Whew! I just finished my dissertation and boy am I tired, so this article might be a bit brief, but it's still important. You probably know my whole
Fixing the Weapons Table spiel by now: the weapons table in Pathfinder is broken, I think I know better than the team of professional game designers that wrote it, etc.
Today's article comes from a struggle I've been having with myself (and the weapons table, of course) over the various types of daggers and how best to simulate them in-game. Specifically, I wanted to incorporate the long, pointy stiletto dagger and the iconic, wavy kris dagger.
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| The kris modeled here by Jafar Aladdin - Disney |
In the end I had to move some things around and add some new stuff, and it really fleshed out the dagger and short blade options available to your characters, be they old-man assassins or merely powerful sorcerers disguised as old-man assassins.
The following material given in
gold text is available as Open Game Content under the
OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2014 Jonah Bomgaars.
Stiletto
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| Leeds - Royal Armouries |
Stiletto is a generic name for a long, pointed dagger used solely for stabbing thrusts. Often their blades were no more than long, thin spikes with no cutting edge. The purpose of such a dagger is to punch through the gaps in the enemy's armour and into their chest cavity, ending them swiftly. Another common medieval term for this weapon was the misericorde, so named because it was used to deliver the coup de grâce to fallen opponents. A common variety of misericorde was the rondel dagger (the two on the right, above), named for the round guards on their hilts. Another popular variation in the medieval and early modern periods was the bollock dagger (on the left, above), named because the handle and round guards made it look like a cock-and-balls. Fun fact: yes, people wore them on their crotch, 'handles' proudly thrusting into the air. Also, the Victorians called them 'kidney daggers' because penises didn't exist from 1837 to 1901.
Stiletto daggers, or misericordes, are long, sharp spikes used to make stabbing thrusts into the enemy's vital organs.
Dagger, Stiletto - Light Simple Weapon
Cost: 2 gp
Dmg (S): 1d3
Dmg (M): 1d4
Critical: x3
Weight: 1/4 lb.
Type: P
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that this is basically the stat block for the punching dagger. What have I done with that? Well...
Punching Dagger
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| Tower of London - Royal Armouries |
Dagger, Punching - Light Martial Weapon
Cost: 5 gp
Dmg (S): 1d4
Dmg (M): 1d6
Critical: x3
Weight: 1 lb.
Type: P
To account for the powerful blows of the punching dagger (or katar), I have increased its damage dice to a d6. This made it too powerful to be a light simple weapon, so I made it a martial weapon instead. And yes, that means I changed the
scissor katar to be more powerful as well.
Kris
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| Leeds - Royal Armouries |
The kris, or keris, or kalis, or (awesomely) wangkingan, is a long wavy dagger traditional to Indonesia, especially the island of Java. They were popularized and spread throughout the Indonesian archipelago and beyond by the
Majapahit empire, where basically everyone carried one. The wavy blade creates larger wounds and increases the chance of cutting through vital bits. Supposedly. Legally, I haven't tested it. In other news, d20 Despot is looking for a new intern.
The kris is a wave-bladed dagger favored by assassins for its wicked cutting edge.
Dagger, Kris - Light Martial Weapon
Cost: 8 gp
Dmg (S): 1d3
Dmg (M): 1d4
Critical: 18-20/x2
Weight: 1/2 lb.
Type: P
Just by the numbers, a kris is then basically a kukri that does piercing instead of slashing damage. And hey, speaking of kukris...
Falcata
The falcata is basically a slightly larger kukri, so the obvious choice would be to stat it up as a larger kukri. Paizo took the less obvious route of just bullshitting it and came up with a weapon that does 1d8 with a 19-20/x3 crit. As always, I'm here to make things better.
Falcata - One-Handed Martial Weapon
Cost: 18 gp
Dmg (S): 1d4
Dmg (M): 1d6
Critical: 18-20/x2
Weight: 1 lb.
Type: S
This also works for the kopis, a very similar Ancient Greek weapon.
Hey, d20 Despot, why not change the dagger while you're at it? Ok.
Dagger
The only problem I have with the dagger is the fact that your average dagger is really not made for throwing. It's not at all balanced for that. I mean, you can still throw them, but it won't work as well as a weapon that is actually designed for you to throw it. All I did (other than change the weight, as I often do, to make it more realistic) was remove the 10 ft. range increment.
Dagger - Light Martial Weapon
Cost: 2 gp
Dmg (S): 1d3
Dmg (M): 1d4
Critical: 19-20/x2
Weight: 1/2 lb.
Type: P or S
Throwing Knife
This light blade is specifically balanced for throwing. Its small grip and lack of a guard makes it a poor choice as a melee weapon, although it is serviceable in a pinch.
Throwing Knife - Ranged Simple Weapon
Cost: 2 gp
Dmg (S): 1d3
Dmg (M): 1d4
Critical: 19-20/x2
Range: 10 ft.
Weight: 1/4 lb.
Type: P
While we're on throwing knives...
Hunga Munga
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| British Museum |
The hunga munga is a generic term for the crazy-looking African throwing 'knife' that come in all kinds of wacky/deadly shapes.
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| British Museum |
Pathfinder has statted up hunga mungas
pretty well, but I extended the range from 15 to 20 ft., gave it piercing and slashing damage, and added a 19-20 crit range. And I made it an exotic weapon.
Hunga Munga - Light Exotic Weapon
Cost: 5 gp
Dmg (S): 1d4
Dmg (M): 1d6
Critical: 19-20/x2
Range: 20 ft.
Weight: 1/2 lb.
Type: P and S
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That about does it for my overhaul of daggers and short blades. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping things balanced while also adding some variety to the... wait a second... is that... is that a
punching kris?
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| Leeds - Royal Armouries |
I'm too tired for this.
-your 'kidney' d20 despot
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