Armaments
Equipment Maintenance
All weapons, armor, outfits and shields must have regular maintenance to maintain their working condition. These items will expire and be ruined after 5 Chapters (including the Chapter they are created or maintained) as noted on the equipment card. A Repair Kit of the appropriate type may be used to maintain the item and reset the expiration date to 5 Chapters.
Weapons
Most weapons have a fixed set of Perks and/or Flaws, and an associated required physical representation. Natural traits of the physical prop – such as inherent unwieldiness – are part of the weapon’s overall advantages and disadvantages. A Physrep that does not meet the description, at Staff discretion, cannot be attached to an item tag that calls for those requirements.
Many weapon perks allow a specific kind of condition to be called. Others grant the weapon a Quality. A fighter must be sufficiently skilled to make use of any of these perks; they are unlocked by rank 3 of the appropriate combat skill.
All weapons should have an obvious striking surface – the whole blade of a sword, the head of an axe, the spearhead of a polearm, or the wood of a staff. Contact with any other part of the weapon does not count as a Hit.
Weapon Perks
Staggering
This weapon is inherently capable of delivering Staggering conditions.
Stunning
This weapon is inherently capable of delivering Stunning conditions.
Striking
This weapon is inherently capable of delivering Striking conditions.
Driving
The user may add the Driving quality to the weapon’s hits and condition calls.
Sundering
After Hitting an object 3 times with the striking surface of this weapon, you may call Sunder against that object. If Sunder is defended, you must hit 3 times again before calling another Sunder. This works against weapons, shields, and armor.
When making Sundering attacks, weapons must be withdrawn 45 degrees at the elbow before swinging again- following the usual combat rules for valid hits.
Weapon Flaws
Large
This weapon must be wielded two-handed. This does not require two hands on the weapon at every moment in a fight, but it means that it cannot be wielded alongside a shield or second weapon, and that it cannot be used if one hand is unavailable (such as from Pain).
Wyrd
Must look like a crazy fantasy weapon. Using such a weapon causes Despair if the wielder has Wyrd Loathing. This trait is applied to all weapons made using Wyrd materials.
Inferior
The weapon is of a low quality, and may not be used to call Conditions.
Crude
The weapon breaks as if Sundered at the end of every scene in which it is used and must be repaired.
Masterwork Weapons
All Masterwork weapons are inherently Sturdy. Below are the types of perks you may see on a Masterwork Weapon.Â
Additional Condition
Choose another Condition category this weapon is capable of delivering. The wielder may choose which condition they are calling. This may also be used to add Conditions to Sundering or Driving weapons.
Mighty on Condition
Conditions called using this condition gain the Mighty Quality, and may not be resisted with Parry
Quick on Condition
Conditions called using this condition gain the Quick Quality, and may not be resisted with Dodge
Long
Long Light Weapons may be up to 42″ long and may be used with the Light or Arming Weapon Skills. Long Arming Weapons may be up to 72″ long and may be used with the Arming or Heavy Weapon Skills.
Sturdy
This weapon has one Toughness vs Sunder per Rest. All Masterwork Items are also Sturdy.
It does not require Weapon Skill at 3 or being Fresh in order to utilize the Long or Sturdy Qualities of a weapon.
Example Weapons
Light Weapons
- Shiv – Inferior Light Weapon. Prop: Any stabbing implement up to 24 inches.
- Knife – Stunning Light Weapon. Prop: Knife up to 24 inches.
- Falx – Staggering Light Weapon. Prop: Knife up to 24 inches.
- Dagger – Striking Light Weapon. Prop: Knife up to 24 inches.
- Hatchet – Sundering Light Weapon. Prop: Axe-shaped weapon up to 24 inches.
- Throwing Knife – Inferior Throwable Light Weapon. Prop: Coreless knife up to 12 inches.
Arming Weapons
- Repurposed Tool – Inferior Arming Weapon. Represents improvised clubs and other basic implements turned to violence.
- Broadsword – Stunning Arming Weapon. Prop: Sword between 24 and 42 inches.
- Falchion – Staggering Arming Weapon. Prop: Sword between 24 and 42 inches.
- Saber – Striking Arming Weapon. Prop: Thin sword between 24 and 42 inches.
- Axe – Sundering Arming Weapon. Prop: Axe-shaped weapon between 24 and 42 inches.
- Mace – Driving Arming Weapon. Prop: Hammer- or mace-shaped weapon between 24 and 42 inches.
Heavy Weapons
- Large Repurposed Tool – Large, Inferior Heavy Weapon. Represents shovels, pitchforks, and other large implements turned to violence.
- Longsword – Large, Stunning Heavy Weapon. Prop: Sword between 42 and 72 inches.
- Greatsword – Large, Staggering Heavy Weapon. Prop: Sword between 42 and 72 inches.
- Estoc – Large, Striking Heavy Weapon. Prop: sword between 42 and 72 inches.
- Maul – Large, Driving Heavy Weapon. Prop: Hammer- or mace-shaped weapon between 42 and 72 inches.
- Greataxe – Large, Sundering Heavy Weapon. Prop: Axe-shaped weapon between 42 and 72 inches.
- Spear – Large Driving Heavy Weapon. Prop: Spear or other polearm prop over 42 inches.
Shields
Shields act as a movable barrier the fighter can put in front of themselves to stop Hits. Hits that would otherwise do damage but instead strike the shield are not able to normally deal damage or cause combat conditions. Using a shield effectively requires the Shields Skill, which also grants additional functions to the fighter. Attempting to use a Sundered shield, or to use a shield without the Shield skill results in a Hit to that arm.
Shields come in several sizes, and the prop must match the desired shield size. Larger shields are invariably more expensive and harder to make.
- Buckler shields – Bucklers, punch shields, small round shields. Cover the arm and no more.
- Medium shields – kite shields, heaters, large round shields. Cover the full arm and torso.
- Large shields – Tower shields and great shields. Anything larger than a medium shield in coverage.
Armor
There are three grades of armor, which all provide a trade off in expense and mobility in exchange for greater degrees of protection. Natural traits of the physical prop – such as inherent weight, discomfort, etc – are part of the armor’s overall advantages and disadvantages. All sets of armor are a type of Outfit, and do not stack with other kinds of Outfit.
Light armor, such as fabric gambesons or stiff leather, allow the wearer to make a single Armor call that refreshes each Scene. Light armor does not restrict the wearer and may be used in conjunction with the Stealth skill and Slippery ability.
Medium armor, such as chainmail or brigandine, allows the wearer to make 2 Armors calls each scene. However, medium armor restricts the wearer and is noisy, and so the wearer may not use Stealth or any ability granted by Impressive Speed, including Slippery.
Heavy armor, worn as metal plate armor (high quality polyurethane armor is allowed), allows the wearer to make an Armor call every Beat, making them virtually invincible against unprepared or unskilled opponents. Heavy plate armor is the most expensive and restrictive kind of armor. The wearer cannot use Stealth, Slippery, or the Dodge call. Each suit of plate armor must be custom-fitted to one wearer.
In order to stop an attack with the Armor call, the appropriate Hit must have physically struck the actual piece of armor worn. When a Hit lands on an unprotected location, Armor may not be used to defend, though a Parry or Dodge still may be allowed if otherwise possible.
Archery
Archery, the time-honored tradition of making fights less fair, uses a bow or crossbow to fire a missile at their target. Aside from the basic bow or crossbow item, bows require ammunition.
Standard arrow ammunition is shared by bows and crossbow weaponry and does not need to be fitted to a specific weapon and shooter. Arrows are created in quivers of 10 or 20 shots. These shots are an abstraction based on a combination of factors, including the reality of bulky LARP arrows fitting poorly in quivers, the reclaiming of fired arrows, and the inclusion of a certain level of IC breakage of shafts and heads. In total, a quiverload represents a combination of all of those factors.
The item tag for a quiver full of arrows has check-boxes to mark off arrow expenditure. At the end of a combat scene, the player of the archer should mark off the total amount of physical arrows fired, as well as Strike calls made from Archery abilities. When a quiver is depleted, more arrows must be procured.
Specialty arrows allow the use of Conditions or Qualities with the Archery skill, using the same rules as weapon Perks. Ammunition from special arrows can be included in the same physical quiver if the archer wishes – simply mark off from the appropriate item card after the combat scene for shots used, and attach the Specialty Arrow item card to the same quiver. Specialty Arrows are made in packs of 10.
Arrows Types:
- Field Arrows: These arrows are the most easily made, and fit easily into a large quiver. While they are made in batches of 20 arrows, they are Inferior and may not be used to call Conditions.
- Broadhead Arrows- These arrows are frequently used by hunters to cause large bleeding cuts in their quarry, and may be used by a skilled archer to call Striking Conditions
- Bodkin – These arrows are generally used against armored opponents to knock them to the ground for a finishing blow, and may be used by a skilled Archer to call Staggering Conditions.
- Barbed – The barbed heads on these arrows are designed to snag in flesh, making them incredibly painful to remove. They may be used by a skilled archer to call Stunning Conditions.
Special Materials
While all of the rules above are for weapons of standard quality, some items are made of unusually high-quality materials. Epics speak of dwarven ashsteel, elven starmetal, dragonscales, and other wondrous materials. While few people are quite sure the effects of these materials. Some monster hunters and Exorcists swear by the power of Silver weapons, saying it has a particular effects on some creatures of darkness, though any weapons crafted from soft metals like Silver or Gold are always Crude, requiring constant maintenance to keep battle-ready.
