Nexus City Specials

Many weapons have special properties related to their use, as shown in the Weapons table.

Accuracy. Weapons default to Accuracy 0; weapons with Accuracy of 1 or greater give an Accuracy bonus to all attacks made with the weapon if one takes the time to aim a single shot. This is in addition to any bonuses for Quality.

Ammunition. You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, a case, or another container is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon.

Armor-Piercing. Attacks with weapons or ammunition with the armor piercing trait are quite effective against armor, by either burning straight through it or passing through unsealed areas.

• Armor Piercing (-1). Targets with natural armor or worn armor and an AC of 14 or better take a -1 penalty to AC.
• Armor Piercing (-2). Targets with natural armor or worn armor and an AC of 16 or better take a -2 penalty to AC, in addition to the benefits of armor piercing (-1).
• Armor Piercing (-3). Targets with natural armor or worn armor and an AC of 18 or better take a -3 penalty to AC, in addition to the benefits of armor piercing (-1) and (-2).
• Armor Piercing (-4). Targets with natural armor or worn armor and an AC of 20 or better take a -4 penalty to AC, in addition to the benefits of armor piercing (-1), (-2), and (-3).
• Armor Piercing (-5). Targets with natural armor or worn armor and an AC of 22 or better take a -5 penalty to AC, in addition to the benefits of armor piercing (-1), (-2), (-3), and (-4).

The AC penalties do not stack together.

Burst Fire. The DC of Dexterity saving throws made against firearms using burst fire is 13 + the attacker's proficiency bonus (not 15) if the attacker has proficiency with the weapon.

Carrier. Carrier effects may be noted for some firearm ammunition or beam weapons; this is a secondary effect that occurs if the initial attack is successful.

Cone. Weapons with “Cone X”, where X is a number, fire a spread of pellets or bullets that are a danger to everyone within X feet of the firer; use the same attack and damage roll against everyone within this area, allowing bonuses for cover to apply for those standing behind other people as well as behind other obstructions. This is most commonly used for shotguns (which fire a spread of pellets) and automatic weapons used to spray an area (using fifteen pieces of ammunition to do so).

Covert. Covert weapons are easily concealed upon the person. You have Advantage on any roll to hide this weapon from a casual observer.

Dire. If you are proficient with a dire weapon, you add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls instead of attack rolls.

Finesse. When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.

Glove. A glove weapon is worn on your hand or forearm, and you cannot be disarmed of it without the removal of the hand. You can hold or wield objects in a hand fitted with a glove weapon, but you can only attack with a glove weapon if that hand is unoccupied.

Light. A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons.

Loading. Because of the time required to load or otherwise prepare this weapon, you can only attack with it once when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

Loud. Firearms are very noisy! The following table gauges how difficult it is to hear a gunshot or explosion, by the size of a weapon. There are four brackets, each of which determine the DC of a hearing-based Perception check to hear a gun being fired. The first bracket (“Automatic”) is the maximum distance within which a weapon is so loud, it's impossible not to hear it unless you are deafened. Within that radius, you do not have to make a Perception check to hear it; it is automatically audible. Further away, it is increasingly less certain; the next three columns give a DC which must be passed to hear the sound of a firearm.

*: This is the sound of a grenade launcher firing, not the sound of an exploding grenade, which is much louder (see further below on the table).

The DC of the Perception check assumes that the firearm is being used in a typical, relatively clear outdoors environment; the DC may be slightly lower when you are surrounded by stone or concrete (since those materials reflect sound, making it louder), or even lower in an enclosed space such as inside a building. On the other hand, the DC may be slightly higher in an environment such as a dense forest where there are many obstacles to diffuse the noise. Use common sense; it may be difficult to hear the sound of a pistol going off, even within the normally “automatic” distance (necessitating a Perception check), if there is a very loud background noise, such as heavy machinery or fireworks.

Misalignment. Barrel chain rifles and harmonica guns suffer a special kind of misfire. When the bullet is not properly aligned, whether due to forgetting to lock in a barrel or misaligning the slide, then the creature risks damaging the gun and itself. When it rolls a 1 on its attack roll, the barrel is considered cracked (as per the disadvantaged misfire rule) and the creature takes 1d4 damage from powder and shrapnel released by the explosion.

Misfire. Whenever you roll an attack roll with a firearm and the result on the die is equal to or lower than a firearm’s Misfire score, the weapon misfires. The attack misses, and the firearm is in danger of breaking completely. You may spend an action to clear the misfire (no check required), but if you do not, a second misfire will cause an explosion and break the weapon. This explosion deals the weapon’s listed damage to you and any creatures or objects within five feet. If the roll you made a misfire on was at disadvantage, the weapon automatically breaks.

Clearing a misfire out of combat similarly requires no check. Repairing a broken firearm, however, requires one hour and an Intelligence-based check with Tinker’s Tools (DC 10 + the firearm’s misfire score). On a success, the weapon is repaired and functional again; failure simply means you must spend another hour to attempt the repairs again. Items with two numbers separated by a slash are particularly reliable; they only suffer a misfire 1/X of the time (1/2 means that on a roll of 1, there is a 50% chance they malfunction, 1/3 means that on a roll of 1, there is a 33% chance, etc.)

Quality. Weapons of low quality have a -1; this manifests as a -1 to all attacks with the weapon. Weapons of exceptionally high quality have a +1 to +3, which adds a Quality bonus to all attacks made with the weapon.

Range. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown property. If the range lists two numbers, the first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second indicates the weapon’s long range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. (If you otherwise would already have disadvantage on the attack roll, the attack misses regardless of the roll.) You can't attack a target beyond the weapon's long range.

Reach. This weapon adds to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it. Most weapons have a Reach of 5 feet and are unremarkable; weapons with Reach noted usually have a Reach of 10 feet.

Reload: A firearm may be shot a number of times equal to its Reload score before it must be reloaded by using either an action or a bonus action (Standard firearms require a standard action). You must have one free hand to reload a firearm - although you could use your free action to stow a weapon in your other hand before reloading. A reload action loads a single round into the weapon, or a speedloader, magazine or cell for weapons that are loaded with them, if available.

Returning. If you make a ranged attack with a returning weapon and miss, you catch it at the end of your turn if you still have a free hand. Returning weapons need lots of space to bank and return to the thrower. There must be no obstructions (such as walls or trees) within 5 feet of the target.

Scatter. When you fire a weapon with the scatter property at a target, you may simultaneously attack a second target that is within 5 feet of the first. Use the same attack and damage rolls for both targets.

Scope. Firearms with the scope trait have a scope which facilitates extreme long-range engagements. If you have not moved since the end of your last turn, you can use an action to aim down the scope of a firearm that has this trait at a specific target. Once you do so, you are incapacitated and your speed becomes 0 until the start of your next turn. However, the first attack you make against the target at the start of your next turn is made as if the firearm has a different range value (listed in parentheses), with no long range at which attacking imposes disadvantage on your attack roll.

Short Burst. Firearms with the short burst trait can, fire a number of rounds of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. This is typically a three-round burst but could be anywhere between two and five.

When you make an attack with a firearm with this trait, you can choose to expend a single round of ammunition as normal, or fire a short burst and expend additional rounds of ammunition as indicated in the parenthesis. If you fire a short burst and successfully hit, you can re-roll a number of the damage dice, as indicated in the parenthesis, accepting the new results.

For example, a bolter has short burst (2), so when you attack you expend three rounds of ammunition and re-roll two of the damage dice if you successfully hit.

Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has the finesse property.

Two-Handed. This weapon requires two hands when you attack with it. Attempting to attack with only one hand imposes disadvantage on the attack roll. (If you otherwise would already have disadvantage on the attack roll, the attack misses regardless of the roll.)

Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property; this is the damage dealt when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.

The weapons presented are made to be wielded by Small or Medium humanoids. These are considered “standard” weapons. Aside from standard weapons, there are Tiny, Large, and Huge weapons. You might come across such a weapon if you loot the corpse of a Large warrior, or you could have them specifically crafted by a trained artisan. Either way, they are typically not found in common markets.

If a weapon does not have the “special” property, it can exist in one of these unusual sizes. Its cost, weight, and damage depends on its size:

* A Tiny weapon has damage dice two steps down from normal: 2d6 or 1d12 becomes 1d8, 1d10 becomes 1d6, 1d8 becomes 1d4, and anything 1d6 or lower becomes 1.

For example, a Medium creature could wield a Large rapier. Wielding this rapier the creature would deal 1d8 + 1d4 damage on a hit, but the creature would have disadvantage on the attack roll, and could not benefit from the rapier's finesse property.

If however the Medium creature was magically enlarged to be of Large size and then took hold of the Large rapier, things would be different. Wielding this rapier the Large creature would still deal 1d8 + 1d4 damage on a hit, but wouldn't suffer disadvantage on the attack roll, and could use the rapier's finesse property.

Baseball Bat: This is used to play a game involving a small white ball; non-Nexus-adjacent commoners just assume that it and the similar 'cricket bat' are both greatclubs meant for smashing in skulls, which is something they are admittedly pretty effective at doing.

Bayonet. A bayonet is a knife, spike, or similar piece of metal designed to fit on the muzzle of a firearm. Its purpose is to serve as a last resort melee weapon in instances where taking the time to switch weapons is impractical or impossible. Usage of a bayonet is important in determining its damage - if attached to a one-handed weapon, it may only use the listed one-handed damage. If attached to a two-handed firearm, it can be used as a versatile weapon. If used on its own, unattached to a firearm, a bayonet uses the statistics of a dagger.

Bayonet, Triangular: With the ubiquity of socket bayonets, it wasn’t long before someone developed a more effective blade that leaves nastier wounds. The triangular bayonet’s shape leaves irregular punctures that are difficult to heal. A creature using a musket or rifle affixed with a triangular bayonet does 1d8 damage, or 1d10 when wielded with two hands. A creature may also use an un-affixed triangular bayonet on its own, doing 1d6 damage.

Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the restrained creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.

Clawed Glove: One of these weapons is usually a simple cloth glove with metallic spikes fitted over the fingers. It may be paired with armor, or come in the form of individual finger claws. Its primary value lies in keeping the wielder's hand free.

Gun Butt: This is damage inflicted using the butt or stock of a weapon to strike at a melee combatant. Some weapons are designed specifically to inflict more damage when used in such a manner; increase damage to 1d6 for such weapons.

Home Run Slammer: This baseball bat is designed to impart maximum force upon the target, and can only be used with the Attack action; it shatters upon impact, destroying the weapon irrevocably, but deals double normal damage.

Slingshot: This weapon consists of a Y-shaped wooden frame to be held in the off hand, with two elastic strips attached to the two upward-facing ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the projectile, which is most often a small rock or nut. This simple but effective weapon is often used by children or commoners who lack the means or skill needed to wield crossbows or shortbows.

Arquebus. The most basic combination of barrel, stock, and trigger, arquebuses use actual burning matches to set off their powder charge. This makes them cumbersome to use and load, but also cheap to produce, and therefore quite common.

Barrel Chain Rifle. This rifle has a barrel that is fed by chambers attached to a belt wrapped around the outside the gun, like a machine gun belt. Where it differs from the later belt-fed machine guns is that the chain rifle must be manually loaded and the chamber locked in place before the bullet is fired.

Blunderbuss. This short musket has a flared barrel and is designed to fire shot rather than bullets. Unlike a hand cannon, blunderbusses require specially-made pellets rather than using whatever’s at hand. In a pinch, a blunderbuss can be loaded with improvised shot, but its damage is reduced to 2d4 and until the gun is cleaned during a short rest, any misfire result breaks the barrel (as the improvised shot has compromised it). In melee the blunderbuss may be used as a two-handed club dealing 1d6 damage.

Flintlock Pistol. The first kind of pistol that didn’t require using an actual match, these are muzzle-loading, singleshot pistols. They are simple to build and perhaps the most common firearm around.

Musket. A step up from an arquebus, a musket is a flintlock weapon that uses steel on flint to set off the powder. It is still slow to load, but has slightly better range, packs more of a punch, and weighs less.

Pocket Pistol. A gentleman’s weapon generally used for self-defense, pocket pistols are basic flintlock weapons designed to be easily hidden. They are, however, notably unreliable and short range.

These firearms require more focus to learn, typically through downtime study.

Double Hunting Rifle. A hunting rifle with two barrels, one stacked atop the other.

Hunting Rifle. More sophisticated than a musket, a hunting rifle is a breech-loader and fires cartridges. Its long range makes it popular with hunters and marksmen, although they are not as common or cheap as muskets or arquebuses.

Pistol. A slight upgrade from the flintlock, the pistol has two barrels stacked on top of each other and is more reliable. They are a common sight with guards and soldiers in some places.

Pepperbox. The simplest method to fire multiple shots without reloading is to have more barrels, as a pepperbox does. All four barrels rotate together to line up the next barrel with the hammer.

Revolver. Considered by many the pinnacle of handguns, revolvers use rotating chambers with a single barrel. They are reliable, easier to clean and reload, and can fire six times before reloading. Their mechanical complexity, however, can sometimes make them difficult to find or afford.

Shotgun. An upgrade from scatterguns, shotguns have two barrels, are breach-loaded, and are set off by a hammer instead of a flint. They are additionally more reliable and hit harder, and this extra bit of craftsmanship generally makes them more expensive as well.

Sniper Rifle. Sniper rifles are essentially hunting rifles that have been machined to a higher degree of precision and quality. This results in better range, damage, but also more weight and skill to craft, and they can often be very difficult to find.

Bullets, Alchemical: With access to magical and alchemic components, bullets were invented by gnomes at a relatively earlier level of technology compared to the real world. These rudimentary bullets are made from a dollop of lead and a soft, explosive putty. They tend not to fire as straight or as hard as modern day bullets, but still have somewhat more penetrating power than a crossbow, while only being a bit more expensive. 1 gp per 10.

Bullets, Adamantine: Bullets with an adamantine core designed to punch straight through all but the strongest armor. These inflict critical hits on rolls of 19 or 20 (or expand the critical range by 1), and have armor piercing (-5), unless the target is wearing adamantine armor (in which case the bullets are handled as normal, but armor effects do not apply either.) However, Misfire is doubled, or increased to 1 for weapons that do not have a Misfire rating, unless the gun is made of adamantine components. Adamantine bullets are typically cast in groups of 20, and cost 500 gold per 20.

Bullets, Silver: Silver bullets are considered impractical for regular use in firearms (they suffer a -2 to hit in rifled weapons), but are very popular nonetheless. They bypass DR against lycanthropes and some other creatures, and cost 40 gp per group of 20.

Crossbow Bolts: Any crossbow bolt can be purchased or found in the same array of configurations as arrows; hand crossbow bolts are the same weight and cost but purchased separately due to different design. Some rare items are only available as bolts.

Crossbow Bolts, Assassin's: The tip of this piece of ammunition is hollow, with storage equal to that of a vial, and contains a tiny mechanism similar to a syringe. Poison held within here never dries out and is injected directly into a creature struck by this. 1/2 lb per 20, 15 gp apiece.

Shotgun Shells: Shotgun shells are loaded into shotguns (and a few rare other weapons of note). There are many shell types, due to the ease of configuring the much larger shells compared to individual bullets.

Sling Bullets: Sling bullets are fired from slings, slingshots, blowguns and other contraptions, and inflict the damage listed for the weapon. Typically, a small rock will substitute for a sling bullet at -1 to damage. There are many alternative sling bullets, described below.

Sling Bullet, Steel: These sling bullets are heavier and hit harder than traditional sling bullets, inflicting +1 bonus to the damage roll. Per 20: 2 lb, 4 sp.

Ablative: Ablative armor degrades as it takes damage for the wearer. A weapon attack roll that equals the target's AC exactly also reduces the target's AC by 1 if it is wearing armor. The effect is cumulative to a maximum of the armor's AC bonus, at which point the armor is destroyed. Partially damaged armor can be repaired with appropriate materials.

Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor’s use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t cast spells.

Armor Class (AC). Armor protects its wearer from attacks. The armor (and shield) you wear determines your base Armor Class.

Shield. When you wield a shield in one arm, it increases your AC by a specified amount. You can benefit from only one shield at a time.

Strength Requirements. Heavier armor interferes with the wearer’s ability to move quickly, stealthily, and freely. If the Armor table lists entries such as “Str 13” or “Str 15” in the Strength column for an armor type, the wearer is restricted as if they were not proficient with the armor. Armor Enhancements may increase an armor's Strength requirement further.

Stealth. If the Armor table shows “Disadvantage” in the Stealth column, the wearer has disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to move quietly. If it shows “Advantage”, the wearer has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Light Combat Armor: Worn by off-duty soldiers or non-combat personnel in dangerous, technologically advanced climates, this suit is made of ballistic fiber and includes a ballistic fiber cap of matching material. Optionally, field armor can be specialized to camouflage in one specific environment, and provides a +1 to Stealth when in that environment (and -2 when not); it also provides DR 2 against ballistic damage in particular.

Security Combat Armor: Security armor is a full body suit of ballistic fiber with hard ceramic inserts over the chest, limbs and groin. It includes a helmet with tactical visor and air filter. Optionally, field armor can be specialized to camouflage in one specific environment, and provides a +1 to Stealth when in that environment (and -2 when not); it also provides DR 4 against ballistic damage in particular.

Powered Combat Armor: Colloquially known as “mega-armor” or “tech-plate”, combat armor is a fully sealed, power-assisted suit with a composite armor of carbon nanotube soft fibre and ultra high molecular plates. While wearing combat armor, you have resistance against slashing, bludgeoning, ballistic, and piercing damage.

Ballistic Shield: A full sized shield constructed from advanced composite material, with a bullet resistant window. When held in one hand, it increases your Armor Class by 2 and you benefit from half cover against ranged attacks. You can only benefit from one shield at a time.

Riot Shield: A handheld transparent polycarbonate shield. It has two polymer alloy handles. When held in one hand, it increases your Armor Class by 2. When held in two hands, it increases your Armor Class by 3. You can only benefit from one shield at a time.

High-tech materials make for more durable, resistant, or otherwise better pieces of gear than those made of common materials. If you're willing to pay the right price, of course.

Adamantine. Weapons made of adamantine increase the critical hit range of the weapon by 1 (from 20 to 19 or 20, from 19 or 20 to 18 through 20, etc), and provides armor piercing (-5) against any armor except adamantine. Shields and armor made of adamantine negates critical hits from any weapon except adamantine, and provide DR 5 against physical damage (bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, ballistic). Adamantine is not native to Arcydea, but is often acquired from plane-hopping visitors.

Alchemical Silver: A complex process involving metallurgy and alchemy can bond silver to a weapon made of steel so that it bypasses the damage reduction of creatures such as lycanthropes. On a successful attack with a silvered weapon, the wielder takes a –1 penalty on the damage roll (with the usual minimum of 1 point of damage). The alchemical silvering process can’t be applied to nonmetal items, and it doesn’t work on rare metals such as adamantine, cold iron, and mithral. Armor treated with alchemical silver provides an effective +1 modifier to spellcasting DCs, as the silver conducts the magic more readily. Some other items can be silvered for other benefits.

Bitethorn. The ancestor of the vampire thorns found in Rosa Noir and Grenadine, bitethorn is found throughout Arcydea in small numbers in temperate woodlands and plains zones. Growing about 3-4 feet tall and 3-12 feet wide, bitethorn is a plant-based equivalent to barbed wire. It has many flexible but strong branches that are covered in metal like barbs. The plant is very aggressive in the sense that it will often kill surrounding plants as it takes all the nutrients in the soil. As a result, if the plant can properly be harvested the sap extract is filled with vitamins and nutrients and is a common ingredient in medicines, once harvested and magically strengthened by druids. This material is resilient and can be manipulated in many ways.

When used in weapons as a replacement for rope (lassos or nets), it inflicts d3 damage when it first entangles someone, and d2 damage per action taken by the entangled person until the material is removed. Bitethorn can also be wrapped around bludgeoning weapons to inflict an extra d3 slashing damage. It is even more effective when poison is added.

When reinforced and wrapped around shields or armor, it inflicts an additional d3 slashing damage when used for a shield bash (shields) or when the wearer is engaged in a grapple; because of the barbs, the wearer has +2 to initiate grapples but -2 to resist being grappled.

Bitethorn is most commonly sold in lengths of 9 feet or more at a cost of 20 gp per 3 feet; bitethorn weave fabric costs 80 gp per square foot.

Carbonized Steel. This form of hardened steel has high amounts of carbon in it to provide additional strength. Items made of carbonized steel weigh 1.25x as much and cost 2x as much, but armor made of carbonized steel has a DR 2 vs physical and does not have disadvantage to Stealth for purposes of visibility in low-light conditions; weapons inflict +1 damage and are at +2 to rolls to break things.

Cold Iron. This iron, mined deep underground, known for its effectiveness against fey creatures, is forged at a lower temperature to preserve its delicate properties. Cold iron bypasses fey defenses and some magical protections, and is more difficult to enchant than normal items. Weapons made of cold iron cost twice as much to make as their normal counterparts. Also, any magical enhancements cost an additional 2,000 gp. Items without metal parts cannot be made from cold iron.

Faesteel. An unalloyed metal supposedly dropped from one of the two moons of Arcydea, items made from faesteel cost 2x normal and weigh 0.75x as much. Weapons made from faesteel inflict 1d4 extra radiant damage per strike, and bypasses two points of damage resistance; armor made from faesteel provides DR 2/necrotic.

Steel. Steel is the default metal used for weapons and armor. Ammunition, such as arrows and crossbows, may use cheaper iron. Steel is iron ore with unwanted impurities removed and other impurities introduced. These impurities strengthen iron, making it far more resilient. Steel comes in many types. The steel for each weapon is assumed to be an appropriate type for that weapon. Steel items have a relative hardness of 10 and 30 HP/inch thick. Iron from a wall of iron is not steel.

Spidersilk. This lightweight, sturdy material is made from the silk of giant spiders from Krytar or Delgado, and can be used to replace cloth material. Material thus replaced provides +1 to AC and DR 1/bludgeoning.