What are the exact rules on worn weapons?

Do they attack like good-condition weapons or like improvised ones for damage?

The rules say that broken weapons could still be used, how have various groups addressed that?

My understanding of the worn weapons was that they have 1 less die roll.

My guess for broken weapons is using it as a smaller version of the same weapon (1 less die) or treating say a broken short sword as a dagger. A lot of it would be determined also by where the weapon broke, gm discression. A two handed sword could just as easily be turned into an awkward dagger or spear tip in a matter of moments.

I haven't had a lot of time to look through the books recently, so my interpretation may be off.

As far as I unterstand the rules, worn items can be used just like those in good condition without any penalty or the like. The only difference is, that they are more likely to get broken. If you roll a botch while attacking with a weapon in good condition, it will become worn. And if you roll a botch while attacking with an already worn one, it will break.
The usage of broken items never was a topic in my Desolation games so far, so I didn't have to think about it yet. But I think I'd handle it similar to what Scrumptrilescent wrote.

That makes much more sense than mine, I think. Like I said, been a while since I've glanced at the books.

Gil has the right of it in terms of worn weapon use. The book doesn't go into great detail about the use of broken weapons.

My gut instinct is that it would depend on the weapon and the condition. A longsword with a broken blade could be sharpened down into a usable short sword or dagger, but a mace with its head broken off is just a stick. In any case, repairing or reshaping a broken weapon would normally require some skill, either from the character or someone they can find to do it.

Let your common sense be your guide, I say.

Hullo, lilalila,

Welcome to the Desolation forums! It's always good to see a new face around here, and the folks are very friendly in these foroums and will offer advice and answer questions willingly. Glad to have you here!



As you may have noticed, there are no actual rules per se on worn weapons. Page 196 of the rulebook, in the second column, gives good guidelines. Worn weapons are chipped, unbalanced, dull, weak, or otherwise not as good as they could be, and rolling a Botch while attacking with a weapon in good condition causes it to become worn. Another Botch, and the worn weapon becomes broken. However, broken weapons can still be deadly, such as a sword that is broken serving as a dagger.

In terms of their combat abilities and the like, the GM is ultimately responsible for determining this stuff. A chipped or dull weapon could be ruled to have a -1 or -2 penalty to damage. An unbalanced weapon could have a -1 or -2 attack penalty. Weapons can, of course, be fixed either through repairing them or sharpening their edges once more, but it really depends on how the GM decides to handle stuff. Other game effects are at the whim of the GM, but this is really something that I've always felt should be addressed in the game, or perhaps some additional PDF or some such.

Overall however, I would have to say to you that common sense should guide your path in this regard.

Hope this helps.