Draft:Short sword
| ) | |
| Base damage rating | 8 |
|---|---|
| Base hit bonus | +11 |
| Normal attack type | Cutting |
| Hands | 1 |
| Julie's price (Au) | 80 |
| Weight | 25 |
The short sword is the Legion recruit's starting weapon. It offers a little more damage than a club while being lighter and slightly more accurate. As a free part of the Legion's equipment package, it is useful without spending the induction payment on an immediate replacement.
Getting one
Join the Legion of Destiny during the day with at least Strength 10 and Constitution 12, without Arena or Order membership. The reward includes a plain +0 short sword, soft leather armor, 500 Au, and one point each of Strength and Constitution. The recruiting message calls it a shortsword; the item name is short sword.
Julie's sells a fully identified, uncursed +0 copy for 80 Au. Decide on your guild before buying: paying for one and then enlisting duplicates a weapon you were about to receive. Random finds can have different enchantments and may be cursed.
When to keep it
The normal cut adds extra Strength damage. At level 0 with Strength 16 and Dexterity 10, an unenchanted short sword has hit 12 and raw cut damage of 0-19, before critical hits, lunar effects and the target's defenses. A dagger's normal thrust in those conditions has hit 13 but raw damage of 0-11. The dagger can retain a saved cut, however, so weapon type alone does not settle the comparison.
A mace costs 100 Au and adds four weapon damage points over a short sword, at the cost of three hit points and twice the weight. That trade is attractive when you already connect reliably; the larger damage number is less useful against an opponent you keep missing. There is no need to spend your entire Legion payment to make the issued sword serviceable.
If you previously used a thrusting weapon, check F: changing to the short sword leaves the old thrust in your sequence. Explicitly entering a c b c Return selects a cut and Center block. Avoid the broken ! shortcut; Melee attacks explains why.
See Your first weapon for the guild alternatives and shopping route.