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From:         Brandon Cope <A_COPEAB@CCSVAX.SFASU.EDU>
Subject:      3 weapons (magic, air, and steam)


Chaos Blades
------------
These are particularly well-made weapons, ranging from a dagger to a
two-handed sword in size. They have a cloudy, grey look to them. Despite
their special abilities, none of them are very intelligent. They are in part,
however, made from the primordial chaos that makes up the plane of Limbo.
This is reflected in their abilities. A chaos blade is a +1, +2, or +3
weapon, randomly varying day to day. Roll 1d6 for the to-hit and damage
bonus for that day: 1-2: +1, 3-4: +2, 5-6: +3. Roll seperately for each.
Also, all chaos blades have six powers, but only 1d6 of them will work during
any 24 hour period. In general, the GM should select 4 primary abilities and
2 extraordinary powers (see the DMG). What powers work during a 24-hour period
should be determined randomly amongst those available. If a chaos blade is
taken to any lawfully-aligned plane, it will not function. If it is taken
to Nirvana, it must make a saving throw vs crushing blow, or explode,
doing 6d6 damage to the weilder, and 2d6 damage to those within 10 feet.
If taken to a chaos-aligned plane, roll for change of abilities every 12
hours. If taken to Limbo, roll every round. The sword suffers no loss of
to-hit or damages bonuses if taken to any chaos-aligned plane. The effective
IQ of a chaos blade is 10.

For added chaos:
(1) the type of the blade changes every day; roll on the table below (1d6):
	1) dagger	2) short sword		3) long sword
	4) broad sword	5) bastard sword	6) two-handed sword
(2) the blade often changes its mind about who it wants to possess it.
Every character that picks up a blade (and every day he tries to use it)
needs to make a roll on the reaction table. There are no charisma modifiers,
and the roll is made on the Neutral column. A neutral reaction or better
is needed for the blade to allow itself to be used by that person. On
a poor reaction, the sword does either 1/2 or full ego damage (based on
current abilities), depending on how poor the reaction is.

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Here are a couple of unusual weapons for those who like using strange things
in their campaigns...

Air-Gun: This is a weapon that fires lead bullets using air-pressure from an
air reservoir. Such weapons can have a fair amount of power (like penetrating
a one-inch thick oak board at 50 yards). However, they are fairly fragile
and expensive. Also, as the air reservoir begins to get depleted, the power
and range of the weapon decrease. A fairly typical (for AD&D, anyway) model
would weigh about 15 pounds, be able to hold 10 bullets, and have an air
reservoir good for about 30 shots. Cost would be high, about 500gp for the
gun, and about 250gp for each spare air reservoir (hunting and military
versions had replaceable reservoirs). The bullets cost and weigh the same as
sling bullets. Replacing an air reservoir or reloading bullets takes 1
round (the bullets are poured into a tube). Pumping an air reservoir up
would take about 5 minutes. Initially, damage is 1d8, and range is 50/100/150
yards. After the first 10 shots, the damage and range drops by 1/2. After the
first 20 shots, damage and range drops by 1/4. Rate of fire is 3. An air-rifle
could be used as a club, but must save versus crushing blow at -3 (as thick
wood) or be ruined. Air-guns need at least 30 minutes of cleaning a day.

Dwarvish Steam Cannon: This is a very heavy but effective Dwarvish weapon.
Steam cannons are rated in terms of the weight of the projectile they fire.
For example, a cannon firing a 5 pounder projectile is referred to as a
5-pounder. The base weight of a 1-pounder is 500 pounds. Each additional
pound of projectile weight adds 100 pounds. If the cannon is to be easily
portable (by animal or rails), multiply weight by 1.5 for such a carriage.
Cost is usually very high; 5000gp for a 1-pounder, plus 500gp for every
additional pound of projectile weight. A carriage costs 1000 gp extra.
Regardless of the rating of the cannon, it has a minimum range of 50 yards and
a maximum range of 500 yards (exception: 3-pounders or lighter may have the
guns swivel mounted -- thus, no minimum range (steam pressure is gotten to the
gun by a flexible hose)). Damage is 1d10 per pound of projectile weight. Rate
of fire is one shot every (poundage +1) rounds. For example, a 5-pounder fires
once every 6 rounds. This is the amount of time it takes for adequate pressure
to build up so the gun can be fired. Every round of operation requires 2 pounds
of wood and one gallon of water. To get a Steam Cannon started, it takes 5
rounds, plus whatever time is needed for that cannon's ROF. Non-swivel guns
(see above) are very hard to train on fast targets; -1 to-hit for every 3"
of move. Projectiles cost 2gp per pound. Other projectile types (bundled
javelins, canisters of sling bullets) are possible. Steam cannons are popular
onboard many spelljamming ships for use in wild-space, but are deadly in the
flow if the boiler is working. Also, unless the cannon uses monsterously large
projectiles, it can be handled by a two-man crew (one to fire and load the
cannon, the other to tend the steam engine). If an additonal crewman is added,
the rate of fire drops to the next lower level (ie, 1/4 goes to 1/3). Most of
these weapons are used in defense of dwarvish citadels.