Riste

The riste is a sword/club made semi-famous by Mer'Kresh Barbarian Guildleader Tusfaov. It is a direct copy of a real world weapon, the Aztec macuahuitl.

Tusfaov draws a heavy sword from its harness and shows it to you. The grip is wrapped in leather with a serpentine basket guard. Its blade is made of a squarish club with lengths of razor-sharp metal embedded in the edge. "A riste is a peculiarly Rissan blade," Tusfaov explains. He indicates the flattened top and bottom of the sword, "This may look awkward, but it's very versatile. You can use it to crush, like a blunt or to slash like a traditional edged." Smiling wryly, he concedes, "but it isn't much use if you want to jab or poke at something." Touching one of the metal blades, he continues, "The first ristes used obsidian blades. Those were amazingly sharp, even sharper than metal, but impractical because they break so easily in combat. Now, ristes are made with metal."