House Rules - New Simple Weapons

New Simple Weapons

This is a list of simple weapons that do not appear in the Player's Handbook, but that I use in my campaigns. As simple weapons get added to my ongoing campaigns, I will add more to this listing. Some of these weapons have been adapted from Dragon 274, Dragon 281, Dragon 283, Dragon 298, Dragon 301, Dragon 303, and Dragon 304.

This list uses several abbreviations to show what sourcebook the entries were drawn from. For guidance as to what sourcebooks these abbreviations reference, see my key to Sourcebook Abbreviations.

All of the material contained on this page and other pages of this blog is presented in accordance with the terms of the Open Game License.

Simple Weapons
Tiny	Source	Cost	Damage	Critical	Range Increment	Weight	Type
Knife, Arm	N:AA	10 shillings	1d4	x2	-	1 lb.	Piercing and Slashing
Small	Source	Cost	Damage	Critical	Range Increment	Weight	Type
Carpenter's Axe	QF	1 shilling	1d6	x2	-	3 lbs.	Slashing
Club, Throwing	N:AA	2 shillings	1d4	x2	20 feet	2 lbs.	Bludgeoning
Farmer's Rope	M:AtS	-	1d2	x2	-	5 lbs.	Bludgeoning
Kivutar's Plagueskull	M:AtS	60 shillings	1d3	x2	20 feet	3 lbs.	Bludgeoning
Knife, Scrub	N:AA	16 shillings	1d4	18-20/x2	-	3 lbs.	Slashing
Stick, Whacking	N:AA	3 shillings	1d4 or 1d6	x2	10 feet	1 lb.	Bludgeoning and Piercing
Tack Whip	M:AtS	12 shillings	1d4	19-20/x2	-	7 lbs.	Slashing
Medium	Source	Cost	Damage	Critical	Range Increment	Weight	Type
Blowgun	N:AA	1 shilling	1	x2	10 feet	2 lbs.	Piercing
Halfspear 4	PHB	1 shilling	1d6	x3	20 feet	3 lbs.	Piercing
Horse Hammer1	M:AtS	30 shillings	1d4	x2	-	15 lbs.	Bludgeoning
Lizardfolk Jawhelm	M:AtS	50 shillings	2d4	x3	-	8 lbs.	Slashing
Sawtooth	QF	10 shillings	1d8	x2	-	4 lbs.	Slashing
Large	Source	Cost	Damage	Critical	Range Increment	Weight	Type
Great Metal-Shod Staff	T:BE	40 shillings	1d10	x2	-	20 lb.	Bludgeoning
Great Sling	M	3 shillings	1d6	x2	60 feet	1 lb.	Bludgeoning
Quarterstaff 2, 3	PHB	-	1d6/1d6	x2	-	4 lbs.	Bludgeoning
Shortspear 4	PHB	2 shillings	1d8	x3	20 feet	5 lbs.	Piercing
1 This weapon provides a bonus to trip attempts
2 Double weapon
3 This weapon provides a bonus to parry attempts
4 If you use a ready action to set this weapon against a charge, you deal double damage if you score a hit against a charging character.

Simple Weapon Descriptions

Blowgun: This weapon is a long piece of hollow reed, through which long needles of metal or plant fiber are blown. Metal blowgun needles can easily pierce armor, and even wooden planks, but do only minor damage if not poisoned.

Carpenter's Axe: A simple tool, this axe can be wielded as a formidable weapon if a fighter is surprised without his sword to hand. With the axe blade mounted at right angles to the short shaft, this weapon is used to literally hack and enemy apart.

Club, Throwing: A throwing club is a small club designed specifically for ranged attacks. These clubs are often used in ritual warfare, and are especially popular among the nomads of the Tolzu Desert. Unlike most ranged weapons, throwing clubs can inflict nonlethal damage if the thrower so chooses. Using a throwing club to inflict nonlethal damage causes the thrower to suffer a -4 attack penalty. A throwing club always inflicts normal damage on a critical hit, regardless of the intentions of the thrower.

Farmer's Rope: These long, knotted ropes are normally used by farmers as standardized measuring tools for calculating the size of fields. Over the years, however, heavy hemp ropes have been adapted to work as weapons that, while not terribly damaging, do allow relatively unskilled folk to harass and confuse their foes.

When used to perform the Aid Another combat action, these weapons provide their users with a +2 bonus to their attack roll. This weapon may be used against opponents 10 feet away as if it had reach when used for the purpose of the Aid Another combat action.

Great Metal-Shod Staff: This 10 foot long staff is a hollow bronze pipe with a metal ball fixed at the end. Unlike a quarterstaff, its great weight means that it cannot be used as a double weapon and provides no bonus to parry attempts.

Great Sling: This sling consists of a long leather strap with a large pouch in the middle for seating stones and bullets. The weapon is designed to be swung with two hands, and it delivers its ammunition with significantly more power than a normal sling. It uses standard sling bullets or stones.

Halfspear: The halfspear is small enough for a small character to use it. A halfspear used by a mounted character is treated as a light lance. If you use a ready action to set this weapon against a charge, you deal double damage if you score a hit against a charging foe.

Horse Hammer: This weapon has a very heavy blunt head mounted on a semi-flexible neck of stiffened leather. Warriors from Brion originally created this weapon as a way to even the field when facing the horses of the Ahaliat tribesmen. The weapon is very useful when making a trip attack against a horse or similar long-legged quadruped, tangling the legs of the creature and bringing it down with the force of the impact. Unfortunately, the great weight of the weapon makes it difficult to use against foes on foot, as it requires three rounds between attacks in order to get the weapon into position after its first use.

When making a trip attack with this weapon against a horse or other Medium-size or Large quadruped, the wielder gains a +10 bonus to his opposed Strength check.

Kivutar's Plagueskull: Crafted by the sinister herbalists of Kivutar, these skulls are packed with disease-riddled tissues preserved through the use of various vile herbs and roots. When these skulls shatter (such as when thrown), they explode into a shower of infectious bits and pieces. Targets struck directly by a thrown plagueskull must immediately make a Fortitude save (DC 18) or be infected with blinding sickness. All targets within a 5-foot radius of the plagueskull's impact must also make a Fortitude save (DC 16) to avoid infection.

Lizardfolk Jawhelm: While the lizardfolk are not normally fond of wearing helms, they do sometimes don the jawhelm, which augments their natural bite attacks. Thick iron plates line the snout-guards of these helmets, allowing the lizardfolk to cause much more damage that normal when performing a bite attack. Although most commonly used by lizardfolk, these helms have seen use among almost every race that has a bite attack, including longtooth khülen. Unfortunately, wearing a helmet of this type also interferes with the wearers's senses, preventing them from using their scent ability or low-light vision, and limiting their darkvision to 30 feet.

Knife, Arm: An arm knife is a blade designed to be carried in a special sheath worn on the forearm. This makes the weapon easy to conceal and quick to draw. It can also be used to deflect weapons when sheathed. Arm knives see the most use among the Sang Frere of Enselm.

An arm knife can be drawn as a free action without the user needing to learn the Quick Draw feat. If the knife is sheathed and the user is fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, the arm knife adds an additional +1 bonus to Armor Class. An arm knife cannot be worn on the same arm as a shield, and cannot be used defensively in conjunction with a whacking stick in the same hand.

Knife, Scrub: A scrub knife is a heavy bladed knife designed for cutting brush. The powerful blade makes it an effective weapon in close-quarters combat.

Quarterstaff: This is the favored weapon of travelers, peasants, merchants, and wizards. You can strike with either end, allowing you to take full advantage of openings in your opponent’s defenses. A quarterstaff is a double weapon. You can fight with is as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon (see Attacking with Two Weapons, page 124 of the Player's Handbook). A creature using a double weapon in one hand, such as a Large creature using a quarterstaff, can’t use it as a double weapon. The quarterstaff grants a +2 bonus to all parry attempts.

Sawtooth: One of the most primitive weapons to be carried into battle, the sawtooth is nothing more than a wooden sword with sharpened teeth or horns mounted along one edge. Useless for thrusting, it is nevertheless capable of dealing serious injury with a solid strike, though it will always be seriously outclassed by metal-forged swords.

Shortspear: Because a shortspear is not as long as a longspear, it can be thrown. If you use a ready action to set this weapon against a charge, you deal double damage if you score a hit against a charging foe.

Stick, Whacking: The whacking stick looks like a club, but it is closer in function to brass knuckles. The head of a whacking stick is made from the hardened root bulb of a sapling, and is either sharpened to a dull point or carved into flanges or facets like a mace. Often, the tail end of the haft is sharpened as well.

The head of the whacking stick is grasped in the hand and used for punching attacks, while the haft is allowed to trail along the forearm for use as a makeshift buckler. The grip on the weapon can also be reversed, still grasping the head but jabbing with the pointed end of the shaft. Finally, the haft of the weapon can be used as a grip, allowing the user to swing it like a club.

If the user is fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, the whacking stick adds an additional +1 to the user's Armor Class to represent the added defense provided by using the shaft as a makeshift buckler. A whacking stick's Armor Class bonus cannot be used in conjunction with the Armor Class bonus provided by a sheathed arm knife.

If used as a club, the whacking stick inflicts 1d6 points of damage, but it inflicts bludgeoning damage only, it provides no Armor Class bonus when fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, and the haft shatters on a natural roll of a 1 on the wielder's attack roll.

Tack Whip: Tack whips are more dangerous versions of farmer’s ropes whose bits, jangles, and studs can actually be used to inflict damage. They look like little more than tangles of bit, bridle and other tack for a beast of burden, such that Spot checks made to notice these weapons with a casual glance and Search checks made to find tack whips amidst a pile of other gear both suffer a -8 penalty.

When used to perform the Aid Another combat action, these weapons provide their users with a +2 bonus to their attack roll. This weapon may be used against opponents 10 feet away as if it had reach when used for the purpose of the Aid Another combat action.

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