#shortsword

Swordtember 2025

9. Feline

Sword of a Minor Prince of House Llameryn-Leolinius

By the time of his ascension to the Throne of Midnight, the House of the Archking, Lothair II, encompassed a staggering number of members. The vast majority of them, by this time, were only distantly related to the Archking’s immediate family.

These minor members of the Archroyal House, despite their nominal status as Princes and Princesses of Midnight, were forced to compete with not only the other Royal and Noble Houses of the River Realms for important positions at Court, but, especially during the reign of Lothair II, with skilled commonfolk.

Post series: longsword | rapier | buckler | dagger | spear

so as I'm getting back into fantasy lit as a historical fencer, there are a lot of things I am noticing cropping up in swordfights that are inaccurate or flat out wrong. So i wanted to write a post for my fellow writers putting down a few things I've learned in 2.5 years of swinging the actual weapons around!

Disclaimer: i REALLY wanna emphasize this because in my last post someone decided to get cute (and wrong) about this. Historical terms for weapons were NOT STANDARDIZED. There as no "one" longsword/rapier/shortsword etc when we're talking about a weapon that existed for hundreds of years across an entire continent. And "shortsword" especially is not a specific term. As how you use weapons are governed more by their properties than their names, you can generalize many things that may not have historically been called "shortswords" under this term. There are like five or six different weapons which have distinct traditions in HEMA which match the fantasy game description of "shortsword". So I'm talking here about any one-handed, straight-bladed, double-edged sword with a (mostly) simple hilt/crossguard and a blade length typically between 2 and 3 feet. As "shortsword" is a generic and not a specific weapon descriptor, this covers what we in HEMA call arming swords, gladiuses, some messers, and probably a bunch of other types of swords I can't think of right now (the "simple hilt" rule is because I'm putting italian side swords and scotch broadswords in a different category. They feel really really different to wield than an arming sword/messer, and classing them as shortswords feels wrong).

I flirted with death

Setting: just the fight, open field, training hall, something non-lethal

Characters:

A, fights with shorter blade, something with some body to deflect (saber, short sword, dussak, etc.).

B, longer blade two-handed (longsword and minium, probably something closer to a montante or "greatsword").

B's sword makes large, looping passes as it sweeps through the air. It's for show more than anything, even so, better to be outside it's reach than in. A paces left, then right, B has a circle the length of a man around him secured more tightly than a fortress.

"Even if he stops swinging that thing around like a ribbon dancer, it's still out ranges my blade by a forearm," A thinks to themself.

A tries a testing lunge. Poorly timed, their sword, hand, and arm are turned 90 degrees by a ringing blow from B's weapon.

*clank*

A deflects a follow-up chop from B at the last second, bracing their blade with two hands and staggering from the force

A steps back a full pace out of range of the greatsword

B takes a half step forward, a waltz between the two

One two, a sword tip denied

Three four, a probing thrust shut down

One two, a whining swing from the larger blade

Three.... there

An opening at the top of one of B's ranging swings, not enough to get a swing in, but just enough to get uncomfortably close.

B watches and waits. He knows A's going to try something stupid. "It's their nature," he assures himself.

Could he have just stood his ground and used his weapon like spear, yes, but there's so little flair to that, and it's always about the flair. So he again he loops his sword around and....

A moves, fast as they can

B sees the charge and accelerates his swing

A sees the greatsword begin to move, they brace, sword against bicep, arm curled into a triangle, knees ready

"This is it," they both think

BANG

The larger blade impacts, the shock is stunning. Like a stone down a cliffside, a tree felled by axe, or a thunderclap.

B feels his arms jutter from the sudden stop, then something else. A pressure, a throb in his face that keeps getting worse

A's fist finds its mark square in his jaw. It wasn't a great punch, but it would do. As B staggers A presents their sword to the side of his neck

High res versions of the art, a Foundry VTT module, and other formats, as well as a full compendium of our items can be found on our Patreon

Honor & Poise

Shortsword & Dagger, rare (requires attunement)

These weapons sing of the elegance of elven craftsmanship as each edge is both beautiful and functional within their design. The shortsword Honor and paired dagger Poise are not just mere showpieces. It’s no doubt that a master smith took their time to craft such blades to serve those who would use them honorably. Though these are two individual weapons, they only take one attunement slot. These weapons are considered magical for purposes of overcoming resistance.

While attuned to these weapons, you can use your reaction once per round to attempt to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack that is targeting you. Make a contested weapon attack roll with Poise versus the attack roll targeting you. If your result is higher, you successfully parry the attack and take no damage from it. Additionally, you gain a charge of Honor on successful parries. If the parry fails, the attack hits normally. You can use this feature a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus.

The Wakizashi vs The Katana. Basically a Japanese version of seeing a Shortsword vs Longsword fight.