Melee Weapons

Weapon tables provide the items of information explained below. A given column will only appear on a table if it is germane to the weapons on that table. In all cases, “–” means the statistic does not apply, “var.” means the value varies, and “spec.” means to see the relevant weapon skill in Chapter 4 or applicable section of Chapter 13 for special rules.

Weapon

The general class of weapon in question; e.g., “shortsword” or “axe, great.” Each entry represents a wide range of individual types.

TL (Tech Level)

The tech level at which the weapon first becomes widespread. You may only buy weapons of TL3 or less, unless you have the High TL trait (p. 23).

Damage

For melee weapons, such as swords and axes, damage is ST-based and expressed as a modifier to the wielder’s basic thrusting (thr) or swinging (sw) damage, as given on the Damage Table (p. B16). For example, a spear does “thr+2,” so if you have ST 11, which gives a basic thrusting damage of 1d-1, you inflict 1d+1 damage with a spear. Note that swung weapons act as a lever, and so do more damage.

Armor Divisors: A parenthetical number after damage – e.g., (2) – is an armor divisor. Divide the target’s DR from armor or other sources by this number before subtracting it from your damage (or adding it to the target’s HT roll to resist an affliction). For instance, an attack with a divisor of (2) would halve DR. A fractional divisor increases DR: (0.5) multiplies DR by 2; (0.2) multiplies it by 5; and (0.1) multiplies it by 10.

Damage Type: An abbreviation indicating the type of injury or effect the attack causes.

Abbreviation	Damage Type
aff	affliction
burn	burning
cor	corrosion
cr	crushing
cut	cutting
fat	fatigue
imp	impaling
pi-	small piercing
pi	piercing
pi+	large piercing
pi++	huge piercing
spec.	special – see weapon notes
tox	toxic

A victim loses HP equal to the damage that penetrates his DR. Halve this for small piercing attacks; increase it by 50% for cutting and large piercing attacks; and double it for impaling and huge piercing attacks. Subtract fatigue damage from FP instead of HP. Afflictions cause no injury, but impose a particular affliction on a failed HT roll, as specified in the weapon’s notes. See Damage and Injury (p. B377) for additional rules.

Explosions: An “ex” after crushing or burning damage indicates the attack produces an explosion. This may injure those nearby: divide damage by three times distance in yards from the center of the blast. Some explosions scatter fragments that inflict cutting damage on anyone nearby (see Fragmentation Damage, p. B414). Fragmentation damage appears in brackets; e.g., “3d [2d] cr ex” means an explosion that inflicts 3d crushing damage and throws fragments that do 2d cutting damage. The “danger radius” for fragments is five yards times the dice of fragmentation damage; e.g., 10 yards for [2d]. If an explosive attack has an armor divisor, this only applies to the DR of a target that takes a direct hit – not to those caught in the blast radius or hit by fragments.

Afflictions: Some special weapons don’t list dice of damage. Instead, they give a HT modifier; e.g., “HT-3.” Anyone who is hit must attempt a HT roll at the listed penalty to avoid the effects of the affliction (e.g., unconsciousness). For example, a stun gun calls for a HT-3 roll to avoid being stunned for (20 - HT) seconds. Note that DR (modified by any armor divisor) normally adds to the victim’s HT; for instance, a DR 2 leather jacket would give +2 to your HT roll to resist that stun gun.

Other Effects: A few weapons have additional linked or follow-up effects, noted on a second line. These occur simultaneously with the primary attack on a successful hit. For details, see Linked Effects (p. B381) and Follow-Up Damage (p. B381).

Reach

This is the distance in yards at which a human-sized or smaller wielder can strike with the weapon. For example, reach “2” means the weapon can only strike a foe two yards away – not a closer or more distant one.

“C” indicates you can use the weapon in close combat; see Close Combat (p. B391).

Some weapons have a continuum of reaches; e.g., a spear with reach “1, 2” can strike targets either one or two yards away. An asterisk (*) next to reach means the weapon is awkward enough that it requires a Ready maneuver to change reach (e.g., between 1 and 2). Otherwise, you can strike at foes that are at any distance within the weapon’s reach.

Parry

A number, such as “+2” or “-1,” indicates the bonus or penalty to your Parry defense when using that weapon (see Parrying, p. B376). For most weapons, this is “0,” meaning “no modifier.”

“F” means the weapon is a fencing weapon (see p. B404).

“U” means the weapon is unbalanced: you cannot use it to parry if you have already used it to attack this turn (or vice versa).

“No” means the weapon cannot parry at all.

Cost

The price of a new weapon, in silver pieces. For swords and knives, this includes a sheath or a scabbard.

Weight

The weight of the weapon, in pounds; “neg.” means “negligible.”

ST (Strength)

The minimum Strength required to use the weapon properly. If you try to use a weapon that requires more ST than you have, you will be at -1 to weapon skill per point of ST you lack and lose one extra FP at the end of any fight that lasts long enough to fatigue you.

For a melee weapon, your effective ST for damage purposes cannot exceed triple the weapon’s minimum ST. For instance, a large knife has minimum ST 6, so its “maximum ST” is 18; if your ST were 19+, you would compute your damage as if you had ST 18.

Natural weapons (e.g., a punch or kick) have neither minimum nor maximum ST.

“†” means the weapon requires two hands. If you have at least 1.5 times the listed ST (round up), you can use a weapon like this in one hand, but it becomes unready after you attack with it. If you have at least twice the listed ST, you can wield it one-handed with no readiness penalty. But if it requires one hand to hold it and another to operate a moving part, like a bow or a pump shotgun, it always requires two hands, regardless of ST.

“‡” means the weapon requires two hands and becomes unready after you attack with it, unless you have at least 1.5 times the listed ST (round up). To use it in one hand without it becoming unready, you need at least three times the listed ST.

Notes

Any applicable notes for the weapon or its usage are listed here.

Melee Weapon Quality

Muscle-powered melee and thrown weapons come in several quality grades, described below. Quality influences the odds of breakage when you parry a very heavy weapon; see Parrying Heavy Weapons (p. B376).

Quality	Break Modifier	Damage Modifier	Cost Modifier
Cheap	+2	0 (-1 Acc)	-40%
Good	+0	+0	+0%
Fine	-1	+1 (cutting/impaling only)	x4 (fencing or sword), x3 (crushing or impaling weapon) or x10 (cutting weapon)
Very Fine	-2	+2 (cutting/impaling only)	x20 (fencing weapons and swords only)
Presentation	N/A	N/A	x5 to x20 (stacks with price modifiers above)

Melee Weapon Composition

Composition	TL	Notes
Stone	0	Armor divisor (0.5) on cutting and impaling damage, no damage bonus for being fine or better; treat as cheap when parrying a swung metal weapon
Obsidian	1	+1 to cutting/impaling damage, +2 to breakage; loses damage bonus if used to parry any weapon or strike DR 2+
Bronze	1	No damage bonus for being fine or better; treat as cheap when parrying a swung weapon of superior metals
Solid Silver	1	Cost x20 list price
Silver Coated	1	Cost x3; wounding multiplier for Vulnerability (Silver) reduced (x2 to x1.5, x3 to x2, x4 to x3)
Iron	2	No damage bonus for being fine or better; No damage bonus for being fine or better; treat as cheap when parrying a swung weapon of superior metals
Steel	3	Default composition; no modifiers

Melee Weapon Table

Weapon	TL	Swing Damage	Thrust Damage	Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST	Skill	Ref	Notes
Axe	0	sw+2 cut	–	1	0U	5 sp	4	11	Axe/Mace	B271
Axe, Great	1	sw+3 cut	–	1, 2*	0U	10 sp	8	12‡	Two-Handed Axe/Mace	B274
Axe, Long	2	sw+3 cut	–	1, 2*	0U	7.5 sp	6	11‡	Two-Handed Axe/Mace	LT58
Axe, Small	0	sw+1 cut	–	1	0U	4.5 sp	3	10	Axe/Mace	LT54
Axe, Throwing	0	sw+2 cut	–	1	0U	6 sp	4	11	Axe/Mace	B271	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Axe, Throwing, Small	0	sw+1 cut	–	1	0U	5 sp	3	10	Axe/Mace	LT64	Can be thrown, see Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Baton	0	sw cr	thr cr	1	0	2 sp	1	6	Shortsword	B273
Baton, Short	0	sw-1 cr	thr cr	C, 1 / C	-1	3 sp	0.5	5	Knife	LT54
Beak, Sharp	–	–	thr-1 pi+	C	No	–	–	–	Brawling or DX	B271	Brawling (p. 182) improves damage
Bill	3	sw+3 cut	thr+3 imp / thr-1 cut	2,3*/1-3*/1-3*	0U	12.5 sp	8	11‡ / 11† / 11†	Polearm	LT55
Bill, Dueling	3	sw+2 cut	thr+3 imp / thr-1 cut	1,2*	0U / 0 / 0U	10 sp	6	9†	Polearm	LT55
Blackjack or Sap	1	–	thr cr	C	0	2 sp	1	7	Brawling or DX	B271	Brawling (p. 182) improves damage
Bola Perdida	0	sw cr	–	1	-2U	1 sp	1	6	Flail	LT55	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275); Attempts to parry bolas are at -2, and fencing weapons (“F” parry) cannot parry at all!  Attempts to block flails are at -1.
Bolas	0	sw+1 cr	–	1	-2U	2 sp	2	7	Flail	LT55	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275); Attempts to parry bolas are at -2, and fencing weapons (“F” parry) cannot parry at all!  Attempts to block flails are at -1.
Cestus	2	–	thr cr	C	0	5 sp	1	–	Boxing, Brawling, Karate, or DX	B271	Gives the hand (only) DR 4 and is mutually exclusive with other gloves; Boxing (p. 182), Brawling (p. 182) and Karate (p. 203) improve damage.
Club, Light	0	sw+1 cr	thr+1 cr	1	0	0.5 sp	3	10	Broadsword	B271
Cutlass	4	sw cut	thr+1 imp	1	0	50 sp	2	8	Shortsword	LT56	Has a metal hilt that provides DR 4, cumulative with glove DR – although the hilt is too cramped to accommodate metal gauntlets.
Dagger	1	–	thr-1 imp	C	-1	2 sp	0.25	5	Knife	B272	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Estoc	3	thr+2 imp	sw+1 cr	1	0	50 sp	3	10	Broadsword	LT56	Reduce penalty for targeting chinks in armor (p. B400) by -2
Flail	2	sw+4 cr	–	1, 2*	0U	10 sp	8	13†	Two-Handed Flail	B274	Attempts to parry flails are at -4, and fencing weapons (“F” parry) cannot parry at all! Attempts to block flails are at -2.
Garrote	0	spec.	spec.	C	No	0.2 sp	neg.	–	Garrote	B272	A piece of rope used to strangle; see Garrotes (p. 405).
Glaive	1	sw+3 cut	thr+3 imp	2, 3* / 1-3*	0U	10 sp	8	11‡ / 11†	Polearm	B272
Glaive, Dueling	3	sw+2 cut	thr + 3 imp	1,2*	0U/ 0	8 sp	6	9†	Polearm	LT56
Halberd	3	sw+5 cut / sw+4 imp	thr+3 imp	2, 3* / 1-3*	0U	15 sp	12	13‡ / 12†	Polearm	B272	When impaling May get stuck; see Picks (p. B405).
Halberd, Dueling	3	sw+4 cut / sw+3 imp	thr+3 imp	1,2*	0U / 0U / 0	12 sp	10	12† / 12† / 11†	Polearm	LT56	When impaling May get stuck; see Picks (p. B405).
Hatchet	0	sw cut	–	1	0	4 sp	2	8	Axe/Mace	B271	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Javelin	1	–	thr+1 imp	1	0	3 sp	2	6	Spear	B273	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Kick	–	–	thr cr	C, 1	No	–	–	–	Brawling-2, Karate-2, or DX-2	B271	Brawling (p. 182), Claws (p. 42) and Karate (p. 203) improve damage; if you miss, roll vs. DX to avoid falling.
Kick w. Boots	–	–	thr+1 cr	C, 1	No	–	–	–	Brawling-2, Karate-2, or DX-2	B271	Brawling (p. 182), and Karate (p. 203) improve damage; if you miss, roll vs. DX to avoid falling.
Knife, Large	0	sw-2 cut	thr imp	C, 1 / C	-1	4 sp	1	6	Knife	B272	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Knife, Long	1	sw-1 cut	thr imp	C, 1	0	12 sp	1.5	7	Knife	LT56
Knife, Small	0	sw-3 cut	thr-1 imp	C, 1 / C	-1	3 sp	0.5	5	Knife	B272	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Knobbed Club	0	sw+1 cr	–	1	0	2 sp	2	8	Axe/Mace	LT58
Knuckles, Bare	–	–	thr-1 cr	C	0	–	–	–	Boxing, Brawling, Karate, or DX	B271	Boxing (p. 182), Brawling (p. 182), Claws (p. 42) and Karate (p. 203) improve damage
Knuckles, Brass	1	–	thr cr	C	0	1 sp	0.25	–	Boxing, Brawling, Karate, or DX	B271	Boxing (p. 182), Brawling (p. 182) and Karate (p. 203) improve damage.
Lance	2	–	thr+3 imp	4	No	6 sp	6	12	Lance	B272	Damage increases in a mounted charge; see Cavalry Weapons (p. 397).
Mace	2	sw+3 cr	–	1	0U	5 sp	5	12	Axe/Mace	B271	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Mace, Small	2	sw+2 cr	–	1	0U	3.5 sp	3	10	Axe/Mace	B271	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Maul	0	sw+4 cr	–	1, 2*	0U	8 sp	12	13‡	Two-Handed Axe/Mace	B274
Morningstar	3	sw+3 cr	–	1	0U	8 sp	6	12	Flail	B272	Attempts to parry flails are at -4, and fencing weapons (“F” parry) cannot parry at all! Attempts to block flails are at -2.
Myrmex	1	–	thr cr	C	0	2 sp	0.25	–	Boxing, Brawling, Karate, or DX	B271	Gives the hand (only) DR 1 and is mutually exclusive with other gloves; Boxing (p. 182), Brawling (p. 182) and Karate (p. 203) improve damage.
Oar	0	sw+3 cr	–	1,2*	0U	4 sp	8	12‡	Polearm	LT60
Pick	3	sw+1 imp	–	1	0U	7 sp	3	10	Axe/Mace	B271	May get stuck; see Picks (p. B405).
Pike	2	–	thr+3 imp	4, 5*	0U / 0	8 sp	13	12†	Spear	LT60
Poleaxe	3	sw+4 cut / sw+4 cr	–	2, 3*	0U	12 sp	10	12‡	Polearm	B272
Rondel Dagger	3	–	thr imp	C	-1	4 sp	1	6	Knife/Main-Gauche	LT56	Reduce penalty for targeting chinks in armor (p. B400) by -2.
Round Mace	0	sw+2 cr	–	1	0U	3.5 sp	5	12	Axe/Mace	LT58	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Round Mace, Small	0	sw+1 cr	–	1	0U	2.5 sp	3	10	Axe/Mace	LT58	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Scythe	1	sw+2 cut / sw imp	–	1	0U	1.5 sp	5	11‡	Two-Handed Axe/Mace	B274	If using tip (impaling damage), May get stuck; see Picks (p. B405).
Shield Bash	0	–	thr cr	1	No	var	var.	–	Shield	B273
Shield Bash w. Spike	1	–	thr+1 cr	1	No	2 sp	5	–	Shield	B273
Sickle	1	sw cut/sw imp	thr-2 cut	1	0 / 0U / 0U	4 sp	2	8	Axe/Mace	LT62	When used to impale, may get stuck; see Picks (p. B405); When used to thrust, hook enables the rules under Hook (p. LT54), and may also damage the victim.
Spear	0	–	thr+2 imp / thr+3 imp	1* / 1, 2*	0	4 sp	4	9 / 9†	Spear	B273	Can be used one handed or two handed; can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. 275)
Spear, Heavy	1	–	thr+4 imp / thr+3 cut	2,3* / 3	0U	9 sp	6	11†	Spear	LT62	Cutting damage is tip slash
Spear, Long	2	–	thr+2 imp / thr+3 imp	2, 3*	0U / 0	6 sp	5	10 / 10†	Spear	LT62	Can be used one handed or two handed; can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. 275)
Spear, Short	1	–	thr+1 imp/thr cut	1	0	3 sp	2	6	Spear	LT62	Cutting damage is tip slash
Staff, Long	0	sw+2 cr	thr+2 cr	2,3	2	1.5 sp	5	10†	Spear	LT61
Staff, Quarterstaff	0	–	thr+2 cr	1, 2	2	1 sp	4	7†	Staff	B273
Staff, Quarterstaff	0	sw+2 cr	thr+1 cr	1, 2 / 2	0	1 sp	4	9†	Two-Handed Sword	B274
Staff, Short	0	sw cr	thr cr	1	0F	2 sp	1	6	Smallsword	B273
Stake, Wooden	0	–	thr(0.5) imp	C	-1	0.4 sp	0.5	5	Knife	B272	Can be thrown, see Muscle- Powered Ranged Weapon Table (p. B275).
Stiletto	3	–	thr-1 imp	C	1	2 sp	0.25	5	Knife/Main-Gauche	LT56	Reduce penalty for targeting chinks in armor (p. B400) by -2.
Striker	–	var.	var.	var.	var.	–	–	–	Brawling or DX	B271	See p. 88.
Sword, Bastard	3	sw+1 cut / sw+2 cut	thr+1 cr / thr+2 cr	1, 2 / 2	0U/ 0	65 sp	5	11 / 10†	Broadsword / Two-Handed Sword	B271	Can be used one handed or two handed.
Sword, Broad	2	sw+1 cut	thr+1 cr	1	0	50 sp	3	10	Broadsword	B271
Sword, Cutlass	4	sw cut	thr imp	1	0	30 sp	2	8	Shortsword	B273	Hilt counts as brass knuckles in close combat.
Sword, Great	3	sw+3 cut	thr+2 cr	1, 2 / 2	0	80 sp	7	12†	Two-Handed Sword	B274
Sword, Rapier	4	–	thr+1 imp	1, 2	0F	50 sp	2.75	9	Rapier	B273
Sword, Rapier, Edged	4	sw cut	thr+1 imp	1,2	0F	100 sp	3	10	Rapier	LT61
Sword, Rapier, Edged, Light	4	sw-1 cut	thr+1 imp	1	0F	70 sp	2.25	8	Rapier	LT61
Sword, Rapier, Light	4	–	thr+1 imp	1	0F	40 sp	2	8	Rapier	LT61
Sword, Saber	4	sw-1 cut	thr+1 imp	1	0F	70 sp	2	8	Saber	LT61
Sword, Short	2	sw cut	thr imp	1	0	40 sp	2	8	Shortsword	B273
Sword, Small	4	–	thr+1 imp	1	0F	40 sp	1.5	5	Smallsword	B273
Sword, Thrusting Bastard	3	sw+1 cut / sw+2 cut	thr+2 imp / thr+3 imp	1, 2 / 2	0U / 0	75 sp	5	11 / 10†	Broadsword / Two-Handed Sword	B271	Can be used one handed or two handed.
Sword, Thrusting Broadsword	2	sw+1 cut	thr+2 imp	1	0	60 sp	3	10	Broadsword	B271
Sword, Thrusting Greatsword	3	sw+3 cut	thr+3 imp	1, 2 / 2	0	90 sp	7	12†	Two-Handed Sword	B274
Teeth, Blunt	–	–	thr-1 cr	C	No	–	–	–	Brawling or DX	B271	Brawling (p. 182) improves damage
Teeth, Fangs	–	–	thr-1 imp	C	No	–	–	–	Brawling or DX	B271	Brawling (p. 182) improves damage
Teeth, Sharp	–	–	thr-1 cut	C	No	–	–	–	Brawling or DX	B271	Brawling (p. 182) improves damage
Trident	2	–	thr + 3(0.5) imp / thr + 4 (0.5) imp	1* / 1, 2*	0U / 0	8 sp	5	11 / 10†	Spear	LT64	-2 to hit; Can be used one or two handed; can strike to disarm (p. B401) without -2 to hit for using a non-fencing weapon; Target at -1 to Dodge, +1 to Block or Parry.
Warhammer	3	sw+3 imp	–	1, 2*	0U	10 sp	7	12‡	Two-Handed Axe/Mace	B274	May get stuck; see Picks (p. B405).
Whip	1	sw-2(0.5) cr	–	1-7*	-2U	2 sp	2	var.	Whip	B274	Specify maximum reach (up to 7 yards) when bought. Cost and weight are per yard. ST is 5, +1 per yard. Many special rules apply; be sure to see Whips (p. 406).
Whip, Light	1	sw-5(0.5) cr	–	1-7*	-2U	2 sp	0.5	var.	Whip	LT64	Specify maximum reach (up to 7 yards) when bought. Cost and weight are per yard. ST is 5, +1 per yard. Many special rules apply; be sure to see Whips (p. 406).