Draft:Cutlass

Omega 0.90.4

Cutlass)Base damage rating8Base hit bonus+8Normal attack typeCuttingHands1Weight35

A cutlass is a one-handed cutting weapon. It has the same damage rating as a short sword but lower accuracy and greater weight, making the state of a found copy more important than its name alone.

Generation

Julie's sells an identified, uncursed +0 cutlass for 80 Au. It also belongs to the item-level-1 random pool, can appear at the pawn shop, and can be produced by acquirement. Random copies may have either helpful enchantment or a curse; the store copy has known properties.

Description

Its usual selected attack is a cut with the Strength damage bonus. It also permits a lunge. Neither the name nor the curved blade creates a special attack beyond the ordinary combat rules, and the damage remains physical. Saved maneuvers do not automatically change when the cutlass is equipped.

The cutlass can tunnel through suitable walls, with the breakage risks of a cutting weapon. It can also be thrown, but throwing a spare copy does not independently add its listed hit or damage to the character's current combat values. A cursed cutlass already in use cannot be thrown away or simply exchanged for another weapon.

Strategy

At Julie's, an ordinary short sword costs the same 80 Au, deals the same base damage, has three more points of accuracy and weighs ten less. There is little reason to buy a plain cutlass when both are available. A hand-axe costs 20 Au more and also offers better accuracy and lower weight than the plain cutlass.

A found cutlass is a different decision: a safe, free weapon can preserve money for supplies. For example, a +3 cutlass matches a +0 short sword's weapon hit contribution and exceeds its damage contribution by three. That comparison assumes known, usable copies and does not remove the cutlass's extra weight. Keep it when the actual enchantment makes it useful; do not spend a rare acquirement choice merely to obtain Julie's inferior plain option.