SWORDS and KNIVES

Gorean Short Sword
Short, wide blade 20 - 24 inches long, 3-5 inches wide. Modeled after the Roman short sword. Primarily a thrusting and hacking weapon. Very good in close, able to punch through light shields and armour. A quick, deadly little sword found all over Gor.

Great Sword, Bastard Sword, Boarding Sword
Long, leavy blade 54 - 72 inches, 3-4 inches wide. This monster was used to clear a path through your enemies. While much slower than a short sword, few things could stand before it. It was used two-handed. Used almost exclusively in the North and among seafaring nations.

Quiva
A flat bladed knife balanced for throwing, used with great skill by the Wagon Peoples, but found throughout Gor .

"All men of Torvaldsland, incidentally, even if otherwise unarmed, carry a knife at their master belt." (pg 50 Marauders of Gor)

Scimitar
A curved sword with a medium blade 30 - 34 inches long, 1 1/2 - 2 inches wide. This sword was designed to slice an opponent as the wielder galloped by, hence the curve to the blade. Nor the best weapon for hand-to-hand combat. Found amongst the Desert tribes on Gor.

Katana
NOT A GOREAN WEAPON. This sword with its long 36 - 40 inch long, 1 - 1 1/2 inch wide blade is a two-handed slicing weapon. Razor sharp, it was designed to cut through cloth and leather armor. Although very flexible, its edge is quickly destroyed in serious combat. Originally designed to fight from horseback in the ancient Orient. Unfortunately, found everywhere on Gor *sigh*.

Axes

Torvaldsland Axe

There are two main styles to this weapon:
Two-Handed Great Axe
This fearsome monster has a single-bitted head with spike or hammer back and will sport at 10 - 12 inch cutting surface. Capable of chopping through nearly anything, including a man with a single blow. It has an iron bound haft measuring 48 - 72 inches. It is a slow weapon and hard to reverse once started, though in the hands of an enraged Torvaldslander, it is an awesome sight

. "....Ivar Forkbeard, almost seven feet in height, leaped to his feet, in his right hand clutching a great, curved, single bladed ax of hardened iron." Marauders of Gor pg 39.

"The spine, of course would be immediatly severed; moreover, part of the ax will, if the blow be powerful, emerge from the abdomen. It takes, however, more than one blow to cut a body, that of a man, in two. To strike more than twice, however, is regarded as clumsiness."(Marauders of Gor pg 104).

One-Handed Single-Bitted Axe
A smaller version of the first, designed to be used one-handed. A 6 - 8 inch cutting surface with a hook or hammer back (much like a fire axe). This weapon moves as fast as a sword and hits a LOT harder. It was designed to hack through shields, doors, weapons and people. Almost always used in conjunction with a Torvaldslander shield.

NOTE: both of the Torvaldsland axes are capable of blasting right through a southern shield or sword parry. Especially effective verses a katana, scimitar or any of the lighter southern swords or lances.

Hand Axe
This is an even smaller version of the Torvaldslander style of axe, having only a 20 - 24 inch haft and a three to five inch cutting surface. Used by some in tandem with a sword for a deadly two-pronged attack. Unfortunately, it's attack is limited to a short, chopping blow. More often used to distract the opponent and hook a leg or shield, or to use its weight to punch and knock an enemy off balance.found all over Gor though Mainly in the north

Kur Axe
Double the size of a Torvaldsland Great Axe. Double the damage. Wielded by the Kurii and occassionally a "BERSERK" Torvaldslander.

Bows

Short Bow of the Wagon People
This small, quick bow is deadly in the right hands. Commonly made of layered horn. A warrior of the Wagon Peoples can have the third arrow launched by the time the first strikes its target. While the range is not great, it is powerful enough to puncture a hide shield or lung.

Gorean Great (Long) Bow of the Rence Growers (peasant bow)
An awsome weapon with the range of 500 - 600 yards. This mighty bow will drive an arrow through a wooden shield or steel helm at 100 yards. While nowhere near as fast as a Short Bow, a good archer is still able to launch a second arrow before the first hits its target.

Northern Short Bow
Much the same as the Wagon People's bow. A little heavier, but still a short range bow. It will punch through leather armor or unprotected skin, but can be blocked by the heavy Torvaldsland shield.

"...the short bow of the Gorean north, with its short, heavy arrows, heavily headed, lacks the range and power of the peasant bow of the south, that now, too, the property of the rencers of the delta, but, at short range, within a hundred and fifty yards, it can administer a considerable strike. It has, too the advantage that it is more manageable in close quarters than the peasant bow, resembling somewhat the Tuchuk bow of layered horn, in this respect. It is more useful in close combat on a ship, for example, than would be the peasant bow. Too, it is easier to fire it through a thole port, the oar withdawn." (Marauders of Gor pg 52)

OTHER WEAPONS

Bola

This is a weapon of the Wagon Peoples, but its use has spread all over Gor. Three five foot leather straps with weighted ends form this weapon. It is excellent for tangling an opponent's limbs and can cause considerable damage if thrown around the head.

Lance
This is a light weight spear-like weapon with a 12-foot shaft. It is used by kaiila-back. Very effective for running down an unmounted foe. The Wagon People also throw it like a spear. Found exclusively in the South.

Spear
A 9-foot long, iron bound shaft with 18 inches of double edged steel/bronze. Fearsome weapon, although very slow and cumbersome up close. Mainly used in the North for fighting Kur and clearing the deck of a ship.

"It had a shaft of seven foot Gorean, a head of tapered bronze, some eighteen inches in length. At close range it can pierce a southern shield, shatter its point through a seven-inch beam." Marauders of Gor pg 210.

SHIELDS

Shield of the Wagon Peoples
A small, 20 - 34 inch strap on round shield. Basically this is a hide wrapped wooden frame. It was used to deflect arrows and thrown quivas. It would also turn a sword blow, but not too many times for it was not that heavy.

Shield of Torvaldsland
A large 30 - 36 inch center boss round shield. Made of wood and reinforced with iron bands and often an iron edging. This shield was made to stop an axe blow, so it will stop most arrows and thrown weapons. It is also an excellent weapon in the right hands.

"The Torvaldsland Shield is circular and made of wood reinforced with Iron bands." (pg 73)

The Black War Arrow
"From among the weapons at the foot of the couch, from one of the cylindrical quivers, still of the sort carried in Torvaldsland, I drew forth a long, dark arrow. It was more than a yard long. It's shaft was almost an inch thick. It was plied with iron, barbed. Its feathers were five inches long, set in the shaft on three sides, feathers of the black-tipped coasting gull, a broad-winged bird, with black tips on its wings and tail feathers, similar to the Vost gull." (Marauders of Gor, pg 234, 235).

"It had been carried to the Inlet of Green Cliffs, to Thorstein Camp, from Ax Glacier to Einar's Skerry; it had been carried to the high farms, to the lakes, to the coast; it had been carried on foot and by swift ship; a thousand arrows, each touched to the arrow of Torvald, had been carried, and where the arrow had been carried, men had touched it, saying "I will come." ( Pg 238.Marauders of Gor)

Salute
"They lifted their axes in their right hand. It was a salute of Torvaldsland, I heard their cheers."(Marauders of Gor pg 43)

Truce
"The sign for a truce is holding two parts of a broken axe over your head." (pg 269 Marauders of Gor)