BRIKWARS 2005: Chapter 3: Minifig Weapons

3: Minifig Weapons

Players are of course free to invent all kinds of unique minifig items in addition to the generic weapon types. Who knows what mysterious powers this Skully Grail might possess?

Mike Rayhawk, 2006

Chapter Three: Minifig Weapons

“Laughter is the greatest weapon we have and we, as humans, use it the least.”

- Mark Twain

Weapon	Cost	Use	Range	Damage	Notes
Close Combat Weapons
Hand Weapon (S)	2CP	2	CC	1d6	Range 1d6" if thrown
Heavy Weapon (M)	3CP	3	CC	1d6+2	may be paired with Shield
Two-Handed Weapon (L)	4CP	4	CC	2d6	Two-Handed; -1" to Move
Ranged Weapons
Short-Ranged Weapon (S)	3CP	3	6"	1d6	some are Two-handed
Long-Ranged Weapon (M)	5CP	3	10"	1d6+1	Two-Handed
Explosive	1CP	3	-	1d10 exp	Range 1d6+2" if thrown
Bodily Protection
Shield	1CP	2	CC	1d6 Parry or Shove 2"	Parry or Shove only; can Parry Charge attacks
Body Armor	1CP	-	-	-	+2 to Armor, -1" to Move
Desperate Measures
Bare Hands	-	2	CC	Shove 2"	Shove only
Random Object	-	3	CC	1d6-2	Range 1d6-1" if thrown

The weapons with which you arm your minifigs are best chosen according to which look the coolest. More practical considerations might increase your army’s chances of victory, but that hardly compares with the importance of looking awesome.

3.1: Close Combat Weapons

Killing enemies from a safe distance is all well and good, but any real minifig will tell you that's for cowards. Nothing beats the meaty hands-on thrill of physically whacking an uncooperative enemy into a pile of bloody chunks. Close Combat weapons are used to make Close Combat attacks, as you might suspect (5.2: Close Combat).

Less well-equipped minifigs will try to tell you that it's not the size that matters, it's how well you use it. This is of course completely false. Melee weapons, like everything else of importance, are categorized entirely according to length. They fall into three categories, separated by how they compare to a minifig's height: weapons shorter than a minifig are Short (S), equal to a minifig are Minifig-Size (M), and longer than a minifig are Long (L). You might be tempted to think of the letters as standing for Small, Medium, and Large, but that would be much less precise.

The majority of Hand Weapons are about one Brik shorter than a regular minifig; exactly the height of this dwarven warrior.

Weapons shown: Red Bean Studios, Mega Bloks, LEGO, Little Armory

Hand Weapons
Size:(S) Cost:2CP Use:2 Range:CC Damage:1d6 Notes:Range 1d6" if thrown
Hand Weapons are the lightest, most versatile, and most readily available melee weapons; anything from maces, hand axes, and shortswords, to baseball bats, bicycle chains, and crowbars.

Because Hand Weapons are so light and easy to handle, they leave the second hand entirely free for a second weapon or equipment item. They may even be thrown, in a pinch, doing full damage at a range of up to 1d6 inches.

Heavy Weapons are the height of a minifig. They are most often paired with a Shield, as this Hoplite demonstrates.

Weapons shown: Red Bean Studios, LEGO, Little Armory, Mega Bloks

Heavy Weapons
Size:(M) Cost:3CP Use:3 Range:CC Damage:1d6+2 Notes:May be paired with Shield
Heavier than regular Hand Weapons, but not requiring the dedicated use of both hands, Heavy Weapons are sometimes called Hand-And-A-Half or Bastard weapons. Heavy Weapons include such weapons as broadswords, battleaxes, flails, spears, katanas, chainsaws, and beamsabers.

Heavy Weapons do not include lightsabers, because the lightsaber is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd., and we would never want to risk infringing a trademark.

Less versatile than Hand Weapons, minifigs wielding a Heavy Weapon cannot carry a second weapon of any type in their off hand, although they may equip a Shield.

Even with added height of the most ostentatious helmet plumes, this Centurionette is dwarfed by her massive Two-Handed Sword.

Weapons shown: custom mold, Little Armory, LEGO

Two-Handed Weapons
Size:(L) Cost:4CP Use:4 Range:CC Damage:2d6 Notes:Two-Handed, -1" to Move
Two-Handed Weapons give heavy troops the power to destroy the sturdiest foe, and the ability to do it at a fair distance - through a rank of other minifigs, over the top of a barricade, surprising a target on a separate building level, or nailing a rider on horseback.

Their drawbacks are that they are heavy, slow, and difficult to weild effectively. Minifigs carrying a Two-Handed Weapon have their Move ability reduced by one inch, they have a hard time navigating tight spaces, and they need both hands free to use the weapon in melee. (You don't have to pose your minifig with both hands physically holding the weapon shaft, as that isn't always possible or easy to manage; it's 'understood' that both hands come together to swing the weapon at the moment of attack, so quickly that the eyesight of mere Humans is unable to detect it.)

What's worse, a Two-Handed Weapon's extra inches of reach carry their own vulnerability - an enemy minifig can sneak up closer than the weapon's effective minimum range! A minifig swinging a Two-Handed Weapon must have a hand on the bottom-most grippable part of the handle; this may mean that he doesn't have enough space to bring the weapon's striking surface into contact with the target. If the minifig is unable to back up far enough to give himself room to swing, then the enemies inside that distance can only be Shoved, not attacked.

Unscrupulous players may try to get around problems of minimum striking distance by giving their Two-Handed Weapon a very long striking surface. This is considered to be in poor taste, and justified grounds for a moderate-to-thorough beating. The amount of striking surface on a Two-Handed Weapon should never be longer than a minifig.

There is one important exception to the two-hands requirement: jousting. Although Two-Handed Weapons are too heavy to swing with one hand, nothing stops a mounted minifig from tucking it one under one arm and riding full-tilt at an opponent with it. A minifig riding a steed or vehicle only needs one hand to use a Two-Handed Weapon as a lance in a Charge attack (5.4: Charge!), as long as it has a pointy tip.

3.2: Ranged Weapons

“You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun. ”

- Al Capone

While it's hard to beat the joy of plunging a hand weapon into exposed enemy flesh (but not impossible: see the Explosives section below), it can be frustrating when some piddly little opponent thinks it's funny to keep bouncing around just out of reach of your hand axe. It's times like that that you want a nice ranged sidearm, to wipe that self-satisfied grin off his face in the most literal fashion (5.3: Ranged Combat).

Smaller Ranged Weapons give a minifig the power to strike at a distance while leaving his other hand free for life's more visceral pleasures - in the case of this Space Marine, a wickedly serrated gutting-knife.

Weapons shown: Red Bean Studios, Little Armory, LEGO, Best-Lock

Short-Ranged Weapons
Size:(S) Cost:3CP Use:3 Range:6" Damage:1d6 Notes:some are Two-Handed

“Remember the first rule of gunfighting: 'have a gun.'”

- Jeff Cooper

Most light ranged weapons fall under the Short-Ranged Weapons heading (also called "Pistols" for short): revolvers, shortbows, blowguns, magic wands, and slings are good examples. Many can be fired with one hand, although reloading (if necessary) always requires the use of both; a little common sense should be enough to determine how many hands a given weapon requires (a crossbow can be fired with one hand, for instance, while a shortbow takes two). Because their short range puts minifigs dangerously close to an enemy's ability to counterattack, Short-Ranged Weapons are best paired with a Hand Weapon in the opposite hand, or used in hit-and-run harrying attacks that keep the Ranged attackers just out of enemies' reach.

Throwable melee weapons are better purchased as Hand Weapons. In some cases, non-melee versions of regular Hand Weapons may be bought as Short-Ranged Weapons instead (javelins instead of spears, throwing knives instead of daggers, etc.), although players should be careful to make sure there's no confusion about which weapons are Hand Weapons and which ones aren't. Thrown Ranged Weapons are considered to be in 'infinite supply,' but can only be used by one minifig at a time. A ninja throwing a pile of shuriken never 'runs out,' but the thrown shuriken can't be collected and used by other minifigs, and the ninja can't share shuriken with his friends (unless he gives them the whole pile, or they steal it from his lifeless corpse). Ranged Weapons used in Close Combat are always treated as Random Objects at best, even if they look just like Hand Weapons.

Long-Ranged Weapons are for warriors who wish to focus exclusively on ranged attacks. This steel-bikinied commando doesn't care much for hand weapons; she's never met a problem her bazooka couldn't solve.

Weapons shown: Best-Lock, LEGO, Little Armory

Long-Ranged Weapons
Size:(M) Cost:5CP Use:3 Range:10" Damage:1d6+1 Notes:Two-Handed

“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!”

- John J. Pershing

Long-Range Weapons (or "Rifles") are higher-powered than regular Ranged Weapons, allowing minifigs to pack a solid punch while staying safely out of enemy units' melee range. Muskets, longbows, heavy crossbows, and a Magic Staff of Lightning Bolts are all Long-Range Weapons. Long-Range Weapons are generally about the length of a minifig, and always require two hands.

Because the major construction-brick companies offer such a limited variety of bows for archers, it can be difficult to differentiate shortbows (a Short-Ranged Weapon) from longbows (a Long-Ranged Weapon). If you insist on using both kinds in the same battle, try to make them easy to distinguish, either with different colors ("shortbows are brown, longbows are black") with different troop types ("light cavalry have shortbows, standing archers have longbows"), or by decorating them somehow.

Explosives
Size:- Cost:1CP Use:3 Range:- Damage:1d10 exp Notes:Range 1d6+2" if thrown
Hand-held Explosives come in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes - grenades for throwing, rockets for firing, and timed charges for dropping somewhere and getting the hell away. A minifig Explosive can do any of the above. If he throws it, it's a grenade; if he fires it from a launcher (launchers are bought as Short-Ranged or Long-Ranged Weapons), it's a rocket; if he drops it on the ground and says "I'm setting the fuse to go off on the end of my next turn," then it's a timed charge.

Once they go off, though, all Explosives work exactly the same way. The Explosive does 1d10 Explosion damage to every object and surface within a two-inch radius. Loose objects within this radius, such as minifigs not wearing seatbelts, are tossed one inch directly away from the center of Explosion. Fixed objects, such as brick walls, are only tossed away if the Explosion breaks them into loose objects.

Each Explosive can only be used once, for obvious reasons. If you want three rockets for your bazooka, you need to purchase three Explosives.

3.3: Bodily Protection

“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armor, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”

- George Orwell

Any portion of the military budget can be put to more weapons or more men, but sometimes generals will assign a budget for protective gear for the troops. This is silly - a trooper's job is to kill enemies, not worry about coming home alive. Even worse, the soldiers might request this equipment themselves, a bad sign that they're not mentally prepared to sacrifice themselves for their Humans' meaningless cause.

The cowards that request protective gear are likely to be among your least popular troops, so go ahead and buy them some. The longer they stay alive, the more pissed off the rest of the troops will be, and that's a good state of mind for battle.

Because Princess Wendy can't be armored up for official functions, she depends on a ring of heavily-armored handmaidens to absorb attacks against her royal person.

Weapons shown: Little Armory, LEGO, Red Bean Studios, Mega Bloks

Shields
Size:- Cost:1CP Use:2 Range:CC Damage: 1d6 Parry or 2" Shove Notes:Parry or Shove only
A Shield is like a Hand Weapon devoted exclusively for Parrying (5.2: Close Combat), although they can sometimes also be handy for Shoving opponents into proper position for a follow-up attack. A minifig can Parry a wider range of incoming attacks with a Shield than with a regular Hand Weapon, including Joust attacks (H.3: Fighting From Horseback), Crash Damage, thrown weapons, and even slower projectiles like arrows and slingshot bullets (although not, for instance, rifle rounds or lightning bolts).

For the purposes of Parrying, a Shield has a Damage rating of 1d6. It cannot be used in regular attacks, no matter how much you sharpen the edges.

Sometimes Armor can become a troop in itself, if it's left lying around too long and becomes posessed by armor ghosts.

Armor shown: Red Bean Studios, LEGO, Little Armory

Body Armor
Size:- Cost:1CP Use:- Range:- Damage:- Notes:+2 to Armor, -1" to Move

“During the Middle Ages, probably one of the biggest mistakes was not putting on your armor because you were 'just going down to the corner.'”

- Jack Handey

For warriors who fear death, but not enough to lift a Shield in their own defense, Body Armor is a great way to prolong their lives as lazy cowards. As a bonus, when they're always last to arrive at the front lines, they can claim that the reason is because their heavy Armor slows them down. Whether or not that's the actual reason for their tardiness is left for debate.

A suit of Armor adds +2 to a minifig's Armor rating against all forms of damage. However, it's less easy to move around in - minifigs wearing Armor also lose one inch from their Move rating, which is why many Armored minifigs prefer to ride horses or other steeds.

If you're the type who likes to use fancy dice in your wargames, then you should instead consider Body Armor to add two die sizes to a minifig's Armor. A minifig's regular Armor of 4 (equivalent to 1d6) becomes 1d10; A Hero's Armor of 2d6 (6.1: The Hero) becomes 2d8.

3.4: Desperate Measures

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

- Charles Darwin

Nothing makes a warrior feel stupider than arriving at a battle and realizing he forgot to bring a weapon. He still has options, but mooning the enemy hasn't been shown to have any useful effect, and he's better off trying to scavenge a real weapon as quickly as possible.

Unable to reach the enemy wizard in time to interrupt a deadly spell, Eric Joslin's giant starts hurling the projectiles closest at hand: a flock of sheep.

Photo: Eric Joslin
"NELUG Gets Medieval," Nov. 2000
Winners: sheep

Bare Hands
Size:- Cost:- Use:2 Range:CC Damage:Shove 2" Notes:Shove only

“Those who have not swords can still die upon them.”

- J.R.R. Tolkien

Minifigs lack the ability to clench their clawlike hands into fists, and the limited range of minifig leg motion means that the groins of their enemies will never be exposed to their nonexistent knees. As a result, unarmed combat between minifigs is an almost complete waste of time. The only worthwhile use for Bare Hands is in grabbing someone else's dropped weapon.

Bare Hands cannot be used to Attack or Parry. They may only be used to Shove, and only if both hands are empty, in a desperate attempt to get away from the real warriors who remembered to come armed.

Random Objects
Size:- Cost:- Use:3 Range:CC Damage:1d6-2 Notes:Range 1d6-1" if thrown

“It is important when you haven't got any ammunition to have a butt on your rifle.”

- Winston Churchill

Table legs, broken bottles, burning torches, and even big rocks are all part of a cherished tradition of improvised weapons; a pistol butt, rifle stock, or sword pommel can be used as makeshift bludgeons when the weapon's main function can't be brought into play. If a minifig can't find a real weapon, Random Objects are better than nothing, although this is only because having nothing sucks to such an impressive degree.

Any object that could conceivably approximate a Hand Weapon may be used as an improvised weapon. Some objects are obviously excluded: items like shortbows, flowers, and hats are too flimsy to do any damage. The minifig must have an actual object he can hold in his hand; he can't for instance claim "there's a belt printed on my torso, I'm taking it off and whacking you with it."