Weapons

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General Notes

The Priest Kings have several laws governing weapons. Among them -- no explosive weapons are allowed, no guns, cannon, bombs or the like. Also, no heavy or metal armor is allowed, though Warriors often wear leather armor, and are allowed small shields. The flame death is meted out by the Priest Kings to any who dare to try to flout Their laws.

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Swords

there are many varieties of this weapon

Long Sword: There is a great variety in the types, lengths and weights of these longer swords. They can range in length from 36 - 50 inches, and are designed to be wielded with two hands, though stronger Warriors can use them one-handed. The prime advantage of these weapons over the short sword is that they increase a Warrior's reach, and the weight and sheer destructive potential of these swords when used by a highly skilled, strong Warrior. The added reach of a long sword also makes them better weapons to use when mounted, either on tarn-back, or on a tharlarion.
Saber: a thinner, lighter, straighter and longer version of the scimitar. However, the slight curve of the blade is enough for it to also be a difficult weapon to use.
Sacramasax: A weapon common to the Alars, similar to the typical Gorean short sword.
Scimitar: a curved, medium-length sword, generally measuring between 30 - 34 inches in length, and 1 1/2 - 2 inches wide. This sword was designed to slice at opponents while galloping by, hence the curved blade. The shape and balance of this weapon make it extremely difficult to wield, particularly in hand-to-hand, thrusting type combat. Many Warriors dislike the scimitar, considering it too long for close-up work, and too short and light to substitute for a long sword.
Short sword: short, wide blade -- approximately 20 - 22 inches in length, 2 - 3 1/2 inches wide. Primarily used for thrusting and hacking. The short sword is extremely good in close, fast fighting as it is a smaller, lighter weapon. Against heavier weapons, such as a heavy axe or longsword, though, the Warrior must be clever and ride the heavier weapon wide to achieve any significant damage.
Spatha: The Alar version of the long sword -- a long, heavy, double-edged version.

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Spears

In general, spears are used by infantry troops, though it is often used simply to pierce and render useless a shield.

Gorean Spear: an ancient weapon with a bronze head. Originally used as a hunting tool, it is now a powerful weapon popular with infantry troops, particularly when used against massed cavalry units.
"It had a shaft of seven foot Gorean, a head of tapered bronze, some eighteen inches in length. At close range it can pierce a southern shield, shatter its point through a seven-inch beam."
---Marauders of Gor, p 210

Harpoon: more of a tool than a weapon, harpoons are used primarily for hunting and fishing. The piercing tip is barbed so it will not pull out, and a line is usually attached to the end so the hunter may easily retrieve his catch. However, this tool can also be used, to deadly effect, by a Warrior. Reference is made in the books to two types of harpoon -- the light and the long harpoon. They are apparently used at different stages in the hunt.
Kailla Lance: this weapon gets its name from the fact it is used from kaiilla back, for hunting purposes, as well as a weapon against other humans. Unlike the commonly known Earth weapon, the Kaiilla lance is light and supple, flexible. As it is not used against armored fighters, it does not need to be heavy. The end often bears a loop of leather, which is used to help grip the weapon.
Tarn Lance: similar to the kailla lance, but is longer and more slender. As the name implies, this weapon is used from the back of a tarn.
Tharlarion Lance: similar to the kailla lance, but is longer and heavier, to be used when mounted on a tharlarion, as the name indicates.
Trident: this is another weapon that began as a tool for hunting. A trident is most often used in combination with a net -- the net to capture the prey, the trident to kill. One drawback of this weapon is its apparent lack of defensive capabilities.

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Knives

Dagger: a name that covers many different types of combat knives. It may be worn openly, or concealed, and is often used by Free Women as a means of protection. Knives are often concealed by strapping one to one's wrist beneath the sleeve, tucking one into the collar behind one's neck, or hidden in a boot.
Hook Knife: the hook knife is not well described. As the name implies, it is curved. The blade is short, thick, and extremely sharp. It is most often used in close combat, as in a duel.
Panga: a knife used in the jungle region of Schendi. It is used both as a weapon, and to cut a trail through the forest. It is sharp enough to cut through small trees.
Quiva: a knife designed for throwing, it is flat and double-edge, about a foot in length. It is a weapon common to the Wagon Peoples, though it is found throughout Gor. It is often strapped to a rider's kailla in a set of seven. While most often thrown, it can be used in hand to hand combat. Sometimes called a saddle knife.
Sleen Knife: a hunting knife, used by the Panther Girls and hunters in the Northern forests.
Snow Knife: a large knife, used by the Red Hunters. It is made of bone and is used as both a weapon and cutting tool. The knife is described as being curved and having a serrated edge.

"I did as I was told, and Imnak, with a large, curved, bone, saw-toothed knife, a snow knife, began to cut at a nearby drift of snow."
---Beasts of Gor, 26

Tarn Knife: no specific description is given, though it would appear to be part of the normal equipment of a Tarnsman.
Throwing Knife: smaller than the quiva, it is a weapon primarily used as a missile, as the name implies. It is also a common tool used by the Assassin.
Turf Knife: sharp, shovel-shaped blade used by the Red Savages made out of wood.
Ulo: a knife used by the women of the Red Hunters. The blade is in a semicircle, set in a wooden handle, and is most often used as a tool for cutting meat and slicing sinew.
Whip Knife: a weapon common and unique to Port Kar. Basically a whip with several blades in a complex arrangement tied into the length of it.
"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 seven 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, 22:

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Axes

Alar War Axe: This axe is also called the Francisca. No physical description, other than the fact that it is often thrown in battle, and is feared by the opponents. (Mercenaries of Gor)
Cahnpi and War Clubs of the Red Savages: a long, wooden handle (up to 2 feet in length) with a narrow hatchet-type blade set into its end. The blade is usually made up of sharpened metal, shaped stone or obsidian glass. Ceremonial inscriptions are often found on this weapon. It can be used as a hand weapon, in conjunction with a shielf of dried rawhid over a wood frame, or thrown as a missile weapon. Another version of this weapon is a carved or shaped club of wood or bone, often with a stone or metal head, referred to as a war club. This second version is not meant for cutting, but, instead, the prototypical blunt weapon. (Savages of Gor and Blood Brothers of Gor)
Kurii Axe: a huge weapon, the only double-headed axe on Gor, it is capable of chopping a man literally in half. It is also too large and heavy for a man to wield. (Marauders of Gor)
Torvaldsland Axe: a single-bladed axe with no back spike or blade, it varies in size, with handles ranging from 3 - 5 feet, and blades up to 1 foot in length. Normally wielded two-handed, a strong warrior can wield it one-handed. It makes a particularly fierce weapon when combined with a large Torvaldlandser shield -- the great reach of the weapon compensating for the slower speed, when compared to the short sword, of wielding it. (Marauders of Gor)
Trade Axe: a blunt tool, used by the Red Savages to drive pegs into the ground when building their homes. (Blood Brothers of Gor)

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Bows and Arrows

The common peasant weapons are the long staff, as in the medieval quarterstaff and the "Peasant Bow," or Longbow, which earns them respect from all castes, even the Warriors.

The common missile weapon of the Assassins is the crossbow, which can remain set indefinitely, while waiting in ambush. It is also useful in fighting from room to room, when one may have to fire on an instant's awareness. Too, of course, it can be fired from the prone position and is easy to use behind defensive works. Crossbows are of either the hand-drawn or windlass variety.

The hand-drawn variety is most frequently used by the Assassins. Both have a stirruplike fixture before the bow. The weapon is lowered, and a foot placed in the stirrup, to hold the weapon in place, while the bow is drawn, by hand or windlass. The hand-drawn variety utilizes a wooden bow, and the windlass variety utilizes a steel bow. The windlass variety, with two handles, each turned by one hand, can draw a more powerful bow, because of the leverage involved and the ratchet-and-pawl arrangement. Both sorts can pierce most armor, the windlass variety at longer range. The hand-drawn variety, naturally, can be more quickly reloaded, but it lacks the range of the windlass variety.

The bolts or quarrels used in the crossbow are short, say , ten inches in length, and may be of metal or wood. The metal quarrels can be metal-finned. The arrows of the longbow, in contrast, are generally long, a yard or more in length, slender, of wood, and feathered. Tarnsmen, incidentally, when on tarnback, commonly use the "cavalry bow," or "short bow." The prime advantage of this bow is that it can clear the saddle, making it easier, for example, to fire either to the left or right. One thinks of the dagger, of course, as the prototypical weapon of the Assassin.

---John Norman, Letter to the Gorean Grooup, Sept 20th 2000

Bows

Crossbow: The common missile weapon of the assassins. It comes in both a hand-drawn and windlass variety (see explanatory excerpt from letter above). (Raiders of Gor)

Hornbow of the Inuits: a weapon common among the Red Hunters, natives of Gor's polar basin. The weapon is made up of layered pieces of tabuk horn, bound up with sinew. This small bow is not effective beyond about 30 yards. (Beasts of Gor)

Hornbow of the Wagon People: a small bow made of pieces of bosk horn bound and reinforced by leather and metal. It is banded by metal at seven points, including the grip. (Nomads of Gor, Assassin of Gor)

Long Bow: also known as the Great Peasant Bow. This is a powerful weapon, described as being difficult to use but extremely vicious and useful in long-range situations. At two hundred yards it can pin a man to the wall, at four hundred yards it can kill a bosk. The bow is often made from ka-la-na wood, the cord of hemp whipped with silk. While powerful, the bow is not useful in fast, close combat; and as one must stand or at least be kneeling upright to use it, it makes of the wielder a target for the enemy. (Raiders of Gor)

Northern Short Bow: Short bow of the northern area of Gor. It is accurate up to a range of 150 yards, it uses short, heavy arrows. Much like the ship bow, it is useful in close fights, and it can be fired through the thole port when the oar is withdrawn. (Marauders of Gor)

Ship Bow: short and stout, a highly maneuverable bow with a high firing rate used in close quarters, such as ship to ship fighting. (Rogue of Gor)

Small Bow of the Red Savages: reputed to have the fastest firing rate of all bows, this weapon is favored by the Red Savages of the barrens (not to be mistaken for the Red Hunters of the polar basin). At close range, this weapon can be particularly destructive, it is also highly manouverable, and small enough to be easily concealed beneath a robe or cape, for example. (Savages of Gor)

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Arrows

Flight Arrow: an arrow designed for the Great Bow, it is metal-piled and fletched with 3 half-feathers from the Vosk gull wing. This arrow is approximately forty inches in length. (Raiders of Gor)
Hunting Arrow: an arrow fitted with a tapered head designed for hunting, often used by the Red Savages. The design for the head makes it easier to withdraw from its target. (Savages of Gor)
Quarrel: a small, high velocity arrow used in crossbows. (Tarnsman of Gor)
Sheaf Arrow: an arrow designed for the Great Bow, it is metal-piled and fletched with 3 half-feathers from the Vosk gull wing. This arrow is a little over a yard in length. The greater length of this arrow is what differentiates it from the Flight Arrow. (Raiders of Gor, Hunters of Gor, Beasts of Gor)
Simple Pile Arrow: both the flight and sheaf arrows fall into this category, which refers to the head of the arrow. The head or tip is shaped in such a way that the arrow may be pulled out of the target/wound in the direction of entry. This differentiates simple pile arrows from, for example, the Tuchuk barbed arrow which must be pushed through the wound to the other side in order to remove it. (Raiders of Gor)
Tuchuk Barbed Arrow: also called a broad-headed arrow that carries barbs, it is a type of flight arrow. The barbs prevent it from being withdrawn from a wound -- it must be pushed through, making it more difficult to recover during combat. (Raiders of Gor)
War Arrow: One of two types of arrows used by the Red Savages. The head or pile of the arrow is barbed and is set losely into the shaft. This makes it more difficult to remove from a wound, and, in fact, the arrowhead is often left in the wound when the shaft is pulled out and must be removed with a knife. This, of course, often confounds the wound -- if the warrior does not die from the puncture itself, He may die during the consequent operation to remove the point of the arrow. (Savages of Gor)

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