Bastard Sword

The bastard sword is one of several patterns of sword common throughout Greland. The ratio of blade to handle for swords means they require considerably more high grade 'blade steel' than other hand weapons, and they have no uses outside of combat, meaning they are generally restricted to nobility. Within The Kingdom of Somercrag, Knighthood includes the right to wear a sword in any situation, further increasing the prestige associated with them.
The bastard sword in particular is a longer sword intended to be used in one or two hands. Similar in size to the Longsword, the bastard sword is usually shorter and wider than the longsword, making for a heavier blade which can deal more devastating wounds, albeit at the cost of being somewhat harder to control.
Bastard Sword

Name	Damage	Critical	Range	Qualities
Bastard Sword	3/4	3	Engaged	Versatile; Defensive-2/3; Vicious-0/1; Slashing

Versatile:

• This weapon can be wielded in one or two hands. When it is wielded in one hand it uses the Damage number before the '/', when it is wielded in two hands it uses the Damage number after the '/'. This also applies to any Qualities with a '/' in them.

• This weapon can change between being wielded in one or two hands as part of another Manouevre or by spending a Story Point outside of the turn. This weapon can only become wielded in two hands if the second hand is empty and not crippled.

Defensive-2/3:

• This weapon adds +dd/ddd to the difficulty of any Melee Attacks that target the bearer.

Vicious-0/1:

• This weapon adds +0/10 to any Critical Hits it inflicts.

Slashing:

• This weapon can spend an additional a when it scores a Critical Hit to score a Slashing Critical Hit instead.

Bastard Swords in Military Units

When equipped by a Military Unit a Bastard Sword is one of many kinds of Hand Weapon, it has no effect on the unit's fighting capabilities.

Potential Improvements

• Crossguard: Some swords have a crossguard, ranging from the ornate with carved details and gilded and jewelled, to the purely functional. A sword with an enhanced Crossguard improves its Defensive quality by 1.