Rome looms so large in European history, and therefore on the ancient and medieval European wargames that informed so much of early fantasy RPG’s, that an article like this seems a bit useless. Of course, I’m writing it anyway, because – dang – you try generating this much web content without being useless once in a while.

Enough preamble. Let’s get down to Roman weaponry …

BIPENNIS
The bipennis, or labrys, is a double-headed axe that, depending on how one pronounces the word, could be a big hit at the gaming table. “You attack the orc with what?”

The weapons were most associated with Minoan civilization and the Greeks, and seem to have taken on quite a significant symbolic meaning, being adopted by Greek fascists, Greek metal heads and lesbians and feminists – clearly it’s a uniter and not a divider (unless used to separate somebody from their head). If you’re a cleric capable of wielding edged weapons, the bipennis might be a good one to wield.

Medium weapon; 1d8 damage; 6 lb.; 10 gp

CESTUS
Probably one of the first, “Dude, I want those” that I ever came across as a young geek getting into RPG’s. Essentially the anti-boxing glove, a cestus was made of leather strips, sometimes studded with metal or bladed, that was worn over the hands and used to beat the living crap out of people. For our purposes, we’ll use all three versions, and allow monks using the cestus, and any character with the Weapon Focus feat in the cestus, to treat them as either unarmed attacks or armed attacks, whichever is more favorable for the situation.

Cestus: Light weapon; +1 damage; 0.5 lb; 5 sp

Cestus, Studded: Light weapon; +2 damage; 1 lb.; 1 gp

Cestus, Bladed (Myrmex): Light weapon; +3 damage; 1 lb.; 1 gp 5 sp

FALCATA
The name is new, but the sword is old. Rome’s Iberian allies and mercenaries employed these slightly curved, thick bladed swords and impressed their Roman pals with how effective they were in a scrap. Because of their shape, and the weight of their blade, a falcata scores a critical hit (if you use such things) on a natural roll of 19 or 20.

Light weapon; 1d4+1 damage; 2 lb.; 15 gp

FALX
Falx are sickle-like weapons employed by the Dacians and Thracians, and later used by the Romans as siege hooks. The single-handed version was the sica, which is essentially just a sickle and is not covered here. The falx was the two-handed version, a pole weapon with a 3-ft. long wooden haft tipped by a long, sickle-shaped blade. The point could pierce helmets and the blade split shields.

Heavy weapon; 1d8 damage; 8 lb.; 8 gp

GLADIUS
While not the first straight-bladed short sword, the gladius could be one of the best known due to their use by gladiators, who are undeniably cool. The gladius was adopted from the Celtiberians, and was known as the Gladius Hispaniensis, or “Hispanic Sword”.

Light weapon; 1d6 damage; 2 lb.; 10 gp

HASTA
Hasta means “spear”, which is handy, since hastas are, in fact, spears. They were carried by early Roman legionaries, and gave them the name hastate. In later years, they were abandoned for the javelin and short sword, but they still have their place in classical Roman violence. Hasta were about 6.5 feet long.

Medium weapon; 1d8 damage; 6 lb.; 2 gp

PUGIO
The pugio is the Roman dagger, one of the basic weapons of the Roman soldier (along with short sword, javelins and shield). Nothing fancy here, just a cool name.

Light weapon; 1d4 damage; 1 lb.; 2 gp

PLUMBATA
I remember when I first got into AD&D, the darts confused me. The only darts I had ever seen were the ones used with dart boards, and I always pictured with a smile magic-users throwing those little things at people in dungeons. The plumbata is the real deal though, the mother of all lawn darts. These darts are weighted with lead and had barbed heads. Magic-users can hurl these bad boys with their heads held high.

Thrown weapon; 1d4 damage; 0.5 lb.; 5 sp

SCISSOR
Yes, you can run with this. The scissor is a “maybe” weapon, about which very little is known. It might have consisted of a hollow, metal tube that was worn over the arm. The tube closes over the fist, and projected from this there is a semicircular blade. There was probably a crossbar in the end to assist in a gladiator controlling the weapon. The tube makes it useful as both a buckler and as a weapon.

Light weapon; 1d4+1 damage; 2.5 lb.; 15 gp

SPATHA
The spatha was the Roman long sword. Measuring about 3 feet in length, it was used in war and gladiatorial fights in first millennium AD Europe. Used primarily by the Germans, it replaced the gladius as the primary infantry weapon of the Romans.

Medium weapon; 1d8 damage; 4 lb.; 15 gp

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All images found at Wikipedia

Let’s get one thing straight – Indian weapons are awesome for the names alone. Firangis and kayamkulams and talwars sound wonderful, even if facing one in the hands of an angry kshatriya would be anything but pleasant. I was recently bumping around for the name of one type of sword in particular – the pata – when I came across the others and decided to write about them here, giving them some stats for Blood & Treasure. So, without further ado –

Note – all images come from Wikipedia

Aruval

The aruval is an Indian machete-like weapon. The top section is curved and comes to a point, and gives wielders a +1 bonus to grapple attacks. The base is often kept razor sharp so it can be used for slashing.

Medium weapon; 1d4+1 damage; 2 lb.; 8 gp

Bagh nakh

The famous bagh nakh are also known as tiger’s claws. The bagh nakh consists of four or five short, curved, claw-like blades affixed to a metal cross-bar or a glove. Bagh nakh grant the user a +1 bonus to Climb task checks.

Light weapon; 1d3 damage; 1 lb.; 5 gp

Bhuj

The bhuj is also known as a gandasa, or axe-dagger. The dagger blade is affixed to an axe-like haft. The blade is short (7 to 10 inches) and broad, with a gentle curve. The haft is usually hollow and hides another slim, stiletto-like blade.

Light weapon; 1d6 damage (or 1d4 damage from stiletto); 4 lb.; 9 gp

Bichawa

The bichawa is a loop-hilted dagger with a narrow, undulating blade. Based on the maru, or horn dagger, of southern India, it is often used as an ornamental weapon. The loop hilt sometimes serves as a knuckle-guard. The weapons are about 1 foot long.

Light weapon; 1d4 damage; 1 lb.; 2 gp

Firangi

The firangi is a long, straight-bladed sword imported into India from Portugal. The blades were manufactured in Europe, and the name of the sword is derived from the Arabic term for Europeans, al-faranji (i.e. Frank). Blades were usually 3 feet long, and either of the broadsword (double-edge) or backsword (single-edge) variety. Firangi had basket-hilts that provide the wielder a +1 bonus to save vs. disarm attacks. Because of its length, it was traditionally used as a cavalry weapon.

Medium weapon; 1d8 damage; 4 lb.; 15 gp

Gada

Monks don’t have to look like Bruce Lee

The gada is a Indian bludgeoning weapon not too different from a heavy mace. It has a large, heavy metal head in the shape of a ball on a thick, short shaft. It is often used as physical training equipment, and Hanuman favored it as a weapon. Because of the thickness of the shaft, it must be wielded with two hands save by those with a strength score of 16 or higher.

Heavy weapon; 1d6+1 damage; 9 lb.; 12 gp

Kalarippayatt

The kalarippayatt is a 2-1/2 foot long wooden stick that is used as a practice weapon by young warriors learning dagger fighting. It is also used as a weapon in its own right. It is usually made from the wood of the tamarind tree.

Light weapon; 1d3 damage; 1 lb.; 1 gp

Kayamkulam vaal

The kayamkulam vaal is a stately, double-edged dueling blade favored by the aristocracy of Nair. The blade is of medium length and tapers from the hilt to the very sharp point. It was often wielded with a buckler.

Medium weapon; 1d6 damage; 3 lb.; 20 gp

Khanda

The khanda is a broad, straight-bladed sword with very little point. A spike projects from the hilt. The khanda, having virtually no point, is not used for thrusting, but for hacking and slashing, somewhat like an axe.  The sword is double-edged and heavy.

Medium weapon; 1d6+2 damage; 4 lb.; 30 gp

Lathi

The lathi is a long staff, usually measuring about 6 to 8 feet in length, and often tipped with metal. A weapon of Indian monks.

Medium weapon; 1d6 damage; 4 lb.; 1 sp

Maduvu

The maduvu is a unique Indian weapon used by the martial artists (i.e. monks) of India. Made from deer horns, it is treated as a double-bladed dagger. Monks using a maduvu keep a low profile, and use it more as a defensive weapon than offensive. Monks armed with maduvu can treat it as a shield rather than weapon during each round of combat.

Light weapon; 1d4 damage; 1.5 lb.; 5 gp

Malappuram Kathi

The malappuram kathi was an ancient form of dagger used in Kerala. The blade is about 2 feet long and thicker at the top than at the base. The hilt was made from deer horn. It is said that wounds from a malappuram kathi were difficult to heal and often became infected. This was owed either to the unique construction of the weapon or the metals used by the very few Keralan blacksmiths who knew the secret of forging the weapon.

Light weapon; 1d3+1 damage; 1.5 lb.; 2 gp

Moplah

Moplah are very short swords with wide blades – wider at the tip than the base. Moplah were worn on the back, using special belts.

Light weapon; 1d6 damage; 2 lb.; 5 gp

Parashu

The parashu is a large, Indian battle axe. Some were double-bladed, while others had a single-blade and a spike. Most were about 5 feet in length.

Large weapon; 1d8+1 damage; 12 lb.; 20 gp

Pata

The pata is a very unique Indian straight-bladed sword that incorporates a gauntlet as the handguard. The wielder places his hand in the gauntlet and the sword is held rigid pointing straight out from the wielder’s lower arm. Pata were most often wielded one in each hand, or a pata was wielded in one hand and a javelin, whip or axe in the other. Pata could be from 1 to 4 feet in length, so we can assume that dual-wielders probably used one long pata and one short pata. The gauntlet guard gives the wielder a +2 bonus to save vs. disarm attacks.

Short Pata: Light weapon; 1d4+1 damage; 2 lb.; 10 gp

Long Pata: Medium weapon; 1d6+1 damage; 4 lb.; 15 gp

Talwar

The talwar is a curved sword that originated with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Wider than similar Middle Eastern swords, it usually had a disc hilt. Because the blade is not too tilted, it is useful for slashing and thrusting, and because the tip of the blade is especially heavy it was quite useful for amputating and decapitating opponents. When wielded by an attacker with at least a +3 attack bonus (and the Weapon Focus feat, if feats are used in your game), the talwar deals a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20; though a critical hit on a “19” allows the target a Reflex saving throw to avoid it.

Medium weapon; 1d8 damage; 5 lb.; 15 gp

Trishula

The trishula is an Indian trident that also serves as a potent Hindu and Buddhist symbol. Although as a symbol it is often pictured without the haft, as a weapon is it usually hafted. Hindu clerics of war often choose the trishula as their weapon.

Medium weapon; 1d6+1 damage; 4 lb.; 15 gp

Urumi 

The urumi is a long sword with a flexible blade. The blade is sturdy enough to slice through flesh, but flexible enough to be rolled into a coil. The urumi is almost as dangerous to the wielder as it is to the target, and any time an urumi-wielder rolls an attack roll that is less than 20 – his attack bonus, he must pass a Reflex save or suffer 1d4 points of damage. Wielders with an attack bonus of at least +3 (and the Weapon Focus feat if this feat is used in your game) can choose to brandish the weapon, swinging it back and forth before them in arcs – when doing so, any creature attacking them in melee combat with a weapon shorter than 4-ft. must pass a Reflex save each round or suffer 1d4 points of damage.

Medium weapon; 1d6+1 damage; 6 lb.; 28 gp

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Urmi-Payattu.jpg

Vel

The vel is a broad-bladed spear used primarily by the Tamils in combat. The weapon’s name is derived from the divine weapon of the Hindu deity Murugan.

Thrown weapon; 1d6 damage; range 40/80; 3 lb.; 2 gp

Murugan’s Vel: +3 holy vel; when hurled against a tree, it splits the tree into two halves, which become celestial animals of Murugan’s choosing