| This was written principally for use with TSR’s Advanced Dungeons and
Dragons game. It tries to describe in detail the armaments and armours
that were briefly listed in the Player’s Handbook. I felt these descriptions
lacked a lot in terms of detail and explanations of use (and, evidently,
so did TSR: witness the Arms and Equipment Guide), so I sat down to write
this. I’ve been as comprehensive as I felt was needed. What was required
was a fairly brief but all-encompassing description of the item, a little
history (for those running historical campaigns, or for those obsessed
with accuracy), and maybe a new weapon statistics listing or Armour Class
to reflect an item’s design. Armours from other locales and time periods
I have largely ignored, for the simple reason that the AD&D rules do
these items justice anyway. For all their sophistication and grandeur,
an Aztec warrior’s most sophisticated weapon was the club, and his most
sophisticated armour the hide shield. It really doesn’t matter how many
different types of club you describe, they all act in the same way. The
same is not true of different types of swords.
I have also included new armour types, which were unrepresented in the PHB or any TSR supplement. The rules for them are entirely my own creation. Use them if you want to, change them if you don't like them. Nothing here is set in stone. Although you probably know that already. If you don’t like the new items then change them. If an item doesn’t fit in your campaign, sling it out! Don’t feel bound by my historical dates, either. If you’re playing an otherwise faithful Ancient Greek campaign that just happens to have developed full steel plate armour before we did in real life, don’t let me stop you. This is an aid to roleplaying and game enjoyment, not a strait-jacket. End of lecture. Now for the good stuff. Although that’s subjective... |