Spear Shattering


So I love the idea of an adventurer shattering their spear in the heat of combat and having to draw their trusty short-sword to keep the nasties at bay. Or someone snapping off an axe-head in the skull of an enemy. I like Logan Knight's notches rule a lot, but think it's a bit too fiddly for me - I really don't want to slow down combat, since quick combat is one of the great features of OSR games like LotFP. So without further ado, my simple version:

On a critical hit or critical miss, roll 1d6.
+1 if you're using a spear, -1 for great weapons. Your weapon breaks on:

Terrible 2-6
Shoddy 3-6
Poor 4-6
Well-made 5-6
Excellent 6
Masterwork double sixes on 2d6

Most stuff is well-made. Other qualities are available if sought, they are worth:

Terrible 0.3x base
Shoddy 0.5x
Poor 0.7x
Well-made 1x
Excellent 5x
Masterwork 10x

As an quick extension of the rule, you can try to attack other folks' weapons. Roll to hit, on a hit they roll weapon breakage but add your strength bonus to the roll.

This'll give folks a reason to have more than one weapon, a good chance of having to get a new spear or whatever after repeated heavy combats, and a reason to value high-quality items without needing enchantments. Plus the idea of snapping off a sword in some awful monster seems pretty awesome.

For those like me that wonder how long each will take to break on average:

Terrible 8 attacks
Shoddy 10
Poor 14
Well-made 23
Excellent 41
Masterwork 248

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