Weapons, Weapons, and More Weapons

 

The upgrade of the Arms and Armor book is now starting. Like literally in as soon as I finish this blog post. I’ve been asking for ages and Stephen said ‘Sure.’ He was, incidentally, looking for a Dr Pepper while I was proposing a metric ton of projects so I am not sure he heard the proposal nor knew what he just said yes to. These types of meetings are my forte’. I blabber incoherently for a time, never listen to anyone, and come away with something I want. Even if no one else does. To wit the NPC Almanac went from @200 pages to @600. 😊

That said, the current book is @50 pages. When it is done it will be @150 pages. I say that not knowing how much I will really write and what subjects I care to tackle. So here are some issues that are of concern and how I might address them. If anyone can think of anything else, please let me know.

Simple/Complex: Weapons will be presented in simple for and more complex forms. Some players/CK have no need nor desire for complex damage systems. A quick d4, d6, etc. suffice perfectly well for their games. Complex rules will take into account the weapons function, size, make, etc. The latter are their to provide non-essential graininess but give players and CKs a reason to choose a weapon.

Damage: The baseline is that weapon’s damage has a limited range; 1-2 to 1-12. Doubling dice (ie. 2d6) and adding modifiers (ie a 1d4+1) are the only two methods of giving the weapon some unique nature. I intend to offer a simplification to the damage as well as several layers of complexity. The damage will be bounded by size (ie. medium sized weapons will be limited to a 1d8 and variations on that).  

Size: This one is weird and has yet to pass muster but, the larger the weapon the more damage output it shold be able to do. As an example, a 16-foot-tall giant wielding a giant’s mace will not do 1d8 damage. The damage output should be reflective of the size of its wielder and size of the weapon. 

Attribute Score and Utility: This would take maybe too much work, but I am thinking of adding strength and dexterity minimums to effectively use some weapons. A six foot long double bladed 12 pound battle axe requires strength to use effectively.

Unique Capacities: Many weapons have unique functions or are designed with several specific functions in mind. These include utility versus some type of armor, tripping, staying, disarming etc. I hope to brign some of those to the fore.

Types: This is where it will get really fun. Peter and I will be making a host of weapons from different races. Orcs, goblins, giants, centaurs, etc. will have unique weapon types reflective of a culture, enemies, and physical dynamics. This will be cool I think.

Armor: Armor will be managed in the same manner as weapons.

That, off the top of my head is where we are headed. I will keep everyone updated as we move along with this.