Short sword

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For a comparison of different weapons, see Weapon.

Steel short sword

A short sword is an edged weapon that is larger than a knife, with a blade long enough to make slashing effective but shorter than other swords. Short swords have the same basic attacks as other swords, but suffer slightly because of their reduced size. As with all edged weapons, metals with good edge properties are most effective.

Properties

Short swords use and train the swordsman skill (called "Swordsdwarf" in dwarf mode). They have stabbing and slashing attacks, along with a blunt pommel strike. Swords can be useful for dealing with all kinds of foes, although they're not as good at any of these attacks as more specialized weapons.

Fortress mode

Dwarves can forge short swords out of any weapon-grade metal, but those with superior edge properties are more effective. "Rock short swords" are a special type of short sword that are constructed out of obsidian (with wooden handles) by a stonecrafter at a craftsdwarf's workshop. Rock short swords may be based on the Aztec Macuahuitl, described as being a club with rows of sharp stone edge affixed to the sides. All dwarves can equip short swords, but a tiny fraction must use two hands.

Forging and Melting

• Metal short swords cost one metal bar to forge, or three adamantine wafers.
• When a non-adamantine metal short sword is melted down, it will return 0.9 metal bars, for an efficiency of 90%.
• When an adamantine short sword is melted down, it will produce 0.9 wafers, for an efficiency of 30%

Adventurer mode

As an adventurer, it is possible to play as a swordsman. If you're an elf or a dwarf, a short sword is a good all-round weapon. which can be used successfully on a wide variety of foes, but is most effective against lightly armoured creatures. Generally, it's best to slash when fighting relatively small, unarmoured foes (goblins, kobolds, and humans for example), and to stab larger, unarmoured foes, such as megabeasts. Short swords are not usually a good choice against heavily armoured foes, unless your sword is made of better metal than your opponents' armour, as the blunt pommel strike is rather weak.

• 

  a drawing of an obsidian shortsword

Raws

[ITEM_WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_SWORD_SHORT] [NAME:short sword:short swords] [SIZE:300] [SKILL:SWORD] [TWO_HANDED:37500] [MINIMUM_SIZE:32500] [CAN_STONE] [MATERIAL_SIZE:3] [ATTACK:EDGE:20000:4000:slash:slashes:NO_SUB:1250] [ATTACK_PREPARE_AND_RECOVER:3:3] [ATTACK:EDGE:50:2000:stab:stabs:NO_SUB:1000] [ATTACK_PREPARE_AND_RECOVER:3:3] [ATTACK:BLUNT:20000:4000:slap:slaps:flat:1250] [ATTACK_PREPARE_AND_RECOVER:3:3] [ATTACK:BLUNT:100:1000:strike:strikes:pommel:1000] [ATTACK_PREPARE_AND_RECOVER:3:3]

V · T · E Weapons
Ranged and ammunition	Blowgun and blowdart · Bow and arrow · Crossbow and bolt
Blunt	Flail · Mace · Maul · Training weapons · War hammer · Whip
Edged (slashing)	Battle axe · Great axe · Halberd · Long sword · Scimitar · Scourge · Short sword · Two-handed sword
Edged (piercing)	Dagger · Morningstar · Pick · Pike · Spear
See also: Attack types