by Tom Verreault
Hezred “Wolfin” Arsclan was a cargo handler more suited to mercenary pursuits but he had tired of corporate conflicts and signed on as a cargo handler with a Capellen Free Merchant captain. He had possessed no real skills needed on to run a star ship but the captain seemed happy to have him aboard as grunt labor and as a show of muscle if negotiations looked to be a little dicey.
It was on his third visit to the planet Faire when a robotic cargo arm had slammed into him breaking his leg. The med station at the port had surgically repaired his leg but the doctor warned that he needed to take it easy while the leg fully healed. Naturally they wanted him to use crutches but no self-respecting yazirian warrior would hobble around on such silly things.
The captain had insisted that he visit a stall in the Minzii Marketplace and use his name with the proprietor. It had been phrased as an order but Hezred doubted he would buy a “walking stick” even from a place known by such an intriguing name as “The Big Stick”.
“Honored, I am, to have a great yazirian warrior in my humble shop.”
“Yeah, yeah,” grumbled Hezred, “I am certain that you are a most noble shop keeper and purveyor of goods but if I was truly a great warrior then surely I would have been able to dodge the robotic arm that smashed my leg. I’m not really interested in a crutch, cane or walking stick I’m simply here to appease my captain.”
“But of course, a proud warrior such as you would scoff at the humble canes and walking sticks in my stock no matter how elegant they are and I would be embarrassed to show a seasoned warrior the ones that have concealed weapons in them.”
A smirk began at the corner of Hezred’s mussel and became a full toothy grin, “Did you say concealed weapons?”
The ifshnit proprietor grinned back, “Well, yes we do carry a few canes and walking sticks with concealed weapons, after all it was us ifshnits that invented the saying, ‘walk softly and carry a big stick.’”
These items provide a bonus for characters walking in rough terrain to not fall or trip. When required to make an ability or skill check for maneuvers in rough or broken terrain, a cane provides a +5 bonus and a walking stick a +10 bonus. Walking sticks are easily made by characters in the wilderness for no cost but the bonus from a rough made walking stick is only +5. However if the walking stick is made by a character utilizing an appropriate skill for making tools then the bonus is the normal +10. A cane or walking stick will double as a night stick in melee combat.
Elegantly carved canes and walking sticks command higher prices depending the quality of the craftsman ship (25 Cr to 150 Cr).
Standard Cost: 10 Cr
Mass: N/A if used to walk otherwise 1 kg
The cane sword is a waking cane with a concealed sword. It may be used as a night stick without drawing the sword or as a sword. It otherwise functions as a cane for walking.
Cost: 40 Cr Mass: 2 kg
This item appears to be a normal walking stick but when a special locking mechanism is depressed at the middle and the top and bottom halves of the stick are rotated a quarter turn in opposite directions a blade emerges from the top end and locks in place making the walking stick a pole arm. To retract the pole arm blade the same procedure is followed in reverse.
Cost: 60 Cr Mass: 4 kg
Links
[1] https://frontierexplorer.org/file/yazirianwithstaffgif