Lucky 7: Complicating Weapons & Armor

When James and I record the first episode of the podcast, we talked about how weapon and armor interact. That made me think of a way I could add some crunch to the Lucky 7 rules. Of course, L7 is supposed to be low crunch, so this would be an optional rule.

Damage Types

The current version of D&D (5E) introduced common damage types from weapons: Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning.

This might be new for D&D, but as far back as 1985 GURPS used cutting, impaling, and crushing. Same things, different names.

Going back a couple more years, it looks like the Palladium system used Cut, Chop, Thrust, and Impact.

What if we do the same thing for L7? We rate each weapon for each of those categories, then we do the same with the Armor.

The Weapons

Name	Cut	Crush	Impale	Description
Axe, Great	6	3	0	9 out of 10 Minotaurs who use axes, use Great axes. Big, double headed axes. Two handed.
Axe, Hand	5	2	0
Axe, Long	6	3	0	A 4.5-foot pole with a big axe head. Historically used by the Vikings. Weighs about 5 pounds. Requires 2-hands to use.
Axe, Small	4	2	0	A hatchet
Axe, Throwing	5	2	0
Bastard Sword (1 hand)	4	2	0
Bastard Sword (2 hands)	5	3	0
Blackjack	0	2	0
Brass Knuckles	0	2	0
Broadsword	4	2	2	The classic sword of history and fantasy. About 2.5 feet long and weighs in at 5 pounds.
Claymore	6	3	2
Club	0	4	0	A heavy piece of wood swung at the opponent. Used one handed.
Dagger				See Bodkin or Knife, Large.
Fist	0	1	0	Used for punching. Rather handy because it can almost never be dropped.
Flail	0	6	0
Gladius	3	2	1	The classic Roman short sword. Two feet long and about 1.75 pounds.
Javelin	1	3	4
Knife, large	2	0	2
Knife, Small	1	0	2	Small stabbing weapon
Longsword				See broadsword.
Mace	0	5	0	About 2.5 feet long, and weighing in at about 4.5 pounds, this crushing weapon is a fantasy favorite.
Mace, Small	0	4	0
Maul	0	6	0	It’s not a war hammer, it’s a war-sledgehammer.
Morningstar	0	5	2	A mace with spikes on the smashing bit.
Pick	0	2	6
Quarterstaff	0	4	0	A six-foot long pole without a stabby bit on the end. Can be swung, though, which is more effective than poking. Requires 2 hands to use.
Scythe	4	2	2	A spear with a curved, cutting blade at the end. Used two handed. Don’t throw it.
Spear (1 hand)	2	2	5	A 5 foot long pole with a sharp stabby bit on the end.
Spear (2 hands)	2	2	6
Sword, Broad				See broadsword.
Sword, short				See Gladius
Sword, Two-Handed				See Claymore.
Warhammer	0	5	3	A maul with a spike. Smash with one side, stab with the other.

The Armor

Name	Cut	Crush	Impale	Description
Shield				This is the basic hand-held shield; this is the only armor that can be used in conjunction with other armor. Remember that using a shield in conjunction with a weapon requires an AoE for the appropriate fighting style, or the user will suffer a -3 non-expertise penalty.
Quilted	1	1	0	This is armor made of of cloth and filled with fibers to cushion the effects of weapons.
Leather	2	1	1	The is a thinner version of quilted armor, with a hard leather facing designed to deflect blows.
Ring	3	1	2	This is leather armor with metal rings sewn to it in order to decrease the chance of a sword or spear poking through it.
Scale	3	2	3	This is leather armor with a bunch of metal plates sewn to it. The metal plates often resemble the scale of a fish. It provides more metal coverage than rings, with a corresponding increase in weight.
Chain	4	2	2	A series of interlocking metal rings that forms a metal cloth, that’s worn over the quilted armor. Fairly weighty, but flexible.
Segmentata	4	3	3	A favorite of the Roman empire. They did away with the leather altogether and had metal strips (or bands) running across the width of the body. The overlapping strips (or bands) still allowed free movement.
Breastplate, bronze	5	4	5	This armor goes as far back as the Greeks. Amazingly heavy, and rigidly uncomfortable.

Epilogue

I still need to figure out how to handle shields.

I also need to add some more snarky descriptions.

I also notice I left off the ranged weapons.

What do you think? Do you like the idea? Do you disagree with any or my ratings?