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Combat Options
Improvised W eapons
Assembled by Todd Crapper from the Collected Archives of the Advanced Tactical Academy of Combat Cover by Sean C. Frolich
T able of Contents:
Introductionpage 3 Book Four: Improvised Weapons page 10 Standard Considerations for Improvised Combat (page 11) Frailty Ratings (page 14) Improvised Defence (page 16) New Feat: Improvised Weapon Proficiency (page 16) Common Improvised Weapons (page 17) Improvised Maneuvers (page 20)
Introduction:
first lesson at our Academy: for every major event in every races history, there has been conflict by sword or spell. Many of our gods spawned us through battle or we are the result of an epic conflict to which we owe our souls. Lives were lost to reach the moment in time that we stand at now. Your progress was gained at the blood of another who has long since faded into the stars with nothing more than a line of ink on parchment to mark the occasion. All those who would deny such a fact face the threat of becoming another nameless victim in battle in which the victors will know nothing about. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Headmaster Dolvus Jerranmacker of the Advanced Tactical Academy of Combat or Fight School as many of our pupils have called it over the years. If you are reading this letter, it is because you have been granted a rare invitation to attend our classes and absorb our knowledge. In short, we teach those with the will to learn how to fight, to win, and to stay alive for many years to come. You have been given a privilege in which many others have failed to gain. I am the fifth headmaster of this Academy, a successor to the work of my predecessors who laid down the foundations that we walk upon now. The Academy was started by Swordmaster Killas Thurmach, a renowned warrior of his time and an honourable combatant who looked to the way of the sword as a means of attaining valour in the afterlife. He had seen what many of us who offer our services through the Academy still do today: a desperate need for true skill and honour on the battlefield. Swordmaster Thurmach had fought
Dolvus Jerranmacher
Headmaster, Advanced Tactical Academy of Combat
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100 XP 300 XP 750 XP 1000 XP 1500 XP 2000 XP 2500 XP 3250 XP 4000 XP 5000 XP
Difficulty Levels
Each group comes with its own acceptance of the rules: some may rely on them heavily and follow them as a bible while others just need guidelines so that everyone is treated fairly. In order to provide a collection of measures for creating a unique realistic combat system, an assorted level of difficulty is provided. All material, namely the optional and variant rules, are marked as one of three levels: Basic: These rules can be easily inserted into the core rules and require almost no additional effort. Most variant rules, whose very nature is to insert into a previous system, are considered basic rules. Advanced: The introduction of an advanced rule will change the core system and commonly requires the use of a table or chart to carry out during a game. This type of optional rule can also require the player to make a tactical decision in its use (sacrificing an attack to use this new rule, for example). Expert: Bring in an expert rule and you can have a totally different gaming experience. Expert rules are designed for those seeking a complete overhaul of their battles and are designed for experienced players and GMs.
Combat Manoeuvres
Skill in battle is more than simply mastering the details of rules, feats, and various other tactics that can be found in rulebooks. On the field, a seasoned warrior must rely on more than proficiencies, high Strength, and lots of experience to live for another fight he must learn how to move in ways that his opponent cannot.
The Academy
Combat Options: Improvised Weapons is written in the guise of a school of fighting called the Advanced Tactical Academy of Combat. Each book in the series is taught by one of its experienced tutors and, in turn, each book is presented as if it was written by one of these unique individuals. The majority of this sourcebook will be written in a roleplayed format that can be included into any game and integrated into the campaign itself. Those sections marked in indented paragraphs beneath each lecture delve into the game mechanics behind such possibilities and provide the crunchy bits for a GM and players to use in creating their own realistic combat system. But the Academy is provided as more than a backdrop for this sourcebook it is a portable setting for adventure. As you will soon discover, there is more to the Academy that lessons on sword-fighting and spell-slinging; all Game Masters are encouraged to make use of the detail put into the Academy and integrate it into a game. Each instructor is provided with full character stats and background use the instructors as secondary characters to play out an adventure to begin integrating the new rules that you should choose or devise.
The Seriousness of W ar
Before venturing any further, you must sit back and reflect: what this sourcebook will offer can become a dangerous offence in your game. By granting your heroes access to these options, you are also damning them to experience it. This is the highest consideration that must be taken before enacting any of the optional or variant rules that will be provided here. If a new attack system seems to be the perfect eliminator and vanquisher of villains, would you be willing to suffer the consequences of such an attack yourself? Are you willing to pit the characters against these rules as much as you are their foes? This is a question for both Game Master and players to offer jointly. Once this choice has been made, let us begin
Book Four:
Improvised W eapons
The following lecture was taken on the Fifth Day of the Sun, 106th Academic Year. The instructor is Barun Quickwrist, a halfling rogue of the Southvalley. Barun has a habit of missing many of his own classes or announcing sudden excursions that prevent him from performing his lectures. Many others have noted that these absenses have coincided with the arrival of prominent law enforcement officials and various bounty hunters in the area.
books and some writing instruments with you because these are gonna be important. Dont bother opening them, big guy, were not gonna write in them today. Youre gonna learn how to use them in a fight. How many of you in here have been in a barfight? Wow, thats a lot. Alright, how many of you have ever snuck into a bedchamber after climbing a twohundred foot wall? If not, youll know that you have to carry light. Sure, you can take a dagger hidden under your belt, but your options are a bit limited during a sneak-andenter job. If you come across a guard or accidentally wake up a sleeping target, grabbing that mug on the bedside table can
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In Conclusion...
Okay, everyones looking good here. Hey, nice use of the chalkboard, big guy. So, whats say we take a little field trip? I know this pub nearby that has lots of chairs, tables, glass mugs, and a few measly pirates with a penchant for fighting at the drop of a hat
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Items:
Barrel/keg (1) Bones Books Bottle, glass (1) Bucket (1) Chain Chair/stool Cooking tool (i.e. spoons) Crowbar/poker Flask, glass Glass, wine Grappling hook Hammer Jug, clay (1) Ladder, 10-foot (4) Lamp (3) Manacles Mug, wood/clay Piton Pole, 10-foot metal (4) Pole, 10-foot wooden (4) Pouch, belt (1) Sack (1) Signet ring Sledge Table Torch
Size:
Damage:
Critical:
Range Increment:
5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. * 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5 ft. 5ft. 5 ft. 5ft.
Frailty:
4 6 3 6 5 4 2 1 4 8 4 4 2 4 6 8 5 6 4 4 1 -
Hardness:
3 12 15 15 15 15 6 6 2 20 4
Hit Points:
10 4 4 2 6 10 6 2 15 2 1 10 6 4 10 6 12 3 8 20 12 3 4 4 15 10 4 6 6 4 1 6
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Improvised Maneuvers
Many hearty combatants have found a little extra training on some improvisational fighting handy, even lifesaving. While these particular maneuvers are the least likely to be taken, they are also some of the most fun.
Broken Object
Prerequisites: Improvised Weapon Proficiency Benefit: When you break an object during a fight, you can continue to use the original stats of the broken object as if it were whole. Actions: The use of this maneuver requires a period of time prior to activation. The combatant must wield the improvised weapon, such as a chair, for a period of 5 rounds minus every fifth character level the combatant possessed. Therefore, a 10th-level fighter would only have to swing the chair around for 3 rounds before he could make use of this maneuver. If, at any point for any reason, the improvised weapon should break, the combatant may continue to use the broken item as if it were still intact.
Shattered Comeback
Prerequisites: Improvised Weapon Proficiency, wielding an object for defence Benefit: Just as the improvised defensive object breaks (typically as an opponent sunders it), the combatant is able to angle the object and barrage his foe with sharp, flying debris. Actions: To use this maneuver, the user must hold their initiative against an oncoming attack. The opponent can break this weapon during a sunder attack or the user may choose to block the next attack with his improvised shield. When it breaks (reduced to 0 hit points), the user makes a 5 ranged attack on the opponent. He uses the damage of the improvised object for this single attack, which remains broken and useless from this point on.
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Combat Options: Improvised W eapons Look for these additional titles in the Combat Options line From Emerald Press PDF Publishing...
Act now or die sooner! Thats the motto behind the first PDF in the Combat Options series, Initiative. Choosing when you go is just as important and how you fight, creating room for these optional and variant rules to start your own realistic combat system for the d20 game. Take initiative as a skill, lunge in for the first strike, use weapon speeds, or learn to master the new manoeuvres provided here. Combat Options: Initiative makes combat easier.
Move in for the kill! Combat Options: Attack provides realistic options and variants for doing more than just knocking down hit points. Split up your attacks or combine them all into one total swing, deal with fatigue, inflict a solid damage rating, and impose a wound threshold on your opponent. Presented in the unique style of the series, Combat Options: Attack allows you to create your own realistic combat system that works for you!
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Live longer. Thats the goal of Combat Options: Defence . Gain a class bonus to your AC, learn to parry without selecting feats, convert armour into damage reduction, and use your shield for more than just a +1 bonus. Combat Options: Defence allows you to create your own defensive style...because you cant win when youre dead.
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