RWBY Wiki
Advertisement
RWBY Wiki
I mean, you're the one with the swords.

Overview Image Gallery



Gambol Shroud is the signature weapon of Blake Belladonna, first seen in the "Black" Trailer.

Classified as a "Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe" (VBCS), Gambol Shroud is capable of changing into a cleaver, a sword, and a semi-automatic pistol or a sickle.

Gambol Shroud was severely damaged by Adam Taurus during Blake's fight against him when he cleaved its blade in half using Wilt and Blush. After arriving in Atlas, the blade was fixed, but the ribbon portion of the weapon was burnt in half by Cinder Fall.

Description[]

The essence of two weapon components is that they fit together as one, but come apart to be two, so that they are compact for easier carrying. When in sheathed form, Gambol Shroud was held by the hilt, but when two components separate, the sheath was held by a small rectangular hole near the top. The sword also had a compact, striker-fired pistol built into its hilt.

Sheath/Cleaver[]

Gambol Shroud had a thick, gray sheath with a sharp edge, similar to that of an oversized cleaver. Although serving as a sheath, it can be used effectively as a weapon. Gambol Shroud, when unsheathed, appeared to be a dark gray wakizashi and was equally as effective as, if not more than, its sheath. Blake typically carried this duo on a magnetic sheet of metal strapped to her back.

Sword/Semi-automatic Pistol/Sickle[]

The main part of the weapon consists of a semi-automatic pistol with the folding blade. A pistol lets out a large, prominent purple blast when fired. When the blade is folded, the weapon resembles a kama, with the pistol barrel pointed in the opposite direction of the edge. The blade itself is able to cut through the metal body of an Atlesian Knight-130, but not thicker armors, such as that of the Spider Droid or the skin of a Nevermore. The segment above the pistol muzzle is able to fold over the barrel of a pistol, often seen during the transformation sequence between pistol and sword modes, although it is unknown if this serves a particular purpose.

1003 Black Trailer 3586

A sword's double edge and spike can be seen clearly here.

The end of a backsword's blade has a sharpened double-edge, terminating in a raised spike. The second edge is there to serve as the edge on the inner side of the pistol/sickle form's blade. The spike and double-edge also allowed Blake to have the main edge and the pistol barrel facing outward, while maintaining a potentially lethal hold on an enemy. After Adam Taurus broke the blade in half in Volume 6, the two halves were attached back together with a gold material upon arriving in Atlas.

Kusarigama/Sling/Grappling Hook[]

Gambol Shroud has a ribbon attached to the end of the sword's hilt, which Blake can wrap around the trigger in the pistol form to freely swing it around when the blade folds down. A pistol's recoil can be used to swing or anchor a blade furthering its reach. This form is similar to that of a kusarigama. In this form, her fighting style is somewhat similar to that of Ruby Rose, as both girls use the recoil from a firearm to increase the velocity of a blade component. The ribbon has been shown to be very strong, durable and elastic, being used as a sling by Team RWBY to propel Ruby to kill the Nevermore. It can also be used as a grappling hook, which Blake uses to save herself after being accidentally knocked into a crevasse by Nora.

Dream Versions[]

Lucid Dream Version[]

Gambol Shroud retained the same appearance as the original except it could reach very far distances.

Nightmare Version[]

Gambol Shroud had changed drastically as it became a fusion of the original weapon and Adam's Wilt and Blush. The main color consisted of black and red. The long sword was a red blade with black chains while the short sword was combined with Wilt and Blush's gun form.

History[]

Blake used her weapon throughout her life as a White Fang member and as a student in Beacon Academy, often using its ribbon feature for specialized team attacks. She kept using it after she left Vale for Menagerie and Mistral. During her allies' mission to get to Atlas, she fought Adam Taurus and Gambol Shroud's sword was broken rendering it briefly unusable.

After arriving in Atlas, Gambol Shroud's blade was fixed by Pietro Polendina and now has a golden line where the blade was broken.

While trying to save Ruby Rose, the ribbon of the weapon was burnt off by a fire blast from Cinder Fall. Weiss Schnee then retrieved the sword part of the weapon and managed to dual wield it with her own to engage Cinder, before losing the weapon to the void.

Upon landing in the Ever After, Blake and Weiss find the sword part of the weapon stuck in a cluster of vines, unaware that it is trap set by a group of mice. When Ruby and Little intervene after Blake and Weiss are captured, the sword part of Gambol Shroud is returned to Blake.

Dust Use[]

Blake sometimes uses Dust bullets for elemental attacks. In her her fight with Ilia she used Ice dust to disable her weapon.

Due to weapons acting as conduits for Aura, specialized Dust cartridges could be inserted into Gambol Shroud to modify Blake's Semblance, altering her Shadows into more than just mere afterimages, in a manner not dissimilar to Weiss Schnee's weapon, Myrtenaster. The form her Shadows take on depends on the element of Blake's choosing, significantly increasing her Semblance's tactical applications and allowing her quickly shift from defense to offense.

  • Fire Dust (Red) - Changes Blake's Shadow into a fiery clone that detonates violently, damaging enemies.
  • Earth Dust - Changes Blake's Shadow into a stone statue, which can be used as cover and defense from attacks.
  • Ice Dust (Dark blue) - Changes Blake's Shadow into an ice sculpture, which with correct timing can trap enemy weapons inside.
  • Violet Dust - Changes Blake's Shadow into a dark haze, lingering longer than her normal clones and blocking people's vision.
  • Electric Dust - Blake's Shadow has an electric effect, shocking anything that hits it.

Trivia[]

  • Gambol means "to leap about playfully". A shroud, commonly a cloth, is something that conceals or protects.
  • Gambol is also the name of a type of orchid called "Golden Gambol".
Blake Weapon B glock 19 (dilydaly)

Texture for Gambol Shroud from "RWBY: Grimm Eclipse"

  • Gambol Shroud's pistol/sickle form resembled the Glock pistol. In fact, the textures for the weapon used in "RWBY: Grimm Eclipse" note it as the Glock 19.
  • The pistol's grip has changed from a block to a more gun-like grip between the "Black" trailer and the series. This may simply be because the weapon's animation assets were not completely detailed at the time of the trailer's release.
  • Monty Oum hinted that the design of Gambol Shroud would be changing in Volume 3.[1]
  • Miles Luna claims that Gambol Shroud is the "sexiest, deadliest weapon", aside from the "gun gun", when asked by a fan at RTX 2014.
  • After its repair in Atlas, Gambol Shroud now has a golden strip connecting the broken blade to its new half. This may be a reference to the ancient Japanese tradition of Kintsugi.
  • In Amity Arena, Ribbon Blake's Food-Fight outfit replaces the blades with baguettes.
  • Gambol Shroud, alongside Crescent Rose, is one of the only weapons thus far to have had its name spoken aloud in the show.

References[]

Weapons
Advertisement