Weapon Subtype Tables for Random Equipment Generation Part 1: The One-Handers (And Hand-and-a-Halfers)

Of my earliest gaming memories, the fondest is looking over the illustrations in the 3.5e Player's Handbook. I started playing in my adolescence on the cusp of 4th and 5th edition, but my friend who owned the books played 3.5, so that's what we played. The illustrations were captivating to me, especially the equipment illustrations. For those who have not played D&D's middle sibling, 3.5 and 3rd edition were in love with polearms for reasons I still don't quite understand. If you've ever read 5e and thought it was odd that there was both a halberd and a glaive, you'd be more amused to read the entries on ranseurs and guisarmes.

Now, it's been a long time since I played either 3.5 or 5th edition, and nowadays I tend not to even differentiate damage for different weapons in most of my games, preferring the d6 damage die. Much has been written on differentiating weapons with a flat damage die, so I won't go too deep into that. The state of the art is, generally, to give weapons special mechanical traits or rule differently regarding different weapons ability to do different things on an ad-hoc basis, adjusted to your taste. Still, I miss the big, evocative lists of weapons that I was so taken by in my youth, so I've decided to write some tables for subtypes of each of the weapons found in OD&D Booklet 1. Each has an idea for what it might do particularly well, but I've kept these non-mechanical, both for the sake of system neutrality and because designing mechanical weapon traits is outside of the scope of this post.

I've titled this post with regard to random equipment generation, but you could just as easily have players choose from the tables and use the options as a referee to more evocatively stock armories, weaponsmiths and warbands. This week, I've done the weapon types that are (mostly) held in one hand. I've consolidated certain types together when they did not have enough variations to fill out a table and had significant overlap with other types. Next post on this will be the two-handers, which means lots of kinds of polearms. I will likely not give ranged weapons this treatment, as there just aren't enough distinct varieties with different strengths that I am aware of to fill out a post for them.

Daggers

d6	Weapon	Traits
1	Cinquedea	A common civilian weapon, the cinqueda is a thick, heavy, double-edged dagger with a wedge-like shape. It can be used to slash easily, unlike most daggers, and is best wielded in one's main hand to make quick cuts against the enemy.
2	Dirk	A weapon of conflicting use, the dirk is a favorite of assassins as well as a customary armament of nobles. It is a long thrusting dagger, with a blade as long as a foot, and can make quick, deadly work between ribs in the hands of a trained backstabber.
3	Hunting Knife	Hunting knives come in countless varieties, but are generally single-edged and short. The hunting knife is ill-suited to stabbing and is instead used to slash if used for violence. It is best-suited, however, to a variety of nonviolent uses, and is a must-have for adventurers who expect to need to whittle wood, butcher a carcass or harvest herbs.
4	Jambiya	A short dagger with a curved, double-edged blade, the jambiya is a rather versatile weapon. It can be used to slash with its double-edge, but is best used to stab. The blade's curve allows the wielder to avoid turning their wrist or body while stabbing, allowing the fighter to keep better balance and poise.
5	Poniard	Similar to the dirk but sporting a robust cross-guard, the poniard is suited to wielding in the off-hand to parry with. It is favored for such a use by those who expect single combat.
6	Rondel	A single-edged dagger with a diamond-shaped blade, the rondel is suited almost exclusively to thrusting. A well-placed thrust, however, can pierce the weak-points of mail or even plate with relative ease.

Hand-Axes

d4	Weapon	Traits
1	Bearded Axe	With its bit extended beyond the extent of the butt, the bearded axe has a long cutting edge without adding excessive weight. The beard of the axe can also be used to catch and possibly dislodge an enemy's shield.
2	Hatchet	Compact and lightweight, the hatchet is designed to serve as a general purpose tool in addition to a weapon. The hatchet has a flat butt that can be used as a hammer.
3	Shepherd's Axe	Longer than most other hand-axes, the shepherd's axe is often used as a walking stick by its wielders. It is long enough to strike at a further range than other options if hefted in both hands but is thin and light enough to be used in one hand as well.
4	Throwing Axe	Built to be light and spin as it flies through the air, the chief advantage of the throwing axe is clear in its name, as it can be thrown with much greater ease and accuracy than other hand-axes.

Maces, Morningstars and Flails

d8	Weapon	Traits
1	Ball Mace	The simplest kind of mace that is more than just a wooden cudgel, the ball mace is at home in the hands of anyone. In addition, it has no risk of becoming caught in armor or flesh, but is also easily halted by heavy armor. In dashing the bones of a skeleton or denting stone, however, it is as serviceable as any of its cousins.
2	Flanged Mace	With sharp flanges radiating out from its center, the flanged mace is able to deliver force more precisely than a ball mace. It is able to pierce through heavier armor, but may become stuck.
3	Goedendag	Built like a thick, stout spear with a mace head before the point, the goedendag can be used to gain reach close to that as a spear.
4	Mace and Chain	The iconic military flail, the mace and chain consists of a spiked ball like that of a morningstar or a mace attached to the end of a chain. The mace head tends to flail about unpredictably when swung, allowing it to make its way around shields easier than a common morningstar. Unfortunately, it can also sometimes injure its wielder by way of the same unpredictability.
5	Morningstar	Consisting of a spiked metal ball attached to the end of a wooden haft, the morningstar makes quick, bloody work of unarmored combatants. It is less effective against armor than most maces, but its spikes cause great pain in any whose flesh is struck.
6	Peasant's Flail	A simple threshing flail converted into a weapon with the addition of studs or spikes, the peasant's flail is a cheap and accessible weapon. It has significant reach while remaining relatively light and is often fielded against unarmored combatants.
7	War Hammer	Usually equipped with a flat face on one end and a spike on the other, the war hammer is able to deliver huge amounts of force precisely. It is best for striking at the head to cause a concussion, and the spiked end can be used to grapple shields.
8	War Pick	Often used from horseback, the war pick sports a long spike that can penetrate deep into even the strongest armor when swung from a charge. Unfortunately, the spike is prone to becoming stuck, even more than the flanges of a mace, due to its length.

Swords

d6	Weapon	Traits
1	Arming Sword	A straight, double-edged sword of relatively small size, the arming sword is a common sidearm for knights, should they be dismounted or disarmed. Though it lacks significant reach, it can be swung in tighter spaces than larger swords, and is often employed by dungeon delvers.
2	Estoc	A long, edgeless sword designed to be wielded either in one or two hands like the edged longsword. Though it cannot deliver slashing blows at all, it can pierce through thick armor better than most other makes of sword, especially when thrusted with both hands.
3	Falchion	Cheap and easy to produce, the falchion is the commoner's sword. It consists of a broad, single-edged cutting blade of varying shape hafted to a hilt, with or without a crossguard. The falchion, though stopped by most armor, cleaves through flesh like butter.
4	Bastard Sword	Long and heavy, the bastard sword is unwieldy to use for long periods in one hand, but light enough that it is possible to do so with difficulty. If additional reach is needed, it can be used easier in both hands.
5	Rapier	A sword with a long, thin, double-edged blade and a protective guard, the rapier is a favorite of nobles and duelists. It is suited to thrust or cut, and is lighter than most other swords while not sacrificing much reach, though the sheer power of its strikes can be underwhelming.
6	Scimitar	The scimitar refers to a number of different kinds of sword with a curved, single-edged blade. It is best used for slashing against unarmored opponents, as the curve cleaves through flesh with ease, but it of less use than a straight sword to strike armor or parry another blade. For these reasons, it is most often employed from horseback.

Spears and Lances

d4	Weapon	Traits
1	Boar Spear	Relatively short-hafted and equipped with a broad, double-edged blade and a cross-guard, the boar spear is primarily designed for hunting game. Though generally inferior to a thrusting spear in formation, the boar spear's short length allows it to be used in tighter corridors, and its cross-guard allows it to be used to parry blows in ways a thrusting spear cannot, making it a common choice for dungeon-delvers.
2	Great Lance	The great lance resembles a jousting lance that has been built sturdier with a bladed tip. It can deliver a mighty blow as part of a charge on horseback but can only be wielded underhanded and can only be pointed in a small range of angles, lest the rider lose balance.
3	Javelin	The javelin's main advantage is its light weight and aerodynamic qualities, allowing it to be thrown. Though it can also be used as a melee weapon, it lacks the reach of other kinds of spears and its thin shaft can more easily be sundered by a blow.
4	Light Lance	The light lance is simply a regular spear equipped with a vamplate to keep it from sliding back in the wielder's hand on horseback. Though not as mighty or intimidating as the great lance, the light lance can be thrusted in a variety of directions and is much easier to use while dismounted.
5	Military Fork	Adapted from common pitchforks, the military fork sports two prongs and two rear-facing hooks. The military fork is able to catch parried weapons with its prongs, possibly wrenching them from their wielder's hands, and its hooks can catch on riders, possibly unhorsing them.
6	Thrusting Spear	The common infantry spear, the thrusting spear is a mainstay of battlefield combat. In proper formation, it can form a difficult to penetrate spear wall, only exceeded by a similar formation of pikes. It allows greater reach and armor penetration than other one-handed spears, but can become unwieldy if one is in a confined space or if an enemy gets too close.