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Wow, well I unfortunetly approached this thread with the wrong sort of idea...I thought you all meant fave weapon when NOT RPing! sweatdrop

Blah, fine then here's my two cents; Naruto, or at least Japan, oriented I am one more katana whore in an ocean of so many others, but I like to stray from the norm and cross-over with european swords. For example, my current character in another RP currently uses a rapier. It sets him apart form the others and adds a bit more flavour to the character. The whole 'two katanas' thing has been done to death. Musashi died kids, the rest of us moved on. 3nodding I do have to admit though, sometimes it's done rather well. I just don't see why it ALWAYS has to be two katanas though. That has to be one of the worst realistic cominations EVER! The katana is designed to be held in both hands. With one it just doesn't quite have the leverage it should, and this puts it at a disadvantage. The whole point of wielding two swords at once is so one can have a simultaneous attack and defence. Two rather large blades don't make this very easy. If you claimed you weilded the daisho (the traditional set of katana, and wakizashi) then you might have something. However, then you'd also be a samurai and you wouldn't be here then would you?
Realisticly though I am still a fan of the katana. It has a moderate reach and the weight is fairly comfortable for a boy of my stature. Yet, I have to say that I much prefer european swords. More specifically the rapier, epee, and foil. These three swords are light, manouverable and are simply what I have the most experience using. Not many swords are lighter and simply cannot keep up with them. As an added bonus, the epee, foil, and to a limited extent, the rapier don't cut; they tear. This means that the wounds are extremely hard to treat. A katana generally leaves a clean cut that can be easily sewn up, but the foil or epee peirces the fless and tears the inards in a very exact location. To complicate matters further the wound would be very deep. This means that to treat the wound you must cut to the farthest point down. This alone is most likely fatal.
The katana or a european blade of similar length will only truly serve you on a battle field with multiple combatants. Death should occur rather quickly. For a battle with very few combatants or a duel, stick with a foil, epee, or rapier. The target dies almost as quickly and the lighter blade will give you more options for combat.

Sorry about all this. I'm rather passionate about weapons. Oh yeah, and as for poison, no it's not cliche, it's an RP treasure trove as long as both parties agree on its use. It also allows you to show off your knowledge. Try to RP the preparations to a blade to ensure tetnus and death from foreign particles in the blood stream. (this would be rubbing the weapon in melted feces whee )

I don't know I still prefer a whip or a bowstaff. They are semi-versatile weapons. Like with a whip you can trip someone with it, or disarm the person. Or simple attack with it. It seems to be a well rounded weapon except for close combat. Also the bowstaff is a good defense weapon. And if you get a light one then its easy to disarm and attack.