Some dwarves harrumph that it is not honorable to use envenomed weapons. They tend to be in the safer areas where “honor in battle” doesn’t cost many lives. While dwarves are honorable, they are also pragmatic, and turning away useful weapons in battle is a luxury many clans cannot afford.

Roll 2 dice for the attack, one to hit and one for the tranquilizer’s risk test. Different darts have different potency; untrained for basic stuff, secondary for more expensive specialty tranquilizers, and primary for the good stuff.

(If NPCs are using the stuff, assume they hit and let the PCs make rolls to resist effects.)

Using tranquilizers in darts is a time-honored way to remove foes without killing them. It’s usually fast and quiet, if you’ve got a good alchemist. It is possible to hit, and for the tranquilizer not to work. Maybe the dart hit a bit of armor, maybe the target was just really tough.

For putting poison on a weapon, each failure on the risk test for the attack (whether it hits or not) removes a dose from the weapon. Some are more gummy or sticky, and can handle 2 or 3 failures before they are gone. If they hit and succeed, there are a variety of effects I’ll outline in the rules.

Used against dwarven characters, they resist effects (if possible) with a challenge or risk test as a free action.

Examples:

• Fogblood. For the rest of the fight (or once every 10 minutes roll the behavior die) a result that is between 4-9 on the behavior die inflicts 1d10 Vitality damage. Characters make a challenge/risk test once per hour, and if they do not succeed or fail, take damage.
• Zakath. If the target rolls below 5 on the behavior die (if not in combat roll once every 10 minutes) the target passes out. Characters make a risk test each round or every 10 minutes or pass out.
• Meatcrisper. Add 1/2 to damage inflicted by the roll.

One hole in the rules that my players helped me find was a blind spot on how to handle grenades. Here is my proposal.

GRENADES

Throw them as a challenge test, and if there’s a way they could cause problems, a challenge/risk test. The GM and player agree on the intent, possible consequences (good and bad), what kind of roll before the player rolls–there should be no surprises.

On a success, the grenade lands where the thrower wants it to and targets take expected damage. If the roll does not succeed, then half the targets take half expected damage. If the roll fails, then the GM can predict that the bad bounce could do full damage to allies, or bring down the ceiling, or bounce off and do no damage to anyone. If there are various possibilities for a bad bounce, the GM can even list a number of possibilities and be prepared to randomize between them (like a behavior chart for the grenade.)

This should not bog down the game speed. The player declares intent, ideally looking at a visual representation of the area. The GM agrees with how many targets could be hit by a good throw, and sketches out a couple other possibilities in case of failure. The player rolls, adjusting the roll with Resolve if desired. Damage is worked out, and the game goes on.

Athlete skill can be applied to the roll, and Support characters get a secondary skill equivalent for throwing weapons in combat.

Most hand-held explosives have a thrown range of about 30 feet with any accuracy. They explode for full damage with a 10 foot diameter and half damage for another 10 foot radius beyond that. Specific mixes may vary, but that is the baseline.

Firebombs do 1d6 x 2 damage for one round, and 1d6 damage the next round. That’s for alcohol or oil; napalm style flames may do 1d6 x 4 at one less multiplier a round.

Standard gunpowder bombs rely on placement, so use the thrower’s ranged weapon damage code x4 in the 10 foot diameter, and x2 in the 10 radius beyond that.

I’ll also work something up for web bombs, smoke bombs, flash bombs, and such. Making these bombs will be the domain of the alchemist, and gunsmiths can make gunpowder bombs.

What do you think?

In Axes and Anvils, all of the non-player character range attacks hit, 100%. That just doesn’t feel right. But the GM does not roll, except for the behavior chart, to get a sense of how the morale and preferences of the NPCs will play out. I don’t want anything complicated, and I don’t want to add a to-hit roll. But.. what if there is another way?

I want to playtest this. Roll the d12 behavioral die first, and interpret for ranged attacks.

• 1: All ranged attacks miss.
• 2-6: Every other range attack hits (start with a hit.)
• 7-11: All range attacks hit.
• 12: All hit, and one range attack does +1/2 damage (round up.)

To model especially good shots, or bad shots, make it a trait of the warrior type. For example, note that elves do not miss. Note that goblins never score criticals. Use whatever tweak you want on the monster, and let the basic system stand.

I think the idea is worth a closer look.

I am going to change how I handle Wounds.

So when a character takes 6 Vitality at once, the character also gains a Wound. A Wound lowers your maximum Vitality by 3 (so when you rest and heal up you don’t get as much Vitality back) and each one makes you -1 on d12 rolls. Plus when you run out of Vitality and pass out there is a greater chance you’ll be incapacitated.

As I’ve been playing it, I have found it difficult to remember the -1 on d12 per Wound. This game won’t do well with regularly used stuff that’s hard to remember, and there is nowhere else in the system that applies modifiers on the roll like that. So it’s out!

Part of the reason I’m cutting that out is because I got a better idea that plays to the strength of the system.

If you have one or more Wounds, then every time you roll d12 then it is an untrained risk test. If you fail the risk test you lose 1 Vitality per current Wound. If the roll is also a risk test, then whatever other bad thing happens in addition. If you were rolling a risk test and you were skilled, and pass that risk test, but would fail if it was untrained, then you lose the Vitality even if you avoid the other danger.

A field dressing reduces the risk to secondary skill level, but if failed it is undone. A really great dressing can reduce the risk to primary skill level, if it is failed it reduces to secondary, then to untrained.

This works for a few reasons. No changes to the roll. I love the IDEA of bleeding rules, but they’re always too complicated–but here dwarves may take bleeding damage if they exert themselves while wounded. So, if you are wounded and decide to keep fighting, you risk taking damage from your severe injury bleeding or spiking pain through your system.