ARRAYER: Roll One Die for Attack and Damage in a Streamlined, Yet Pleasantly Varied Way

11 Mar, 2026

You start with basic proficiency in all intuitive weapons and no specialised weapons. During character creation roll 1d6 and consult the Weapon Types table: Improve that weapon type one level (Unknown --> d12 --> d10 --> d8).

In combat, roll a d8, d10, or d12 to attack based on your Weapon Proficiency. Smaller is better.

• Rolls greater than 6 miss: Do not apply weapon weight or subtract armour to them.
• Results 6 or less add or subtract weapon weight, then subtract target armour, to a minimum damage of 1. Note that order matters.

A table of results, for quick reference, is available in the Appendix.

• Some weapons have special effects dependent on the initial, unmodified result: This is called natural result. (e.g. NAT6)
• Missile weapons have ranged bands: Within effective range, roll as in melee. At long range, treat any rolls above 5 as a miss. At extreme range, rolls above 4 as a miss.
• Most weapons are intuitive: Even without training they can be used, albeit poorly. Specialised (S) weapons are useless to those without instruction.

(S) Specialised weapon type ∗ Comment or Special Effect † Throwable ‡ Must be discharged standing or crouching § Must be reloaded standing or crouching ≡ Gunpowder weapons ignore armour ¶ Require 4 square metres to wield effectively

Special Effects

• Greatsword: On downing an enemy may attack again.
• Cleaver: +1 damage against the unarmoured.
• Misericorde: Damage as Regular against prone targets. Damage as Heavy against grappled targets.
• Doping Spines contain a dose of chemic, which they may inject into a target on hits of Nat3 or more. Misses at Nat10 or above cause this delicate weapon to break.
• Lance: Remarkably long
• Pilum and Javelin: Meant for throwing. If used in melee, they break on NAT8 or higher.
• Mace, Club, Brass Knuckles: Do not reduce targets past -2 HP.
• Boomerangs do not return to the thrower. They may be used as Clubs in melee.
• Quarterstaff: Those struck must make a Physique save. On failure, they are thrown back [Damage / 2]-[HD] metres.
• Warhammer: +1 damage against those wearing medium or heavy armour.
• Mancatcher: Target must Dodge or be prevented from moving closer. They may move freely away. Multiple mancatchers, or pressing the target against a wall, can leave them trapped. Deals no damage if used in this way, but can alternately be used as a club.
• Flail: +1 damage versus those using shields
• Whip: Range 2sq
• Bola: A weighted cord. Targets must Dodge or fall prone. Takes a round to remove with a blade, a successful Dexterity check otherwise.
• Net: Targets must Dodge or become prone and entangled. Dexterity test and a knife to cut free in a round. Otherwise, roll a d6 each round after the first and escape on 1-2.
• Longbow: May be fired Strength times per engagement before fatigue makes it count as a bow.
• Crossbow: +1 damage against those in armour
• Bow: -1 damage against those using shields
• Springdart: A cylinder, reloaded by pressing the flat-headed dart against a hard surface to compress an internal spring. Concealable.
• Sling: Stones and lead bullets have different ranges. May be used to throw grenades.
• Meteor Hammer: A bludgeoning weight at the end of a chain, may attack at 2sq range, or use as the Knife on its handle at close quarters. May forgo damage to entangle the enemy as with a bola.
• Rope Dart: A blade at the end of a chain, may attack at 2sq range, or use as a Knife at close quarters.
• Garotte: Useless in open combat, but may be used to silently kill an unaware enemy.

All gunpowder weapons ignore armour. They are fired using matchlocks, which glow, smell, and are vulnerable to wind and moisture: If attempting to fire in such conditions they misfire on any even AD result. On an AD result of 8, 10, or 12 they suffer a mishap: Well maintained firearms roll 1d6. Dubious firearms (due to bad maintenance or damage) roll 1d12 instead.

Gunpowder Mishaps

• 1-4. Misfire, may attempt to fire next round
• 5, 8-10. Dud round, must reload
• 6. Burst round, 1d6 damage to user, weapon now Dubious (if rolling d6) or destroyed (if rolling d12)
• 7. Burst round, 1d6 damage to user
• 11-12. Weapon explodes, 2d6 damage to user

Special Effects

• Arquebus: If a target is downed, deal 1d6-Armour damage (minimum 0) against the target(s) behind them.
• Blunderbuss: Make attacks against 3 adjacent targets
• Screw Pistol: The barrel is unscrewed and loaded through the breach. Concealable.

COMBAT COMPLICATIONS

• Unaware mortals can be killed without rolling if a killing blow can be ensured, armour mitigated &c.
• Prone characters can be automatically hit with melee weapons (roll 1d6 for Attack Die regardless of proficiency)

MOUNTED COMBAT

Horses have 1HD, warhorses 2HD. Mounted combatants may choose whether to attack horse or rider: Infantry attacking cavalry hit the horse on odd rolls and the rider on even.

INJURY

A combatant reduced to negative HP falls prone and is unable to perform any useful action. If not killed outright, shortly after combat they roll a d20: On a result less than or equal to negative HP, they die. On a result twice or more their negative HP, they recover to 0HP during the next short rest. Otherwise they are injured with wounds corresponding to their negative HP. A d20 is rolled to determine the specific location of the wound (optional for NPCs).

HIT LOCATION

• Fac: Face
• Hnk: Head / Neck
• Thx: Thorax
• Abd: Abdomen
• Plv: Pelvis / Groin
• Urm: Upper Arm / Shoulder
• Lrm: Lower Arm / Hand
• Ulg: Upper Leg / Hip
• Llg: Lower Leg / Foot

WOUND SEVERITY

• Being stunned captures phrenospasm, psychological shock, exhaustion, terror, or any other temporary inability to fight without any permanent injury.
• Light Wounds are surface cuts, heavy bruising, sprains and so on. They may leave superficial scars, but have no permanent effect.
• Moderate Wounds are serious cuts, broken bones, amputated fingers, lost eyes, concussions and so on. They may have permanent minor effects but are not debilitating.
• Bad Wounds are amputations, serious broken bones and damage to internal organs, and brain damage. They have a permanent debilitating effect.

HEALING

Each night of rest individuals regain 1HP per HD, and those with any negative HP have a 1in20 chance of dying. Bathing in the blood of a creature heals 1HP per HD, and can be done by multiple people - if bathed immediately after combat ends, the healing takes place before a death check need be made.

COMBAT PHASES

1. Check Initiative
2. Movement (Simultaneous)
3. Reloading (Simultaneous)
4. Shooting
5. Melee
6. Check Morale

INITIATIVE

Initiative is by side: A member of the party rolls a d6, and the party goes before the enemy 4in6 (if the party has better sentiment than the enemy), 3in6 (equal sentiment), or 2in6 (worse sentiment than the enemy).

The side with initiative acts first within each non-simultaneous phase. (e.g. winners shoot, then the losers shoot. Winners melee, then the losers melee.)

Sentiment, here, is belief that winning is likely, the feeling that decisive action can secure unlikely victory, or courage born of despair. Heroic feats improve sentiment. Those who are winning a combat generally have better sentiment and therefore the initiative most rounds.

MOVEMENT

Movement is simultaneous. Interceptions are handled with Dexterity checks.

RELOADING

Gain the listed Reload Chits on discharging a weapon, and only remove if haven't moved or been attacked since firing. (i.e. A weapon with reload 1 can be fired each round, provided one isn't disrupted.)

MORALE

Morale is checked in desperate situations. Roll 2d6: ±1 for minor factors, ±2 for major factors. A ±3 obviates the need for a morale check

DAMAGE QUICK REF

Roll, miss if >6. If hit, damage = [Roll] ± [Weapon Weight] - [Armour] to minimum 1.

Columns are ordered Heavy Weapon, Regular Weapons, Light Weapons. If only one column is present, only that result is possible.