Tanto (3.5e Equipment)

Tantō

Exotic Light Melee Critical: 19-20/×2 Range Increment: — Type: piercing Hardness: 10
Size	Cost1	Damage	Weight1	hp
Fine	*	—	*	1
Diminutive	*	1	*	1
Tiny	*	1d2	*	1
Small	2 gp	1d3	1/2 lb.	1
Medium	2 gp	1d4	1 lb.	2
Large	4 gp	1d6	2 lb.	4
Huge	*	1d8	*	8
Gargantuan	*	2d6	*	16
Colossal	*	3d6	*	32
The SRD only gives a means to determine costs and weights of weapons for Large and Small versions based on the Medium weapons. Any other supplied values are the author's best determination.

The Tantō is a Japanese longdagger, sometimes seen with a double-edged blade, and typically utilized as a piercing weapon. When the Tantō first emerged it was purely a weapon and nothing more, but as time progressed the Tantō, as with many other Japanese weapons, became expressions of art. There are numerous versions of the Tantō, but most are between 6 and 12 inches with short handles and matching sheaths. Tantōs were very popular with noble women and female samurai because of their ease of concealability; many Tontōs were created with handles and sheaths made to look like a collapsed fan, allowing the holder to be armed, but appear harmless. Tantōs are often seen in combination with other Japanese weapons, such as mounted on the end of a spear but easily detached for close-combat, disguised in the handle of a katana, or sharing a sheath with a second, unnoticed Tantō.

Because of the high amount of diversity between individual swordsmiths and their individual Tantōs, many different types can be acquired by the player. All Tantōs grant a +3 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it on the character's person, and a +4 to Spot check DCs to identify a disguised Tantō as a weapon. If the Tantō is Masterwork, reflecting a truly masterful creator, these bonuses increase by one (for +4 and +5, respectively).

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