Blades and Bows: More Interesting Weapons for Interesting Adventurers

[Mcdt2]

When you look at the list of weapons in the game, too many seem to exist merely to fill out the list. In the end, only a few weapons tend to see use: The ever trusty greatsword, any of the many far-too-similar reach weapons (and their big brother, the spiked chain, aka "justification for exotic weapon proficiency existing at all"). Bows are common, crossbows slightly less so, and among the lighter weapons there's little reason to use anything beyond the dagger, kukri, or shortsword, and maybe pick up a club or quarterstaff for when you need bludgeoning damage to deal with skeletons. Beyond that, it's all so much useless fluff choices.

Well, ultimately that didn't sit well with me. But even if I rebalanced the weapons, that still leaves a small issue- they are just boring. Not even boring in a mechanically useful way either - past the first few levels there's nothing important about weapon choice beyond handedness and a few certain traits (namely reach and tripping, and possibly critical threat rang/multiplier). Fortunately, I stumbled across a certain 'brew (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?278122-Swords-amp-Sticks-d20-weaponry-variant) while browsing these forums, and inspiration struck. With permission from the original creator, I have completed that unfinished project, and so I present it to you.

A note: I play an odd blending of 3.5 and PF rules, and as such there are parts which may not mesh entirely with one system or the other. I'll try to iron those out as I go, but I may miss a few.

Basic Outline
If a weapon has multiple lines for damage, the first is considered the “primary” damage type. Proficient users may use any of the damage lines (as long as the specific weapon supports that attack form) and may alternate between lines for each attack. Non-proficient users may only use the primary damage form, and take a -4 nonproficiency penalty to all attacks and combat maneuvers made with the weapon. If a weapon enhancement only works with damage of a certain type, it only works with damage forms of that type of damage (e.g. a keen sword doesn't have an expanded critical threat range if you are bashing with the hilt).

Any penalties inflicted by a weapon (such as strength or dexterity penalties, but not bleed or ability damage) last until the end of the encounter, unless mentioned otherwise.

Basic Weapon Tricks are unlocked with Weapon Focus in the Weapon. Advanced Tricks are unlocked with Weapon Specialization. In general, you can expect the Tricks (both Basic and Advanced) to be stronger in Martial weapons than Simple, and stronger still for Exotic weapons.

Some weapon tricks may require saves to be rolled. Unless otherwise stated, the DC is 10 + 1/2 your BAB + damage stat mod (Generally Strength, however this may be altered by feats or class features).

Some weapons have been merged or deleted, and others are brand new. Some have even changed proficiency levels. A listing of such changes appears below.

Merged: kama and sickle; glaive, guisarme, and various other polearms; spear and longspear; trident and shortspear; heavy mace and morningstar; handaxe and throwing axe; war hammer and heavy pick; sap and baton (see new weapons)
Moved to Simple (from Exotic): Sai, Shuriken, Kama (as sickle), hand crossbow
Moved to Martial (from Exotic): repeating crossbows
Moved to Exotic (from Martial): Scythe
Renamed: Spiked chain (now just Chain);
Removed: Siangham; Light hammer/pick; dire flail; dwarven waraxe; orc double axe; gnomish hook hammer; dwarven urgorsh; two-bladed sword;
New weapons: Soliferrum, baton (sap), blowgun, tonfa, greathammer, bladed whip, tiger hook sword, combat scabbard
Unimplemented: flail, heavy flail; spiked armor; nunchaku;



Weapon Name Cost (in gp) Damage and Type Crit Special Basic Trick Advanced Trick Weight (in lbs)


Light Weapons


Baton -- 1d4 B 20/x2 Non-lethal Use in grapples Bonus to grapples 0.5


Dagger 2 1d4 S 19-20/x2 Concealable (+2), throwable (10’) Quick-throw Ignore armor in grapple 1


Dagger, punching 2 1d3 P 20/x3 Extremely concealable (+6) Quick draw/conceal Ignore armor in grapple 0.5


Spiked Gauntlet 5 1d4 P 20/x3 Count as unarmed Improve your unarmed damage Crit: Bleed dmg (1d6) 1


Light Mace 5 1d6 B 20/x2 Concealable (+2), non-lethal Use in grapples Crit: Str/Dex dmg 1


Light Mace, Knobbed 8 1d6 B&P 20/x3 Concealable (+2) Use in grapples, Non-lethal Crit: Str/Dex dmg 1


Sai 1 1d4 B 20/x2 Thrown (10’), +4 Disarm Disarm with a pair of sais Quick Throw sai 1


Sai, sharpened 1 1d4 B&P 20/x3 Thrown (10’), +4 Disarm Disarm with a pair of sais Quick Throw sai 1


Sickle (kama) 6 1d6 S 20/x2 Trip +4 to trip On crit: Ref or dex dmg/prone 1


One-handed Weapons


Club -- 1d6 B 20/x2 Non-lethal, Thrown (10’) Max dmg vs FF, ignore light armor Crit: Dex dmg 3


Club, Spiked 1 1d6 B&P 20/x3 Thrown (10’) Max dmg vs FF, ignore light armor Crit: Dex dmg 3


Heavy Mace 8 1d8 B 20/x2 n/a Reduce armor by 2, +4 to sunder shields Crit: Fort or Stun 1 rnd; Max dmg vs FF 3


Heavy Mace, Knobbed 12 1d8 B&P 20/x3 n/a Ignore Light Armor, +4 to sunder shields Crit: Fort or Stun 1 rnd; Max dmg vs FF 3


Morningstar 8 1d8 B&P 20/x3 n/a Ignore Light Armor, +4 to sunder shields Crit: Fort or Stun 1 rnd; Max dmg vs FF 2


Spear, Short 1 1d6 P 20/x3 Thrown (20’) Quick Throw Defense bonus with shield, ready vs charge 2.5


Two-handed Weapons


Club, great -- 2d4 B 20/x2 Non-lethal Max dmg vs FF, ignore light armor Crit: Dex dmg 6


Club, great spiked 5 2d4 B&P 20/x3 n/a Max dmg vs FF, ignore light armor Crit: Dex dmg 6


Spear, Long 5 1d8 P 20/x3 Reach, ready vs charge Use as quarterstaff Charging provokes 6


Quarterstaff -- 1d6 B 20/x2 Double weapon Reach (-1 dmg) Use in grapples 2


Quarterstaff, metal tipped 5 1d8 B 20/x2 Double weapon Reach (-1 dmg) Use in grapples 2





Weapon Name Cost (in gp) Damage and Type Crit Special Basic Trick Advanced Trick Weight (in lbs)


Light Weapons


Combat Scabbard 2 1d6 B 20/x2 Non-lethal, counts as baton Shield (+2), make sword non-lethal Crit: Dex dmg 1


Hand Axe 6 1d6 S 20/x3 Thrown (10’) Quick Throw Sunder shields at range 1


Kukri 8 1d4 S 18-20/x2 n/a Crit: Bleed (Str mod) Crit: blind/sicken 1


Sword, Scimitar 15 1d8 S 19-20/x2 n/a Reduce armor by 2, +4 to sunder shield x2 dmg on charge 2

Sword, Short 10 1d8 P 19-20/x2 n/a Bonus defense with shield Ignore armor in grapple 2
[/tr]

Tonfa 2 1d4 B 20/x2 Non-lethal, counts as baton Shield (+2) Trip 0.5


Shield Bash, Buckler Varies 1d3 B 20/x2 Shield (+3) Treat hand as empty Improve feints Varies


Shield Bash, Light Varies 1d4 B 20/x2 Shield (+4) Increase dmg to 1d6 Increase dmg to 1d8 Varies


Shield Bash, Light Spiked Varies 1d6 B&P 20/x2 Shield (+4) Increase dmg to 1d8 Increase dmg to 2d6 Varies


One-handed Weapons


Battle Axe 10 1d8 S 20/x3 Pay +10 gp to add pick or hammer Reduce Armor by 3, +4 to sunder shields Max dmg vs FF 2


Hammer, War 12 1d8 B 20/x4 +2 Disarm/sunder Reduce Armor by 3, +4 to sunder shields Max dmg vs FF; Crit: Fort or stun 1 rnd 3


Lance 10 1d8 P 20/x3 Reach, awkward if not mounted x2 dmg on mounted charge Use as though two-handed 4


Mace, Heavy Flanged 20 1d8 B&P&S 20/x3 n/a Ignore Light Armor, +4 to sunder shields Crit: Fort or Stun 1 rnd; Max dmg vs FF 3


Rapier 20 1d6 P 18-20/x2 n/a Use as light for TWF Reach (makes you FF) 2


Sword, Katana 15 1d10 S 18-20/x2 n/a Quick Draw Counter attack 3


Sword, Long 15 1d10 P 19-20/x3 n/a Use in grapple Bash with hilt, ignoring armor 3


Shield Bash, Heavy Varies 1d6 B 20/x2 Shield (+6) Increase dmg to 1d8 Adj. Ally gains ½ shield bonus Varies


Shield Bash, Heavy, Spiked Varies 1d8 B 20/x2 Shield (+6) Increase dmg to 2d6 Adj. Ally gains ½ shield bonus Varies


Two-handed Weapons


Glaive 9 2d4 S 19-20/x2 Reach, trip Use as quarterstaff, ready vs charge Charging provokes 8


Greataxe 20 2d6 S 20/x3 n/a Reduce armor by 4, +6 to sunder shields Max dmg vs FF 4


Halberd 10 1d10 S 19-20/x3 Trip Reach, ready vs charge Charging provokes 6


Hammer, Great 20 2d6 B 20/x4 +2 Disarm/Sunder Reduce armor by 4, +6 to sunder shields Max dmg vs FF; Crit: Fort or Stun 1 rnd 6


Ranseur 10 2d4 P 20/x3 +2 Disarm Ready vs charge, knock down mounted riders Charging provokes 5


Sword, Great 50 2d6 S 18-20/x2 n/a Cleave through sundered items As basic trick, but into wielders 4


Shield Bash, Tower See above 2d6 20/x2 Shield (+10), -2 to all atks No penalty to hit; use 1h with -2 atk Take cover behind shield See above


Shield Bash, Tower Spiked See above 3d6 20/x2 Shield (+10), -2 to all atks No penalty to hit; use 1h with -2 atk Take cover behind shield See above





Weapon Name Cost (in gp) Damage and Type Crit Special Basic Trick Advanced Trick Weight (in lbs)


Light Weapons


War fan 5 1d4 B 20/x3 +2 Disarm, Concealable (+4), Disguised (+4), counts as baton Shield (+1), Improve Feints Counter attacks 1


One-handed Weapons


Sword, Tiger Hook 25 1d8 S 19-20/x2 Use in grapple, +2 trip/disarm, use as light for TWF Shield (+2, +4 when fighting defensively) Reach; still threaten adjacent 2


Whip 1 1d3 non-lethal 20/x2 Reach (15’), doesn’t affect armored foes, attacks made provoke; finesse Disarm, trip, dirty trick (+2); Grapple at range Drag grappled foes to you 1


Whip, Bladed 30 1d8 S 19-20/x2 Reach (15’), counts as whip Attack don’t provoke, threatens at 10/15ft away. Crit: Fort or take -4 to atks, saves, & checks for 1 min. 3


Two-handed Weapons


Chain 25 2d4 B 20/x2 Reach (attack adjacent), trip, +2 disarm, finesse Use as double weapon (loses reach) Use in grapples 10


Chain, Spiked 35 2d4 B&P 20/x2 Reach (attack adjacent), trip, +2 disarm, finesse Use as double weapon (loses reach) Use in grapples 12


Scythe 20 2d4 S 19-20/x3 Trip Attack 3 adjacent squares Crit: 1 Con dmg 8



Changes to Shields
This project also deals with the issue of shields, as they are weapons just as much as personal protection. However, while in real life shields were just as valuable as armor, if not more so, this is not reflected in game, as the bonuses to Armor Class they provide is far too minimal to justify the loss in damage.

In order to change this, shield AC has been drastically increased. However, as a compromise, so that martials are not hampered even further in their intended role by the inflated AC they must hit, there is a way to get past the shield. Namely, the Shield Bonus to AC now no longer applies when flat-footed, or when flanked. This gives a way to get past the defenses (the shield is an active defense, after all, and can be hard to bring to bear in multiple directions) as well as giving non-rogues a reason to care about flanking (beyond the +2 bonus to hit), as well as giving shield carrying characters a reason to be cautious in combat despite their vast AC.

Just like weapons, shields have Basic and Advanced tricks, which are unlocked by Weapon Focus/Specialization. In order to give those feats an actual benefit to bucklers and tower shields, they now have the ability to make shield bashes (it was historically a popular tactic with bucklers, and the idea of two-handing a giant tower shield as a weapon was just too cool for me to pass up).

[Mcdt2]

Baton (Sap, blackjack, etc)
Description A 3 to 5 feet long sturdy stick. Weighs about ½ pound.
Type Simple light melee weapon
Damage 1d4 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2
Special You can inflict both lethal and non-lethal damage with a baton without penalty.
Basic weapon trick A baton is an useful aide in grappling. When opting to damage your opponent, you can use your baton in place of your unarmed strike damage. You benefit from your baton’s enhancement bonuses while grappling. You suffer no penalties to your grapple check regardless of whether you deal lethal or non-lethal damage.
Advanced weapon trick When using your baton to damage your opponent in a grapple, you receive +4 bonus to your grapple check, and if you win, your enemy suffers -4 circumstance penalty to all checks until the start of your next turn.
Cost -

Blowgun (Fukiya)
Description A blowgun is a long tube, typically 4 feet in length (though it is not unheard of for them to be up to 9 feet long), made out of any of a variety of materials (often wood or bamboo, depending on availability.) It weighs 2 lbs. There exists a variation on the blowgun (noted here as lesser blowgun) which is usually only 1.6 feet in length, and weighs only 1 lb.
Type (Regular) Simple two-handed ranged weapon
Type (Lesser) Simple one-handed ranged weapon
Damage (Dart) 1d4 piercing, 20/x3
Damage (Pellet/Bullet) 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Range Increment (Regular) 50 ft, +10 ft per point of Con mod
Range Increment (Lesser) 25 ft, +5 ft per point of Con mod
Special The blowgun is a hollow tube, easily useable as a tool for breathing underwater, allowing a would-be assassin to take advantage of whatever cover the water and foliage may provide.
A regular blowgun is hefty enough to be used as an improvised club. Meanwhile, the lesser blowgun is easily concealable, granting a +2 on checks to conceal it.
Basic Weapon Trick The blowgun, as the weapon of the hunter and the ninja, is well suited to stealth. When you make a Stealth check to hide after an attack, you only take a -10 penalty to this check, instead of -20.
Advanced Weapon Trick If using pellets/bullets, whenever you score a critical hit against an opponent, he must make a Fort save or be stunned for 1d3 rounds. If using a dart, your opponent is blinded instead.
Cost 1 gp for regular version, 5 sp for lesser.

Club
Description A heavy piece of wood or bone around 2 to 4 feet long, usually thicker from the hitting end. Sometimes it has nails or sharp bone fragments to serve as a spike. Weighs 3 pounds.
Type Simple one-handed melee weapon / thrown ranged weapon
Damage 1d6 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (spiked) 1d6 bludgeoning and piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Range increment 10 feet.
Special When attempting to deal non-lethal damage with a club, your critical multiplier improves by one step.
Basic weapon trick If you attack a flat-footed opponent in melee, your club automatically deals maximum damage. A spiked club ignores up to 2 points of armor or natural armor bonus.
Advanced weapon trick You can hit the joints of your opponent for maximum hurt. If you hit a flat-footed opponent or score a critical hit with a club, your opponent suffers 1 point penalty to dexterity. This penalty is cumulative.
Cost - (1 gp with metal spikes)

Club, Great
Description A larger version of the standard club. Sometimes it has nails or sharp bone fragments to serve as a spike. Weighs 6 pounds.
Type Simple two-handed melee weapon
Damage 2d4 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (spiked) 2d4 bludgeoning and piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Special When attempting to deal non-lethal damage with a club, your critical multiplier improves by one step.
Basic weapon trick If you attack a flat-footed opponent in melee, your club automatically deals maximum damage. A spiked greatclub ignores up to 3 points of armor or natural armor bonus.
Advanced weapon trick You can hit the joints of your opponent for maximum hurt. If you hit a flat-footed opponent or score a critical hit with a club, your opponent suffers 2 point penalty to dexterity. This penalty is cumulative.
Cost - (5 gp with metal spikes)

Crossbow, heavy
Description A crossbow is a weapon bow mounted on a stick (called a tiller or stock) with a mechanism in it which holds the drawn bow string. The bow of a heavy crossbow is composite or metallic. Its draw weight is too high to be cocked by hand, necessitating a lever-system such as cranequin or windlass. It weighs 6 lbs.
Type Simple two handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (bolt/quarrel) 1d12 piercing, critical range 19 - 20, 3x multiplier.
Range Increment 120 feet
Special You draw a heavy crossbow back by turning a small winch. Loading a heavy crossbow is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Normally, operating a heavy crossbow requires two hands. However, you can shoot, but not load, a heavy crossbow with one hand at a -4 penalty on attack rolls. You can shoot a heavy crossbow with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two one-handed weapons. This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing.
A heavy crossbow can be used as an improvised two-handed weapon (-4 to attack rolls), dealing damage as a club of its size.
Crossbows have an "emulated" strength modifier. You add this modifier to hit and damage using a crossbow. The default modifier for crossbows is +0. Each +1 adds 150 gp to the cost of a crossbow. The maximum modifier for a medium-sized heavy crossbow is +5. For each size category above medium, the maximum limit is increased by 1. Likewise, for each size category below medium, it is decreased by 1.
Basic weapon trick If you spend 1 round aiming your crossbow, in addition to normal benefits of aiming, any hit you score on an opponent within your first range increment is automatically a critical hit.
Advanced weapon trick As the basic trick, but applies within first two range increments.
Cost 50 gp/

Crossbow, Light
Description A crossbow is a weapon bow mounted on a stick (called a tiller or stock) with a mechanism in it which holds the drawn bow string. The bow of a light crossbow is usually single piece of wood, such as ash or yew. Its generally cocked with a lever or using a belt hook, but a strong man could draw it by hand. It weighs 4 pounds.
Type Simple two-handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (bolt/quarrel) 1d8 piercing, critical range 19 - 20, 3x multiplier.
Range Increment 80 feet.
Special You draw a light crossbow back by pulling a lever or using a belt hook. Loading a light crossbow is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Normally, operating a light crossbow requires two hands. However, you can shoot, but not load, a light crossbow with one hand at a -2 penalty on attack rolls. You can shoot a light crossbow with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two light weapons. This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing.
Crossbows have an "emulated" strength modifier. You add this modifier to hit and damage using a crossbow. The default modifier for crossbows is +0. Each +1 adds 150 gp to the cost of a crossbow. The maximum modifier for a medium-sized light crossbow is +3. For each size category above medium, the maximum limit is increased by 1. Likewise, for each size category below medium, it is decreased by 1.
Basic weapon trick If you spend 1 round aiming your crossbow, in addition to normal benefits of aiming, any hit you score on an opponent within your first range increment is automatically a critical threat.
Advanced weapon trick As the basic trick, but applies within first two range increments.
Cost 35 gp.

Crossbow, Hand
Description A small crossbow constructed with a pistol-style grip. It weighs 1 lb.
Type Simple one-handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (bolt/quarrel) 1d6 piercing, critical range 19 - 20, 3x multiplier.
Range Increment 40 feet.
Special You draw a hand crossbow back by pulling a lever or using a belt hook. Loading a hand crossbow is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Although reloading a hand crossbow requires two hands, you can easily fire it one handed. You can shoot with a hand crossbow in each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two light weapons.
Crossbows have an "emulated" strength modifier. You add this modifier to hit and damage using a crossbow. The default modifier for crossbows is +0. Each +1 adds 150 gp to the cost of a crossbow. The maximum modifier for a medium-sized hand crossbow is +1. For each size category above medium, the maximum limit is increased by 1. Likewise, for each size category below medium, it is decreased by 1.
Basic weapon trick You can reload the hand crossbow as a free action, instead of a move action.
Advanced weapon trick If you spend 1 round aiming your crossbow, in addition to normal benefits of aiming, any hit you score on an opponent within your first range increment is automatically a critical threat.
Cost 20 gp.

Dagger, throwing
Description A cruciform, broad-bladed knife balanced for throwing. Weighs 1 lbs.
Type Simple light melee weapon / thrown ranged weapon.
Damage (blade) 1d4 slashing, critical range 19 - 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (tip) 1d4 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Damage (butt) 1d2 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Range increment 10 feet.
Special A dagger is easily concealed from prying eyes. You can +2 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it.
Basic weapon trick At your first turn of combat or against a flat-footed foe, you can make an extra attack at your highest BAB by throwing your dagger as a swift action.
Advanced weapon trick Daggers are especially good for prying open armor. When grappling with an armored opponent, any piercing strikes you make with your dagger ignore all armor and natural armor bonuses of your opponent.
Cost 2 gp

Dagger, punching
Description A small triangular blade attached to T-shaped handle. You wrap your fist around the handle so that the blade sticks from between your fingers. Weighs ½ lbs.
Type Simple light melee weapon
Damage (Tip) 1d3 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Damage (Blade) 1d2 slashing, critical range 19 - 20, 2x multiplier
Special A punching dagger is extremely easy to conceal. You get +6 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it.
Basic weapon trick Drawing a punching dagger, concealed or otherwise, and concealing it are always free actions for you, with no penalties. You gain +4 to all feint attempts with a punching dagger. If you have the Sneak Attack class feature, your Sneak Attack dice are d8 instead of d6.
Advanced weapon trick Daggers are especially good for prying open armor. When grappling with an armored opponent, any piercing strikes you make with your dagger ignore all armor and natural armor bonuses of your opponent.
Cost 2 gp

Dart
Description Dart are ½ to 2 feet long thrown weapons, resembling heavy arrows with a short shaft and a long, thin head. Two darts weigh ½ pound.
Type Simple light thrown ranged weapon.
Damage 1d4 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Range Increment 20 feet
Special Although they are thrown weapons, darts are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them and what happens to them after they are thrown.
Darts are also easy to conceal. You get +4 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal them.
Basic weapon trick Darts are fast to draw and throw. When wielding a dart, you threaten an area up to 20 feet. In a pinch, you can make a melee attack using a dart.
Advanced weapon trick If you score a critical hit against an enemy, they must make a Fortitude save or be blinded in one eye (if applicable). These injuries take a Heal check (DC=Damage Taken) to mend, otherwise they're permanent. (A creature blind in only one eye takes a -4 penalty to Perception checks, and all enemies are considered to have concealment (20% miss chance) against the character, due to loss of depth perception)
Cost 5 sp

Gauntlet
Description A sturdy metal glove made to protect your hand, fingers and forearm from damage. A single gauntlet weighs 1 pound.
Type Unarmed attack.
Damage Same as your unarmed strike.
Special A gauntlet lets you deal lethal damage with unarmed strikes without penalty. A strike with a gauntlet is otherwise considered an unarmed strike.
While gauntlet is considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for normal unarmed strikes and grappling while while wearing them.
Basic weapon trick You can better disarm your opponents while wearing hand protection. When wearing gauntlets, your unarmed strikes count as one-handed weapons for purposes of disarming. If you have two gauntlet-wearing hands free, your unarmed strikes count as two-handed weapons.
Advanced weapon trick You can use a free, gauntleted hand to control your opponent's weapon. Follow steps 1 & 2 of disarming as normal. If you succeed, you are now grasping the weapon, and both you and your opponent are unable to use (at least one) hand holding the weapon for anything else. Neither of you can move freely either - instead, you use rules for moving while grappling if you want to change position. Your opponent can choose to let go of his weapon at any point, in which case you will have as if you'd disarmed him. There are two exceptions: first, if your opposed roll exceeds his by 10 or more, your opponent is unable to let go of his weapon unless you allow it. Second, if your opponent is wearing locked gauntlets, he is likewise unable to let go.
Cost 1 gp, 2 gp for a pair. Medium and Heavy armors come equipped with gauntlets, with the exception of breastplate.

Gauntlet, Spiked
Description A gauntlet with vicious, sharp spikes attached. Weighs 1 pound.
Type Simple light melee weapon
Damage (Spike) 1d4 piercing, crit 20/x3
Damage (Side) 1d4 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2, or your unarmed strike damage if it's better.
Special Your opponent cannot use a disarm action to disarm you of spiked gauntlets. An attack with a spiked gauntlet is considered an armed attack. If you have Improved Unarmed Strike feat, you can use all special abilities you would normally use through unarmed strikes with your spiked gauntlet.
While spiked gauntlet is considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for normal gauntlets, unarmed strikes and grappling while wearing them.
Basic weapon trick If your unarmed strike damage is better than the spike's damage, you can combine the two: damage type of your unarmed strikes is changed to piercing and your critical multiplier increases by one step. For purposes of sundering weapons, your spiked gauntlet counts as a one-handed weapon instead of light weapon. If you have two free hands wearing spiked gauntlets, your gauntlets count as a two-handed weapon.
Advanced weapon trick If you score a critical hit with your spiked gauntlet, your opponent begins to suffer from 1d6 bleed damage. Additionally, your enemy suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all rolls. (Note: Bleed damage is a Pathfinder rule, located here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/conditions#TOC-Bleed).
Cost 5 gp, 10 gp for a pair

Javelin
Description A 3 to 7 feet spear optimally balanced for throwing. Weighs 1½ pounds.
Type Simple one-handed thrown ranged weapon
Damage 1d8 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Range increment 35 feet
Basic weapon trick On your first turn of combat, you can throw your javelin as a swift action using your highest BAB. Drawing any one other weapon after this is a free action. In a pinch, you can use javelin as a melee weapon.
If you can move at least 10 feet before throwing, you receive +2 to hit and damage with your javelin. Your range increment also increases by 10 feet. You can only throw one javelin per round this way.
Advanced weapon trick You can use javelins to sunder shields wielded by your opponents at a range. As long as you're outside your enemy's reach, you provoke no attack of opportunity. If you succeed, the armor check penalty of your opponent's shield increases by 1 and its weight by 1½ pounds. This increase is cumulative.
Cost 1 gp

Longspear
Description A 7 to 13 feet long sturdy haft with a sharp bone, stone or metal blade attached to the tip. Weighs 6 pounds.
Type Simple two-handed reach melee weapon
Damage (Tip) 1d8 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Damage (Tip) 1d6 slashing, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (Haft) 1d6 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Special If you use a ready action to set a longspear against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Basic weapon trick You can shorten your grip to essentially use longspear as a quarterstaff. You can use your longspear as a double weapon to strike adjacent targets, using the slashing tip as one end and the haft as the other. Changing your grip is a swift action.
Advanced weapon trick Charging provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you hit, you do double damage and end their movement for the round.
Cost 5 gp

Mace, Heavy & Morning star
Description 2 to 3 feet long metal or metal-reinforced wooden haft ending with a hard stone, bone or metal head. May have knobs or flanges for penetrating armor. Weighs 3 pounds.
A morning star is a similar weapon, with a wooden haft and a head with several long metal spikes. It works similarly to a knobbed mace, but weighs only 2 pounds as its haft is not metallic.
Type Simple one-handed melee weapon.
Damage 1d8 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (Knobbed) 1d8 bludgeoning and piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier.
Damage (Flanged) 1d8 bludgeoning, slashing and piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier.
Special A flanged mace is a martial, rather than simple weapon.
Basic weapon trick A mace is highly useful for penetrating armor. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 2 points against it. You get +4 bonus for sundering shields.
Advanced weapon tricks If you score a critical hit with a heavy mace, your opponent must make a saving throw against DC equal to damage dealt or be stunned for 1 round. If you attack a flat-footed enemy in melee, your heavy mace always deals maximum damage.
Cost 8 gp for a morning star, 12 gp for a heavy mace (20 gp for a flanged version.)

Mace, Light
Description 1 to 2 feet long wooden or metal baton with a hard knob of bone, stone or metal at its head. The knob may have knobs to inflict more damage. Weighs 1 pound.
Type Simple light melee weapon
Damage 1d6 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (knobbed) 1d6 bludgeoning and piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Special A light mace is easy to hide and you get +2 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it. A knobless version has no penalty for inflicting non-lethal damage.
Basic weapon trick A light mace is useful aid for grappling. When damaging your opponent in a grapple, you can use your light mace's damage in place of your unarmed strike. You benefit from your light mace's enhancement bonus when grappling. You take no penalty for inflicting either lethal or non-lethal damage.
Advanced weapon trick You can aim for the joints of your enemy for maximum hurts. When you score a critical hit with a light mace, your opponent suffers 1 point of Strength or Dexterity penalty (your choice). These penalties are cumulative.
Cost 5 gp (8 gp for the knobbed version)

Quarterstaff
Description A sturdy wooden staff between 6 and 9 feet in length, sometimes with metal-reinforced tips. A quarterstaff weighs 2 pounds.
Type Simple two-handed double weapon
Damage 1d6/1d6 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (with metal tips) 1d8/1d8 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Special A quarterstaff is a double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. A creature wielding a quarterstaff in one hand can’t use it as a double weapon—only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.
Basic weapon trick You can lengthen your grip to use quarterstaff as a reach weapon, doing 1d4 bludgeoning damage or 1d6 with metal tips. Changing grips is a swift action.
Advanced weapon trick You can use a quarterstaff to damage your opponent while grappling. When doing this, you can grapple enemies of one size category larger than normal. You benefit from your staff's enhancement bonuses for your grapple checks. If you manage to pin your enemy for three rounds in a row, he is considered helpless.
Cost - (5 gp with metal tips)

Sai
Description A pointed, prong-shaped metal baton, with two curved prongs projecting from the handle. There are symmetrical prongs as well as manji-shaped ones. A sai weighs 1 pound.
Type Simple light melee weapon / thrown ranged weapon
Damage (shaft & butt) 1d4 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (tip) 1d4 piercing and bludgeoning, critical range 20, 3x multiplier. Note only applicable if the tip is sharpened.
Range Increment 10 feet.
Special With a sai, you get a +4 bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an enemy (including the roll to avoid being disarmed if such an attempt fails).
Basic weapon trick Sais are traditionally used in pairs. When wielding two sais, you can use them together for disarming attempts, making them count as two-handed instead of light weapons for such attempts. Additionally, disarming bonuses from two sais stack.
Advanced weapon trick Sais can also be used in sets of tree. The third is usually thrown. When carrying three sais, at your first turn of combat or against a flat-footed opponent, you may throw your third sai as a swift action, using your highest attack bonus. Drawing your remaining sais after this attack are also free actions.
Cost 1 gp

Shortspear
Description A 4 to 6 feet long stick with a sharp tip made of stone or metal. Weight 2½ pounds.
Type Simple one-handed melee weapon / thrown ranged weapon
Damage (tip) 1d6 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Damage (tip) 1d4 slashing, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (haft) 1d4 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Range Increment 20 feet
Special -
Basic weapon trick On your first turn of combat, you can throw your shortspear as a swift action using your highest BAB. Drawing any one other weapon after this is a free action.
If you can move at least 10 feet before throwing, you receive +2 to hit and damage with your shortspear.Your range increment also increases by 10 feet. You can only throw one shortspear per round this way.
Advanced weapon trick You've learned to use your spear more effectively with a shield. When wielding shortspear with a shield and fighting defensively, you suffer only -2 penalty to attack rolls and your shield AC bonus increases by 2. If you ready an action to set your spear against a charge, you deal double damage.
Cost 1 gp

Shuriken
Description Shuriken is a catch-all term for various sharpened pieces of metal used as concealed throwing weapons. The most famous type of shuriken is the "shaken", or throwing star. Six shurikens weigh ½ pound.
Type Simple light thrown ranged weapon.
Damage 1d2 piercing and slashing, critical range 20, 2x multiplier.
Range Increment 10 feet.
Special Although they are thrown weapons, shuriken are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them and what happens to them after they are thrown. Shurikens can also be used as caltrops.
Shuriken are also easy to conceal. You get +4 to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal them.
Basic weapon trick Shurikens are small enough that multiple can be thrown at once. Against a flat-footed opponent, you can throw three shuriken at once per each attack you make. Make one attack roll for all three shuriken. If a critical hit is indicated, only one shuriken deals additional damage. Likewise, precision damage is only applied once per throw.
Advanced weapon trick If you score a critical hit against a flat-footed opponent, your opponent must make a Fort save. Failure means the opponent is blinded for 1d6 minutes, provided he has eyes. Success or not having eyes means your enemy suffers -2 morale penalty to all checks for 1d6 rounds.
Cost 1 gp (sold in bundles of 6)

Sickle & Kama
Description a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock (either freshly cut or dried as hay). Kama is a variant of this tool, looking like a small scythe. The kama has a straighter blade perpendicular to the haft. These tools weight 1 pound.
Type Simple light melee weapon
Damage (blade) 1d6 slashing, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (haft) 1d3 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Special A sickle or kama can be used to make trip attacks. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the sickle to avoid being tripped.
These weapons count as masterwork tools for Profession (Farmer) skill.
Basic weapon tricks These weapons are traditionally used in pairs. When wielding two kamas or sickles, you can resist sunder and disarm attempts as if you had a two-handed weapon instead of light weapons. You also get +4 bonus to all trip attempts.
Advanced weapon tricks You can slash tendons of your enemies. If you score a critical hit with sickle or kama, your opponent has to make a reflex save against DC equal to damage dealt or suffer 2 point penalty to dexterity and be knocked prone.
Cost 6 gp

Sling
Description A sling has a small cradle or pouch in the middle of two lengths of cord. A projectile is placed in the pouch. The middle finger is placed through the loop, the other string has a tab that is placed between the thumb and forefinger. The sling is swung and with a flick of the wrist the tab is released at the precise moment. This frees the projectile to fly to the target.The sling derives its effectiveness by essentially extending the length of a human arm, thus allowing projectiles to be thrown farther than they could be by hand. A sling weighs ½ pound.
Type Simple one-handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (bullet) 1d6 bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Damage (dart) 1d4 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Range Increment 50 feet, +10 feet per point of Strength modifier
Special Your Strength modifier applies to damage rolls when you use a sling, just as it does for thrown weapons. You can fire, but not load, a sling with one hand. Loading a sling is a move action that requires two hands and provokes attacks of opportunity.
You can hurl ordinary stones with a sling, but stones are not as dense or as round as bullets. Thus, such an attack deals damage as if the weapon were designed for a creature one size category smaller than you and you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls.
Basic weapon trick You can reload your sling as a free action. You may fire your sling as many times in a full attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.
Advanced weapon trick If using stones or bullets, whenever you score a critical hit against an opponent, he must make a Fort save or be stunned for 1d3 rounds. If using a dart, your opponent is blinded instead.
Cost -

[Mcdt2]

Battle-Axe
Description Some battle-axes come with either a piercing spike or a blunt hammer head on the back of the weapon, behind the blade. It is usually around 2-3 feet long and weighs 2 pounds.
Type Martial one-handed melee weapon.
Damage (Axe) 1d8 slashing, crit 20/x3
Damage (Spike) 1d6 piercing, crit 20/x3
Damage (Hammer) 1d6 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2
Basic weapon trick A battle-axe is highly useful for penetrating armor. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 3 points against it. You get +4 bonus for sundering shields.
Advanced weapon tricks Whenever you score a critical hit against an opponent with armor or natural armor, your opponent's armor or natural armor bonus is reduced by 4 points until the end of the encounter. If you attack a flat-footed enemy in melee, your battle-axe always deals maximum damage.
Cost 10 gp, 20 gp for a spiked or hammer version.


Bows (short, long, great)
Description Bows can come in many forms and sizes, but ultimately it boils down to three simple categories: Shortbows, which are generally between 2 and 4 feet long and weigh 2 pounds; longbows, which are usually between 4 and 6 feet long and weigh 3 pounds; and the greatbow, which can be as long as 8 feet long and weighing 5 pounds.
Type Martial two-handed ranged weapon
Damage (Shortbow) 1d6 piercing, 20/x3
Damage (Longbow) 1d8 piercing, 20/x3
Damage (Greatbow) 2d6 piercing, 20/x3
Range Increment (Shortbow) 60 ft
Range Increment (Longbow) 100 ft
Range Increment (Greatbow) 140 ft
Special The greatbow's extreme size makes it very difficult to wield, unless you possess special training. It can be wielded as a martial weapon if you have at least 18 strength, or as an Exotic Weapon with any strength score.
Basic weapon trick Any archer who finds himself in the thick of melee finds himself quickly in trouble. You've learned to compensate for such stressful situations, and no longer provoke attacks of opportunity for firing your bow.
Advanced weapon tricks Although arrows drop considerably more than the bolts fired from crossbows, you're so accustomed to compensating on the fly that when you actually pay attention, your aim is deadly accurate. If you spend an entire turn aiming, you may make a single shot at up to the maximum range without any range penalties.
Cost 30 gp for a shortbow, 60 gp for a longbow, 100 gp for a greatbow.

Combat Scabbard
Description A special scabbard, reinforced with metal bands and sturdy wood. Weighs 1 pound.
Type Martial light melee weapon
Damage 1d6 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Special You can lethal and non-lethal damage without penalty with a combat scabbard.
While the combat scabbard is considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for batons while while wielding one.
Basic weapon trick While wielding a combat scabbard and any other weapon, you gain a +2 shield bonus to AC, which stacks with Two-Weapon Defense and similar.
Furthermore, you can fight with a weapon (typically a sword) still in the scabbard, in which case you use the sheathed weapon's damage dice and critical multiplier (but not threat range), except it does bludgeoning damage, and you can deal non-lethal damage without penalty.
Advanced weapon trick You can hit the joints of your opponent for maximum hurt. If you hit a flat-footed opponent or score a critical hit with a scabbard, your opponent suffers 1 point penalty to dexterity. This penalty is cumulative.
Cost


Crossbow, Repeating (light and heavy)
Description A special variation on the crossbow which has a magazine that can hold a number of bolts for rapid reloading. It weighs 1 pound more than a standard crossbow (5 for light, 7 for heavy)
Type Martial two-handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (heavy) 1d12 piercing, 20/x3
Range Increment (heavy) 80 ft.
Damage (light) 1d8 piercing, 20/x3
Range Increment (light) 40 ft.
Special Unlike standard crossbows, repeating crossbows come equipped with a mechanism to facilitate automatic reloading, and a magazine to hold bolts/quarrels. As such, reloading is a free action, at least until the magazine runs out of bolts (a standard clip contains 12 bolts on a light crossbow, or 18 for a heavy). Changing a clip is a move action for light crossbows, or a full-round action for heavy repeaters. This action can be reduced by Rapid Reload and similar effects.
Repeating crossbows can be used one handed just as regular crossbows, incurring the same penalties. However, reloading still takes two hands, even with the repeater mechanism. Furthermore, repeating crossbows may have an emulated strength modifier, though the maximum modifier is one lower than it would otherwise be for a crossbow of that size.
While repeating crossbows are considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for normal crossbows while wielding one.
Basic weapon trick You can fire so quickly that you may fire two bolts for every attack you would make. Make one attack roll for both bolts. If a critical hit is indicated, only one bolt deals additional damage. Likewise, precision damage is only applied once per shot.
Advanced weapon trick The sheer barrage of bolts you fire is sure to hurt somebody, even if you miss. At the end of any round you missed with an attack, you may roll a 1d8, as though you had missed with a splash weapon, except you treat the range increment as being 10 feet for this purpose. If you chose to roll, the square indicated is subjected to a barrage of attacks. Any creature(s) within that square must make a Reflex save (DC = 10 + 1/2 BAB) or take damage as though hit by all of the attacks that missed. A successful save halves the damage.
Cost 100 gp (heavy), 85 gp (light)

Crossbow, Repeating (hand)
Description A special variation on the crossbow which has a magazine that can hold a number of bolts for rapid reloading. It weighs 1.5 pounds.
Type Martial one-handed projectile ranged weapon
Damage (bolt/quarrel) 1d6 piercing, 20/x3
Range Increment 20 ft.
Special Unlike standard crossbows, repeating crossbows come equipped with a mechanism to facilitate automatic reloading, and a magazine to hold bolts/quarrels. As such, reloading is a free action, at least until the magazine runs out of bolts (a standard clip contains 8 bolts). Changing a clip is a move action.

Repeating crossbows can be used one handed just as regular hand crossbows, incurring the same penalties for two-weapon fighting. However, reloading still takes two hands, even with the repeater mechanism. Furthermore, repeating crossbows may have an emulated strength modifier, though the maximum modifier is one lower than it would otherwise be for a crossbow of that size.

While repeating hand crossbows are considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for normal hand crossbows while wielding one.
Basic weapon trick You can reload the hand crossbow's magazine as a free action, instead of a move action.
Advanced weapon trick You can fire so quickly that you may fire two bolts for every attack you would make. Make one attack roll for both bolts. If a critical hit is indicated, only one bolt deals additional damage. Likewise, precision damage is only applied once per shot.
Cost 70 gp


Glaive (Guisarme, Glaive-Guisarme, Bardiche, Naginata, Etc.)
Description A blade of roughly 1-2 feet in length mounted on a pole of 6-7 feet. Sometimes has a hook or curved section for tripping and stabbing. Weighs 8 lbs.
Type Martial two-handed reach melee weapon
Damage (Blade) 2d4 Slashing, critical 19-20/x2
Damage (Tip & Hook) 1d6 Piercing, critical 20/x3
Damage (Haft) 1d4 Bludgeoning, critical 20/x2
Special You can make trip attacks with glaive's blade or hook. If you fail, you can drop your glaive to avoid being tripped in return.
Basic weapon trick You can shorten your grip to essentially use the glaive as a quarterstaff. You can use your glaive as a double weapon to strike adjacent targets, using the slashing tip as one end and the haft as the other.
If you use a ready action to set a glaive against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Advanced weapon trick Charging provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you hit, you do double damage and end their movement for the round.
Cost 9 gp

Greataxe
Description A larger axe, with either one or two blades. It weighs 4 pounds.
Type Martial two-handed melee weapon.
Damage 2d6 slashing, crit 20/x3
Basic weapon trick A greataxe is highly useful for penetrating armor. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 4 points against it. You get +6 bonus for sundering shields.
Advanced weapon tricks Whenever you score a critical hit against an opponent with armor or natural armor, your opponent's armor or natural armor bonus is reduced by 4 points until the end of the encounter. If you attack a flat-footed enemy in melee, your greataxe always deals maximum damage.
Cost 20 gp

Halberd
Description An axe head attached to a 5 to 6 feet long haft, with a hook at the back of the blade and a spearhead at the tip, weighing 6 pounds.
Type Martial two-handed melee weapon
Damage (Blade) 1d10 Slashing, critical range 19-20, 3x multiplier
Damage (Tip & Hook) 1d8 Piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Damage (Haft) 1d6 Bludgeoning, critical range 20, 2x multiplier
Special You can make trip attacks with halberd's hook. If you fail, you can drop your halberd to avoid being tripped in return.
Basic weapon trick When striking with the tip, you can essentially use halberd as a long spear, making it a reach weapon. When using halberd in this manner, you can still strike adjacent foes with the haft. Changing grips is a swift action.
If you use a ready action to set a halberd against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Advanced weapon trick Charging provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you hit, you do double damage and end their movement for the round.
Cost 10 gp

Hammer, Great (Sledgehammer, Maul)
Description A large and heavy hammer, often with a pick on the opposite side of the head's striking surface. It weighs 6 pounds.
Type Martial two-handed melee weapon.
Damage (Hammer) 2d6 bludgeoning, crit 20/x4
Damage (Pick) 1d8 piercing, crit 20/x3.
Special The great hammer’s pick is useful in disarming and sundering, and so grants a +2 on disarm and sunder checks
Basic weapon trick A great hammer is highly useful for penetrating armor. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 4 points against it. You get a +2 bonus for sundering shields
Advanced weapon tricks If you score a critical hit with a great hammer, your opponent must make a Fort Save or be stunned for 1 round. If you attack a flat-footed enemy in melee, your hammer always deals maximum damage.
Cost 20 gp

Hammer, war
Description A heavy hammer designed to crush limbs, often with a pick set opposite the head's striking face. It weighs 3 pounds
Type Martial one-handed melee weapon.
Damage (Hammer) 1d8 bludgeoning, crit 20/x4
Damage (Pick) 1d6 piercing, crit 20/x3.
Special The war hammer’s pick is useful in disarming and sundering, and so grants a +2 on disarm and sunder checks
Basic weapon trick A war hammer is highly useful for penetrating armor. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 3 points against it, and you ignore light armor completely. You get +2 bonus for sundering shields.
Advanced weapon tricks If you score a critical hit with a war hammer, your opponent must make a Fort Save or be stunned for 1 round. If you attack a flat-footed enemy in melee, your hammer always deals maximum damage.
Cost 12 gp

Handaxe (Throwing Axe)
Description
Type Martial light thrown melee weapon
Damage (blade) 1d6 slashing, crit 20/x3
Damage (haft) 1d4 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2
Range increment 10 feet
Basic weapon trick On your first turn of combat, you can throw your handaxe as a swift action using your highest BAB. Drawing any one other weapon after this is a free action.
If you can move at least 10 feet before throwing, you receive +2 to hit and damage with your handaxe. Your range increment also increases by 10 feet. You can only throw one handaxe per round this way.
Advanced weapon trick You can use handaxes to sunder shields wielded by your opponents at a range. As long as you're outside your enemy's reach, you provoke no attack of opportunity. If you succeed, the armor check penalty of your opponent's shield increases by 1 and its weight by 3 pounds. This increase is cumulative.
Cost 6 gp

Kukri
Description
Type martial light melee weapon
Damage 1d4 slashing, crit 18-20/x2
Basic weapon trick If you confirm a critical hit against an enemy, they begin to take bleed damage equal to your strength modifier. (Note: Bleed damage is a Pathfinder rule, located here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/conditions#TOC-Bleed).
Advanced weapon trick When you successfully use the basic weapon trick, you may, as a swift action, attempt to flick the blood into the eyes of an enemy with 5 feet. Resolve this as the dirty trick combat maneuver, except you may only inflict the blinded or sickened conditions.
Cost 8 gp

Lance
Description
Type Martial one-handed melee weapon.
Damage 1d8 piercing, crit 20/x3
Special The lance is a reach weapon, and can be used to attack creatures 10 feet away. It cannot be used to hit adjacent creatures, however.
The lance is awkward and unwieldy when not used while mounted, and can only be as a two-handed improvised weapon, dealing damage as a club, while on foot.
When used in mounted combat, the lance does double damage on a charge, or triple with Spirited Charge.
Basic weapon trick When used in mounted combat, a successful attack at the end of a charge lets you make a bull rush attempt against that foe as a free action. In addition, sunder attempts made at the end of a charge versus shields gain a +6 on the attack roll.
Advanced weapon tricks Though a one handed weapon, the lance is well designed for taking advantage of the mount’s momentum. When charging on a mount, the lance counts as a two handed weapon for all purposes, except that it still only requires 1 hand to use.
Cost 10 gp

Ranseur
Description
Type Martial two-handed reach melee weapon
Damage (Tip) 2d4 Piercing, critical 20/x3
Damage (Haft) 1d4 Bludgeoning, critical 20/x2
Special You can disarm opponents with the ranseur’s sai-like prongs, gainng a +2 on the attempt (in addition to the +4 for a two-handed weapon)
Basic weapon trick If you use a ready action to set a ranseur against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character. Furthermore, you can attempt to knock a rider off his mount. Resolve this attempt as a bulrush. At DM’s discretion, the falling rider may take damage from the fall and/or from objects/terrain.
Advanced weapon trick Charging provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you hit, you do double damage and end their movement for the round. If the charger was mounted, you may attempt to dislodge them as above.
Cost 10 gp

Rapier
Description
Type Martial one-handed melee weapon.
Damage (Tip) 1d8 piercing, crit 18-20/x2
Damage (Blade) 1d6 slashing, crit 20/x2
Special The rapier is a quick and elegant weapon, suited more for finesse than force. A rapier counts as a light weapon for the purposes of Weapon Finesse and Two Weapon Fighting.
Basic weapon trick [placeholder pending rewrite]
Advanced weapon tricks The rapier is a very long weapon, and one well suited to lunging thrusts. You may make your attacks as though the rapier had reach (using only the thrusting tip).
Cost 20 gp

Soliferrum
Description A heavy javelin made of solid metal (usually iron), 5 to 7 feet long and ½ inch in diameter. Weighs 12 pounds.
Type Martial one handed thrown ranged weapon
Damage 2d6 piercing, critical range 20, 3x multiplier
Range increment 10 feet
Special Mundane shields do not confer shield bonus against a soliferrum. Magical shields only confer theirs against non-magical soliferrum. A magical soliferrum's enhancement bonus is subtracted from a magical shield's shield bonus.
If you can move at least 10 feet before throwing, you receive +2 to hit and damage with your soliferrum. Your range increment also increases by 10 feet. You can only throw one soliferrum per round this way.
Basic weapon trick On your first turn of combat, you can throw your soliferrum as a swift action using your highest BAB. Drawing any one other weapon after this is a free action. Your soliferrum ignores any armor bonus from light armor your opponent might have.
Advanced weapon trick You can use soliferrums to sunder shields wielded by your opponents at a range. As long as you're outside your enemy's reach, you provoke no attack of opportunity. If you succeed, the armor check penalty of your opponent's shield increases by 2 and its weight by 12 pounds. This increase is cumulative.
Cost 10 gp

Sword, Great
Description
Type Martial two handed melee weapon
Damage (Slash) 2d6 slashing, 18-20/x2
Damage (Thrust) 2d4 piercing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Hilt) 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Basic Trick The greatsword specializes in massacring pike formations, but their weapon destroying prowess extends to other weapons as well. Whenever you successfully sunder a weapon, once per round you may make another sunder attempt at another weapon or shield. If you possess the Cleave feat, you may do this as often as you could cleave.
Advanced Trick You may sunder through weapons and shields with such force that it carries into the wielder. When you successfully destroy a shield or weapon (whether you choose to leave it at 1 hp and broken or not), you may make a followup attack against the wielder of the weapon/shield. This does not count against your cleave attempts, if the attack kills the wielder and you possess the Cleave feat.

Sword, Katana
Description Though superficially similar to the longsword, the katana is balanced rather differently, and the blade is curved, causing its use to differ rather drastically.
Type Martial one handed melee weapon
Damage (Slash) 1d10 slashing, 18-20/x2
Damage (Thrust) 1d8 piercing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Hilt) 1d3 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Basic Trick The combat technique of battojutsu (part of a broader technique called iaijutsu), or "the art of drawing out the sword" is integral to combat with the katana. You may draw the katana as a free action, and the first attack made in any round you draw the katana gains +1d6 to damage.
Advanced Trick There is more to iaijutsu than the quick-draw, and many defensive methods are taught as well. If you are attacked and your katana is sheathed, you may, as an immediate action, draw it and make an attack. For each five points of damage the attack deals (assuming it hits), the attack (and any other the attacker makes in this round) take a -1 penalty to the attack roll.

Sword, Long
Description
Type Martial one handed melee weapon
Damage (Thrust) 1d10 piercing, 19-20/x3
Damage (Slash) 1d8 slashing, 18-20/x2
Damage (Hilt) 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Basic Trick Though longswords are normally ineffectual in a grapple, you have learned the technique of half-swording to compensate. You may grasp the sword by the blade with your offhand (if it is empty), so that you may thrust more effectively, negating the -2 penalty for grappling when using the thrust damage.
Advanced Trick The second greatest obstacle for users of the longsword is an enemy in heavy armor, which can be bested more easily using the Murder-blow technique. As a move action, you may grab the sword by the blade with both hands. You may then strike using the hilt, which now does 1d8 damage with a crit of 20/x3. This attack ignores up to 3 points of armor or natural armor bonus, and deals maximum damage to flat-footed foes.

Sword, Scimitar (Falchion, Dao, Tulwar, etc.)
Description
Type Martial light melee weapon
Damage (Slash) 1d8 slashing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Hilt) 1d3 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Basic Trick The scimitar is well designed for chopping through armor, though not as effectively as most axes. All armor and natural armor bonuses are decreased by 2 points against it. You get +4 bonus for sundering shields.
Advanced Trick The scimitar was favored by horsemen for its light weight, as well as the curved blade which helped carry it through a slash during a charge. When using the scimitar while mounted, you deal double damage, or triple with Spirited Charge.

Sword, Short
Description
Type Martial light melee weapon
Damage (Thrust) 1d8 piercing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Slash) 1d6 slashing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Hilt) 1d3 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Basic Trick You've learned to use your sword more effectively with a shield. When wielding shortsword with a shield and fighting defensively, you suffer only -2 penalty to attack rolls and your shield AC bonus increases by 2.
Advanced Trick Shortswords are especially good for prying open armor. When grappling with an armored opponent, any piercing strikes you make with your shortsword ignore all armor and natural armor bonuses of your opponent.

Tonfa
Description
Type Martial light melee weapon
Damage 1d4 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2
Special The tonfa can be used in two different grips, standard and reversed. Switching between them is a swift action, although the two styles are identical without access to the basic and advanced weapon tricks below. Furthermore, you can deal lethal or nonlethal damage with a tonfa without penalty.
While the tonfa is considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, you can also use all weapon tricks for batons while wielding them.
Basic weapon trick Tonfas are traditionally wielded in pairs. When wielding two tonfas, you can resist sunder and disarm attempts as if you had a two-handed weapon instead of light weapons. Furthermore, while using the standard grip, you gain a +2 shield bonus to AC, as you use the tonfas to guard against blows. This shield bonus stacks with any from Two-Weapon Defense or similar feats/abilities.
Advanced weapon trick When wielding the tonfa in the reversed grip, you can use it to make trip attacks using the handle. Furthermore, while using this ability while wielding two tonfas, treat the trip attempt as though you were using a two handed weapon instead of light weapons.
Cost 2 gp

[Mcdt2]

Bolas
Description: Bolas are several weights (generally two or three) tied together with tough but thin rope. They are designed to be thrown to entangle opponents, but they can deal impressive damage as well when thrown properly. They weigh 2 lbs.
Type: Exotic one-handed thrown ranged weapon
Damage: 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Range Increment: 20 ft
Special: When you attack with a set of bolas, it is a ranged touch attack. If you hit, the target is entangled (-2 attack, -4 Dex, half move speed, cannot run or charge). An entangled spellcaster must make a DC 15 Concentration check in order to cast a spell. They can break free with a Strength check (DC 25) or Escape Artist check (DC 20) as a full round action. The bolas has 3 hit points and a hardness of 0.

You can deal both lethal and nonlethal damage without penalty when using bolas.
Basic weapon trick: You can disarm and trip opponents at range with bolas.

Further, you may now instead bind the opponents arms instead of their legs. By taking a -6 to the attack roll, instead of being entangled, they instead take a -4 penalty to all attacks, and cannot use any held weapons. Spellcasters must make a DC 20 check to cast, and cannot cast spells with somatic components at all. They can break free with the same methods as listed above.

Advanced weapon tricks: You can now bind your opponents in such a way as to prevent speech. By taking a -10 to the attack roll, instead of entangling them, the bolas wrap around the throat of your opponent, preventing them from speaking. Spellcasters must make a DC 25 Concentration check to cast, and cannot cast spells with a verbal component at all. They can break free with the same methods listed above.
Cost: 5 gp.

Chain
Description A length of metal chain, roughly 6-7 feet in length, with a metal weight on either end. It weighs roughly 10 pounds. Some versions come with spikes on the metal ends.
Type Exotic two-handed melee weapon.
Damage 2d4 bludgeoning, crit 20/x2
Damage (Spiked) 2d4 bludgeoning and piercing, crit 20/x2
Special A spiked chain has reach, so you can strike opponents 10 feet away with it. In addition, unlike most other weapons with reach, it can be used against an adjacent foe. You can make trip attacks with the chain. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the chain to avoid being tripped. When using a spiked chain, you get a +2 bonus on disarm attempts. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier to attacks with a spiked chain even though it isn’t a light weapon.
Basic weapon trick By changing your grip as a swift action, you can use the chain as a double weapon, doing 2d4/2d4 damage of the appropriate types. While using this ability the weapon loses the reach property.
Advanced weapon trick You can use a chain to damage your opponent while grappling. When doing this, you can grapple enemies of one size category larger than normal. You benefit from your staff's enhancement bonuses for your grapple checks. If you manage to pin your enemy for three rounds in a row, he is considered helpless.
Cost 25 gp, 35 gp for spiked version

Net
Description: A net toughened for use in combat. Some have extra long barbs to rip apart the captured foe. It weighs 5 pounds.
Type: Exotic two-handed thrown ranged weapon
Damage: None (See Special)
Damage (Barbed): 1d3, crit 20/x2
Range Increment: 10 ft.
Special: A net is generally not used in order to deal damage. Rather, it is designed to ensnare and control the target. When you attack with a net, it counts as a ranged touch attack. If you hit, the target is entangled (-2 attack, -4 Dex, half move speed, cannot run or charge). An entangled spellcaster must make a DC 15 Concentration check in order to cast a spell. They can break out of the net with a Strength check (DC 25) or Escape Artist check (DC 20) as a full round action. The net has 5 hit points and a hardness of 0.

Retrieving and folding a net to ready it for use requires a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

You can control the movement of the entangled target by holding onto the attached rope and making an opposed Strength check. If successful, they can only move within the length of the attached rope (generally 10 feet long). Although the net can be thrown at a target further than 10 feet away, this ability is only useable if you can hold the rope (either limiting the range to 10 feet or requiring someone to grab the rope as a move action that provokes).

A barbed net deals 1d3 damage whenever the entangled target takes an action longer than a swift action, or twice that if they try to escape with a Strength check.
Basic weapon trick: After you successfully entangle a target, you may attempt to knock them prone as a free action (assuming you are holding on to the rope). Resolve this attempt as a Bullrush that moves them 5 feet towards you and knocks them prone. If the net is barbed, they also take 1d3 damage, regardless of the results of the Strength check.
Advanced weapon trick: Even when not throwing the net, it still can be useful to entangle the opponent's weapon. One per round as an immediate action, you can attempt to counter an incoming melee attack with an opposed attack roll. If you win, you negate the attack and may make a disarm attempt on that weapon as a free action.
Cost: 15 gp, or 25 for the barbed version.

Scythe
Description This Scythe is actually the standard farming tool reinforced for combat. While most scythes made into weapons are forged into glaives, this one has retained its iconic shape, although the balance is still rather awkward as a result.
Type Exotic two-handed weapon
Damage (Blade) 2d4 slashing, crit 19-20/x3
Damage (Tip) 2d4 piercing, crit 20/x4
Special A scythe can be used to make trip attacks. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the scythe to avoid being tripped.
This weapon counts as a masterwork tool for the Profession (Farmer) skill.
Basic weapon trick The broad swathing cuts of the scythe are perfect for cutting down grain and enemies alike. As a standard action, you may attack up to three squares adjacent to both you and each other. You make a single attack at your highest bonus, and apply it to each enemy within those squares. You cannot apply precision damage to this attack, although it can result in a critical.
Advanced weapon trick Though inaccurate, the scythes leaves especially deep wounds. On a successful critical hit, the struck foe takes 1 point of Constitution damage.
Cost

Sword, Tiger Hook
Description
Type Exotic one-handed melee weapon
Damage (Blade) 1d8 slashing, 19-20/x2
Damage (Hilt Spike) 1d4 piercing, 20/x3
Damage (Crescent Guard) 1d4 slashing, 20/x3
Special The crescent guard portion of the hook sword may be used without penalty in a grapple. Furthermore, the hook can be used for trip and disarm attacks, and grants a +2 to such attempts. Lastly, tiger hook swords are designed to be wielded in pairs, and count as light weapons for the purposes of two-weapon fighting.
Basic Trick The guards of the hook sword are useful for more than just attacking, and can be used for defense, granting a +2 shield bonus to AC (+4 when fighting defensively or using combat expertise). This stacks with Two-Weapon Defense or similar feats/abilities.

Furthermore, you can use both hook swords in a trip or disarm attempt in order to treat the trip attempt as though you were using a two handed weapon instead of one-handed weapons. You may also resist disarm and sunder attempts as though you were wielding a two-handed weapon, so long as you wield two hook swords.
Advanced Trick By hooking together the two swords, you can create a long, flexible, and deadly weapon. You may attack as though you had reach with one of the swords, although only using the crescent guard damage. You still continue to threaten adjacent squares with the other sword. You may still use two-weapon fighting like this, although each target must be a legal one considering the weapons' differing reaches.

Whip
Description
Type Exotic one-handed melee weapon
Damage 1d3 (nonlethal), crit 20/x2
Special A whip has reach, allowing it to attack up to 15 feet away (or triple distance for larger/smaller creatures). Furthermore, it deals nonlethal damage, and only to creatures wearing light or no armor and without even a single point of natural armor (although the whip still causes pain to such creatures). Lastly, the whip does not threaten any squares, and attacks made with the whip provoke, as though it were a ranged weapon.
A whip can be used with weapon finesse, as though it were a light weapon.
Basic weapon trick You can use the whip to perform a number of tricks and manuevers. Firstly, you may use the whip as a grappling hook and/or rope with no penalty. Secondly, you may use the whip with the disarm, dirty trick, and trip manuevers at range, and gaining a +2 on rolls with such. Third, you may use the whip to grapple at range, although you do not suffer the usual penalties for grappling save that your must maintain a hold on the whip, and the enemy may still move (albeit at ½ speed) within the limits of the whip’s length (generally 15 ft from you).
Advanced weapon trick When you successfully grapple a foe with your whip (as described above), you may make a CMB check to pull your foe towards you 5 feet as a move action. If you beat their CMD by 5 or more, you may have them land prone in that square as though you successfully tripped them.
Cost

Whip, Bladed (Chainblades, etc)
Description
Type Exotic one-handed melee weapon
Damage 1d8 slashing, crit 19-20/x2
Special A bladed whip has reach allowing it to attack up to 15 feet away (or triple distance for larger/smaller creatures). Like a whip, it doesn’t threaten squares, and attacks made with the bladed whip provoke. However, it does do lethal damage, and works against any foe, regardless of armor/natural armor bonus. A bladed whip can be used with weapon finesse, as though it were a light weapon
You are automatically proficient in the bladed whip if you are proficient with the whip. However, a bladed whip is considered a separate proficiency for purposes of the Weapon Focus tree, although you can also use all weapon tricks for normal whips while while using them. When using the whip tricks, any maneuvers made also inflict 1d8 of slashing damage to the target, plus any bonus damage from enhancements, but not from strength or dexterity bonus (or similar), nor from Weapon Specialization (or similar).
Basic Weapon Trick Attacks made no longer provoke, and you now threaten squares 10 and 15 feet away (but not adjacent squares (adjust as needed for larger creatures)).
Advanced Weapon Trick On a successful critical, your target is wracked with pain. They must make a Fortitude save or take a -4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and checks for 1 minute (10 rounds).
Cost



Buckler
Description
Type Martial light melee weapon/shield
Damage 1d3 bludgeoning, 20/x2
AC Bonus +3 shield AC
ACP -1
Special A buckler enables you to use the hand it is attached to, although any actions, including attacks, using that hand take a -1 penalty to any rolls, and you lose the shield bonus.
Basic Trick You may treat the hand holding the buckler as being empty for all purposes except spellcasting; as a result, you no longer take the -1 penalty to roll with that hand, and you may use that hand for the Deflect Arrows feat, for example, as well as other feats/abilities.
Advanced Trick You can use the buckler to help disguise your attacks, reducing the time it takes to feint to a move action (swift w/ Imp. Feint). If you can already feint as a swift action, you may add your BAB to your Bluff roll.
Cost 15 gp

Light Shield
Description
Type Martial light melee weapon/shield
Damage 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Damage (Spikes) 1d6 bludgeoning and piercing, 20/x2
AC Bonus +4 shield AC
ACP -1
Basic Trick You deal more damage with shield bashes, inflicting 1d6, or 1d8 with a spiked shield
Advanced Trick You deal even more damage with shield bashes, inflicting 1d8 damage, or 2d6 with a spiked shield.
Cost 3 gp for a wooden shield, 9 gp for steel (13 and 19 gp for spiked, respectively)

Heavy Shield
Description
Type Martial one handed melee weapon/shield
Damage 1d6 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Damage (Spikes) 1d8 bludgeoning and piercing, 20/x2
AC Bonus +6 shield AC
ACP -2
Basic Trick You deal more damage with shield bashes, inflicting 1d8, or 2d6 with a spiked shield
Advanced Trick You can use you shield to guard your allies, adding half your shield’s AC bonus to one adjacent ally. This bonus stacks with other shield bonuses. They lose this benefit if they are flanked or you are flat-footed.
Cost 7 gp for wooden, 20 gp for steel (17 and 30 gp for spiked, respectively)

Tower Shield
Description
Type Martial two handed melee weapon/shield
Damage 2d6 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Damage (Spikes) 3d6 bludgeoning and piercing, 20/x2
AC Bonus +10 shield AC
ACP -10
Special The Tower shield is very unwieldy, only able to use bashes with two hands, and inflicting a -2 penalty to all attacks made while wielding it, even with other weapons. It still only requires one hand to use as a shield, however.
Basic Trick You can use the tower shield as a bashing weapon with 2 hands and no penalty, or 1 handed with the standard -2 penalty. When using other weapons, you no longer suffer the -2 penalty to attacks, regardless.
Advanced Trick When taking the total defense action, you gain total cover as you hide behind your shield. Alternatively, you can, as an immediate action in response to an attack, take cover behind your shield as above, gaining the total defense bonuses as well. If you do so, however, your attacker can make a free sunder attack against your shield, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You may choose to stay in cover until your next turn or come out of cover as a free action in order to make Attacks of Opportunity.
Cost 30 gp, 40 gp for spiked version




War Fan (Gunsen, Tessen)
Description A typical hand-held fan, reinforced with metal on the ribbing and cover. Many have spikes on the end of the ribs. Weighs 1 lb.
Type Exotic light weapon
Damage (Closed/Edge) 1d4 bludgeoning, 20/x2
Damage (Spikes) 1d3 piercing 20/x3
Damage (Spikes) 1d3 slashing 20/x2
Special The war fan is easily disguised and hidden, granting a +4 bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it and Bluff checks to pass it off as a regular fan.
In addition, the fan can easily disarm opponents by trapping the attack within the fan and closing it, granting a +2 on disarm checks.
Further, you may use the fan to deal non-lethal damage without penalty (when closed only).
Lastly, although it counts as a separate proficiency for the purposes of Weapon Focus, you can use all weapon tricks for batons while wielding a fan.
Basic Weapon Trick You can use the fan to help disguise your attacks, reducing the time it takes to feint to a move action (swift w/ Imp. Feint). If you can already feint as a swift action, you may add your BAB to your Bluff roll.
Furthermore, you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC when you wield a fan in each hand. This stacks Two-Weapon Defense and similar abilities.
Advanced Weapon Trick When wielding a pair of fans, you can forgo attacks with your offhand to negate melee attacks (opposed attack rolls, if you win the attack is negated). If you successfully negate an attack in this way, you may use an AoO to attempt to disarm or feint. If you possess these abilities already (likely from the Two Weapon Defense feat), you may attempt to negate a number of attacks equal to sacrificed attacks +1, and can follow up the counter with an actual attack instead of a disarm or feint, if you wish.
Cost 5 gp (10 gp with spikes)
This one may be a bit strong, and besides that it makes reference to several abilities in the homebrew versions of the feats I'm using (the same ones made by the original creator of this system in fact)



So there you go. Any thoughts, comments, concerns? Have I fixed weapons forever? Have I irreparably turned an already complex game into a nightmare of minor abilities? Let me know.

[Wardog]

Looks interesting.

Realistically, the long sword, katana, and possibly the short spear should be able to be used with two hands as well. The longsword should probably also have a better bash-attack than the katana. Would that be reasonable, or would that make them too powerful/useful?

[GGambrel]

...Realistically, the long sword, katana, and possibly the short spear should be able to be used with two hands as well...

Based on my limited experience with Aikido and what I know of Kendo, the katana should normally be wielded with two hands. I suppose a feat could exist to wield it with one though (much like for the bastard sword).

[Mcdt2]

Looks interesting.

Realistically, the long sword, katana, and possibly the short spear should be able to be used with two hands as well. The longsword should probably also have a better bash-attack than the katana. Would that be reasonable, or would that make them too powerful/useful?


Based on my limited experience with Aikido and what I know of Kendo, the katana should normally be wielded with two hands. I suppose a feat could exist to wield it with one though (much like for the bastard sword).

Oh yes, probably worth pointing out- I haven't changed the rules on handedness for weapons at all. That is to say, any one handed melee weapon can be wielded two-handed for the x1.5 STR mod, or one handed for only x1 STR mod. I specifically let the katana be wielded one-handed without a feat for the explicit purpose of cutting down feat taxes, especially feat taxes for inferior combat styles (well, maybe less inferior now that I've buffed shields, but...).

Besides, the katana is no heavier or more awkward than a longsword (which is the same thing as a bastard sword, by the way), and when I gave the "bastard sword" (longsword) the ability to be wielded one handed, I gave it to the katana as well. For that matter, I wasn't originally going to have them as different weapons at all, until my resident otaku friend complained about having to use a German fighting style for the weapon tricks instead of something Eastern (as you can see, I decided on iaijutsu).

[infinitetech]

Based on my limited experience with Aikido and what I know of Kendo, the katana should normally be wielded with two hands. I suppose a feat could exist to wield it with one though (much like for the bastard sword).
technically its to be used one handed with the smaller paired blade off hand or used two handed

[infinitetech]

so you missed a few items tho i love this thread, great idea, so items that have trick potential: kurisigama(scythe with a weighted chain/wire attached with a blade at the end) hard to use but very multi purpose, meteor hammer(lots of tricky attacks), three part stave, bashing, slashing, customizable ends, reach, trip, lots, and lastly a chakram(has many many builds, many uses, melee and ranged, defensive, offensive, lots of stuff, depending on the exact one different stats and techniques)

i can probably think up others, and if you want help stating just say so

[Mcdt2]

so you missed a few items tho i love this thread, great idea, so items that have trick potential: kurisigama(scythe with a weighted chain/wire attached with a blade at the end) hard to use but very multi purpose, meteor hammer(lots of tricky attacks), three part stave, bashing, slashing, customizable ends, reach, trip, lots, and lastly a chakram(has many many builds, many uses, melee and ranged, defensive, offensive, lots of stuff, depending on the exact one different stats and techniques)

i can probably think up others, and if you want help stating just say so

Yeah, this is still a WIP, although mostly I feel I need a few more exotic weapons out there. Kusari-gama is on my to-do list, as is the kyoektsu-shoge, and possibly the kusari-fundo, though I may just put that along with nunchaku (which obviously needs to be added still).

I sort of forgot about the meteor hammer, which certainly needs to be added. Likewise the three-section staff; although I find flexible weapons are difficult to design in comparison to more classic ones, if only because they are, well, more flexible in the options they provide. It's hard to decide what to give priority to, in order to make the chain weapons stand out from one another.

As for the core weapons I've missed... Well, some are not coming back any time soon. Sianghams are both wildly useless and most likely entirely fictional. The light hammer/pick is gone because all the advantages of a hammer are gone when you make it weigh that little, and thus I feel there are no suitable weapon tricks for it. Double weapons, or at least those which are not staff or chain weapons, are likewise fictional and also pretty stupid.

As for others, I've just not got any ideas for them. Flails in particular are odd. They are much like maces in design and use, but that chain provides some interesting utility, perhaps in disarming (or at least, the Japanese equivalent, the chigiriki, certainly seemed to be used that way). An sentence in the Wikipedia article on Flail (weapon) suggests that the two-handed flail was used to circumvent an opponent's shield, though it lacks a citation. Tridents also vex me, but moreso because of how remarkably boring they are. I am rather tempted just to merge them into shortspear stats.

[infinitetech]

actually being someone who has done real blade battle, light hammers and picks are a nightmare in skilled hands, you use them to hit nerve centers, numbing the opponents limbs or rattling the head, two ended swords and the like are usable by masters only, but with them they are able to take on multiple foes very well or one foe decently due to increased control on the defensive stances/holds, tridents you are pretty much right with, a true master of either can effectively disarm, pin, or do many other tricks with them though they can be both long and short, flails are nasty, both small and large can be used to get around shields/armor and if you know what you are doing you can hit someone with a clump of metal going fast ball speed or better when they are holding stiff trying to block the handle aka they now have broken... whatever got hit, 3 section staves are hard to explain, they are so difficult to use and also so multi tool-ular in fighting purpose, but a 3 piece great stave(aka metal) being used correctly can hit an opponent's eye from full reach past a shield and helmet at over the speed of sound and with about 20 x strength of user lbs behind it (friend lost an eye that way, so much gore in a 2 second moment ugh, still not as much splatter though as what a meteor master did to that poor row of melons, i just wanted on slice before they were gone, but nope, effectively the same as them managing to smash heads they popped all 25 melons in under 5 seconds, d&d has rounds way to slow lol, that and yikes, dont ever let a meteor master get distance, or see you first, or know you are an enemy... you know what, if someone is carrying one correctly hide, if you can then run behind cover, if there isnt 3 ft thick of stone cover they say your words and hope the person is in a good mood because users of those things are rarely stable, and Chakrams are so often overlooked, but they are basically bladed, fully battle ready versions of boomerangs with the bonus of working like a sword and/or shield when in hand, being customizable, possibly easily hidden, and useful around corners or through cover or... stuff, plus lets cast light on this bad boy and presto-chango we have a scouting drone light or other uses, especially with a returning enchantment, also singhams were real, but they were pretty much specialized throwing darts that worked as decent daggers with a few quirks, also, one item that isnt often remembered due to its extreme trouble of using, the rarity, and its oddness would be a razer garrote glove, used by assassins mainly they would have leather gloves with bladed metal fingertips, with the pull of a knot the tip released and the super fine wire released, then they whipped the weighted end wires around an enemy and filleted whatever got caught, nasty weapon, hard to use, but sneaky and very terminal unless the enemy was COMPLETELY covered in metal armor, leather was toast

[Mcdt2]

actually being someone who has done real blade battle, light hammers and picks are a nightmare in skilled hands, you use them to hit nerve centers, numbing the opponents limbs or rattling the head, two ended swords and the like are usable by masters only, but with them they are able to take on multiple foes very well or one foe decently due to increased control on the defensive stances/holds, tridents you are pretty much right with, a true master of either can effectively disarm, pin, or do many other tricks with them though they can be both long and short, flails are nasty, both small and large can be used to get around shields/armor and if you know what you are doing you can hit someone with a clump of metal going fast ball speed or better when they are holding stiff trying to block the handle aka they now have broken... whatever got hit, 3 section staves are hard to explain, they are so difficult to use and also so multi tool-ular in fighting purpose, but a 3 piece great stave(aka metal) being used correctly can hit an opponent's eye from full reach past a shield and helmet at over the speed of sound and with about 20 x strength of user lbs behind it (friend lost an eye that way, so much gore in a 2 second moment ugh, still not as much splatter though as what a meteor master did to that poor row of melons, i just wanted on slice before they were gone, but nope, effectively the same as them managing to smash heads they popped all 25 melons in under 5 seconds, d&d has rounds way to slow lol, that and yikes, dont ever let a meteor master get distance, or see you first, or know you are an enemy... you know what, if someone is carrying one correctly hide, if you can then run behind cover, if there isnt 3 ft thick of stone cover they say your words and hope the person is in a good mood because users of those things are rarely stable, and Chakrams are so often overlooked, but they are basically bladed, fully battle ready versions of boomerangs with the bonus of working like a sword and/or shield when in hand, being customizable, possibly easily hidden, and useful around corners or through cover or... stuff, plus lets cast light on this bad boy and presto-chango we have a scouting drone light or other uses, especially with a returning enchantment, also singhams were real, but they were pretty much specialized throwing darts that worked as decent daggers with a few quirks, also, one item that isnt often remembered due to its extreme trouble of using, the rarity, and its oddness would be a razer garrote glove, used by assassins mainly they would have leather gloves with bladed metal fingertips, with the pull of a knot the tip released and the super fine wire released, then they whipped the weighted end wires around an enemy and filleted whatever got caught, nasty weapon, hard to use, but sneaky and very terminal unless the enemy was COMPLETELY covered in metal armor, leather was toast

Okay, woah, dude. First things first, please, please, PLEASE use paragraphs at the very least if you're not going to use proper sentences. That wall of text was a nightmare to parse.

Now, firstly, I'd like to make a few things clear about my assumptions regarding D&D and adventurers. Adventurers are not ordinary people. At all. Imagine the most badass swordsman on the face of the planet today. I'd regard him as being, at absolute most, level 3 or 4 (at least, in PC classes. NPC levels to round out other careers and gain skill ranks is a different matter). Now imagine a fictional warrior, such as Conan, or maybe even a demigod like Heracles. At best, level 6 or 7 in my game. Someone of that level is the kind of person who can take a sword through the gut and not even be winded. Past that, around level 15 or so, we're getting to the point where the prospect of surviving decapitation is not that far-fetched. These are not the types of people who will flinch because of something so minimal as being struck in a nerve cluster (at least, by anything short of a monk trained specifically in the art of such things (see: Stunning Fist)). In any case the way I choose to interpret "pain" in the context of D&D is non-lethal damage. If you so desperately want a hammer that small, refluff a baton.

A second assumption, regarding D&D. The system has a certain level of abstraction, which will not be going away. The various differences between the speed of attack, the length of a weapon's reach, the space required to utilize such weapons, and similar concerns.

And so I move onto more of a general philosophy regarding combat styles. I am being, for the most part, incredibly selective in my sources for how a weapon is used. Most significantly, I am NOT using any weapon which was not known to be used historically. Even more strictly, for those weapons which were known to be used in those times, but which lack historical records of how it was used, I am also refusing to use information gathered by modern martial artists, who too often do not understand the effect armor had.

As for the siangham and it being real... do you have a source for that? Because I have looked far and wide, and everything I can find inevitably leads back, one way or the other, to either The Palladium Books of Exotic Weapons or the AD&D 1e supplement Oriental Adventures. In fact, there are several martial arts websites that have actually recycled artwork from the OA book. And in any case, if it does exist, and is, as you say, a throwing weapon that could be used in melee, then it should be placed underneath either the shuriken (as it bears a great resemblance to b0-shuriken) or under the dart, which includes a provision for using it as an improvised melee weapon.

As for the remainder of weapons- Chakram will be added, although it's hardly a proper melee weapon. The smaller chakri could be worn on the wrist and essentially used as though they were brass knuckles, although sharpened instead of blunt. Would make for a good Basic Trick, at least- though perhaps only for use in grappling. Of note, though, for chakram, is that their design makes them stay on course even in harsh wind. Probably deserving of at least half a Trick, though I may just put it in the special traits, since that's less of a skill thing and more just physics.

[infinitetech]

sorry, was falling asleep so i typed fast. i just wanted to help.

on hammers, i didnt mean pain, they tended to be used much like stunning fist, making you loose (ingame terms) probably a neg 1 to that body part per hit

i realize the lvl difference, id say that almost no npc could ever wield the exotic weapons

i just mean that for reach the tri stave would be able to probably have 10 ft reach plus your normal

most "modern masters" are just winging it, i was lucky enough to have some training from my friends grandfather before he past as he was a grand monk from tibet, and even at 98 could kick our sorry asses before we could blink, id wager he was a real life lvl 8 monk if not higher, he always held back

good way to class it, it was basically a one class size bigger bo-shuriken give or take

and actually a chakram in melee is one of the best close range weapons i know, though super hard to master due to its edges, though some can split apart into basically guillotine punches or with the spike variety into sun punches, with proper training they can beat a sword/dagger/mace/axe 80% of the time, a great sword/sword and sheild/chain weapon/flail 70% of the time, a spear/halberd/sledge hammer about 60% of the time

[JKTrickster]

It seems like the siangham likely does not exist. There seems to be a wikipedia entry on it though and there seems to be a real weapon that is analogous to it: the Chinese Emeici (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeici).

[infinitetech]

It seems like the siangham likely does not exist. There seems to be a wikipedia entry on it though and there seems to be a real weapon that is analogous to it: the Chinese Emeici (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeici).
yes, tho in tibet the name saigham was used for them, sorry that i forgot that the chinese adopted them and used them more, i kind of ignore china sometimes...

[Mcdt2]

It seems like the siangham likely does not exist. There seems to be a wikipedia entry on it though and there seems to be a real weapon that is analogous to it: the Chinese Emeici (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeici).

I'm aware of the Emeici, yes. However, they aren't really all that similar to the "siangham". It's hard to see in the Wikipedia picture, but emeici are pointed on both sides, plus there's that whole issue with the ring and the spinning. Besides that, I have doubts regarding the validity of emeici themselves. For one, the article linked is entirely without citations. Further research turns up very little about how they were used in combat, aside from "stabbing", and occasionally reference to surprise attacks and the ever so vague "spinning". Unfortunate, as they look rather interesting, if nothing else.


yes, tho in tibet the name saigham was used for them, sorry that i forgot that the chinese adopted them and used them more, i kind of ignore china sometimes...

Okay, see, now I feel even less like believing anything you say. Earlier you claimed the siangham was, in fact, a throwing weapon, akin to the dart or shuriken. Now, you're trying to claim similarity to the emeici, which are most certainly NOT throwing weapons. I'll ask again, PLEASE CITE YOUR SOURCES.



Okay, I'll be honest, kinda losing my cool here. My apologies if I've offended anyone with my responses. I just really don't want this thread to devolve into back and forth "yeah huh" "nuh uh" etc etc. So I'm just going to be backing out of this whole "siangham" conversation. Unless anyone provides a valid source, I'm just going to not respond to that discussion, and I'd appreciate if you take it elsewhere. Thank you.

That said, if anyone wants to discuss any other portion of this project, hopefully specifics on the tricks, I'd be more than happy to.

[Syne]

These are really, really cool. These special abilities and additional damage types make for a lot of weapon variety, where before weapons were pretty much identical.

My main suggestion is avoid falling into the trap of trying to make things too realistic. Outside of it being a fantasy roleplaying game, the system isn't mechanically suitable for emulating real life. In any case, realism should always take a backseat to game balance; otherwise, you basically create trap options for inexperienced players.

Another thing to keep in mind,

Specific criticisms:

Ignoring Light Armor: This appears in many tricks. In this game, light armor can offer better protection than heavy or medium armor, such as if it's magical or made of mithral. In the real world, these materials don't exist, so it might make sense; however, in this game, it doesn't. Furthermore, it hits unreasonably hard on characters that wear light armor for a living, and these are usually very squishy already (e.g. rogues). They don't need to be hit any harder than they already are. My suggestion is to remove it.
Great Hammer (Advanced): Permanent reductions to armor, especially to natural armor, are a really, really bad idea. They will exclusively affect the players, and basically end up ruining their hard-earned gear, which will frustrate them. The effect on natural armor is even worse, since you can't replace your natural armor. You basically make the PCs cursed forever. There is also the question of how it interacts with an enhancement bonus to natural armor. My suggestion is to increase the bonus and make it last for the encounter.
Editing: The post is littered with small mistakes and requires a lot of editing. You often forget to add the duration of an effect, and so forth. There are similar issues.

[infinitetech]

most of the info i know about exotics was from my friends grand dad who trained me for a while when we were little, miss that old egg head, they are for throwing, both weapons were, at least as a back up, i told you that it was a decent throwing weapon, but not a great one, mainly for dagger like purposes, and yes, china changed the feather like end with another blade, they are more aggressive than practical as usual, sorry i cant give you contact to master Sheta

[infinitetech]

also the ring they use with them is... a joke 80% of the time, forget it exists really

[Mcdt2]

These are really, really cool. These special abilities and additional damage types make for a lot of weapon variety, where before weapons were pretty much identical.

My main suggestion is avoid falling into the trap of trying to make things too realistic. Outside of it being a fantasy roleplaying game, the system isn't mechanically suitable for emulating real life. In any case, realism should always take a backseat to game balance; otherwise, you basically create trap options for inexperienced players.

Thank you, I try. As for realism versus balance, I very much agree. I try to make them more of a "as inspired by" versions of the weapons, mixed with a little Rule of Cool. I feel I've got a decent eye for balance, but I'd very much appreciate second opinions. Please, point out wherever you find a trap option, or an overpowered one.


Ignoring Light Armor: This appears in many tricks. In this game, light armor can offer better protection than heavy or medium armor, such as if it's magical or made of mithral. In the real world, these materials don't exist, so it might make sense; however, in this game, it doesn't. Furthermore, it hits unreasonably hard on characters that wear light armor for a living, and these are usually very squishy already (e.g. rogues). They don't need to be hit any harder than they already are. My suggestion is to remove it.

You have a point there. That being said, I feel I should add this as a clarification (this is actually part of my still WIP attempts at revamping special armor materials, but it's relevant here)- Mithral armor only counts as "light" for the purposes of proficiency and those class features which restrict available armor choices. It should still count as medium armor for defensive purposes.

On the other hand (magic armor), perhaps I should change those ones that ignore light armor to instead ignore X amount of armor bonus, like axes do. Actually, IIRC, every instance of "Ignore light armor" came from the original draft, the creator of which was trying to make the project very much grounded in reality. Most of my later additions use the "Reduce armor bonus by X" wording. Speaking of, how do you feel about the latter version, as opposed to the former?

I hadn't considered the squishy characters being so adversely affected, but you have a point. That said, I'm used to having those characters, in my game, almost always grab the Dodge feat immediately (being that we use a homebrew fix for feats, it's considerably more powerful- to paraphrase, it gives scaling dodge AC as well as allowing you to 1/round automatically declare one attack to have missed you. Both are lost when flat-footed, of course). In an environment without such an ability, they are considerably more squishy, yes. On the other hand, I suppose it does well in encouraging them to pick up a shield. I'll have to consider this.


Great Hammer (Advanced): Permanent reductions to armor, especially to natural armor, are a really, really bad idea. They will exclusively affect the players, and basically end up ruining their hard-earned gear, which will frustrate them. The effect on natural armor is even worse, since you can't replace your natural armor. You basically make the PCs cursed forever. There is also the question of how it interacts with an enhancement bonus to natural armor. My suggestion is to increase the bonus and make it last for the encounter.

Another thing inherited from the original project, here. I've got somewhere in my notes DCs for Craft checks to repair the armor, though the natural armor point is a very good one. Hmm. As much as I like conceptually the idea of permanent penalties, you're probably right. I'll change those shortly.


Editing: The post is littered with small mistakes and requires a lot of editing. You often forget to add the duration of an effect, and so forth. There are similar issues.

Aww crap, knew there was something I forgot to add to the first post. Any where there isn't a duration listed, it should be assumed to be "until the end of the encounter".

Other mistakes I know are there: Missing costs for weapons. Inconsistent format for critical threat/multiplier (product of differing styles between myself and original creator). Missing descriptions for weapons (and thus missing weights). Various spelling errors, though if anyone feels like pointing out specifics, I'd be most grateful.

[Vortalism]

I like it a lot, but I'd just like to point out that since Advanced Weapon tricks are accessed through Weapon Specialisation, which requires 4 levels of fighter, it seems to give fighters a bit of a incentive to actually use this feat for once besides that +2 damage. Cool. I like it. Plus when a fighter wields a weapon he can at least show for something without having to be upstaged by another martial say Paladin or Barbarian doing the same thing without giving a second thought.

Also when it says in the weapon tricks that your opponent's "armour is reduced by X amount" would it be better to subtract X from said opponent's AC or just add +X? Does that produce differing probabilities? Just wondering. :smallconfused:

[Mcdt2]

Also when it says in the weapon tricks that your opponent's "armour is reduced by X amount" would it be better to subtract X from said opponent's AC or just add +X? Does that produce differing probabilities? Just wondering. :smallconfused:

I'd be the first to admit, the mechanic is a little overly complicated. The armor reduction is intended to only apply against armor (and natural armor) bonuses to AC. So, if you have a weapon that reduces armor by 4, but they've only got a combined total of 3 armor/natural armor bonus, then their total AC will only be reduced by 3.

I've considered changing this, but ultimately I'm not sure how best to. It does make things a bit tricky to use in actual play. Usually, as DM, when I run an encounter where the PCs have this ability, I just do the calculations myself in my head, as the statblocks I write up have all sources of AC written out and I can easily subtract it myself. This does lead to errors and fudging of rolls sometimes, thanks to the increased workload, but both of those things happen anyway. As for when NPCs use this against PCs, I usually have a cheat sheet with the relevant stats of each of my players on hand, and alter the rolls accordingly. Even so, it's a pain at times, so I usually only give those weapons + tricks to bosses or other dangerous threats.

[infinitetech]

there a lot to look through, which say that? im wondering because i may suggest making it an "this attack deals sundering damage +x as well to the equipment on this body part"

[Wardog]

You have a point there. That being said, I feel I should add this as a clarification (this is actually part of my still WIP attempts at revamping special armor materials, but it's relevant here)- Mithral armor only counts as "light" for the purposes of proficiency and those class features which restrict available armor choices. It should still count as medium armor for defensive purposes.

On the other hand (magic armor), perhaps I should change those ones that ignore light armor to instead ignore X amount of armor bonus, like axes do. Actually, IIRC, every instance of "Ignore light armor" came from the original draft, the creator of which was trying to make the project very much grounded in reality. Most of my later additions use the "Reduce armor bonus by X" wording. Speaking of, how do you feel about the latter version, as opposed to the former?


On the other hand, you could assume that light armour is "light" (low AC, low penalty) because it only covers relatively small areas. A +5 cotton vest might be able to stop a sledgehammer to the chest (because magic!), but it still wont do anything if they hit you on the hand. So if a particular weapon is good at getting around armour, it will still be good at getting round armour if that armour is made of better materials or is magically enhanced.

Maybe your (or someone else's) next project could be to make armour more realistic, perhaps based the principle that light/medium/heavy classification and dex penalties are as much a function of how much of the body is covered as material, and AC is as much a function of material and design, rather than just how "heavy" the armour is. E.g. if a normal mail coat is "medium", a privy coat is light armour (despite also being mail), and a suit of full plate will probably also be medium, but with an AC bonus. And "studded leather armour" (which is probably really a coat of plates) will be medium or even heavy.

[Mcdt2]

On the other hand, you could assume that light armour is "light" (low AC, low penalty) because it only covers relatively small areas. A +5 cotton vest might be able to stop a sledgehammer to the chest (because magic!), but it still wont do anything if they hit you on the hand. So if a particular weapon is good at getting around armour, it will still be good at getting round armour if that armour is made of better materials or is magically enhanced.

This idea has potential, but for the fact that most of the armor-piercing weapons I've made are literally that- they pierce through the weapons with a lot of mass and/or a sharp point. Some are bludgeoning, of course, in which case they are more "crushing through" than "piercing", but semantics.


Maybe your (or someone else's) next project could be to make armour more realistic, perhaps based the principle that light/medium/heavy classification and dex penalties are as much a function of how much of the body is covered as material, and AC is as much a function of material and design, rather than just how "heavy" the armour is. E.g. if a normal mail coat is "medium", a privy coat is light armour (despite also being mail), and a suit of full plate will probably also be medium, but with an AC bonus. And "studded leather armour" (which is probably really a coat of plates) will be medium or even heavy.

Honestly, if I revised the armor system, I'd probably scrap AC entirely. For a while I considered using a system like Shadowrun has. In that game, each armor has 2 stats- one for Ballistic weapons, and one for Impact weapons. I considered expanding this out to Blunt, Pierce, and Slash. Of course, Shadowrun uses a damage track, not hit points, so I ended up scrapping it and using weapons to represent the effectiveness of certain weapons versus armor.

[Mcdt2]

Made a few small changes/additions here. Namely, I have added bolas and nets, as well as barbed nets. You'll find the former great for shutting down caster and martials alike, and the latter two great for controlling the enemy's position.

Also, I have put up the tables for the melee weapons and am working on putting up the ranged tables (the new table formatting is such a pain). Some weapons still are lacking costs and weights in the descriptions, but they all have that info on the tables, so fret not.

[Siosilvar]

Lots of neat stuff here. One thing I noticed right away is that taking damage for half-swording/Mordschlag is both unrealistic for a trained user (watch Skallagrim beat on a tire for a few minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwuQPfvSSlo&t=2m15s) if you need convinced) and doesn't really help balance - axes and hammers are already effectively at +3 to hit at Basic and have better advanced tricks to boot.

[roko10]

There's currently little reason to take the longsword as opposed to the battleaxe, the katana or the warhammer. I'd think it would be good to heighten the slash to 1d10, and heigten te crit modifier of the stab.

[Iwhowrite]

This is awesome and should be made standard.

:smallbiggrin:

[Mcdt2]

As it turns out, I never bothered to subscribe to this thread. :smallconfused: Makes it hard to reply in a timely matter.


Lots of neat stuff here. One thing I noticed right away is that taking damage for half-swording/Mordschlag is both unrealistic for a trained user (watch Skallagrim beat on a tire for a few minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwuQPfvSSlo&t=2m15s) if you need convinced) and doesn't really help balance - axes and hammers are already effectively at +3 to hit at Basic and have better advanced tricks to boot.

Correct on both counts. I shall change it right away.


There's currently little reason to take the longsword as opposed to the battleaxe, the katana or the warhammer. I'd think it would be good to heighten the slash to 1d10, and heigten te crit modifier of the stab.

Yes, I've begun to notice that as of late as well (have had to build an awful lot of humanoid NPCs for my current campaign). In addition to removing the damage from the tricks, as suggested above, I think I shall change the stab's critical multiplier to x3. And thus, the crossbows lose a touch of uniqueness (being the only weapons with an expanded threat range in addition to a x3 multiplier). I feel like it still needs something, but I have no clue what.


This is awesome and should be made standard.

:smallbiggrin:

Thanks! Feel free to point out any issues you see with it, always looking for constructive criticism.



While I'm on the topic of criticism, anything else you guys have noticed? Does anyone have any requests for weapons to be added, and/or suggestions for tricks for such? And if anyone actually manages to convince their DM/players to try this system out, I'd love to hear the results of your playtest! I've given these rules a fair bit of testing in my own games, and will be continuing to do so, but I'd like to hear how it functions in an environment without all of my other houserules in the mix. :smallbiggrin:

[Hanuman]

Only reason for a weapon table at all is to list similarities between what you want and what you get.

Really the table should be even more compressed calling the objects for what they are mechanically, then applying a choice of damage types. A full list for each type of weapon should serve as example.

[Mcdt2]

Only reason for a weapon table at all is to list similarities between what you want and what you get.

Really the table should be even more compressed calling the objects for what they are mechanically, then applying a choice of damage types. A full list for each type of weapon should serve as example.

I... honestly am not sure what you are trying to say here. The point of the weapon table was mostly for quick reference to help you decide which weapon to take by helping you see a basic overview of what they do, and also to provide an easy reference for in game usage.

Would you mind providing an example of what you mean?

[Fizban]

Now this is an actual weapons re-write. Significant change in the. . . internal metagame? It reminds me of Fire Emblem's weapon triangle, in that you absolutely need to know exactly what weapons (and/or shield, and/or armor) your opponent is using and has available. This pulls the game strongly in the tactical fighter direction, demands that at the very least all weapon-using characters learn the whole table, and makes knowing the enemy's skill vital (this doesn't necessarily mean it should be easily available, but Spellcraft and Martial Lore suggest it should be). The common Weapon Focus on a warrior 1 has shifted from a +1 to a +3-5 against most characters, and for stronger brute monsters must be countered by a shield or risk being Power Attacked into oblivion. Shields that are now useless in any flanking situation, ambush, or against people with even minor stealth or feinting capabilities. Crossbows make ambushes significantly more lethal even if you don't have sneak attack.

The project has a massive impact as intended, which does have the downside of being a lot to swallow. I'm already slanted against playing with weapons when magic is just better at doing things, and stepping into this would put me off even more. That said, if the DM and players all properly integrated it, results would be quite excellent. For a group that knows and uses the rules while not invalidating everything with magic it's good (my group is not very proficient so there would be not point in the added complexity).


Quick notes (sentence formatting be damned!):
the power difference between martial and simple weapons suggests that one should not simply gain such valuable proficiencies with a single level dip

the longsword advanced trick causes armor breakage while actual hammers don't, seems inappropriate when you're swinging backwards

rapiers are absolutely terrible: comparing to the other weapons it should already be light, making it's first trick null, and the second is a death sentence for anyone likely to wield it

crossbow aiming does not list an action type

heavy crossbow advanced trick auto-crits, while the light auto-threats?

auto-crossbows don't have a note allowing them to apply normal crossbow tricks?

longspear advanced trick deals triple damage, other polearms do double?

i've always liked the lol of using a horse lance on foot and i don't see why it would be impossible, and putting the charge doubling behind weapon focus makes it pretty terrible. seems like the only reason to exist is because it's easier to attack from a mount with a reach weapon

various weapons have 19-20/x3 combinations, 3.5 has pretty explicitly prohibited this but it's obvious that's being left behind

light shields are missing any reason for their use over a buckler or heavy shield (normally it's being able to hold something in the hand)

tiger hook sword somehow lets you TWF when your off-hand is empty while the swords are stuck together?

as you're aware, needs a list of what pathfinder/3.5 rules versions are intended. lots of crit abilities suggests you might be using pathfinder's crit anything rules, references to combat maneuvers and grappling numbers suggests the same. might be faster to list what pathfinder rules and feats you're not using, if any. prevalence of uncanny dodge and flanking immunity among non-rogue classes would also be useful

also weapons that provide skill bonuses are dumb, (this includes Frostburn's ice axe as well :smallfurious:)

[Mcdt2]

Now this is an actual weapons re-write. Significant change in the. . . internal metagame? It reminds me of Fire Emblem's weapon triangle, in that you absolutely need to know exactly what weapons (and/or shield, and/or armor) your opponent is using and has available. This pulls the game strongly in the tactical fighter direction, demands that at the very least all weapon-using characters learn the whole table, and makes knowing the enemy's skill vital (this doesn't necessarily mean it should be easily available, but Spellcraft and Martial Lore suggest it should be). The common Weapon Focus on a warrior 1 has shifted from a +1 to a +3-5 against most characters, and for stronger brute monsters must be countered by a shield or risk being Power Attacked into oblivion. Shields that are now useless in any flanking situation, ambush, or against people with even minor stealth or feinting capabilities. Crossbows make ambushes significantly more lethal even if you don't have sneak attack.

The project has a massive impact as intended, which does have the downside of being a lot to swallow. I'm already slanted against playing with weapons when magic is just better at doing things, and stepping into this would put me off even more. That said, if the DM and players all properly integrated it, results would be quite excellent. For a group that knows and uses the rules while not invalidating everything with magic it's good (my group is not very proficient so there would be not point in the added complexity).

Yes, it is a bit much to try and digest in one sitting, and probably not ideal for every campaign. To help put it into context, in my games the standard casters don't really exist (clerics and druids do, but have greatly limited lists based on domain choices and druidic circles, respectively). The classes which exist are mostly based off of Grod's list caster classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?329161-Giants-and-Graveyards-Grod-s-collected-3-5-revisions), actually, though sometimes with heavy alterations.

I also intended these rules to be useful in making a campaign with next to no mages at all, so that a world with mostly physical combat could still be interesting (outside of using Tome of Battle/Path of War, of course). The Fire Emblem comparison is an apt one, though I had in mind more of a Middle Earth concept in mind.

Your point on making learning the enemy's skill is a valid one. Hmm. Perhaps I should revamp the Martial Lore skill (I've literally never seen anyone take it before) to include gauging an enemy's level of skill with weapons. Actually, might even add in a usage to get a (partial) list of the enemy's feats, although I may limit that to the list of "combat" feats (not the PF term; essentially nothing that is metamagic (and spell focus et al), divine feats, skill feats, luck feats, etc).



the power difference between martial and simple weapons suggests that one should not simply gain such valuable proficiencies with a single level dip

Perhaps you are right. Hadn't occurred to me, since my players seem averse to gishing unless it's a built in aspect of the class; as a result, I've never seen anyone besides a monk dip/take the feat for Martial Proficiency. Not sure how to prevent this issue.


the longsword advanced trick causes armor breakage while actual hammers don't, seems inappropriate when you're swinging backwards

Whoops! Missed a spot when I was revising that rule. Will fix that, thanks. Actually I misread what you typed. Yes it is odd that hammers don't break armor; it's actually maces that do that. Will consider this conundrum.


rapiers are absolutely terrible: comparing to the other weapons it should already be light, making it's first trick null, and the second is a death sentence for anyone likely to wield it

Hmm, good point. Rapier was one of the first weapons I made, and I never went back to revise it. It really is pretty terrible, isn't it? Hmm. Move the damage up a step (1d8 piercing, 1d6 slashing), remove the FF on lunging, move the first trick down to being an inherent property of the weapon (and mention it can be finessed). Now I just need a new basic trick (or an advanced on, if I move lunge down to basic)


crossbow aiming does not list an action type

Mixed up terminology there. "A turn" should be "1 round"


heavy crossbow advanced trick auto-crits, while the light auto-threats?

I'll be honest, did not do the write-up for crossbows myself, that came from the original creator of this concept. I overlooked that, assumed they all said auto-threat. Not sure which one to change them all to. What do you think?


auto-crossbows don't have a note allowing them to apply normal crossbow tricks?

When I was making them I was thinking that repeating crossbows should be less accurate then regular ones, but I also lowered the threat range for that reason. Probably overkill; will add that note.


longspear advanced trick deals triple damage, other polearms do double?

Again, that one wasn't my work and I overlooked that. Kinda odd, especially since you'd think the martial weapons would be better at it then the simple one. Nerfing the longspear.


i've always liked the lol of using a horse lance on foot and i don't see why it would be impossible, and putting the charge doubling behind weapon focus makes it pretty terrible. seems like the only reason to exist is because it's easier to attack from a mount with a reach weapon

A good point. Like the rapier, an earlier design I probably should have revised. Giving the x2 on charge back to inherent. I think the new basic trick shall be a free bull rush on hit, and a bonus to sunder shields (both only on charges, probably). Thoughts?


various weapons have 19-20/x3 combinations, 3.5 has pretty explicitly prohibited this but it's obvious that's being left behind

Yeah, not afraid to break precedent, though I am reserving it for only a very few weapons.


light shields are missing any reason for their use over a buckler or heavy shield (normally it's being able to hold something in the hand)

The intended use for light shields (aside from being of use to classes that can use light but not heavy shields) is that a light shield is... well... light, whereas a heavy shield is one-handed. This makes light shields better for sword&board TWF. I'll admit though, it is a niche use.


tiger hook sword somehow lets you TWF when your off-hand is empty while the swords are stuck together?

That is worded rather awkwardly, yes. The idea is that you attack one foe with the sword in your hand, and another using the one hooked on the other (so one attack with reach and one without).


as you're aware, needs a list of what pathfinder/3.5 rules versions are intended. lots of crit abilities suggests you might be using pathfinder's crit anything rules, references to combat maneuvers and grappling numbers suggests the same. might be faster to list what pathfinder rules and feats you're not using, if any. prevalence of uncanny dodge and flanking immunity among non-rogue classes would also be useful

I am using the PF critical rules, though this was intended for use with 3.5's as well. Reason being is that, in my experience, an awful lot of fights end up being against something humanoid (in the English word sense, not the Creature Type). People talk about issues fighting undead and constructs, but I've never seen an undead encounter without a necromancer nearby. Besides, it's easy enough to grab those weapon crystals from Magic Item Compendium if you're a crit heavy build.

I'm also using Pathfinder's CMB rules, though with the numbers tweaked to match 3.5's. Should be easy enough to port it either direction. The weapons which cause issues as far as using in 3.5 would be the kukri and the whip. The former has nothing but PF rules in the tricks (I linked to bleed, did not for dirty trick) and the latter mentions dirty trick as well as uses a generic CMB check. Kukri is more problematic, but for whip I'd suggest using trip for the advanced trick.

As far as feats go... None from PF. None from 3.5 for that matter. Actually, I'm using a feat redux (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?154811-Feat-synergy) by the same guy I got this concept from originally. In terms of uncanny dodge, that redux has 2 feats which grant uncanny dodge, stacking into improved. Requires 3 feats total to get (and both unlock at 6 [Fighter] feats) with prerequisites of "Combat Expertise, +6 BAB" and "+3 BAB, Wis 19" respectively..


also weapons that provide skill bonuses are dumb, (this includes Frostburn's ice axe as well :smallfurious:)

In general, I agree. The scythe/sickle being masterwork tools for farming is more of a joke than anything, and the buckler only adds to a skill because Feint is tied to it. Also the various "concealable" weapons, but that's sort of a necessary evil as well.


Well, that took a while, but I'd like end by saying thank you for taking the time to write all that. I very much appreciate it.

[Mcdt2]

Double-posting, but didn't want to add to the wall of text up there.

Looking over the tricks which give penalties to armor/nat armor on a crit. Looking it over, it's an odd mechanic and placed more or less at random. Battle-axes, greataxes, greathammers, and heavy maces have it; war hammers and light maces do not. Furthermore, the bludgeoning weapons with it totally outshine the axes, since they generally also have a stun on crits.

I've decided to remove the mechanic entirely from the hammers and maces. For now I'll leave it on the axes, but I'll probably replace it at some point.

[Fizban]

Spoilered for length eh? Alrighty then.

Perhaps you are right. Hadn't occurred to me, since my players seem averse to gishing unless it's a built in aspect of the class; as a result, I've never seen anyone besides a monk dip/take the feat for Martial Proficiency. Not sure how to prevent this issue.
No one bothers to dip just for proficiencies, but for those classes where simple weapon proficiency wasn't considered a drawback, it might feel like they're being indirectly punished. On the other side, barbarian is already an excellent 1-2 level dip and it only becomes moreso with nifty martial weapons and uncanny dodge that you need to keep your shield relevant. While I actually like the easy simple/martial classification, the best fix I can think of would be just giving each class a number of proficiencies, with multiclassing only adding enough to get you the highest total. That or something like one proficiency per point of BAB as you level up, which actually sounds really good if this system didn't really want you to have all of them to start. Probably best just to leave it as is I guess.

Mixed up terminology there. "A turn" should be "1 round"
Still not specific enough, a round is a measure of time but without an action could just mean looking at them funny, doesn't mean anything. I'm guessing you probably want a full-round action (I'm using a homebrew with a different aiming mechanic, but it wouldn't mesh here).

I'll be honest, did not do the write-up for crossbows myself, that came from the original creator of this concept. I overlooked that, assumed they all said auto-threat. Not sure which one to change them all to. What do you think?
Auto-threat would be the safer bet, of course, but depending on magic stacking I actually wouldn't mind leaving them separate. Between the reload and aiming actions, letting the heavy crossbow crit without confirming might be okay as long as you can't stack a bunch of reload and magic to do it every round, but the project would need a note in the general rules assumptions for it. The full crit means a level 1 NPC can launch a surprise attack for 3d12, easily enough to kill up to 2nd or 3rd level in a single shot if it hits, multiplied by the number of guys, while keeping them both at a threat means the chance gets cut heavily depending on AC. Normally it'd be bad for balance, but the whole point here is to shake up the balance and make weapons matter. I've read some books where heavy crossbows were the ultra-badass terror so I don't want to say formations of crossbow focused murder-machines are a bad idea, I could go back and forth all day.

When I was making them I was thinking that repeating crossbows should be less accurate then regular ones, but I also lowered the threat range for that reason. Probably overkill; will add that note.
I was just confirming, it doesn't have to include them. Allowing cross tricks makes it easier to spam the crit shots, but you have to burn extra feats and could have just taken extra shots so it shouldn't be a problem. Keeps things clean.

Again, that one wasn't my work and I overlooked that. Kinda odd, especially since you'd think the martial weapons would be better at it then the simple one. Nerfing the longspear.
Here again was just confirming, I did like that it gave a reason for a weapon master to use a plain longspear rather than a fancy whatsit polearm.

A good point. Like the rapier, an earlier design I probably should have revised. Giving the x2 on charge back to inherent. I think the new basic trick shall be a free bull rush on hit, and a bonus to sunder shields (both only on charges, probably). Thoughts?
I like it, perfect example of matching expectations even if that's now how the weapon actually worked. Wouldn't need the bull rush effect as much if the ride check for staying in the saddle scaled with damage (and people remembered it), but now it's a thing that can happen.

The intended use for light shields (aside from being of use to classes that can use light but not heavy shields) is that a light shield is... well... light, whereas a heavy shield is one-handed. This makes light shields better for sword&board TWF. I'll admit though, it is a niche use.
Had not considered that, can you tell I don't use Weapon Finesse?

That is worded rather awkwardly, yes. The idea is that you attack one foe with the sword in your hand, and another using the one hooked on the other (so one attack with reach and one without).
I was originally reading it such that you had to switch modes or grips, but apparently that's not the case. I still don't think you should be able to reach while TWF, since TWF is supposed to be swinging both arms simultaneously while using the reach requires one hand to be empty. If we ignore that then there's no reason to disallow reach with both attacks. I think it would make the most sense as another swift-action grip-shift, but as an exotic weapon dealing low damage in reach mode it might as well have full dual wielding.

Actually, I'm using a feat redux (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?154811-Feat-synergy) by the same guy I got this concept from originally. In terms of uncanny dodge, that redux has 2 feats which grant uncanny dodge, stacking into improved. Requires 3 feats total to get (and both unlock at 6 [Fighter] feats) with prerequisites of "Combat Expertise, +6 BAB" and "+3 BAB, Wis 19" respectively..
That's another doozy. Would be nice if it were properly organized rather than spread across 20 different linked posts so you could actually search by the tags. Quickest hack I can think of for keeping the shields swingy without feeling useless in the face of tactics would halving the bonus rather than completely removing it (I'm quite attached to my currently infallible shields :smallbiggrin:).

In general, I agree. The scythe/sickle being masterwork tools for farming is more of a joke than anything, and the buckler only adds to a skill because Feint is tied to it. Also the various "concealable" weapons, but that's sort of a necessary evil as well.
Heh, hadn't even noticed the other skill checks since they actually make sense. Well a joke's a joke then.

tricks which give penalties to armor/nat armor on a crit.
Pathfinder tried to make weapon/armor breakage matter easier, but from what I've read it just seems more annoying. I think the "penetration" mechanic does enough work, if people want to sunder they'll sunder it into oblivion and be done with it.

Well, that took a while, but I'd like end by saying thank you for taking the time to write all that. I very much appreciate it.
You're welcome, even if I can't or won't use it I like this stuff.

Oh, another thing I forgot:
Polearm tricks saying that "charging provokes," should be more specific since charging already provokes when they exit the square you threaten with your extended reach (assuming they have less reach of course). Should say "provokes for entering your threatened reach."

[Mcdt2]

No one bothers to dip just for proficiencies, but for those classes where simple weapon proficiency wasn't considered a drawback, it might feel like they're being indirectly punished. On the other side, barbarian is already an excellent 1-2 level dip and it only becomes moreso with nifty martial weapons and uncanny dodge that you need to keep your shield relevant. While I actually like the easy simple/martial classification, the best fix I can think of would be just giving each class a number of proficiencies, with multiclassing only adding enough to get you the highest total. That or something like one proficiency per point of BAB as you level up, which actually sounds really good if this system didn't really want you to have all of them to start. Probably best just to leave it as is I guess.

Would it be alleviated any if one used the weapon group proficiency system, from UA? Would let some classes to have limited access to martial weapons, for example. On the other hand, I'm in favor of saying a class that only has simple weapon proficiencies is one that probably shouldn't be getting into combat very heavily in the first place. Monk of course is problematic in that way, but monk is problematic in every way. Speaking of, the monk fix I use (everybody has their own) has these weapon proficiencies: "all simple weapons plus the hand axe, kukri, short sword, tonfa, war fan, tiger hook sword, and chain (including spiked chain). Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields."


Still not specific enough, a round is a measure of time but without an action could just mean looking at them funny, doesn't mean anything. I'm guessing you probably want a full-round action (I'm using a homebrew with a different aiming mechanic, but it wouldn't mesh here).

Sorry, I guess I was thinking a rule was more general than it was. Was referring to the way casting a spell with cast time of "1 round" works. To wit: "A spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed." Basically it takes your full-round action and all of the time until your next turn (so you could be disrupted during your aiming period). Suppose I could make that more clear; forget that not everyone can read my mind :smallbiggrin:


Auto-threat would be the safer bet, of course, but depending on magic stacking I actually wouldn't mind leaving them separate. Between the reload and aiming actions, letting the heavy crossbow crit without confirming might be okay as long as you can't stack a bunch of reload and magic to do it every round, but the project would need a note in the general rules assumptions for it. The full crit means a level 1 NPC can launch a surprise attack for 3d12, easily enough to kill up to 2nd or 3rd level in a single shot if it hits, multiplied by the number of guys, while keeping them both at a threat means the chance gets cut heavily depending on AC. Normally it'd be bad for balance, but the whole point here is to shake up the balance and make weapons matter. I've read some books where heavy crossbows were the ultra-badass terror so I don't want to say formations of crossbow focused murder-machines are a bad idea, I could go back and forth all day.

Yeah, I've been flip-flopping back and forth on the decision too. I decided to leave it for now. I suppose I could make it so that the crit only applies to the first attack made (would be a moot point in most situations of course) but that would hurt it a lot at high levels. Hmm.


I was just confirming, it doesn't have to include them. Allowing cross tricks makes it easier to spam the crit shots, but you have to burn extra feats and could have just taken extra shots so it shouldn't be a problem. Keeps things clean.

Yeah I figure no real reason not to give it to them. If Mr. "Death-of-a-thousand-bolts" wants to slow down and make a sniping shot, I suppose it's fair to let him do that without having to grab a second, virtually identical weapon.


Here again was just confirming, I did like that it gave a reason for a weapon master to use a plain longspear rather than a fancy whatsit polearm.

I went and removed it, but I'm considering adding it back again. It did give the humble longspear a nice kick. Indecision.


I like it, perfect example of matching expectations even if that's now how the weapon actually worked. Wouldn't need the bull rush effect as much if the ride check for staying in the saddle scaled with damage (and people remembered it), but now it's a thing that can happen.

Y'know, hadn't even considered it for use against other mounted characters. Was actually thinking it made a lancer charge an excellent way to break a shield wall, but it works nicely for jousting as well.


Had not considered that, can you tell I don't use Weapon Finesse?

It's definitely something that falls under "your mileage may vary". Personally, I have a player who, 90% of the time, takes Weapon Finesse, TWF and pumps Dexterity through the roof, so I'm acutely aware of its existence.


I was originally reading it such that you had to switch modes or grips, but apparently that's not the case. I still don't think you should be able to reach while TWF, since TWF is supposed to be swinging both arms simultaneously while using the reach requires one hand to be empty. If we ignore that then there's no reason to disallow reach with both attacks. I think it would make the most sense as another swift-action grip-shift, but as an exotic weapon dealing low damage in reach mode it might as well have full dual wielding.

...Huh. You know, I kept misreading it too. That's what happens when you proofread your own work, you see what you intended to write, not what is there. It's supposed to call out switching grips as a swift action, but somehow that got left out.


That's another doozy. Would be nice if it were properly organized rather than spread across 20 different linked posts so you could actually search by the tags.

Yes, it really is, which is part of the reason I started a wiki condensing all the houserules I use. Also helps for the frequent edits I make to things. I'd link my wiki, but I've got some things on it which I made and some which others have made, and I'd rather not risk the original creators not getting the proper credit (my players know the source of each item, but it's not clearly marked on the site).


Quickest hack I can think of for keeping the shields swingy without feeling useless in the face of tactics would halving the bonus rather than completely removing it (I'm quite attached to my currently infallible shields :smallbiggrin:).

True. I would note one of the feats I use (not in that other thread, but an original feat styled after that), called "Shield Focus", gives shield AC to touch, and to flat-footed at 5 [Tenacity] feats (but you still lose it when flanked, so uncanny dodge still is valuable to them). While the inherent swinginess is a little odd, I wanted avoid really low-level characters from being too impossible to hit (a tower shield can bring your AC higher than full plate for 1/50 of the cost). Part of the problem in bringing my work to other games is it loses much of the inherent assumptions I've built into the system. Suppose I could present some feats in the OP under the info about shields; maybe a feat with a prereqiusite of "Shield Ward" or whatever it is that grants shield AC to touch, possibly a slightly higher BAB/fighter level to limit it from falling into a 1st level character's hands?


Heh, hadn't even noticed the other skill checks since they actually make sense. Well a joke's a joke then.

I'll admit it's not a very funny one, just that the thought of a weapon master taking up farming with his +3 vorpal scythe was exceedingly amusing to me for some reason.


Pathfinder tried to make weapon/armor breakage matter easier, but from what I've read it just seems more annoying. I think the "penetration" mechanic does enough work, if people want to sunder they'll sunder it into oblivion and be done with it.

I should really add a "Basic Assumptions" section to the OP. Under it I shall put a suggestion to alter sundering to something resembling PF's method albeit simplified. Basically, say that any weapon sundered during battle and later recovered can be easily repaired with a Weapon/armorcrafting check (same as it takes to make that sort of weapon), an hour's work, and a very minimal cost (half the cost of the mundane version of the item maybe, sans masterwork cost?).


You're welcome, even if I can't or won't use it I like this stuff.

Oh, another thing I forgot:
Polearm tricks saying that "charging provokes," should be more specific since charging already provokes when they exit the square you threaten with your extended reach (assuming they have less reach of course). Should say "provokes for entering your threatened reach."

An excellent point. I tend to be horrible at coming up with a good, RAW-tight wording for things, generally going for a common-sense, "make it up as we go" sort of thing.



Alright, I should probably really turn in for the night, even if 12 to 3 is prime creative time (which is to say, even my worst ideas sound vaguely reasonable, so I don't hold back on my brainstorming as I usually do). Anyway, I'm starting to lose my ability to type coherently (had to retype the last sentence 3 times) so I'm gonna go crash now. G'night. *heads thumps into pillow*