Tell me about strange weapons in your world!

[RangerWickett]

This is a fun series of threads.

Basically I'm starting this thread because later today the second volume of the E.N. Arsenal series comes out, E.N. Arsenal - Whips, which can be purchased at RPGNow.com. I wrote the book, and it was a hoot, because I've been a fan of weird weapons like whips for the longest time. Some old-timers might recall a lasher build I made back after Sword & Fist came out, ending up with something like 9 attacks per turn, doing far more damage than any whip ought.

In my game world I've had some stranger weapons, of course. One PC really wants to use 'bolos' (I tried to correct him that it was bolas, but he never believed me). Eventually he discovered the ancient art of bolojutsu, where you can use bolas in close combat like nunchaku, as well as throwing them to trip and strangle people.

The dark elves of my setting had a group of assassins who developed a palm crossbow. Hand crossbows are held in one hand like a pistol, but this thing is like a little hold-out pistol. It fits into the palm of your hand. I drew a diagram once of how it'd work, and it was terribly complex, but only required one hand to reload, , and shoot. If I can find the sketch I'll post it.

One PC used a chakram, y'know, those Xena-esque discs from India that have a sharpened edge? What we didn't understand was that actual chakram are not meant as a primary weapon. It somehow took us a year to realize that it's pretty stupid to throw your only weapon at your opponent. That's when she got a naginata. At least that game never had katanas.

So, tell me of the strange weapons, fighting styles, or martial traditions of your world. I'm sure you've got lots.

 

[Galethorn]

1. Northron mammoth-riders with eighteen-foot lances; not too strange compared to a lot of fantasy, but it wasn't ever exactly...common anywhere on earth.

2. Southron unglai-riders (an ungla big, angry cross between an elephant, boar, and horse); five guys sit on the howdah on top (two archers, two lancers, and a 'driver')...these guys are pretty vicious on the battlefield.

3. Trolls. No, not D&D-style gangly, green rastafarians with claws, but monstrously strong 8-10 foot tall humanoids with grey, leathery hides, with heavy armor and heavier weapons; they're the ultimate shock troops.

4. Elven sword-monks known as the Alagonath. They rely on speed, discipline, guile, and grace to defeat heavily armored enemies with their shortswords.

5. Orcish bills; imagine a cross between a scythe, halberd, axe, and tree-pruning saw. Then imagine it all rusty and mangled. That's an orcish bill.

6. Tyrnian cavalry. They don't ride the biggest, strongest horses available, but the fastest; using bows, lances, and swords, they defeat even massed pikemen by the advantage of mobility.

 

[Sejs]

Monks in my homebrew are proficient with a battle-made version of a shepherd's crook. Two-handed simple weapon, 1d8 bludgeoning, 20/x2, and can be used to trip.

Put in partly because I removed the oriental weapons and replaced them with more contemporary equivelants. The crook and the sling are the two signiture weapons of monks in my setting, as their martial tradition had its origins in shepherds. Kind of an animal style kung fu meets okinawan repressed peasantry meets sheep sort of synthesis.

 

[Ace]

Weird weapons?

I don't really have an Asia in the game world -- there is Orena which is a polyglot of all parts of Asia thrust into a countty the size of India and mixed heavily

In theory any kung fu movie weapon is allowed

In practice the new version of my game world limits odd ball weapons

The list includes

Swordbreaker -- this is basically a Jitte/Sai thing

Ropesticks -- Nunchaku basically

Bolas --

Dueling Swords -- not a rapier but more of a cut and thrust sword like the spanish espada civil -- stats as rapier does cut or thrust damage

Kel -- this is throwing weapon like the kleeat from Fridays Child (TOS) -- it is carried as a second weapon in numbers from 1-5 (depending on BAB odd enough) is an Exotic weapon with twice the range of a hand axe and does 1d8

Shang -- another thrown weapon. Its an exotic weapon varient of the Hunga Munga does 1d8 -- stats as a Hand Axe otherwise

Star Blades -- Shuriken

Bladestaff-- A counter weighted short glaive -- like the Naginata -- also called a Swordstaff and can be used with a special style as a double weapon getting a 1d6 blunt attack and using staff related feats

Rith -- A fighting chain analgous to the manriki gusari

There are a few exotic weapons out there as well -- repeating and hand crossbows, bastard axe (aka Dwarven war Axe) pole axe and mancatchers

As for martial arts -- there are a lot of them. A few were published as PRC's in D20 weekly -- currentversion are feat chains with the entry feat a renamed version of an old feat -- sometimes upgraded

here are the basic ones

The Hala:
Systematic unarmed/armed fighting. Kind of like a mix of combatives, tai chi, krav maga and arnis/escrima

5 Elements Fighting:
Mostly sword and shield work based around the elemental philosphy that pervades my game world

Baraka Stick Dance:
Flashy unarmed/stick form that is disguised as a dance. A little like Jo-Jitsu and Wu-Shu and Capoeira blended

12 fold path swordmanship:
Kind of like a westernized Kenjutsu or that Heron Mark stuff from Jordans work. The practitioners are known for their excellent swords with the dodecahedral pommel nuts

Baan Speed fighting:
Mostly knife and hand work. Basically hit them fast hard and often. Fast of defense too. The art is very draining though

Initiate of the Litany :
This is really a meditative form although most of the pratictioners are warrior types. I use the "Exercises of Arndt" feat from Dragon for this one

Knife Way (also Knife wrestling)
Ths is similar to European dagger fighting techinques combined with wrestling and hand blows

Longshooter Method --
Formalized Longbow training with a hint of Zen

Slaver Style --
This is a grappling and subduing method a little like modern police training only with mancatchers and bolas added in

Dreamblade --
This is based on a real martial art aimed at mystics. I haven't stated this out but its what fighter/mage types use

Disipline of the Forms --
This is rather like the magic circle fencing of the 16th century -- lots of emphasis on paterns and mystic repitition and great secrets and the like

 

[Romnipotent]

Goblin made airships, really just full of hot air, but its the weapon which should scare you. Feces, the goblins use it to poison and infect areas with biowaste.

Aside from that, the 8.4 keys of the lost link. 8 weapons and .4 of one exist, when combined they form a direct link for an extra planar entity to communicate. The planes in my game are currently locked out of the material plane, thats why its a big issue

 

[Dr Simon]

Not a campaign that's in use yet, but...

in the World of Conclave there is a race known as Salsham'ai, who are an arboreal folk with prehensile feet. Some are skilled in using the punch dagger in their feet ("kick dagger") whilst swinging down from over-hanging branches in an ambush.

Most of the other weapons (Tlaxu long-claw, Silent Sword, Tengbo, felles, guns) are really simple variants of existing weapons (in this case, naginata, masterwork longsword, shortsword, masterwork bastard sword and...guns).

There is the tengo-o, used by the humans of the underground realm of Kiranjika for tunnel-fighting, which is basically a shield with a spear stuck through the middle of it.

 

[Dr Simon]

Oh, but...

I shouldn't post to this topic without mentioning the gnomish weapons that the players have come up with in my current Dragonlance campaign:

Steam-Powered Arm - useful for crushing grips, also packs a good (if slow) punch and is useful for blocking (at the risk of breaking it).

The Windmill Knife Hat of Doom - basically like a beany propellor hat with whirling knives - stupid, but oddly effective (although it broke and stabbed the wearer last week).

The Clockwork Spy Bee - more a scouting device, but it has been used to great effect by sending it up a Draconian wizard's nose.

Potion of...something. The result of a fumbled Alchemy check, this has random and generally debilitating effects on enemies.

In the works is a potion dart gun, which I imagine will be something like the dart gun used by Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The main ones that have always been in my campaign are Bolas and Chakram, plus the following oddities:

Rapiers - piercing only weapons with a 20/x3 critical.

Marks - flat bladed throwing weapons, damage like darts but slashing (can be thrown to cut ropes)

Cord - weighted cord that can be used to strike (1d4 bludgeoning), trip, entangle or grapple with a 10ft reach and is difficult to identify as a weapon until you see it in use.

 

[BlackMoria]

My campaign has a warrior culture called the Jun who are loosely modelled on Klingon culture, including their weaponry.

The Jun use Bat'leth (Honor sword), Mek'leth (short sword) and Dek'tagh (knife) for melee weapons. Jun monks use the An'woon, which is two snap tongs of leather with caltrop like spikes braided into the leather.

 

[Imperialus]

Well I still use the Reths from the now defunct Daemonforge setting and have made extencive use of the Kal-Reths and their signature weapon ususally just called a Reth-Sword. It's a shortspear with a long blade on the end with a single sarrated edge. Stat wise it's just like a Halbard except it can be used as a light lance during a charge as long as you are mounted (or a Kal-reth who are quadrapedial).