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Shadowhunters do not use firearms, and typically they fight in close quarters. They also usually fight in short, improvised confrontations rather than in planned battles. As such, the basic armaments of the Shadowhunters are those hand-to-hand weapons that humans have used for thousands of years. Each of these come in endless variations.
|| SWORDS ||
Swords are long hilted blades used to wound both by piercing and by slashing. Variantes range from light and flexible blades wielded in one hand, such as the rapier, to heavy blades such as the Scottish claymore that requires two hands to wield and whose blades may well be taller than a person. And more or less all possible stages in between are represented. Generally Shadowhunters have a preference for speed and agility in fighting, and so most who prefer swords specialize in one of the smaller one-handed versions. There are, of course, exceptions.
|| KNIVES AND DRAGGERS ||
These smaller blades are less tiring to hold, and frequently two are wielded at the same time. The trade-off is, of course, that they have a shorter reach than a sword, requiring you to be close to your enemie. They are also far easier to conceal than a sword. Seraph blades are typically wielded using techniques associated with dagger fighting, so you will want to grwo proficient with these weapons no matter what.
|| MACES, AXES, HAMMERS, ETC ||
Those who do not seek subtlety in their combate may wish to consider specializing ina weapon in these categories, whereby the enemy is simply bludgeoned with a heavy block of metal, possibly sharpened. Shadowhunter can come across a few creatures that cannot be successfully defeated by the application of sufficient blood trauma. The main advantage of these weapons is that, while one can learn finesse in wielding them, they tend to be effective even when that finesse is lacking. All the wielder requires is brute strenght and room to swing.
The main disadvantage of thse weapons are that, for one, they can be difficult to conceal, and for another, they depend on the enemy's skin being less strong than the material of the weapon, which is usually true of Downworlders but may often be untrue of demons.
|| POLEARMS, PIKES, SPEARS, LANCES ||
There are almost as many variations on these as there have been humans armies in history, but they all have the same basic structure: a sharp blad at the end of a long sturdy stick. Traditionally these have been used in mundane warfare to give a fighter a longer reach than normal - which can be useful when fighting a enemie on horseback, a demon covered in tentackles, a demon with obscenly long arms,and so on. Mostly likely this type of arms are carried by Shadowhunters guards as ceremonial weapons;
|| BOWS AND CROSSBOWS ||
These are the definite Shadowhunter weapons for long-range fighting. They are lightweight and easy to carry, and you can bring a large number of arrows with you with little trouble. Often Shadowhunters will carry arrows with several different materials, useful for fighting, different kind of creatures.
Like sword fighting, archery is a complex and difficult skill, and a new shadowhunter will need to train diligently to be able to use it in a s real-life scenario. Shadowhunter almost never fire arrows from an entrenched stabel possition, like someone defending a castle from a siege. Except to have to arm, aim, and fire your bow while in the middle of chaos.
|| IMPROVISED WEAPONS ||
The Nephilim are trained in the use of weapons, and out weapons are a vital part of their combat methods. It is important to always remember, however, that a Shadowhunter without fighting weapons is not helpless. The fight against demons is a desperate one, and weapons can be improvised from the environment - a tree branch, and andiron, a handful of pebbles thrown in the face of an enemie. Then to the Shadowhunter should always remember that her own body is a weapon. She or He had been trained to be faster and stronger than mundanes, and in the panic of battle should remember her/his strenght and make use of it. A weapon doesn not win a battle, the Nephilim wielding the weapon does.
|| SERAPH BLADES ||
Today seraph blades, or angel blades, are the fundamental weapon in Shadowhunter combat. They are clear as glass, usually double edged, and normally about two feet in length. Being adamas, they are incredibly finely honed and are capable of holding their edge indefinitely. They are thus potent weapons against any enemie. Their true power, however, is revealed when they are named - when a Shadowhunter hold then and invokes the name of an angel. The spirit of that angel is said to then inhabit the balde for a time, and the weapon will glow brightly with heavenly fire, like the flaming sword of the angel who guards the Garden of Eden.
This heavenly fire is very potent against demons. Most demons can heal themselves from mundane injuries in our world fairly quickly, just as Werewolves and Vampires can. Only the Seraph Blade can permanently damage a demon, so that it must withdraw for more significant and lengthy healing or must return to the Void to repair itself.
Note that the Seraph Blade is a viable but drastically overpowered weapon in a fight against a mundane. Downworlders are harmed by them in much the same manner as demons, but mundanes flesh pierced by a Seraph Blade will burst into flame and may consume the mundane entirely.
Shadowhunters will not be so burned by Seraph Blades, given our angelic blood, but even so, activated blades can severely burn the wielder's hands, and your should not touch a seraph blade until you have been Marked with the rune of Angelic Power. (Placed either at the base of the throat or on the inside of each wrist). A Shadowhunter who has been stabbed by a seraph blade will not burst into flames, but it shouldbe remembered that seraph blades are still blades and can kill a Shadowhunter by more terrestrial means, like and other sword or dagger
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