Table s-9 : New Armor

Needles, Blowgun : These 2-inch-long iron needles are sold in small wooden cases of 20 . A full case is so light that its weight is negligible . The tips of the needles are often coated with poison .

Nekode : A nekode is a strap or glove fitted with spikes in the palm, favored as both a weapon and a climbing tool by ninja . Your opponent cannot use a disarm action to disarm you of a nekode. An attack with a nekode is considered an armed attack . A monk using a nekode can strike with her unarmed base attack bonus, including her more favorable number of attacks per round, along with other applicable modifiers.

Using a pair of nekodes while climbing gives a +1 circumstance bonus on Climb checks . This bonus does not stack with the +2 bonus from using a climber's kit .

The bagh nakh ("tiger's claws") is a similar weapon to the nekode, wielded more like brass knuckles . Its statistics are the same, but it does not give a bonus on Climb checks .

Ninja-to: The ninja-to-a short, straight sword similar to a wakizashi-is the standard sword of the ninja . True to a ninja's methods, the scabbard of the ninja-to is a multipurpose tool. It is open at both ends, allowing it to be used as a blowpipe for powders or poisons or as a breathing tube . It is also stiff and strong, allowing it to be used as the rung of a ladder or even as a weapon (use the statistics for a club) .

Sai : A sai's pronglike extrusions are designed to help catch and disarm opponents' weapons . If you attempt to disarm your opponent using a sai, you gain a +4 bonus on the opposed attack roll required . (You don't gain any bonus if someone tries to disarm your sai.)

A monk using a sai can strike with her unarmed base attack bonus, including her more favorable attacks per round, along with other applicable modifiers.

Sang kauw : A sang kauw is a double weapon . You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons as if you are using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon . A creature using a double weapon in one hand, such as a Large creature using a sang kauw, can't use it as a double weapon .

The buckler in the middle of the sang kauw gives you a +1 shield bonus to your Armor Class if you attack with only one end of the sang kauw in a round.

Sasumata : The sasumata is a pole arm designed to capture opponents with a minimum of harm . A wielder who hits a Small or Medium-size opponent with a sasumata can immediately initiate a grapple (as a free action) without provoking an attack of opportunity . (See Grapple in Chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook for more information .) In addition to the normal options available to a grappler, the wielder of a sasumata can attempt to pull his target to the ground (the equivalent of a trip attack, though no attack roll is necessary) .

The sasumata has reach and cannot be used against adjacent opponents .

Shikomi-zue : This ninja weapon appears to be a stout bamboo or wooden staff, but a quick twist or press of a button causes a spear head to spring from one end . Without the blade, the shikomi-zue deals the same damage as a quarterstaff (1d6, x2 critical), and can even be used as a double weapon, like a quarterstaff. With the blade out, it has the statistics shown on Table S-7.

Sodegarami : The sodegarami, or sleeve-tangler, is a highly specialized weapon, used to catch and entangle an opponent without causing great harm . It is normally used to hook and catch the clothing of an opponent . When you use a sodegarami in this way, you make a grapple attack, without provoking an attack of opportunity . You make a melee touch attack with the weapon to "grab" the target's clothing . This attack does not work against a character in heavy armor, or against most monsters that do not wear clothing. If the touch attack is successful, you make an opposed grapple check, using the size modifier for the sodegarami (+4 for a Large weapon) instead of your own size . If you win the opposed check, you have a hold on the target, but you do not deal any damage . If you lose, you fail to start the grapple .

To maintain the grapple, you do not need to move into your opponent's space . The sodegarami holds your opponent 10 feet away from you . While you maintain the grapple, you do not have the option to damage or pin your opponent . Your opponent can try to escape or wriggle free, attack with a light weapon, or cast a spell with no somatic components and a casting time of 1 action .

A sodegarami can also be used as a normal weapon, dealing the damage shown on Table S-7 but not entangling the opponent.

A sodegarami has reach . You can strike opponents 10 feet away with it, but you can't use it against an adjacent foe.

Tail Spikes, Ratling: A nezumi or vanara character who has proficiency with tail spikes can use them to make one extra attack in a round at her highest base attack, in addition to all attacks with a hand-held weapon (or a ratling's natural weapons) . The tail spike attack and each other attack made that round suffer a -2 penalty apiece .

For example, at 6th level, Min'tchap gets two attacks with her nagamaki at +8 and +3 (including her strength bonus and Weapon Focus feat). If she uses tail spikes in addition, she gets three attacks : two with the nagamaki at +6 and +1, and one with the tail spikes at +6 . This penalty applies for 1 round, so it affects attacks of opportunity the ratling might make before her next action .

Three-Section Staff: Originally a farm implement for threshing grain, this weapon is composed of three sections of wood of equal lengths, joined at the ends by chain, leather, or rope .

A monk using a three-section staff (for which she must take an Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat due to the weapon's Large size) fights with her unarmed base attack bonus and her more favorable number of attacks per round, along with other applicable attack modifiers . The three-section staff requires two hands to use .

Tonfa: A monk using a tonfa can strike with her unarmed base attack bonus, including her more favorable number of attacks per round, along with other applicable modifiers .

Wakizashi : The wakizashi is a masterwork short sword, granting a +1 bonus on your attack rolls . A masterwork weapons bonus to attack does not stack with an enhancement bonus to attack .

A samurai's wakizashi is part of a matched pair with his katana, and-like the katana-is an important part of his honor . Samurai rarely use it in combat, except among the Dragon clan, whose members have developed a style of twoweapon fighting . Its most prominent use is in the ritual suicide called seppuku . Nonsamurai characters of the noble caste (primarily shugenjas) may carry a wakizashi without a katana, and often use it when pressed into combat.

War Fan : Favored by certain Scorpions, this weapon appears to the untrained eye as nothing more than a beautifully crafted lady's fan . In fact, the vanes of the fan are crafted from steel, and the tips are needle-sharp . When the fan is first brought into melee, the wielder may attempt a Bluff check against an opponent's Sense Motive check . If the wielder wins the contest, he adds a +4 bonus to the attack roll for his first round's attacks) . This weapon should not be confused with the tessen, a metal "fan" that serves as a shield .