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Yari – Japan. A Spear (pp. B273, B276). May have an Lshaped
head to facilitate the Disarming (p. 70) and Hook
(p. 74) techniques; this adds $10 and 0.5 lb. Such spears
aren’t throwable.
Yarinage – Japan. A JAVELIN (pp. B273, B276).
Yawara – Japan. A short stick held in the fist with its ends
protruding, used as a fist load and a lever. Cost and
weight are as BRASS KNUCKLES (p. B271). Gives +1 to
damage with the Hammer Fist technique (p. 74) and +1
to follow-up rolls with Judo holds and locks (to injure,
prevent escape, etc.). The similar dokko, kubotan, and
tenouchi use identical rules.
Yumi – Japan.A BOW (p. B275), most often a dai-kyu (p. 215).
Zweihänder – Germany. A THRUSTING GREATSWORD
(p. B274) with a ricasso to facilitate a Defensive Grip
(pp. 109-111).
MELEE WEAPON TABLE
Each melee weapon in the table below appears once per
skill that can be used to wield it. Weapons capable of several
different attacks get one line per basic attack. In all cases, “–”
means the statistic doesn’t apply, “var.” means the value
varies, and “spec.” indicates that special rules apply; see the
footnotes. Other terms and notation are as defined in
Weapon Statistics (pp. B268-271). For quick reference:
226 WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT
TL: The tech level at which the weapon became widespread
in the real world.
Weapon: The name of the specific weapon if it’s unique to
a particular culture, or of the class of weapon if it’s used in
many places (see the appropriate entry on pp. 212-226).
Damage: The ST-based damage that the weapon inflicts.
Weapons that are poor at penetrating armor have an armor
divisor of (0.5), which multiplies DR by 2.
Reach: The weapon’s reach, in yards. “C” indicates a
weapon for close combat (see p. B391). A weapon with multiple
reaches (e.g., “1, 2”) can strike at any of those reaches
– but an asterisk (*) means that changing reach requires a
Ready maneuver.
Parry: The modifier to parry when using the weapon with
the indicated skill. “F” means the weapon is a fencing
weapon (see p. B404). “U” means it’s unbalanced and can’t
parry on the turn it attacks. “No” means it can’t parry!
Cost: The price of a new weapon, in $.
Weight: The weapon’s weight, in lbs.
ST: The minimum ST needed to wield the weapon properly;
fighters with lower ST suffer -1 to skill per point of ST
deficit. Effective ST for damage purposes can’t exceed triple
the listed ST. “†” means the weapon requires two hands; “‡”
means it requires two hands and becomes unready after an
attack unless you have at least 1.5 times the listed ST.
Notes: Any special notes, including applicable footnotes
at the end of the table.
TL Weapon Damage Reach Parry Cost Weight ST Notes
AXE/MACE (DX-5, Flail-4, or Two-Handed Axe/Mace-3)
0 Knobbed Club sw+1 cr 1 0 $20 2 8
0 Round Mace sw+2 cr 1 0U $35 5 12 [1]
0 Small Axe sw+1 cut 1 0U $45 3 10
0 Small Round Mace sw+1 cr 1 0U $25 3 10 [1]
0 Small Throwing Axe sw+1 cut 1 0U $50 3 10 [1]
1 Sickle sw cut 1 0 $40 2 8
or sw imp 1 0U – – 8 [2]
or thr-2 cut 1 0U – – 8 Hook. [3]
BRAWLING, KARATE, or DX
1 Myrmex thr cr C 0 $20 0.25 – [4, 5]
2 Cestus thr cr C 0 $50 1 – [4, 5]
3 Bladed Hand sw-2 cut C 0 $100 1 6 [4]
or thr imp C 0 – – 6 [4]
3 Combat Fan thr cr C 0 $40 1 7 [4]
or thr-2 cut C 0 – – 6 -2 to hit.
3 Hook Sword thr-1 cut C 0 $200 3 – Hilt punch. [4, 5]
3 Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao thr-1 cut C 0 $250 3 – Hilt punch. [4, 5]
3 Shuriken thr-2 cut C 0 $3 0.1 – Used to claw. [4]
3 Tonfa thr cr C 0 $40 1.5 – Butt jab. [4]
4 Backsword thr cr C 0 $550 3 – Hilt punch. [4, 5]
5 Mensurschläger thr cr C 0 $500 3 – Hilt punch. [4, 5]
6 Sap Glove thr cr C 0 $30 0.5 – [4, 5]
Craig: Uh, uh, they’re not that cool.
Stan: Hyeah, “they’re not that cool.” These are real authentic weapons from the Far East.
– South Park, “Good Times with Weapons”