There’s no shortage of violence in HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The show’s battles can be epic, personal and mystical. But no matter the motivation or setting, the fighters in these clashes are wielding some very impressive weapons. Season six, which premiered on April 25, should introduce us to a host of new ones.

From tiny daggers that are as small as a hand to lances as tall as an NBA center, the “Game of Thrones” weapons are all manufactured by the show’s weapons department: no hand-me-down swords from the Renaissance Faire here.

So what goes into designing the weaponry in the “Game of Thrones” war chest? To find out more, The Frame reached out to Tommy Dunne, who is the official weapons master for the series.

When Dunne spoke with The Frame's John Horn from Belfast, Ireland, he explained how a lot of thought goes into matching the right weapons with particular characters.

"I have to make sure I'm using the weaponry for the houses," Dunne said. "So each house will have a different style, a different look. There's no point in having a 14-ton truck with a lot of weapons and nothing on set. So I try to get as much weapons as possible to fill the frame. I think I've mostly been told by the director to get off the set, because I'll try to flood you, make my job a bit more worthy."

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

One of the things you hear makeup artists and costumers complain about is that high-definition television means you can't really hide any flaws. But in your job, when you're looking at intricate detail on the handle of a sword, to establish where that sword has come from, how important is that definition? And do you try to have really meticulous jewel work so that on a big TV you can actually see those little things?

Oh, absolutely, 100 percent. You have to understand that these weapons, when we design and make them, they have to be made to showcase — they're basically a weapon you can put anywhere at all, in anybody's hand, and they'll look fantastic. They will look as opulent or as bad as they're supposed to, but towards the standard I expect. I expect the best and I try and put out the best. I'm a stickler for that. Nothing leaves my workshop unless it's exactly the way it's supposed to be and looks fantastic.

You also have, in some episodes, the actual fabrication of the weapons. In the first episode of season four, there's a scene with two new swords being forged. And there's a blacksmith. Who is that dude?

Nice-looking guy! Yeah, that would be me! It was enjoyable, it was good fun. It was quite a hot set, quite a hard scene that had to be shot over a few days. The temperature range was unbelievable.

So you were really melting iron there?

We were really melting iron. Because while we had the amalgamation with special effects, we did have a cauldron, and we had a furnace in there heating bronze. So the actual pouring mechanism and the solidification of the bronze are what we used. So we're up at about 1,000 degrees in that little furnace area. It was a practical forge we were using as well. It was all totally authentic.

I think in this scene you understand that weapons are characters. Has that been the principle from the beginning of the show?

Absolutely. We try and keep it that way as well. We make sure that these weapons aren't just handed out to anybody ... these weapons are iconic with their person. It gives us something to grasp onto and look forward to creating every year. It keeps us on our toes.

The fight scenes in the show also have great sound effects. It's metal against metal, there are arrows whooshing through the air, the clang of armor. If we were on set and listening to the real sounds, how different would it be and what would we be hearing?

In a furnace there wouldn't be a lot of difference. We do tend to do as much as possible in-camera. And our sound guys are quite meticulous. We fight with a lot of aluminum, but what we like to do is make sure that the weapons are toned. So if they do clash you get a nice cling and clatter off them. Yes, there is a bit of enhancement required at times. We do a lot of our own work as well with the archery. So we do as much with sound if we're hitting targets or hitting the ground, so we get those specific little thuds, or the whoosh past the mics. We do as much as possible, and then obviously a little bit of enhancement as well.

When you get a script and you know it'll call for a special weapon, how much lead time do you have? And how many people ultimately end up working on one weapon?

We get an outline prior to the scripts being given out. So we get a bit of an idea of what will happen. But I'm very lucky — the guys actually leave me alone to get all my designs and my own feel for it. I create [a weapon] as I go along. I get a feel for what material I have, what I like to do, as in colors or if there need to be jewels. Rather than writing it down, drawing it on a piece of paper, and going, Yeah, that's it. I like to live and breathe it. We test every bit of them. We have to make sure that they're all workable and usable. Because at the end of the day, the actor has to use that weapon. Either he has to pick it up, or look at it, or wield it. We've cut kegs open, we've sliced heads off. We've used all of these [weapons] so they have to practically stand up and be worthy of a bit of action.

And what it's made out of is also important. Some weapons are made out of Valyrian steel. At the end of season five, Jon Snow is able to kill a White Walker because he has a sword named Longclaw. Tell us about Longclaw and why it's able to do what it does.

We have the mythical powers of the Valyrian steel. All Valyrian steel or any weapon has some sort of power. Now, we don't tend to know what that power is until it suddenly happens. That's the first time we see in season five that this weapon disintegrates the White Walkers and their translucent swords. [The White Walkers have swords] like a shard of ice and it seems to be that it cuts everything through, decimates everything in its wake. It's totally invincible, until it meets the blade of Valyrian steel. But you don't just turn around and [say], Yes, this is Valyrian steel and it cuts through everything. We don't know that until it happens at a particular time.

Who would surprise audiences in terms of their sword or fighting ability?

Good question. I suppose of our main cast, Arya [Stark], [played by] young Maisie [Williams], who has [the sword] Needle. It was quite a fine, finite weapon, and quite demure in her hand as well. She's actually right-handed, but she has to fight left-handed as the character. She's very good with weaponry. There are other weapons she's quite proficient with. But it really varies. Nikolaj [Coster-Waldau] is another one who's well able to wield a weapon. He's fantastic, a very good swordsman, well capable of using any weapon we've been able to give him so far.

How do you go about making something as interesting as the White Walker spear? Something that has an unusual look or feel.

That was quite a tricky one. Originally, it was supposed to be visual effects all the way through, to make it look like ice. Then what happened was I think the budget was a bit crazy. I was told within two weeks of the actual shoot that I had to make one. So a little bit of panic set in, as you can understand [laughter.] But I was very lucky because I had shards of ice, in other words, silicon gel, and I had different looks and feels to it. I knew where I wanted to go, but the problem was trying to figure out the proper material that I could use that would be strong and translucent. Eventually, I found a nice resin. So I was very lucky. But the shards were supposed to be like shards of ice. We were shooting in Iceland prior to that, and we saw some of those stalagmites and stalactites. We took a picture for reference and they were beautiful, the whole natural look to them. So I tried to emphasize and keep that in the sword.

Was there anything in your childhood that made it clear that you were going to be a weapons master as an adult? How did you get into this job?

Probably not. I love my football and I love my hurling — I come from Ireland. I was more into that than I was weaponry, that's for sure. On my end, it was pure luck, really. A few people needed an extra pair of hands. I started on a small movie in Ireland — I think you might have heard of it before — called "Braveheart"?

I think I heard about that!

That was my first introduction into weaponry for the film industry. I loved it. Such a great job, great people. So I had a taste of it and I wanted more. I went from there.

And has there ever been an accident on set where somebody has gotten nicked? Or are most of the accidents in the shop itself?

No, we're quite lucky. There's very little damage all around. Obviously there's so much choreography with stunts, and there are so many pre-camps. We have boot camps. We don't just turn up one day and say, Okay, everybody, fight each other. There are weeks involved, of extras coming in and getting trained for archery. Getting a boot camp on marching, on fighting, on all the weapons required for that particular fight. So it's quite a big deal. If [getting hurt] ever does happen, it's purely by accident — guys bumping into each other or are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we're very lucky that we have quite a tight unit. Everybody seems to love it and enjoy it. So if anyone does get hurt, we never know about it because they just man up and move on.

Season six of "Game of Thrones" premiered on April 24. New episodes will air Sundays on HBO through June.