Simple melee weapons are either tools from common trades, like woodworking, smithing or cooking, or weapons crafted for hunting, like spears. Additionally, tools repurposed as weapons also fall under the simple category, like warscythes or swordstaffs.
Simple Axes
Simple Axes are axes primarily used for woodworking, felling trees and butchery. Examples include Handaxes, Felling Axes, Broad Axes, Hatchets.
| Damage Types | Cleaving or Splitting |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Goading Attack, Menacing Attack, Tripping Attack |
| 2h Maneuvers | Power Attack, Pushing Attack |
Simple Blades
Simple Blades are blades primarily used for farming, skinning and cooking. Examples include Scythes, Sickles, Knives, Machetes
| Damage Types | Slashing, Cleaving, Piercing |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Distracting Strike, Precise Attack, Feinting Attack |
| 2h Maneuvers | Tripping Attack, Sweeping Attack |
Simple Bludgeons
Simple Bludgeons are tools usually used for carpentry, masonry and hunting. Examples include Hammers, Sledgehammers, Clubs. Also includes equipment for mining or climbing, like Pickaxes and Ice-picks.
| Damage Types | Bludgeoning or Splitting |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Goading Attack, Menacing Attack, Power Attack |
| 2h Maneuvers | Pushing Attack, Tripping Attack |
Simple Spears
Simple Spears includes farming tools and fishing tools, or simple weapons for hunting. Examples include Tridents and Hunting Spears.
Simple spears can only be of the versatile size or smaller. Two-Handed or great sizes spears must instead be polearms.
| Damage Types | Piercing or Splitting |
| Range | Melee, Thrown |
| Maneuvers | Distracting Strike, Feinting Attack, Lunging Attack |
| 2h Maneuvers | Maneuvering Attack, Tripping Attack |
Simple Polearms
Simple Polearm examples includes most improvisational weaponry made from farming tools, or simple weapons like longer spears. Examples include Warscythes, Pitchforks, Quarterstaffs and Swordstaffs.
Polearms must always be great sized weapons.
| Damage Types | Bludgeoning plus the Damage Types from one simple melee weapon category of your choice. |
| Range | Melee |
| 2h Maneuvers | Pushing Attack, Brace, plus the maneuvers of the chosen weapon category. |
Simple Ranged Weapons
Simple ranged weapons are weapons and tools that are used at range and primarily used for hunting and fishing.
- Simple ranged weapons always requires both hands to reload, regardless of size.
- Simple ranged weapons can not be of the versatile weapon size.
Draw Strength
Draw strength is the amount of strength a ranged weapon requires and maintains to be shot. This determines both the possible size of a ranged weapon, as well as the distance it can travel when shot.
Simple Drawn
Simple drawn weapons are ranged weapons that use the wielders strength in each shot. These are mainly weapons used for hunting, where examples include Slings, Hunting Bows, Self Bows, Simple Bows.
Simple drawn ranged weapons have a strength requirement equal to its Draw Strength. This requirement explains the draw weight of the weapon and the required strength of the wielder to draw and hold it while shooting.
| Damage Types | Ammunition Dependent |
| Range | Ranged |
| Maneuvers | Distracting Strike, Precise Attack, Rapid Fire |
| 2h Maneuvers | Menacing Attack, Point Blank |
| Size | Mod | Draw Strength | Range | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 0.5x | 7 | 25 ft | Small Sling |
| 8 | 30 ft | |||
| 9 | 40 ft | |||
| 10 | 50 ft | |||
| One-handed | 1x | 9 | 80 ft | Large Sling |
| 10 | 100 ft | |||
| 11 | 125 ft | |||
| 12 | 150 ft | |||
| Two-handed | 1.5x | 11 | 180 ft | Simple Bow |
| 12 | 225 ft | |||
| 13 | 270 ft | |||
| 14 | 320 ft | |||
| Great | 2x | 13 | 360 ft | Hunting Bow |
| 14 | 430 ft | |||
| 15 | 520 ft | |||
| 16 | 620 ft |
Simple Loaded
Simple loaded weapons are ranged weapons that unlike all the other simple weapons, are nearly always made for warfare. Because of the simplicity of crossbows and the lack or need of expertise, almost any fool can pick one up to shoot. Simple loaded weapons are almost exclusively crossbows of different variations and sizes.
- Simple loaded weapons do not have disadvantage while prone or within 5 ft. of an enemy.
- Simple loaded weapons are treated as if they were a martial weapon when calculating for damage and range.
- Attacking with a simple loaded weapon requires loading it beforehand.
| Damage Types | Ammunition Dependent |
| Range | Ranged |
| Maneuvers | Maneuvering Attack, Precise Attack, Point Blank |
| 2h Maneuvers | Snipe, Sneak Attack |
Load Time
The loading time for a loaded weapon is one attack action, plus one more attack action for each size larger than light. Additionally, the ability score modifier of the draw strength increases or reduces the loading time respectively.
Added Damage
A loaded weapon can be made to have its loading time increased by two attack actions to increase its damage with one extra damage die. A martial loaded weapon can utilize this feature twice.
- Examples of this include simpler guns like flintlock rifles and muskets or more powerful crossbows that require increased time to wind up.
Magazine (Attacks before reload)
A loaded weapon can be made with a magazine, increasing the amount of attacks it can make before having to reload it at the cost of increased loading time.
For each time the magazine size is increased by 1, the loading time is also increased by 1, up to a maximum magazine size of 12. When adding a magazine, the damage is reduced to the simple weapon damage category. Martial loaded weapons increases their loading time by half, rounded down, when increasing their magazine size.
Specialty Simple Weapons
Specialty simple weapons includes a wide variety of tools used for different work and trades, but when used in combat are not effective in the same way a blade is. Their primary use is usually not for the physical damage they cause. Lassos and Bolos are the obvious examples.
Blowgun
Blowguns are a type of simple loaded weapon that lack the punch that most weapons have, instead they are often made to deliver a powerful toxin. These generally come in small disguisable sizes, or large two-handed long range versions.
- Blowguns do not deal any physical damage when they hit, instead they deliver a poison.
- Blowguns have a set range depending on their size, as seen in the Range row below, from light to great.
- Attacking does not automatically reveal you when using a blowgun. If you hit, the target must succeed a contested Wisdom (Perception) check against your Dexterity (Stealth) to determine where you are. This do not stop intelligent creatures from investigating the scene, even if they haven't directly seen you.
| Damage Types | — |
| Range | Ranged (75 ft., 150 ft., 225 ft., 300 ft.) |
| Maneuvers | Point Blank, Volley |
| 2h Maneuvers | Distant Shot |
Lasso
Lassos is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. The lasso is usually used in animal husbandry, but with a skillful user, it can be used to restrain a dangerous opponent.
- Lassos are always two-handed with a 15 ft. melee range (without being a great weapon).
- A grappled creature from restraining attack still has the ability to move in the area within 15 ft. of you.
| Damage Types | — |
| Range | Melee |
| 2h Maneuvers | Restraining Attack, Disarming Attack, Tripping Attack |
Bola
Bolas are a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs.
- Can use the Restraining Attack maneuver even when thrown.
- The Bola's weapon maneuvers are free maneuvers, allowing other maneuvers to also be used.
| Range | Ranged |
| Maneuvers | Tripping Attack, Restraining Attack |
Martial Weapons are weapons explicitly made for warfare. These are more specialized, granting the proficient wielder more damage and maneuvers for use in combat.
However, certain martial weapons may impose hardships while trying to socialize if the martial weapons are visible. This depends on the region, but some people may not appreciate a halberd in their face.
- Martial weapons gain the maneuvers and properties of their simple counterpart.
- Light martial weapons can be made as thrown weapons. This reduces their damage to the simple damage category, but allows it to be thrown more effectively.
Martial Axes
Martial Axes are either made to cleave through limbs and light armor, or split through, bend and bash armor. Examples include Battle Axes, Tomahawks, Long Axes.
| Damage Types | Cleaving or Splitting |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Disarming Attack, Positioning Strike, Restraining Attack, Arresting Strike |
| 2h Maneuvers | Commander's Strike, Sweeping Attack, Seize and Conquer |
Martial Blades
Martial Blades include all kinds of swords and special daggers. Blades can be double-edged or single edged, curved or straight, straight and thin, or short and heavy.
| Damage Types |
| ||||||
| Range | Melee | ||||||
| Maneuvers |
| ||||||
| 2h Maneuvers | Menacing Attack, Power Attack, Positioning Strike |
Curved Blades
Curved Blades are swords with a back-bending blade. These are heavily favored for lightly armored combat and often in the hands of cavalry. They favor slicing, cutting and slashing. Examples are Scimitars, Falchions and Sabres.
- As a Bonus Action, while mounted, when you attack with a Curved Blade, you may make an extra attack with the same weapon.
Straight Blades
Straight blades are the weapons of choice for those who require versatility. They give like most swords a good balance of offense and defense, but their double-edged blade yields the possibility of either hacking and cleaving, finding gaps and piercing the opponent, but also half-swording to split and swapping the grip to bash with the pommel. Examples are Daggers, Short Swords (Arming Swords), Longswords, Bastard Longswords, Greatswords (Zweihanders).
Thrusting Blades
Thrusting Swords are either made for civilian life and personal protection, which are weapons designed to pierce lightly armored opponents, or made for warfare with heavier blades made to pierce and split thick armor. Examples are Rapiers, Estocs and Stiletto Daggers.
Martial Bludgeons
Martial Bludgeons are weapons specially made for enemies with strong armor. Either with a splitting edge or a lump of steel, bludgeons can cause concussions, broken ribs and a whole variety of bodily harm. Bludgeons however, are not as effective against unarmored opponents.
| Damage Types | Splitting and/or Bludgeoning |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Maneuvering Attack, Avert Blow, Bait and Switch, Brace |
| 2h Maneuvers | Commander's Strike, Arresting Strike, Seize and Conquer |
Martial Spears
Martial Spears are spears made for warfare rather than hunting. These range from javelins to longspears and pikes, and are generally the weapon of choice for large cohorts and armies. Even in one on one are they favored if the terrain is open and allows for longer weaponry.
| Damage Types | Piercing and/or Splitting |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Precise Attack, Impale, Arresting Strike, Riposte |
| 2h Maneuvers | Parry, Patient Defense, Vigilance |
Martial Polearms
Martial Polearms are a combination of several weapons put on a stick. Often times seen as a pure battlefield weapon and made for large scale combat. Examples include Halberds, Poleaxes, Pikes.
- Martial polearms can choose to forego one of the chosen weapon categories for a hook. This grants the wielder advantage on checks when trying to unmount a mounted creature.
| Damage Types | Bludgeoning plus the Damage Types of two martial melee weapon categories of your choice. |
| Range | Melee |
| Maneuvers | Menacing Attack, Lunging Attack, plus the maneuvers of one of your chosen weapon categories. |