Weapons associated with magic

Sounds a bit obvious, but how about a sword?

Lots of sword-in-the-stone precedents (i.e. enchanted swords).

Melee weapons are typically stabby/cutty things, or clubby things. Taking a look at this list on Wikipedia and scanning down through it I don't see a lot that jumps out at me as something that is typically thought of as magic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_melee_weapons

A couple that do could be thought of simply as another type of staff, such is the Irish shillelagh.

Maybe that list will give you some ideas you can work with.

Jay

What about a kris? Their length varies, but they can certainly be made small enough to be concealable. Many legends in Indonesian folklore mention krises with supernatural abilities, and the culture at large viewed them as magical talismans and often carried them as part of their ceremonial dress. They also really liked for their krises to be pretty; there are some seriously cool, intricately designed krises out there, so you can have a lot of fun with the description.

I have found this two sites that might help you decide on what weapon associated with magic you will be using. Hope you could find one there.


[links removed by moderator]

Magical daggers are reasonably well-established. Especially the Kris as Dreity mentioned.

In many magical traditions the sword is common as it represents one of the elements and is used as a ritual tool (others including the wand and the chalice). This is sometimes replaced (for convenience more than anything) with a dagger or athame (convenience because they are easier to carry).

However, these are ritual tools and therefore considered sacred. You would not use an athame to peel potatoes or stab someone save in extremis.

The staff is sometimes used instead of a wand (well, like the sword/dagger thing it is likely that a wand is a more convenient tool than a staff). There are also links with druidic traditions and certain other primitive practises where decorated staves are used.

The main reason why daggers and staves are linked with mages in RPGs, however, is more to do with game balance. Mages in AD&D were not allowed to use the same weapons and armour as other classes. Later games (like Rolemaster) added reasons for this linked to not being able to carry large quantities of metal because it interfered with the channelling of magic. Therefore a dagger is fine because it is only a small amount of metal and a staff is also fine because there is no metal. However, the root reason is purely game balance. In your setting there is nothing to stop you from having your mages use any weapon they feel like.

In one RPG I played (Dragon Warriors - if you have heard of it outside the UK I would be very surprised...) sorcerors were allowed to use short swords. This allowed me to create a character who was a Roman style 'artillery' magician - a battle wizard who carried a gladius. So it comes down to your setting and how you want things to play out.

A suggestion may be to design something unique - a weapon with an unusual design. That could make it something you have more control over and you can work in reasons why they use it into your background.

The reas

You never mentioned 'when' your story takes place. I mention this because I've seen more modern stories with magic, and I've seen cops with short batons that elongate into clubs. Something like this might work.

If present day, that greatly expands your possibilities. The already mentioned baton, a short staff with concealed blade, something specially made up, etc.

A cane or walking stick. Particularly if the mage in question is a Rennie or Steampunk. (Rennies are people who are part of or often go to Renn Fairs.) So walking canes and staffs are often sold at Renn Fairs and Steampunk events and conventions.

How about brass knuckles?

You might want to watch/read the Dresden Files. That takes place in modern day Chicago. Harry Dresden uses a hockey stick as a staff.

Yeah, I played D&D and preferred the spell caster classes. So I remember the restrictions. I think a good "logical" reason is that it takes a lot of time to learn how to read and cast spells and everything else related to the mage class. Just as it takes an equal amount of time to learn how to use a sword, shield and armor well. Yes, you can learn both but focusing on one or the other makes the person better at the chosen "profession". That's my take on it. Yes, I'm such a geek.

SwitchWand, a wand with a retractable blade.

If you use magic to conceal it, it can be anything at all.

It's your world, enchant anything you want to use as a weapon. Just make sure you have a good explanation for its use...

Lots of fantasy stories running around with mini crossbows, those are pretty neat. Good against vampires and zombies as well...

A snub-nosed .357. Milled from meteoric iron on a moonless night and tempered in the blood of a unbaptized babe. Loaded with hollow point rounds, muzzle velocity of 1400 feet/second. Each hollow point holds one grain of the corpse-dust of Samuel Colt. And they're silver. Concealed-carry permit is of course required.

For melee purposes, just pistol-whip the victim.

Actually, if I remember correctly, Mercedes Lackey, in her Diana Tregarde stories, had her heroine magician use a gun on a regular basis, although the ammunition may have changed depending on the target.

Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake, although not straight magic, also uses guns feequently.

If everything looks like a nail, use a hammer.

(Thor's Hammer, Ukka's Hammer, Weyland's Hammer, Hephaestes' Hammer, Vulcan's Hammer, etc.)

Dave Hardy said:

A snub-nosed .357. Milled from meteoric iron on a moonless night and tempered in the blood of a unbaptized babe. Loaded with hollow point rounds, muzzle velocity of 1400 feet/second. Each hollow point holds one grain of the corpse-dust of Samuel Colt. And they're silver. Concealed-carry permit is of course required.

For melee purposes, just pistol-whip the victim.

Click to expand...

Ha! Love it!

I personally would love to see a Magic Taser worked into a story ...