Scythes in Games

[BiscuitTrouser]

The scythe.

Spoiler

So epic.

We don't talk about the scythe often enough on this forum site. Scythes are just awesome. Scythes are sharp, pointy, and come in all kinds of different designs depending on who's drawing them. Scythes are intimidating, harbingers of death. And whether you're death himself [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2TVMxnrSCKY/TRDNyY212iI/AAAAAAAARMs/awPc2GYwBtQ/s1600/GrimReaper.jpg], or you just work for him, [http://gallery.fanserviceftw.com/_images/72ce1bfb8bb9e0e07d3863c3f3dfa0a5/741%20-%20maka_albarn%20soul_eater%20wallpaper.jpg] there's no denying the pure badassery of the scythe. They're just plain cool.

If you're into anime, there's plenty of scythes to be found. But what about video games? We had Dante [http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/dante_s_inferno.jpg], and we had Ryu Hayabusa [http://gaygamer.net/images/ryustatue.jpg], and we had Zasalamel [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters4/zasa-sc3-big.jpg]. And we've had plenty of others. The scythe is to blades, what the desert eagle is to guns. It's an awesome, impractical weapon mostly chosen for aesthetic purposes. And though they sometimes seem childish, you secretly love them. I'm always disappointed when a fantasy game involving swordplay doesn't have scythes. Sure lots of games have had them, but I feel like it's not enough. I need more scythes! More more more!

Maybe I just play too many shooters, and simply don't know about enough games that have scythes. So, what are some good games that have awesome scythe usage? What are some upcoming titles you hope will have scythes?

For one, I'm really hoping Bethesda will think to include them in Skyrim.

EDIT: I didn't think I'd need to clarify this. I thought it was implied. But FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YES! I know it's a damn farming tool! I'm AWARE. You don't need to tell me! How stupid do you think I am? Did you honestly think I believed it was originally designed to be a weapon? That's just silly! Anyway, what it was designed for should have no bearing whatsoever on what it's used for within a video game. Absolute video game realism at all times is for squares!

Thing is for a realistic see every swing game by bethesda they just cannot have a scythe because the animation would look really really dumb. I can pretty much promise in ALL games where someone has a scythe it is swung, the screen flashes, a red line appears and a cut is made, and this applies to animes as well.

I take it that you've never watched Soul Eater? The scythe animations are pretty good.

Sir i am disgusted and appalled. I am on episode 28 of soul eater and i love every goddam second. Except when black star is on screen... or Excalibur. Tempted to talk about them here. However Maka only looks good because of the insane acrobatics she pulls and the fact that, as stated, usually there is a line flash and a cut is made despite soul only brushing the pointy bit against the enemy. The animations are awesome because Maka is some kind of insane gymnast. Oblivion doesnt work like flippy insane actiony gymnastics. Its basic swing and stab. Scythes cannot do that. Unless being wielded by a complete ninja who can cut by swinging and flipped around while holding the scythe. Bethesda cannot do this.

 

[The Lugz]

Scythes are a farming implement, its amazing that any are weapons in games.
I'de like to have a combine harvester in an FPS during a vehicle section, now THAT would be good use of farm equipment.

actually, i can think of several that use forklift trucks
so you're not too far off popular with that idea!

 

[No_Remainders]

The Dervish in Guild Wars used Scythes, and that was by far my favourite class.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

EDIT: I didn't think I'd need to clarify this. I thought it was implied. But FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YES! I know it's a damn farming tool! I'm AWARE. You don't need to tell me! How stupid do you think I am? Did you honestly think I believed it was originally designed to be a weapon? That's just silly! Anyway, what it was designed for should have no bearing whatsoever on what it's used for within a video game. Absolute video game realism at all times is for squares!

So were tonfas and nunchucks.

I agree, we need more scythes.

 

[FuktLogik]

I'd like to have a combine harvester in an FPS during a vehicle section, now THAT would be good use of farm equipment.

Well, there was that one mission in GTA SA. Good times.

 

[Hides His Eyes]

scythes are incredibly impractical weapons because due to their length they are rather cumbersome, their weight is not well balanced and they don't even use the advantage the length could give them.
sure death uses one but he is fucking death, he is past the point of practicality.
So yeah, go for scythes as focusing items for mages and/or scifi weapons that shoot multi-colored flavors of lightning but as a practical weapon? no.

Are you serious? Obviously it depends on how big a priority realism is in the game in question.

 

[Hides His Eyes]

EDIT: I didn't think I'd need to clarify this. I thought it was implied. But FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YES! I know it's a damn farming tool! I'm AWARE. You don't need to tell me! How stupid do you think I am? Did you honestly think I believed it was originally designed to be a weapon? That's just silly! Anyway, what it was designed for should have no bearing whatsoever on what it's used for within a video game. Absolute video game realism at all times is for squares!

So were tonfas and nunchucks.

I agree, we need more scythes.

And sai, and kama, and the bo staff was a fisherman's oar. Yep, more scythes

A scythe weaponmaster in Neverwinter Nights was a wonderful character build. Stupidly high damage.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I think I like Flails better. They serve the same combat purpose of a Scythe but do it in a much practical and awesome way, especially if it's a morning-star.
.
An example? Nothing comes to mind. sorry.
.

I'd like to have a combine harvester in an FPS during a vehicle section, now THAT would be good use of farm equipment.

Well, there was that one mission in GTA SA. Good times.

Damn, I loved that section. They made detailed body parts and blood splatters come out of the other end! Great mission.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

EDIT: I didn't think I'd need to clarify this. I thought it was implied. But FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YES! I know it's a damn farming tool! I'm AWARE. You don't need to tell me! How stupid do you think I am? Did you honestly think I believed it was originally designed to be a weapon? That's just silly! Anyway, what it was designed for should have no bearing whatsoever on what it's used for within a video game. Absolute video game realism at all times is for squares!

So were tonfas and nunchucks.

I agree, we need more scythes.

And sai, and kama, and the bo staff was a fisherman's oar. Yep, more scythes

A scythe weaponmaster in Neverwinter Nights was a wonderful character build. Stupidly high damage.

I did that in NWN2...

 

[roguetrooper96]

Scythes are a farming implement, its amazing that any are weapons in games.
I'de like to have a combine harvester in an FPS during a vehicle section, now THAT would be good use of farm equipment.

I can't remember which one but I know that one of the serious sam games had the Serious Combine tucked away in a bonus level somewhere.

OT: I agree that scythes are very underused, every concept artist does his own individual scythe design, or at least I never seem to see two of the same design.

 

[ryo02]

get ready for bad spelling/grammar and bad ideas

the Scythe is a farming tool and probably not practical youd have to make some serious design changes.

make it out of modern materials to lighten it.

shorten the staf part, (like the league of legends pic someone posted earlier)

shorten the blade and make it thinner, increase the angle of the blade (keep it to one side though again like that league of legends picture only a thinner less ornate blade)

Spoiler: Akali from League of Legends.

possibly (depending on how the durability is effected) make the angle of the blade adjustable from being a regular scythe to more like a glaive.

might even consider making the blade part more sword like (attaching it via the hilt part of the blade allowing for some of the length to come from that with less metal involved) it could even be removable for use as a normal sword whenever using the scythe wouldnt be practical.

attach a smaller spear like blade to the end of the scythe so even in its regular scythe configuration you still have a straight thrusting ability, it would have to be slightly off to one side though to accomidate the glaive configuration. (also with the spear attachment its still a spear when you remove the sword part)

make the blade double edged but not razor sharp so you can still hold the blade if you have to.

ok Im done you can flame me now oh and one last thing DO NOT TRY TO DUEL WEILD IT

 

[Dan DePuy]

@Dan DePuy:
Battle scythes aren't shaped liked regular farming scythes though. But your point does still stand. It's like a hallbert, but less effective. Just not as less effective as you claim it to be.

This would be a good point, but a battle scythe is not a thing. At no point in history has any culture ever used a scythe as a weapon. If you still disagree, I await your attempt at using a scythe in this manner. A halberd can cut in multiple directions and be utilized and maneuvered in the way a quarterstaff is used. A scythe, as a weapon, could cut at or around the knee level of your enemy. That is it. It has no defensive utility nor can a missed cut be followed up with another, and the haft is curved and too cumbersome to be used as a staff.

The Dacians used the falx(a war scythe or sickle) against the Romans to good effect. The Romans added reinforcing crosspieces to their helmets because the falx could split the helmet open and changed their armor to better protect against it.

The falx is not a scythe. The haft is not at a right angle to the blade like a scythe. The haft is shorter and not curved. This is a different weapon altogether - much more like the halberd or naginata as I mentioned above.

 

[Dan DePuy]

Looking at that war scythe... it's a naginata. It's not even a scythe anymore. Yes, if you want to argue that a scythe that has been turned into a naginata is a weapon, I will give you that. In the same context, a rake is an excellent weapon if you take off the head and replace it with a sharp pointy thing. Because now it's a war rake. I quite honestly don't think any of you have looked at a photo of a real scythe yet. It's got a curved haft with a handle sticking out the middle and another long bar at a right angle at the end of the haft. The video game type scythe you all link pictures to is very modified from the real design, and is not really a scythe any more. Even so, the blade still can't be used for cutting in any meaningful way because the ship limits the angles and direction with which it could cut a target. It's not a weapon and could never be realistically used as one... unless of course you take away all the things that make it a scythe, stick a halberd blade on it and continue calling it a scythe anyway because you want that badly for a scythe to be a weapon.

As for the whole "kung fu bla bla farming implements yadda yadda" nonsense, that's a myth that is perpetuated by martial arts instructors and poorly dubbed movies. All weapons were developed with the intention of being weapons. Nobody ever picked up a trowel and thought "oh look! I can use this as a weapon! I'm going to dig the crap out of those bad guys!"

Of course I am sympathetic to the fact that this is, indeed, a gaming/anime/fantasy forum I'm dealing with here and that the overwhelming majority of you are a)teenagers; b) so entrenched in your fantasy worlds that you have a very hard time differentiating them from reality or c) so in love with your fantasy worlds that you refuse to believe for a moment that any statement that criticizes it even when presented with incontrovertible evidence.

 

[TheVurdmeister]

I'm almost positive Dante from Devil May Cry used a scythe at some point too, and plenty of his foes did. To quote the edit,I agree with you, people can be too realistic when it comes to the Scythe. It is a freaking intimidating weapon. The other day when I was playing DnD, I wanted to specialize as a scythe wielder, but my DM told me it would be no use since it was a farming tool. Total bullshit. I can craft and enchant the shit out of a Scythe with time and I'll be Death himself. I mean, 75% of us relate the Scythe to Death, I hardly recognize it as a farming tool. T.T

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

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To add, there ARE techniques to use Scythes as weapons without rotating the blades:

http://dfg-viewer.de/show/?set%5Bimage%5D=411&set%5Bzoom%5D=default&set%5Bdebug%5D=0&set%5Bdouble%5D=0&set%5Bmets%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fmdz10.bib-bvb.de%2F~db%2Fmets%2Fbsb00006570_mets.xml

The thing is, if both edges of a Scythe are sharpended, it's a pretty unpredcatble weapon.

You can hook and grab the edges of armor, sheilds, and swords, twist and hook to pull them away, or hit the opponents body from odd angles.

 

[Javarock]

We've been over this before; Scythes are a poor choice for a weapon, and those who think otherwise have poor opinions.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.70517-Scythes#694172

Uh, yeah, I don't really care what you've "been over" before. If I wasn't there, it might as well never have happened. Science can decide that it's not a practical weapon, but there is no science that can decide whether it is or isn't a "poor choice" as one in a video game. That is pure opinion based on aesthetics and aesthetics alone. Aesthetics, as in beauty. And beauty is rarely scientific. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And "eye of the beholder" is another way of saying "purely subjective." Thus, as it's something purely subjective, there are no "poor opinions" about it, positive or negative.

They would jaunt me out of immersion in a game.

Unless of course the person wielding it was a god of some sort.

But, a Warrior "Dovaking" wouldn't do so well... And it wouldn't make sense.

 

[Spacewolf]

Looking at that war scythe... it's a naginata. It's not even a scythe anymore. Yes, if you want to argue that a scythe that has been turned into a naginata is a weapon, I will give you that. In the same context, a rake is an excellent weapon if you take off the head and replace it with a sharp pointy thing. Because now it's a war rake. I quite honestly don't think any of you have looked at a photo of a real scythe yet. It's got a curved haft with a handle sticking out the middle and another long bar at a right angle at the end of the haft. The video game type scythe you all link pictures to is very modified from the real design, and is not really a scythe any more. Even so, the blade still can't be used for cutting in any meaningful way because the ship limits the angles and direction with which it could cut a target. It's not a weapon and could never be realistically used as one... unless of course you take away all the things that make it a scythe, stick a halberd blade on it and continue calling it a scythe anyway because you want that badly for a scythe to be a weapon.

As for the whole "kung fu bla bla farming implements yadda yadda" nonsense, that's a myth that is perpetuated by martial arts instructors and poorly dubbed movies. All weapons were developed with the intention of being weapons. Nobody ever picked up a trowel and thought "oh look! I can use this as a weapon! I'm going to dig the crap out of those bad guys!"

Of course I am sympathetic to the fact that this is, indeed, a gaming/anime/fantasy forum I'm dealing with here and that the overwhelming majority of you are a)teenagers; b) so entrenched in your fantasy worlds that you have a very hard time differentiating them from reality or c) so in love with your fantasy worlds that you refuse to believe for a moment that any statement that criticizes it even when presented with incontrovertible evidence.

I think reaper man is the only source ive ever seen that makes the distinction when talking about sythes. However standard sythes have been used as weapons of war in alot of peasent rebillions even if its less useful than other farm yard weapons simply because they didnt have any choice

 

[Lawnmooer]

All weapons were developed with the intention of being weapons. Nobody ever picked up a trowel and thought "oh look! I can use this as a weapon! I'm going to dig the crap out of those bad guys!"

No, I believe the thought process was something more along the lines of "Oh crap I'm being attacked, I now have the choice to use this farming tool or my bare fists to protect myself!"

Also I've been thinking about scythes being made more practical so for starters I will link a picture of a farming scythe (Just to please the "OMG IS FARMING TOOL NOT WEAPON" people...)

Spoiler

Now in my mind I thought that straightening the haft and making it out of a lighter material (To reduce the weight and encombering qualities of the regular farming tool being used as a weapon) widening the blade (To about the size of what most games and pictures depict them as) and sharpening all edges of the blade rather than just the inside (Really it just makes sense for weaponizing it...)

Then you end up with something along the lines of:

Spoiler

In which case useage would essentially be axe-like but using "Reap-like" slashes and pulls (If you get the blade behind an enemy) instead of the downward hacks and cleaves of an axe. Durability would be an issue against heavier armours though (Unless you get good enough to get between the plates and such).

The fight scenes in my head that show different techniques that should be possible with a weaponized scythe do seem like they could be quite effective if the person using it was good (Which considering most games have it so everyone can use every weapon efficiently is not a drawback)

But I guess this is slightly off-topic (Though I've already posted in this thread, which was at least 90% on topic)

Edit: Dual ended scythes I cannot see being functional, but then again dual ended Lightsabers would be almost impossible to learn how to use (Lesson 1: *Fwing* "Oh dear, there goes my kidney") but they still don't get the flack that scythes do...

 

[Condiments]

Scythes are impractical but make awesome looking weapons. Reminds me of my signature weapons when I played the game Phantasy star online. The Soul Eater, and Soul Banish.

 

[Zantos]

Darksiders 2, anybody?

Spoiler: Dual scythes, baby!

"

This gave me strange feelings in my boy parts.

OT: Dante has a scythe in his Inferno. He steals it from death in the tutorial, which doesn't make much sense really but we forgave it because it's a pretty awesome thing to do.

The weird thing is I'm seeing a lot of people say about how it's an impractical weapon. I was talking to my Dad today about why people still use guns that are more impractical than others available to them, and he explained to me how sometimes it's just really fucking cool.