think of (such as slicing through armor and stone and such) would mainly be magical weapons, and as such, would be one of a kind at the very least, complete with names.

Some magical enchantments that would make sense on a katana would be: Defending, Keen, Mighty Cleaving, Speed, Vorpal, and Wounding.

And as for the big two-fisted longer-bladed version of the katana, that weapon is typically called a no-dachi and would be handled much like a greatsword.


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## Ferret (Jul 17, 2004)

THE TUBE IS CIVILISATION!


Moving on, did I hear someone say that they could cut through bone? Are you sure? I know someone who says they cut though a chair with a 'show' katana, but I disbelieve him.

Also Kukris, are they as deadly as I hear? Chopping arms and such.


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## Planesdragon (Jul 17, 2004)

Ferret said:
			
		

> Moving on, did I hear someone say that they could cut through bone? Are you sure? I know someone who says they cut though a chair with a 'show' katana, but I disbelieve him.



 A good "battle-ready" sword should be able to cut someone's entire arm (including bone) off, and could certainly demolish a cheap wooden chair.

 Think about how much damage a strong man with a 3-pound club can do.  Then imagine that focused on a line that's a fraction of an inch wide.

 (And that's not even getting into the various techniques, the actual cutting power of an edge, or what have you.)


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## Orius (Jul 18, 2004)

Black Knight Irios said:
			
		

> Ah, someone mentions FF7, then we should not forget Sephiroth's Uber-Katana, I think it was called Muramasa or Masamune, I wonder.




Well, Masamune is usually one of the most powerfuil weapons in all the FF games, and it's usually a katana.  That's why Sephiroth has it in FF7.


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## Gidien (Jul 18, 2004)

As for the question of whether or not katana could cut through bone, the answer is definately yes. Historically, the samurai would cut through corpses or condemned criminals (and of course disrespectful farmers) in order to test the quality of a blade. There are cutting diagrams showing the lines of cutting, as well as difficulty. Some of these cuts would go through the entire ribcage of a person. 

Also, I have heard that after archeologists dug up the famous battlefield at Sekigahara, they found that the most commonly used cut on the bodies of soliders was one which travels from the shoulder diagonally down to above the hipbone. So these blades could slice through the collarbone as well as the whole ribcage, sternum, and all those muscles and organs, in one shot. And no doubt the samurai were wearing steel armor, on top of all that.

For balance's sake, though, the masterwork lovechild sword is a great way to go. It's all about the coolness factor anyway.


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## Amal Shukup (Jul 18, 2004)

Gidien said:
			
		

> As for the question of whether or not katana could cut through bone, the answer is definately yes.




Absolutely.  Pretty much any well made sword can (with the appropriate technique) cut, chop, hack or punch through bone. Plenty of archaeological and documentary evidence to this effect. 

Incidentally, I am firmly in the Katana = MW Bastard Sword camp. And frankly, I've seen some pretty crappy katanas (even 'real' ones - lots of assembly line junk produced for the Japanese military up through WWII), so the 'MW' bit is fairly subjective...

But sharp? Oh yeah... Couple of anecdotes:

*1.* Many moons ago, I  had the opportunity to practice Tameshigiri (as part of studying Iaido) - wherin cuts are made using a 'live' sword against a tightly rolled bamboo and reeds mounted on a vertical stake. This supposedly approximates the 'difficulty' of removing a head (I have been so told, no direct knowledge obviously).

It was surprisingly easy. Sure, my technique was flawed (cut was wavy, indicating poor blade control) but that 'head' was absolutely severed... Our instructor made it look REAL easy (he was annoying that way).

*2.* I've personally met an Iaido practitioner (at a workshop back in 1989 or so) who had managed to (fairly slowly) push a foot and a half of his instructor's 'live' blade through his left forearm during a demonstration (Tsuka-ate form, I believe). Oops. Didn't feel the resistance or pain until it was well and truly in there. Finally notices it, and as might be expected, passes out.

I've seen the scar. Er, Scars. They're pretty impressive...

The funny bit of the story as I heard it was the reaction of the elderly instructor: who, greatly agitated and making little 'oh! oh!' sounds, rushes out to the slumped student, very carefully removes the sword from the arm, wipes it off with a cloth, rubs it down with clove oil, and starts tapping it with the little bag of powdered rock (whatever it's called) used to absorb excess oil and contaminants...

(In fairness, I'm given to understand that the weapon in question was both quite old and grotesquely valuable. But hello? Bleeding to death over here?)

At any rate, about this point he notices his rapidly exsanguinating student. Again with the 'oh! oh!' sounds, and rapidly improvizes a tourniquet with his obi... No harm, no foul ​
At any rate, vaunted sharpness and all, the Katana is just another weapon: Fairly strong on the offense - particularly the cut (although that linear 'whacking' motion seen in a lot of sport kendo won't cut bread), somewhat fickle on the thrust, reasonably fast.  But overall, not much more effective in its context than a basket-hilted broadsword, a gladius, or even a nice aluminum baseball bat are in theirs.

As for the 'miraculous' properties of Japanese steel? Mostly really good PR: Damascene steel and Indian 'wootz' was just as good and typically started with better raw steel. The differentiated tempering of a katana is cool, but makes for a finicky weapon - you can fubar a katana real easy if you 'ding' the monouchi (the cutting surface near the tip), which is very sharp but terribly brittle. YMMV

A'Mal


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## Darklone (Jul 19, 2004)

Amal Shukup said:
			
		

> The funny bit of the story as I heard it was the reaction of the elderly instructor: who, greatly agitated and making little 'oh! oh!' sounds, rushes out to the slumped student, very carefully removes the sword from the arm, wipes it off with a cloth, rubs it down with clove oil, and starts tapping it with the little bag of powdered rock (whatever it's called) used to absorb excess oil and contaminants...
> 
> (In fairness, I'm given to understand that the weapon in question was both quite old and grotesquely valuable. But hello? Bleeding to death over here?)
> 
> At any rate, about this point he notices his rapidly exsanguinating student. Again with the 'oh! oh!' sounds, and rapidly improvizes a tourniquet with his obi... No harm, no foul



I do so second this story 

In our swordfighting group, we don't have particularly valuable swords (a few thousand $ at max, nothing old though for practice). Yet, as two younger ones practiced freefight with steel weapons, one hit the other one in the face... at once both, the bleeding one (with shaking limbs) and the other one, were cleaning their blades! (insert "oh! oh!" here!)


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## Amal Shukup (Jul 19, 2004)

Darklone said:
			
		

> Yet, as two younger ones practiced freefight with steel weapons




I have waved a fair amount of wood and steel in my day: Western fencing (foil, rapier), Kendo, Iaido, Chinese broadsword, some flirtation with SCA (meh), and dabbling with ARMA (which I'd probably still be at if my bod would let me).  So, I confess that I've been dinged, cut, contused, and full-on injured a few dozen times... Accidents do happen. 

BUT, I gotta say, youngsters free fighting with a) 'live' steel and b) an absence of substantial protective gear strikes me as a tad, well, risky... 




			
				Darklone said:
			
		

> at once both, the bleeding one (with shaking limbs) and the other one, were cleaning their blades! (insert "oh! oh!" here!)




Blood do make a mess of good steel, don't it?  It is still a pretty counter-intuitive (and funny!) reaction...

A'Ma


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## Darklone (Jul 20, 2004)

Amal Shukup said:
			
		

> ...
> BUT, I gotta say, youngsters free fighting with a) 'live' steel and b) an absence of substantial protective gear strikes me as a tad, well, risky...
> 
> A'Ma



Usually, we don't have any free fights with steel blades (blunted 1.5mm edges). Free fights are done with armour or for noobs with buffer weapons. But after two years practising with their steel blades and watching the teachers and some other pros doing training duels with their steel blades, these guys thought they're up to it. 

The boss took care of them ... afterwards.


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## scwolf (Jul 20, 2004)

Somewhat OT for D&D, but handy to keep in mind for D20 Modern: a few years back, in the US pacific northwest (I want to say Seattle or Portland) there was that guy who managed to hold off a couple of squad cars worth of city police, for 12 hours, armed with just a katana.

Of course, that was mostly because the local newsmedia was watching, and the department didn't want to be accused of use of excessive force. They couldn't just shoot the guy, because as long as no one was within reach of his blade, he did not present sufficent threat by the police department's regulatons to authorize use of deadly force. However, they couldn't disarm him either. 

At first, they tried firehoses, but even that wouldn't get him to drop the katana. It took the SWAT team pinning him and the katana against the wall with two seperate straight ladders, while the fire department had the firehose on him, to finally end the standoff.

So, to bring this back to rules... don't forget the +20 to intimidation check rolls while brandishing a katana in a threatening manner.


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## jasper (Jul 20, 2004)

since paper cuts hurt more fear my paper katana one sheet of thickness able to lob of heads and cut the armour off of tanks.


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## Chris Parker (Jul 21, 2004)

*Read... Or Die!*



			
				jasper said:
			
		

> since paper cuts hurt more fear my paper katana one sheet of thickness able to lob of heads and cut the armour off of tanks.




Speaking of Paper Katanas..... anyone here ever seen Read Or Die?

Its a short anime with a modern setting. Main character is a PaperMage... has complete control over paper. Sounds like a silly concept, aye? Until she starts stopping bullets with single sheets of paper.

The idea of her wielding a Paper Katana was certainly an image I thought necessary to share with you guys.

(PS - I love this site. A 65 post thread spawned from someone asking about the stats for a Katana )


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