According to the 3.5 edition of D&D elves have a racial affiliation with long swords, rapiers and bows. The association with bows may well be a cliché but I think it makes sense and it's a cliché that pleases me. But I have never associated elves with long swords or rapiers. Not even mentioning the vast time period differences between a long sword and a rapier.
So I decided to created a new 'racial' weapon for the elves, the Double Leaf Staff. This will replace the proficiency with long swords and rapiers. Mechanically it is mostly a reskinning of the already existing double sword. I don't like how the double sword is designed in the D&D game. This weapon would replace that as well.
Double Leaf Staff
The double leaf staff appears as a four foot wooden shaft with a tapered, double edged blade attached at either end. The blades are almost always designed with a leaf motif.
A double leaf staff is a double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. A creature wielding a double leaf staff in one hand can't use it as a double weapon — only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.
The double leaf staff can benefit from the Weapon Finesse feat.
The double leaf staff does either piercing or slashing damage depending on the desire of the user. Only one type of damage can be done with any single attack action.
The double leaf staff is most often used in single combat and duels, it is rarely seen on the open battlefield.
Cost: 100 gp
Damage: 1d6/1d6 (Small sized version)
Damage: 1d8/1d8 (Medium sized version)
Critical threat range: 19-20/×2
Weight: 6 lb.
Damage type: Piercing or Slashing
An illustration of the weapon can be found here:
http://ironstaff.deviantart.com/art/Elven-Double-Leaf-Staff-130711147
For a forest-dwelling/-tending culture, I'm immediately reminded of the naginata or guisarme, the use of both of which was derived from a pruning hook. The guisarme in particular involved a blade with a hook on the back -- the hook for drawing an opponent in or down, the blade for cutting him up.
Really, both the longsword and the longbow are incredibly ill-suited for a woodland people. Spears, short swords, and hand bows are all much more at home in the woods.
!i!
That's cool. I like the illustration. :)
Quote from: Drohem;316062That's cool. I like the illustration. :)
Thank you. Weapons are one of my passions. :)
Elves get rapiers and longswords because there's more to elves than forest hippies. There's also the nobility angle, the ancient civilization angle, and on and on.
Quote from: J Arcane;316172Elves get rapiers and longswords because there's more to elves than forest hippies. There's also the nobility angle, the ancient civilization angle, and on and on.
Even taking that into account I don't associate either the long sword or rapeir. I associate those weapons with humans. I wanted something that could be linked with he elves without a human association. Heck, if the Klingon's can have ethnic weapons, why can't the elves?
Quote from: J Arcane;316172Elves get rapiers and longswords because there's more to elves than forest hippies. There's also the nobility angle, the ancient civilization angle, and on and on.
Quote from: Tetsubo;316200Even taking that into account I don't associate either the long sword or rapeir. I associate those weapons with humans. I wanted something that could be linked with he elves without a human association. Heck, if the Klingon's can have ethnic weapons, why can't the elves?
Both very good points.
Quote from: Tetsubo;316200Even taking that into account I don't associate either the long sword or rapeir. I associate those weapons with humans. I wanted something that could be linked with he elves without a human association. Heck, if the Klingon's can have ethnic weapons, why can't the elves?
I agree. Basically, one point is not the opposite of the other. You can have more than two-dimensional elves in a setting AND some cultural weapons for them.