New and Additional Fading Suns Weapons

Last updated Sunday, December 13, 1998

The Fading Suns roleplaying game has been in existence for just over a year now, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GamesMasters, think a little bit. This particular page presents a whole series of new and additional weapons for the roleplaying game, and there's some really dangerous (but highly innovative) stuff here.

A Few Weapon-related Combat Changes

The following are a series of option rules for weapons combat and the like, all of which are courtesy of Paul Monteleoni. Use these as you see fit.

1. All melee weapons have an extra +1 initiative to reflect their increased reach compared to hand-to-hand attacks.
2. Rapiers have +2 initiative (instead of the +1 I use for other melee weapons) because of their lightness (this is to give them some advantage over broadswords, and is pretty realistic.
3. Rapiers, scimitars and main-gauches also give +1 goal on parries. This is to make them good at parrying, which in reality they are supposed to be.
4. Ranged Weapons (not bows, but guns, energy weapons, etc) have +1 initiative (for parity with melee weapons- - the idea basically is that hand-to-hand combat is not a high-initiative thing).
5. Guns, blasters, grenades, etc. do +2 dice of damage. This is both for reality and to make them worse against shields and emphasize the necessity of hand-to-hand combat to slip under shields (as one can see in Frank Herbert's Dune). As it stands, light pistols will just about always slip through shields, and do as much damage as a karate kick.

New Melee Weapons

Crucible Sword

Tech Level: 5
Benefice Cost: 4
Firebird Cost: 500
A weapon actually developed after the fall of the Second Republic, the Crucible Sword was developed by a Li Halan weaponsmith, incorporating leftover Second Republic temperature-resistant polymers and heating cores, producing a broadsword with a milky, translucent blade. Although the polymer plastic which forms the blade is too blunt to hold a good edge, when the heating core in the hilt is activated, the blade quickly heats up, glowing a fiery yellow-white and searing anything it touches. It takes 3 turns for the core to fully heat up the blade, but once it does, the blade delivers +2 DMG, and those two extra dice can leak through armor and shields like a flamegun. The heating core can last for 20 turns on a fusion cell. Still used by the Li Halan, the Crucible Sword has also found popularity amongst Brother Battle monks, Avestites, and the occasional Hawkwood.
Initiative: +1, Goal -, DMG 5 (+2), STR 4, SIZ L.
This weapon was created by Author Unknown.

Glaive

Tech Level: 1
Benefice Cost: 0
Firebird Cost: 20
Glaives are pole-arms that feature a slicing blade set atop a 6' pole, and include the medieval weapon of the same name, as well as other sword-staffs such as the Japanese naginata. The peasant scythe is somewhat similar, if more unwieldy (-2 penalty on attack rolls).
Roll Dx+Melee, Initiative +1, DMG 6, STR 6, SIZ XL
This weapon created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin)

Halberd

Tech Level: 1
Firebird Cost: 30
Halberds are good, general-purpose pole-arms used among some regiments of guards in the employ of noble houses. Halberds are essentially 6' long spears, with a single axe-head attached, opposite which is a curved spike or hook. Similar weapons include the jedburg axe and voulge. A halberd could be used to chop, thrust, or hook and forcibly dismount rival cavalry. To hook a mounted opponent, the character must make an attack with a -2 penalty. If successful, the rider must make a Ride skill roll or be forcibly dismounted.
Roll Dx+Melee , Initiative +1, DMG 7, STR 6, SIZ XL
This weapon created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin)

Polar Blade

Tech Level: 5
Benefice Cost: 1
Firebird Cost: +15
A favored Decados dueling weapon, this rapier is built around a high-powered electromagnet which can be activated by a contact pad on the handgrip. This magnet, which can be activated 20 times on its power-cell, can give a +2 goal (cumulative) to the Disarm maneuver, as the Polar Blade sticks to the opponent's weapon, helping to yank it from his grip. Usually built into a normal-looking rapier, this device can also be incorporated into a main-gauche. It has the same stats as whichever weapon it appears as.
This weapon was created by Author Unknown.

Quicksaber

Tech Level: 7
Benefice Cost: 4
Firebird Cost: 1500
A rare weapon cherished by those Hazat who can get their hands on one, the Quicksaber is a dueling saber with a Second Republic inertial damper built into the basket hilt, making the saber unnaturally fast and easy to swing. It may be used for the same action up to three times in a turn, like a firearm.
Initiative: +3, Goal -, DMG 6, STR 2, SIZ L.
This weapon was created by Author Unknown.

Trick Blade

Tech Level: 5
Benefice Cost: 2
Firebird Cost: 40
The Trick Blade, also used gleefully by Decados across the Known Worlds, appears to be a normal rapier, but servo-motors can rotate the blade in its housing at the flick of a switch, causing the entire blade to whip around into a new position. This gives a +2 goal to any Feint or Counter Parry maneuver, but will only work twice on any particular opponent in any particular engagement, in addition to his two regular feints.
Initiative: +2, Goal -, DMG 5, STR 3, SIZ L.
This weapon was created by Author Unknown.

Trident

Tech Level: 0
Benefice Cost: 0
Firebird Cost: 3
Tridents are the two or three pronged spears used by some primitive fishermen, that can be used to stab or thrown short distances. Peasant's pitchforks are similar, although they are less suitable for throwing (-2 attack penalty).
Roll Dx+Melee, Initiative +1, DMG 5, STR 3, RNG -, Rate -, SIZ XL
Roll Dx+Throwing, Initiative +1, DMG 5, STR 3, RNG 10/20, Rate 1, SIZ XL
This weapon created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin)

Two-Handed Hammer

Tech Level: 1
Benefice Cost: 0
Firebird Cost: 20
This includes the large sledgehammers and mallets used by labourers and peasants, as well as the mighty crushing hammers and maces crafted specifically for battle.
Roll Dx+Melee, Initiative +1, DMG 7, STR 6, SIZ XL
This weapon created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin)

New Ranged Weapons

Machine Pistol:

Tech Level: 5
Benefice Cost: 3
Firebird Cost: 250
A finely-crafted light autofeed pistol, styled to look like the ones on the cover of Lords of the Known Worlds, Machine Pistols are usually not mass-produced, but made especially by weaponsmiths for their clients. These guns are often one-of-a-kind, and sometimes have names, such as Serfbane, famed sidearm to the deceased Baron Frederick Lancaster Hawkwood.
Initiative: +1,* Goal -, DMG 6,* RNG 10/20, 13 Shots, Rate 3(A), SIZ S.
This weapon was created by Author Unknown.

Repeating Crossbow

Tech Level: 1
Benefice Cost: 1
Firebird Cost: 20
Repeating crossbows are unusual 45 lb. pull bows, based on the ancient Chinese chu-ko-nu. They feature a wooden hopper of 12 small bolts on top, rapidly cocked between each shot using a fixed lever. However, while this does mean this weapon can fire its 12 bolts rapidly without reloading, it does reduce the overall power and range. It uses the same light bolts as the Hand Crossbow that cost 3 wings each. It should be noted that it takes 1 action to open the hopper, and 1 action to reload each bolt.
Roll Dx+Shoot, STR 3, DMG 3, RNG 10/20, Shots 12, Rate 3, SIZ M
This weapon was created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin).

Voroxian Bolorang

Tech Level: 1
Benefice Cost: 1
Firebird Cost: 5 for Vorox, 15 for non-Vorox
This unusual Voroxian hunting weapon is a large bolas, with 3 thongs, each 4' in length. Each thong is weighted with a chipped and polished flatstone as large as a human hand. Stiff feathers are knotted at regular intervals along the length of each thong. Only feral Vorox, or those raised in their culture, can use the bolorang with any effectiveness; even civilised Vorox have proven unable to master this weapon. Thrown with accuracy, the bolorang is a superb hunting weapon, especially with the brute power of a Vorox propelling it, and skilled users can send the bolorang along a trajectory that will return it to the thrower's hand if it misses the intended target. Even more impressive is the fact that this weapon defies all known laws of aerodynamic physics, as it will entangle small prey and continue along its return path to the thrower. It can also be used to entangle larger targets up to human sized although these are too large to be returned; choke targets when thrown around their necks; or even used as a makeshift flail in close combat. The feral Vorox are nearly as touchy about their bolorangs as the civilised Vorox are about their glankesh swords, a fact that the Engineers (who regard the bolorang as an enticing puzzle of aerodynamic principles) often seem oblivious to. The bolorang requires the Throwing skill for effective use, or Melee skill in those rare occurrences it is used in close combat.
Dx+Throwing, Initiative -, Goal -1, DMG 4*, STR 6, RNG 15/25, Rate 1, SIZ L
* A character may add his Strength damage bonus.
Entangling and Returning Small Prey: If the character elects to make his attack roll with a -2 penalty, he can have the bolorang return to him, even if it hits a target the size of a rabbit or smaller. In such cases the target is entangled in the bolorang and returned to the thrower, unharmed, as the bolorang continues along its trajectory. It arrives, still entangled, and is then easily despatched. Even if the attack misses the target, the bolorang will continue back to the thrower. The thrower can, of course, elect not to have the bolorang return, and make the attack without the -2 penalty, simply entangling the target.
Entangling Larger Targets: If the thrower attempts to entangle a larger target, such as a human being, he simply makes a standard attack roll. If successful, the entangled target is impeded, suffering a -6 penalty on all actions until she spends two actions escaping. No roll is required to escape.
Going for the Neck: If the thrower succeeds in an attempt to entangle the neck of a target (-6 attack penalty) the target suffers 3 DMG per turn until the bolorang is removed. Due to the bolorang's long, tangled, weighted thongs, the victim must make a Strength + Vigor roll with a -4 penalty to rip it off. The bolorang can be cut off using two actions if someone, including the victim, has a suitable tool on hand.
This weapon was created by Colin (Psychedelic Goblin).