Approximately 20 to 24 inches in length from hilt tip to blade tip and 3 to 4 inches wide,
descending to a pointed tip. The grip is generally either of polished wood or leather. This is
the basic weapon of the warrior in Gor, it is generally carried, in a sheath slung over the
shoulder,or worn at the hip.
"I supposed one of the reasons for the short blade was
that it could clear the sheath a fraction of a second before a longer blade. Another advantage
was that it could be moved with greater swiftness than a longer blade. The primary advantage
I supposed was that it allowed the Gorean warrior to work close to his man. The brief reach of
the blade tended to be more than compensated for by the rapidity with which it might be wielded
and the ease with which it might work beneath the guard of a longer weapon. If the swordsman
with a longer weapon could not finish the fight in the first thrust or two he was a dead man."
Priest-Kings of Gor, pg 174
Longsword
The longsword is used mostly by those of Torvaldsland. It's blade is approximately 30 to 36
inches in length. It is carried in a belt scabbard or strapped across its user's back. The
blade is forged in the Damascus manner, steel, both hard and soft are beaten together under
heat and folded within itself and beaten flat again. This creates a blade that is both
flexible and virtually unbreakable.
"He wore beneath his cloak of yellow wool, and a great belt
of glistening black, with a gold buckle, to which was attached a scabbard of oiled, black
leather; in this scabbard was a sword, a sword of Torvaldsland, a long sword, with a jeweled
pommel, with double guard."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 172
Scimitar
The sword of choice in the Tahari, This razor sharp, curved blade is generally about 30 to 36
inches long. The back 3-8 inches has a false edge that can be sharpened for back slashes. Like
the longsword it has better reach, which can be an advantage when mounted upon the kailla.
Slower to draw and slower to wield than the shortsword it is still a deadly weapon.
"Djellabas and burnooses, sleeveless, hooded desert cloaks, were being sold in another stall.
The burnoose can, as the djellaba cannot, because of the sleeves, be thrown back, freeing the
arms. One who rides the swift kaiila, who handles the scimitar and lance, chooses the burnoose."
Usually part of a set of seven such weapons, it has a narrow double edged blade 9 to 12 inches
in length with a handle of wood, bone, or horn. Its razor sharp blade tapers to a needle point.
Designed for use primarily as a missile weapon, the quiva is also used as a hand weapon and
general utility knife. The steel used in making the quiva comes from the foundries of Ar.
Also known as the Tuchuk Saddle Knife, the quiva is a dagger favored by the Wagon People, but
carried by most FreeWomen and many Warriors, sheathed and hung on the side of a warrior's
saddle.
"I was most fond, perhaps, of the balanced saddle knife,
the quiva; it is about a foot in length, double edged; it tapers to a daggerlike point. I
acquired, I think, skill in its use. At forty feet I could strike a thrown tospit; at one
hundred feet I could strike a layered boskhide disk, about four inches in width, fastened
to a lance thrust in the turf."
Nomads of Gor, pp. 66-67
Killing knife
A small dagger with a blade from 4 to 6 inches long. Unlike the quiva it is tapered only on one
side and not double edged. Carried by many due to its small size.
"It was a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and
tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing. Mixed with the blood and
fluids of the body there was a smear of white at the end of the steel, the softened residue
of a glaze of kanda paste, now melted by body heat, which had coated the tip of the blade. On
the hilt of the dagger, curling about it, was the legend, 'I have sought him. I have found him.'
It was a killing knife. 'The Caste of Assassins?' I had asked. 'Unlikely,' had said the
Older Tarl, 'for Assassins are commonly too proud for poison.'"
Assassin of Gor, pg. 42
Hook knife
The hook knife is very similar to the utility knife found on earth. A short, wide blade,
narrowing to a downward curve, ending in a sharp point. When used in recreational spars, the
knife remains sheathed so as not to injure the opponent. The knife is seldom used for other
than stadium fighting, weather sheathed or not.
"Both were stripped to the waist. The hair of both was
bound back with a band of cloth. Each carried, sheathed, a hook knife. The edges of the sheath
were coated with a bluish pigment."
Assassin of Gor, pg. 86
Sleen knife
This is a broad bladed, flat, double edged utility knife equipped with a simple stubby
crossguard and unadorned grip . Rather than tapering down to a needle like point like the
quiva it's point is more rounded.
"I saw Sheera, standing knee deep in the water, near the
beach. She had now thrust her sleen knife into its belt sheath. She was a strongly bodied
girl. The sun made the chains and claws at her throat gleam. 'Return again' she called,
'perhaps we will have more men to sell you.'"
Hunters of Gor, pp. 32-33
Tarn knife
This is a short bladed, single edged utility knife typically used by tarnsmen and generally
included among their saddle equipment. Some knives are designed so that the blade folds into
the handle for safety when not in use. Often equipped with a lanyard so that it may be lashed
to the tarnsman's saddle or belt.
"I looked across to Menicius of Port Kar. His eyes darted
from mine. He bent over the neck of Quarrel. I saw that He had been given another knife, a
Tarn knife, of the sort carried by riders. In His right hand, ready, there was a Tarn goad."
The bow is not commonly favored by Gorean warriors, but all must respect it. It is the height of
a tall man; its back, away from the bowman, is flat; its belly, facing the bowman, is
half-rounded; it is something like an inch and a half wide and an inch and a quarter thick at
the center; it has considerable force and requires considerable strength to draw; many men,
incidentally, even some warriors, cannot draw the bow; nine of its arrows can be fired aloft
before the first falls again to the earth; at point-blank range it can be fired completely
through a four-inch beam; at two hundred yards it can pin a man to a wall; at four hundred
yards it can kill the huge, shambling bosk; its rate of fire is nineteen arrows in a Gorean Ehn,
about eighty Earth seconds; and a skilled bowman, but not an extraordinary one, is expected to
be able to place these nineteen arrows in one Ehn into a target, the size of a man, each a hit,
at a range of some two hundred and fifty yards. Yet, as a weapon, it has serious disadvantages,
and on Gor the crossbow, inferior in accuracy, range and rate of fire, with its heavy cable and
its leaves of steel, tends to be generally favored. The long bow cannot well be used except in
a standing, or at least kneeling, position, thus making more of a target of the archer; the long
bow is difficult to use from the saddle; it is impractical in close quarters, as in defensive
warfare or in fighting from room to room; and it cannot be kept set, loaded like a firearm, as
can the crossbow;...
Raiders of Gor, pg. 2
Horn bow / Short bow
About four feet long there are a number of varities of this bow on Gor. the best known, most
popular is of course the horn bow of the Wagon People, The Red savages use one made of layered
wood banded together as do the northern peoples, these often called ship bows. While not as
powerful as the long bow or cross bow they have a big advantage over the long bow in their
ability to be used in tight places, their rate of fire is much faster than the crossbow. A
Wagon Person can fire twenty arrows in half an Ehn. The Red Savages use a small bow and there
is no other bow that can match its rate of fire. It is very maneuverable and can be easily
concealed.
"Kamchak was a skilled instructor in these matters and, freely, hours at a time, until it grew
too dark to see, supervised my practice with such fierce tools as the lance, the quiva and
bola. I learned as well the rope and bow. The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle,
lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at close range, with
considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon."
Nomads of Gor, pp. 66-67
Crossbow, standard
A standard weapon of Gor. It consists of a heavy, flexible bow of tempered steel, 18" across
mounted on a heavy wooden stock about two feet long, with a trigger mechanism at the bottom.
Striking with enough force to penetrate wooden walls, doors or human bodies with relative ease.
It has an effective range of approximately 150 yards. Slow to reload, it is commonly redrawn
through use of a goat's-foot hook or a crank.
"The crossbow is the assassin's weapon, par excellence;
further, it might be mentioned that, although it takes longer to set the crossbow, a weaker
man, with, say, his belt claw or his winding gear, can certainly manage to do so; accordingly,
for every man capable of drawing a warrior's long bow there will be an indefinite number who
can use the crossbow; lastly, at shorter distances, the crossbow requires much less skill for
accuracy than the long bow."
Raiders of Gor, pg. 2
Calvary crossbow
Much like the larger crossbow, instead of possessing a metal bow, it has a much lighter bow of
wood or horn. Slightly smaller in size, it is still a powerful weapon. It is equipped with a
metal stirrup at the firing end, allowing it to be more quickly restrung while on the back of a
tarn or kaiila.
"The cavalry crossbow does have an iron stirrup in which
the rider, without dismounting, may insert his foot, thus gaining the leverage necessary for
drawing the cable back with both hands. If the rider is right handed he usually inserts his
right foot in the stirrup and leans to the right in drawing the cable; this procedure is
reversed, of course, usually, if the rider is left handed. While this procedure permits the
rider to reload without dismounting and tends to improve, at some cost to striking power, the
bow's rate of fire, it still provides, in my opinon, no adequate compensation for the loss of
rapidity of fire. I think it not unlikely that the red savage could discharge three to five
shafts in the time a single quarrel could be set in the clumsier weapon. In my opinion, if the
crossbow, of the lighter, more quickly loading type, had proved to be a superior missile weapon
in the typical combats practiced in the Barrens the red savages would have had recourse either
to it, or to something analogous to it. But they have not."
One of the most common weapons on Gor, its versatility makes it a very popular weapon, used for
fighting and hunting.
"The spear was a typical Gorean spear, about seven feet in
height, heavy, stout, with a tapering bronze head some eighteen inches in length. It is a
terrible weapon and, abetted by the somewhat lighter gravity of Gor, when cast with
considerable force, can pierce a shield at close quarters or bury its head a foot deep in
solid wood. With this weapon groups of men hunt even the larl in its native haunts in the
Voltai Range, that incredible pantherlike carnivore which may stand six to eight feet high
at the shoulder."
Outlaw of Gor, pg. 21
Kaiili lance
The lances of both the wagons people and the red savages are much the same. The red savages
tend to decorate and carve theirs more than the wagon people.
"The lances of the wagon peoples are not couched. They are
carried in the right fist, easily, and are flexible and light, used for thrusting, not the
battering ram effect of the heavy lances of Europe's High Middle Ages. Needless to say they
can be almost as swift and delicate in their address as a saber. The lances are black, cut
from the poles of young tem trees. They may be bent almost double, like finely tempered steel,
befor they break. A loose loop of bosk hide, wound twice about the right fist, helps to retain
the weapon in hand to hand combat, it is seldom thrown."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 15
Tharlarion lance
More a spear than a true lance, it is usually fashioned of ka-la-na or needle wood. About ten
to fourteen feet long. It has a lanceolate metal tip that is about four inches in width and is
often fluted. Carried couched beneath the right arm of the user, often supported by a lance
rest which is either attached to the saddle or worn strapped to the user's chest. Can also be
thrown, though not designed for it.
"In a minute the rider appeared in view - a fine, bearded warrior with a golden helmet and a
tharlarion lance."
Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 115
Trident
Three pronged spearing fork used by fishermen of Gor. The trident can be used as both a
thrusting weapon and as a weapon to be thrown. often used with the net, it is about seven
feet in length, with 3 prongs 12 to 16 inches long. Often used with a line attached, for
retrieval should it be thrown.
"I could use some paga," said he. He had purchased the net in the morning with a trident, the
traditional weapons of the fisherman of the western shore and the western islands."
Raiders of Gor, pg. 112
Harpoon
A spear fitted with a barbed head and used with line attached to assist in
retrieval.
"I grasped the long harpoon. It was some eight feet in length, some two and a half inches in
diameter. Its major shaft was of wood, but it had a foreshaft of bone. In this foreshaft was
set the head of the harpoon, of bone, drilled, with a point of sharpened slate. Through the
drilled hole in the bone, some four inches below the slate point and some four inches above
the base of the head, was passed a rawhide line, which lay coiled in the bottom of the boat.
As the hole is drilled the line, when it snaps taut, will turn the head of the harpoon in the
wound, anchoring it.
Similar to the Torvaldslander Battle Axe, but much larger, with a handle up to four feet in
length. The axe blade is also much larger. This axe must be used two handed as it is too big
to be weilded effectivly with one.
"The spine, of course would be immediatly severed; moreover, part of the ax will, if the blow
be powerful, emerge from the abdomen. It takes, however, more than one blow to cut a body, that
of a man, in two. To strike more than twice, however, is regarded as clumsiness."
Much like an earth bull whip. Made of Bosk hide plaited together. This whip can be anywhere from
8 to 12 feet long.
"Beside him, coiled, perhaps as a symbol of power, lay a bosk whip"
Nomads of Gor, pg. 43
Kurt Whip
A slave whip with five broad, pliant straps. Each strap is about two and a half feet long and one
and a half inches wide. The handle is eighteen inches long. Though it may leave a welt, it doesn't
permanently mark a victim.
"A stout whip, with a long handle, which might be wielded with two hands, and five dangling, soft,
wide lashing surfaces, each about a yard long."
Kajira of Gor, pg. 83
Snake Whip
A single-bladed whip, weighted, of leather. It is about eight feet long and half an inch to one
inch thick. It is sometimes set with tiny particles of metal. It is a deadly whip and can easily
strip flesh from the body. It can kill a Man.
"Heavy coil, laced with wire and flecks of iron. Used primarily on male slaves/captives."
Beasts of Gor, pg. 161
Whip Knife
The whip knife, unique to Port Kar, is a delicate weapon. It is a whip, but set into its final 18
inches, on 5 tassels or strips of hide, arranged in sets of four, are twenty thin, narrow blades.
Their tips vary. Some have a double-edged blade of seven to eight inches at the tip while others
have a stunning lead.
"The important point, however, in the circumstances was that Kamras had proposed the sword as the
weapon of his encounter with Kamchak, and poor Kamchak was almost certain to be as unfamiliar with
the sword as you or I would be with any of the more unusual weapons of Gor, say, the whip knife of
Port Kar or the trained varts of the caves of Tyros."
A pair of leather gauntlets, upon which are mounted knife blades. Sometimes used by gladiators in arena combats. These are seldom used as weapons of war.
"Sometimes men wrestle to the death or use the spiked gauntlets."
Assassin of Gor, pg.
Goad, tarn or slave
While not truly weapons,the tarn goad can stun. The slave goad on the other hand can kill.
"He entered my apartment, carrying a metal rod about two feet long, with a leather loop attached. It had a switch on the handle, which could be set for two positions, on and off, like a simple torch.
`What is it?' I asked.
'A tarn-goad,' he replied. He snapped the switch in the barrel to the "on" position and struck the table. It showered sparks in a sudden cascade of yellow light, but left the table unmarked. He turned off the goad and extended it to me. As I reached for it, he snapped it on and slapped it in my palm. A billion tiny yellow sparks, like pieces of fiery needles, seemed to explode in my hand. I cried out in shock. I thrust my hand to my mouth. It had been like a sudden, severe electric charge, like the striking of a snake in my hand. I examined my hand; it was unhurt. 'Be careful of a tarn-goad,' said the Older Tarl. 'It is not for children."
Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 50
"He scrambled to His feet,his face a mask of hate,looked about, saw the slave goad,ran to it and whipped it from the wall. I did not pursue him, not wanting to kill him. He turned and I saw, in almost one motion of his finger, the goad switch go to on, the dial rotate to the kill point. Then crouching, the goad blazing in his hand, he approched me warily."
Assassin of Gor, pg. 260
Bola
A favorite weapon of the Wagon People . fighting mainly from the backs of their kaiila, they become very proficient with the use of this weapon. used for both hunting and battle .
"Slowly, singing in a guttural chant, a Tuchuk warrior song, he began to swing the bola. It consists of three long straps of leather, each about five feet long, each terminating in a leather sack, which contains, sewn inside, a heavy, round metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagon Peoples use it also, and well, as a weapon of war. Thrown low the long straps, with their approximate ten-foot sweep, almost impossible to evade, strike the victim and the weighted balls, as soon as resistance is met, whip about the victim, tangling and tightening the straps. Sometimes legs are broken. It is often difficult to release the straps, so snarled do they become. Thrown high the Gorean bola can lock a man's arms to his sides; thrown to the throat it can strangle him; thrown to the head, a difficult cast, the whipping weights can crush a skull. One entangles the victim with the bola, leaps from one's mount and with the quiva cuts his throat."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 24
War Club
A carved, shaped club of wood or bone, often mounted with stone or metal projections such as sharp pieces of flint, nails or knife blades driven into the wood . This weapon is about two or three feet in length. Used mostly by the Red Savages.
"Grunt carried similar articles but he, as well, as I had not, carried such items as long nails, rivets, hatchets, metal arrowheads, metal lance points, knife blades and butcher knives. The knife blades and long nails are sometimes mounted in clubs."
Savages of Gor, pg. 145
Rope
What can I say?
"Kamchak was a skilled instructor in these matters and, freely, hours at a time, until it grew too dark to see, supervised my practice with such fierce tools as the lance, the quiva and bola. I learned as well the rope and bow."
A round shield; generally about 24 to 36 inches in diameter, the shield is sufficient in size to cover the main part of the
torso. The shield is made of 7-9 layers of bosk hide stretched over a lightweight framework of wood, iron or horn. It has
two straps on the inside that one's arm would slide through, holding it at the forarm and wrist. This is the most common
type of shield on Gor .
"The round shield, concentric overlapping layers of hardened leather riveted together and bound with hoops of brass,
fitted with the double sling for carrying on the left arm, was similarly unmarked. Normally the Gorean shield is painted
boldly and has infixed in it some device for identifying the bearer's city."
Outlaw of Gor, pg. 21
Turian Shield
An oval shield about 24 inches by 36 inches, this shield is also constructed of hide like it's round cousin.
" The morning sun flashed from their helmets, their long tharlarion lances, the metal embossments on their oval shields,
unlike the rounded shields of most Gorean cities."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 113
Buckler
A small oval shield about 16 to 18 inches. While this shield was made of steel on earth, on Gor it is, like all other
shields made of leather.
"Incidentally, Turian warriors, in order to have the opportunity to slay a foe, as well as acquire his woman, customarily choose as the
weapon of combat in these encounters, buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, or the two daggers, with the
reservation that the quiva, if used, not be thrown. Kamrak, however, appeared adamant on the point. "The sword," he repeated."
"Above the shield was a suspended helmet, again reminiscent of a Greek helmet, perhaps of the Homeric period. It
had a somewhat 'Y'-shaped slot for the eyes, nose, and mouth in the nearly solid metal."
Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 22
Northern Helmet
"The helmets of the north are commonly conical, with a nose-guard, that can slip up and down. At the neck and sides,
attached by rings, usually hangs a mantle of linked chain. The helmet of Thorgard himself, however, covered his neck
and the sides of his face. It was horned."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 73
Helmet of the Wagon Peoples
"...he wore a conical, fur-rimmed iron helmet, a net of colored chains depending from the helmet protecting his face,
leaving only holes for the eyes."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 10
Captain's Helmet
"To be sure, carved in wood, high on the chair, was the helmet with crest of sleen-fur, the mark of the captain, ..."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 6
Assassin's Helmet
"All were silent. I wore the garb of the Caste of Assassins, and on the left temple of the black helmet was the golden
slash of the messenger."
