Weapons
Usually, the object of any attack is to do damage to the target. The amount of damage inflicted by a character's fists or super powers has already been explained [in the Power Descriptions], but there are also an assortment of mundane weapons which may show up in any campaign. A list of these is kept by the GM, along with their chance-to-hit modifiers, damage potential, and ranges. All mundande weaponry utilizes the weilder's appropriate Fighting Skill for determining the basic chance to hit.
Melee Weapons
Melee weapons include such things as fists, clubs, swords, spears, and nunchuks. Some Melee weapons such as knives, spears, and axes (those marked with asterisks below) can double as Muscle-Powered Ranged weapons (see below); otherwise, they have an effective throwing range of 0", unless the attacker has some special skill/ability enabling him/her to throw that weapon effectively.
| Melee Weapons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | To Hit Modifier | Damage Caused |
| Fist | 0 | HTH |
| Knife/Dagger* | +1 | HTH + 1d2 |
| Club/Bludgeon* | +2 | HTH + 1d4 |
| Sword | +2 | HTH + 1d6 |
| Big Club | +3 | HTH + 1d6 |
| Hand Axe/Hatchet* | +1 | HTH + 1d6 |
| Battleaxe | +1 | HTH + 1d8 |
| Spear* | +3 | HTH + 1d4 |
Technological Ranged Weapons
This includes guns, laser pistols, shotguns, rifles, etc. Each ranged weapon will have the maximum effective range below. Projectiles may travel farther than that, but beyond the effective range, a hit is possible only on a roll of "1."
| Technological Ranged Weapons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | To Hit Modifier | Damage Caused | Range |
| Pistol | +3 | 1d8 | A x 6" |
| Rifle | +4 | 1d10 | A x 10" |
| Energy Pistol | +2 | 1d10 | A x 3" |
| Energy Rifle | +3 | 1d12 | A x 5" |
| Shotgun | +2 | 2d6 | A x 1" |
For automatic weapons on automatic mode, the modifier to hit is dropped and replaced by a bonus of +1 per extra shot spent. On a hit, roll the normal damage for each shot, subtracting from each one point per extra shot spent. Each damage roll represents the effects of one shot and any shot which (after modification) scores less than one point of damage misses the target entirely (roll for the possibility of an Incidental Effect for each shot that misses [5% chance]). (Rather than get bogged down wondering why later shots do less damage, I think it's best to conceive these automatic weapon rules not as "this-bullet-did-this," but instead as resolving a spray of shots, i.e., "this-many-bullets-hit-and-did-this-much-total-damage." I believe the plusses to hit simulate "getting the range" and the minuses on damage simulate those bullets which miss (and also as a way of balancing automatic fire so that it doesn't become all-powerful. -B.)
Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapons
Here we have thrown spears, knives, boomerangs, and axes, as well as bolas, bows, and crossbows (the "muscle" of a crossbow comes when the string is pulled back). Again, each weapon here will have a maximum distance at which the attacker may hit accurately. It is perfectly feasable for a character to be able to actually propel the projectile farther than that (see Throwing), but beond accurate range, the attack loses its modifier to hit and does only the amount of damage indicated by its weight (see Brawling Weapons, below), unless the die roll to hit is a "1," in which case it inflicts full normal damage.
| Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | To Hit Modifier | Damage Caused | Range |
| Knife/Dagger | +2 | HTH + 1d2 | A x 1" |
| Hand Axe/Hatchet | +1 | HTH + 1d6 | A / 2" |
| Spear | +1 | HTH + 1d4 | A x 1" |
| Boomerang | +2 | HTH + 1 | A x 1" or (A x 2") |
| Bolas | +3 | HTH + 1d3 | A x 1" |
| Bow | +4 | HTH + 1 | A x 3" |
| Crossbow | +5 | HTH + 1d3 | A x 4" |
The range of a boomerang is double without return. If return is used, make a saving throw vs. A on 1d20 to successfully retrieve [catch] it. (In my campaigns, bolas also perform an Ensnaring attack. -B.)
Explosives
This comprises grenades, bombs, and dynamite, basically. Each weapon will have a blast radius. Explosions simultaneously attack all characters and objects within their radius, doing the damage to anyone and anything hit. (In my campaigns, a "missed" roll to hit merely reduces the damage rather than negating it. Everyone in an explosion is "hit," unless effective cover was obtained in time. -B.) Explosions can be contained if encased within or covered by an object or character, which then survives the maximum damage of the explosion (an object must not be broken, and a character must remain conscious* during and after the blast). Plus, if the containment isn't held down by something, check to see if it's blown off (i.e., Knockback). If not successfully contained, the explosion takes full effect.
*In my campaigns, a shielding character need not stay conscious, but must not be Knocked Back. This is hard, considering full damage goes to Knockback when a blow causes incapacitation/unconsciousness. But at least you can now use a dead body to try and stifle a grenade, for instance. -B.
The possibility of any explosive device being a dud is generally 5%, though the GM may modify this, depending on the situation (in other words, on a "to hit" roll of "20," a dud explosive is a likely Incidental Effect -- but not the only one. Heh heh heh. -B.).
| Explosives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | To Hit Modifier | Damage Caused | Blast Radius | Weight |
| Hand Grenade | +2 | 1d10 | 2" | 2 to 3 lbs. |
| Small Bomb | +3 | 1d12 | 3" | 3 to 5 lbs. |
| Medium Bomb | +4 | 1d20 | 5" | 5 to 10 lbs. |
| Large Bomb | +5 | 2d20 | 8" | 10 to 20 lbs. and up |
| Small Nuclear Bomb | +10 | 1d100 [3d20 + 40] | 12" | 20 to 50 lbs. |
| Medium Nuclear Bomb | +15 | 2d100 [6d20 + 80] | 1/2 mile | 50 to 100 lbs. |
| Large Nuclear Bomb | Automatic hit | 4d100 [3d100 + 100] | ? | Over 100 lbs. |
I'm not too keen on the damage for nukes. I find it galling to think that a "Large Nuclear Bomb" might do 4 points of damage. Therefore, my version is in brackets after the original damage figure. -B.
Brawling Weapons
This covers everything from hitting someone with a chair to hitting someone with a tank or small building. A chance to hit modifier [based on object size/weight] applies to using the object either as a bludgeon or a thrown projectile. If used as a bludgeon, the attacker's Basic HTH damage is added to the amount indicated on the table below. If thrown, use the object's damage potential only. The range given is the maximum distance that the object can be thrown accurately (as explained for Muscle-Powered Ranged weapons, above). It is entirely possible that the attacker may not even be able to throw the object its full effective range (see Throwing).
This table progression continues, i.e., for each doubling of weight,
Weapon Weight (in lbs.) To Hit Modifier Damage Caused Range up to 30 +0 1 point A x 1" 31 - 60 +0 1d2 A x 2" 61 - 120 +1 1d3 A x 3" 121 - 240 +1 1d4 A x 4" 241 - 480 +2 1d6 A x 5" 481 - 960 +2 1d8 A x 6" 961 - 1920 +3 1d10 A x 7" 1921 - 3840 +3 1d12 A x 8" 3841 - 7680 +4 2d8 A x 9" 7681 - 15360 +4 2d10 A x 10" 15361 - 30720 +5 3d10 A x 11" 30721 - 61440 +5 4d10 A x 12" 61441 - 122880 +6 5d10 A x 13" 122881 - 245760 +6 6d10 A x 14" 245761 - 491520 +7 7d10 A x 15" 491521 - 983040 +7 8d10 A x 16"
Damage is increased by 1d10 and Range is increased by a factor of A; for each quadrupling of weight, To Hit Modifier is increased by 1.
For how far and fast a character can throw, see the Throwing Rules. -B.
Velocity Damage Bonus
Apply the bonus given [below] to the damage scored in ramming or thrown brawling weapon attacks. Do not apply to normal Muscle-Powered or Technological Ranged weaponry.
This table progression continues, i.e., for each doubling of velocity,
Velocity (in./T.)* Bonus Damage up to 30 nil 31 - 60 +1d4 61 - 120 +1d8 121 - 240 +2d8 241 - 480 +2d10 481 - 960 +3d10 961 - 1920 +4d10 1921 - 3840 +5d10 3841 - 7680 +6d10 7681 - 15360 +7d10 15361 - 30720 +8d10 30721 - 61440 +9d10 61441 - 122880 +10d10 122881 - 245760 +11d10 245761 - 491520 +12d10 491521 - 983040 +13d10
Bonus Damage is increased by +1d10.
*Multiply miles per hour by 4.4 to convert to inches per turn.
