I have adjusted the damage, ranges, and requirements for bows.
A character must have a strength of 15 or higher to draw a long bow.
ROF: Any character who specializes in a bow will use the next higher attacks/round category just as a melee weapon specialist would. Ergo, a 12th level character with specialization in heavy crossbow fires three times in two rounds, not once per round. However, the maximum number of attacks/round is 2/1 for heavy crossbow and 5/2 for light. Unless a specialist with Archer kit, the maximum number of attacks/round for a long or short bow is 5/2.
Longer spears cannot be thrown by non-giant races. All spears 10 feet or longer can only be wielded two-handed. A character wielding a spear gains an attack bonus for high Dexterity and a damage bonus for high Strength.
Thrown weapons of size M or larger will have the combatant's strength modifier factored in as an increase in range. Short, medium and long range remain the same, with strength applied to damage, but past long range is 'extreme range' where the weapon can hit and cause normal damage, to the limit of the strength bonus times 10% of normal range. Small and tiny weapons will not receive this bonus. In addition, for every 10% beyond normal range, an additional -1 to hit penalty applies.
This is the target used for archery practice. Each colour has an inner and outer ring that score different points. In this application only, at better Missile THAC0s a 1 can hit.
| Value | Ring | AC |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Bullseye | AC-3 |
| 9 | Gold | AC0 |
| 8 | Red | AC2 |
| 7 | Red | AC3 |
| 6 | Blue | AC4 |
| 5 | Blue | AC5 |
| 4 | Black | AC6 |
| 3 | Black | AC7 |
| 2 | White | AC8 |
| 1 | White | AC9 |
| 0 | Miss | AC10+ |
I have made a few adjustments to melee weapon speed and damage.
| Weapon | Weapon Speed | Damage S/M | Damage L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortsword | 2 | 1d6 | 1d6 |
| Longsword | 4 | 1d8 | 1d8 |
| Broadsword | 5 | 2d4 | 2d4 |
| Hand-and-a-half | |||
| One-handed | 7 | 1d8+2 | 1d8+2 |
| Two-handed | 8 | 2d4+2 | 2d4+2 |
| Claymore | 9 | 2d6+1 | 2d6+1 |
| Great Sword (Zweihänder) | 10 | 2d6+2 | 2d6+2 |
A character must have a strength of 15 or higher to use a hand-and-a-half, 16 or higher to use a claymore, and 17 or higher to use a great (two-handed) sword
Armour that is made of separate pieces requires 1d6 + 4 rounds to don with assistance. Without help, the time required is tripled. In all cases, the times given assume that the proper undergarments and padding are also worn. This applies to the hide armour worn by both Caldorneans and Trewschans.
In my campaigns, mages can wear armour. I don't care what the PHB says, learning to wear armour is not a lifetime task. However, due to the restrictions in mobility, some penalties apply. To compute the chance of spell failure for the various types of armour, take your character's intelligence and dexterity, average them, round down, subtract 1 for each level of armour higher than leather, and use the following table to determine the percentile chance.
Gauntlets, gloves, and helms more restrictive than a war hat can never be worn. Shields can never be used while spellcasting.
| Ability Score | Chance of Spell Failure |
|---|---|
| 1 | 80% |
| 2 | 60% |
| 3 | 50% |
| 4 | 45% |
| 5 | 40% |
| 6 | 35% |
| 7 | 30% |
| 8 | 25% |
| 9 | 20% |
| 10 | 15% |
| 11 | 10% |
| 12 | 5% |
| 13 + | 0% |
Please note: I penalize for armour heavier than leather. I do NOT give bonuses for no armour. The reason? Leather armour in my games is simply protective gear, like motorcycle leathers. The advantages to dexterity afforded by lighter, less restrictive clothing is offset by the likelihood of getting dinged or scraped while climbing, one can move more quietly in well-oiled leather than in rustling taffeta or rasping denim, and dark leather is far less noticeable in the shadows than a white linen shirt. Incidentally, studded leather never existed historically, and it doesn't exist in my games. The next level of protection is cuirbolli.
| Type of Armour | AC Rating |
|---|---|
| None | 10 |
| Shield only | 9 |
| Soft leather or padded armour | 8 |
| Soft leather or padded armour + shield, boiled leather, or ring mail armour | 7 |
| Boiled leather or ring mail + shield, brigandine, scale mail, or hide armour | 6 |
| Scale mail or hide + shield, chain mail | 5 |
| Chain mail + shield, splint mail, banded mail, bronze plate mail< | 4 |
| Splint mail, banded mail, or bronze plate mail + shield, plate mail | 3 |
| Plate mail + shield, field plate | 2 |
| Field plate armour + shield, full plate | 1 |
| Full plate armour + shield | 0 |
Normally, a character employing a shield in his off hand can shield-rush, shield-punch, block, or trap as if it were a secondary weapon, with the normal penalties for attacking with two weapons. The disadvantage is that the shield’s AC bonus is forfeited for any round in which it is used this way. However, if a character specialises in weapon-and-shield style he can choose to make one of these secondary attacks every round without losing the AC benefit for carrying a shield. Further, characters who fight with a weapon in each hand suffer a –2 penalty to attacks with their primary hand and a –4 penalty to attacks with the off-hand weapon (partially or completely negated by the character's reaction adjustment for Dexterity). However, characters who specialize in this style reduce their penalty to 0 and –2, respectively. Ambidextrous characters who specialize in this style suffer no penalty with either attack.
A buckler is a small shield, 6" to 18" in diameter, gripped in the fist, used as a companion weapon in melee combat. It provides no protection against missile weapons (e.g., arrows) or called shots to the head or legs, but is useful in deflecting the blows of an opponent's sword or mace.