Post by djkester on Dec 15, 2010 2:37:56 GMT -5
The world is a dangerous place for mortals and immortals alike. Even with the magic of the land at ones back or in the hand, so to speak, the mortal dangers are still real. Teeth, and claws of brutal monsters and hungry animals are the oldest dangers and those that mortals have long sense learned to defend against. In more recent ages the dangers have extended to include bronze, iron, steel blades, and weapons made from even more powerful materials.
There are those who might believe that spells alone can protect. The trained wizard or the fire wielding sorcerer. But in the world there are those creatures to whom spells are meaningless, who surprise from stealth, and who hunt the magic users. To these creatures only a blade speaks true. This is the task of the fighters of the land. Are you brave enough to go toe to toe?
Some rules that apply to all weapons:
1.They have to be real weapons (see below) not illusion or magic.
2.A character has to know how to use them by having the proficiency.
3.You can learn to use them better by getting a Combat Level (CL).
4.With CLs you can increase damage or your ability to hit a target.
5.If you push the damage to far with CLs or STR you run the risk of breaking the weapon.
Running with Swords
Some weapons you hold in your hand and smash, cut, or stab your enemy with. These we call Hand-to-Hand (HTH). With HTH weapons you can increase the damage they do by using your STR.
Running with Bows and Arrows
Some weapons you shoot at people. Nothing special. Pull, load, or whatever and then shoot.
Throwing vs Shooting
Some weapons you want to throw at enemies. They are special. You can add damage using your STR as well as CLs.
Running with a poisoned stick
Some weapons aren't dangerous enough. For those times you can apply some poison to help out.
Now to some more details:
The use of weapons is a primary function of every character. There are no restrictions on who can learn and use a weapon. Any character can learn to use any weapon.
You don't get weapons with character points. You get them with GOLD.
To increase effectiveness each character develops skill levels with weapons in the form of Combat Levels (CL).
The nature of weapons:
To further explore the use of weapons we need to understand the nature of the mechanics of the weapons themselves. Weapons do not take character points to obtain but they do work to the same mechanics. So the relative power can be evaluated using the point system. The GOLD cost of a weapon is determined by the material the weapon is made from and how many “active points” the weapon has.
Weapons are mechanically the same as spells or other powers except that they are built with a specific set of limitations. They are:
1.Real Weapon: a real weapon is one that is made and crafted from material. It needs to be sharpened, cleaned, and otherwise maintained. If pushed to hard a real weapon can break.
2.Crafted: a weapon is made from a real material by a craftsman.
3.Minimum strength: a weapon has a minimum strength to use. This is the case for all the weapons be they bow, sword, or dagger. The minimum strength is needed to wield it effectively. If you do not have the minimum strength you suffer a penalty to hit and damage with it.
4.Obvious Focus: a weapon can be targeted by spells and attacks.
Additionally, some other weapons may be built with additional limitations that represent their use. For example a bow needs arrows. This is reflected in the mechanics with the charges limitation. Other weapons may take time to reload or otherwise prepare to use. Some weapons may be slow. Whatever the desired effect will drive the design of the weapon.
Since weapons are built by craftsman and as such their grade can vary greatly. In addition the materials they are made from can vary greatly. A weapon made of steal will be much harder to break than one made of iron. However, the craft to work with steal is harder and the material more rare and expensive. When you purchase a weapon the price is based partly on the material and the craftsmanship.
In addition some of the materials available to make a weapon can have a variety of effects as well. For Example: Silver is the bane of regeneration for example. Those trolls, werewolves, and even Kobolds fear the Silver as it hampers their regeneration.
So when obtaining a weapon from a local merchant you might consider the following:
1.The material's durability: this effects how far a weapon can be pushed before it might break.
2.The craftsmanship of the weapon: this effects how far a weapon can be pushed before it might break.
3.The material's availability: this effects how common the material is and thus the cost. Also, the more rare a material the less the normal craftsman will know of how to work with it and thus the harder they are to craft.
4.Special properties of the material: some materials such as Silver, mentioned above have direct effects. Other materials have special properties that one would be inclined to consider for magical effects. For example, if one is planning on obtaining a demon slaying weapon they might consider a material based on the effects it will have on enchantments.
The most common weapons in the world are iron. The material is fairly readily available, very versatile, useful, relatively easy to work with and fairly durable. For more information on particular weapons check the normal weapon lists.
Building My Character
Hopefully, the question you now have is more along the lines of a specific character concept. This is because, as you will likely see very often, the answer to “how do I make a fighter with a longsword” will always be a qualified “it depends.” The it depends can only be answered by the concept of your character.
So with the rules above and a good understanding of how you want your character to be we can consider the ways we can approach making a character that uses weapons.
Above it was noted that HTH attacks damage can be increased by STR. In this way a character can add damage based on the difference between their actual STR and the STR minimum of the weapon.
So a common way to make a more powerful fighter is to simply increase their STR. In this way the character can both use larger and heavier weapons as well as increase the damage of that weapon beyond its basic level. There is no theoretical maximum for how far this can go. Only the limits imposed to create a sense of reality to the campaign world. Typically these come in the form of racial characteristic maximums and available weapons.
Another common method for increasing the power of a fighter is to use CLs. This method is for character concepts of lighter faster combatants or to further augment a high STR fighter. Instead of a using STR to boost damage the character uses CLs. The disadvantage for this approach is that you'll more often run up against the risk of weapon breakage. Because characters with high CLs tend to push the weapons to the breaking point more often because they use lighter weapons in alignment with their STR.
Of course you'll need both some CLs and STR for any character to be even minimally effective with a weapon. Since all weapons have a minimum STR and CLs improve your basic ability to hit. The question of a particular build will be how many points will you put into STR and how many in CLs.
That is to say if you stick to concepts that don't further needs for the concept to work. For example, in most Fantasy stories there is no one as deadly as the assassin. The fighter who is determined to kill with a single blow. The deadliest of attacks of these fighters are similar in many ways.
There is no correct way to build them, but likely they will avoid the pure STR build at they'll need those points for other effects. Be that they are masters of poison, aimed shot, or attacking from stealth. However, they gain the upper hand the assassin is a master of combat maneuvers. Here are a couple of ideas for builds that one might go with in trying to create the ultimate killer:
1.Poisoner: learning to use poisons is a skill and the side effects of failure can be deadly. The use of poisons in a fight complicates the fight and can make the timing tricky. For more on this read the rules on using poisons
2.Night Stalker: any character can learn to be stealthy. It is the Night Stalker that learns to make attacks from these positions. A common form of this build it to maximize attacks from stealth by applying a limitation to CLs that the CLs can only be used with surprise.
As you develop your character to match you concept this guide above can help inform you. The details will be in the weapons you know how to use, the STR you have to use them, and the CLs that apply to the weapon of choice or at hand.
There are those who might believe that spells alone can protect. The trained wizard or the fire wielding sorcerer. But in the world there are those creatures to whom spells are meaningless, who surprise from stealth, and who hunt the magic users. To these creatures only a blade speaks true. This is the task of the fighters of the land. Are you brave enough to go toe to toe?
Some rules that apply to all weapons:
1.They have to be real weapons (see below) not illusion or magic.
2.A character has to know how to use them by having the proficiency.
3.You can learn to use them better by getting a Combat Level (CL).
4.With CLs you can increase damage or your ability to hit a target.
5.If you push the damage to far with CLs or STR you run the risk of breaking the weapon.
Running with Swords
Some weapons you hold in your hand and smash, cut, or stab your enemy with. These we call Hand-to-Hand (HTH). With HTH weapons you can increase the damage they do by using your STR.
Running with Bows and Arrows
Some weapons you shoot at people. Nothing special. Pull, load, or whatever and then shoot.
Throwing vs Shooting
Some weapons you want to throw at enemies. They are special. You can add damage using your STR as well as CLs.
Running with a poisoned stick
Some weapons aren't dangerous enough. For those times you can apply some poison to help out.
Now to some more details:
The use of weapons is a primary function of every character. There are no restrictions on who can learn and use a weapon. Any character can learn to use any weapon.
You don't get weapons with character points. You get them with GOLD.
To increase effectiveness each character develops skill levels with weapons in the form of Combat Levels (CL).
The nature of weapons:
To further explore the use of weapons we need to understand the nature of the mechanics of the weapons themselves. Weapons do not take character points to obtain but they do work to the same mechanics. So the relative power can be evaluated using the point system. The GOLD cost of a weapon is determined by the material the weapon is made from and how many “active points” the weapon has.
Weapons are mechanically the same as spells or other powers except that they are built with a specific set of limitations. They are:
1.Real Weapon: a real weapon is one that is made and crafted from material. It needs to be sharpened, cleaned, and otherwise maintained. If pushed to hard a real weapon can break.
2.Crafted: a weapon is made from a real material by a craftsman.
3.Minimum strength: a weapon has a minimum strength to use. This is the case for all the weapons be they bow, sword, or dagger. The minimum strength is needed to wield it effectively. If you do not have the minimum strength you suffer a penalty to hit and damage with it.
4.Obvious Focus: a weapon can be targeted by spells and attacks.
Additionally, some other weapons may be built with additional limitations that represent their use. For example a bow needs arrows. This is reflected in the mechanics with the charges limitation. Other weapons may take time to reload or otherwise prepare to use. Some weapons may be slow. Whatever the desired effect will drive the design of the weapon.
Since weapons are built by craftsman and as such their grade can vary greatly. In addition the materials they are made from can vary greatly. A weapon made of steal will be much harder to break than one made of iron. However, the craft to work with steal is harder and the material more rare and expensive. When you purchase a weapon the price is based partly on the material and the craftsmanship.
In addition some of the materials available to make a weapon can have a variety of effects as well. For Example: Silver is the bane of regeneration for example. Those trolls, werewolves, and even Kobolds fear the Silver as it hampers their regeneration.
So when obtaining a weapon from a local merchant you might consider the following:
1.The material's durability: this effects how far a weapon can be pushed before it might break.
2.The craftsmanship of the weapon: this effects how far a weapon can be pushed before it might break.
3.The material's availability: this effects how common the material is and thus the cost. Also, the more rare a material the less the normal craftsman will know of how to work with it and thus the harder they are to craft.
4.Special properties of the material: some materials such as Silver, mentioned above have direct effects. Other materials have special properties that one would be inclined to consider for magical effects. For example, if one is planning on obtaining a demon slaying weapon they might consider a material based on the effects it will have on enchantments.
The most common weapons in the world are iron. The material is fairly readily available, very versatile, useful, relatively easy to work with and fairly durable. For more information on particular weapons check the normal weapon lists.
Building My Character
Hopefully, the question you now have is more along the lines of a specific character concept. This is because, as you will likely see very often, the answer to “how do I make a fighter with a longsword” will always be a qualified “it depends.” The it depends can only be answered by the concept of your character.
So with the rules above and a good understanding of how you want your character to be we can consider the ways we can approach making a character that uses weapons.
Above it was noted that HTH attacks damage can be increased by STR. In this way a character can add damage based on the difference between their actual STR and the STR minimum of the weapon.
So a common way to make a more powerful fighter is to simply increase their STR. In this way the character can both use larger and heavier weapons as well as increase the damage of that weapon beyond its basic level. There is no theoretical maximum for how far this can go. Only the limits imposed to create a sense of reality to the campaign world. Typically these come in the form of racial characteristic maximums and available weapons.
Another common method for increasing the power of a fighter is to use CLs. This method is for character concepts of lighter faster combatants or to further augment a high STR fighter. Instead of a using STR to boost damage the character uses CLs. The disadvantage for this approach is that you'll more often run up against the risk of weapon breakage. Because characters with high CLs tend to push the weapons to the breaking point more often because they use lighter weapons in alignment with their STR.
Of course you'll need both some CLs and STR for any character to be even minimally effective with a weapon. Since all weapons have a minimum STR and CLs improve your basic ability to hit. The question of a particular build will be how many points will you put into STR and how many in CLs.
That is to say if you stick to concepts that don't further needs for the concept to work. For example, in most Fantasy stories there is no one as deadly as the assassin. The fighter who is determined to kill with a single blow. The deadliest of attacks of these fighters are similar in many ways.
There is no correct way to build them, but likely they will avoid the pure STR build at they'll need those points for other effects. Be that they are masters of poison, aimed shot, or attacking from stealth. However, they gain the upper hand the assassin is a master of combat maneuvers. Here are a couple of ideas for builds that one might go with in trying to create the ultimate killer:
1.Poisoner: learning to use poisons is a skill and the side effects of failure can be deadly. The use of poisons in a fight complicates the fight and can make the timing tricky. For more on this read the rules on using poisons
2.Night Stalker: any character can learn to be stealthy. It is the Night Stalker that learns to make attacks from these positions. A common form of this build it to maximize attacks from stealth by applying a limitation to CLs that the CLs can only be used with surprise.
As you develop your character to match you concept this guide above can help inform you. The details will be in the weapons you know how to use, the STR you have to use them, and the CLs that apply to the weapon of choice or at hand.