Armaments
_____This saga will be using the Combat Rules from Lords of Men, including the rules for Arms & Armor.
Quality of Arms and Armor
_____Referencing Lords of Men page 136, there are four ranks of Quality (shoddy, standard, superior, and excellent). I have expanded upon this, mainly by adding adjectives so as to avoid using the words "+3 Long Sword" ever again. Excellent Quality Weapons add to both Attack and Damage (instead of defense). High Quality Weapons, especially Swords, deserve a name.
Ranks of Quality
Shoddy: Shoddy items break easily and are destroyed after a single failed stress test.
Standard: The basic default for all weapons.
Superior: Superior armor grants +1 to Protection, a Superior Shield grants +1 Defense, and a Superior Weapon grants +1 Attack.[list]
Supreme: Supreme Weapons add +1 to Attack and Damage. In the context of this saga, this is intended to represent swords of Toledo Steel (a combination of superior craftsmanship and superior raw materials; more on that below).
Excellent: Excellent Quality armaments offer a bonus up to +3 or higher. For Weapons the bonus is applied to both Attack and Damage. For further description (and to avoid labeling weapons by their modifier), use the following terms.
- Excellent: +2 (or +2/+2); uncommon
- ]Exceptional: +3 (or +3/+3); rare
- Extraordinary: +4 (or +4/+4); very rare
- Exquisite: +5 (or +5/+5); extremely rare
Availability
_____Only those with access to Expensive Armaments may purchase Superior & Excellent Quality armaments.
_____The purchase of Enchanted items requires some sort of contact or affiliation with the Order of Hermes. In many cases this can be easily be presumed. Certain Virtues may indicate this as a certainty (such as Custos, Hermetic Experience, and so forth). Use common sense for other questions of availability.
Shields
_____The shape of your shield (round/kite/heater,rectangle) is just fluff. Looking at the four types; Buckler, Round, Heater, and Infantry; you can alternatively call these Tiny, Small, Medium, and Large. Thus you can have a Medium Kite Shield (Heater), a Large Round Hoplite style Shield (Infantry), and so forth.
Toledo Steel Swords
_____Toledo Steel is the result of master craftsmanship and the inclusion of a rare metal known as Vanadium. The Craftsmanship grants a +1 bonus to Attack, and is not uncommon for blades of quality in the region. Vanadium is expensive and is usually reserved for long swords, though occasionally for short swords, but only the wealthy can afford to make their daggers this way. The metal makes the weapon stronger and better able to hold an edge, granting a +1 bonus to Damage. Thus, the famous Toledo Longsword has a natural bonus of +1 to Attack and Damage. Such fine weapons often have other precious materials included in their ornamentation.