or with
... a weird one

Stats and
facts about
strange new
weapons for
AD&D play

by Rory Bowman
 
Equipment - Dragon #61 - Dragon magazine

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
Many readers have asked for information on weapons not
included in the AD&D™ Players Handbook, and more than a few
writers have attempted to compose articles on that subject. The
best and most complete treatment of new weapons we’ve received
is printed below.

Rory Bowman’s fist includes more than 30 obscure and/or
unusual weapons (the exact count may differ, depending on
whether certain weapons are considered as distinct types, or
variations of other weapons), a healthy addition to the 52 weapon
types given in the PH.

Is this list exhaustive? Definitely not. If we held out for the
“ultimate weapon article,” you’d be waiting a lot longer than
you have already. That is not a suggestion that Rory hasn’t
done a good job; but an acknowledgment that other obscure
weapons must exist. (If you know of one, tell us about it — or
better yet, write it up for our next weapons article.)

Some of the weapons on the new list, particularly those of
Oriental origin, have been featured in articles before. The descriptions,
and especially the statistics, given here may conflict
with the earlier published material; statistics are often a matter
of interpretation, and we prefer to respect both authors’ interpretations
rather than change one set of statistics to conform
with the other.

TABLE I: WEAPONS PERMITTED BY CLASS
Class Weapons usable
Cleric man-catcher, nunchaku, shield, tonfa, three-sectional staff
Druid blow gun, boomerang, caltrop, scythe, shield (smash or spiked), throwing knife, tonfa, yawara
FIGHTER any
Paladin any except bagh nakh, bullwhip, garrote<>, and jung meh
Ranger any
MAGIC-USER caltrop, katar, shurikin, yawara
Illusionist caltrop, iron fan, katar, shurikin, yawara
THIEF blackjack, bola, caltrop, chakram, garrote, katar, manriki-gusari, shurikin, yawara
Assassin any
MONK bagh nakh, chakram, dokyu, iron fan, nunchaku, sai, shurikin, three-sectioanl staff, tonfa, yawara

TABLE II: SUGGESTED PRICES FOR WEAPONS
Weapon Price
Atlatl 4 sp
Bagh Nakh, pair 2 gp
Blackjack 15 sp
Blow gun 10 sp
Blow gun dart 1 sp
Bola 3 gp
Boomerang 3 gp
Bullwhip 10 gp
Caltrop 2 cp
Chakram 1 gp
Dokyu 16 gp
Garrote 5 sp
Iron fan 4 gp
Jung Meh 10 gp
Katar 2 gp
Man-catcher 12 gp
Manriki-gusari 5 gp
Manriki-gusari w/ hook 6 gp
Nunchaku 1 gp
Sai, single 3 gp
Scythe, battle 7 gp
Shield spike 7 sp
Shurikin 15 sp
Staff sling 15 sp
Three-sectional staff 4 gp
Throwing knife 3 gp
Throwing net, hooked 15 gp
Throwing net, weighted 3 gp
Tlacochtli w/line 15 sp
Tonfa 5 sp
Yawara --

TABLE III: INFORMATION FOR HAND-HELD WEAPONS
Weapon Price Weight Length Space req. Speed factor Damage, S-M Damage, L 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Bagh Nakh, pair 2 gp 1 (1 claw) 6" - 1 1-3 1-3 +5 0 +2 0 0 -1 -3 -4 -7
Blackjack 15 sp 2 8" 1' 2 2-5 1-4 +1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
Bullwhip* 10 sp 2 7'+ 10' 8 1-4 1-4 +3 +1 0 0 -1 -2 -3 -5 -7
Caltrop1 2 cp 0.5 4" - - 1-4 1-4 - - - - - - - - -
Garrote 5 sp 0.2 4' special - 2-8 2-8 +3 +4 +3 +2 0 -2 -4 -5 -6
Iron fan 4 gp 1 12" 1' 3 1-4 1-3 +2 0 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -3 -4
Jung Meh (spear/whip) 10 gp 12.5 c. 5' 7' 7 1-6 2-12 -1 0 0 +1 0 +1 0 0 -1
Katar 2 gp 2.5 1' - 2 1-6 1-4 0 0 0 +1 0 +1 -1 -2 -3
Man-catcher t 12 gp 7 c. 6' 4' 9 -- -- +1 +2 +1 0 0 0 +1 +2 +2
Manriki-gusari w/hook +  6 gp 3.5 3' 2' 4 1-6 1-4 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 -1 -1
Nunchaku 1 gp 2 c. 32" 2' 3 1-6 1-6 +2 0 +1 0 -1 -3 -5 -7 -8
Sai, single [] 3 gp 1 1'-2' 2' 3 1-4 2-5 +1 0 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -3 -4
Scythe, battle 7 gp 8.5 4' 4' 5 2-8 1-8 +3 +1 +2 0 0 -1 -2 -3 -4
Shield (smash) $ -- -- -- 1' 4 1-4 1-3 +2 -1 +2 -1 0 0 0 -1 -2
Shield spike 7 sp 1.5 -- 1' 4 2-5 1-6 +1 -2 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -2
Three-sectional staff * 4 gp 6 7' 3' 6 1-6 2-7 +1 +1 +1 0 0 -1 -3 -3 -5
Tonfa 3 sp 2 2' 2' 4 1-6 2-5 +2 0 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -3 -5
Yawara -- 2 6" -- 1 1-4 1-3 +3 0 +1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -8 -9

* The weapon is capable of disarming an armed foe on a score equal to hit AC 8.
t A hit by this weapon captures the foe within the jaw device.
+ The weapon will also do damage upon being violently torn from the victim's flesh.
[] The weapon, when used in pairs, is capable of disarming an opponent on double scores equal to hit AC 8.
$ A hit by this weapon will subtract 1-4 from the opponent's next "to hit" roll.
 

TABLE IV: HURLED WEAPONS & MISSILES
- Price Weight (#) Rate of fire S M L S-M L 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Atlatl-hurled javelin <?> 2 1 3" 6" 9" 1-6 1-6 +2 0 +2 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
Blow-gun dart <?> 0.1 1 2" 3" 4" 1-2 1 +3 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -7
Bola * 3 gp 2.5 1 2" 4" 6" 2-5 2-5 +2 +1 +2 +1 0 0 +1 0 +1
Boomerang 3 gp 1 1 2" 6" 9" 2-7 1-4 +1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -3 -3 -5
Chakram 1 gp 1.5 3 1" 2" 3" 2-5 1-4 +2 0 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -7
Dokyu 16 gp 5.5 2 6" 12" 18" 1-4 1-4 +3 +3 +3 +2 +1 0 0 -1 -2
Manriki-gusari t 5 gp 3.5 1 1" 2" 4" 1-4 1-3 <?> ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shurikin 15 sp 5 3 2" 4" 6" 1-4 1-3 +3  0 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -6 -8
Staff sling, bullet 1 <?> 2 1 7" 12" 21" 2-5 2-7 - - - - - - - - -
Staff sling stone 1 <?> 1 1 5" 9" 18" 1-4 1-4 - - - - - - - - -
Throwing knife 3 gp 5 1 1" 2" 4" 2-7 2-5 +2 0 +1 0 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4
Thowing net, hooked 15 gp 17 1/3 - 1" 2" 2-8 3-12 +4 +3 0 0 -2 -2 -4 -6 -8
Throwing net, weighted 3 gp 15 1/2 1" 2" 3" -- -- -2 0 -1 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +3
Tlacochtli [] 15 sp 2.5 1/2 2" 4" 6" 1-6 1-6 +2 0 +2 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5

* This weapon will entangle and fell an opponent unless the victim successfully saves vs. breath weapon.

t The weapon is able to entangle and fell an opponent if hte
"to hit" roll is sufficient to AC 0 and the victim fails to
save vs. breath weapon

[] This weapon will do additional damage if forcibly removed
from the victim's flesh.

1 as per rules, by ammunition type