[Mithlas]

Rule of cool works for me. And apparently Minamoto Yoshitsune. "Sword" is vague enough I don't see why variations like a shamshir, scimitar, or falchion shouldn't be perfectly viable options.

Like many "hand and a half" swords, the katana can be used effectively with 1 hand, particularly if you train that way, but it's probably (usually) more effectively used 2-handed. Dual-wielding is something that just requires a lot of practice. 2-handed sword wielding? Not as much, you have twice the control.

[RHat]

How did this get beyond "The rules say it is two-handed"?

Where does the "fluff" idea even come from?

It states, clearly, it is a two-handed weapon.

Because it isn't in a chart, it's "fluff"?


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

i guess the idea stemmed from this fantasctic idea of a swordsman rendering his foes lifeless with the experienced used of katana/wakizashi techniques. but, no, this is SR not Lo5r.

Still an option, you just have a very minor penalty to offset.  As Reach 1 weapons, katana are eligible for the various two weapon martial arts stuff.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

How did this get beyond "The rules say it is two-handed"?

Where does the "fluff" idea even come from?

It states, clearly, it is a two-handed weapon.

Because it isn't in a chart, it's "fluff"?


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

Truth.  This forum has made me hate the previously-neutral word, 'fluff'.  It's just an excuse to ignore some aspects of the book while concentrating on others.  A gerrymandering of text, if you will.

[viaRailGun]

i just don't see why anyone would grab the katana over the nodachi. greater DV, AP, and reach for an extra 1400Y. if i can't increase DV by using both hands, i'm taking the nodachi.

[bannockburn]

It's also a giant cheese knife that's very difficult to hide, whereas you can put the Katana under your long coat and be a modicum of subtle.

Personally, I don't understand why Katanas are all the rage. They are rather tacky, IMO. Just like Michael Dudikoff.

None of my characters would be caught dead in a ditch with one.

[Mirikon]

i just don't see why anyone would grab the katana over the nodachi. greater DV, AP, and reach for an extra 1400Y. if i can't increase DV by using both hands, i'm taking the nodachi.

Probably because they wanted to be able to use it freely in close quarters. A sword where the blade is 4-5 feet long is not exactly something you can swing around in a hallway that easily. And good luck concealing it. There's a reason it was primarily used by horsemen to take down infantry without getting pulled from their horse, and not by, say, people storming a castle.

And good luck concealing it.

Personally, I don't understand why Katanas are all the rage. They are rather tacky, IMO. Just like Michael Dudikoff.

None of my characters would be caught dead in a ditch with one.

They are the quintessential weapon of the samurai, as passed down to us through modern media. Just like most Americans have a special reaction when they hear names like 'Colt Peacemaker' or 'Winchester'. And it has an aesthetic appeal to many, which outweighs the fact that there may be deadlier weapons out there.

[bannockburn]

Yeah, an aesthetic appeal where people bolt cheap knock-offs to their bedroom walls. See: tacky

[Angelone]

Falcatas are the way to go.

[Mirikon]

That may be your opinion, bannockburn, but some of us appreciate the graceful lines of a sword and other blades. The elegance and simplicity in design, which can be enhanced with engraving, while still keeping the blade looking like it was a weapon of war. I should say at this point that my collection of blades (of various types) is over a dozen, ranging from a kriss dagger, to a two-handed scimitar, to a longsword, to a scythe, a naginata, and several katanas, one of which came in a set with a wakizashi and tanto. Sure, none of them are actual combat weapons, but that's only because a) I can't afford them, and b) I don't want to bother with the possible paperwork for legally owning them.

[bannockburn]

Of course it is my opinion. That's why I wrote 'IMO' and 'personally'. People also collect stamps which I find exceedingly boring.
I wouldn't dispute either person's right to like big overused knives or small pieces of paper.

[Aryeonos]

The nodachi is just a field sword, it was used by infantrymen to fight mounted infantry more frequently than the other way around, from what I recall. Or, the Nodachi did not necessitate the use of a horse, and it's nickname was the "Horse Cutter" from its implied ability to cut the horse and rider in two. I had one in my room that I'd swing around the back yard to strengthen my wrists, yes I could wield it one handed and some cuts you just don't hold onto it with both your hands all the way through, but hell if that wasn't harder. That would be a very good example of penalty for using a two handed weapon one handed.

You can easily fluff it up as saying you're just using one hand, or your using the other to give it force at times but generally only holding it with one hand, while still rules wise using both your hands. I mean, in sword technique it'd be used one and two handed in the same maneuver and then back again, it's pretty fluid with that.

[viaRailGun]

smart-steel nodachi at the hip 

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

People don't effin' read.

Using Two-Handed Melee Weapons
          A number of melee weapons are designed to be used with two hands. These include most pole arms and most weapons with a Reach of 2, plus any others the gamemaster designates as requiring two hands. It is possible for a character to use a two-handed weapon with only one hand, though doing so is difficult and the attack is less powerful. Apply a –2 dice pool modifier to such attacks and reduce the DV of the attack by –2.
          Trolls can wield such two-handed weapons in a single hand more easily, suffering only a –1 dice pool modifier and a –1 to DV.

Using One-Handed Melee Weapons
          A character may choose to use a one-handed weapon (Reach 0 or 1) with both hands to swing with more strength and power. This adds a +1 DV bonus to such attacks. Only weapons capable of being grasped with two hands may be used in this manner; knives and similar small weapons do not get any bonus when used in this way.

In-text emphasis mine.

While the description of a katana says it is two-handed, it is a Reach 1 weapon.  If the GM wants to say, "No, you can only wield a katana with both hands," that's his perogative.  The definition of an actual weapon that requires two hands to wield effectively and therefore gives a penalty if wielded in one hand does not state 'and any weapon with 'two-handed' in their descriptor'; it states pole arms and most weapons with a Reach of 2.  Not even ALL weapons with a Reach of 2 - but again, that's GM determination.

The definition of a one-handed weapon is one with a Reach of 0 or 1.  The katana has a Reach of 1.  Therefore, unless your GM says differently, the katana is considered a one-handed weapon for purposes of melee use.

Period.

[RHat]

i just don't see why anyone would grab the katana over the nodachi. greater DV, AP, and reach for an extra 1400Y. if i can't increase DV by using both hands, i'm taking the nodachi.

As a Reach 1 weapon, it has some benefits over the nodachi based on material in the same book as the nodachi.

Wyrm: Specific overrides general.

[JoeNapalm]

People don't effin' read.

Using Two-Handed Melee Weapons
          A number of melee weapons are designed to be used with two hands. These include most pole arms and most weapons with a Reach of 2, plus any others the gamemaster designates as requiring two hands. It is possible for a character to use a two-handed weapon with only one hand, though doing so is difficult and the attack is less powerful. Apply a –2 dice pool modifier to such attacks and reduce the DV of the attack by –2.
          Trolls can wield such two-handed weapons in a single hand more easily, suffering only a –1 dice pool modifier and a –1 to DV.

Using One-Handed Melee Weapons
          A character may choose to use a one-handed weapon (Reach 0 or 1) with both hands to swing with more strength and power. This adds a +1 DV bonus to such attacks. Only weapons capable of being grasped with two hands may be used in this manner; knives and similar small weapons do not get any bonus when used in this way.

In-text emphasis mine.

While the description of a katana says it is two-handed, it is a Reach 1 weapon.  If the GM wants to say, "No, you can only wield a katana with both hands," that's his perogative.  The definition of an actual weapon that requires two hands to wield effectively and therefore gives a penalty if wielded in one hand does not state 'and any weapon with 'two-handed' in their descriptor'; it states pole arms and most weapons with a Reach of 2.  Not even ALL weapons with a Reach of 2 - but again, that's GM determination.

The definition of a one-handed weapon is one with a Reach of 0 or 1.  The katana has a Reach of 1.  Therefore, unless your GM says differently, the katana is considered a one-handed weapon for purposes of melee use.

Period.

Absolutely not.

A specific rule cannot list every possible exception to the rule, the exception is noted where it is relevant. Otherwise the book would be as thick as a legal tome and obsolete as soon as the first splatbook was published.

In this case, the text of the katana states unequivocally that it is a two-handed weapon. This may be in contradiction to the general rule, but as it is a statement made specifically about that weapon, it still applies.

If that were not the case, other rules exceptions cited in the text pertaining to specific items and weapons, such as the special recoil rules mentioned above for the Yamaha Sakura Fubuki, would be overridden by the general rule, which is clearly not the case.


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist