Rolemaster Arms Law 4th Edition Revised, Podreczniki RPG, Rolemaster

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ARMS LAW
TM
ICE Staff—
President:
Heike A. Kubasch;
CEO:
Bruce Neidlinger;
Managing Editor:
Heike A. Kubasch;
Editing, Development, & Production Staff:
Heike A. Kubasch, Bruce
Neidlinger, Tim Dugger, Monica L. Wilson;
Marketing & Web Mistress:
Monica L. Wilson;
Corporate Mascots:
Gandalf T. Cat, Rajah T. Cat, Ember T. Cat.
ICE Cheering Section & Moral Support:
Karl & Helga Kubasch, John
Seal, Claudia Aulum, Elke Lübbert, Inge Bendfeldt, Judy & Hasmukh
Shah, John Ross, Tim & Lori Dugger, and all ICE fans everywhere:
Thanks for keeping the faith!
Designers:
Tim Dugger, Heike A. Kubasch
Original Arms Law Designers:
Kurt H. Fischer, S. Coleman Charlton,
Peter C. Fenlon Jr., John W. Curtis III, Jason O. Hawkins, Terry K.
Amthor, Bruce R. Neidlinger, Bruce C. Shelley, Leonard “Swamp”
Cook
Editors:
Heike A. Kubasch, Tim Dugger
Cover Art:
Randy Gallegos (randygallegos.com)
Interior Art:
Ilya Astrakhan, Kieran Yanner, Jeff Laubenstein, Matt
Foster
Project Specific Contributions:
Art Direction:
Kieran Yanner;
New Critical Text:
THE Howard Huggins;
Pagemaking:
Kurt Fischer;
Proofreading:
THE Howard Huggins;
Spreadsheet Design:
Robert J. Defendi, Heike A. Kubasch, Ray Ward &
Norman Schaschke;
Editorial Contributions:
Bruce Neidlinger, Gavin Bennet, Stephen Lee.
Special Contributions & Playtesting
(Original
Arms Law
)
— Lt. Col.
Richard Bailey (USA), C
2
, Wanda Curtis, Howard Huggins, Mellissa
A. Johnston, Olivia H. Johnston, Steven E. Moffatt, John David
Rummler, Bruce C. Shelley, David Wagner, Tom Williams, and
Swinky. Mark & Deane Begiebing, Bill Bingham, David Carter, Irene
Coons, Coleman Charlton (& Woodsy), Steven and Ann Chu, Polly
Dixion, Charles P. Goforth Jr., Gary Eiserman, Ward Hagar, Jane
Halvorsen, Mike Hein, Heike Kubasch, Suzy Maroney, Steve
Marvin, Chad McCulley, Nick Morawitz, Jessica Ney, Sheldon Price,
Mike Reynolds, Larry E. Simms, Ruth Sochard, Brenda G.
Spielman, William Stafford, Mark Strovnik, David B. Sweet.
Copyright © 2003 by Aurigas Aldeberon LLC. All rights reserved. No reproductions without permission. Produced and distributed by Mjolnir LLC,
Stock #5810 ISBN 1-55806-598-9
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................
3
1.0 How to use
Arms Law .............................
4
1.1 Armor ......................................................
4
1.11Armor Types ........................................ 4
1.12Armor Penalties ................................... 6
1.2 Defensive Bonus .....................................
6
1.21 Quickness Bonus ................................ 6
1.22 Position and Cover ............................. 7
1.23 Special Items ....................................... 7
1.24 Shields ................................................. 7
1.25 Parrying .............................................. 7
1.3 Offensive Bonus .....................................
8
1.31 Weapon Bonuses & Modifications .... 9
1.32 Skill Bonus – Expertise ...................... 9
1.33 Stats – Physical Prowess ................... 10
1.34 Special Items ..................................... 10
1.35 Profession Bonus .............................. 10
1.36 Weapon Quality ................................ 10
1.37 Position ............................................. 10
1.38 Range ................................................. 10
1.39 Armor Missile Attack Penalties ....... 10
1.391 Reloading ........................................ 10
1.4 Additional Notes & GM Guides ..........
11
1.41 Additional Weapons ......................... 11
1.42 Animals and Monsters ..................... 11
1.43 Animals and Monsters Attacks ........ 11
Weapons Stats Chart .............................. 12
Animal Stats Chart ................................. 13
Monsters Stats Chart ............................. 14
1.5 Definitions .......................................... 15
1.6 Roll them Bones: Arms Law Die
Rolling Conventions ........................... 15
2.0 Making an Attack .................................
16
2.01 Reading the Attack Tables ................ 16
2.02 Reading the Critical Strike Tables ... 17
2.03 Critical Strikes Against
Large and Super-Large Creatures ....... 18
2.04 Optional Criticals ............................. 19
2.05 Things Fall Apart:
Weapon, Item & Device Breakage ...... 19
2.1 Battle Axe Attack Table ...................... 20
2.2 Bola Attack Table ................................ 21
2.3 Broadsword Attack Table ................... 22
2.4 Club Attack Table ............................... 23
2.5 Composite Bow Attack Table ............. 24
2.6 Dagger Attack Table ........................... 25
2.7 Falchion Attack Table ......................... 26
2.8 Flail Attack Ta ble ................................ 27
2.9 Handaxe Attack Table ........................ 28
2.10 Heavy Crossbow Attack Table ......... 29
2.11 Javelin Attack Table .......................... 30
2.12 Lance Attack Table ............................ 31
2.13 Light Crossbow Attack Table ........... 32
2.14 Long Bow Attack Table .................... 34
2.15 Mace Attack Table ............................ 34
2.16 Main Guache .................................... 35
2.17 Morning Star .................................... 36
2.18 Polearm Attack Table ....................... 37
2.19 Quarterstaff Attack Table ................. 38
2.20 Rapier Attack Table .......................... 39
2.21 Scimitar Attack Ta ble ....................... 40
2.22 Short Bow Attack Table .................... 41
2.23 Short Sword Attack Table ................ 42
2.24 Sling Attack Table ............................. 43
2.25 Spear Attack Table ............................ 44
2.26 Two-Handed Sword ......................... 45
2.27 War Hammer Attack Table .............. 46
2.28 War Mattock Attack Table ............... 47
2.29 Whip Attack Table ............................ 48
3.0 Special Attack Tables ............................
49
3.1 Beak / Pincer Attack Table ................. 50
3.2 Bite Attack Table ................................. 51
3.3 Brawling Attack Table ........................ 52
3.4 Claw / Talon Attack Table .................. 53
3.5 Fall / Crush Attack Table .................... 54
3.6 Grapple / Grasp / Envelop / Swallow
Attack Ta ble ......................................... 55
3.7 Horn / Tusk Attack Table ................... 56
3.8 Martial Arts Strikes ............................ 57
3.9 Martial Arts Sweeps ............................ 58
3.10 Ram / Butt / Bash ............................. 59
3.11 Stinger Attack Table ......................... 60
3.12 Tiny Attack Table .............................. 61
3.13 Trample / Stomp ............................... 62
4.0 Critical and Fumble Tables .................
63
4.1 Brawling Critical Strike Table ............ 64
4.2 Grapple Critical Strike Table ............. 65
4.3 Krush Critical Strike Table ................. 66
4.4 Large Creature Critical Strike Table .. 67
4.5 Martial Arts Strikes Critical
Strike Ta ble .......................................... 68
4.6 Martial Arts Sweeps Critical
Strike Ta ble .......................................... 69
4.7 Puncture Critical Strike Table ........... 70
4.8 Slash Critical Strike Table .................. 71
4.9 Subdual Critical Strike Table ............. 72
4.10 Super Large Critical Strike Table ..... 73
4.11 Tiny Animal Critical Strike Table .... 74
4.12 Unbalancing Critical Strike Table ... 75
4.13 Weapon Fumble Table ...................... 76
4.14 Non-Weapon Fumble Table ............. 77
5.0 Converting to
Arms Law
from Other
Systems ................................................
78
5.1 Dungeons & Dragons Third edition®
(D20®) .................................................. 78
5.2 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® ..... 79
5.3
GURPS
® .............................................. 79
5.4 Legend of the Five Rings™ ................ 79
5.5 Werewolf: the Apocalypse™ .............. 80
5.6 Dice Pool Systems .............................. 80
2
Introduction
“…And I ended up in the room with the vampire and the titan! I
happily hoisted my shield and bastard sword and attacked the titan.
Unfortunately, it was like a fly hitting an elephant; …in two combat
rounds I was reduced to under 80 hits, and then the vampire attacked...
I knew I was in big trouble.
However, the god of death smiled on her champion that day, and
the next round the titan fumbled…. On the next attack by the vampire,
he fumbled one of his swords, which only left him one attack that
missed… I attacked the titan twice. The first attack did nothing. The
second attack killed him with a sword strike that went through his
armpit and skewered his brain; I then turned to the vampire who still
only had one sword and prepared for the next round.
The next round, I inflicted eight criticals on the vampire and he had
to flee for his life, leaving me victorious against two considerably more
powerful characters.
My hands were shaking so much from the ten-minute fight that I
could barely pick up my dice! Only in
Rolemaster
could you have a
moment like that!
•Twenty-nine individual weapon attack tables. An additional
table of weapon statistics provides guidelines for using 31
historical weapons and 10 fantasy weapons.
•Two martial arts attack tables: one for sweeping attacks and
another for striking attacks.
•A brawling attack table.
•Ten special attack tables that simulate the size, instincts, and
fighting patterns of a wide variety of monsters and animals.
•Twelve Critical Strike Tables for: slashing, puncturing,
crushing, grappling, unbalancing, tiny animal attacks, attacks
on large creatures, attacks on super-large creatures, martial
arts striking attacks, martial arts sweeping attacks, brawling,
and subdual.
•Two fumble tables.
A Note About Realism
The
Arms Law
rules often try to simulate combat situations that
have never actually occurred. The last dragon in England was
reputedly killed in 1063 AD or thereabouts. Other monsters have
proved equally shy about answering our calls for test subjects.
(We’ve had no takers in twenty years.) So we were unable to study
combat with monsters first hand. In creating the attack, critical,
and fumble tables, we had to use our imaginations, film and fiction
as our inspiration. I suspect our combat rules might make many
arms and armor experts cringe. But the goal of this product is
believable fun, not drab realism.
There will be times when fun, believability, and the attack and
critical results collide. In those cases, we encourage players and GMs
to balance fun and common sense. The rules within this book are
not written in stone, nor are they the “Law.” These rules are
guidelines meant for your use and enjoyment. Please change them
as needed to suit your campaign and play style. And have fun with
them.
—MarkW. (From ICE
Rolemaster
Moments)
Arms Law
is about FRPG combat—the kind that leaves you
shaking and bragging to your friends about your character’s
exploits. If you prefer safe, ho hum, by the numbers RPG combat
then
Arms Law
is not for you. If you are looking for FRP combat
that leaves you breathless read on….
What makes
Arms Law
special? Lots. But we’ll go straight to the
heart of
Arms Law
:
Criticals and Fumbles. Let’s take a look at a sample Critical and
Fumble result:
From the ‘E’ Puncture Critical Table:
“Strike through foe’s kidneys. Foe is down and immobile for 2
hours, then dies”
Tw o H anded Arms Fumble:
“Stumble over an imaginary dead turtle. You lose two rounds of
attack, but can still parry.”
Once you start using
Arms Law
, your RPG combat crosses into
new waters. There will no longer be such a thing as a certain victory
for your character or his foes. Your warrior will triumph in the face
of incredible odds. On the other hand, that bunny your character
just annoyed may well sever an artery in your character’s neck and
be having him for dinner.
What’s New?
The single number progression on the attack tables has been
replaced by smoothed numeric progressions, i.e. 67-69, 148-150.
The critical types have changed. Each weapon now does a primary
critical such as Slash. In addition, for many of the weapons, the
attacker now has the option of choosing the critical type. An attacker
wielding a broadsword, for example, can elect to inflict Krush or
Puncture criticals instead of Slash criticals.
Updated and corrected weapon weights and lengths. These
statistics have been carefully checked against historical weapon
weight and lengths.
First, the consensus among many Rolemaster players and industry
designers is that the previous
Arms Law
tables were very hard on the
eyes. Second, the spell attack tables and
Spacemaster
attack tables all
use the smoothed numeric progression, with no loss of excitement or
detail.
Why change the way the criticals work? Well, for the simple reason
that
Rolemaster
has always been about flexibility and choice. We
feel that skilled warriors should be able to choose how they wield
their weapons, and the best way to simulate this flexibility is to let
them choose the type of critical that their weapon will inflict. Note
that not all weapons have this flexibility.
What is
Arms Law
?
Arms Law
is a fantasy combat system designed to be used with
ICE’s
Rolemaster
rules or the RPG rules set of your choice. We
created
Arms Law
over 20 years ago to make our RPG combat fun
and exciting, and to let our characters do things we couldn’t do in
the other RPGs. Parrying, for example. We designed
Arms Law
to
slide right into any other game system quickly and easily. (The fact
that
Rolemaster
hadn’t been invented yet probably had something
to do with this.)
Arms Law
is designed to simulate a wide variety of FRPG combat.
Using this book players and GMs should be able to handle most
RPG combat situations.
Arms Law
contains:
3
Finally we felt it was time that the weapon weights reflected
historical accuracy, so we did some research and made some long
overdue corrections.
If you’re familiar with previous editions of
Arms Law
or
Rolemaster
, then all you need to do is check out the optional critical
rules in section 2.04; other than that, it’s combat as usual.
If you’ve never played
Arms Law
, then we recommend reading
Sections 1 and 2 first to familiarize yourself with
Arms Law
combat
basics. Specific conversion notes from other RPG systems can be
found in Section 5.0.
Interested in more weapons? Then check out
The Armory
. The ICE
Armsmasters have selected over 50 new weapon attack tables for your
combat enjoyment. So retire those old, worn out weapons and take
these new attack tables for a spin. Fun, lethal and exotic, The Armory
has it all. Need more killing power? Then check out the great sword. If
you prefer finesse, then perhaps the dainty hand crossbow is more your
style. Special guest star: Nodwick©!
4
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Rolemaster Arms Law 4th Edition Revised, Podreczniki RPG, Rolemaster

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