How far could you walk with...

I'm writing a fantasy story in which the people get hurt, a LOT. (But the alot doesn't get hurt. ). My question is, how far could soemone walk with a cracked bone or two in their chest before passing out from pain? Also, what is the best way to disarm someone about 2 1/2 feet taller then you but still make sure that they can fight/walk?

bleachedblackcat wrote:

Also, what is the best way to disarm someone about 2 1/2 feet taller then you but still make sure that they can fight/walk?

Depends on what they're attacking with and how, and what you're armed with.

Most weapons can be disarmed quite easily, it's just a matter of pushing against his grip. Two-handed weapons are less easy to disarm, but any single-hander can can be done. You need to:

1) parry or avoid the attack
2) take hold of the weapon
3) make sure the blade (or head) goes one way and his hand goes the other way. Generally, you want to cause his fingers to either open their grip, which is usually achieved by the wrist twisting round so far that it either gets broken, or the fingers let go. Basically, you use the weapon as a pivot.

Give me some more info - what both characters are armed with, and whether they're right-handed or not - and I'll suggest some moves. Also, do you want the character to actually take the weapon, or just remove it from his opponent's grasp, and should the other person be thrown in the process?

What, a cracked rib or two? It depends on a great deal on the individual and what they're wearing (a pack of any kind would make it worse). A sufficiently determined individual could make it indefinitely. But for the vast majority of people, it'd at least slow them down, and running would be out of the question..

bleachedblackcat wrote:

how far could soemone walk with a cracked bone or two in their chest before passing out from pain?

Ex. A: My grandmother once fell in our backyard, running around with my younger siblings. Cracked a rib or two, but we didn't know that, because it took her a month to even mention that she was in pain.

Ex. B: The mother of a friend fell down a set of stairs in a small park, maybe a mile from her home. It was at night and the chances of someone finding her were slim, so she walked home. On two broken ankles, no less. Both legs in a cast afterwards.


I conclude that while broken bones hurt like a motherfucker, they don't necessarily make you pass out or even stop you from going about your business, if your business is urgent enough.

Quote :

Give me some more info - what both characters are armed with, and whether they're right-handed or not - and I'll suggest some moves. Also, do you want the character to actually take the weapon, or just remove it from his opponent's grasp, and should the other person be thrown in the process?

One is a hobbit/halfling armed with a short sword, the other is a human with a two-handed sword. Their dueling so it's a matter of either knocking the other to the ground or disarming them to win.

Quote :

Ex. B: The mother of a friend fell down a set of stairs in a small park, maybe a mile from her home. It was at night and the chances of someone finding her were slim, so she walked home. On two broken ankles, no less. Both legs in a cast afterwards.

Man and I hobble around all day after stubbing my toe.

Hmm...two-handers are difficult to disarm, especially when you're using a much smaller weapon.

Best way, I think, the halfling would need to get inside his reach, and grab the blade by the forte (better if it's one of those newer types of two-handers with a ricasso - then he has less chance of cutting himself). Then, if he can get the blade across the other person (he'd probably have to drop his own weapon in the process), he can push against him while grabbing his leg behind the knee with his other hand, and throw him. That's the best way I can come up with under those circumstances.

I wouldn't have him parrying too much, because I doubt such a small weapon would be able to believably block a two-hander. But it can move very fast, so the halfling would need to feint and dodge a lot, keeping distance throughout, until the very end. If he moved in too early, a swordsman who knows what he's doing would step back a bit, or go into half-sword guard, so he'd need to wait until he can get inside and surprise the other man (he'd only be able to do it once).

Some stuff to chew on:

127 Hours

Touching the Void

Try and see these films if you can.


Also - "a few cracked ribs" can vary from being really uncomfortable to being potentially fatal depending o n which ribs are cracked.


And as a contribution to swordchat:

Proper Zweihander technique in the spoiler:

Spoiler:

Thanks everyone!

Aside from you WD40, I've just sent about half an hour watching that and laughing my ass off.