13.4 Weapons

Weapons in Imperian may be crucially important or not-so-important, depending on your class. For instance, those of the monk class fight primarily with their hands and the power of their minds, and a weapon in their hands only inhibits the power of their martial arts skills. A Templar, on the other hand, depends on his trusty swords, and to be without them is to be rendered significantly less powerful. Having said this, all classes may benefit from occasional use of a weapon.

What follows is a discussion of weapons in Imperian, and how they work.

Using Weapons
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Using a weapon in a basic fashion is easy. Simply PROBE the weapon to get a list of commands that may be used with it, wield it, and then use one of the weapon's commands. For instance, if it is a sword, JAB <whatever> will work.

In order to wield a weapon, simply type WIELD <weapon>. If you want to wield it in a specific hand, do WIELD RIGHT/LEFT <weapon>. UNWIELD <weapon> will unwield it.

If you are wearing a sheath or a scabbard, you can quickly sheath the weapon using SHEATH <weapon> LEFT|RIGHT] <scabbard>]. The left/right and the scabbard are not required, but will allow you to specify which wielded weapon to sheath and which sheath you want it placed in. Only edge weapons can be sheathed.

To draw a weapon from a sheath, use DRAW <weapon>.

Weapon Statistics
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All non-missile weapons in Imperian possess two common factors that distinguish how well they work in combat. These are DAMAGE, and SPEED. Bows are covered in the individual class-specific ability help files.

The higher the damage number, the more damage you will do. The higher the speed number, the faster you will be at using the weapon.

You may discover the statistics of a weapon once you have gained the WEAPONPROBE ability in Weaponry. This ability is fairly low in the skill, so if you intend to use weapons, it may be worth getting this ability as soon as possible.

Now, these are not the only factors that affect how effective you are with a weapon. The other factors are covered in the HELP WEAPONRY file.

Weapon Types
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Below is a list of some of Imperian's weapons (all do cutting physical damage unless otherwise specified):

Longsword    : The standard sword against which all else is measured.
               Damage: 110  Speed: 200
               Increased bleeding damage.
Broadsword   : Cousin to the longsword. Some prefer it, some do not.
               Damage: 145  Speed: 165
               Increased damage against mobs.
Shortsword   : A smaller, quicker version of the large swords.
               Damage: 75   Speed: 160
               Bypasses rebounding.
Scimitar     : A curving sword favoured by those in the east.
               Damage: 90   Speed: 205
               Parried attacks do damage and don't trigger special effects.
Claymore     : A long, straight, two-handed sword.
               Damage: 210  Speed: 120
Sabre        : Faster, but less damage than a longsword.
               Damage: 75   Speed: 220
Battleaxe    : A one-handed battleaxe.
               Damage: 160  Speed: 155
Handaxe      : A weapon designed to be thrown.
               Damage: 105  Speed: 215
Club         : The weapon of the very poor.  (blunt physical damage)
               Damage: 70   Speed: 160
Dagger       : A throwing weapon.
               Damage: 55   Speed: 215
Dirk         : A long dagger used to stab with. Fairly fast.
               Damage: 60   Speed: 196
Flail        : Similar stats to a longsword. (blunt physical damage)
               Damage: 110  Speed: 172
Mace         : Much like a flail. (blunt physical damage)
               Damage: 100  Speed: 230
Javelin      : The strongest of the thrown weapons, it is quite slow. (2h)
               Damage: 255  Speed: 100
Glaive:      : Similar to a javelin, the preferred weapon of the Wardens.
               Damage: 255  Speed: 100
Halberd      : A two-handed polearm with high damage.
               Damage: 210  Speed: 120
Morning Star : Slightly slower than a flail or mace, but with more damage.
               Damage: 130  Speed: 150
               (blunt physical damage)
Spear        : A cheap but effective two-handed weapon.
               Damage: 95   Speed: 170
Warhammer    : A massive two-handed hammer. Slow but with good damage.
               Damage: 180  Speed: 150
               (blunt physical damage)
Trident      : Faster than a longsword, with slightly less damage.
               Damage: 95   Speed: 170
Whip         : A stylish weapon that is fairly quick.
               Damage: 75   Speed: 170
Bardiche     : A polearm, similar to the halberd.
               Damage: 210  Speed: 120

See also: HELP WEAPONRY, HELP THROWING