TABLE 1; Stone Age Weapon Materials
| Weapon | Damage | Critical | Damage Type | Range Inc. | Size | Weight | Purchase DC | Craft (Struc) DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chopper | 1d2 | 20 | Slashing | - | Small | 2 lbs. | 6 | 10 |
| Club, Soft wood | 1d3 | 20 | Blunt | 10 ft. | Medium | 2 lbs. | 10 | 10 |
| Club, Bone | 1d4 | 20 | Blunt | 10 ft. | Medium | 2 lbs. | 15 | * |
| Club, Hardwood** | 1d6 | 20 | Blunt | 10 ft. | Medium | 3 lbs. | 17 | 20 |
| Handaxe, Stone | 1d3 | 20 | Slashing | - | Small | 5 lbs. | 9 | 13 |
| Knife, Wood | 1d2 | 20 | Piercing | - | Tiny | 2 lbs. | 4 | 10 |
| Knife, Stone | 1d3 | 20 | Piercing | - | Tiny | 3 lbs. | 6 | 12 |
| Knife, Bone | 1d4 | 20 | Piercing | —- | Tiny | 2 lbs. | 7 | 14 |
| Spear, Wood | 1d3 | 20 | Piercing | 20 ft. | Large | 6 lbs. | 11 | 11 |
| Spear, Stone | 1d4 | 20 | Piercing | 10 ft. | Large | 11 lbs. | 13 | 14 |
| Spear, Bone | 1d6 | 20 | Piercing | 20 ft. | Large | 9 lbs. | 17 | 18 |
*These weapons can only be found, not made. Anytime a medium animal is killed a Search check (DC 25) allows one of these to be discovered in the remains (this check may not be retried, failure indicates too much bone damage for a usable club). For each size category above Medium the DC of this check is reduced by 5.
**Due to the craftsmanship required to make these weapons, all should be considered masterwork weapons.
Stone Age Melee Weapons
Chopper: These items were designed to be tools to dig through rough ground to find food (tubers and grubs) as well as in chopping or shaping soft woods and skinning animals. They could be pressed into service as a weapon and would eventually become much more effective when combined with a haft in the form of a handaxe.
Club: Most Stone Age examples of this oldest weapon are improvised, simply a large sturdy branch found after a storm or broken off a tree. The bone club is found among the remains of animal kills. The hardwood club is the one exception, and is an extremely rare and potent weapon due to the difficulty of shaping hardwoods with stone cutting implements. The hardwood club is the one Stone Age example of this weapon that is not a weapon of convenience and will often feature such minor improvements as leather wrapping around the handle of the weapon, making it easier to grip in combat.
Handaxe: One of the major technological advancements of the Stone Age, these items were valuable as both tools and weapons (some argue more the former than the latter) and developed from the “choppers”, axe heads held in the hand to skin animals and chop wood. With these items came the ability to shape wood for specific purposes, including more sophisticated clubs, but also hafting. With hafting both the axe and spear were born and humans went from prey animals to hunters in their own right.
Knife: Like the chopper, the knife was more of a tool than a true weapon although sharpened bone stakes were probably intended to be stabbing devices. Like the chopper, these items benefited from hafting, when they were transformed into spears.
Spear: As mentioned above the spear was developed by the addition of a haft to a knife, allowing the attacker to increase his reach and keep his enemy at bay while increasing the force of his thrusts. These weapons could also be thrown, allowing the attacker to extend the range of his attacks even further.
TABLE 2; Stone Age Ranged Weapons
| Weapon | Damage | Critical | Damage Type | Range Inc. | Size | Weight | Pur DC | Craft (Struc) DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrow, Wooden blunt | 1d4 (NL) | 20 | Blunt | Small | 1 lb. (15) | 5 (12) | 16 | |
| Arrow, Wood | 1d2 | 19-20 | Piercing | Small | 1 lb. (15) | 5 (12) | 16 | |
| Arrow, Stone | 1d3 | 19-20 | Piercing | Small | 1 lb. (10) | 7 (12) | 18 | |
| Arrow, Bone | 1d4 | 19-20 | Piercing | Small | 1 lb. (15) | 9 (12) | 20 | |
| Atlatl | * | * | * | +5 ft. | Small | 3 lbs. | 15 | 17 |
| Atlatl, weighted | * | +1* | * | +5 ft. | Small | 5 lbs. | 17 | 20 |
| Dart, Wood | 1d2 | 20 | Piercing | 15 ft. | Tiny | 1 lb. (20) | 5 (20) | 16 |
| Dart, Stone | 1d3 | 20 | Piercing | 10 ft. | Tiny | 1 lb. (16) | 7 (20) | 18 |
| Dart, Bone | 1d4 | 20 | Piercing | 15 ft. | Tiny | 1 lb. (20) | 9 (20) | 20 |
| Javelin, Wood | 1d2 | 20 | Piercing | 25 ft. | Medium | 3 lbs. | 9 | 18 |
| Javelin, Stone | 1d3 | 20 | Piercing | 15 ft. | Medium | 5 lbs. | 11 | 20 |
| Javelin, Bone | 1d4 | 20 | Piercing | 25 ft. | Medium | 3 lbs. | 13 | 22 |
| Shortbow | * | * | * | 30 ft. | Medium | 2 lbs. | 15 | 20 |
| Stone, thrown | 1d3 | 20 | Blunt | 10 ft. | Tiny | 1 lbs. (10) | 3 | 13 |
* A bow’s damage, critical and damage type depend on the type of arrow used.
An arrow’s range depends on the type of bow being used.
* An atlatl’s damage, critical and damage type depend on the type of javelin being used.
Stone Age Ranged Weapons
Arrow: Essentially a long dart designed to be fired from a bow, these weapons should be treated as darts in all respects except size and weight if used as a melee weapon. These weapons were already beginning to see specialized designs even during the Stone Age, when they were made with blunt tips to stun game (usually small birds). A blunt arrow inflicts non-lethal damage and its target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10) or be Stunned for one round if Medium-size (creatures larger than medium cannot be stunned by this weapon). For every size category below Medium, increase the save DC by 5 and increase the amount of time stunned by one round.
Atlatl: The atlatl is a “spear thrower” designed to increase the velocity (and thus the range and damage) of the javelin and the dart. These items are modified as listed in the equipment table above, gaining an improved Range Increment and (in the case of the weighted atlatl) a damage bonus.
Dart: The dart is a tiny javelin used as a weapon by primitive cultures, often in conjunction with either poison or the atlatl.
Javelin: The javelin is one of the most effective ranged weapons of the Stone Age, especially when combined with the atlatl. Because of its superior range, many armies use these weapons for ranged attacks with soldiers carrying only a single true spear for melee combat.
Shortbow: The shortbow is one of the most important weapons ever invented and has a great deal of impact on hunting and warfare. The ability to hurl missiles accurately and with great force across great distances allows the attacker to keep his enemy at bay, hopefully killing an attacker or animal before they can close to injure him.
Shortbows do not allow the wielder to add his Strength modifier to bow damage.
Stone, thrown: One of the simplest weapons imaginable, this is nothing more than a rock that has been chosen (or shaped) to extend its throwing range. This is also the ammunition for the sling.
