Bastard sword

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Name	Bastard sword
Skill	Long Blades
Damage	15
Accuracy	-1
Base delay (%)	15 (150%)
Min delay	7 at skill 16
Hands	1H
Size	Medium
Ranged?	No

A long, large sword. A grown-up human or elf can manage to wield it in one hand, while anyone of a weaker race will need to grip it with two. In fact, it is the heaviest and most damaging weapon anyone other than certain humanoid insects can use with a shield. And meeting a sharp blade this long spells doom for any opponent.

The rare bastard sword is an extremely desirable weapon for any character looking to wear a shield while still doing heavy damage in melee combat, as it does the most base damage of any one-handed weapon (barring its blessed counterpart). Although unskilled fighters will find them slow and inaccurate, they shine in the late game once you've mastered Long Blades, especially once you've given yours a freezing brand or had it blessed by the Shining One. A blessed bastard sword of holy wrath outperforms even a eudemon blade, but unfortunately they're much harder to come across.

Bastard swords are two-handed for Halflings, Kobolds, and Spriggans. A demon blade will be one-handed for these races, and is usually preferable for them if they choose to go for long blades.