People around the former empire call BASTICA a lawless land.
Baron Alfons’s feudal power comes from his sworn knights, though they are rarely tasked with much, citing a lack of trust from their liege lord. They’re happy to share this with anyone who asks. More often the Baron’s actual enforcers speak the tongue of Bastica’s enemy: the Aegerling reavers.
The Golden Talons, a mercenary company led by Aldrung Hrothsdottir, Thrice Buried, act as the Baron’s standing army. She is in a detente with her greatest rival, fellow Aegerling Torgrim Skull-Splitter. As such, any prohibitions against wearing full plate or wielding a longsword are completely toothless.
Armor
There are three types of armor: shields, helmets, and body armor. One of each may be worn at a time. No armor bonus may be higher than 3.
| Armor | Price | Notes | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shield | 5 | +d4 to attacks, may be destroyed to avoid all damage from an attack. Mastery over the shield grants the Weapon Feature Missile Block. +1 Armor | Buckler, kite shield, pot lid |
| Helmet | 5 | Blocks damage from above. +1 Armor | Kettle, bucket, coif |
| Coat (cloth) | 25 | +1 Armor | Gambeson, cloth |
| Coat (metal) | 100 | Bulky, +2 Armor | Mail coat |
| Plate | 1,000 | Bulky. +3 Armor. Resting in extreme heat leaves a character deprived, but otherwise, sleeping in armor is totally fine. Soldiers did it all the time. | Cuirass, breastplate, brigandine, splint, lamellar |
Sundering Shields
When a character is hit by an attack and they carry a shield, they may choose to destroy the shield in order to avoid all damage.
Weapons
| weapon | examples | dmg | price | tag | feat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unarmed | d4 | brawler, bruiser | |||
| sling | d6 | 3 | concealable | bruiser | |
| staff | d6 | 3 | bruiser | ||
| hand axe | d6 | 4 | strip shield, disarm, cleave | ||
| cudgel | d6 | 5 | concealable | bruiser, shock | |
| dagger | d6 | 5 | concealable | pierce, bleed | |
| flail | d6 | 5 | crush, disarm, push, lock up, flurry, shock, bruiser | ||
| javelin | d6 | 5 | versatile (+d when 2h) | aiming, push, reach | |
| spear | d6 | 5 | versatile (+d when 2h) | aiming, push, reach | |
| mace | d6 | 5 | crush, cleave, shock, bruiser | ||
| short sword | gladius, arming sword, broadsword, spatha, jian | d6 | 10 | parry, cleave, pierce, sweep | |
| backsword | sabre, cutlass, scimitar, falchion, machete, dao | d6 | 10 | parry, bleed, cleave, flurry, riposte, sweep | |
| dueling sword | rapier, side sword, smallsword, dress sword | d6 | 10 | parry, disarm, flurry, pierce, riposte, stall | |
| hook sword | d6 | 10 | parry, disarm, lock up, strip shield | ||
| short bow | d6 | 25 | bulky | aiming, rapid-fire | |
| battle axe | d8 | 20 | bulky | strip shield, disarm, sweep, flurry, brutal | |
| thrusting sword | estoc, tuck, koncerz, panzerstecher | d8 | 40 | versatile (+d when 2h) | parry, armor-piercing, brutal, pierce |
| bastard sword | d8 | 40 | versatile (+d when 2h) | parry, brutal, cleave, riposte | |
| long bow | d8 | 50 | bulky | rapid-fire, aiming | |
| crossbow | d8 | 50 | reload, bulky | armor-piercing, aiming | |
| polearm | pole axe, glaive, lance, halberd | d10 | 50 | bulky | pole-end, stall, sweep, push, reach |
| war hammer | d10 | 50 | bulky | crush, cleave, push, flurry, shock, bruiser | |
| long sword | zweihander, katana, claymore | d10 | 100 | bulky | parry, brutal, riposte, stall, cleave, flurry |
Unarmed and improvised weapon attacks usually inflict 1d4 damage. This may include using the pommel of your sword (even if it’s unscrewed and thrown).
Special Forged Weapons
Silvered weapons are 10x the price of their standard steel counterparts (accounting for the value of the silver and the difficulty of forging). Only expert smiths can forge silvered weapons.
Cold iron weapons are 2x the price of their standard steel counter parts (accounting for the difficulty of forging). The art of cold forging is extremely rare and kept secret, its practice primarily kept up by Witch-Finders.
Other special versions of weapons exist which may be forged with special metals or created using strange materials or techniques.
Weapon Feats
From Block, Dodge, Parry by Dice Goblin
Weapon feats are learned one by one via diegetic means. This could include intense training or enough victories in lethal combat.
When picking up a different weapon with the same Weapon Feat (for example, a Sabre and a Scimitar both have Sweep), you’ll still need to gain Weapon Mastery for that weapon.
| Weapon Feat | Description | Compatible Weapons |
|---|---|---|
| Aiming | Spending a round aiming at a target enhances the attack on the next round, depending on the positioning and as long as you are not attacked. | Spear, javelin, short bow, long bow, crossbow |
| Armor-piercing | Attacks ignores any body armor. Shields and helmets still apply armor. | Crossbow, thrusting sword |
| Bleed | If the target has taken STR damage, they take 1d4 STR damage at the start of their turn (does not cause a Critical Damage save). | Dagger, backsword |
| Brawler | Your unarmed strikes inflict d6 damage. | Unarmed |
| Bruiser | Attacks against enemies without armor inflict +d6 damage. | Unarmed, sling, staff, cudgel, flail, mace, war hammer |
| Brutal | On maximum damage, if the target takes STR damage, they are instantly killed without needing a Critical Damage save. | Battle axe, thrusting sword, bastard sword, long sword |
| Cleave | Immediately make another attack if you reduce the target to 0 or less GD. Does chain. | Hand axe, mace, backsword, battle axe, bastard sword, war hammer, long sword |
| Crush | The target’s armor (if it has any) is ignored the next time they are attacked. | Flail, mace, war hammer |
| Disarm | You may discard a roll of 4+ to disarm the target. | Hand axe, flail, dueling sword, hook sword |
| Flurry | You may take 1 Fatigue to inflict blast damage. | Flail, backsword, dueling sword, battle axe, war hammer, long sword |
| Lock up | You may discard a roll of 2+ to lock up the target’s weapon. While locked together, both fighters’ attacks with the locked weapons are impaired. | Flail, hook sword |
| Missile Block | Mundane missile attacks (stones, arrows, bolts) are impaired as long as you are not caught unawares. | Shield |
| Parry | Wielder ignores attack rolls of 1 and 2. | Short sword, backsword, dueling sword, thrusting sword, bastard sword, long sword, hook sword |
| Pierce | Inflicting 6+ damage ignores armor. No effect if attack is impaired. | Dagger, dueling sword, thrusting sword |
| Pole-end | Inflict +d6 damage whenever you roll an attack, representing the butt of your polearm. | Polearm |
| Push | Inflicting 6+ damage pushes an enemy back or knocks them down. | Flail, javelin, spear, polearm, war hammer |
| Rapid-fire | Spending a round preparing grants this weapon the blast property for the next attack, depending on the positioning and as long as you are not attacked. | Short bow, long bow |
| Reach | When attacked by a weapon without Reach, the attacker must roll higher than half their damage die or else you may attack first. You do not act with the other PCs if you choose to attack in this way. | Javelin, spear, polearm |
| Riposte | If an attacker rolls a 1 against you, your next attack against the attacker is enhanced. | Backsword, dueling sword, thrusting sword, bastard sword, long sword |
| Shock | On a 6+, the target must make a WIL save or lose their next turn. | Flail, mace, cudgel, war hammer |
| Stall | You may discard a roll of 4+ to prevent the target from fleeing. If they do attempt to flee, the attacker gets a free enhanced attack on the target, even if they pass the DEX save to retreat. | Dueling sword, polearm, long sword |
| Strip shield | You may discard a roll of 4+ to strip a shield away from a defender. | Hand axe, battle axe, hook sword |
| Sweep | Immediately make another attack if you roll maximum damage. Does not chain. | Short sword, backsword, battle axe, polearm, long sword |
Tags
| Tags | Description | Compatible Weapons |
|---|---|---|
| Concealable | Can be hidden on the body when searched. | Sling, cudgel, dagger |
| Reload | Requires 1 round to reload. | Crossbow |
| Versatile | Can be used with 1 or 2 hands. Grants +d when used 2 handed (roll 2 dice, highest = damage) | Bastard sword, thrusting sword, spear, javelin |
| Bulky | Takes up 2 slots and 2 hands. | All bows and d10 weapons |
Sundering Melee Attacks
On a melee attack, a character may choose to destroy their weapon to add +d12 to the attack.
Ammunition
Ammunition is not tracked, unless it is a special or magical form of ammunition. It can be assumed that characters retrieve ammunition after firing.