Strength Weapons

The number is the amount of intrinsic damage it does. If one does not have strength equal to the damage of the weapon then the difference is reduced from the weapon’s damage. So, if a scribe tries to fight with a battle ax with his 1 strength, then the 4 damage of the battle ax is reduced to 1.

If a slave girl with a strength of zero uses this weapon, her weapon damage is reduced to 1, but she is not able to ad a strength score of 1, like the scribe does. Soy boys be warned. A person with a 0 strength using a 0 weapon does 0 damage. A weapon valued at 1, does 1 damage in the hands of a 0 strength wielder.

Knit and Damage

Note that Knit may only be applied to damage when the weapon is used by a skilled wielder.

Knit may be used to reduce damage on the part of a skilled fighter.

An unskilled fighter, let’s say a rifleman who has never used a sword and picks one up, may use the sword for defense with a skill check. If he does, he is now skilled.

Also, the use of non weapons, for instance a man at banquet picking up a stool and improvising it as a shield, is also determined with a Knit check. Once this check is made, Knit and the forensic property of the weapon, using a bench as a heavy shield [3], a chair as a medium shield [2] or a stool as a light shield [1] may be sued for damage reduction. The fighter now adds chair to his skill set.

Knit and Projectile Weapons: A skilled archer or thrower or hurler, may employ his Knit for damage. When he does so, he forgoes the die difference damage, which is a random indication of how sensitive the portion of the target impacted was, and instead relies on his skill. But, if a roll is made that would inflict more damage than the Knit score, that total is used instead. The point is that in using projectile weapons Knit and die difference are never added together, it being one or the other.

Armor

All armor counts as strength weapons, as the material must be worn or carried. So, lack of strength to fully employ a shield of 3 and an armor of 3, on the part of a man with 5 strength, means that his agility damage reduction of 3 [his agility score] is reduced by the difference between his armor and his strength, to a 2.

Let us cover weapons and armor together, with armor occupying the second line, the third line occupied by archery.

Strength Weapon Progression

The number lists the damage the weapon does and the damage the armor deflects or absorbs.

0 =

Weapons: the human body, cords, ropes, straps, belts that require strength

Armor: the human body and simple unlayered, unquilted, unpadded, unhardened clothing

Punching, kicking and grappling are unarmed combat means, which rely on Strength in the unskilled, or the Strength, Knit or Agility of a skilled combatant [his choice]. A skilled user may choose to use Strength, Agility or Knit for damage modification. An unskilled boxer or wrestler MUST use his strength. Damage reduction is also a use of such a skill. For instance, Beowulf, a skilled wrestler, used his pathos roll [18 over Grendel’s 12] to gain two advantages, used one advantage to grapple defensively, reducing damage with a Knit check, and the other advantage to dislocate the monster’s arm.

Archery: Dubs, or dummy arrows with no points but padded, do only strength/draw damage, with no damage done for die difference.

…

1=

Weapons: sticks, rods, stones, hooves, being simple weapons along with whips, chains, knotted ropes and other flexible weapons that require strength and skill for use. Skill permits the application of a hero’s “Knit” to damage, but does require strength to wield, sling stones and bullets.

Armor: hides, padded or quilted garments, a small hand shield, a helmet, though it covers only a small area covers a highly exposed, targeted and sensitive area

Weapons may be dedicated to defense rather than attack in any type of combat. In a stick fight against a Ugandan porter who does not want to carry his scientific instruments, Sir Captain Richard Francis Burton, might use his stick to defend [damage reduced by 1 for the stick’s properties, plus Knit or Agility or Strength, his choice]. This combat is a prop, in order to set up his mesmerism stare which will hopefully convince the savage to worship his master as a very god of cudgel work, without the need to injure the laborer, thus tragically reducing his ability to carry his master’s instrument case over the mountains.

Archery: child’s bow, kinetic impact of light poison dart.

…

2 =

Weapons: edged weapons that are not weighted such as claws, fangs, talons, also knives, edged weapons that are limited such as a dagger with no edge or a razor or cleaver with no point, limit damage potential in a fluid combat.

Also, weighted weapons such as clubs, clubbed muskets, weighted flexible weapons like flails, etc. Also darts, javelins and other thrown hafted point weapons. This category may be rated higher against a non resisting or bound target.

Thrown or hurled weapons used by the unskilled add Strength. Those thrown by the skilled may apply Knit, Kit or Strength.

Armor: Hardened leather armor, or protective garments somehow reinforced, a slight or small shield or pelte, a stick and hide Zulu shield

Archery: light bow, which can be drawn by a person of 2 strength. For instance, a normal man of 2 who grabs a more powerful bow, may use it, if he makes a strength check, but may only draw it to a 2 power. A strength of 1 using a 2 bow inflicts 1 damage plus the die difference, which is the aim.

…

3=

Weapons: weighted edged weapons like sabers, swords, hatchets, or heavier hafted light blades like spears, pikes and lances, which enable horizontal weighting, and making them similar to their natural analog which would be a horn, a tusk, or an antler that might gore the enemy. Thus, any man thrusting two handed, or a skilled spear man thrusting one-handed with a spear, a man thrusting a spear from a horse, a soldier with bayonet on musket, or a unicorn charging and goring, all accomplish the same improvement, adding strength to the weapon base of 3.

Heavy shields such as the aspis, hoplon, bogarian, scutumn, kite shield, Viking shield, various mail and scale armor

Archery: heavy self bow, cross bow

…

4 =

Weapons: Bastard swords, light two-handed swords and exceptionally forged blades, battle axes, war hammers

Armor: Mail improved with plate additions.

Archery: composite bow, heavy cross bow

…

5 =

Weapons: Great swords, great axes, lockbar axes, halbreds, two handed war hammers

Armor: Plate

Archery: Small siege bow, long bow

…

6 =

Weapons: Dragon Claws, Titanic and giant weapons, mechanical steel weapons like chain saws, back ho buckets, etc.

Armor: Modern ballistic armor, dragon scales, etc.

Archery: heavy siege bow, great hero bow

Kit Based Weapons

The armor is the same as in Strength based weapons, which is depressing. The damage enhancement of these weapons are skill, not strength based, with Kit, Knit or Wit added, at players discretion. As with archery, the skilled user may choose Knit instead of die difference for damage, but differ to die difference if it proves better. This is a kind of safety against just rolling one’s Overall body score on the 1d20 to hit roll and doing only base weapon damage. It is an option of the skilled gunman.

Note, that most military musket users in the Black Powder Era, did not have aiming skill, but were simply loading and discharging. This would be the difference in the Kentucky rifleman and the Red Coat with his musket in 1776-83, or the Texan rifleman and the Mexican soldier 1837, who was using the left over Brown Bess muskets once used by the British Soldiers.

Fast Draw: the ability to quickly deploy a secured weapon, be it a sheathed sword or a holstered pistol, is a function of Knit or Agility, which ever the player chooses. Once a firearm is out Agility is only used for damage reduction and Knit [that is interfacing of the body with the tool], Kit [knowledge of the tool] and Wit [overall smarts, like Clint Eastwood’s character in A Fist Full of Dollars wearing a steel plate under his poncho, knowing that his foe always aimed at and hit the heart].

Gun nuts will of course want to correct and improve the load ratings of the weapons below, which, I predict, will not make the targets of these weapons any more comfortable in their perforated suits or uniforms.

0=

Paint ball gun, bee bee gun, etc.

…

1=

Air rifle, small caliber pistol [.22, .25]

…

2 =

Medium caliber pistol [.32]

…

3=

Primitive dueling or light pistol, small caliber rimfire riffle, Black Beard’s brace of pistols.

…

4 =

Primitive heavy pistol, often used as a club.

…

5 =

Primitive light long gun, fowling piece or horseman’s carbine, 9MM pistol, 36MM pistol

…

6 =

Primitive medium long gun, Jaeger’s light rifle, Pennsylvania or Kentucky Rifle, matchlock, arquibus, hackbutt… .38 special

…

7 =

Musket, a heavy, large caliber slow load, that was used on a tripod by sword armed musketeers in the 1600s, and, beginning at about 1700, was replaced with a lighter but still heavier weapon which bore a bayonet and was a better than a pike in overall hand to hand. From this point, pike’s were made short and given hooks for naval action, as pikemen were no longer needed to defend musketeers from horsemen as they reloaded, .40 to .45 caliber pistols, 4.10 shot gun

…

8 =

Modern light rifle [5.56 MM], improved musket [mid 1800s], late black powder rifles of higher caliber used west of the Mississippi, magnum and .50 cal pistols, 20 gauge shotgun

…

9 =

16 gauge shotgun

10 =

Modern medium rifle [7MM]

11 =

12 gauge shotgun

…

12=

Modern rifle, standard [9MM]

…

13=

10 gauge shotgun

…

14=

Modern rifle, heavy

…

One may continue with more specialized, advanced fire arms. But Grunt becomes an exercise in luck and attrition once high caliber high velocity lead starts flying. I don’t expect this game to be much fun beyond bank robberies and sniper duels and blasting colonial savages armed with machetes after 1900.

16 =

1 pounder, Colvern, swivel gun

…

20 =

2 pounder.

For larger loads add 4 points per pound of shot, up to the 32 pounders that ripped through ships timbers and men and killed 30 armored knights with one ball at Pavia in, 1538, I think.

…

Booty & Healing

Gilgamesh, Alexander, Attila & Timur collected booty that often had names; fleshy possessions who could recall with a tear in their dainty eye, dashed hopes and crushed dreams and back stories that no one cared about. Some of these had healing powers, such as apothecaries, physicians, witches, sorcerers and slave girls. The former may be rolled up by the GM with values assigned as they make sense for the wise man’s vocation. But the other healing slave, the woman, is valued below.

Body 5-18

Strength = 0-2

Stamina = 1-3

Agility = 1-3

Utility = 0-3 hauling your gear, tanning hides, dressing scalps that you took, rummaging through the dead and dying on the battlefield for useful loot, etc.

Beauty = 2-7 [7? People are going to murder you over that bitch.]

Fertility of your slave girl is based on a body check, with the die difference how many children she can bear.

Wits?

Really, you had to ask!

Okay, if the wench insists on exceeding her design and using her head for something other than a musical instrument, then add her agility and utility. That score will determine how good of a healer she is, rolling her provisional wit or less.

Warning, a wench with a 6 Wit, will cause you endless headaches and probably seduce one of your meathead bodyguards into challenging you to a duel.

A bitch with a 7—Attila is coming to claim her, so trade her for a good horse.