Everyone knows that Katanas Are Underpowered in D20...
But what if, for the sake of a certain setting, they really were?
How would you imagine a setting in which a certain kingdom, using a presumably magical yet very easily reproducible process, discovers how to produce a sword which actually HAS the qualities of the meme katana. It may not be able to afford to arm every single soldier with that ridiculous munchkin sword, but it can easily provide thousands of them with it.
How would that change the politics of the setting? How would that affect the way wars are conducted? Would it truly cause that much of a change?
Sorry, I don't want to derail the thread but if a player wants to use an eastern themed weapon like a katana or a tanto or a tetsubo (my personal favorite) I just let them reflavor a longsword or a dagger or a greatclub. Is this bad?
Jeremiah Rodriguez
You've probably just fatally derailed the thread. Oh well.
Thomas Rivera
>DmC Vorgil
No.
Jack Wilson
A saber would be better fit for a katana than longsword desu.
>posting vorgil
Evan Harris
I dunno man, what tends to happen in history if one entity gains a distinct technological advantage over everybody else?
They either rule until they are taken down from a combination of becoming too dependant on the weapon and becoming too lax in innovation and someone else overtakes them or finds a way to exploit the perceived advantage OR Everybody else quickly copies the technology and you end up in an arms race.
Jason Parker
So, lightsabers?
Owen James
The interesting thing about meme katanas is that they're the most bullshit overpowered melee weapon that can be imagined using the system - HOWEVER, that's still all they ultimately are. They aren't even magical, they're not ranged, they certainly don't come anywhere near the destructive potential of arcane magic. I wonder just how much of a difference memetanas would truly make in a D&D setting where battles are decided by which side has the most wizards and dragons anyway.
Sebastian Mitchell
Basically you'd get a few legendary warriors fighting to possess all of these god-weapons for themselves, capable of stupidly flashy, superhuman feats like cutting entire buildings in half in single strikes.
Nicholas Wilson
Happy dog! Happy happy dog dog :3
Brayden Bennett
For the unaware, this is the statline of the "meme katana":
(One-Handed Exotic Weapon) 1d12 Damage 19-20 x4 Crit +2 to hit and damage Counts as Masterwork
(Two-Handed Exotic Weapon) 2d10 Damage 17-20 x4 Crit +5 to hit and damage Counts as Masterwork
As you can see, it's certainly bullshit-tier insofar as nonamagical melee weapons go, but is this really a game changer in a fantasy world like D&D's generally set in?
Andrew Martin
This was actualy a think when the AD&D Fiend Folio came out. There was a race of humanoids who could forge magic weapons and armor out of ordinary metals. Everyone was constant trying to capture their weapons and make sure they worked for themselves, but naturally, the fact that they were severely outclassed from the get-go meant the humanoids were often the victors in these clashes, leading to the enslavement and torture of many people. After all, they had started the invasions.
I am speaking, of course, of the AD&D Drow race, from the fiend folio, who had weapons with magical properties as a racial feature. As long as the weapons and armor remained underground they were more powerful than standard weapons and armor by far, especially considering a +2 weapons was a fucking amazing find in that system, and Drow often had +2, +3, or even +4 weapons and armor, and even the lowest warrior had +1 sword and armor in a system where magic items were rare.
Dominic Thomas
Nope.
Dominic Jones
>is this really a game changer in a fantasy world like D&D's generally set in? At low levels, certainly. For martials, absolutely.
Jackson Robinson
I'm spoiled by the system my group plays. It is a 3.5 clone that has extra rules for upgrading and customizing equipment.
A maxed out non magic bastard sword is this 5d10 damage 17-20/x4 crit +3 to damage masterwork.
Technically it is not maxed out but any further upgrades would cause penalties.
Ryan Jenkins
A sword is a sword, but like said, saber is more appropriate, since the only real difference, semantics and SUPERIOR NIPPON STEEL aside, is that the people who made sabers thought a bit more about not letting the wielder get his fingers chopped off.
We can wax poetic about the art and form of the katana till we're blue in the face, but if you take a mass production cavalry saber, and a mass production katana, you're not looking at much of a gap in quality.
Kayden Thompson
>the only real difference, You forget the bit about katana being two handed weapons. It's also much heavier than a saber of the same length, so using it one handed like a saber wouldn't do you much good.
Anthony Ward
>sword which actually HAS the qualities of the meme katana Valyrian steel? Their forging involved magic but was quite commonplace in times of ancient Vayria, they become rare only after the fall, and that swords were clearly superior to nearly anything else/
Mason Davis
So Falchion is probably more appropriate?
Jayden Thompson
>song of ice and fire shit
Michael Sullivan
>expecting neo-Veeky Forums to have any knowledge about fantasy beyond got and possibly tolkien movies
John Wood
I feel like saber is okay but its only as correct as longsword. At least a longsword uses two hands. Weilding a saber is completely different than weilding a katana.
Tyler Young
What you don't understand is Katanas are made from steel folded 100 times by Swordmasters.
Longswords are just made by blacksmiths, the same people who make pots and pans. They aren't specialists.
Plus a HUGE bonus to Katana damage is the superior rigorous training that goes into Japanese swordsmanship. The training and skill to wield such an elegant weapon is lost on mundane medieval weaponry.
Imo the Katana should be a versatile d10/2d6. That's what I ruled in my game anyway.
Nicholas Watson
I want this meme to die. I have wanted it to die since 2008.
Katana is a decent weapon if all you want to do is to have an expensive penis extension to cut unarmed and unarmored peons with.
Luis Peterson
*unsheathes katana*
You sure kid?
Logan Bailey
the 3.5 A&EG has conversions for eastern weapons. Katanas are listed as equivalent to Masterwork Bastard swords. that's the only part of the pasta that is any kind of sensible.
Ryan Scott
>But what if, for the sake of a certain setting, they really were? Monomolecular-edged HF vibroswords. That or lightsabers. Any other questions?
Aaron Morgan
Were they any more expensive than other swords in feudal Japan?
Jose Barnes
>Same shape How can this guy get some stuff so right and other stuff so wrong? Yeah, Japanese swords (not just Katana) are curved...but they have different degrees of curve, thickness, lenght, tips, cross section, materials, etc. This guy is basically saying pic related has stood the same for 2000 years because they all are straight and anything else doesn't matter.
Carson Rogers
Why did you post a pic of a the same image repeated 12 times?
Nathaniel Bailey
I actually like PF katana 1d8, 2hd, 18-20x2, deadly Lethal: +4 to damage on coup de grace
Is similar to falchion
Liam Adams
Well, there're the ones that actually make up the discussion, which you haven't read as far.
Dominic Jenkins
What's the name of the clone? Or is it a homebrew?
