Fighting with Vorpal Swords
Vorpal swords are exceedingly rare magical items which cut through solids as if they were little more than air. Thus, combat which involves these blades is a bit different than normal. The writing below will outline how it is resolved. Remember that if a vorpal sword is going up against another vorpal sword, they are as normal blades to each other (but not to any flesh they touch), and that Rel Morde steel has a resistance to vorpal edges. Look at the type of Rel Morde steel. If it is +1 (Lorach), it has a 20% resistance if any roll indicates that it will be cut in half by the vorpal blade. +2 (Karna) has a 40% resistance, +3 (Voltem) a 60%, +4 (Sala) an 80%, and Trillad and Mojé have 100% resistance. Rel Morde armor has a similar resistance. Also, the specialized magical armor called Magic Cloth causes a vorpal blade to act as a normal weapon upon the person wearing it.
Normal armors give a protection rating of 0 against vorpal blades.
When the person holding the vorpal blade scores a hit, roll on this chart –
| 1-80 Automatic Grievous Injury (the wound description may have to be adapted into a slicing wound.) |
| 81-95 Normal Damage |
| 96-00 Severance |
Severance Chart-
| 1-5 A hand |
| 6-12 An arm |
| 13-16 1d5 fingers (roll a 1d6 and discard a roll of 6) |
| 17 Thumb |
| 18 Leg |
| 19 Head |
| 20 Body sliced in half |
On the Wielder’s Defense-
If the wielder decides to block with their vorpal weapon, they might slice the opponent’s sword in half as it comes in for a strike. The wielder must roll their defense as normal. The opponent should then attempt to make a defense roll. If they succeed, they can avoid the destruction of their blade. If they do not, their blade is sliced neatly in two. The disadvantage of this tactic is that the wielder may be struck with the broken sword’s shard. There is a 70% chance of this occurring, and if it does the wielder will suffer full damage from the opponent’s attack (they are struck by the shard).
On the Opponent’s Defense-
If the opponent has a weapon and rolls their defense, there is a 50% chance that their weapon is lopped in half, and the Wielder will score a hit for ½ damage. If the opponent makes their 50% roll, the blow is blocked normally. If the opponent knows that the wielder has a vorpal blade and figures out that they should dodge rather than block with their weapon, they can do so, negating the chance that their weapon will be destroyed. The opponent who chooses this option, however, will suffer a –10% to their defense roll.