Unconventional Weaponry
by Anna Dobritt
adobritt@hotmail.com
Hail and Well-met Everyone!
Let’s talk about unconventional weaponry. I don’t mean nuclear bombs, lasers, phasers and the like, but what can be used as a weapon when your PC is temporarily without theirs. After all, adventurers have to remove their weapons once in a while, else they couldn’t get dressed very easily.(And if your adventurer never removes their clothes, everyone else better keep upwind of them at all times!)
So, there you are at home counting the gold and platinum coins you gained from your last adventure. The sun’s set, you had an excellent meal of venison stew, washed down with your favorite bitter; when the front door bursts open and your well-earned peace and quiet is rudely interrupted!
You leap from your chair as the ‘guest’ approach, swords at the ready. You automatically reach for you blade, when you realize it’s hanging on the wall to your right. “Damn! Now what?” you’re thinking as you move to put the table between you and them.
Well, since this is your home, you know where everything is and most things can be used in a pinch as a weapon. The chair you were sitting on, the table,and even throwing the coins at them! If you have a mirror, break it (and don’t worry about the seven years’ bad luck!) Throw knickknacks at them! Do whatever it takes to distract them or thrown off-balance long enough to get your real weapon.
What if you character happens to be working in an inn for some reason? Maybe to earn a little extra coin, or as some sort of agreement with the innkeeper for their staying there. Unless the character is the bouncer, it’s not likely the innkeeper would want them going around armed and in their armor. Might give too many customers the idea that fights are frequent at the place. Well, in the kitchen, there are skillets, pots, serving trays (things that when applied to the head of an attacker would render most insensible for a period of time. Of course there are the usual cleavers and butcher knives, but what about the spit for the fireplace? If it has a haunch of meat on it, all the better. Someone with a sword would hit the meat and the blade would get stuck long enough for you to disarm him or her or someone else to sneak up behind and use the skillet attack.
There are also logs for the fireplace, or even a pot of hot soup! And don’t forget the poker for the fireplace!
On a farm, you have any number of sharp tools that can be used to defend yourself. The pitchfork, a hoe or shovel, a sickle (which would be a bit easier to handle with one hand) and the scythe. If you use a shovel, don’t forget about the pile of manure that could be flung at the attacker. (A face full of horse droppings would give make a lot of people pause!)
The point is, everyone should be able to defend him or herself with whatever is at hand, from the momentarily unarmed fighter, to the stableboy. (Something to keep in mind for real life as well.)
Blade Bright!