Disarm

The Disarm is a specific variation on Called Shots. With the Disarm, the attacker takes a Called Shot at the weapon his target is currently using.

Disarm vs. Single-Handed Weapons

With the basic Disarm maneuver, the attacker follows the normal rules for Called Shots (announcing his intention before initiative and receiving a +1 modifier to initiative, and then suffering a -4 attack penalty; if his attack is successful, he will (normally) cause his enemy's weapon to go flying from his enemy's hand.

Roll 2d6. The number rolled is the number of feet the weapon flies. Roll 1d6. The number rolled determines which direction the weapon goes. (This is described in terms of the attacker's facing. Straight Ahead means straight ahead from the attacker; Behind means behind the attacker).

1. Straight Ahead
2. Ahead, Right
3. Behind, Right
4. Straight Behind
5. Behind, Left
6. Ahead, Left

This Disarm can also be used on magic wands, crystal balls, and any other sort of magical apparatus which is held in one hand. If the item is worn (like jewelry), it cannot be Disarmcd. (Note: Weapons, when used, cannot be worn like jewelry.)

Disarm vs. Two-Handed Weapons

Disarm does not work nearly so well against two-handed weapons. If you perform a Disarm against a wielder of a two-handed weapon (including magical staves), it merely knocks the weapon out of alignment briefly; the weapon's wielder automatically loses initiative on the next round. However, two Disarms made against the wielder in the same round will knock the weapon free: roll only 1d6 to see how many feet it flies, and 1d6 to see which direction it goes.

Naturally, the two Disarm maneuvers don't have to come from the same character. Two characters can work together to disarm the two-handed wielder; or, one character with multiple attacks in a round can do the job himself.

If a character finds his two-handed weapon partially disarmed, and he still has at least one attack to perform this round, he can elect to forget about his next attack and may use that attack to recover his weapon instead.

Example: Torreth and Amstard are fighting. Torreth with long sword and shield. Amstard with two-handed sword. Both characters have two attacks per round. Torreth has initiative. He successfully Disarms Amstard, drawing his weapon out of line. Amstard now has his first attack of the round. He can either punch Torreth with his gauntleted fist, in which case his sword will still be out of line, or he can recover from the Disarm. He chooses to recover. He swings the weapon back into line and is ready for the next exchange. He suffers no initiative penalty on the next turn.

Disarm vs. Shields

Disarm is only of partial usefulness when struck against a shield. It won't tear the shield loose from the wielder's arm. However, it will draw it out (knock it out of alignment, so that the wielder is not protected by it). For the rest of the round, the shield-wielder loses the AC bonus of the shield (and any magical benefits, too). At the start of the next combat round, even before initiative is rolled, the character regains his shield's AC bonus.

If a shield has other properties, those stay in effect, even when the shield is Disarmed out of alignment. For example, let's say a shield radiates a proteclion from evil spell. If it's Disarmed, and drawn out of alignment, its wielder still gets the benefits of that protection from evil spell. Only when he drops the shield or has it forcibly wrested away from him does he lose that benefit.

As with the Disarming of two-handed weapons, if a character finds his shield disarmed, and he still has at least one attack to perform this round, he can elect to forget about his next attack and may use that attack to recover his weapon instead.

Example: At the start of the next round, Amstard's ally Jeter, carrying a halberd, joins the fight. Torreth wins initiative again. He takes an ordinary strike at Amstard and misses. Jeter chooses to Disarm Torreth's shield +4. He successfully Disarms it. Now, Amstard takes his shot, his chances greatly improved because Torreth's shield bonus to AC doesn't come into play. He smites Torreth with a mighty blow. Torreth has another attack this round: Realizing that he's going to get hurt if he doesn't have his shield up, he forgets about a second attack and uses that time to bring his shield back up.

Thrown-Weapon and Missile Disarms

You can perform the Disarm maneuver with thrown weapons and missile weapons.

When throwing small (S) weapons, you suffer an additional -2 attack penally because these weapons don't have a lot of weight; It 's harder for them to knock the weapon out of someone's hands. Medium (M) or larger weapons don't suffer this penalty, nor do arrows, quarrels, or sling stones.

Thrown-weapon and missile Disarms may only be performed against single·hand weapons, They automatically fail vs, two-handed weapons and shields.

Expert Disarms

If you're a very experienced fighter, and are willing to suffer a serious penalty in order to impress your enemy, you can perform an "expert disarm" against single-handed weapons only. This suffers the penalty of two Called Shots; Announce intent before initiative, then suffer a +2 to initiative and a -8 to hit.

But if it does hit, when you Disarm the weapon, you can send it pretty much where you want it to, within 12 feet of the target. If, for instance, one of your allies has lost his sword, and your enemy is wielding a comparable sword, you might wish to Expertly Disarm your enemy's sword to land right in front of your friend. Or, if you're fighting with a dagger and your enemy has a sword you want, you might Expertly Disarm his blade to fly up into the air; you drop your knife and the sword drops right into your hand.

This is an almost preposterously heroic sort of thing to do (It only happens in the most swashbuckling fiction and movies, after all) so the DM may not wish to allow this option in a more gritty or realistic campaign, On the other hand, he may grant bonus XP to characters with the temerity to try it... and succeed!