Weapons in the Starfall Galaxy

 Source Player Core pg. 253

In the vast and perilous Starfall Galaxy, a reliable weapon is often the difference between life and death. From the simplest bludgeons of frontier outposts to the intricately crafted Mana-infused blades of ancient orders, weapons are as diverse as the species that wield them. They are not just tools for combat; they are often cultural artifacts, technological marvels, or conduits for cosmic energies. Understanding the various types of weapons and their unique properties is crucial for any adventurer navigating the cosmos.

Weapons

Attack Rolls

When making an attack roll, determine the result by rolling 1d20 and adding your attack modifier for the weapon or unarmed attack you're using. Modifiers for melee and ranged attacks are calculated differently.

Bonuses and penalties apply to these rolls, just like with other types of checks. Weapons with the tracking trait add an item bonus to your attack rolls, improving your ability to hit targets.

Melee attack roll result = d20 roll + Strength modifier (or optionally Dexterity modifier for a finesse weapon) + proficiency bonus + other bonuses + penalties

Ranged attack roll result = d20 roll + Dexterity modifier + proficiency bonus + other bonuses + penalties

Multiple Attack Penalty

If you use an action with the attack trait more than once on the same turn, your attacks after the first take a penalty called a multiple attack penalty. Your second attack takes a –5 penalty, and any subsequent attacks take a –10 penalty.

The multiple attack penalty doesn't apply to attacks you make when it isn't your turn (such as attacks made as part of a reaction). You can use a weapon with the agile trait to reduce your multiple attack penalty.

Damage Rolls

When the result of your attack roll with a weapon or unarmed attack equals or exceeds your target's AC, you hit your target! Roll the weapon or unarmed attack's damage die and add the relevant modifiers, bonuses, and penalties to determine the amount of damage you deal. Calculate a damage roll as follows.

Melee damage roll = damage die of weapon or unarmed attack + Strength modifier + bonuses + penalties

Ranged damage roll = damage die of weapon (+ Strength modifier for a thrown weapon or half Strength modifier for a propulsive weapon) + other bonuses + penalties

Ranged weapons don't normally add an attribute modifier to the damage roll, though thrown weapons add your full Strength modifier. At higher levels, most characters also gain extra damage from weapon specialization. Improved versions of weapons also deal more damage.

Damage Dice

Each weapon lists the damage die used for its damage roll. Improved versions of a weapon can deal multiple dice of damage.

Counting Damage Dice

Effects based on a weapon's number of damage dice include only the weapon's damage die. They don't count extra dice from abilities, critical specialization effects, weapon fusions, weapon traits, or the like.

Increasing Die Size

When an effect calls on you to increase the size of your weapon damage dice, instead of using its normal weapon damage dice, use the next larger die, as listed below (so if you were using a d4, you'd use a d6, and so on). If you are already using a d12, the size is already at its maximum. You can't increase your weapon damage die size more than once. 1d4 » 1d6 » 1d8 » 1d10 » 1d12

Critical Hits

When you make an attack and succeed with a natural 20 (the number on the die is 20), or if the result of your attack exceeds the target's AC by 10, you achieve a critical success (also known as a critical hit).

If you critically succeed at a Strike, your attack deals double damage. Other attacks, such as spell attack rolls and some uses of the Athletics skill, describe the specific effects that occur when their outcomes are critical successes.

Unarmed Attacks

Almost all characters start out trained in unarmed attacks. You can Strike with your fist or another body part, calculating your attack and damage rolls in the same way you would with a weapon. Unarmed attacks can belong to a weapon group, and they might have weapon traits. However, unarmed attacks aren't weapons, and effects and abilities that work with weapons never work with unarmed attacks unless they specifically say so.

The unarmed attacks table lists the statistics for an unarmed attack with a fist, though you'll usually use the same statistics for attacks made with any other parts of your body. Certain ancestry feats, class features, and spells give access to special, more powerful unarmed attacks such as tails or claws. Details for those unarmed attacks are provided in the abilities that grant them.

Improvised Weapons

If you attack with something that wasn't built to be a weapon, such as a chair or a vase, you're making an attack with an improvised weapon. Improvised weapons are simple weapons. You take a –2 item penalty to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. The GM determines the amount and type of damage the attack deals, if any, as well as any weapon traits the improvised weapon should have.

Components of a Weapon Description

Every weapon in the Starfall Galaxy is described by a set of key characteristics that define its capabilities and how it interacts with its wielder and targets.

Name: The common name by which the weapon is known.

Price: The typical cost of the weapon.

Bulk: A measure of how cumbersome or heavy the weapon is. This helps determine how much equipment a character can comfortably carry. 

Damage: This entry specifies two crucial pieces of information:

• Damage Dice: The number and type of dice rolled to determine the base damage dealt by the weapon (e.g., 1d6, 2d8).

• Damage Type: The kind of damage the weapon inflicts (e.g., Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing, Fire, Cold, Force, Psychic, Void, Pure Mana, Sonic, Corrosive).

Range: Ranged and thrown weapons have a range increment. Attacks with these weapons work normally up to that distance. Attack rolls beyond a weapon's range increment take a –2 penalty for each additional multiple of that increment between you and the target. Attacks beyond the sixth range increment are impossible.

Reload: While all weapons need some amount of time to get into position, many ranged weapons also need to be loaded and reloaded. This entry indicates the number of Interact actions required to reload a weapon's magazine. This can be 0 if drawing specialized ammunition and firing the weapon are part of the same action. If an item takes 2 or more actions to reload, the GM determines whether they must be performed together as an activity, or if you can spend some of those actions during one turn and the rest during your next turn.

An item with an entry of “—” must be drawn to be thrown, which usually takes an Interact action just like drawing any other weapon. Reloading a ranged weapon and drawing a thrown weapon both require a free hand. Switching your grip to free a hand and then to place your hands in the grip necessary to wield the weapon are both included in the actions you spend to reload a weapon.

Hands: Some weapons require one hand to wield, and others require two. Weapons requiring two hands typically deal more damage. Some one-handed weapons have the two-hand trait, causing them to deal a different size of weapon damage die when used in two hands. In addition, some abilities require you to wield a weapon in two hands. You meet this requirement while holding the weapon in two hands, even if it doesn't require two hands or have the two-hand trait.

Magazine: Many ranged weapons have magazines (or take batteries) to allow for multiple shots in rapid succession without the need to reload. The magazine of a weapon indicates how much ammunition it can hold. Weapons listed with charges represent battery-powered weapons. These weapons hold charges equal to the maximum charges of each battery and can use batteries up to the same grade as a weapon (so a tactical weapon can use a commercial or tactical battery). Some weapons instead utilize chemicals (chems), which are sold in tanks and otherwise function as batteries. Chemicals can't be recharged, and new chems must be purchased after a tank is expended. Most projectile weapons have magazines that hold a maximum number of projectiles, which act as ammunition. Depending on the specific type of weapon, projectiles could be bolts, darts, flechettes, rounds, or other appropriate ammunition. Most projectile weapons use rounds, while most injection weapons use darts. Ammunition is purchased separately from a weapon, at a cost of 10 projectiles per credit.

Expend: This indicates how much ammunition is consumed with each ranged Strike you make with the weapon. Anytime the weapon is fired, the ammunition in its magazine is lowered by the number indicated. Other abilities might cite the use of expend as the amount of ammo required to complete the action.

Upgrades: Weapons can be customized with upgrades, which include technological weapon modifications and magical weapon fusions. This indicates how many upgrades th e weapon can utilize. You can find more about weapon upgrades here.

Group: A weapon or an unarmed attack's group classifies it with similar weapons. Groups affect some abilities and what the weapon does on a critical hit if you have access to that weapon or unarmed attack's critical specialization effects. 

Traits: The traits a weapon or unarmed attack has are listed in this entry. Any trait that refers to a “weapon” can also apply to an unarmed attack that has that trait.

Critical Specialization Effects: Certain feats, class features, weapon fusions, and other effects can grant you additional benefits when you make a Strike with certain weapons and get a critical success. This is called a critical specialization effect. The exact effect depends on which weapon group your weapon belongs to, as listed below. You can always decide not to add the critical specialization effect of your weapon.

Weapon Category

Defines the general training required to use the weapon effectively:

• Simple: Basic weapons that require minimal training.

• Martial: Weapons that require specialized combat training.

• Advanced: Weapons that incorporate cutting-edge technology or exotic Mana-science, requiring extensive and often unique training.

Selecting Weapons

Characters who focus on combat need to carefully consider their choice of weapons, evaluating whether they want to fight at range or in melee, the weapons' damage potential, and the special features of various weapons. Characters who are primarily spellcasters also need to pick a backup weapon in the best category they're trained or better in. It's best to have at least one backup ranged weapon that you can rely on in a firefight, as many encounters involve ranged combat.

When selecting weapons, start by identifying the weapon types you're trained or better in. You should then compare weapons within these types to determine which ones you'll have the highest melee or ranged attack modifier with. It's usually considered best practice to select both a melee and ranged weapon during character creation so you can contend with a broader variety of foes and situations.

Multi-Armed Characters 

Characters that have more than two hands, like kasathas, can hold more items and weapons than typically expected. Performing actions with multiple pairs of arms concurrently is a challenge and can't be done without intensive training. You must designate a pair of hands as your active hands. You can change this designation from one pair of hands to another by taking the Switch Hands action. Some feats can adjust your skill with multiple hands. You can only attack with weapons wielded in your active hands.

Switch Hands Action

[one-action]

You designate a pair of limbs as your active hands. You can only have one pair of hands designated as your active hands at a time.