NEW WEAPON COMBAT TABLES

Copyright Norman Schaschke and Raymond Ward ©2001

Edited by Rich Kirkland for The Guild Companion

Flails are very effective weapons. The head of the flail can strike with great speed and force and it can strike around blocking shields and weapons. Perhaps the most effective flail is the morning star. It certainly does a lot of damage and hits very well. However, if you find that a morning star is too hard to find, too expensive, too awkward to carry, too dangerous to the wielder should it be fumbled and gives you a bad reputation then why not try the simple and cheap alternative, the ball and chain.

Please note that the non-standard statistics found on the combat table are explained in the article titled "Rolemaster Weapon Attributes" from the November, 1999, issue of the Guild Companion and additional clarification of Speed can be found in "Continuous Tactical Resolution" from the March, 1999, issue of the Guild Companion.

BALL AND CHAIN

The ball and chain is a very simple flail. It comprises of a wooden handle, a length of chain and a metal ball. Any blacksmith should be able to throw one together. The ball can really be made of any metal so the weapon can be made cheaply. There is no maintenance required of the ball and chain and it can be carried without any difficulty. It is quite inconspicuous and the wounds it makes are not all that obvious (characters who would prefer not to shed blood in a melee would certainly use this weapon rather than a morning star).

Other names for weapons that would use this table are: cumber-jung