Popular - Weapons ⚔︎

Tools of War

Every army needs weapons to fight with, and every part of the world has its favorites, even if there is a lot of overlap, every country has its unique spin on different weapons, and some weapons are more popular in one country than another.

Swords

Swords are the most mainstream type of weapon, every kid imagines swords when they think of a warrior, and every country has their own collection of swords. However, in most armies, swords are not the main weapon, most larger armies use spears as their main weapon and soldiers will have a sword as a backup, often a short sword or arming sword, which are light and small enough to carry around everywhere. Larger swords such as bastard swords, long swords, and great swords, are reserved for more specialized units, such as fully armored knights, guards, or mercenaries.

Polearms

Polearms are any weapon that is long and has its sharp bits at the end of a pole, the most well-known of these are spears and halberts. Halberts are the staple weapon of the dwarven infantry, and spears are most common in most human armies. Elves prefer the phalanx, or lance, which is even longer. The polearm is not only popular for its increased effective range, but also its cheaper cost, as a small spear tip requires only a fraction of the material of a sword, making them much cheaper to mass produce. On top of that, they are also much easier to learn how to use, and they are more useful in formation, especially when combined with a shield. This all contributes to them being the most widely used weapon in the world by far.

Axes

Axes are considered a more crude version of a sword, even if they are often just as effective. axes are especially popular among the less wealthy human nations because they use a lot less metal. This is the reason that the nations of Dendor, Rendia, and Marn, have each developed their own interpretation of the battle axe. As opposed to wood cutters axes, battle axes all have thin blades, and are designed to cut, but not stick. The Rendish pike axe, has a broad blade, for hacking into flesh, and a sharp hook on the back, to pierce armor. This is because when fighting, you actually don't want your weapon to stick to anything, these axes are designed to do damage, and then come loose easily, while staying light. The Marnish axes have narrower blades, making them lighter overall, making them particularly fast, they are also able to use the underside of the axe to grab and manipulate the weapons of others. The Dendorian axes are the longest, and have the best reach, they function well in the dendorian Berserker style of combat, as they require two hands to operate successfully, They also have a smaller type of axe, that is often used combined with a shield, which works better in formation warfare.

Maces

Blunt force weapons have largely lost popularity among the people of the world, they are considered a brutish and simple weapon. However, they are still used across the world, as they are easy to make, and even easier to use, and they are the best weapon against armored opponents, and if someone isn't wearing armor, they are capable of causing crippling damage, making them especially popular amongst orcs, and there are other armies often use them in smaller quantities. They are often made with heavy tips, made up of spikes to cause maximum damage. Warhammers are considered a type of mace, and they have one blunt end, used to smash things and people, and a spike on the other end, which is used to penetrate armor.

Daggers

The smallest of the melee weapons, the dagger is every soldier's last line of defense, every smart warrior has one or two of these hidden somewhere on their person at all times. They come in many shapes and sizes, from short knives, that can also adopt a large amount of other uses, to long blades, which are very useful in close-quarters combat. These weapons, as well as short swords, are used most consistently on board of ships, as the crowded deck is often not a place to go swinging large weapons around. While technically every soldier has at least one of these, they aren't counted as the most popular, since every soldier also has boots, and boots are technically also used to fight, if all else fails, they hope it never comes to that tho.

Bows

A contended for the most used weapon, bows take the second place, even over swords, they are used in nearly every army in the world to some degree, as the ability to kill enemies from afar, with requiring magic, is a most useful and essential part of combat. Different parts of the world have popularized different bow types, but no other race has embraced the bow as much as the elves. The elven longbows are renowned for their power and range, and all elves can be seen with them, the most prestigious is the Enyanian longbow, although all elven longbows are very similar to each other. Among humans, short bows are more popular. They require less strength to draw and can therefore be drawn more quickly and more often before the archer gets tired. The Yavinian recurve bow was used to devastating effect during the bronze age, which was shot easily from horseback, and outperformed the elven longbows, until the invention of steel armor, which somewhat evened the playing field, as the weaker short bows could pierce heavy armor less reliably.

Crossbows

Crossbows are the easier-to-use version of bows, but their often much shorter draw length, and long draw times, has left them eternally outcompeted by regular bows, and in most of the world they have remained a niche curiosity, only used by lazy hunters who want to be fancy. The only place where the crossbow has received a permanent spot in the military is in Cordyan, the nation of dwarves, whose shorter arms never favored the bow in the first place, and the crossbow allowed them to make up for that. They primarily use the weapon from behind the cover of their walls, shooting down when ready, and then handing the bow to a loader, who quickly hands them a second bow to shoot with, while they reload the first. This has allowed them to get good firing speeds still. The dwarves also make their crossbows with much heavier draw weights than anyone else, because they are comparatively strong. These crossbows are sometimes also used by orcs, who also have the strength to draw them, but often find that the long bow suits them better.

Balistas

One version of the crossbow that has received worldwide attention is the Balista. They aren't used in war as much, but they are a respected monster-hunting tool, very useful when hunting large beasts such as fiends, giants, or dragons. They are generally put on wheels, and pulled by horses, and they come in many sizes, most of them have a drawing crank, making it possible to pull their heavy strings back. They are sometimes also attached to ships, although most seafarers still prefer employing mages.