Serration
Certain slashing weapons are serrated, resulting in larger wounds that are difficult to heal, but making it difficult to penetrate armor or land a solid blow. Such weapons gain a +2 bonus on damage, but a –2 penalty on attack rolls. This process adds 100 gp to the value of a weapon, and has a Craft DC of 20.
Barbs
Barbs can be added to crossbow bolts or arrows to make their removal painful and difficult. However, barbed arrows have a difficult time penetrating armor, or even fine cloth such as silk. A barbed projectile deals +2 damage, but instead suffers a –2 damage penalty against opponents with a bonus of +3 or more from armor or natural armor, or those who are wearing fine cloth (such as those wearing a noble’s or royal outfit). Such arrows are not any harder to craft than normal ones.
Supple
Certain melee weapons are made of exceptionally flexible metal or wood, making them ideal for some of the more subtle maneuvers in combat but making them slightly easier to break. Such weapons gain a +2 bonus to disarm attempts: however, the HP of the weapon is lowered by two, and its hardness by one. This process adds 300 gp to the value of a weapon, and has a Craft DC of 22.
Guard
Weapons can be built with elaborate and effective guards, making it harder to disarm the wielder in combat. Such weapons gain a +2 bonus to the opposed attack roll when being disarmed, but not when disarming. This process adds 10 gp to the value of a weapon, adds 1 lb to its weight, and has a Craft DC of 15. Weapons not normally built with guards, such as a quarterstaff or crossbow, cannot have this enhancement.
Legendary
Weapons built of star-steel, carefully folded thousands of times, or forged in the fires of a volcano can rival even powerful magic weapons if enough time and effort is put into them. A weapon with a +2 bonus to attack rolls and +1 bonus to damage rolls adds 10,000 gp to the price of the weapon, and has a Craft DC of 30. Such a weapon’s hardness is increased by 1, its HP is increased by 10, and it is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of penetrating Damage Reduction. A weapon with a +3 bonus to attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage rolls adds 22,000 gp to the price of the weapon, and has a Craft DC of 40. Such a weapon’s hardness is increased by 2, its HP is increased by 20, and it is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of penetrating Damage Reduction. All bonuses granted through the Legendary property are Enhancement bonuses, though non-magical.
Heavy
Weapons built for exceptionally strong wielders can be robust and difficult to break. Additional HP can be added to a weapon: for every extra HP added to the weapon, it gains a Strength prerequisite that increased by 1 per HP, starting at 10. If the weapon already has a Strength prerequisite, then that number replaces the default 10. The GP value is increased by 5 per extra HP, and the Craft DC is also increased by 1. 2 HP can be added to a weapon (giving it a Strength prerequisite of 10): this adds 10 gp to the price of the weapon and has a Craft DC of 10. 4 HP can be added to a weapon (giving it a Strength prerequisite of 12): this adds 20 gp to the price of the weapon and has a Craft DC of 12…etc.
Note that every 2 HP added to the weapon increases its weight by 1 lb.
Balanced
A weapon designed for a graceful wielder can be wielded gracefully no matter how heavy it is: witness the graceful fighting styles built around the bo, a balanced quarterstaff. A one-handed Balanced weapon has its HP reduced by 3 and its damage reduced by 1 while a two-handed Balanced weapon has its HP reduced by 6 and its damage reduced by 2, but is considered a Finessable weapon even if it is not normally light or Finessable. A balanced weapon adds 300 gp to the weapon's value and has a Craft DC of 25.
Dulled
Normally, those wishing to subdue their opponents train in the use of weapons designed for it, such as a sap: however, those who have had extensive training in bladed weapons may wish to use a dulled sword rather than one of those. A dulled slashing weapon has one or more of its edges deliberately dulled: it deals bludgeoning damage die as if it had been reduced by one size (for example, from Medium-sized to Small) and can deal subdual or lethal damage with no penalty. A dulled weapon adds 5 gp to the value of the weapon and has a Craft DC of 10. Note that, unlike any other masterwork-like property, the Dulled property may be added to a weapon at any time, even after the weapon has been built and been in use for some time. For weapons that are built with curves, such as a scimitar or katana, a dulled weapon is sometimes called a reverse-blade.
Wooden
Typically used for practice in academies or dojos, wooden swords are wooden replicas of the real thing, designed to balance and handle approximately like a real sword. Some true masters of their art refuse to fight with anything but a wooden sword: if wouldn't be a challenge otherwise. A wooden sword deals subdual bludgeoning damage as if it had been reduced by two sizes (for example, from Large to Small). A wooden weapon can be produced for half the value of a typical one, and has a Craft DC of the base sword's -2.
Exotic
Certain weapons are more exotic versions of typical weapons, such as a scissor-bladed longsword, asymetrical nunchuku, or a greatsword with a tip nearly as wide as the base. Even experienced fighters find them difficult to predict: they provide a +2 bonus on feint checks. An exotic weapon is considered Exotic for purposes of crafting DC and cost: if it is already Exotic, add +2 to the Craft DC and 25 gp to the cost.
Collapsable
Exceptionally talented or innovative smiths can produce a weapon that dissasembles into several peices, making it much easier to conceal: a sword with a blade that unscrews, a crossbow with a removable stock, or a polearm with a telescoping stock could be used. A collapsable weapon is treated as a weapon a size smaller than it actually is for the purposes of concealing it with a Sleight of Hand check. It takes three rounds to fully assemble or dissasemble a collapsable weapon. A Collapsable weapon increases its value by 500 gp and has a Craft DC of 30.
Dress
Some weapons are only designed for pomp and ceremony: inlaid with gold and polished to a gleaming sheen, such weapons look very impressive. A Dress weapon suffers a -1 penalty to attack and damage, but confers a +2 bonus to all Intimidate checks and Perform: Weapon Drill checks made with the weapon. A Dress weapon increases its value by 100 gp and has a Craft DC of 15.
Seige
When beseiging a castle or keep, normal arrows just won't cut it. Seige ammunition is brought into play then: heavy, broad-headed bruisers that do as much damage by impact as by peircing their target. A seige arrow suffers a reduction of damage as if it were one size smaller against a creature target, as it is not designed for proper penetration of flesh: however, seige ammunition does both bludgeoning and peircing damage, and does not deal half damage to objects. Seige ammunition is not any easier or harder to produce than normal ammunition, but it weighs twice as much.
Narrow
Normal arrows and bolts have medium-wide tips, to help open as wide a wound as possible while still retaining the ability to penetrate light armor: however, archers facing heavy armor on the feild may elect to use arrows with narrower tips, sacrificing wide wounds for penetration. Spear or dagger makers can follow a similar process to increase penetration. Such weapons gain a +1 bonus on the attack roll, but a -1 penalty on the damage roll. Narrow ammunition can be produced in the same manner as normal ammo, and Narrow peircing melee weapons are no harder to manufacture than normal ones, but suffer a -2 reduction in HP.
Recurve
In order to get the most power from a smaller bow, some are built with a recurve: that is, the bow curves on its own, without needing to be strung. These bows are more powerful than others: they gain +1 on attack and damage rolls, and +10 feet to their range increment. However, you cannot keep a recurve bow strung for extended periods, or the stresses involved will warp the wood: therefore, it is a full-round action that provokes an AoO to draw a recurve bow (i.e. ready it for battle), as the action involves stringing it. A Recurve bow increases its value by 200 gp and has a Craft DC of 20.
Tempered
The craft of swordsmithing is an eternal balancing act: a sword made of too-soft steel will bend into uselessness in short order, but a sword made of too-hard steel will be too brittle for a battlefeild weapon. A Tempered sword is on the harder end of the spectrum: it adds 1 to its critical threat range after any and all multipliers, but subtracts 4 from its hardness. In campaigns that use the critical failure variant, a critical failure results in a Tempered weapon taking damage as if its weilder had made an attack on it in addition to any other critical failure effect. Also, chips and cuts in its blade will render it useless after six months of fairly constant use. A Tempered blade does not increase its value, but has a Craft DC of 15.
War
The Russian Spetsnaz teaches their soldiers to kill with a sharpened shovel. Martial arts weapons based around cleaning and farming implements can be used to deadly effect. Drunken masters find reinforced mugs to be of great use in a bar fight. Fighting styles have been built around such oddities as giant spatulas.
The War property can only be added to a weapon that would normally be considered improvised: it strengthens and balances it so that it can be used in combat without taking the standard -4 penalty, though it still requires an Exotic Weapons Proficiency.
A War version of an improvised weapon costs twice as much as the original object cost. It has a Craft DC as if it were an Exotic weapon: 18.
Mass-Produced
Sometimes, there simply isn't enough time to outfit an army- corners must be cut, poor-quality ore must be used, swords must be built without a thought to their balance or asthetics.
A Mass-Produced weapon takes a -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls and cannot have any other of the masterwork-like properties listed here: it reduces its value by half and its Craft DC by 2.
Close Combat
Brass knuckles built into the hilt. A flanged, heavy pommel designed to be used in close combat. A blade that extends to form the guard. A sharpened tang that extends past the bottom of the handle, providing a spike to stab with. Some weapons have secondary nasties built into the hilt designed to be used in a pinch. Such weapons receive the ability to be used in a grapple for 1d4 damage of a type chosen by the weapon's creator, and can only be added to weapons whose size would make them normally impossible to use in a grapple. A weapon with a Weapons-Grade Hilt increases its value by 25 gp and has a Craft DC of 12.
There is realistically no reason not to barb all your bolts and arrows, unless your hunting very hard to hit nobles. There has to be some cost or game mechanic balancing them out. It has to be a choice to use them.
Same with guard. Everyone will get one, its too cheap for what it does.
Same with heavy. Every PC will have every weapon made as heavy as his strength allows.
You don’t specify if the bonuses other than legendary are enhancement or other.
Other than those minor points I like it. I was thinking of coming up with similar rules myself.
There is realistically no reason not to barb all your bolts and arrows, unless your hunting very hard to hit nobles. There has to be some cost or game mechanic balancing them out. It has to be a choice to use them.
Take a good look at your Monster Manual. You'll find that many, many monsters have natural armor modifiers, including almost all of the higher-level ones, and a smaller number have actual armor. This is actually only useful at low levels.
Same with guard. Everyone will get one, its too cheap for what it does.
"What it does" is provide a bonus to an opposed attack roll that comes up quite rarely in most games. If it provided a +2 bonus to all disarm checks it might be too cheap, but it only provides a bonus to the check when the wielder is being disarmed.
Same with heavy. Every PC will have every weapon made as heavy as his strength allows.
Again, it's not really that big of a deal. How often do you see a PC's weapon sundered? Keep in mind that this variant is designed for low-magic campaigns. A Heavy greatsword is a far cry from a Greatsword +3.
You don’t specify if the bonuses other than legendary are enhancement or other.
You must have missed it- I specify that they are enhancement bonus at the end of the description.
Other than those minor points I like it. I was thinking of coming up with similar rules myself.
Thank you!
Let me forestall the inevitable "overpowered! omglololol" by stressing that this variant is designed for low-magic campaigns to replace the various magic weapon enhancements. Each of these is not even close to Keen, Wounding, or Flaming. Try NOT to think of these as stacking with magic enhancements, even though they TECHNICALLY do, because this variant is designed for campaigns with magic weapons being rare or nonexistent.
A RBS is a katana with a dull "front" or "outside" edge of the blade. Not through neglect, mind you. It was intentionally forged that way. On the other hand, the "back" or "inside" of the blade is sharp, hence "reverse".
Serration: I don't see why being serrated would take a -2. A slashing weapon hits with a slash... whether or not it's got many little points on the slash. Penetrating armor might even be easier with a serrated weapon, at least to my mental physics engine. I would give a decrease to damage (it wouldn't dig as deep in flesh) but give it some form of wounding benefit... from all the little rends. Good to give to bad guys.
Barbs- Again, I don't see why it would be any harder for an arrow to hit an armored foe. I know of the silk trick that the Mongols used, that the silk entangles the barbs and makes their removal easy, but that's all. I'd make it harder to make (because it involves actual finesse, it's more than just -pointy-), increase damage, but have silk reduce the damage by twice the increase.
Supple: No problem. I think it's pushing reality a bit that suppleness can produce such an effect... but otherwise it's good.
Guard: I don't see how this would be a whole pound increase.
Legendary: All good, though I think the DM should manage all of this. Legendary weapons shouldn't be sold... that's like giving a standard price on Tarrasque-skin.
Heavy: This is good, though I feel it amounts to 'how strong are you'... not 'would your character have this weapon'. Ah well. Maybe it's because I play halflings.
Balanced: I love this rule. I really do. As I was reading it I designed a halfling fighter who acts like she's in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. My only problem is that there's no damage benefit . . .which really doesn't make sense. I'll just give her extended critical for free.
Reverse-blade: This is nice... but I'd make there be a feat that removes the damage penalty. Also, on the previous person's comment, the name is a misnomer. It could, after all, be added to a straight sword, with no 'forwards' or 'backwards' to reverse. I'd also drop the craft DC, this is something that can be done with a stone. I don't see why it would increase the value, though.
Wooden: I'd reduce the strength (hardness, break DC) of these... I've got a pair of wooden swords (family heirlooms from Japan) and they have to be handled very carefully. Could be age, but the purchaser was only my grandfather, so it doesn't seem like they could stand, say, slaying a black dragon. I'd also add the option of them cutting, seeing as aborigines in Australia (another place I'm descended from :cool
used wooden swords in warfare.Exotic: I like this rule, though I'd moderate it carefully.
Fighter character: "I've got a feat to burn. I'll take Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword-with-a-bunny-on-the-end!"
Me: "A dragon eats you."
-B.
P.S.: Good job!
Serration--
It really does make it harder to penetrate properly i.e. land a solid hit.
Guard--
Keep in mind that DnD weight takes encumbrance into account.
Exotic--
I'd LET them take "Greatsword-with-a-bunny-on-the-end-" whatever benefits were offered would be balanced by the ridiculousness of it (MASSIVE penalty to Intimidate checks) and the impossibility of sheathing it. :D
Longbow, Composite: You need at least two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. You can use a composite longbow while mounted. All composite bows are made with a particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum Strength modifier to use with proficiency). If your Strength bonus is less than the strength rating of the composite bow, you can't effectively use it, so you take a –2 penalty on attacks with it. The default composite longbow requires a Strength modifier of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A composite longbow can be made with a high strength rating to take advantage of an above-average Strength score; this feature allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. Each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow adds 100 gp to its cost.
Recurve...recurve...no recurve here.
Serration: Very good. I am assuming these are large serrations, rather than the small ones you might see on a butcher knife.
Barbs: Good.
Supple: I am not sure of the origin of this one, but I like its effect.
Guard: Good. I like. Similar to what some official weapons have already.
Legendary: I would say that the effects are too weak for the cost and manner of creation. I also don't like defining all "legendary" weapons to have the same enhancement.
Heavy: Not bad. I am glad that you didn't give it a damage bonus. However, some exotic weapons such as the bastard sword already have a strength requirment (or at least they did in 3rd edition, not sure about 3.5). I would take that into account for the strength limiter.
Balanced: I don't like the name, but I like the effect. Since all weapons have to be balanced correctly to even be used, I would prefer to call this a light-weight weapon.
Dulled: Kenshin fan I see
I like the effect.Wooden: I like it. Reducing the damge by two weapon sizes is probably overkill. Lowering it by only one size might be better.
Exotic: Sorta cool. Name conflicts with existing terminology, so I suggest rethinking the name to avoid confusion.
Colapsable: A little weak perhaps, and you don't say how many rounds it takes to re-assemble or disassemble the weapon.
Dress: Good.
Siege: What is a -1 damage die penalty? Need some clarification on your wording. Is it a size decrease or a reduction by one whole die of damage?
Narrow: I would call it armor-piercing myself, since that is what it does. Also, I would allow it to be added to spears and lances as well, since they function similar to an arrow and because there have been armor-piercing polearms in the past.
Recurve: Do you mean that you can only shoot by taking a full-round action for every shot? A recurve bow can stay strung for quite a while. When I did archery, I had mine strung for an hour at a time. Also, most historical composite bows have been recurve bows, so I am not sure if this term is as needed. The effects are similar to a composite bow already anyways.
Tempered: I would add an increased cost. A critical hit modifier is always better than having hardness. Especially over six months. It would be too easy to simply replace the weapon. Either make it break much faster, such as it breaking on a bad roll, or give it a significant cost. It sounds harder to make anyways (harder steel to work with, and the blacksmith has to sharpen it more to get any benefit from the harder edge).
I suggest looking at D20 Modern. Its mastercraft rules allow non-magical enhancements to a wide range of abilities, such as both attack and damage rolls. It might give you some inspiration.
I'm actually working on a town in my campaign that is located in a dead magic zone and this should be perfect for it.Just one question: How many qualities can you have on one weapon? Just one, or could you make a serrated, guarded, legendary, dulled weapon?
I love these rules by the way, now I just have to convince my DM to use them.
As many qualities as you like can be applied, but the Craft DC bonuses and price increases stack, and common sense must be applied- for example, you can't Serrate a Dulled weapon.
In response to TwinBahamut's criticism:
Legendary:
The reason they provide flat bonuses only represents a general increase in the quality of the crafting. It's not really necessary to make a "unique" Legendary weapon because such properties as Serrated or Dulled would also be applied to a Legendary weapon. Your complaint is akin to saying that just having +1 or +2 magic swords is not flavorful when in fact there is a boatload of other enhancements available (Flaming or Keen in the case of magic: these properties for mundane swordsmiths)
Heavy:
Post edited to reflect your request.
Balanced:
*shrugs* It just means it's more balanced than usual. Balance is unnecessary for a killing weapon: however, it is definitely a plus for control of it.
Dulled:
Yup, the idea's from Kenshin!
Wooden:
The trouble with that is that it would then do the same damage as a Dulled metal weapon...and reducing a longsword's 1d8 to 1d4 seems fine to me. That a wooden sword can do as much damage as a dagger (actually quite a nasty weapon) seems about right.
Exotic: Any ideas about the name?
Collapsable: Post edited to fix the rounds-to-diss/assemble issue, and you'd actually be surprised with how useful this is to rogue-types.
Siege:
I had envisioned as 1d6->1d4, 2d8->2d6, 11d12->11d10, but it would be better and simpler to treat the ammunition as if it were one size smaller.
Narrow:
Well, armor piercing is the name of a modern type of gun ammunition, and I'd like to eliminate confusion...however, post edited to reflect its application to melee weapons.
Recurve: No, it says it takes a full-round action to draw it...
*it clicks in my head that to draw a bow is to pull it back*
Oh. No, it just takes a full-round action to ready the bow for a fight.
Tempered:
Meh. Good at low levels, but at high levels where magical/heavily masterworked weapons are needed to be competitive, replacing your weapon bianually can get expensive.
Edit: Just added War, Mass-Produced, and Weapons-Grade Hilt.
Frankly, I'd like a better name for WGH...does anyone have any ideas? Or comments on any of the new properties?
For example:
A quarterstaff that can become a spear, that can become a bladed staff.
A morning star that can become a flail
A half-spear that can become a trident
Etc. The sky is the limit
Maybe the successful use of one during combat is a free action, that warrants a bluff check to catch your opponent flat-footed (for one attack or one round).
Not particularly realistic, but very High Fantasy.
:fight!:Now for the Weapons-grade hilt. Perhaps:
-Dastardly?
-Sneaky?
-Surprising?
- of Dirty Fighting?
Here's one I thought of while reading yours...
Hooked
Hooked weapons are predominantly slashing weapons that have a 90degree hook or spike at the end of the weapon. The hook aids in disarm attempts, giving a +2 advantage and also allows you to use the weapon as a small piercing weapon(1d4, x3) with a -2 to attack due to this unorthodox style. Unfortunately, putting a hook on the end of a slashing weapon lowers the critical threat range for the weapon one step. For example, a hooked longsword would have a critical threat range of 20 for both slashing and piercing. This process adds 100 gp to the value of a weapon, and has a Craft DC of 20.
(This was inspired by the orc swords in LotR.)
I like your variant ideas and I'm printing them out right now. During my next session I'm going to show them to my players to see how they like them, and if it passes the PC test then I'm going to ratify it into the house rules.
Melee weapons
Stone
Weapon is made of stone instead of metal
-Damage dice is one step lower (Battle axe goes from 1D8 to 1D6)
-On natural roll of one, the weapon breaks. If natural 1 is rolled on critical confirmation roll, the wepon still does damage, but it is also broken.
-A stone weapon can be produced for 1/10th the value of a typical one
-Craft DC -4
Heavy
This kind of weapon causes tremendous damage but is very slow and hard to handle.
-+1 to weapons base damage per –1 to attacks
--1 to initiave per every full 2 of extra base damage
-+1 to critical threat range per every full 2 of extra base damage
-Maximum bonus to base damage is +4 (having then –4 to attacks, +4 to base damage, –2 to initiave and threat range improved by 2)
-Extra cost +50% per +1 to base damage
-Craft DC 20
Tempered
Weapon has very keen edge but breaks easily.
Can be only used to weapons that have some kind of blade, like sword or spears edge
-+1 to critical threat range
-if natural 1 is rolled in attack or in weapon block, the weapon has 50% chance to break
-Extra cost +200%
-Craft DC 25
Legendary
Weapons built of star-steel, carefully folded thousands of times, or forged in the fires of a volcano can rival even powerful magic weapons if enough time and effort is put into them.
-+1 or +2 to attack (not considered a magical weapon)
-Extra cost; fifty or hundred times the original prize
-Craft DC 30 or 40
Arrows
Needlepoints
+2 to attack
-1 to the projectiles base damage (from 1d6 to 1d6-1)
Broadheads (or Leafheads)
-2 to attack
+1 to the projectiles base damage (from d6 to d6+1, for example)
Weighted
Can be combined with needlepoints or broadheads
Usable with any throwed or shooted weapon/projectile (javelin, hand-axe, longbows arrow, etc)
+1 to weapons base damage and attack roll (when thrown/shooted)
Range penalties are doubled
Originally posted by Toptomcat
Recurve...recurve...no recurve here.
Actually, Toptomcat, he was talking about the actual books... you only quoted the SRD. The BOOKS read:
Longbow, Composite: You need at least two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. You can use a composite longbow while
mounted. Composite bows are made from laminated horn, wood, or
bone and built with a recurve, meaning that the bow remains bowshaped even when unstrung. All composite bows are made with a
particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum
Strength modifier to use with proficiency). If your Strength bonus......
Xoron was quite right.
I hate to do it, because I generally loathe katana discussions, but the katana is a hard exterior over a flexible iron interior. and yet, even with the flexible core, they still snap easier laterally than thinner European swords, because they simply aren't as flexible; aren't supple.
Take, for instance, the rapier. if someone whacked a rapier with a big sledgehammer, while it was being held, it would bend quite a bit, and snap back into original position. if someone did the same with say, a katana, or hell, even something slightly less flexible, like an Estoc, it would likely snap. The flexibility lets the weapon move energy from the point of impact.
Otherwise, these are great, beyond what's been said about the barbs