| - | Price | Weight (#) | Rate of fire | S | M | L | S-M | L | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Manriki-gusari t | 5 gp | 3.5 | 1 | 1" | 2" | 4" | 1-4 | 1-3 | <?> | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
t The weapon is able to entangle and fell
an opponent if the
"to hit" roll is sufficient to AC 0 and
the victim fails to
save vs. breath weapon.
MANRIKI-GUSARI:
The manriki-gusari, of Japanese origin,
is made of a 3-foot-long chain weighted
at either end with
round or rectangular pieces of iron. The
manriki-gusari is a very
versatile weapon; besides being used as
a rapidly whirling
bludgeon, it can be thrown as far as 120
feet, occasionally
entangling its target in much the same
manner as a bola. At the
DM’s option, skilled fighters or assassins
might even be able to
entwine a foe’s limbs within the manriki-gusari,
having the
ability to do this on a score equal to
hit armor class 8 or better.
Another use for the manriki-gusari is as
a garrote-type weapon;
as such, it should be treated as a 3-foot-long
garrote, with
paladins being forbidden to use the weapon
in this manner.
The manriki-gusari was developed in the
17th century for use
by the Japanese police force (specifically
the Yoriki and Doshin)
in apprehending criminals and murderous
samurai at the
end of Japan’s feudal age.
by Randy Bowman
| New Weapons | Equipment | - | Dragon #61 | Dragon magazine |