World Building - Fantasy Weapons

The great equalizer when it comes to modern weapons is the gun. Any type of modern gun really, levels the playing field. If you are a very weak person, with only a little skill, you are a threat. A ranged weapon that requires relatively little skill, and relatively little strength to use. It makes everyone a threat.

Let's go back a bit, and the precursor to the modern gun is the crossbow. The advent of the crossbow was also game changing. It gave anyone enough of an advantage (you could hide, hold the draw indefinitely, and in some cases penetrate armor, etc.) that it was outlawed in various European countries.

Then let's go back before the crossbow. You have the sword. For centuries it was one of the primary weapons of soldiers. Not the only weapon, but one of the primary weapons.

But which sword? Did rogues use rapiers, soldiers use arming swords, barbarians use huge two handed swords? That's what most fantasy stories and role playing games would have you think.

The truth is a bit more complicated. Swords are technology. Technology develops over time. And what's more, people who use technology are always looking for the best and most effective technology. Fantasy type societies based (no matter how loosely) on the middle ages of various cultures, are no different. Technology was always developing. Let's take the fencing type swords (e.g. rapiers) as an example.

Rogues weren't the ones using rapiers, everyone was. That was the best weapon of the day. It developed partly in response to heavy armor, and partly because of the sword making technology. Smiths were finally able to create a long, thin, flexible blade that wasn't incredibly weak. Why was it important to have flexible blades? Well, with armor (another technology) advancing. It was useful to have a blade that would slide along a heavy plate of armor and slip into the creases. In fact, rapiers were so effective against heavy plate armor, that the armor itself was nearly abandoned for most practices. There were still guardsmen who used pole-arms or heavier weapons. There were certain weapons and technology for soldiers. But for the most part, the type of weapons were not mixed just for light fighters, medium, and heavy. (Fun note, a rapier was about 2.5 lbs while a common long sword weight was about...huh also 3.5 lbs. Doesn't seem like much, but try swinging it around for an hour.) For a game, it's fun to mix in various types of characters who use different styles of weapons. But in reality, using different weapons is usually a matter of being from a different time period or culture or caste. Many of the "ninja" weapons that we think of were developed because the common people weren't allowed to have swords like the Samurai but they still wanted to defend themselves. Thinking about why your characters use a certain weapon often falls into a stereotype. Strong person, they've probably got a huge axe or giant sword. Weaker person, they probably have a rapier or bow. That's just not usually the case. Weapons are technology and they are used for specific reasons and for specific purposes.

Also, technology has its early adopters, its late adopters, and its second hand consumers. Weapons were the same thing. Why do we have so many cars? Is it because everyone is rich enough to buy the newest, best model? No. An older model will get traded in, sold, or passed on. It doesn't just disappear. The same is true for weapons. Swords were very expensive at first. And the finest quality swords still are. But after a while, swords were more plentiful and available for cheaper. At some points there were even fight schools that regular people would join. A common hobby in Germany was learning to fight with long swords, nearly the same way that England had so many archers.

If you've got magic in your world, how much does it affect weapons? In modern culture, we've got guns. We don't see much sword use. Can your characters point a tool (wand, laser, gun, fireball, etc.) at someone and kill them? If they can, why are they still using swords?

So, when you're writing a story with weapons, think of the weapons of the society and what those weapons say about that society. What is the "state of the art" weapon? Who is allowed to use weapons? Who has access to them? How much do they cost? What weapons are taboo, or considered to be "hitting-below-the -belt"? And of course, the best question, what would motivate your character to use a weapon at all?