Chapter 5. Equipment

Resources

To simplify accounting in Polyhedral, character wealth is tracked as resources. Resources are an abstraction over how much money a character has, no matter whether the currency is in dollars, credits, gold, platinum, gems, or something else. Polyhedral instead focuses on a character’s resources and the relative cost of goods to a character’s buying power.

Every character has a Resources rank, which indicates the class of goods that a character can buy without endangering their lifestyle.

Pooling Resources

Characters can pool their resources to purchase more expensive goods. If two or more characters in the same lifestyle class (e.g. modest or comfortable) pool their resources their pooled Resource rank is considered to be equal to the highest rank in the pool +1 for every other character contributing to the pool.

For example if three characters with Resource ranks Modest (3), Modest (3) and Modest (4) pool their resources: their pooled rank is Comfortable (6). Starting from the character with Modest (4) and increasing by +2 ranks from the two Modest (3) characters.

The storyteller has final decision on how many expensive items you may purchase with your pooled resources.

Spending Beyond Your Means

Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of pooling your resources, but you still need to make a purchase that is beyond your normal spending power. You can spend resources beyond your normal means, when you do this you gain access to goods one lifestyle level higher than your current level. After making your purchase, your Resources rank is temporarily reduced by 1 (minimum of 0). Your resources remain reduced until you complete an adventure or you take downtime activity to restore your reduced resources.

For example, a character with a Modest (3) resources wants to buy an item that is available to characters living a Comfortable-or-better lifestyle. The character overextends themselves to gain access to the item in this class of goods, after the purchase is made their Resources rank is temporarily reduced by 1 to Poor (2).

Changes to your Resources Rank

Between adventures, during downtime, you can spend time trying to improve your lifestyle. You can do this by practicing a profession or by taking risks, like gambling. Not all activities result in an increase to your Resources rank. In addition, the results of your adventures may also impact your Resources rank. The storyteller has final say on how your efforts, both during and between adventures, might change your Resources rank.

Optional Rule: Using Currencies

If you really want to use currency in your game, go for it! We anticipate that some players like amassing wealth and keeping track of a ledger for their character. To this extent, there is an appendix for the equipment listed in this chapter that supplies suggested costs by genre.

Armor and Shields

FANTASY ARMOR AND SHIELDS

Weapons

Every weapon in Polyhedral, regardless of the game’s genre, has the same characteristics: cost, damage, and properties.

The damage that a weapon does has both a damage dice (e.g. 1d6) and a damage type (e.g. slashing) component. This forms the basis for understanding how much damage a weapon can deal when it is used to attack a creature.

Weapons also have properties that attribute certain traits to a weapon, such as light, ranged, two-handed, etc. A list of properties can be found below.

Weapon Properties

Ammunition. Each time you make an attack with a weapon that uses ammunition, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing ammunition, loading, and making the attack with the weapon are all part of your attack if you are proficient with the weapon. Depending on the ammunition, at the end of battle, you may be able to recover some of your expended ammunition by taking 10 minutes to search the battlefield. the weapon is part of your attack action A weapon that uses ammunition

Finesse. When you make an attack with a finesse weapon you can choose to use either your Strength or your Agility modifier when determining your bonus to attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.

Firearm. A type of ranged weapon that fires projectiles using mechanical or magical principles. When a creature takes damage from a firearm, they suffer at least 1 wound. On a critical hit, the target becomes wounded.

Light. A light weapon is small and can be used at the same time as another one-handed weapon. For more details see the rules on two-weapon fighting.

Loading. Because this weapon requires time to load, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you make an attack with it using an action, bonus action, or reaction, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

Ranged. When you make an attack with a ranged weapon, you use your Agility modifier to determine your bonus to attack and damage rolls. A ranged weapon has two ranges: the first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, while the second is the weapon’s long range. You cannot attack a target beyond a weapon’s long range.

Reach. A reach weapon adds the number of feet indicated in the parenthesis to your reach when you attack with it. This property applies to all attacks, inluding opportunity attacks.

Special. This weapon has a special rules explained further in the weapon’s description.

Thrown. A weapon with the thrown property may be use to make a ranged attack by throwing the weapon. A thrown weapon uses your Strength modifier when determining your bonus to attack and damage rolls. A thrown weapon has two ranges: the first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, while the second is the weapon’s long range. You cannot attack a target beyond a weapon’s long range.

Two-Handed. Attacking with a two-handed weapon requires two hands, you cannot wield another weapon or wear a shield when you are wielding a two-handed weapon in combat.

Versatile. When you make an attack with a versatile weapon, you can wield the weapon either one-handed or two-handed. If wielded with two hands, the weapon deals the damage indicated in parenthesis. For example a quarterstaff deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage if wielded one-handed, but when wielded with two hands it deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage.

FANTASY WEAPONS