Player's Handbook Rules Supplement

The
Complete
Fighter's
Handbook

TSR, Inc.

Warrior Kit Creation rules
SheetforThedifferent
ADVANCED DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS® 2nd Edition Play-
er's Handbook and Dungeon
Master's Guide told you all you
needed to know about playing
warriors in the game. But it
could be that you want to know
more than the bare minimum it
takes to play the warrior
classes.
That's where The Complete
Fighter's Handbook comes in.
In these pages, we're going to
show you lots of interesting
things you can do with the war-
rior classes . . . things that the
Player's Handbook and DMG
didn't have room to show you.
Do you want to play fighter
characters other than Fighter,
Paladin, and Ranger? Here we'll
give you rules for characters like
barbarians, samurai, gladiators,
amazons—they're all subsets of
the three main warrior classes,
but they're here.
Do you want new combat
rules? We have them. You'll find
weapon
styles, combat tactics, combat
maneuvers, jousting, combat
results, and many other fighter-
oriented abilities within these
pages.
Is it new equipment you're af-
ter? That, too, is present in copi-
ous quantities, from new armor
and weapons to new magic
items.
Or perhaps you want some
role-playing and campaigning
tips for your fighter characters
. . . or your campaign in general.
In these pages you'll find role-
playing advice for fighter char-
acters, and discussion of the
role of the fighter in regular
campaigns and in all-fighter
campaigns.
Whether you're a player or
DM, an intent rules lawyer or
just someone wishing to add a
little depth to your campaign or
character, you'll find something
here for you. Have fun.
Introduction
Incidentally, The Complete
Fighter's Handbook presumes
that you're using the AD&D®
2nd Edition game rules for
Weapon Proficiencies and Non-
weapon Proficiencies. Many of
the rules presented in this book
depend on use of the proficien-
cies. So if you haven't been us-
ing them so far in your
campaign, we highly recom-
mend that you familiarize your-
self with them and introduce
them into your playing.
Here's a special note for those
of you who are using this Com-
plete Fighter's Handbook with
your first edition AD&D® game
instead of the new second edi-
tion: This supplement mentions
a lot of page numbers from the
Player's Handbook and the
Dungeon Master's Guide. The
page numbers cited are for the
second edition, not the first;
you'll have to ignore the page
numbers given.
 The Complete Fighter's Handbook

Introduction 1 Amazons 46
Barbarians and Berserkers 47
Character Creation 4 Beast Riders 48
Cavaliers 48
Ability Scores 4 Gladiators 49
Races 4 Myrmidons 49
Classes 4 Noble Warriors 50
Alignment 4 Peasant Heroes 50
Warrior Kits 4 Pirates and Outlaws 51
Proficiencies 4 Good-Guy Outlaws and Pirates 51
Armorer 4 Bad-Guy Outlaws and Pirates 51
The Workshop 4 Samurai 52
Apprentices and Overseers 6 Savages 52
Time to Craft Armor 6 Swashbucklers 53
Cost to Craft Armor 6 Wilderness Warriors 53
Chance of Failure 7 The Miitary Campaign 53
Added Expenses 8 Campaign vs. Mini-series 54
Player-Character Workshops 8
Repairing Armor 8 Combat Rules 56
Repairing Magical Armor 8
Bowyer/Fletcher 10 New Combat Rules 56
Weaponsmithing 10 Off-Hand Weapons Use 56
Weaponsmithing Failure 10 Kneeling and Sitting 56
Weapon Quality 10 Range and Initiative 56
Weapons Not Shown 11 Weapon Proficiency Slots 58
Money and Equipment 11 Intelligence and Proficiencies 58
Magic 11 Single-Weapon Proficiency Weapon Specialization 58
Experience 11 Weapon-Group Proficiency 58
Tight Groups 58
Warrior Kits 13 Broad Groups 59
Kits and Warriors 13 Non-Groups 60
Weapon Specialization and Weapon Groups 60
Kits and the Warrior Classes 14
Kits and Character Creation 14 Ambidexterity 60
The Warrior Kits 14 Style Specialization 61
Amazon 14 Punching and Wrestling Specialization 61
Barbarian 16 Martial Arts 61
Beast-Rider 18 Fighting Styles 61
Berserker 18 The Four Fighting Styles 61
Cavalier 22 Specializing in the Styles 62
Gladiator 24 Guidelines 62
Myrmidon 25 Multiple Style Specializations 62
Noble Warrior 26 Limitations on Style Specialization 62
Peasant Hero 29 Single-Weapon Style 62
Pirate/Outlaw 30 Two-Hander Style 62
Samurai 31 Weapon and Shield Style 63
Savage 32 Two-Weapon Style 64
Swashbuckler 34 Sample Style Specialization 64
Wilderness Warrior 35 Melee Maneuvers 64
Recording Kits on the Character Sheet 36 Called Shots 65
Warrior Kits and Multi-Class Characters 36 Striking a Specific Body Part 65
Warrior Kits and Dual-Class Characters 37 Smashing Something Being Held 65
Abandoning a Kit 37 Bypassing Armor 65
Modifying the Kits 37 Special Results 66
Creating New Kits 37 Disarm 66
Thrown-Weapon and Missile Disarms 68
Role-Playing 39 Expert Disarms 68
Grab 68
Warrior Personalities 39 Grabbing a Person 69
The Brash Youth 39 Grabbing a Monster 69
The Crude Crusher 40 Hold Attack 69
The Dangerous Antagonist 40 Characters with Multiple Attacks 70
The Doomed Champion 41 Parry 70
The Fated Philosopher 42 Choice of Parries 70
The Merry Showoff 42 Polearm Parries 70
The Natural Leader 43 Missile Weapon Parries 71
The Sneaky Thinker 43 Parrying from the DMG 71
Changing Personality Types 43 Pin 71
The Warrior Campaign 44 Pull/Trip 71
Magical World vs. Nonmagical World 44 Use of Polearms 71
Magical World 45 Sap 72
Mostly Nonmagical World 45 Shield-Punch 72
Strictly Nonmagical World 45 Shield-Rush 72
The Mixed-Warrior-Type Campaign 46 Strike/Thrust 73
The One-Warrior-Type Campaign 46 Surprise and Flash Maneuvers 73
 The Complete Fighter's Handbook

Don't Say No; Determine Difficulty 73 Wolf-pack Tactics 90

Maneuvers in the Campaign 74 Tactical Mix 90
Punching, Wrestling, and Martial Arts 74 Rotation 90
Specializing With Punching and Wrestling 74 Spear-Carriers 91
Normal Punching Attacks 75 Directing Traffic 91
Punching Specialization 75 Campaign Tactics 91
Normal Wrestling Attacks 75 Just Arriving in Town 92
Wrestling Specialization 75 The Combat Sheet 92
Martial Arts 76
Martial Arts Results 76 Equipment 93
Descriptions of the Maneuvers 76 Old Weapons 93
Specializing in Martial Arts 77 One-Hand, Two-Hand 93
More Than One Style 77 New Weapons 94
Continuing Specialization 78 Gladiator Weapons 94
The Complete Martial Artist 78 Pirate Weapons 100
In Oriental Campaigns 78 Samurai Weapons 100
Barehanded Maneuvers 79 Savage Weapons 103
Called Shots: Punching and Martial Arts 79 Swashbuckler Weapons 103
Called Shots: Wrestling 79 New Armor 104
Disarm 79 Gladiator Armor 104
Grab 79 Samurai Armor 105
Hold Attack 79 Effects of Armor 106
Parry 79 Effects on AC 106
Pin 80 Effects on Speed 106
Pull/Trip 80 Effects on Dexterity Checks 106
Sap 80 Effects on Vision and Hearing 107
Shield-Punch 80 Other Helms and Helmets 107
Shield-Rush 80 What Head Protection Doesn't Do 107
Strike/Thrust 80 Vision and Hearing Checks 107
Hit Locations 80 No Head Protection 107
The "Numbed" and Useless" Numbers 80 Variant Armor 109
Body Locations 80 Racial Armor 109
General Effects of Called Shots 81 Armor Fitting 109
Specific Effects of Called Shots 81 High-Quality Racial Armor 110
Recording These Injuries 82 Piecemeal Armor Ill
Individual Injuries and Healing Magic 82 Weight of Piecemeal Suits 112
Permanent and Crippling Effects 82 Magical Armor 112
Monsters and Hit Locations 82 Gladiator Armor 112
This System and Low-Level Characters 82 Damage to Armor 112
Recovery 82 Piecemeal Armor 112
Recovery of Temporary Damage 82 Magical Armor 112
Recording Temporary Damage 82 Repairing Armor 113
Recovering From Temporary Damage 82 Effects on the Campaign 113
Magical Healing and Temporary Damage 83 Magical Items 113
Recovery From Knockout 83 Miscellaneous Equipment 116
Temporary Damage and Knockout 83
Magical Healing and Knockout 83 Tables 118
Combat Conditions 83
Darkness and Blindness 83 Forms 120
Unstable Ground 84 Complete Fighter's Character Sheet 120
Mounted Combat 85 Complete Fighter's Combat Sheet (PC Side) 122
Jousting 85 Complete Fighter's Combat Sheet (DM Side) 123
Lance Specialization 85 Warrior Kit Creation Sheet 124
Horseback Archery 86
Tburnaments 86 Written by Aaron Allston
The Basic Tournament 86 Edited by Steve Winter
Black and White Art by Valerie Valusek
The Joust List 86 Color Art by John and Laura Lakey. Doug Chaffee. and Jeff Easley
The Jousting Competition 86 Typography by Angelika Lokotz
Blunted Lances 87 ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. AD&D. PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and
Queen of Love and Beauty 87 the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR Inc.
Prizes 87 °1989 TSR Inc. All rights reserved.
Other Events 87 Printed in the U.S.A.
Archery Competition 87 Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House Inc. and in Canada by
Random House of Canada. Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distribu-
Foot Lists 88 tors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.
Merchants' Stalls 88 This product is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any
Dancing, Socializing 88 reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
When to End Combat 88 prohibited without the express written permission of TSR Inc.
When Characters Don't Accept Surrender 88 TSR Inc. TSR Ltd.
POB756
When Characters Always Chase Escapees 88 Lake Geneva.
120 Church End, Cherry Hinton
Cambridge CB1 3LB
When Characters Never Negotiate 89 WI 53147 U.S.A. United Kingdom
Notes on the Combat Sequence 89
Tactics 89 ISBN 0-88038-779-3 211OXXX15O1
Shield Walls and Polearms 89
 In this chapter, we' ll briefly
prese nt notes on character crea·
tion In the AD&D~ game. This Is
material you a lready know. but
we'lI be talkJng abou t character
creation as It speciOcaJ ly applies
to warrior p layer·ch aracters
(Fighters. Paladins. and Rang·
ers).
, probably find what they wam in
Ability Sc.ores
For a normal
campaign. a ny of the six dice·
rolli ng methods from the Play·
er's Handbook. page 13. is
acceptable.
If you decide to run a n all·
warrio rs cam paign (see the
Role·Playing chapter of th is
book for details on such a thing).
we recommend that you use one
of the five Alternate Dlce·Rolllng
Methods present ed.
Whether or not you run an all-
warriors campaign , If you uti-
lize the Warrior Kits cha pter of
this rule book. we recommend
that you use Melhod Vi to create
Lhe abUlty scores for your char-
acters, Because charac ters us·
Ing the Warrior Kits are so
specialized. you 'lI nnd it helpful
to be able to custom-design your
character ability scores, which
Method VI aJ lows you to do,
Races
Much of The
Complete Figh ter's Handbook Is
wrille n with the human charac-
ter In mind . However, most of
the text is equally applicable to
a ll the other player-character
races as well. a nd can be used
by Lhem wlLhou t any sort of ad-
aptation necessary.
All the nonnal rules for racial
ability adjust m ents. class reo
s trictions, le vel li mits. lan-
g uages, and misce ll aneous
bonuses and penaJtles wiIJ be
u sed, and all the material In th is
book can be used for all the dc-
mlhuman races except where
specifically nOled in the (ext.
Classes
The three war-
rior character classes (Fighter,
Paladin, and Ra nger) are still
the only warrior cha racter
classes, liowever, those players
who would lIke to have more
s pecialIzed warrior classes will
the Warrior Kits chapter.
Whe n you're crealing single-
class warrior characters, we rec·
ommend t hat you start a ll
first-l evel warriors with the
maximum num ber of hit points
they can have at that level-
don 't even both er to roll th e
dlcc. In other words, If you have
a first-level Figh ter with a Con-
stitu tion of L6 . he'd start with
12 hit points Instead of roiling
his 1dlO and adding +2 for his
Constitution adJusunc nl.
This is for a couple of impor-
ta nt reasons. Firs t. It gives the
warrior a s lightly better chance
for survivaJ at lower experlencc
levels. Seco nd , It refl ects the
facl that warriors a re si mpl y
tougher and hardier than other
player-character classes_
BUl remembcr: This is for flrsl
Jel'eJ singlc-class warriors only.
Slartlng wit h second level.
these Fighters, Paladin s. a nd
Rangers have to roll their hit
poims like everyone else. No
other class gelS this benefit. and
mulU-class wa rriors (such as
warriorllhleves. warrior/mages,
and the like] don' t get to do this,
Alignment
The Complete
Fig hler's Handbook follows all
normal gam e rules for character
alignmen ts. Once the player has
ch osen an alignm ent for hi s
character, he needs to have his
choice approved by the OM: It
may be that his choice will clash
excessively with the alignments
of other characters In th e party,
so the OM is within his rights 10
disapprove a ny align m ent
•
cholcc. IThe chaotic evil fi ghter
who wa nts to play with th e
troupe of wandering paladins
wi1l be a problem .)
Warrior Kits
Once y ou'v e
worked up you r character's abil-
it y scores. a nd then chose n his
class and alignment . you can
c hoose a Vla rrior Kif for t he
character. Warrior Kit s are dis-
cllssed in the WalTlor Kits chap-
ter of this book.
rrofld~nd~s
As lh e In(ro-
dueL/on nolcs . lise of the ProO-
cleneies section of th e AD&D
2nd Edition Player's Handbook
is nOI optional with Th e Com ·
plete Fighler's Handbook. The
Proficlencles are necessary fo r
you ( 0 cus(omlze and nne-tune
your character. a nd for the usc
of the Warrior KJrs chapter of
this book_
Usc of the Weapon ProOclen-
cles are pre tty much self-
evld enl a fl er you rea d the
Player's Handbook. Later in this
boo k, thou gh . In th e Combat
ehapler. you'lI learn som e inter-
esti ng new things wh ich you
can do with weapon profiCien -
des.
Don ' t forgel that high Intelll ·
gence scores grant ex tra profi·
cie ncles (equal lo the number of
extra languages th e character
receives for the same score).
Here, let's talk about three
nOllweapon proficiencies (Ar-
morer. Bowyer/Fl etch er. and
Weaponsmlthingl which are of
particu la r use to the wa rrIor
p\ayer-c haracter.
Armorer
With the Ar-
morer proficiency, a character
knows how to build all varieties
of armor. Arm orer overla ps a
couple of other proOclcncies:
 The Armorer knows enough
Blacksm lthlng to rorge metal ar-
mor and craft scale and chain
mall (though he cannot rorge
horseshoes. wrought iron gates.
hardened metal tools, or any
other userul items unless he also
knows Blacksmithing):
The Armorer knows enough
Leat herwor kin g to c u t and
shape boiled leather Into leather
armor. shield coverings. and the
under·layers or scale mall and
banded mall (though he cannot
m ake dress jerkins. saddles.
elaborate pouches or rucksacks.
or any other useful leather
items): and
The Armorer knows enough
or the Th..1lor·s art to manufac-
ture padded armor and armor
padding (but not enough to cut
and sew any sort or good-
looking garment) .
Naturally. the ordinary Black-
smith cannot rorge metal armor.
the Leal.herworker Is not experi-
enced with making leather ar·
mors. and th e laUor isn't
conversant with the maklng or
padded armor. unless they also
lake the Armorer pronclency.
The Armorer can repair exist-
Ing armor that has taken dam-
age (if you 're using that optional
rule) . and can also craft barding
(horse armor) through use orhls
pronclency.
But what does all of this mean
In a campaign?
The Workshop
1b craft annor.
the character must firs t have a
workshop {a place to work and
tools with which to do Work}.
Metal Annor
Irhe Intends to make any sort
or a U·metal armor (chain mall.
field mall. full plate. plate mall.
and helmets) , the workshop is a
smithy. complete with tools. bel·
lows. a rurnace. an anvil. tongs.
cauldrons. casting molds. and
all the other materials neces-
sary to process unrefined metal
into armor.
Such a workshop costs 200
gpo plus the cost of the shelter
where it is set up: An additional
100 gp for a pavilion tent. an ad·
dltional 300 gp ror a well-crafted
hut/workshop. or more as part
of a larger dwellIng. such as a
mansion. villa or castle (these
sorts of dwellings are priced at
whatever sort or price scheme
the OM prefers).
(Included In the price of the
smithy Is the cost of the tools
necessary to make leather hilt·
wrappings. padded armor. ar·
m or linings and padding. and
the simple leather straps used to
hold all·metal armors together.)
This workshop Is la rge
enough to accommodate the
character and up to two appren·
tices working full·time. (The ap·
prentlces. too. must have the
Armorer pronclency: the char-
acter can always take tn an ap-
prentice without the pronciency
and train him. but until he ac·
quires the Armorer proficiency
he doesn't count as a productive
element of the works hop .)
In theory. the character could
hire another three·man crew to
work a second shift In the same
workshop: thus the workshop
would be occupied nearly 24
hours a day. (This presumes
eight· to ten·hour shifts and a
ce rtai n amount or n ecessary
nonproductive time each day:
Time for furnaces to cool and be
cleaned. tools to be repaired and
sharpened. etc.) No more than
three people can work in this
workshop elTectlvely: with more
than three people. the workshop
sulTers a loss of efficiency so that
It produces goods just as though
It were only manned by three ar-
morers.
Tb expand the workshop costs
an a ddition al 50% for each
+three workers. If the s mithy
costs 200 gp and Is set up in a
300-gp hUl. thus costing 500 gpo
the builder could pay +250 gpo
5
Then , the works hop would ac-
commodate three more armor-
ers at the same time . For
another +250 gp, now totalllng
1.000 gpo the shop can accom-
modate nine armorers at the
same time.
Leather Annar
If he Intends to make any sort
of all·leather armor (hide armor.
leaLher armor. and armored
leather caps). the workshop Is a
leatherworker's shop. Including
apparatus for leather soaking.
scraping. tanning. boiling. boil-
Ing In wax . s ha ping. hole-
punchlng. sewing. and all the
oth er p rocesses by which
leather Is transformed Into ar·
mar.
Such a workshop costs 25 gpo
plus the cost of t h e s h elter
where It Is set up: An additional
25 gp for a large tent. an addi-
tional 75 gp for a well-crafted
hu t/workshop. or more as part
of a larger dwelling (at whatever
price scheme the OM prefers) .
(Included In the price of the
leatherworker's shop Is the cost
of the tools necessary to make
padded armor and armor Iln·
Ings and padding.)
As with the smithy above . this
price presumes one prinCipal
leatherworker and up to two ap·
prentlces may work together at
the same time. Above that num·
ber costs 50% of the workshop
and hOUSing costs per addl·
tional three leatherworkers.
Meral and Lea ther Annor
If he Intends to make both
sons of armor. or armor which
combin es both metal and
leather elem ents (banded maJl.
brtgandlne. bronze plate maH.
ring mall. scale mall. shields.
splint mall . and studded
leather). a combined workshop
Is needed.
Such a workshop costs 250
gpo plus the cost of the shelter
where Ills set up : An additional
100 gp for a pavilion tent. an ad·
dillonaJ 300 gp for a well-crafted Time t o Cr.lft Armor For pieces of a rmo r whi ch
hut/workshop. or more as pan don't grant spcclnc AC benefits
of a larger dwelling (agaJn. at 1b determine (like helmets), figure th e time at
whatever pricing the OM pre· the ame it takes to make a piece I week per 7.5 gp value. Thus. a
fers). of armor. lake the armor'S AC . greal helm wou ld take four
(Included in the cost of the ar· The number thai the AC is un· weeks to make (It costs 30 gpJ: a
morers shop is the COSt of the der 10, multiplied by Iwoweeks. basinet. one week and a few
tools necessary to make wooden is the time it takes an apprentice hours of the eighth day (It costs
shie ld blanks and shield frdmes. (supervised and aided by a n 8 gp).
padded annor. and a Uarmor lin· Overseer) to craft the Hem.
ings and padding necessary to Th us. a set of chai n mail (AC C,o st to ( r.ft Armor
the armored goods.) 5) is calculated th is way: 10 - 5
As with the smithy above. this '" 5: 5 x (Wo weeks :: ten weeks. And It does
price presumes one prlncipaJ ar- It takes ten weeks to make a sulf cost money to craft armor. T he
morer and up to two appren- of chain mall . COSlls:
tices: above that number costs
+ 50% of lhe workshop a nd Standard Costs to Manufacture Armor
housing costS pe r additional
three annorers. Apprentice
Armor Retail Materials Time & lbtal
Piece Value Cost (gp) Taken Overseer Cos t
Apprentices and O ~ erseers 48· 148
Banded Mail 200 100 12wk
The cost of the Brigandlne 120 60 8wk 32 · 92
workshop constitutes only the Bronze plate 400 200 12 wk 114 •• 3 14
set-up cost for the armoring op- Chain mail 75 38 10 wk 20·· • 58
eratio n . Maintenance of the Field Plate 2000 1000 16 wk 304 + 1304
works hop. pay for the employ · Full plate 7000 3500 18 wk 34 2 + 3842
ees, and cost of materials also Helm/great 30 15 4 wk 8 ••• 23
come into play. Of course, so do Helmlbasinet 8 4 1 wk 2 ••• 6
the profits from the sale of man- Hide annor 15 7 8wk 8 ++ 15
ufactured goods. Leather armor 5 +++ 4wk 4 ++ 5
Each apprentice COSts 2 gp/ Padded armor 4 0++ + 4wk 4 ++ 4
week for food. upkeep, and Plate mall 600 300 14 wk 133 · • 433
training. And once an appren- Ring mail 100 50 6wk 24 · 74
tice has reac hed young adult- Scale mall 120 60 8wk 32 · 92
hood (age 16) and has achieved Sh ieldlbody 10 5 2wk 4 ••• 9
an Armorer ability check of 12 Shleldlbuck1er 1 0++ + 2w k 1++ 1
or beUer, he'll demand to be pro- Shield/medium 7 3 2wk 4 • •• 7
moted to Ovetseer statUS (de- Shield/small 3 1 2wk 2 ••• 3
scribed Immediately below) or Splint maU 80 40 12wk 24 ••• 64
will nnd ben er pickings else- Studded Ithr 20 10 6wk 6 ++ 16
where. Barding:
Apprentices ca nnot run a Chain 500 250 lO wk 190 + 440
workshop unsupervised. Super- Full plate 2000 1000 16 wk 304 + 1304
vision comes in the form of an Full scale 1000 500 8wk 152 + 652
Overseer, an adult with an Ar· Half brig. 500 250 6wk 114+ 364
morer ability check of 12 or bet- Half padded 100 50 2wk 38 + 88
ter, Each Overseer costs 15 Half scale 500 250 8wk 152 + 402
gp/week (the OM may wish to Lthr/Padded 150 75 4wk 75 + 150
have the cost relate to the Over' • 1\vo apprentices, no overseer
seer's Armorer ability check: 15 •• One apprentice. If~ overseer
gp/week a t a check of 12, + 15 ••• One apprentice. no overseer
gp/week per + I to his ability + 1\vo apprentices. one overseer
check: thus. if his ability check ++ 1/2 apprem lce. no overseer
is 16, he costs 75 gp/week). ++ + Cost reduced because of easy availability of materials: cost of
"0 gp" means cos t is a negligible

6
 (a) About half the " retat!
value" of the armor piece for
materials; plus
(bl The cost of maintaining
one or two apprentices during
the time It takes to make the
piece; plus
(c) Additional cost based on
how much of the overseer's time
and anentlon the project takes.
(The project may take one or
two overseers full-time on the
project, may take only half one
overseer's time on the project.
or may la ke none of the over-
seer's time-the latter consti-
tUle projects that the
apprentices can do all by them-
selves, mostly unsupervised.)
The previous table shows
standard costs to manufacture
armor.
In us ual circumstances. the
differe nce between the To tal
Cost and the Retail Value Is the
shop's profit when it sells a piece
of armor.
As you can see from the table.
hide armor, leather armor, pad-
ded armor, med ium shields and
s m all shields are IIttle-[o-no·
profit proposlUons. However.
they keep the a pprentices paid
and keep work In th e shop.
PI.ylng With These Numbers
Now. the costs
given above are not the fina l
word on how much It costs to
ma ke armor. With your DM's
permission. you ca n skew these
num bers around (both up and
down ) through th e foll ow ing
means .
First. you can put extra men
on a Job. (Important Note: If
overseers are d rafted to do
apprentice-level work. one over-
seer cou nts as two apprentices.)
You can only put extra m en on a
job In increments of the original
number of men required for the
Job: In other words. if the job re-
quired two a ppren tices. yo u
don 't see an Improvement in
speed until you assign tWO more
apprentices to the Job. At that
point. you cut the speed of the
Job In half.
E:<ampie: From (he chart, you
see it takes one apprentice willi
no overseer ten weeks lO work
up a set of chain mail. That 's a
standard in the armorer's indus-
try: they'/J always te/J you It
takes len weeks lO work up a
ch ain mail hauberk. BUl In an
emergency situation. they could
put an extra apprenUce on the
Job (el/her have two working on
It a l once, or h ave one on thc
"day shift" and onc on th e
" night shift "). \Vilh twice (he
B1'ailable manpower. It would
only take half the time. or nve
weeks. (0 cr ea te I.he chain mail.
Second. If the Overseer is a
playe r-character. h e doesn't
have to pay himself as much .
This is usually the case with ar·
morers when they first go Into
business for themselves: They
pay the cost for materials and
the cost for their apprentices.
and whatever they have left
over Is their own salary. even Iflt
Is much less than the 15 gpl
week standard m entioned
above. (That number. 15 gpl
week. represents a rum lower·
middle-class standard of living:
an armorer who carns less will
be living at a lower-class s tand-
a rd of living.)
With that in mind. we can re-
Interpret some of the num bers
above. Let's say that we have
one playe r-charac ter armorer
who wants to work up a set of
hide armor.
Hide armor normally takes up
half the work-day of one a ppren-
tice for eight weeks. It costs 7 gp
in materials. and he can sell it on
the usual market for 15 gp.lfJust
the chief armorer. who counts as
an Overseer if his Armorer abil-
Ity check Is 12 or beLter. works
on this item alone. It will take
him only two weeks to make the
hide armor (remember. an Over-
seer counlS as two apprentices:
therefore, he's put ling four times
1
the manpower on the task as It
customarily requires. thus cut-
ting lhe time required to one-
fourth. or two weeks). If he can
selltt for 15 gpo he's made 8 gpo
He's earning a meager 4 gp a
week, which Is better than a
poverty-level wage, but less than
middle-class.
Chance of Failure
It would seem
that the thing to do would be La
set up an armorer's shop and
Just build Oeld plate and full
plate. which are the most profit-
able Items of armor. However.
that Isn't necessarily so.
This Is because, forevery Hem
of armor you make, you have to
make an Armorer Ability
Check. At the end of the armor-
making period , the most experl·
enced (highest ability check )
character who worked contlnu·
ously on the project makes h is
Armorer abllily chec k . If h e
passes the check. the annor Is
Just nne. If he ralls It. It's flawed.
If the character missed his roll
by 1. 2, 3. or 4, the armor looks
Jus t One. The maker knows It's
flawed. but this ..... iII nOI be obvi-
ous to a nyone on casual lnspec-
tion. and only another armorer
will be able to detect that It's
fia wed . . . and only with carerul
Inspection . This type of flawed
armor fun ctions at I AC higher
than it should (thus flawed full
pla te would be AC 2 Instead of
I I. If the fi awed armor is ever
struck in real combat with anal-
ural to-hit roll of 19 or 20, It
" breaks" (caves In . splits open ,
etc.). lIS AC goes up 4 (thus our
flawed fu ll plate would shoot
from AC 2 to AC 61. And beeause
It 's broken and hanging wrong.
It hinders the player: unUI he
can take it off (this takes Id4
rounds). he moves at half his
normal rate and suffers a -4
penally to all or his attack rolls.
Ob\'iously, most reputable ar-
morers would never sell a piece
'6 Characte r Creation

offiawed armor. They have their Armor Type Modifier to Unclaimed Goods : Some·
reputations (0 protect. so they Armorer times a patron who custom·
throw It away. They take a loss Proficiency orders a piece of armor never
in money equal to the lbtal Cost Check shows up to buy it. Maybe he's
of the armor from the chart Barding: been kUled in the meantime;
above. Chatn o maybe he ran low on funds and
If the character misses his roll Full plate -3 decided not even to tell the ar·
by 5 or more. It's obvious to any· Full scale o morer of his misfortune. And if
one. with casuailnspecUon. that Halfbrlg. o the custom piece of armor was
the armor Is nawed . No one will Half padded o decorated or fine·tuned to that
buy It at the nonnal retail value. Half scale o specific customer (for example.
The armorer might be able to sell LthrlPadded o !fIt bears his coat of arms or un·
It at half the lbtal Cost value to usual decoration). It cou ld be
someone desperate for cheap ar· As you can see. making field that no one else Is willing to buy
mar. someone who's wtlllng to plate and full plate Is a risky It .. . except at heavUy discounted
take the risk of wearing flawed proposition. Only lhe best of In· prices.
annor. If he can't seD It. this too de pendent armorers wUl under· Unsold Stock: Armorers
Is a total loss. take such a task because lhe don't Just work up pieces of ar·
Finally. not all armor Is the pOlentlallosses are so great. (On mor to order. The armorer fabri·
same in the leve l of difficulty It the other hand. a hireling ar· cates numerous examples of the
reqUires to manufacture. Some morer will do It whenever his most common sorts of annor
armor Is simple enough that ap- employer says. because al l the (leather and padded armor.
prentices can work on It alone. financial risk Is his employer·s.) shields) for the casual customer
Some Is so complicated that And player-character annorers and as practice for the appren·
only maste r armorers should run these same financial risks Uces. Not all of this gets sold,
oversee this work . And hiring a when lhey try to make neld and a piece that Is never sold is a
master armorer costs more than plate and full plate for them· few gold pieces out oftbe shop's
Just hiring a normal overseer. selves or theLr friends. coffers.
The chart below shows the All In all , It may be safer, fi·
relative diffic ulty of manufac· Added Expenses nanclally, for a player-character
turing lhese dIrrerent types of to be a full·tlme adventurer and
annor. If lhe OM only a part-time armorer.
wishes. he can add to lhe grief of
ArmorType Modifier to a player-character annorer by
Armorer confronting him wllh a lot of lhe PI.yer·Chuutcr Workshops
Proficiency hidden expenses of any such op· Often, a PC Ar-
Cbeck eraUon: morer who is also an adventurer
Banded Mail +1 Bribery: In many places. local wiU set up an annorer's shop
Brigandlne +1 officials will expect a little graft and crew It with a single over·
Bronze plate o In order for lhem to process the seer and two apprentices. This
Chain mail +3 necessary permits emclently shop's duty will be to keep the
Field Plate -3 and regularly. If the PC doesn't PC supplied In armor: also,
Full plate -3 pay up. those permits take a whenever the PC returns home.
Helm/great +3 long. long time (months) to be he can . If he wishes. operate the
Helmlbaslnet +3 processed. and during lhat tlme shop, especially In the "off·
Hide armor +3 lhe PC can 't operate a retail ar· shift" (whichever shift the regu·
Leather armor +3 morer's shop. lar crew Is not operating It).
Padded armor +3 Theft: Annorer's shops can If he does hire an overseer.
Plate mall o be burglarized just like any he' II have to pay the rates ac·
Ring mati +1 other operation , Thieves are cording to the overseer's ability,
Scale mati +1 quite wtlling to steal some high· as described above ,
Shleldlbody +3 quality annor goods and fence
ShleldfbuckJer +3 them elsewhere in the city. De· Note that a PC Annorer can
Shield/medium +3 pending on the quality of the make annor for his friends. He
Shield/small +3 merchandise lying around In can 't avoid paying lhe mini·
Spllnt mail +3 the shop, this can be a serious fi· mum cost for the materials, of
Studded leather +3 nanclal blow for the shop. course. The character can carry

8
a ten t and lealherworker 's s hop
on the back of a horse. so he can
work on any sort of a ll-leather or
pad d ing armor while on th e
road. But on the road. hc can
only gel in a couple of hours'
work per day. so m ul tiply a U
a rmor-making limes by four to
determine how long they take.
The c haraClcr who does a ll
this extra work will be a little
more tired than his fellows: re-
duce h is Inl e lli ge nce ability
c heck to s pot upcoming dan-
gers.
Repairing Armor
If you use the
optional rules for damaging a r·
mol' foun d in this rule book's
Comba t c hapter. you can also
use the Annorer proficic ncy to
repair damaged armor.
It costs the armorer 1/ I00th the
armo r's retail va lue for eac h
Da mage Point Iha l he repairs.
Again. thal's thc COsl 10 lhe ar-
morer. whic h assum es that a p·
prentices arc doin g the work .
and unsupervised: appre ntices
can pe rform a ll armor·repai r
func tions . The cost to thc a r·
morel'. compared to the apprcn-
lIce's wage, shows you how long
II takes 10 repair (2 gp/week for
one apprentice. remember!.
Example: A set of chain m ail
has fak en 10 polllls of damage
III combat. Th e owner brings if
in fa be r epair ed. Retail valu e of
chain m all is 75 gpo so the COS f
fa repaIr each point of damage
wfll be . 75 gpo or 75 cpo The ar-
morer repaIrs the 10 poinls of
damage. whic h costs him 750
cp (75 sp). Thjs is Jess lhan 1 gpo
so f_h e apprenrJce doing rh e re-
pairs cakes abou t two days ron ...
(h e chain maul ha u berk.
Armorers typically c barge a
50% profit on repair jobs. In lhe
exam ple above. the armorer's
cOSt was 75 sp: the refore. he'd
c harge the cu stomer about It5
s p for the repair job .
9
Repairing M..glc..1 Armor
Magical armor
Is repaired In exactly the same
way. Base the cost for re pairs on
lhe normal retail value of the ar·
Ill or as if it were not magIcal .
Whe n magical a nnor Is dam-
aged . holes may be drive n into
il. bu t the basic enc ha nlme ntis
unc hanged. The refore, the ar-
m orer doesn't have to have re·
pa ir materials e n c hanted to
" ma tch" the origi na l a nnor: aJl
he has to do is pa tc h up the
holes a nd th e a rm or will be
nxed. Typically, th e arm ore r
wil l not e ve n know that he's
working on magical annor.
Of course. as we discuss in the
Combar cha pler. If a set or magi-
cal armor Is damaged so severely
lhat the enchan tment is ruined,
nothing a nonnal a nnorer can
do will repair it. Annor lha t seri-
ous ly da maged Is ruined even as
nonnal annoI': a n a nnorer won't
be able to fix it .
l owyerlFletcher
The m a te rial
on the Bowyer/Flet che r profi-
c iency from Ole Players Hand-
book, page 58 , is aU correct for
use with Lhls supplement.
A set of bowyerlne tch er's
tools, which can be used at max-
Im um efficiency by one c harac-
ter, costs 10 gpo (It's 15 gp for a
set whic h can be used simulta-
neously by three workers. a nd
+ 7 ,5 gp per + 3 workers which
can work simuILaneously.) The
bowyerlOetchcr is nOl required
(0 set up a workshop: he can
work by hlmselfin the field,lf he
c hooses. lfhe c hooses tOsel up a
permanent shop, tents and huts
cost the same as w hat's listed
for the leathe rworker's s hop
labove, under " Armorer").
Note that the co nst ruc tion
times listed in the Player 's
Handbook presume that he's
wo rking a full week. If he's trav-
eling o r adventuring and work-
Ing on bows and arrows in his
spare lime, multiply all crafting
Limes by four. Thus. a lo ng or
shon bow takes four weeks.
Cost of materials fo r arrows
and normal bows Is negligible. If
the characte r is trying to ma ke a
weapon of truly fi ne quality. he
must e it he r pay 50% of lh e
weapon's normal retail value fo r
excepUonally fine woods. o r add
an ex tra 100% to the tim e It
takes to craft the weapon: the
extra time constitutes him hav·
ing lo look for the perfect wood
a nd materials in the wild .
Weaponsmlthlng
The text o n
Weapon smlthi n g profic iency
fr o m th e Player's Handbook
(page 65) is basically correct,
but Jet's elaborate on It.
As mentioned. a weapon ·
smi th does need to have a
smithy. The costs for havIng a
smithy are given above In this
sec llo n , under "Arm ore r: ' In
fact. the same smithy can be
used for armorlng a nd weapon-
smithing.
The Weapon Construction ta-
ble o n page 65 of the Player's
Handbook Is correct. It cons ti-
lu tes one Overseer·level wea-
ponsmith working by himself
and c rafling weapons of average
quality. An Overseer weapon-
s m llh working with two appren-
tices cu ts the time in ha lf. T he
lim e indicated o n the c ha rt
should be converted to weeks so
tha t you can compar e the wea·
ponsmith's times with the ar-
morer's; consider 5 days o n the
chan to constitute one week.
WupQnsmlthlng F..I.Jure
Whe n con -
slruc linga weapon. a t the end of
t he weapon -making process.
t he weaponsmilh makes his
Wcapo ns mHhing profi c ie n cy
ability c heck. He'lI use the Profi-
c ie ncy Modifier based o n the
weapon and the weapon q uality
he's trying to ach ieve; see the
chart be low . under "Weapon
Quality," for that modifier.
If he s uccessfully makes his
c heck . he's created the weapon
he wanted to create.
Ifh e fails by 1. 2. 3, or 4, he's
c reated a wea pon th a t looks
like what he Intende d to make
. .. but he knows It has a seri-
ous structural naw . In a real
combat. if the wielder rolls a
naturalS o r less (0 h it. the
weapon breaks and Is useless.
(For some reason . it Just won't
break in practice combats ...
only In the real thing.) He can
still sell the weapon. of course.
but e ventually. after he's done
lh ls sort of th ing a few tim es.
his reputation as a c rafts ma n
will be utterly ru ined . It's better
j ust to break Lhe item . se ll it as a
wall ·hanger. etc.
If he falls by 5 or m ore, the
weapon breaks and Is ruined
during the last stages of the c re-
a tion process (for exa mpl e.
,0
wh e n it 's being cooled after
heat·temperi ng).
Wupon Qu.. lIty
It Is possible to
construc t weapons of dlITerent
qua lity than just average.
Poor quality weapons are
shabbily made. They look bad.
and like the nawcd weapons de·
scribed above. they break on a
natural attack roll of 1 to 5 .
T hey don't hit as we ll (this Is a
penalty to the attack roll) o r do
as much damage (penalty to the
damage) as the ir average-
quality equivale nts.
Average q ua lity weapons are
not especially notable: they gel
the Job done. they' re reliable.
a nd they're inexpensive. Unless
otherwise noted. all (non·
m agical) weapon s listed on
c ha rts In the AD&D:llgame are of
average q ua lity.
Fine q uality weapons a re very
we ll-made. Each will have o ne
specific bonus: Either a + 1 to
hit or a + 1 to damage. T his bo-
nus Is nor magica l: It comes
from improved balance. s harp-
ness. e tc. (The weaponsmith de-
termines. when he's makin g th e
weapon . wh ether he's trying to
make it more accurate or make
it h it harder.) Th ey also cost a lot
more than average weapons.
En c ha ntm e nts a re typica ll y
made on weapons of at least
Fine quality.
Excepltonal qua lity weapons
are like fin e weapons. but have
both bonuses: They're + 1 to hil
and + I ( 0 damage. They're also
very expens ive.
The followi ng li st. adapted
from the list o n page 65 of Lhe
Player 's Handbook. shows lhe
differences In cost and lime to
c reate weapons or these diller-
ent levels of q uality.
 Time to Construct the first blow of lhelr first fight.
Weapon Type Poor Average Fine Exceptional However. If you prefer to have
Arrowhead 20/day IO/day 5/day l/day your beginning characters a bit
BatUeAxe 5 days 10 days 20 days 45 days more n ervous and defensiv e,
Hand Axe 2 days 5 days 10 days 20 days then It's certainly more appro-
Dagger 3 days 5 days 10 days 20 days priate for you to start beginning
H. Crossbow 10 days 20 days 45 days 90 days characters at 1st level.
L. Crossbow 8 days 15 days 30 days 60 days
Fork . THdent 10 days 20 days 45 days 90 days (haracter Sheet
Spear. Lance 2 days 4 days 10 days 20 days
Short Sword 10 days 20 days 45 days 90 days At the back of
Long Sword 15 days 30 days 60 days I20days the book is a character s heet es·
2·hd Sword 20 days 45 days 90 days 180 days peclally s uited for use with The
Camp/ere Fighter's Handbook.
Effects On Mod. to Prof Thke a look at it. and then we'n
Performance Check to discuss it in greater detail.
Weapon Quality Attack Damage Breaks Craft
Poor -1 -I J·50nd20 +2 front of th·e-Shee.t
Average 0 0 J on d20 • 0
Fine +1 +1 •• -2 In the top box
Exceptional +1 +1 •• -4 of the character shcet's rront.
you put allthc vital statistics of
• This Isn 't an automatic break; it breaks only If the OM fee ls like it. the character: His name, physi·
•• Fine weapons get either a + 1 to hit or + J to damage, not both . cal and raciaJ characteristics,
Fine and Exceptional weapons break only in remarkable circum · his character class. his Warrior
stances, as dictated by the DM (for example. a powerful enemy Kii (If he uses one-see the War·
roUinga natural 20 when hitting the weapon . or the charac ter roll· rlor Kits chapter), alignment,
Ing a natural 1 when striking at an arllfact). cu rrent expe rience level. his
current experience earned. and
Weapo ns Not ShoWn Ma'g lc the amount of experience It'll
take hIm to reach the next level.
If you're LTyi ng Some warrior In the second box, you put all
to co nSLTuct a weapon not characters (Paladins. Rangers. the Infomlation relating to the
shown on this chart. compare It and multl·c1ass Fighter/Mages character's six ability scores
to the most similar weapon that and Figh ter/Priests) do have (Strength. Dexterity, Constitu-
is on the chart and use those val· spe lls. At this point In the char· tion, Intelligence, Wisdom. and
ues. (The OM has the final say acter crcation process. for the Charisma). All this Infonnauon
on what Is most similar.) For in- mulli-class characters. you and comes from the charts in the
stance, if you 're trying to crcate the OM will have lO determine PJayer'sHandbook. pages 14·18.
a halberd, that's closest to a fork the character's spells. (Paladins In the third, narrow , box, you
or trident, lfyou 're trying to cre· and Rangers walt until 9th and write down any bonuses and
ate a bastard sword, that's c1os· 8th Ic\'els, respectively, to get abilities the character receives
est to a long sword. their spells. so you don't have to based on his race: for instance, if
worry aboul them (or a while.) he 's an elf. you'd put something
Mon ey and Equipment like "90% resistant to sleep and
Expertence charm: + 1 to hll with bow,
The Complere s hort sword , long sword: can
FIghter 's Hand book follows aU Here's a n op· surprise opponents: Infravlslon :
the normal Player's Handbook lion you ought to think about If I on d6 lO detect secret doors (1·
guidelines for the character's you're planning to run espe- 2 on d6 when looking. 1-3 fo r
InlUal money a nd eq uipme nt Cially herOiC, combat·heavy ad· portals),"
.. usually, Use of some of the ventures or cam palgns. In th e fourtll box. you write
Warrior Kits will dictate differ- You migh t wish to start all be· down many of the character's
ences in the way some ch arac· ginnin g player·characters out at ga m e·mechanlc notes: How
te rs spend their beginning 3rd experience level instead of many hit points he has. how his
money, 1st. This makes th cm a bit hit dice are ca lcu lated (with
tougher, a btl more heroic, and a Fighters. you'd write "d 10").
lot less fearfu l abou t dying with

11
what his AC Is, what his THACO
Is, what his saving throws are,
notes on hiS fo llowers and any
special abilities or res trictions
from his character class choice
(especially appropriate with pal.
adlns and rangers), and his
Spell Progression (if any: th is,
too, is especially appropriate for
paladins a nd rangers).
In the nrth box, you note
down any modifications made
to the character by the Warrior
Kit he chooses (again , see the
Warrior K ils chapter for details).
In the six th (bottom) box, you
record any of the character·s
s klll ·type abilities: Hi s la n-
guages, his weapon proOcien·
cics (and specializations!) , and
his non weapon proftclencles.
Buk of the Sheet
The back of
the sheet Is u sed mostly for
equipment lists.
The tOp box is used to record
his weapons: here . you can pu t
all the Information found on the
Weapons table {Player s Hand·
book. page 681.
The second box is used for
shan descriptions of im portant
equ ipment. especially magical
item s.
T he third box a llows the
player to Indicate where all h is
character's Important posses·
slons are normally kept. The
OM should Ins ist that the play·
ers use these blanks: It helps
prevents mistakcs from being
.1
ma de In an a d ve nture. ("Of
course I have my Staff of the
Magi along! I a lways have II
taped to my Staff of Power! No,
reallyr ')
And in the bottom box yOll
can make any other notes perU-
nent to the character.
The Nut Step In
Ch. ruter Creation
Fo r the next
step In oll r wa rrlor·ori ent ed
cha racter creation process, tum
to the Wa rrio r Kit s c hapt er,
which follows Immediately,
 Sometimes It's Jus t not
enough to be a Fighter, Paladin
or Ranger. Each of those classes
Is a lot of fun, but there's noth·
ing which says you want to be
restric ted only to Lhree types of
fun.
So, here. we're going to s how
you how to create and play other
sorts of warrior c haracters .
Kits and Warriors
Each special
warrior described In Lhls c hap-
ter Is defined as a Kit of different
characteristics. The Kit consists
of the following elements:
Description: This paragraph
talks about what the warrior Is.
It's a general description of the
appearance. mann er, cultural
background and use of Lhe char·
acter In a campaign. It also Usts
any requiremems necessary for
the character to take the Kit: for
Instance, to be an Amazon, a
character must be female, (Sur,
prise!)
Role : This paragraph de·
scribes the role of this warrior In
the society that spawned him
and in an ongOing cam paIgn. A
Samurai has a different cultural
role from a Wilderness Warrior,
even If both . say. are Paladins.
Secondary Skills: If you 're
using the Secondary Skills rules
from AD&D~ 2nd Edition, then
your Kit may require your war-
rior to take a specific skill: Lhe
character may not be able to
c hoose or random·roll his Sec-
ondary SkUI.
Weapon ProUcieocies: You
must use the AD&D~ 2nd Edt·
tlon game rules for Weapon Pro.
ficl encles In order to use these
Warrior Kits. Most of these KJts
wtll require your warrior to take
s pectfic weapon proficiencles. A
Samurai wouldn 't be the same
without hIs katana, or a Noble
Warrior withou t his lance, fo r
example.
When required to take a spe·
clflc Weapon ProOctency, the
warrior must take that from the
number of slots he has available
to "spend."
Nonweapoo Proficiencies:
You also must use the Non·
weapon Proficlencles rules from
AD&D· 2nd Edition, as ma ny
Warrior Kits require your char·
acter to take s pectfic non ·
weapon proflclencles. (For
Instance. It's foolish to be a pt.
rate wi thout Seama nship, or a
Wasteland Rider without Rid·
Ing.)
But th ese required Non,
weapon Profictencles are
bon uses- given In addition to
th e nonweapon proficie ncy
choices you nonnally choose.
Sometimes a bonus proficiency
will come from a group other
tha n th e Ge ne ra l or Warrior
groups, but. since It 's a bonus, It
doesn't mailer how many extra
slots H would oLherwtse be reo
qulred to occupy,
Some proficlencies will
merely be recommended, not
required . When a choice is rec-
ommended . It Is not gIven to the
character: If the character de·
cldes to take this nonweapon
proficiency, he takes It from the
number of choices he has.
If you wish . you can use both
Secondary Skills and Non ·
weapon Proncle ncles In your
campaign , but you'll find that
c haracter c reation is simpler
and more consistent If you use
only the Proficlencles rules.
Equipment: Some Warrior
Kits gravitate toward certain
types of eqUipment. Noble War·
riors lend toward heavy armor
a nd weapons such as swords
and lances: Pirates lean toward
c utlasses. throwing knives,
light or no annor. and Lhe like.
These equ ipment listings
aren' t really restric tions or
hard·and·fast rules. A Pirate on
shore may wish to deck himself
out In full pla te, for instance.
But tn normal circumstances, a
character should gravitate to·
ward the types of eqUipment ap'
13
propriate for him , and the OM
mu st steer him toward such
eqUipment types.
For example. the pirate who
keeps his full plate on whUe
aboard ship will be knocked
overboard time and time again
as a reminder of why pirates
don't usually wear such cum·
bersome stuff. As he's being
dragged to the ocean bottom, he
can renect on his mistake. A no.
ble warrior who wears leathers
when Jousung will almost cer·
tainly get what he deserves for
his folly.
Special Benefits: Most War·
r10r Kits have some special ben·
eflts that others don't. Often,
they 're denned as special reac-
tion bonuses among certain
classes of society, special rights
In cenaln cultures. and so forth.
OLher benefits a re m ore unusual
or dramatic : The Berserker can
call on hidden resources of
strength and vl taUty when In
combat . for Instances.
Special Hindrances: Like·
wise, each Warrior Kit has cer·
tal n disadvantages which
h inder him . Pirates are sought
by the authorities: Am azons
face discrimination In male ·
dominated societies.
Wealth Options: Some War·
rior Kits have special rules reo
gardlng their wealth. The Noble
Warrior. for instance, wUl begin
play with m ore starting gold
than some other Warrior Kits.
However, he's also required to
maintain a higher standard of
Hvlng Lhan the others, If he fails
to do so, he temporarily loses
some of his Special Benefits,
Races: Each of Lhese Kits Is
written with the huma n charac·
tcr in mind, and this paragraph
describes what happens when
you have a demlhuman c harac·
ter instead. The OM will have to
ask himself If he wants certain
race/Warrior Kit combinations
(Savage Elves? Dwarf Ama·
zons? Noble HaIOing-War-
r1ors?). If he does allow them.
~1/·
o
Warrior Kits
this paragraph will make notes
on recommended racial modlfi·
cations. For Instance. the Noble
Dwa rf-Warrior will be required
to be proficient with axe a nd
hammer rather than sword and
lance. and won't be required to
be a rider.
An Importoilnt N ote
In the follow-
log sections. several Warrior
Kits get reaction bonuses and
penalties as part of thelt Special
Benefits and Special Hin -
d rances . A word of cautio n
needs to accompany lhem .
In the AD&D;tI game. when a
character is very charismatic.
he gets what is called a " reac-
tion adjustment." {See the Play-
er 's Handbook. page 18.1 When
the character has a high Cha-
risma and receives a bonus, It 's
expressed as a plus: +2 . for in-
s ta nce . When he has a low Cha-
risma and receives a penalty. U's
expressed as a minus: -3, for
example.
However. when you roll the
2d 10 for e ncou.n ter reactions
(s ee th e Dungeon M as ter 's
Guide. page 103. don 't add the
bonus (+) or s ubtract the pen·
alty ( - ) from the die roll. Do It
the other way around. If the
character has a Charisma of 16.
and thus gets a + 5 reacllon ad-
Ju s tme nt. you s ubtract that
number from the 2dlO die roll .
(Otherwise the NPCs would be
reacting even more badly be·
cause Lhe character was char1s-
maUc!)
Ki ts and the
Warrlc;I r Classes
In ge ne ral.
each Kit can be used with each
of the three warrior classes. Your
character can . for instance. be a
Barbarian Fighter. an Amazon
Paladin. or a Samurai Ranger.
Some choices m ay be a lulle
questiona ble. For example, it's
not likely Lhal you' ll be playing
a Pirate Paladin . However. it is
possible. If your band of pirates.
in happy-go-lucky movie tradi-
tion . attacks only the wicked.
frees all innoce nts . a nd per -
form s In an oLherwlse mostly-
honorable fashion. they ' re
obviously not an evil group a nd
a pala din could adven ture
among Lhem. If Lhat's the sort of
pirate campaign you and your
OM agree to play, then that's
fine.
When one warrior class can·
not choose a speclOc Warrior
Kit. the exce ptions wUl be
noted.
Kits and Character
Creation
You can on ly
take one Warrior Kit for your
character,
You can only take a Warrior
Kit for your character when that
character is firs t created .
There's an exception to that
second rule: If you and your OM
both want to Integrate th ese
rules into an existing campaign,
and both OM and players can
agree upo n what Warr ior Kit
each existing player·character
most closely resembles, the n
you can use these rules for exist·
Ing characters. adding a Warrior
Kit to each exIs ting character,
Once you've taken a Warrior
KJt. you cannot change It . Later
In the character's life. he can
possibly abandon his KIt: see
"Abandoning A KIt," later in
this chapter.
The Warrior Kits
Following a re
several sorlS of warriors re pre-
sented by Warrior KllS . Before
allowing his players to choose
KllS for their characters, the OM
should review these and make
notes for himself about them .
l4
For each Warrior Kit. the OM
has to choose:
( IJ Ifhe will even aIlow this Kit
In his campaign .
(2) What addiUonal informa·
tion he needs [0 give the players
abou t each KIt.
(3) What changes he might
wish to make to each KIt.
Let's take the Amazon Kit as
an example , This Kit was
loosely derived from the Ama·
zons of Greek myth . But lhls
OM 's Amazons may be substan-
tially differen t from those .
So. first. he has to decide If he
will allow this Kit In his cam -
palgn . lfhe has an)' son or Ama-
zons on his world, he probably
will allow this. (f he has no ."-ma·
zons, then he won ·t. Let 's pre·
sume that he does.
Second , he has to decide what
additional information he needs
to give the players abou t the
Amazons. In his world. let's say.
the Amazons live on Lunyrra. a
heavily fores ted Isla nd sur·
rounded by a lmost unscaleable
cliffs. a nd make war on the s ur·
roundin g islands: when players
are interested In playing Ama-
zons. he gives them that infor·
ma tlon In addlUon to the KIt.
Third . he has to decide what
changes he wis hes to make to
the K It. Since his Amazons are
sailors Instead of famous eques·
trians. he changes the required!
bonus Nonweapon Proficlencles
from Riding and Animal Ttain-
Ing to Seamanship and Naviga-
tion.
By these means , he has
adapted the gener ic Warrior Kit
below to his own campaign
world and made It Ot In just as
he likes.
Amazon
Desc rip tion : Amazons a re
wome n warriors tn a male-
dominated world . Their clvlliza·
tion might have been created by
a deity who likes women war-
riors: or they might have bee n

wom en who rebelled (rom male
dom inations a nd decided to rule
themselves: or they m igh t sim-
ply have been matriarcha l soci-
eties from long before recorded
h isLOry.
Whatever the ir origin. they
now live in civilizations or com -
munities where wome n occupy
the positions and roles tradition-
ally held by men - and . In the
cam paign . th at mea ns espe -
Cial ly the role of warriors and
adventurers.
An Amazon c ultu re may be
sm all (a single town or Island) or
large Ian entire country o r conti·
n ent). very advanced or very
primi tive. So me Amazon c ui ·
tures keep men as servanlS a nd
slaves. a stern reversal of the
fonner sta tus: others have no
m en In their com munjtles, and
take long holidays In order to
vlsH t:r:iend ly neighboring tribes
of me n: others perpetuate their
kind by being very hospitable to
adve nture rs passi n g th rough
th eir territory. (In th is last in·
s tance, some Amazon cultu res .
a fterwards. may decide 10 kill
the adven turers: oLhers don'c )
For de ta ils of exactJy how the
Amazon commu nilies work in
your campaign world . cons ult
your OM . (And give hlm ple nty
of lime to comc up with the an·
s wers If it's not som ething he's
thought abou t befo re.)
Traditionally. Amazons are fa·
m ou s riders a nd breede rs of
horses. In their own countries,
they wear light a rmor and carry
s hie lds, s pears. s words and
bows. In other countries. if they
a re disadvan taged by their c ui·
lural weapons a nd arm or, they
quickly adapt to loca l weapons
a nd a rmor.
Here's an im portant polm to
reme mber: In most campa igns ,
you don't ha ve to be a n Amazon
to be a fe male wa rrior: check
wi th you r OM for other ways to
playa fema le war rior. The Ama-
zons arc merely a vcry colorful
15
Warrio r Kits '\ It-
o
and dis tinc llve iy pe of fe ma le
warrior. If a pla yer wa nts to
have a fem a le warrior character,
Lhe OM s hould try to a ccom mo·
da te the player whe never poSSI ·
ble. and s hould n' t ha ve to resort
to making Lhe characte r an Am-
a zon in order to a llow he r to be a
warrior. InJ ust about every real-
world history a nd mythology,
you 'lI fi nd female warriors In
male·domln ated socie ties: oth-
erwise there would be no Joan
of Arc or Atala n ta of Ca lydon .
The re a re no special a bili ty-
score requirem ents to be an Am-
azon .
Role: In her own SOCiety. re-
gardless of the level of c iviliza-
tion, the Amazon wa rrior is very
highly regarded. She Is the de-
fe nder of the whole civlliza tion 's
way of life, a nd every Ama zon
girl aspires to grow up to be a
wa rrior. But In the oute r world.
a nd in the campaign in general,
the Amazon is a curios ity, ofte n
regarded as a barbarian (no mat-
~li
.
Warrior Kits
teT how cultured her civilization
might be), stared at. whLspered
about. The people of oLher cul-
tures will be suspicious of her,
and she will probably start out
being uncomfortable around
men who appear to be her social
equal-in her eyes. c:beyare the
ones who are unnatural.
The OM will have to guide this
situation carefully. Once the
Amazon character has proven
herself In combat to her outer-
world allies. and once they have
proven themselves in combat to
her. there 's no reason why they
cannot be staunch alUes . NPCs
may continue to trouble her, but
player-characters should not:
and the other PCS should rise to
her defense when NPCs make
trouble for her: only the most
obnoxious of PCs would con-
tinue to give her trouble. and
the other PCs certainly
shouldn ' t support his attitude.
Secondary Skills: Required:
Groom.
Weapon ProCicienci.es: Re-
qUired: Spear. Long Bow. (Ama-
zon fighters can Specialize only
in Spear or Long Bow.) Recom·
mended : Various axes. swords.
Nonweapon ProCiciencies:
Bonus Proficlencies: Riding
(Land-Based), Animal Training.
Recomme nded : General-Ani·
mal Handling. (Warrior) Animal
Lore. Armorer. Bowyerl
Fletch er. Humlng. Running.
Survival.1tack1ng.
Equipment: When an Ama-
zon c harac ter is first created.
she must buy her weapons and
a rmor from among the follow-
Ing c hoices only: Weapons-
Battle Axe. Bow (Any). Club,
OaggerlDlrk, Hand or Throwing
Axe. Javelin . KnIfe. La nce.
Spear, Sword (any): Armor-
Shield , Leather, Padded . Stud·
ded Leather. Brlgandlne. Scale
Mail. Hide. Banded Mail. Bronze
Plate Mail. Once she has adven-
tured elsewh ere in the world,
she may purchase weapons and
annor from those regions.
Special Benefits: Male war·
rlors in a civilization where fe·
male warriors are rare tend to
underestimate the Amazon.
Therefore. In any fight where
the Amazon confronts a male
who Is not familiar with her per-
sonally or female warriors in
general. she gets a +3 to hit and
+ 3 damage on her first blow
only. This Is because her oppo·
nent's guard Is down.
This doesn't work on player·
characters unless the player Is
role·playlng honestly enough to
declare that he, too, would un·
derestlmate her.
This ability doesn't work on
some other types of characters:
An NPC who is wary enough
not to underestimate the Ama·
zon might. with a successful In·
teillgence check. see the attack
coming and deny her the bonus:
A seasoned veteran {any War·
rior of 5th level or higher, or any
other character of 8th level or
higher}. in spite of his prejudice.
will realize that she is moving
like a trained warrior and keep
his guard up. denying her the
bonus.
If the Amazon hits an NPC
with this attack. he'll never
again be prey to it: if an NPC
even sees an Amazon hit some-
one with It, he'lI never fall for It
himself. But If she misses that
first strike. Lhen the target will
continue to underestimate her
and she can use those bonuses
again on her next strike.
Special Hindrances: The
Amazon suffers a - 3 reaction
roll adjustment from NPCs who
are from male-dominated socl·
eUes. This reaction adjustment
goes away for characters who
come to respect her. such as
(presumably) her PC allies.
Wealth Options: The Ama·
zon gets the ordinary 5d4x 10 gp
as starting money.
Races: The Amazons from
folklore and myth were humans.
It's not difficult to envision elvish
or half-elvlsh clans of Amazons,
16
either: they'd follow the rules
above for human Amazons.
It's a little harder to envision
dwarvlsh. gnomish. or halIling
Amazons. But if you do use such
civiltzations:
Dwarf Amazons will have Axe
and Hammer as their required
weapon proftciencies: they are
still Riders. but substitute swine
for their mount of choice (swine
are very dangerous, and the
prospect of a ferocious she·
dwarf on the back of a biting
boar is a daunting one).
Gnome Amazons wIll have
Throwing Axe and Short Sword
as their reqUired weapon profi·
ciencies: their Bonus Non·
weapon Proficlencles are
1tacklng and Survival.
Halfllng Amazons will have
Javelin and SUng as their re-
quired weapon proficlencles:
their Bonus Nonweapon Profi·
clencles are Endurance and Set
Snares: and you wtll have to pre·
sume that these haltlings aren't
as fond of ease and leisure as the
more common sorts of halnlngs,
Barbarlanj
Description: This is not the
barbarian of history. but the bar·
barian of fantasy fiction . He's a
powerful warrior from a culture
on the fringes of civilization.
He's left his home to sell his
skills and adventure In the civi-
lized world-perhaps to amass a
fortune with which to return
home. perhaps to become an im·
portant figure In this so-called
clvlUzaUon. He's known for
strength. cunning. contempt for
the oute r world's decadence.
and for adhering to his own code
of honor.
The barbarian Is usually very
strong: therefore, the barbarian
must have a Strength abWty
scare or 15 or more. A character
can come from a barbarian tribe
and have a lower Strength than
that-but he cannot have the
Barbarian Kit.
 Role: The typical RPG barbar-
ian is a powerful. dangerous fig-
ure. as tho ugh he were a n
animal totem in human ski n. In
a campaign, he's a front-line
figh ter with some special skiJJs
and a ve ry different outlook
than the rest of the characters;
his player should always play
him as someone from a different
land, someone whose likes and
d islikes and percept io ns a re
based on a different cul ture. (If
you play him as Just a nother
warrior (rom down the s treet,
you lose a lot o( the mystique
the character has.)
If the PC party has no real
leader, he may gravitate to that
role; i( It has a good enough
leader. he' ll probably stick to be-
Ing a specialist In the thi ngs he
does well ,
Second a ry Skills: The OM
wHi decide. based on the charac-
ter's background. what sort o(
seco ndary s ki ll wou ld be re-
quired, Most barbarian tribes
have a required skl1J; a tribe that
makes ils living by fishi n g
would have Fish er as its re-
quIr ed secondary skill.
Weapon Profi ciencies : Re-
quired: Batt.le Axe, Bastard
Sword. (These a re the classical
fictio n-barbarian weapons: the
OM may decide to substitute
others more appropria te to his
own world ,) Barbarian figh ters
may specialize In a ny weapon.
but are not likely to e ncou nter
un usual weapons [like lances.
quarte rstaves, naIls, peculia r
polearms} until they reach the
ou ter world. Recomme nded:
Bow (any), Sling, Sword (anyl .
War Hammer.
Non weapon Profi ciencies:
Bonus Proficiency: Endurance.
Recommended: General- Ani-
mal Ha ndling. Animal Training.
Direction Sense. Fire-Building.
Riding (Land-Based). Weather
Sense. (Warrior) BUnd-f lghtIng,
Hunting. Moun taineering. Run-
ning. Set Snares, Su rvival.
Tracking. (Priest - costs twice
the lis ted nu mber o( s lo ts if
Figh ter or Ranger. or Just the
listed number if Paladin ) Her-
balis m . (Rogue-costs double
s lots) Jumping . The OM is
withIn his rights to Insist tha t
the Barbarian c haracter ta ke a
proficiency in the triba l spe-
clall}, (Fishing. Ag ricu lture.
whatever) if the OM so wishes.
Equipment: The charac ter.
when he spen ds his starling
gold . may no t buy arm or
heavier [han Sp liOl mail,
banded mail, or bronze plate
mail. Outside his tri be. once he
has adventured In th e outer
world , he can usc a ny type ofar-
mar without penalty. When he
spends his starting go ld . he
must limit hlmsel( to weapons
the OM says arc appropriatc for
his tribe-the usua l group of
weapons Inclu des battle axe.
bows (any). club. dagger or dirk.
(ootman's nail. mace, or pic k,
hand or th row ing axe. s Ung,
spear, or sword (any).
Special Benefits: Barbarians
are Impressive because of s heer
strength, intensity. and animal
magnellsm ; this gives the m a
+ 3 reaction adjustment bonus
In certain situations.
Whenever the barbarian c har-
acter achlevcsa reaclion roll 0(8
or less (including Charisma and
racial bonuses). you subtrac t
the modifier. That is. I(!.he reac-
tion is positive at a ll . It will be
even more positive than it other-
wise wou ld have been,
Example: Thralh the Thra nar-
an is a Barbarian with a Cha-
ris m a of 15, Encountering a
knighr who could be friend or
foc lO him, he speaks wUh the
k night In a friendly fashion. The
DM rolls his Encou nter Reaction
and achieves an lI on 2d I O. On
the "FrieJldly" column of lile
Encoum er Reactions chart from
the Dungeon Master's Gu ide,
this is a "Cau tious" reaction.
B u r wai l -llfs charisma g i ves
h im a +3 bon us. The 11 be-
comes an 8, sWI an IndlffereOl
11
rea ction . B u r beca use he's
reached an 8, his Bar barian b0-
nus comes inca pJaJ~ making the
fina l react,jon roll a 5: A frie ndly
r eaction.
Special Hindrances: All that
im pressiveness ca n wo rk
against the Barba rian . too.
Whenever the barbarian c har·
acter ach ieves a reaction roll o(
14 or more. he takes an addi-
tionaJ - 3 modifier. That Is. if the
reaction is negative at all . It will
be even more negaHve than it
otherwise wou ld have been-
the barbarian is scary, and the
other person overreacts.
Exanlple: Thra th next m eets a
suspicious witch, a nd is indiffer -
ent towa r d her. On the " Indiffer -
ent " column of the Encoun ter
Reactions chart. t/Je OM rolls a
17, 1brath 's Cha ris ma bonus of
3reduees the roll loa 14, bu tHs
still enough that his Barbarian
penally Just shoots il righ t back
up to a 17 agaln, The witcll be-
comes Threatening.
Wealth Options: The Barbar-
Ian gelS the s tarling gold (or a
Warr ior (5d4x 10 gp), but he
m uslspend Itall (be(ore starting
play) except three gp or less: he
can have some pocket cha nge
when he reaches civilization.
but must be close to penniless,
Races: Oemihuman Barbari-
ans (allow the same rules.
Dwarves are perhaps the most
admirably suited to belngBarbar-
lans_ The OM will have to decide
whether his elves. half-elves and
gnomes are brtX>dlng and menac-
Ing enough to be Barbarians: the
question is even harder with the
leisure-loving halOings. But if the
OM wishes to allow a ny or all of
these demihuman races to have
Barbarians among them . he may.
Fina l Note: Most classic
fantasy-fiction barbarians are
male_ but this Warrior Kit can
ce rta in ly be laken by (emale
characters. with all the Kit's re-
quirements. benefits, a nd hin-
drances In effect.
~llI
Warrior Kits
Beast· Rlder
Description : The Beast·Rlder
Is a wa rrior In a tri be or clan
(us ua ll y a barbarian tribe )
whic h has a strong affinity for
on e type of animal. The anim al
Is the tOlem of the Uibe. and the
Beast-Rider makes friends very
easily with that type of anImal
a nd can uaJn Il Imo a riding·
beast . .. even {flt'sa rype of anl-
maJ not normally considered a
riding-beast.
In a campaig n. the Beast -
ruder Is an exotic warrior who Is
notable for his kinship with his
a nima l: like the Barbaria n . he
brings a w lld , oULSider 'S3 (Utude
InlO the adve nturing party. His
a nimaJ also has a bilities which
can be nefi t the a dven turing
party. However. the morc unu-
s ual lhe anlmaJ Is, the harder It
Is to a ccommodate In all situa-
tions: It's no problem to sta ble a
horse althe inn. butjus l try sta-
bli ng a grea t white wolf. a wUd
boar. or a dolphin!
1b be a Beast-Rider. the c har·
ac ter must ha ve a Cha ris ma of
a lleasl 13. (Na turally. there a rc
me m bers of lhc Beast -Rid er's
tribe who are not th emse lves
Beast·Riders ; the Beast-Riders
a re lhe tribe 's e lite warriors.)
Role: As mentloncd . in h is
own SOCiety. the Beast·Rider Is
the elite warnor. and he com ·
ma nds a lot of respect among
his own kind. Outside his LTlbal
grounds. however. he's very de-
finit ely an outsider. His barbar-
Ia n m a n ne ris ms a nd his
obv ious and very unusua l
fri endship with his animal set
him apa rt from most socleUes.
Because of this , the Beast·Rlder
may becom e espec ially a t-
tac he d to th e oth er playe r-
c haracters (If they treat him as
an equal a nd not a freak). even If
he'd ne\'er admit ilIa them .
The DM needs to re,i nrorce this
social role by ha ving NPCs react
to the Beast-Ride r 's s trange·
ness. For Inslan ce. NPCs will be
lee ry or speaking to or negotiat-
ing with the Beast·Rlder If
there's a more "civilized" char·
acter on hand to perform those
func tions. The OM needs con-
stantly to use the Beast-Rldcr's
reaction modifiers. listed below
under '·hindrances ."
Secondary Skills: If you're
USing th e Second a ry Ski ll s
rules. the charac ter must take
the Groom (Animal Han dling)
secondary skill,
Wea pon Proficiencies: Re-
quired : None. Recommended:
All the weapons commonly as-
sociated wllh mounted war-
riors - Bow (composite s hort.
and short), Horsem a n 's nai l.
Horseman's mace. Horseman's
pick. Lance (an y. according to
th e size of the animal), Spear.
Bastard Sword, Long Sword .
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Proficlencles: Animal
Training. Riding (Land· based),
The c haracter must dec lare
which one sort of animal both
these proflciencies pertain to.
Recomme nded : Ge neral-
Animal Ha ndlin g. Directio n
Sense. Flre·bulldlng. (Priest)
Healing (speCifically veteri-
nary) . (Warrior) Animal Lore.
Hunting, Mountaineering. Set
Snares. SurvivaL Tracking.
Equipment: When he is first
created. the Beast-Rider may
on ly have Hide . Lea ther. or Pad-
ded armor (plus shield a nd
helm). Later in the campaign .
h e may switch to more
a dvanced forms of a rmor .. . as
long as his mount can carry him
and the armor both . of course.
When fi rst created, he may have
only wcapons from the lis t
a bove under " Weapon Proncle n·
cies ." (The OM may change or
add to thls list 10 refiect specific
cultural de tails of the Beast-
Rider's LTlbe.)
Special Benefits: T he Beast-
Rider has an amazing rapport
with one type oranlmal. The an-
Imal must be of a s pecies nor-
mally strong enough to carry
18
the Beast-Rider and act as a
moum. With the DM's permls·
s ion . the Beast-Rider character
gets to decide what sort or ani-
ma l this Is: the OM Is encour-
aged to disallow any sort of
a nima l that will give the Beast-
Rider a great ad vantage In the
campaign (for e xample, a pega-
s us or griffon) .
The Beast·Rider ge ts a + 5
positive reaction adj u stm e nt
whenever dealing with these an·
ima ls. He fi nds Il easy to make
friends with them: on a dle·roll
result of 9 or less (on the " Hos·
We" column of the Encoun ter
Reactions Chart. Dungeon Mas-
ter's Guide page 103). he can
eve n persuade attacki ng ani·
ma ls of this sort to leave him
a nd his a llies alone.
Additionally. the Beast-Rider
begins play In the campaign
with one of these animals as his
personal friend and mount. This
animal Is devoted to him and
will risk (or even sacriflce) Its
own life to save lhe character:
and the character Is expected to
behave the same way toward his
mount. {If he doesn' t role·play
this al1achment (0 his a nima l.
the OM should decide that the
character has abandoned this
Wa rrior Kit, as per the gUide-
lines given later In this chapter. )
The Beast·Rlder has a tele-
pathic rapport with his animal.
When In contact or visual line of
sight with his a nima l. he can tell
what the beast is feeling, even
thinking Ir It has some intelli-
gence: he and the animal can
communicate with one another
withou t appearing (0. Whe n the
two are not within Hne or s ight
with one another. each will
know the other's emotional
stale a nd whether or not the
other Is hurt : each w ill know the
direction to travel to find his
friend . and the approxjmate dis·
tan ce (a hundred yards. a n
hour's trave l. severa l days '
travel. for In stance) .

If the animal ever dies, the
Beast- Rider can c hoose another
animal of th e same type as his
companion . Howev er. the OM
must Include this situation as
part of the campaign story: T he
c harac ter mu st see k out a n-
other s uc h an im al. a nd may
only be salls fled wll h the
heal thiesl. strongest. greatest
ex am pl es of t his animal (in
other words. if the character ap-
pea rs to be cont e nt to seale with
less. t h e OM tcIJs h im. "You
sense you won 't be able (0 bond
with t h is animal .. ." 1: t h e n
t here must be some son of
bondi ng ritual between beast
and man ((or example. a physi-
cal combat where the human
must be able to saddle and ride
the a nimal In spl le of itS spirited
attempts to throw hlmJ . Only
the n can the c haracter have his
new animal.
Following is a lis t or m a ny ani·
m als wbich are appropriatc
m ounlS fo r th e Beast-Rider.
Not e that not all of them arc in-
cluded in the MonSlrous Com-
pendiu m series: If a playe r
chooses one not included there,
and the OM approves the choice,
the OM will have to work up the
animal's abilities.
Bal. Huge · + (mobat) (gnomes
a nd halfllngs only may ride)
Bear
Boar
Burralo
Camel
Dolphin &
Dragon • + (only a llowa ble in
\lery h igh -powered he roic
campaigns)
Elephant
Griffon·
Hlppogrirr •
Horse
Hyaenodon
Lizard (FIre . Giant , or Minotaur)
Lobster. Giant &
Pegasus ·
Ray, Manta &
Sea- Horse. Giant &
Smllodon
Tiger. Wild
Unicorn (traditionally. only vir-
gin lawfu l-good females may
ride)
Wolf. Dire {evil characters could
bond with a Winter WolO
• Flying animals do tend to
change the nature of a cam-
paign. especially a low-level
cam paign. by ma king It easy
for c haracters to go long dis-
tances qUickly. to avoid dlm-
c ult te rrain , e tc. The OM
shou ld disallow any s u ch
c hoice if It will cause prob-
lems In his campaJgn.
+ Since many of these crea-
tures are evil. the OM may
have to introduce into his
campaign a nearly-Identical
race wi m neu tral or good le n-
de ncles.
& This species only works If
most of the campaign takes
place In wa tery domains.
10 calculate the weight-bearing
abilities of these animals. com-
pare them to the list on page 78 of
the Players Handbook. Choose
the animal from lhat Ust most re-
sembling your animal In stze and
mass. and then usc the values for
I.hat animal.
Special Hindrances: As men-
tioned earlier, the Beast-Rider is
outof place In moot societies. He
takes a - 3 negative reaction ad-
justment when meeting NPCs
from a ny cult ure but his ow n.
(The player-characters do not
have to be hosti le to the Beast-
Rider If they do not wish . how-
e ve r.)
Also. should the Beast·R1der's
a nimal ever die, whether iI's In
the Beast-Rider's presence or far
away. the Beast-Rider immed l·
atcJy takes 2d6 points of da m -
age and must ma ke a saving
throw vs_ spells. If he fal ls the
saving throw, he behaves as U
he were a magic-user hit with
f ecbJemind fo r the next 2d6
hours. Even If he makes the sav-
ing throw , the player should
19
Warrior Kits \ If.
role-play the c haracter 's reac·
lions- he's just felt. through
their telepathic li nk . the death
of his beloved frie nd , after all.
Wealth Options: The Beast-
Rider gets the ordinary 5d4x 10
gp for s tarting gold . Like the
Barbarian. however. he must
spend It all (before starting play)
except 3 gp or less.
Races : This Is a kit that is es-
pecially appropriate for demlhu -
man c ha rac ters. It 's easy to
e n vision dwa rves on boa rs .
elves on dire wolves. sea-elves
on giant sea-horses. a nd so on.
Notes : II adds a lot of de tail
a nd color to a campaign If the
DM does a certal.n amoun t of
wo rk c reating t he socie ty of
eaeh Beas t-Rid e r tribe . Th e
tribc's behav ior a nd activities
would be dictated by the type of
animal It was tied to: Horse-
Riders wou ld live on the plains.
riding fa r and wide. while Boar-
Riders would live in forests and
moist bottom -lan d . few eve r
travelling morc tha n five miles
from their home village.
Berserker
Description: The Berserker is
a warrior who has special attrlb-
utcs and abillUes when he's In
com bat. In combat. he ca n
achle\'e an ecstatic state of mind
that will enable him to nght
longer. harder, and more sav-
agely than a ny human bein g
has a right to. This makes him a
deadly warrior ... who can be
as muc h a menace to himself as
to his e nemJes_ In a campaign,
he's nearly identical to th e
Barbarian-except it's obvious
from the outset that he has a
truly savage and inhuman ele-
ment in his personality, and he
tends 1.0 di s turb a nd unscale
other people.
Like the Barbarian. the Ber-
serker must have a SlIcngth
abillcy score of 15 or more.
Role: In his tribe . the Be r-
serker has a special role. He's
stl!
o
Warrior Ki ts
been touched by s upernatural
forces. and accepted that touch
so that he might better defend
his people.
The idea of a Derserker Pala-
din Is a little strange. and some
OMs will prefer not to a1l0w it.
That's fine. It's not always inap-
propriate. though. If lhc charac-
ter's lrlbe ts df.eply involved with
a n appropria te a nimal totem.
such as a bear or wolverine. a
paladin might even be required
to be a Berserker. since lhe OM
may reason iliat Irs only the su-
pematurallouch o(the [Otem an·
imal spirit that gives the paladin
his other powers. Bul. again.
that's up to Lhe indiVidual OM.
Secondary Skills: As with the
Barbarian. the OM will decide
what sort of secondary skill is
most appropriate for tha t spe·
clfic barharian/bcrserkcr tribe.
Weapon Proficiencies : No
speclnc weapon proficlcncles
are required of the Berserker-
but he may not stan out play
having a proficiency in a ranged
weapo n (no thrown axes or
knives. no bows or crossbows,
etc.). The Berserker lives to de·
stray thi ngs In han d·lo· hand
combat. so he cannot stan play
with any sort of ranged weapon
proficiency. He can learn others
during the course of the cam·
palgn, if he and his OM wish to
aJlow it-but it's a little out of
character for the Berserker.
Nonweapon Proficienci es:
Bonus ProfiCiency: Endurance.
Recommended : General-Ani·
maJ Handling. Animal Trainin g.
Direction Sense. Fire·Building,
Riding (Land-Based). Weather
Sense. (Warrior) Blind-Fighting.
Huming, Mountaineering. Run·
ning, Set Snares. Su rvival.
Tracking. lPriest-costs twice
the IJsled number of s lots If
Fighter or Ranger) Herbalis m.
{Rogue-cos ts double slots}
Jumpin g. As with the Barbar-
Ian. the OM may choose to insist
that the Berserker character
take a proficiency In the tTlbaJ
specially (Trapping, Agricul·
ture. etc.).
Equipment: As with the Bar-
ba rian. the Berserker may not
use his starUng gold to buy ar·
mOT heavier than splint mall ,
banded mail, or bronze plate
mall. Once he has adventured in
the outer world. he ca n usc a ny
type of armor without pe na lty.
When he spends his starting
gold. he must limit himself to
weapons known to his tribe. a nd
may not c hoose missile weap-
ons. Good choices include bat lle
axe, club. dagger or dirk. fOOl-
man's flail. mace. or pick, ha nd
axe, spear. or sword (any).
Special Benefits: Berserkers
receive a +3 reaction adjus t·
ment bonus from NPCs belong-
ing to any tribe that also has
Berserkers-they recognize the
Berserker instinctively and re-
spec ( hi m. even If he is a n
enemy.
Th e other be nefit the Ber-
serker receives is his Berserk.
At any time. the Berserker
may choose to Go Berserk. This
isn't an Instanta neous pro-
cess-he must spend a little
time to "psych himself up." It
takes a fu ll turn (tcn combat
rounds) to Go Berserk. In that
time, the character Is growling.
moaning, uttering imprecations
. " It's Impossible to be quiet
when trying to Go Berserk. He
may also be fighti ng during that
lime, meaning that he can SLart
to Go Berserk on the round the
nght begins. nght for len full
rounds. and the n be Berserk on
the eleventh round.
Of course, whe n th e Berserker
knows a nght is coming. he can
begin to Go Berserk , even If
th ere Is no fight currently goi ng
on. At the end of a full tum of
preparauon. he can become Ber·
serk instantaneously. If there's
no enemy in sight yet. he can
hold the Berserk until com bat is
engaged . But if no combat takes
p lace within O\'e more full
turns . he automatically revens
20
(0 "nonnaJ" and suffers the or-
dinary consequences for com-
ing out of a Berserk (described
below), The c haracter can come
ou t of his Berserk once the last
enemy Is down (he must liter·
a ll y be down on the ground.
even If still a live and surrender-
ing; the Berserker will stay ber-
serk and continue fighUng so
long as the re are e ne mies s till on
their feet). Once the fight ends.
the Berserker must come oul of
his Berserk s ta te.
For these reasons, Berserking
is a more appropria te reaction
when the characters a re about
to attack or be attacked by a foe
they know about. If the charac-
leTS are, Instead. Jumped by a
smaIl party of orcs. It's us ually
not worth the effort to Go Ber·
serk: the consequences a nd ef·
fon outweigh the benefits.
When Berserk. the c haracter
has phenomena l endu rance and
res is ta nce to pa in and !So me
forms of magiC. Only while Ber·
serk. he gains the fo llowing ben-
eflts:
(1 ) He is Immune (no Saving
Throw Is necessary) to the wiz-
ard spells c harm p erson.
friends. hypnotism, sleep. Irrita·
tion. ray ofenfeebJem ent. scare.
geas. and t.he c le rical spells
comm and, c harm person or
m ammal , enth ra ll. c loak of
bravery, and sym bol.
l2 J He gets a + 4 Lo save
agai nst the wizard spells blind-
ness. Thsha 's uncontrollabl e
hideous laughter. hold person.
charm monsl cr. and confUSion.
a nd [he clerical spells h old per-
son and hold animal.
(3) The emollon spell has no
effect on the Berserker. unless
the caster ehose the fear result .
If fear was chosen, the Berserker
gets a normal Saving Throw: If
he makes it. he continues on as
before. but If he fails It. he is pre-
maturely snapped au ! of his
Berserk. with all the normal ef·
fects of coming out of the Ber·
serk (but he doesn't s uffer any

other fear effect). The (ear spell
has exactly the same effect: lfhe
saves, there 15 noerrect. and Ifhe
doesn't save. he's snapped out
of the Berserk. If he fall s a sav-
Ing throw against charm mon-
ster. he simply counts the caSler
as one of his allies: he doesn 't
come out of the Bel'"Serk or obey
the caster's commands.
(4) Being Berserk offers no
rea] protection from finger of
death. except that the spell ef-
fects do not take place untJllhe
character has come out of his
Berserk. If the Berserker saves,
he doesn ' t suffer the 2d8+ I
damage until ImmedIately after
he snaps out of the Berser k . If he'
falls to save. he doesn't die unUI
he snaps out of the Berserk.
(5) The Berserker. while Ber-
serk. Is Imm une to KO results
from the Punching and Wres-
tling rules . and takes only half
damage from bare-handed at-
tacks from these rules.
(6) While Berserk. the charac-
ter gelS + 1 to a ttack, +3 to
damage. and + 5 hp.
Special Hindrances: The Ber-
serker has hindrances as severe
as all those benefits he receives,
( I ) Th e Berserker character
receives a - 3 reacllon from all
NPCs (except, that Is. c harac-
ters from lf1bes which have ber-
serkers In them. as described
above).
(2) When the Berserker goes
Berserk. the OM should Immedi-
ately say to him . "Tell me how
many hit points you currently
have." From that point until the
fight is done a nd the Berserker
has re turned to normal. the OM
keeps track of his hit points. The
player Is not told how many hp
he has left. nor how m any
points of damage he is taking
with each attack. (After a1l. the
character can reel no pain. , , so
he can nOl kee p track of how
close he Is to death.) The OM
simply tells him something like:
21
Warrior Kits \1f-
.
"The ore-captain hits you with
his axe, a mighty blow which
you barely fee l . . ." It Is there-
fore very possible fo r a Ber-
serker to be nlckled and dimed
to death and not know It until he
drops dead. The OM can also. Ir
he so chooses, roll all Saving
Throws for the Berserker. not
telling the player whether they
were failures or s uccesses.
(3) While Berserk. the charac-
ter can use no ranged weapons.
He kUls only In hand-to-hand or
melee-weapon combat.
(4) While Berserk. he must
fight each opponent until that
opponent lS down . Once an op-
ponent Is feUed. the Berserker
must move to the nearest e n-
emv and attack him . He can't.
for -Instance. c hoose to attack
the enemy leader IIthat leader is
behind seven ranks of spear-
mcn. The Berserker must keep
fighting until all e nemies are
down. as described earlier.
~li Warrior Kits
•
(5) While Berserk . the charac-
ter ca nnot ta ke cover agains t
m issile fi re.
16} If. while the c harac ter Is
Berserk . a nother character tries
some thing he can Inte rpret as
a ttack ((or instan ce. hits him to
m ove h im out of the way of an
Incom ing anack.) the Berserker
mus t roll Id 20 \'5. h is In teIl t·
gence. If he s ucceeds (tha t is,
rolls his Inte lligence score o r
less). h e's dim ly aw are tha t h is
frie nd Is not anacking him. If he
fa lls Irolls higher tha n his Intelli-
gence}. he now thinks his frie nd
Is a n enemy. and contin ues to
thin k so ufIlil the ngh t Is done
and he is no longer Berserk.
l7J Wh ile Berserk. the charac-
ter Is [cmporarily una ITeeted by
t h e clerica l s pe lls bless, c ur e
light wounds. ald. c ure serious
wo unds. c ure critical wounds,
h eal , r egen erate (an d wilh er).
He will gain the benefits of those
spells only af (er he has come ou t
of his Berserk and s uffered any
and a ll damages which occured
then .
(8 ) The ta unl spell Is automat·
ically successful. a nd wUl cau se
t.h e Berserker to abandon h is
c urre nl e ne my a nd rush to a t·
tack the taunter.
(9) Finally. whe n the charac·
ler comes out of his Berserk, bad
lhlngs ha ppen to him . He loses
the 5 hp he gain ed w he n he be-
cam e Berserk. {This cou ld drop
him to or below 0 hp a nd kill
h im , of course.' He collapses In
e x.ha ustion (exacLly as If hit by a
r ay of enfeeblem ent. no saving
throw possible, for one rou nd fo r
every round he was Berserk . He
s uffers the effects of a ny s pells
which wait until he's returned
to normal before affecti ng him
(finger of dea rh . for Ins tance).
And only chen can healing mag·
ics affect him .
Wealth Opti o ns : The Ber-
serke r gets the ordinary 5d4x 10
gp for starting gold. Like the
Barbarian . howeve r. he m us t
s pend It all (before startin g play)
except three g p or less.
Races: It's the OM 's choice as
\0 whe ther h is demlh um a n
c harac ters can have Berserkers
a mong them. It ·s entirely appro·
prlaLC for dwa rves. and not lnap·
propria te for elves. gnomes a nd
half·elves. Ha lOing Berserkers
arc not \'cry li kely. In a ny case.
demlhuma n Berserkers would
not advertise the fac t tha t they
were such ; until the first time
they Berserked in combat . their
companio ns would probably be
u naware lha t they were Ber·
serkers . (The DM ca n help pre-
s erve the sec ret by not
pu bliciZing th e fa c t that a ll
NPCs are taking a - 3 to reac·
tion rolls concerning the Ber·
serker cha ractcrs.)
Cavalier
Desc ription : The Cava lier Is
the ultimate mounted warrior of
cJvillzed c ultures. especia ll y
those of Midd le Ages technology
and oullook. ln a campaign , he's
the s hining knig ht who leads his
fellows o n a n eternal ques t fo r
lru Lh . j us tice, and the e liml na·
tion of evil. To w e world at large .
he's a mig hty he ro. To his
friend s a nd allies. he 's a s ta unch
frie nd . a tire less c heerleade r.
a nd oflen a n overen thusia stic
pain in the neck.
This is a good Warrior Kit fo r
pala dIns to take. It can be ar-
gued that pa ladin s look some·
thi ng like th is alrea dy. but tha I
Isn 't necessarily so: Only pala·
dins of cultures resembling me-
dieval Europe would look like
this (a paladi n of a Japanese-
type c ult ure. a pal adin of a
Polyneslan·like culture, a nd a
palad in of a c ulture resembling
later Rena issance Europe would
a ll be very diffe rent from the
Cavalier) . Therefore. a pa la din
who wa nts to look every inch
the s hining knight s hould take
the Cavalier Warrior Kit.
T he Cava lie r kit resem bl es
the Noble Warrior kit (q.v.) in
II
t.ha t bo th are noble me n war ·
riors. but the Noble Warrior is
primarily mterested In defe nd-
Ing the rig hts and maintaining
the status quo orhls social class.
while the Cava lie r pu rs ues
loftier goals.
1b be a ca va lie r. the charac ter
mus t be of a ny good a Ugn ment
(cha otic good , neutral good, law-
ful good) and have a t least the
fo llo win g m inim um a bfllty
scores : Strength 15. Dexterity
15. Con slftutJon 15. Intel1lgence
10 . Wisdom 10.
Also. the ch a rac ter mu st be·
long to the noble social class in
the campaign . It 's u p to the OM
to determi ne whe ther this Is
possible. If his cam paign uses a
ra ndom die-roll to dete rmine
w ho's nobil ity a nd who Isn ' t,
then Lhe characte r m ust first
successfully roll to be noble in
order to bea Cava lie r. ' fi t's more
of a role·play lng exercise in the
campaig n. then a ny charac ter
who takes the Cavalier Warrior
Kit will be presum ed to be of the
nObi li ty. (This doesn ' t m ea n
that he has a lot of money ; It's
q uite likely tbat he be longs toan
impoveris hed noble family, one
with a lot of honorable tradition
bUI no mODey to speak of.)
Fighters and Pa la dIns may be
Cava liers : Rangers may not.
Only hu mans. elves. a nd half-
elves may be Cavaliers.
Role : In his own and sim ilar
c u ltu res . the Ca valier Is a
mighty hero who has the reo
spect of tile majority of the pop.
ula tlon (the crim ina l classes a nd
evil c harac te rs excepted). He
has the good·wUl of the people.
(reflected as bonu ses to his reac-
tion rol\s). bu t the people a lso
make many demands of him :
When the re's da nger. wh en
someone is in trouble, the peo·
pie turn to the Cavalier for help.
T h is c ha racter does n o t ge l
m uch time for rest and relaxa·
Uon .
Secondary SkHls: If you're
using th e Scc.ondary Sk ill s
rul es, the Cavalier must lake
Croom.
Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
qUired : Lance (any: play er
choice) and Sword (any : player
choice) . Recomm ended : All
other Lances. all other Swords.
all Horseme n 's weapons, Dag·
ger, Spear. Javelin.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Proflclcncles: Riding.
(Land·based. horse). EUqueue.
Recomm e nded : Animal Han·
dllng, Animal Train ing. Danc·
ing. Heraldry. (Pries t, double
slots unless Paladin) Musical In·
slru ment. Readlng/Wrlling.
(Warrior) BlInd·Figh ting. En·
durance.
Equipment: Th e Cavalier
must start play with (i.e .. spend
his initia l gold on) at least twO
weapons, Including one lance
and one s word. and must then
buy the most expensive SCt of
annor he can stili afford . After
those expenditures. wha lever
remai ns of his gold can be spent
on Ilems of his choice.
Special Benefits: The Cava-
lier enjoys many special bene-
fits . including:
At 1st level. he gets a + 1 to hit
with any lance fo r which he has
proficiency. when using the
lance from horse back. This goes
up + 1 every s ix experie n ce
levels (so he'll be +2 at 7th level.
+ 3 at 13th. etc .).
At 3rd level. he gets a + 1 to
hit with a nyone rypc of sword
(his choice from among those he
has proficiency wi th : most com-
mon are broad sword. lo ng
sword . bastard sword, and scim·
ltar). This goes up + 1 every six
experience levels (SO he' II be +2
at 9th level. +3 at 15m. etc.).
At5thlevel.hegets a + I to hit
with either horseman's mace.
horseman 's nail. or horseman's
pick (his choice from among
those h e has proficiency with).
This goes up + I every six expe-
rience levels (so he' II be + 2 at
11 th level. +3 at 17th level.
etc.) .
These pluses to hit do not add
to damage. and don't allow the
Cavalier to hit a monster that can
only be hit by magical weapons.
The Cavalier ls compietely im-
mune to the fcar spell. Because
he is so brave . he Inspires others
to courage. and so. while he is
fighting. he actuall)' radiates an
emoCion spell In a 10' radius.
This cm oHon spell radiates
courage (see the writeup for the
4th-level wizard spell emotion).
but only to the extent that II ne·
gates fear: it does nOI bestow the
berserk fury that the actual wiz-
ard spell provides.
The Cavalier is +4 to save vs.
all magiCwhich would affect his
mind. such as the wizard spells
chann person. friends. hypno·
tism, sleep. irrllatlon. ray or en-
feebl ement , sca re. and geas.
and the clerica l spells com-
mand, charm persOn or mam -
mal. enchralJ. cloak or bravery.
and symbol.
The Cavalier starts play with
a horse which he docs not have
to pay fo r. This will be either a
Heavy Warhorse. Medium War·
horse. or Light Warhorse (see
the Monstrous Compendium.
Volume One entry on Horses).
The player may choose what
sort of horse it is. subject to the
OM's approval It will automati-
cally be a Charger (see the sec-
tion on Horse Quality In the
Dungeon Master's Guide. page
36): the OM may roll for Its per-
sonali ty traiLS according to
those rules. If this horse dies.
the Cavalier has to acquire him-
se lf another on e through th e
usual campaign means (buy
one . be given one for noble
deeds. elc.). but will not be con·
teOl wim any horse which is not
a Warhorse of Charger quality.
The Cavalier receives a +3 re-
acllon from anyone of his own
culture (except criminals and
cha racters of evil alignment.
from whom he receives a -3).
And finally, the Cavalier has
the right to demand shelter.
H
When he travels. he can de-
mand shelter from a nyone in his
own nalion who is of sta tus
lower than nobility. And most
people of his own status or
highcr will be ha ppy to ofTer him
shelter when he Is travelling.
Special Hindrances: For all
these benefi ts, the Cavalier has
some preHy hefty hindrances as
we ll .
The Cavalier cannot attack an
opponent a t range If he can in-
sl ead charge ahead and atiack
him in melee or Jousting com·
bat. Therefore, he cannot s nipe
on enemies with a bow or cross-
bow: he cannot use a polearm
from behind a s hield wall. He
has to be on the front Line. meet·
Ing his foes face- to-face. (A Cav·
alter could conceivably shoot an
opponcnt with an arrow to stop
tha t opponent from kiliingan In -
noce nt person : that doesn't con·
s litute a violation of his code.
But he couldn't shoot Ule en-
emy to protect a friend if his
friend is fighting that enemy
honorably ... even if his friend
Is losing.)
In any combat. the Cavalier
must attack the enemy who is
lhe biggest and most powerful-
looking. If he's held up by lesser
troops. he must dispatch them
as quickly as possible and then
get to his "'real " opponent.
He must a lways have the
highest-qua lity armor he can af-
ford . As he goes through his
early experience levels. if he has
the money. he' II constantly be
selling his old armor and buying
lhe next most protecllve se t of
armor. His goaJ Is to have a Sel of
full plate armor: the next step
down from thai is field plate.
the n plate mall. then bronze
plate mall. then band ed or
splint, then chain. th en scale or
brlgand inc. then ring or stud-
ded. And to him. magiC bonuses
don't mean as much as the type
of annor: He prefers a s uit of or-
dinary field plate to a set of
banded mail +5. The OM must
~!I
o
Warrior Kits
rigorously e nfo rce this limita-
tion on th e c haracter If the
player Is Inclined to ignore It.
The Cavalier must also follow
the very strict Code of Chivalry.
In most AD&D- game cam-
paigns. his code Incl udes these
rules: He must Cheerfully per-
form any noble service or quest
asked of him : he must defend. to
the death. any person or item
placed In his c harge : he must
show courage and enterprise
when obeying his rulers: he
must show respect for all peers
and equals; he must honor all
those above his station (his so-
cial class): he must demand reo
spect and obedience from those
below his statlon: he must scorn
those who are lowly and Ignoble
(he will not help the 111-
mannered. the coarse, the
crude: he will not use eq uip-
ment which Is badly-made or in-
Ccrlor : he will nght on fOOL before
riding a nag: etc.): he must per-
form military service to his lord
whenever asked; he must show
courtesy to all ladles (If the Cay·
aller Is male): he must regard
war as the flowering of ch ivalry,
and a noble enterprise: he must
regard battle as the test of man·
hood, and combat as glory; he
must achieve personal glory In
battle: he must slay all those
who oppose his cause: and he
must c hoose deaLh before dis·
honor.
If a Cavalier chooses not to fol·
low this code. bad things hap-
pen. The first time he breaks his
vows, the OM will warn the
player that the Cavalier feels
bad about violating his code.
The second time he breaks his
vows. the Cavalier loses all his
special beneOts until suc h lime
as he repents and undertakes a
dangerous task to redeem him·
self. When performing this task.
he must behave according to his
code and h is hindrances. Only
when the task Is successfully ac-
complished does he regain his
benefits.
If the Cavalier breaks his vow
a third time without repenting
and undertaking that task. he
has abandoned his Cavalier
Warrior Kit. He permanently
loses aU the special beneOts of
the KIt. He no longer has to obey
his knightly code. He receives a
permanent - 3 reacUon adJust-
ment from all members of his
own c ulture (even those who do
not know of his past will be put
off by the air of treachery and
fail.hlessness that now haunts
the man). His horse. even if It Is
not the one he began play wUh,
leaves him-either rides off Into
the sunset withou t him. or at·
tacks him . He may never ride it
again. even If he kllls H trying to
do so. See "Abandoning a Kit"
later In this chapter.
Wealth Options: The Cavalier
gets the standard 5d4x JO gp in
startlng gold.
Races: Of the demlhuman
races. only elves and half-elves
may be Cavaliers.
Gla dia t o r
Description: The gladiator is
a s howman -warnor from a socl·
ety where public com bat com-
petitions are a popu lar sport.
The gladiatOr Is a professional
warrior tn this high-profile
arena: for the delight (and blood-
lust) of the c.rowds. for his own
personal wealth and aggra n·
dlzement (or, If he Is a slave. for
the profits of his owner). he
fights organized matches
against human. demlhuman,
and even monstrous opponents.
There are no special ability'
score requirements to be a Glad·
lator.
Role; For the Gladiator to ap·
pear In a campaign. the OM
must establish that at least one
cu lture has gladiatorial com·
bats, and the Gladiator charac-
ter must come from such a
culture. [He need not have been
born there ... but he will either
have been a slave there or. If he
24
was a freeman. wHl feel like a
naturalized cItIzen there.} A
Gladiator player·c haracter can
be a n acllve gladiator tn the
a rena. one who adventures In
his free time (or within some
other context of the current ad·
venture), or can have formerly
been a gladiator now living the
life of the adventurer.
In the campaign. the Gladia-
tor Is going to be a s howy, hJgh·
profile warrior. He performs
dangerous stunts in combat. He
attracts the attention or crowds
of admirers. He receives a lot of
credit for brave deeds whether
he deserves the credit or not. A
Gladiator can be a callous brute,
a dirty arena Oghter with no tn·
terests other than kUling his en-
emy as quickly as possible a nd
making off with his prize: or he
can be a clean-Itmbed. heroic
Ogure, a hero who a lways fights
honorably in the arena and
never kills when he does not
have to.
OMs take note: a Gladiator
charac ter Is not likely to be a
Ranger. You can permit It If you
wish, but Rangers are very
wUderness-oriented characters.
a nd Gladiators are very urban.
A Ranger could have been cap·
tured, enslaved, (rained as a
Gladiator. and then escaped . ..
but still. the Ranger and Gladia-
tor personalities don't seem to
work together very well. Allow
this only if you really wish to.
It's up to the DM to decide
whether there are female gladia·
tors on his world. Unless his
campaign is a lready rigidly set
up to pre\'ent It, he might as well
allow It; a she-gladiator c harac·
ter could be a very Interesting
one,
Secondary Skills: The Gladi-
ator character receives his sec·
ondary skill through whatever
means is usual for the
campaign-by choice or ran·
dam dle·roll. This skill probably
represents the trade he learned
before becoming a Gladiator.

Weapon ProCiciencies: Re-
quired : short sword {glad Ius).
trident. net. Gladiators should
learn an eve n mix of nonnal and
unu sua l weapons; t h e OM Is
within h is rights to Insisl tha I
the Gladiator learn o ne strange
weapon proficiency (su ch as
whi p) for every " normal'- profi-
ciency {Uke sword, spear. etc. }.
(Also. see Lhe Equipment chap-
l er, u n der "New Arm s" and
"New Annar:' for weapons and
armor especially appropriate to
Gladiator characters.)
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Proficlencles: (Warrior)
Cha rloteerlng . (Rogu e) Thm-
hllng (for the combat showman-
s hip mat cha racterizes arena
fighting). Recommended: (Gen-
eral) Animal Handling. Animal
Tra ining. Eliq uette. Riding
(Land-Based), (Warrior) Ar-
morer. Bllnd -Flghllng. Endur-
a nce. Gaming, Weapon-
smithing. (Priest) Healing (dou-
ble s lots unless Paladin).
Equipment: The Gladiator
ma y bu y a ny son of non·
magical weapon or combination
of weapon s before beginning
play. However. he must choose
his armor from lhe listing of
Glad iator Armor in lhe Equip·
ment chapter. under "New Ar-
mors:'
Special Benefits: Gladiators.
because of m eir intensive train-
Ing, get a free Weapon Speciali-
zation (sec und er " Weapon
SpecializatiOn" In the 2 nd Edi-
tion Player's Handbook) , This
doesn't cost any of their begin-
ning weapon proflcie ncles :
They still get all four of those,
and gellhls Specialization free.
It must be chosen from one of
the fo llow ing weapons : bow
(chOice) . cestus· , dagger. dru-
sus", lasso ·. nel - , scimita r.
short sword. spear, trident. and
whip. (The" - " indicates a new
weapon found in the Equipmenl
chapler.)
Special Hindrances: Gladia-
tors tend to be recognized-as
Gladiators. at least. if not by
th ei r own names-w here\rer
they go. This makes It more diffi-
cult for them to do lhlngs in se-
crct; some troublesome NPC is
always remembering "'the tall .
fair-haired gladiator" who was at
the sce ne of the action. which
makes iL very easy for the au·
thorlties to follow the heroes'
trail. (This Is something the OM
w ill have to enforce scrupulously
if the Gladiator is to have hin·
drances offscttlng his benents.l
Also. and th is Is s trictly a role-
play ing consideration , pro-
moters and m anagers are
aJways interfering In th e Gladia-
tor's life: Try ing to hire him to
participate In ce rtain -death
events, to fighl people the Gladi-
ator doesn't wam to fight . to
force him to pa rti cipate In
events taking place at the exact
time the Gladiator needs to be
some ..... here else, etc. These pro-
moters will go to any length to
get their way; they may black-
m ail the characler. kidnap his
followers. use the time-honored
baH of a gorgeous romantic In-
terest (whom th e Gladiator
doesn' t Im medlalely realize Is
an employee of the promoter),
a nd so forth .
lb make sure this is regarded
as a hindrance. the OM should
ma ke It clear tha t these pro-
moters arc mos tly of the sleazy
variety who will cheat. rob and
betray him at the drop of a hal.
Wealth Options: The Gladia-
tor gelS the s tandard 5d4x 10 gp
to spend. and may spend It any
way he chooses (subject to the
restrictions li s ted In " Equ ip-
me nt." Immediately above) or
have It all unspent at the begin-
ning of play.
Races: Any demihuman war·
rior can be a Gladiator. Opera·
tors of the arenas lry to acquire
as many dlffc rent, unusu al
fl ghters as Ihey can . by hiring or
e nslaving them, and dcmlhu-
ma ns (when they can be ac·
qulred) are major attractions.
15
Warrior Kits \11- •
MyrmldQR.
Description: T he Mynnldon
Is the ultimate soldier. Soldier-
Ing 15 his life. He may be a high-
ranking officer or a caree r
sergeant; he may belong to one
na tion's armed forces or may be
a mercenary. Th the campaign
and the adventuri ng party, he
brings diSCipline and a useful
understanding of military tac-
tics: he's often rigid and con-
temptuous of rugged
individualists or characters who
don 't like to take orders. so he
can cause a lot of frieLion in an
adventuring party. too.
When first created, the Myr-
mldo n 's player must decide
whether his character Is part of
a standing army or a mercenary
unit. Ir he's part of a s tanding
anny. he's employed as a soldier
or omcer In the army of a nation,
large region. city guard. or even
palace/castle guard . If he's pan
of a mercenary unit , he belongs
to a group of freelance soldiers
who h ire th emselves to just
abou t anyone who can pay: or
m ay be a personal bodyguard .
The OM will have the deciding
VOLe In what sort of force the
Myrmidon belongs to: If. for in·
stance. the OM doesn't want to
have an ail-m ilitary campaign ,
he' ll probably Ins is t that the
Myrm idon be a mercenary. cu r·
rently employed by a player-
character or NPC Important to
the current story.
However. In the course of the
campaign. the Myrmidon's em-
ployment can change. once or
several times. He may start out
as a mercenary bodyguard :
later In the campaign. he may
find himself comma nding a
small m ercenary force In a bor-
der war: later s till. he may ac-
cept a comm ission In the klng's
army and find himself a regular
officer.
The choice of whe th er the
character Is of a non-commls-
sloned rank (such as recruit. prl-
-St!/'
o
Warri or Kits
vale. or sergeantl or an officer's
rank (such as Caplaln) Is entirely
up to t he OM, w ho'll make his
c hoice based on what works
best In his campaign 's current
storyline.
1b be a Mvrmldon. the charac-
ter mus t have scores of at least
12 In Strength and Constitu-
tio n.
Role: In the campaign 's cul-
lure. t.he Myrmidon Is a career
soldIer. In times of war. they're
heroes to the nation. In Limes of
peace. the common folk often
look on chern as parasites. living
offtaxcs but providing n o usefu l
service. Mercenaries are often
looked on as bandits and preda-
tors. Regardless of the public's
opinion. though . the Myrmidon
and the standing army are nec·
essary to the defense of the na-
tion, and so there are always
Mymlldons to be found .
Secondary Sk ills: If you're
using the Secondary Skills
r ules. th e Myrmidon may
choose his Secondary Skill. but
must choose It from the follow·
Ing list : Armorer. Bowyerl
Fletcher. Forester. Groom.
Hunter. Leather worker. Navlga·
tor. Sailor. Scribe. Tea ms terl
Freighter. Weaponsmilh.
Weapon P r oficiencies: The
Myrmidon may spend hi s
Weapon ProfiCiency s lots any
way he chooses.
Nonweapon Proficiencles:
Bonus ProOciencles : Ancient
History (specifically Military
HiStory). Fire·BuUd lng. Recom ·
mended: (General) An imal Han·
dling. Cooking. Heraldry. RJding
(Land ·based). Seamanship.
Swimming. Weather Sense.
(Pri est. double slots unless Pala·
din ) ReadIng/Writing. (Rogue,
double slots) Disguise. (Warrior)
Armorer. BHnd·Flghting, Bow·
yer/Fletcher. Charioteertng, En·
durance. Navigation. Set
Sn ares. Survival. Tracking,
Weaponsmlthing. (Wizard, dou·
ble slots un less Ranger)
ReadlngfWritlng.
Equipment: The Myrmidon
may spend his starting gold on
whatever sort of arms. armor,
a nd equipment he chooses. If.
when he's first created . it is
agreed that he'll be part ofa spe·
clfic military force with specific
eqUipment requirements, he's
reqUired to buy thal equipment.
but the OM must give him extra
gold in the amount of half that
cost.
Special Benefits: The Myrml·
don has two advantages of note:
f irsl, he gelS a free Weapon
Specialization. He must choose
it from the followin g group: Bat-
tle axe. Bow (composite long
bow. compos ite short bow. or
long bow). Crossbow (heavy
crossbow or li gh t crossbow).
Lance (chOice). Polcarm
(chOice). Spear. Sword (choice).
Second. the Myrmidon Is usu·
ally in the employ of some pow·
erful patron. The DM wilJ have
to decide what Imm ediate bene-
fi ts this grants him : Uley vary
with the type of employer he is
working for.
For ins ta nce. if he's working
for a wea lth )' nobleman . he
won 't have to spend any money
for room and board and will en·
joy an upper-class existence.
Or. If he's part of a standing
a rmy. he may be Immune to
prosecution by the Civilian au·
thorlties (th ough he can cer·
laln Jy fa ce court manlal for
misdeeds),
Special Hindrances : Th e
Mynnidon Is lnsran dy recogniz·
able by his military demeanor.
erecl posture. disciplined man·
nerlsms, etc. (There arc plenty
of soldiers a nd mercenaries who
aren', Mvnnldons who aren't so
disUncll~'e.) Because he is dis·
tinctive. the Mynnldon is easily
remembered and described by
witn esses to his adventures:
this makes it easier for lbe en·
emy to Identify him and follow
his Lrail if he's trying to escape
or travel through dangerous ter·
ritory.
26
A second hindrance Is his em·
ployer, Naturally. his employe r
makes many demands on the
Mymlldon, If the Myrmidon is a
bod yguard . he must a ccom -
pany his employer Just about
everYWhere, regardless of a ny
personal goa ls or interests the
Myrmidon has. If the Myrmidon
is a common soldier. he's sub-
Ject to the orders of his officers.
If the My rm idon is a military of·
ficer, he'ssubjec tto the orders of
his superiors or the local ruler.
and bears the added Slress of
having to look out for his men
whenever they' re engaged tn
military action .
Wealth Options: The Myrmi·
don recei"es th e s ta nda rd
5d4x 10 gp s ta rting gold.
Races: Depending on the way
the DM has set thc campaign up.
any dem ihuman race can ha ve
Myrmidons. Mercenary Myrmi·
don demlhumans will be travel·
ling mostly In human·occupied
Jands. while Myrmidon demihu·
mans in standing armies will
usually stick to their own race's
te rritories ... alLhough some
s pecial ones fi. e .. th e p layer·
characters) will often fin d them·
selves senl out on spec ial quests
and adventu res a ll over lhe
campaign world .
Noble Warrl'o r
Description: This character
Is of the nobili ty. and theoretl·
cally re presents everything the
ruling class s lands for. 10 classic
medieval fantasy. this means
ch iva lry. the protection of
women (those who want to be
protec ted . that is-I t 's a bad
idea LO try to prolect a woman
warrior anxious to prove herself
In combat). and (espeCially) up·
holding lhe rights of the ruling
class to rule (and upholding the
righ ts of the olher classes to
serve ... ). Noble Warriors in
mos t ca mpaigns are called
Knights or Squires. though spe-
cific campaigns may have dlffcr-
~ll
I
Warrior Kits
em designalions and be based
on different sou rces than medI-
eval European hlslory.
10 be a Noble Warrior. a char-
acter must have Strength and
Conslilulion scores of 13 or
betler- It's what comes of being
forced to train In heavy plate ar-
mor for so many years.
Ro le: In a campaign . lhe No-
ble Warrior is a romantic Ideal
wh ich mOSt of society looks up
lo. T he Noble Warrior is sup-
posed to be courageous. gallant.
proteclive of the defense less.
dedicated to honorable ideals.
But tllat 'S j ust what SOCiety
expects of the Noble Warrior.
Some lheoreLically Noble War-
riors are mere brutes in shi ny
armor. warriors who lake what
they want. murder the Inno-
cent. and continually bct..ray t he
oaths t hey took when they firs t
won theJr spurs. So It 's up to an
in dividual player to decide what
alignment his Nob le Wa rrior
takes and how weJ l he lives u p to
the perti nent ideals,
Whether the Noble Warr ior
character is a Knigh t or a Squire
(or some other d eslgnaUonl de·
pends on the campalgn and its
OM. From the Viewpoint of con-
venlence.lt's best fo r Noble War·
rior c haracters to begin playas
you ng knights who have Just
wan their spurs: this wlU ac-
count far the fact that they ha\'c
Iitlle m oney (they' re Just s tart-
Ing out as free-lancers) o r fol-
lowers. and for the fact lhat
they're wandering around ad·
venturing: they're anxious to
prove their metUe. If the OM pre·
fers . t.he starting Noble Warrior
could be the squire for an NPC
knight. one who is aging a nd
necd s the stoul sword-arm of a
young sqUire: but here. the OM
has to run UIC NPC knight u n til
It's time for the squire character
to leave h is knight.
Secondary Skills: All Noble
Warrior charac ters must lake
Lhe Groom skill, Squires are ex-
pected to care for their knigh ts'
horses. a nd don ' t fo rge t this
skill when they themselves be-
come knigh ts.
Weapon Pro fici e ncies : Un·
less th e campaign deals with a
culture u nlike medieval Europe,
a ll Noble Warriors m ust take the
followi ng p roflc lencles: lo ng
sword or bastard sword (player
choice). lance (player choice of
ty pe, usuall y Jousting la nce).
and horseman's na il or horse-
man 's mace(playerchoice). The
last pronclency may be used for
a weapon of the warrior 's choice
or to specJalize In one of the reo
q ulred c hoices.
Nonwea pon P ro fici e n c ies:
Bo nus Prof1cie ncles; (Genera l)
Etiqu e tte . Heraldry. RIdi ng
(Land-Based) . Recom m end ed:
(Gen eral) Animal Train ing.
Da ncing. (Wa rr io r) Bli nd -
Fighting. Gam ing. Humin g,
Tracking. (Priest. cost dou ble
s lots un less Pa ladin) Local His·
tory, Musica l In s trumen t,
ReadlnglWrltl ng.
Equipment: The Noble War·
rior may spend his gold p retty
much as he chooses- but t.h ere
are certai n minim um standards
he cannot viola Ie. He can not
buy arm or less proteC(ive tha n
brigandlne or scale ma il . Befo re
s tarting pla y. he m usebuy a suit
of armor. a shield. a t least o ne
weapon larger than a dagger. a
horse (at least a r1ding horse).
ri ding sad d le, bit & b rid le.
horseshoes and shoeing. ha lter
and saddle blanket.
Specia l Benefits: The Noble
Wa rrior starts with more gold
than other Warrior Kits; see be-
low u nder Wealth Options. The
Noble Warrior receives a + 3 re-
action from anyone of his own
cultu re, When trave lling. he can
de mand shelter from anyone in
his own nation w ho Is of lower
social status than he. Most peo-
ple of his own status or higher
will offer him s helter w hen he is
travelling-up to two persons
times thc Noble Warrior's expe-
rience level. (T haI Is. i{[he Noble
28
Warrior Is fifth level. the patron
will offer s helter for the Noble
Warrior and u p to nine of his
com panlonsj. In his own la nd .
the Noble Warrior can adm inis-
ter low j ustice u pon common-
ers - a ct as judge. Jury and exe-
cu tioner for mi nor crimes he
comes across (the defini tion of
" m inor crim es" Is necessarily
up to the OM or the campaign .
b ut in ge neral s hould Include
things like assault. petty theft.
etc,).
Special Hindrances : In order
to become a Noble Warrior. the
c ha rac t.er bas sworn a n oath of
loyalty to some greater nohle. If
he's squ ire toa knig ht. he hasan
oath to his kn ig h t. If h e 's a
k nigh t himself. he's sworn an
oath to his king or some other
noble-or perha ps to both . He' ll
be expected to live u p to tha t
oath rrom time to time: Accom-
pany his lord Into com ba t. pro-
vide troops to his lo rd . even
beggar his ow n household in or-
der to su pport his lord 's needs,
Add lUonal ly. the Noble Wa r-
rior is expec ted to live well . Afte r
he Is c reated . he must add
+ 10% to the base cost of goods.
eq uJpment. a nd services he is
buying- for each exper ie n ce
level he has-to rcnec t his noble
tastes and req uiremen ts.
T his extra cost Is no tJus t a tip.
The character is b u ying higher.
q ua li ty good s. Here·s h ow it
works,
Example: Sir Am stard ridcs
inca tOlVn , He's In need of a new
swor d, a nigh t's lodging at the
in n for himself an d his s quire.
and meals and ba ths for both.
He's a 5th·]evel Noble WalT/or,
He SlO p S by a wcaponmaker,
T h e basic cost for a long sword
is 15 gpo Ams ta rd must choose a
befl cr weapon than the "bas ic
long sword: ' and SO chooses a
more decora tive one ha ving llic
exact same com bat characleris·
Ucs, bu t cost.ing 22 gp and 5 sp.
He goes to the inn. The basic
ra l e at fha! speclflc inn Is 2 gp
per nlghr per person, Amslard
won 'r setrle for the basic room.
though, and so pays 3 gp per
night per person , all for betler
quality rooms. He pays 6 gp, one
nlghr's stay for himself and his
squire.
Th e two baths would be 3 cp
each, or 6 tota l. Amstard,
though , must have soap and a
brush and the water h ealed es·
peclally for him (an d for his
squire, too): total cost Is 9 cpo
And so on ...
If the Noble Warr10r Is unable
to spend this extra money be·
cause of lack of funds, he can
settle for lesser goods. , . but his
bonus to ReacUon raUs wtll be
reduced, at -1 per such inci·
d en t. until it reaches +0, to reo
Oect the fact thal people are
seeing that h e Is settli ng for
shabbier goods and otherwise
not living up to their expecta·
tions of how a noble warrior
should Uve. At the OM's dlscre·
tion . other problems may follow
this: Nobles fall to offer him
shelter or help because he's
suc h a shabby specimen, he
gets a reputation as a penny·
plncher, etc.
1b retaln his bonus, when the
Noble Warrior is once again in
the money he must do whatever
it takes to upgrade his situation
(buy new clothes, go on a buy·
ing spree. etc .. at the OM 's d is-
cretion) and his + 3 reaction wUl
return.
If a Noble Warrior gets a bad
reputation , deservedly or unde-
servedly, his + 3 reaction be-
comes a - 6 reaction from
everybody who knows of the
reputation,
And Just as other nobles are
expected to extend shelter to the
Noble Wanior, he Is expected to
offer other nobles shelter when
they are travelling through his
territory-or when they meet on
the road whlle he is encamped
and they are not, etc. Whenever
a Noble Warrior character Is get-
ting too cocky, the OM can have
him visited by a nice. large
crowd of nobles to whom he Is
expected to offer shelter and
food ... and who proceed to eat
him out of house and home.
Wealth Options: The Noble
Warr10r begins play with more
gold than other Warrior Kits: be
receives 225 gp plus the stand·
ard 5d4x 10 gp, Butdo not forget
that he Is required to spend a
large portion of that on speclOc
Items d escribed above ...
Races: Irs appropriate for any
sort of demihuman race to have
a class of Noble Warriors.
Peasant Hero
Description: The Peasant
Hero Is the "local boy done
good," the home-town warrior
who fights and adventures to
the d eUght of the people In his
home area. The Peasant Hero Is
the most common sort of fighter
found wandering the land and
advemurlng: every village has
one or has had one within living
memory.
There are no ability-score reo
quirements to be a Peasant
Hero,
Role: In the campaign, the
Peasant Hero is the fellow who
won '[ forgel that his roots are In
the country and in the soil. He
can be a rebel against the crown
in lands where the peasants are
especially oppressed: he can be
the fa rm boy who becomes a
mighty generaJ: he can be the
noble 's child (secretly raised by
peasants) who grows up to fulflll
an a ncient prophecy: but in
every case, he remembers his
origins and strives to make
things better for his family and
home community,
Secondary Skills: The player
may choose his character's sec-
ondary skill.
Weapon Proriciencies: The
player may choose his charac·
ter's weapon proficlencies, but
may not choose any that the OM
feels would be unusual for his
19
campalgn·world's peasants ,
Short sword, spear, bow , foot-
man's weapons and the like are
all very appropriate; horse·
man's weapons. exotic po-
learrns, lan ces. long swords,
tridents and the like are not.
This is only a restriction when
the character Is first created: af·
terwards, of course. he can I~arn
any weapon he receives training
with.
Nonweapon Proriciencies:
Bonus Proficlenc ies: Agrlcul·
ture or Fishing (player choice),
Weather Sense or Animal Lore
(player choice). Recommended:
Any of the General proficien·
c les.
Equipment: The Peasant
Hero may spend his starting
gold any way he sees fit, but
may have no more than 3 gp left
when he begins play.
Special Benefits: No matter
what he's done or what a nyone
thinks of him, the Peasant Hero
always has shelter and often has
other help when he 's in his own
community. Unless It is known
that the Peasant Hero has hurt
people from his own commu-
ntty, he' ll always find people to
put him up, hide him and com-
panions from the law, supply
them with food and drink and
what little weaponry can be
scraped together (usually dag·
gers), and even provide them
with helpers-earnest O·level
you ths who want to grow up to
be like their hero.
Special Hindrances: Since
the Peasant Hero Is looked upon
as a patron and hero by the peo.
pIe from his home. they will fre-
quently come to him for help.
Whenever the viJlage Is losing
people to nocturnal predators.
whe never a v1llage overlord
turns out to be a dangerous ty·
rant, whenever a local citizen Is
Jailed and tried for something he
d idn't do. the citizens turn to
the Peasant Hero for help. And If
he turns them away. he loses
their respect and earns a - 2 re-
stl/, Warrior Kits
action from all af lhe peasants in
the land until he Is once again in
h is home communlty's good
graces.
Wealth Optio ns: The Peasant
Hero gets the standard 5d4xlO
gp starting money.
Races: T he Peasant Hero Is a
dIstinc tly human sort of charac-
ter: It's also appropriate to half-
lings. and to half-elves living
among humans. But no other
demihumans should have Peas-
ant Hero characters un less the
DM decides thal their cultures
are very much like rural h uman
society.
Ph'ate/Outlaw
Desc ription : This character
Is the heroic scomaw. {he war-
rior who defies the laws and
rulers of the land and steers his
own course. Usually In the com-
pany of other pirates or outla ws.
h e nghLS the minions of l.he
ruler s he defies. and comes to be
regarded as a hero by others
who suffer at those ru lers'
hands. T he Pirate. of course. is
the adventurer of the high seas.
who makes his living raiding
other ships a nd seacoast com-
munities: the Outlaw makes his
home In the wilderness (ofte n
deep fo rest) a nd preys on the
traffic moving through that wil -
derness.
There are no special a bility-
score requirements to be a PI-
rate or Outlaw.
Role: In a campaign. the pi·
rate or outlaw can belong to one
ofrwo orientations. Eith er he's a
"good guy." and It Is the law a nd
the rulers who are evil , or he is a
"bad guy" and simply takes
what he wants from those who
have it. The player. therefore ,
gelS to decide on his character 's
aUgnment and (mls}dceds.
Note. though. that good guy
pirates and outlaws tend to live
by a very strict code of
conduct- for example, the clas-
sic cinema code of Robin Hood
and his Merry Men, where the
outlaws robbed fro m the rich
a nd gave to the poor. and pro-
tec ted the defe nse less with
more honor an d zeal than En-
gland's supposedly Noble War-
riors did .
Naturally, If a player chooses
to bea good guy in a company of
bad guys. or vice-versa, when
his companions find out his true
colors. they' ll probably try to
kill hIm or to turn him in to the
law (or the reward on his head.
Secondary Skills: If the char-
acter is a Pirate, roll d 100 fo r his
Secondary Skill. On a 0 1-70, his
Secondary Skill Is Sailor: on a
7 1-80. It's Shipwright: on 8 1·00.
It's Navigator. If the c harac ter is
an Outlaw. the character may
choose between Bowyerl
Fletcher, Foresier. Hunter. and
Trapper/Furrier.
Weapon Proficien cies : If the
character Is a Pirate. he mus t
take the following profieieneles:
Cutlass· . and Belaying Pin - or
Gaff/Hook - (p layer e hoicel. If
the character is an Outlaw. he
can take any weapon proficJen-
cles he chooses ... but the DM.
if he's created this campaign SO
that the outlaws have a special
motif weapon (suc h as Robin
Hood's Merr), Men a nd the ir
longbows} may insist that all
Outlaw characters take a spe-
cific weapon profi ciency. Rec·
omme nded to classic Me rry
Man-type outlaws a rc longbow,
long sword and quarle rstafr.
(Th e " . " symbol Indlca tes a
new weapon found In the Equip-
ment chapte r.)
Nonweapon P ro fi ciencies:
Plrate's Bo nus Proficlencles:
(Ge neral) Rope Use, Seaman·
s h ip. Pirate's Recommended
Pronciencies: (General) Swim'
ming, Weather Sense, (Warrior)
Navigation. (Priest. double s lots
unless Paladin) Engineering (for
shipbuilding). Reading/Writing
(for mapmak ing), (Rogue, dou ·
ble slots) Appraising. Set Snarcs
(In association with Rope Use
30
skill). Tightrope Walking, TU m·
bling, (Wizard, double s lots un-
less Ranger) Engineering (for
s hipbuilding). ReadlnglWnting
(for mapmaking). Outlaw's Bo-
nus Profielenc les: Direc tio n
Sense , Flre·Bulldlng. Outlaw's
Recommended Proficie ncles:
(General) Riding (Land·Based).
(Warrior) Animal Lore, Bowyerl
Fletcher, Endurance, Hunt ing,
Running. Set Snares. Survival.
Tracking, (Prlese dou ble slots
un less Paladin) Healing. Herbal-
ism. Local History. (Rogue. dou·
ble slots) Disguise. Special Note:
Your OM may bea fan of the very
acrobatic pi ra te or outlaw mov-
ies of the past. and prefer that
Thmbling be one of your Bonus
Proficiencies Instead of one of
the ones listed: check with him
La sec If this Is so.
Equipment: Pirates and Out·
laws come from widely diverse
backgrounds. so there's no real
restriction on what t.hey can buy
with their starting money. How·
ever, It would be foollsh for either
type of character to buy metal ar·
mor of any kJn d (banded, brlgan-
dine. bronze plale. chain , field
plate, full plate. plate mall. and
ring maill. Pirates wearing such
annal' In naval combat willlnevl·
tably fall overboard and sink
(they can't swim with such stuff
on): if they' re luc ky enough to
get it off so they can swim ,
they've lost the annor. Outlaws
living out In the wild have their
belongings exposed to the ele·
ments. and metal annol' qUickly
corrodes. Therefore. It's up to the
DM to keep things in balance. lfa
Pirate or Outlaw buys metal ar-
mor and keeps It stowed away
for special occasions (major land
engagemen ts, climactic battles,
etc.), that's fine. But if they wear
such stuff all the time. the DM
s hould continually take It away
from them through accidents.
rust and corrosion, etc.
Special Benefits: Pirates and
Outlaws do not have any Intr in-
sic s peCial benefits. a lthough

the OM ca n bestow some
campaign-based bendilS on
them If he chooses. For In-
stance. In many Pirate setUngs.
there Is a powerful pirate city
where th e pes can go to trade
their ill·golle n gains. a place
where the law dares not eOler;
this makes It easier for them to
dispose of their goods and enjoy
the benefits of a home city when
otherwise they wouldn ' t have
one. As another example. In a
"Merry Men" type outlaw cam·
paIgn. the heroes have the dubi-
ous be nefit of knowing that
they're on th e right side and if
they can Just oust lhe current
rulers (probably restoring the
proper rulers in the process).
they'll have their fortunes reo
stored or enhanced. the land
will once again be bright and
shiny. and everyone will live
happily ever after.
Special Hindrances: The ma-
Jor problem with being an out·
law or pirate is that the law Is
always after the c harac ters.
Though the authorities do not
have to put In an appearance I.n
every single play·sesslon,
they're always out there, plot·
tlng against the heroes. Many of
them are quHe clever, they prob·
ably have more m oney, ships
and m en than the heroes. and
they 'll continue to plague the
heroes until the campaign Is
done.
Wealth Options: Pirate and
Outlaw charac ters get the
s tandard 5d4x IO gp for starting
gold.
Races: Outlaws and Pirates.
unless your campaIgn Is very
human-orle nted , wtll take Just
about anyone they can geL so
lL 's perfec tly approp ri ate for
there to be Outlaws and Pirates
of the demlhuman races.
Not e: In a Pirate ca mpaign , It
could be that the playe r·
c haracters will eventually come
to terms with the authorities
and '"go straight.'" This doesn 't
mean they have to abandon the
Pirate Warrior KIt. howeve r.
They could Instead become
Priva teers-who are basically
pirates sailing under the papers
of (permission 00 their ruler,
a nd preying on the nation 's ene·
mies. At that point, they can
sUII behave Just as they did pre·
vlous ly, and the other nation's
au thorities become their spe·
clfic enemy.
Samurai,
Description: The samurai Is a
warrior from cu ltures based on
the medieval Japanese clvillza·
tion. He IIvcs by a very strict
code of honor and behavior, a
code demanding: absolute obe·
dlence to hiS lord: readiness to
die for honor or for his lord at
any time: eagerness to avenge
any dis honor to his lord, his
famil y. or himself: wilHngness to
re pay all debts honorably: and
unwillingness to demonstrate
the most dishonorable trait of
cowardice.
Samurai must have mini-
mum scores of 13 In Strength,
Wisdom , and Constitution. and
of 14 in Intelligence. They may
be oflawful alignment only (but
sLill may be good, evil. or neu·
tral),
Role: In a campaign . unless
m e campaign itself Is set in an
eastern culture, the SamuraJ is
present to provide a touch of the
exotic (culture clashes are a l-
ways very Interesting In a cam -
paign): It also allows for a
variety of warrior who can be
trem endously deadly.
A samurai can fall from hiS
noble position within a greater
lord's household. It may be that
the house has perished In a war
or other calamIly, or that the
samurai's lord has rejected him.
or ordered him to commit sui·
clde and the samurai has
refused. or that Lhe samurai has
left his lord for some other point
of honor. Regardless, the samu-
rai is now masteriess; he Is
31
Warrior Kits \11-
called ron in. T he ronln has all of
the abilities of the samurai , but
operates under slightly differe nt
rules, as you will see below .
With your OM's pennlsslon. you
can create 'lour c haracter as a
ronln instead of a samurai. A
samurai can become a ronin at
any time In a campaign : like-
wise. by sweanngalleglance loa
lord who will have him. a ronin
can become a samurai agai n.
Before you create a samurai or
ronln cha racter. ask your OM if
such things exist on his world
and !fyou may play one. 11 could
be that the OM does not wish to
allow samurai and ronln In his
campaign (because the cam·
palgn world has no oriental sel-
tlng to act as their origin . for
instance).
Secondary Skills: A samurai
or ronln must have the Scribe
sccondarv skill
Weapon Proficiencies : The
samurai and ronln start play
with two free extra weapon pro·
ficlency s lots- that's the good
news. The bad news is that. of
his six InitIal weapon pronclen ·
cies, nve are chosen for him.
The samurai and ronln must
specialize In katana· (samurai
sword. two pronctency s lots)
and dalkyu· (samurai great
bow. three proOciency slots).
The samurai or ro nln ' may
spend his last proficiency s lot as
he chooses ... but only from
among the samurai weapo ns
listed in the Equipment chapter
of thiS book. (The " . " symbol In-
dicates a n ew weapon to be
found in the Equipment chap·
ter.) After the c haracter is In
play In another culture , he may
become pronclenl in weapons of
that other culture.
Nonweapon ProHciencies:
Bonus Proficiencies: Etiquette,
Riding (Land·Based) . RequIred
(samurai/ronln must purchase
these. bu t gets no extra s lots to
pay for them): (Priest and Wiz-
ard. costs double slots unless
Paladin or Ranger) Readlngl
~li
.
Warrior Kits
Writing. Recommended: C en·
eral- A r tlstlc Ab il ity/Calli gra-
phy. Artistic Abillty/Paj ntln g,
(Warrior) Blin d· Fighting. Ru n-
ning.
Equipment: The samurai a nd
ronln must buy a ll their star ting
e q uipm enl from the sam u rai
weapons. arm or and equipment
listed In the Equipm ent c hapte r.
Thcy may have no more th an 10
gp left w h en they h ave pur·
c hased th efr equi pm cn l. Sam u -
ra i and ronin do nor ha ve to buy
lheJT ka tana: ilia l Is fTee to the
character.
Special Benefits : The samu-
rai a nd ronin are able to focus
their vital e nergies to increase
(heir Stre ngt h score-te rn ·
porarlly. Once per day per ex pe·
r le nce leve l. w e sam urai or
roni n can Increase his Strength
to I Sh>o. This lasts fo r one full
round , and m ust be preced ed by
a loud k ia/ s hout (making It im·
possible for h im 10 s ummon this
strength silenUy or stealthJly).
For tha t one round, a ll his hit
p robabi lity. da mage a djus t-
ment . weight a llowa nce, maxi-
mum press . ope n doors . and
be nd ba rs/11ft gates rolls a nd
fun c tio ns are calcula ted as lf hJs
Strength were 18/00 .
Special Hindrances : The
samurai a nd ronln have diffe r-
e nt s pec ial hin d ran ces. Th e
sam urai is (supposed to be) a b-
sol utely devoted to his lord . He
is expected Instamly to obey
every one of his lord's orders. up
to a nd includ ing kUling himself
or those he loves. lf be refuses to
obey an order, he is dishonored
a nd is expected to kill himself.
(I f he does no t. he becom es
ronln.) The DM s hould ma ke
sure that m e samura i Is acutely
a ware of this by having his lord
occasionally issue orders which
are d ifficult for him to keep.
This doesn' t a lways have to be
" KI\! a ll of your allies," but the
lord can issue orders which in-
te rfere with the samurai's per-
sona! goals and rem ind hIm that
he is subservient to his lord . The
ro nl n has his own great diffi-
c u lty : He ea r ns e xpe rience
poi nts a t ha lf the nonnal rate.
When m e OM awards the cha r-
a c te rs the ir experie nce, the
ronin receives only ha lf what he
wou ld If he were still a sam urai.
This particula r hind rance goes
a way whe n the c harac ter once
again swearsa l!eglance to a lord
a nd becomes a samura\. (Of
co urse, on ce he's a sa mura i
a gain , he is subject to the hin-
drances of the samurai .)
Wealth Optio ns: The samu rai
and ronin s tart with the nonnal
5d4x 10 g p beginnin g money.
Races: The historical prece-
dcnt for the samurai is strictly
human . so It's up to the individ-
ual OM If he wa nts to have an
oriental-based demihu man cul-
tu re wit h a sam urai warr ior
class. Such a thing is perhaps
mos t visua lly app ro priate to
elves a nd ha lf-elves , but a DM
could allow it 10 any deOl ihu -
man race In his campa ign.
Note: Players a nd DMs Wishing
to have: more game-oriemed In-
fonnaUon on the samurai should
rea d Oriemal Ad ventures. a n
AD&.D game supplement deal-
ing exclUSively \vitb the topiC of
eastern campaigns. Your OM may
adapt anything he chooses to use
fro m tha t supplement to AD&lY'
2nd Edition game rules and sta-
tistics. The: sam urai presented
here is a simplified version of the
OA samurai.
Savage
Des cription: The Savage Is a
tribesma n, technologica lly a nd
c ull uraJly far more prim itive
than even the Barba rian an d
Berserker, who is very much in
tune wit h the na tural world .
A Savage ca n be a n honorable
Jungle vlne-s\vinger raised by
animals. a ve ry dirty and pri ml-
Uvc warrior who lives in mud-
wa ttle huts and fig hts with bone
wea pons , a brea th takingly
3Z
beautifu l native princess from a
c ul tu re whjch the c ha rac te rs
consider Impossibly primItIve
and yet uncorrupted and very
noble, .. a nd so on. In short, the
tribal culture from which the
Sa vage character comes can be
as crude or civil. coarse or noble.
nasty or admirab le as the play-
ers and OM want It to be .
Th be a Savage. a character
must have a min imum Strength
score of I! a nd a minimum Can·
slltulion score of 15.
Role: In a campaign. the sav-
age cha racter has a couple of
roles . His parUcula r skills and
benents a re of use to the average
ad vemuring party. If he comes
from a particularly noble tribe,
he may c hoose to act a s the
" voice of conscience" for the ad-
ventu rin g party. asking why, if
the other characters a re s up-
posed to be so much more civi-
lized tha n hIs awn people , their
honor and ethics seem to drag
so far behind? But for the most
part. he's a role-playing cha l-
le nge, and s hould be c hosen
only by pla ye rs willing to devote
the extra effort to portraying
someone fro m s uch a different
culture . .. a nd how tha t char-
acter reacts with the other PCS'
culture. This is a n opportunity
for a 10l of humor a nd not a little
traged y in a cam paign ... but
only If lhe player is willing to go
to that effort.
Secondary Skills : The Sav-
a ge c ha rac ter should have
Fis he r, Forester. Hu nte r. o r
TtapperlF'urrier as his Second-
ary Skill (player choice)_
Wea pon Proficiencies: The
OM should define a set of wea p-
ons whic h the PC can choose his
begin ning weapon proOclencies
from. A typical set. for classic
" noble savages" ; blowg un . long
bow , short bow , c lub. dagger.
Jave.li n. knlre. sling. spear. The
character mus t make his first-
level wea pon proOclencies selec-
tlons from these choices. Once
he begins play a nd begins ad-

venturing in th e outcr world. he
may learn any other weapon. of
course . . . bu t it's bett.er role-
playing If he prefers to stick to
the weapons of his tribe.
Nonweapon Proficiencics:
Bonus Proficiencies: (General)
Direction Scnse. Wealher Se nse.
(Warrior) Endurance. Survival.
Recommended : (Ge ner al) Ani-
mal Handling. Animal Tt-alnlng.
Fire-Bui lding. Fishi ng. Riding
(Land·based). Rope Use. Swim-
ming. [Warrior) Animal Lore.
Bo wyer/Fletche r. Hun ting,
Mountaineering. Running. Set
Snares. 1facklng. (Priest . dou-
ble slots unless Paladin) Heal·
ing. Herbalism. Local History.
Religion. (Rogue. double s lots)
Jumping. Tightrope Walking.
ThmhUng. (Wizard. double s lots
u nless Ranger) Herbalism , Reli-
gion.
Equipment: The Savage gets
nogo\d (O gp) with which to pur ·
c hase his weapons and equjp-
mem, Instead, he may take up
to four of the weapons listed un·
der "New Savage Weapons" In
the Equipmenl chapter. He may
assemble an equipment list of
up to len additional ilems, sub·
jectto the DM's a pprova l. which
he wtll have accu mula ted duro
Ing his years with the tribe: they
must be items which members
of a savage tribe cou ld have
made (things s uch as pouches,
clothing. food. rope . fishing
gear. sheathes for weapons, and
so forth-no mirrors. lanterns.
iron cooking pots, and the like. )
With the OM's permission , If the
tribe is a rlver·tribe or a riding
tribe. he may have cUher a rid-
ing horse (w ith saddle·blanke t.
halter. bit and bridle) or a small
canoe.
Special Benefits: One of the
Savage's special benents Is that
he rece ives more bonus non·
weapon proflciencies than a ny
other type of warrior-
testimony to the fact that the
Savage must know more s kills
33
Warrior Kits \If •
JU Si 10 s tay a li ve than other
charac ters. Anolher. substan-
tlal. benent the Savage receives
is this: He has a special a bUity.
resembling a s pell . which he
may use o nce per day per expe·
rience level he has (I .e .. a 5th-
level savage could use his ability
fiv e times per day).
The special ability mus t be
chosen from the list below. must
be chose n when the character is
first created. a nd may never be
c ha nged. The speCial ability is
not trul y magiC. and De tect
magic will not detect it; ilis an
ability natural to the Savage. It
does n Ol require verbal. SQ-
matlc. or materia l components.
even If such are required from
the normal spell.
The list:
( 1) Alarm (Wizard l Sl Level).
Special effects: This Is only usa·
ble by lhe Savage when he Is
resting OT sleeping in a quiet
p lace. The ability does not
sound an a la nn like the spell : it
~ll
,
Warrior Kits
mere ly alerts t he Savage to in-
trusion (If he is already awake)
or awakens him (if he Is asleep).
It Is not cast upon a particular
place; II aierls him to activity
within 10 fee t afme place where
he lies {as jf he were allhe center
of the 20'[001 cu be of effect of
the actual spell).
(2) Deleei Magic (Wi7.ard 1st
Level). SpeciaJ effects: Thjs re-
flects t.he fact that the Savage Is
in tune wah natur e and can feel
whe n there is something unnat-
ural (i .c .. magical) In the alr. Un-
less the Savage is also a Ranger.
he cannol detenninc the type of
magic present (I.e .. alteration ,
conjuration. etc.).
(3) Animal Fnendship (Pries t
l SI Level ). Special elTects: This
ability can only make frie nds of
an animal which Is not angry or
threate ned. It can be used to
make an angry or lhrealc ned
animal calm. To make frie nds
with an angry or threatened ani-
mal. therefore. the Savage must
be able to use the ability twice
that day (i.e __ he must be of 2nd
level or higher) and must have
two uses left. 1b use the abili ty.
the Savage must confront the
animaL face to face. at no fur·
ther away than the limits of the
anlmal's attack range. As wlln
the spell . the Savage must actu-
ally have no ulterior motlvcs. for
such w ill be detectcd by the ani-
mal. and th e abllity wHl fall .
(4) Deleel e"i/ (Pries t 1st
L evel)_ Special effects: this Is
like the De tect Magic abllHy.
above . Like the Priest spell. this
Detect Evtl cannot detec t evil In
a PC- only in a monSler. place.
or magical Item.
The OM can dIsallow any of
llle four abilities given above. or
IntroduCe new ones- though he
can't add a nything that resem-
bles a magical spell above Jst
level.
Special Hindrances : The
Savage has some drawbac ks.
too. He Is uncomfortable In civi-
lIzed clothes and a nnor-When
wearin g any sort of clOIhing
more cumbersome a nd conceal-
Ing than his normal tribal dress.
he s ulTers a -I to all altack.
damage and non weapon profi·
clency rolls: he's uncomforta-
ble. and It's alTecling his actions
and reactions.
Likewise. he can wea r any
type of amlOr. but Is so uncom·
fortable In Jt [hat he will suffer a
- 3 to all a ttack, damage. a nd
nonweapon proficiency rolls
whlle wearing any sort of armor
at all. If a player blatantly de-
cides not to role-play his c harac-
ter's dislike of armor and Simply
wcars armor conti nually. ac-
cepting tha t negative mod mer.
[he OM shou ld gra dually In ·
crease the modifier; - 3 In one
play-session, - 4 in the nex t. -5
in the nex t, and so on ... with
no limit. Ir the player asks why
this Is ha ppening, the OM need
merely reply that the character
is growing more and morc un·
comfortable in his unna tu ral
trappIngs and finding It ha rder
and ha rder to concentrate on
the job a t hand.
Wealth Options: The Savage
StanS out whh no gold. He gets
his start.l.ng weapons as described
above. under Equipment After
the campaign starts. the charac·
ter w!ll Inevitably come across
the conceptS of money : it's up to
the plaver how he reacts to them
(he coU"ld either like the idea and
try 10 accumulate the SLuff as his
allies do, or put It down to civi-
lized coITUption and stay away
from It).
Races: Mosl role-playing cam-
palgns tend to think oflhe deml·
huma ns as being more civ ilized
and cultured than humans. but
It's perfectly all right to have
Savage dwarves. elves. gnomes.
half-elves, and even halfllngs in
your cam paJgn if [he DM wishes
the m to be there.
Not e: "But." you say. "w hat If
my character grew up In a Sav·
age tribe and was la ter enslaved
and trained as a GladIator and
34
then escaped? What is he. a Sav-
age or a Gladiator?"
Tha t's up to you to answer. Ir
he sti li considers h im self a
member of his tribe and has not
been distanced from It by his
ca pture a nd training. take the
Savage Warrior Kit: perhaps
vour OM will allow you to use
some of your proficlcncles to
learn weapons a nd skills appro·
priate to Cladiators. Likewise, If
the char acter is now more ur·
ban than savage. build him with
the Gladia tor Warrior Kit ... but
have him use SOme of his profl-
ciencies on Savage sk ill s a nd
weapons.
The same son of theory ap-
plies If you 're creating a ny char·
acte r with a complicated
bac kground: A Barbaria n youth
brought up In the trad it ions or a
Samurai. an Amazon lass who
has grown u p to be a Knight (No-
ble \Vamor). a Pirate boy wh o
gave up the seas and took to be-
ing a big-cUy Swashbuckler. De-
cidc which Warrior Kit the
characte r considers himself to
belong to. create him with thai
Kit . a nd usc some of your proO-
clencies to buy weapon s-
knowledge and sk ills pertaining
to the other K i t.
Swashbuckler
Descri pti on: The Swash -
buc kler Is the sophisticated,
witly. lightly arm ed and ar-
mored hero in a sophisticated
City-based campaign-a la The
Three Musketeers. Hc's fully ca·
pable of putting on heavy ar-
mor. picking up a basta rd
sword. and soldiering a longSide
other lank warriors . . . but he
shines in com parison whe n the
heroes are adventuring in the
city. in light armor a nd with
Ught weapons.
To be a Swashbuckler, a c har-
acter must have an Intelligence
and Dexterity of 13 or better.
Role: In a campaign, the
Swashbuckler is the happy-go-

luck" hero with the ready wil
and ' the nashlng rapier .· He's
happiest when he's in the big
city. but ca n be an imposing
warrior anywh ere- enemies of·
ten undcreslima le him because
of his charming manners and
don't realize that he can plate on
annar and w ield hea\'y weapons
as well a s a n yo ne e lse. T he
Swashbuc kl e r. beca use he 's
brigh t an d well-spoken . ohen
becomes party leader ... or a t
least the leader's spokesman.
Seco ndary Skills: The
Swashbu ckler ca n choose h is
ow n Seco nd a ry Sk il l. Good
c h Oices in clude: Navigator (If
h e's in wlLh a ba nd o[pirates. es-
p eC iall y)' Gamble r . Jewe ler.
Scribe. and Wcaponsmlth.
Weapon Profici e ncies: Th e
Swashbuckler receives IwO ex-
l ra wcapo n proficiency s lots
wh ic h must be devo ted 10
weapon proficiency with one of
t he fo llowi ng weapons: sti-
letto · , main-gauche- , rapier ",
a nd sabre ". (The" ' " sym bol de-
notes new weapons to be fo und
In th e Equipm em c ha pter.)
Throughout his career. he must
devote half of his wea pon profi ·
clency slots \.0 those fo ur weap-
ons. Once he has achieved
specializa tion in all fo ur of those
weapons. he may freely c hoose
where the rest of his weapon
proficiency slots go.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Proficle ncles: (Ge ne ra\)
Etlque ttc. (Rogue) Thmbling.
Recom mended: (Genera\) Artis·
tic AbIlity. Da ncing, Heraldry.
La nguages (Mode rn). Ri ding
(Land-Based ). Seamans hip ,
(Warrior) Blind-Fighting, Cam-
ing. (Priesr. double s lors unless
Palad in) Musical InsLrume nt,
Reading/Writi ng, (Rogue) Ap-
praisi ng, Disguise. Forge ry,
Juggling. MUSical Instrument.
Tightrope Walking. (Wi za rd.
doub le s lots unless Ranger)
Reading/Wri ting.
Equipment: The Swashbuck-
ler m usr buy the weapon In
which he has s pecialized, but
except fo r tha t limitation may
spend hi s gold precisely as he
pleases.
Special Benefits: The Swas h-
buckle r has th ree special bene-
fits. First. whe n us ing up his
Nonweapon Proficiency s lots.
he doesn't have to devote dou -
ble the normal number of slots
when choosi ng Rogue proficien·
cies. Second , when he's weari ng
l!ght or no annor {I.e .. no armor,
lea lhe r armor. or padded a r-
ma rl, he rece ives a -2 bonus to
his AC (tha t is. a n AC of 7 would
become a 5): he's so nimble that
he's very hard to hit . Third_ the
Swashbuckler Is such a roman-
t ic fi gure thaI he al ways re-
ceives a +2 adjustment on his
reaction roll from NPC mem bers
of the opposite sex.
Special Hindrances: Thouble
seeks out th e Swas hbuck ler.
This is somet hing that the OM
will have to play very carefully if
the Swashbuckler Is to be as
hin de red as all the othcr Warrior
Kits_ Whe n there's a not her
Swashb uc kle r a round. Inte nt
on prov ing that he's the bes t
swords man In the world _iI 'S the
PC Swash buckle r he scn les
upon and challenges. When a
cen al n young lady is being pur-
sued by the klng's guards. who
a rc Inte nt on stoppi ng he r fro m
revealing secrets In her posses-
sion. it is the Swashbuckler s he
stumbles across when fi eeing.
When a prince is 100 drunk to at-
tend his own coronation, mirac·
ulously he looks just like the
Swas hbuckler. Life conspires to
make thin gs dlffi c uil for the
Swashb uckl er, a nd th e OM
s ho uld always throw Just a lill ie
more good-natured bad luck at
lh at Warrior Kit than a t a ny
other.
Wealth Options: The Swash-
buckler receives the standa rd
5d4x 10 gp starling money allot-
me nt
Races: Any demihuman
who'd look elegant In foppis h
35
Warrior Kits \11-
.
dress, wielding a narrow blade.
will work fine as a Swashbuck-
ler. especia lly elves. half-elves
and haln lngs . Dwarves and
gnomes are not entirely ina p-
propriate. but are likely to have
to defe nd th e m se lves from
plenty of jokes a t the expense of
their c uriou s looks.
Wilderness Warrior
Description: This hero repre-
sents some tribe (either civilized
or barbarian) living In a danger-
ous, th rea te nin g, or unusual
wilderness environme nt-such
as the desert. dee p In swamp
territory, in the frozen North ,
LUcked away In the jungle or
rroplcal rain forest or In dis tant
mountalns.
The Wilderness Wa rrior Is dif-
ferent from the Barbarian. He's
not a utomatically a m enacing
fi gure whe n travelling a round in
the campalgn's nornlal society;
he's j us t exotic and unus ual He
can be vcry cultured and civi-
lized, but. coming as he does
from a di ffere nt c ulture, will
have differe nt a tt!tudes from the
oth er pl ayer-c harac ters on
ma ny subjec ts.
For example. a desert nomad
c ha rac te r may be m erely of-
fe nded al the theft of his prop-
erty but be outraged by (and
demand the dea th penaJty for)
theft of his wat er; he may be-
lieve tha t women should Slay in
cam p a nd leave fighting to the
m en (a n opinion he wJII find
himself qu ickl y djsabused from
whe n In the outer world): he
may feel the need to pros tra te
him self whe never he passes the
ch urch or lemple of the deity he
worships: and so on.
The playe r decidcs (with OM 's
perm ission) what son of tribe
and e nvironment th e Wilder-
ness Wa rrior comes from . Then ,
working With the OM , he mus t
determine wha t sort of unus ual
be liefs and c ustoms !.he charac-
te r and h is tribe possess. He
stll
•
Warrior Kits
may later abandon a fe w of
th ese beliefs In the ou ler world,
but shou ld n ot abandon m ost of
th e m : th ey a rc pa rt of what
makes h i m unique in the cam ·
palgn .
1b be a Wilderness Warrior.
the ch aracter m ust have a Con-
sUtution score ofatlcast 13.
Role: In a campaign. like the
Barbarian a nd Savage. the Wil·
d erness Warrior is the "outsid-
er's voice" who questions all the
stra nge quirks and discrepan-
cies In th e player-characte rs'
culture . He's also an opportu-
nilY for some comic-relief ad-
\' ent ures. when he misin-
terprets some aspect of lhe soci-
ety and It leads him into confu-
sion a nd tro uble. More
Importa mly, the DM should a r·
range for the occasional adven-
ture to take place In lands like
lhose of his birth. so lhat he can
dem onstrate his skllls In that
enviro nment.
Secondary Skills: If you ' re
using th e Seco nd a ry Skil ls
rules. the Wilderness Wa rrio r
may choose his skill from the
fo llowing list: Fis her. Forester.
Hunter. Sailor. 1fapperfFurrier.
Weapon Proficiencies : The
Wilde rness Warrior may spend
his Weapon ProOciencies any
way he pleases. The OM may in·
s ist lhat he spend one or two o n
weapons appropriate to his cu l-
ture: A desert nomad should
have Scimitar and Shon Com·
posite Bow, while a n arctic war-
rior should have Harpoon and
Spear. for Instance.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bo nus Profic iencies: Surviva l
(In his naLive environmen t). En ·
durance. Recommended: Any
relating to Lbe land of his blrlh .
s uch as Animal Hand ling, An i·
mal Training. Da ncing (his c ui ·
tural d ances). Fire-building ,
Fis hing. Riding {Land-based),
Swimming, (WarriOr) Moumaln·
cering, Tracking.
Equipment: The Wilderness
Warrior m ay only spe nd hi s
starting gold o n items appropri·
ate to his culture. For example.
the desert nomad couldn ' t buy
a ny armor at all with his start·
Inggold . while lhe a rellc warrior
could only have leather or hide
annor. (Of course. if lhc DM de-
termines lhal his is a trading
culture. hc could have access to
goods from all ovcr the world. I
The Wilderness Warrior doesn'r
have to spend all his starting
gold before e nteri ng play. Once
he begins play. lhere are no reo
s trlc lions on what s orts of
equipment he may buy.
Special Benefits: The Wilder·
ness Warrior gets a speCial bo-
nus of +5 to his Surviva l
profic iency roll . This on ly ap-
plies to the Survival proficiency
pertaining to e nvironme nts like
thaI of his origi n : If he later
takes a second Survival pron·
ciency for anothe r type of terri-
lOry, t.he bonus doesn't count
toward it .
Special Hindrances: The WiI ·
de rness Warrio r. in his early
years. is occasiona lly hindered
by his unfamUiarity wi th the
player-cha racters' society, but
this Is a role· playing cons ide r·
a tio n: the OM must occasionally
e nforce it umi l he belicvcs the
c harac ter Is sufnclem Iy familiar
wllh the usual c ulture.
Wealth Options: The Wilder-
ness Warrior gets the usual 5d4
x 10 gp In s tarling gold .
Races: Th is is a very a ppro-
priate Warrior Kit fo r de mihu·
man warriors. and the OM may
wlsh to create some unusual de-
mlhuman lri bes 10 showcase it.
For example, everyone would
e xpcct Dwa rve n Wilderness
Warriors from the mountains.
Elf and Gnome Wilderness War-
riors from the tropical raJn for-
est. etc. But what about Desert
Dwarves? Arctic Elves? Swamp
Gnomes? Mountain Halnings?
Such unusual c hoices can add
some color to a campaig n.
3.
Recording Kits on the
Character 'Sheet
The character
record sheet presented in the
Charac ler CreaL/on chapter has
blanks for a ll of the benents.
hindrances. and o the r n otes
ge nerate d wh en a charac ter
takes a Warrior kit.
Warrior Kits and
Multl' Oass Characters
These Wa rrior
Kits arc designed to add depth
to a warrior-('Iass character. But
if lhe character Is a lready mulL!-
class (for example. a n e lf fi ghter-
magel . he doesn't n eed any
mo re dep th . Therefore . only
slngle-class warriors can take
o nc of the Warrior Kit s de·
scribed above.
However. wllh your DM's per-
mission. there's no reason why
a mulU-class warrior can ' t use
his weapon and non weapon pro·
ficien cy c hoices to simulate onc
of the KHs .. . and. again Wilh
OM permiSSion . the characters
possessing that Warrior Kit pan
consider him "one of their own "
wllhln the conlext of the cam-
paig n.
For exa mple. let us say that
your campaign features an el·
vish Amazon tribe and you
want to play an elf fighterlLhlef
who be longs to that Amazon
lrlbe.
Build her this way: Have her
take S pear and Long Bow
Weapon Profi clenc ics. For her
Nonweapon Profic le nc ies. have
her take Riding (Land-Based)
a nd Animal Trai n ing (she
doesn 'r gel e ither of these for
frcc , like the "real" Amazon. but
s he can still choose the ml. For
her Equlpme nl. limit her to the
equipment c hoices of the Ama-
zon .
If you do aU lhls. and have
your DM 's permission. wllhln
the context of the campaign,

your charac te r will be consld·
ered a n Amazon . That Is. s he
comes from the Amazon tribe
a nd th e other Amazons con·
sider her to be a shleld ·slsler
a nd one of their own. lbu know,
a nd the OM knows. that she
doesn't ha ve aJ t the special ben-
efits of the Amazon Warrior Kit.
And lhe OM Is within his rights
to assign the character the spe-
cial hindrances of the Amazon-
after all, you 'vechosen for her to
be Identified with a race of peo-
ple with those hindrances. But
to a ll outward eyes. s he Is Indis-
tinguishable (rom any other cl-
vlsh Amazon.
Warrior Kits and ·
Dual·Class Characters
Th e same Is
not true of duaJ-class ch arac-
ters.
If a character starts off as a
warr1Q"f. he may take any of the
Warrior Kits above. If. la ter. he
decides to change classes ac-
cording La th e normal Dual-
Class Benefits a nd Restrictions
rules. he doesn't lose any of the
benefits or hi ndrances of the Kit
he chose: he is sUII that sort of
fighter. If ilial second character
class also has a range of Kits
'avaUable to It. h e m ay no!
choose a new, addilionaJ KIt.
If a cha racte r starts off as
some other character class, does
not take on a Kit appropriate to
thal class, and then late r
switches to one of the warrior
classes, he can choose a Warrior
Kit at that lime ... though the
OM may inslsllhat certain cam·
palgn events be accomplished
In order to a llow him to do this.
For instance. let's say tha t a
human mage decides, later in
life. to become a f ighter, and he
wants to be a Gladiator. Well,
there's noth ing wrong with tha t.
But the OM should Insist tha t
the next several adventures deal
with that rransfonnallon. The
character must be hired by (or.
alternatively, captured and en-
s laved by) an arena or fighting·
s table owner, trained, and plued
against other Gladiators. The
ot he r characters In the cam-
paign could also be entering the
gladiatorial arena, or the OM
could contrive things so thal the
c urrent adven ture involves
gladiatorial elements and still
get all the PCS Involved .
lb better simula te the waH in-
volved for the character to learn
his new trade, the OM Is within
his rights to insist that the c har·
acter not receive his Warrior Kit
until he's reached second e xpe-
rience level In his new class.
Abandoning A Kit
Sometimes Il
happens that a character Is cre-
ated with a Warrior Kit and cir·
cumstances la ter force him to
reconsider his character's role.
For exam ple, a Noble Warrior
could become disgusted with
the corruption and excesses of
his class and decide to renounce
his Lies to the nobility, Or, a Sav-
age could become Increasingly
comfortable with the c ivilized
world and Increasingly uncom-
fortable with his savage kin . In
s uch a case. the player s hould
think about abandon ing the
Warrior Kit.
1b abandon the kit, the player
s hould privately tell the OM his
Intentions. If the OM has no ob·
Jectlons to the abandonme nt ,
then It will take place. Unless
th e c hoice for abandonment
were brought on by a sudden,
traumatic event. the OM may
have to have some time to work
the abandonment into the s tory-
li ne. Often . In th e story, th e
character doing the abandoning
will have to role-play out the sit-
uation: Publicly renounce his
ties with lhe others of his Wa r·
rlor Kit, and then suITer any con·
sequences that might arise. (In
37
Warrior Kits \!f-
.
Greek mythology. for instance,
the Amazon qu ee n Antlope
abandoned her former nfe to
stay with King Theseus of Ath -
e ns ... and s he later died fight·
Ing her form er countrywomen
when they came after her.)
Once the character abandons
his kit. he also abandons all the
s pecial benefits and hindrances
It provides. Often , those benefits
included free Nonweapon Prof]·
c iencles or Weapon Proflclen·
c ics. The character doesn't lose
lhose, but he must pay for them
from lhe next free s lots he has
available to him .
The character may not take
another Warrior Kit to replace
the one he's abandoned. Once
he gives up his Warrior Kit. he's
a n ordinary Fighter, PaladIn. or
Ranger for the rest orhls playing
life ,
Modifying The Kits
The OM can ,
and s hould. modlfy the Kits pre·
sented above to represent his
own campaJgn setting more ac·
curately.
For example, If there are no
Amazons In his world , he
s hould disallow th e Amazon
Kit. If Gladiators are all chosen
from the ranks of savages de·
splsed tn the civilized land , he
shou ld modify th e Glad.iator
hindrances to reflect the fact
that they have no respect in the
campaign setting.
Creating New Kits.
Similarly, If
there's a special sort of warrior
that the OM would like to have
in his world. he can design a
new Warrior Kit for tha t warrior.
1b design a Warrior KIt. you
must answer the following ques·
tions about the warrior and his
role In your campaign .
Description: Wh a t is this
warrior? What literary. mytho·
logical, or historical source is he
"11
•
Warri or Kits
drawn from? What speciaJ re-
q uirements are there If a charac-
ter wishes to be one?
Role: What Is this warrior to
be In t he campaign? How does
his culture look at him? How do
oLher cultures look a t him? Is
Lhere a specia l SOrt of outlook he
needs to have to belong to this
Warrior Kit? And wha t does this
warrior Le nd to do in a
ca mpaign - lead mi ghty na -
tions? brutalize and betray his
allies? upset the delicate bal-
ance of political strategies? have
a good lime without making
waves?
Secondary Skills: If you 're
USing the Secondary Skil ls
rules. you need to determine if
this Warrior Kit requires such a
skill. If no one secondary skill
should be common to all war-
n ors of this type. then don ' t re-
quire a secondary skill. But. If
a ll members of a Warnor KH
seem to have this skJ ll. w e n you
should req uire It of all who take
this Kit.
Weapon Proficiencies :
Many Warrior KI ts seem to grav-
Itate toward speciOc weapon
types. Knights lean to swords
a nd lances : Merry Men ofthe (or-
est prefer the lo ngbow. U the
warrior you're simulating
seems [ 0 prefer one or two weap-
ons above all o thers. the n. In
this Kit. you require them to
lake the proficie ncies for those
weapons.
Nonweapon Profi ciencies :
Most Warrior Kits, again, seem
to have certain s kills in com-
mon , It would be s illy to have a
Noble Warrior witho ut Eti-
quette. (or Insta nce. So you may
assign up to two profic ie ncy
s lots to be gh'cn free to the char-
acter. If it's appropriate , the pro-
flclencles m a y come (rom
listings not appropria te to
warriors-the Priest. Rogue,
a nd Wizard listings. (Though
normally the cost In slots for
s uch proHclencles doubles,
since they are here being given
free to th e c haracter, that
doesn 't maner.)
Equipment: I( a Warrior Kit Is
best-known (or having specific
typesofequl pme nl. require tha t
the warrior have suc h equip-
ment whe n the campaign be-
gins. If many examples. but not
a n ove rwhelming maJority, of
this sort o( Warrior seem to pre-
fer a specinc type of eqUipme nt.
simply lis t it among the types of
equipment the Warrior Kit rcc·
ommends.
Special Benefits: Every War-
rior Kit s hould have some spe·
cla l benefit. Il 's up to you to
c hoose what thal benefit is, but
It should fit In with the way this
wa rrior appea rs 10 fu nc tion In
ficLlon , myth lore or wherever he
comes from . Types of benefits
Include:
Bonuses to reaction rolls. es-
pecially (rom certain categories
ofpeopie:
Bonuses to hit andlor dam-
age, espeCially against certain
categories of enem ies, or In sp<=,
clal circumsta nces:
A free weapon specialization:
Resistance (Im munity or a boo
nus to saving throws) against
specific types of magiC:
Special rights In the cultu re In
which the c haracters normally
travel (fo r example, immunity
from prosecution fo r certai n al-
leged crimes , or the righ t [0 de-
mand sheller): and so on.
Specia l Hindrances: You
should also provide a special
hindrance (or hindra nces)
w hic h limit the cha rac te r as
much as his be nefits help him .
Such hindrances can include:
Mi nuses to reaction rolls. es·
peclally (rom certain types of
people:
Minuses to hit andlor damage,
especially agai ns t certain cate-
gories of ene mies:
Inability to lea rn speCifi c
weapon or non weapon profi·
clenc ies:
Vulnerability to specific sorts
of magiC (either a minus to sav-
38
Ing throws. or the magiC is a ula-
maUcally successful): and
Special restrictions in the cul -
tu re in whic h the c harac te rs
travel (for example, not being
able to o wn property or get mar·
rled, or excessive punishm ents
for specific crimes).
Wealth Options: [f the War·
rlor Kit has a ny restrictions or
benefits In the awardi ng of his
starting gold . or In the ways he
can spend It. notc the m here,
Races: If the re are variations
to the Kit based on the charac-
ter's race, note them here . Some
races can't lake a specific Kit:
some will have diffe rent profi-
clencics. benefi ts and h ln ·
d ra nces attached to them.
Notes: If you have any add l·
tlo nal notcs about the Wa rrior
Kit perllnent to your campaign
(such as which players you 'd
prefer for specific Kits, for exam-
ple), put the m here.
Additionally, you could crea te
Kits for other classes than War·
rlor. or adaptlhe existing Ki ts to
the other th rough tinke ring
wllh the s kUls, proficienc les,
benefits, a nd hindrances. There
could easily be Rouge Swash·
bucklers or Barbarian Priests,
for example.
The Wanlor Kit Crcatlo'n She'et
On page 124 Is
the Warrior Kit Design Shee t. If
you wish to design a new War-
rior Kit just photocopy the
sheet and design your new Kit
upon It. Whe n you're s hOWing
the Warrior Kits above to your
players . a lso include the new
Warrio r Kits you've designed.
 The AD&D" game is n 't a ll
combat and magic. and soa war·
rior doesn 't have to be Just a col·
lection of n um be rs wh ich
responds to silualions by kUling
everylhing in sight and collect·
IngcoIns. No. there's much more
to role·playlng than that. and
this chapter is devoted to role·
playing the warrior character.
Wa"lor Personalities
There's a mis·
co nccplion that warrio rs are
JUSI square. solid guys who do
the physical work In a fight: tha t
rogues arc the clever ones who
do a1l the conniving a nd trick·
Ing: that wizards are awesome,
impersona l Inte lligence dedi·
cated solely to th eir m agical
studies: that priests are only In ·
terested In the advanceme nt of
one's spiri tual tearn ing.
While th at's a simplificatio n
co nvenlenl for firs t·time players
of the game. more experienced
p l ayer~ may deslre to add de pth
to their characters by providing
more detail 1.0 thelr characters'
persona lit ies: Deciding how
they react In certain s ituations.
how they re late to other charac·
tcrs. and so fort h.
Expe ri e nced rol e·playe rs .
t hose who al rea dy do t his.
should ski p down to the head·
line reading "The Warrior Cam·
palgn:' Beginning role·players
should continue from here.
In the first part ofmIs Chapter.
wc'll be talking about Warrior
Personalities. describing a few
types of heroes common to fic-
lion a nd mythology. Read each
d esc ription . think about
whether the descripllon com es
close to matching your concep·
lion about your character's per·
sonality. and If it does, try to
utilize that descri ption's advice
when role-playing and making
decisions fo r your character.
Each person31lty In this chap·
Icr will be described in the fol·
lowin g way:
Character Description:
These paragraphs ta lk abou t
the character's attit ud es and
motivations. and how the char·
acter tends to act and interact In
a normal campaign.
Best Suited For: T hese para·
grap hs talk abou t the align·
m e nts fo r whi ch this per·
sonallty type is best suited . and
about lhe Warrior Kits (from the
last chapter) for which the per·
sonallty is best suited . It 's possl·
bl e to com e u p with a good
rationale for why a character of
a s pec Inc personality type
s hould have a n 31lgnment that
doesn't (at first glance) seem a p·
proprla te for that personality
type. so lhcre is absolutely no
firm alignment restr/cLion when
you 're choosing pcrsonaliLies.
However, lhe recomm endations
made for appropriate choices
are good enough for most char·
acters, so keep them In mind.
[n Combat Situations: T hese
paragraphs ta lk about how the
character reacts In combat s itu-
ations. Not all warriors unstrap
their swords and wade in swing-
ing: some approac h battle sltua·
tlons m ore s low ly. m ore
cleverly. or more aggressively.
In Role-Playing Situations:
These paragraphs talk about
the character 's ge neral reac ·
tions to NPCs In role-playing sit·
uations: you can use lhem as
ge neral gUidelines for your
character'S role·playlng conver·
sations and other such encoun·
ters.
The BrASh Youth
Character
Description : Thlsc haracter has
Jus t recently become an adven-
turer. and he doesn't have much
experie nce or common sense
.. . meaning that he gets In lrOU'
ble. and leads his companions
Into trouble. quite often. There·
fore. you should only choose a
Brash )'b uth personality when
you 're wJlling to role-play £his
39
altitude. The Brash Youth is
casy prey for fast-talkers and
con men, suggests straightfor-
ward a nd foolish plans s ure to
gel lhe party captured or killed,
admires m ore experienced war·
riors without questioning their
motives. and can be quite a
menace to himself unless taken
in hand by a more experienced
ad venturer.
Inevitably. a Brash Youth
character has to "wise up"-to
lose some of his preconceptions
and naivete. If this doesn 't hap·
pen naturally In the course of a
campaign . th e OM s hould de-
s ign an adventure around the
Bra s h Yout h . a n ad venture
where he's confronted with the
consequences of his brashness.
For instance, a con ndence man
could trick lhe Youth into acci-
dentally betraying his a llies: or,
a Yout.h ·s plan cou ld go horribly
awry and seriously or critically
endanger his friends: or. a hero
pa rti cula rly a dmired by the
Youth could tum out to be far
less admirable than the Youth
has always thought.
When this happens. the char-
acter must stop being a Bras h
Youth a nd choose some other
personality type. By now. he
should have been playing long
enough that th e player will
know what sort of personality
that is: alternatively. the events
that shock him out of being a
Brash Youth could affect him se·
riously enough lhat lhis event
chooses his new personality for
him (thiS results In such person·
allties as a disillusioned Crude
Crusher or a hostile Dangerous
Antagonis t).
Best Suited For: In terms of
a lignment , the Brash Youth is
best suited to the fu ll range of
Good and Neutr31 alignments
(LiG. LIN. N/G. N. ClG elN). Evil
characters aren'l suited to being
naJve and trusting. In terms of
Warrior Kits, the Brash Youth Is
admirably s uited to 311 of them!
The only kit that might give you
a problem Is that of the Sarnu-
raj, but U's possible (0 play an
Inexperienced and eager Sam u-
rai struggling to keep his enthu -
siasm from showing be nea th
the venee r of eastern detach-
mcnt; this is an especially good
choice In an all-sam ural cam-
paign, where one character Is
the brash young warrior Im er-
acting with more experienced
and sceUed samurai_
In Combat Situations: The
Brash Youth is likely Just to
charge up to a foe and begin
pounding away, unless that foe
is 50 big a nd scary that even the
most foolish youth wUl be afraid
of it , He 's very likely to take
combat orders from his friends,
however, so It's easy for one
wiser warrior to keep him from
kUlIng himself through bad tac-
tics. It's often a good. Idea for the
party to make the Brash Youth
one of their deSignated archers,
because it usually keeps him
out of direct hand-ta-ha nd com-
bat until he has wised up,
The Brash Youth can learn
from his experiences, on a case-
by-case basis. After he's been
hammered by a troll. he can be
more cautious with th e next
troll or troll · like monste r he
encounters, But he' ll be Just as
brash with a monster unlike thc
others he's encountered .. .
In Role-Playing Situa tions:
The Brash Youth gets along with
everybody untU such time as
the other person Insults one of
his frie nds. challenges one of his
preconceptions. or betrays him .
Even then. he' II simply be furi -
ous and willing to nghl or op-
pose the other fellow: to be truly
vengeful requires that the Youth
go through his personali ty
change and take on a new per-
sonality.
The Brash Youth should be
played as ellher hesitant and
nen-oos in new situations. or ea-
ger to throw hImself into such
situations-he's never bored or
Indifferent. Other characters
find his youthfu lness channing.
but may also nnd him exasper-
ating because he's a lways get-
ting Into trouble.
The Crude Crusher
Charac t e r
Descr iption : The Crude
Crusher Is a rude, boisterous,
belching. physical sort of char-
acter, He may be very clever, but
he prefers forc e to trickery or
pers uasion-it fee ls good to
pound people. He doesn 't Hke
proper m anners. cou rt eti-
quette. literature and poetry. or
haughtiness. He has very coarse
and common customs ... al-
lhough he could be of high birth
(nothing says a hlgh ·bom war-
rior mUSl be clean , virtuous,
and polite. afterallJ. Put him in a
lavern ..... ilh a crowd of noisy
table-banging drinkers, where
the drinks pour freely and the
occasional brawl grinds furni·
ture Into sawdust. and he's
happy.
Best Suited For: In tenns of
alignment. the Crude Crusher
can belong to any of them. If
he's Lawful, he's sHU operates
by a code of behavior that others
can observe and cou n t upon
(even Ifhe Is a social m lsnt): and
If he's Good. he's not going to
take the things he wa nts (by
force ) from thosc who own
them . For th ese reasons , a
Lawful/Good Crude Crush er
Isn 't likely to have a lot of fun. In
terms of Warrior Kits. the Crude
Crusher is we ll -suited to the
Barbarian. Beast-Ride r. Ber-
serker, Gladiator, Peasant Hero.
Plrate/OuUaw. Savage, and WU-
derness Warrio r. A Crude
Crusher Noble Warrior will 31·
ways suITer the reaction penal-
ties given to Noble Warriors who
don't Uve according to their 50-
clal stations (see the description
of the Noble Warrior from the
last chapter for more on this).
Amazons are usually too up-
tight In male societies to be as
40
comfortably coarse as the Crude
Crusher is. T he Samurai and
Swashbuckler tend to be too
cultu red for this perso nality
type. The Cavalier can 't take the
Crude Crus her personality.
In Combat Situation s: The
Crude Crusher Is a brawler. He
prefers one-on-one com bats and
fights dlny. doing whatever It
takes to win a fight. He nghts ex-
actly as he chooses. and mayor
may nOt follow the team plan, In
combat. he's si ngle-m inded and
effective.
In Role-Playing Sit ua tion s:
The Crude Crus her can be a lot
of fun to play. because he says
whatever he wants whenever he
wa nts. His crude remarks scan-
dalize more renned characters.
He's likely to antagonize his
"bette rs" in conversation, ei-
ther aCCidentally or (more prob-
ably) deliberately, and lhis can
spoil pa rty negotiat ions a n d
muck up the party's plans. How-
ever. none of this means that the
Crude Crus her can't be 10y31.
courageous , compete nt a nd
powerful. 50 adventuring par-
ties aren't likely to kick him out
beca use of his mouth : but
they're usually exasperated by
his attitudes.
The Dangerous Antagonist
C ha r a c te r
Description: This character is a
hero wllh an attitude problem .
He-s grim and humorless. and
neve r fights Just to give some·
one a drubbing-he nghts to
kill . He's driven by some power·
ful. unsy mpathetic motivation:
A desire fo r revenge, ove r-
whelming desire for a posses-
sion. or even a near-psychotic
desire just to be left 31one. He
must be carefully played 50 that
there actually is a reason fo r
h im to accompany the other
player-characters. and the OM
may need to remind his player
occasionally that he can have
fri ends and loyalties. even If he
prefers to conceal that fact be-
hind hard-bluen mannerisms
and an evil temper_ Naturally,
this personality type has few or
no romantic Inclinations or rela-
tionships.
Best Suited For: In terms of
alignment. the Dangerous An-
tagonist is appropriate for all of
them. Different alignments re-
s ult in dIfferent mOlh'ations: A
LawfuVGood Dangerous Antag-
onist has been embittered by
events in his life, while a
Chaotic/Evil character is a soci-
opath , In terms of Warrior Kits.
most are appropriate: the usual
exceptions are the Ca\'aJler and
Swash buckler. who tend to be
better-tempered characters.
In Combat Situations: T he
Da ngerous Antagonist nghts in
a smart and deadly fashion (un-
less he's a Berserker). He prefers
a "Thke no prisoners!" allitude.
but can allow himself to be over-
ruled by his fri e nds. especlaJ ly if
th ey can pers uade h im that
there's a practical reason (or it
UuS t being merciful and hu-
mane isn't good enough) . He
can be a good combat tactician
(or the team. directing his allies
to nght in the most deadly and
emclent manner possible; or. he
cou ld be a wade-right-In fighter
who ven ts his hatred on his ene-
mies_
In Role-Playing Situations:
This character genera lly
doesn ', do rOle-playing negotia-
tions with NPCs. unless the PCs
arc attempting '0 intimidate or
frighten the NPCs. The Danger-
ous Antagon ist must be played
carefully: many Dangerous An-
tagonist characters are merely
kHl -crazy nghters with overtn-
nated opLnlons of themselves.
a nd so it·s very easy when play-
Ing such a character to aggra-
vate the other players with his
prete ntiousness. In other
words: Be menaci ng. but con-
centrate that menace more on
NPCs than your PC allies .
••
The Doomed Charnp.lon
Cha r acter
Description! Th is hero has
been afllicted with a curse or a
prophecy that hau nts him
throughout his life. He may
have losl his One True Love and
been fated never to nnd her. He
may be doomed to bring misfor-
tune on anyone he cares about.
He might be prophesied to die
whenever certai n ca mpa lgn -
related goals arc achieved . He
might be the last s urvivor of his
race. doomed to die without Is-
sue, so lhat the race dies with
him . When he's not ngh tlng for
his goals. this character Is su f-
fering. for this reason . yo u
shouldn ', play such a character
unless yo u enjoy portraying
that suffe ring. If you choose
such a character (ype. you must
consult with your OM to dete r-
mine Just what son of curse af-
nlcts the charac ter-It 's
absolu tely pointless to play a
Doomed Cha mpion unless there
actually is a doom or curse a t
work.
Best Suited For : Any align-
m ent Is appropriate fo r t he
Doomed Champion. In terms of
Warrior Kits. most a re appropri-
ate, except for the essentially
c heery Swashbuckler.
[n Combat Situations: The
Doomed Champion tends to
nght In an all-o ut. desperate-
strength m a nn er. He throws
himself fully Into a nght an d
seeks out the most dangerous
opponents. Either he's simply
desperate [0 achieve his e nds
and elude his curse. or he's un-
consciously seeking his own
death . He's therefore not good
as a team tactician. On me other
hand. his bravery is Inspira-
tional to other heroes and fol-
lowers. so he's often ma de the
leader of war panics. He can be
m erciful In combat. or kill aJi
who face him (all the while reo
gretting the grim necessity of it).
In Role-Playing Situations:
The Doomed Champion tends to
be sympathetic to others' needs
and pains ... bu t is h imself"ery
depressive, because he knows
thal some grim fa te awaits him .
This means he's ofle n easy to
persuade 10 aid in others' quests
(not quests for money: quests
for more personal goals).
The FIAted PhiloSopher
Character
Desc ription: This charac ter Is
both similar to and very differ·
ent fro m the Doomed Cham·
pion . Like the Champion . he
knows that a particular grim
fatc awai ts h im: Death. But he's
very philosophicaJ about it and
does not tonure himself abou t
it. He's likely to be an old cam-
paigner with very few illusions
left. but with a keen apprecia-
tion of aUHfe has to offer.
Best Suited F OT: In tenns of
alignment. Lawful and Neutral
characters are most su ited to be
Fate d Philosopher s: ChaoLic
c haracters arc se ldom that in-
trospective. T he Philosopher is
equa lly suiled to Good. Neulral.
and Evil charaClers. In terms of
Warrior Kits. the Philosopher Is
most admirably su iled to the
Samurai. He's appropriate to
most of the other kits as well. ex·
cept the Berserker. which Isn' t a
very inlIospec live sori of hero.
In Combat Situations: Differ-
enl Fated Ph il osophers face
combat In different fa s hions.
Some a re as lhoughtful In com-
bal as e lsewhere. and take a
very analytical approach to
combat: Striking where the
need is grealest . evaluallng the
e nemy's strategy. and so fonh .
Others, knowing that lhey can-
not forestall theIr fate. Jump Into
the thic k of things and fig ht
with unrestrained hatlle·fury
(and. perhaps. Joy). The player
Is left to decide bow his Fa ted
Ph ilosop her c haracter fig hts.
Basica ll y. he s hould s imp ly
choose the method of com bat he
prefers fo r this c haracter. a nd
then rationalize it according to
the character's philosophy of
life.
In Role-Playing Situations:
The Fated Philosopher is often a
son of fathe rly-advisor c harac-
ter. He thinks abou t everything.
he's full of sage ad vice. Though
he may be driven by goals as
s trong as any other character·s.
in person he Is seldom very in-
tense.
The Merry Showo ff
Charac ter
Des c ription: This c haracte r
lives for style or c lllcn ainmenL
He may be a c lown who de lights
In ente rtaining people and
shooting barbs Into the egos of
the self- Important. He may be
an elega nt fighter who loves to
show the world what nghtlng is
like in the hands of a maSl er. He
may Simply love a ll.racling the
eyes of ladles. Whichever, he's
42
a lways in motion: he never
me rely gcslures whe n he can In-
stead make a nourish. neve r
walks wilen he can s tride, never
talks when he can orale.
Bes t Suited For: C haotic
characters are a little be tter
suited to be Merr\' Show-oITs, as
they' re more spoillaneous tha n
lhe reasoned Lawful or cau tious
Neu tra l characters . Howev er.
the re's no reslricllon on this.
Good. Neutral. and Evil c harac·
ters can a ll be Merry Showolrs:
The elega nt. dramati c. se lr-
centered. villainous lieu tenant
is a classic example or an Ev il
Merry ShowolT. In terms of War·
rior Kits. th e Swas h bu c kl e r,
Gladiator. and Pirate/Ou tlaw
are besl su ited to this persona l·
Ity: the Amazon. Barbarian.
Berserker. and Samurai are
leasl suited: the olher kits are
appropriate.
In Combat Situations: The
Merry ShowoIT must fight In the
most dramatic rash Ion possib le,
eve n when Illsn ' t as efficie nt or
safe as another tactic. He leaps,
he bounds. he s hou ts. he ges·
I ures. he taunts the enemies, he
m akes c hallenges fo r single
combat ... he can bea right nul ·
sance, for allies as well as e ne-
mies, and so the player s hould
be careful not to aggravate his
friends (00 muc h with hi s an·
tics.
In Role-Playing Situations:
Likewise. mis characler s hould
be as charm tngand theaLrical as
possible in role· playing situa-
tions. He doesn't necessarily
have to be witty: thai might put
[00 much of a strain on a player
who is n 't able to wisecrack with
ease, But he should be debonair
a nd gracious at a ll urnes, even
whe n talking to the leaderorhls
e nemies or the rud est and coars·
est boor.
The N .. turtll Le ..der
C har act er
Description: This c harac ter Is
the all·around man in charge.
He's the responsible hero who,
even If he isn 't pany leader.
thin ks like one: He's always
thinking about the team's goals
and how to Impleme nt the m.
the safety of his friends, the
strategy of the bad guys, and so
forth, He may be happy to be the
leader·type. or may be a reluc·
tant leader: eith er way. his
fri ends look to him for direction .
Natura lly. you s hould on ly
choose this personality type fo r
vour character Ifyou're to make
inc elTort to do all that thinking
and planning. and are willing
for your charac te r LO be respon·
sible for others.
Best Suited For: In terms of
alignment. Lawfu l and Neutral
characters arc most approprl·
ate: Chaotic characters tend La
be more spontaneous than the
Natural Leader. However, if YO ll
have a good rationaJe for a Chao
otic Natura] Leader, your OM
may c hoose to allow you to play
It that way. Most Warrior Kits
are appropriate to this personal·
Ity type, es pecially the Cavalier
a nd Noble Warrior. In a party
representing seve ral diffe re nt
Warrior Kits. though. the Ber·
serker and Savage shouldn' t be
Natural Leaders: Other ch arae·
ter types don't tend to trust
them as leaders.
In Comba t Situa tions: The
Natural Leader. wheth er he
wan ts to or not, is always think·
ing In combat and trying to dl·
rec t his allies' activities . He
makes sure that there 's a good
m ix of ranged to me lee combal.
that shield walls don't have big
holes In th em. that whe n a
friend falls there's someone to
drag him behind the lines a nd
another to take his place, If a
player with a Natural Leader
characte r doesn' t do this, and
simply jumps right into combat
witho ut any In tent to thin k
abou t or direc t thi ngs, the OM
s hould assign him te mporary
m in uses to hit a nd da mage:
This reflects the fact that the
c haracler is troubled by his fail·
ure to lead, even If the player
Isn't,
In Role-Playing Situa tions:
The Natural Leader is a ve ry re·
sponslble character, but beyond
that, there Is no limitation on
the way he should be played in
role· playing situations. He may
be grim or humorous, straight·
forward or deceitful. arrogant or
modest, as the player dec ides,
He wiU onen be the negotiator
for the party, but this ISI1 ', re,
quired of him .
The Sneaky Thinker
C h a r ac ter
Descripti on : T his c haracte r
lives a nd loves to ou tw it other
c haracters. He loves tricking
money out of people, outwitting
opponents in combat. persuad·
ing people to help him against
their beller sensibilities, and so
forth . It's best for a campaign
when the Sneaky Thinker Is a
good friend of the rest of th e pes
and so mostly turns his talents
on NPCs; the D~ I needs to make
s ure that the campaign docsn',
turn into an endless succession
of In ciden ts of t he Sneaky
Thinker tricking me mbe rs of
his own party.
Best Suited For: In terms of
a lignment. Neutral a nd Chaotic
c haracters are best s uited to be
Sneaky Thinke rs, as Lawful
charac ters oflen have more re·
spect for the rights of others:
but. again. with a good e nough
rationale pro"lded, t.he OM may
allow himself to be convinced
that a Lawful charac te r should
be a Sneaky Thinker. Mos t War·
rlor Kits a re equally suited to
the Sneaky Thinker c haracter:
the Berserker. however. Is an In·
appropriate choice and s hould
not be taken .
43
In Comba t Situations: T he
Sneaky Thi nker hates to engage
enemies In melee. He doesn't
mi nd bei ng a ra nged fi ghter, but
he'd really prefer to be doing
something cleve r or spectacu-
lar: Sneaki ng arou nd the fight to
come up on the e nemy 's u n·
guarded rea r. loosening rocks
on the hillside above to drop
down on the enemy, persuading
one of the e ne my's allies to tu m
on the e nemy, anything tha t will
de mons trate his mental su per-
Io rity ove r the e ne m y (a nd
may be over his a llies as well),
It 's up to the player whether the
character Is actually cowardly
or not: Sneaky Thinkers can be
as brave as the bravest warrior
in a pinch, If that's the playcr's
conception of the c haracter.
In Role-Playing Situations:
The Sneaky Thinker is often the
party's negotiator. as he loves
talki ng with other characters
and ge lling the best possibl e
deal fo r himself and his friends.
In most role·playln g situations,
the Sneaky Th in ker will .
chameleon·llke. adapt himself
to the personality of the person
he's ta lki ng to. concealing hls
true thoughts and em oUons be·
hind the ma sk he thinks Is most
appeali ng to Lhe othe r cha rac·
ter, II's very hard to fi nd out
what the S neaky Th inker is ac·
tually thinking or feelin g. Note
that It's a dangerous tem ptaUon
to trick your frie nd s a nd allies:
in a camprugn where the PCs'
party Is rounded on trust and al·
legla nce . such a Sneaky
Thinker will probably find him·
selr cast out or killed for betray·
ing his ers iwhUe rriends.
Changing rerson .. llty Types
T he above ad·
vice Is for players who don't yet
have a fi rm ha ndle on role-
playing different personalities
from their own, And the person·
alitles prese n ted here aren' t
firm, formal rules which a ny
character has La foll ow: they're
gu idelines with no real rest rlc·
tlons placed upon them.
Na tu ra lly. then . It's very ap·
propriate for you to write up
m ore Personality Types a ppro·
priate to your campaign . .. Ir.
indeed . you need to formalize
them to tha i extent .
It ·s also very appropriate for a
character to change h is Person -
ality Type in the course of a
campaign. Here are some ways
It can happen:
The Brash Youth wises up
and loses his naivete and Inex·
perlence. This has to happen
event ually (unless he gelS killed
before he ever gets wise). His ex·
periences in th e campaign so far
will probably have a strong In-
fluen ce on the next type of per·
so nallty he chooses. Here's a
note for the other personalities:
NOlhi ng short of amnesia ever
changes a charac ter ( 0 the
Brash Youth personality.
The Cru de Cr usher isn ' t
likely to Change. but a cou ple of
Lhings could bring abou t s uch a
cha nge . He could fall In love
with a more refined partner.
and . feeling gross and coarse in
com parison . train h imself to be·
come m ore sophisticated. (The
Merry Showoff a nd Fated Phi·
losopher become good options
at this polnt.j He could have
heavy responsiblJity laJd upon
him (such as a mHitary officer's
commission) and be changed by
It (at which point Lhe Natural
Leader is a good choice).
The Dangerous Antagonist
is only likely to change when
whatever made him a Danger-
ous Antagonist originally is re-
solved . For instance, if he ever
avenges himself on whomever
hun him in the first place, he
could change to a Fated Philoso-
pher or Natural Leader.
The Doomed Champion Isn 't
likely ever to change . He 's
doomed, after all. But if, in the
course of the campaign. the OM
a llows him to un-doom or un-
curse himself. he cou ld suffer a
change of personality, He could
become a Fated Philosopher or
NaturaJ Leader. He might enjoy
life so much that he becomes a
Merry Showoff or Sneaky
Thinker. He's not likely to be-
come a Dangerous Antagonist
unless the eve nts which freed
him fr om h.ls curse were so
nasty that they still scarred his
personality forever.
The Fated Philosopher is n't
likely to change. This personal-
ity type comes at the eIld of a
process of personality develop-
ment. not In the mid dle.
The Merry Showof( could sa-
ber up under the weight of re-
sponsibility. like the Crud e
Crusher. and become a Natural
Leader. Or he cou ld naturally
evolve into a Sneaky Thinker
whe n it became less and less ful-
fill ing merely to cnterlaJn pea·
pie and morc fun to manipu late
them.
Th e Natural Leader could
easily change if dramatic evems
made him sick and disgusted
with always being so responsl·
bl e a nd depcndable . At t.h at
point . any personality except
Doom ed Champion Is appropri·
a te, However. unless hc's be·
come tOlaily amoral, even in his
new personality he'll probably
stili have leadership impulses
and do a lot of tactical thInking.
The Sneaky Thi nker is n 't
ever likely to change: His way of
life is too much fun to him . If he
were to change, to become a Iil-
tle less secretive. he'd probably
become a Merry Showoff.
For a ny character, some horri-
ble eve nt (such as the brutal
murder of a loved one) could
change the character, at least
temporarily, to a Dangerous An-
tagonist or Crude Crusher.
44
The Warrior Campai gn
So far, we've
mostly ta lked about the warrior
character and his role in nonnal
AD&Dff gam e campaigns.
However, it's possible to run a
good campaign whose charac-
ters are moslly warriors ... or
all warn'or.s.
There a re a couple of reasons
to think about having an a ll ·
warrior campaign. First. In
many cam pa igns. after the fi rst
few experience levels. the fight·
ers in creas ing ly take a back
seat to th e maglc·using classes,
whose power Increases fas ter
than the fighters' . Second,
many movies , novels, myths
and legends just feature fig hter
characters. and If one of those
settings particu larly appeals to
you . and you want to s im ulate
It in yo ur ca mpaign . you'll
want to limit you r campaign to
flghte rs.
There are several ways to run
such a campaIgn. Some sample
arrangements include:
Mix ed Warrior-Types In a
Magical World
Mixed Warrior-Types In a
Mostly Non-Magical World
Mixed Warri or-Types in a
Strictly Non-Magical World
One Warrior·Type in a Magica l
World
One Warrior·Type in a MosUy
Non·Maglcal World
One Warrior-Type in a Strictly
Non·Maglcal World
In lh e s econd part of this
chapt,er. we'll be talking about
a ll those arran ge ments , how
they can be set up and what
they mean to a campaign.
Magical World vo.
Non·Maglcal World
The OM , when
settin g up his campaign , must
decide how much magiC there Is
In th e world- not just magical
Items. but magical monsters.
spells. and effects of any sort.
In a warrio r'
orien ted campaign where magiC
exis ts at the normal AD&D ~
game limits. magiC is consld·
ered a scary thIng wblch nonnal
people don't appreclate a t al l.
Most wizards encountered In
lhe campaign will be villains.
The ones who are friends of lhe
pes are mostly low- powe red
(low-level).
This follows th e pattern of
many sword-and-sorcery fictio n
series. where each story's reso-
lulion comes down to a contest
between the hero and his fight·
ing prowess vs. a dastardly wiz-
ard or magical creat ure and his
spells.
In such a campaign. the DM
wllJ have to decide whether any
player-characler can be a multi-
class or dual-class hero with
Wizard or Priest spells. It's a ll
right to have Ranger and Pala-
din characters. as they only ac-
quire their spells slowly, and
after many experience levels, ..
but the more magically potent
wizards a nd priests pose a big-
ger problem. Their magiC is too
handy and too depe.ndable; the
OM has to make his magical vil-
lains even more powerful In or-
der to cope . In a campaign
where pes can' t be priests or
wizards . a mu ch lower· level
magical villain will be much
more effective against them .
For these reasons. ifyou're go·
Ing to try running a warrior-
oriented campaign for the first
time. we recommend that you
not allow PCS to be priests or
wizards. You can always choose
to add the opUon lateran . .. but
If you find that you like the non-
magical warrior arrangement,
It's not so casv to remove the
pes' magical -abililies from a
campaign where you've al ready
allowed them .
Mostly Non-M.glc.I·World
In a wor ld
where there's very little magic.
no PC can learn spells. T his
means Ihal no playcr-characlcr
can take a Priest or Wizard class
as his character profession. or
even as one of a dual·class or
multi-class character's profes·
sions.
In such a campaIgn. charac·
ters can still be Rangers and Pal·
ad ins, Even they can' t learn
spells . .. bullhey still get their
other special abilities.
PaladlnsstJll llave the abi lities
of detecting ev il . + 2 to savin g
throws, Im munltv to disease.
heali ng by layl n'g on hands.
aura of protection. tum undead,
devils. and demons. and calling
of war horse: he can use the spe·
cial abilities of a holy sword In
the unlikely event he can find
one. All the Paladjn IImHalions
still apply.
Rangers sUIl have their abili·
ties of bonuses vs. a chosen en·
em)'. dealing with creat ures.
bu il ding castles. forts . and
strongholds. and attracting fol·
lowers. All the Ranger limlla·
lions still apply.
In this type of campaign. mag·
Ical Items and treasure of any
sort are very. very rare. They
may even be nonexlstcnt. as the
OM decides.
Magical monsters. eq ually
rare, are espeCially nasty and
fearso me. For example. a
dragon encountered In a
warrlors·only campaign is more
like the ferocious. unstoppable
engine of deaLh It appears In the
myths. and it takes a n espe·
cially brave St. George to con·
front one.
And wizards-If wizards are
found. they are evil beings who
ba \'e made pacts and a ile·
glances with nether powers and
received their spells from those
powers. Th ey' re particu larly
nasty, powerful. and frighten-
ing because they have access to
45
powers which the heroes can't
even approximate. The heroes
must use all lheir brains and
brawn to confront such power-
ful beings. and will often have to
prepare for such a confrontation
by finding artifacts. research ing
the history of the wizard to dis-
cover h is motives a nd weak-
nesses. and so forth .
Strictly Non:M.slcal WOrld
~
In world s
where there is no magiC at ail.
there can be no genuine Mage
characters. (Of course. there can
be characters pretending to
have magical powers. b u t
they're probably Rogues ru n·
ning some sort of scam opera·
tlon .) Priests. Rangers. Paladins
and Bards exist but have no
spells or magical abilities what-
soever: they have on ly whatever
specia l s tatus their society
places on their professions.
Warrior·oriented campaigns
set on strictly non·magical
worlds are good fo r a lot of
things. By taking the emphasis
off magiC. you put It on such
thIngs as combal, battling the
elements. and pure adventure.
In such a campaJgn . only one's
wits . physical abilities and s kills
make the diffe rence between
su ccess and failu re. life and
death. Magic. with all Its mys·
tery and all its complications.
doesn't ever enter the pictu re.
This also means that things
which would be unimpressive
in a magical world can be awe-
some and mysterious in a non-
magical one. A "dragon" may
just be a giant di nosaurian beast
with no Intelligence. no magiC
spells. and no breath weapon.
but It will be terrifyi ng anyway,
as the characters have no magic
with which La help destroy or
defeat it.
Without magiC present. char·
aeters are never raIsed from the
dead. They mu s t be play ed
more carefully than In games
where resurrecLion is a com-
monplace event. Il might be ad-
visable to start characters out at
3rd level. as described in the
Charoceer CreaUon c hapter. so
that they'lI be a little tougher to
compensate for this situation.
Such a campaign is Idea] fo r
scttings based on historical perl·
ods. You could base your AD&D-
game ca mpai gn on the Cru ·
sades. on the era of piracy. on
the wars of lmperiaJ Rome or an·
clent Greece. on the conquest of
the New World. These are all set·
tings rich In action and mystery.
but for whic h there's little evl·
de nce of monsters or magic .
The Mb .ed·Wanlor·Type
u.mpalgn
In thJs type of
campaig n . the charac ters are
mostly slngle·c1ass warriors.
and each may have a different
Warrior KIt. With the OM 's per·
mission . multl-class and dual·
class charac ters (so long as one
of the class choices Is Fighter).
pricstS and rogues may also be
played. but the majority of
playe r·c ha racters (ove r halO
muse be slngle-class warriors.
And the OM. If he wants a
nghters·only campaign. never
has to give permission for those
other c harac ter classes to be
played.
In a campa ig n devoted to War·
riors. the OM s houJd foster an at·
titude that it's more deslreable
to be a fighter than another
class of character. Other classes
may be allowed . but are usually
represented by o nly one charac·
ter each.
One way to foster this attitude
Is for the warrior-characters to
get the 1I0n 's share of admlra·
tion from the people. Characters
belonging to Olher classes will
gel from the public the mini·
mum a moun t of admlrallon
they deserve for their deeds. but
such acclaim shouldn't be their
main motlvaUon : these charac·
lers must have other goals If
they're to be saUsned In such a
campaign .
The One-W.urior,-Type
Campaign
In this type of
campaign. most or all of the
player·charac ters have the
same Warrior KIt. They don't all
have to be of an \.dentlcal class:
In a Swashbucklers cam paign,
o ne c ha rac ter cou ld be a
Flgh terlSwashbuckler. another
a Ranger/Swash buc kle r, an d
another a Paladin/Swashbuck-
le r.
The OM may require that all
characters In such a campaign
be Warriors. or rnav allow a mix
of character classeS a ppropriate
to the campaJgn's subject . ..
bu t the majority of c haracters
must still be Warriors. a nd other
classes can be represented only
by o ne player-characler. For ex·
ample. In a campaign based on
the legends of Robin Hood. most
of the characters will be War·
riors with the Pirate/Outlaw kit:
the OM could pennltj ust one or
a few to be Thieves: there's only
one Priest (Friar Thck) and only
one Bard (Allen a'Oale).
The purposes of this cam-
paign (other than the normal
Having Fun and Going on Ad·
ventures. of course) are to show·
case the lives of characters with
this Warrior Kit. and to pursue
the goals common to characters
who share this Warrior Kit . So.
below, you'U find descripUonsof
c ampaigns centered around all
th e speclflc Wa rrior Kits and
their s peclnc goals.
In an Ama·
zonscampaign. obviously. most
or all the c ha rac ters a re
Amazons - recl usive women
warriors.
The most Interesting purpose
for such a campaign would be to
••
showcase a clash of c ultures:
Have a party of Amazon player·
ch a racters go adventuring in
the outside world (the mysteri·
ous . dangerous. treacherous.
woerully maJe·domlnaled out-
side world). A lot of the role-
playing o pportunity provided
by such a campaign would In ·
volve the characters doing the
following: Running up against.
and ba u.eri ng down. prejudices
agai ns t women warriors: a nd
fighting their own preJudices.
whic h dictate either that men
are Inferior and m ust be down ·
trodde n, or are all treac he rous
and must at ways be viewed with
distrust a nd suspicion. Th ey
can also have e ncouraging .
amusing or even tragic encou n·
ters with the women of the out·
side world. whom they try to
convince that the Amazon way
of life is the One True Way.
He re's a samp le adventure
Idea. drawn from m yth lore
about the Amazons:
Before the adventure begins, a
ship from the world of men (or a
group of horsemen . if your Ama·
zons are la nd bound) arrives in
the Amazon commun ity. claim-
Ing LO wish to conduc t peacefu l
trade or negotiations with the
Amazon peoples. They are gra·
clously received by the Amazon
court and negotiations are held .
But som ething goes wrong.
The next morning the negotla·
tors are gone. all ned-and the
Queen Is missing. too. obViously
kidnapped by the men . The
queen 's sister assembles and
sends forth a team of crack war·
riors. the player-characters. to
retrieve the kidnapped queen or
die trying.
The pes must eqUip the m ·
selves. the n head into the outer
world . In the cou rse of thei r pur·
suit of the kidnappers. they 'lI
meet a lot of NPCs. Some will be
callous and stupid. Intend ing
only to oppress or enslave the
PCs. and must be dealt with by
cunning or viole nce. Others will
be admiring of the c haracters'
independ ence and a bility. and
wiJI c haJle nge the Amazon no·
tion that all men in the outer
world are their enemies.
Final ly. when the PCs reach
the city whe re their queen is be·
ing held. th e DM has to decide
wha t h er true status Is. She
m ight have Indeed been kid ·
napped by the negotiators a nd
needs to be rescued: the Ama·
zon PCS may need to break In lO
her prison and s neak her ou t. or
may need to a lly the mselves
with an outer·world anny a nd
sack the city. Or. she migh t not
ha ve bee n kidnapped at a U. but
might lnslead have bee n struck
by a sudden love for one of th e
negotiators. a nd ned with him-
espeCially neeing her responsi-
bilities as queen . If that's the
case. the pes m ight c hoose to
turn around and go home. or
mIgh t have to sack the city any·
way. to a venge the affront done
the m by their though tless ex-
queen.
Since not many play ing
groups wtll wan t to switc h over
to the eccentric all·Amazon for-
ma t. you ought to read Lhe text
below on "Campaign vs. Mini·
Series" fo r a way to play s uch a
thing withou t disrupting your
usual campaign.
Barbarians and Berserkers
In the Barbari·
ans and Berserkers campaign .
most or all characters belong to
a single barbarian tribe.
T h e Ba r baria ns a nd Ber·
serkers cam paign has a couple
of purposes. Firs t. it's an oppor-
tunity for a campaign with a lor
of combalo especially if the cam-
paign revolves around clashes
between two or more competing
tribes. Second . It 's an opportu ·
nlty to showcase how decadent
and corru pt the "civilized "
world is , con trasted with the
sim ple strength and rude honor
of the barbarian tribes.
Th ere a re seve ral com mon
types of Barbaria ns a nd Be r·
serkers ca m paigns.
One type is the 1hbal Cam·
paign: The PCs live wilh their
tribe and act as Its defenders
a nd heroes. T hey repel Inva·
slons. hunt m ighty and mono
s trous an imals for their meat.
a ttac k rival tribes. and do what·
e ver they can to ensure their
own u ibe's s urvival. He re's one
sa mple adve nture Idea: In
wastelands distant (rom civlll·
zation. two tribes do ballie. One
is a n NPC tribe. a nd the other is
re prese nted by the pl ayer·
c haracters a nd some NPCs. The
two tribes can be enemies be·
cause they com pete for hun ting
la n ds, because of som e old
grudge. for a ny reason or none.
Adven tures InvolVi ng battles
between them migh t be s imple
fights to the death be tween
s mall squads (made particularly
Interesting by rough terrain and
weather), but you can com pli-
cate things. too. Wha t If the two
tribes. in the course of their mo-
bile combat. stum ble ac ross
some silent. time· lost city popu -
la ted by monsters? The tribes
m ay continue their running bat·
tie through the city, awakening
the ancient, sleeping mons ters.
who will eventually come after
the barbarians. forcing the m to
com bine Lhelr efforts or die . ..
Another type is the Barbari-
ans in a CI" Jlized World Cam-
paign: Th e playe r·c ha racte r
barbarian s and berse rk ers
travel through the so·called clvi·
lIzed world . They may be seek-
Ing a new place to settle their
tribe. the old site being unten·
a ble for one reason or a nother;
they may be mercenaries who
h ire themselves ou t to a nyone
with enough gold ; they may be
pursuing some villain who In ·
s ulted th em . or who sacked
their village while the wa rriors
were away adventuring.
The player-characters travel
through a world whe re clvlllza-
47
tion equals decadence. where all
men are wea ker tha n our bar-
baria n heroes. They encoun ter
terrify ing black m agiC In jungle
rui ns. bat tie e n e m y a rm ies
which stand In their way. s turn ·
ble across h idden evil wizards
and the bi zarre monsters they
create. and so forth .
Yet another type Is the Barbar -
Ians for the Cr own CampaJgn :
Th is is much like the Barbari·
an s In a Clv lJtzed World cam·
palgn . but here the barba rian
heroes have a purpose. One or
more of them Inte nds to ru le a
civili zed nallon . He a nd his
fr iend s must gathe r e n ou gh
power to be a ble to accomplis h
this. usua ll y by joinin g th e
a rmy of some great na tion . ris-
Ing quickly through its ranks
(all the while going on m a ny
da ngerous a rm y-orie nted ad·
ventures). and winnin g e nough
popu lar suppor t in the a rmy
and elsewhere that th ey can
overthrow the c urre nt despotic
royal fam ily.
A last choice for a campaign
combines a ll three of the ca m-
paign sty les above . In the early
s tages of the campaign . al l the
characters are great tribal de-
fenders: ma ny adventures can
be run with Lhls them e. Later.
some great cala mity forces the
heroes to leave the ir nallve
tribe. As described earlie r, this
could be a mission of vengeance
which forces Ute m to leave for
the ou te r world : It could be the
destruc Uon of their e ntire tribe
by powe rful. evil forces: It could
be a prophecy which says that
one of the PCs will bring doom
on the tribe if he stays. but glory
to himselfand h is com panions if
he leaves. So for many game·
years the heroes will adventure
In the outer world , until some·
thing {another prophecy. their
own desires. the desires or m a-
nipulations of a n NPC involved
with the group} point them at
the crumbli ng lhrone of a great
nation .
 In the Barbarians a nd Ber-
serkers cam paign. by the way.
m agi c u se Is almost a lways
scorned . Magic Is cons id ered
unclean and almost all wizards
are evil enemies of the heroes.
Though It would not be Inappro·
prIate for one character to be
some sort of s hamanistic hero
(fo r exa mple. a dual·class
Fighter/Mage). this sort of cam-
paign Is best s uited to worlds
with Uule or no magiC.
Beast-Riders
T he Beast·
Riders campaign Is very similar
to th e Barbaria ns and Ber·
serkers campaign. But there are
signifi cant differe nces In the
playe r·cha racte rs' goals and
motivations.
Ln the Beast· Riders campaign.
it's the tribe's association with
its totem animal that provides
much of the flavor of the cam·
palgn , The villains a nd threats
of th e campaign don 't Jus t men·
ace the humans; they also en·
da nger the animals on whom
the tribe is so depende nt ,
For exam ple, in such a cam·
palgn, an evU wizard deeper in
the wilderness has allied him·
self with an a nimal that is a nat·
ural (or unnatural) enemy of the
trlbe's tote m. Now. he's sending
his own wa rriors after the tribe's
a nlmals. trying to destroy them
a nd conquer the tribe. If the
player·charac ter tribesme n ride
dire wolves, the sorcerer's min·
ions. fewer in number than the
tribesmen. wUl be ogres riding
smllodons (sabre·tooth tigers). If
the pes ride pegasl. the more·
nume rous e nem ies might be
goblins ridin g giant bats.
Pe rh aps this eviJ sorcerer
wants the tribe's land : perhaps
he wants the tribe's princess;
perha ps his god Is an enemy of
the god representing the tribe's
a nimal totem. Wha tever the
cause, he's evil and m ust be
dealt with .
In the early stages of the cam·
paign. the ordlnarlly·happy
tribes men suddenly begin suf·
fering attacks at the hands of
these enemies, They must de-
fend their village from the first.
murderous assault, the n set up
patrols and reconnaissance mis·
slons to probe into enemy terri-
tory and find out what's going
on. UIUmately, they will have to
assemble a crack team of tribes-
me n (the player-characters and
their immediate friends) to pen·
etrate enemy territory, sneak
Into the citadel of the enemy.
and destroy him .
Additionally. all the campaign
types appropriate for the Bar·
barlans a nd Berserkers cam·
paign work just as well with the
Beast·Rlders campaign.
In this sort of campaign. since
everyone has the same Warrior
Kit and might seem very simi·
lar. each warrior should choose
a very different Personality in
orde r to distinguis h himself
from his fellows.
This campaign may have no
interac tion at all with the
world 's civilized nations; or. the
tribe's enemy might be a power·
fullord from lhe civilized lands,
and the heroes' mission to de·
stroy him will be doubly peril·
ous because they don't know
what they 'll be facing In those
strange lands.
Ca\lallen
In the Cava·
liers campaign. the player·
characters are all noble knights
questing for goodness and glory.
This can be one of the great
weaknesses of such a campaign.
Who wants to be clean-
s crubbed , dedicated to good-
ness, and holier than thou all
the lime?
So when running such a cam ·
palgn, the OM and players must
be careful to distinguish the
Ca valiers from one another in
personality, motivations, dress
4.
and style. Yes, they'll all be de-
voted to good; but they can have
different alignments, outlooks,
and personalities. One Cavalier
can be a heavy·hearted Fated
Philosopher; another. though
still devoted to doing good. may
have been sufflciently embit-
tered by hIs pre-campaign expe·
riences to be a Dangerous
Antagonist: st1ll another may
have been cursed and Is now a
Doomed Champion.
CavalIer Campaigns are usu·
ally run to showcase epic strug-
gles between pure good (the
player·c haracters) and pure
evil. The fat e of the nation or the
entire world may be at stake.
for example, at some time in
the past. the world's greatest
king has discovered that a great
menace threatens 10 overwhelm
all the world , so he has assem-
bled his bravest new knights to
find out what It Is and deal with
It. In th eir early adventures,
these Cavaliers are gaining ex-
perience. rising up from the low·
est levels. and assembling clues
as to what son of menace the
world faces. As they learn more.
and begin to have more and
more direct confrontations with
the minions of the menace. they
realize that the threat is indeed
real . , , and that they're not yet
adequate to save the day. They
must continually quest to be·
come better warriors, to nnd
specific magical items which
are supposed to be useful
against the menace, and to
gather allies and raise armies
... until the nnal hour is upon
them, and it's time for these
much more experie nced heroes
to face the battle of their lives,
Since all Cavaliers are good·
aligned, the campaign attitude
Is not going to promote rude PC
behavior: Theft. robbery. as·
sault. Insults, and betrayals are
all actions that wUl get the PCs
In trouble with each other (and
with the OM).

There a re 1WO
IntereSting ap proaches to hav-
ing a glad ia tor-based ca m·
palgn .
You could have a campaign
cen tered around th e gladiato-
rial arena. Each character Is a
different type of gladiator: One
novice . one square-jawed hero
ad ept at everything. sc \'e ra l
glad iators each spec ializing In
one int eresting wea pons com-
bination . The campaign dea ls
with the hero-gladia tors In the ir
efforts to survive not only the
arena but the plotting a nd
trickery of gladiators belonging
to a rival patron.
In one ad ve nture. the e ne·
mi es mi ght drug O Uf heroes'
food before the heroes a re d ue
to nght some particu la rly fie rce
monSler on the sands: If the he-
roes fight. w ey are In extra dan-
ge r beca use of th e dru g's
effects, and If t hey do not fight.
th ey lose consid e rab le a udio
e nce popularity and politica l
clout.
In another adve mure. a popu·
lar sla ve-gladiator leads a re be l·
lion: do our heroes. if they 're
free gladiators. help (he rebel·
lion or he lp repress It?
In another a dventure. the en·
emy patron manages (0 fra me
one or more of the heroes fo r an
Insult they did not perform . and
they a re c ha lle nged to are na-
baule to the death by a group of
noble heroes they do not wish
1.0 fi ght ... and so on.
However. though many ad-
ventu res ea n be ge nerated
around the coliseum life. s ueh a
campaign is inheremly limited,
and wlll either cnd fairly soon
or branch oulln lO other adven-
lures.
If you're familiar with Italian
sword·and -sandal movies, you
know of one way such a cam-
paign cou ld bran ch out. In s uc h
film s. you ofte n have groups of
49
Role-Playing
gladiators and ex-gladiators go-
Ingou t lmothe world and right-
in g wrongs . When a city is
be ing bled dry by a tyrannical
ru le r, the gladia tors s how up
and cast him down . When the
Empe ror 's da ug hter is k id-
napped and ransomed, the Em-
peror doesn't call on his c rack
guardsmen : he asks the gladla·
tors to rescue the princess.
Suc h adventures ofte n have a
lot of broad comedy In them.
Gladiators usually have fier ce
un armed-combat abilities so
t hal they don ' t have to kill
common-gru nt gua rdsm e n In
every tave rn brawl.
Myrmidons
In the Myrmi-
dons campaign , the pla yer-
characters are all heroes with
the Myrm idon Warrior Kj t.
T hey're either part of an elite
unit in a regula r army or gua rd.
or they're a small . emclent mer·
cenary team who've worked to-
gether for years (before the cam-
paign began . that is).
This cam paign Is best suited
to providing the characters with
Interesting m ili tary and tactlcaJ
situations.
For example, in one adve n-
ture. their superiors/employers
Instruct them to rescue a kid·
napped ambassador fro m a n
old . abandoned fan tha l is now
occu pied by banditlkidnappers.
The heroes are given a map of
the place_ a certa in a mount of
gold for equipment. and a dead-
line (never more than a few
days). They have to work out all
the plans of th e assault and res-
c ue, then go In. retrieve the kid-
napee , and escape with him
unhanned If they're to get their
money or the commendation of
theJr s uperiors.
In other adve ntures. the c har-
acters' unit might be part of a
much larger military force fig ht-
ing a long-standing war: some
adventures will be s land-up
com bats wi t h enemy troops .
some wi ll be recon na issance
missions behind enemy lines.
some wUl be rest and recreation
binges in nearby civil ian towns.
In mos t cases. lh e players
s hould bave the opportuni ty to
plan out their own military oper-
a tions. Th is gives the m a
g reater sense of sa tisfac tion
when the plans succeed ... and
a beuer understandin g of how
things work in the game-world
when the plans fail.
Obviously. this is a very pro-
mili tary campaign setting. and
the PCs and their NPC frie nds
won 't tole ra te di ffering out -
looks. Minor villains in this cam ·
paign Include officers who know
less abou t military opera tions
than the PCs. or officers who de·
lIberately sacrifice subordinates
in order to gain success and pro-
motions: so are civilians wbo
rabidly oppose th e ongoing con·
flict. those who are disrespectful
of soldiers. etc.
Noble W.rrlors
Th is Is a ca m-
paign of knights and chivalric
doings. Some of the characters
a re trad iti ona l medie val
knights. some a rc thelr squires:
others may be warriors or mer-
cena ries accompanying their
party. or other types of charac-
te rs being escorted by them (no·
b lem e n a nd nob lewom e n .
priests. etc. ).
This lype of campaign differs
greatJy from the Cavaliers cam -
paign in thatlhe Noble Warriors
don't havc to be staunch s up-
porters of goodness a nd IIghl.
Some will be true heroes: some
will be self-centered boors. But
they share the common tics of
knighthood and nobility. so they
usually get along with one an-
other.
For an Idea of what sorts of ad·
ve ntures arc appropria te to a
Noble Warriors campaign. you
need only read the books a nd
see the movies. available in the
hu ndreds or thousands. a ppro-
priate (osuc h c ha racters. In par-
ticular. the novels of Sir WaJ ler
Seal( a nd the chronicles of the
doi ngs of Camelot are very a p-
propriate source material (and.
no. not all the knights of Came-
lot were Cavaliers: some were
brutes ).
In Noble Warriors campaigns.
the heroes wand er th e la nd
righting wrongs by sword or
lance: they fight dragons wh ich
lair in menacing caverns In the
deepest woods: they defend tJle
la nd aga in st infide ls a nd in·
vaders: they compete with one
an othe r In friendl y touroa-
rnents a nd unfriendly clas hes
between rival kings or barons;
and they raise and lead grea t
armies on overseas crusades.
They also defend the preroga-
tives of their class. For Instancc.
In a CavaJiers cam paign. the PC
heroes might join a peasant's re-
bellion against the land's rightful
(but greedy and abusive) ruJers.
50
and even completely overthrow
that land 's system of rulers hip. In
a Noble Warriors cam paign. the
PCs will Instead help put down
the rebellion ... a nd then the
good ones among them wUl In·
vesugate the cause of the rebel-
lion. and perhaps depose the evil
lords on their own. At that point.
tlley'd eleva te the nex t person in
line for the throne or lordship . ..
as long as he was a noble enough
character.
In Noble Wa rrior campa igns.
If the PCS aJ l agree to it, they can
all be unc hlva lric boors . Pe r-
haps they a ll prefer to be robber-
ba ron s a nd il l-te m pered
knighls. U lhat's the case. and
the DM has no problem with It.
that's fine.
Peasant Heroes
In a campaign
dedicated to Peasa nt Heroes.
you have muc h the same si tua-
tion as wi th Barbaria ns and Be r·
se rkers. Th ree good approac hes
for campaigns are the lbwn Dc·
fenders. Peasant Heroes Om in
t.he World. and Peasant He roes
Aiming for the Crown . much as
the Barbarian cam paigns were
stru ctured.
There a re differences between
the Pcasan! Heroes and Barbari-
ans campaigns. though. In the
Barba ri a ns campaign. th e
player-characlers a rc outsiders
in this civilization . and civiliza-
tion Itself Is bad-decadent.
cru mbling. not a t aJl admirable.
In a Peasam Heroes campaJgn .
the player-characters belong to
th is Civ iliza tion : they are , in
facL s ma ll-lown folk who are
much admired . Civi lization Is
not bad or ruinous. though the
nation may be ru led by dissl·
pa ted nob les who have to be
overthrown or eliminated (lea v-
ing the throne open. of course.
for one of the Peasa nt Heroes to
take) .
One very appropriate Peasant
He roes mini-seri es to play
would Involve a Foreign Inva·
sian. Troops rrom the neighbor·
ing enemy nation pour over the
bordt=r and swann through !..he
pes' cou ntry. slaughtering or
e nslaving everyone in their
pa!..h. One large unll or enemy
soldiers approaches the PCs' vII·
lage. The PCs and their allies
mUSt fight and keep the enemy
at bay to give the vUlagers time
to escape. Artem'ard. hoperully.
the PCs lhemsclves can escape
inlO the nearby wilderness to
figure out what to do next.
Their nalion has been caught
by s urprise and oveN 'helmed
by this sudden auack: the capi·
tal is taken. the king imprisoned
or executed. T he heroes have
the option or fleeing thei r land
for some nalion not yet taken by
the invaders .. . or arranging a
resistance and revolt mo\'ement
to take the naUon back from the
invaders. From episode to epi·
sode. the heroes ca n make and
then execute thei r plans: Harry-
ing the enemy troops. building
the resista nce army up to
greater strength. going on sabo-
tage missions 1010 dangerous
invader· held territory. raiding
a rmories, kidn appi ng impor·
tan t invaders. antiCipating a nd
t hwarti ng invader repercus·
slons. and event ually throwing
off the yoke of the enemy alto·
gether.
Such a campaign could go on
for years. and when it was done.
and the enemy was In retreat.
could change In lo an altogether
different son of campaign. The
surviving PC heroes could be
knighted. and comme nce a No-
ble Warriors campaign: or. now
thal their work Is done. they
could find Lhemse lves unable to
return to their normal. worka·
day lives a nd decide to become
raiders of the high seas (I.e ..
pirates).
h 's quite e n·
Joyable to have a whole cam·
palgn where everyone Is a pirate
or outlaw. In pirate campaigns,
all the characters are raiders or
the seas; In oUllaw campaigns.
everyone is a lawless warrior. In
boLh campaigns. lhe bands of
characters prey on the weak
(but wealthy) and may have im·
portant goaJs to achieve other
than Just taking money away
from people who have 100 much
of It.
The OM s hould determine
and then make It clear from the
oulSet whether thi s Is a "good
guy" or "bad guy" campaign.
Good-Guy Outlaws and rlrates
Ir It's a "good
guy" ca mpaign. the play er·
characters are heroes ... but
misu nderstood.
They may have been framed
for crimes they did not commit,
and were forced to nee t:le au·
thoriUes lit's hard to prove you r
Innocence when you're swing·
ing from a gibbet). They may be
enemies of the new ruling power
(If a wise old ruler dlcs and is reo
placed by a n oppressive and un ·
fair new rul er. that's ample
justlncation to embark on a life
of ou tlawry ... In the game and
the movies. a nyway).
In such a campaign . the char·
acters are wanted by the law.
but It's th e law that's wrong.
a nd the heroes treat their cap·
tlvcs a nd victims with golden·
rule ethics.
In other words. they'U capmre
Innocents and take their money
and goods ... but they' U offer
no insult to victims who deserve
none. will tend to release such
prisoners unharm ed. IneVitably.
some or these form er prisoners
will be re·l ntroduced In the
s tory in an upper·hand position.
and m ay be able or willIng to
help the unlawful heroes when
51
they' re In a bad position.
On the other hand . victims
who are th ei r tru e e ne m ies
(wicked representatives of the
evil rulers, personal enemies .
tax collecto rs. competin g pi-
rates and outlaws with no SCru'
pies. and self·centered
money·grubbe rs of any sort)
tend to be humlHated and em-
barrassed while they are pris-
oners of the pes. Unless they
behave very stupidly and attack
the pes. th ey. too. are likely 10
be released u nharmed: If they
do attack. they tend to be bat·
tied In sin gle combat. and usu·
ally a re killed. Enemy prisoners.
If released. also tend to reappear
In the story down the line ...
usually at a lime when they can
do a lot of harm to the player·
characters.
The main goaJ of this sort of
campaign is restoring the old
status quo. If the characters
used to be law·abidlng ciUzens
and are now wanted by the law
for the wrong reasons. their
eventual goal is to prove thell' In·
nocence. If the land used to be
ruled by a wIse ruler who Is now
Imprisoned or dead. the charac-
ters' goal Is to release him from
prison or nnd and crown his
wise true heir,
Often. the heroes' force of men
(pirate ship or outlaw band) will
prove uscrulto someone in a po.
sltlon of power (like the rescued
ruler or a nother powerful no·
ble). and that personage will Is·
sue them pardons a nd
commissions Into his army or
navy Just before the slam-bang
climax of the campaign or mini-
series.
a.d·Guy O utl.aws .and Plroltes
Ir lI's a "bad
guy" campaIgn. the DM and
players will have to define the
cam paign goal. It may be noth·
ing more than the acquisition of
treasure over years of outlawry,
It may be conSiderably more
specific, such as the finding of a
treasure burled by a famous
long-dead pirate, or the execu·
tion of a brilliant robbery plan ,
The bad·guy campaign is
mostJy suitable to characters of
neutral or evil orientaUon. and
to players who Just want to play
In a nasty fashion for a while.
Their characters don't have the
dainty ethics of the good·guy pi·
rates and outlaws. No. they rob
everyone. from other villa ins to
virtuous maidens to pious cler·
gymen. Prisoners in thelt hands
won 't know what to ex pect;
they may get not·too·uncom·
fortable Imprisonm ent for ran·
somlng purposes , or brutal mls·
treaunent. or death , or worse
than death, however the player·
characters feel. Further, the
PCS' feelings, and their treat·
ment of prisoners, may change
from day to day.
This Is a dangerous e nviron·
ment and campaign. Since the
pes are as scummy as their
worst e nemies, there probably
won't be any DM sympathy to
help keep them alive In bad situ·
ations. The pes w!l1 be compet·
ing on equal terms with the
nastiest of villains, and you can
expect a high body count
among pes and NPCs alike .
On the other hand . when
you 're In a destructive mood. it
can be a lot of fun.
Sc\murc\1
In the samurru
campaign. obviousl y enough .
the characters are samurai or
ronin, and here you have the
same sort of division as you had
In t he pirates/outlaws cam·
palgn.
If the characters are samurai.
their usual adventures are Hkely
to be missions for their lord, An
ongoing campaign mIght deal
with the lord's campaign to be·
come ruler of all the land (while
the pe s maneuver for power be·
neath him , possibly with the in·
tentlon of remOVing and
re placing him lateran) ; the cam·
palgn might Instead deal with
expedItions in to unknown lands
(such as th e usual player·
character setting . which ere·
a tes, Just like In the Amazons
deSCription above. the opportu·
nity for a "clash of cultures"
mini·series).
If the characters are ron in.
their usual adventures could be
mercenary actions as they play
a pan in warfare In their land : or
the campaign could be an exer·
clse in outlawry. as with the pl·
rates and outlaws description
above . These ronln character
could be noble samurai driven
into a lawless and lordless state.
or cou ld be honorless bad·guy
ronln with no Interests beyond
s urvi val. wea lth , a nd killing
people.
Either way. if you Intend to
run a samurai campaign, you
ought to buy the Oriental Ad·
ventures game supplement, an
extensive AD&D ~ game treat·
ment of the world of oriental
role·playlng. You won't have to
adapt everything In It to your
AD&D 2nd EdWon campaign.
but you 'll find useful material
there anyway.
Sa-vagrs
There are a lot
of ways to run a Savages cam·
palgn . Here are only a few of
them :
Just Like Barbarians and Ber·
serkers: A cam paign fea turing
savages as th e player-char·
acters could be run practically
Ide nticall y to the campaigns
give n for the Barbarians and
Berserkers descriptions above.
The main difference is that Sav·
age characters are conSiderably
more distanced from civillza·
tion than barbarians are. They
don't understand it nearly as
well and are likely to be
alarmed, scared. offended or put
ofTby many more features of the
52
civilized world than the barbar·
ian character. T hey 're not as
likely to want to become rulers
in the ou tside world , because
they don't like it as much .
Jungle Kings : You could have
the campaign revolve around a
Jungle King: A powerful savage
warrior who may have been
reared by or spirit·bonded with
some sort of noble a nima l (apes,
wolves. lions, etc.). The Jungle
King character Is often the
friend of one savage tribe (In-
cludin g the other player·
characters). and can lead them
on all sorts of fantastic adven·
tures. Treas ure·hunting trips
into eerie valleys (populated by
lost tribes. monslers out of an·
cien t legend , or dangerous and
alien wizards), and elaborate
raiding mIssions against the en·
croachments of civilization. are
two good examples. Also. the
Jungle King seems always to
fall In love wilh a woman from
the ou ter·world civilization. and
she. In turn , has a tendency to
be kidnapped out of her new
Jungle haven: other adventures
can Involve missions to rescu e
her. (Naturally. a Jungle Queen
character could find herself a
civilized mate with the same in·
clinatlons toward being kjd·
napped .)
Savages In t.he Big City: If
you're Interested in playing a
comedy adventure. try running
a scenario where a group of sav·
age player-characters must en·
ler a huge civilized city (for any
of the noble reasons discussed
earlier. such as a rescue). but
play the adventu re for laughs.
The savages will probably be as
sneaky and clever as ever at
creeping across rooftops In the
moonLIght. but try confronting
them wi th obj ecls and situa-
tions more likely 10 get a laugh
than a combat response. Sav·
ages from the unspoiled wilder·
ness will not know how to cope
with elemental·powe red se lf·
driving chariots, bureaucracy.
distilled liquors. wizards. famll·
lars . pa rades. magica lly -ani ·
mated street-sweeper machln·
ery. da ncing brooms cleaning
out the mage's tower. talking
swords, da nce·halls for the u n·
dead . or any s uch thing.
SWolshbucklers
Th e Swash-
bucklers cam paign Is for play·
ers who wam characters with a
lot of s ty le adventuring in a so·
phlsUCated sctUng . The Muske·
teers novels of Al exandre
Dumas are a perfect source for
c harac ter ty pes. adventure
Ideas, and sc ttlngs fo r such a
campaign .
In the Swashbucklers cam·
paign. the player-characters are
elegant heroes. experts with the
rapier. making their way In a
huge clly. They lend to \lve hand-
to-mouth, gaining large treasures
one day and spending through
them In a very s hort time. so they
may be rich and generous one
day and stealing their food the
next. This is not a campaign de·
voted to honest a nd hard·
working heroes. The PCs may be
as honora ble as their players
want. but they're sUII channing
rcl.kes who like to get by on as lit·
lie effort as necessary.
However. when danger looms.
they' ll gladly throw themselves
Into a n ad venture, one which
may lead them on a desperate
horseback race across the land
or in to the dark catacombs un·
der the city. wh ere monsters
dwell. Adv cntures m ay lead
them from the court of their
king, to the barracks of the na·
lion 's army (as they briefly be·
come soldiers or commissioned
officers), to the front lines of the
ongOin g war wit h a neighboring
power. to desperate m issions be-
hind enemy lines. to secret for-
ays into the capital city's prison
(so that th ey might rescue the
klng's secret twin or their fri end
wh o's been Impris oned for
knowing too much).
The heroes are In a constant
competition to oUl·style the
other. In combat. each tries to be
the flashiest. In romance. each
tries to be the most Witty, most
courteous. most gallant. Also.
they' re in similar compeUUon
with rivai NPC swashbuckJers,
who are often members of a
competing military force or
fen cing academy.
In aU . It's a ca mpaign of great
sty le and showmanship.
Wilderness Warriors
In the Wilder·
n ess Warriors campaign . the
player-characters are members
of tribes or clans living in harsh
wilderness environments. Such
campaigns are. again. very simi-
lar to the choices for Barbarians
and Berserkers campaigns. but
one of the differences and at·
tractions of the Wilderness War·
rlors campaign is the set ling.
In such a campaign. the OM
must go out of his way to spot-
light the wonder and danger of
the setting. These are true wil·
derness adventures, where na-
lure and monsters are the
characters' enemies much more
fre quently than enemy men or
demlhumans.
And because wildernesses are
so big and unexplored , the char·
acters. In their wanderings. may
encounter many unusual clUes
and soclelles. ruins and trea·
sures.
For example, in a Desert No-
mads campaign. the characters
might be fi ghting a rival nomad
tribe when a vast sandstonn .
lasting hours or days . forces
them all to seek shelter. When
Lhe storm blows over. It has un·
covered a long·burled city. The
two forces conti nue their war
through thc streets. buildings.
and catacombs of the cllY .. .
while the ancient evil that was
burled with the city s lowly
awakens ...
53
In an Arctic Warriors cam·
paign. the local seal or whale
population migh t have
disappeared-been hunted to
extinction . or just left for myste·
rious reasons. In the campaign ,
the PC heroes ha ve to wander
over unexplored regions to find
a new place capable of sustain·
ing the tribe : thcy'lI encounter
yeU . ice golems controlled by
frozen tiches, avalanches. frost
giants. a nd other arctic perils
before they find their promised
land .
The .MlUt.uy Campaign
Finally. yo u
can run an a ll·mllitary cam·
paign without it necessarily be·
Ing a n a ll · Myrmidons ca m -
paign.
Possibly the most Interesting
way to do this is to gradual ly
move Lhe campaign setting to-
ward a major war. Early In the
regul ar campaign . estab lish
th at the player·c haracters '
country often has problems and
frictions with a n eighboring
country: s howcase the dispu tes
between thc nations by having
NPCs from the other nation be
rude or abusive to the Pes (and,
to be fair, have NPCs from the
player-characters' country be
equally vulgar to foreign NPCs
wh o don't deserve s uch treat-
ment: the PCS may find them·
selves in the uncomfortable
poslUon of being honor-bound
to defend the "enemy" from
their own dlshonorablecollntry'
men!) .
As the campaign progresses
and the player-characters gain
experience levels. increase the
frlcLion between the nalions.
Occasionally. the pes wtll run
into foreign s py-nests and spy·
plans.
Ultimately, when the PCs
have achieved high experience
levels and are importan t charac·
ters tn the nalion . they should
be in on the events that spark
the eventuaJ war. For example ,
their king may ask them to ac·
com pany him to the peace con-
fere nce where he and his old
e nemy are supposed to patch up
their differences, m arry their
child ren to one another, and
s ign mutual nonaggression
pacts. But when they're there.
something goes drastically
wrong: Perhaps dopplegangers
pretending to be the pes assas -
sinate the foreign king, while
dopplegangers prete nding to be
the greatest heroes of the other
naUo n assassi nate t he pes'
king. (Th e dopplegangers , of
course, are under the contTol of
the evil king of a third nation,
who intends to move in . pick u p
the pieces. a nd conquer every·
one when these two na ti ons
have beate n each ot h er to
pieces.)
At this point. war is in evlta·
ble. and the pes are pu t In com·
Oland of an e ntire army. For the
remain der of th is exte nded
storyline. the pes have to lead
their m en in combat again s t en·
em y forces. defendi ng their own
nation or penetrating Into the
en emy territory: m ea nwhil e.
th ey'lt be doing thei r own ad-
ventures an d Investigations.
trying to come up wi th proof
that the two rulers were assassi-
nated by a third party. not by
the heroes of the two nations.
Once the two armies are get·
tingserlously (ired and hurt , th e
pes s hould be able to come up
with the proof they need. They
convince the new ru lers of both
nations of the Identity of their
true e nemy. At this point. It's
time for the two armies to Join
forces (and swallowing down
their many yea rs of m utual dis·
trust. especially after the last
several months of fighting , will
be partiCularly hard. leading to
eve n morc plot opportu nities).
Now, the twO battered armies
march into the third nation . the
PCs still in charge of their own
army (or perhaps each PC Is
now a ge neral in his own right).
an d the nna l ba ttle with the
fresh forces of the evil enemy
ruler is sull to come . . .
In s uch a way. you can sustain
an all·mili tary campai gn for
many mOlllhs of gam e-tim e.
and rcsolve importa nt conflicts
and storylines in your campa ign
world .
C"mpalgn vs.
Mlnl·Serles
Though you
can take a ny of the above cam·
paign Ideas and make It Into a
formal campaign. one which is
s upposed to con tin ue episode
after episode until the OM and
players grow tired of it. you can
aJse run any of them as a mini·
series. a campaign which Is de·
Iiberately ru n only for enough
episodes to com plete one full·
length story. In a sense. the reg·
ul ar campaign Is like a T V
series. while the mlnl·serles Is
like a novel or movie.
Campaigns
The cam paign
goes on over a long period of
time and encom passes ma ny
s m aller stories a nd goa ls: It
sometimes goes through cast
cha nges as the principal heroes
die, leave. or retire.
Th e brig ht promi se of th e
campaign Is that. so long as the
OM and players remain together
and Imercsted. it can go on for a
long. long time : the characters
can participate In advemure af·
ter adventure. story after story.
Th e campaig n ca n chronicle
ge nerations of thc adventurers'
fam ilies. as the original adven·
turers sire children who them·
selves grow up to be th e
player·charactcrs.
In a campaign. PCS are de·
signed to be played practically
foreve r. You figure on th e char·
acter growing and developing
54
slowly. over time, and so pes are
a lmost always crea ted at low
level. usually 1s t levcl.
As the pes develop. their play-
ers som etimes becom e very at·
tached to them. so much so that
when a character dies (in s uch a
fas h ion tha t h e cann ot be
raised . It ls very u psetting to the
player.
Mlnl·Serles
The mini·
series. on the Olher hand . typi-
ca ll y cove rs on e ext ended
slory -the acquis ition of one
treasure, the dcfeat of one spe·
clfic m aster villain. the ex plora ·
tion of a newly·discovered
island. the resolu tion of a war
between nation s. It m ay be
played in a single session or go
on for a dozen , but the OM a nd
players know tha t it's s upposed
to be limited in scope.
Its characters are rolled up
and can be played quite diffe r·
emly. Since they are "tem po·
rary" characters. they can be
created at a level best s uited to
lhe plot of the s tory. If the sce·
nario is supposed to Involve a
crack squad of cavalry men on a
speCial mission. everyone could
be crea ted a t 5th level. If It's to
be powerful. ex pcrl e nced
knights on a quest. everyone
could be created a t 9th level. If
It's to be legendary heroes trans·
ported from the pas t at the peak
of their powers. they could be
created a l 20th level or h igher.
In som e regular campaigns.
pes die regularly. If the OM of
s uch a ca mpaign runs a mini·
series. the players can expect
the same , but probably won 't
m ind so much because the cha r·
acters were "tem porary" a ny-
way.
In some regular campaigns.
the DM tends to protect t.he pes
a little bit. covering over for IIlUe
crrors wh ich could be falal. es·
peclally when they take place In
Incidents which are not im por·
tant to the campaign or current
storyli ne. In a mj nl-sertes. on
the other hand. the OM is likely
to be more deadly (because no
one is quite so involved with his
ch aracter), meaning that the
setling and situation are more
dangerous: the players will have
a greater sense of the danger to
their characters In this type of
setting.
One last optJon with the mini-
series: Though It is a very lim-
Ited campajgn. deliberate ly
created so thai It will soon end.
the DM can always run mini-
series "sequels:' In the sequel.
the survivors of the origina l
mini-series can band togcther
agaln to meet a new challenge.
Joined by new heroes (replace-
ments for those who fell In the
last story). The DM can fidd le
with experience leve ls as he
c hooses, ru nni ng one mini -
series (for example) at fifth level.
thesequel at ninth level. the sec-
ond sequel at 13th. a nd so on.
Switching Between Them
Because cam-
paigns a nd m ini-series a re very
differenl bu t equa ll y com pel-
ling. OMs should think abou t
switchin g between them from
time to time.
55
For mosi peop le. the cam·
paign Is the most satisfying for-
mal. Bul. a lso for most people,
the campalgn gets a bit Uresomc
aft er a while, a n d th e grou p
breaks from It fo r a time. In that
time. It's ve ry appropriate to run
a short-term mini-series (or sev-
eral), aJ lowlng the OM and play-
ers to explore ncw settings and
characters unUlthey're ready 1.0
pick up the regular cam paign
again.
T his is the ideal forum for you
to tryout some of thc more u nu-
sual or outrageous cam paign
Ideas described earlier in this
chapler.

The Warrior Is a c harac ter
whose prlmary fu nction is com·
bat . and com bat is what this
chapler Is all a bou l. Though the
AD&D'" game com bat system Is
sufficient to most of your com-
bat needs. this c hapter will give
you optional rules and advice
which can add navor to your
game.
h 's importan t to re member
thai everythin g In this c hapler
Is an optJonaJ rule: nothing rec-
ommended here can be Im ple-
memed In your campaign
without the DM 's permission.
New Combat Rules
Here are some
optional rules you can add to
combat in your campaign.
Off-Hand Wupons Use
All characters
arc presumed to be bcLter with
one hand than th e other-In real
life. most people ar e rlght-
h anded . quite a few a re left-
handed. and only a very few aTC
truly am bidextrou s.
When a cha racter is first cre·
ated, the player should specify
his handedness (right or left), If
he does not specify one, the OM
shou ld assum e the character Is
rlght·handed .
If a c harac te r, for whatever
reason, nghts with his off-hand
instead of his good ha nd. he suf·
fers a - 2 penalty to hit ~'ilh all
aHacks. For example, should a
character nnd himself with his
right hand chained to a wall.
a nd yet he needs to draw a nd
throw a dagger and must use his
off-hand, he'll the n s uffer the
- 2 penalty to hit.
If you wish a character to be
ambidextrous, consult "Ambi-
de xterit y," below , under
"Weapon ProficIency Slots."
Kneeling and Sitting
A c harac te r
who is kneelingorsit Ung (for ex·
a mple, because he 's been
knocked down or InJuredlls at a
disadva nt age in comba t. He
can' t move around as effecUvely
and so can not dodge incomIng
a ttacks. For that reason . when-
evcr someone aHac ks a vlcUm
who Is knee ling, the attacker
gets a + I to hit: whe n someone
a ttacks a vlc lim who Is sitting,
the attacker gets a +2 to hit: and
when someone attac ks a vlcUm
who Is nat on h is back (but
aware of the attack and trying to
avoid Itl. the attacker gets a +4
to hit .
Attacking a character who Is
held {by magic}or asleep Is auto-
matically s uccessful . ca using
normal damage.
. When a character Is kneeling,
SItting, or on his bac k, he can
gello his feet one of two ways. If
he sUII has an attack left to per·
form this round . he can give It
up. not make an attack, and
stand up instead. Or. he can
waH until afte r Initiative Is
rolled for the next round : When
it comes time for him to describe
hlsacUon . he can stand up then.
withou t losing a ny of his attacks
for that round .
Range And Initiative
Here's a rule to
give some advantage to those
c haracters and parties (and
monsters) which a lways have
ranged attac ks ready.
Whe n twO groups first come
within sight of one anot.her a t
distances of 20 feet or less (here
a "group" can consist of only
one person or creature . or can
ha,'e more), and only one group
has mIssile capabillly already In
hand. tha t group gets a "free
s hot" with Its ranged weapons.
This Is n 't a full combat round.
not a bonus round from s ur·
prise: It's a split second of In-
51
Combat Rules X
•
stlnctlve reaction on the part of
the mlssllers In the group. While
t.h e~· re firing. mages and priests
can t cast spells. othe r c harac·
te rs can' t ready wea pons. A
knife expert can 't draw a knife
and throw it In this split second:
he can only throw It If he already
has It in ha nd. In this s pIlt ·
second. charac ters can take no
action other than, perhaps. to
talk or shout some thing brief to
one another.
Once that free shot is taken ,
on the first full combat round of
th e fight. roll initiative n or·
mally. The party that was fired
u pon gelS a +2 modifier for be·
Ing slightly disadvantaged by
the e ne my's missile superiority.
Remember that this option
can only be taken when one
side, a nd not the other. has
ready miss ile weapons (1.e .,
bows or crossbows in hand with
arrows and quarre ls alread y
nocked, or throwing weapons
s uch as spears. javelins. axes
a nd knives already In ha nd).
Also. the party whic h can take
this option doesn't have to: the
group does not have to fire upon
an othe r person . group or mono
ster the Instant It sees Its target.
If the group chooses not to, the
opportunity is lost and the char·
acters have the usual options to
talk to the other group: If they
c hoose to fight. Initiative Is
rolled norma lly. T he side with·
out the missile weapons doesn't
get the +2 modifier this time .
If the party Is wande ring
around in conditions of poor vis·
ibility (suc h as a dungeon). the
OM can rule that the target is
barely vis ible a nd that the party
cannot recognize many details
about the target: " Ah ead of you
In the corridor. about 60 feet up.
you see a group of human·slzed
silhouettes moving your way.
As you spot them. they spot
you, too, and slow down. You
can' t tell what they are .. ." At
this point. If the PCs have mls·
sUe weapon s and the NPCs
X Combat Rules
don 't. the pes can take this fr ee
s h ot. b ut a r c faced w ith th e
p ros pect o f a ttack ing a n u n -
k nown quantify. They could be
nnng u pon the High King a nd
his adventuring retinue. for all
they know.
When tw o g roups both ha ve
ready missile weapons. neither
geLS this option . RoH Initiative
normally. (If two groups both
have ready m issile weapons.
and one group spots the other
without the oilier group realiz-
ing It, tha t group wins Initiative.
but doesn 't gel the "free s hot:'
Picture It th is way: When the
firs t group looses iLS volley. the
missilers of the second group
immedia tely t urn arou nd and
loose theirs. So wc' re pu t in a po-
si tion ofnofmal com baL )
Fina lly. fo r this optio n , re -
mem ber that spell-type missile
abilities do n 't count, bu t " na tu-
ral" ones do. A dragon 's breath
acts as a ready m issile weapon.
as do a mantlcore's taU-spikes .
However. a gold dragon's s pells
do n' t count . nor does a vam -
pire 's charm ing, fo r example,
Weapon Proficiency
Slots
Yo u kn ow
abou t Weapo n Proficle nc ies
From pages 5 1-52 of the Player's
Han dboo k. Here , we' ll ta lk
abou t some additional. special
things you can do In a campaign
with Weapon Proficiencies.
Intelligence and r rofldendes
We 're going to
be showi ng you a lot of interest-
ing things you can do with the
Weapon Profi c lencies rules,
Therefore. you need to use lhe
rule for extra Proficlcncies given
on page 5 1 of the Player's Han d-
book. There. It says Ulat you
may. with the DM's permission ,
take eX lfa profi clencles when
first created equal to the num-
ber of extra languages the char-
a cter gets fro m high Intelligence
(see Thble 4, page 16. Player s
Handbook), T hese extra profi -
c lenc ies may be divided as the
player chooses be tween Weapon
Proflc lencles a nd Nonweapon
Proficlencles .
Single-Weapon 'rofld~ncy,
Weapon Spedallutlon
In the Players
Handbook. the only th ings you
can do wilh Weapon Pronclen-
des a re take Single-wea pon pro-
ficle nc ies a nd s pec ia lize In
particular weapons,
To briefl y review the informa-
tion from thal section:
A characte r mus t have a Pron-
c lency with a weapon to use It
no rma lly. To become profiCient.
the character "spends" one of
the Weapon ProfiCiency Slots he
has on that weapon, Each s lot
can buy profiCiency wi th one
weapo n. IF he uses a weapon
he's n Ot proficient In, he s uffers
a n a ttack pena lty: -2 ror wcap -
o ns which a re completely unra·
mUla r, o r - I for wea pons
similar to those wi th which he
already has proficiency. (Tha t
pe na lty is worse fo r non·
Warriors.)
To specialize in a particular
weapon . the cha racter must de-
vote a n ex tra wea po n profi-
ciency s ia l to it. (In the case of
bows or crossbows. it takes two
extra s lots. ) When using his spe-
c ia l weapon, th e character gets
a + I to hit a nd + 2 to damage.
{With bows a nd crossbows. he
lns tead gelS a new range cate·
gory. point-blank: 6·30 feC I for
crossbows. 6-60 feet fo r bows.
Within that range. he Is at +2 La
hit. Also. if his weapon Is ready
a nd there's a target in s ight. he
can firc In the combat round be·
fo re initiative is rolled.}
Only si ngle-class warriors
(fighters. pa ladins. a nd ra ngers)
can take weapon speCia lties.
S uc h a character can on ly take
58
one when he Is firs t created. but
may spec ialize in mo re wcapons
as hc gains new s lots.
With that in mind . let's elabo·
ra lC on the use of weapon profi -
clencles ...
Weapon·Group rrofldency
However, lers
look realistically at weapon profi-
ciency. Currently, If a character
has Weapon Proficiency with
DaggerlDlrk , he doesn' t have it
with Knife. He certain ly doesn 't
have it with S hort Sword , Of
course, the OM can a lways decide
that such weapons are reJalctt to
one another. If he does, then the
warrior would sutTer a - I to hit
with the unknown we.'lpon in-
stead of the - 2. (See page 52 of
the Player's HandbookJ,
Still. to be proficient in a ll
sorLS of blades, fro m the Player's
Handbook a nd ad dllio na l
blades from this rulebook. you'd
have to spend arou nd 14
weapon profiCie ncy slots, a nd
that's too ma ny.
So. we're maki ng it possib le to
take weapon profic lenclcs wit.h
whole weapon groups.
For our purposes. Lhcre are
two types of groups: Tigh t
Groups and Broad Groups.
Tight Groups
A Tigh t Wea,p-
ons Group consists of a set or
weapons that are very sl mlla r) n
lhe way they are wielded. .
It costs two Weapon Profi -
c iency Slots to become profl·
cien t In an e ntire iJgh L group .
After paying those two slots, lhe
character will know how to usc
eve ry weapo n in th al g roup
wllhout the us ual - 2 penal ty
for unfamiliarity (t.ha t - 2 Is for
Warriors: with other c la sses, the
penal ty Is more severe. as de·
scribed on page 52 of the Play·
er's Handbook) .
f ollowing a re seve ral exam·
pies of T igh t Groups, Any
 Combat Rules X
weapon m arked with an aster- Fa ucha rd . In the campaign- the n the char·
isk ( 4) ls a weapon dcscn bed In Fa ucha rd-fork . a cter with the g roup profi ciency
Th e Complete Fig hter s Han d - GlaNe. will be able 1.0 usc It a t no pen-
book. In the Equlpmcm cha pter. Glalve-guisarme. a ltv. whUe the c haracter with
Gulsarme. profic ie ncy In Just the two e xist-
Axes:
Guisa rme-vou lgc. ing axes wi ll s uffe r the attack
Batlle axe , Ha lberd. pe naJlY·
Ha ndlth ro wing axe .
Hook fa uc bard . T hese ca tego ries a re ver y
Bows:
Lucem hammer. close to t he re lated weapon
Com pos ite long bow. Mancatcher. g roups from page 52 of the Play·
Composi te short bow. er 's Handbook. a nd your OM
Mili tary fo rk .
Dalk y u · , ca n. If he wishes . use these cate·
Naglnata - .
Long bow,
Partisan. gorlcs as related gro ups . This
Short bow. Ranseur. he lps dete rm ine whether or not
Clubbing Weapo ns : a wa rrior ge ts th e full a ttack
Spelum.
Belaying pin · . Te ls ubo - . penalty when he uses a weapon
Club. Voulge. u nfa miliar to him . or wheLher
Footman 's mace. Sho rt Blades: he receives only ha lf the penalty
Horseman's mace, OaggerfD lrk . fo r u s ing o ne s imUa r to a
Morni ng smr, wca pon with which he has pron·
Knlfc/SUletlo ' .
Warhammer. Main -gauc he ' . c ic ncy.
Cr ossbows : S hort swordlDrus us · .
Hand crossbow, Sickles: Broa d Groups
Heavy crossbow. Sickle.
Light crossbow. A Broad Weap·
Scythe_
Fe nc ing Blades : o n Group co ns ists of a set of
Slings :
OaggcrlDirk. weapo ns that a re some w ha t
Sling.
Knlfe/Stile llo · . s im ila r in th e way th ey a re
Staff Sling.
Maln -gau ch e - . wielded .
Spears: It costs three Weapon Pron·
Ra pier -. Harpoon.
Sabre - . c le ncy Slo ts to becom e pron·
Javelin .
Flails : clem in an enUre broad group.
Long Spear ' . After paying th ose three slots.
Foouna n 's flail. Spear. THdenl.
Horsem an 's nail . the charac te r wHi know how to
Whips: use every weapon In tha t group
Lances: Scourge.
Hea vy horse la nce. Without the us ua l pena lty for
W h ip. unfamiliarity.
Light horse lance.
J ousting lance. Following a re severa l exam-
You 'lI notice there's a lIuJe over·
Medi um horse lance. ples of Broad Groups. As before.
la p between the Fencing Blades a ny weapon marked with an as·
Long Blades : a nd Short Blades group: some
Bastard sword , terisk (. ) Is a wea pon described
wea pons are common to both 1n Th e Complete Ffgh ler's
Katana - . groups.
Lo ng sword . Ha ndbook, in the Equipment
You' lI a lso noUce tha t some
Scimi ta r, c hapter.
g roups don'tlook like they save
n OJo-han ded sword . you a ny wea po n profic iency
Medium Blades: Blades:
s lots. The A.xes. Flails. Picks.
Cutlass · . Bas tard s word .
Sic kles. Slin gs. a nd Whi ps
Khopesh . Cutlass - .
g ro u p al1 ha \'c two weapons
Waktzashl · . OaggerIDlrk .
ea c h In the m . Si nce a tig h t
Picks : Katana - .
g ro u p costs twO profici e ncy
Footma n 's pick. Khopesh .
s lots . It a ppears that th cre's no Knlfe/SUletlo ' .
Horseman's pick. savings. Which Is true ... un·
Polea rms: Long s word .
less. in your campaign . othe r
Awl pike. Maln-gauche - .
weapons related to those grou ps Rapier - .
Bardlch e. a re deve loped or Introd uced . If
Bee de corbin . Sabre - .
they a re - If. fo r Instance . a
BiII·gulsarme. Scimitar.
medlum·slzed wa r-axe appears
X Combat Rules

Shan swordlOrusus · . for detcrmining whether a c har- ually for DaggerlDlrk. Knife/
lWo-handed sword, acter receivC$ the full or parlia l Stiletto. Main-gauche. Rapie r.
Waklzashj - . attack penalty fo r using an unfa- and Sabre.
Cleaving/Crushing milia r wcapon. Let's say a cha racter wants to
Weapons: know how to use every type of
Batlle axe, Non-Groups bla de ever made ... but he
Belaying Pin-_ wants to be especial ly good with
Finally, the fol- lhe Long Sword. As a nrst·level
Club.
Footman's mace. lowing weapons do not belong Warrior. be r eceives four
Footman 's pick . in a ny sort of group whatsoever. Weapon Proficie ncy S lots to
Handlthrowing axe, 1b learn any of these weapons. s tart with . He spends three to
Horseman's mace. th e c haracte r mu st s pe nd a take Proficiency with the entire
Horseman's pick. weapon proficiency slot on It. Blades broad g roup. and spends
Morning star. and none of these Is sim ilar In his fourth to specia lize in Long
Warhammer.
use to any other weapon . When Sword. Hc has his wish : He can
Pole Weapons: a character picks one up and pick up and use a ny blade
Awl pike.
uses it withou t being proficient weapon without penally. but Is
in It already, he suffers the full particularly adept with the Long
Bardlche.
Bee de corbin . penalty. Sword.
BIII-guisarmc. Weapons Not Belonging To Similarly, a character might
Fauchard. Any Group: wish to be profic ient with all
Fauchard-fork. Arquebus. bows. and especia lly good wllh
Glaivc. Blowgun. the Composite Long Bow. He
Glalve-gulsarme. Bola - . spends two weapon proficiency
Gulsarme. Chain - . slots to be proficient with lheen-
Gulsarme·YQulge. Gaff/hook · . lire Bows tight g roup , and
Hal berd, Lasso. spends two more slots (because
Harpoon. Net. bows are trickier to specia lize
Hook fauchard. QuarterstafffBo slick - . In-see me Player's Handbook.
Javelin , Nun chaku · . page 52) to specialize in Com -
Lu cero hammer. Sal'_ posite Long Bow. Thjs character
Long Spear- . Is at a disadvantage with any
Mancatc her. Special Note: The Cestus · sort of weapon o ther than bows.
doesn-t req uire any Proficiency. but can use a ll bows. a nd Is es-
MUitary fork.
Naglnata · , It enhances pu nching damage. pecially good with the Compos-
and everyone knows how to Ite Long Bow.
Partisan.
Ranseur, punch .
Sickle. Note
Scythe. Weapon Specialization and
Weapon Groups That's all you
Spear. need to know now about the use
Spetum. Although it is of Weapon Profieiencles ... as
Thtsubo a • possible to become proficient In lhey're used to buy proficiency
Tridcnl. an entire grou p of weapons . this and specialization with weap-
Voulge. doesn' t mean a c ha racter can ons. But there are more things
Small Throwing Weapons: specialize in an entire group of to use these pronclencies on. as
OaggerlDirk. weapons. you'll see as you proceed
Dart. As before, each weapon spe- through the chapter.
Handlthrowlng axe. cialization costs one Weapon
Knife/stiletto· . Proficiency Slot In a weapon the Ambidexterity
Shuriken &. characte r Is already profiCient
In . A charac ter call't pay two If a playe r
Again. you' ll see some overlap points to be proficient In the wants h is cha racter to be ambi-
between the Small T hrowing Fe ncing Blades group and then de xtrou s. as described a bove
Weapons group and other a nother two to specialize In the under "OfT-Hand Weapons Use,"
groups. 5.:'tme group: He'd have to take he must devote one weapon pro-
T hese groups may not be used one-slot Specializations indivld- fi cie ncy to Ambidexterity.
to calculate weapon similarity

60
 If he does so, he'll be able to
fight normally with both hands.
a nd will be equally adept at non·
combat tasks with both hands.
This doesn't give him two at·
tacks per round. It Just means
that If he loses the use of one
hand, or drops the weapon In
that hand, he'U be equally adept
with the other.
Style Spe <I"Uutlon
You can use
Weapon Proficiencles to special·
Ize In certain styles of fighting.
such as two swords, two·
handed weapon, and so on. We
describe how to do this below,
under "Fighting Styles."
Pun'c.hlng a.nd Wrestling
Spec.lallza.tlon
As you can
specialize in certain weapons,
you can a lso specialize In
Punching and Wrestling, You al·
ready know a bou t Punc hing
and Wrestling from the Player's
Handbook, pages 97·98: here,
you' ll learn how to improve a
character's Punching and Wres·
tling abili ties. You 'll find this in-
formation be low, under
"Pu nching, Wrestling, and Mar·
tial Arts ."
Mart.lal A.rts
Additionally,
you 'll learn how make your
character proficient (or even a
specialIst) In eastern·style mar·
tial arts. These rules work like
the existing Punching and
Wrestling rules, but constitute a
whole new set of maneuvers and
tac tics a skilled fighter charac·
ter can use In combat. These
rules, too. you'll find below un·
der "Punching. Wrestling. and
Martial Arts."
Fighting Styles
It gives a cam·
paign more color when the war·
riors fight with different styles.
A huge warnor·knlght wielding
a greatsword looks and fights a
lot differently from a s lender
fencer carrying a rapier and
maln·gauche.
Below. we'll describe several
common combat sty les ... and
the Interesting things you can
do with them by taking a Style
Specialization.
All these Fighting Styles refer
to fighting with melee weapons
only. None of them applies to
missile weapons.
The Four Fighting Styles
There are four
common Fighting Styles em·
played by anyone USing a melee
weapon. They are:
Single· Weapon Style: The
character wields a weapon In
one hand and carries nothing In
the other hand . The weapon can
be as short as a Dagger or as
long as a Baswd Sword or Long
Spear.
Two-Hander Style: The char·
acter wields a weapon which reo
quires (or at least
accommodates) the use of two
hands. Such weapons Include
those which require two hands
('!\vo·Handed Sword. Polearms,
and Quarterstaff. for instance)
and those which can be used
one·and two· handed (Bastard
Sword and Spear, for example).
Weapon and Shield Style:
The character wields a weapon
In his good hand and carries a
s hield on his off· hand. This
combination can vary from a
street·bravo·s choice of dagger
and small buckler to the classic
knight's c hoice of long sword
and body s hield.
Two-Weapon Style: The char·
acter wields one weapon In each
ha nd. Unless both wcapons are
Srnall (S on the Size column on
61
the Weapons c ha rt), the weapon
In the character's olT·hand must
be lighter in weight than hIs pri·
mary weapon. This c haracter
can vary from a street· thief
wielding two identical daggers.
to a re nccr using a rapier In one
hand and a maJn-gauche In an·
other, to a heavUy·armored war·
rior with a long sword in one
hand and a short sword in the
other. Note: Read the Player's
Handbook. page 96, for the rules
on Allacklng With 1\vo Weap·
ons.
All Warnors start play know·
Ing how to use all four styles.
Priests start play knowing how
to use Single· Weapon, TWo·
Hander. and Weapon and Shield
sty les. Rogues start play know·
ing how to use Single·Weapon,
ThlO·Hander, and lWo·Weapon
styles. Wizards start play know-
ing how lO use Single·Weapon
and 1Wo·Hander styles. Charac·
lers cannot learn new styles af·
ler they ' re created: these are the
sty les they are limited to by
their c hoice of character class.
A character can use a weapon
style he knows with a weapon
he does not know how to use.
For example . wizards know
Th'o·Hander style ... so they
can learn to use a quarterstaff. If
a wizard who doesn't have Profi·
ciency with a quarterstaff picks
one up. he can stili use the
weapon in two hands. However.
he suffers the -5 attack penalty
reqUired by his unfamtllarlty
and his character class.
Each style confers some basic
advantages and disadvantages
when used . These are described
In the descriptions of each indl·
vidual style. below. Addition·
ally, c haracters can specialize In
these styles. Single-ciass war·
rlors can eventually specialize
In all of them: other classes can
only specialize In one style. ever.
X Combat Rules
Specializing In the Styles
You take a tion. Weapon and Shield Style
Style Specialization by devoting
o ne weapon proficiency sial to a
fighting style.
.Guldellnes
To use a Style
Speclallzat10n with a specific
wea pon. you must have weapon
proficie ncy with that weapon.
For example. a character might
have bought Sty le Specializa-
tion with 1\\IQ·Hander Style. If
he has Weapon Proficicllcies
with polcarms. he can use the
benefHs of Sty le Specialization
wheneve r he uses polearms. But
if he doesn't also ha\fc profi·
cle ncy with 1\vQ-handed Sword.
a nd picks one up to use it, he
doesn 'f get the benefits of 1\VQ-
Hand e r Sty le Specialization
with tha t weapon .
You can have both a Weapon
Specialization and a Style Spe-
cialization In the sam e weapon.
but neither is depe nde nt on the
oilier; you can have o ne without
the other. For example. a char·
acter could have Proficie ncy
with Sabre. Specialization with
Sabre. a nd then Style Speciali-
zation In Single· Weapon style:
he'd be a master rencer with the
sabre. Or, he could have just
Proficiency and Specialization
in Sabre. or jus t Proficiency in
Sabre and Style Specialization
In Single-Weapon style.
Multiple Style Specializations
A single·class
Warrior ca n take marc lhan one
Style SpeCialization. Weapons
such as Bastard Sword. Javelin.
a nd Spear. which can be used
on e-hand ed or two·han ded .
with or wlthoUl a shield, can
ha ve u p to rour differe nt Style
S pecializations taken for lhem.
Example: A single-class War-
rior has Proficienc), with Bas·
tard Sword. He could
rh eorelicaJly ra ke Sing/e-
Weapon S ry Je Spec lal/zaUon.
Th'o-Hander Style SpeclaJlza-
SpeciaJizalion. and 'nvo·Weap·
on Style Speclalizarion with il.
Belween fights. or even in [he
cou rse of che fight. he could
change the way he uses his
weapon in order LO gain differ-
ent advantages In rhe course ofa
comba !.
Limitations on Style
Spedollizatio n
A c harac ter
may begi n play with only one
Style Specialization. lr he is a
slngle·class Warrior, may learn
others as he gains new Weapon
Proficlencies throug h expert·
ence.
Only Warriors. Rogues and
, gelS a + 1 AC bonus whe n u sing
Priests can buy Style Specializa·
tions. Only Warriors a nd Rogues
can buy the 'IWo·Weapon Sty le
Specialization. Only slngle-class
Warriors can ever learn more
£h811 one Style Specialization.
Below are descriptions of the
(our Fighting Styles.
Single-We",p.c;m S~y l e
Single-Weap-
on style means thal the charac-
ter wields a one-handed weapon
In one hand and nothing in the
other. Though in real life this
type of weapon use Is ofien a l a
di sadvamage co mpared to
many of the others, Irs very
popular In fil m and fiction . . .
and so it has some virtue in th e
game.
Advolntolges
Th e a dvan·
tage of single· weapon style In
the AD&D~ gam e is that the
character keeps a hand fre e Cor
grappling, for switching weap·
ons. ror surprise ma neuvers, for
whatever com es along in the
course of combat.
f or instance, two fi ghters are
6'
going a lit, and one pins the oth-
er 's weapon (see Pin, below, un ·
der " Melee Maneuvers" ). the
Single-weapon fighter can use
his free hand to perform punch·
ing ma neuvers: and he can try
to perfonn barehanded maneu·
Vers (below, under " Punc hing,
Wrestling. a nd Ma rtial Arts").
Dlsadv.lntolges
The main dis·
advan tage to this style is that
the character docs not gain the
benefit of a shield's AC bonus.
Style Specl,Uzatlc;m
If the charac-
ter devotes a weapon profi -
ciency to Style Specialization
with Single-Weapon Style, he
anyon e-handed weapon (for
which he has profiCiency) in
Si ngle· Weapon Style. He
doesn't get the bonus if he car-
ries a shield or weapon in his off-
hand .
AddlUonally. he can devote an
ex tra proficie ncy to Single-
Weapon Style and have a total
+ 2 AC when fighting in this
style. That's the limit. though:
He cannot devote more than two
proficiencies (for a total of + 2
AC) with Single-Weapon Style.
-two- H ande~ Style
Two-Hander
S tyle invo lves carryi n g a nd
wielding a weapon with both
hands. Naturally, many weap·
ons (including poleanns. the
great axe , the two· hand ed
sword. and others) require (wo-
ha nded lechnique. Other weap-
ons (suc h as bastard sword.
javelin, an d spear) have It as a
listed option. (1\vo·handed op·
tions fo r Ha rpoon , Javelin , Long
Spear. Spear, and Trident are
given In the EqUipment sec tion
of this ruJebook. not In the Play·
er s Handbook.)

The main ad-
vantage of two-handed weapon
techn ique Is that It allows the
c haracte r to wield large two-
handed weapons which can do
substanllal amoun ts of damage.
A second advantage is that If
you are using a two-h anded
weapon. the Disann maneuver
(see " Melee Maneuvers:' below) is
only of partial use against you.
A si ngle successful Disarm
against a Iwo-handed wcapon
user won' t knock the weapon
out or t he wielder's hands: It will
m erely knock his weapon askew
a nd make him take some lime to
reco\'cr. so he a ut omatically
loses initiative on his next
round.
However. two Disarm maneu-
vers successfully made against
the character In the same round
wllJ knock th e weapon loose.
As wi t h single-
weapon use, ("wo-handed
w ea pon tec hni qu e has th e
drawback tha I the user cannot
wear or use a shield . or gai n the
shield 's AC bon us.
Style Spetl.lJution
You can, by de-
vollng a weapon proficiency to
it. take a Style Spectalizallon
with Th..o- Hander Style.
Style Specialization wllh 1\1:0-
Hander Style gives you a very
specific benefit: When you 're
using a weapon two-handed .
lhat weapon's Speed Factor is
reduced by 3.
For example. a fig hter with
TWo·Hander Style Specializa-
tion and Wielding a Basta rd
Sword can wield his wea pon
faster in (wo·handed s tyle than
in one· handed s tyle. Used in one
hand, the Bastard Sword has a
Speed Fac tor of 6. In twO hands
(normally), It has a Speed Factor
of 8. But used In two hands by
someone Wilh l\,'o·Hander Slyle
Speciali zation. It has a Speed
Factor of (8·3) 5.
This is because when a fighter
wields such a weapon with both
hands on the hilt. he has more
leverage on the blade and can
move It faster. That's what Style
Speclali zaLion In Th:o- Hander
Sty le will do fo r the character: It
teaches him how to u se the
weapon much fastc r a nd more
aggressively lha n someone Wllh
less specia lized training In th e
weapon .
One· H..nded We..pons
Used Two· H.... ded
Some players don't realize tha t
many olher one· handed weap-
ons ca n a lso be used two·
ha nded . Since lhese wea pons
don 't do any more damage two·
ha nd ed , the re usually Isn 't
muc h reason to use them this
way : however. with Style Spe-
claUzatlon in 1\,'o·Hander Style.
now there's a reason.
If you s pecia li ze in 1\vo-
Hander Style an d then use a
onc·handed weapon In two
hands. you also get a bonus of
+ itodamage, Thus. If you take
a l\vo-Hander Style Speciallza·
tlon , whe n using a long sword
tw o- ha n ded . you do IdS + I
damage Instcad of the base Id8
(or 1d 12 + I vs. large targets, In·
stead of the base ld 12).
The one· handed weapon s
which can be used two· handed
In this fashion incl ude : Battle
axe . Club. Footma n's nail, Foot-
man 's pick, Horseman 's nail .
Horsema n 's mace. Horseman 's
pick . Morning star, Long sword,
Warhammer.
Weap~n a nd Shield
Style
This is th e
classic technique of us ing a one·
handed weapon and carrying a
shield on the other arm.
63
Combat Rules X
Adv.ut.J.ges
The principal
advan tage of Weapon and
Shield Style Is lha t you get the
AC bonus of a shield : this Is es-
pecially good whe n you can find
a magical shield whIch eonfersa
better AC bonus.
A second advantage is that
th e characte r ca n u se the
ShIeld-Rush ma ne uver (below.
under "Melee Maneuvers").
The disadvan·
tage to Weapon a nd Shield Style
Is that the left arm (right ann,
for left-h and ed c haracters) Is
dedicated to the sh ield and is
not much use for anything else,
If the c harac ter is disarmed . a ll
he has to wIeld offenslvelv Is his
shield , unlil he can gel back to
his weapon . If he Is pinned In
combat. he can't use his s hield
hand for grappling.
Style Specl ....lutlon
If you devote a
weapon proficiency slot to spe-
cialization in Weapon and
Shield Style. you receIve one e x-
tra attack per round ... only
when us ing a s hield on th e
shield-hand . that Is. You can use
tha t extra attack only for the
Shleld·Punc h and Parry mane u·
vers (see under "Melee Maneu-
vers," below).
As wllh the normal "Attack-
ing with 1\1.'0 Weapons" rules
(see the Player's H andbook,
page 96), whe n strlklng with
both hands in a sin gle combat
round. the character s uffers a
-2 to hit with his weapon and a
-4 La hit wilh the Shield-Punch
or Parry. (If you're ambidex-
trous. as described above under
"Orr-Ha nd Weapons Use: ' tha t 's
a -2 with weapon and -2 with
s hield .) II you devote a second
weapon proficie ncy slot to
Weapon and Shield Style Spe-
cializa tion, that penalty drops to
X Combat Rules
o with the weapon and - 2 with
t he shield . (If you' r e ambidex-
t r ous. that penalty Is 0 with
weapon and 0 w ith shield.)
On any round when you per·
form two maneuvers. you do not
gel the AC bonus for the s hield
fo r the fes t of the rou nd . If you
swing your sword and perform a
Shie ld-Pun ch in the sa me
round. you do 11 01 ge l your
shield's AC bonus if anyone at·
tacks you laler In the round .
Two-Weapon St yle
With this pop-
u lar sty le. the figh ter has a
weapon in each hand-usually a
longer weapon In h is good hand
and a shorter onc in his orr·
hand . Unless the ch aracter has
Style Specialization in Ihl s
style. th e second (ofr·hand )
weapon mus t be s horter tha n
t h e primary weapon.
Advolnt.tges
One great ad·
van tage to this style Is that you
a lways have another wcapon In
hand If you drop or lose one. A
single Disarm maneuver cannOI
rid you of your weapons .
The principal
disadvamage 10 this s tyle. as
wi th some other sty lcs. is that
you don 't gain lhe AC benefi t of
a shield.
Style Specl.llutlon
Please read
the "Attac king with Th'o Wea p-
ons" secLion from t.he Player's
Hand book. page 96, before con·
tl nu lng.
If you devote a weapon profi-
ciency slol to style specializa-
tion with l\..,o-Weapon St yle,
you gel two important benefits.
First. your a ttack penalty drops:
before, It was a -2 with your
primary weapon and -4 with
your secondary, bUI with Spe-
cialization In l\IlO·Weapon Slyle
it becomes 0 with your primary
weapon a nd a - 2 with your sec-
ondary weapon. {I f you ' re a l-
rcady ambidextrous , as per
"Off-Hand Weapo ns Use."
above, rnat pena lly is 0 with pri-
mary weapon a nd 0 with sec-
ondary weapon.) Seco nd . you're
a llowed to use weapons of the
sam e length In each ha nd . so
you can . for exa mple . wield two
long swords.
Whe n fighting with two-
weapon teC hn ique . you ca n
c hoose for both wcapons to try
the same maneu\'cr (for exa m-
ple. lwostrikes. or two disarms).
or ca n have each try a diffcre nt
maneu..,er (one strike and one
parry. one pin a nd onc strike). If
the twO maneuvers a re to be dlf·
fere nt. each receives a -I at·
tac k pena lt y.
Though rangers don't suffe r
the oIT-ha nd pena lties for IwO-
weapons use. Illey do not get a
bonus to hit If they devote a
weapon proficiency s lot to 1\..,0-
Weapon S(yle. They do get the
other benefit. of bei ng able to
use weapons of equa l le ngth .
Sample St yle
Sp.e clallzatlon
Here's a n ex-
ample of how a character can
use the weapon proficienc lcs.
weapon specializa tion. a nd
s tyle specia lization rules to be·
come very dangerous and vcry
versatile indeed.
Berris is a 1st level flglH cr. but
lle's already vcry accomplished
willi h is weapon of choice. the
Bastard Sword. He has tak en
Weapon Specializa tion \YUh tile
Bastard Sword (IWO slots). 7\" 0-
Hander Slylc Spec/allzarfon
with th e Bastard Sword (o lle
SIOl). and Single-Weapon Style
Specializar /on \l'llh 1IlC Bastard
Sword (onc slot ).
From his wcapon speclaUza-
64
don. he receives a + 1 to hit and
+ 2 to damage whenever using a
Bastard Sword. regardl ess ofthe
tecllnique he uses.
Wh en using llle weapon in
Single-Weapon Style, one·
handed. he gelS a + 1 to AC.
When using the weapon In
'Thro·Hander Sty le, his weaJX)n's
speed t.1clor drops from an 8
(nomla) two-handed speed fac -
cor for t he Bastard Sword) 10 a 5.
making It a vcry quick weapon
in his hands.
Style Specl.llzatlon and the
ChMuter Sheet
Since sty le
speclallzaUons give the charac-
ter certain bene fi ts In combat.
these benefits need to be written
down on your charac te r sheet.
Th e c h a rac te r sheet has
blanks for all pertinent nolcs.
For exam pl e. with the Berris
c h a rac te r mentioned Just
above. the c haracter s h eet
would Include blanks with the
following information:
Special Abilities and Restric-
t ions:
+ I to hi t
+2 da mage Basta rd Sword.
+ I AC used Single-Hand.
Speed Factor 5 use d 'IWo-
Ha nded
Weapo n P r oficien cy S lot s
Available: 4
Prof w!Bastard Swd: I
Spec wlBastard Swd: I
Single-Weapon S ty le: 1
1\vo-Hander Sly Ie: I
M elee Maneuvers
Strike a nd
coun te r·strike. str ike and
coumer-strike: Thal 's the for-
mula for dull. mec hanical COIll-
bat. and It's no way to run the
sort of swashbuc kling. actlon-
packed combat which should be
the bac kbone of your AD&oe
game adven tures.
 So here, wc' ll be describing aJl
sorts of different combat ma-
neuvers which your characters
can perform In combat.
These maneu vers aren 't lIm-
il ed to warrior-classes alo ne.
Anyone ca n per form an V of
these nWlleU l'ers. prov ided he
has the right weapon or equip·
mcnt. Any priest with a shield
can perform a Shield-Punch or
Shield-Rus h; any rogue or mage
with a good a tt ack can Disarm a
foe. But warriors wtll be per-
formin g these maneuvers most
often.
Eac h of these mane u ve rs,
when used In combat. consti-
tutes one Attack. Characters
with multiple a llacks per round
can mix and match their ma-
neuve rs. A character with two
attacks per round could perform
one Strike an d one Parry. for ex-
ample. one Called Shot and one
Disarm. one Pin and one Grab,
two Strikes. two Parries. or
wha tever combina tion he
wanted ,
Caned Shots
Thke a look at
th e Dungeon Master 's Guide,
page 58. There, you' ll nnd the
rules [or Called Shots. under
"Hllting a Specific Thrget."
As you' lI see In those rules,
when you wish to make a Called
Sh ot. you a nnounce this before
initiative Is rolled . and you reo
celve a + I penalty to your inltia·
Liv e. Th e n, when your turn
comes up in combat. you suffer
a -4 penalty to you r attack roll .
Nawrally. you ca n take Called
ShoLS wit.h melee. thrown . and
missile weapons, and even with
weapon -like s pells s uch as
magic missile.
Called ShOLS can be used fo r a
variety of purposes. The most
im portant of these a re: Disarm-
ing a weapon; striking a specific
body part: smashing something
being held : bypassing armor;
and specia l results,
Disarming a weapon warrants
i1sown maneU\'er. so you 'll find
"Disarm" below.
Striking A Spe dfJ.c Body Part
As It m en! ions
In the DMG. again under "Hit·
ting a Specific Thrgel," the nor·
mal AD&D~ game is not geared
toward a hit-locatio n system
which chronicles where every
blow lands and wbl eh body
parts ge l Injured , We' ll be pre-
Senting some options for lhal
sort of thing later in this chap-
ter, but t.his section concerns
some thing slightly diITerent.
Monsters often have body
parts or features wilh extraordi-
nary or magical effects: exam·
pies include the eyes of th e
beholder. tentacles of the car·
rlon crawler. Individua l heads of
the chimera. and so on . Ma ny
anima ted statues are molivated
by a medaHion . inscripUon , or
im bedded gem.
A hero can lake a caJ led s hot
to attack those very specia lized
locaUons: this Is a very heroic
thing 10 do. It's up to the OM to
determine how much damage
such body parts can take; some
will take as IitUe as I poin t of
damage before being destroyed ,
while others may be expressed
In fractions of the creature's nor-
ma l hil poi nt LOtal.
Smoashlng,Somethlng
Bel.ng HeJd
Often . an e nemy will be holding
something and a hero will nOI
wish h im LO hold on to it. If the
attacking character wishes to
knock it out of his hand . that's
the Di sa rm ma neuver: if he
wis hes to destroy It in th e oppo·
nenL's hand. that's Sm ashing
Somelhing Be ing Held .
If an alchemis t is holding a
boule of flammab le liquid to
hurl al the party, it's very heroic
to swing a s word or throw a
knife and smash Il whil e he
65
holds It up to throw: With one
blow. you've protected your
friends and Immolated a n ev il
enemy. If a demonic foe has n·
nally gon en his hands on th e
Cu rsed Wand of Anti·Llfe, it's
more than appropriate to fire a n
arrow or quarrel and smash illn
the demon's hands,
Again . the OM decides how
many poi nts it takes to smash
such things. In the case of a vial
of liqUid . It 's not mu ch-one or
two at mos l.
Bypuslng Armor
This oplion Is
not present to let hcroes bypass
or Ignore the AC value of normal
armor. If that were allowed, all
PCS and aU monsters would be
using the Called Shots maneu·
ver almost exclUSively. wh ich
would be very annoyi ng.
No. the Bypassing Armor op·
tion Is used when Ih e OM has in-
troduced a mons ter or enemy
which ca n't be beaten any way
except through the discovery
a nd exploitaLion of its " wea k
spot." Like Thlos. lh e invulnera·
ble bronze man or Greek myth.
these monslers are impossible
to damage (this is us ually ex-
pressed as a monslrous AC a nd
a n invulnerability to an y but the
most powerful of magica l
weapons- + 4 or better): how·
evcr, each one has a weak spot.
These weak spots are aJways
visible to the eye, If the hero
thinks to look fo r it and can see
the body part where it is. (For
example. a dragon might not
wanl lo fly : this is SO that It can
keep its wings folded down over
its unannored spots.) A clever
warrior will realize that it 's cov ·
erlng up for something a nd try
to trick It Into mov ing Its wings.
If a hero Is bright enough to
look for the wea k spot. and per·
haps trick a monster into show-
ing the weak s pot. lhe warrior
can then ta ke a Called Shot and
hit ilo He' ll do the monster great
damage (or perha ps kill it oul-
righ t: that's for the OM 10 deter-
mlne)_
Examples: A dragon which
has Invulner able hide (but
which_ suspicio usly , never
opens its mouth to brea the
flame . .. because Its inner
mouth is nOf armored): a me·
chanical man with a small,
nearly·invisible slot used by {he
invenLor to open it up (bu/
which a hero wilh a knife can
use to damage lls Internal ma-
chinery): a warrior wH.h ar-
mored skin but an unarmored
ankle: a mummy wh lell keeps
one arm crossed o\'er its chest to
protect its o therwise unde-
fended heart: a 9 ' high golem
wh ose weak spot is [he Ullseen
cop of if5 head.
Again . this only works when
the OM has created a monster
whic h can (or must) be defeated
in this very way. If a figh t is n' t
going the charac ters' way but
the characters are gradually do·
ing damage to the mons ter. then
the monster probably Isn't one
of these Invulne rab le-beasts-
with-weak-spots. and it's pOial-
less to take lots of cal led s hots a t
random body parts "J ust In
case: '
Special Results
Fina lly. the
Called S hot can be used for a vari-
ety of speciaJ results. especially
neat and interesting results such
as the ones you see In movies and
nClIon . Examples:
Carving Initials Into Some-
one. Each su ccessful Called
S hot will e nab le a character
with a sharp blade to slice onc
letter or IniUaJ into a tabletop. a
wall . . . or the nesh of an oppo·
nent . T hlsdoesonly one poin t of
damage, and has o ne of two reo
s uits: Against an enemy of equal
or lower leve l or iniluence,lt can
cause the enemy to lose morale
or surrende r (DM choice):
against an enemy of equa l or
higher level or Influence, It will
be consid ered s uc h a n insu lt
that this ene my will not rest un-
til you are dead. Thus. It is best
performed against enemy min-
ions 10 impress and scare them .
to persuade them to run away or
help you. Performed against c n-
emies who are your equa l In
ability or status. this maneuver
merely ea rns you a foe for life.
Cutting Buttons Off. Eac h
successful CaUed Shot will en·
able a c haracter to snip off o ne
bulto n. brooch. ge m or other
sartorial element from a n e ne-
my's outfit. It can a lso be used to
nip a necklaee off someo ne's
head. spring th e catch on a
bracele t. etc . This has the same
good effects as carving Initials
Into someone, bu t will not earn
you the enmity of a n opponen t
who is your equal.
Stapling. This classic ma neu-
ver Is bes t performed wilh a
thrown knife or with an arrow or
qua rrel. thoug h It can be per-
formed with sharp melee weap'
o ns. The targe t must be near
some piece of fumiture or wall.
a nd that furniture or wall
shou ld be wood. plaster. or any
other mate ria l t ha t suc h a
weapon will penetrate. With a
successful Called Shot. you sta-
pic some item of the target's
cloth ing (your choice) to that
nea rby s urface. The target mus t
spend a comba t rou nd getting
himself free. (Th is does not re·
quire any sort of roli : II Just
takes a few mome nts to pulll.he
knife free. tea r the cloth of his
garment. whatever it takes.) If
someoneaHacks him while he is
pinned. he suffers a -2 penalty
to AC (I.e., a 3 becomes a 5) and
attacks. If the target is s ta pled
a nd must defe nd him self while
trying to tear him self free. he
suffers those ACand attack pen-
alties but will be able to tear
himself (ree after a total of three
rounds.
Hostage-Taking. If a chara.c·
te r successfully grabs a victim
66
during o ne round (see the Grab
mane uver. below). he may use a
Called S hot on his next round to
put his dagger to the hostage 's
throat. This does no damage to
the hostage. but the attacker
can then. al any lime . drive the
knife ho me for twice norma l
damage (which he will probably
do If the hosLBge does not sur·
render. or if someone else he is
threa tening does not surrender.)
Dlsann
The Disarm is
a specific variation on Called
Shots. Wi th th e Disarm . the at-
tacker takes a Called Shot a t the
weapon his target Is currently
using.
D.lsu m: vs. ·Slngle ·.Ha nded
Weapons
With lhe bas ic
Disann maneuver. the attacker
fo llows th e no rm a l rules for
CaJlcd Shots (ann ouncing his
intention before initiative and
receiving a + I mod.Lner to initia-
tive. a nd the n suffering a -4 at-
lack pe na ltyl; if h is allack is
successful. he wm (norma lly)
cause his enemy's weapon to go
nylng from his e ne my's hand.
Ro1l2d6. The number rolled is
the number of feet the weapon
n ics. Roll IdS . The number
rolled determines whic h direc·
tlon lhe weapon goes. (This Is
described In te rms of the atlack·
er's facing. StraIght Ah ead
means straight ahead fro m the
a llacker: Behind m ean s behind
the a ttacker.
I .. Straight Ahead
2 = Ahead. Right
3 = Behind. Right
4 "" Straight Behind
5 = Behind, Left
6 "" Ahead. Left
 T his Disarm can aJso be used
on magic wands. crystal balls.
an d any other sort of magical
apparatus whic h is he ld in one
ha nd . II the Hem is worn (like
Jewelry). it cannot be Disarmcd.
(Note : Weapo ns. w he n used .
can not be worn like Jewelry.)
Dlwrm vs. Two-H.nded
Weapons
Disarm does
not work nearly so well against
two·ha nded weapo ns. If you
pe rform a Disa rm agains t a
wie lder of a two-handed weapon
(Including magical staves). it
merely knocks the weapon out
of allgnme m brleny: the weap·
on's wielder automatically loses
In iti ative on the nex t rou nd .
However. two Disa rms ma de
a gains t [he wielder in the sam e
round will knock the weapon
free: roll ani \' Id6 to see how
ma ny fee t it nles. and Id6to see
which direction It goes.
Naturally. the IWODisarm rna·
ne uvers don ' t have to com e
from the same cha racter. Th'o
c haracters can work together to
disarm the two· ha nded wie lder:
or. one charac ter with mu ltiple
a ttacks in a round ca n do the Job
hlmself.
If a c haracter nnds his two·
ha nd ed weapon partially dis·
a rmed. and he s tili has a t least
one a ttac k to pe rform th is
round . he can elect to forget
about his next a ttack a nd may
use tha t a ttack to recover his
wea pon instead.
Exam p le: Torreth and Am -
Slard are figh l.ing . Thrreth WjtJl
long sword and shield. Amstard
with [wo·handed sword. Both
charac lers have tlVO al tacks per
ro und. Thrre fh has In Illative. He
successfully Disa rms Amstard.
drawing his weapon oul of line.
Ams ta rd now has his first attack
of the ro un d. He ca n cUher
p unch 1brre th wUh his gaun r·
i c i ed nst. In which case h is
67
sword will sr.1II be out of line. or
he can recover from the Disarm.
He ch ooses to r ecover . H e
swings the weapon back imo
line and ;s r eady for the n ext ex·
change. He suffers no InWa rive
penal ly on r.he nex l l urn.
Dls.um vs. Shields
Disarm Is only
of pa r lia! useful ness whe n
s truc k against a s hield. It won 't
tear the s hield loose fro m the
wlelder's arm . However. it will
draw It out (knock Il Ou t of align-
me nl. so tha t the wielder is not
prolected by It). For the rest of
t he round . the shie ld-wielde r
loses the AC bonus of the s hield
(a nd a ny magica l bene fi ts. too).
At the s ta rt of the next combat
round . even before inlUaUve is
rolled . the character regains his
shleld 's AC bonus .
If a shield has other ,proper·
ties. those s tay in effect. even
when the shield Is Disarmed out
X Combat Rules
of alignment. For exam ple. let 's
say a shield radiates a protec-
lion (rom evil spell. If It's Dis-
a rm ed . and dra wn out of
a li gnm en t. Its wielder still gels
th e benefits of that prolcelion
fr om c\' iI spell. Only when he
drops the shield or has It forc-
ibly wrest ed away from him
does he lose that benefit .
As with the Disarming of (WO-
handed weapons. if a character
finds his shield disarmed. and
he still has at least one anack to
perform this round. he can elect
to forgel about his next attack
and may use that alla ck to re-
cover h is weapon Instead.
Example: At the start of the
next round. Amslard's ally J e-
ter. carrying a halberd. joins the
ffght . Thrrerh win s initia tive
again. He cakes an ordinary
strik e at Amstard and misses.
J eter chooses co Disarm 1Or-
re l h's s h ield +4 . He success-
f ully Disanns il. Now. Am stard
lakes his ShOl. his cha n ces
g reatly Improved because 7br-
rerh 's sh ield bonus fO AC
docsn 'l come imo play. He
sm il es 7brrcth with a mighly
blow. 1brreth has another a/-
lack this round : Realizing that
h e's going to gel hurl if he
doesn ', have his shield up, he
forgets abou t a second atfack
and uses i hat time /0 bring his
shield back up.
Thrown-Weapon and
Missile Dlsarms
You ca n per-
form the Disarm maneuver with
lhrown weapon s and missUe
weapons.
Whe n throw in g small (S)
weapons, you suffe r a n addi-
tional - 2 attack penally be-
cause these weapons don't have
a lot of weight ; It 's harder for
th em to knock the weapon out
of som eone's ha nds . Medium
(M) or larger weapons don't suf-
fer this penal ty. nor do arrows,
qua rrels . or s ling stones.
Throw n·weapon and missile
Disarms may only be perfo rmed
against single· hand weapons,
They automatically fa ll vs, two-
hand weapons and sh ields.
Expert Disarms
{fyou'rea very
exper ienced fighter. and are
willing to s uffer a serious pen-
alty in order to impress your en-
emy. you can perform an
"expert disarm" against s ingle-
hand weapons only. This sulTers
the penalty of lwO Called Shots;
Announce intent before Initia-
tive. then s uITer a +2 to Initia-
tive and a - 8 to hit .
Bu t If It does hit. when you
Disarm the weapon. you can
send It preny much where you
want it to. within 12 fe et of the
target. If. for instance. one of
your a llies has los t his sword.
a nd your e nemy is wieldin g a
compa ra ble sword, you might
wish to Expe rtly Disarm your
enemy's sword to la nd right In
front of your fri e nd, Or. Ifyou're
fighting with a dagger and your
enemy has a sword you want.
you might Expertly Disarm his
bla de to fl y up into the air; you
drop your knife a nd th e sword
drops right into your han d ,
Th is is an a lmost preposter-
ously heroic sort of thing to do
(It only happens In the most
swashbuckling fiction and mov,
les. after all) so the OM may not
wish to allow this option In a
more gritty or realistic cam -
paign, On the other hand. he
may grant bonus XP to charac-
ters wi th the temerity to try it
.. and succeed!
Grab
Th e Grab Is
another type of Called Shot. 1b
perform It , you must have at
least one hand rree; two hands
are better if you're grabbing a nd
U'ying to hold a person.
When performing the Grab.
68
begin as with a Called Shot (an-
nounce before IniUative. + 1 to
ini[ia live. - 4 to hit).
If you hit, you've golten your
ha nd on whatever It was you
we re U')'lng to grab: It could be
a n enemy's weapon. an impor·
la nt Ite m you're trying to re-
trieve. or any such thing.
However, Just because you've
gra bbed hold of the obj ec t
doesn't mean that you' re In con-
trol of It. If some other person al-
ready has hold oflhe object, he's
going to struggle with you for
control.
In the same round tha t you
performed the grab, roll Id 20.
Your opponent will do the same.
Compare t he number you
rolled to your Strength a bility
score. Whic hever one of you
rolled better agai nst his score
won the tug·of-war contest.
For purposes of the Grab . al l
18 scores (01-50. 51-75, e tc.) a re
Just 18. However, in case of a tie.
a higher-perce ntile 18 beats a
lowe r-percent ile 18. (For in-
sta nce ,an 18/'10 beats an 18/30. a n
l tj/oo beats an 18199, etc. )
Example: Rallmar the Bar-
barian lrles co grab the Ruby
Orb of 8 lasse ndom from the
hands of his enemy. He success-
fuJ/.v ro lls co h H and gees his free
hand on the Orb.
Rarhnar Is Strength 17, His
enemy is SfIength 15. Both ro ll
Id20.
Ralhnar rolls a 10. He's m ade
his roll by 7. His enemy rolls a 9.
He's made his roll by 6. Ral_hnar
sna lchcs rhe Orb away.
If you grab some thing a nd
then fail your Strength ability
roll. then vou 've lost: Your en-
emy has snatched the objec t
back out of your hand .
A tic (for Instance, If both of
you made your roll by 5, or both
missed It by 2. or came up with
a ny other ide ntical a ns wer )
means that you re-roll . during
the same round. n eat this sec-
ond roll as if it were a second a t-
tack In th e same round for
determining when in the round
It ta kes place {In other words. it
will take place arrer a ll o the r
characters have performed their
firs t maneuvers for the round} .
However, all these Strength
roll s resultin g from a single
Grab maneuver a re coumed as
one "attack:" if a c harac ter can
make two attacks In a round .
and his first a ttack Is a Grab.
a nd the grab leads to two or
three Stre ngt h rolls due to
struggling. that's a ll sun only
one attack. The character s till
gets his sccond attack later In
the rou nd .
Gr.tbblng A Person
If you ' re Grab·
bing so meone to hold him
agaJnst his will . you need to con·
sult the Wrestling rules from the
P/ayer's Handbook. pages 97·
98. Al so. see be lo w und er
" Punc hing. Wrcsl.Hng. and Mar·
tla l Ans."
if you're Grabbin g someone
and you use only o ne hand. you
have two strikes against you .
First. the attack is treated as a
Called Shot. with the usual pen·
a ltles: second , you ' re treated as
If your Stre ngth a bility score
were 3 less. If you have a
Strength of 15 and gra b some·
one o ne· handed. you ma ke your
Strength ro U as If you had a
Slrcngth of 12.
(Strengths of 18 a ren ' t auto·
matically dropped to a 15: IL de·
pe nd s o n th e 18 S tre ngth 's
percenUle bonus. An 18/00 drops
toan 18f5 1. An L ~hH·"'Il99 dropsto
an 1810 .. An ' tlho· 18foodrops to a
plain 18. An 18f~",.1t¥75 drops toa
17 . An ' 8/01 drops to a 16. And
the plain 18 d rops to a I5.)
If vou usc both hands . you
do n 't have to use 1.he Called
Sho t rules: you c an make a
Wrestling attack without a n·
nounclng It fa r in advance. and
don't suffer the + 1 Initiative or
-4 to hit penalt y. Also, you ge l
to uSC your full Strength score.
Determ ine the resulLS of your at·
tack as a Wrestling attack.
II your opponent has any a t·
tacks left this combat round. he
can respond with a Wrestling.
Punching. or other a ttack (such
as stabbing you with a short
wcapon. fo r ins ta nce). If your
Wrestling a ttack roll result ed in
a hold of some sort lany result
on the " Punching and Wrcstling
Results" c hart with a .. * ,. beside
ill. he has a -4 penalty to hit
with any att ac k but a noth er
Wrestling a ttack. However. he
can use his attack to try to break
your hold {using the Strength
roll lactic described abO\!e. un·
der the description for Grabl .
Gr~bb'l ng ~ Monster
Th e same
rules apply to grabbing ma n·
slers .. . but there a re a couple
of other things to conside r.
No Strength Ability Score.
Most monstersare n't listed with
a Strength ability score. This
makes comparisons a little diffi-
c ult . In ge neral. if the situation
ever comes up. the DM should
dec ide fo r h imse lf what
Strength a specific monster has.
Here 's one rough rule of
t humb to app rox imate a
S trength score: Determine how
muc h damage the monster can
do with Its si ngle largest attack.
That's your starting number. (In
Olher words. if it docs 1·8 dam·
age with its worst a ttack. you
start wit.h the number 8.)
If the monster has multiple at-
tac ks. add I to the slaning num ·
ber per extra attack the monster
has.
Add 8 to the num ber if the
mo nster is an animal known for
its ability to carry weigh t
(horses. pegasl. camels) or con-
tains parts of such a monster {as
the hippogrlff docs}.
The OM may further adjust
thiS number as he desires.
T he result Is a rough measure
of the monster's Strength.
69
(Yes. th ere will be many exam·
pies whic h don ' t adh ere well to
that ru le of thum b . But it's
someplace to start.)
Example: Tile Nightmare has
a rr8cks of2·8/4· 10/4 · 10. Irs largo
est possible aunck is 10 (o ur
starting num ber): U has tlVO ex.-
l"r<l aftacks per round (for a + 2
fO that starfing number): Irs a
horse·like animal (for a + 8). Fi·
nal Streng th score: 20.
Size Difference. Also. the re i·
a tlve s ize of lhe two eombalanlS
is impOrta nt. HUllla ns are
medium ·slzed (loll "monsters:'
They have a n advantage whe n
grabbing small mo nste rs (such
as goblins. Imps. and children.
for instanCe) a nd a disadvamage
when grabbing la rge o nes (drag·
ons. golem s a nd hippopotamI.
for e.xample).
Treat a cha racter's Stre ng th
as 3 higher when he Is grabbing
a nd struggling with a smaller
mo nster. a nd 6 lower when
grabbing and s truggling with a
larger one. (This bonus or pen-
alty is halved wi th play er-
c ha racter races a nd
dem ihuma n NPCs. T hus. half·
li ngs. goblins , kobolds a nd
g nomesareat a -3 when wres-
tling with Medium ·sized oppo·
nents s uc h as hum a ns:
Dwarves. because they a re so
close to human ·sized . are not.
Huma nsareata mere + I bonus
to Stre ngth when wrestling with
ha lflings. goblins, kobolds a nd
gno mes. )
Grabbing is performed with
ha nds only. The charac ter may
be wearing gloves o r even the
CCSluS dcscrlbed In the EqUip·
ment chapter of this book. but
may not be hold ing a ny o ther
weapon In his Grabbing hand.
Hold Attuk
Thisisason of
non-attack maneuver.
The Hold Attaek maneuver is
a way for a cha racter to de lay
making his attack until la ter in
X Combat Rules
the comba t r ound . It 's usually
perform ed when lhc character
Is h opi ng tha t battle circum-
stances will change 50 thai he
can get a shot In somewhere
that Is c u rrc mly tOO we ll -
defended. Archers use this ma-
neuver a lot. so that t.hey can
snipe more effectively_
1b perform the Hold Maneu-
ver, the chara c lcl". whe n II 's
time for h im to announce his In-
tcnllon. says ''I'm holding my
maneuver:' Comba t proceeds to
w e next c haracter.
Then , once everyone has gone
in the round . as secondan' at·
tacks are being delermined~ the
OM agai n asks the character
what he's going to do: he can
tak e h is action then . If he does
not. he forfe its tha t attac k.
Chan.den W ith
Multiple Attacb
If a characte r
al ready has multiple a ttacks in
a round . he can sll ll perform the
Hold Attack man eu ver with any
or a ll of hiS atlac ks. This can
make things a little com p li·
cated, but it"s not a lot of trou-
ble.
Example: I n this ngh£.
Rathnar (h e Barbarian (wh o has
o ne attack per ro und). Drusllla
the Spear·Maiden (WilD has ovo
per r ou nd). and Lacksley the
Archer (who has three per two,
and has t wo t his round) a r e
fighling a j ungJe warrior (two at·
tack s per r ound) and his mono
strous Jaguar ally Ithree attacks
per round).
This r oun d , Lacksley wants to
ShOOl the jaguar : but h e's still
caughr in a spring·loaded an i·
rna/ trap . and Drusi1la is be·
(ween him and lhejaguar.
The player·characters win inf·
darJve. Drusilla uses h er firs t at·
tack to spear thejungJe warrior.
Rathnar uses his sole attack fO
swing his axe ac the jag uar m on-
Sler. LacksJey announces UJac
he's holding his maneuver. Now
It"s lim e for the monSlers to reo
spond : (he ju ngle warrior a t ·
tac ks Drusilla with his o wn
spear, and the jaguar·m onslcr
jumps on Raumar and uscs one
ofits two paw hirs.
It"s lime for secondary ma o
ne u vers. Drusilla misses her
second strike. Ralhnar has no
second st:rlke. Ir :'i time for Lack-
sley to ac r. H e .1sks the OM If
Orus lJla has moved ou r of pos/·
lion yet. an d til e OM ru les that
she has. H e fires, scoring a hH
on u lejagua r monster. Th ejun·
g /e warrior Slabs Drusilla again
wilh h is second strike. and the
jaguar larches hold of Rathnar
w ith h is second pa w strike,
It 's lime for l erl /My maneu·
I'Crs. Lack s/ey. beca use of 11ls
Ho ld A ua ck maneuver, Il O W
takes wha t would have been his
secondary m aneUl ·er. He shoots
the jaguar again. killing if : It
rolls offRathnar before It can In·
fiicr ils th ird attack. a deadly
bile or an e ven more d eadly
r ake.
rarry
Thke a look a t
the Dungeon Mas ter 's Guide,
page 61. a t the "Parryi ng" op-
tional rule .
Tha t 's o ne way to si mulate a
fighter going on the defensive:
th e optional Parry ma neuver
presented here is done a differ·
ent way.
Th perfo rm lhls Parry. you
must a nnounce before initiative
Is rolled lha t you 're going to
Parry. (If you have morc than
one attack per round, you must
announce how many of them
arc gOing to be Parries.)
The n. during the round, the
firs l time an a n a cker strikes at
you (eve n If It 's before you r lurn
to strike). you ro ll your Parry.
Ro ll to hit your a ttac ke r, a nd roll
vs. his AC UncludlngaJl bonuses
for s hield . m agical ite ms. ctc.l.
You ean use your weapon at i tS
normal chance to hit. or your
70
shield at a ?2 to your chance to
h il (plus any magical bonus the
shie ld confers). If you hit. his a t-
tack is parried a nd d oes you no
da mage.
You can Parry thrown weap·
o ns , bur no t mi ss il e attac ks
(quarrels. a rrows. sling stones.
magic missiles, etc.).
Choice of r .\frles
You don ' t nec-
essarily have to Parry the very
first attack made against you
. .. though that is the Simplest
wa y to d o things. If you prefer.
you ca n choose w hic h a ttacker
you're going to Parry.
Example: Amslard is fighting
an ogre and Its Idiotic goblin
jesler. Before fnWa rNe is rolled.
h e an nounces that h e'll be using
one of his (11'0 attacks !O Parry.
Th e NPCs win in ft/arNe an d
a ttack . The jester auacks first .
Amslard announces thar hc's
not Parryin g tills arrack. Thc
jcs ter hils him. doing min usc ule
damage. Then thc ogr e at tacks .
Amstard announces that h e Is
Parrying uJis arrac k. The ogre
rolls lO h/l, and s ucceeds: Am ·
slard rolls to /lit , and succeeds
in Parrying the attack.
Th en. It ·s t.h e player·
chara cters' turn. Amslard sHII
has an attack left. and SO swings
at the ogrc.
If a c haracter Holds his Parry,
antic ipating tha t some other at·
tacker w ill swing a t h im. but
that a tta ck never mater ia lizes
Ifor example. because that spe·
cific opponent wem somewhere
e lse). and he 's still s uffering at·
tac ks this round , he can use that
Parry against o ne of these o ther
a llac ks. He may not, however.
apply It agains t a n allack that
has already taken place.
Polearm r .rrles
If you're wlcld·
ing a polcarm . you can parry a n
a tla ck from another character

wielding a polearm . even If thaI
c haracter Is attacking someone
else. 1b do lhls. you m ust be
wilhln range either of thaI a t·
tacker or his inlcnded victim.
Examp le: Amslard is wielding
a h alberd from behind lhe
shield· wall his friends are ho/d-
Ing. Ams(ard announces. before
inItla l/ve. that he 'll use one of
h is aHacks for a Parry and lh e
ocher for an aHack. Afler fnlUa-
five, an NPC with a g laive rakes
a s w Ing at Drusilla. Though {he
glalve-wlclder is OU f of Am ·
sl,a rds range. Drusilla Is right In
(rom of AmSlard. easily wJUl/n
his range. Amstard fOJJS his
Parr)'. rolling againsf the g ia/ve-
wielder's AC. and hits: he par-
ries the attack. When It's lime
(or the PCs to attack. Drusilla
putS the gJaive-wfelder down
and Amstard swings his halberd
against another ellemy.
M issile Wupon Panles
In desperate
situaUons, a character ca n
parry with a missile weapon he
is holding (bow. crossbow. or
staff sling. bu t not sling). If he Is
s uccessful wi th his parry,
though. his weapon Is ruined:
(h e e ne my 's attac k has d e·
slroyed Il. He may continue par-
rying with It until It Is
completely destroyed (rules for
destroying weapons and a rmor
appear In the Equipmen t chap·
ter of this book). but It may
never agaJn be used for Its orlgl·
nal purpose.
Po1.nylng from the D,MG
Eve n if you
use this Parry maneuver, you
can still use the Parrying option
from the Du ngeon Master 's
GuIde. page 61 .
Incide nlaU v, since th e DMG's
Parrying counts against a ll at·
tacks coming In on the ngh ter
that round. the nghter needs La
an nounce, before initiative is
rolled. that he is performing the
Parrying maneuver for the AC
bonus.
Pin
Wllh th e Pi n
maneuver. you move close to
your e nemy (right up In his face )
and use eUhe r a weapon or your
s hi eld to pin , or trap, his
weapon- usua lly by pressing It
agai ns t him so that he can't
move,
This Is like a Called Shot, ex-
cept that you don' r have fa an-
nounce it before inilla live a nd
you don't suffer a + I to Initla-
live. You dostill suffer the -4 at·
tack penalty.
If you s uccessfully hi t, the vlc-
lim can 't use his pinned weapon
until the pin Is broken. and you
can ' t use your pinning wcapon
or s hield until the pin Is broken.
Whe n the pin Is first per·
fo rmed , the victi m ge ts one
chance to struggle. usi ng a
Stre ngth roll exactl y as dc·
scribed for the Grab maneuver.
above. 1f he succeeds. he yanks
the weapon free: ifhe has a ttacks
left this round. he can use a ll of
them . If he fails, the weapon reo
mains pinned for the rest of the
round : the victim loses one orhls
attacks for the round {if he on ly
had one. he's out of luck until
next round}: but next round a nd
tn succeeding rounds, his first
struggle attempt eac h round
does not count against his a vaJl·
able attacks. (Subsequent ones
in the same round do count as
anacks.)
It Is possible to Pin someone
with the missile wcapon you a re
carrying (except for the ordl·
na ry Sli ng). While It's bei ng
used to Pin, It may not be used
as a missile weapon . If It was
anned (an arrow was nocked. a
quarrel was In place. or a s tone
was In the s taff·sling·s pouch). It
loses tha t missile In the strug·
gle: the character must reload It
laler.
7'
Combat Rules X
PuUITrip
This man eu-
ver Is designed 10 knock oppo-
nents down .
When using the PullrI'rlp rna·
neuver, the a ttacke r a nnounces
his inte ntion when It's his tum
La allack , He describes how he's
performing the ma neuver to the
OM , who may rule that It's Im-
possible.
If It Is possible. though. the at·
ta cker rolls vs, the target 's AC as
with any norma l attack.
The ta rget the n rolls ld20
agains t his DexterHy. If he suc-
ceeds, he Slays on his feet. If he
fails. he fa lls down . Modifiers to
his Dexterity include:
+ 6 Target Was Not Moving
- 3 Target Was Unaware of
Attack
Th e Pu ll/Trip m a ne uve r is
best performed on someone
who is movin g a nd una wa re of
you . A ta rget who is standing
sti li (not walking or running)
and is aware of his a ttacker is
very hard to knock down.
Use of Poleums
Polearms (and
a ny ol.her weapons with long
staff·like e le m e nts-quarter·
s taves, la nces. spears. e tc.) are
good weapons to have when
you 're trying the Pulltnip rna·
neuver.
You can PullfTrlp someone at
the maxi mum ra nge of your
weapon, for Instance, with no
additiona l penalty to hil.
You can PullfTrlp moving ani·
mals with a polearm : this is at a
-6 penalty to hit IfLhe animal ls
Large (but you can't even try It
on a Large a nimal lViWOu[ a
pole of some sort).
And . nnally. they are very use-
ful for knocking riders off their
mounts. With a mancatcher or
pol earm (though not with a
quar ters taff, la nce or spear).
you can a ttack a mounted rider
X Combat Rules
and ha ve a good cha nce ofpull -
In g hi m from h is horse. The
Dexterity m odifiers listed above
also a pply to th e rider's c hance
to stay mounted .
Sappi ng some-
one-I.e.. hil lin g him over the
head in ord er to kn ock h im
out-Is a maneuver you under-
take when you wish to capture
a n enemy alive (or Jus t incapacl-
late h im wH.hout killing h im).
To do this . the attacking char-
acter ma kes a Cal led Shot a l a n
addi tional - 4 to hit {so It"s -8
lota l. plus the us ual Ca ll ed Sh ot
pena lt ies o f ha ving to announce
your m a neuver before Initia tive
and suffering a + J to initiative}.
If th e aaac k hils. the cha rac-
ter rolls ordlna ry dam age for the
weapon . He gelS a 5 % chance of
knockout (as per the Punc hing
and Wrestling ru les) for every
point of dam age he does, up to a
m aximum of 40%.
Example: Sir Amscard wan ts
fO knock ouc a noble opponent
rach er chan killilim . He attacks
fo Sap the opponent. Luc kily,
even with the - 8 co hit. h e s ue·
cessfully hies his foc. With his
sword, he rolls 6 points of dam·
age. Th is gives him a (6x5 %)
30% c hance of a n in s ran!
kn ock out . On h is percenlf1e
dice. he rolls 42: he has failed
th is llme. He'lI try again.
The damage done by Sap at·
tacks is lhe same as that done
by Punching: In othe r words,
only 25% is norma l. or "perma·
ne nt:' damage. The other 75 %
is tem porary. a nd wears 01T after
a shon while, as we'll discuss
la ter in thiS chapter.
When us ing a spec ial or magi-
ca l weapon to perform the Sap.
you do nOf count the weapon 's
aflack or dam age bonus. You're
not using the weapon the way It
Is meant to be used : you 're hil-
ting your target with the na t of
the bla de. wllh the hilt or porn·
mel of the weapon, e tc, There·
fore , those bonuses don't coun t
for anything.
When performed on a c harac·
ter who Is as leep or magically
held. the Sap maneuver au to·
matically hilS . The chance for
knockout goes up to 10% per
point of damage done, up to
80%. Howe ve r, if the subse·
quent perce ntile die· roll is 8 1 or
highe r. th e victim Is not
knocked out -h e's been awak·
ened by the a ttack. (Why try a
Sap maneuver on an a lready·
asleep target? Because you may
want to kidnap him or smug·
gllng him out of a ce ll a nd can 'l
risk him waking up a nd a lerting
the guards.)
T he Sap mane uver can only
be performed wiLh me lee weap·
ons or bare hands: it cannot be
performed with missile weap-
ons_
The Sap maneuver Is usable
only on Sma ll IS} or Medium 1M}
monSlers: It will not work on
La rge (L) or bigge r mons te rs
such as dragons. They Just can't
be knocked out with this mao
neuver.
Shle ld·Punch
The shie ld -
punch is a very basic maneu ver.
If you are using a buckler, small
shield, or medium shield. you
can use It to attack with as well
as defend . by s lamming it into
your target's body.
When your turn \0 attack
comes. s imply announce tha t
you ' re shi e ld-punc hing and
make your attack roll . You gel
no a ttack bonus from the s hield,
regardless of its size or magical
enchantment .
A s hield-punch does 1-3 dam·
age, pl us your Strength bonus .
Once you have performed a
shleld·punch. you lose the AC
bonus of the shield fo r the rest of
the com ba t round from now un·
III your next a ttack. (If you have
an attack later in the round . you
7Z
regain the AC bonus then : If you
don 't ha ve an attack until next
round , you regaJ n the AC bonus
at the very start of the nex t
round .)
This is a good maneuver to
perfonn when you've dropped
your weapon, as It will do some·
wha t more damage than a bare·
handed a tta ck .
Shleld·Rush
This mane u-
ver is like a combination of the
PullffHp and Shield-Punc h ma-
neuvers.
The attac ke r must start at
least 10 feet a way from the vic-
Urn , and must have either a me·
dium or body shie ld . Basically,
he runs at full speed up to his
victim. s la mm ing full-tilt into
him, hoping to Injure him or
knock him down.
As with the Shleld·Punch, the
attacker gets no bonus to hit
from the shie ld . nor does he get
the AC bonus of his shield from
the lime he starts the maneuver
until his next attack.
If he hi ts. he does damage
equal to the Shield· Punc h, and
the target must make a Id20
roll against Dexterity to stay on
his fee t. The target applies these
modifie rs to his De xterity :
+ 3 Thrget Was Moving lbward
Attacker
+ 3 Thrgel Was Not Moving
- 3 Thrget Hit From Behind
- 3 Thrget Was Unaware of At-
tack
As vou can sec, Irs more reli-
a
able knockdown tha n the Pu IU
Trip.
Howe ve r. t he aUackc r a lso
has a c han ce to be knocked
down .
If he misses his roll to hit. he
s lams Into the target anyway,
and does no damage to his lar-
get. He m ust make his Dexterity
ablHty check at a -6 pena lLy: If
he makes it, he is still standing,

but if he fails it. he Is knoc ked
down . Either way. his target re-
m ains standing.
Even If h e succeeds In his a t-
lack roll . he sli ll has a c ha nce to
fa ll down . The attac ker rolls
Id20 againSt hi s own. unad-
Justed Dext crlly. If he fa lls It. he
falls down . 100.
StrikelThrust
This is t he ba-
sic combat man eu ver. a nd Is in-
cluded here just [o r co m-
ple te ness .
Wit h t h e Strlkerrhrus t ma-
ne uver. lhe aHacke r uses the
weapon he has in h an d and
st rikes. SW ings. or t h rusts It at
the Int cnded victim . If It hits.
the attack docs the damage ap-
propriate to the weapon and the
atlacker's Stre ngth bonus.
"Striking" with a Missile Weap-
on or Thrown Weapon con·
sUtutes Dring It/throwing It at
your ta rget. UsuaJJy. you Just say
" ShooC instead of"SlIikc" when
an nouncing your ma neuver.
Surprise .And nuh Maneuvers
All of th ese
maneuvers. and Lhe many pos.
slblliLies they provide for char·
acte rs to c ustomize th e ir
nghting styles. s ho uld give you
the idea that the OM should be
encouraging wild. e.·uravaganl.
Inte re sting man eu vers a nd
s tyles in com bat. This Is a 10\
more entertai nin g tha n ordi-
nary. plodding swing vs. s wing
combar.
TheTefoTe. the DM should re-
waI'd Inte lligent. creative efforts
In combat by granting them boo
nuses 10 hit and da mage.
Examplcs:
A lightly·armored hero wlrh
the ACrob.l t.iCS non weapon pro-
ficiency cou ld charge a (oc. then
use h is A croba Ucs to flip over
him a.nd str ike h im (rom the
rear: the DM might give him a
bonus (Q hilln a ddllion to SIn k ·
ing at a parr oft-he target s body
that Is unprotccted by a slJlclC/.
A crossbowmall could usc a
Ca lled Shol againsl the rope
holding the chandelier. causing
the chandelier to com c cras hing
down ooro the villain :S head: in ·
sread o( suffering a massive ar-
tack penally ror such a
preposteroussho l. (he DM might
give {he player a n allack bon us
ror lhe surprise valu e o ( the at·
tack. plu s a percem age change
(or knockout. as penile " A Hack-
ing Wll/loul Killing " rules (play·
eT's Handbook. Page 97).
A swashbuckler running up a
flight of stairs wlfh guardsm en
In flOl pursuil could tumble a
stack of casks down the sla/rs
bchlnd hIm: the DM could gl1'e
111m a PulllTrip mancuvcr
aga InSt each one of those
guardsmen. and even a n im-
proved chance 10 hit. ror at-
tem pting this classic move.
On the other hand. a pia yeT
might come up with a plan o r
maneuver thal ls mere ly foolish
or a busive to the ca mpa ign . The
OM can aSSign such a ma neuver
minuses 10 hit and damage.
Examplcs;
Rafllnar's player decides that
If Rathnar m akes faces at a n arc
he is fighl.ing. then /Il e orc wfJ/
become spooked and run away.
When Rath nar attempts this.
the orc p roceeds 10 make faces
righ t back at him . then begins
the process of cutting Ralhnar
to ribbons.
Later. aner some time al the
healers guild. Ralhnar Is in bet·
ter armor a nd is In dire com ba t
wlllJ another ore. Raulnar de·
cldcs that hc 'JJ tuck and roll be·
tween the ore's legs. s ta nd up
behind him . a nd clea l'e Ilim In
Hvaln from behind. However.
his player has fa Ued to consider
that Rathnar is in bulky plmc
mall a nd knows nothing aboul
acrobati cs. T hc DM assigns
Ratlmar a swr penalty to his
Dext erlry r o /l when Rat h nar
tries t he manCU1'cr . Rat.hllar
73
Combat Rules
ends up fia( on his /;a ck. bang·
Ing against tlle arc's legs with
the are looming ovcr him . and
the OM aSSigns the arc a bonus
to hit Rath nar beca use ofthe he·
ro's Clu msy posfllon.
Don't s.y N o;
Determine Difficulty
A good rule or
thumb to use. when a player·
c ha Tacter t Tles someth ing
stTange or daring In combat. is
th is: Don' t say no to his pro-
posal: Just detenn lne the dim·
cullY or the mane uver In your
head. give him a geneTal ldea of
that difficulty. a nd le Lhim try It .
An easy way to do thalls arbl·
traTII)' to assign a " difficulty
number" of I to 10 to any spe·
c ia l maneuver. T he n. have the
c harac ter ro ll again s t w hic h·
eve r of his abillUes (Strength .
Dexterity. etc. ) tha t seems most
closely to peTtain to the task ...
and s u bt Tact that dlrnc ulty
number fTOm his ability. If he
s ucceeds in ro iling equal to o r
less than his modlned a blHt y. he
has succeeded In his task.
Example: Drusilla wa nts t.o
uy the same m aneuver Ra thnar
was going to p ull. She. lOO. lias
no acrobatic training . but Is In
light leat her arm or. Th e DM
thinks that Vils will be p rell)'
diffic ult for her (though not as
d imcull as it was for RathnarJ.
and assigns thc maneuver a dif-
ficulty fa ctor of 5 If she lea ves
her spear behind. It'll be an 8. If
she tries lO rake her spear along
on l he maneuver: He rells Dru·
silla 's player (hal II 1s dlmcult
but possible. though it wllJ be
nearly Impossib le Ifshe uses 11er
spear . RelucLan tly. sh e drops
the spear and pulls out a short
sword befor e affcmpting t.h e
m aneuver.
Her Dexterity scor e Is 13; with
the - 5 penalty. It 's modified to
a n 8. On her combat action . she
arre mpls I_h e ma ne u ver. a nd
rolls 1d20 against her m odified
X Combat Rules
Dex. She rolls an 8, and achieves
it exacLly; Drusilla rolls between
the orcs legs. stands up behind
him. and drives die short sword
home before he knows what hif
him. The DM gives her an arb/-
u-ary + 4 [0 hit for the surprise
value of w e maneuver.
Someone with Acrobatics
non weapon proficiency might
be abJe to perform that same
w ck-and-roJl wi th no penal t)~ or
IvUh a penalty dicta led only by
the type or armor he Is wearing.
See the " Armor ModIfiers for
Wrestling" chan on page 97 of
th e Player 's Handbook : (hose
m odifiers would work equally
well In th is sl! uatlon.
Another lhing to do whe n a
maneuver will probably work
a utoma tically If the in te nded
target doesn 't sec It coming. is
to assign a difficult y number to
the target'S chance of seeing it.
This dIfficulty could be a pen-
alty or a bonus. depending on
how obvious the maneuver Is,
a nd so cou ld be from 1 to 10 in
e llhe r direc tion . The OM would
have the Intended target roll
Id20 against his m odified Intel-
ligence, and if he rolled equa l to
or less lhan thal number. he'd
see the maneuver coming and
be able to avoid it. If he faile d,
the OM could give the attacker
ordinary chances of success, or
even make the attack an auto-
matic success.
Example: Ams ra rd Is In a
street braw/with a big brule ofa
warrior; they've been punching
the dayligh rs ou! ofoneano(her,
a nd Ams l ard has J USl been
kn ocked down. His player an-
nounces tlla l he's try ing a clas-
sic trick : He'lJ inconspicuously
pick up a handful of sand and,
s
as he rising to rerum to the
fight , he'lJ dash chesand into his
opponent 's face, blinding him.
Thac:S a r easonable trick fO
try. The DM decides war the
brule's chance fOfigureou l Am -
stard's maneu ver lsdireclly pro-
portional to AmSlard 's finesse in
scooping up r.he sand. He tells
AmSlard La r oll against his Dex-
terity. unmodlfled, when pick ·
ing up the sand ... and t/Je
number he makes his roll by
wiIJ bc (he brUle's d ifficulty
number in seeing It coming,
Amsf.ard's Dexterity is J3. He
rol1sa Won Jd20. maklngtt by
3. Th e brute's Inrelligence is 10:
with the difflcultyof3, his m oo/-
fied Intelligence is 7. Secretly,
t1J(~ DM rolls I d20 {or Ule brute.
achJel'ing a n 8: the br ute
doesn 't sec t.he mancu ver com-
ing. But Amsr.ards player ca n 't
be rold that un UI AmSlard Is
commllled to his maneuver.
Amstard no w th rows t he
sand: this coun ts as an attack.
The DM gives him an ordinary
attack roll to succeed. Amstard
successfully hits vs. l he brtHc·s
A C. and fl O W ale brute is l em po-
raril v blinded , . ,
That 's how the thought proc-
ess works, anyway_The players
s hou ld have the opportunity l O
try just about a ny maneuver or
a pproach they can imagine, and
the OM should figure out how
IIkc ly eac h try Is of s uccess.
Nolhlngshould be Impossible to
try just beca use i[ Isn ·r specifi-
cally covered In the rules.
Maneuvers In the C.mp.lgn
All of lhe
above ma neuve rs a nd a p-
proaches can be used in any
AD&D!I game cam pa ign , There
arc a cou ple of thi ngs you
s hould realize about them.
first. they' lI add a lot of rich-
ness of detail to your com ba t.
Using th em , you can do just
about everything in combat that
you can Imagine your cha racter
doing. However, the flip -side of
that benefit Is that il a dds a level
of complexity to your combat;
the players and OM have to do
more thinki ng about Individua l
maneuvers and comba t sllua-
Lions. Therefore, we don't rec-
ommend you use th ese
14
ma neuve rs until you a lready
have a fi rm grasp on the combat
syst em. and ca n run basic com-
bats wilh liLLIe or no difficulty.
Second. t hey' ll allow the
playe r-characte rs 10 be more
colorful and effi cicnt in combat .
But the flip -side of this benefit Is
lha tlhe NPCs and mons ters can
be eq ually colorful a nd efficient ,
It will be a rude awake ning for
the playe r -ch a rac ters wh e n
they run across a band of evil
fig hters as diverse and accom -
plis hed as they a re_
PunchIng, Wrestling,
and M artIal Arts
Punching a nd
wrestlJng are described in the
Players Handbook, pages 9 7-
98. We'll e laborate a little on
those rules here, and lntroduce
rules for basic Oriental-sty le
ma rtia l a rts maneuvers .
'Spc.cI .. Uzlng With Punc.hlng
and Wrcstllng
Though every-
one has a certai n knowledge of
punc hing and wrestling. so that
everyone can be considered to
have a "weapon proficie ncy "
you can now Specialize In eilh er
of the two techniques.
1b Specialize. you mus t devote
a weapon proficiency slot to the
technique, Any c haracter of any
class can Specialize In Punching
or Wrestling (or Martial Arts, de-
scribed later) ... but except for
the f ighting-Monk {described in
Th e Complete Priest 5 Handbook,
no character Olher than a single-
class Warrior can ever specialize
in more than one of these tech-
niques_ A single·class Warrior
can e nd up specia lizing in both,
but may begi n play specializing
In only one of them .
SpeclallzaUon docs not cou nt
as a Weapon Specialization. A
first-leve l fig hter could speclaJ-
Ize In bot h Long S word and

Punching If he wished lO. A
Rogue. who ca n not lake any
Weapon Specialization. can still
lake one unan ned OghUng style
spcclaJlzatlon.
Fighting style specializations
{I.e. . Slngle·Weapo n . 1\vo-
Hander, etc.) do not grant any
bon u ses to Punching. Wres-
tling. o r Martial Arts combat.
They're of use only to combat
with melee weapons .
Norm.l Punchlns Att.,ks
Review th e
Punch rules from the Players
Handbook. page 98 . Remember
t.ha t a normal punch docs 1·2
damage (plus S trength bonus).
and a punch wltha metal gaunt-
let docs '·3 (plus S trength bo-
nusl. and that 75% o f a ll
punching damage is tem porary.
and wears OrrW ilhln minutes ar-
l eT the combat Is Included.
A c harac ter can pull his
punch. so lha l he does no dam -
age. or only his punc h damage
(without h is Strenglh bon us ).
Punching Speclallutlo n
If a c ha racler
spends onc Weapon Proficiency
on Pu nching. thus taking spe·
cla llzatJon with Punc hi ng. he
gains the follow ing bcnenlS:
He gains a + 1 bonus to all his
auack rolls when punching:
He gains a + I bonus to a ll
damage when punChing:
He gains a + I charL bonus
with a ll pun chin g a u acks:
He gains one additional
punc hing a ll ack per comba t
round (both ha nds must be free.
hold ing nothi ng. for the charac·
ter to gaIn this benent): and
If the character wishes. when
he pu lls his punch . he can also
refuse to do the + 2 damage tha t
specializatiOn gives him.
The chart bonus is a re nection
ofLhe c haracte r's superior accu·
racy with punching. As you al·
ready know. when the c haracLer
successfully hits, the roll ILsclr
determines which maneuver
was made: you use the chart on
page 97 of ule Players Hand·
book. a nd the attack roll a lso de·
term ines the m a neuver used.
But on a succcssful hit. the
punching specialist can modify
that result. If he has a chan boo
nus of + 1. he can c hoose the
m a ne uver one higher or one
lowcr on the c hari .
Example; Sir Amslard
punches a {roll. (He's reck lessly
bra l'e. after all.) He rolls a 12 to
hi!, and this turns out co be a
successful htl . On lhe " Punch·
ing a nd Wrest ling Results"
chan. we see tllat this is a Kid·
ney Punch . doing I pOinl of
damage. with a 5 % chance for
knockout. But Amstard is a
Pun ching SpeclaJisr with a
chan bon us of + I . He can
choose ins/cad for !.hc result to
be an I I -Hook (doing 2 points of
damage a nd will! a 9% chance
for knockout), ora 13·Hook(do·
Ing 2 polms ofdamage and with
a 10% chance for a knockout}.
He changes the maneuver from
a Kidn ey Punch to a 13·Hook .
On ly If a c haracte r specializes
in punching and thu s h as a
chan bonus ca n he affec t his
punch results In Lh ls manner.
A character usi ng a Cestus
does get to add thc bonuses to
hit and damage from Punching
Spec ialization to his Cestu s
damage. If he has specialized in
Cestus too. he can decide from
round to rou nd which of his bo-
nuses he wUl apply this round.
Additionally. you may use the
Cestus attack's attack roU to de·
te rm ine which Punc hing rna·
neuver was used wi th lhe
a ttack: you still use t.he da mage
for the Cestus instcad of the rna·
ne uver. but now also ha ve the
possibility of a knockout. T his
can make combats with cestl a
little more complicated. so the
OM may disallow th is rule If he
c hooses.
15
Combat Rul es
It is possible for a Warrior 10
continue to improve his Punch-
Ing abilities: See "Continuing
Specialization ," below.
Normal Wrestling Attacks
Review the
Wrestling ru les from the Play·
er's Handbook. page 98. Eac h
s llccessful wresWng move does
1 poin t of da m age (plus
Stre ngth bonus, if the auac kcr
desi res): a continu ed ho ld
ca uses c u mulatively 1 more
point of damage each rou nd
than the rou nd before.
In Wrestli ng com bat. whe n
two c haracters are wrestling.
eac h rolls to hit the other-using
normal attack rolls against the
o pponent's AC. a nd utilizing the
.. Armor Modifie rs For Wres-
tling" table on page 97 of the
Player's Handbook for modifie rs
to hit.
In a s ingle combat round . a
c haracter call perform Wr es-
tling on the ot her c ha racter
with the norm a l results rrom th~
Punching and Wrestling Results
table from thai same page. On
Wrestle results from that table
which a re marked with a n aster·
Isk (- ), the attacker, if success-
ful. can m ai ntai n that hold until
it's broken: use the Strength·roll
ru les described above for the
"Grab" maneuver to determine
when holds arc broken .
A c haracter can pull wrestli ng
da mage: he can do no damage.
or the 1 point associated with
each s uccessful maneuver. or
the 1 point plus S trength bonus
a llowed to him , whichever he
c hooses.
As with punc hing damage.
wrestling da mage is a lso tempo·
rary.
Wrestling SpeciaUzad on'
If a c ha racter
spends one Weapon Proficiency
Slot on WrcstHng. and thus spe-
cializes with Wrestling, he gains
X Combat Rules
the followi n g benefits:
H e gai ns a + 1 bonus to all h is
31l3.ck rolls wilh Wrestling:
He gai ns a + I bonus to all
damage with WreslHng (that is,
all his maneuvers will do 2
points of dam a ge pl us h is
Strength bon us. and continued
holds c ause cum ulative ly 1
more point of damage for each
round they are heldl :
He gains a + I chart bonus
wi th a ll Wres tling attacks:
He gains a +2 to SLrcngth. only
for rnatmaining a wrestling hold
(i.e .. a 5rrength 15 character rolls
against Strength 17 when maln-
tainlng a wrestling hold. but only
for tha t purpose): and
When he c hooses to pull wres-
tling da ma ge. the c harac ter
may also pull the +2 10 damage
g ranted by specialization.
So if. for In s tance. he has a + I
c hart bonus. a nd rolls a 16 to hil
(E lbow Smash ). he can Instead
c hoose a Trip or an Arm Lock .
He'll decide based on his cur-
rent s ltuaLlon: If U's in his best
Interest to put his opponent o n
the ground , he'll choose a lhp,
and if It 's benerfor hi m to havca
maneuve r that a llo ws him to
hold 01110 h is oppone nt from
round to round , he ' ll c hoose an
Arm Loc k.
It Is possible for a Warrior to
continue to improve his Wres·
tling abllillcs: See "Continuing
Specialization," below.
Martial Am
As you saw in
the Player's Ha ndbook. every-
body knows how to punch a nd
wrestle,
Martia l Arts, however. are a n -
other ma tter. Not e\'ery charac-
ter in a normal medieval -s tyle
campaign will know how to uti-
II zc orienta l-sayle Marllal Arts_
The Martial Arts described In
th is section a re n't any real -
world fighting sty le: they're a
combination of "generic" mar-
tial-a rts maneuvers In the tradi-
Uon of ma rlla l-arts movies. n ormal Armor Class of the tar·
Th ese MarUal Arts are on ly gel. (If the a ttacking cha racter
available in a campaign if the OM has armor on , he docs s uffer the
decides that the an is available .. Armor Mod lOe rs Fo r Wres-
for characters lO learn . He must tling" from Thble 57 o n page 97
firs t decide if he wants characters of the Player 's Handbook.) If hc
to be able to use these maneuvers hi ts, he does Ule d amage listed
in his campaign. which will tend from the maneuver plus any bo-
to give the campaign a more ori- nus rrom his Strength score .
ental flavor: then. if he wishes to l( the a ttack roll Is s uccessful.
use them. he needs to establis h a the attacker consults the table
history for these combat abilities. below for the resu lt of the at-
Customari ly. they've been devel- tack. If. ror instance. the c ha rac-
oped by some distant civilization. ter rolls a 13 to hi t. the resu lt [s a
and recent trade with that cul- Body- Punch. doin g 1 point of
ture has brought some practition· damage (plus the allac ke r's
ers and teachers of the an to the Stre ngth bonus for damage ).
player-characters' society.
Martial Arts Results Table
1b learn Martial Artsatlls basic
level. the character spends one %
Weapon Proficiency slot on Mar- Attack. Martial Arts DmgKO
Ual Arts. Once he has spenlthal Roll Maneuver
slot. he can use Mania) Arts In the 20+ Head Punch 3 15
same way thai other people use 19 H[gh Kick 2 10
Punch ing and Wrestling. as we' ll 18 Vltals-KJck 2 8
describe immed[ately below. 17 Vitals· Punch 2 5
16 Head Bash 2 5
Martial Arts Results 15 Side Kick I 3
14 Elbow Shot I I
At its basic 13 Body-Punch I 2
level. MartiaJ Arts skill [s used 12 Low Kick I I
just like Punch ing a nd Wrestling. 11 Graze o I
Martial Arts com bat occurs when 10 Body-Punch I 2
a character attacks with h is bare 9 Low Kick I I
hands. reel. and e\'en head. No 8 Body-Punch I 2
weapons are used . (A character 7 Knee-Sh ot I 3
can hold a weapon [n one hand 6 Side Ktck I 5
a nd nothing in Lhe other. attack- 5 Head Bash 2 10
ing with his weapon one round 4 Vilals-Punch 2 10
and wiLh his Manial Arts skJII [n 3 Vita ls-Kick 2 15
the nex!.) 2 High Kick 2 20
As wi th Pun ching. da m age I• Head Punch 3 30
from Martial Arts Is ha ndled in a • Or less
slightly different fa shion. The
damage fro m a ny bare-handed Descriptions of the M.aneuvers
Martial Arts a ttack is broken
Inl twO parts : 25% of the da m- Body-Punch: This Is a
age from the attack is nomlal straightforward punch Into lhe
da m age , while the remaining ta rget's stomach or chest.
75% is " temporary" damage. Elbow Shot: With this rna·
The Player 's Handbook. page neuver. the a ttacker plants his
98. discusses te mporary dam· e lbow iOlO the targe t's c h est.
age, as docs this chapter, in the side, o r s tomac h.
section on " Recovery," below. Graze: Th[ s could h a ve
When attacking wuh Marlial starled ou t as a ny sort of rna-
Arts skill , the character makes a neu\'er, but It m erely grazed the
normal attack roll against th e target: It wasn ' llanded firmly.
16
 Low Kic k: T he auacker kicks
the target In the leg or thigh.
Head Bash : Th e attacker
slams his forehead into the tar·
get's face. which Is a stout rna·
neuver.
Head Punch : This Is a good.
strong blow with the fist to the
enemy's head . particularly his
Jaw.
High Kick : The allacker kicks
the larget tn the up per body
somewhere: S to mach, chest.
back. or shoulder.
Knee- Shot: Th e attac ker
bri ngs his knee up into the tar-
get's stomach or thigh.
Side Kick: With this ma neu-
ver, the anacker has time to pre-
pare and lau nc h a very powerfu l
Sideways kick (which may be at
the end of a cinematic lea p).
Vit als-Kick : T he attacke r
kic ks h is target a t some vulnera-
ble point: Croin. kid ney, neck.
solar plexus. etc.
Vitals-Punch: T he anac ker
pu ts his fist Into one of the vul·
r-'\
(
~
r
I
n"
R, r
'""' ~
'\
'""'r
11 '-"""
nerable points mentioned im -
media tclyabove.
Specializing In Martial Arts
The samc Spe·
ciallzlng niles app ly to Martial
Arts: Once the character has
Proficiency In Mart ia l Arts (by
spend ing one Weapo n Profl·
ciency SIOl). he ca n Specia lize in
it (by s pend ing an othe r).
When the charac tcr becomes
a Manial Arts S pecialist. he
gains the following benefits:
He gai ns a + I bon us to all his
allack rolls with Martial Arts:
He gains a + I bon us to al l
damage with Martial Arts:
He gains a + 1 chart bon us
with aU Martial Arts a ttacks:
He gains one additional Mar-
tia l Arts attack pe r com bat
round {both hands m us t be free.
holding nothing. for the c ha rac-
ter to ga in this benefitl: and
He may pull his atlack j ust as
Pu nching and Wrestling charac-
11
lers do, a nd when he pu lls his
a ttack, he can a lso rcruse to do
the + I damage that Speclall?.a·
tion gives him.
So if he rolls a 15 to hit. and lhe
a ttack hits. he has performed a
Side Kick. If he uses his + I chan
bonus. he can change that mto an
Elbow Shot or a Head Bash. He' ll
probably choose to change It to a
l'lead Bash ror the improved dam-
age and improved chan ce or
knockout.
Ii Is possible for a Warrior to
continue to Improve his Mar tial
Arts abilities: See "Continuing
Specialization:' below.
M ore Than One Sty l ~
Any character
can s pec ia lize In one orthe three
lypes of una rm ed combat
(Punching. Wres tling. and Mar-
tial Arts).
A slngle·class Wa rrior can
on ly specialize in one of the
-~
""'\"~,\
'\
X Combat Rules
three unarmed combat s tyles
when he is first c reated. After
fi rSlievcl. however. he may spe-
cialize In the oilier lwo. He can
take specialization in only one
sty le each time he receives a
new Weapon Proficiency. so he
could not possibly be a special-
ist In all Lhree unt il he reaches
sixth experience level . , . and
ninth level Is morc like ly.
Usually. the character. if he
wants to specialize in more than
o ne s tyle. wUl take either Mar-
tial Arts or Punchin g. not both.
because their usefulness over-
laps a great deal : an d then he' ll
take Wrestllng. because Wres-
tling Is useful when the charac-
ter Is being grappled.
Continuing Sped . llz,atlon
This is an op-
Lion that Is on ly available to
single-class Warriors (and to
Fighting-Monks from The Com-
plete Priest:S Handbook) .
If the warrior continues to de-
vote Weapon Pronclency slots to
an unarmed combat style afler
he Is already specializing in it.
he gets the fo llowing benents_
Note: Th e character may not
take more !.han basic SpeclaU7,a-
lion in any of the a n s at nrst ex-
perien ce leve l: thus . at fi rst
level. he may de\'ote one slot to
Punc hing. or one slot to Wres-
tling. or twO s lots to Martial
Arts. but not more than !.hat to
any of them . At third leve l.
when he recei ves ano!.her s lot.
he may devote It the n to im ·
prove his Speclaiizatlon.
for each additional sial de·
voted to his art:
He gains a + 1 bonus to all his
altack rolls with his combat
style;
He gains a + I bonus to a ll
damage with his combat sty le:
and
He gains a + 1 chan bonus
with aU attacks ln that combat
style . WI!.h chart bonuses of +2
or more. th e charact er can
c hoose any ma ne uver within
the range of maneuve rs covcred
by his chan bonus (sec the ex-
ample below).
Example: Cassius the Gladia-
tor is a Punching Specialist. He
Specialized in Punching at first
level. PUI another Weapon Profi·
ciency slot into It af thir d level .
anofher at sixth. a.nd sr111 an-
olher at ninth.
At ninth level. he has a +3 b0-
nus fO arrack rolls with Punch·
ing. a + 3 LO dam age rolls willI
Puncbing.anda +3 chartOOnus.
Let's say lJe rolls a 16 to hit
someone. and lhal we attack
does hit. Th is would nomlally
beaGJancingBlolV. But he has a
+3 chart bon us. He can choose
for the maneuver. instead ofj us I
being a rolled resule of 16. to be
an vwherefrom 19to 13. He ca n
chOOse for the mane uver co be a
Wild Swing. a Rabbit Punch. a
Kidney Punch. a Glancing Blow
(as roUed ). 8 Jab. an Uppercut.
ora Hook.
Of these seve n maneuver s.
Jab a nd Hook do the moor dam·
age. and Hook has a sligh l.ly
higher chance of kn ockout suc·
cess. so he chooses II. \VitI! Ills
punch . h e will do a basic 2
points for ehe maneuver. +3
points from Ille damage bonus
he gets for specializing. and any
bemus his Strength gi,fcs him.
The Co ~plete M.rtl.l' Artist
If you wish to
create a character who Is pri nci-
pal lya Martial Artist. yOll ough t
to take o!.her Weapon and Non-
weapon Pronclencles which are
appropria te to the classic
martial-arts hero.
Almost a ll Weapon Proncien ·
cles are appropriate for the c har'
acter. including all swords.
bows. a nd polearms. and espe·
clally proficle neles with the
Samu rai weapons from the
Equipmcncchapter of this book.
Nonweapon ProOc iencles
which are especially appropri-
78
ate include: (General) Dancing.
Direc tion Sense. (Warrior)
Blind·fig htln g. En d urance.
Running. (Rogue. double slots)
Ju m ping. Tightrope Wa lkiug.
and Thmbllng.
In campaigns with more c las-
s ical and oriental elements to
the martial artists. Nonweapon
Pronclcncies s uch as (General)
Artistic Ability. {Priest. double
slots un less Paladin} Anc ient
History. Astrology. Healing. Hcr·
ballsm. Local History. Musica l
Instrument. ReadlngfWrltl ng.
Religion. (Wizard. dou ble s lots
un less Ranger) Ancient History.
Astrology. Herbalism. Reading{
Writing. Religion.
fig hting Style Specializations.
from this chapter. are also very
appropriate for the character.
Natura lly. you won·t be able to
afford all these things ror you r
Manlal Artist c haracter. even if
your OM docs allow you the in·
telligence bonus for extra Pron-
cle ncies mentioned earlie r In
this chaptcr. Thi nk not about
having all these abilities. but
about taking spcclnc abilities to
make the c harac ler unique . dif-
ferent rrom al l the other pes ...
even If lhcy. too. are principally
Martial Artists.
For instance. one c harac te r
co u ld be a Paladin /Swas h·
buckler who lakes Weapon Pro-
nclency with all f e nCing Blades
(two slo ts). Specialization with
the Sabre (one slot). and Speclal-
Izallon with Punchlng(one s lOll.
Another character could be a
Ran gcrfBeast·Rlder who ta.kes
Weapon Profi Ciency with a ll
Bows (two SIOlS) an d Proncle ney
and Specialization wllh Marlial
Arts (1\\'0 slots). This way. no
twO Martial Anlsts are likely to
be even remot ely alike.
In Orlent.1 ump.lsns
If your ca m·
paJgn Is based In an oriental sel-
ting. you need to make an easy
c hange. Instead or norma l pron-

ciency with Punching and Wres-
tling being free. and proficiency
with Martial Arts costing onc
s lol. normal proficie ncy wit h
Martial Arts is free. while profI·
ciency with Punching and Wres-
tling cost one slot each.
Bareh'lnded M.neuvers
It 's possible to
u se most of the maneuvers de-
scribed above under "Melee Ma-
neuvers when fighting
barehanded. either Punching.
Wrestling. or Martial Ans.
When a character wishes to
perform a maneuver thars not
one of the standard maneuvers
fo r the barehanded fighting
style in question. he makes iliat
announcement a t the appropri-
a te time in the combat sequence
(thal Is, If It'S a Called Shot of
some sort. he a nnounces be fore
initiative: otherv•.'ise. h e makes
the announcement when he's
called on for the description of
his action for the rou ndl.
Wh en his turn comes up. he
rolls to hit . If he's specialized in
a barehanded fighting s ty le. he
still geLS the auack bonus for his
Specialization . If he hits. he
doesn't do one of the maneuvers
from his fig hting sty le; he per·
forms the specific maneuver he
elec ted. However, If he's a Spe-
cialist. he does get the damage
bonus from his fighting style.
Here a re exam pies of how this
works with the specific Melee
Ma neuvers:
uUed Shots: Pun'chlng
.nd M.rtl.1 Arts
A Punch er or
Ma rtial Artist ca n perform
Called S hots. but none will do
any extra damage . They can be
very effective In combat In very
specific situations If the charac-
ter Is trying to perform one of
th e standa rd Call ed Shots:
Striking a Specific Body Part (as
me ntioned earlier, to damage a
beholder's speclaJ eye, for exam·
plel. Smashi ng Something Be-
Ing Held (though the atlacker
risks having the contents of
whatever he's s mashing spilled
on him ), and Bypassi ng Armor
(again . this only works on ma n·
sters where the OM has de·
s igned a specific weakness Into
the monster).
A Puncher or Martial Artist can
also perionn a Called Shot to at·
tack a specific Hit LocaUon. See
the text on "Hit Locations:' be-
low. This Is the sort of attack the
character wanlS to use If he's try.
ing (0 hit an enemy tn Lhe jaw to
knock him out. pound him In Lhe
solar plexus to double him over.
and so on: all nonnal ruJes for Hit
Locations are used.
uUed Shots: Wrestling
A Wrestler can
take a Called ShO{ In order to
choose the spectnc Wrestle ma-
neuver resu lt he wants. If he
succeeds. he does not randomly
roll the wrestle maneuver which
takes place: he chooses it. This
is of special usefulness whe n
he's trying to achieve a hold
resul t.
Example: A wresller decides
to take a Called ShOI . Before ini-
lIat/ve is rolled. he anno unces
thaI hes taking a Called Shot /0
achieve (he reSU/f of Ann Lock.
He suffers (he usual + Ito initia-
live: when his l urn comes up. he
sulTcrsa -4 to hil. lfllehils, the
maneuver result is Arm Lock.
regardless of [h e roll.
Also, when a fight er is wres-
t ling anothe r c ha racter. he
m ight find it to his advantage to
make a CaUed Shot to pull the
enemy's helmet down over his
enemy's eyes. blinding him fora
combat rou nd or two.
But, ob vious ly. suc h suc-
cesses depend heavily on the
good-will of Lhe OM. If he thinks
s uc h maneuvers are more
bother than color. dOIl 't try to
perform the m .
19
Combat Rules X
Dlsum
It's possible for
a barehanded fighter LO d isarm
a n armed oppo ne nt , but !L's
dangerous. When so trying. the
barehanded fig hter's AC suffers
a penally of 2 (for example. a 5
becomes a 7 ; he 's having to ex-
pose him self to aUack briefl y),
and his Disarm attempt is at an
additional - 4 to hit. Bu t if it
hits. It's Just as successful as
any other Disarm .
Grab
As desc ribed
above. the Grab Is designed for
barehanded usc, and so suffers
no penalty when the a ttacker Is
barehanded.
Hold AttACk
A barehanded
fig hLe r can hold his a ttack with
no penalty.
A ba rehanded
fig hter trying to parry a bare-
handed attack docs so at normal
odds.
As with Disarm. It's possible,
but dangerou s. for a bare-
handed figh ter to parry an at-
tack rrom a melee wea pon . The
Parrying character mu st suffer
a n AC penalty of2 (for the same
reasons desc ribed under Dis-
a rm . Immediately above). and
his AC stays disadvantaged un-
til h is next allac k comes up .
Th e n . when pe rforming the
Parry (which usually consists of
geltlng so close to the enemy
that Lhe Parrying characte r ca n
get his own hand under the de-
scendin g weapon· hand). t he
Parrying character s uffers an
add itional - 2 to hit.
)l Combat Rules
r ln
A barehanded
c harac ter can't use the Pin rna·
neuver to pi n som eone else's
bare hand . Use the Wrestling
rules for such an altempt.
A barehanded character can
try to use Pin to pin somcone's
wcapon : use the modlOers de-
scribed immed iately above fo r
Parry.
PulllTrlp
A barehanded
character can try to Pullffrlp a n-
other charac ter with no a ddi-
tional penaJly. Barehanded. the
c harac ter can on ly ltip c harac-
ters who are adjacent to him.
and cannot 1T1p any Large crea·
t ure or monster.
A barehanded
Sapping attack (basi ca lly. a
punch to th e Jawl Is a classic
combat maneuver. It can be per-
formed with Punchin g and Mar-
tial Arts. but not wilh Wrestling.
As with the regular Sap. th e
barehanded nghter makes his
Called Shot a t an additional -4 ;
If he hilS. he does n annal dam-
age for his attack. and has the
normal Knockout chance of 5%
per point of damage done .
Between the Sap maneuve r
and the Ca lled Shot for the Head
Hit location , the character has
(Wo aHacks lhat can hit an ene·
my's head. They arc very differ·
ent. however. and so they a re
not redundant.
The Sap provides a chance for
knockout: the Called Shot to lhe
Head doesn ' t,
The Called Shot to the Head
has several unusual possible re,
suits (Blindness, Knockdown .
etc.): the Sap doesn ·t.
And the Called Shot to lhe
Head can only be used if the OM
allows Hit Locations in his cam·
paign . If he doesn't. lhc Sap is
all you' re left with ,
Shle ld ·Punch
Since a Shleld -
Punc h requires th e use of a
shield. a barehanded character
obviously cannot perform this
maneuver.
Shield-Rush
Since a Shield ·
Rush also requires the use of a
shield. a bareha nded character
cannot perform this maneuver.
StrlkeIThrust
When a bare·
ha nded c harac ter tr ies t he
Strikerrhrusl ma neuver. we call
It a " Punch" a nd use the normal
Punching rules.
Hit Locations
We've said be·
fore that this whole book con-
s is ts of optio na l sys te ms fo r
your campaign: well , th is Hit
Locations svstem can be eonsid·
ered very optional.
The AD&D. game doesn't en-
courage a hit locations system.
for the reasons give n In the
Dungeon Masters Guide, page
72 (" Injury and Death"). Some
of you s un want one, however.
so in th is section we 're present·
ing a Hit locations system that
a llows you to determine Indlvld·
ualinJurles ... but stays true to
the game's philosophy.
The " Numbed " .nd
"Useles.s" Numbe.rs
Wh en usi ng
this system . the nrst thing to do
Is to calculate your characte r's
"Numbed" a nd " Useless" Num-
bers.
Calculate 25% (one-fourth ) of
your character's hit point tota1
(don ' t count current InJuries:
this is his stanlng hit point ta-
tal) . Round up if the fracLion Is.5
or higher. On you r c haracter
s heet. near the hit point IIsLlng,
80
write down "Numhcd" and tha t
num ber. (You can a lso use th e
Combat Sheet Included at the
end of this book.) If the rcsult
was O. wrlle down 1 Instead.
Then, ca lc ulate 50% (o ne·
ha lO of you r cha rac te r 's hit
point total . Round u p if the frac·
Lion Is .5 or higher. On your
characte r s heet, a lso near the
hit polml!sting (or on this c ha p-
ter's Comba t Shee t) , wrlle down
"Useless" a nd that num ber. If
Ule result was I , wri te down 2
instead .
Whe never you go up a level
and gain new hit poinlS, recal-
culate those numbers.
Example: Zaross has 27 hit
poin ts. His Nu mbed number Is
6. 75 (rounds up to 7), and his
Useless number Is 13.5 (ro unds
up to J4).
Body Lo c ~tlon5
Now. when·
ever you conduct combat. do so
nonnally. And every nonnal blow
struck Is deducted from the char·
acter's hit points 110rma1ly.
Every normal blow struc k
(thal ls. every blow not declared
as aimed at a s pec mc Body Lo-
caUon) hilS the character's torso
(i.e .. any poin t from his shoul-
ders to his hips).
However, If you take a Called
Shot, you can make your s trike
at a nyone of six other Body L0-
ca tions (head, two arms. two
legs. and stun· points).
The. Locations
These a re the
character's Body Locations;
Torso: As desc ribed a bove.
The lbrso Is hit with a ny non·
Called Shot.
Head : Mu s t be hit with a
Called Shot a t an addiUonal - 4
to hi t.
Arms (2) : One right. one left.
Must be hit with a called Shot.
Legs (2): One right, one left.
Must be hit with a Called Shot.

S t u n -Poin ts : This rath e r
broad category Includes the so-
lar plex us and o ther nerve ce n·
ters which. whe n struc k. te nd to
cause the victim a lot of pain.
Stun-Points must be hit with a
Called Shot al a n addllion al -4
to hU.
General Effects
of u.lled Shots
Now, w hen
you take a Called S hot again s t
one of those special locations.
Imeresling things ca n happen :
If the attack's damage
equa lled or exceeded the vic-
tim 's "Numbed" number In a
si ng le blow , th en thaliocation Is
Nu mbed. Ills useless for the rest
of this co mbat round . AI th e
stan of the next round. before
Ini tiative is rolled . the c haracter
recovers full use of that body
part .
If the attac k's damage
equalled or exceeded th e vic -
ti m 's "Useless" number In a sin-
gle blow. then tha i locaLion Is
Injured. and Is Useless for the
rest of the fight. Once the nght is
over (I.e .. o ne side or the othcr Is
defeated. su rrc nde red. or de·
parted. or the 1wo sides a re now
at peace). the character recove rs
use of the Injured body pan In
2d6 minutes ... o r Immedla l.ely
upon Its being magically healed
up \ 0 the "Numbed " number or
better.
For these effects to take place.
remember that the allack must
have done the required a mount
of damage in a sfngle blow; mul ·
tlple blows don't add together
for this purpose .
Damage fro m Punc hing.
Wrestling. and Martial Ans can
a lso cause body pan s to become
Num bed a nd Useless.
A Sap attack (described above
under "' Melee Ma neuvers"). reo
gardless of how much damage it
does. does not ac hieve the
Nu mbed or Use less results.
That maneuver a ttempts a n In-
sta nt knockout: If the knockout
fails. the victim ta kes only the
damage done by the attack a nd
none of the special body loca-
tions resu lts described here.
Specific Effects
of C.Ued Shots
You may be
asking yourself. " Figu ring out
whata useless arm Isa ll aboulls
prerty easy: but what do they
mea n whe n your head Is usc-
less?"'
Avoiding the normal wise-
cracks tha t wou ld result from
such a s traight line. let's lalk
about the actual e ffects of this
" uselessness" for each of the hit
locations.
Tors o: The torso doesn't be-
come useless: the "Nu mbed"
a nd "Useless" numbers have no
bearing on it.
H ead: When a character takes
a Numbed or Useless resu lt to
his head. one of the following ef-
fec ts can take place . The OM .
nOt the player. chooses which
o ne. He can random-roll on Id6.
or Just choose the one tha t he
fa ncies most.
(II Blindness:T he cha racter Is
blinded (from the pain. not in-
JUry to his eyes) u ntil the Numb-
ness or Uselessness ends. When
a cha racter ls blind but still try-
Ing to defend himself. a nyone
a uacklng him gets a bonus of
+4 to hit. (If. for some reason. he
Is also kneeling. slUing or fla t on
his back. the bonuses to hit are
cu mula tive)_
(2) Deafness: The c ha racter
hears ringing In his ears until
the Numbness or Uselessness
e nds. The character suffers no
co mbat pe na lt y. but ca nnot
hear orde rs or warnings
shouted a t him .
(3) Dfzzfness: The character Is
coneussed and dizzy. He per-
forms a ny Dexterity ability rolls
with a penalty of - 4 until the
Numbness or Uselessness ends.
AnyUme he Is hit in combat for
.,
Combat Rules X
more tha n 2 points of damage.
he m us t make a Dexterity abil -
Ity c heck to avoid fa lling down.
(4) Knockdo wn : The c harac-
ter Is kn ocked fl at on his back-
side by the blow. but does not
suffer any additional ill effect.
His head Is not really Numbed or
Useless; as soon as he s tands up
agai n. the disadvantage for the
Knockdown goes a way.
(5) Blindness and Deafness.
(61 Dizziness and Knockdown.
Arms (2): A Numbed or Use-
less arm cannot hold a weapon :
the charac te r Imm edia te lv
drops the weapon. The c harac-
ter wil l not drop a shield
strapped to the a rm. but does
not get the AC bcnenl of the
shield unti l his arm recovers.
Legs (2): Whe n a c haracter's
leg is Numbed or Useless. he
Illus t immediateJy make a Id20
roll against his Dexterity. If he
rolls his Dexterity or less. he re-
mains s ta nding (on one foot);
otherwise. he flops to the
ground (and Is considered sil-
ting for purposes of striking at
him). His movement drops to a
fo urth of what it should be until
he recovers. Every time he is hit
for more tha n 2 poi nts of da m-
age. he has to make thaI same
I d20 roll against Dex teri ty. and
wHl fall down If he falls It. A
S hie ld-Rush allac k wtll auco-
ma llcal1y knock this cha rac te r
to the ground .
Stun-Points: When a c harac-
ter has taken a " Numbed " or
" Useless " a tta c k res ult to a
s tun-pOi nt . he has t he wind
knocked out of him and has a
ha rd time defe nding himself.
His movement drops to ha lf of
whal it s hould be u ntil he recov-
ers; and his attackers a re at a
+ 210 hit him unt il he recovers.
(This bonus is cum ulative with
olher a ttac ke r bonuses fo r
blindness or bad position.)
X Combat Rules
Recording These InJuries
It 's simple to
record these injuries.
You don't record the damage
separa te ly. All the hit-point
losses are applied against the
ch aracter's normal pool of hit
polms. JUSI as berare.
On the Comba t Shee t pro·
vided at the end of this chapte r.
or on a sc ratch-sheet. you 'll
wan! to record any special com-
bat resu lts and h ow long they' re
tn effect. f or example: " Right
a rm useless uolll combat over:'
Indlvldual lnlurles
ilnd HColllng Magic
When a char-
acter who has taken a Useless
resu lt Is h ealed before the area
recovers naturally_ then the
healing magiC Is presumed to
heal the injured region first. If
the magic heals onc-fourth of
the character's hll points. the
Useless body part Is working
Hn e again.
rermanent .nd
, '
Crippling Effects
This system
does not support any perma·
nent da mage or crippli ng ef·
fec ts, In accordance with the
general AD&D.t game phlloso·
phles.
Monsters '.... d Hit Lo't.ttlons
These ru les
can be used for monsters, too.
even those with extra limbs a nd
body parts (extra heads. wings.
tails. etc .). As with humans. it
takes a "Numbed" shot {one-
fourth the monsler's hit poi nts
In a single blowl to numb an
area fo r one round. and a "Use-
less" shot (one·half the man-
ster's hit points in a single blow)
to incapacitate the body pan for
an entire fight.
Remember that the "Useless"
number does not mean lhat lhe
monster tor character) has 50%
of lis hit points im'esled In that
body pan: If it did . a creature
might ha ve more th an 300% of
Its own hit points! The
"Numbed" and "Useless" num ·
bers are Just ways to detennine
how much damage II la kes 10 in-
capacitate a certain body part ,
and the hll point damage is a l·
ways applied 10 the ,' icU m's nor-
ma l hi! point score.
This System and
Low-Level Ch~..(ters
Low-l eve l
characters. wi th the ir s ma ll
s tore of hit points. are com para·
Uvely easy to hurt In this sys-
tem . A c haracter with 10 hit
points has a Numbing num ber
of 3 and a n Inj uring number of
5. However. s inee these specia l
damage resu lts are a ll tem po-
rary, and add a certain amount
ofna vor to comba ts. you s hould
have no difficulty usi ng them
with characters of any level.
Howc\'er. don' t forgel that all
these spec ia l s hots mu s t be
Called Shots. Thcy don' t come
about because of random die·
rolls.
Recovery
You al read y
know how fast c haracters re·
cover thc usc of damaged Hit Lo·
calions whe n those locations
are Useless: It takes o nly 2d6
minu tes.
But there are a couplc of other
types of recovery whic h need
some elaboration.
Recovery Of
TemporAry DAmAge
. '
As you know.
damage from Punching, Manlal
Arts. and the Sap maneuver Is
25 % normal and 75% tempo·
rary.
This means, whenever a cha r·
acter is sustaining damage from
82
one of thcse attacks, he mu st
calculate whic h portion of It Is
normal. "permane nt " damage,
which mus t. be healed by magic
or by medicine. and which por·
tlon is tempora ry, wh ic h will
wear off after a while.
Recording TemporAry DA-;nAge
Usually. lt·s too
much trouble to calculate pro·
portions o n every attack you sus·
tal n. Ins tead. keep a separate
track of an damage you receive
In a single combat from Punc h·
ing. Martial Arts, and Sap at·
tacks. Whe n the combat is over.
divide t.hem up into Nonnal a nd
1l:mporary damage. When you
have a fraction of .5 tor less) on
th e Norm a l Dnmage result.
round down: all the rest of the
damage Is Temporary damage.
Example: Sir Amstard is In a
boxing match wUh thedevastat·
lug Cassius, and is gelling the
worst of If . He lakes on e shot for
5 palms of damage. another for
6. and anoLher for 3. and on rhis
third shot Cassius successfully
r olls his KnockoUl percenrL1ge.
Amsrard is kn ock ed Out.
Amstard has sustained a iota I
of 14 points of damage. One-
fourth. or 25%. ofrha t is Normal
Damage. That s 3.5. II'lJich we
round down to 3. He :S la k en 3
polms of Nonnal Damage. Th e
remaining 1 J points arc Thmpo·
rary damage.
Recovering from
Tempor•..,y D~ mage
A character re-
covers from Temporary Damage
a t a ra te of 1 hit point every nve
minutes. If 1l:mporary Damage
has ca used a charac ter to go un·
consciOUS. he' ll recover co n-
sciousness when he returns to 1
hit point or more.
Exampl e: Arnstard. above.
took 11 po/illS of damage before
h e was kn ock ed o ut. He'll re-
covcr one poin t ofdam age cvery

5 minutes. Aff cr 55 mioUles.
he'll be a s healthy as he can be
until his Normal bamage is a lso
healed up. Howe ve r. since It
wasn 'l the 'Temporary Damage
h e rook thaI kn ocked him out.
bU/ a Knockout resu lt from a
PunchingaHack. he lVon '( wa k e
up from recovery' of Thmporary
Damage: recovery from Knock-
QuI Is handled djrrerenll.l~
Magical Healing ttnd
Temporary Damage
When a char·
acter who has sustained both
Norma l and Temporary damage
receives magical healing. the
healing spell first heals the Nor-
mal (real) Damage. If it hcaJs all
t he Norma l Damage. it then
goes to work on the Thmporary
Damage.
Example: Lei us say Amslard
n.'Ccivcs a cure light wounds
spell Immcdialcl.v after bei ng
knocked out The prlesl rolls a 6
on Jd8. T he firs l l hr ee poinl.S of
healing c ure his three poinfS of
Normal Damage. The r emain·
Ing three are applfcd to his Tem-
porary Damage. When !.hal '5 all
done. Amstard Is down 0 points
of Nomlai Damage and 8 poin ts
of Temporary Damage.
Recovery From Knockout
A Knoc kout
result can be reached from
Punching and Martial Ans at-
tac ks and from th e Sap maneu·
vcr.
When a c harac ler is knocked
out. he mustlmmcdlate.ly make
a System Shock percenlile roll
(see "Thble 3: Conslil utlon:' In
Ihe Player's Handbook. page
IS). If he makes the roll, he wUI
awaken in 2d6 mi nu tes. If he
falls the roll, he will awaken In
2d6 hours.
Combat Rules X
Temporary Damlise
Combat Conditions
and Knockout
Not a ll fig h lS
If a characte r take place in wlde-open spaces
s u s tained e nough Tem porary with level ground a nd In condl ·
Damage to render him uncon- tio ns of a dequate light. He re.
sclolls in Lilc same blow as he we' n ta lk abou t wha t effects bad
suffered a Knoc kout. he doesn 't cond itions can have on com bat.
wa ke up u nUI cond itions for re-
covery of both the Temporary Darkn.ess and Blindness
Damage and the Knockout are
met. When thin gs
Examp le: In a rem M eh, Am · arc really da rk , characters have
a ha rd time nndlng and attac k-
slard pounds Cassius silly u ntJl
his lasl blow k nocks Ilim ou t. ing their foes ... a nd defending
Tha I last blow reduced him to again s t their e nem ies' a ttacks.
-3 hit points, rendering him Characters and monsters don't
unconscious. and A m stard also sta n suffering pcnal Ues In dark-
successfully rolled for Kn ockou t ness until It's very dark indeed.
on per centile dIce. So. w hen When it becomes very dark. they
does Cassius wake up? suITt!r penalties to hit their ene-
t f will lake Cassius 20 m in · mies. And If their enemies can
utes to recover 4 pofn ts of Thm · see better than they can. their en·
porary Damage. which will p ut emics gel bonuses to hit.
him a f I hpand let him wa ke up . On page 117 of the Player 's
Cassius rolls lI is System Shock Ha ndbook Is a c hart of VisibiHty
roll and is s uccessfu l. m eaning Ran ges.
t hat he wm wa ke up from Le i 's add one line to tha t
Kn ockout arr er 2d6 m inutes. He chart : Thtnl Blackness. In Thla l
rolls a 7.50 h e would wake up in Blackness, all Visibility Ranges
7 minu tes. areO.
Bu t both recover ies have lO Combat Modifiers for
On/sh for him to wake up. Afier Darkness and Blindness
7 min utes. lIe 's still un con -
scious. and will slav !.hat way Condition Mel. Mis. Inrr.
u nril 20 min utes arti up, Bonus
Clear sky
MliSlul HeliUng and (daytime) - 0 -0 +0
Fog. dense
Knockou~
or blizzard -3 -4 +0
If a charac ler Fog. light
who has been Knocked OUl re- or snow -I -2 +0
ceives heali ng magiC (a cure llgllt Fog.
woundsspcll or a ny more power· moderate -2 -3 +0
fuJ healJng spell . excluding irrele· Mist or
vam spells such as cure disease light rain -0 -I +0
or neutralize poison). and he suc- Night.
cessfully made hisSysl,e m Shock full moon -2 -4 +2
roll, he'lI wake up immediately Nigh t.
(provided. as us ual. lha l he's no moon -3 -6 +3
above 0 hl! points). Thtal
If he receives healing magic darkness -4 -6 +3
but failed his Sys te m Shock l\vilight - I -2 +1
Roll. the magiC still he lps him : On the chan above. you 'll see
He may now calcula te his recov- all those same Visibility Ranges
e ry as though he successfully In the first column .
m ade his Syslem Shock roll
83
 Combat Rules
The second colum n Indicates
Lhe charac lt:r 's allac k penalty
when hc's attacking someone In
melee combat In lhal sortofvlsl-
billlY·
T he third co lumn lists the
penalties for shooting at some·
one In ranged comb."u in those
visibility cond itio ns . This pen-
alty Is lake n o nc e 31 S hort
Range. again at Medium Ra nge.
a nd once more at Long Range
(see Thble 45 on page 69 of th e
Players Handbook ).
The fo urth column Is the
Infravlslon Bonus. If a c haracter
h as Infravislon. his bonus Is ap-
plied against his attac k penalty
for Melee. and a gains t his attac k
penalty fo r Missile all:acks su f·
fe red at eac h ran ge s te p.
How this Works
When a c har-
acter is in a sltuaUon where he
s uffe rs a penally to hit in me lee
comba t . he's obviously In som e
dark area. He, a nd everyone else
w ith similar vision. sulTel'"S the
pe na lties lo hit in melee and
missile com bat.
Example: Rathnar is in a fight
I n pea-soup fog . He can barely
see Ilis hand in fronl of his fa cc.
An enemy looms up In the fog.
Rafhnar strikes af if ... bUI s uf·
fers a -3 10 hu . The fog Is so
thick that it S difflcult to strike
e.\:aclly the right p lace. He reUs
a n alLac k tha t would ba.r ely
have hif his foe In ordinary cir·
cumstances: In these circum -
stances. his blow Isa clean miss.
Th e miss ile penal lY ge ts
worse a nd wors e the furth e r
away the attacker Is from his
target.
Example: Sir Amstard. at the
head of an army. is firing at the
oncomingarmyoforcs. which is
half·way across the plain. The
orcs are at 200 yards. bar ely in
range of the heroes' long bows.
The weather. howel'er. Is drizzly
and rainy. considered to be Mist
on the chart above.
Tile chan says that Amstard
and allies take a -I ( 0 hit . .. al
each range step. ThaI S -} at
shon range. another - 1 at m e-
dium. and a last -1 at long
range. Amstard .md frieuds take
a - 3 to hit when firing 8[ the
orcs.
Suddenlv. tile cloud breaks
and a hea l~Y rain fa lls on el'ery-
one. The DM rules thaI it s l he
equivalent of lighl fog or snolV.
Th e orcs haven 't ye t gotten
wi th in 140 yards. so fhey're s llll
at long range. Amstard a nd
friends firc again. Now. (h ey'£c
at - 2 10 hit per range step. or
-6 IOlal 10 hillheir enemles.
How Infravlslon Works
(The Simple Way )
Th e Simples t
way to usc !nfravlslon In these
ci rc umstances is LO ignore tha t
fourth column on the c ha rt
above and Jus t say that Infra-
vision cancels out a ll darkness
pcnallies. This Is simple. easy LO
remember. and doesn' t cause
any combat hassles.
How Infr.vlslon Works
(The Complex WAY)
If you pre fe r
more realism a nd complexity.
the n Infra vision Is a help. but
It's st ill not quite as good as be-
ing in broad daylight.
With these oplionaJ rules. Infra·
vision can be a big help in Urnes
of darkness. A charac ler with
Infravision is n ' t as disadva n-
tagcd by poor lighting condlUons.
First. in melee combat. in any
condition of darkness where one
person has better vision tha n
the other. he gets a bonus to hit.
This bonus Is equal to the other
fellow's a ttac k pe nalty. (The
c harac ter wit h infravlslon is still
subject to the normal penalty -
in effecl. this bonus cance ls the
character's own pe nalty.)
Example: Ir 's dar k and moon-
l ess outside. a nd Rathnar is
S4
figh ting Aspcn clal e fh e Elf.
Rat.hnar does n 't IIm'c [nfra-
vision; Aspendalc docs. Rath ·
nar. because It 's dark and m oon -
less. is rakinga -3penallYlO hil
AspendaJe In m elee. Aspemla/e.
t.hcrcfore. has a +3 wh en slrlk·
inga l Ralhnar. ( - 3 forbad lig ht -
Ing. + 3 for Rathnars handicap.
+ 3 for infra l'ision bonus).
Second. In missile combat. In
sim ilar condlLions . the c ha rac-
te r with the better vision gets a
bonus to hit his target. This.
a lso. is equa l to the othe r fel -
low's melee. not missile. penalty
to hit.
Examp le: Thkfng a beating.
Rathnar runs 01T Inf.O the dark-
ness and gels 10 Ilis boll'. Aspen-
dale accommodates him . Firing
a t Med i um Range. RalJmar is at
a -12 to hill Thais - 6 each at
Sllort ;wd Mediu m ranges. ac-
cording fa {he chart above.
T hird. the third column of the
c hart abovc gives a bonus for
In fravision. This Is applied to
the c haracter's penalty for mc-
lee combat. and to his penalty
for missile combat at eac h range
step.
E.-.:ample: Aspendalc r et urns
fire. He wou ld be a l. a - 6 per
each range slep. too. but he IJas
Infra vision . He ge lS a -6 a t
Short and a t Med ium Ra nge.
bu l that'S offset by a +3 at Short
and a +3at Medium Ral1ge. His
penally: - 6. And beca use he
can see bcller In t.he dark than
Ratll1Jar al1)'u·ay. he gelS a bo-
nus equal to Rathnar's m elee
penalty : +3. His final penally: A
mere - 3 . He s hoolS back a t
Rallmar. MWng him clean on.
Unstable Ground
C h a r ac t e r s
some times have to fight on un-
stable ground. Earthquakes ha p·
pen. Giant mons ters burrow their
way up from the depths of the
earth. shaking everything. Cha r·
acters have naval bat lies where
they fight on the decks of ships.
 Combat Rules X
When such situaUons com e foustlng lengthier affa ir-wh ich Isn't a
u p. the OM decides what the bad thing: a classic joust shou ld
force of the ground·movement Jous ting Is a go on for a few rou nds at least.
Is. If it's surflclently violent. type of combat where two
characters will h ave to make moumed warriors. armed with
lances ride at one another a nd ltlnces tlnd Dlsmol,Jntlng
d20 rolls against Dex terity at
the beginning of each combat try to spit one another with their The DMG.
r ound to stay on thei r feel. weapons. page 76-77. taJks about being
Sometimes those Dexterity rolls lI 's the spon of knights and dismounted In comba t. but
will have bonuses. sometimes kings. and is very appropriate to doesn 't discuss at le ngth the
penalties. When they fall those campaigns with a medieval set- usefulness of the la nce in dis-
rolls. they fal l down . ting. mounting opponents.
The chart below s hows sev- The lance Is designed to dis·
eral suc h situations and th e Inltltltl ve moun t opponents as well as to
types of Dexterity ability checks Inflict damage. Anytime a lance
As a special hits a mounted target a nd docs
they require: rule, when two riders arc joust· 8 poi nts or more of damage (af-
Dexterity lng, don't bother with Initiative ter doubling). thc vic tim has a
Check rolls. On the nrst round of a chance of being dismou nted. He
Situation Required? joust. the two jousters ride a t must roll his Ridi ng pronclency:
Big Monster Yes, at one another and roll to hit; on If he fa lls. he falls for an add i-
Digging Up Dex terity score the second. both conli nue their tional \ -2 damage.
Minor 1temor No r ide. turn around , an d start Si nce both lancers can hit at
Majornemor Yes, al back toward one another. the same time. and both can
Dexterity +3 All attacks are resolved s imul · conceivably miss their Riding
Minor Yes, at taneously. lnltlatlve does not en- rolls. both ca n be dismounted si-
Earthquake Dexterity score ter the picture. multan eous ly ... which tends
Major Yes, at If Jousting is taking place dur- to be embarrassing. and can be
Earthquake Dex terity - 6 Ing a larger battle. where other dangerous In la rge battles.
Ship's Deck , things are going on a nd InlUauve
Slightly RollingNo must be rolled. try this: When It's
Ship's Deck. Yes. at time for the jouster who won Ini-
Rol1Jng OextcrHy + 3 Ualive to take his action. the La nces ofle n
Ship's Deck. '1es, al jouster who lost Initiative also break. Any lance lhal hits and
Storm·1bssed Dexterity - 3 gets to make his attack roll. docs more than 12 pointS of
though this takes place during damage. a nd a ny lance thai has
So. If a c ha racter wit h the middle of the enemy's com- been successfully Parried by a
Dexterit y 13 rinds himse lf bat sequence. This helps simu- s hield. may break. The player
righ ti ng on the deck of a late the fact that the lance-strikes rolls I d6: on a I or 2 . the lance
storm -tossed ship. each turn take place simultaneously. breaks and Is useless (except as
he' lI have to ma ke his Dexterity a club).
chcckata - 3: He'lI have to roll a MuJtlple Att.u.ks
10 or less on Id20 or fall down. L,mce Spedallutlon
When a char-
acter has mu ltiple altacks in a If a character
Mounted Co mbat single round . and is jousting. he takes Weapon Specialization in
docs not get mu ltiple lance at- lance, he gets the usual benenls
You'l! find rules tac ks. He can only use that of allack and damage bonuses.
for Mounted Combat in the lance once In a combat round But he also gets lhe following
Dungeon Masters Guide, pages (a nd loses the nex t round turn- benefits:
76-77 . Let's elaborate on Lhem a ing his horse. If he's to come He can perform the Shield·
bit. back and face the same enemy). Rush maneuver wit h his la nce-
However. that second attack tip . In order for this to do
In the same rou nd can s till be ef- damage like a Shie ld-Rus h In-
fective: the best usc for It Is for stead of a lance strike the char·
the rider to Parry the incoming ac ter mus t be mounted . and
lance attack with his shield . must strike a character who has
Thi s ca n make a joust a metal (or leather·a nd-metal) ar·

85
X Combat Rules
mor or a shield . If Ule character
does not have such annar. the
attack is automatically a lance
strike.
He gets a +2 bonus to AC
(t h us. an AC 2 would become a
01 . on ly when jousting and only
VS. another Jousler. {Thalls. the
AC bonus is only agaJnsl incom-
in g lance attacks. and only
works when the defender is
himself mounted and carrying a
lance.1
Horseb.uk Archery
Only the Com-
posite Short Bow. Short Bow.
Dalkyu (from this supplement 's
Equipmcm chapler ). and Cross-
bows may be used from horse-
back. The Lo ng Bow and
Composite Long Bow may not
be.
Fir ing a bow from the back of
a sti li horse (one which is not
running) Is done at a -I penally
to hit. . special seating area for the local
firin g from the back ora walk-
ing or tfotting horse is done at a
- 2 penalty to hit.
Firing from the bac k of a gal-
lopinghorseisdoneata -4 pen-
alty to hil-
In some barbarian tribes. es-
pecially those who Inhabit wild-
open plains, every warrior
knows Riding for the tribe 's fa-
vorite riding animal a nd Spe-
cializes in Com posite Short
Bow, This makes the m very,
very dangerous opponents in a
cavalry engagement ,
To urnaments
Tournaments
are events where fighte rs get to-
gether to compete . , . fo r prizes,
to show off their abilities. etc.
Fightin g Isn ' t al l that goes on,
and fighters aren't the only ones
in atiendance. Thumaments are
huge social eveflls where every-
one gaUlers to watch. compete.
gossip. trade. bet. and sport. But
fighters are the center·piece: the
event revolves around [hem a nd
their deeds.
Tht: Basic Toum.mt:nt
The basic
tourn ament. in a medieval-type
setting. consists of a Joust com-
petition. T his can take place in
an ordinary fie ld. but Is more
colorful and entertaining whe n
it takes place on a speCial Joust
list.
The 'oust Ust
This fiel d con·
sists of a long s trip of ground
with a low fe nce along the mid·
dIe of It; lheJousters ride toward
one another, each with the fence
to his left. and make Jousting
passes umil one or the other is
dismounted.
Along one or both long sides of
the lisl. stands are set up for 011-
lookers. There may be a box or
ruler and his retinue.
At both ends of the lis t. where
th e h orses tu rn around, are
racks of lances fo r the riders'
use. At one end of the list is a n
exit to the fi e ld where the
knlghlS and other partlclpanlS
have their tents set up.
The Jo usting Compt:tltlon
Thc most pop-
ular event in a tournamcnt . the
event which lhe tournament re-
volves arou nd . Is the Jousting
competition.
In this competition. a ll partici-
pating fighters announce them·
selves to the seneschal. kn ights'
marshal. or other minor digni-
tary who docs the actual work of
running the tournament. There
is no fee for admission, bUl each
enlran t mllst have hi s ow n
mount armor, and lances. It's
best if he also has a squire. page
or friend to wait by his lance-
rack to hand him a new lance
whe n one breaks.
In some societies, a ll entrants
86
m ust be of the nobility. but that
Is necessarily left u p to each
DM .
The Jousting com peti tion Is
si ngle elim ina tion. The fi e ld of
entrants Is broken down Into
ra ndom ly-chosen pairs (som e-
Umes the choosing is not so
random, if the organizers want
to pit especially in teresting
fighters against one anot.he r .. ,
or to rig the tournament re-
SUllSl. Each pair makes anum·
ber of jousting passes until one
is dismou nted (or yields t he
fie ld-I.e .. s urrend ers In order
to avoid further damage). If
both co mbatants are dis-
mounted In the same pass, th ey
get up, remoun t. and stan over.
The winner of th e pair ad -
vances to the next round of
matches; the loser Is consoled.
When the number of e ntrants
Is a n odd number, one fighter
doesn't have an opponent. He
gets to "fight the bye." An oppo-
ne nt Is chosen for the Jouster:
Someone who lost In an earlier
malch. a warrior not entered in
the competition. etc. Regard-
less of who wins t he malch. t be
Jouster Is advanced to t.he next
rou nd (and thus has a slight
benefit over someon e who
didn' t ge l to fighlthe bye); but
he's Just as tired and inju red as
any other fighter.
No fighter may fight the bye
morc than once In any tourna·
ment: th e organizers re-arrange
things if the same fighter ends
up without an opponent in an-
other match, By t.h e last
matches of the competition. the
tou rnam ent num bers will have
evened out and no more byes
w lU be fou ght.
With eac h subsequent round ,
the number of entrants Is
halved. until a t the end only two
are left : the winner of t ha l
match is the wi nner of the lOur·
nament .

Blunted Lances
Tourname n ts
may be [ought with bl u nted
lances. Blullted lances work Just
as normal lances. but they do
damage like Punching damage
(I.e.. 75% of all damage is tem-
porary. and wears off after the
cnd of the match). Blunted
lan ces do not have metal or
poi nted heads: mey weigh as
much as regu la r lances. but cost
o nly half as much.
Queen of Love and Beauty
Often. the win-
ner of the Jousti ng competition
gelS 10 choose the tournament's
"Queen of Love and Beauty:'
The local ruler or tournamen t
organizer gives him a crown or
coronet. which the fig hter may
bestow lIpon any lady (at t he
tou rnament) of his choosi ng:
typically. lhe crown Is placed
ove r the e nd of the ngillcr's
lance . so thal he m ight r ide
along the stands an d gi ve the
crow n, a t la nce·point . to the
lady of his choice. The Queen of
Love a nd Beauty s its with the
fig hter and loca l ruler a t the
night 's feast. a nd the award is a
sign of status and respect. but
confers no lasting benefi t.
In a campaign where women
a lso fight. na tu raHy. the fe male
fighter would be given a crown
to award to the " Kin g of Grace:'
Prlz.es
Pr izes a re of·
len awarded (0 the winner of the
joust. These arc not generally
cash prizes. or magical prizes;
they are usuaJly some jewelled
or ornamental s ign of favor. and
act as trophies for the victor.
Other £Vents
Othe r events
taking place at a tournament (at
the discretion of th e organizers
a nd the OM) Include:
81
Combat Rules X
Archery Competitio ns
An arch ery
com petition is usually for long
bows or light c rossbows: some
tournament'S have one competl·
tion for each.
In the arc hery competitio n.
the targets are sel up at the
weapon 's long ran ge; a ll com·
pclltors suffer a -5 to hit With
each shot. Thrgels are AC 10.
In each tournam ent rou nd.
eac h participant fi res fiv e ar·
rows or quarrels at his target. A
miss Cou ntS as 0 points. A nor·
ma l hit coun ts as 3 points. If a
cha racter rolls 5 over what he
needed to hll. It counts as 5
points, lfa na tu ral 20 Is rolled. It
counts as 10 poin ts (a b u ll's·
eyell,
AI the end of eac h ro und .
polnLS are tallied a nd half the
field. the ones with the lowest
scores. are ellmi na tcd , Thiscon·
tinued un til there arc only two
or three com petitors left: when
X Combat Rules
that happens. Lhe compelitlon
has reached Its final round .
In the final round . the same
rules are In place. but smaJler.
harder targe ts are used: they
have AC 4.
Pri zes often consist of new
bows. quh'crs. s heaves of ar·
rows. and jewelry. Archery Is
pretty respectable: It does not
command the sort of status or
prizes the Jo us t does. but Is
better-regarded tha n Lhe lowly
fOOL-list. Nobles an d peasants
alike may participate.
In some c ultures, the cross-
bow Is thought of as a vulgar
weapon: in such c ultures. most
tou rnamenl S won ' t have a
crossbow competition . The few
such com petitions which take
place a rc not 3tlended by noble
competitors.
Foot-Lists
A foot-list Is or·
ganlzed like a joust. exccpl lhat
Its entranlS Oghlon fOOL. a nd arc
n o t restricted to the nob ilit y
{even when the jous t Is}.
Since melee weapons a re
deadlier than blunted lances.
some to urnam e nt organizers
prefer not to have fool-lislS: th e
chan ces of a figh ter dying arc
pretty high . a nd organizers are
no t required or ex pected to have
a high-level priest o n hand to
raise some peasant warrior who
dies In a competition .
Prizes ofte n consist of weap·
ons and minor jewelry, usua lly
no t as expe nsive or fancy as
lhose awarded to the Jousters.
Mercha nts' Stalls
Also present at
la rger tourname nt s a re rows
upon rows of merchants' stalls:
a large tournament is a fascina t-
Ing place to go shopping. and a
good placc to find cxpens in a ll
sorts of cra fl -making, weapon-
making. and armor-making.
D.nelng , Soel. IIzI,':IJ
Finally, the
tournament Is a g rand social
event. Mus iCia ns play. people
gOSSip, dances are conducted :
it'sa grand place to hear new ru ·
mors. o r start the m , to mee t
contac ts, to st umble across
mysteries, .. all of which the
OM should keep in mind .
When to End Combat
Combats In
the game don' t have to goon un-
til everyone on one side Is dead
... or even defeated.
Don't forge l thai one side or
the other (Including the PCs'
side) can surre nder, o r retrea!.
or even convince the other side
to stop fighting and do some
talking or negotiating.
When every fight must end in
o ne s ide achlcvlng total. bloody
vlcior)'. the game rapidly g rows
boring. When Lhere's opportu -
nity for a grea ter numbe r of res·
olutlons. there 's more
uncertainty to combat. and to
the campalgn 's story line.
If you have characters who
won't stop ri ght ing when It
s hould be done, you have prob-
lems, Here are some things lodo
about them.
When Cha racters Don',t
Acce pt Sunender
When your
characters won' l ever accept a n
enemy's surrender. you have a
serious problem . because it a lso
means that those char acters
won't ever surrender themselves
(because they know it always
means cenaJn death), and that
you can never have two charac·
lers (PC and NPC) fight and later
end up as allies (unless Lhcy're
both chaotic evil , for Instance) ,
You can enrorce the right of
your NPCs to surrender (and ex·
peCttO live throug h Itl through a
couple or means.
88
first . a surre ndering charae·
ter who Is about to be butchered
could " t'urn out " to have some
information Critical to the char·
acters, and say something like
"KIJI me and you'll never learn
abou t (fill In the blank)." This
stubborn NPC won't reveal the
Inform ation , even on pain or
death. unless the PCs promise
to accept his surrender (and
those of his fri ends) a nd keep
the NPCs alive afterwards. (If
the Pes promise. and la ter reo
nege. you ca n a lways visit other
revenge upon them _)
Second, a local deity, spirit or
monster cou ld see the PCs hack·
ing on surre ndering NPCs and
g row olTended . Much toughe r
than th e pes will ever be, this
being snatc hes up the most or·
rensi ve of the PCs, te ll s him
what he's doing and why. a nd
then curses or klUs the PC as a
lesson to the others.
This Is a brute-force tec h ·
nique. but s uch players have a l·
ready shown tha t they
understand little but brute force
anyway.
When Char.uters Always
Chase Esupees
Some charac·
ters c hase a ft er every g roup of
e nemies who run away fro m
combat. with the avowed inten·
t10n of running them down and
killing the m .
The beSt way to counter this
atti tude, and persuade the PCs
to iet the occasio nal band of in -
consequential NPCs and mono
sters escape, Is to have s uc h
enemies set up traps a long their
escape rou te. Ir the pes pursue,
they gel caught in the traps and
suITer damage a nd embarrass-
ment. T hat wili leach them to be
morc cautious In fut.ure events.
Once the cha racters see e ne-
mies getti ng away. they may
come to the realization that th ey
may themselves occasio na ll y
flee a nd gel away.

When ( h,ar.a cters
NeYer Negotl. te
Som e t i m es.
when Pes and NPCs arc t hick in
combat, an NPC m ay try to calm
things down . call for t he two
sides to pan and cease
fighting-at least fo r a while. It
may be t hat the Nrc has figured
out !..hal the two parties should
be allied. or that he wants to
bribe the pes. or eve n conduct
surrender negotiations ... from
a position of streng th.
If your c haracters never nego-
tiate. once again your campaign
oplions are limited. You have to
bru te-force some sense into
them . A good way to d o this Is to
have the pes Oghtan NPe group
who have a hostage or artifact
crucial to the PCS. T he NPCs say
they wHI kill the hostage or de·
s tray the artifact irthe pes don't
stop nghtlng for a minu te. And
Lhe{re telling the truth ...
Once Ihe PCs have lost several
hostages or artifacts dear to
them. they may sian reconsid-
erin g their reaelionary poliCies.
And once t hey get In the habit of
doing a little talking with the en-
em y. they may figure out that
t hey can also initiate such com-
munica tion In future com baLS.
Notes On the
Combat Sequence
Here are a cou-
ple of lipS to give you more op·
lions In combat.
C.Ued Shots
With all the
r ules and options wc've hllro·
duccd In Tile Comp/ere Fight-
er 's Handbook. we need to
remin d you to be diligelll about
asking about Called Shots dur-
Ing the Combat Sequence.
In the game. combat follows
th is sequence:
(1 1 T he OM decides what the
NPCs and monsters will do:
(2) The OM asks the players
whal they will do:
131 Initiative Is rolled: and
14J Combat Is resolved In Inl-
tJaUve order.
In a lot of campaigns. Step 21s
skipped. The OM decides what
the NPCs or monsters are dOing.
has everyone roll initiative. and
then asks th e player-charac ters.
as thei r actions com e up. what
they' re doing.
Bu t if you ' r e using Ca ll ed
Shots. you have to be diligent
about keeping Step 2 In the se-
quence. so that the c harac ters'
Called ShOLS can be established
before Initiative Is rolled.
Waiting o n Inltlatln
The re's an ·
other good reason not to skip
Slep 2 of the Combat Sequence:
Though combat is I.he war-
rlo r 's profession . so me OM s
laun ch Ihe p layer -charac ter s
into combat more often than
they necessarily need to.
Why is this? It 's because It be-
comes very easy 1.0 narrat e an
encounter t his way: "You round
the corner and t here. 30 feel
ahead . you sec a panyofsix orcs
advancing. They see you , too.
Roll for inll.latlve."
Once again , Step 2 is skipped :
and , merely by saying "Roll for
initiative:' you presume t hai
the player-characters will at lack
the orcs. and that the orcs will
attac k the PCs. Not on ly do you
presume it : YOLI practica lly
guaramcc It. The players will
follow the OM 's call for initia-
tive, and combat isjoined before
anyo ne ngures out th at th ey
had other options.
If this has IlCi..'o mc your habit
when O~·l in g. try substituting
some other statement Instead:
Ask "What do you doT Instead of
calling for IniUal.h·e rolls. Th is
f,tl vcs the players the opportunity
to talk to or challenge the other
party. Combat might result any-
way: a particularly mililani PC.
.9
Combat Rules X
or aggressive NPCs. could bring
abou la combat immediately. But
If that doesn' t occur. the PCs and
NPCs can talk. argue. ehoose to
fight or agree 10 cooperale, what-
ever they choose.
If the two grou ps decide to
fi gh t , rolllniUaUve normally.
Tactics
All too often, a
warrior c harac ter si mply
charges lip to the front line [n
ev ery co mbat. and in non -
combat slt uaUons sits back and
listens while his wiseI' m age and
priest friends handle all the nlg·
gli ng details of the adventurer's
life ou tside of combat .
We ll. neJther of these ap-
proac hes is particu larly good.
In combat. the front· llne al -
tack Is on ly one of several op-
tions the par ty needs 10 covel'.
And out of com bat. t he fi ghter
Is admirably suited to dealing
with several everyday details
th at concern th e adventuring
party.
Co mb.t Tactics
When Ihe
c haracters (not Just the warnor-
c haracters) en ter combat. these
are some things thaI the warrior
should remember and provide
for :
Shleld·W.Us . nd Po lurms
As has bee n
mentioned before. a character
with a poleann (or long spear. or
j avelln )can stand behind a char-
acter wit h a shorter weapon and
attack the sam e targets that his
ally Is auacking. That's onc of
the principal advantages lO the
polearm. bu t it 's ignored aU 100
o ft en In AD&DI$ gam e cam-
paigns.
This Is the way It works:
The c haracter with the po-
lcarm poSitions himsel f behind
an ally. preferably a nghtcr with
X Combat Rules
a shield. Because the polearm
fighter must work around the
friend In front of him. he suffers
a -2 to hit anyone on t he other
side of his friend. However. he
Isn't li mited just to the enemy of
the man he's standing behind: I f
our polcarm hero is s tanding be·
hi nd a line of three men {who are
slde·by·slde}, h e can strike at
anyone who is close enough to
attack any of those three men
with a medium-length weapon.
This Is usefu.l in a combat be-
cause the polearm wielder can
a tlack ta rgets without being
right In their faces. or engaged
with them. That means he can
switch targets without any
fancy footwork. When one orills
buddies Is foundertng. or taking
a beallng. the poleann wielder
can begin auacklng thal bud·
dy's enem y.
And don't forget the polcarm
vs. polearm Parry. as described
above under that maneuver's
deSCription ,
Wolf-P.u:k Tactk s
When the ad·
venturing party gets In combat
with a single large monster
which can be conrronted dl·
rectly (like a tToll. for instance,
and unlike a dragon. which has
a strong mix or melee abilities,
ranged combat abilities, and
mobility), It's foolish Just to line
up and hack at the thing. In facl.
it's not necessart1y clever just to
surround the mons ter and hack
at It. l1'v this Instead:
Surround the monster. or
course.
On the first round, balf or the
circle or heroes should perrorm
a Parry. or the Parrying maneu·
ver rrom the DMG. The other
half shou ld attack as vigorous ly
as possible.
On the second round. the
action switches: Th e group
which attacked last round, now
derends, and the group which
defended now altacks.
In real life (for example. when
practiced by wolf·packs), this or·
ten has the effect of confusi ng
the prey and reduci ng its figh t·
ing effectiveness. The prey feels
a bite to Its rear and tu rns to at·
tack there: bur while It'sconcen·
traUng on enemies in that
direction. the wolves now to its
rear make their attack.
In the AD&l)J!lgame, the wolf·
pack lactic can have similar ef·
fects , . . If the OM wishes to
al low It to. lfthe OM approves or
th is tactic, he can cooperate by
having the monster, ror a few
rounds a t least. behave In the
predic table fa shio n: Eac h
round. the monster turns and
attacks the group that attacked
it last. which is now defending,
This will give the pany several
rounds of combat where it has
the advantage and can whittle
the monster down,
But be aware: Even Ir the DM
is nice enough to give you this
slight tactical advantage, even·
tually even the stupidest man·
s ter will gel wise and try to
break through the circle of fight·
ers, A good thing doesn't last
forever,
It may be that your DM has no
interest in letLing this tactic
work . Ask him if It has a chance
of doing some good in your cam-
paign. If he says no, don't even
try it. Even if he says yes, he
may not remember to grant Uln{
litUe benefit: if. after a few wolf-
pack allempls, you haven't
seen It work once, give up on the
tactic .
Tactiul Mix
It's a good idea
for the fighting characters (in ·
c1udlng rogues and priests) in a
party to represent a mix of
weapons and combat styles,
Severa l shou ld be fronl·line
fight ers, bearing heavy annor
and large, damaging weapons,
One or two would be behlnd·the-
lines fighte rs. carryi ng po·
.0
learms. And one or two shoul d
be missilers, carrying bow.
crossbow, or eve n sli ng or
throwing knives.
This gives t.he party a certain
amount of versatility. The heavy
fighters can engage the heavy
opposition, The poJearm fig ht-
ers can attack the enemy with
reduced risk of being hurt. Th e
missilers s hould concentrate on
eliminating enem y mlssliers
first, and then can turn their at·
tention to doing unreturned
damage to the melee· fighting
enemies.
It 's espeCially good when
characters can mix and match
their roles. Any character can
have a sling or a throwIng axe at
his belt and become a missllerln
a matter of seconds, for exam·
pic.
Rotatio n
It often hap·
pens that a front·line fighter be·
comes seriously damaged when
fighting. , , and the n must con-
tinue fighlin g, because he has
no other option until the enemy
is defeated, This doesn't have to
be lhe case,
In a large party combat, par·
ll cu larJy da maged frOOl-li ne
fighters can be "rotated out ."
pu lled rrom the front line and reo
placed by a less hurt warrior, , ,
or not replaced at all: The s hield·
wall (I.e .. the other rron t·line
nghtcrs) can close ranks and
plug lip the hole,
See the rules for Retreat [Play·
er 's Handbook, page 97), During
his combat action. thc Injured
man announces that he's reo
treating: the ally or allies he
stood side·by,side with need to
announce that they're blocking
pursuit [I.e .. they're moving so
that the enemy can't Just wan·
der In through their line). That
puts the hurt man behind his
own line, whe re he ea n keep
away from damage or even seek
some healing.
 If one of the polearm fighters
is a ccommoda ting, th ey ca n
take the rest of their combat
round to s witch weapons. The
injured man takes the polearm,
and the other fighte r takes the
fro nt ·line wea po ns . On their
next combat round , the unin-
Jured man moves up into the
line a nd the injured man begins
whacking enemies with his po-
learm .
Thls is a good way to keep
people a live,
In some cam ·
palgns, players have the a tU-
tude that NPCs a re along to get
killed so that the PCs won ' t.
That's patently ridiculous : an
adventurin g party with that al-
titude would soon gain a very
bad reputation . and wou ld nnd
It increasingly difficult to hire
NPCs. would find rna t in ns a nd
taverns always denied them
service. would find that sages
told them to buzz off, etc.
However. there 's a type of
spear -carrie r NPC that a ny
gro up of adve ntu rers s hould
consider hiring- a nd that's the
actual spear-carrler.
In many towns and villages.
the heroes ca n find a s trong,
strapping youth who Is willing
to come a long with them for the
promise of some lreasure a nd
combat training. This energetic
youth shouldn't be s lapped In
armor a nd pu t up front to be
killed : Instead, he should b e
charged with carrying a n extra
weapon or two and making sure
tha t aJl his allies have wcapons
at a ll times In combat. In a com-
bat , the spear-carrier may act as
a behind-the-lines polearm war-
rior, If his hands a rc n' t full al ·
ready. He a lso serves as backup
defe nse for people who stay be-
hind the lin es beca use they
can 'l fight well: Noncombatant
NPCs, mages, etc.
He re 's how It works:
The spca r-carrler is given a
Single weapon of his own. s uch
as a spear, a nd a lso carries a
couple of extra weapons. which
a re party-owned weapons-
such as a long sword In a back
sheat.h and a short sword on hIs
bell. for ins lance,
In combat. he Slays behind
the lIne and ta kes the QCcaslonaJ
spear-poke a l the enemy over
the line. Whenever a PC loses a
weapon (lO a fumbl e. or an ene-
my's Disarm . or when a weapon
Is shattered by a foel, the spear-
carrier uses his next available
combat rou nd La move In close
a nd give the PC one of the extra
wea pons he's carrying.
The spear-carrler Is also useful
fo r keeping a more distant eye on
what's going on with the combal.
He might noUce new enemies ar·
rtving on the hortzon, or noUce an
enemy skulkJng to get around the
edge of the shleld·waJl, before a
player-charactcr has the opportu-
nity to do so.
Since this c haracter Is an
NPC, he doesn't have LO share
the player-characters' fran llc
desire to make every comba t
round of cvery combat count for
something . He ca n affo rd to
keep a n eye on things a nd won 't
necessarily be desperate to bang
o n an enemy every round .
A variant of this character is
the spear-carrler devoted to a
specific PC. A PC who Is a spear·
thrower. fo r instance . might
have a page or squire devoted to
ca rry ing twO or three extra
spears for him . In such a case.
the PC Is usually responslblc for
tcaching the pagc or squirc to
fight (without getting him
killed) so that NPC might some-
day become a knight.
Directing Traffic
It 's very help-
fu l for one fig hter In a party to
act as tactical coordinator {that
Is. comba tleaderl . In combat, he
keeps his eye on the situation
.,
a nd Iss ues orders to his allies.
The tactical coordina tor
s hould be the o ne to noUce that
one of his fro ntline (rlends is be-
Ing chopped to pieces, and order
that character rolated back be·
hind the line, When one particu·
lar enemy Is discovered to be
more dead ly than the rest. the
tactical coordinator should or·
der mlssilers and polearm fight -
ers to concentra te their effons
on rnat o ne, When the fight goes
agai nst the heroes and can ' t be
turned around , the tactical coor·
dlnator s hou ld o rder th e
retreat-and ma ke s ure, If possl·
ble. thatlt's an orderly o ne, with
no one missing and fighting·
ranks sUIl maintained.
If no PC fight er volun teers or
naturally evol ves Into the com-
bat leader role. lhe OM can help
"pus h things along" by deter-
mining, In his best opInion,
which PC would be best In that
role ... a nd lhe n having NPCs
turn to Llla t charac ter for orders
when com bat sltuat.ions come
up.
Camp~lgn Tudes
The wa rrior
Is n't helpless or useless outside
of comba t. either.
In slluatlons where the pany
is preparing for an adventure,
planning a missIon , or Just ar·
riving in a new place (town. cas-
tle, whateve r) , the fight e rs
(especlaJly the combat leadcr)
should make themse lves re-
sponsible for learning the fol -
lowi ng things ... and reporting
these facts to the others;
Co mb~ts.md
Combat Missions:
Whar 's the
Jay of r.he Jand? The fighters
should gel detailed descriptions
(a nd , if possible, maps) of the
area where they will be fighting;
this will he lp them plOl strategy.
a mbushes . etc.
 Combat Rul es
What son of forces does the
opposlUon muslcr? This might
be details of the e nemy army. or
the garrison of a castle the he·
roes want to Invade, or j ust nl-
mars of what might be found In
the dark dungeon the charac-
ters Intend to explore.
Is allYthing strange gOing on
al the sife? Ifthere is. it might be
symptomatic of something Im-
portant to the c ha racters. Do the
loca ls h ear grumbllngs and
rumblings dee p in the canh that
weren't there before? This
might Indica te t hat a dragon
has moved in ... or that some-
one is doing some mining se-
c ret ly. Arc there suddenly a lot
of st range rs In town? This
might mcan th e en emy has
spies in town. or is hiring new
warriors, w ho pass throu gh
town on route to their final desH-
naUon. Wbenever tbere's some-
thing stra nge going on, th e
heroes wUl have to facc Its
source eventually, and should
be as prepared as possible.
When the nghters hear of some-
thing s trange going on. they re-
ally ought to consult with the
mages and priests. who migh t
have Ideas on the matter based
on their own fie lds of learning.
Can lhe heroes count on local
help? If th is Is a combat assault,
can the heroes request. hire or
levy local troops to back them
up? If they can . and the sltua·
tion warrants it. they s hould.
But If they nc\'cr ask. tJley al-
most never gc t help.
Can the heroes hire loca l ex-
pens? If their mission is to take
tllem Into an a rea where a local
knows marc abou t the situation
than they do. It 's a good Idea for
the characters to hire a local ex-
pert_Guides who know the local
sites. especially, are an invalu-
able resource.
Whar sort of equipment will
the parry nced? Any sort of spe·
clal si tua tion (walls 10 climb ,
specific monsters to fight. imer-
estlng terrai n 1.0 c ross, etc. ) is
likely to reqUire specialized
equipmenl. and U's t.he fight ers'
responsibility to determine
wha t sort of equipment that is
... and then to get it.
Just Anlvlng In Town
Wha/ are I_he
characters' rooms like? Wheth·
er the heroes are being accom·
modated by friends. by an Inn.
or by a local ruler or noble, the
nghter shou ld c heck ou l their
rooms in ICons of defensibility.
If the heroes are attacked in
their rooms in the middle of the
night In the dark. the fighter
should know (beca use he's pre·
pared himself in advance) how
many cxils there are from the
room. whether they are open,
closed. or locked, how defensi-
ble the room is, wha t st.ory it is
on and how far It is to t he
ground. etc. He might wish to
consult with the Rogue. who
might be inclined to c heck for
secret doors or tra ps, or on the
feasibility of going up to the roof
when the heroes go out the win-
dow.
Wh at are the local laws? The
fighter should fi nd out what the
local ordinances arc concerning
the carrying of weapons a nd the
wearing of annor. If it turns out
that either Is Illegal or restricted,
he ought to le t his friends know
about it. Contrary to what some
campaigning groups think. 10'
cal communities have the right
to make such laws a nd enforce
them . .. and whe n player·
charaetersdery the local author-
lUes, refuse to take off armor or
abandon weapons. and even a t·
tack and kill local peace officers.
the PCs are for the moment vi/-
lains, not heroes.
The other character classes
have the ir ow n subjects to ex-
plore In the same situations. By
comparison:
Mages can take responsibil-
ity for: Learning the history of
the current situation. how it
.,
came to be: perhaps there's a
clue to getting things fixed in
the history of the matter. Get-
ting details of the magiC of the
s ituation: only a mage can prop-
erly evaluate these details: per-
haps the mage can arrange or
research a cou nte r-spell useful
in the situation.
Priests can take responsibil-
ity for: Learning what the local
priests think of the s iLUalion .
Communing wi th their deities
to see If the deity has a ny proph-
ecy, advice or admonition to of·
fer. Provisioning the party: t.he
priest Is best sulled to a rra nging
for ordinary provisions (food.
clothing, etc.).
Rogues can take responsi-
bility for: Putting an ear to the
street (that is, the people of the
street) a nd seeing what's afoot;
it's always a clue to the resolu-
tion of a problem If the ru lers
say onc thing and the common
people say something different
about a situation. Eval uating in·
filtratio n and break-in opportu-
nities: the rogue is best suited to
determining how possible and
useful It would be to getting a
spy In the enemy camp. break-
Ing In to a specific site. etc.
Natura ll y, a ll these descrip-
tions are generalizations. Any
specific character m ight be par-
ticularly talented at one of these
roles, even if he belongs to a
" wrong" c haracier c lass. But
someone s hou ld und ertake
each of these tasks: otherwise,
the characters are going into a
situatio n knowing less than
they could know about it.
The ~ombat Sheet
On page 122 Is
a Combat Shee t. One s ide con-
tains information for PCs. the
other Is fo r the DM to record vi-
tal combal statistics about the
characters.
 Warriors do not li ve by raw bamples Two-Handed Only
combat talent a lone (thou gh
they've bee n known to die by Ill . Each of the Arqu ebus.
No. they also need equipment. weapons fro m the Player 's Blowgun, Bows (a11). Crossbows
the tools of their trade: weap- Handbook falls into one of those (all) . Mancatcher. Poleanns (all).
ons. armor. and miscellaneous four ca tegories. as follows: Quarterstaff. SUng (one hand to
gear appropriate to the warrior- load, o ne hand to throw), Staff
class. One-Handed Only sling. Swordl1\vo-handed.
In this c hapter. we 'lI talk Dagger/di rk .
about that equipment. and ela b- More On One-H"nded or
Dart. Footman's mace. Hand/
ora te on the weapons a nd armor throwing axe , Knife. Lances Two-Handed
presented in the Players Hand- lalll. Scourge. Sic kle. Sword/ As you c a n
book. Kh opesh, Sword/Sc imitar, see, fiv e weapons fa ll into the
Sword/Short. Whip. One-Hand ed Or 1Wo-Ha nded
Old Weapons category : The Basta rd Sword ,
One-HAnded But Can Ie a nd rOUT spear- like weapo ns
We need 10 (Ha rpoon . Javelin, Spear. TH-
Wielded Two - Han~ed
c1artfy some details aboul weap- de nt) .
OilS which appeared in the Play- Ba ltic axe, In the Player's Handbook. It's
er's Handbook. Clu b, Footman 's nail, Foot- pres umed that you 're fighting
ma n's pick. Horseman 's nail. with Spear one -ha nd ed , a nd
One-Hand, Two-Hand Horse man's mace, Horseman's wlLh Harpoon , J avelin . and 1)-1-
pick. Morningstar. Sword/Long. dent two-handed . {This Is be-
Weapons . for a nd Warharnmer.
purposes of how lhey're held cause Spea r Is a Medium
and wie lded. fa U Imo fo ur ca te- wea pon a nd the othe rs a re
One-H.mded Or Two-Handed Large.} However, in The Com-
gories: one-handed only, one-
handed but can be wield ed Harpoon. J a v· plete Fighter's Ha ndbook. a ny
two-handed. one-handed or two- elln . Spear, Sword/Bastard. lli- of these weapons can be used ei-
handed. or two-handed only. dent. ther in one ha nd or in both .
One-Handed Only means the
weapon can o nly be wielded
o ne-handed. In onc hand or the Weight Speed Damage
o ther. Cost Ilbs.) Size Typet Factor S-M L
One-Handed But Can Be
Item
Wielded TWo-Handed refers to a Harpoon %
weapon principally designed for One-handed 20gp 6 L P 7 Id4+11d6+1
one-handed usc but which can be 1Wo-handed 20gp 6 L P 7 2d4 2d6
used two-handed. These wca- Javelin %
pons have enough haft or hill on One-handed 5 sp 2 L P 4 Id4 Id4
them that the wielder can wield TWo-handed 5 sp 2 L P 4 Id6 Id6
the weapon In both hands. which
confers no benefit . . . unless the Spear %
character has taken a Style Spe- One-handed asp 5 M P 6 Id6 Ida
claHzaUon in 1Wo-Hander F'Ighl- Thro--handed I asp 5 M P 6 Id8+ 1 2d6
Ing Style lsee the description of Spear. Long %
1Wo-Hander technique in the One-handed 5 gp a L p a Ida Id8 + I
1\vo-handed I 5 gp a L p a 2d6 3d6
Combat cha pter).
One-Ha nded Or TWo-Handed llidenl %
weapons a re designed specifi- One-handed 15 gp 5 L P 7 Id6+ I 3d4
cally to be used with one or both 1Wo-handed 15 gp 5 L P 7 Id8+ I 3d4
ha nds, and have separate dam-
age listings for the twO different % This weapon is Intended for one-handed or two-handed USC _
fightin g sty les. I This weapon innlcls double damage when finn ly set to receive a
Two-Ha nded Only weapons charge .
ca n only be wi eld ed in two
hands.

93
 But they can also be wielded
two-handed_ a nd do even more
damage when they arc. The ta·
b le shows both the one-handed
and two· handed damage for
each of the four weapons.
Also. to this list wc' re adding
the Long Spear. This is like the
ordi nary spear. but mounted on
a much longer (12'- 18 ') s haft.
It's not especially suited to one·
handed use. but inOic ts a lot of
dam age when used two·
handed.
The Harpoon. J avelin. S pear.
and Trident can all be thrown.
but we thrown weapon damage
Is always the one· handed dam-
age. never the two-handed dam-
age. Th e Long Spear Is not built
for throwing.
These five spear-like wcapons
are as fasl and m aneuverable
when used two-hand ed: there·
fore, unlike the Bastard Sword.
their speed factor does not
worsen whe n they are used two-
handed.
New Weapons
Several of the
warrlor-kils described In the
AdvaJlced Warrior Types c hap-
ter mentioned new weapons ap·
proprlate to those warrior types.
On the next page Is a c ha rt of all
those new weapons: a IIltle fur·
ther on we'll discuss what they
are and how they're used.
Many of these weapons have
special abilities, bonuses and
combat funclions not renecled
on the chart: these abilities help
account for the high costs listed
for some of the weapons.
Other weapons. particularly
the bone and stone ones, seem
to be of very limited usefulness.
There's a reason for that. dis·
cussed a little funht'!r on in th is
section.
MlsslI~ W~.pon Rang~s heading that corresponds to
that culture or Warrior Kit ,
Weapon ROF S M L If, for instan ce, your character
Bolas I 3 6 9 Isn't a Gladiator, he can't s lart
Cha in • '12 I 2 play wUh a drusus. In fac t. If he
Dagger. does n 't belong to a c ulture
bon e ' f> 2 3 w h ic h has glad ia tors. neve r
Dagger. travels to s uc h a c ul ture, and
stone 'j, I 2 3 doesn't eve n nnd a market with
Daikyu "I, 7 14 21 contacts with such a culture. he
Javelin, can never even gee a drusus,
stone 2 4 6 So the OM. and OM alone. de-
Knife. cides how accessibl e each of
bone "I, J 2 3 these weapons is based on how
Knife. many ties the camprugn culture
stone 'f> I 2 3 has with the culture that creates
Lasso • 1 2 3 these weapons. Even if he says
Ne t • 1 2 3 thal there Is contact, It m ay not
S hurikc n 'f> 2 4 6 be possible or easy for pes to ac·
Spear, quire these weapons; Just be-
stone 1 2 3 cause samurai visit the court of
SUietlO "I, 1 2 3 your king doesn't mean that
Tiident 1 0 1 2 they'd be willing to sell their
treasured kata nas, after all.
The chain. lasso and net are In short, acquis ition of this
included In the table above be· type of eq Ui pment is left as an
cause their usc. in combat. is exercise In role-playing and ad-
much like a missile weapo n. \'enture. in played -oul game
They have ranges related to the sessions. not as somcthlng as
le ngth of the c hain. the lasso or simple as droppi ng some gold
the ne t's tra iling rope, pieces off you r character s hee t.
The .. . .. means the weapon
doesn't precisely have a rate of Gl.d.liIltor W~."ns
fire: It may be used as often as Gladiators a re
the c ha rac ter's level (and per· trained In a variety of weapons.
haps specialization) d icta tes for In addition to the new weapons
a melee wea pon. on the chart above. gladiators
can be trained in the following.
Use of Th~se T..bles more common ly-ava il ab le.
weapons: Long bow (a ny type).
Th e fact that
these weapons appear on tables Short bow (a ny type). Dagger.
Footman 's nail , Knife, Ha lberd ,
In an AD&Oe game product
d oesn 't mean that players may Scourge, Scimitar, Short sword ,
Spear. Tridenl. and WhIp.
immediately buy these weapons
fo r th eir charac ters, These The short sword used by glad·
iators, lncidcntally, is a s hon.
weapons are no t commo nly
available . a nd m ay on ly be s traight· bladed weapon sha rp-
ened on both edges: it Is called
taken with OM perm ission. , .
and that perm ission s hould de- the gladius. a nd gladiatorS take
their name from It. The glad ius
pend on the character's origi n .
You see, each of these weap' has the characte ristics of a n or·
dlnary short sword.
ons is appropriate to a certain
cultu re land to the Warrior Kits
belonging to tha t cultu re): and
each ofthcse weapons is furthe r
desc ri bed below , u nd e r the
94
New Weapons list
Weight Speed Damage
Item Cost (Ibs.J Size Type' Fac tor S-M L
Arrows. Stone
FHght& 3cp/ 12 1/10 M P Id4 Id4
Belaying pln ! 2 cp 2 S B 4 Id3 Id3
So stick & 2 cp 4 L B 4 Id6 Id4
Bolas! 5sp 2 M B 8 Id3 Id2
Cestus! I gp 2 S S 2 Id4 I d3
Chain & 5sp 3 L B 5 Id4 + 1 Id4
Dagger
Bone! I sp I S P 2 Id2 Id2
Stone! 2sp I S P 2 Id3 I d2
Dalkyu & lOOgp 3 L 7
Dalkyu arrow & 3 sp/6 I M P I d8 Id6
Garrlhook!
Attached 2 gp 2 S P 2 Id4 Id3
Held 5 cp 2 S P 2 Id 4 Id3
Javelin. Stone %
One-handed 5cp 2 L P 4 Id4 Id 4
1Wo-ha nded 5 cp 2 L P 4 Id4 + 1 Id6
Knife
Bone I 3 cp
,,.,,. S PIS 2 Id2 Id 2
Stone I 5 cp S PIS 2 Id2 Id2
Lasso & .5sp 3 L 10
Main-gauche! 3gp 2 S PIS 2 Id4 Id3
Net & 5gp 10 M 10
Nunchaku! I gp 3 M B 3 Id6 Id6
Polearm
Naglnata &1 8gp 10 L P 7 Id8 Idl O
Tetsubo & 2 gp 7 L B 7 Id8 Id8
Sal ! 5 sp 2 S PIB 2 Id4 Id2
Shurlken I 3 sp I S P 2 Id 4 Id4
Spear. Long %
One-Handed 5gp 8 L P 8 Id8 IdS+ 1
1Wo-Handed , 5gp 8 L P 8 2d6 3d6
Spear. Stone %
One-banded 8 cp 5 M P 6 Id4 Id6
TWo-banded
S tUeito!
8 cp
Ssp
,,.
5 M
S
P
P
6
2
Id6
Id3
2d4
Id2
Sword
Cu tlass I 12 gp 4 M S 5 Id6 Id8
Drusus! sogp 3 M S 3 I dS + 1 IdS+ 1
Katana %
One-handed 100 gp 6 M SIP 4 IdlO I d 12
TWo- handed l OOgp 6 M SIP 4 2d6 2d6
Rapier I IS gp 4 M P 4 I d6+ I IdS+ 1
Sabre I 17 gp 5 M S 4 Id6+J IdS + 1
Waklzash l S SOgp 3 M SIP 3 Id8 Id8
This weapon Is inte nded for one-handed use, and may not be used two-handed.
S T h is weapon Is intended for one-han ded use. but may be used two-han ded (see the rules for 1Wo-H an der
Style Specialization In the Combat chapter ).
% This weapon Is Intended for one· handed or two-handed use.
& T his weapon Is Intended for two-handed use on ly.
,
I This weapon Inflicts double danl age when finnly set to receive a charge.
The "Type" category Is divided Into Bludgeoning (B). Piercing (PI, and Slashing (5). This Indicates the type
of auack made, which may alte r the weapon 's effecUve ness against different types of ar mor. See the
optional mle In the Player 's Handbook. page 90,

9'
8 01.1.5
The bolas are
three ba lls a llached to ropes or
cord s about a yard in length: the
other ends of th e cords are tied
together In a knot. The wielder
of the bolas whirls the m by the
knot a nd throws the m a t a ta r-
ge t ; if th ey h it . the y w ra p
arou nd the target. with the balls
smas h ing pain fully into the [ar-
get as th ey connect, Once they
ha ve w rapped th e mselves
arou nd a target. It t.akes the vie-
Urn one full rou nd and a s uc-
cessfu l abllily c h ec k vs .
Stren gth to get them free. (If the
c h a rac te r fails his Stre ng th
c heck . he does not get the bolas
free lh is rou nd .)
This weapon does only a lillie
dam age. but it is CSIX!c ial ly use·
ful lf you arc USing the H i t Loca ·
tions rules from the Combat
Rules c hapter.
If the a ttacker ma kes a Ca lled
S hot to the targe t 's Legs (he
doesn 't have to s pecify wh ic h ; If
the a ttac k hits, It h its bol h), and
s uccess fu lly a tlacks. the bolas
wra p them selves lightly around
his legs. He can no longer run or
wa lk until he ge ts t.hem free . He
m ust ma ke a Dexte rity c heck
JUSt to a void falli ng down . In
fact. if he was m ovi ng whe n the
attack was made. he suITc rs a
- 3 pe nalty to h is Dex tc rlty
c heck 10 avoid fa lli ng down .
If the attac ker makes a Called
Shot to the ta rgc t's Arms {again .
he doesn 't ha\'e to specify: both
will be hit) and s uccessfu lly a t-
tac k s . the bolas wr ap the m ·
s elves tightly arou nd his arm s
a n d lorso. He can not wield his
wea pon and docs not get the AC
bonus of his shield until he ge LS
himself free. His roll to free him-
self Is a t a - 2 pena lty lO h is
Strenglh a bilit y score beca use
he has no leverage.
If lhe a ttac ker makes a CaJ led
Shot to the target's Head . the b0-
las wrap themselves a round the
target's neck and begin stran-
gll ng him. (This docs not work If
the c ha rac te r was wea ring a
Close-Faced Helm or a Grea t
Hel m. described later lhis chap·
ter.) The bolas do the listed dam ·
age on the round the y h it .
Thereafter. on each successive
rou nd whe re they begin th e
round slill on the viclim's throa t.
they do Id3 hp of da mage from
s tran gula tio n . T he dam age
s tops when they arc removed or
when the target Is dcad.
Weapon profi cie ncy wi lh the
Bolas is not rela ted to a ny othe r
weapon proficie ncy. S peclallza·
tion grants the usual benefits. In
case of a CaJled Shot to the tar·
get's head . th e damage bon us
only applies to the initia l hlL: it is
not add ed to th e s ubse qu ent
rou nds of stra ngula tion .
Any Icmherworker or wea p·
ons m ith ca n make a set of bolas
.. . but he m us t ha ve exact mea·
surem ents for the cords a nd ex·
act weig hts for the ba lls to do il
right. Simp ly hearing s uc h a
wea pon desc ribed. the c rafts·
man ca n ma ke some thing like It
... but un less he makes h is
c raftsm a n abi lity c heck by 3 or
belter. th e wea pon he ma kes
will be proporUoned wrong a nd
wlll be a t a -4 1.0 hit.
Cestus
The cestus is a
glovelike weapon . s tudded with
sharp s pikes a nd edges on lhc
back of the glove a nd across th e
knu c kles . Gladi ators fig h ting
wi th th e ccs tu s us ually wear
lWO. one on eac h ha nd {the plu·
raJ is eestlJ: here. it pays for a
gladiator to have Cestus Wea-
pon Spec ia lization . 1\vo ·
Weapo n S ty le S pecia li za ti on .
and/or Pu nChing Specialization .
Ces lll s com bat is very popu la r
with arena c rowds because It Is
e xtrem ely bloody a nd up·close.
Also. beca use the weapons do
com pa ra tively lit tle da m age.
the fi ghters te nd to last a long
time in combat.
96
When wearin g a cestu s or two
cesti. a charac ter m a y s ull ma ke
a Grab ma nc uver with the ha nd
the cestus is on . T his a ttac k wIll
be at a -2 to hit fo r clums iness.
a nd a - 2 to lh e a ttacke r 's
Stre ngth (for purposes of hold-
Ing on ) like wise.
Cestus. because It is s imply a
bon us to punc h.lng-ty pe a t-
tacks. does not requIre weapon
profici e n cy: a n yo ne can u sc
cest! wllh no proficiency pe n-
alt),. T he refore. Specializa tion
with Cestus costs only weapon
proficienc y s ia l.
In a c u ltu re where the re Is
gladia tori al com ba t. cesU are
readily available from weapon-
s m ith s, bu t {he y a re n ot ex-
ported. as they' re suc h a basic
wea pon the markel Is nOt very
good . Any foreign weapons m lth
who has cestl described to him
can make perfeeL1y fun c tiona l
cest! : the fi rs t two cesti h e
makes will be a t twice the listed
cost. and s ubseque nt ones will
be a t lhe lis ted cost.
Drusus
T he Drus us is
a Gladius (shon sword ) of Ex-
ce ptiona l qu a lity (as pe r lhe
ty pes of wea pon qua li ty de-
scribed In lhe Ch ara c ter Cr ea-
lion c hapter of this rule book). It
looks Just like a n ord inary gla ·
dlus: on ly by tes ting the s ha rp-
ness of the blade can someone
tell the difTerence . The Drus us
ha s bee n forged so th a t t he
m e ta l Is be tte r· te m pered a nd
holds an edge belter. a nd the n
s harpe ned u n til It has a razor-
like edge.
Because of this. it does + I
d a m age a nd co nfe rs a no n ·
m agical + 1 to h it ove r the nor-
mal gladl us. {This m eanS the
wielding c ha racte r gets a + I to
hit whe n using the weapon . but
the wcapon docs not give him
the a bi lity to hi t monSlers whic h
require magical weapons to af-
feeL)
 The Drus us also h as a dIsad -
van tage. In o rder to kee p ils
keen edge. it m ust be regularly
s ha rpened wi th a lo t ma rc a uen-
Uo n a nd time tha n an ordina ry
wea pon requires. Afier any d ay
In w hich the Drus us ha s been
foug ht w ith (even one a ttack!).
som eon e wit h e ilh e r th e Ar-
m orer o r Weapon s mith second ·
ary s kU!. o r the Blacks mithin g .
Ar more r. or Weaponsmithln g
n on weapon proficien cy. mu s t
s harpen the blad e fo r half an
hour ___ or, on th e nex t day, It
will act as an ord inary s hort
s word (losing Its to·h it and dam ·
age bonus ) u n til It Is so s harp-
e ned .
Exposure to hig h heat (a
smith's fo rge. dragon 's breath ,
la \'a. etc.) w ill ru in the te mper
on a Drus us, turning It In to a n
o rdina ry short sword a nd fo r·
e ver destroy ing Its to·h it and
d a mage bon us .
The Drus us uses th e sam e
w eapon p ro ficie ncy as the sho rt
s word. If a c haracter can us e a
s hort sword . he can use a Dru ·
s us w it h e qu al proficien cy.
Weapon s pec iali zatio n with o ne
does tTansfeT t.o the olher.
In cu ltures w here there a re
g la d iators. a n y w eapon s mith
with a wca ponsmilh ing a bility
check of 14 or belter can make a
Drus u s for th e cos t s ho wn.
These weapons a re seldo m ex ·
ported . as local dem and Is hig h
fo r th e fe w m a d e . A fo re ig n
weapons mlth could not make
o ne m ere ly If It were d escribed
to h im : he wou ld have to s tudy
with a local weaponsmJth . Hav·
ing d one so, he could m ake the
weapon .
Lasso
Th e lasso, or
lariat. Is a le ng th o f rope w ith a
loop at the en d : th e wi e ld e r
holds the s lack in his off-hand.
tw irls th e lasso In h is o th er
ha n d. and hurls the loop at h is
target. On a s uccessfu l h it. the
lariat settles over Ule ta rget. giv·
ing the wielde r the c ha nce to
dis m ount him . pu ll him to tllC
grou nd. trip him, e lC.
In o the r words . whe n you a t·
tack someone with a lasso. you
m ust d eclare w hat you 're trying
to accomplis h wi th the a ttack.
If you ' re trying to trip him .
you ' re trying to m ake the loop
se ttle abou t his legs . T his re-
quires a call ed Sho t a t th e legs
as per the Hit Locations section
of the Combat Rules c hapter.
If you hit. he m us t make a
Dex te rity a bility roll . with the
us ual mod ifie rs for the P ullffiip
m a neuve r: if he fai ls , he fa lls.
and if he s ucceed s . he 's able to
ju m p ou t of your loop before it
closes.
If you 're trying to pin his arms
to h is s ides, you ' re try ing to
m a ke the loop settle abou t his
torso a nd a rm s. Th is requires a
Called Shot at lhe arms as per
the Hit Loca tions sectio n o f th e
Comba l Rules c ha pt er.
If you hil. he m ust ma ke a
Stre ngth a bility ro ll . ag a in with
the us ual modifi ers for pu llmip.
If he s ucceeds. he sh rugs the
loop off before you can p ull it
ta ut. If he fai ls. you pull the loop
tauL Bot h o f h is a r m s a re
pin ned . as in the Pin man e u ver.
The target gets to s truggle each
round . a lso as per the Pin rna·
ne u ver rules. Each additiona l
la sso tha t h its the target to pin
h im g Ives him a -4 to his
S tTength ability for purposes of
h is s truggli ng. When h is
S trength reaches O. he has no
c hance of esca ping .
[( you 're trying to dismount a
rider. you 're try ing to m a ke the
loop settle a bout h is to rso- a nd
the n b ra ce yourself for the 1m·
pact (when his m o u nt's m ove'
me n t reac hes the end of yOllr
rope. both yOU a nd he a re going
lo be j arred ). This doesn ' t re o
quire a Called S ho t: You m us t
m erely hit your target no rma lly.
If you hit. both you and the
un fo rtun a te ride r mus t now
.8
m a ke S tre ngth a bility rolls . If he
roUs h is beller than you roll
you rs, the la sso Is lOrn from
you r ha nds a n d yo u take Id2
damage. If you ro ll yours be tter
than he rolls h is. you yank him
from his saddle a nd he ta.kes
I d 3 fro m Impac t. with the la s so
and the ear th , If yo u bo th make
you r roll by the sam e a mounl.
t he n both resu lts o cc u r ; th e
la sso Is yanked fr o m y our
ha nds, d Oing Id2 to yo u . and
hc's yanked from his ho rse . tak·
ing Id 3. (InCide ntally, If you've
had lim e to lie yo ur rope to an
abso lu te ly s ta tionary o bj ec t.
like a bou ld c r. you don ' t ha ve to
roU agains l your S trength abll ·
ity; you w in this con test unless
you r targct rolls a 1. in which
case the rope breaks and he ca.n
ride o ff la ug h ing. )
If you ' re trying to lasso a tar·
get's head {for example . whe n
yo u ' re u p in a tree a nd yo ur tar·
ge t Is a n uns u s pec tin g g ua rd
wa lking below} , this Is a Called
S hOllO his Head as per the us ua l
rules .
If . a fter the modifie rs . you stili
h it. you can ya n k fo r Id3 dam ·
age (pl us you r S tre ngth bonus ).
On subseque nt ro u nds , you can
ya nk for I point of da mage eac h
(plus you r Stre ngth bonus ). Bu t
If you ' re in a pos ilion to hois t
your ta rget u p In the a ir (for in-
s la nce. If you 're u p on a tree·
branc h . lasso your vic tim . a nd
then d rop off the branc h o n the
other s ide. hold ing o nlO the rope
io ho is t your victim upl, you d o
your vlclim I d4 points of s tran o
g u lat io n d a m age pe r round
(Strength bon us docs nol a pply
to this). If he can get h is k n ife
free and cut him se lf loose, tha l's
good ror him ; If not. it ·s good ror
you . While s trang li ng, a vic Um
cannot s hout o r raise the alarm .
If you 're trying to drop your
loo p a ro u nd t he h ea d of a
m o unted rider .. . well . it's diffi·
cult , bu t poSsible . Ma ke it as a
stand ard Ca ll ed Sh o t to the
head.
 If you hi!. you must again
make your Strength abil it y
check. Jfhe wins It , he takes ld4
damage from th e Impact of the
lasso arou nd his neck going taut
. , . bu t the lasso is stU! yanked
from you r hand. doing Id2 to
you . and he can ride 01T. If you
win It. he takes 2d6 damage
from the Im pact. another Id3
from hilling the grou nd , and
he 's dismounted . If you both
make It by a n equal amount, he
takes Id4 . is dismounted a nd
takes an addllional l d3. and
you take ld2 from the lasso be·
Ing ya nked out of your hands.
Ilf. in this example, you 've had
time to lie th e other e nd of your
lasso to an absolu tely st'alionary
object, your target sUli gelS his
roll . On a 1. the rope breaks and
he lakes Id4 damage . OLher·
wi se. he ·s automa tica lly dis·
mounted a nd takes 3d6
damage.
Such a maneuver. hard as It Is
to set up, cou ld easily break
someone's neck. killing him in·
stan tly.}
In the chart above. the lasso
was listed as a large weapon be·
cause of the a mou nl of s pace It
takes to twlrl and wield it.
You cannot perform a Parry or
Disarm with the lasso. or use it.
as a melee weapon for Pin - only
at range.
Lasso req uires its own
weapon proficie ncy, which is
not rela ted to any other weapon
pronclency. Weapon spectaliza·
lion gives you the normal + I to
hit with the lasso a nd + 2 dam·
age on all damaging elTeclS of
the lasso (strangulation after the
Initial hit is stili only Jd4, not
Id4 +2) .
Cu ltures with gladiators are
nOt lhe only ones which come
up with the lasso. Clv\llzatio ns
which depend heavily on herd·
beasts orten have the lasso as a
weapon . In some cultures, the
lasso Is a favorite weapon of as·
sasslns. !L's u p to the DM to de·
termlne if the lasso is a weapon
of the player·characters' cui·
lure.
If It Is not. a PC need only train
with someone who has pron·
ciency with m e weapon (and the
PC must have a free weapon
proficiency slot ) in order to learn
how to make and use the lasso.
N.t
Th e gladia·
tors' net cons islsof a small (8' to
12' diameter) circular net with
weights around me edge and a
trailing rope used for control.
Customari ly, It Is folded In s uch
a manner that It will twirl ope n
whe n thrown: the gladiator
lhrows it with one hand. keep·
Ing a grip on the trailing rope
with lhe other.
If the gladia tor makes his roll
to hit, he has a Pin maneuver on
his target (see the rules for Pin
m a ne uver rrom th e Combal
Rules chapter). All lhe notes on
Pin apply here, except one: the
nelled character may not make
any sort of attack on the neuer
until he's won a Strength ability
check and lhrown that net oIT.
On the round after the gladla·
tor has netted his opponen t, he
has a choice of what he wants to
do.
He can hold onto the trailing
rope wlLh his off·hand (In order
to main tain the Pin), pull out an·
othe r weapon with his fre e
hand , and attack his prey with
tha t weapon . Eventually, his
prey will probably win a
Strength ab ility check and
shrug that net 01T: in the mean·
time, the gladiator may get sev·
era l round s of unreturned
attack on him .
Alternatively, he can try to im·
prove his hold on the target. By
continuing to loop the trailing
rope around his victim. he can
Improve the capture until the
victim has no chance of escape.
1b do t his, he must make an or·
dlnary rollto·hit against his vic·
tim 's AC each round . On each
99
s uccessful hit. the victim loses 4
points of effective Strength for
purposes of breaking free of the
net. If the victim wins a
Strength ability check against
his captor before his Strength
drops to O. he breaks free (and
his Strength Is nonnal for all
other purposes). if he fails , and
his Strength Is brought down to
O. he Is hopelessly enmeshed in
the net and cannot get out until
his captor lets him.
When a gladiator throws a net
and misses, It Is open and un·
folded . That doesn ·t mean he
can no longer nght with It . , .
but ills nOI as accurate, because
It 's not folded right. Each subse·
quent roll to hit with the un·
fold ed net Is at a -3 to hit.
With a properly·folded net. an
attacker can perform Disarm.
Parry a nd Pin maneuvers. Once
a net Is unfolded, such attacks
are at a - 3 to hit.
Weapon proficiency with the
net also give you the abUity to
fo ld the net properly, and to
make fi ghting· nets . Weapon
Specialization gives you the nor·
mal + I to hit: since it cannot
give you a +2 to damage (the
net doing no damage). you get
that + 2 as a bonus to your
Strength when you're making
Strength ability checks against
neu ed prey.
Cu ltures with gladiatorial
combat do export s uch weap·
ons, and the knowledge of their
use (gladiators do demonstra·
tions and exhibitions in foreign
capitals all the time) . Also. cui·
tures with no knowledge of glad·
latorial combat IndependenUy
develop the net weapon skill: at
the DM's discretion, a ny charac·
ter with lhe Savage warrior kit,
the Hunter secondary sklll or
Hunting nonweapon profl ·
clency, or any good rationale
could spend a weapon profi·
clency slot to learn the use of the
net.
' lrilte Weilpons
The world of
piracy doesn't dcmand that pI-
rates use any specific weapons
.. . but fo r reasons of lIadlUon
and convenience. some speclnc
weapons are very commo n to pi·
rate c rews.
In addi Uon to the new weap-
ons on the c hart above. pirates
are readily familiar with: Battle
axe. Bow (all ty pes ). Club.
Crossbow (all normally ·avall-
able types), OaggcrlDirk, Ha nd/
throwing axe. Harpoon, Javelin.
Knife , Polearm /Awl pike.
Poleann /Partlsan, Scourge
(mostly for disciplinary pur-
poses). SUng, Spear, Sword (all
but Kh opeshl . Trident. and
Whip (also mostly for discipli-
nary purposes).
Additionally, the world of the
Pirate ovcrla pped that of the
Swashbuckler to a considerable
degree, With the DM's pennls·
sian (and there's usually little
reason to de ny II), Pirates may
have access to all the weapons
listed o n the cha rt above and de-
sc riptions be lo w fo r Swash-
bucklers.
T he new weapons for Pirates
Include:
Cutlass
The c utlass Is
a short . hcavy s wo rd, s harp
along only one edge, with a
heavy basket hilt (a protecUve
cup) around the hilt to protect
the hand ,
The cutlass' baske t hilt pro-
vides the following beneOts: It
gives the wielder a + I to hit
with the Parry maneuver; and H
works Just the same as a n Iron
gauntlet If the wielder wis hes to
punch someone with the hilt
ralher than slash wIth the blade,
(See the Player's Ha ndboo k.
pages 97 ·98. Barc-hand attacks
do I d2 damage. plus strength
bonus. and the o ther effects of
Punc hing from the c hart on
page 97: me tal gauntlets and
oth er metal hand· protection
makes tha t ld3 plus strength
bonus and punc hing e ffec ts .
Note: An encha nted cutlass. say
a cutlass + 1. does not confer the
+ I to hit and damage wllh these
bas ket·hllt punc hes ... on ly
with blade attacks.)
Proficie ncy with Cutlass Is reo
lated to proOclency with s hort
sword. dagger/dirk. knlfe/sUlet-
to, and main ·gauche . Weapon
SpcclaJlzaUon with Cutlass is
nonnal, except that you also get
the + 1 to hit and +2 damage
with those basket ·hilt pu nches,
In a campaign w ll.h pirates,
c utlasses are common and read·
ily available In any port com mu ·
nity: th ey are muc h less
common inland .
BeloAylng rln
T he be lay ing
pin is a s hon rod o( wood. or
metal. It 's Inserted In a hole
bored through the ship's rail.
and ship's ropes are ma de fast
(Ued) to it . It can a lso be yanked
free and brought In violent can·
taCt with enemies; In a pirate
fi g ht. anyone wh o loscs a
weapon or starts out wit hou t
one ends up with a belaying pin
in his hand.
Weapon proOclency wllh Be-
laying Pin Is rclated 10 clubs and
maces; If you have proOc lency
with club or mace. you take o nly
a - I when using a belaying pin
you don' t have proOclency for.
Weapon specialization with be-
laying pin gives the usual bene·
fits.
Belaying pins are very availa-
ble o n any ship: you can get any
number of them a t a seasid e
town or ci ty. especially a t a ship-
buildcr 's, a warehou se. or a
business that supplies ships.
100
G.. WHook
The gaff is a
metal hook with a woode n o r
metal crossbar at the base; It's
he ld In one hand. the hook pro-
truding between the middle a nd
ring Onge rs. and nonnally used
to hook and land fis h.
However. like the be laying
pin, It 's In ready supply onboard
a ship. Also. many pirates who
lose a hand have a cup with a
gaff o n it attached to th e stump.
a nd so a lways have a weapon
"on hand" -one that can't be
dropped or Disarmed .
ProOclency with the galT Is not
related to a ny other profiCiency,
SpeCialization g rants the usual
benefits.
s...murill Weapons
The exoLic.
oriental world features many
weapons which are strange to
western eyes, , , including the
eyes of the pes In most cam-
paJgns.
Many of these weapons sim-
ply look a little dlf(ere nt and
bear different names. Old, famil ·
lar weapons with sligh tly
changed forms an d na mes In-
clude: the Baltle axe , Hand axe .
Dagger (tanto). Ha lberd, Jave·
lin . Lig h t la nce. Mace , Pike ,
Spear. Lo ng sword, Short
sword . 1Wo-handed sword (no-
dalchl), a nd Trident. These
weapons have game character-
is tics identical to the normal
versions. a nd proOclency with
the commo n weapon works Just
as well with the more exotic ver-
sion.
The new samurai-society
weapons li sted In the c hart
above Include:
10 Stick
The bo stick is
an o rdinary hardwood staff, the
height ora man or sligh tly taller.
Be stick shares a pro nclcncy
with Quarterslaff. lfyo u can use
one, you can use the other. (This
doesn't mean that the lwostyles
are Identica l : an oriental bo
stick fighter looks very different
In combat than a western quar·
terstaff combatant. But if they
t raded weapons. they'd be just
as good with ule o ther guy's
weapon . .. each in his ow n
style.) Weapon specialization in
bo stick gives you the usual ad·
vantages.
Bo slicks are common every·
where; any 6' or 7' hardwood
walking staff is a bo slalT. To use
It as su ch . howe\'er. you have to
have the bo slickJquarters taff
weapon profiCiency. The prl ·
mary di fference between the
weapons. and th e reason the
quarterstaff does more damage
against Large monsters. Is that
the combat quarterstaff has
Iron·shod. even lead·welgh ted
ends. (A quanerstaffwhich does
not have these featu res shou ld
do damage Identical to the bo
stick .)
Chain
This w eapon
is a 6 ' or 10' length of chain with
weights al both ends. In com·
bat. It's w hirled vcry fast. the
weighted end inflicting t he dam·
age on the target.
The chain combines some of
the useful lralts of melee weap·
ons and the lasso. You can at·
tack with it for nonnal Called
Shots. Disarm. Parry. an d
StrikelThrusl maneuvers. Addl·
tlonally. you can perform three
of the lasso's five special func-
tions: Pull/Trip by str iking at a
target's legs. Dismount a Rider.
and Snag a Rider's Head.
The chain Is easy to conceal.
and (alleasL i.n west ern lands) is
nOt usually recognized as a
weapon until wielded as one.
The chai n requires Its own
weapons proficiency. w h ich Is
not related to any other weapon.
Weapon specialization confers
the usual bonuses.
Chains are to be found in any
civilization wi th the technologi·
cal skill to make them (th is In-
cludes most AD&D® ca mpaign
settingsl. but the technique of
fighting wit h them Is mosUy an
eastern·cul ture development. A
character would have to study
with a practit ioner of t he tech-
nique. and be able to spend a
weapon proficiency slot. in or·
der 10 learn how to u se th e
weapon.
Dalkyu
T he daikyu is
the great sam urai longbow. It's
7 ' long (hence its size deslgna·
tlon of LJ. Its hand·grl p is nOI in
the center of the weapon: it's 10-
caled closer to the bot tom . so
the daikyu can be fired from
horseback and from kneeling
poSitions.
As w it h o ther bows. t h e
dalky u can be used to perform
t he Called Shot. Disarm . Hold
Attack. and Strike/Thrust (I.e..
shoot) maneuvers.
T he dalkyu and katana are
t he two principal weapons of tile
samurai.
T he daikyu requires its own
weapons proficiency. It Is reo
lated l O. but nOI Identical to.
o t her bow proficleneles.
Weapon specialization con fers
the usual benefits.
The dalkyu is n01 exported
from east.ern nations. However.
It is a Sim ple task. if you arc In
such a nation. to commission
the making of one. A western
bowyer wou ld h ave to have
studied in the east to make on e.
The katana Is
th e samurai's sword . It·s a
medium ·length. slightly curved
blade with no qulllions (only a
small. circular guard ) and a hilt
su itable for one · handed and
two-handed u sc . The blade Is
sharpened only along one edge
101
and al the Up. but it is sharp·
ened to a razo r 's edge. It is
forged with a specia l technique
known only In the easl. where
layers of steel and iron are san d-
wiched. h eated. fol ded,
stretched. re-folded. stretched.
re·fold ed . on and on un W the
blade consists of microscopi-
cally thin layers of alternatin g
m etals. providing streng th . re-
silience. and the abi li ty to hold a
remarkable edge. This Is why
the katana has th e excellent
speed and damage listed for th e
weapon.
The katana reqUires Its own
weapon proficie ncy. which is reo
lated to the bastard swordllong
blades grou p. Weapon special!·
zation confers the usual bene·
fits.
Katanas arc very personal : a
samurai Is dishonored (fhe loses
his. and so very few arc los(.
This means t hat It is very hard
to gel one in t he west. other than
by taking it from its owner . . . a
difficult task. In t he east. a char·
actcr might be willi.ng to com-
m iss ion one from a wea·
ponsmith . for th e listed price .. .
If he gets a good reaction roll
from th e NPC. (An ordin ar y
weaponsmii.h could not make
one. T h e blade·maklng tech-
nique requires stu dy In the east
and the learning ofa spec ialized
Indiv idu al weaponsmiLhlng
nonwcapon proficiency.)
Also. a hero who does a favor
or performs a mission for an
eastern lord might bc awarded a
matched sel of katana and wakl-
zashl. if he's vcry lucky: th is
would be a high h onor.
Naglnata
Th is Is a po·
learm. a 6' to 8' shaft wi th a
curved. sword-like blade at the
end. It's the favored weapon of
the female fighters of the orient.,
but they are not limited to it. nor
Is it limited to them .
 Naginata proficiency is re-
lated to a U other polea rm s.
Weapon specialization confers
the usual benefits.
Naglnatas are readily availa-
ble In oriental ports. a nd s uch
weapons are readily exported. if
the DM says there Is a market
for them.
Nunchaku
The nunchaku
consists of two lengths of ha rd
wood connected by a short
length of chain or rope.
The weapon can be used to
perform Called Shots, Disarm,
Parry, a nd StrikelThrust rna·
neuvers.
Nunchaku requires Its own
proficiency. which is nOl related
to any other weapons profi-
ciency (Including nails). Weapon
specialization confers the usual
benefits. Masters of me weapon
often have weapon speclaliza-
tlon In nunchaku and Style Spe-
cialization In 'TWo· Weapons
Style. giving them the ablilty to
fight effectively with nunchaku
In elmer hand. The only way to
acquire this proncle ncy is to
study with someone who al-
ready has the proficiency, and to
have a proficiency slot available
to spend on nunchaku.
Nunchaku are readily availa-
ble In oriental ports. and Stich
weapons are exported: western
collectors are quite enthusiastic
about them . even if these collec-
tors usually can nOl use them.
Sal
This is a shorl.
defensive weapon. consisting of
a metal bar with a hilt. and over-
sized upward-curvlng qUillions.
When used by someone with
proficiency in the weapon. sa.!
confer a + 1 to hit bonus when
using the Pin and Disarm ma-
neuvers.
In the chart at the start of this
chapter. the Sal is listed as hav-
Ing two types of damage: P
(piercing) and B (bludgeoning).
That's not quite right: the nor-
mal saJ is on ly a Bludgeoning-
damage weapon. However.
certain warriors prefer for It to
be a sharp stabbi ng weapon. so
the damage may be Piercing In-
stead. A sal may only have one
type of damage. not both .
Sal req uires ils own profi-
ciency. which is not related to
any other. Weapon speciali za-
tion confers the usual benefits.
To learn the proficie ncy. one
must study with someone who
has Il. and the character must
have a weapon proficiency slot
to spend.
Many warriors proficient in
the sal take Sty le Speciali zation
In 1\vo-Weapon technique and
utilize twin sal in combat.
Sal are readily available in ori-
e ntal ports. and are exported.
Shurlken
Shurlken. of-
ten called throwing stars. are
smalllh rown weapons. They do
as m uch damage as a thrown
dagger. and are considerably
more concealable. Ornamental
shurike n can oft en be worn as
Jewelry and not recognized as
weapons. and a pocketful of
shuriken weigh no more than
many other single weapons.
However. sh urlke n require
their own weapon proficiency.
which is not related to any
other. Weapon specialization
confers the usual benefits. Th
learn shurlken proficiency. one
must study with someone who
has It. and-must have a weapon
proficiency slot to spend.
Shuriken are available in ori-
ental ports. but most OCCidental
collectors don 't know how to
use them .
.02
Tetsubo
The telSubo is
a long walking-staff. Its upper
e nd shod with stu dded Iron
strips.
Its weapon profiCiency Is re-
lated to other polearms: special-
ization confers the usual
benefits.
letsubos can be had In orien-
tal markets. but none are ex-
ported because It Is a relatlvely
simple weapon to make .
Waklzashl
The wakizashl
Is the s hort-sword compan ion of
the katana. Its blade is forged
the same way. and the weapon
looks like a shorter version of
the katana. It Is often part of a
matched set with the katana.
and Is of almost equal Impor-
tance as the katana to thesamu-
ral. Only samurai can wear both
katana and waklzashl.
Waklzashi proficiency Is re-
lated to short sword. Specializa-
tion confers the usual benefits.
Many samurai fight with the ka-
tana In one hand and waklzashl
In the other. in two-weapon
technique. and some learn the
two-weapon s tyle speCialization
to further improve their abUity
with this s tyle.
Waklzashis are as hard to
come by as katanas.
Note
The AD&D«J
game supple ment Oriental Ad-
ventures deSCribes many. many
other weapons and provides a
lot of resource material for ori-
ental c harac ters a n d cam-
paigns . A certain amou nt of
conversion is required. as the
s upplement was written for the
first-edition game.
SUol.ge Weol.pons
The lump
term "savages" is being used
here to refer to any number of
different types of people. They
have In common these traits:
They're not as technologically
advanced as the normal peoples
of Lhe campaJgn. though some
do make weapons of bronze or
Iron: and they 're probab ly
hunter·gatherers who have not
yet em braced Lhe agricultural
revolution . And thal's really all
they have to have In common.
"Savages" might be highly cuI·
tured, artistic. peaceful peoples.
but if they have dirt floors or
flint·tipped weapons. the rest of
the world calls them savage. For
our purposes. " savages" en-
compasses Neanderthal man.
Old Stone Age era-magnan, and
New Stone Age modern men,
Stereotypical savages know
the following weapons : Blow-
gun (mostly jungle lrlbes). Long
and Shan bow (no composite
bows). Club. Dagger. Handl
Throwing Axe. Javelin. Knife,
SUng. and Spear.
Depending on their level of
tech nological deve lopme nt.
they may make their weapons
(including arrow heads. spear-
heads. etc,) out of Iron, bronze,
stone or even bone.
For our purposes. Iron and
bronze weapons have the same
characteristics as steel weap-
ons: U's not wonh generating
all·new weapon stats for the
slight game·mec hanlc differ-
ences.
Stone and bone weapons. on
the other hand. require their
own stalistics. which Is why
they' re represented on the
weapon chart at Lhe top of the
chapter.
Stone Weapons
Ston e weap-
ons are used just like Lhelr mod-
ern counterpans, but are worth
less money, do less damage. and
are more prone to shattering.
The damages and costs
(should some ever be sold on the
market) fo r these weapons are
given on lhe chart above.
Stone weapons have a chance
of breaking every time they hit
and do damage . Every time a
stone weapon successfully hits
a target. the player must. roll
Id6. Regardless of the roll. this
attack does Us full damage. but
on a roll of 1 on the 1d6. the
weapon or weapon-head shat·
ters and is useless.
Bone Weapons
Bone weapons
are likewise used like their mod·
ern counterparts. but are worth
even less money. can on ly be
used with smaller stabbing
weapons (knives and daggers).
and shatter even more readlly-
on a roll of I or 2 on Id6.
Other Uses for
Stone and lIone Weol.pons
Genera ll y. no
one In his right mind is going to
trade In nice. modern steel
weapons for bone or stone coun·
terparts. But characters don't
alway s have the choice.
Characters with the Savage
warrior kit start out with the
level of weapons the DM decides
for him: " Modern:' stone or
bone. In a campaign where most
savages are simp ly hunter-
gatherers who live at a certain
distance from the PCs' culture.
but who trade and Interact with
them . modem weapons are fine.
When the savage culture is far
away and more technologically
prlmillve. stone weapons are
more appropriate . If the savages
are supposed to be very priml·
tive Indeed, bone weapons are
the proper choice. In all Ukell-
hood, Lhese savage characters.
reaching more advanced lands
and seeing how much more
'03
damage more modern weapons
will do. will make the switch ...
though they're likely to sUck to
the lypesofweapons they know
best (spears. bows, daggers.
etc.).
Remember, Lhough. that the
club Is the same weapon regard-
less of technological advance·
ment: the s urliest caveman can
make a club that has th e
weapon Slats of the most mod-
ern baseball bat.
Also, player-characters might
find th emselves stripped of
weapons and cast adrift tn the
wilderness. If they want weap·
ons. they'll have to make them.
possibly of stone or bone. For
these purposes. too. the weapon
Slats above can be useful.
Sw ashbudder Weol.pons
Swashbuckler
weapons are light. fast weapons
used by IIghtly·armored oppo·
nents. usually in an environ-
ment fa culture, nation or even
just a city) where heavier arms
and armor are illegal or out·
dated. They're also appropriate
for shipboard campaJgns and sit·
uaUons: the light annor is easier
to get out ofso you don't drown if
you fall overboard. So. usually.
swashbucklers emerge In an
area where the days of the plate·
armored. broadsword·wleldlng
knight are past .. . or at least
numbered. Swashbuckler char·
acters might bolt on the plate
mail and pick up the lance for
genuine warfare. but In their cos·
mopolitan big-city adventures
they stick to the lighter stuff ...
and can be sure that most of the
opponents they face will be lijte-
wise armed and armored.
Weapons from the Player's
Handbook which can be consld·
ered swashbuckler weapons in·
c1ude: Bows (all types).
Crossbows (all available types),
DaggerlDlrk. Knife. Polearms
(all types). and Short Swords.
The only sorts of shields they
use regu larly are buc kle rs a nd
small s hields. and they lend to
wear only lea Lher. padded. a nd
hide armor.
The new weapons list cd on
the chart above Includ e:
Sdletto
The s tiletto Is
a type of narrow·bladed knife.
s harp on ly at the point. Its m osl
unusual lrait is that It confers a
+ 2 (non·maglcalJ bonus to hit
aga ins t certain a rm or ty pes :
Plate mall (bronze a nd normal).
ring mail. and chai n mall . (This
is beca use IlS narrow point and
b lade slip In more readily
Lhrough a ny sort of armor that
Is not solid metal or overlapping
plates of metal.)
It otherwise behaves like a ny
other knife . and Knife weapon
proficie ncy is exactly the same
as Stiletto weapon proficiency:
If you know one. you know the
other equally well . at no addi-
tional COSt in proficiency s lots.
The main·
gauche Is a large-bladed dagger
with a basket hill (see the de·
scription of Cutlass. above) and
large qulllions. Though It Is a
stabbing weapon . It's primarily
a defensive weapon wielded In
th e left- ha nd in tw o-wea pon
teChnique (or two-weapon sty le
speclallzallon)_
Whe n used by someone with
Mai n- gauche wea pon profi-
ciency_ the weapon confers a + I
bonus to hit with the Disarm
and Parry m a ne uve rs. Because
of lLS cu tlass-like basket hilt. the
maln ·gauc he. too. wor ks like an
iron ga untlet If the wielder
wishes to punch someone with
the hUI ra the r than slash with
the blade.
Main-gauche proficiency is reo
la ted to. but not Id en llca l to.
dagger proficiency. SpeclaIl 7.3-
tion confers the u sual benefits_
New Armor
The rapier is a Some or the
long-bladed. one- handed sword . new warrior types represe nted
norm ally s ha rp onl y a t th e by the warrior kits also have
point. It's a thrusUn g weapon , their own special forms of a r-
wielded with ligh tn ing-li ke mor: the Gladiator and Samurai
thrusts and lunges. Swashbuck· both In troduce new forms or a r-
le rs ofte n learn 1\vo-Weapon mor to the campaign .
Style Special!zaUon and use ra-
pie r with rapie r. with main-
gauc he, with s hort sword. or
with dagge r. s tiletto. or knife. T here a re
It ·s also occasional ly used with three normal types of gladiator
buc kler_ armor: T h rac ian. Gallic . and
Rapier requires its own profi- Samnite.
ciency. whic h Is related to sabre Armor
proficiency- not long sword Armor Type Class
and its related weapo ns. Th racia n 9
Weapon speciali zation con rers Gallic 7
the usual benefits. Sam nlte 5
You can have a rapier made
with a bas ke t hill. Th is adds 2 They're all made up from sev ·
gp to the cost. + I lb. to the eral smaller pieces of armor.
weight. and confers the normal which incl ude :
basket-hil t benefits: + I to hI!
wi th Parry man euve r. a nd the wgt
iron-gau ntle t benefit fo r Punc h- Armor Piece Cost (Ibs)
ing. Belt :
Protective metal
belt a t waist 2 gp 5
Cu irass:
The sabre Is a Leather or me ta l
light slashing weapon . Its prac- c hest plate 50 gp 20
titioners com monly use only sa- Fasciae:
bre. and ofte n take Leathe r bands
Slngle·Weapon Style Specializa- on legs 10 gp 5
tion and Sabre Weapon Speciali- Galea :
zatio n. They are ve ry deadly Visored Helmet 10 gp 5
with their blades a nd may be In- Galerus:
ordinately proud of the facia l Shoulde r piece
scars they accum ulate (and deal on wea pon
OUI) . shoulde r 5 gp 3
Sabre requires Its ow n profi- Man icae:
Cie ncy. which is related to ra pie r l.eath er s leeve to gp 5
proficiency. Myrrm tllo:
Sabres. like cu tlasses a nd Visored helm
maln-gauches. are made with a resembling
basket hilt. This confers the nor- sea fish 10 gp 5
mal basket-hill be nefits: + I to
hit with Parry maneuver. and Also used by the glad ia tors
the Iro n-gaun llet benefit for arc the parma (a small shield. ei-
Punc hin g. ther square or round) and scu-
fum (an oblong med ium s hield).
These armor types are named
for rea l-world sites (Thrace.
Gaul. a nd Sam nos): If you have
104
gladiaLOrs In your campaign.
you may wam to rename these
types according to place-names
marc a ppropriate to your set-
ling.
Thro1d,ln
The T hrac ian
glad iator wears only fasciae on
his legs . Th is gives him AC 9. or
B with a shie ld-and he carries a
shield. a parma. In glad iatoria l
combat. the Thrac!an gladiator
Og hts o nly with a dagger. In the
fi eld . adventuring. he co uld usc
anyLhlng he wan ts .
G.lllc
Th e Ga llic
gladiator wears Lhe gaJea. the
belt. manica on his weapon
arm . and fasciae. This confers
an AC of7 . He a lso carries a scu-
tum . to bring It toa 6. The GaJlic
gladiator fi ghts with any num·
ber of weapons.
So1mnftc
The most
heavily-armored type of glad ia-
tor. the Samnlte. wears a cui-
rass. fasciae on his legs. ma nlca
o n his weapon arm. and the ga-
lea helmet. His basic AC Is 5. o r
4 with the scutum he carries.
Should someone just wcar the
cuirass. his base AC would be 7.
Samurai Armor
The main dif-
ference between orie ntal and oc-
c idental armor. from a This Is a pair of armored sleeves
game-mechanics point of view.
Is descriptive. Orienta l armor Is
colo rful and elaborate ly con-
struc ted. often brightly enam-
elled or decorated with paint or
painted leathers. s il k cords .
precious-meta l plating. etc.
But from a game- mecha nic
poi nt of view. leather a rm or Is
leather armor. plate Is plate .
Samurai wear armor that Is the
equivaJent of padded leather.
105
studded leather. scale mail. and
briga nd lne : basic costs.
we ights. and AC va lu es are
Ide ntical to Lhe western armor
styles . However. a samurai may
wish to s pend more than Lhe
minimum a mount on his ar-
mor; the extra money goes Into
making It a remarkable exam-
ple of eastern art.
Kote
The samurai
also have one sort of annor un-
known to the west: The kate.
which may be worn conceaJed
under the samuraI's tuniC.
Mecha nically. Lhe kate costs
twice as much as and acts al-
most the same as a bu ckle r.
There a rc a couple of differences
betwee n bu ckler a nd kate.
thoug h . Kate can not be Dis-
armed . and you can use weap-
ons In the hands of Lhe arms to
which kote are attacked. The
fact that kOle consists ofa paJrof The armor a character wears pushed down and sat upon with
sleeves doesn't mean you get a affects hi s AC, his Encum- comparative ease.
+2 bonus to AC; only the + 1 brance (If lha l opLionaJ syste m Nothing cou ld be further from
normally conferred by a buc k- is used). and a lso his ability 10 the tru lh . Armor Is design ed to
ler. perform dexterous ac Uons-ln be as accommodating as possl·
other words. heavier armor pe- ble to a fighter's movements.
nalizes a character 's Dexterity and so the AD&D" game doesn '(
Effec"ts of Armor score for purposes of Dextcrity assign an amlOred warrior any
Here a re some ability checks and Dexterity- sari of Inillatlve penalty for
optional rules for use with the based nonweapon proOclencles. wearing armor.
wearing of armor In your cam- A character's choice of head Now. a rmor isn't made fo r
paign. You may wish to use protecLlon, on the other hand. some other types of movem ent
some. all. or none of these; we'lI affects his Encumbrance. his (acrobatics. dancing. etc.) a nd
try to d.lscuss what effects each abllily to spot things. a nd the so will constric t m any othe r
will have on your campaign. ability of some weapons and at· Dexterlty·based abilities. as
A lot of the Information we'lI tacks to affect him in combat. as we'lI discuss below . It is a lso
be d.lscusslng and e laborating we'lI discuss furthe r on. heavy. which slows down a n a r·
upon is contained in the follow· m ored charac te r 's runn ing
Helmet Vis_ Hrg. wgt. speed. as IsaJready docume nted
Ing c harts. Type (Ibs)
In the game.
Armo, AC De>< wgt Cap -0 -I 2
Type Chks (Ibs) Coif -0 -I 2
Effects On Dexterity Checks
Banded mall 4 -2 35 Close-Faced -2 -3 5
Brigandlne 6 -2 35 Great he lm -3 -4 10 Armor does In ·
Bronze None -0 -0 o terfere wilh a c harac ter's grace-
plate mall 4 -3 45 Open-Faced - I -2 5 fuln ess in many sit uations. For
ChaJn mall 5 -2 40 this reason, we assign the c har·
Field plate 2 -3 60 Effects On AC acter a penalty to Dexterity
Full plate I -3 70 c hecks (a nd dexterity-based
The effects of non weapon pronclenc ies) when
Gladiator
Gallic 7 - I 15 armor on the cha rac ters' AC are the character is In armor: those
Sam nlte 5 -2 30 already well -documented with- pena lties are listed on the annor
Thracian 9 o 5 in the game. chart above.
Hide 6 -3 30 In the campaign. the only fea· These pena lties a re applied
8 o 15
ture of thc armor/AC system when the character is using all
Leath'" that t.e nds to eause trouble in-
Padded 8 o 10
volves the s hi eld . Reme mber
nonweapon proncleneics except
Plate mail 3 -3 50 Riding (Land-based or Airborne)
Ring mall 7 -I 50 that attacks 10 the character 's or Charioteering. which are ex-
6 -2 30 rear are made at lhe character's empt from the penalty. (Why
Scale mall
AC IVllhoul the sh ield (unless someone would be performing
Shie ld he's wearin g it slung across his
Body • 15 many of those skills In anTlor Is a
Bucklerl back. of course): this is some· mystery ... bulil could happen.)
• - 0· • 3 thing that Is easy to forget. OMs. In addition. the penalty pre-
Kote If they don' t keep the informa-
Medluml scribed for the shields Is applied
• 10 tion written on a helpful record when the character is using the
Scutum sheet, should ask their players:
SmalU nonweapon pronciencies Jug-
• 5
"W hat's your AC from the gling. Tightrope Walking and
Parma rear?" when s uch Inc idents
Splint mati 4 40 Thmbllng. (The OM may c hoose
come up. not JUSI "Wha t's your to disal low the s hie ld penalty for
Studded AC::r
leather 7 - I 25 certain exam ples of these skills '
usc. For cxample , a c harac ter
• A shield makes the AC one Effects On Speed who Is Juggling a one· handed
better: Leather + s hield Is tec hn ique won't be put off by
AC7 . Therc's a mls·
conception that armor. parllcu- having a s hield on the othe r
•• This penalty is only coumed hand. But these exceptions wUl
for cen ai n s ltuallons: see be- larly plate -type armor. trans-
forms gracefu l warr io rs Into be rare.)
low .
lumbering oafs who can be

106
In t he Cotmpalgn . . .
These dexter·
fly· roll pcnallies are provided
only for Lhose garners to whom
the maller means something, If
you don 't care abo ut suc h
things, don' t use these rules:
they' d merely be an a nnoyance
and extra complication for you.
But if you prefer for a charac·
te r to be a little less graceful
when In full pla te or hide than in
soft lea !.her or no armor at all .
these rules are fo r you r cam·
paign.
Effed s On Vision .. nd Heotrlng
Helms and
hcJmeLS restric t v\slon a nd hear·
Ing. They fra me the face, ob·
scure his vis ion. muffle his
hearing, a nd generally give the
character less ability to observe
what's goin g on ar ound him ,
(Th ey a lso som eti mes keep
maces from cav ing in his s ku ll ,
which Is why nghters like helms
a nd he1mets.)
With these optional rules.
we'll talk about different kinds
of helms and helmets. how
they' re used. and what other ef·
fec ts they have In combat.
Other Helms and Helmets
Th e types of
armor listed In the Player 's
Handbook. page 69 , incl ude
only two types of helmet (great
helm and basl ncl) and then
don't real ly describe what the
differe nces are be tween t.hem
, , . other than price and weight.
In Th e Complete Fighter 's
Handbook. we'll tal k about s ix
diffe rent ty pes of head protec·
tion . Each one has differe nt ef·
fectson lhe character's ability to
see things and to protect himself
from different types of damage.
What Hcad Protection
Doesn't Do
The one thing
your choice of head protection
doesn'l do Is change your Ar·
mor Class. A warrior can have
on full pla t.e a nd a grea t helm. or
full plate and no helmet at all ,
and he']] have the same AC, So
when making your c hoice of
head protect ion fo r your charac·
ter. don't worry about the char·
ac ter's AC , for It won't be
affected.
Vision-and Hearing Checks
In a combat or
a ny other loud situation (such
as a ra ucous tavern . a charging
mob. a n earthquake, a hurri·
cane, or a singing contest at a
dwarven boiler·maklng pla nt).
the OM may want his PCs to
make Visio n a nd Heari ng
Checks in order to see and hear
certai n things.
Certainly. when a fighter Is
pointed in a certain direc tion ,
there's nothing distraCti ng him .
and an ogre is lumbering at him
(rom that direc tion. the figh ter
is goi ng to see the ogre. No roll Is
necessar y.
But wh en there's a c han ce
that the character could fall to
notice such a thing (as defin ed
by the OM ). the character gets to
make a Vision Check or a Hear·
Ing Check (whichever the situa·
tion calls for).
A Vision or Hearing Check Is a
Id20 roll agai nst the cha racter's
Intelligence or Wisdom , which·
ever is higher. If the PC rolls his
ability or less. he's successfully
made his check a nd can see or
hear whatever it is he's sup·
posed to. If he fails. he doesn 't.
Protective headgear. however,
provides penalties to lhe charac·
ler's Vision and Hearing
Checks. as well as providing
other benefits and hindra nces.
101
No Heotd Protedlon
If a character
chooses to wear no head protec·
tlon at all. he suffers no Vision or
Hearing check penalties.
However. the c haracter has
one hindrance, If you're using
th e optional hit location rules
from the Combat Rules cha pter.
If a character Is wearing no
head protection. an artackercan
make a Called Shot against his
head a nd the re by Ignore the
character's AC benefits from ar·
mor. tAli bonuses (rom shields,
high De xterity scores. and mag·
leal Ite ms still cou nt. however.)
Since !.his is a very difficult s hot
(a tota] - 8 to hit. remember).
th is doesn 't do the attac ke r
much good, un less lhe victim Is
otherwise heavily annored.
Example: Hahvay the archer
has IWO possible targets. 1Crrl·
lor and Bosque. two brutal
g uards. Jerri/ or is wearing
leather armor and no headgear:
chis puts him at AC 8. and with
his Dexterily bonus he 's AC 6,
Bosque is wearing {ull plate + 2,
no headgear. and body shield:
chis pUIS him at AC - 2 .
HaJway, afl er all modfflers for
range. his Dexterity. and other
factors . is THACO 16. (He's a
6th·level warrior. with a Dexter-
fly of 16, and is firlngal Medium
Range,l
If he ShoolS at Thrrltor, AC 6,
he needs only a (16·6) 10 or bet·
Icr 10 hit him. If he shoots at
Thrritor's unprolected head, the
shot becomes much harder ; he's
shooling al AC 8 fAC 10. - 2 for
1Crrll or 's Dexter ity). and so
would normally need a (16·8) 8:
bu t wUh the - 8 La hit for a head
shot, he's back to a roll of 16 or
OCHer. It 's easier for him to hit
TerrHor with a normal . non-
speCific s hot.
Ifheshoolsal Bosque. AC - 2.
he needs fa roll an (16·,·2Jj 18 or
bell er fa hit him. Jf he s hoots al
Bosque's unprotected head, the
shot becom es somewhat easIer:
he's shooting at AC 9 fAC 10,
modified by Bosque's shield),
and so would normally need a
(16-9) 7; with the -8 to hi! for a
head shot he 's up to a roll of 15
or better. This m akes Ir sllghtly
casler to hI( Bosque, and may
give him the special effects of
the head location shot if he suc-
ceeds, so thaI's the shot he at-
tempts.
The lower {bener} a target's
AC Is, the beUer an option it is to
try a head s hot. ifhls head Is un-
prot,e cted and the r est of his
body is armored. Characters in-
terested In mls option should
calculate me math of both shots
and compare th e results. if they
know all the relative ACs and
modifiers: if they don't, they
should ask the OM. in general
terms. if it's even worm their
time to try such a shot.
The u.p
The Cap Is a
padded. leather or eve n steel
skullcap which Is about the size
of and worn much like a c1ose-
nUing cap, beret or hat . Il gives
the wearer no penally fo r Vision
Checks, and a- I penalty with
Hearing Checks (as It partially
covers the ears). It's often worn
in conJunclio n with padded.
leather. hide. studded leather.
and other lightweight armors.
The Coif
The Coif is a
padded chain mall hood: It fi ts
fai rly snugly around the neck
and over aU the head except the
face from chin to forehead. Like
the Cap. It gives the wearer no
pe nalty for Vision Checks and
only a - I penalty with Hearing
Checks. h 's us ually worn with
chain mall.
Often. a heavily-armored
knight will wear a chain mall
calf and wear a Great Helm over
it. The only lxnent this confers
is that such a knight can remove
his Great Helm . the better to see
and hear around him, and s till
have some head protection. Asa
disadvantage, It adds a little
weight to the knight's equip-
ment. but It does not decrease
his Vision and Hearing checks
any further than Just wearing
the Great Helm .
The Open-'';te He~met
The Open-
Faced Helm et. made of rein-
forced lealher. or of m etal.
covers the back, sides and top of
the face. leaving most of the face
open. It gives the wearer a -I
penalty with Vision Checks. and
a - 2 penalty with Hearing
Checks (ll completely covers the
ears. us ually with s mall holes or
grating over the ears so that the
wearer can hear at al1J.
Examples include the Cortn-
thian helmeLsofanclent Greece.
In a medieval campaign. open-
faced helmets are often worn by
milHary oITicers and soldiers
who can afford the protection .
The Closed-Fue Helmet
The Closed-
Face Helmet Is made or metal
and is much like th e Open -
Faced Helmet ... except that
there Is armor plate. often In the
form of a visor which may be
opened. in fro nt of the face_ It
gives the wearer a -2 penalty
with Vision Checks. and a - 3
penalty with Hearing Checks.
Examples Include the baslnet
mentioned in the Player's Hand-
book. the galea and myrrmillo
mentioned for th e gladiato rs
(above). and many o1hercombat
helmets . Many knights and
other moun ted warriors wear
helmets of this type.
If the wearer of a Closed-Face
Helmet is also wearing plate
mall or neld plate armor. he gets
a + I to saving throws vs.
dragon breath. a nd to spe lls
such as burning hands. pyro-
108
technics. fire baJI. flaming
spher e. waJJ of nrc. delayed
bl<l5t fireball. incendiary cloud.
and meteor swarm. and other
nre-based spells and magical ef-
fects (as determined by the OM) .
If someone uses a Lasso.
Chain. or Bolas In an effort to
snare a rider's head. and that
rider is weari ng a Closed-Face
Helmet. the victim gets to roll
Id6. On a 4-6. the attack is han-
dled normally. but on a 1-3. the
a ttack Is treatedJustasa normal
lasso or chain dismount; the at-
tacker doesn'1 do the extra dam-
age that the head-lasso attack
nonnally allows.
The Great Helm
The Great
Helm is a massive helm which
covers the entire head. from the
top of the head to the top of the
s houlders. leaving silts open for
the eyes and ho les open for
breathing: it has no removable
visor. It glvcs the wearer a - 3
penalty with Vision Checks. and
a - 4 penalty with Hearing
Checks.
The Greal Helm provides the
following other benents:
The wearer of a Greal Helm
gets a +2 saving throw vs. wiz-
ard spells such as hypnotism,
light cast on his eyes. blindness.
hypnotic pattern, suggestion.
fire charm. rainbow patt ern,
and some other mlnd-control-
ling spells ... but not eharm
person. charm monster. or dom-
Ination.
If the wearer of a Greal Helm
is also wearing plate mail or ne ld
plate armor. he gets a +2 to sav-
ing throws vs. dragon breath.
and LO spells such as burning
hands. pyrotechnICS, nre ball,
flaming sphere. wall of fire. de-
layed blast flreba JJ, incendiary
cloud. and meteor s wann . and
other fi re-based spells and magi-
cal effects {as determined by the
OM}. If. instead of plate mail or
neld plale. he Is wearing full
plate . the bonus is a + 3 to sav·
ing throws.
If som eon e u ses a Lasso.
Cha jn. or Bolas in an e ffo rt to
s n are a rider's head . and thal
rider is wearing a Great Helm.
th e atlack is a uto matica lly
trea ted Just as a nonnal attac k.
With lasso or chain. it's a nor·
mal lasso or chain dismount.
and the a l1acker doesn' t do the
extra damage t h at th e head ·
lasso attack norm a lly allows.
With Bolas. the aHack does nor-
mal damage. but no s trangu la·
tion damage .
In the Cam paign . . .
If yo u use
these rules in a campaign. you
add some color a nd d iStinction
between t he types of armor that
your PCS wiJJ be wearing. On the
other han d. once again. it's an
a dded Ic \'el of complexity whic h
lhe game doesn't have to have.
Use these rules only If t he added
complexity doesn ' t bother yOll.
a nd If the special func tions of
the different types of helmets
appeal to you .
Variant Armor
T h e ty pes of
armor gi ve n in t he Player's
Handbook are a ll you need to
play the game. However, you
can use other types of a rmor in
your campaign: he re, we'll talk
about two different types of al·
te rnative a rmor.
Radal Armor
!I'sasking a lot
to s uppose tha t elves will make
t h eir armor j u st as humans
make theirs. t hat it will look t he
same a nd function idenlicaHy.
Here are some ways to make the
armors of d ifferent races more
individual .
Armor Fitting
Armor m ade
for one race rarely nts a noUl cr:
it may be too big. tOO small. or
proportio ned too s trangely.
Below is a chart. The colu mn
to the left shows the ty pe of de·
mihuman trying to wea r the a r·
mor. The rows along the top
s how what s pecies th e armor
was made for, The percentage
chances shown a re the cha nces
tha t t he person can wear the ar·
mar. and t he " +" and .. -" sym·
bois show whet her the armor is
more llkely to be too big or too
s mall for the wearer. (If 1.here Is
no s u ch symbol. it mea n s thai
odds are even, 50% tha t it will
be too big, 50 % that it will be too
s mall. ) '"Too la rge" cou ld mean
thal it is so baggy or empty t hat
it hinders the wearer and docs
not protect him well enoug h. or
that it is SO long on him that It
interferes wi t h h is walking .
"Too s mall" could mean that it
is not broad e nough to accom·
modate t he wearer's chest. or
thatH is so short that it looks rio
d ic ulous and docs not suffi·
cie ntly protect the wearer.
Now. at th e OM's discretion .
m an y things can affec t these
perccnt"age chances .
If a charaeler of onc se x is try·
Ing to pu t on armor bu ilt for an·
other scx. cha nces go down that
it will fit. The chance is red uced
10% (bu t never goes below 5%).
If a fit fails because of that mod i·
fier. It 's beca use the wo man
found lhc man's armor too big.
or the man found t.he woman's
too small.
Race
Trying To Race For Which Armor Was Built:
Wear Armor: Owf Elf Gnm
Dwarf 80% 0% -
Elf 10% + 90%
Gnome 40% + 40 % +
Ha lf·Elf 20% + 45%
HalHlng 75 % + 30% -
Human 50% 20% -
10 9
However. the DM m ay allow
the differen ce in sex to help
someti m es-in cases wh ere the
a rmor is not likely to fit a ma le
human because It is lOO small in
the s houlders and e hesL A hu ·
man wom a n trying to put on a
male ha lf·e lfsarmor might be al
no modiner. a nd find herself a t a
+ 10% modifier to wear a male
e trs armor.
Remember that full pla te has
its own modifiers for cha nces to
fit: it has only a 20% chance to nt
a n other m ember of the sam e
race 110% If the new wearer is of
the other sex). A character can·
no/ wear full p late m ade fo r a
character of another race, per·
lod .
The OM can allow previous ly
role· p layed detcrmina tions of a
c harac ter's h eigh t and bulld to
affect the c hances from th e
c hart below. For Insta nce. irone
player has always said tha t his
human charac ter was s hort and
s tocky. say 5'4 ~ and powerfu lly
buill. so t hat many people Joked
aboul l1im having a dwarvish
ancestor, the OM can g ive h im a
+ 15% c ha nce to weardwarvlsh
a rmor: thi s raises his chance
from 50% lO 65%. as If h e were a
human try ing to wear armor of
h is own kind . Th e OM s hould ,
howe ve r, s ubtrac t t ha t same
modifier fro m t he charac ter's
chance to wear armor built ror
humans: that c hance wouJd go
dow n from 65% to 50%.
Exampl e: An adventuring
party kills a bellolder in ils lair
and finds u U: armor worn by
prcl';OUS vic lims. T Ile advenlur-
th, E I th-lg Hum
10% - 10% - 35% - 40 %
50% - 70% + 35% + 50% +
75% 25% + 60 % + 20% +
10% + 70% 35% 50%
35% - 35% + 70% 20% +
5% - 30% - 10% - 65 %
ers Include a huge human male
barbarian. a slender human
warrior ess. a dwarfaxeman .
and a female gnome. The dead
victims include an elf male In
en chanted chain mail and a
haJ/1lng m al e In enchanted
leather. Th e her oes see who can
wear the cap tured armor.
The DM decides arbitrarily
that the human barbarian can·
not even roll. He s always de-
scribed himself as being
massive. with enormous rip-
pling muscles and a body·
bullder's physique. In this
campaign. chat often helps him
with the ladies. but this time it
disqualifies him from wearing
any of lhe treasure.
The sl ender human wanioress
tries the e/fs chain m ail. A hu-
man trying on elf armor. on the
chan above. has a 20% [0 wear it
successfully. Th e DM raises her
chance 10% because she Is a fe-
male human crying ro flt into
male elfarmor; her buJld is at an
advancage here. He raises il 10%
furth er because In the campaign
she has always described herself
as of delicate build. very sl ender.
This raises her chance to 40 %.
She rolls 38 on percentile dice;
she can wear the chain. She also
rrfes lhe enchanted l eather. A
human woman trying to wear
male balfllng armor Is at 10%.
and the DM agaJn assigns her the
+ 20% from !he two modifiers
mentioned. She has a 30%
chance. bur rolls a 79; she can-
not wear It.
The dwarfaxeman tries the e/·
vish chain. A dwarf trying to
w eare/farmor has a 0% cbance
to wear it. He can't, He has a
35 % chance to wear the ha/f-
lings armor; the DM Jowers that
to 25 % because rhls character
has al ways described himself as
especially burly for a dwarf. But
he rolls 03 on percentile dice; he
can wear the enchanted l eather.
The female gnome lrles the el-
vtsh chain. She has a base 40 %
chance to wear it. The DM does
not modify ir for her sex. She
rolls a 51 and fails. She tries the
lea ther; she has a base 60 %
chance with It, -10 % for differ-
en t gender equals 50%. She
rolls a 33 and can wear i t
So the human warr/oress gets
the chain mail. and the dwarf
and gnome must choose or gam-
ble to decide who gelS the leath·
ers.
Hlgh,Quality Racial Armo r
Armor found
as ueasure has a chance to be
high-quality arm or, Ordinary
armor has a 10% chance on per·
centile dice: magical armor has
a 25% chance.
Each race adds something dlf·
ferent to Its armor if It is high-
quality.
Dwarves: High-Quality
dwarvtsh armor Is very, very reo
sista nt to damage . Whenever
High -Quality dwarvlsh armor
must make a saving throw (see
th e Dungeon Master's Guide,
pages 39-39), It gets a +6 to save
In addition to any bonuses it re-
ceives If It Is magical. Addition-
ally, if you use the "Damage to
Armor" rules deSCribed later In
th is chapter. all High-Quality
dwarvlsh armor has t wice the
number of damage points of or·
dlnary armor,
Elves: High-Quality elvish ar-
mor is 1/2 the weight of ordinary
armor: II co nstitutes "elve n
steel" (see the chart on page 38
of the Dungeon Master s Guide).
Gnomes: Gnom es make very
quiet studded and pad ded
leather armors: th ese are the
only High-Quality armors they
make, High-Quality gnome ar-
mor does not take any penalties
on the "Thieving Skill Armor
Adjustme nt" table (Player's
Handbook. page 39, last
column): thus, a gnom e thief or
dual-c lass thief does not suffer a
-30% when picking pockets, or
a -20% when moving silently,
e tc.
110
Half·Elves: Half-Elf armorers
do not make any High·Qua lity
leather armor. padded a rm or,
studded leather, hide armor. or
bronze plate mail. All their other
armors can be made as High·
Quality armor. High-Quality
half-elf armor is made from nne
steel: It Is -1 0% the weight of
ordinary armor of th e same
kind, nne steel. fo r normal
thickness, - 10% weight. and
gets a +2 to saving throws (on
the "Metal" column on page 39
of the Dungeon Master s Guide).
Halflings: Halnlngs only
make leather armor as High·
Quality a rm or. Their Hlgh-
Quality leather annor counts as
"No Armor" on the "Thieving
Skill Armor Adjus tment ta ble
(Players Handbook. page 39).
Humans: Humans make all
types of armor as High-Quality
armor. This is especially tough
armor: whatever it is made of. it
Is + 2 to saving throws on the
appropriate line of the "Item
Saving Throws" chart on page
39 of the Dungeon Master's
Guide. Also . plate mail (not in-
clud ing bronze plale). fi eld
plate, a nd full plate made to
Hlgh·Quality s peCifications Is
made affine steel. but instead of
being lighter than usual. it is
buUt thic ker in order to make il
more resistant to damage, It Is
+4 to saving throws on that
"Ite m Saving Throws" chart.
and is normal weight. Also, It
gives the wearer a + 2 to saving
throws vs. Rod, Staff. or Wand
and Breath Weapon attacks. In
addition, If you are u sing th e
"Damage to Armor" rules found
la ter in this chapter, It has one
and a half times the normal
damage polnts for the ty pe of ar·
mor it is.
Other Notes on HISh-Quality The answer Is yes. Ins tead of Example: A characrer is
R,tct.1 Armor costing ten times the normal ro bbed of a ll his w orldly goods,
cost of the a m lor. the price is 15 Later. h e finds lheaftermath ofa
All the above Urnes the normal cost. But it can battle. with a couple of dead
descripLio ns were for worn ar· be done. Again. thoug h. an elf warriors still In their armor. On e
m a r. not shields. Hlgh·Quality armorer w Ul never make High, body wears a badly battered set
sh ields do not impart any spe- Quality armorer (or anyone but of field pla te (o f which the
cial bonus unless you 're using his rulers. breas /p la te Is Intact). while the
the " Damage to Armor" rules. Custom-built Hlgh'Quality ar· other wears a full s uit of chain
In w hich case they have twice as mor takes four times as lo ng lO mall (of which the chesl Is rid-
many damage points as the nor· make as norma l. average armor. dled with holes and one leg Is de·
mal sort of sh ield . s/rayed).
How much docs It cost to buy Piecemeal Armor He t.ries 1.0 piece this together
a set of High·Quality racial ar· Into a SUil for h im . He takes the
mor? First. the DM h as to decide Wha t ha ppens fie/d'plat,e's breastpla te. Look-
whether there Is any avaiJable to when a charac ter takes a heavy Ing a l the chari , we see it grants
sell. Usually. the answer will be metal breastplate from a set or an AC bonus of 4. He also takes
no; there Is o nly a I % cha nce fie ld plate and then wears chain the field-plates rIVo arms. Look·
that a nom lal village armorer's mall sleeves and leggings and a ing a t the c hart , we see they
will have made any piece of lea the r a rm or cap? (That Is . g rant an AC bonus of2. He lakes
hlg h--quaHlY armor to sell . and what happens other than he the sun'lvlng ch ain mail leg.
tha t wHl be racial armor of the looks stupid? ) Lookfnga t the chart. we see that
armorer 's race. The c hance goes Cha racters can wear armor It gr an ts a n AC bonus ofO. (He'lI
up to 5% in a big city. or 25% if assembled out of the remna nts also take the s urviving h elm or
you're looking for racial armor of other, mismatched sets of a r· h elmer from one of these war·
of the race that Is most common mar. It 's not as good . and cer· rlors. sa that he 'll ha ve same ar·
In the city. Thus, to nnd high· Lalnly not as good· looki ng. as m ar on his head In case of a
quality dwarvlsh armo r. go to a wearing a matched suit . But Cal1ed Shot to the Head.)
big dwarf community ... and sometimes necessity dic tates His AC bonus Is 6. so his AC
the re your c ha nces are sulilow. that characters wear what's o n now Is 4-no( too bad. If there's
But if you nnd what you 're hand . a shield. he '11 have all AC of 3. If
looking for. or are able to hire an When you' re assembling a fu ll someone takes a Called Shot t,o
annorer to build you a set. it suil or armor out or pieces on his unarmored leg. he'll be at
costs ten times the normal cost hand. the nrst thing 1.0 do Is to A C 10 (or 9 with the shield). as
of the armor. Hlgh·qua lity dwarf s ee what you have. Compare per the Combat Ru les ch apter.
pla te m all. th e n . would c ost your annor on hand with the but Ihat aHacker wiJ/ take a -4
6.()(X) gpo Often. it 's not worth c hart below.
the price to the a dventurer.
In no case will an elvish c ra fts·
man cus tom·make a set of High- Bonus to AC Per Type of Piece:
Quality e lvl s h armor for Armor Full Breast- Two One Two One
someone. Such annor Is only Type Suit Plate Arms Arm Legs Leg
made for the elvlsh royalty, a nd
Banded Mall 6 3 2 I I 0
their kings somcLlmes bestow a
Brigandine 4 2 I 0 I 0
piece o n a non-elf hero ... but
Bronze plate 6 3 2 I I 0
only for deeds of excepLio nal
Chain mall 5 2 2 I I 0
valor whic h ha ve helped the
Field Plate 8 4 2 I 2 I
elves . I
Full plate 9 4 3 I 2
Another quesLion adven tur·
Hide an]lor 4 2 I 0 I 0
ers are sure to ask: Can an ar· 0
Leather armor 2 I I 0 0
morer of one race build his own
Padded annor 2 I I 0 0 0
type of Hlgh·Quality armor for
Plate mall 7 3 2 I 2 I
anothe r race? For example. can 0
Ring maH 3 I I 0 I
a master gnome a rmorer build 0
Scale mail 4 2 I 0 I
Hlgh·QualHy g nome armor for a 0
SpUnt mail 6 3 2 I I
huma n? I 0
Studded leather 3 I I 0

111
penally [0 hit (or the Cal1ed Shot The piece of a rmor called the Armo r Type AC DP
maneuver. Galerus. worn o n the weapon Banded Mall 4 30
shoulder. does not a dd a nything Barding
Weight of Piecemeal Suits to the AC bonus : it is cons idered Chaln 5 50
part of the sleeve or breastpla te. Full plate 2 80
1b calc ulate Full scale 6 40
the weight of a piecemeal s uIl of Ha lf brigandtne 7 30
armor. follow these guideli nes: Damage to Armor Half padded 9 IO
The breastpla t e is 1/2 th e It's easiest In a Ha lf scale 7 30
weigh t of the original s uit. campaign Just not to worry Leather/Padded 8 20
Each arm and leg Is 1/8 the abou t t.he da mage that armor Brtgandlne 6 20
weight of the original suit. and shields are taking. It's pre- Bronze plate 4 30
s umed that characters go on ad- Chaln maH 5 25
About Magical Armor ventures, get In fights. a nd Field Plate 2 40
If a su it of during some of their off·hours Full plate I 45
m agical armor Is used for one of they repaJr the ir armor. Gladiator
these piecemeal efforts, It grants If you wa nt know precisely Gallic 7 IS
none of its magical bonus: once how muc h damage a pleceofar- Samnlte 5 25
the magical armor Is split Into mor can take before being de· Th racian 9 5
lillie bits, or pieces are m erely stroyed. and ho w to re pair Helms
se parated a nd no t worn to- da maged a rmor (without the Cap +0 5
geth er, the magical bo nus PCS necessarily having to do so Coif +0 15
doesn ' t work, themselves), you can use the fol· Close-Faced ' +0 25
lowing rules. Great +0 35
Open·Faced +0 20
Gloldloltor Armor Hide armor 6 20
Damage Points
These rules fo r Leather armor 8 10
piecemeal armor are, In effect, Every time a Padded annor 8 10
how the types of Gladiator Ar- c haracter wearing armor is hit Plate mall 3 35
m or described in th is chapter and damaged by a n at.tack. his Ring mail 7 15
arc bull! . armo r takes damage . too. It Scale mw l 6 20
Thracian armor consists of ta kes I Damage Point per blow S hields
fasciae. the equivalent of Hide tha t hits. If an attack hits fo r I Body +I 35
armor worn o n two legs- thus po int or damage, the armo r Buckler +1 10
an AC bonus of 1. for an AC of9. takes lOP. If an attack hits fo r Medium +1 25
Gallic armor consists of fas- 10 poin ts of damage. the armor Sma ll +1 10
ciae (Hide armor on two legs). takes 1 DP. SpUnt mall 4 30
one manica (the equivalent of S hields o n ly take damage Studded leather 7 15
Splint Mail on one ann. thus an when the character successfully
Parries with a Shield . Each time • Inc ludes baslnet. galea, myr-
AC bonus of 1). and a protective rmllIo
metal belt. The belt Is a special he parries an attack that would
piece of gladiator armor: It con- have hit him . his shield takes I
DP. Piecemeal Armor
stitutes haifa breastplate of Hide
armor in both weight an AC b0- Helms o nly take damage If you're using
nus. SO it grants an AC bonus of when the character Is hit with a the Piecemeal Armor rules from
1. All toge the r. Gallic a rmor Ca lled Shot to the Head or a Sap earlier In th is chapter, consider
grants an AC bonus of 3 . fo r a n· maneuver. Each time the char- the armor's Breastplate to have
nal AC of 7. Note: The annor belt a cter wearing a hel m Is hit with the num ber of DP listed fo r It in
cannot be worn in addition to a such an attack. the helm takes I the chart above. Each arm a nd
Breastplate, only Instead of one. DP. leg will have a DPamounl equiv-
Samnite armor consists of a When a pieee of armor drops a lent to (lho the DP total from
cuirass (a splint mall equivalent to 0 DP. It falls apart and Is ru- the chart. T he breastplate will
breastpla te conferring an AC boo In ed: it can nol be repaired. So take all DP damage from a ttacks
nus of 3). and splint-equivalen t long as It has 1 DP It can be re- u nless they a re Called Shots LO
armor on one a rm lAC bonus of paired. other body pans.
II and boLh legs (AC bonus of II. Armor has the foUowing DP:
fo r annal AC of 5.

112

Magica l Ar·
mar does not gradually lose Us
protective enchantment as It is
damaged . However. If It reaches
o DP berore being repaired. the
armor Is destroyed and so Is the
encha ntment.
Being magical does nOl conrer
any extra Damage Poin ts on lhe
s uit or armor. II can gradually be
destroyed by brule force like
any un enchanted suit of armor.
Repairing Armor
GuldeHnes for
repaIri ng damaged armor are
presented In the Character Cre·
aHon chapler. under the head-
lines "Re palrlng Armor" a nd
"Repairing Magical Armor."
Effects on the Ca mpaign
These rules ror
calculating dam age to armor
add a little complexity to com-
bats in the gam e. Every time a
character is hit in combat, he' II
have to add one tally·mark to a
separate scratch sheet or paper
s howing the damage his armor
is taking. It ·s easy to forget: the
OM will constantly have to reo
mind his players to do this in the
first weeks he Is introducing this
rule into his campaign. There·
fore. we recomm end you use
lhlssys tem on ly Ir(t·s Important
to you . Ir it isn' t, don 't bother
with it.
Magical Items
Following are
some new types of magical trea·
surcs. magic especially suited to
fighting characl.ers.
Bracelet of Charms: This ap·
pears to be a nicely ·crafted
bracelet of sturdy gold links. h
looks like any other bracelet to
which small channs and me·
mentos are attached.
1\3
But when a warrior (on ly a
warrior. mulU-class warrior. or
dual-class warrior ) s lides the
bracelet around th e blade or
haft ora weapon. and speaks the
command word engraved on the
bracelet's clasp. lhe weapon djs-
appears . .. and a gold charm
matching the weapon appears
on the bracelet.
T hereafte r. when the warrior
speaks the com mand word a nd
the na me or th e weapon . the
weapon magica ll y appears in
the hand on whose wris t the
brace leL rested ... a nd the
bracelet disappears.
T he bracelet can hold up to
four weapons/charms this way.
They can be normal or magical.
Shields and miscellaneous
equ ipment cannot be held In
this rash Ion; only weapons built
as weapons. Siege weapons can·
not be held .
The cha nge from bracelet to
weapon lakes no time a l aU. but
can be accomplis hed only once
pe, tum. T he br-acelel itself can
be used only eight times In a
day; turning the bracelet into a
weapon counts as one use. a nd
tuming the weapon back into a
bracele t coun ts as one usc.
If the weapon held In the
bracelet's e nc hantmen t is ca lled
on. and wielded. a nd the n dis·
a rmed. the c ha rac te r ca nn ot
call on another weapon from lhe
bracele t. The bracelet itself Is
within the weapon . The c harac·
te r must retrieve the weapon
firs t. a nd only then can he use
IlS magic.
A weapon can be taken out of
lhe bracelet's array. When a
c haracter wishes to do this. he
takes lhe bracelet off his wris t
a nd speaks th e name of th e
weapon . and then says the com·
mand word ... a reversal of the
prevIous proced ure .
The br-acelet does nOl magi·
cally know its owner. Anyone
who steals lhe bracelet from Its
owner and discovers what it Is
can use It a nd ca ll the previous
owner·s weapons forth .
This Hem Is best used when
the wielder wants to carrY a va·
riety of different weapon"s. and
wants to do so secretly. With a
single warrior. the weapons car·
rled m ight be a long bow and
quiver (quive rs count as part of
the wea pon lhey carry arrows
for). a bastard sword . a haJberd .
a nd a dagge r. This gives the
wanio. the ability to call forth
the weapon best suited to the
task a t ha nd.
If a weapon Is broke n . the
bracelet isn·t; the user needs to
call forth the braeelel. then sep·
arate the broken weapon f.om
It.
QUivers arc nOI magically reo
plenlshed when lhey're the size
of c harms. However many a.·
rows are In the qulve. whe n it
becomes a charm are still In It
whe n It becom es a quiver agai n.
Likewise. a broken bow·s tring
stays booke n .
The Bmcelct of Charms may
not be used on lhe same weapon
as a set of Rings of Readiness.
Cage of Shelter: This obJcct
looks like a la rge bi.d·cage tha t
has been nea tly folded down
In to a package a bout the size of
a medium shield .
The user. who can be of any
c ha.acter class. places it upon
the ground . steps back from it.
and claps his ha nds loudly el·
ther two o. th.ee times.
Ifheclaps his hands twice. the
cage grows up Into a stu rd y
metal-framed te nt which ca n
house eigh t peopl e-you ca n
s ubstit ute one horse for four
peop le. This tent confers no
magical blessing on Its Inh abit·
a nts. but by using Hand hud·
dling toge th er fa . wa rmth a
pany can s urvive a snowstorm
thal would kill a n unprotec ted
party: by erecting It In the des·
crt. a pa rty can avoid the danger
and discomrort of a sandstorm.
If the usc. claps his ha nd s
th.ee limes. the cage grows up
Inloa strong 10' by 10' cell . The
doo. to the cell has the equiva·
lent of a wizard lock : Ihe cage·s
ow ne. can open it a ny time he
wishes. and a ny magician with
the kn ock spell can open It by
using tha l spell. A person In th e
ce ll would ha \'e to m ake his
Bend Ba. S/Lift Ga tes 1011 suc·
cessfu lly for use a knock ) to es·
cape: the door's lock cannot be
picked.
1b ret.uID the cage to Its origi.
nal fo. m. the owne. claps agai n.
twice if II Is In te nt form . three
times Ifu Is In cage rorm. Usome-
one is in It when It is a tent and
begins colla psing. It opens up
around the person Ins ide: both
he and it are unhurt. If someone
Is In It when It Is a cage a nd be·
gi ns colla psi ng. U colla pses
amund him . innictlng 2d6 dam·
age before It breaks open : there·
after. it Is ruined forever.
The cage of shell cr knows its
owner. If someone finds it in a
114
t.easure. he mus t carry it in his
gea. roo a mont h for the cage to
allu ne Itself to him. If Its true
owner se lls It to someone else In
the cage's presence. the cage
wUl obey lhe claps of Its new
ow ne. immediately.
Charm of Favor: When dei·
ties and other powerful beings
are pleased with the deed of a
mortal. they som etimes gi ve
him a charm of favor. This Is a
s mall c ha rm or statuette. us u·
a lly of sem lp. eclous mate ria l
a nd two or three Inches In size.
which represents the god or one
of his aspec ts.
The chann Is rather lIke a lim·
ited wisl!. It represents a favor
which the deity will do for the
c harac ter at some lime in the fu·
ture. To use It. the owne. mUSt
thmw the Ite m on the ground so
ha.d that It b. eaks. and then ca U
out his requcst.
The . eq uest mus t have some·
thing to do with the a ttributes of
the god: It"s no use askin g the
Goddess of Love to dry up a n oa·
s is inlO a desert. or to ask the
God of Earthquakes roo a fog to
hide the adven tu . ers.
The god hears It when the fa·
va. is . equcsted . And he. In thc
guise of lhe DM . evaJuates lhe
favo .. If the favo. Is somethin g
which pertains to one of his at·
(ribures. a nd If the god does not
think tha t the character Is mak-
Ing the . equest out of m e re
greed or sclns hncss. and If be·
s towing the favor will not con·
nlc t with a ny of lhe god·s othe r
a ims or desl.es. he will g.ant the
favo •.
So it would be appropria te to
ask the God of inscclS to send a
cloud of bees to lOu t one·s e ne-
mies. or to ask the Goddess of
Love to ca use some NPC to fa ll
in love wi t h the pl aye r·
c ha.acte r. or to ask a deity oflhe
Ea.th to ca use fou it-tr ees to
glOw and save the charactc.s
from death by thirst a nd starva·
lion .
 Because the deity ls evaluaUng
the character's request. the ask·
ing character can not expect an
outrageous (avor to be granted.
And most enemies who steal the
charm from the PC cannot use It
successfully; one might lake It.
hurl it to the ground and break it
with his request. and find the
cranky god stomping on blm and
freeing the (ailh(u) PC. (This .
however. constitutes usi ng u p
the favo r.) But an NPC (riend of
the owner of the charm might be
able to get the Item and ask the
god to hel p the c ha rm 's true
owner . .. particularly If he Is III
or kJdnapped and cannot do so
for himself.
Any c ha racte r of any class
can receive s uc h a charm asa fa·
vor. But when they are found In
treasure. they are useless: they
were not lnl ended for the c ha r·
a cter who finds them, after a ll.
The charm of favors does not
radiate magic.
Rings of Re adiness: This
magical he m consists of two
pla in Iron rings. one suitable to
be worn o n a finger a nd one
larger. some 2 " in diameter.
The larger ring is to be placed
o n some item . It can be sewn
Into or bolted o nto a set of a r-
mor: It can be placed upon the
pommel of a weapon (In which
case it shrinks u ntil it fi ts
snugly): it can be attached to
any Item of personal gear weigh·
ing less than 100 Ibs.
When the larger ring Is a t·
tac hed to an object. a nd the
smaller rin g Is worn by a c harac-
ler, the cha racte r needs only to
u tte r th e magical word in ·
scribed on the inside of the
smaller ring. When he does, if
the other ring Is wilhin 10miles .
It will ins tantaneously transport
th at object to the character.
If the Hem attached to the
other ring Is a weapon. Il will ap·
pear in his hand. If the Ite m Is a
suit of annor, It appears o n lhe
character: If he Is al rcady wear·
ing a suit o( armor, it a ppears dealcrs catch up with them .
nex t to him. If the It.em Is some· This magica l it e m may be
thi ng else, it appears in a fash· used by characters of any class.
Ion dictated by the OM; a crown Rings of readiness can not be
will appear on the characte r's used on the same weapon as a
head, while a sewing mac hine bra celet of channs.
would appear nex t to him . for
Inst.a nce. S h eath of Holding: ThIs item
If the Hem attac hed to the looks IJke an ordinary s heath for
larger ring Is more than 10 miles a la rge knife: the sheath is any·
away, nothing happens. where from 6~ to 1 0 ~ long. in ·
The use of the rings mus t be clud lng Its belt loop.
announ ced before In itiative In But It doesn't hold a knife. It
t he com ba t lurn . Use of the holds a s word-a full·slzed
rings takes no time, The charac· sword . With magiC rather Uke
ter calls ou t the magiC word be· that found In the bag of holding,
fore InlUaUve: thcn, la le r in the th is Item s lides most of the length
lurn. when his actions come up, of the blade into a pocket dlmen·
thc Item In question appears. sia n, so that only the weapon·s
If a character finds the sma ller hU t shows, with the sheath sug·
ri ng without the larger one. then gesUng another 5" or so of blade.
he can s ummon whatever ob- (This looks rather strange when It
jcct the larger one Is attached l a, holds a bastard sword , where the
even If It Is no t h is. These rings hilt will be longer than the appar-
recognize no s ingle owner. An ent blade, but the sheath of hold·
Interesti ng ques t In a cam paign Ingcan do Il.l
might be for a cha rac ter to fi nd Each s h ea th of h o/dlng Is de·
the smaller of a set of rings a nd signed to hold one type of
have La wa nder to fi nd the larger sword . Th e OM ca n dec id e
rin g and summon It and its ob· w hich son of sword It 's des lgned
Jec t to him : re mem ber, It only to hold . or can roll on the table
works wit hin 10 miles of the below, The s heath will not hold
summoner. a sword It is not built to hold .
The magic only works if the Weapon
Item attached to the la rger ring Roll Held By Alternate
Is Inanlmat.e. Living things a re RoU
not transponed.
dl OO Sheath
0 1· 10 Bastard
Once s ummoned . these ob· s word 01 · 15
jects may not be sent back. This 11 · 15 Cutlass
Is a one· way tri p. 16-20 Dagger 16·25
T he rings may be used a ny 2 1·25 Dirk 26·30
number of times: they do not Gladlus/
26·30
wear ou t. Drusus
Many heroes use this magical Kata na
3 1·33
Item so that the y never lose 34·38 Khopesh 3 1·35
thei r weapons . If the hero find s 39·43 Knife 36-45
his sword disarmed In combat. 44 ·53 Long sword 46-65
he can call it to his hand on the 54·58 Main-gauche
next round . without wasting the 59-68 Ra pier
lime to go get It. Some can art· 69·73 Sabre
ists use II to ru n a sca m: T hey' ll 74·78 Scim itar 66·75
secretly a ttac h the la rger ring to 79·88 S hort swo rd 76·90
somc great Item of treasure, sell 89·93 S tUetto
It to a dealer, ride out of la wn 94·98 TWo· handed
with their money a nd the n sum- sword 9 1.()()
mon the treasure back. This is a gg.()() Waklzashl
good tactic until the vengeful
11 5
 Ignore a ny rolls which are not
appropriate for your campaign
setllng: jf you have no ka tanas.
you don 't need to accept any
rolls for shea th es for katanas.
The "Alternate Roll " colum n
Is used If you are not using the
new weapons Introd uced in The
Complete Fig htcr's Handbook .
This magical Ite m can be used
by any c haracter class. but mos t
end up In the hands of warriors
and rogu es .
Saddle of the Spirit-Horse:
This is a very s trange magical
Item which may o nly be used by
warriors (either single·, mu ltJ..
or duaJ-class) .
Th all appearances. it is an or·
d inary. wo rn leather saddle of
good quality. However. It Is a
magicai llem . lfwo rn by a s ingle
horse. It a ttunes Uself to tha t
horse when wo rn for three days.
(It doesn't have to be worn con·
tlnuously fo r 72 hours-ju s t
worn as a n ordinary saddle Is.)
Once It Is attuned to the horse.
nothi ng re markable happens
. . . unless the horse dies while
wearing lhe saddle. If It does.
the s pirit of the horse s tays with
the saddle for another 24 hours .
Half a n hour afte r the horse
died. the spirit of the horse will
"awaken." and climb to Its un-
seen feet. a nd prepare to carry
its master wherever he wants to
go. The ghost-horse contin ues
to wear the sadd le and to carry It
arou nd ... a nd the horse's mas-
ter o r other favorite riders may
ride It duri ng that (Ime.
Fo r the next 24 hours. th e
horse· ghost will tirelessly carry
its rider wherever he wants to
go. a l the full runni ng speed the
horse could ma nage whe n It
was aliv e. But It's a spook y
sigh t: T he sadd le nOats in the
air. fou r or nve fect up {at the
height the li ving horse carried
Itl : the ride r must moun t nor-
mally. (reat the horse as he did
nonnally. a nd pretend all is as it
ever was.
Ot he r than running. t he
horse-spirit has no unusual abU·
Ities. I t cannot be seen o r
to uc hed . It ca n whinny a nd
ne ig h . a nd it can buck ...
th ough on ly the sadd le Is seen to
buck In the a ir. It cannot truly
fly: when It comes to a ravine.
for Instance. it must descend to
the bottom a nd climb the other
slope as It would have had to do
If It were alive .
T his fri ghte ns living horses.
No normal horse will approach
the a nimated sadd le within a
hund red feet. f o r this reason . it
is best used when the charac te r
Is a lone and, has his horse k Uled
ou t from under him .
If a character kills his horse to
get this 24 hours of fast. tireless
service. the ghost·horse will re-
member this and be offended by
it ... even if the character d id It
secre tly. by polson o r lo ng-
d istance magiC. the horse will
know it . It will a llow him to
moum the floatin g saddle. and
behave norma lly fo r a while. but
at some catastrophic time It will
try to kill the charac ter. It may
j um p off a c li ff. or rid e him
straight back a t the e nemy he's
trying to e lude. or buck him off
into a pit of sna kes.
These saddles may a lso be
made for donkeys. camels. or
any other gro und a nimals. They
don't work with pegasl. griffons.
o r other fl ying beasts.
Shield of Medusae: This
mag ica l hem may only be used
by warriors or priests (Incl uding
multi-class and dual-class war-
riors or priests).
It is shaped like and works
like a norma l medium shield .
Bu l Lhe outside (the side that
fa ces the ene m y) is mirro r-
refl ective. a nd the Ins ide (w here
the warrior's s lraps are) is crys·
tal clear.
Th use the shield of medusae.
th e wa rrio r holds it up before
him . In front of his eyes. and
looks through Its clear surface.
"6
While he Is doing so. he is im -
mune to the s toning gazes of
c reatures such as the med usa
and basilisk. a nd to magica l
ite ms whic h dupli cate their
gazes. When the character car-
ryi ng thi s s hie ld confronts a
s ton ing c reature. he reflec ts
the ir Images back a t the m . and
it is lhey who mus t ma ke saving
throws vs. petriOcation o r be
turned to stone.
Unlike ordinary s hields. the
shield of medusae has o nly twO
dam age points before it shat-
ters. In other words. if It Is hit
twice. It is deSlroyed.
Miscellaneous
Equipment
The following
pieces of eq uipmen t are of some
use to warnors a nd othe r cha r-
ac ters.
AU-AU: This is a sUc k with a
broad , shallow groove along Its
length and a knot a t the e nd : It Is
a few feet long.
T he c haracter places a Ja ve lin
(nOl a s pear. lo ng spear. har-
poem. or trident) in It so that the
Javelin butt rests against the
kno t and the Javelin lies along
the groove: the warrior holds it
at the othe r end . Thereafter.
when he flin gs his javelJn . he
uses the a ll-all as a leve r and Is
able to throw It much farth er
than before.
When used with a n aU·atl. the
j avelin a cquires th e foll owing
c haracteristics:
Jave1inJAU-Atl: ROF 213. S 3.
M6. L 9.
T he a U-atl costs I silver piece
to ma ke. but can be carved out
of a stick by a n yone with lhe
Wea po nsmlth pro fi cien cy. It
we ighs one pound.
Spike. Spring-Out: This Is a
nasty weapon used mostly by
rogues a nd c haolic warr iors.
th ough a ny s neaky player-
c ha racte r could acq uire one.
h consists of a blade identical
in charac te ristics to the knife.
housed In an Innocuous rod or
handle. When the secre t catc h Is
pressed. the blade s naps out In -
stamly and the c haracter Is
a rmed .
Usually. the spring-oul spike
is built into items the c haracter
will be carryi ng a lot . . . a nd
whe n hc does n't wis h It to be
know n he's a rm ed . Common
objects with buih-in spikes in-
clude roya] sceptres. the ends of
quan ersta ves fthis converts a
s talT Into a spear). and some-
Urnes the hilts of swords a nd
daggers. Assassins onen carry a
dagger with a n ordinary blade
.. . and a polson-coaled spring-
out spike.
The spring-out spike weighs
one pound a nd cos ts 40 gpo
When built into an ordinary ob-
Ject. It adds one pound and 40
gp to that object's cost. It cannot
customarily be built Into an ex-
isting weapon; It mus t be built
into the weapon when it is first
created.
The spring-oul s pike is illegal
In most civil iza tions. If the au-
thoritles catch a c haracter usi ng
one. they' lI Jail him on assum p-
tion of assassination motives.
Sheath, Secret Spring: This
Is an other ite m considered use-
ful by rogues. street-nghters. as·
sassins. and characters wishing
to appear unarmed .
It consists of a s heath for one
of the following weapons: Dag-
ger, Knife. or Stl iello. A s heath
for one of these three weapons
will not hold eithe r of the other
two. II cannot be built for a
weapon other tha n these three.
It is not jus t a s hea th . bU lls also
a mec han ica l device, a nd is
worn on the c haracter's arm
just below the elbow.
Whe ne ver the e haracl.e r
s traighten s his a rm OUI a nd
nexes It in a certain way. lhe
blade in the sheath pops Into his
hand . The charac ter mus t make
a Dexterity a bllily c hec k to
catch It; he gets a + 3 bonus be·
cause It's nol diffic ult. but a nat-
u ral 20 always fa ils. If he fail s to
ca le h it. It pops straigh t OUI and
drops to the floor, It cannot be
"shot OUI" as a n attack like a
thrown knife; It will nol hurt
whomever It hilS. and always
h its hil t-first when fumbled In
this fashion .
This Is anothe r way, a nd a
non·maglea l one. for the un -
armed characler 10 be suddenly
armed when the need arises, In
the combat seque nce . he must
a nnounce before Initia tive is
117
rolled thai he Is going to pop OU I
h is bla de: when hi s action
comes up for that round , ifhe Is
still able to s traighten ou t his
arm . his blade pops Into hIs
hand and Is Instantly ready. The
c haracter may still attack lhis
round : the acllon of armin g
himself doesn't usc up an at-
tack.
The Secret Spring Shea th
weighs 1/2 pound a nd costs 35
gpo It requires someone with
both th e Se t S nar es and
Weapons mlthing proncle ncles
to create . Like the Sprf.ng-oul
Spike, il ls illegal In most places.
but is a lesser crime. punishable
by a fine ( I Od6 gold pieces) and
a few days {I d6) In Jail.
•••
That's the e nd of Th e Com -
plere Fight er 's Handbook.
Now that you've rcad Il. the
thi ng to reme mber is this; Usc
whatever a ppeals to you . as the
OM . and nothing more. Lf a ny
ru le or recomme ndation worries
YOU . If you fee l lhat It w ill u nbal·
a nce your campaign or s kew
your pla yers toward bad habils.
the n don 't a llow Ill n your cam·
paIgn, As for all the other rules.
reco mmendations. and guide·
lines; Try them. You may like
th em .
 Tables

Martial Arts Results One-Handed or Two,Handed Weapons

Attack Martial Arts % Weight Speed Damage
Roll Maneuver DmgKO Item Cost (Ibs.) Size Typet Factor S-M L
20 + Head Pu nch 3 15 Harpoon %
19 High Kick 2 10 One-handed 20gp 6 L p 7 Id4+11d6+1
18 Vltals-KJck 2 B 'TWo-handed 20gp 6 L p 7 2d4 2d6
17 VItals-Punc h 2 5
Javelin %
16 Head Bash 2 5 p
One-handed S sp 2 L 4 Id4 Id4
15 Side Kic k 1 3 p
'TWo-handed 5 sp 2 L 4 Id6 Id6
14 Elbow S hot 1 1
13 Body· Punc h 1 2 Spear %
12 Low Kkk 1 1 One-handed Bsp 5 M p 6 Id6 IdB
11 Graze o 1 1Wo-handed , Bsp 5 M p 6 Id8+ 1 2d6
10 Body -Punch 1 2 Spear, Long %
9 Low Kick 1 1 One-handed 5 gp B L p B IdS Id8+1
8 Body- Punch 1 2 'TWo-handed I 5gp B L p B 2d6 3d6
7 Knee-Shot 1 3 Tride nt %
6 Side Kic k 1 5 One-banded 15gp 5 L p 7 Id6+J 3d4
5 Head Bash 2 10 1Wo-handed 15gp 5 L p 7 ld8+ 1 3d4
4 Vitals-Punch 2 10
3 VII.als-KJck 2 15 % This weapon is Intended for one-handed or two-handed use.
2 HIgh Kick 2 20 , This weapon Inflicts double damage when flrmly set to receive a
1· Head Punch 3 30 charge.
• Or less
Arll)or Fitting
Race
Combat Modifiers for Trying 1b Race For Which Armor Was Built:
Wear Armor: Owf Elf Gnm 1/ '4. EI 1h:-lg Hum
Darkness and Blindness
Owan 80% 0% - 10% - 10% - 35% - 40%
Condition MeL Mis . [nfr. Elf 10%+ 90% 50% - 70% + 35% + 50% +
Bonus Gnome 40%+ 40% + 75 % 25 % + 60 % + 20 % +
Clear sky Half-Elf 20%+ 45% 10% + 70% 35% 50%
(dayUme) -0 -0 "'0 Halfllng 75%+ 30% - 35% - 35% + 70 % 20% +
Fog. dense Human 50%- 20% - 5% - 30 % - 10% - 65%
or blizzard -3 -4 +0
Fog. light
or snow - 1 -2 +0 rlecell)eal Armor
Fog,
modera te -2 -3 >0 BODUS to AC Per Type of Piece:
Mist or Armor Full Breast- TWo One TWo One
Ughl raJn -0 - 1 >0 Type Suit Plate Arms Arm Legs Leg
Night. Banded MaJi 6 3 2 I I o
fu ll moon -2 -4 >2 Brtgandlne 4 210 1 o
Night. Bronze plate 6 3 2 1 1 o
no moon -3 -6 +3 Chain mall 5 2 2 I 1 o
Total field Plate 8 4 2 I 2 I
darkness -4 -6 >3 Full plate 9 4 3 1 2 I
1\vilighl - 1 -2 >I Hide armor 4 2 101 o
LeaLher armor 2 I 1 0 0 o
Padded armor 2 1 1 0 0 o
Plate mall 7 3 2 1 2 I
Ring mall 3 1 I 0 1 o
Scale mail 4 210 I o
Splint m all 6 3 2 1 I o
Studded leather 3 1 1 0 1 o

118
 Tables

New Weapons List

Weight Speed Damage
Item Cost nbs .) Size Typet Factor S-M L
Arrows. Slone
Flight & 3 cpll2 1110 M P Id4 Id4
Belaying pin I 2 cp 2 S B 4 Id3 Id3
Bo sUck & 2 cp 4 L B 4 Id6 Id4
Bolas ! 5 sp 2 M B B Id3 Id2
Cestu s I I gp 2 S S 2 Id4 Id3
Chatn& 5sp 3 L B 5 I d4 + 1 Id4
Dagger
Bone I I sp I S P 2 Id2 Id2
Stone I 2sp I S P 2 Id3 Id2
Dalk y u & l OO gp 3 L 7
Oaikyu arrow & 3 sp/S • I M P IdB Id6
Gafflhook I
Attac hed 2gp 2 S P 2 Id4 Id3
Held 5cp 2 S P 2 Id4 Id3
J avelin. Stone %
One·handed 5 cp 2 L P 4 Id4 Id4
1Wo-handed 5 cp 2 L P 4 Id4+ 1 Id6
Knife
Bone ! 3cp 'n S PIS 2 Id2 Id2
Stone! 5 cp 'n S PIS 2
10
I d2 Id2
Lasso & 5 sp 3 L
Maln-gauche ! 3 gp 2 S PIS 2 Id4 Id3
Ne l & 5 gp 10 M 10
Nunchaku I I gp 3 M B 3 Id6 Id6
Poleann
Naglnata &J Bgp 10 L P 7 IdB IdlO
Tetsubo & 2gp 7 L B 7 IdB IdS
Sail 5 sp 2 S P/B 2 Id4 Id2
Shurlk en ! 3sp I S P 2 Id4 Id4
Spear. Long 'l
One-Handed 5gp B L P S IdS I dS+ 1
iWo-Handed I 5gp B L P B 2d6 3d6
Spear. Slone %
One-handed Scp 5 M P 6 Id4 Id6
1\vo-handed Bcp 5 M P 6 Id6 2d4
SUletto I 5sp 'n S P 2 Id3 I d2
Sword
Cutlass I 12 gp 4 M S 5 I d6 IdS
Drusus! SO gp 3 M S 3 Id6+ 1 IdS+ 1
Katana %
One-handed lOO gp 6 M SIP 4 IdIO Id12
1WQ-ha ndcd 100 gp 6 M SIP 4 2d6 2d6
Rapier ! 15 gp 4 M P 4 Id6+' , IdS+ I
Sabre ! 17 gp 5 M S 4 Id6+ I Id8+ 1
Waklzashl $ SOgp 3 M SIP 3 IdB I dS

I This weapon Is Intended for one-handed use, and may not be used two-handed .
$ This wea pon Is Inte nded for one-handed use, but may be used two-handed (see the rules for lWQ-Hande r
S tyle S pecialization In the Combat cha ple r ).
% T h is weapon Is Intended for one-handed or two-handed u se.
& This weapon Is inte nded for two·handed use only.
I This weapon InntclS double damage when f1nnly set to receive a charge.
t The "Type" category Is divided Into Bludgeoning (B). Pie rcing (P), and Slashing (S). This Indicates the type
of attack made. w hich may alter the wea pon's effectiveness against different types of armor. See the
optional rule In t he Player 's Handbook . page 90.

11 9
 Complete Fighter 's Character Sheet
Charac ter Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Class: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
Player: _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ __ __ Warrior Kit: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Race. Sex: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ Alignment: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
Heighl. Weight : _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ Level: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Hair. Ey es: _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ ____ Experience: _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Age. Appearance: _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ Experience for Nex t Level: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____
Stre ngth _ _ __ Hit: __ Dmg: ____ wgt: __ Press: ____ Doors: _ _ Bars/Gates: ____
De xterity _ __ _ Rcac Adj: ____ Ms i All Adj : _ _ o c r (AC) AdJ : _ _
Constitution _ __ HPAdJ : _ _ S ys Shk: _ _ Res Sur: _ _ Pols Sav: ____ Regen : ____
Int elligence _ _ ___ I of Lang: _ _ Sp LvI: __ Lrn Sp: __ Sp/Lvl: ____ Immun : ____
W isdom _ _ _ __ MagiC Oer: _ _ Bonus Spells : _ _ % Fail : ____ Immun : ____
Charisma _ __ _ Max I Hench: __ Loyalty Base: ____ Reac AdJ: ____
Rac ia l Bonuses an d Abilities : _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __

Hit Poi nts: _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ Hit Dice T y pe : d _ __ _ ____ Armor Class: _ __ __ _ __

THACQ, ____________________ Attacks/Round: _ _ _ _ __ Movement Rate: _ _ _ _ __

Savin g Th row s: Paralyzatio n/Poison/Death : _ _ __ _ __ _ __

Rod/StafffWand : _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ Pet rincation /Polymorph: _ _ __ _ __ _ ____
Brea th\Veapon : _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ Spell, _ _____________________________________

Special Ablll Ues an d Res lriclions : _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ __

S pell Progression: 15' _______ 2 nd _______ 3rd _ ______ 4lh _ ______

Warrior Kit Bonus Profic ien cics: _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ ____

Wa rrior Kit Be nefi ts: _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ __

Warrior Kil Hindra n ces : _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Languages Known : _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __

Weapon Proficien cy Slots Nonweapon Proficiency Slots

120
 Complete Fighter's Character Sheet
Weapons Weight Speed Damage
Carried Cost (lbs) Size Type Fac tor S-M/ L

Equipment Purpose/Effects Where Kept ·

• B '" beltlhand : P "" backpack: S::z saddlebags; A'" pack animal; H = home.

Notes :

12 1
 Complete Fighter's Combat Sheet (pC Side)
" Numbed" and "Useless" Numbers
Character 's HP: _ _ _ __
"N umbed " Number: __ (25% of charac ter's HP. round up from .5J
"Useless" Nu mber: _ _ [50% of character's H P. round up from .5)

Normal Damage"" Temporary Damage

Body Modifier Effect if " Numbed" or

Locations TO Hit "Usel ess" Number Reached
Thrso -0 No Effec t
Head -8' OM Chooses or Rolls Id6:
IJ Blind: attackers get +4 to hit
21 Deaf: character cannot hear
3) Dizzy: check Dex terity a t -4
4) Knockdown : character knocked down
5) Blind and Deaf: as above
6) Dizzy and Knockdown: as above
Arms -4' Drop Held Weapon: Shield Does Not Help AC
Legs -4' Check Dexterity to Stay Upright
Stun Points - 8' Movement Is Halved: Auackers gel +2 to hit
• Called Shot: announced before initiative. + 1 to Initiative roll

Combat Attack
Maneuver Modifier Maneuve r Result
Called Shot - -4 Varies
Disarm - -4 I-hand weapon nies 2d6 feet:
2-hand weapon or s hield oul of posilion
Grab - -4 Gets hand(s) on object
Hold Attack -0 Attack waits until later In round
Parry -0 Announce before initiative:
successful parry stops enemy attack
Pi n -4 Enemy's weapon pinned againSt him
pu llmip -0 Successful a ttack knocks e nemy do wn
Sap ' -8 Damage x 5% = KG change (40% m a"( )
Shield-Punch -0 1- 3 points damage (+StrcngLh bonus)
Shield-Rush -0 As shield -punch + knockdown c hance
Strike/Thrust -0 Basic allack with weapon or empty ha nd
• CalJed Shot: announced before initiative. + 1 to Initiative roll

.22
 Complete Fighter's Combat Sheet (~M Side)
Player-Cha racters and Their Allies

Character Name Class/Level THACO Attacks AC HP

Non-Player Characters and Monsters

Character Nam e Class/Level THACO Attacks AC HP

'23
 Warrior Kit Creation Sheet

Warrio r Kit : Special Benefits:

Campaign:

Dungeon Master:
Description:

Role:

Special Hindrances: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Secondary Skills:

Weapon Proficie ncies:

Weal th Options: _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __

Nonweapon Proficlencies: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Races: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Equipm ent: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __

Nol es: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ __

124