Basic Melee Weapons

Any handheld weapon that must touch a target to deal damage is considered a melee weapon. Basic melee weapons can be easily used by almost anyone and generally require no special training. While basic melee weapons deal less damage than more sophisticated weapons of the same item level, they have the advantage of not usually requiring power sources and operating under almost any conditions.

Bottleglove
Battlegloves are popular, economical choices for mercenaries and guards. These durable nylon-web or para-aramid gloves hold a weighted plate over the wearer’s knuckles. You can hold other objects or weapons in a hand wearing a glove, but you can’t use the glove to make attacks while doing so.

Chitinblade
The serrated, sweeping blade of a chitinblade is based on technology recovered from encounters with the Swarm. The source material can come from a natural part of a creature’s body, but the final weapon is detached and wielded with two hands. A tactical chitinblade is modeled on an animal counterpart with little modification, but high-tech materials and manufacturing improve on nature in the microserrated, nanoserrated, and ultraserrated models.

Club
A club is any sort of blunt, oblong instrument with a haft suitable for gripping. Clubs can be made of stone, wood, or similar materials. Metal clubs exist as well, and they are usually hollow to keep them from being too heavy. Some Free Captains refer to clubs as belaying pins, though those archaic items are not required on starships.

Curve Blade
This graceful, curving blade further increases the drama inherent in sword fighting. Carbon steel blades bite deeply, causing bleeding wounds. The blade of an ultrathin curve blade looks delicate, but it is as hard as carbon steel and keeps a fine edge. Buzzblade curve blades vibrate when powered, tearing organic flesh and causing additional bleed damage. Dimensional slice curve blades have only a narrow visible blade area, surrounded by a solid aura; these are the sharpest and most dangerous curve blades on the market.

Garrote
A pair of slim handles connected by flexible cable made of a strong alloy, the garrote is a weapon strongly associated with assassination. That’s no accident, as the weapon’s primary use is to silently strangle creatures. However, a garrote can also be used to ensnare appendages. The wire garrote is the simplest version, while the nanofiber, microfilament, and monowire models use increasingly fine cables to deal substantially more damage. For instance, the monowire version has a cable as thin as a single complex molecule, which closes into the handles when the weapon isn’t in use. This construction results in a nearly invisible cable with an extreme edge.

Greataxe
No one can argue against the damage potential of a greataxe. Half-orcs who take an interest in fragmentary records from lost Golarion embrace the greataxe as a cultural symbol. Tactical greataxes are the most common, but sintered models are made of dense ceramic and designed to increase the axe’s effectiveness against modern gear. It’s hard to tell ultrathin greataxes from molecular rift models at a glance, but one’s edge is merely blurry while the other’s is actually translucent.

Handaxe
A balanced, wedge-shaped blade affixed to a lightweight haft, a handaxe can be wielded in melee or thrown. The flexibility of handaxes makes them a favorite of explorers of all types, and the basic handaxe is a common tool that can be used as a weapon. A tactical handaxe is made of a stronger, lightweight alloy, while the sintered handaxe uses a denser ceramic material for added heft and a much keener edge. An ultrathin handaxe has a blade so thin it can’t be seen clearly, while the molecular rift handaxe has a blade narrow enough to slice between molecules. Most handaxes have blade covers to prevent accidental injury to the wielder.

Hook Knife
Slightly longer than a survival knife, a hook knife features a wicked barb along the blade’s back edge and deals vicious wounds to enemies when wielded effectively. The drow invented the hook knife, but the weapon is a favorite among cruel mercenaries and other unsavory types.

Lance
A lance is a long, heavy spear designed for use while riding a mount. While mounted or riding a cycle, you can wield a lance with one hand. This weapon is common across the Pact Worlds. Traditionally used by shotalashu warriors riding saurian mounts in the jungles of Castrovel and bonded ryphorian and dragonkin partners of Triaxus, lances are also known to have been common weapons on lost Golarion. Modern wielders use lances while mounted or driving open vehicles, such as cycle-riding raiders like the Vercite Rustrunners. Tactical lances are straightforward and widely available, while advanced lances are made of strong composites and have fine points to deal more damage. Elite lances have superfine points, and each has a particularly dense core for a more powerful strike. Paragon lances have been entirely redesigned using dense, flexible materials and an ultrathin point to achieve incomparable performance.

Maul
Outsized hammers, mauls are valued for their intimidation factor and effectiveness in battle. A tactical maul is as much an instrument for hammering posts into the ground as a weapon. Advanced mauls include dense, heavy cores to deliver a more forceful blow. Elite mauls and paragon mauls are designed and manufactured more for war than labor, although the weapons can be used as tools.

Puzzleblade
The kasathan puzzleblade is a two-handed sword that can be disassembled into pieces for ease of storage and transport, although reassembling the blade for use takes some time. Many who carry a puzzleblade see the assembly time as a reminder of virtues to uphold, so the various types of puzzleblades take their names from kasathan values of conviction, dedication, moderation, and tradition.

Retractable Spike
These keen-edged spikes are installed in an armor upgrade slot rather than held, stored in a surface slot in armor or an android’s body until extended. You can extend the spike as a move action and retract the spike as a swift action. Such a spike usually extends from the elbow, foot, knee, or wrist, but a spike can be fitted into a helmet or an android’s head for use in headbutting or goring foes. Retractable spikes are widely available throughout the Pact Worlds, with the various models—tactical, advanced, elite, and paragon—having individual rarity based on the credit outlay to acquire a given model.

Sap
A weapon dating back to antiquity, a sap is shaped like a large, flat spoon with a heavily weighted end. Archaeological digs have verified that almost every society develops an analog to the sap. Modern versions are constructed from high-tech fiber and dense alloys. Although sap models are referred to as light, medium, and heavy by users, it’s the rare materials used in various models, and not their actual weight, that make them progressively better at bludgeoning victims into unconsciousness.

Scythe
Few weapons send a more distinctive and imposing message than a scythe, given its longstanding and transcultural connotations of harvest and death. A far cry from the farming tools of ages past, scythes range from tactical to sintered to ultrathin models. Followers of Urgathoa make up a significant portion of the customer base for this weapon.

Shell Knuckles
This bulky glove fits over the user’s hand, with reinforced plates covering the knuckles. When the weapon connects with a target, the kinetic force fires scattergun shells into the target and deal impressive bludgeoning damage. Mercenaries favor these weapons for fighting at close quarters, and pirates sometimes use them to make their punches all the more dramatic. Shell knuckles are available in tactical, advanced, elite, and paragon models.

Spear
Spears come in many varieties. Buzzblade spears vibrate at high frequency. Zero-edge spears employ quantum manufacturing to hone an edge so fine that it seems indistinct. The gravity spear uses a tiny gravity field generator to accelerate the weapon at the moment of impact.

Staff
Staves are long and flexible, weighted on the end to provide extra striking power. Most staves are made from aluminum or fiberglass, though some are still made from wood.

Sentinel and repeller staves are made of conductive metal and deliver a painful, low-voltage charge that can stun opponents. The hardlight staff uses a core of unstable photonic gel to dramatically increase its mass every time it strikes a surface.

Switchblade
This blade looks much like a single-edged survival knife when opened, but the blade can be folded or collapsed to fit within the grip, making it easier to conceal. A switch on the knife means the blade can be folded or extended as a swift action, or as part of making an attack or full attack. Most weapon manufacturers that offer daggers also produce switchblades, which are made in the same models: tactical, ultrathin, zero-edge, and molecular rift.

Sword Cane
This thin blade comes with a scabbard that makes it resemble a stylish cane. Sword canes are popular on Absalom Station, where similar nonweapon items have some popularity as fashionable affectations. A sword cane can incorporate one of the following at the standard price for that item: 20 feet of retractable cable line, a personal comm unit, or a spotlight. A successful Perception check (DC = 15 + the weapon’s item level) is required to identify a sword cane as a weapon when it is sheathed.

Warclub
Though technologically as simple as a one-handed club, the two-handed warclub is larger, heavier, and more dangerous. They are popular among enforcers and thugs.