Ask what it does to the armor, then ask what it does to the man. They are different questions.
The Anatomy of a Weapon
Every weapon is defined by four things:
| Stat | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Attribute | What you roll to hit with it — Might for arms, Wits for aim |
| Break | Damage to Wind and Guard — shield-stripping power |
| Wound | Fixed Vitals damage on a [[03 The Stagger Window |
| On Crit | What its natural 20 does — crits are source-defined, and they stack |
The Three Types
| Type | Identity | The deal |
|---|---|---|
| Breaker | Opens the window | High Break, minimal Wound; Staggers something big so the party can pile in |
| Balanced | Between | Moderate at both; no trick |
| Piercing | Exploits the window | Low Break, high Wound; spend one Boon to convert a hit into a direct Wound through a full shield |
Three weapon identities fall out of the two-track damage system for free — no weapon needs a bespoke subsystem. The one clean exception (Piercing) spends the existing dice ladder rather than adding new rules.
The Crit Vocabulary
Every natural 20 in your pool fires the weapon’s crit — three 20s, three crits, stacking:
| On Crit | Effect |
|---|---|
| Breakthrough | Ignore remaining Wind/Guard; deal the Wound and Stagger now |
| Sunder | Massive extra Break |
| Deep Wound | +1 Wound |
| Cleave | Splash the Break into adjacent enemies |
| Refund | Your action is refunded — swing again |
| Second Wind | Restore your own Wind |
| Ignite / Hex | Apply the named condition |
The Starter Arsenal
Numbers are first-pass and tunable; the shapes are locked.
| Weapon | Type | Attr | Break | Wound | On Crit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maul | Breaker | Might | 5 | 1 | Sunder | Heavy, two-handed |
| Warhammer | Breaker | Might | 5 | 1 | Sunder | Heavy; bonus Break vs. warded |
| Halberd | Breaker | Might | 4 | 1 | Cleave | Reach, heavy |
| Cudgel | Breaker | Might | 4 | 1 | Second Wind | Crude, common |
| Falchion | Balanced | Might | 3 | 1 | Deep Wound | One-handed |
| Spear | Balanced | Might | 3 | 1 | Breakthrough | Reach |
| Hand-axe | Balanced | Might | 3 | 1 | Deep Wound | Can be thrown (short) |
| Censer-mace | Balanced | Resolve | 3 | 1 | Hex | Focus — the Devout’s arm |
| Sling | Balanced | Wits | 2 | 1 | Ignite | Ranged, light |
| Crossbow | Piercing | Wits | 2 | 2 | Deep Wound | Ranged; reload (1-moment cooldown) |
| Rapier | Piercing | Wits | 2 | 2 | Refund | Light |
| Dagger | Piercing | Wits | 2 | 2 | Breakthrough | Light |
| Prison shiv | Piercing | Wits | 2 | 2 | Breakthrough | Light, concealed — Rabengaat’s own |
| Improvised | Breaker | Might | 2 | 1 | — | Crude; found everywhere |
Handling Rules
- Two-handed weapons refuse a shield. The maul and its kin occupy both hands — no off-hand slot.
- Ranged and precision weapons roll Wits; melee brawn rolls Might. The censer-mace, alone, swings on Resolve.
- A weapon’s rating (Break + Wound) feeds your Power Value — a heavier arsenal deals you a harder contract.