Weapons

For characters who use martial methods to solve violent encounters, nothing is more important than their weapon choice, or choices. Weapon selections are simplified here, but are by no means exhaustive. The list below will contain very general terms for weapons which will cover the majority of weapons a character might want to use. All weights are given assuming a medium-sized creature. Weapon damage types are P (Piercing), B (Bludgeoning), or S (Slashing). Some weapons do two different types of damage, while others can do one or another. Below the chart will be explanations of each weapon type as well as some examples of what kind of weapons fit into the general type.

Type	Damage (S)	Damage (M)	Critical	Range/Reach	Weight (lbs)	Damage Type	Cost (gp)
Concealable Weapons
Dagger	1d3	1d4	19-20 x2	10 ft.	.5	P	.25
Blunt Striker^NL	1d4	1d6	x2	-	.5	B	.5
Throwing Blade	1d3	1d4	x2	30 ft.	.25	S	.25
Throwing Spike	1d4	1d6	x3	80 ft.	.25	P	.25
Short Sword	1d4	1d6	19-20 x2	-	1	S	5
Bola^{T, NL}	1d3	1d4	x2	30 ft.	.25	B	1
One-Handed Weapons
Straight Sword	1d6	1d8	19-20 x2	-	2.5	S or P	8
Curved Sword	1d4	1d6	18-20 x2	-	2	S	8
Heavy Sword	1d8	1d10	x3	-	3.5	S	10
Simple Blunt	1d6	1d8	x3	-	3	B	3
Pointed Blunt	1d8	1d10	19-20 x2	-	3.5	B and P	5
Light Axe^T	1d4	1d6	x3	20 ft.	2.5	S	3.5
Heavy Axe^T	1d6	1d8	x4	10 ft.	3	S and B	8
Whip^{T, D}	1d3	1d4	x2	Reach	1	S	1.5
Two-Handed Weapons
Straight Sword	1d8	2d6	19-20 x2	-	4	S	15
Curved Sword	1d6	2d4	18-20 x2	-	4	S	15
Heavy Sword	1d10	2d8	x3	Reach^*	6	S	20
Simple Blunt	1d8	1d12	x3	-	5	B	10
Pointed Blunt	1d10	2d8	19-20 x2	-	6	B and P	12
Axe^T	1d8	2d6	x4	-	5	S and B	20
Pole Weapons
Staff	1d4	1d6	x2	Reach	2.5	B	.25
Spear Head	1d6	1d8	x3	Reach	3.5	P	1
Hook Head^T	1d8	1d10	x2	Reach	4	P	6
Bladed Head	1d6	1d8	18-20 x2	Reach	4	S or P	10
Tri-point Head^D	1d6	2d4	19-20 x2	Reach	5	P	15
Hammer Head	1d10	2d8	x4	Reach	7	B	25
Ranged Weapons
Short Bow	1d6	1d8	x3	100 ft.	1.5	P	4
Long Bow	1d8	1d10	x3	150 ft.	2.5	P	12
Crossbow	1d4	1d6	19-20 x2	75 ft.	5	p	20
Arbalest	1d8	2d6	x4	150 ft.	8	P	30

T - Tripping Weapon D - Disarming Weapon NL - Non-Lethal Damage only

Weapon Descriptions

Please read the descriptions of the weapons to get further insight into what weapons are in each category, as the descriptions in the chart are purposefully vague. They will also contain other useful pieces of information such as real-world examples of these blade types, and bonuses some might have. It is certainly possible to create a fantasy weapon within these categories as well. Each weapon follows a damage growth table for sizes over large; see Dice Categories for how they grow.

Concealable Weapons

Concealable weapons are weapons that can be easily hidden on a person and gain a +5 circumstance bonus when rolling to conceal said object on a person. They are often light, inexpensive, and do not deal a lot of damage. All concealable weapons get 1x strength modifier when dealing damage.

Dagger: Tried, true, and broadly encompassing. There are many variations of daggers around the world, though some examples are a baselard, bollock, main gauche, dirk, tanto, and many others. They can be thrown a small distance effectively and are often all-around useful to have on a person. It cannot deal slashing damage because it lacks the heft and swing arc. Daggers can, however, be used to cut ropes, vegetables, and other utility purposes.

Blunt Striker: Sometimes the best way to deal with someone is to render them unconscious. The blunt striker covers things like a sap, black jack, cosh, coin sap, or twist jack. They are typically a heavy metallic object inside of a leather sack, or have leather padding around the outside. Traditionally they are a leather pouch with lead shot in it that is sewn closed with a handle attached. They deal non-lethal damage and are used to subdue people. Please Note: This is not indicative of real-life and such weapons can more than easily injure or kill a person.

Throwing Blade: A throwing star, a hurlbat, and many other objects that have a large bladed surface. These are throwing weapons that do not need a specific point to hit the target, and are light and easy to use. When you purchase these they always come in packs of 3, though the weight listed is per throwing blade.

Throwing Spike: Harder to use weapons such as a throwing dagger, a shuriken, or other single pointed throwing weapons. These go deeper due to less surface area trying to penetrate a target's skin. When purchased these always come in packs of 3, though weight is listed per throwing spike.

Short Sword: These are difficult to define weapons where they are too short to be considered a proper sword, but bladed enough to actually cut. Things in this category would be like a wakizashi, seax knife, kukri, leuku, Filipino espada, and many other types.

Bola: A set of heavy weighted balls attached to a rope. They are swung overhead and thrown at a target to trip them from afar. These allow a trip attack at range. When they hit they also do a minor amount of non-lethal damage.

One-Handed Weapons

One-handed weapons account for a great deal of weapons of war used by someone who was also carrying a shield. These weapons are often very difficult to conceal as they are just long enough to stick out of clothing, cause walking problems when stuffed into an outfit, etc. All one-handed weapons get 1x strength modifier when dealing damage.

Straight Sword: One of the most ubiquitous weapons in all fantasy settings and in history. Weapon examples of these include a European arming sword, Chinese jian, gladius, Celtic leaf-blade, and many others. Despite some misunderstandings about these blades, they are quite efficient cutters.

Curved Sword: Another common type of weapon throughout history due to the forgiving nature of the shape. These weapons don't need to hit at the center of percussion to get the best cutting performance. Examples of these blades throughout history are the khopesh, dao, shamshir, scimitar, messer, kopis, and many others.

Heavy Sword: A heavy sword is something a bit heftier than the aforementioned blades but can still be held in one hand. Examples of these in history are not common, though a couple of examples would be a cutlass, a broad dao, and any wide-profile one-handed blade.

Simple Blunt: Do not mistake the simple part for a lack of lethality. Simple blunt weaponry is extremely devastating to the target on the receiving end. There are an extremely large number of examples, a shillelagh, knobkerrie, mace, billy-club, tonfa, and many others.

Pointed Blunt: A bit less common than a simple blunt weapon, these would include things such as the flanged mace, morning star, and other pointed blunt weapons.

Light Axe: An axe with a more slender blade and lighter haft. These would include tomahawks, hand axes, and similar weapons. Due to the shape of an axe, they can be used for a trip attempt and gain a +2 circumstance bonus when doing so.

Heavy Axe: An axe more designed for melee combat and war rather than being forced into such use, the haft is heavy and might have langets. Due to the shape of an axe, they can be used for a trip attempt and gain a +2 circumstance bonus when doing so.

Two-Handed Weapons

All two-handed weapons get 1.5x (round down) strength modifier when dealing damage.

Straight Sword: Two-handed straight swords were very common in Europe. The longsword best describes what these are. They are double-edged, capable of good cutting and thrusting.

Curved Sword: Two-handed curved blades are also quite common and would include things like a kriegsmesser, Japanese katana, the two-handed falchion, and much more.

Heavy Sword: Sometimes a longsword or kriegsmesser just won't cut it, and you need something a lot bigger. The montante, greatsword, claymore, nodachi, and other absurdly large swords fit into this category. These are so large they have reach, but do not suffer from the adjacency penalty of a pole weapon.

Some blades fall into this category but do not have reach. If they do not have reach, like a bardiche or dadao, they instead increase their critical range to 19-20 instead of being a reach weapon.

Simple Blunt: A two-handed simple blunt would be any hefty two-handed blunt weapon. A large hammer, a rock on a stick, a substantial tree branch, or just bigger versions of the one-handed variety.

Spiked Blunt: A two-handed spiked blunt weapon would be something like a two-handed morning star, an extra heavy mace, a large pick, or a kanabo.

Axe: A two-handed axe isn't hard to understand. Due to the shape of an axe, they can be used for a trip attempt and gain a +2 circumstance bonus when doing so.

Pole Weapons

Throughout history, pole weapons did the heavy lifting for melee combat in warfare. These weapons range from the extremely simple to the extremely intricate. All of them have a reach advantage over most other melee weapons. Attacks made at the outermost squares are the most effective for a pole weapon. If a target is directly adjacent to a pole wielder, the attacks will gain a -4 circumstance penalty to damage. All pole weapons get 1.5x (round down) strength modifier when dealing damage.

Staff: A staff, stave, quarterstaff, bo staff, wax wood staff, and so on are a type of pole weapon where strikes are done with an empty shaft. These pole weapons do not suffer from the adjacency penalties that other pole weapons do.

Spear Head: Tried, true, and extremely lethal. It is hard to beat a pointed stick sometimes, and in all cultures a spear can be found as a primary front-line weapon.

Hooked Head: Sometimes called a bill-hook or a guisarme, these have a stabbing point at the tip, and a hook on one side of the blade. This allows for the easy tripping of an opponent, or the yanking of someone off horseback. Hooked heads can be used to trip at a reach and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to tripping attempts.

Bladed Head: This type of pole weapon includes a very large number of weapons. Partisans, halberds, pole axes, guan daos, naginatas, just to name a few. These allow for the delivery of extremely powerful cuts with reach.

Tri-point head: These types of weapons have a few points at the tip, A common example of these would be the trident or ranseur. These weapons can do a disarm check at reach and gain a +2 circumstance bonus while doing so.

Hammer Head: A pole hammer has a lot of different names throughout history. It is a blunt, and often pointed, head at the end of a pole. The bec de corbin and the lucerne hammer are good examples of these.

Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons do not threaten any squares normally. Using a ranged weapon while within a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity. Firing through allied squares has no penalty. If two targets occupy the same square, you have a 50% chance to hit the intended target. Ranged weapons do not gain Strength bonus to damage unless they are Masterwork or a rule states otherwise.

Masterwork ranged weapons that rely on the user's physical power, such as bows, gain the user's Strength modifier to damage. Masterwork ranged weapons like crossbows, firearms, or any weapon that does not rely on the Strength of the user gain their Intelligence modifier to damage instead of Strength, provided the user is proficient with the weapon.

Short Bow: A smaller bow usable on horseback.

Long Bow: A large bow typically used by heavy infantry.

Cross Bow: A wooden-staved crossbow that can be hand-drawn. Reloading a crossbow takes a move action. All characters are proficient with a crossbow.

Arbalest: A steel-staved crossbow that requires the use of a windlass to draw the crossbow. Reloading an arbalest is a full-round action. All characters are proficient with an arbalest.

Weapon Proficiency

Most weapons require proficiency to be used effectively. While the basics of a weapon are simple in concept, using them effectively against another person is a different story, especially if they are trained. Any weapon can be used, but if your character is not proficient with it they will suffer a -5 circumstance penalty. They do not threaten squares with that weapon, and making attacks with that weapon provokes attacks of opportunity. On top of this only your Strength modifier can be applied to attacks with that weapon; Dexterity ceases to be an option.

Weapon Groups

A martial combat expert is seldom proficient in just a single weapon, but a few to shore up weaknesses while in the field. Below I will list some examples of weapon groups, but these can be created on the fly to suit a character. When making one's own weapon group, do not exceed 4 weapons. A character proficient in a weapon group has full proficiency with all weapons within.

Archer: Dagger, One-Handed: Curved Sword, Short bow, and Long bow.

Battle Priest: One-Handed: Straight Sword (Longsword), Pole Weapon: Spear Head (Spear), One-Handed: Simple Blunt (Mace), and Short Bow.

Berserker: One-Handed: Heavy Sword, One-Handed: Heavy Axe, Two-Handed: Heavy Sword, and Two-Handed: Axe.

Cavalry: One-Handed: Curved Sword, Two-Handed: Spiked Blunt, Pole Arm: Spear, and Pole Arm: Hammer.

Foot Soldier: Dagger, One-Handed: Straight Sword, Pole arm: Spear, and Long Bow.

Guard: Blunt Striker, One-Handed: Simple Blunt, Pole Arm: Hook Head, and Long Bow.

Man-at-Arms: Short Sword, One-Handed: Simple Blunt, Pole Arm: Hooked, and Short Bow.

Ranger: Dagger, One-Handed: Straight Sword, Two-Handed: Straight Sword, and Long Bow.

Vagrant: Dagger, Pole Weapon: Staff, One-Handed: Light Axe, and Short Bow.

Wizard: Dagger, One-Handed: Straight Sword, One-Handed: Simple Blunt, and Pole arm: Staff.