SwordKin - Profile

Oh wow - I'm all caught up! You have more tiers of premium than I expected tho.

Sorry but... the only thing stupider then duel-weilding longswords is duel-weilding lightsabers. (The new Star Wars movies have a LOT to answer for) I know why you did it that way - it looks SUPER cool! They are just not remotely viable as a mass-market battlemech weopon system. Look up "duel weilding" on YouTube for fantasic videos explaining the technical details. Or read my submission for one of the few historically accurate use-cases. (Yes, there are historical accounts of duelweilding longswords being used to win duels or competions) Duel plasma daggers would be very effective. So would any combo of shield and plasma weopon. OR... you could make this an Expert design. Or even a custom stunt mech for a movie! (Ves has some VERY sarcastic comments about mechs in movies tho)

Dolos 2nd or 3rd Class Custom Dueling Mechs Duel-wielding Longswordman Special Feature: Cheats really hard A young noble just inherited his family seat after everyone ahead of him in the line of succession was killed in perfectly legal “Honor Duels”. It was the same person each time. Good news for the kid is that he can’t be challenged to a duel until the official year of morning is up. He really, REALLY wants Ves and Goriana to design him a mech to preserve his life AND get vengeance. The rules of “Honor Duels” allow the challenged to provide two identical weapons for inspection. The challenger then picks which weapon to use. As a pilot, the young noble can pick “mechs”. (Because the mechs must be perfectly identical, if Ves creates a single Masterwork, he keeps it) First way it cheats is the two longswords that can’t be dropped. This is ALWAYS a disadvantage because the off-hand longsword will tangle your main hand, or merely be useless. Only a person with PERFECT ambidexterity will have an advantage. (There are many videos on YouTube with expert swordsmen looking like idiots only because they are duel-wielding) “Perfect” ambidexterity is unbelievably rare… and comes with the advantage that any skill learned on one hand (or foot) is also mastered on the other. The disadvantage is that cross-body skills are harder to learn – not impossible tho and learning one such cross-body skill makes future ones easier to master. Handed people have no such advantage learning multiple “off hand” skills. In fact… this ‘duel longsword’ design might be Ketis’s idea! She IS a sword nerd after all – and there isn’t a sword student alive who hasn’t tried duel-wielding longswords because “It looks so cool!”. The Swordmaidens probably have an expert who is ambidextrous “enough” to train our customer while the mech is being designed. A real swordmaster will simply drop the extra sword and kick your butt as they train you to use two – and is probably better with their offhand then you are with your main! Second way this mech cheats is Gloriana’s specialty. “Dolos” is a perfect fit to the customer and even uses his ambidexterity to place the controls in “intuitive” locations instead of the standard ones. This means all controls are placed on side closest the part. Nothing “cross-body”. Third and strongest way this mech cheats is Ves’s specialty. “Dolos” is very partial to his owner, roots for him to win and has NO scruples about messing with the opponent. His glow also enhances focus on your “main” hand… at the expense of your off-hand. The hard part will be teaching Dolos how to cheat undetectably. **: This mech is named after the Greek god of deception and trickery. PPS – Ambidexterity is usually defined as simply being able to use your “other” hand as well as an average person uses their main hand. But the person is still very much “handed”.