"...the crossbow is the assassin's weapon, par excellence; further, it might be mentioned that, although it takes longer to set the crossbow, a weaker man, with, say, his belt claw or his winding gear, can certainly manage to do so; accordingly, for every man capable of drawing a warrior's long bow there will be an indefinite number who can use the crossbow; lastly, at shorter distances, the crossbow requires much less skill for accuracy than the long bow." -- Raiders of Gor, page 2
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Port Kar, the Marshes, and at an Assassin's side
Gorean flight arrow:
"The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls. Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string." -- Raiders of Gor, page 68
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Marshes, Turia, and the Plains
Gorean sheaf arrow:
"The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls. Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string." -- Raiders of Gor, page 68
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Marshes, Turia, and the Plains
Great bow:
"I had the Gorean short sword in its scabbard, my shield and helmet, and, wrapped in leather, a Gorean long bow of supple Ka-la-na wood, from the yellow wine trees of Gor, tipped with notched bosk horn at each end, loose strung with hemp whipped with silk, a a roll of sheaf and flight arrows. The bow is not commonly favored by Gorean warriors, but all must respect it. It is the height of a tall man; its back, away from the bowman, is flat; its belly, facing the bowman, is half-rounded; it is something like an inch and a half wide and and inch and a quarter thick at the center; it has considerable force and requires considerable strength to draw the bow; nine of its arrows can be fired aloft before the first falls again to the earth; at point-blank range it can be fired completely through a four-inch beam; at two hundred yards it can pin a man to a wall; at four hundred yards it can kill the huge, shambling bosk; its rate of fire is nineteen arrows in a Gorean Ehn, about eighty Earth seconds." -- Raiders of Gor, page 2
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"And there was, too, the great bow, of yellow, supple Kala-na, tipped with notched bosk horn, with its cord of hemp, whipped with silk, and the roll of sheaf and flight arrows." -- Raiders of Gor, page 68
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"On the wall of the hut, behind Thurnus, hung the great bow of supple Ka-la-na. It was tipped with notched bosk horn. It was now unstrung, but the string, of hemp, whipped with silk, lay ready, looped loose upon the broad, curved yellow wood. Near the bow hung a mighty quiver, in which nestled flight and sheaf arrows, and many of each thereof. Such a weapon I could not even bend. It required, too, not simply the strength of a man, but of a man who was unusually strong. Most men, no more than a woman, could use such a fearsome device. It was a common weapon among peasants. It is often called the peasant bow." -- Slave Girl of Gor, page 139
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Marshes and used by Peasants
Quiver:
"...and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows." -- Nomads of Gor, page 11
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Marshes, in Turia, and among Wagon Peoples in the plains
Short bow:
"His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand he small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples an attached to his saddle
was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows." -- Nomads of Gor, page 11
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle, lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at a close range, with considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon." -- Nomads of Gor, page 66
"I saw Hamid, who was the lieutenant of Shakar, captain of the Aretai, slip swiftly behind hangings, a dagger, bloodied, held within his cloak." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 110
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"He reached humbly, brokenly, into his robe, drawing forth a dagger. I eyed him narrowly. Suddenly he cried, 'Die!' and hurled it at me. I had expected the move and had turned. The knife struck the back of the chair before which I stood, striking through the wood, stopping only with the hilt." -- Assassin of Gor, page 383
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I saw sleeve daggers." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 50
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Port Kar, Ar, the Tahari region, and at an Assassin's side
Hook knife:
"'Pick up your hook knife,' I said.
Ho-Tu, not taking his eyes much from me, found the hook knife and lifted it.
'Do not fight!" screamed Sura.
I crouched down, the killing knife now held by the hilt in my hand." -- Assassin of Gor, page 262
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Portus, half wasted now, his skin hanging about his frame, was brought, manacled, stripped to the waist, to the square of sand.
His manacles were removed and a naked hook knife was thrust in his trembling hand.
'Please oh mighty Cernus!' he whined. 'Show mercy!'
The slave who I had originally seen victorious in the sport of hook knife sprang to the sand and began to stalk Portus." -- Assassin of Gor, page 312
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"She took Claudia's hair in her left hand and held the razor-sharp hook knife at her face." -- Assassin of Gor, page 317
"With a roar of laughter, hurling the shroud from him, to the horror of the High Initiate, and other initiates, and the congregation, Ivar Forkbeard, almost seven feet in height, leaped to his feet, in his right hand clutching a great, curved, single-bladed ax of hardened iron.
'Praise be to Odin!' he cried.
Then he with his as, with a single swing, spattering blood on the sheets of gold, cut the head from the body of the High Initiate of Kassau, and leaped, booted, to the height of the very altar of the temple itself.
He threw back his head, with a wild roaring laugh, the bloody ax in his hand.
I heard the beams of the two doors of the temple being thrown into place, locking the people within. I saw the cloaks of the men of Torvaldsland hurled from them and saw, gripped in their two hands, great axes." -- Marauders of Gor, page 39
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Hurtha threw his things into the wagon. Among them was the heavy, single-bladed Alar war ax. In the dialect of the Alars, if it is of interest, this particular type of ax is called the francisca. Among those, too, who have learned to fear it, it is also often referred to by that name." -- Mercenaries of Gor, page 54
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Torvaldsland and in general the North; it is favored by Kurii
Knife (general):
"All men of Torvaldsland, incidentally, even if otherwise unarmed, carry a knife at their master belt." -- Marauders of Gor, page 50
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Torvaldsland/the North
Long sword:
"He wore beneath his cloak yellow wool, and a great belt of glistening black, with a gold buckle, to which was attached a scabbard of oiled, black leather; in this scabbard was a sword, a sword of Torvaldsland, a long sword, with a jeweled pommel, with double guard." -- Marauders of Gor, page 172
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"'Too,' he said, 'I purchased this splendid sword.' He unsheathed it and swung it about. He handled it lightly. It nearly decapitated a passing wagoner. It was a long, cutting sword, of the sort called a spatha among the wagons. It is more useful than the gladius, from the back of a tharlarion, because of it's reach." -- Mercenaries of Gor, page 66
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Besides the ax, Alars are fond of the Alar sword, a long, heavy, double-edged weapon." -- Mercenaries of Gor, page 45
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Torvaldsland
Quiva:
"...in the saddle itself, on the right side, indicating the rider must be
right-handed, were the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddleknives of the prairie." -- Nomads of Gor, page 11
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I was most fond, perhaps, of the balanced saddle knife, the quiva: it is about a foot in length, double edged; it tapers to a daggerlike
point. I acquired, I think, skill in its use. At forty feet I could strike a thrown tospit; at one hundred feet I could strike a layered boskhide disk, about four inches in width, fastened to a lance thrust in the turf." -- Nomads of Gor, page 67
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"The quiva itself is regarded, on the whole, as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife." -- Nomads of Gor, page 124
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Most quivas incidently are wrought in the smithies of Ar." -- Nomads of Gor, page 124
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: among Wagon Peoples in the plains and in Turia
Short sword:
"He also carried among his things the short, stabbing sword, similar to the gladius, and doubtless related to it, called by his people the sacramasax. It is much more useful on foot, particularly in close combat." -- Mercenaries of Gor, page 66
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I had again my sword, that wine-tempered blade of fine, double-edged Gorean steel, carried even at the seige of Ar, so long ago, with its scabbard...." Raiders of Gor, page 68
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
As I pondered this the doors of the paga room burst open, and the fellow, fierce and bearded, who had been to the baths appeared in the uniform of the company of the Administrators of Cos, which indeed I had supposed must be his. He wore his sword, on its strap over the left shoulder. This is common among Gorean warriors, though not on the march nor in tarnflight. In this arrangement the sword may be unsheathed and the scabbard and strap discarded in one movement. He carried his helmet and the intriguing pouch which had caught my attention earlier, that which he had carried with him even into the room of the baths." -- Renegades of Gor, page 76
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Used on Gor: by Warriors and Mercenaries
Scimitar:
"I returned to the bazaar, and inquired where steel might be purchased, and kaiila. I was informed by a ragged youngster, who I rewarded with a copper tarsk. The weapon makers' street was close on the bazaar. The kaiila pens in Tor are outside her south gate.
I walked to the street of the weapon makers. I was anxious to make the acquaintance of the Tahari scimitar." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 58
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I discarded the exercise sheath, and, with the bared blade, parted the leather that had bound the jaws of the kaiila. The leather spring from the blade. Silk, dropped upon the scimitar of the Tahari, divided, falls free, floating, to the floor. The beast reared, its claws raking the air, and threw back its head, biting at the sun.
I lifted the curved blade of the scimitar. It flashed." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 60
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I saw the kaiila. It was my own. It was saddled; water bags were at its flanks; a scimitar sheath, with weapon, on straps, hung at a saddle ring on the right." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 131
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"The leader sat back in the saddle, burnoose swelling in the wind, light, wickedly curved scimitar across the pommel." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 184
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Tahari among the various Tribes
Throwing knife:
"It was a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing." -- Assassin of Gor, page 42
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: Ar
Whip knife:
"To my surprise I noted, coiled at the side of his saddle, in four loops, was a whip knife, of the sort common in Port Kar, a whip, but set into its final eighteen inches, arranged in sets of four, twenty thin, narrow blades; the tips of whip knives differ; some have a double-edged blade of about even or eight inches at the tip; others have a stunning lead, which fells the victim and permits him, half conscious, to be cut to pieces at the attacker's leisure; the whip knife of Menicius, however, held at its tip the double-edged blade, capable of cutting a throat at twelve feet." -- Assassin of Gor, pages 363-364
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: Port Kar
Other Weapons
Bola:
"Slowly, singing a gutteral chant, a Tuchuk warrior song, he began to swing the bola. It consists of three long straps of leather, each about five feet long, each terminating in a leather sack which contains, sewn inside, a heavy, round metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagons People use it also, as well, as a weapon of war." -- Nomads of Gor, page 24
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Tahari, Turia, and the Plains
Great staff:
"The other common peasant weapon is the great staff, some six feet in length, some two inches in width." -- Slave Girl of Gor, page 139
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Used by peasants.
Helmet:
"With him there stood a tall, bearded helmeted warrior of Port Kar, the golden slash of the officer across the temples of his helmet." -- Raiders of Gor, page 51
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found all over Gor.
Lance:
"The lances of the Wagon Peoples are not couched. The are carried in the right fist, easily, and are flexible and light, used for thrusting, not the battering-ram effect of the heavy lances of Europe's High Middle Ages. Needless to say, they can be almost as swift and delicate in their address as a saber. The lances are black, cut from the poles of young tem trees. They may be bent almost double, like finely tempered steel, before they break. A loose loop of boskhide, wound twice about the right fist, helps to retain the weapon in hand-to-hand combat. It is seldom thrown." -- Nomads of Gor, page 15
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Beside him lay the long lance, some nine feet in length." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 255
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
". . .the long, slim lance, eight feet Gorean in length, marked with red and yellow swirling stripes, terminating in an extremely narrow point, razored, steel, some eleven inches in length, and lanceolate, as the leaf of the flahdah tree." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 234
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"He examined the long blade of the lance, running his finger along the edge of the blade. The blade was bound in the shaft by four rivets." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 258
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the plains used by the Wagon Peoples, in the Tahari
Net & Trident:
"He had purchased the net in the morning with a trident, the traditional
weapons of the fisherman of the western shore and the western islands." -- Raiders of Gor, page 112
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in Torvaldsland, Kassau, and used by fishermen
Poison:
"'Unlikely,' said the Older Tarl, 'for Assassins are commonly too proud for poison.'" -- Assassin of Gor, page 42
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"'Poisoned steel,' he said.
I said nothing.
'Sullius Maximus,' he said, 'is in Tyros.'
'I would not have thought Sarus of Tyros would have used poisoned steel,' I said. Such a device, like the poisoned arrow, was not only goes against the codes of the warriors, but, generally, was regarded as unworthy of men. Poison was regarded as a woman's weapon." -- Marauders of Gor, page 18
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I removed from its paw the tiny, rounded ball of wax, held in place by threads; within the wax, which would soon, in the riding and pounding, and by the heat of the animal's body, disintegrate, concealed, I found a needle; I smelled it; it was smeared with kanda, a deadly toxin, prepared from the ground roots of the kanda bush...." -- Tribesmen of Gor, page 132
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"It is not wise to try to tear away the garments of a free woman with one's bare hands. They may contain poisoned needles." -- Beasts of Gor, page 402
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"A free woman, captured, whose hair her captor unbinds, usually the first time by the stroke of a knife, a precaution against poison pins and other devices. . ." -- Explorers of Gor, page 198
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"'They are poison teeth,' remarked Harold, 'a Turian affectation but quite deadly, being filled with the venom of the Ost.'" -- Nomads of Gor, page 187
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Used on Gor: by low-lifes and Free Women
Rifle:
"The man-at-arms shrugged and took the rifle, or crossbow as he thought
of it, and surely the stock resembled that of a crossbow, and placed it in one of the carrying baskets." -- Assassin of Gor, page 98
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"In it I saw the rifle which had been brought from Earth." -- Assassin of Gor, page 384
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Very rarely found on Gor due to watchful eye of the Priest Kings who deliver the flame-death to those with them.
Shield:
"The round shield, concentric overlapping layers of hardened leather riveted together and bound with hoops of brass, fitted with the double sling for carrying on the left arm, was similarly unmarked. -- Outlaw of Gor, page 21
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Their (Alars) shields tend to be oval, like those of Turians." -- Mercenaries of Gor, page 45
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Tahari among the various Tribes, among the Wagon
Peoples in the plains, and basically all over Gor
Spear:
"The spear was a typical Gorean spear, about seven feet in height, heavy, stout, with a tapering bronze head some eighteen inches in length. It is a terrible weapon and, abetted by the somewhat lighter gravity of Gor, when cast with considerable force, can pierce a shield at close quarters or bury its head a foot deep in solid wood. With this weapon groups of men hunt even the larl in its native haunts in the voltai Range, that incredible pantherlike carnivore which may stand six to eight feet high at the shoulder.
Indeed, the Gorean spear is such that many warriors scorn lesser missile weapons, such as the longbow or crossbow, both of which are not uncommonly found on Gor" -- Outlaw of Gor, page 21
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Found on Gor: in the Tahari, Northern Forests, Marshes, Plains, and Turia
Weapons used in pits/by fighting slaves
Cestea:
"Even the cruel cestae of the low pits might have cut away his lower jaw." -- Fighting Slave of Gor, page 321
"The wooden shields of Torvaldsland no more stopped the great axes than dried skins of larma fruit, stretched on sewing frames, might have resisted the four-bladed dagger cestus of Anango or the hatchet gauntlet of eastern Skjern." -- Marauders of Gor, page 205
Gauntlets:
"The wooden shields of Torvaldsland no more stopped the great axes than dried skins of larma fruit, stretched on sewing frames, might have resisted the four-bladed dagger cestus of Anango or the hatchet gauntlet of eastern Skjern." -- Marauders of Gor, page 205
"'In the pits of Ar,' he said, 'he has fought with the spiked leather, and with the knife gauntlets.'" -- Fighting Slave of Gor, page 318
Spiked leather:
"It would be difficult, once seen, to ever forget the massively scarred, misshapen countenance of Krondar, a veteran of many bouts with the spiked leather, and the knife gauntlets, in Ar." -- Guardsman of Gor, page 94
"'In the pits of Ar,' he said, 'he has fought with the spiked leather, and with the knife gauntlets.'" -- Fighting Slave of Gor, page 318
Steel claws:
"Sometimes slave girls are forced to fight slave girls, perhaps with steel claws fastened on their fingers . . ." -- Assassin of Gor, page 189
Whips:
"There were various matches in the pit of sand that evening. There was a contest of sheathed hook knife, one of whips and another of spiked gauntlets." -- Assassin of Gor, page 120
