If you’ve read the rules document for Fuck the King of Space, you may have noticed that I’m doing some weird stuff with weapons that I didn’t fully explain. Mostly, this is because I haven’t finished sifting through the idea myself. I have a sense of what I want to do, but it’s going to take a lot of playing before I’ve boiled all my complicated instincts down to something fun and simple.
But for those who haven’t read the document, let’s back up for a bit. How do weapons in FKOS work?
First off, every weapon–whether it’s a wooden club or a death ray–deals 1d6 damage. No bonuses, no other die types, just a dirt simple rollin’ cube. It’s a move I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and I’m excited about it for a lot of reasons:
- By making the range of possible damage predictable across every situation, I can plan hit point progression for each class much more precisely. I discussed this in a little more depth late last year.
- The larger a damage die gets, the more frustrating low rolls are. If you’re rolling a d10 or a d12 for your damage, rolling a 1 feels like a huge bummer, particularly coming as it does after the joy of a successful attack. I think this is why some folks push towards rolling pools of dice. But if you’re just rolling a d6, then 1 is nearly 30% of your median roll.
- I want weapon choice to be an interesting decision. Warrior characters should have little arsenals, with different weapons for different situations. If weapons have variable damage dice, then in most situations the weapon that deals the most damage is just going to be the objective best one to carry. I can’t even recall the last time I’ve seen a character use a 1d4 dagger.
The goal is to make weapons interestingly different from one another. Why pick a Plasma Rifle over a Lazrator? Or a Gladius over a Zwiehander?
Because each weapon has different quirks.
Quirks are something aside from basic roll-to-hit-then-roll-damage play that a given weapon is suited to. Whips are good for tangling foes, short swords are easy to use in cramped quarters, missile launchers can harm multiple foes with a single blast, etc.
At present, I’m dividing weapons into light, medium, and heavy categories. These have One, two, and three quirks respectively, and cost 50, 500, and 5,000 Darics.
It’s important to point out that a weapon’s explicitly called out quirks are not an exhaustive list of everything that weapon could be used for. If the player can explain how they’re using the weapon’s shape or function to accomplish a particular goal, we can work with that. Quirks are merely something a weapon is particularly well suited for.
So while daggers may receive a bonus to sneak attacks because of how easy to conceal they are, that doesn’t mean players can’t conceal or surprise with other weapons. Daggers are just the weapons best suited to that activity.
Hit Options
When an attack roll is successful, by default, characters have two options. They can either roll a d6 for damage, or they can make a called shot. (Explained on page 9 of the player’s guide.) Some weapons have quirks which add a third option.
- Tangle: Roll a grapple against your target, using two fewer dice than normal. (minimum 1) If successful, the target is grappled, but you do not suffer the normal -6 penalty to your armor rating for being engaged in a grapple.
- Hack: Outside of combat, the wielder inputs some code into the weapon. When it makes contact with a robot or a cyborg, the wielder can make a hacking check to enact that code.
- Parry: When a successful attack is made against you, you may opt to sacrifice the ability to attack next turn to raise your armor rating by 2 this turn.
- Delay: Target must make a saving throw versus Stun, or they will not be able to do anything other than move for 2 rounds.
- Disarm: Target must make a saving throw versus Stun, or lose whatever they’re holding in one of their hands. (Attacker’s choice).
- Sunder: Reduce the effectiveness of the target’s armor.
- Trip: Target must make a saving throw versus Stun or fall prone.
Passive Bonuses
These are quirks which alter the normal use of the weapon: situational bonuses to attack rolls, extra effects when damage is dealt, etc.
- Ship Strength: Able to damage space ships, which can normally only be hit by fixed weapon emplacements.
- Close Quarters: Well suited to combat when there’s not much room to move. +2 to attack rolls when in a confined space, or in a melee with 5+ participants.
- Riposte: When a successful attack is made against you,make a saving throw versus Stun. On success, you may make an immediate attack against whatever hit you.
- Hold At Bay: Whenever a target attempts to close to melee range, you may make a free attack against them. (max 1 each round). If successful, deal damage, and the target fails to approach any closer than the weapon’s max range.
- Push: In addition to damage, a successful hit will force most targets to move a few meters away from their attacker.
- Piercing: Ignore some / all armor.
- Area of Effect: Can attack all targets within an area, such as a line for beam-based weapons, or a sphere around the point of initial impact for explosive weapons.
- Disintegration: If damage from this weapon kills a target, they leave no remains whatsoever.
Misc Abilities
The benefit of these quirks falls outside normal weapon use.
- Status Symbol: +1 to your initial social action with anyone who appreciates the fine quality of your weapon.
- Camouflaged: In most cases, you can get away with keeping this, even if you’ve been thoroughly searched and all your weapons taken from you.
- Nasty Surprise: Small enough to hide, quick to move into lethal position. +1 to any attempt to surprise someone who is already aware of you.