Players Companion: New Armor and Weapons

The Players Companion broadened the range of armor and weapons, although not to the extent available in AD&D 1e.

Illustration by Larry Elmore, from the Players Companion (1984)

Two new types of armor were added (borrowed from AD&D 1e):

Scale Mail (intermediate between Leather and Chain Mail)

Banded Mail (intermediate between Chain Mail and Plate Mail)

Their cost was inadvertently omitted from the rules, but provided in Polyhedron #22:

Q. What are the prices for the new armor types in the Companion Set (scale and banded)?

A. Scale mail (AC 6) costs 30 gp, and banded (AC 3) costs 50 gp.

Illustrations by Larry Elmore, from the Players Companion (1984)

In addition, several new weapons were introduced:

Swords

Bastard Sword - may be used two-handed without losing initiative

Missile weapons and devices

Blowgun - can be used to fire darts causing death or paralysis

Bola - can be used to entangle, slow, or delay opponents

Heavy Crossbow - from Holmes/OD&D

Miscellaneous weapons

Blackjack - can be used to knockout, stun, or delay opponents

Net - can be used to entangle, slow, or delay opponents

Trident - able to skewer small (1' or less) creatures

Whip - can be used to entangle, slow, or delay opponents

Special effects associated with these new weapons are dependent on the victim's level or hit dice, rendering their use a bit finicky, but adding variety to combat.

Their inclusion is not restricted to high level play, adding complexity to low- and intermediate-level play, a notable difference between B/X and BECMI.