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Magical weapons may be of any type except explosives, incendiaries, and gunpowder weapons. Swords, maces, flails, lances, spears, and bows are the most commonly enchanted weapons. Enchanted arrows are covered separately.

Magical Weapons[]

Magical weapons have various effects, as explained below, but they all have some abilities in common. These are:

  1. All magical weapons emit a magical aura which may be recognised by any character with the Magical Sense skill.
  2. Magical weapons can wound creatures which are stated in the Bestiary to be immune to normal weapons.
  3. Magical weapons have the ability to dispel Aura spells of any level on contact.
  4. Where a magical weapon causes unusual or additional damage, this does not count as a magical attack and the victim is not allowed a Magic test to resist it.

Using Magical Weapons[]

Characters who find a magical weapon may not simply pick it up and use it. The weapon has a will of its own and will not readily accept a new owner. The character must make a successful WP test in order to master the weapon - if the test is failed, the weapon will not cooperate and the character may not use it. Characters who persist in trying to use the weapon will it will use its abilities to hinder rather than help them.

Special Abilities[]

As well as the general abilities common to all magical weapons, a weapon may have one or more special abilities. Weapons with special abilities are generally best designed by the gamesmaster, taking into account their background, history, and the circumstances in which they are found, but the gamesmaster can generate a magical weapon randomly, using the tables below. (For magical bows, see the bottom of the page.)

The first stage is to determine how many special abilities the weapon has, if any:

D100 roll Number Of Abilities
01-20 0
21-70 1
71-90 2
91-95 3
96-99 4
00 5

Next, roll a D100 for each ability. If an ability appears more than once, it may be cumulative (e.g., double S gain) or the gamesmaster may ignore the second result and roll again. Characteristic bonuses from magical weapons can take characteristics beyond normal maximum levels.

D100  Ability
01-25

Additional Damage - The weapon causes more than the normal amount of damage. Roll on the following table:

D100  Damage
01-50 +1
51-75 +2
76-90 +3
91-95 +4
96-98 double normal damage
99-00 double normal damage, +4
26-40

Characteristic Gain - The weapon increases one of the user's characteristics. The character must be holding the weapon in order to gain the increase. Roll on the following table:

D100  Characteristic Gain
01-09 WS +10
10-18 S +1
19-27 T +1
25-36 I +10
37-45 A +1
46-54 Ld +10
55-63 Int +10
64-72 Cl +10
73-81 WP +10
82-84 WS +D3x10
85-86 S +D3
87-88 T +D3
89-90 I +D3x10
91-92 A +D3
93-94 Ld +D3x10
95-96 Int +D3x10
97-98 Cl +D3x10
99-00 WP +D3x10
41-50

Characteristic Drain - Every time this weapon wounds an opponent, it drains 1 or 10 points from one of the opponent's characteristics. These characteristics are given to the wielder for the next round only. Roll on the following table:

D100  Characteristic Drain
01-15 WS 10
16-30 S 1
31-45 T 1
46-56 I 10
57-67 Ld 10
68-78 Int 10
79-89 Cl 10
90-00 WP 10
51-60

Bane Weapon - The weapon causes double damage against the opponents of a particular type. Roll on the following table:

D100  Race
01-05 Goblins and Snotlings
06-10 Hobgoblins
11-20 Orcs
21-25 All Goblinoids
26-27 Elementals
28-30 Demons
31-35 Undead
36-45 Chaos Creatures (including Warriors Of Chaos)
46-50 Dragons and Jabberwocks
51-55 Dwarfs, Gnomes, and Halflings
56-60 Elves
61-65 Fimir
66-70 Monstrous animals (e.g., Manticore, Griffon)
71-75 Skaven
76-80 Lizardmen and Troglodyte
81-85 Giants
86-90 Ogres and Trolls
91-95 Werecreatures
96-00 Vampires
61 Flame Attack - The weapon bursts into flames at the wielder's command, causing standard fire damage in addition to normal damage.
62 Poison Attack - The weapon causes poisoned wounds. Any creature wounded by the weapon must make a Poison test or die instantly.
63 Degeneration Attack - Any creature wounded by this weapon must make a T test or begin to decay and crumble. Roll a D6 at the beginning of each of the victim's turns - whenever a 6 is scored, the victim loses one W point. The degeneration may be stopped by a Potion of Healing or a Cure Severe Wound spell, and W points lost by degeneration may only be recovered by medical attention or magic.
64 Freeze Attack - The weapon glitters with a cold and icy fire, causing D3 extra W points on each successful hit unless the creature struck is resistant to cold. The victim is permitted a T test to avoid the additional damage.
65 Warp Attack - The weapon can be seen to fade in and out of existence, fading and then reappearing. In combat, the weapon warps through the opponent's armour and shield, negating any protection they might have afforded. All armour and shield protection is discounted when calculating damage.
66 Sleep - Any creature struck by the weapon must make a Magic test or fall asleep for D6 turns, as if affected by the appropriate Petty Magic spell.
67 Flight - The wielder of this weapon can fly as a swooper for 10+D10 turns per day. The weapon must be held aloft to activate the power and it cannot be used for fighting while in flight.
68 Breathe Underwater - The wielder of this weapon can breathe without air and will not suffocate either in a vacuum or underwater.
69 Confusion - If this weapon is held, it will automatically cause all creatures within 6 yards, except for the wielder, to become subject to stupidity. All creatures within the area of effect must make a Stupidity test immediately.
70-71 Fear - A character holding this weapon causes Fear in opponents the wielder charges or is charged by unless the opponents make a successful Fear test.
72-73 Instability - When the weapon successfully hits an opponent which is subject to instability (i.e., a Demon, Undead, or Elemental), the opponent must make an immediate test to determine whether it becomes unstable. This test must be made on every successful hit, regardless of whether Wounds are caused.
74-75

Protection - The weapon is semi-animated and will move to parry any attacks directed against its wielder. Roll on the following chart:

D100  Effect
01-75 +1 armour on all body areas
76-90 +2 armour on all body areas
91-95 +3 armour on all body areas
96-98 1 attack per round automatically parried, no loss of A
99-00 2 attacks per round automatically parried, no loss of A
76 Resist Fire - A character holding this weapon takes no damage from fire or fire-based magical attacks, such as Fire Ball spells.
77

Animated - The weapon has a life of its own. It can move through the air and fight in combat, attacking any creature specified by its owner and within line of sight. When this opponent is dead, the weapon will hang motionless in the air until its owner recalls it or commands it to attack another opponent. When fighting independently, the weapon has the following profile:

M WS BS S T W I A
6 57 0 4 * * 60 2







The weapon cannot be 'wounded' and will only cease to function if its owner is killed or rendered unconscious.

78 Invisibility - The owner of this weapon may become invisible at will. Such characters cannot be detected by normal means and, if they remain silent and stationary, opponents suffer a -40% modifier to all attack rolls. If the character moves or attacks, this is reduced to -20%.
79 Magic Damper - The weapon so completely dominates other sources of enchantment that the bearer may not cast or use any magic apart from the powers of the weapon. The user may still be attacked by spells and magical abilities.
80-81 Berserk - The wielder becomes subject to frenzy whenever using the weapon in combat.
82-83 Reped Undead - The very presence of this weapon will repel all Undead, including Ethereal Undead. The Undead must make a successful Magic test or be unable to approach within 6 yards of the weapon.
84-85 Repel Demon - The very presence of this weapon will repel all Demons. The Demons must make a successful Magic test or be unable to approach within 6 yards of the weapon.
86 Destroy Magical Weapon - The weapon will destroy any other magical weapon. If the wielder meets an opponent with another magical weapon, the gamesmaster should roll a D6 every round. If a 6 is rolled, the opponent's weapon is utterly destroyed. If two weapons with this power meet in combat, both are destroyed on the first 6 rolled, in an explosion that causes D6 S 6 hits to both combatants.
87-88 Spell Absorption - If a spell is cast at the bearer of this weapon, the weapon will automatically absorb the power of the spell, so that the wielder is unaffected by it. The power of the spell gives the weapon a modifier to damage rolls equal to the level of the spell absorbed, for the next attack only. The weapon can only absorb one spell per round and will always absorb the spell of the highest level, if more than one is cast on the wielder. Note that the weapon will absorb Cure spells just as readily as Fire Ball spells, so long as the wielder is holding it.
89-90 Mighty Strike - This weapon may strike with a S 10 hit once per day. The player does not have to declare that the mighty strike power is being used until a successful hit has been scored.
91-00 Rune Weapon - The weapon has D6 runes carved onto it. These can be chosen by the gamesmaster or determined randomly. Effects will vary according to the number and types of runes involved.

Magical Bows[]

As with a magical hand-to-hand weapon, it is first necessary to determine the number of magical abilities (if any) with which the bow is invested.

Once this has been done, roll on the Abilities table to determine the nature of each ability:

Bow Type

If the type of bow needs to be determined randomly for some reason, use th table below:

D10 Bow Type
1-3 Short Bow
4-6 Normal Bow
7-8 Long Bow
9-0 Elf Bow

Number of Abilities

D100 Number of abilities
01-50 0
51-75 1
76-90 2
91-99 3
00 4

Bows with magical abilities can still wound creatures which are immune to non-magical weapons, even when they are firing non-magical missiles.

Abilities

D100 Ability
01-25

Accuracy: The bow gives its user a bonus to BS. Roll on the following table:

D10 BS Bonus
1-4 +5
5-7 +10
8-9 +15
0 +20
26-50

Additional Damage: The bow fires its missiles with magical speed, causing more damage on a successful hit. Roll on the following table:

D100 Damage
01-50 +1
51-75 +2
76-90 +3
91-95 +4
96-98 x2
99-00 x2, +4
51-55 Flame Attack: When the bow is used to fire a non-magical arrow, it causes the arrow to burst into flames in mid-flight, causing D4 additional damage unless the target is immune to fire. If the target is flammable, the arrow causes 2D4 extra damage. If the target is a Water Elemental, the arrow causes triple normal damage. If a magic arrow is fired from the bow, it has no effect.
56-80

Increased Range: The bow is effective at greater ranges than normal for its type. Roll on the following table:

D10 Range increase
1-5 x1½
6-8 x2
9-0 x3
81-85 Mighty Strike: Once per day, the bow can invest any one arrow which it fires with an ES of 10. This is in addition to any other properties which the arrow itself may have.
86-90 Marksmanship: Once per day, the bow will fire an arrow of any type so accurately that it cannot miss a target which is within its maximum range, given a clear line of sight. The firer may specify a target area no smaller than 3 inches in diameter and the arrow will hit it without fail.
91-95

Protection: A character who is holding the bow (including carrying it slung round the neck or shoulder) cannot be wounded by missiles fired from a non-magical weapon of a similar type. For example, a magical long bow with this property will protect its owner against all arrows fired at him from non-magical long bows.

96-00 Self-firing: The bow can be ordered to fire at a particular target and will hang in the air, firing one non-magical arrow per round at the specified target until the target dies or goes out of range or line of sight or the bow is ordered to stop by its owner. The bow magically creates non-magical arrows for itself when firing automatically, providing that its owner has one arrow in his possession when ordering the bow to fire. The bow will fire as if it had the BS of its last user.

Other Magical Weapons[]

Sword Of Fate[]

This kind of weapon - usually, but not always, a sword - is created to be the downfall of a particular individual. As part of its creation, drops of blood from that individual must be used to temper the weapon. When completed, the weapon will give +20 to hit and counts as a bane weapon against that specific individual only. Against all other foes, the weapon simply counts as being enchanted.

Wyrmslayer[]

Certain weapons are forged specifically to fight magical beasts. These weapons have the power to ignore that creature's natural defences. Best known are the Wyrmslayer swords, which can cut through the scales of a dragon or any other monstrous wyrm, including wyverns and jabberwocks, ignoring the creature's natural armour and treating its T as a half of its normal value.

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