GLAIVE Mini is a “weapon builder system” that yields damage and ST stats for a hand weapon, whether existing favorites like 3-lb broadswords and 8-lb greataxes, your own variations on these, or even all-new creations. It’s single-page simple, asking merely that you take starting damage and ST based on weight, then adjust those stats up and down for mods like Two-handed and Long.
The basics were reverse-engineered from existing weapon tables, so the tool does a fair job of recreating a lot of existing weapon stats right on the nose. But certainly not for all weapons! And so users wonder: If you’re building a weapon like a bastard sword, will the system yield good results for both one-handed and two-handed results? Are there any large classes of weapons (like – spoiler! – polearms) that it struggles with a bit?
For those who like playing the tool (you’re out there; I hear from you at times!), it’s now easier to answer those questions and churn out new creations. Some recent correspondence spurred me to replace an old (and little-shared) spreadsheet with a fancier model. Pretentiously named “GLAIVE MINI ANALYTICAL WEAPONIZER ENGINE”, it’ll generate your stats, let you easily compare those with published stats, and even show aspirational levels of show-off ST (for tricks like using a greataxe with one hand). It handles GLAIVE Mini’s optional semi-balanced weapons and offers basic support for creating and applying your own custom mods.
There aren’t any explicit instructions; comments in spreadsheet cells should make things clear. The spreadsheet itself isn’t “live” and usable online; you’ll want to download a copy to use locally or in an online environment. (I recommend using the original Numbers format. See more on format and online sharing here.) To get the most (?) out of the tool, see the many example weapons already in the spreadsheet, and many more sample builds in the GLAIVE Mini page’s “mini armory”.
Questions and comments are also welcome on the GLAIVE Mini page.
- GLAIVE Mini: Weapon Builder System for GURPS: Background, examples, and links to pdf file and spreadsheet
- GLAIVE MINI ANALYTICAL WEAPONIZER ENGINE: Jump right to the spreadsheet
