Heroes in fantasy stories are often defined by a particular piece of equipment. Hercules had his cloak skinned from the Nemean Lion and King Arthur had Excalibur.
Some challenges faced by an adventurer can come from trying to obtain the equipment needed to help him survive. The acquisition and loss of equipment can be motivation for new stories or the inspiration for a course of action.
The basic rules for equipment can be found in Chapter 7: Devices & Equipment, pages 128-149 of the M&M2E book. There are several changes to these rules for Mitheirn.
In Mutants and Mastermidns, a Device is a type of power which takes the form of a special item. In Mitheirn, a Device is known as a Magic Item, a piece of equipment that has been enchanted with various spells.
The creation of new magic items follows the Magic rules for enchantment in Mitheirn, rather than the Inventing or Magic Ritual rules on page 131 of M&M2E. Inventions may still be created to specifically provide technological solutions to problems.
Mutants & Masterminds was designed to emulate super-hero comics. Money and how much things cost are treated as plot elements in such stories; either the character has enough to get what he needs, or he doesn't and needs to get more.
In Mitheirn, money is more of a solid concept. While it can still be a plot element, the acquisition of money can itself be a character's primary motivation. How much money one has or doesn't have is more important to the day-to-day existence of a fantasy adventurer than a super-hero.
For this reason, the rules for Equipment Points or Wealth found on page 132 of M&M2E will not be used. Instead, you will track how much money you have and costs for various goods. When play begins, characters have 3 ranks in the Equipment feat, which gives 15 equipment points. If you do not use all of your equipment points when outfitting your character, you may convert the remainder to money. 1 Equipment point is roughly equal to 10 silver.
While the standards of money can shift depending on local economies, in general copper is considered the least-valuable coin. Silver is slightly more valuable but still common, and serves as the standard coinage in most realms. Gold coins are less common and are used by merchants and wealthier classes. Finally are alloyed gold or platinum coins, which are used for large transactions or as status symbols.
Most of Mitheirn's technology hovers around that found in the historical Middle Ages. In some places, skilled craftsmen and brilliant scholars attempt to improve the capabilities of their tools and the sciences on which they are based. However, magic is prevalent enough to impede large-scale technological progress. The greatest innovations tend to come from the dverekh, who rely on magic less than their cousin races.
The role taken by more-advanced technology can be filled by magic items, although these are a luxury. While it is possible to create Crystal Eyes that capture images for later viewing or Cold Lanterns which can illuminate without burning a flame, these are expensive and typically found only in the hands of the upper classes.
Equipment has two costs: equipment points, for buying your equipment at character creation, and monetary cost, for use after character creation. Note that equipment points and cost in money don't always hold exactly to the ratio 1 point = 10 teka. The former is linked to capabilities in terms of game mechanics, the latter is a relative value in the setting.
References for other equipment costs and uses can be found in many game books, including Dungeons & Dragons and True20.
In Mitheirn, the bonuses from normal equipment may stack with your character's other bonuses, even in excess of normal PL limits. Total bonuses from equipment and other sources may not reach more than the campaign's PL +5. For example, in a PL 5 game, no combination of equipment, high Abilities or magic may allow a bonus greater than +10.
If the equipment is magical, its bonuses are counted toward this limit as well. This means that in a PL 5 game, a Falchion (damage bonus +6) that is enchanted with +2 damage means that the character may only add up to +2 damage from Strength bonus or Feats. If an item's enchantment would allow it to exceed PL limits — such a staff with spells of higher rank than the game's PL or a magical weapon that would increase damage beyond the PL + 5 limit — then this extra bonus can only be used with Extra Effort, which allows the character to choose to use the item to its full extent for one round. As with any use of Extra Effort dealing with magic, the character will gain either 1 point of Backlash or 1 level of Fatigue to gain the full benefit of a magical item.
Some weapons are listed on pages 137-140 in M&M2E. Note that weapons in Mitheirn have the additional trait of Proficiency. Equipment Cost is replaced with Cost, the amount of money required to purchase item. This number may vary from region to region and can be haggled.
Proficiency: As described in the Weapon Proficiency feat, the proper use of a weapon requires proficiency with that weapon's type. Without the proper proficiency feat, you are at -4 to use the weapon.
Weapons can be classified as Axes (which includes sickles and scythes), Bows (which includes crossbows), Clubs (which includes maces, shields and staves), Fists (no proficiency needed, includes unarmed attacks), Flails (which includes morningstars and most kinds of chains and whips), Hammers (which includes picks), Knives (any bladed weapon up to a foot in length), Polearms (a weapon with a long shaft and damaging head placed at the end or ends, includes spears), Swords (from short to great), and Thrown (any kind of weapon that can be thrown in combat). A weapon's group will be included in its name.
Ranged weapons include both thrown and projectile weapons. Thrown weapons add your Strength bonus to damage. Bows of masterwork quality are modified to add your Strength bonus, to add no more than double the bow's original damage bonus.
Ranged weapons have one trait in addition to the traits for melee weapons:
Range Increment: Attacks at a distance will carry a range penalty, depending on its inherent range increment. This increment does not necessarily limit the distance a weapon may travel. For example, throwing distance is determined by your Strength score, as described on page 36 of M&M2E. Rather, the range increment describes how accurate a weapon may be over a distance.
The first listed range increment receives no penalty. Every full increment past this subtracts -2 from your to-hit roll. In general, thrown weapons are completely inaccurate past 5 increments, and projectiles cannot fly past 10 increments. Extra effort may be used for an accurate attack at even longer ranges.
| Name | Damage | Critical | Damage Descriptor |
Range Increment |
Size | Cost (points, money) |
| Axe, Battle | +3 | 20 | Slashing | Med. | 4 points, 5 kaida | |
| Axe, Half-moon | +2 | 20 | Slashing | 10 ft. | Small | 3 points, 5 kaida |
| Axe, Hatchet | +1 | 20 | Slashing | 10 ft. | Small | 2 points, 10 teka |
| Axe, Machete | +2 | 19-20 | Slashing | Small | 4 points, 1 kaida | |
| Axe, Sickle | +2 | 20 | Slashing | Small | 3 points, 2 kaida | |
| Axe, Scythe | +4 | 19-20 | Slashing | Large | 6 points, 4 kaida | |
| Axe, Throwing | +1 | 20 | Slashing | 15 ft. | Small | 2 points, 10 teka |
| Axe, War | +3 | 19-20 | Slashing | Medium | 5 points, 8 kaida | |
| Bow, Composite | +3 | 20 | Piercing | 110 ft. | Medium | 9 points, 80 kaida |
| Bow, Long | +3 | 20 | Piercing | 100ft. | Medium | 9 points, 50 kaida |
| Bow, Short | +2 | 20 | Piercing | 60 ft. | Small | 7 points, 25 kaida |
| Club, Great | +4 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Large | 5 points, 10 teka | |
| Club, Mace, Light | +2 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Small | 3 points, 1 kaida | |
| Club, Mace, Heavy | +3 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Medium | 4 points, 4 kaida | |
| Club, Quarterstaff | +2 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Large | 3 points, 0 teka | |
| Club, Slingshot | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning | 50 ft. | Small | 2 points, 0 teka |
| Club, Small | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Small | 2 points, 0 teka | |
| Club, Tonfa | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Small | 2 points, 5 teka | |
| Crossbow, Hand | +2 | 19-20 | Piercing | 50 ft. | Small | 5 points, 20 kaida |
| Crossbow, Heavy | +4 | 19-20 | Piercing | 120 ft. | Large | 7 points, 70 kaida |
| Crossbow, Pump | +2 | 20 | Piercing | 40 ft. | Medium | 5 points, 60 kaida |
| Crossbow, Standard | +3 | 19-20 | Piercing | 80 ft. | Medium | 7 points, 35 kaida |
| Crossbow, Stonefist's | +6 | 19-20 | Piercing | 130 ft. | Large | 10 points, 120 kaida |
| Fist, Cestus | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning/ Slashing |
Small | 2 points, 15 teka | |
| Fist, Claws | +2 | 19-20 | Slashing | Small | 4 points, 3 kaida | |
| Flail, Chain | +2 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Large | 3 points, 1 kaida | |
| Flail, Heavy | +5 | 19-20 | Bludgeoning | Large | 7 points, 5 kaida | |
| Flail, Morningstar | +3 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Medium | 4 points, 4 kaida | |
| Flail, Nunchaku | +2 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Small | 3 points, | |
| Flail, Whip | +0 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Medium | 3 points, 10 teka | |
| Hammer, Light | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Small | 2 points, 5 teka | |
| Hammer, Maul | +6 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Large | 7 points, 7 kaida | |
| Hammer, Pick, Heavy | +4 | 19-20 | Piercing | Medium | 6 points, 5 kaida | |
| Hammer, Pick, Light | +3 | 19-20 | Piercing | Small | 5 points, 3 kaida | |
| Hammer, War | +3 | 20 | Bludgeoning | Medium | 4 points, 5 kaida | |
| Knife, Basic | +0 | 20 | Slashing | Small | 1 point, 1 teka | |
| Knife, Hunting | +1 | 19-20 | Slashing | Small | 3 points, 15 teka | |
| Knife, Long | +2 | 19-20 | Piercing/ Slashing |
Small | 4 points, 3 Kaida | |
| Knife, Sai | +1 | 20 | Bludgeoning/ Piercing |
Small | 3 points, 4 kaida | |
| Knife, Stiletto | +1 | 18-20 | Piercing | 5 ft. | Small | 4 points, 1 kaida |
| Knife, Throwing | +1 | 20 | Piercing | 10 ft. | Small | 3 points, 3 teka |
| Polearm, Glaive | +5 | 20 | Slashing | Large | 6 points, 8 kaida | |
| Polearm, Halberd | +4 | 19-20 | Piercing/ Slashing |
Large | 6 points, 10 kaida | |
| Polearm, Lance | +4 | 20 | Piercing | Large | 5 points, 1 kaida | |
| Polearm, Pike | +3 | 20 | Piercing | Large | 4 points, 10 teka | |
| Polearm, Spear, Hunting | +3 | 19-20 | Piercing | 20 ft. | Large | 6 points, 1 teka |
| Polearm, Spear, Javelin | +1 | 20 | Piercing | 30 ft. | Medium | 3 points, 1 teka |
| Polearm, Spear, Short | +2 | 19-20 | Piercing | 15 ft. | Small | 5 points, 1 teka |
| Sword, Broad/Scimitar | +4 | 19-20 | Slashing | Medium | 6 points, 4 kaida | |
| Sword, Falchion | +6 | 20 | Slashing | Large | 7 points, 10 kaida | |
| Sword, Great | +5 | 20 | Slashing | Large | 6 points, 8 kaida | |
| Sword, Kindjal | +2 | 19-20 | Piercing/ Slashing |
Small | 4 points, 4 kaida | |
| Sword, Long | +3 | 19-20 | Slashing | Medium | 5 points, 5 kaida | |
| Sword, Rapier | +1 | 19-20 | Piercing | Medium | 3 points, 2 kaida | |
| Sword, Saber | +3 | 20 | Slashing | Medium | 4 points, 3 kaida | |
| Sword, Short | +2 | 20 | Slashing | Small | 3 points, 2 kaida |
Axe, Battle: The battle axe looks more like an implement of focused violence than a tool pressed into service. It's a favorite weapon of the kaarsh tribes. A battle axe's handle is about 3 feet long and has two blades 6 inches wide and 8 inches deep.
Axe, Half-moon: An unusual weapon found primarily in Haomei Tral or the country of Akar. This is a wooden haft about 2 feet in length with a metal blade cut into a loop, the bottom end attached in about the middle of the axe, the top end connected to the end of haft. The half-moon axe can be used like a normal hacking tool, or the user may grasp the handle inside the bladed area for punching, slashing, and defensive maneuvers. It can be thrown short distances.
Axe, Hatchet: A small axe, with about 12 to 16 inches of handle and a 3-5 inch blade. This is often used to chop wood, but can be an effective weapon. It can be thrown in combat.
Axe, Machete: This is a cleaver-like tool that resembles a large knife, although it is used for hacking rather than slicing. The blade is 18 inches long and rather thin near the handle. The machete grows wider as it extends from the handle, putting the main cutting force near the end.
Axe, Sickle: A farming implement used as a weapon, the sickle has a shaft about 18-24 inches long and a forward-curving single-edged blade about 10-15 inches long. The blade's inner edge is used for cutting grain or foes.
Axe, Scythe: Originally an agricultural tool, the scythe has a long curved handle meant to be used in both hands, with a forward-curving 30-40 inch single-edged blade. It's swung slowly but delivers a powerful blow when it hits.
Axe, Throwing: Similar to a hatchet, but with a blade that's roughly 5-6 inches deep and wide. It's weighted for throwing.
Axe, War: A heavy double-headed axe designed by the dverekh. Its handle is more than 4 feet long. The blades are at least 1 foot deep and 2 feet wide. It cannot be thrown.
Bow, Composite: Composite bows are made from layers of horn, wood, or bone laminated together with a slight curve. They are difficult to make but have excellent durability and range.
Bow, Long: Longbows are preferred for hunting and by foot soldiers. The basic long bow is 4-5 feet high, recurved, and strung with dried gut.
Bow, Short: A bow of about 3 to 4 feet in length, without a recurve. This can be made easily, and is often employed by cavalry or in relatively close quarters.
Club, Great: A large weapon, usually anywhere from 4 to 6 feet long, sometimes with metal bands or studs at one end.
Club, Mace, Light: The mace is a heavy wooden, metal-reinforced, or metal shaft, with a head made of stone or metal. Light maces are carried by infantry, and are around 2 to 3 feet long.
Club, Mace, Heavy: As with a light mace, the heavy mace was designed for cavalry. Heavy maces were usually 3 to 4 feet long, and tended to have more flexible handles to allow for the greater speed behind the blows.
Club, Quarterstaff: A piece of wood about 5 to 7 feet in length, a few inches in diameter. The long reach and leverage can allow devastating blows, and in the hands of an expert, the staff moves with frightening speed. It also has the advantage of being extremely easy to make.
Club, Slingshot: A heavy stone or metal slug wrapped in a cloth or leather strap. In melee, the slingshot may be used to sap enemies over the head. It is best employed as a surprise weapon in those cases. At range, the slingshot may be spun and one end of the strap released, throwing the bullet a great distance. It can be difficult to aim, but once learned, this is a simple weapon to improvise.
Club, Small: A short, 1 to 3 foot, length of wood or bone, usually with wide head at one end. The most basic weapon there is.
Club, Tonfa: About 1 1/2 to 2 feet in length with a wooden handle jutting to one side, the tonfa was originally meant for threshing grain. It can be swung about on the handle to strike foes or to block attacks on the arm. When used for blocking, it adds +1 to hit and +2 Toughness.
Crossbow, Hand: A small crossbow which can be held and fired with one hand. This can be concealed with difficulty. The string may be drawn back with a single lever pull, using a move action.
Crossbow, Heavy: A large weapon that is usually 4 feet in length, with perhaps 4 to 5 feet of bow. This requires either the use of a winch, or placing the front of the crossbow on the ground and pulling up with both hands, to reload — both of which are full actions. A medium-sized character may shoot, but not load, a heavy crossbow with one hand with a -4 penalty.
Crossbow, Pump: A new invention that's slowly gaining popularity. A complex but reliable system of levers allows a crossbow that's slightly smaller than standard to be reloaded by sliding a pump lever on the stock. This allows for reloading without having to look away or move the weapon around too much. Loading a pump crossbow takes a reaction action.
Crossbow, Standard: A strong bow mounted on a stock, which fires heavy arrows known as bolts. A latch in the stock holds the bowstring until the weapon is fired. Crossbows are unwieldy but easier to use than normal bows, and have greater range. The standard crossbow can be reloaded with a small winch or lever, by bracing the stock against one's stomach, hip, or other solid surface. Reloading a standard crossbow is a move action. You may fire, but not load, a standard crossbow with one hand at a -2 penalty.
Crossbow, Stonefist's: The most powerful single-person projectile weapon known, created by the dverekh weaponsmith Hendra for use in the Second Akarian War. This uses a pump action reload, along with alloyed crossbar and string, all in a weapon the size of a heavy crossbow. Stonefist's Crossbow requires at least Strength 14 to use without penalty. With Strength of 17 or better, the crossbow can be reloaded with a standard action. If your Strength is less than 17, it takes a full action to reload. If the pump lever is disabled, it takes 2 full actions to reload this crossbow.
Fist, Cestus: The crudest form of these are simply metal guards for the knuckles. Another common cestus is a leather glove with spikes or studs along striking surfaces. Chain or plate gauntlets also qualify as a cestus when punching.
Fist, Claws: Metal blades extend from the back of a gauntlet just behind the knuckles. These blades are up to 5 inches long and honed to razor sharpness.
Flail, Chain: This is a length of steel chain, usually anywhere from 3 to 6 feet long, gripped in one hand and swung around to build up terrible momentum. Chains can be used to cause Trip or Disarm attacks.
Flail, Heavy: Designed for mounted use, the heavy flail has a shaft about 3 to 4 feet long, and a stone or metal head attached by a chain. This head may be smooth, spiked or flanged. The flail is swung to build moment, striking with devastating force.
Flail, Morningstar: A flail meant for use by infantry. The most common form has the spiked ball at the end of the chain, which gives the weapon its name. The shaft is usually 1 1/2 to 3 feet long.
Flail, Nunchaku: Two lengths of wood, or sometimes steel, joined by a chain. The nunchaku can be whirled around to build up momentum for a strike. This weapon is usually seen in Haomei Tral or the country of Akar.
Flail, Whip: A long, limber weapon normally made of leather. It can be used to make Trip or Disarm attacks with a +2 bonus.
Hammer, Light: Perhaps the oldest of all tools, the hammer is meant to deliver blows to a target to move or be reshaped. The standard light hammer is about a foot in length, with a flattened striking head.
Hammer, Maul: With a handle of 4 to 6 feet in length and two large heads, one flattened, one wedge-shaped, the maul is a devastating weapon. It can also be used for heavy lumber or mining work.
Hammer, Pick, Heavy: A specialized form of hammer, where the striking surface comes to a narrow point. The heavy pick is around 4 to 5 feet in length, with a counter-weight on one end. This is primarily used for mining, but can be quite useful for puncturing armor.
Hammer, Pick, Light: A handle of about 1 1/2 to 2 feet long, and a smaller striking area. A popular weapon for people who live in mountains.
Hammer, War: A large oval or rectangular head of stone or metal, attached to a 3 to 4 foot long handle. The warhammer is clearly meant for battle, not as a tool. One head may be flanged to narrow the striking surface.
Knife, Basic: Not really meant as a weapon, the basic knife has a blade of a few inches in length, usually no more than 5. It can make shallow cuts, but is designed for tool use.
Knife, Hunting: A longer blade, from 8 to 12 inches, with a thicker back and one sharp edge. This is meant for heavy-duty cutting and skinning, and is effective in close combat.
Knife, Long: Also known as a dirk, the long knife has a 1 to 1 1/2 foot long blade, with a thick base that tapers to a sharp point. A versatile blade, good for stabbing, using the sharpened last two-thirds of the blade for slashing, or the duller first third for blocking attacks.
Knife, Sai: An odd hand-held weapon with three metal points extending from the handle. The center point is usually a foot long, with the two side points about 4-6 inches in length. The center point can be sharpened. The sai can be used for capturing and breaking weapons; it adds +1 die to disarm attempts.
Knife, Stiletto: A thin knife, usually no longer than 6 inches long, meant only for stabbing, not cutting. A stiletto is fast and easily concealed, but also easy to break. It may be thrown for short distances.
Knife, Throwing: Not designed for hand-to-hand fighting, but can be used for such in a pinch. A throwing knive has a 4-6 inch blade and no handguard, and is balanced for ease of throwing.
Polearm, Glaive: A glaive has an 18 inch single-edged blade on the end of a 6 or 7 foot long pole. Some glaives have hooks on the opposite side to catch riders or infantrymen.
Polearm, Halberd: A long-hafted weapon with a large axe-like blade, meant for infantry combat. The halberd has a 6 foot long haft and a foot long blade that is 8 inches wide on the thickest portion.
Polearm, Lance: A long reinforced thrusting spear used from horseback. They can be as much as 7-10 feet in length, wide at the base and coming to a sharp point.
Polearm, Pike: A large infantry weapon, designed to keep attackers out of reach. The handle is at 7 feet tall, with a blade that is 1-2 feet long. They are slow and unwieldy, but a wall of pikes has been the deciding factor on many battlefields.
Polearm, Spear, Hunting: This spear can be used in melee or thrown. It has a 10-16 inch blade and 5-6 foot shaft.
Polearm, Spear, Javelin: A relatively short spear, with a 30 inch handle, and a blade about 18 inches in length. Javelins can be wielded in one hand easily, and can be thrown. The blade comes to a sharp point but doesn not have sharpened edges.
Polearm, Spear, Short: A spear designed for infantry work, and one of the common weapons in Sikarra's armies. Its blade is 8-10 inches long, with a haft that's 4-5 feet long. It can be thrown for short distances.
Sword, Broad/Scimitar: A thick-bladed weapon that extends from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet in length. A broad sword is double-edged, while a scimitar is curved and has a single edge. Both are hacking weapons.Sword, Falchion: A falchion is a one-handed sword with a slight curve toward the point. The weapon combines the weight and power of an axe with the versatility of a sword. For this reason, it has a slight resemblance to a machete. The blade is almost 3 feet long, with a 6-inch handle.
Sword, Great: A greatsword has a 4-5 foot long blade with another 1-2 feet of handle. The greatsword's blade is double-edged and comes to a sharp point. Despite their striking power, greatswords are relatively uncommon on battlefields, since they are bulky and hard to use properly.
Sword, Kindjal: A short sword common in Ahl'Sholu. The double-edged blade is from 1 1/2 to 2 feet long. Kindjal have a slight curve to the blade.
Sword, Long: A long sword extend from 3 to 4 feet with a double-edged blade and comes to a sharp point. Long swords are well-balanced and meant to be used with one hand, although a second hand can be used for additional striking power.
Sword, Rapier: A long thin blade that extends 2 1/2 to 3 feet long, with a large handle and handguard. Rapiers are meant for quick thrusts and slashing against unarmored opponents. Rapiers are flexible and can be broken.
Sword, Saber: A sword developed for cavalry troops, this is 3 feet of slightly curved, single-edged steel, with a sharpened point. The blade is weighted for powerful swings, not for fancy swordwork.
Sword, Short: A sword with a thicker blade than any normal knife, often from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 feet long. Along with a short spear, the short sword is the most common infantry weapon in Sikarra. Most short swords are double-edged and have a sharp point.
Some forms of armor are listed on pages 141-142 in M&M2E. In Mitheirn, this list is expanded.
Armor is usually bulky and difficult to move in. Those who are not trained to move in it comfortably are often hampered. As noted in the Armor Proficiency feat's description, half of the armor's Toughness bonus (round up) is a penalty to attack, dodge, Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Stealth and Swim checks. A rank in the feat reduces this penalty by -1.
As with other forms of equipment, the Equipment Cost trait is replaced by the Cost, reflecting the money required to buy the armor.
Armors have three weight classes: light, medium and heavy. Medium armor and heavy armor slow down your normal movement rate to 20 ft. per round. Environmental or other fatigue checks from wearing light armor are at +2 DC, +4 for medium armor, and +6 for heavy armor. It takes 1 minute to put on a suit of light armor, 4 minutes for medium armor, and you must have help to put on heavy armor, which takes at least 5 minutes.
| Name | Toughness Bonus | Cost (points, money) |
| Light, Chain shirt | +4 | 4 points, 90 kaida |
| Light, Leather | +2 | 2 points, 10 kaida |
| Light, Padded | +1 | 1 point, 10 teka |
| Light, Studded Leather | +3 | 3 points, 20 kaida |
| Medium, Breastplate | +5 | 5 points, 200 kaida |
| Medium, Chainmail | +5 | 5 points, 150 kaida |
| Medium, Hide | +3 | 3 points, 10 kaida |
| Medium, Scale mail | +4 | 4 points, 50 kaida |
| Heavy, Banded mail | +6 | 6 points, 250 kaida |
| Heavy, Full plate | +8 | 8 points, 300 eagles |
| Heavy, Half-plate | +7 | 7 points, 200 eagles |
| Heavy, Splint mail | +6 | 6 points, 200 kaida |
| Shield, Buckler | +1 (+1 block) | 2 points, 1 kaida |
| Shield, Large, Steel | +2 (+2 block) | 4 points, 20 kaida |
| Shield, Large, Wooden | +2 (+2 block) | 4 points, 5 kaida |
| Shield, Small, Steel | +1 (+1 block) | 2 points, 3 kaida |
| Shield, Small, Wooden | +1 (+1 block) | 2 points, 10 teka |
| Shield, Tower | +4 (+4 block) | 8 points, 20 kaida |
Light, Chain shirt: Chainmail shirt which protects the torso, but leaves the limbs exposed. Quilted fabric provides padding.
Light, Leather: Breastplate and shoulders are protected by hardened leather, while the rest of the body is covered in flexible leather.
Light, Padded: Quilted cloth, sometimes covered in silk or other slick material. This can become hot quickly, but is cheap to make and easy to repair.
Light, Studded Leather: Thick layers of flexible leather strips, reinforced with metal rivets.
Medium, Breastplate: Plate mail for the torso, which covers front and back. This also comes with small helmet, greaves and bracers, and a skirt of studded leather to protect the waist and upper thigh.
Medium, Chainmail: A full set of interlocking chain links, with a layer of soft quilted fabric underneath. This often comes with a chain cowl or light helmet, and leather-and-chain gauntlets.
Medium, Hide: Layers of tanned animal hides and leather. The hides can be stiff and hard to move in. This armor is common among the kaarsh and others who live in the wilderness.
Medium, Scale mail: Leather covered in scales of metal. This armor comes with gauntlets and a helmet.
Heavy, Banded mail: Bands of metal riveted onto chainmail, with leather to provide cushioning. The metal protects vital areas, leaving the chain and leather for joints. Straps and buckles are used to distribute the weight. This armor includes gauntlets and a helmet.
Heavy, Full plate: A custom-made suit of metal, shaped to a particular body. It is nearly impossible to wear another's set of full plate without use of magic. The interlocking plates are backed by leather or chain for cushioning. Full plate is designed to allow freedom of movement, even though all the joints are covered by plates designed to slide over one another. Buckles and straps allow a properly-fitted suit to be relatively comfortable. This comes with full helmet, gauntlets, greaves, and boots.
Heavy, Half-plate: A combination of chainmail with plated torso, shoulders, bracers, greaves, and gauntlets. This is the armor most commonly seen on cavalry and commanders on the battlefield.
Heavy, Splint mail: Narrow strips of metal riveted to leather armor. This armor is relatively cheap and easy to make, but the weight is not well-distributed. Many consider this armor to be more uncomfortable than any other heavy armor.
Shield, Buckler: A small metal shield strapped to the forearm, scarcely more than a foot or two in diameter. You can hold weapons and use them in the same hand that wears the buckler. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
Shield, Large, Steel: Strapped to the forearm and gripped in one hand, this shield is about three or four feet in diameter. When crouched on the ground behind the shield, you have partial cover. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
Shield, Large, Wooden: As the steel shield, but less durable. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
Shield, Small, Steel: Worn on the forearm and held in place with your hand. This shield is about 2 to 3 feet in diameter. You can carry other items in this hand, although you cannot effectively use the shield or the item at the same time. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
Shield, Small, Wooden: As with the steel shield, with less durability. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
Shield, Tower: A massive, 5 to 6 foot tall shield. This acts as a portable wall. It is rarely used in actual melee, but is rather employed to protect other combatants. When taking no actions and hiding behind the shield, you are under total cover. A common tactic is for archers and shieldmen to work in tandem, with the shieldman waiting until the archer is ready to fire before moving the shield out of the way. Shields may be used to try to block ranged attacks, as with the Deflect Arrows feat.
A Magic Item is a Device, created using the enchantment rules. Magic Items are vessels for various spells, and can be made to do almost anything.
An enchanted item adds +2 to its Toughness score for its own saves. Enachanted armor must have the Protection or Force Field power for its increased Toughness to apply to its bearer. If an item is destroyed, it will immediately release its held spells at the nearest targets. Spells that only affect the item or do not have a specific effect against a target will add their ranks to any spells that may strike targets. If there are no spells with this function, the magical energy is released as an Area Blast (pg. 77, M&M2E) using total spell ranks for the Blast ranking.
Items use normal spell durations.
All magic items may have a Mana pool. This pool cannot have more than 10 points for every rank in the Device power. A magic item that has been purchased by a character is considered bonded to that character. He may then use either his own Mana or the item's Mana to power its effects.
Items with Permanent effects have their total Mana pool reduced by 1 per effect. Continuous effects reduce the item's Mana by the cost of that effect, until the effect is turned off.
Mana does not fade away from a magic item in normal circumstances. If an item reaches 0 Mana, it must be recharged within 1 month per rank in Device or its Permanent duration will shift to Enchantment duration. If it still is not recharged with Mana at the end of this duration, then the item will no longer be magical.
An item's Power Level can be determined by the highest relevant spell effect, such as damage bonus, saving throw Difficulty Class, or ranks in spells. If the GM chooses not to be a stickler for details, he may use the total number of spell effects in the item to estimate Power Level.
Like many other heroes in fantasy stories, you may come to posses an item of greater PL than your own. By default, you may use the magic of the item to the limits of your PL. However, you may use extra effort to access the item's full abilities.
Artifacts are magic items of such might that they exceed the PL of anyone other than demigods. Using these artifacts beyond your PL limits does not require extra effort, but always gives you Backlash.
Magic Item Backlash: Usually takes the form of mental changes, with a common theme being an obsession with the item. Specifically, you will become addicted to the item, always wanting to use it while believing everyone else wants to take it away. Another manifestation could be that your personality is influenced by the item's purpose: a weapon dedicated to slaying undead will cause you to become uncontrollably violent when discussing necromancy, or a ring of healing could cause you to become a pacifist.
Physical changes are rare but wild magic is quite common. Wild magic effects often take the form of the item's effect being felt by people other than the intended targets, or visible side effects from the item's use always being evident even when the item is not being employed.Some substances have been so changed by magic over time that they become something entirely new. These are the mystic materials, highly-sought after and prized by craftsmen and magic-users alike.
Mystic materials are difficult to find, and when sources of the materials are located they are nearly always held secret and guarded carefully. The smelting, distillation, or refinement of these materials is challenging, with a DC of at least 20 on any relevant checks.
This list is by no means definitive, but represent the most well-known materials in Sikarra and lands nearby.
This list is far from comprehensive, but simply provides a glimpse of magic items that can be found on Mitheirn.
In Sikarra, the most stable form of money is that minted by the Guilds of Freemarch. The smallest coin is the copper peren. 25 perens equal 1 silver teka. 4 teka equal 1 gold kaida. 5 kaida equal 1 platinum eagle. While most of the continent's other countries mint their own coins, Grenolva and its principality of Akar have adopted the Freemarch coinage as their own.
What is the cutting edge of technology on Mitheirn? When a lever-action crossbow made with good alloys is the latest thing, could not a clever player with a lot of Craft skills come up with something ten times better? If there are no firearms, how hard would it be for someone with Knowledge (Alchemy) and a high-school understanding of chemistry to talk their way into "stumbling" across the recipe for gunpowder? If you throw some Hero Points when the GM asks for a tricky skill check, you could kick off your own little Age of Reason. So what's stopping you?
The short answer is, nothing at all. If the GM thinks the start of a technological revolution would make for an interesting story, and the other players are on board, go wild. Chapter 7: Devices & Equipment in the Mastermind's Manual, pages 92-95, has rules for Tech Levels — Mitheirn is at the low end of TL 2. When trying to invent something from a higher tech level, add +5 to the skill check DC for each TL. The GM may rule that you simply cannot conceive of inventions of more than 2 TLs above you.
Another answer is that the conventions of the heroic fantasy genre do not allow for steam locomotives and gatling guns. This point could be argued — after all, what could be more heroic than going deep-sea diving in a giant brass bathysphere for the secrets at the bottom of the Chained Sea, or more fantastic than fighting a dragon from the deck of your airship? However, those kinds of games can also be tricky. Reliable technology can rapidly outpace magic; who needs to throw fireballs when someone with hardly any training can throw a grenade and not risk ripping holes into other dimensions for their troubles?
Mitheirn's default TL is a long way from airships and grenades. The dverekh are beginning to master the ins and outs of steam power, although right now they are only employing it for pumps and other crude devices. Clockwork is not yet miniaturized, and chemistry is barely being glimpsed between the lines of alchemical texts. Magic works, and while it isn't cheap, it's reliable. Invention and scientific progress is a long, often frustrating process that rarely provides instant results. In the same time it would take to breed a lot of beans and notice certain rules of inheritance, a cloistered monk could have conversations with the messengers of his god, ride out to face terrible dangers, and learn to cast holy fire at his enemies.
Some individuals do try to blend magic with technology — the Cold Lantern is an example of this — but so far these are small-scale projects. In some lands of Mitheirn, there may be more prevalent magical technology, but in Sikarra, scientific progress is moving at a snail's pace.
It's a well-known stereotype: a lone PC with an average strength whose character sheet has a page and a half (in small print) of equipment on his back, in bags at his waist, and stashed all around his body. Some games address this problem by giving weights for every item, carrying capacities, and a list encumbrance rules. Others just point out how ridiculous that image is and hope the players are willing to be reasonable about it.
Mutants & Masterminds follows the latter mold. Page 36 gives rules for Carrying Loads and Carrying Capacity, but the assumption is that players and GM will agree on roughly how much is being hauled around and ignore close bookkeeping. As a rule of thumb, a suit of armor, a medium size weapon or two, a few smaller weapons, a pack with a few things in it, and maybe a single larger weapon is just about all any one person can be expected to carry without problems.