On 21/08/2015 8:03 AM, "Craig Berry" <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Most fights in general throughout history have been far quicker than those portrayed in fiction. But that doesn't make for glorious chandelier-swinging battles filled with witty taunts and flesh wounds. (One of the things I like about HBO's "Game of Thrones" is that most small-group fights consist of either running chases or lightning-fast victories for one party or the other.)
>
Not watched GoT, but yes. The foundation of samurai kendo is in iaido, the kill-from-draw sword technique. That is very Hollywood-unfriendly.

Essentially the length of combat says not how good opponents are, but how equally bad they are. It would be very rare for a true master swordsman to face a peer outside of a pre-planned contest, because there are so few in societies, and they rarely meet, or have a desire to do so.

Greg C

> On Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 2:44 PM, Greg Chalik <mrg3105@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Watch Crouching lion, hidden dragon. You have there a blade, that is 'ancients tech (400 yo) which easily defeats common blades, and then some (bar iron?).
>>
>> And yet what defeats it is unarmed combat skill, not another weapon.
>>
>> The need for a superior weapon tech in close combat occurs only when faced with an equal or superior skill set.
>>
>> Where would one find such an opponent? Bodyguards?
>>
>> The best way to engage a high value target is by using a sniper, not a TU 'ninja'. Historical ninjas only vary rarely performed assassinations, usually NOT using blades. When they were forced to use weapons, the ninja blade was designed for a quicker draw, not superior steel. THIS is the formative idea behind the SW lightsabre. The prolonged samurai-like duel is atypical of samurai combats that were unlikely to be lengthy in reality.
>>
>> Full marks for the imaginative tech though.
>>
>> Greg C
>>
>> On 16/08/2015 9:46 AM, "Jonathan Clark" <xxxxxx@att.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> I couldn't find any write-up of these, so I thought I'd have a go.
>>> They may or may not be canon in your campaign, or in Traveller-at-large.
>>> Feel free to modify TLs and so forth. Feedback welcome. Hope that this
>>> is useful...
>>>
>>> Jonathan
>>> --
>>> -----------
>>> Vibro-knife
>>> -----------
>>>
>>> This type of blade is very illegal in almost all jurisdictions where there
>>> is actually a functioning law level, and requires its owner to either be a
>>> Noble, or to have a permit signed by one (usually the character must be
>>> working for the Noble as a bodyguard or equivalent). These blades have two
>>> modifications from a 'normal' knife.
>>>
>>> First, the blade is made from some sort of exotic material. There are
>>> four main options, in order of (significantly) increasing cost:
>>>
>>> - CrystalIron. Iron treated at the atomic level to form a single crystalline
>>> complex. This metal is commonly used for starship hulls. The crystal matrix
>>> is unstable, so requires a stabilizing field, supplied by a power system
>>> set into the handle, and a realignment system, usually a stand into which
>>> the blade must be inserted every so often (after use, and every week or so).
>>> Loss of power to the stabilizing system causes the blade to suddenly lose
>>> its edge and shape, at which point it cannot be repaired. Typical standby
>>> battery life is 90 days. CrystalIron blades are TL-12 items.
>>>
>>> - Diamond. The actual diamond blade is usually set into a sanmei (three-layer)
>>> construction with tungsten side plates. Diamond is statically stable, so
>>> requires no external stabilizing field. Lightest of all the listed blade types.
>>> Diamond blades are TL-14 items.
>>>
>>> - Bonded Superdense. Military starship hull material, usually set into a
>>> wumei (five-layer) construction with crystalIron internal, and tungsten
>>> external, side plates. Requires two powered stabilizing fields, supplied
>>> by a power system set into the handle. Loss of the stabilizing field leads
>>> to loss of the blade by (relatively minor) explosion. Typical standby battery
>>> life is 60 days. Heavier than CrystalIron. Typically these are TL-16 items.
>>>
>>> - Neutronium. Usually a coating of one or two atomic-radius equivalent
>>> thickness on an existing edge, carefully milled to provide bonding sites.
>>> The underlying blade is usually diamond or bonded superdense, onto which the
>>> neutronium is deposited. Sometimes sanmei but more often wumei construction
>>> is typically used. Neutronium requires its own active stabilizing field,
>>> again with the power system set into the handle. Loss of the stabilizing
>>> field leads to loss of the blade by usually fairly major explosion (strictly,
>>> a gravity-based implosion followed by a strong force-based explosion, but
>>> the results are pretty messy, however they are caused). Typical standby
>>> battery life is 30 days. Much heavier than the other types, but still
>>> designed for one-handed operation. May require minimum STR levels for proper
>>> (or optimal) operation. These are TL-18 items.
>>>
>>> As far as cutting ability goes, neutronium cuts bonded superdense, which
>>> in turn cuts diamond, which cuts crystaliron, which cuts everything else.
>>> That's bit simplistic, but will serve. It is rumoured that some Ancient
>>> artefacts will cut through even a neutronium/bonded superdense blade like
>>> it was warm butter, but there are all sorts of rumours about Ancient
>>> artefacts.
>>>
>>> The second change from a regular blade is that the power supply, in addition
>>> to any necessary stabilizing effect it may have, also (when the 'on' button
>>> is pressed), causes resonant vibrations in the blade itself. This allows it
>>> to cut through anything it could normally cut through without any real effort,
>>> just rest the blade against the surface, turn it on, and the blade will
>>> usually cut through using only its own mass. (There are exceptions, such
>>> as things like Chobham armour, and starship hulls, but you get the idea.)
>>> Obviously the more you use the vibro facility, the more you use the battery,
>>> but these are typically well equipped with warning lights, buzzers, and so on.
>>> When the vibro is turned on, the blade typically hums, unless it is damped
>>> somehow. Holding the blade in a chef's grip (thumb and forefinger holding
>>> the actual blade, not the pommel) is a quick'n'easy way to silence it,
>>> although this may cause stress fractures in the thumb- and finger-bones.
>>>
>>> -----------
>>> -----
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>
> --
> Craig Berry (http://google.com/+CraigBerry)
> "Eternity is in love with the productions of time." - William Blake
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