New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

[Bismark]

Starting my new Valdorian Age campaign next Wednesday; will be recruiting players tomorrow night at the local university RPG society (and hoping to get at least 2 to add to the 4 I have already; for the last 3 years there have been too many prospective GMs compared to players, so the groups have been smaller and GMs have often had to 'do their thing' on alternate weeks ).

 

The current 'cast of characters' is as follows:

 

1. an Abyzinian merchant (with a "walking stick" that also doubles as a Dembus - a 2-handed maul);

 

2. North Pelosan steppe nomad warrior (modelled after north Siberian Turkic nomads of the Dark Ages - the Kimak);

 

3. A female tribal warrior from the edge of the Wolfwood forest (modelled on Finno-Ugrian [Mordvin/Muroma/Moksha] tribal type).

 

4. A Khorian 'brewmistress' (red-haired Valkyrie that brews healing mead/lager, but still gets stuck into combat with bearded axe and Viking shield).

 

So far, this party has given rise to one 'rules value judgment' and one rules question:

 

a. Although Elementalism in VA is defined as the 4 elements only (no nature elementals) in the Sorcery section, elsewhere in the book elemental nature spirits are mentioned, so I have defined the Brewmaster/mistress as as Hedge magician who has the ability to use communion with minor nature spirits combined with herbal knowledge etc. to produce the potions.

 

b. [and this is where I will be asking for assistance from you wonderful people - bow, scrape, grovel]

The 'Finn' character will be using a big spear from horseback, but her other weapon is a lariat/lasso. I have so far failed to locate rules for lariats (I do wish 5th ed. Western HERO existed at this point )

 

I could do some myself, but being under time pressure, I am hoping that someone else has had a stab at this. Just to add to the fun, this character is using a low saddle (no frame) and no stirrups , so will be using the lariat in the old Scythian/Hun style (which I would imagine will call for a few PSLs to overcome the penalties for this).

[mayapuppies]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Well, right off the bat:

 

Entangle, Limited Range, Beam as a very general write-up

 

Edit 1: Possibly have it take damage from "outside" attacks, but no damage from attacks made by the "entanglee" since the lasso would generally just "come undone" so to speak.

 

Edit 2: I don't know exactly how to do this, but I think this entangle would also be hit location specific...so maybe a multipower build would be better with a Drain SPD as a slot along with the Entangle?

[Bismark]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Just found a couple of references to the early use of these lariats which involved both pinning an opponent's arms to his/her sides and using them like a garrote (PSLs vs. Hit Locations required for doing that on a regular basis, methinks).

 

I forgot to mention that the character with the lariat has Fighting Tricks skill bought for it, so 'cinematic' uses are perfectly fine.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

A weapon based martial art might be approriate as well.

Choke hold, trip, grab, just to name a few base maneuvers. Then the lariat itself is just a focus with some stretching. This could work well to show that it takes a fair bit of skill to use a lariat to its potential

[Markdoc]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

I wouldn't go the entangle route (at least in combat) since shrugging off a lariat that no-one's actively pulling is pretty trivial.

 

What I use for chain/rope type weapons is:

 

+2" reach, +1 OCV for grabs and +5 STR (only to hold). STR Min 7. This works out about the same as a light club in terms of costing as a real weapon, and essentially lets the user make ranged grabs - which after all, is what you do with a lariat, no?

 

If the character wants to buy more specific attacks - a ranged strangle, swinging, etc, I'd permit a small multipower of lariat tricks (maybe 20 or so active points) - that could include an entangle. I'd buy that as 2" stretching (limit no fine manpulation, no "stretching" bonus, OAF, total -2 limitation) plus a multipower of unranged attacks (all OAF, of course)

 

- 3d6 HA (if the lariat is weighted) - so she can whack people with a weight on a rope.

- 2d6 entangle (both take damage, burnout, unranged) so she can tie people up and leave them (but then she loses the multipower until she unties them)

- garrote: 1" Darkness vs hearing (only to cancel voice of victim, -2) +1d6 HA NND (3d6 w. 15 STR, defence is armour on neck)

- 4" swinging

- etc

 

cheers, Mark

[Cosmosemeritus]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

In my fantasy game, my father made himself a cowboy; well more precisely a cow-elf. I think he really wanted to play a western game. He'd been watching a lot of Roy Rodgers and Hoppalong Cassidy recently. Anyways he wanted a Lasso, so this is what I added to my weapons list as an unusual melee weapon (so that it required its own WF)

 

Lasso: 0CV 0d6 Str min 5 L4 Can Grab, +10Str

 

I didn't put an OCV bonus to the grab maneuver and didn't bother calculating the point cost as its a weapon in a heroic game, but it shouldn't be hard to calculate.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

I'm going to give a nod to the Lord Fool on this one - I think that the best way to do this is to model it directly as a Martial Art, making all of them OAF: Lariat. Then you can go ahead and build the attacks normally, slap on the WF: Lariat with an explanation, and go to town. Do you have the Hero System Equipment Guide? Does it have something resembling a lariat in it?

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Oh, wait. this is the board where people put up 300 posts on how to define "rope." eep. Never mind. Just go with a Martial Art. Path of least resistance.

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Isn't there something about entangling weapons in Ninja Hero?

 

If memory serves it was something that allowed ranged grabs. Really nasty with some penalty skill levels.

[Old Man]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Oh' date=' wait. this is the board where people put up 300 posts on how to define "rope." eep.[/quote']

 

Stretching! Entangle! Telekinesis! Major transform! Extra limbs! Density increase!

[Curufea]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

D&D: Here is a cube of steel. Find your own tools and hammer it into the shape you want.

Hero: Here is a completely equiped workshop. Look for any material you want to use - there is less work if it is already similarly shaped to what you want.

[garou]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Isn't there something about entangling weapons in Ninja Hero?

 

If memory serves it was something that allowed ranged grabs. Really nasty with some penalty skill levels.

There is, but the only one which might apply would be to modify the Entagling Sleeves example (basically, an EC with Entangle, Teke and Stretching).

 

I'd probably go along that route. The whole thing is an OAF with Limited Range, the Entangle might be Beam, No Barriers, and Concentration (the latter to reflect the fact that you have to maintain a pull on the lasso to keep the target entangled).

[Cosmosemeritus]

Re: New VA campaign throws up need for 'unusual' weapon rules

 

Just curious, if its for a heroic game, why bother defining an item in terms of points?

 

Do you use the point values to determine the monetary cost of the item?