Talk:Vorpal sword

message: I wrote that I read it on a Stephen King's novel, but maybe was it on a Graham Masterton one. It was several years ago. Reply to David Latapie 20:19, 15 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I am pretty sure it was in "The Mirror", at least that is where I have seen it.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.192.232.123 (talk) 14:48, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Victory over Ruin, Pestilence and Lust 

message: I seem to recall that Excalibur was a sword of sharpness, not a vorpal sword, in Deities & Demigods.  (They function similarly but have different alignments).  Can anyone confirm this? ShawnVW 05:29, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Right, Arthur had a sword of sharpness, which randomly cuts off limbs, unlike the vorpal sword which only takes heads. The first place I ever saw the vorpal sword was in the AD&D DM's guide. TheStrawDog 05:07, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Excalibur? 

message: dungeon keeper isn't an rpg, it's an rts. weapons just don't come into it at all. i assume that must be from a different game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.200.192.144 (talk • contribs) 05:39, 23 April 2006
: The original reference has gone, but I'd expect that the reference should have been to "Dungeon Master (computer game)", an RPG on the Atari ST (and subsequently other platforms) that from memory, featured a 'Vorpal blade'. Gwynevans (talk) 16:00, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, the original reference was mine, and it was indeed to Dungeon Master on the Atari ST - the first place I've seen a vorpal weapon in a computer game. Looks like that entry been removed along with the entry for the vorpal bunny from the original Wizardry (Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord). I didn't include these because they were random, I included them because I think they may have been firsts in videos games. The references to vorpal swords and bunnies in later video games in this article don't seem as relevant to me. TheStrawDog (talk) 03:43, 9 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  dungeon keeper 

message: The Vorpal Blade also appears in the card game Munchkin, where it does double damage to any enemy whose name begins with the letter J. The card also reads "Don't ask why, don't ask what Vorpal means either"
In the Steve Jackson Games's Munchkin, there is a card named "Vorpal Blade". According to the text in the card it gives a +3 bonus to the user and "an extra +10 against anything that starts with the letter J. Don't ask why. Don't ask what Vorpal means, either."
Which is true? 24.15.167.167 10:16, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Hmm, my Munchkin cards are way over the other side of the room... but the idea of "double damage" makes no sense in the Munchkin game (all monsters have one "hit"), so I guess the second is true. 172.142.210.231 00:16, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Double Listing 

message: Vorpal is also used in this game.  There is a Mob Hunt you need to go after, and that is the "Vorpal Bunny." --68.102.37.191 23:16, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Final Fantasy XII 

message: I edited out the reference from Star Wars - "Vorpal is also the style of swordplay created and used by Master Mace Windu" - as it was incorrect.  Windu's style is "Vaapad", not Vorpal.  Figured I'd make mention of this here, in case whoever wrote it originally objects to its deletion and wonders why it was cut. Hossenfeffer 00:04, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Star Wars 

message: A sword identified as a Vorpal Blade, able to cut space-time, is featured in Charles Stross' forthcoming Glasshouse.
The Vorpal Blades capabilities in the novel would seem to be an important plot point. Might be a good idea to put up a spoiler warning... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.104.7.251 (talk • contribs) 04:46, 23 February 2007
: I've read Glasshouse and the vorpal sword is not a plot device, and its powers are unveiled relatively early in the story. There's no need to warn  for spoilers. -- Henriok 20:19, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spoilers? 

message: Really, it's mostly just a bloated list of trivia. In my opinion, this article could use a bitof vorpal editing. CatBoris 21:48, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: We could just cut out some of the trivia at random, but I think that would be a mistake. The way to make this article better is to use the examples to illustrate points. For example, it says that "vorpal" has been taken to mean a warped blade in some instances. I think that would be a perfect place for an example or two to source and illustrate that statement. Similarly, we could illustrate examples of vorpal blades that are especially good at cutting off heads, etc. Any examples that do not serve to illustrate anything specific about vorpal blades can be discarded, but we should hold off on discarding until we are sure the examples are not useful, or else we will just make improving this article more difficult. -- Lilwik 08:58, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  How come you cut out the example I posted in 2005? --Is a tech reference more trivial to you than D&D archania?--- Appearances in technology(Possible acronym VORPAL or reference to "Vorpal Blade".") VORPAL is a visual plasma simulation system. It is used in high energy physics. VORPAL computes and visualizes electron beams in a plasma. Using VORPAL, results over short distances can be better than using a huge and costly accelerator. University of Colorado VORPAL http://cips.colorado.edu/CIPSsite/announcements/VORPAL.html Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal"  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.253.189.93 (talk) 01:27, 14 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Hmm... seems some fellow came and did a bit of cropping. I think I'll revert, then crop it out a bit more selectively. Only leaving the book examples doesn't seem very good or representative. Ong elvin (talk) 01:30, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Another book example: John Ringo's new book Vorpal Blade. SpareSimian (talk) 11:44, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Okay... so people keep adding examples back in. I think what I'll do then is select a few must-have references (eg, American McGee's Alice, for obvious reasons) and a few that specifically reference the "sharpness" or "decapitation" aspects of Vorpal. Then kill the rest as they come. Let's say... eight to ten examples all up. Any voices? Ong elvin (talk) 12:43, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree with SpareSimian. John Ringo's Vorpal Blade is a good example. It being a part of a series with many Jabberwocky references (it is mentioned there already and maybe that's enough) Kris Shannon (talk) 07:03, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Quite an awful page... 

message: Vorpal is also present in this game. The "Vorpal rat" is found in a random encounter (rndholy2) wich has references to the film Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Due to some bug this random encounter doesn't show up under normal gameplay.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.244.82.232 (talk) 16:47, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fallout 2 

message: This comment was left by User:Skj91 on the article. I've moved it to here for discussion. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 11:13, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm not really sure how best to reply to this, other than to point to WP:TRIVIA and all of the accompanying material referenced in the essays linked from that page. Wikipedia is not an exploratory dictionary, and it is not a holding pace for huge amounts of random information. Very few of the old citations had any encyclopedic value, and their inclusion had forced the article into being a general discussion of the use of a random nonsense word. The old version reverted to contained such completely inappropriate information as the link to the website of a random musician who goes by the moniker "Vorpal". This is not the purpose of Wikipedia. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 11:13, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I would like to add to the above point with WP:NOT#INFO. Also, just because information is useful doesn't mean it's encyclopaedic. (eg, telephone numbers are useful, but not encyclopaedic.) Ong elvin (talk) 02:55, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pop culture references 

message: The part of the article that says:
In the miniature game "Confrontation" there is a model with a "Voral axe" it gives it a 66,666...% chance to instant kill if it hits a enemy wich can be improved to 50% if you buy a deamonic upgrade
would appear to be wrong somewhere, as as far as my meager knowledge of counting numbers goes, 50% is not an improvement on 66.66...% I'm assuming that it is either meant to read 'by 50%' or 'to 100%' (which would be identical values, wouldn't they?) Not touching right now, as the incorrectness could be something entirely different, and I'm lazySirEelBiscuits (talk) 10:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Misquote? 

message: Fictional rabbits that decapitate people have been described as "Vorpal Bunnies".  The Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the best example of this.  I believe Vorpal Bunnies as a named monster appears in the King's Quest series of adventure games, and they will decapitate the player's character with their attacks.  If someone could cite a source for that, this should be included in the article.  67.140.77.41 (talk) 18:58, 1 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: It already was, and was removed. There is such a tenuous link between the word "vorpal" in both cases and such little notability in a random video game creature as to be make it completely non-worthy of adding it here, and no canonical source has used "vorpal bunny" for the Holy Grail rabbit. This should not just be a collection of random trivia primarily advanced through Internet fandom. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 19:58, 1 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Although the link between the original source for the word and a cute white bunny is undeniable. 77.66.99.28 (talk) 22:33, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rabbits 

message: Please see Talk:Vorpal sword (Dungeons & Dragons)#Why the split?.  MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 17:53, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why the split? 

message: Those blades were listed as a magical item in the 1st and 2nd edition Dungeon Master's Guide. So before BG2. Iluvalar (talk) 07:16, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dungeons & Dragons appearance 

message: A section on how the sword varies between adaptions would be interesting.
In the 2010 Tim Burton adaption..... (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(2010_film)) it appears to be more than just a sword. What about the others.
Jabberwocky: So my old foe, we meet on the battlefield once again.
Alice Kingsleigh: We've never met.
Jabberwocky: Not you, insignificant bearer. My ancient enemy, the Vorpal one.
58.6.101.106 (talk) 00:48, 11 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Variations between adaptions 

message: In the 2010 Burton film "Alice in Wonderland", the Hatter recites the full poem to Alice, and then adds: "It's all about you, you know..."
In the German translation, though, "vorpal" is being replaced by "Mrutal". As for why, I can't fathom...
Just FYI. --DscheJ-Ouh (talk) 08:34, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Poem recited in 2010 Alice film 

message: May I propose that we add the following description to the opening line of this page? I believe it sufficiently conveys the importance of pop culture's influence on the word and what it has come to mean while eliminating the 'too much trivia' issue resulting from the many many instances of its use in other medium which are regularly being offered as examples, and subsequently removed, on this page. I am putting my suggestion here, please reply to this post with your approval or disagreement and if a majority of editors agree, I will edit it into the real page after, say 5 replies have given their vote. If additional replies later outweigh the majority opinion of the first five then I don't mind it being re-edited by others to reflect that but at least this way we can begin to come to an agreement over what information belongs on this page (a particularly tricky situation with this particular topic since the phrase or word is made-up gibberish with no definition, in the first place). Here is the description I propose:
The word "vorpal" was introduced by Lewis Carroll for its phonetic value in his partially nonsense poem entitled "Jabberwocky". From the context of the poem, one gathers that the word is an adjective describing the weapon used to behead the tale's monster, Jabberwocky. Since its original appearance the word has further developed (through the significant use and interpretation of many gaming, cinema, anime, and other popular culture communities) into a more difinitive word which is typically used to indicate the presence of one or more of three main characteristics:
* The ability to behead creatures with one strike. 
* Infinite sharpness - which yields the ability to cut through any material.
* The sole weapon capable of killing creatures named Jabberwockies.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Skj91 (talk • contribs) 12:33, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Proposal to Edit main page - Please reply with approval or dismissal 

message: The Vorpal Swords are a Space Marine Chapter. (Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition Rulebook, pg.171)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.251.91.245 (talk) 16:44, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Warhammer 40000