Optional Mechanic Poll: Staff and Chain Weapon Options
Posted: Tue May 19, 2020 7:39 pm
In the Book of Water, AEG added the following optional rule:
Player’s Option: Dramatic Chain and Staff Action
L5R combat is usually focused on the weapons associated with the samurai – the sword, naginata, and bow. However, Asian action cinema often depicts chain weapons and staves in a highly dramatic fashion which emphasizes their capacities for unpredictable movements, striking opponents at range, and tripping, throwing, entangling or otherwise taking out those opponents. GMs who wish to add more depth to these underutilized weapons can encourage this by offering their players more options with Raises and Maneuvers. A few examples follow: In the L5R Core rules, certain weapons can be used to perform Grapples. GMs who wish to add more options to chain weapons can allow them to be used for this purpose as well, or even allow players to call Raises on chain weapon attacks to add +1k0 bonuses to their subsequent Contested Rolls to control such Grapples.
The Three-Section-Staff is an exotic-looking weapon but one with no special properties of its own. GMs who wish to add flavor to this weapon can allow characters who are highly skilled in staff combat (Staves Skill Rank of 5 or higher) to gain a defensive bonus while using the three-section-staff (such as a +5 bonus to Armor TN), to gain a Free Raise on performing Knockdown attacks with the weapon, or even to gain a bonus for getting past Reduction (due to the staff’s ability to whip around a foe’s body and thus strike at vulnerable areas). Both chain weapons and the longer sorts of staves are often depicted as granting the advantage of reach – allowing a warrior to strike his foes before they can reach him, or to hold enemies at bay with a whirling defensive pattern. The effects of “reach” can be represented by granting a skilled character an Initiative bonus when fighting opponents with Medium or Small weapons. The defensive effects of these weapons can be represented by allowing a well-skilled character (Skill Rank of at least 3, or more likely 5+) to gain extra bonuses when using the Defense or Full Defense Stances. Another frequent depiction in Asian cinema is the use of these weapons to strike many opponents with a single whirling, spinning attack. Although the GM can represent this by allowing a skilled character to get Free Raises on the Extra Attack Maneuver, a more interesting option might be to allow the character to reduce the damage of his weapon (dropping unkept or even kept dice) to be able to strike multiple opponents with a single attack. This works especially well if the foes are lower Insight Rank samurai, peasant rebels, goblins, or similar “minions” who cannot match the character’s skills.
Finally, a character might use a chain weapon to pin down an opponent, such as by wrapping the chain around an arm or leg and then wrapping the other end around a tree, pillar, or fence. These can be represented by the character taking Raises to reduce his opponent’s mobility, which the GM can then represent by lowering the victim’s effective Water Ring for movement purposes.
Monk Weapons Certain weapons are widely used and respected in the Brotherhood of Shinsei, much in the same way that swords and naginata are widely used among samurai. The following weapons are considered to have the “Monk” trait for the purpose of mechanical effects such as School Techniques. c Bo Staff c Jo Staff c Sang Kuaw c Three-Section Staff c Tonfa c Nunchaku c Bisento
Player’s Option: Dramatic Chain and Staff Action
L5R combat is usually focused on the weapons associated with the samurai – the sword, naginata, and bow. However, Asian action cinema often depicts chain weapons and staves in a highly dramatic fashion which emphasizes their capacities for unpredictable movements, striking opponents at range, and tripping, throwing, entangling or otherwise taking out those opponents. GMs who wish to add more depth to these underutilized weapons can encourage this by offering their players more options with Raises and Maneuvers. A few examples follow: In the L5R Core rules, certain weapons can be used to perform Grapples. GMs who wish to add more options to chain weapons can allow them to be used for this purpose as well, or even allow players to call Raises on chain weapon attacks to add +1k0 bonuses to their subsequent Contested Rolls to control such Grapples.
The Three-Section-Staff is an exotic-looking weapon but one with no special properties of its own. GMs who wish to add flavor to this weapon can allow characters who are highly skilled in staff combat (Staves Skill Rank of 5 or higher) to gain a defensive bonus while using the three-section-staff (such as a +5 bonus to Armor TN), to gain a Free Raise on performing Knockdown attacks with the weapon, or even to gain a bonus for getting past Reduction (due to the staff’s ability to whip around a foe’s body and thus strike at vulnerable areas). Both chain weapons and the longer sorts of staves are often depicted as granting the advantage of reach – allowing a warrior to strike his foes before they can reach him, or to hold enemies at bay with a whirling defensive pattern. The effects of “reach” can be represented by granting a skilled character an Initiative bonus when fighting opponents with Medium or Small weapons. The defensive effects of these weapons can be represented by allowing a well-skilled character (Skill Rank of at least 3, or more likely 5+) to gain extra bonuses when using the Defense or Full Defense Stances. Another frequent depiction in Asian cinema is the use of these weapons to strike many opponents with a single whirling, spinning attack. Although the GM can represent this by allowing a skilled character to get Free Raises on the Extra Attack Maneuver, a more interesting option might be to allow the character to reduce the damage of his weapon (dropping unkept or even kept dice) to be able to strike multiple opponents with a single attack. This works especially well if the foes are lower Insight Rank samurai, peasant rebels, goblins, or similar “minions” who cannot match the character’s skills.
Finally, a character might use a chain weapon to pin down an opponent, such as by wrapping the chain around an arm or leg and then wrapping the other end around a tree, pillar, or fence. These can be represented by the character taking Raises to reduce his opponent’s mobility, which the GM can then represent by lowering the victim’s effective Water Ring for movement purposes.
Monk Weapons Certain weapons are widely used and respected in the Brotherhood of Shinsei, much in the same way that swords and naginata are widely used among samurai. The following weapons are considered to have the “Monk” trait for the purpose of mechanical effects such as School Techniques. c Bo Staff c Jo Staff c Sang Kuaw c Three-Section Staff c Tonfa c Nunchaku c Bisento