Accessory - Dragon Magazine #232, MAGAZINES, Dragon Magazine
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Sticks & Stones
hat is a weapon? The Oxford English Dictionary defines a
weapon as “an instrument of any kind used in warfare
or in combat to attack and overcome an enemy.” In this
sense, almost all animals are armed. Most vertebrates have
teeth, and many have claws. Venom is a highly effective
weapon that appears throughout the animal kingdom. Long
before humans first appeared, stabbing weapons appeared
right on the animals. Consider the head of the triceratops or
the tail of the stegosaurus. Even today an elephant has tusks
and the rhinoceros a horn.
The original human weapons differed from those of other
animals only in degree, not kind: they had teeth and nails. The
first external weapons probably began with sticks, stones, and
bones. Consider the famous scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey in
which the proto-human uses the thigh bone of an animal to
kill a rival for territory.
Then rock struck rock, edges were formed, and rocks
became tools. Sticks were sharpened with the rocks. Rock
struck rock again, fire was created, and the pointed sticks
could be hardened. Fire and iron produced spear heads, then
the knife and the sword.
The sword is a truly magnificent weapon. It is actually a
very sophisticated combination of a stick and a stone: a point
for stabbing, an edge for cutting, and the flat of the blade for
striking. Part of the beauty of the sword is its simple utility. It is
compact, easy to carry, and useful for both attack and defense.
The sword figures strongly in fantasy fiction and legend.
Arthur would never have ruled Britain had he not drawn
Excalibur from the stone. Without Durandal, Roland may never
have held off the infidels long enough for Charlemagne to
defeat them.
Apart from the sword, there are even more subtle, elegant,
and seemingly magical weapons. The pen can defeat the
sword. The written word has caused nations to rise up and
overthrow dictators. Words from beyond the grave, preserved
in print, have rallied people to great and noble causes.
Only humans can injure or slay with a word or a gesture, a
wink or a nod. A word can wound more grievously than any
mere knife or sword. To be struck by a sword is a kindness
compared to the injury inflicted by a word. The spoken word
is also a mighty defensive weapon. A witty comeback, parry-
ing a verbal thrust, has defeated many attacks. A gesture
works as well as a weapon. To “finger” someone is to point him
out for arrest. A nod of feigned complicity to another, indicat-
ing to watchers that a conspiracy exists where there is none, is
genuinely Machiavellian.
Weapons are limited only by the imagination. The grossest
are the fist, the foot, the elbow, the knee, and the head. Some
of the finest are invisible. Warriors should be prepared, for they
never know what weapons they might face.
TSR, Inc.
Brian Thomsen
Editor-in-Chief
Pierce Watters
Editor
Dave Gross
Art director
Larry Smith
Anthony J. Bryant
Michelle Vuckovich
Subscriptions
Janet L. Winters
U.S. advertising
Cindy Rick
U.K. correspondent/advertising
Carolyn Wildman
Printed in the USA
D
RAGON
#232
3
Publisher
Associate Publisher
Associate editor
Associate editor
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