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The Bending Reed Katana
Wan Bending Reed
The Garden of Steel Flowers, The Dojo, Wung-Chi Lane, Bes Pelargic. Formerly a journeyman under the master swordsmith of House Sung, Wan's sense of honour forced him to find another position following certain indiscreet events. He now works in the Samurai Dojo, crafting katana of exceptional beauty and balance. He will not work for just anyone though for as Wan is prone to point out: Spring blooms have little need of autumn steel. To order a katana you will need a minimum sword bonus of 300 and a minimum bonus of 200 in agatean culture. Fluency in agatean spoken would also be somewhat handy. Bending Reed wakizashi's are identical in ordering to the katanas. They are shorter of course and a tad cheaper. The heavy wakzashi is the same weight as a standard katana. Having met the skill and cultural requirments, you may precede with your order. First you must decide on a good secure grip. The currently available options are jade green leather, deep blue leather, black leather, amber leather, white leather, grey leather, red leather, tiger skin, snakeskin, sharkskin and birchwood. The steel of the blade may be folded in one of many traditional patterns. You can choose from the following: chrysanthemum blossoms, wind and lightning, hibiscus flowers, falling leaves, lotus blossoms, climbing vines, snowflakes, fireworks, raindrops, a ladder, a river, clouds, reeds and none. The last step is chosing whether you desire a standard blade or a heavier one. The heavier blade has been judged as equal to or slightly better than the standard. It is currently theorised, however, that the blades require very high skills to truly master and that your evaluating ability should be equal to those skills for a true reading. Certainly, so far, combat reports place them as similar to if not better than a Tol Edo blade. The price is set at 400Rh for a standard blade and 600Rh for the heavier option. 'order 'collect A two-handed weapon, the katana comes with its own scabbard, a 'saya'. The saya comes in different colours, possibly random, though I am inclined to believe it is linked to the grip type. Information please? The bending reed katana will perform better for the person it was made for. With the recent downgrape to the custom short sword, the bending reed katana should now be the best sword in the game. 6/3/07. Specifics. Price: Standard katana - 400 Rhinu Heavy katana - 600 Rhinu Short description: Varies according to the type of folding and the grip. The default blade is a bending reed katana. The other options are the shadow rain ( raindrops/black), endless summer (fireworks/amber [only standard weight]), striking thunder (wind and lightning/grey), jade river (river/jade green) and ice kiss (snowflakes/white). Inscription: Written in elegant characters in Agatean: It is by the command of <player> that I was made. Appraise: Standard katana: The bending reed katana is about three and a half feet long and three inches wide. It is made of steel and could be used as a weapon of type sword. It is in excellent condition. Weight: Standard katana - 3 3/9 lb. Heavy katana - 4 6/9 lb. Judge: The bending reed katana is an excellent weapon of type sword that can be used to slice, stab, behead and iai. The katana has been reported to judge as much worse than a custom short sword, but further research is required. The heavy katana judges better than the light one and the custom short sword judges better than them both. Long description: The length of a grown man's arm and lethally sharp, with the slightest of curves to the gleaming edge, this katana bears a pattern of raindrops worked into the folded steel. The long hilt, shaped and balanced for use in one hand or two, has been wrapped in sharkskin. The maker's mark, a single reed gracefully curved by an unfelt wind, is engraved on the simple steel disc of the tsuba behind the blade. Specifics of the saya. Long desciption: Slim and subtly curved to match the katana, the thin wood of this scabbard has been finished in charcoal grey lacquer. A black silk shigeo cord wraps around the saya near its throat to attach it to the wearer's obi. Elusive reflections flit through its depths, as though in the darkest of mirrors encountered in a waking dream. Appraise: The charcoal grey saya is about two and a half feet long and a couple of inches wide. It is made of wood and looks like you could wear it. It is in excellent condition. Weight: 8/9 lb. Acknowledgements. Groux for suppling the initial log that let me get started. Pigsty, deep and lasting gratitude for providing accent free logs and additional information on the finished product. Grimrak for the judge of the heavier blade and Nat for the weight and cost of same. Kefka for confirming a rumour. Kaiser for the katana name correlations. Jorril for the Jade River Katana combination. Comments on the relative effectiveness of the standard katana. Fear Factor Esq says with a Morporkian accent: Surprisingly well, think it's about equal with genuan customs, only heavier for a little more damage. |