Weapon Width

AlikVanmil

AlikVanmil

Newbie
Hello all, GB Scarlet here again and as per usual I have a question.

It came up over this past weekend about the horizontal width of a weapon. And I was wondering if there was any precedent on the matter.

If I remember correctly the marshal said that technically, there werent any set in stone rules on the matter. But if the weapon was above a certain weight they would deem it unsafe.

As for something like a bow, which isn't used for striking. Would the same apply?
 
As always, the primary concern is safety, then there is the spirit of the rules. There aren't any set in stone rules on the matter, and it's left to the discretion of the individual chapter. If someone made a bow that was effectively more shield than bow though, I wouldn't allow it as a marshal.
 
MaxIrons said:
As always, the primary concern is safety, then there is the spirit of the rules. There aren't any set in stone rules on the matter, and it's left to the discretion of the individual chapter. If someone made a bow that was effectively more shield than bow though, I wouldn't allow it as a marshal.
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That's what my local marshal said but at what point does it become a shield?
 
So, I'm going to be blunt here, because I like open and honest communication. If someone that actively disliked you looked at your bow and could argue with a marshal that it's no longer a bow, that's a shield; Or if using it on the field would make somebody angry that you've made a bow that wide, you're probably doing it wrong. The goal is never to find a way around the spirit of the rules to gain some kind of advantage. So let's be honest here, why do you ask how wide a bow can be? Is there some kind of specific bow you want to make? Do you want to make a really cool prop design in mind and your design has a wide point which you're trying to be fair about? Do you want to make a really wide bow because it can block things a lot better so you don't get hit as much?

If it's 1 or 2, talk with your local marshal, give them design specs, sketches, mock-ups, anything along those lines, and they'll work with you to either say it's good or not. If it's the latter, I would seriously recommend going with a standard bow construction. It's not worth the hassle, time, or arguments such a design might bring up.

To use a somewhat similar situation. A player came to me as a marshal to see if they could design a trap to do a "really cool thing". It was a novel idea, but outside the scope of the rules. Our chapter's marshals talked about it, and ultimately decided it went against the spirit of what traps can do, and to even be remotely possible, it would be in the realm of ritual magic. Even then we discouraged it, because again, it was outside the scope of the rules. I praised the player for their creativity, and keep in touch with him to this day when plot needs an interesting prop for a plot.

Develop that working relationship with your marshals and plot team. It's the best thing that you can do, ever. We're all here to have fun, where we can trust each other to play to the spirit of the rules.
 
The rule of thumb I use for bow width is this:

The standard expectation all our weapons are based on is 3/4" PVC core with 5/8" foam over it. That will give you a 2" sectional width. +/- 1/2" either way isn't a big deal. Much wider than 3" would start to get questionable from my perspective.
 
In the Denver chapter, we have some artisans who've made bows that have lovely flat planes decoratively off of each far end. Just eyeballing them, I would estimate that the widest point might be as wide as 4". As both a Weapons Marshall in the Denver chapter, and as a melee fighter, I would not think that minor width changes like that for aesthetics give the defender with the bow any particular advantage in combat.

Our chapter tends to use very common sense differentiators in these situations, though. At what point does a bow become a shield? When, as a Weapons Marshall, I even have to entertain that question on a serious level to quantify the difference between the two. ;) Usually Denver's only dilemma there is differentiating polearms from just 2-handed sticks, basically. Again, we apply the common sense question, "Does this look like a polearm?" and largely prefer to leave it at that.

Trace Moriarty
Weapons & Safety Marshall
Alliance Denver
 
I love that answer Traceroo, I love spirit of the rules decisions.
 
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