"could you build a "magic sword" with real world tech?" Topic

Well, either because you want to be a real life superhero with a medieval theme or because you have a dimensional door in your closet to a fantady world, could you build a sword (or any other medieval weapon) that would be the equivalent of a magic weapon?

I think that current tech should allow to build a better weapon, but i dont know if better enough to be take as a magic weapon by a native from a fantasy world…

It could be posible to add a taser to a sword, i supose, with a battery in the grip, so it could look like a "ray sword"

As ever, sorry about my english

Back in the 70s we had +1 or even +2 "technoogical swords" in our D&D campaigns.
One of our GMs was a physics grad student, and he reasoned that, frankly, some swords were better made than others. Well, they ARE, aren't they?
So, something like a Damascus or samurai sword that had a whole lot of tlc treatment had a lot of advantages.
They did not need the Nissa Nissa treatment.

Well, using modern techniques and materials it would be possible to create a much better sword (stronger for it's weight, sharper, never rusts, etc) than one using original techniques.

Now do you mean 'looks like' or 'acts like' a magic sword? I mean, you could add all sorts of lights, sound effects, etc, to fool average pseudo-medieval folks fairly well, I think. Getting it to 'act like' a magical weapon might be harder, but then you need to figure out what 'acts like' really means. Should it be a flaming sword, shoot bolts of energy, glow blue when Goblins are near, dispatch demons straight back to the 9th level of hell? There's a wide variety of things magical swords 'could do', based on the fantasy genre.

I also have to ask, what prompted this question? :)

-Will

I also have to ask, what prompted this question? :)

Creditors or marriage problems!

I suppose you could stretch a nano carbon monofilament wire around the edge of a sword so it would practically "cut through anything" as far as a medieval world is concerned. Don't know how durable that would be.

Electrical charges, as you mentioned, or a blade that heats up (battery in the hilt or on a belt pack) would seem magical.

Improving one's swing, not so much…

Supposedly a sword 'forged' on the space station could comprise of one crystal, add a taser and a one shot pistol in the grip and you could have a 'magic' sword.
Lexan, graphite-epoxy with new alloys or any other new materials science could be construed as magic.
Or I could be completely wrong…

Believe all the above would count as bonuses to damage, not to hit.

No, but an AK-47 and all the ammo you could carry would pretty much take care of anything the sword would be for.

It depends on what you mean by "Magical"

A better tempered sword that cuts through heads and armor and other swords and shields that was light and well balanced would seem pretty magical.

"Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up"

No, but an AK-47 and all the ammo you could carry would pretty much take care of anything the sword would be for.

Until that ammo ran out. Then it's just a really clumsy club.

Believe all the above would count as bonuses to damage, not to hit.

I have always interpreted most rulesets to equate armor penetration with a bonus to hit, so if your future-sword could punch through plate armor like it was tin foil, you would get a hit bonus in addition to your damage bonus.

No, but an AK-47 and all the ammo you could carry would pretty much take care of anything the sword would be for.

I read a really good sci-fi story ages ago (the title and author are long lost to my brain) about a guy who goes back in time to the Viking era and brings an automatic pistol. He shoots one or two people, thinking his "magical boomstick" will cow the Vikings and he'll be able to rule them, but they aren't impressed at all. They already live in a world full of unexplainable phenomena and believe in magic, so to them he's just a cowardly sorcerer who's too weak to fight like a real man.

> Until that ammo ran out. Then it's just a really clumsy club.

By that time you are either in charge or deserve to die for being stupid.

> They already live in a world full of unexplainable phenomena

Yes and no, there are things they can't explain, even some that are deadly, but nothing like what 30 well aimed rounds from an AK would do.

Yeah, but that 31st guy would be the one to really worry about…. ;-)

Assuming you have really good batteries, you could outfit a sword with all kinds of strobe lights and lasers, maybe even a sound generator to make it "sing". It would only be good for "show", of course (but you could also install a taser into it to zap anybody who gets up the nerve to touch it…. ;-)

In the 1st ed. DM's guide, IIRC, the material a sword is made of relates to it's bonuses, with meteoric metals being up to +4. Given the quality of modern swords, a well made sword, costing thousands, should confer a bonus to hit, due to superior balance and lightness and bonus to damage, as it's superior edge will cause more damage and keep its edge longer.

Modern forging and tempering alone would make a huge difference, and we could even get fancy with a single-crystal casting for the edge.

But to tell you the truth, old-school folded steel is stronger than most modern steels. You'd need to blend modern materials and older techniques in order to make a truly epic blade. Start with some good-quality spring steel for the core, folded and beaten and folded again and again, at least 10 times, more is better. I suppose you could make an automatic fold&roll machine to make this easier and more consistent. Do the same with some L6 tool steel for the skin. put 4 pieces of forged L6 around the outside of the spring steel, then beat that into the shape of the blade.

Make a single-crystal casting for the edge, and then weld the edge onto the blade. heat-treat carefully, you don't want to screw up the crystalline edge. X-Ray, eddy current and/or ultrasound inspect the finished product for voids or poor welds.

Given the quality of modern swords, a well made sword, costing thousands, should confer a bonus to hit, due to superior balance and lightness and bonus to damage, as it's superior edge will cause more damage and keep its edge longer.

A modern sword costing tens or hundreds of thousands might be better than a good hand-forged blade, but a modern blade only costing a thousand or two will be of equal quality to hand-forged blades, or maybe a little less.

Some cheapass stainless steel thing will shatter on the first swing.

I suppose you could make an automatic fold&roll machine to make this easier and more consistent.

They already have them. They leave the cool fold marks too, and with better steel.

YouTube link

If it has to be a sword, then a Titanium blade forged with in the hell-fire of a Plasma cutter and blessed by good old Saint General Electric would be good enough for me.

Or a Chainsaw.

"I also have to ask, what prompted this question?"

I have been asking myself the same question as the OP.

What if we had a world-wide ban on gunpowder weapons and the use of the internal combustion engine for warfare? i.e. medieval warfare with modern materials science?

What would our swords, bows, and armour be made of?

youtu.be/0F-VVjqarZE

Like this?

Leaf springs off cars would be the first thing to salvage. It's what Gurkha have use most often to create their Khukri fighting knives. Also lawnmower blades are a good source of spring steel for knives. These can also make a decent post apoc bow if you string with a cable.

"Leaf springs off cars"

American cars, maybe. We Europeans have cars which go round corners without wallowing about like a ship.

It also depends on the game mechanic we are talking about. In DnD, "to hit" also meant to penetrate the armor.

In games where hitting meant actually touching steel to target, does better steel come into play? Maybe if it is more balanced and lighter and faster.

Edge characteristics would come into play for damage as it can cut or sever better.

A chainsaw would be unwieldy, so less likely to make contact, but when it does, it would be able to penetrate armour. So how do you apply bonuses for that in a DnD game?

I suppose you could make an automatic fold&roll machine to make this easier and more consistent.

They already have them. They leave the cool fold marks too, and with better steel.

Excellent! I wonder how expensive one of those machines is…

If it has to be a sword, then a Titanium blade forged with in the hell-fire of a Plasma cutter and blessed by good old Saint General Electric would be good enough for me.

Sadly, even aircraft-grade titanium does not make a good blade. It's brittle and doesn't flex enough.

Oh, and you Europeans would need to swipe the leaf springs from commercial trucks, not cars.

What I'd do to make a quick, high-quality modern sword is to snag one of the flat half-leaves from a truck's spring pack, anneal it by heating it red-hot and letting it cool off slowly in still air, slice it in half lengthwise with a plasma torch, shape the blade and get a rough edge on it, heat treat it to regain the spring temper, and then polish it sharp. It would be better if I could differentially temper the blade like a katana, but that's not an absolute requirement.

I read a really good sci-fi story ages ago (the title and author are long lost to my brain) about a guy who goes back in time to the Viking era and brings an automatic pistol. He shoots one or two people, thinking his "magical boomstick" will cow the Vikings and he'll be able to rule them, but they aren't impressed at all. They already live in a world full of unexplainable phenomena and believe in magic, so to them he's just a cowardly sorcerer who's too weak to fight like a real man.

The closest I can recall to that is "The Man Who Came Early" by Poul Anderson, but it doesn't quite match up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Came_Early

YouTube link

Haywire, the 1st edition AD&D to hit and damage rolls did not always mean the armour had been penetrated, sometimes it did not even mean the target had been hit, but had dodged, jumped or dived away from the blow.

You could create gimmicks to give the appearance of magic (lighter fluid pumped from the hilt and lit with a lighter…a flaming sword etc.). In reality the advance in materials would be your biggest advantage.

Now, something like a titanium shield which could stop any known missile weapon and was very light and nimble – far more impressive.

What if we had a world-wide ban on gunpowder weapons and the use of the internal combustion engine for warfare? i.e. medieval warfare with modern materials science?

What would our swords, bows, and armour be made of?

Ah, now THAT is interesting question. If a 'modern-to-archaic' arms industry sprung up we'd see some really interesting stuff coming through eventually. I'll have to think about this a little more.

Lion also makes some good points, a lot of the basic techniques probably apply even to today. A good guide on quality, reasonably authentic, swords made with traditional techniques can be found here:
sword-buyers-guide.com

-Will

Haywire, the 1st edition AD&D to hit and damage rolls did not always mean the armour had been penetrated, sometimes it did not even mean the target had been hit, but had dodged, jumped or dived away from the blow.

That would be the definition of a MISS. To hit in DnD (1st – 5th all have the same rule pretty much with different bonuses)

But yes, the armor class includes your armour, dex, size, shield, how fast you are moving, which direction the wind blows, etc… all in one roll.

Yes

But the results would more than likely kill or main you.