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| Artwork by Louis Glanzman |
Although Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells is a Science Fantasy RPG, I want it to be a post-apocalyptic sword and sorcery amongst the stars kind of scifi. So all the fancy and colerful advanced tech will be pretty rare, almost like magic items in a sword and sorcery game.
So we will have pistols, rifles, shotguns and all that stuff, side by side with swords, axes, spears and bows. Laser guns are like ancient relics, some may believe they never really existed.
Below I present the draft text for the mundane weapons part. Nothing really fanciful, but I wanted to show work is being done!
Melee Weapons
Swords, axes, spears and many other melee weapons are still in use in the Universe of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells, and many rely on them for personal defense.Melee Weapons’ Categories
Instead of defining statistic for every single weapon imaginable, Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells groups weapons in large categories for easy of play. First we have the basic Unarmed category, which means a character is using his own body as a weapon (punching, kicking). This does 1d3 points of damage and has no other effect. Then we have the Small category, comprising of weapons with a length up to the size of a forearm (brass knuckles, knives, short swords, hand axes). They inflict 1d6-1 points of damage, but they give a Positive Die when someone tries to hide them. Next we have the Medium category, composed of weapons up to the size of a human’s full arm (axes, long swords, maces, warhammers, short spears). These weapons cause 1d6 but offer no other benefit. Finally, there is the Large category, which includes weapons larger than a human’s arm (claymores, battle axes, halberds, spears, mauls). These do 1d6+1 points of damage when used, but provide a Negative Die when someone tries to hide them, and need two hands to be wielded. The table below summarizes this information.
Weapon Category
|
Damage*
|
Notes
|
Unarmed
|
1d3
|
-
|
Small
|
1d6-1
|
Provides Positive Die to hide weapon.
|
Medium
|
1d6
|
-
|
Large
|
1d6+1
|
Impose Negative Die when hiding weapon.
|
Vibro Blades and Electrified Weapons
Some melee weapons have undergone a kind of modern upgrade. Vibroblades, Eletricfied Hammers and other weapons like these inflict an additional point of damage but are harder to find and fix, not to mention their batteries have only a Durability score of 2.Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons is probably the most common instrument of defense in use in the Universe. Primitive worlds still make of bows, crossbows, and spears, but most people around the Galaxies carry a pistol and sometimes even rifles. As with the melee weapons, we separate ranged weapons in larger categories. The Small category is comprised of easy to carry ranged weapons that can be fired with just one hand (revolvers, pistols, hand crossbows) and usually can't fire on targets that are too far. They inflict 1d6-1 points of damage, fire normally up to medium range and provide a Positive Die to be hidden. The Medium category includes weapons that can be used with one hand but works better when used with both hands (heavy pistols, semi-automatic weapons, bows, crossbows) and have a fairly good range. They do 1d6 points of damage, fire normally up to long range, but impose a Negative Die if fired with just one hand. Then, the Large category is composed of ranged weapons that need both hands to operate (rifles, shotguns, machine guns, longbows) and usually have a very good range. They cause 1d6+1 points of damage, fire normally up to distant range, but impose Negative Dice to be fired into short range and to be hidden. They also can only be used with both hands. The table below summarizes this information.
Weapon Category
|
Damage*
|
Normal Range
|
Special
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Small
|
1d6-1
|
Medium
|
Provides Positive Die to hide weapon.
|
Medium
|
1d6
|
Long
|
Impose a Negative Die if used with just one hand.
|
Large
|
1d6+1
|
Distant
|
Impose Negative Die when hiding weapon and when firing into short range. Must be used with both hands.
|
Special Ammunition
The stats above assume the use of normal standard ammunition. However, some ingenious combatants may want to use special ammunition such as explosive bullets or electrified projectiles. The use of such special ammunition adds 1 point of damage to the attack. However, they are hard to find and cost a lot more than normal bullets and thus have a Durability score of 2.Different Weapons
The rules above make the use of most weapons quite easy and flexible in the game. However, some specific weapons might not be properly portrayed by them. A shotgun, for example, could do 1d6+1 points of damage but would have a ideal short range. A flame thrower would hit everyone in a 90 degree up to short range for 1d6 points of damage per round, but couldn't be fired into longer distances. Overlords and players are encouraged to come up with different variations and special weapons.If you like what you've just read, check out my books over RPGNow and Lulu.