Weapon Rules

When situations arise where violence is an answer, a sturdy ax, a versatile spear or a trusty sword are exactly what you need. Luckily, the World of Ere features a great variety of these instruments of destruction to suit any taste be it the focus of a character’s prowess, a simple tool of their trade, or an emergency back-up.

Damage

All weapons deal hit point damage when used with an attack, generated by rolling the die or dice listed as the weapon’s damage in the table below. This damage is denoted as [WD] and usually appears in an expression as part of a technique or other ability that allows a character to deal weapon damage.

Example: An attack might deal 1WD + STR modifier damage. This means to determine the amount of hit point damage the attack does, one should roll the die or dice listed as the weapon’s damage, then add the character’s STR modifier.

At times, the damage expression for an attack will be more complex. In these cases, one would use order of operations, doing any math inside brackets first. For example, an attack might say it deals 2[WD + STR modifier] or 2WD + STR modifier. In the first example, one would roll the die or dice listed as the weapon’s damage, add the character’s STR modifier, then multiply the result by 2. In the second, one would roll the die or dice listed as the weapon’s damage, multiply that number by 2, then add the character’s STR modifier.

Critical Hits

On the natural roll (ie meaning that number on the die before modifiers) of 20 on an attack roll, if that attack roll would hit the target, this is called a critical hit (also called a crit with the act of doing so called critting). When rolling damage on a critical hit, roll the weapon damage twice and add the results together.

Some weapons have an extended critical hit range denoted on the table. This means that said weapon scores a critical hit (assuming it would hit the target) on a natural roll other than 20, usually 19-20, or 18-20. Effects that extend a weapon’s critical hit range increase this range by one. For example, if a weapon that crits on a 19-20 and an effect extends its critical hit range by 1, it now crits on an 18-20.

Additionally, some weapons have expanded critical hit multipliers, meaning that their damage is rolled more than twice and summed. For example, a weapon with a critical multiplier of x3 rolls its damage dice three times and add the result.

Critical hits only increase damage by adding more dice to the damage dealt, they do not multiply other damage modifiers such as a weapon’s superiority bonus or ability modifier bonuses to damage.

Proficiency

Simply put, proficiency is a measure of whether a character knows how to wield a weapon correctly or not. Typically, what weapons a character is proficient with are determined by class, but they may also gain feats or other abilities that grant them proficiency with a given weapon or even advanced proficiency.

Except for a select few classes, most characters are proficient with all simple weapons while gaining proficiency in either a list of martial weapons or being able to choose a certain number of them to gain proficiency in.

While wielded by a character with advanced proficiency, a weapon gains the keywords and qualities listed on the table under advanced proficiency.

Characters wielding weapons they aren’t proficient with may only use them with Basic Strikes and Simple Strikes, never techniques.

Natural Attacks

When a creature uses an attack that is inherently part of them, such as the standard unarmed strike (representing punches, kicks, slaps, chops, headbutts, etc) all character have as well as claws, tail slaps, wing buffets,etc, this is called a natural attack.

These natural weapons are not considered to be weapons in game terms, meaning for example that effects that enhance a creature’s weapon and effects that only trigger on weapon attacks do not effect a creature’s natural attack.

Creatures are always proficient with their natural attacks.

Melee vs Ranged Weapons

At their very basic level, weapons are divided between melee and ranged weapons.

Melee weapons are straightforward: if it’s something you use to stab, hack or crush enemies nearby, it’s a melee weapon. Conversely, if it gets thrown, launched or shot at your enemies, it’s ranged. Of course, there are some weapons, such as the humble dagger, which is both melee and ranged.

Most techniques specify whether or not they require a melee or ranged weapon to use.

Weapon Categories

Weapons are grouped into a range of categories to distinguish them from one another for the purposes of techniques, feats and other abilities. Some weapons (most notably Polearms) have multiple categories, meaning they count as all the categories they have listed.

The categories are:

Axe, Bow, Crossbow, Flexible, Hammer, Mace, Long Arms, Long Blade, Polearm, Short Blade, Sling, Small Arms, Thrown, Unarmed

Handedness

The ‘handedness’ of a weapon is how many hands it takes to wield it and how easy it is to do so. Certain techniques, abilities and other effects require weapons with a specific type of handedness.

Generally, handedness comes in three steps from highest to lowest: two-handed, one-handed and light.

Certain feats, abilities and other effects can change the handedness of all or some weapons for you, adjusting them up or down one step. Unless otherwise noted, this change in handedness does not stack with other such effects unless one effect goes up one step and another goes down, effectively canceling each other out.

Characters must use two hands to wield weapons that are two-handed for them, but may also choose to wield weapons that are one-handed for them in two hands. They also must use at least one hand to hold a weapon that is light for them.

Weapon Keywords

In addition to their Category, Handedness, and Damage Type, weapons can have other keywords that effect how they work in combat, giving them additional capabilities and uses.

Blocking

Blocking weapons can be used with the block maneuver as if they were a shield. Additionally, using a Blocking weapon grants a +2 equipment bonus to using the block maneuver.

Brace

Brace weapons are designed to receive and attack incoming enemies, be they charging or passing by. They grant a +2 equipment bonus to attacks of opportunity targeting adjacent creatures.

Disarm

Disarm weapons are designed to catch and deflect enemy weapons, jarring them out of the enemy’s hands. They grant a +2 equipment bonus to using the disarm maneuver.

Double

A double weapon is one with two damaging components that can be used in tandem. They have two damage values and sometimes two crit ranges or multipliers with the second one indicating the ‘second’ weapon, which is considered light in terms of handedness unless otherwise noted.

Finesse

Finesse weapons are designed to be optimal when used in accord with agile fighting styles. When using a Finesse weapon, the wielder may use their DEX modifier instead of their STR modifier for attack and damage rolls.

Grapple

Grapple weapons have barbs, hooks, locking mechanisms or other means that latch on to an opponent and keep them in place. They grant a +2 equipment bonus to the Grapple maneuver.

Load X

Weapons that require ammunition usually have a Load value, denoted as Load X where X is an action type. The action type indicates what action is required to load more ammunition into the weapon.

Some weapons, such as bows have no Load value, meaning it is a free action to reload them between attacks.

Other weapons have magazines or other means of loading multiple pieces of ammunition. In such cases, the table will show two load values; the first to load a single piece of ammo and the second to load a new set of ammo.

Less-Lethal

Less-Lethal weapons are designed to injure and incapacitate while reducing the risk of killing that target. When a creature is reduced to 0 hit points, that creature will be unconscious; the weapon’s wielder does not get an option to kill them.

Parry

Parry weapons are strengthened to withstand impacts and deflections while parrying attacks. They grant a +2 equipment bonus when using the Parry maneuver.

Reach

Reach weapons have long hafts, chains, ropes or other means that extend them beyond the length of one’s personal fighting space. This means that a character wielding a weapon with Reach can attack targets in squares up to two squares away from them.

If a weapon has Reach X where X is a number (usually 2), that means the wielder can attack targets in squares X+1 squares away.

Regardless of how long a given weapon’s reach is, its wielder cannot attack targets in adjacent squares with it unless otherwise noted.

Trip

Trip weapons have protrusions, curved elements or other means of catching an enemy’s limbs and pulling them down. They grant a +2 equipment bonus to using the Trip maneuver.

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes, a trusty sword, axe or handful of shuriken just aren’t within arm’s reach when something needs a good drubbing and a hero needs to make use of what’s around. From heavy candlesticks to broken branches to the classic broken whiskey bottle, these all fall under the category of Improvised Weapons.

To use an improvised weapon, one simply chooses an existing weapon from the equipment list that best resembles the object you’re wielding. (For example, a tree branch is as good as a club and a frying pan can do as a mace in a pinch.) treat the object as that weapon except replace all Category Keywords except Flexible and Polearm with Improvised. If you roll maximum damage or score a critical hit with an Improvised weapon, it is broken beyond use as a weapon.

Weapons for Larger and Smaller Creatures

Not everyone in the world is Medium size and it follows that they are often more comfortable using weapons designed to be used by them rather than Medium sized humans or elves. In these cases, such weapons have slightly different statistics than the Medium-sized versions as follows:

Larger Weapons

For every step larger than Medium the intended wielder for a weapon is, the damage increases by one step on the table below and the Handedness of it for a creature smaller than the intended wielder also increases by one per step smaller they are.

For example, a Large Ogre’s dagger deals 1d6 damage and would be a One-Handed weapon rather than a Light weapon for a Medium creature.

Smaller Weapons

For every step smaller than Medium the intended wielder for a weapon is, the damage decreases by one step on the table below and the Handedness of it for a creature larger than the intended wielder also decreases by one step per step larger that are.

For example, a Small Halfling’s greatsword deals 1d10 damage and is a One-handed weapon for a Medium creature.