Leoinpharoh
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Join date : 2011-08-04
 |  Subject: Weapons Rules and Facts  Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:18 am | |
| When you confront villains and monsters in their lairs, you often end up in situations that can be resolved only with arms and magic. If you don’t have magical powers, you had better have a weapon or two. In fact, you might want a weapon to back up or even augment your powers. Weapon Categories:Weapons fall into four categories. Improvised weapons aren’t weapons you train with—they’re objects you pick up to hit someone with. Punching or kicking someone is also considered an improvised weapon. Simple weapons are basic, requiring little more skill than lifting and hitting with the business end. Military weapons are designed for skilled users. Balance and precision are important factors when using military weapons, and someone without the proper training can’t use them effectively. Superior weapons are even more effective than military weapons but require special training to use. You can learn to use a superior weapon by taking the Weapon Proficiency feat. Weapons in all four categories are further categorized as melee weapons, which you use to attack foes within reach of the weapon, or ranged weapons, which you use to fire at more distant enemies. You can’t use a ranged weapon as a melee weapon. A melee weapon with the heavy thrown or the light thrown property counts as a ranged weapon when thrown and can be used with ranged attack powers that have the weapon keyword. Finally, weapons are classified as either one-handed or two-handed. A one-handed weapon is light enough or balanced enough to be used in one hand. A two-handed weapon is too heavy or unbalanced to use without two hands. Bows and some other weapons require two hands because of their construction. Some one-handed weapons are light enough for you to use in your off hand while holding another one-handed weapon in your other hand. Doing this doesn’t let you make multiple attacks in a round (unless you have powers that let you do so), but you can attack with either weapon. Other one-handed weapons are large enough that you can keep a good grip on them with two hands and deal extra damage by using them as two-handed weapons. Weapon Groups: Weapon groups are families of weapons that share certain properties. They’re wielded similarly and are equally suited to certain kinds of attacks. In game terms, some powers and feats work only when you’re attacking with a weapon in a specific group. If a weapon falls into more than one group, you can use it with powers that require a weapon from any of its groups. For example, the halberd is both an axe and a polearm, so you can use it with powers that give you an additional benefit when you wield an axe or a polearm. - Weapon Groups:
Axe: Axes are weapons that have bladed, heavy heads and deal vicious cuts. An axe’s weight makes it fine for delivering crushing blows.
Bow: A bow is a shaft of strong, supple material with a string stretched between its two ends. It’s a projectile weapon that you use to fire arrows. Bows take training to use effectively, and they can be extremely deadly in expert hands.
Crossbow: Essentially a small metal bow mounted on a stock and equipped with a mechanical
trigger, a crossbow is a point-and-shoot projectile weapon. Crossbows are popular because they require little training to master, yet the heavy pull of the metal bow gives them substantial power.
Flail: Weapons in the flail group have a flexible material, usually a length of chain, between a solid handle and the damage-dealing end of the weapon.
Hammer: A hammer has a blunt, heavy head with one or more flat striking surfaces attached to a haft.
Heavy Blade: Blades are balanced edged weapons. Heavy blades share some of the precision of light blades and some of the mass of axes. Heavy blades are used primarily for slashing cuts rather than stabs and thrusts.
Light Blade: Light blades reward accuracy as much as force. Pinpoint attacks, lunges, and agile defenses are the strong points of these weapons. Mace: Much like hammers, maces are blunt weapons that have a heavier head than handle, but they’re more balanced than hammers. They’re useful for delivering crushing blows.
Pick: Weighted toward the top like a mace or an axe, a pick has a long, pointed head made to pierce and create deep wounds.
Polearm: Polearms are weapons mounted at the end of long hafts. All polearms also fall into another category of weapon, usually axe, heavy blade, or spear. Polearms are reach weapons.
Sling: Slings are leather straps used to hurl stones or metal pellets. They are projectile weapons.
Spear: Consisting of a stabbing head on the end of a long shaft, a spear is great for lunging attacks.
Staff: In its most basic form, a staff is a long piece of wood or some other substance, roughly the same diameter along its whole length.
Unarmed: When you punch, kick, elbow, knee, or even head butt an opponent, you’re making an
unarmed strike. A simple unarmed attack is treated as an improvised weapon. Creatures that have natural weapons such as claws or bite attacks are proficient with those natural weapons.
Weapon Properties: Weapon properties define additional characteristics shared by weapons that might be in different groups. - Weapon Properties:
Heavy Thrown: You hurl a thrown weapon from your hand, rather than using it to loose a projectile. A ranged basic attack with a heavy thrown weapon uses your Strength instead of your Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls.
High Crit: A high crit weapon deals more damage when you score a critical hit with it. A critical hit deals maximum weapon damage and an extra 1[W] at 1st–10th levels, an extra 2[W] at 11th–20th levels, and an extra 3[W] at 21st–30th levels. This extra damage is in addition to any critical damage the weapon supplies if it is a magic weapon.
Light Thrown: A ranged basic attack with a light thrown weapon uses your Dexterity. Light thrown weapons don’t deal as much damage as heavy thrown weapons, but some powers let you hurl several of them at once or in rapid succession.
Load: Ranged weapons that loose projectiles, including bows, crossbows, and slings, take some time to load. When a weapon shows “load free” on the Ranged Weapons table, that means you draw and load ammunition as a free action, effectively part of the action used to attack with the weapon. Any weapon that has the load property requires two hands to load, even if you can use only one hand to attack with it. (The sling, for example, is a one-handed weapon, but you need a free hand to load it.) The crossbow is “load minor,” which means it requires a minor action to load a bolt into the weapon. If a power allows you to hit multiple targets, the additional load time is accounted for in the power.
Off-Hand: An off-hand weapon is light enough that you can hold it and attack effectively with it
while holding a weapon in your main hand. You can’t attack with both weapons in the same turn, unless you have a power that lets you do so, but you can attack with either weapon.
Reach: With a reach weapon, you can attack enemies that are 2 squares away from you as well as adjacent enemies, with no attack penalty. You can still make opportunity attacks only against adjacent enemies. Likewise, you can flank only an adjacent enemy.
Small: This property describes a two-handed or a versatile weapon that a Small character can use in the same way a Medium character can. A halfling can use a shortbow, for example, even though halflings can’t normally use two-handed weapons.
Versatile: Versatile weapons are one-handed, but you can use them two-handed. If you do, you deal an extra 1 point of damage when you roll damage for the weapon.
A Small character such as a halfling must use a versatile weapon two-handed and doesn’t deal extra damage.
Reading the Weapon Tables:A weapon entry contains the following information, organized in columns on the weapon tables. Weapon: The weapon’s name. Prof.: Proficiency with a weapon gives you a proficiency bonus to attack rolls, which appears in this column if applicable. Some weapons are more accurate than others, as reflected here. If you’re not proficient with the weapon, you don’t gain this bonus.
Damage: The weapon’s damage die. When a power deals a number of weapon damage dice (such as 4[W]), you roll the number of the dice indicated by this entry. If the weapon’s damage die is an expression of multiple dice, roll that number of dice the indicated number of times. For example, a falchion (which has a damage die of 2d4) deals 8d4 damage when used with a power that deals 4[W] on a hit. Range: Weapons that can strike at a distance have range. The number before the slash indicates the normal range (in squares) for an attack. The number after the slash indicates the long range for an attack; an attack at long range takes a –2 penalty to the attack roll. Squares beyond the second number are considered to be out of range and can’t be targeted with this weapon. If a melee weapon has a range entry, it can be thrown and belongs to either the light thrown or the heavy thrown category. An entry of “—” indicates that the weapon can’t be used at range. Price: The weapon’s cost in gold pieces. An entry of “—” indicates that the item has no cost. Weight: The weapon’s weight in pounds. | |
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