Weapons

Gorean Warrior's Shield
a circular shaped shield; generally about 24 to 36 inches in diameter, the shield is sufficient in size to cover the areas where a fatal blow may be struck, yet it may also be used as a covering in a Gorean sand storm. The shield is made of several layers of bosk's hide {generally 7 to 9 layers thick} stretched over a lightweight framework of wood or horn, and normally are round in shape.The common shield in use is the warrior's shield. It is worn upon the user's arm, usually the left one, and is carried slung across the back while in traveling.

Shields
...and the rounded shield of layered boskhide, with its double sling, riveted with pegs of iron and bound with hoops of brass...
Raiders of Gor page 68

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 page 21

Turian Shield: 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 page 113

Gorean Short Sword
The basic weapon of all warriors of Gor, except those that fought while mounted and even they had considerable skill in its usage. Approx. 20 inches in length from hilt tip to blade tip,narrower at the hilt base and then widening to a width of 3 or 4 inches and then descending to a curved and 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 left shoulder by means of a leather harness, but may also be worn at the hip.This sword is mentioned in all books relating to Gor.

Longsword
The longsword is commonly used by the denizens of Torvaldsland. It is approximately 36 inches in length. It is carried in a belt-scabbard or strapped across its user's back over his right shoulder. The manufacture of these "long swords" seems to follow the pattern of the making of the swords of the Japanese Samurai. In this method, many lengths of steel, both hard and soft or flexible steel are beaten together under heat and folded within itself and beaten flat again. This creates a blade with both a tremendous amount of flexibility and also one that is virtually unbreakable. Most longswords bear the name of their maker and as with ships and other things of Gor, many believe that the sword possesses a sense of being with the maker.

Short Sword
I had again my sword, that wine-tempered blade of fine, double-edged Gorean steel, carried even at the siege of Ar, so long ago, with its scabbard ...
Raiders of Gor page 68

Long Sword
He wore beneath his cloak 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 page 172

Scimitar
A long curved sword, the simitar maybe used either one-handed or with two-hands. The curved, single-edged blade is always honed to razor-sharpness. The simitar's blade length is approx. thirty inches.This weapon when used one-handed from the back of a kialla is incredibly deadly. When it is used two-handed by a fighter while on the ground it is as deadly a weapon as is found upon Gor.

Bola
The favored weapon of the Wagon People Warriors, who fight mainly from the backs of their kaiila. The bola consists of three long leather straps, each about 5 feet in length, and terminating in a leather sack which contains, a heavy rounded metal weight. Developed for hunting fleet-footed and flighted game it is also used as a weapon of war.Thrown low the long straps, with their approximate ten-foot sweep,strike the victim and the weighted balls, as soon as resistance is met,whip about the victim's legs, tangling and
tightening the straps. Thrown high it can pin a man's arms to his sides; thrown at the throat it can strangle him; thrown at the head the whipping weights can crush his skull. Once a victim is entangled with the bola, another weapon, usually a quiva, is then utilized to dispatch the victim if he or she still lives.

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 to 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 page 24

Kurt
The five-bladed slave whip.Usually used in cases of severe discipline.

Quiva
A balanced saddle knife, usually part of a set of seven such weapons. It consists of a narrow double-edged blade of between 9 and 12 inches in length mounted on a shaped handle of wood, bone, or horn. It is honed to razor sharpness, and its blade tapers to a needle point.Designed for use primarily as a missile weapon, the quiva is also perfectly functional as a hand weapon and general utility knife. It is mostly used by the nomadic Wagon Peoples of the southern hemisphere, who will carry matched sets of seven in special sheaths attached to their kailla saddles. Generally the steel used in making
the blades of the quiva comes from the foundries within the City of Ar and are carried by traders to the South and thus traded to the Wagon People's.This weapon is so deeply ingrained within the very hearts and souls of the Wagon People, it is a part of the traditional TuChuk greeting and farewell.Also known as the Tuchuk Saddle Knife, the quiva is a dagger favored by the Wagon People, especially the Tuchuks, but carried by most FreeWomen and many Warriors. Designed for both stabbing and balanced to be thrown with lightning speed and accuracy. Generally carried in the quantity of seven in number, sheathed and hung on the handed side of a warrior's saddle be it a kaiila or tarn.

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 ..
Nomads of Gor page 67

...the quiva itself is regarded, on the whole, as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife...
Nomads of Gor page 124

Most quivas, incidentally, are wrought in the smithies of Ar.
Nomads of Gor page 124

...in the saddle itself, on the right side, indicating the rider must be right-handed, were the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddleknives of the prairie.
Nomads of Gor page 11

Sleen Knife
This is a broad bladed, flat, double edged utility knife equipped with a simple stubby crossguard and unadorned grip.

Gorean War Spear
A heavy, yet easily thrown spear favored by the Caste of Warriors, it is armed with a bronze blade for a tip that is approx.12 inches in length. While much heavier that the "black lance", the War Spear can also be thrown with considerable force over a fair distance. This may be due to the gravitational differences between the Urth and Gorean atmosphere.

Spear
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 page 21

Wagon People's Kaiila Lance
A long slender spear, eight to ten feet long, designed to be used from the saddle of a rider on kaillaback.These lances are not used couched, but rather carried in the right fist,easily, and are flexible and light. .

Black Lance
Made from young tem trees, the design is that of a slender, flexible, and light weapon that can be bent nearly double without breaking. The lance is designed to be used for thrusting, swift and delicate in striking as a saber. A loose loop of bosk's hide bound to the lance and then wrapped twice around the bearer's hand helps the bearer retain his grip in hand to hand combat. The lance is seldom thrown. The lance is carried across the back of the owner when not needed.

Kailla Lance
"Ah, yes, weapons," Kamchak was saying, "what shall it be the kaiila lance, a whip and bladed bole perhaps the quiva?"
Nomads of Gor page 123

His lance had a rider hood under the point, with which he might dismount opponents.
Nomads of Gor page 14

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 an 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, before they break. A loose loop of boskhide, wound twice about the right fist, helps to retain the
weapon in hand-to-hand combat. It is seldom thrown.
Nomads of Gor page 15

Tharlarion Lance
In a minute the rider appeared in view - a fine, bearded warrior with a golden helmet and a tharlarion lance.
Tarnsmans of Gor page 115

Harpoon
A slender javelin-type spear, fitted with a barbed head and used with line attached to assist in retrieval.
Described in Tribesmen of Gor and Beasts of Gor.

Trident
The three-pronged spearing fork used by fishermen and sailors of the island peoples of Gor. The trident can be utilized both as a thrusting weapon and as a weapon to be thrown. It is described as being approximately seven feet in overall length, with 3 rather lengthy prongs. Often used with a line attached, for retrieval should it be thrown.
This weapon is described in Raiders of Gor.

"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 page 112

Torvaldsland Battle Axe
This weapon is described as a single-bladed axe of hardened iron, with a blade of anywhere from 2 to 3 times the width of a man's hand in width. The head of the axe is mounted on a thick wooden handle.

Great Bow of the Peasants
The Great Bow was generally made from the wood of the ka-la-na tree or sometimes of temwood, this bow is over six feet in length and require great strength in order to pull it fully. The string of such a bow is usually made of hemp line or animal sinew wound about with silk thread. The arrows of such a bow are generally made of temwood, steel tipped and feathered by the feathers of the vosk gull.Each such arrow is approximately three feet in length. wood of the ka-la-na tree or sometimes of temwood, this bow is over six feet in length and require great strength in order to pull it fully.The string of such a bow is usually made of hemp line or animal sinew wound about with silk thread. The arrows of such a bow are generally made of temwood, steel tipped and feathered by the feathers of the vosk gull.

Crossbow
The standard infantry weapon of Gor, for distance in fighting.It consists of a heavy, flexible bow of tempered steel, perhaps 18" across {when bent}, mounted on a heavy wooden stock about two feet long,with a trigger mechanism built into the shaped handle. Quarrels, or "bolts," are carried by the user in a belt-case or quiver.

...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 page 2

Tarnsmen's Crossbow
Similar in most respects to the larger crossbow,though instead of possessing a heavy metal bow, it has a much lighter bow of layered wood and horn. It is slightly smaller in overall size than its heavy cousin, and is equipped with a metal stirrup at the firing end, enabling it to be more quickly restrung and drawn from kailla or tarnback.

Horn Bow
A weapon favored by the Wagon People, it is small, double curved and about 4 feet in length. This is a bow made of layers of a bosk's horn that has been split and cured. It is banded and reinforced with leather from hide of the bosk; it is banded with metal of 1/2 inch width at 7 points, including the grip. The horn bow is a rather stubby bow, but due to the many layers of split, cured and shaven bock horn that is bound together with glues and strips metal and of bosk hide, it is an extremely powerful and accurate weapon. Arrows are generally carried in the number of 40 to 50 and they are carried in a lacquered,narrow, rectangle shaped quiver, made from bosk hide cured and dried over a frame work of light wood or split horns.

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 page 66

His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand the small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples an attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows.
Nomads of Gor page 11

Slave Goad
An electrical device,much like a cattle prod,used for controlling and disciplining slaves.

Bows and Arrows
Great Bow: And there was, too, the great bow, of yellow, supple Ka-la-na, tipped with notched bosk horn, with its cord of hemp, whipped with silk, and the roll of sheaf and flight arrows. I counted the arrows. There were seventy arrows, fifty of which were sheaf arrows, twenty flight arrows.
Raiders of Gor page 68

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 page 2

Arrows, Sheaf and Flight
The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls. Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string.
Raiders of Gor page 68

Common Helmets
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 page 22

...and the simple helmet, innocent of insignia, with empty crest plate, of curved iron with its "Y"-like opening, and cushioned with rolls of leather.
Raiders of Gor page 68

Northern Helmets
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 him-self, however, covered his neck and the sides of his face. It was horned.
Marauders of Gor page 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 page 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 page 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.
Tarnsman of Gor page 192

Rope
On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled rope of braided boskhide ...
Nomads of Gor page 11