Weapons

Any item can be wielded in combat; however, as explained in the combat-skills section previously, those without fighting skills will have a difficult time in battle. However, if the dice score a hit, then damage is inflicted against the opponent’s Body score. All weapons inflict 1 point of damage per hit. If 3d20 are rolled and only 1 is successful, the 1 point of damage is imposed; however, if all three dice are hits, then 3 points of damage are inflicted.

In addition to the success of the d20 dice rolls used, based on the combination of skills used in an attack, the specific weapon used may add additional damage by weight. Light weapons add no damage, medium-sized weapons add 1 extra point, and heavy weapons inflict an extra 2 points of damage. However, no range weapon ever gains damage from the weapon used.

Moreover, each weapon will have a series of properties. These different properties can make a difference in the effectiveness and benefits of using different weapons. Many weapons will carry multiple properties, which means they may be very advantageous over others. Likewise, certain properties which are typically applied alone can offer powerful value as well. It is a balancing process of risks, rewards and circumstances for which a character must choose when selecting his or her weapon of choice.

As stated elsewhere, weapons gain to hit and damage modifiers based on either Strength or Agility or sometimes the choice of the wielder. These are also factors of how effective a weapon may be for a specific character. Further, there will be references to a “crit” in some of these descriptions. All of these items will be explained in detail in the Combat Detailed section.

One further consideration is the type of damage a particular weapon inflicts, as well as the fighting style to wield the weapon effectively. Often these are the same, such as the mace, which is used in a bludgeoning fashion and delivers blunt damage. To advance one's fighting skill with the mace the style: bludgeoning skill is selected. However, a weapon like the bastard sword delivers edged damage; however, to fight with it, the slashing style is not used. Strategically this is important as various armors may offer better protection against different types of damage.

A quick note about trade-in price for both weapons and armor (listed in the market section): only well-maintained and functional items will be accepted by merchants and smiths as a trade-in. Rusty items found in caves, monster-weapons and most typical items found during adventuring are mostly worthless. There will be the occasional ones, a weapon from a duel, etc., which may be worth an attempt of barter.

Finally, it is vital to acknowledge how range weapons work, specifically those without the flung property. As stated above, someone armed with a range weapon and a combatant engages then within 5 feet, then range attacks are at disadvantage. To be perfectly clear, if the entity using a range weapon, one without the flung property such as a bow or crossbow, starts his or her turn while being engaged, then disadvantage is associated with any combat action for that turn. Even if moving a short distance backwards (one or two hexes) from the target, the attack will still be at disadvantage. Further, remember that while at disadvantage, movement is half of normal for that turn. Lastly, a wielder of a pole-arm attacking with reach beyond 5 feet would not inflict disadvantage to the range-using combatant.

A few rules-lawyers will bring up the contingency of not using the bow for the turn, arguing this would negate the disadvantage and allow full movement. However, the disadvantage is established because the archer is equipped with a range weapon when the melee engagement happened; therefore, the disadvantage restriction will be applied even if switching to melee or using an alternate action, such as breaking from combat.

Axe: An axe is a wedge fashioned to the end of a handle. The wedge may be either double or single-bladed. It is also small enough to be wielded one-handed with style: cleaving, and with the style: hurling skill, it can be hurled up to 15 feet and beyond that up to 40 feet at disadvantage. Further, a thrown axe does not suffer from the wielder being at disadvantage even when engaged directly in melee because of its flung property. As a style-c weapon, it strikes the easier of blunt or edged defense when used in melee. When hurled, it inflicts piercing damage, but also new ones must be grabbed from the stash when more than 4 are thrown.

Bastard Sword: Any large sword with a blade 48 inches or longer is classified as a bastard sword. It requires two hands to wield, meaning no shields can be employed while using one. However, an edged weapon of this size is essentially a bludgeoning weapon with a slashing edge for delivering damage. Thus, this is actually a style-b weapon; it is just its damage type is not blunt. The parry skill can also be used with the bastard sword. While it is a heavy weapon and able to put opponents at disadvantage, it is a slower weapon to wield and inflicts -2 to one’s initiative score. Moreover, on any raw 18 or higher, the victim must make an Agility save (DC:8) or suffer the loss of 10 feet of movement as a maim restriction.

Battle Axe: This is a style-c weapon larger than a throwable axe. It may have one blade or have double-sided edges, being between 24 and 36 inches in total length. To employ with a shield, the wielder must have shield-use. However, as a clout the weapon, it can be swung two-handed to gain properties similar to heavy. Due to the battle axe being a bit cumbersome, it cannot be used to parry or to rebuff. Also, this weapon suffers a -1 penalty to initiative, whether employed with one hand and -2 using two.

Blackjack: This is sometimes referred to as a sap. It is a small, concealable and weighted weapon, usually filled with lead powder, molded lead clay or lead shot. When fighting with it in conventional melee, it is not very effective, as it is an exception for allowing Strength bonus to add to the dice of damage. However, it is slightly beneficial as it will ignore the bonuses from the defender’s parry skill; however, a shield gains all its AC value. It is most effective when it can be used as a sneak attack. If the sneak attack is successful (or the attacker has backstab) then in addition to the damage, it produces a stunning effect. If successfully landing even one die attack, then the victim must make a Resilience save (DC base 13 plus the attacker’s Strength modifier) or become stunned until the end of the victim’s next turn, effectively losing that action. All the time prior, attacks against the victim are made at advantage. If acquiring the style: specialty skill for this weapon, then an extra d20 is gained on attack, but a blackjack can never be part of a two-handed technique. One final bonus of this weapon is it gains a +1 to initiative.

Bolas: Bolas are a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture others by entangling their legs. Attacking with bola is performed by rolling the appropriate d20s against the AC of the opponent. Agility modifiers add to the change to hit, but the weapons themselves do not inflict damage. However, if any die in the attack successfully hits, then an Agility competition occurs between the hurler and the victim with the the bolas granting +1 to the attacker. If the victim wins, the bolas struck the target but not effectively enough to wrap it up; however, if the attacker wins the competition, then the victim is under a restrained restriction until spending an action to unravel the bolas. During the turn to unravel them, movement is not permitted even after freeing oneself; however, if another used an action to free the victim, then the victim would have movement and an action on the next turn. Only three bolas can be carried on a person at a time.

Bullet-Bow:The bullet-bow uses a 10-bore caliber sling bullet. Size is critical due to the loading process. Sling stones will not work with this projectile gun. The weapon is a mechanical machine with a trigger and a cocking reload mechanism. Similar to the crossbow, bullets can only be fired in a liner trajectory. Shots up to 60 feet are rolled normally; however, above that up to 90 feet, attacks are at disadvantage. Beyond 90 feet, the bullet-bow becomes ineffective. Due to its specialized mechanics, the maintenance is an expensive 10 bits per month; however, it does gain +1 to hit. The mechanical device is also not able to take advantage of increased initiative bonuses. It cannot be “pre-cocked” and thus no initiative bonus is allowed for the first shot. Further, it holds six bullets in its top-load magazine, which can be fired each round. However, to reload another set of six bullets requires an action. Due to its delicate mechanism, should it require a survival check, the weapon acts as paper. Unlike other archery-based weapons, this will not cause an “immured” effect.

Chalikar: This is a less common hurling weapon but with some unique characteristics. It is a metal circle with an edge on the outer side which can be thrown up to 25 feet with normal accuracy and up to 60 feet at disadvantage. However, a unique feature of the chalikar is its ability to be worn as a necklace, slipping it over one’s head. When worn this way, it adds +1 to AC specifically against garrote attacks. Only one can be worn or carried at a time. It is also possible to fight hand-to-hand with one, but if doing so, only melee fighting counts towards an attack. Not even style: specialty can be used to enhance fighting with this weapon in melee.

Crossbow: The crossbow is a mechanical bow with a trigger. The bolts can only be fired in a liner trajectory. Shots up to 80 feet are rolled normally; however, above that up to 120 feet, attacks are at disadvantage. Beyond 120 feet, the crossbow becomes ineffective. Due to its mechanics, the maintenance cost of a crossbow is greater; however, it does gain +1 to hit. The mechanical device is also not able to take advantage of increased initiative bonuses. Unlike its smaller version, a crossbow cannot withstand the strain of being pre-cocked, which does permit initiative bonuses for the first shot. Lastly, only 12 bolts can be carried in an encounter before needing to retrieve more from a cache.

Dagger: Any blade under eighteen inches is a dagger and is a light weapon. Knives, dirks and poignards are all classified as daggers. These arms are some of the most versatile weapons one can wield. One can be used in melee, typically using the style: slashing method of fighting; however, there are other melee options explained below. A combatant can also choose to use it at range, hurling it to strike a target within 20 feet; between 20 and 50 feet the throw is at disadvantage. As a style-s weapon, the dagger can increase its d20 dice in attacks by picking up compatible skills, which will inflict edged damage. However, if using it as a range weapon, it inflicts piercing damage. When hurling daggers, six is the limit before needing to retrieve more from an off-body supply. One other method of attack with the dagger is the hilt-bash. This strikes with the bottom of the dagger, similar to a blackjack, to inflict blunt damage. However, it cannot be used with style: bludgeoning to gain extra d20s on the attack, but on a successful one-d20 strike it will stun the victim until the start of its next turn if failing a Resilience save (DC:5). If stunned, all attacks against the victim are at advantage. Finally, if employed underwater, the dagger suffers no penalties for use as a style-s weapon; however, like many range weapons underwater, it cannot be hurled. Lastly, a dagger does not have enough bulk and is not designed in a way that it can effectively be used with rebuff; however, riposte may be able to be employed with a dagger, as explained in the riposte skill.

Flail: Many of the cudgels are very much the same. What is the difference between a hammer, a mace and a flail? For a flail, the main distinction is that it has more mass and is not considered a light weapon. Typically there is a chain, strap (or multitude thereof) that joins the handle to the balled-weapon. This could be spiked or Bludgeoning cube. A cat-on-nine-tails would be considered a flail. Further, a flail can be used two-handed as a heavy weapon under the rules of the clout properties, it suffers a -1 penalty to initiative when used with one hand but suffers -2 when two hands are used. Finally, on a “natural 20” (whether crit or not) it might stun an opponent. When struck so, the victim must make a successful Resilience save (DC:8) or be stunned until the start of its next turn, during which time all attacks upon the victim are made at advantage.

Glaive: The category of glaive is basically any pole-arm longer than seven feet, but is it also classified as a heavy weapon and requires two hands. These weapons cannot be hurled as spears can. However, as a melee weapon and used with style: pole-arms, its reach can strike an opponent two hexes away (10 feet); this can be accomplished even with another occupant (friend or foe) in the hex in between. When wielding this weapon with an active reach due to styled fighting, the impalement reaction becomes available. As all glaives are heavy, shields are not an option. Glaives also a suffer -2 penalty to initiative.

Garrote: The garrote can only be used on someone of equal or smaller Size Category - and only while the victim is under one of the following restrictions: blind, frightened (if fear source is in sight), incapacitated, paralyzed, prone (without ground-fighting), stunned or unconscious. The only other time a garrote can be used is whenever a sneak attack is possible. Further, the wielder cannot be untrained; there is no attacking with a garrote from disadvantage. To apply the garrote, the attacker rolls a single d20, as nothing more than melee fighting can be used. There is no advancement, even by the style: specialty skill. However, if performed with a sneak attack, the extra d20s are rolled to determine a successful hit. If any attack roll strikes the the necessary AC, then the garrote is applied, the victim is restrained and grappled without a competition, and is immediately in a state of asphyxiation, suffering 1 point of Body damage at the end of each of the victim’s combat turn. If the victim is able to free itself on its first action, then no damage is inflicted. However, if still garroted after that point, then the victim also suffers a degree of exhaustion from the experience. If surviving, exhaustion recovers at a rate of one degree for each ten minutes that pass.

Gladius: This is a shorter sword being roughly 24 to 30 inches in length. This edged weapon carries enough weight to be a medium-sized weapon for damage purposes, as it is neither light nor heavy. Further, it can be employed with parry and rebuff, but it does not have the size or hilt length to be wielded two-handed, yet its hilt is too long to be used for bashing. Even if it is not a crit, when rolling a “natural 20” on an attack with a gladius, there is a chance to maim the opponent, who must roll an Agility save (DC:6) or suffer the loss of 5 feet of movement as a maim restriction until healed. No matter how many “20s” are rolled, the victim only has to roll the single save. Subsequent “natural 20s” can inflict cumulative movement penalties.

Gnomish Slinger: This is a peculiar weapon of gnomish engineering, that looks somewhat like an 18-inch spike with three mechanical vanes that appear like the dart’s fletching. While it is not a weapon that can be quickly used, it can become very effective. It requires one full round of preparation, this is not exactly loading but rather positioning the ammo into a location in the mechanism so that it is able to be triggered. The action in the following round is used to lob the device up to 40 feet away. This is not an attack but rather a placement and it must strike soft ground to activate. Once establishing its location, the device will activate and the three arms begin to spin and will continue to spin for the following 12 rounds. On the third round, it will gain its own initiative for attack. Inside the mechanics is an engineered optical sensor that can locate the nearest movement within 15 feet. On its initiative, if it will locate the closest target within 15 feet and fire a sling stone on a d20 but has a +1 to hit bonus for being a mechanical device. It will inflict 1 point of blunt damage on a successful hit against the AC. It cannot distinguish friend from foe and will target the closest one. If two or more are equidistant then one is selected at random. If no target is within range, the device will not fire its ammo and wait until its next action. Once three sling bullets have been exhausted, the spinning motion ceases. Additionally, the device can become destroyed or dysfunctional if 6 points of damage is inflicted to it. Lastly, like other thrown weapons and devices, there is a limited number that can be carried at one time without having to use an action to gather more; for these slingers, that number is two.

Great Axe: Another heavy weapon, the great axe is a larger form of the axe; therefore, it cannot be hurled. As a heavy weapon, it requires two hands to employ, which means no shield can be paired with it. It is a cumbersome weapon, suffering a -2 penalty for initiative. However, since it is a cleaver (or a style-c) weapon, it strikes the easier to harm between blunt and edged defenses.>

Halberd: This is a variant of the glaive; thus, two hands are required and it has all the properties of a heavy weapon. However, due to its design, the halberd is limited to targets 10 feet away. This means it is an inoperable weapon unless the wielder has the style: pole-arms skill to activate the reach property. The downside is if striking an adjacent hex (5-feet away) then the attack is at disadvantage. This means if starting one’s turn in an adjacent hex (5-feet away) from the melee target, the attack would be at disadvantage even if backing up one hex. This could be overcome by moving at least 20 feet away and then returning to strike; however, this would also give the option for a flee attack to be made. Further, it cannot be used for an impalement reaction due to its weighted design. However, it does have a different benefit. On any successful hit against an opponent, it has a chance to drag that opponent to the ground as prone. To clarify, multiple successful d20s only yield a single chance to knock the opponent prone. This becomes a Strength competition between the two with the weapon-wielder gaining a +2 on the competition roll (d12). Because this weapon is heavy, rolling 18 or higher on the attack dice can force an opponent into disadvantage; if then in addition the opponent is knocked prone and uses a reaction to stand-up, the original disadvantage effect still remains.

Hammer: To the previous question, how is a hammer not like a mace? Visually they are a bit different, but functionally if the cudgel can be used as a range weapon, it is a hammer. Thus, even a club which has been balanced and designed to be hurled is technically a hammer, but a club not balanced for throwing would be a mace. However, one other distinction is a hammer can be wielded one-handed, making the length of its handle less than 24 inches. Hammers have a two item limit when thrown before requiring an action to gather two more from a reserve. Finally, hammers do not have a chance to stun on high rolls as does the mace.

Hand Crossbow: The hand crossbow is a smaller version of the crossbow which can be fired with a single hand. Like the larger one, the bolts can only be fired in a liner trajectory. Shots up to 50 feet can be made normally, then up to 80 feet at disadvantage before it becomes ineffective. Besides the limited range, the biggest weakness to this weapon is its reloading, which is cumbersome, requires two hands and a complete round's action to restore ammo. This means it can only be fired every other round and no action other than reloading can be performed in between. However, when firing it a shield may be employed, but not in the interim round. Remember there is a 10-foot movement penalty for dropping and picking up an item. Because of this inconvenience, this weapon is often used as a first action weapon of use, then discarded for a different attack. Bolts can be placed and cocked into the hand crossbow in advance. The duration of this preloading is considered safe up to a half-hour per dice used is skills for the attack; 30 minutes for just ranged fighting, an hour if having style: archery, and so on. If leaving it cocked for longer than this, it will misfire on any “natural 1” rolled for that first attack. However, if used preloaded, then initiative bonuses are used in the first shot; however, beyond that, the mechanical device is cannot have initiative bonuses calculated. The weapon does gain +1 to hit nonetheless. Like its larger cousin, only 12 bolts can be carried in an encounter before needing to retrieve more from a cache.

Jossal: Nearly three millennia ago, while the dwarves were still using stone weapons and bronze-working had only began, there was a terrac forging process known as stone-smelting. This was a process using volcanic pits of basalt. The dwarves would add granite into the pits, then using carved drains from the pits allow the igneous run-off to cool to become cut and carved into hammers and stone-axes. While this soon led to the kiln, cast iron and the smelting of metals, this early forged rock had superior qualities to sedimentary rock used in earlier weapons, specifically for axes as it “held an edge” better.
       While this forging process was abandoned years ago, the gnome engineers have recaptured this lost art using nickel-cobalt casts to forge the smelted stone. This manufactured rock is called granalt by the gnomes, but it has quickly become called “gnomite” by those outside of the culture. This material can be used to produce stone weapons that have the same quality, weight and damage and standard iron ones. Being the process is more expensive, no one but the gnomes have adopted this stone-kiln process. However, there is one specialized weapon where granalt is required.
       This is the jossal (pronounced with “y” sound). At first, the jossal appears similar to the spiked chain; however, it has a much longer rope attached. Further, the rope material is specialized as well, made of a silk-hemp weave, which is affixed to a large metallic central ball-bearing, around which the stone wheel-shaped blade spins. The jossal is expensive, has maintenance concerns and considered by most not to be worth the hassle. However, gnomish engineer-fighters have started using it in greater demand.
       It is technically a ranged weapon, but it has the flung property meaning it can be used in close proximity like a melee weapon. Despite this, it is thrown like a lasso and somewhat side-armed, using ranged fighting and extending out to its 15-foot length. Because of this whirling and reeling back in, the weapon suffers a -1 delay to initiative. It also requires two hands to employ. However, due to the spinning stone, the weapon inflicts damage like a style-c weapon. As with all ranged weapons, it gains bonuses to hit from Agility; however, proficiency with the weapon grants it special weight damage, even though ranged weapon usually are not permitted this bonus. If the wielder is skilled with style: hurling then in addition to the extra d20 die used, the weapon will gain 1 point of weight damage. Should the wielder have weapon forte in the jossal, then it acts as heavy weapon-size, granting 2 points of additional damage.
       The downside of this weapon is its maintenance cost, which is a standard 12 bits monthly. This covers axle grease and re-strengthening of the rope. Even still, there is still a chance of temporary damage to the jossal. If striking with a “natural 1” (unless having the chance skill), the weapon must roll an immediate survival save. If scoring a second “natural 1” the rope breaks, requiring eight-hours to repair. Someone with an engineering skill can repair it in two hours. In either case, this counts as active time -- it cannot be repaired while performing other tasks, even traveling.

Long Bow: Bows are wonderful weapons. The archery weapon has a base range of 120 feet outdoors and 60 feet indoors. Shots outdoors above 120 feet up to 300 are at disadvantage, while those indoors between 60 and 120 feet are at disadvantage. Lastly, it has ammo-use, and 24 arrows are the most that can be fired in an encounter before retrieving another quiver.

Longsword: This is a sword between 24 and 48 inches. It could be curved or straight, single or double-edged. To employ with a shield, the wielder must have shield-use, but the shield could be dropped and the weapon used as a two-handed one, gaining the properties of as heavy weapon under the clout property. The longsword suffers a -1 penalty to initiative when wielded one-handed and -2 if employed with two. If any or many dice in an attack are “natural 20s” then there is a chance to maim the opponent. The victim must roll an Agility save (DC:7) or suffer the maim restriction with a penalty of 5 feet of movement. Subsequent “natural 20s” can inflict cumulative movement penalties. Lastly, a longsword can be used with the parry skill regardless how it is held, and it can be used with riposte so long as it is wielded one-handed.

Mace: As stated above, the Style-B mace is like a hammer except it cannot be hurled. When used with the style: bludgeoning skill, it can gain an extra d20 on attack rolls. The weapon requires one hand, but further, it may stun an opponent on a “natural 20” (whether crit or not). In such a case, the victim must make a successful Resilience save (DC:7) or be stunned until the start of its next turn, during which time all attacks upon the victim are made at advantage.

Net: To wield a net, either melee fighting or ranged fighting can be used; however, no other skills can aid to give extra dice for an attack. A net will effectively place its victim under a restrained restriction on a successful hit. It can be used against Size Categories from small to large, but tiny creatures can escape and those even bigger are effectively immune to nets. Formless and incorporeal creatures are also immune. Something caught by a net can use its action to make a DC:10 Strength check to free itself, or a non-captured creature can use its action to free a victim on a successful DC:8 Agility feat check. Dealing any edged damage to the net (treated as AC 10) will also free the creature without harming it; however, this will destroy the net. Finally, the net can be used defensively when having the cloak defense skill.

Ranseur: This is a special pole-arm was designed to dismount riders; however, it can also deliver piercing damage to adjacent opponents or those 10 feet away when coupled with the style: pole-arms skill. The dismounting feat cannot be used by just anyone; the wielder must have weapon forte specific to the ranseur to use the dismount action. When doing so, only 1d20 is rolled, but on a successful hit, it will force a rider to make a Strength save (DC:12) to remain in the saddle. Otherwise, the victim is dismounted, sent to the ground and prone. This save is not a reaction but automatically granted to the mounted rider. In all other cases, the ranseur can be used as its properties designate and as a pole-arm, allowing the impalement reaction once the reach property becomes effective.

Sai: A sai is a customized weapon designed for weapon lock. However, none the normal fighting style skills can enhance attacks with it; therefore, it style: specialty is required before one can use it with weapon forte. If acquiring the style: specialty skill for the sai, no extra d20 is granted to the die pool; however, an extra die is granted for weapon forte. Further, despite having the light property, the sai is an exception to the rule and can be used the weapon lock skill to catch an opponent’s weapon. The sai gains a +4 bonus on each d20 used in the attack when declaring an attempt either to lock an opponent’s weapon or to disarm the victim with weapon disarm. Also, if used underwater, the sai suffers no penalties. Finally, the sai is similar to the dagger in that it is not designed in a way to be used with rebuff but can use riposte like a dagger, as explained in the riposte skill.

Shuriken: The range weapon, shuriken, is a throwing star with a better range than most hurled weapons. These can be thrown up to 25 feet as a normal attack and over that up to 75 feet at disadvantage. Lastly, up to 12 shuriken can be thrown in an encounter before needing to grab another supply.

Slings: These can be used as melee weapons by placing ammo in the pouch and swinging it like a club, giving it a similar attack to a blackjack; however, only melee fighting can be used for calculating the dice for attack, and there is no stun option with the sling. Without a melee fighting skill, the attack is at disadvantage. When striking in melee, it will deliver blunt damage; however, no ammo will be lost, obviously. When used with ammo-use at range, ten stones can be loaded without having to retrieve more from another location.

Spear: This weapon comes in two varieties, the long spear and the short spear. Gaining weapon forte in the spear grants extra dice to both forms in melee, but style: hurling would still be required to gain the bonuses when throwing the short spear.
       The long spear is from eight to twelve feet long and cannot be hurled; it is sometimes called a pike. However, the benefit of the long spear is not only its heavy property but also its special reach, which can extend not only to 10 feet but also up to 15 feet (or three hexes) away. Due to its extreme length, it cannot be used in an impalement maneuver nor can it strike opponents in adjacent locations; however, unlike the halberd, the long spear can be wielded against opponents 10 feet away even with only the melee fighting skill.
       The short spear is a pole from four to seven feet long with a piercing point on it. Spears are fought effectively in melee while the style: pole-arms skill. The distinction for a short spear is that it can be hurled up to 20 feet as a normal attack whether inside or outside; however, a disadvantaged throw can be made up to 80 feet if launched as a linear throw, but outdoors its maximum range is 120 feet. When coupled with the shield-use skill, short spears can be used with a shield, as these weapons have a special exception to the reach property norms. While short spears make a fine thrown weapon, only four at a time can be carried without the loss of an action to gather more.

Spiked Chain: The covers a great number of weapon names: the chainwhip, ball and chain, rope dart, and kusarigama. While each of those is a bit different, they all function as the same type of weapon. These are chains of about three to four feet in length with a heavier instrument at the striking end or perhaps both ends. Based on the type of object on the ends determines the type of damage delivered: either blunt or piercing. Further, due to this weapon's exotic design, one must have melee fighting to use it for its feats; otherwise, the untrained user simply uses the chain portions to pummel an adversary with blunt damage. To properly employ the spiked chain, the user whirls it at the side, then strikes with the momentum. Like the sai, none the normal style skills can enhance attacks with it; therefore, it usually only inflicts 1d20 in combat. However, a style: specialty skill can be taken to increase to gain +2 to hit of that single d20 attack. This further allows weapon forte for the spiked chain to deliver 2d20 with the +2 bonus for each die. Also, when wielding it and using the defense action, it adds +2 to the shield AC, which is stackable atop using a shield with it. Of course shield-use is required to employ a shield with the spiked chain. It may also be used with rebuff and riposte but only in the interim of turns of the defense action. Lastly, this exotic weapon allows for critical hits on scores of “natural 20s” even when only a single die is rolled.

Staff: A staff is a blunt pole that is spun and thrust with two hands to strike an opponent. There are two forms of a staff: a full staff and the quarter-staff. If acquiring weapon forte in the staff, either version can be used to gain the extra die but only if the required style skill for the fighting technique has been acquired. In other words, a character can have melee fighting, style: bludgeoning and weapon forte: staff but not have the style: pole-arms skill. This would mean one would attack with 3d20 using a quarter-staff, but only 1d20 with the long staff.
       The long staff is one over seven feet in length. It is typically used like a pole-arm but delivers blunt damage instead. This means when combined with the style: pole-arms skill the wielder can strike enemies two hexes away. Additionally, if the reach requirements are met, it can be set for charge similar to an impalement reaction; however, such a maneuver inflicts only normal damage but also acts as a chance to knock the charging opponent prone as a tripping competition between the two combatants.
       The quarter-staff is shorter, from four to six feet in length. It also delivers blunt damage; however, when wielding the quarter-staff, it must use the style: bludgeoning to gain any increase in attack dice. Also, the quarter-staff does not have reach and can only strike opponents in adjacent hexes (5 feet away). As a final note, either type of staff is capable of using the parry skill while wielding.

Trident: This weapon is similar to a short spear only even slightly shorter; moreover, it is made entirely from metal with a different shape of piercing head. Due to these details, it can be used with a shield, assuming shield-use is known. Also, it does not have the reach to be used to gain the extended range in melee from style: pole-arms; however, if taking the style skill, this meets the requirement to learn weapon lock or to advance to weapon forte in the trident to make a 2d20 attack. Additionally, it is too bulky to be thrown effectively unless underwater. When used underwater, it suffers no underwater penalties and does act as a style-h weapon with a normal range of 30 feet and maximum range of 60 feet. In either land or water, the trident gains a +2 bonus when used with weapon lock and weapon disarm. This +2 bonus is complementary and counted above the normal dice bonus explained in skill descriptions.

Ula: This is shorter polearm designed specifically by nhoblits. As small creatures are unable to use heavy weapons or those with reach, this weapon is considered an improvised weapon for creatures that are not in the small category. However, in all other ways it is used like a pole-arms, but it has a rounded or blocked head to deliver blunt damage rather than piercing. Like a normal spear, it can be hurled up to 20 feet as a normal attack whether inside or outside and thrown at disadvantage up to 60 feet if launched as a linear throw. Outdoors it can be lobbed, making its maximum range 90 feet. When coupled with the shield-use skill, the ula can be used with a shield. While ulas make a fine thrown weapon, only four at a time can be carried without the loss of an action to gather more. Lastly, the impalement reaction can be used once skilled in style: pole-arms; however, it will act in a special manner. First, it inflicts the normal amount of attack damage, but it triggers a tripping competition against the attacker. Next, as it does not have reach, this reaction occurs at five feet rather than ten feet away. This means the timing of the actions is special as well. The attack and the impalement reaction occur simultaneously; neither can be prevented or altered by death, being knocked prone or other special damage that alter the rolling of the action or reaction. Nhoblits’ chance skill would obviously still be permitted. However at the end of both calculations, any changes, damage, restrictions or death would apply. Thus, it the tripping portion of impalement is successful, the penalty for being prone is not calculated into the attack but does occur as a result.

Vidonoir: Pronounced VEE-doh-NOH-ir, this orcish weapon is idiomatically translated to “tooth blade.” First, outside of orcish communities, wielding one, even carrying one, creates the same social disadvantages as a jack of plates would. For the aspect of pure combat, this weapon can be employed with multiple fighting styles. When used as an axe, it combines with the style: cleaving skill to gain extra dice; however, it does not strike like a typical style-c weapon; instead it strikes against the easier between blunt and piercing defenses to inflict piercing damage. Nonetheless, this same weapon can be turned or used with a back-thrashed to use as a slashing weapon, which would gain dice to the attack if combined with the style: slashing skill. The skill weapon forte can be taken for the weapon, but it could only be used with three dice if all the requirements were met for the style used.

War Maul: The war maul is a heavy form of hammer with a longer handle. It requires two hands to wield. Due to the heavy property, a raw 18 or higher normally places an unshielded opponent at disadvantage, but further for the war maul if that roll successfully strikes the target, then the victim must also roll a Resilience save (DC base of 8 plus the attacker’s Strength modifier) or become stunned, during which time attacks against the victim are at advantage. The victim recovers from the stun restriction on start of its next turn but still suffers from being at disadvantage until the end of its turn. This works in conjunction with heavy blow, if acquired, to affect even opponents with shields.

Whip: The whip is a specialized weapon, which does not inflict lethal damage, but offers a lot of special benefits. First, it requires a melee fighting skill to operate; otherwise, it is ineffective when used as an improvised weapon. By its design, it has a natural reach of 10 feet (not requiring a skill to extend) and does inflict edged damage; however, this damage does not inflict body points but instead inflicts pain. Further, a whip does not have the tensile strength to penetrate armor; therefore, even the pain-effects cannot be inflicted to a target wearing medium or heavy armor (or monsters with an armor component of its AC is 13 or higher). This pain-effect offers the potential to place a target into a frightened restriction until the end of the victim's next turn. When a whip successfully strikes non-immune target, the victim makes a Will save (DC:9) or becomes frightened due to pain. As a second attack option, the whip offers a tripping option against an opponent up to ten feet away (2 hexes). This requires a success hit against the target’s AC and can affect any target regardless of its armor type. The rules of pushing govern tripping, and the whip offers a +3 bonus on the competition. This can be very effective when using a flee-attack reaction especially due to the whip’s natural reach, allowing those who break from 2 hexes away to be subject to such a reaction. A whip can also be used as a make-shift garrote; however, attacking with it as such suffers a -3 to hit on the attack. Finally, with other advanced skills, the whip can perform even more feats, but it would require a style: specialty skill to use such maneuvers as weapon lock. The style: specialty skill does not add an extra d20 and neither does weapon forte. This weapon only ever has 1d20 in its die pool. The whip cannot be used for parry or rebuff.

Weapon Special Conditions

Certain weapons have the potential to inflict other effects other than just damage. These are detailed below:

Crit: This weapon is an exception to the normal crit rules. It can strike a critical hit even if fewer than 2d20 are used or if acting as a range weapon.

Heavy: Due to the weight of the weapon, this condition will place the victim under disadvantage if the score is significant.

Immured: This is not exactly the weapon but rather the ammo typically used. When firing arrows or bolts from a bow or crossbow, the damage is initially lower than most melee damage; however, such ammo does have a peculiar specialty that can affect creatures made of flesh. Whenever a raw score is high enough, the projectile doesn't merely graze the target’s shoulder or plink a small cut through the armor; instead, the missile lodges itself deep into the target’s flesh. This does not deliver any immediate additional damage, but it does create a risk when being extracted. If the “arrow” is pulled out, the victim must perform a Resilience save (DC:8). If the fail saves, the victim bleeds instantly for an additional d3 points. Upon a successful save, the bleeding is only 1 point. Magical removal or extracted by someone with either the skills medical zoology or stitch and wrap, then the save is assumed to be automatically made. This save is required for each embedded arrow. Should the victim ignore the lodged missile (or magically healed prior to removal), then this will develop a potential infection of earth rot. Each additional missile ignored increases the disease’s severity roll by +10.

Maimed: Weapons with a chance of maiming will reduce the movement rate of its victim should the required save fail.

Restrained: Weapons such as bolas have a chance place the victim under the restrained condition.

Stunned: Weapons with a stunning effect allow the victim to make a specific save against the attack. Certain helmets usually aid towards this save. However, if failing the save, the victim is placed under the stunned restriction until the end of its next turn, which further means it will lost the action and movement of that turn.

Weapon-Usage Matrix

^(C) weapon of clout
^(D) at disadvantage
^(I) impalement
^(M) maim potential
^(P) might knock prone
^(R) chance to restrain
^(S) stun potential
^(T) dismount potential
 allowed
 prohibited
 with skill
 special conditions
red font indicates potential crits