Weapons of the Open Road
Peaceday 5th of Primus, 6017, in the Era Secundus
A weapon is only as good as the one holding it. That being said, I wouldn't trust my life to a fucking butter knife.
Weapons are an important part of an adventurer's kit. They take care of nasty unwanted business, chiefly criminals, monsters and the occasional NPC that "deserved it". The world of Open Roads is full of weapons both familiar and strange, many of them with a great deal of history that come with them. This is what this article aims to do, while also giving the players a easy way to see all of them.
Weapon Properties
Ammunition. You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon (see "Improvised Weapons" later in the section). A sling must be loaded to deal any damage when used in this way.
Anti-Large. You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls against targets larger than you with this weapon.
Armor-Breaking. For every 10 points of damage this weapon does, the AC of the damaged creature is decreased by 1.
Assassin. Doing Called Shots with this weapon decreases the penalty inflicted to the attack roll by 2.
Charge-Breaker. If you are Braced while wielding this weapon, all positive effects of a Charge action are lost if you are the one getting charged. In addition, the movement speed of a charging creature hit by a charge-breaker weapon is reduced to 0.
Concealed. This weapon can be easily hidden or passed off as something you're supposed to have, gaining advantage on any rolls pertaining to such situations.
Concussing. On a Critical Strike, you inflict the Stunning Conditions for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus – 1.
Constricting. You can use this weapon to entangle your foes. You can Grapple with this weapon equipped rather than a free hand.
Cumbersome. The weapon requires a minimum Strength score to use without disadvantage, but doubles damage modifiers.
Finesse. When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
Firearm X. A variation of the loading property for firearms. To reload a firearm, you must use either an action and/or 10 feet of movement to complete on step of the loading process. You must do this a number of times equal to the number behind the property denotation.
Greater Reach. This weapon adds 10 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as determining your range for opportunity attacks with it.
Heavy. Creatures that are Small or Tiny have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. A heavy weapon’s size and bulk make it too large for a Small or Tiny creature to use effectively.
Light. A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons.
Loading. Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.
Range. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range shown in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second indicates the weapon’s long range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target beyond the weapon’s long range.
Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it.
Reliable. The minimum damage on your damage rolls is always 2.
Side-arm. You can always draw this weapon as a free action.
Special. A weapon with the special property has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the weapon’s description (see "Special Weapons" later in this section).
Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has the finesse property.
Two-Handed. This weapon requires two hands when you attack with it. This property is relevant only when you attack with the weapon, not when you simply hold it.
Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property — the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Improvised Weapons
Sometimes characters don’t have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
Special Weapons
Bladeclaws. When you wield two bladeclaws, you may add a 4th damage dice to the weapons.
Hearthhammer. When you score a critical hit with this weapon, you deal 2d4 extra fire damage.
Lance. You have disadvantage when you use a lance to attack a target within 5 feet of you. A lance also requires two hand to wield when you aren't mounted. When you are mounted, you gain a extra damage dice for the lance.
Longrifle. You need to use a action to set this weapon up, otherwise you need to succeed on a DC15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone by the recoil.
Net. A Large or smaller creature hit by a net is restrained until it is freed. A net has no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger. A creature can use its action to make a DC 12 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 10 slashing damage to the net (AC 11) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net. When you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to attack with a net, you can make only one attack regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.
Ogre Cannon. If you are a Medium or smaller-sized creature, you need the assistance of a second creature to wield this weapon.
Ogre Pistol. If you are a Medium-sized creature, this weapon is two-handed to you. If you are smaller than Medium, you cannot wield this weapon at all.
Raider-Lance. When firing at a creature within 30 feet, the Raider-Lance gains a damage dice.
Weapon Modifiers
Coatings
Silvered Weapons
Some monsters that have immunity or resistance to nonmagical weapons are susceptible to silver weapons, so cautious adventurers invest extra coin to plate their weapons with silver. You can silver a single weapon or ten pieces of ammunition for 100 gp. This cost represents not only the price of the silver, but the time and expertise needed to add silver to the weapon without making it less effective.
Activated Silver
For some monsters, regular silver doesn't cut it. With much alchemical work that can take weeks and a great amount of expertise, a weapon can be coated in activated silver. This grants the weapon a number of d4s of extra damage against any creature that is not humanoid. The number of d4's is equal to the normal amount of damage dice of the weapon times three (x3). This damage ignores resistances and immunities.
Iron Coating
Useful for fighting Fey threats, some adventurers let their weapons be coated in a layer of pure iron, making it cut through the mischievous foes they plan to fight. This coating costs 10 gp for a single weapon or ten pieces of ammunition.
Weapon Modifications
Sometimes, a weapon requires an extra touch to be something more personal. Many adventurers make such modifications to their weapon of choice, such as better grips for dueling, heavier blades for a bit more of a punch, or any other number of creative personalizations.
Of course, do consult your DM if it makes sense to put these modifications on your weapon. For example, a dueling grip may not be the most fitting choice for a halberd, considering that the halberd is not a implement that is used in one hand or would really benefit from a grip designed for duels.
Dueling Grip. A handle that is more suited for dueling. This grants the weapon a damage bonus of +2 when you wield no other weapon besides it and only hold this weapon in one hand. Usual weapons to apply this to are swords and pistols.
Executioner's Blade. A heavy blade, excellent for chopping off heads and such. A weapon with this modification gains a +3 damage bonus against targets that are prone. Hits with this weapon are also always considered to be lethal. In exchange, the weight of the weapon is increased by 2d4 pounds. Usual weapons that suit this modification are longer swords and axes.
