A Pragmatic "Review" of Video Game Swords (Fire Emblem / Skyrim / Witcher)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- The main focus in the design of RPG swords is usually style over anything else, but perhaps some of these would be reasonably practical in real life?
I have to wonder though what happened between Oblivion and Skyrim that turned the swords into weirdly proportioned, oversized paddles...
Chrom's "Falchion" from Fire Emblem (foam)
fireandsteel.c...
Steel sword, Deadric greatsword & dagger from Skyrim (foam)
fireandsteel.c...
fireandsteel.c...
fireandsteel.c...
Geralt's steel sword with Renfri's brooch from the Witcher TV series (battle-ready high carbons steel)
fireandsteel.c...
Aerondight from the Witcher 3 video game (steel wallhanger)
fireandsteel.c...
** Music credits **
Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
theslantedroom...
Used with artist's permission
** Merch **
www.bonfire.co...
If you want to join Bonfire to start selling your own merch: www.bonfire.co...
** Support the channel **
Help fund future videos, get bonus content and access to an exclusive Discord server:
/ skallagrim
/ @skallagrim
Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links:
Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc:
www.kultofathe...
Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords:
www.woodensword...
GamerSupps powdered energy drinks and other stuff (I particularly like the SUS snack bars):
gamersupps.gg/...
I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery:
beardsorcery.c...
Books about history, martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend:
US - www.amazon.com...
Canada - amzn.to/2HeOCMA
** Second channel / other social media **
/ @skallhalla
/ _skallagrim_
/ skallagrimyt
/ skallagrim_yt
#skallagrim #fantasy #sword #fireemblem #skyrim #witcher
Seeing Skalls character development from “this is awful terrible I forever will hate it” to “this actually isn’t too bad in the hand and I think it looks neat” is very fascinating. A man many others could learn from
I think the Ironmouse re-reaction was where I first noticed like "wow, this guy found his niche long ago, and he's really matured into it!"
I actually underwent a *similar* character arc on this subject; that's one of the reasons I like Skallagrim a lot *more* than Shadiversity.
@@ezrafaulk3076 another is he's smarter with his examples, ie Hidden Blade Shad will choose the stupid flashy shit and high profile of Valhalla over the low profile of 1 2 and Brotherhood, choosing tge most impractical ones
@@chriscormac231 But Shad's funny rants are more entertaining. Also, Shad used to spend more time analyzing other stuff, like castles and crossbows. Shame he doesn't anymore.
I actually unsubscribed from Skallagrim when I realised there's just so much nitpickey negativity, and years later resubscribed when I realised he changed, lol
If you’re wondering why the swords look light in Skall’s hands…it’s his belt of giant’s strength +6
Warcraft 3 Strength based heroes: *heavy breathing noises intensify*
The reason the Falchion has that hole is to make the guard resemble the brand of the exalt. So not practical, but it makes since that a sword made for royalty would be decorated as such...
Especially when you consider that the blade is unbreakable.
According to Chrom the handle has had to be replaced many times, but the blade is a dragon fang. Idk if it's a fang literally or metaphorically, but either way it doesn't break, cause magic.
Knowing Fire Emblem, it's an actual dragon fang. Which is much less impressive when you consider that the dragon was probably some 10k old loli that got scammed by the tooth fairy.
@@LordDragox412 no it specifically stated to be Naga's fang who is a fully grown dragon goddess.
Also I will never forgive Fire Emblem Awakening for making the Nowi.
Sure old FE also had dragon children but you couldn't marry them, so it is Awakenings fault. I'm pretty sure they even acknowledged it would be unethical in the older games, so it's crazy that Awakening took this turn.
Not that old FE didn't have it's share of other ethically questionable relationships. Incest is pretty notable in the older games.
...and that's it with fantasy designs, when there is a flaw there is no problem because MAGIC
Yo, where did Chrom say that? I've played Awakening, and never seen it, but it might be in another game. If it's real, then that's cool, and would also make a lot of sense. I personally find the steel sword and killing edge from Awakening to be some of the best looking swords in the series.
@@Feanorian01 Chrom said it in awakening I don't recall exactly when but I know he said it. It might be in supports, but I think k it's in the main story. Also I'm not 100% sure he mentioned the hilt, but he did talk about it being a dragon fang.
As for the hilt being replaced but the blade being unbreakable, I believe you will find more of that in the Lucina and Owain support conversations.
And to avoid any confusion even if I am remembering wrong the sword being forged from Nagas fang has been cannon since Shadow Dragon since Chrom's Falchion is still Marths Falchion.
Mehrune's Razor, now there's a dagger.
Probably not safe to spar with.
im very partial about the iron dagger since its just so simple. idk i like it. xD
Eh, the sharp bits facing the user on the guard, and spikey bits on the pommel arent super cleverly designed. I prefer the Ebony daggers design
I like the steel and dragonbone dagger, but my all time favorite is the carved Nordic Dagger
@@RaimundBlidemannAgree. The nordic dagger looks really good.
"Add more spikes, add more blades, add more edges..."
Someone have to explain MAKIN' PROPPA CHOPPA to Skallagrim.
Just believe it ya gitz..
Really helps when something just works if you believe in it really hard. Paint the sword red while you're at it, probably lets you swing it faster.
Nah, choppas benefit more from hardness of black and white checkers
Blue for extra crit chance.
The daedra stuff would also cause more pain than practical damage to the victim too. So the absurd barb serrations might actually check out.
Daedra are also basically super human in comparison to mortals, so yea it might not cut, but if the blade catches in your body as they swing it you'll probably also just get thrown as it rips out of you. Pretty fricken awful all things considered
@@PtollemiosDeadric weapons would be blunt instruments. Super wide and not really sharpened. Like metal war clubs.
I can’t edit it because its gone for me but I meant Daedric.
The Daedra come from a plane where no-one really dies for good, but they certainly feel pain.
For the Skyrim Daedric weapons, I've seen somewhere that in lore the daedric weapons being made out of fossiled divine blood and a still beating daedra (demon) heart, they do not really physically cut. Their cutting power comes from reality alteration, It cuts not because of sharpness but because the "world" thinks it cuts.
Given how incredibly high fantasy the world of Tamriel is, that sounds like a very reasonable explanation.
It doesn't cut.
It chims.
That explanation of Daedric weapons is basically just a polite way of saying that they made mall ninja trash and then enchanted it to compensate, which seems like the kind of thing you'd expect from high-school goths, not the warrior class of a hyper-advanced (albeit highly unpleasant) civilization.
Additionally, if by "world" you mean "the sum of Tamriel's inhabitants," then that explanation is not only unflattering but also probably internally inconsistent. Given the ubiquity of metal, supposed rarity of enchanted objects, and pre-industrial tech level, it would be expected that the vast majority of Tamriel's post-pubescents would have extensive personal experience with cutting tools, and therefore know that Daedric weapons _shouldn't_ be able to cut properly. Widespread skepticism seems likely.
@@irrelevantfish1978 That's a lot of words to say "I am no fun at parties" ;)
@@l0rf As insults are a way of saying, "I know you're right and I resent it," I thank you. It's always nice to feel vindicated. ;)
If I remember right for the fire emblem 'falchion' sword, in game the reason for the large open space was because a plot important gem was supposed to be fitted in there as a way to empower it to murderize an evil dragon. Been more than a hot minute though so might be thinking of something else.
An important gem... could it be.. the Fire Emblem??
Wasn't the Fire Emblem a shield in awakening? And the gems go on the shield? The hole in Falchion has the shape of the Exalt, no?
No, for falchion it start to glow in the middle after being blessed. Nothing fits in, its almost purely for design.
The gems go into the Binding Shield, the powered-up Falchion just glows in the middle IIRC.
Falchion did have a prominent gem in the hilt in Marth's days, but it holds no stated importance.
The Binding Shield in Awakening acts as a direct counterpart to the Falchion and serves as that world's "Fire Emblem," which boils to MacGuffin that repels dragons. The shield itself has five slots for gems that, once collected, unlock its true power alongside the Falchion. Someone else in the comments mentioned that the hole in the Falchion is meant to resemble the Brand of the Exalt, but it's also worth noting that the Falchion was reforged numerous times after breaking, and used to house a gem near the guard. I'm not entirely sure if that gem was decorative or not.
I think Skallagrim would like the "believable weapons" mod for Skyrim. That one takes every melee weapon in the game and make them, well, more believable. that includes the warhammers as well, those aren't giant larp weapons anymore.
I use that mod every playthrough. It's essential for me
I recommended to him too; unlike Better Shaped Weapons, it goes the *full* way. Granted, having changed my mind on such after doing some research & reflection, I honestly think it the author should've left *certain* double-axes double-headed, like the Golden Saint Battle-axe, or should make an *optional* file that leaves those certain double-axes double-headed, but I still *very* much prefer Believable Weapons to Better Shaped Weapons.
I was so happy when i found that mod. I like Bowgasm and real bows to for bow replacers. The vanilla bows are a real eye sore.
@@AndreasSweden bowgasm and "I want better arrwos" are a must have for me as well.
@@Nushnark Yeah. I want better arrows is great. And the quivers are real eye candy while still being realistic.
As an enthusiast of both Fantasy and real life medieval warfare this has to be my favorite format yet. I also really like the woman's enthusiasm and expertise that seems to perfectly complement skal's.
If you watch these from the beginning, she gets way more comfortable and seems to be enjoying it more as time goes on.
Who is she@@bobdylan1968? I just came into this video. More a casual fan.
@@ScarletRose20shop owner i believe
@@ScarletRose20 she works for, or runs, that sword store you always see on TH-cam for reproductions of pop culture weapons. It's more so wall decor but they do make battle ready stuff too.
Back in the early 90's i was a game master and made a campaign were they encountered magical items that were supposed to be intentionally stupid, like a 200kg urn that had infinate storage capacity. It was a Swedish game called Dragons and Demons.
Some context: This was before we had access to the internet and the weapons depicted in the game were somewhat based on archilogical finds, like 9th to 13th century style european weapons. The crasiest sword i had seen at the time was Conans Atlantean sword from the Arnold movie. Anyway, i desided that one of the artifacts would be a sword with a design so crazy that you couldn't use it. So i drew a typical german 15th century longsword, but added a divider on the handle right between the pommel and the guard that had spikes on it, so you had to have your hands in a specific position. Then i added backwards curving spikes to the guard and foreward curving spikes to the pommel, making it impossible to cut with (as your wrists would be impaled if you angled the sword. Then i added a 5cm split at the point of the blade, so you couldn't thrust well with it either. So when i showed the drawing to the player that found the sword, her jaw dropped. And exclaimed "THIS IS AWESOME". I really wish i had not drawn that weapon, but the thing is, it was kinda fun to do and the player loved it. I just wish i was more mature and rolled with it instead of describing how the spikes penetrated her wrist. Also, the sword had a magic enchantement that made it weightless. Making it cut even worse as it had no mass, except for when you put it down, and then it had four times the mass, making it really akward to carry around. I think later in the campaign, someone used it as a throwing thingy, as getting the speed up was easy, and when you let it go it had a lot of mass and a lot of spikes, so i guess it was a bit usefull afterall. Gamers allways finds a way i guess.
Leave it to ttrpgs to accidentally inbent mass effect.
turning it into a throwing weapon to turn the downsides into upsides is such a classic example of ttrpg shenanigans. reminds me of one gimmick ive heard where someone stuck a ring of shrinking(?) on the end of a musket to load cannon balls into it that would unshrink as soon as they left the barrel
@@dumbsterdives Hillarious. And not at all surprising lol.
As soon as you finished describing it, I was thinking how well could I throw it or possibly enchant it as a dancing weapon. Yes, a player will find a way to use it.
Hope she invites more people, her collection is just amazing, the effort creating many of these is huge and you can see it on every detail that screams how far they went into creating something this close to the original one from the games.
Today I have seen a sword with a CALENDAR engraved on the blade in a museum. And it was just a relatively simple shape sword. In real life, artist still can go crazy, but in the boundaries of simple and functional shape. 😊
There's actually a more up to date mod that does the same thing Skall; it's called "Believable Weapons", & it reshapes not just the blades, but also the *bludgeons* to be of much more realistic proportions. I think you might like it a lot *better* than Better Shaped Weapons.
Second that. And add Bowgasm or Real bows to replace the bows
The "dual edge sword" concept does exist actually! In percy jackson there's a sword where each half is made of a different metal, one side to fight monsters, the other for humans. I don't think it made it to screen, but it's a cool part of the books
And they could have had something similar in The Witcher: One steel edge for humans, and one silver for monsters.
It's name was Backbiter, iirc.
@@randomindividual948 it is
Luke's sword, yeah! Was looking for this comment!
This is a bit of speculation on my part but the thing about the Falchion not looking like historical falchions is some japanese to english fuckery. In the title screen sequence in the original 1990 game the japanese devs wrote in (not perfect) english, "Falcion Sword". In japanese they pronounce the sword's name as Faru-kee-on and not Faru-shee-on if I'm not mistaken, so likely it was supposed to be an original name for an original sword, something like Falkeon, its very easy to assume that "Falcion" is just a mistype of the historial sword name during the translation process.
There was a circumstance during the promotion of a 3ds game where Marth made a cameo that Bill Trinen, who works with localization at Nintendo, said it's pronounced "Falkeeon" despite being written like the historical swords. Thing is that we had the name of the sword as text way before we got any official pronunciation so I think the "wrong" pronunciation just stuck.
"Ngl I'm not a huge fan of huge holes in the center of swords."
But huge swords in the center of holes...
knew/hoped someone would comment that :D
We need the wacky weapon melee battle!!!
YEAH!
As the videos go on, she gets more and more comfortable with you. Pretty cool to see. Looks like she's actually having fun.
Skall slowly falling in love with the Falchion is not what I would have expected.
Lore guy on Elder Scrolls here
There is a book on blacksmithing in Skyrim which describes how daedric weapons and armor are made and how they function.
It describes that you take ebony gear and enchant it with the heart of a Deadra to bound said Daedra to the armor piece or weapon.
The armor or weapon does not change at all physically speaking. The change is just visually to show the chaos from the daedra itself.
So basically a daeadric armor or weapon is just ebony with better stats and illusion magic with extra steps.
Even if it's not Canon, I like the idea of daedra changing the physical shape of the weapons is cooler
@@Illitha I mean it is a FANTASY RPG so if this is your fantasy it is all fair game ^^
Also, physics in TES is…weird. Doubly so when Oblivion and the Daedra are involved. And the redguard shehai techniques definitively prove that once the really esoteric stuff comes into play, you don’t need to have a sharp edge or structural integrity to cut well in TES.
@@willowdelosrios4326 You are correct, it simply wasn't my point tho :D
We all know magic makes everything possible, but I wanted to point out that the Daedric Equipment is more realistically fecable than it optically appears ^^
It’d be cool to see Skall cover the original Falchion wielded by Marth, or other signature weapons like Ragnell.
Fun fact, the reason Chrom’s Falchion looks so different is because it’s the same blade from when Marth used it thousands of years ago. Since the blade never breaks, the hilt has been repeatedly broken and reforged throughout the centuries as it was passed down.
Oh that Witcher Aerondight silver sword is a beauty.
Given the quality of sword designs throughout the game, it's a real pity that they didn't give this particular sword a practical pommel. Personnaly, i couldn't bring myself to use aerondight because the pommel looked so uncomfortable to use and also because that sword looked way too big compared to other silver swords of the game. In my opinion, they should have used any of the wolf school sword pommels and scaled the sword down by about 10/20% and itv would have been a beautifull design.
12:21 That's the irony Skall. Out of all fantasy franchises, the one that has the best (most realistic) weapon and armour design doesn't seem to click with you. Realism and believability are nice and all, but are just part of the equation.
So some people have mention bits and pieces regarding the Fire Emblem Awakening falchion but here is the full thing:
1) As a weapon it can be used by itself in one or two hands, which is why it has a long handle.
2) It is meant be used along with the titular "fire emblem", a magical jeweled shield. The design of the blade is meant to evoke the central jewel/design of shield and vice versa.
3) Because "fantasy" the weapon has two forms: Normal and Exalted. When exalted the hole gets a blue sphere and the edge of the blade glows red hot.
4) Its intended use case is fighting dragons along with the shield that counters dragons, it also magically heals the user. So yeah a guard is not that big of a priority.
Also yeah there have been a few people who have made functioning replicas some more accurate then others. It would be fun to see you use a real version and see how it compares to a long sword in actual use.
About the Hole in the Fire Emblem Sword. Its actually supposed to fit a magic Orb in the middle that super charges it(look up Exalted Falchion)
I would love to see more of Laura, sparring session in the future ? :D
Especially a wu shu vs hema spar, would be interesting to see !
Chrom's Falcion has a hole because the original sword had a gemstone in the blade, but the handle(s) fell off over the years and years of leaders using the sword. The blade itself being made from the tooth of a dragon, if I recall correctly, just simply outlasts any fittings or ornamentation put onto it.
The thing he mentioned about Geralt knowing which edge is out... How is that not a mechanic? Different monsters need different materials to attack, right? Boom, 2 material sword.
Even in different settings it could make since, like fae hating iron, ghosts/werebeasts hating silver, etc. I'm shocked I haven't seen that done more especially with crafting systems.
The Wolf Pommel seems more like someone went: "Pommel is good and dandy, but how about MACE!?!" 😹
Seeing these sword chats are excellent. They're just fun to see.
If you ever get the chance or are looking for something in the future, I'd love see a take on Ragnell.
Fun fact of the day: I used to have a toy dagger that really looked similar to the in-game version, despite having it way longer than when Skyrim was released. Weird how a random cheap toy is more ancient than an edgy dagger design in a fantasy video game.
A pommel almost like that from the legendary witcher sword would make a good bludgeon for heavy opponents that use plate armor. Just use some half swording with that pommel towards the head of the opponent and you can give one hell of a concussion.
Skal, I'm really loving this series!! Humbly saying that you totally underestimate your TH-cam presence. Please keep going!
If she makes her own channel, I will watch that, too. I love her perspective and commentary.
Damn, dude, the skallgorithm requires these really insightful comments :)
Hahaha, that's a good pun!
@@jamesallred460 Thanks :)
That sword from The Witcher Netflix was designed by Tod from Tods Workshop.
Glad you pointed that out .. I think Tod was heavily involved in Season 2 as well.
@@y0jimbb0ttrouble98 yes, he was.
Skyrim sword comes out. Gerbal in the back of my mind: "Row, row, row your, boat."
Still love the fine iron and steel longs swords of oblivion compared to Skyrim
It’s a PADDLE. Now realize that you find it in the first DUNGEON.
Bro no wonder I love how the silver sword looked over the other swords because it actually has normal proportions for the most part.
@@readlater8962 the biggest problem with the silver sword and great sword is the damage scaling unless you glitch it out to use what you want
props to the modding community there's a lot of sword "reshaping" mods for skyrim fixing overly fantasy swords and giving them realist shapes the steel for example is made thinner, there's also an unofficial skallgrim weapons pack with the kriegsmesser edit : ah commented before watching all the video my bad
I have a feeling Skall would like Ike's Ragnell more than Falchion.
Also, like everyone else has said, the hole in the Falchion is for the implementation of magic gems to empower it to kill a fell god.
Now I'd really like to hear his mind on the sword of the creator or the yato 😂
It is not. The gems go in the shield.
That's the Sword of Sealing from FE6, not Falchion.
Or the original/older variations of the falchion where it just had a weird (but frankly functional) guard instead of a glorified cupholder as its most striking visual
@@MaxTheGamingMan oh my god the yato is vomit inducing
3:40 that’s actually the base model for the steel swords for non faction NPC’s and some of the rebels in the game also carry them. It’s also the model for the “skyforged” line of steel one handed swords but other than having better stats are aesthetically indentical to the standard steel model
Well, I finally see the part where that Final Fantasy prop weapons video of yours cuts off. Nice. Dunno if you read my comment in that video but thanks nonetheless for continuing that part 😊
Chrom and Lucina's Falchion are mostly going for the epic name part rather than actually being the falchion sword design. Falchion's handle is they way it is for two main reasons. The first is the lore reason being that while the blade is indestructible being made from Naga's tooth, the handle is made from human materials like steel and leather and needs repair as stated in a conversation between Lucina and her cousin Owain when the former states she has been having trouble with her sword and Owain says the handle needs fixed so he volunteers as he is very skilled at weapons maintenance because he constantly takes care of his sword and customizes it without damaging the effectiveness in combat. The second is because the hole and the cross guard are designed to look like the Brand of the Exalt that is on Chrom's shoulder and in the pupil of Lucina's left eye. Falchion isn't the only legendary sword of Fire Emblem, it is just the most well as it is featured in every Archanea game as the legendary weapon needed to save the world and even games where Marth, Chrom, and Lucina simply make appearances in. Other weirdly designed legendary swords in Fire Emblem include Engage's legendary swords Caladbolg Georgios, Three Houses Heroes Relics Blutgang, Thunderbrand, and The Sword of the Creator, Fates' Omega Yato, and Beloved Zofia from Gaiden/Echoes.
on fire emblem's "falchion", the thing about the hole is that it's 100% decorative because the royal family always has a "birthmark" that looks like it, you can see it in chrom's shoulder in one of the arts you used. so it's sort of the family's crest.
Kinda wish he had looked at something like Ragnell or pretty much any pre-Awakening weapon design instead, since that's pretty much when Fire Emblem made the full jump from "Medieval Fantasy with anime influences" to "Anime with medieval fantasy elements"
My favorite Skyrim Weapons both design and lore are the Stalhrim Weapons. My favorite Skyrim Armor is the Ebony Armor.
ALTHOUGH, it is disappointing that neither Skall or Shad ever discuss those things whenever they discuss Skyrim/Fantasy stuff:(
I would love it if you continued doing videos with her and her store. And seeing steel reproductions for dueling? That would be amazing.
This series has been absolutely fantastic, a collab made in heaven as far as I'm concerned!
Having decoration only on the one side also helps with wearing in some cases. Like the Kindjal/Qame for example. Makes it far more comfortable riding against the body.
Nerding out at a sword shop is so cool. I'm jelly! Much love!
I wish Marth’s falchion from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon was more recognized than it is. Imo, it’s less bizarre and has a very beautiful design.
Regarding the Witcher TV swords, I think they were designed by Tod Cutler who likes making stuff which makes sense.
One of his interesting videos relatively recently made was about how historic fire arrows worked and he shows them off.
With every video in this series Skall gets closer to the Master Sword. Which means with every video he gets closer to making me cry.
I would love to see a sort of analysis video series between you, Metatron, and Shadversity. One where you review all of the armor & weapon motifs from Elder Scrolls Online based on function and irl feasibility.
The sort of upward facing Quillens parallel to the blade is kind of interesting with that last blade, If the wolfheads were facing down and a little less rough or instead of a quad image it was a mirror semi ring that should free up the pommel a little, But those parallel decorative bits could also be used as a sort of blade catch. Why have A perrying dagger with your two handed weapon when you can pin the blade and still cut or thrust with those things.
Just recall that Falchion is a divine dragon’s fang. The blade itself is indestructible but the accoutrements are changeable and do change from era to era (Marth’s time to Chrom’s time).
Cool to see a bit longer video reviewing the swords, the past ones were shorter
Samurai X or Rurouni Kenshin is one that uses two different edge for different purpose.
The regular side meant for cutting is actually blunt, to indicate that he wishes not to kill anymore.
The backside though, is sharp, in the case that he wishes to cut something in the end.
The hole in the Falchion from 'Fire Emblem', reminds me of a similar hole in the Ultimate Sword from the manhua (Chinese comic book) 'Storm Riders'. In the latter case, the hole is meant to absorb qi (Chinese spelling) or chi (Japanese spelling) from enemy attacks for the Ultimate Sword wielder's own use.
9:46
i get what she means but if that dagger was more like a sword in size it would actually be quite realistic.
the twin tip are from a arab symatar( the incut between the tips i believe is suposed to be a circle cutout tho ),
the blade segment shape is simular to Iberian swords due to the recurve,
and the over all handle blade shape reminds me of some varients of Kriss swords.
I do want to watch that Battle of the Impractical if you ever make it
Aerondight's pommel looks like it's designed to be used as a mace (mordhau, but the strike, not the game), like the sword is almost an afterthought, or the blade and hilt were made by craftsmen with differing goals (there were historical 'swords' that were basically sword-shaped maces, but of the ones that I've seen, the blades were more clearly designed to be held).
really enjoy your video commentaries... have you ever checked out the Wizards and warriors tv show from the 80s the bad guy had a fairly unique sword you might find it interesting if you haven't already seen it
So the hole in the Ylissian Falchion is so it resembles the Brand of the Exalt, essentially a magic mark that signifies the dragon/god blood in the royal lineage. It looks like a tattoo though is more like a birthmark and can show up in various places like the shoulder, the forehead or the eyes etc.
The purpose on the sword is entirely aesthetic/symbolic as a visual symbol of what is essentially a visual signifier of the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ in this setting.
While the exact settings and histories of Fire Emblem change a lot with every instalment often taking place on either a different continent or different realm, many of the rules remain similar. Essentially Chrom’s ancestor entered into a pact with a dragon (dragons and gods are often though not always the same in Fire Emblem) which involves the gifting of dragon’s blood to the recipient who passes it down their lineage. Fantasy superhuman genes basically.
That being since the blade is made from Naga’s fang and blessed by her only those sharing her blood can wield it properly. For all others it would be entirely blunt as the weapon rejects them.
So the weapon that can only be used by those bearing this mark has had its hilt modified to resemble it as a symbol of the Exalt’s power and lineage.
As for why it’s called Falchion despite looking more like an arming sword in every iteration, it’s just lack of understanding the translation. Falchion sounded cool and as far as the creator knew at the time it just meant ‘sword’ and after that it had become iconic to the series.
For things like the Daedric Blade, in fantasy, often villains have Super Strength, so things like Cut Binding due to angles is a non-issue for them. for this weapon, it also seems meant to catch intestines' and pull them out: Because they're insane...
1:58 you pretty much described the original/older designs of the falchion lol
If I’m not mistaken the Witcher season one props were designed and produced with Todd’s help.
You two should just partner together at this point. I like her idea about the fantasy battling. Hoping you two continue more videos together.
Looking forward to that video of wacky-fantasy-weapon-sparring.
Ngl, I LOVE the Skyrim Steel Sword, because to me it by far the most aesthetically pleasing weapon compared to some, that, along with Silver Sword and Dwarven Sword (by that, I also meant their greatsword)
pulling off the murderstroke with that last sword would be one hell of a mean way to end things given that the pommel is basicly a flanged mace...
I actually like the idea of a sword like that for the steel swords in Skyrim, but with a simply longer hilt. Looks more badass to me if you go with that design.
13:43 there is kinda a sword like that in the Slime Issekai. One of the characters gets giver a great sword with one sharp edge for cutting and one blunt edge of smashing.
Fun fact, a lot of Netflix The Witcher season one weapon's were made by Tod of Tod's Workshop and Tod Cutler, probably explains why a good replica feels like an actual sword.
That was a phat Skyrim sword. Great video.
That would be a cool idea for an evolition of the witcher swords, one edge silver, one edge steel.
14:40 Aerondeight (the Sword of Lady of the Lake, Excalibur style legend) takes a form best suited for the worthy weilder (in the game 1 and 3 of the series, you need to prove yourself - first game, questing, 3rd game you need to prove 5 chivalric qualities such as honor, valour, etc).
The design makes a bit more sense, when You take into count that witchers are basically steroid enhanced mutants drinking poisons of various kinds to further increase reflexes, strength, agility, metabolism (includes stamina, wound healing) and endurance (enhanced resistance of the skin tissue to anything from corrosive effects of acids to slashing). Hence, they operate the bastard sword 90% of the time one handed, and occassionally twohanded (depends also on the Witcher school they belong to, Ursine/Bear School focused on twohanded wielders, Wolf School is an allrounder - here belongs the main protagonist Geralt of Rivia, Gryphon school was more of a magic school, Cat School focused at one handed combat technique and Vipers were assassins, one handed techniques were a secondary measurement). On top of that, they are highly resistant to pain, so the handle is a non-issue for a witcher.
Edit: Also forgot to add that Aerondeight is a Silver sword, thus used 99.999% of the time against monsters. Silver is for monsters, steel is for humans.
The Aerondite Witcher sword seems reasonably practical as the handle is so long compared to most two handed swords and it seems to want your grip near the cross guard. So the wolf head won't be that much of a problem for your lower hand/wrist in theory, and it makes the pommel into a mace for those times you have to smash folks in plate armour while holding the sharp end.
However if like me have you have pretty giant hands I think I'd have to take those heads off (or at least two of them) to use, it properly, or use it one handed.
Skall really filmed enough footage at this place to keep making videos for the rest of his career!
on that last sword, when i seen the pommel i instantly thought "mace" imagine a murder stroke with that.
HeroicReplicas actually made a real version of Chrom's falchion! And a really cool one. By the way could you also take a look at Roy's binding blade? It's from fire emblem as well
In terms of fantasy swords, Alondite and Ragnell from Fire Emblem is one of my favourites, its' not far off the armour slayer design you did 6 years ago or so
The Witcher Season 1 sword was designed by Tod of Tod's Workshop, who also made the one in the show. This is one reason it is so well designed.
Regarding the point about differentiating edges at around 13 minutes, Terminus Est from Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun has it's edges differentiated by the heads carved on the ends of the pommels. Although of course it's an executioners sword and not intended for fighting.
Quillons not pommels, sorry brain fart.
since you mentioned that the falchine has a hole in the blade the older falchine actually had a giant ruby in the same spot before it was reforged the hole could be leftover from when the falchine had a ruby in it too my knowledge I don't think awakening ever referenced that the ruby disappeared so by awakening it just gone I'm guessing it probably fell out in battle at some point and was lost or was removed for a piece of jewelry
While on the subject of the Elder Scrolls series i just want to quickly mention the Umbra sword, specifically the Oblivion version it, which is my favorite sword in the series.
I'm glad this video has done well, and hopefully it will continue to do well....
That is cool. I have to remember they're not just a retail establishemnt.
I am a huge Fire Emblem fan and I would like to pop in if nobody else already has. If someone already has then oh well. But the Falchion from Fire Emblem Awakening (The one in this video) is after thousands of years after the sword was originally forged or some shit. It had lost a lot of it's power that it used to have and in-game it can only be wielded by specific people but it seems to be not as picky. The original incarnation didn't look like a traditional Falchion either but it did have a clawlike crossguard with no hole in the center that originally had a red gem as an inlay. Possibly a dragonstone that held power within it. If that's true then it might also be the reason why the sword itself isn't as picky about it's user beyond blood. Usually important weapons, specifically "holy weapons" have usability locked behind holy blood that is powerful. (Some bearers of holy blood in Fire Emblem are unable to use holy weapons if their holy blood is "minor.") Fire Emblem Awakening's Falchion is supposed to be the same Falchion from Fire Emblem's 1 and 3, but not the one from Fire Emblem 2. Both Falchions are however sourced from the same creator, Naga, the divine dragon king, for the purpose of killing dragons should humans ever have need to do so again.
If it matters, the designs for Falchion and the holy lance Gradivus from the aforementioned games share similar designs with other holy weapons named Tyrfing, Gae Bolg and Gungnir from Fire Emblem 4 Genealogy of the Holy War. I also hate Travant, fuck that guy.
Having two different edges on a sword was a thing in rurouni kenshin. One side was sharp and used for killing, but the kenshin was sort of "reformed" and didn't want to kill, so he used the back of the blade which was dull, to neutralize instead. It was a katana, so knowing which side was which was obviously very obvious. An interesting design for a plot point for sure.
I'm liking these videos a lot, they're fun.
Anyone up for making Skall look at the Chaoseater from Darksiders? Not just practicality, but seeing how War uses it in combat.
The design of Chrom's Falchion is quite simple when compared to other Fire Emblem swords.
Shad and Tyranth tested the Saw Cleaver from Bloodborne and despite the serrations it cut really well... so I wonder if a Daedric Sword would actually cut way better than anyone thinks it would, as long as everything was properly sharpened. Because apparently the serrations don't ruin things nearly as much as we may expect... but with the thickness as well? Idk. Maybe it truly would be as bad as everyone seems to think.
6:00 That sword is made to tear and rip away more than cut.
For the last one, just inverting the sculpted part of the pommel would already greatly improve it.
What people don't seem to bring up is that daedric weapons are, daedric. And in the lore that has practical implications that go beyond the impact of the physical shape.
In the universe where Skyrim takes place, the laws of physics only exist in the stable concrete manner we are used to because the divines of the universe say so, they only have the power to do that for the mortal realm though.
The daedra live in the portion of the universe known as oblivion, there the laws of physics aren't so concrete, and just Bend in the favor of whoever has more power...
Even when located on the mortal realm daedric weapon don't count as a part of it even if they were crafted with metal found on it because once the daeda Heart is added (is just there as a source of daedric essence, the daedra wouldn't actually need to use a heart from there friend they have better ways to do that) the weapon or piece of armor no longer counts as part of the mortal realm and is non-compatible with the mortal realm's concrete laws of physics, thus even when on the mortal realm the laws of physics will bend in favor of the weapon.
Edit: the daedra essence from the heart also changes the shape of the weapon meaning that they forged the sword looking quite normal and as it cooled, it morphed into that daedric weapon, completely on it's own.
That being said, you can't deny that Morrowind's and Oblivion's versions (at least swords and daggers) are more practical looking.
The Awakening Falchion is one of the few examples of "holey" swords that I like. There are a bunch of examples in Magic: The Gathering art that have holes replacing the center of the the blade, and I hate them so much.
Serrated swords are still silly though.
these are so neat.
The only reproduction game item I've ever wanted was the final form of the spear in odyssey.
But.. like usable, not prop.
6:16 That makes about as much sense as most of elder scrolls lore ( And I LIKE the lore )
about the lore of daedric weaponry, it is less about daedras wanting to be poked - deadric armor and weaponry in tes games are ebony (magical volcanic metalic glass) weapons that are during forging infused with daedric energies. This further enhances ebony characteristics at the cost that daedric energies warps the shape of the weapon/armor to more sinister outlook.
I'm not fully sure but I think the hole in chrom's sword is symbolic to the brand of the Exalt.