The Quintessential Barbarian
The Quintessential Barbarian cover
| Author | Robert Schwalb |
| Series | Quintessential Series |
| Publisher | Mongoose Publishing |
| Publish date | 2003 |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 1-903980-92-5 |
| OGL Section 15 | qbbn |
The material below is considered Open Game Content
Iron Weapons
Most Games Masters will not draw a distinction between iron and steel for the purposes of game play. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, iron does warrant some examination. Iron weapons are softer than steel ones. In addition, they are heavier and prone to rusting. In most Dark Age-era campaigns, all metal materials ought to be considered as iron. In the default era SRD, steel is common and so choosing
an iron weapon over steel should be an interesting choice, especially in nearby, less advanced, societies. Iron weapons have the following properties.
Base Cost: Iron weapons are 80% of the cost of a steel weapon.
Weight: These weapons weigh 25% more than the steel version.
Attacks: Iron weapons are equally suited for combat as steel weapons. There is no attack modifier.
Damage: Iron inflicts the same amount of damage as a steel weapon.
Hardness: Iron weapons’ hardness is one less than their steel equivalents.
Hit Points: Iron weapons have an identical amount of hit points as steel weapons.
Special Rules: Neglected weapons, weapons not frequently oiled and sharpened, deteriorate. For every week of neglect the weapon’s status worsens. There are three levels of deterioration. They, and their modifiers, are as follows. All listed penalties stack.
Dulled: Confers a -1 circumstance penalty to attacks and damage.
Corroded: Confers a -1 circumstance penalty to attacks and a -2 penalty to damage.
Rusted: Weapon will break automatically on a roll of 1.
Beyond the rusted stage, the weapon is worthless.
Maintaining a weapon requires a Craft (weaponsmithing) check against a DC 10 every week. Failure indicates the weapon worsens to the first category. Not attempting the Craft check is a failed attempt. Repairing a neglected weapon is only possible at the Corroded and Dulled Stages.
Simply cleaning up the weapon after it has deteriorated requires a Craft (weaponsmithing) check against a DC 15. Failure indicates the weapon is neither improved nor worsened. A failed check by 5 or more means the weapon worsens by one stage.
