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View Full Version : [3.5] Primal Earth: Weaponry



Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-11, 06:47 PM
Let me start of by saying this is mostly a tool meant to be used by my Primal Earth players on this board as a way to expand their options for weaponry with suitable weaponry and gear. Some of the stuff will be from actual cultures (like the Maori) while others will be purely fictional and of debatable usefulness in reality. Comments and critique is welcome.

These weapons are going to be grouped by the cultures that use them rather then by simple, martial, or exotic and require the feat Weapon Proficiency (the related culture) to be able to use. A character automatically begins the game with Weapon Proficiency for the weapons of the people they grew up among.

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-11, 11:43 PM
Dusklings

The duskling tribes that inhabit the Primal Earth setting share a unique bond with the weapons they use to hunt and survive that goes above and beyond the care a pygmy or human might show towards their tools. Their preferred environment precludes the use of certain woods, flint, or obsidian in the construction of their weapons but the dusklings have compensated for this with the unique hardwoods that grow in swamps and with the jade that can be found if someone knows where to look. Each weapon is almost a sacred ritual in and of itself, due to their belief that one's ancestors live on in their weapons and so each one is crafted as finely as possible to be worthy of the same ancestors. To this end, most weapons are uniquely engraved and decorated depending on the individual and are highly coveted tools to be passed down to one's descendants. Tribes of dusklings have razed other tribes of dusklings or even ignorant villages of other people to the ground to return a particularly treasured taiaha or mere that was stolen.

Duskling Weapons
{table]Weapon|Price|Dmg(S)|Dmg(M)|Critical|Range Increment|Weight|Type
Taiaha|215 gp|1d6/1d6|1d8/1d8|19-20/x2/x3|-|2 lb.|Piercing/Slashing and Bludgeoning
Tewhatewha|30 gp|1d8|1d10|x4|-|2 lb.|Piercing
Mere|35 gp|1d6|1d8|x3|-|1 lb.|Bludgeoning
Wahaika|5 gp|1d4|1d6|x2|-|3 lb.|Bludgeoning
Stingray Spear|2 gp|special|special|x2|10 ft.|1 lb.|Piercing[/table]

Taiaha:
http://www.shopnewzealand.co.nz/images/Taiaha-Large.jpg

A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of the duskling people of the Primal Earth setting, used in close-combat while the weapons themselves are highly revered. Usually between 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) in length, it is a wooden close quarters weapon used for short sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts. Its several parts are named as follow:

Arero (tongue) - this is used for stabbing the opponent and parrying
Upoko (head) - the base from which the tongue protrudes
Ate (liver) - the flattened end which is also used for striking and parrying

A taiaha is a double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. The taiaha’s greenstone arero head is a piercing weapon that deals 1d8 points of damage with a x3 critical. Its ate is a slashing and bludgeoning weapon that deals 1d8 points of damage with a critical hit on a roll of 19-20. You can use either head as the primary weapon. The other is the off-hand weapon. A creature may use the taiaha as a two-handed weapon instead of a double weapon, forgoing the use of either the arero or ate in favor of the other.

Seen as a tool to bring ancestors into battle with the wielder, it is unusual to see a non-duskling use a taiaha unless it was given as a gift or looted from a corpse. Considering the highly personal nature of duskling weaponry, it is usually simple to discover if a taiaha was a gift or stolen and they react accordingly. Those who are given a taiaha gain a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks when dealing with dusklings.

Tewhatewhahttp://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/db_images/objimage.jpg?width=300&height=350&irn=42547

The Tewhatewha is a two-handed weapon that the duskling people use to pierce the scaled hides of large predators or the thick rinds of the malevolent plants that often lurk in the swamps the duskling tribes favor above all other homes. Though fashioned from wood, they are remarkably durable and can last a duskling warrior for his entire life.

Mere
http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/o7725ar.jpg

The mere club is a one-handed melee weapon that is greatly prized among the duskling tribes, oftentimes being used as a peace offering between warring tribes. Mere clubs are also highly symbolic and passed down from father to son (or mother to daughter) and losing one is one of the most humiliating things a duskling could do. Often they are given specifics names and all of them are fashioned from jade. The mere is often used to jab, despite it's blunt nature, and when swung can crack a skull with ease.

Wahaika
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/db_images/objimage.jpg?width=300&height=350&irn=42561

The wahaika is an ordinary club in most respects except for a notch carved into the wood designed to catch and turn aside an enemy's weapon. When used to disarm, the wahaika gives a +2 bonus to the opposed check to disarm the opponent.

Stingray Spear
http://www.aboriginalculture.com.au/images/B198s.jpg
A stingray spear is an attempt by the duskling to utilize the deadly weapon of a native creature (stingrays) to their own advantage. A stingray spear is a slender shaft of wood capped by a bundle of stingray stingers that are usually dabbed with poison as well. How much damage the spear does depends on how many stingers are on the weapon. A spear with four stingers (the usual amount) would deal 1d4 points of damage while one with six stingers would deal 1d6. For each point of damage the spear does, one of the stingers break off of the spear itself. For each point of damage done to the target (and not absorbed by damage reduction or some other source) a stinger has lodged itself in the target's flesh, dealing an additional one damage when it's removed. For each stinger broken off the spear takes a -1 penalty to damage until all are broken, rendering the spear useless. Using a stingray spear as a thrown weapon automatically breaks all of the stingers on it.

Admittedly this makes most spears a one-shot weapon, hence why most dusklings carry several and poison the stingers for added effect.

The Mentalist
2010-05-12, 12:49 AM
Possibly give the Mere the same +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy that the Taiaha has. I'd have to say that all of these cultures have a knife type weapon that they're proficient with, it's one of those weapons you find everywhere.

I don't see a wizard or some other high focus non-weapon class being proficient in all these different weapons. Possibly give them one or two and then give your meleers all of them.

Also on the Taiaha, is there a reason to use any other weapon, it really overpowers anything else.

Will there be other things as well, equipment and feats?

Edit: Wow, all of that looks really incoherent. (My reply)

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-12, 01:33 AM
Humans

Humans make and use weapons as a matter of survival in the brutal and sweltering jungles that are their home. While they do not have to contend with the larger predators that stalk the plains, they are far from safe and so have adapted to the situation with remarkable prowess. They use everything that they can get their hands on to fashion their weapons, from the prized obsidian stone that cuts flesh as if it was water to the sharpened fangs and claws of large predators. Nothing is over-looked in it's killing potential because it might just be needed someday to fend off some menace to one's family and fellow villagers. Unlike the dusklings who greatly personalize their weapons, humans rarely do so as a matter of saving time. Why carve images into a spear's shaft when you could be making another spear? This has lead to shoddy craftsmanship in the past, but not enough that it becomes an extremely prominent problem though it makes a skilled weapon smith a prized commodity to be jealously guarded.

Humans Weapons
{table]Weapon|Price|Dmg(S)|Dmg(M)|Critical|Range Increment|Weight|Type
Macuahuitl (one-handed)|50 gp|1d6|1d8|18-20/x2|-|4 lbs.|Slashing or Bludgeoning
Macuahuitl (two-handed)|100 gp|1d8|1d10|18-20/x2|-|9 lbs.|Slashing or Bludgeoning
Tepoztopilli|25 gp|1d6|2d4|19-20/x3|10 ft.|6 lbs.|Piercing and Slashing
Maimer|320 gp|1d6|1d8|19-20/x3|-|3 lbs.|Slashing and Piercing[/table]


Macuahuitlhttp://macuahuitl.com/pb/wp_ee731926/images/img158344704079f9e374.JPG

A macuahuitl begins to blur the line between a club and what could be considered a sword. A large piece of wood with grooves carved into side, razor-sharp pieces of obsidian are slid into these grooves before being 'glued' in place with sap or tar. They come in two different sizes, one meant to be wielded in one hand and the other in two hands and is almost as long as a man is tall. Maintenance for these weapons include replacing the obsidian shards which tend to break with extended use though it can be used as club even if all the obsidian is broken off. Wounds from a macuahuitl are particularly vicious and bleed heavily for 1d4 rounds after being hit for an additional 1 point of damage. Consecutive hits do not stack the damage but rather add to the duration of bleeding which can be stopped with a Heal check (DC 15) or any degree of magical healing.

Tepoztopilli
http://www.precolumbianweapons.com/images/spears91.jpg

Another two-handed weapon fashioned from obsidian, the tepoztopili is difficult to use in the thick undergrowth of the jungle but has proven invaluable for keeping a hunter or warrior out of the reach of a dangerous predator or one of the few large herbivores who crash through the trees without a care for any human village in it's way. The tepoztopili has a 10 ft. reach and cannot be used against an adjacent enemy. Like the macuahuitl, a tepoztopili regularly needs to replace the obsidian shards in it's spearhead.

Maimer
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2906/sharktoothsword.jpg (This, but with bigger teeth along the sides)

The maimer is a weapon of heroes and the bravest hunters, the materials to construct it so very dangerous to acquire that they are rare to the extreme. A wooden blade is fitted with the claws and teeth of the various raptors that prowl the jungles, the uncannily intelligent reptiles that often begin to hunt their own hunters if given half a chance at it. These claws and teeth are then sharpened to form a saw-like 'blade' that is used in one hand. To have a maimer constructed, the user most provide close to fifty claws and teeth (the equivalent of ten raptors) to a weapon-maker who is then paid the cost of the weapon to craft it. The maimer is unique in that it's deadly claws and teeth will ignore half of the damage reduction of it's target that comes from armor (Armor that provides damage reduction 1/- instead provides no damage reduction). There are rumors of legendary heroes wielding maimers fashioned from the teeth and claws of the mighty tyrannosaurus rex, but such a fabled weapon has never been seen outside of stories.

A maimer grants a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy when dealing with human tribes.

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-12, 01:40 AM
Possibly give the Mere the same +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy that the Taiaha has. I'd have to say that all of these cultures have a knife type weapon that they're proficient with, it's one of those weapons you find everywhere.

These are merely 'culture specific' weapons, rather then a complete list of weapons the race is capable of using. In other words they all DO have access to knife type weapons.


I don't see a wizard or some other high focus non-weapon class being proficient in all these different weapons. Possibly give them one or two and then give your meleers all of them.

Figuring out weapon proficiencies is one of the problems I am still handling. That seems like a possible solution.



Also on the Taiaha, is there a reason to use any other weapon, it really overpowers anything else.

Plenty of reason to use another weapon. More damage (as any true two-handed weapon will offer), reach, ability to hide the weapon, actually being able to get one (notice that only dusklings make taiahas and don't often 'sell' them to outsiders), or even just wanting to use a shield or different sort of weapon in your off-hand. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to make the taiaha a worthwhile weapon to use, but it hardly reigns supreme.

And on that same point, I wanted to provide one 'excellent' weapon for each culture to use or aspire towards. It's the taiaha for the dusklings. It's a maimer for the humans.


Will there be other things as well, equipment and feats?

Edit: Wow, all of that looks really incoherent. (My reply)

Maybe. Don't know.

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-12, 01:26 PM
Pygmy

Pygmy weapons tend to serve one of two purposes and the line is often blurred between the two of them. The first purpose is the one most weapons hold, to kill one's enemies or prey as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible. The second is almost unique to the pygmies and that is to capture and restrain an enemy, even if they are of a vastly larger size. To this end, pygmy warriors are prone to carrying around tools that accomplish both tasks either separately or in combination with one another. Both have their places in pygmy society though the weapons used for capturing enemies alive is the more well known one, seeing as how pygmies are often in need of fresh captives and use these tools to wrangle up new ones. Both killing tools and ones meant for capture are often dabbed in poison to speed up both processes.

Pygmies Weapons
{table]Weapon|Price|Dmg(S)|Dmg(M)|Critical|Range Increment|Weight|Type
Hook Net|20 gp|1d4|1d6|x2|15 ft.|2 lbs.|Piercing
Barbed Dart|1 gp|1d3|1d4|x3|special|-|Piercing
Beakers|50 gp|1d6|1d8|x3|-|2 lbs.|Piercing or Slashing[/table]


Barbed NetA barbed net is used to entangle enemies. When you throw a net, you make a ranged touch attack against your target and deal the listed damage above. A net’s maximum range is 10 feet. If you hit, the target is entangled. An entangled creature takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty on Dexterity, can move at only half speed, and cannot charge or run. If you control the trailing rope by succeeding on an opposed Strength check while holding it, the entangled creature can move only within the limits that the rope allows. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, it must make a DC 15+damage dealt Concentration check or be unable to cast the spell. An entangled creature can escape with a DC 25 Escape Artist check (a full-round action). The barbed net has 5 hit points and can be burst with a DC 25 Strength check (also a full-round action). A barbed net is useful only against creatures within one size category of you.

A barbed net must be folded to be thrown effectively. The first time you throw your barbed net in a fight, you make a normal ranged touch attack roll. After the net is unfolded, you take a -4 penalty on attack rolls with it. It takes 2 rounds for a proficient user to fold a net and twice that long for a non-proficient one to do so.

A barbed net differs from an ordinary net in that large hooks carved from bone or wood are tied to the strands of the net, hooking into an opponent's body when struck by it. Whenever an entangled enemy attempts an Escape Artist check to escape the net or a Strength check to burst it, they take the net's listed damage again whither they succeed or not. A barbed net can be removed safely if the entangled enemy spends five rounds removing the hooks from their flesh and makes an Escape Artist check (DC 20) to escape from it normally.

Barbed Dart
A barbed dart is a particularly fierce piece of ammunition for the blowguns that pygmies use when they don't want to startle their prey. Longer then a normal dart, the tip is a barbed piece of flint that is usually poisoned to improve it's effectiveness. Heavier then normal darts, they tend to require that the blowgun user get closer to their target before launching these vicious projectiles.

Beakers
Beakers are an unusual weapon that is unique to the pygmy tribes since they are the only ones in the position to acquire the reasources needed to make them. They are one-handed weapons that are typically sold in a pair and are constructed from the beaks of flying dinosaurs. Half of the beak is strapped to the left hand with the sharp point protruding out over the knuckle while the other half is usually strapped to the right hand in the same fashion. When used in this manner, one of the beakers will count as a light melee weapon for the purpose of two-weapon fighting. Due to the risks and hardships in bringing down a large enough pterasaur to be killed, beakers are often seen as a sign of respect and given to those the pygmy tribe finds the most valuable to the group as a whole. Someone wearing a pair of beakers gains a +5 bonus to Diplomacy checks when dealing with pygmy tribes.