RULEBOOK

Weapons

Every weapon has a damage factor that feeds into the Damage pipeline. This page covers every weapon in the game, from daggers to crossbows, along with the special properties that make each one distinct. For the full damage pipeline — how a hit becomes health damage — see Damage & Health.

All numeric values on this page are playtesting values and may be adjusted.

Related pages: Armor (absorption values) and Shields (defense bonuses and block mechanics).

Special Properties

Some equipment has special properties that modify how combat rules apply. These are defined here, before the tables, so the column headers mean something when you reach them.

Reach

Reach determines how many squares away a target can be and still be hit. When an attack resolves, the GM checks if the target is within reach. If the target moved out of reach, the attack misses.

Most melee weapons have Reach 1 — adjacent squares only. Longer weapons such as spears and halberds have Reach 2, letting the wielder threaten targets two squares away. Ranged weapons (bows, crossbows) are listed as “Ranged” in the Reach column; their range is governed by the Ranged property instead.

The tactical value of Reach 2 is positional: a character with a spear can stand behind an ally — the party’s tank, for example — and still attack whoever is fighting that ally, as long as there is line of sight to the target. The Reach 2 wielder contributes to the fight without being in the front line.

Weapons with Reach 2: Spear, Halberd, Quarterstaff. All other melee weapons have Reach 1.

Armor Piercing

An Armor Piercing weapon reduces the target’s combined armor + shield absorption by a flat number of points before the Damage pipeline subtracts it. Each Armor Piercing weapon lists the points it removes (e.g., Mace 30, Warhammer 45). Absorption cannot go below 0.

Physical Toughness is unaffected — only the armor + shield total changes.

The narrative logic: blunt force transfers through armor instead of needing to cut through it. A Warhammer (AP 45) against Full Plate (50) and a Round Shield (20) finds 70 combined absorption. After piercing: 70 − 45 = 25.

Weapons with Armor Piercing: Mace (30 points), Warhammer (45 points).

Thrown

Some melee weapons carry the Thrown property, meaning they can be used as a ranged attack. Thrown attacks use the Throwing Skill (Gift + Throwing) instead of Melee.

Each throwable weapon has two range bands: Close and Far. At Close range, the weapon deals its full thrown damage factor. At Far range, the damage factor drops — the throw loses force over distance. Beyond Far range, the weapon cannot reach the target.

Throwing a weapon costs the same Action Points as a melee attack with it. After throwing, the weapon is gone — the character no longer has it. Retrieval is at GM discretion.

WeaponClose RangeClose DamageFar RangeFar Damage
Dagger3 squares86 squares5
Hatchet4 squares127 squares8
Spear5 squares188 squares12

Crossbow Reload

The crossbow costs 1 AP to fire — pull the trigger, release the bolt. But after firing, it must be reloaded, costing 3 AP before it can fire again. Total cycle: 4 AP per shot.

The crossbow starts combat already loaded. The first shot costs only 1 AP — making it an excellent opening weapon. After that, the reload dominates your round.

This makes the crossbow a “devastating first shot” weapon: its damage factor (35) is the highest in the ranged category, the first shot is cheap, but follow-up shots eat your entire round.

Weapon Tables

Each weapon's AP column shows its base AP cost to attack. The damage factor is the points of damage per Degree of success in the damage pipeline.

All values are playtesting values.

Swords

WeaponAPDamage FactorReachHandsSpecial
Dagger1101OneThrown (see table)
Short Sword1151One—
Longsword2201One—
Rapier1151One—
Bastard Sword2301Two—
Greatsword3352Two—

Axes & Blunt

WeaponAPDamage FactorReachHandsSpecial
Hatchet1151OneThrown (see table)
Battle Axe2301Two—
Mace2151OneArmor Piercing (30)
Warhammer3251TwoArmor Piercing (45)
Flail2251Two—

Polearms

The Spear is versatile: it can be used one-handed (lower damage, freeing a hand to use a shield) or two-handed (higher damage). The AP cost and damage factor differ by grip. Both grips have Reach and can be thrown.

WeaponAPDamage FactorReachHandsSpecial
Spear (one-handed)1202OneThrown (see table)
Spear (two-handed)2252TwoThrown (see table)
Halberd3302Two—
Quarterstaff1102Two—

Ranged

WeaponAPDamage FactorReachHandsSpecial
Shortbow215RangedTwoRanged (15 sq)
Longbow225RangedTwoRanged (25 sq)
Crossbow135RangedTwoRanged (20 sq), Reload (3 AP)

Unarmed

Listed as a reference point. Any character can fight unarmed; skill determines how well.

WeaponAPDamage FactorReachHandsSpecial
Unarmed151——

Worked Examples

These examples walk through the Damage pipeline with real numbers from the tables above.

Bran Swings a Battle Axe

Setup: Bran (Body 4, Melee 3) attacks a Bandit Captain wearing Chain Mail (25 absorption) with Physical Toughness 2 (10 points). The Captain spends 1 AP to defend and rolls Body + Defending, getting 2 Successes . Bran rolls Body + Melee and gets 5 successes.

Step 1 — Degree of success : 5 (Bran) − 2 (Captain) = 3.

Step 2 — Weapon damage factor: Battle Axe is 30 per Degree of success . 3 × 30 = 90 raw damage.

Step 3 — Physical Toughness : The Captain has 2 Dot s in Physical Toughness. That’s 10 points. 90 − 10 = 80.

Step 4 — Armor absorption: Chain Mail absorbs 25 points. 80 − 25 = 55.

Step 5 — Apply to health: The Bandit Captain takes 55 damage and drops from 100 to 45 — straight into the Condition band Badly Hurt. He’s down 1 AP per round and 1 FM per round until someone patches him up.

Bran surveys the result. The Captain is still standing. This is technically Bran’s fault for not hitting harder. He is already raising the axe again. He is also composing a verse about it.

 The Same Attack with a Mace (Armor Piercing)

Now swap the Battle Axe for a Mace (damage factor 15, Armor Piercing 30). Same Degree of success of 3. 3 × 15 = 45 raw damage. Minus Physical Toughness 10: 35.

Step 4 — Armor absorption (Armor Piercing): Chain Mail has 25 absorption, no shield. The Mace’s AP 30 reduces it: max(25 − 30, 0) = 0. The Captain’s armor absorbs nothing. 35 − 0 = 35 damage. Health: 100 → 65. That’s Wounded — no penalties, but he’s feeling it.

Against heavier protection, Armor Piercing gets worse for the defender. Full Plate (50) with no shield: Warhammer AP 45 reduces absorption to 5. Full Plate (50) plus a Round Shield (20) = 70 combined: Warhammer AP 45 reduces it to 25. The Warhammer does not care how much metal you are wearing. It has opinions about bones.