(TFT) Suggestion: Break Weapon item and immunity.

[Mark Tapley <mtapley@swri.edu>]

All,
	TFT contains at least 2 references to Immunity to Break Weapon.
Once in the description of the Break Weapon spell in Advanced Wizard (which
could be a cut'n'paste kind of carry over from Drop Weapon), and once more
in Ad. Melee (which looks intentional).
	Ad. Wizard does not appear to have that property in the magic items
table. The "Immunity" paragraph does mention that immunity is the same cost
as the spell, using "Drop Weapon" as an example - but there's no "Break
Weapon" item in the item table. I also could not find it in the Errata, but
on the other hand the errata did not say that the reference in the Immunity
paragraph was in error either.
	I exchanged a couple of emails with Stan on the subject, and we
came up with the following suggestions. Excellent comments due to Stan, bad
ideas are probably all my own. Stan, feel free to chip in on this latest
edition, though I  tried to respond to most of your suggestions. Everyone
else, comments solicited and appreciated; please double-check my arithmetic
on the spell costs/ingredients, as I'm not sure I understand that
completely.

Magic Rationale:
	The real question, to my mind, is should the hypothtetical Break
Weapon item be a 'curse' item like the Drop Weapon item?  I think I'd
prefer the answer to be no, because all the other 'curse' type items (eg,
Drop Weapon) affect the target/person, not his possessions.
	That leaves two possibilities: one is an item that gives the user
the ability to use the spell, as in "Flight", "Fresh Air", etc. There's
plenty of precedent for this in the rest of the magic items table. This
possibility adds less complexity to the existing game and changes play
balance by the lesser amount.
	The second possibility (called "Shatter Weapon" to distinguish it
from the former) is a Special item that adds to the effectiveness of the
basic weapon during normal usage, as in "Weapon/Armor Enchantment",
"Flaming Weapon", etc. In addition to these spells, there's also a fiction
piece by Timothy Zahn in one of the early Space Gamers that sets some
precedent for this. (I can try to look that up tonight, if anyone's
interested.). In this case, the item should have to strike the opponents
*weapon* (not the opponent) in order to break it, which requires some
special rules. Consistent with Flaming Weapon and Weapon/Armor Enchantment,
there would be no ST cost to use this item.
	Rules for both versions of the spell are presented below. The rules
are compatible in that both could be present in the same campaign; it may
be advisable to add the Lesser Item version as though it has always
existed, but require that a wizard in the campaign develop the Shatter
Weapon spell as a Greater Magic Item.
	Immunity is based on the Lesser spell; however, Missile Weapons are
much more delicate than melee weapons and the Lesser Immunity will not
protect them. An Immunity version of the Greater spell may be effective for
Missile Weapons.

Suggested Rules:

Lesser Magic Items:

Break Weapon  	$4000	4 weeks	 100 ST/day  $352 / week ingredients
			1 Live Silver Slime ($150), 1 Live Rust Slime ($150),
			+ $52 common ing./week
			Must start with a Silver Melee Weapon.

Immunity to Break Weapon  $4000	4 weeks	 100 ST/day  $352 / week ingredients
			1 Silver Slime ($150), 2 Scorched Troll Ribs ($150),
			+ $52 common ing./week
			Must start with any non-Missile Weapon.

BREAK WEAPON: Gives user ability to use Break Weapon per the spell table,
including ST cost. User suffers -4 DX if he has iron about his person.

IMMUNITY TO BREAK WEAPON: Weapon will not break accidentally or as a result
of any Break Weapon spell or item. Weapon may still be broken intentionally
(with effort).


Greater Magic Item:

Shatter Weapon	$16,000	10 weeks (866) 275 ST/day. $366 / week ingredients
			5 4-die Exploding Gems ($300) + $66 common ing./week
			Must start with a Fine (+1 damage or more) Sword or
			Ax/Mace type weapon.

SHATTER WEAPON: Takes effect whenever the enchanted weapon clashes against
another weapon during combat - generally, whenever an attack against that
weapon's user fails, or when a frontal attack with that weapon against an
opponent holding a weapon fails. Normal weapons are broken (per the spell)
immediately. Fine Weapons get their normal rolls to avoid breaking. Weapons
enchanted with Immunity to Break Weapons are not affected. No ST cost.
	Notes: any time the user hits his opponent, he does not hit his
opponent's weapon and the spell does not take effect. If he attacks from
side/behind (hit or miss), he does not hit his opponent's weapon and the
spell does not take effect. If the user attacks from the opponent's front,
but misses,  the opponent parried (whether the opponent was Parrying (per
"Two Weapons" talent) or Defending (as his action) or not) - and in this
case, the spell takes effect. However, on a roll of 16, 17, or 18, the user
misses entirely and the spell does not take effect.
	Similarly, if the user's opponent attacks from a front hex but
fails to hit him, the spell takes effect. If the opponent does hit the
user, the spell does not take effect unless the user was using the "Two
Weapons" talent to parry some of the damage *with the enchanted weapon* -
in which case the spell takes effect, but the user still takes the full
damage that he otherwise would have. If the opponent rolls 16 or 17, the
attack missed completely, and the spell does not take effect. (On an 18, of
course, the opponent broke his own weapon).
	The enchantment does not affect Armor or Shields, with one
exception: If the user hits and a Spike Shield absorbs some of the damage,
that Spike Shield is broken (but it still absorbs appropriate damage from
that attack).


Tactical Analysis:
Break Weapon: Basically gives the user a chance to stand off for one turn
and disarm his opponent. In this, it's reasonably similar to having a
Quarterstaff and very similar to having a wizard buddy with the Break
Weapon spell (except that it takes up an action and fST of your own). The
requirement for no Iron will give your opponents a clue that you have
something up your sleeve, and if they figure it out, they may change to
less valuable weapons rather than risking their best weapons. Probably of
the greatest value against very strong opponents with Battle Axes, big
clubs, etc. or against opponents with powerful Peculiar Weapons or
Fine/Magic Weapons. Will be very frustrating if NPC's use it against PC's
with Fine or heavily enchanted weapons, so the GM planning to incorporate
it should give the players a bit of a heads-up and perhaps a chance to get
Immunity put on their favorite weapons.

Shatter Weapon: Generally, this works sort of like a very nice "consolation
prize" for the user for missing on a frontal attack. Against a more
powerful and faster opponent, it becomes a pretty effective defense - this
combined with a Blur and chosing the Defend option would make it pretty
easy to disarm an attacker before you are damaged yourself. The appropriate
counter for an item with this enchantment is to attack using missile
weapons, or to attempt HTH combat to force the user to drop the item.
Attacks using "disposable" (ie cheap) pole weapons would also be somewhat
effective, since their first-attacks would probably force the user to
defend.
	Note that a low-DX user could get a lot of benefit out of a weapon
with this enchantment, as his "missed attacks" would still end up disarming
his opponents. However, he still faces some problems. If the opponent acts
first, and hits, the user still takes the damage, even if he later "misses"
and disarms the opponent. If on the other hand, the user Defends, he isn't
able to damage his (possibly disarmed) opponent. Either way, the opponent
will be able to disengage safely next turn.
	Presence of this spell would put a high premium on the Immunity
spell, making it very desirable for any expensively enchanted weapon to
have that spell on it. (Fine Weapons can be fixed using the Repair spell.)
This may require re-work of some expensive magic weapons to add the
Immunity spell; the GM may want to work out some sort of deal with the
players to mitigate the costs to them if this item is added as a change to
the rules. If on the other hand the item is created as a new development by
either an NPC or a PC Wizard, the element of surprise *should* be present
for the players.

							- Mark
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