Kenneth wrote:Forkbeard, I don't really care who you are. I doubt you really care who I am. How about you stop with the keyboard jockeying and stick to arguing the points?
-Kenneth
Dude, you don't know who Forkbeard is? C'mon . . . didn't you see the hobo in the Army blanket/bathrobe crossbreed? The really big tall Uruk?
Anyway, seriously now, not everyone is a lawyer, and while you may be correct about debating points etc (and in principle I guess I agree with you), you can be a bit less, um, condescending? We all know you're a smart guy. Not trying to bash or anything, but just FYI when you throw your intellectual might around, you might come off as arrogant or as a know-it-all. I know this because I have at times been criticized for doing the same thing.
Anyway, as to the actual topic under debate, the legality of swinging a blue sword two handed really falls down to personal interpretation. General practice and acceptance on the field and among heralds, as well as I have been able to see at events and practices, is that it is legal and that the debate is simply because of rules that were not worded to clearly reflect the intent of the writers. While this may be somewhat confusing now, which is really not that big of a deal, it probably originates in the split between us and Dagorhir.
It would appear that, although we still follow almost the exact same rules as before the split, the Belegarth rules were entirely rewritten after the split to differentiate them from those used by Dag. While I cannot say whether this rule has been revised since that time, the relevant rule from their Manual of Arms reads, "3.2.2.1. Blue weapons: Weapons marked with blue tape are one handed hacking and smashing weapons and cannot be considered a red weapon even when used with two hands." This clearly states the legality of using blue weapons two handed, but only for blue damage.
I believe that, given the fact that our rules are devised almost entirely from theirs (excepting some innovation and change since the split) and since we are still continuing to use the colors to define weapon types in this very debate, this earlier precedent is still applicable to determine the intent of the rule. I know someone will criticize me by saying, "But this isn't Dagorhir, we have our own rules," and I recognize this as well as the fact that we must play by our own rules and not theirs; by turning to the Dagorhir rules, I am simply looking at the source document from which our own rules were written to try to determine both original intent and what rules were used by our own realms in times past.
Basically, in my opinion, the Belegarth Book of War is simply badly worded. I believe that both intent, precedent, and common opinion allow for blue swords to be used two handed.
Which brings up the question of, should they be checked for two handed swings? This is probably a question for those with more experience in weapons making and checking, but IMHO, all blue swords with big long handles that are obviously intended to be usable by two hands should be.
Anyway, just my two cents.
Oisin
PS--All other things aside, the Dagorhir Manual of Arms is written and presented in a much better format that ours, and reads much more clearly. I think that our BoW needs a basic rewrite and clean up.