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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2589 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 7, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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  • Small weapon and small shield

  • Small weapon

  • Two small weapons

  • Big weapon

  • Small shield*

  • Two small shields*

  • Big shield*

Which do you find the coolest to look at? Which do you find the most fun to use in games?

IMO, "small weapon and small shield" is coolest, but "big weapon" has ended up being the most fun to use in the action-focused video games that I've played (e. g., Dark Souls 2, Nioh 1, and Gundam Breaker 4).

*Among video games, those in the Dark Souls series are the only ones of which I am aware in which these setups are semi-viable (not counting Captain America–style shield throwing). Among tabletop RPGs, GURPS provides a fair amount of detail for shield users (1 2 (a b)).

I'm a longsword/Zweihander or halberd fanboy. The latter, like all polearms, is grossly underrepresented in media such as video games or movies. How often do you see a protagonist using a pike or halberd instead of a sword?

This assumes a degree of significant personal protection with armor. If that was lacking, I'd definitely opt for a shield.

Sadly most representations of combat utterly gloss over how effective even basic armor was, a medieval knight was a tank that was almost immune to sharp damage while not tired, and only really countered with blunt force trauma.

I have some impression that glaives and halberds are much more common in Chinese fantasy. No idea if that’s true, or if so, why.

More common? I believe so.

Even then, I've heard plenty of people who read Xianxia complaining about how all the MCs end up obsessing with the Sword Dao. The problem is almost as bad, halberds/guandaos get very little screen time.

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