MIGHT AS OPPOSED TO MAGIC
by Lord Kanen Goldmane

    First of all, if you've heard that warriors are the weakest profession, don't be discouraged. Under most circumstances, this may be true of those who aren't spelled up to the point where they glow in the dark. Travel with spellcasters that can keep you spelled enough to where you can strike from advancing stance without having to parry back and forth.
    The only spells you (as a warrior) will ever be able to get your hands on will be the Minor Spirit Circle, and Minor Elemental Circle - and you can't expect the massive mental TP cost to pay dividends until somewhere around level 40 or so; and that's if you're relentless in your training. The Minor Spirit circle spells are not all that useful to a warrior until you've trained in it about 13 times or so; at that point, you'll have paid over 1000 mental TP's. Need I go on?
    If you want to wield magic, a much more feasible alternative is scroll reading. It only costs 7 mtp's, as opposed to spell research's 170ish. You'll probably have more fun with this, as well.
    Moving on to weapons. Pick a style and stick with it. Very rare will the situation arise where you're forced into combat with anything but your weapon of choice. In 22 years of training, it's never happened to me. Personally, I prefer single-handed edged (SHE)skill training, paired with a high shield use skill.
    Before I further dissect weapon types, let me recomend joining the Order of Voln. Not only is it a great cause and sense of purpose, but the special powers you gain with progression are useful to the warrior profession (although not exclusively) - Voln Fu hand-to-hand, in particular. Why hand-to-hand? Read on.
    There's more to weapons than is plainly obvious. I'll cover a few here and include hand-to-hand lastly.

RAPIERS, EPEES, DAGGERS, AND SHORT SWORDS.
    These are lightweight SHE weapons intended for piercing and stabbing.
These are not the most efficient choice for anyone that makes their living in melee combat. The AvD's are inheritly low, and some creatures are totally immune to puncture damage. You can expect light damage, with crit's being extremely rare.

SCIMITARS AND FALCHIONS.
    These are slash weapons. Scimitars are dramatically curved, while falchions have an angular tip. You've got an average AvD against most armor types up to the chain family, and the damage steps are also proportionate to this. Crit's are a little uncommon, as these are mediumweight weapons. (A notable exception to this is are heavy falchions.)

BROADSWORDS.
    These SHE's are most commonly selected because of their high price. Pricey isn't always best though. Technically, a broadsword requires a good deal of metal to construct, and that costs money. They are slashing and piercing weapons that probably have a slight edge over just about every other SHE you'll find in terms of AvD and Damage steps. Crit's are common with these, making them a well-balanced weapon overall. As with all blades however, efficiency drops sharply against heavier armor types.

AXES.
    Short and thick bladed, these make very affordable weapons. Damage steps and AvD's are comparable to broadswords, giving away only a handful of points. What makes these weapons exceptional is the distribution of weigh away from the hilt, delivering perhaps the highest impact velocity in the history of single-handed melee weapons. What this means in game terms is explosive crit's. At higher levels, most foes will be vanquished by instant death strikes to the head, neck, and torso - as opposed to loss of health. A great ambusher's weapon. (And warriors benefit greatly from ambushing.)

MACE, FLAIL, MORNING STAR, AND OTHER BLUNTS.
    I've never actually thoroughly researched these, but I have taken note of consistently high AvD's against a variety of armor types. I would expect medium crit's and damage, but with higher efficiency with regards to heavier armor.

GREATWEAPONS, TWO HANDED SWORDS, AND CLAID'S.
    These two-handers are the heaviest weapons out there; the claid' most especially, as it is so heavy that a penalty of ten is taken from the wielder's AS. All have great AvD's, Damage steps, and crit's - once again, the claid' in particular. The obvious drawback of such devastating weapons is the lack of a shield. Moreso than usual, the wielder is especially vulnerable in offensive stance.

VOLN FU HAND-TO-HAND.
    Although I've still got a lot of brawling training to do before I'm really proficient in it, it is -for the most part- useful against most any armor group. Low RT's also allow quick strikes and parries. Some undead creatures such as arch wights and ghoul masters wear heavy armor that will turn aside the brunt of most weapon damage; as a result, you'll use up a lot of bless in the process.

    In closing, I'd like to remind everyone that the new combat "Engagement" system is still to be implemented. Those who have religiously trained in Combat Maneuvers and Multi-Opponent Combat will find themselves at less of a disadvantage than most other professions. Pity the spell casters that get stuck in a warfarer swarm. 8)
    Warriors are a large part of fantasy genre history. Be proud to be part of that tradition.

Kanen